Whiskey sales up, down ... depending

Different populations allocate their spending in different ways. Take these two items that showed up in my in-box in consecutive postings:

KOREA: Whiskey sales have declined by over 10% from a year ago due to the economic recession. According to the whiskey industry on Monday, a total of 1.06 million boxes of whiskey were sold in the first half of this year, down 10.1% from a year ago. One box consists of 18 500-ml bottles.

Sales seem to have been hit by the trend to economize on entertainment costs amid the recession, as many companies have scaled back their budgets for wining and dining business partners and clients. (Chosun Media)  

POLAND: The first half of 2012 was an extremely successful period for distributors of whiskey in Poland, with demand for more expensive brands rising year-on-year. “After a couple of years of expansion of the whiskey market in Poland, the Polish consumer is more educated and ready to purchase the best-known brands but is also up for experimenting with novelties,” Jarosław Buss, president of Tudor House, which imports and distributes luxury alcohol in Poland, told Rzeczpospolita.

Diageo, the owner of Johnnie Walker, presented research by Nielsen showing that during the first four months of 2012, their sales in terms of volume grew 77%, and in terms of value by 83%. (Warsaw Business Journal)

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She goes where her nose leads her

Rachel Barrie

• From The Wall Street Journal

No one has ever said that women are overrepresented in the beaker-and-Bunsen-burner world of science, though at least they have had more chances there than in the tweed-and-testosterone world of Scotch whisky.

This makes Rachel Barrie a double anomaly -- a chemist whose work crafting celebrated Scotch malt whiskies has earned her the rare rank of Master Blender. Science is crucial to the distiller's art.

One has to know how to measure the "physical parameters" of the whisky -- hydrometers to determine the percentage of alcohol, pH meters to test acidity. And then there are the more elaborate modern technologies of analytical chemistry, such as "gas chromatography" and "high-performance liquid chromatography," which Ms. Barrie said can map the chemical makeup of malts thoroughly enough "to provide a 'fingerprint' of our whiskies for quality and authenticity purposes."

Yet trying to understand Scotch whisky with a gas chromatograph is like trying to plumb the mysteries of consciousness with an fMRI brain scan: interesting -- even helpful -- but woefully insufficient. Whiskies from the island of Islay are known for being briny -- the distilleries are all but in the sea -- but lab instruments can't nail down that oceanic quality.

When it comes to assessing the interaction of hundreds of "aroma compounds" that shape how we taste, said Ms. Barrie, "the most sophisticated measurement tool remains the human nose."

Taste buds are a clumsy substitute and would never survive the gauntlet of casks that must be gotten through every week. It was Ms. Barrie's nose that sniffed out a new career. With a degree in chemistry from the University of Edinburgh, she landed a gig testing the chemical makeup of Newcastle Brown Ale. In 1991, she won an internship at the Scotch Whisky Research Institute on the strength of her ability to identify scents.

"Part of the interview was nosing 20 little bottles," Ms. Barrie recalled. "I had to detect, recognize and describe" the various aromas, which included classic scotch overtones ranging from phenol, birch tar and camphor to eucalyptus, lavender and juniper. Before acing that test, she had never realized that she had an extraordinary sense of smell.

[Go here for the full story.]

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Push resumes for KY election-day alcohol sales

• From NKY.com

FRANKFORT, KY -- A proposed law would allow Kentuckians to buy alcohol on election day for the first time since at least the 1930s.

State Rep. Arnold Simpson, D-Covington, next week will discuss before lawmakers in Frankfort a bill he’s tried to get passed in some form or another for four years to make alcohol sales legal on election day.

Kentucky is one of only two states that still bans alcohol on election days, with South Carolina being the other, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS). The laws trace back to the early 20th Century when saloons also served as polling places. ...

The state doesn’t need to worry as much about people buying votes with liquor but does need to worry about the loss of both tax revenue for the state and business revenue for restaurants and liquor stores, said Simpson. "Most jurisdictions have done away with this prohibition. We need every dollar in taxes we can generate and permit businesses to work.”

The Kentucky Alcoholic Beverage Control does spot checks on the primary and general election days to ensure businesses are compliant, said spokesman Nathan Jones. The state law bans alcohol sales on the days of the primary and general elections when the polls are open. It also requires businesses to keep alcohol under lock and key. ...

Simpson will speak before the Interim Joint Committee on Licensing and Occupations on Friday, July 13 ... . The bill has died in committee each of the previous four sessions.

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Summer cocktails the easy way

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Minnesota's first distillery open for business

Panther (top) and Grinager

OSAKI, MN -- Panther Distillery, the first -- and only -- legal distillery in the state -- has opened for business.

The distillery, founded in 20120 by Adrian Pather, took two years of planning, work and obtaining state permits to officially open.

He and head distiller Brett Grinager will host the public at a grand opening event set for 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday this week.

The Panther Distillery team uses a 500-gallon copper still and fresh, local ingredients from area farmers. They now are barreling their signature whiskies, which will be aged for two years. Meanwhile, they're producing a clear, unaged spirit called White Water Whiskey. A gin, a rye and a rum are planned as well.

The distillery is located at 300 East Pike Street. Its website has other details.

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Celebri-quote: Christina Hendricks

• Men, do you think you have no chance of getting close to "Mad Men"  siren Christina Hendricks? Well, that probably is true -- if you don't drink whiskey. Here's what she had to say on the subject in an interview with The Sun of London.

"I love it when a man orders Scotch. Most women find it a big turn-on.

"I've always been attracted to men who exude confidence and a sense of purpose in life. A man is much sexier when he is able to project a very clear impression of who he is and can take charge of situations.

"Women like to feel a man can protect us when we need that or feel vulnerable. A bit of swagger mixed in with a good sense of humor is important."

[Go here for an archive of celebri-quotes.]

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Dowd on drinks ... on radio ... on demand

Wm. Dowd graphic

I made another appearance on WAMC Northeast Public Radio today, this time discussing rums with "The Roundtable" host Joe Donahue and news maven Ray Graf.

If, for some inexcusable reason, you missed the show, all you have to do is click here to tune in to the 25-minute program. The trio of rums under discussion today were markedly different from each other:

• Serralles Don Q Añejo (Puerto Rico)

• Ron Miel Guanche Arehucas (Canary Islands, Spain)

• Banks 5 Island Rum (Various Caribbean countries)

Incidentally, if you want to hear an earlier program I did on WAMC concerning the history of whiskey, just click here.

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MA partners making beer-based whiskies

Berkshire's spirits line.

Two Massachusetts adult beverage makers are teaming up to create a pair of craft beer-based whiskies.

Berkshire Mountain Distillers Inc., located in Great Barrington, and the Boston Beer Company, brewer of Samuel Adams, on Monday announced their collaboration in a multi-year project.

The two brews -- Samuel Adams Boston Lager and Samuel Adams Cinder Bock -- will be triple distilled in Great Barrington, then barrel-aged in wood. The collaboraters said because whiskey aging is a very complex and multi-faceted process it is difficult to pinpoint an exact release date. The projected timeline is for 2015.

Representatives of both companies tasted several beer styles and their distilled products from trial distillations before deciding which Samuel Adams brews to use. The two brews have markedly different taste profiles. The hopes are to create two whiskies just as different from each other.

"There are many parallels between making spirits and brewing beer," said Jim Koch, founder of Boston Brewing. "Marrying the two not only makes sense, but will also produce a drink that beer- and spirits-lovers alike can enjoy."

Berkshire Mountain Distillers was created in 2007. It produces Greylock Gin, Ethereal Gins, Ragged Mountain Rum, Ice Glen Vodka, Berkshire Bourbon and New England Corn Whiskey in the Berkshires' first legal distillery since Prohibition.

The Boston Beer Company was founded in 1984 and has become an iconic craft brewing brand. It brews more than 50 styles of beer.

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Wooden it be lovely

Barrel-making in a Louisville, KY, cooperage. (Dowd photo)

A few years ago I embarked on a journey called “From Forest to Flask.” It was part of an assignment for a UK drinks magazine to track the path of wood that adds the aging nuances to the best Scotch whiskies.

The project took me from the timberlands of the Ozark Mountains to a sawmill in Missouri, a cooperage in Kentucky and a distillery in the Highlands of Scotland. If I had been patient, I could have saved a lot of travel wear-and-tear.

A proud Governor Robert Bentley of Alabama has just announced a new job-creating enterprise in his state. Considering that he does not drink, it’s interesting he is so enthusiastic about it.

The project is the development of a 200-employee cooperage that is targeted to begin turning out American white oak barrels in the spring of 2014 for Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, made and bottled just 200 miles away in Lynchburg, TN. By comparison, the distance my magazine assignment covered between the Louisville cooperage and the Scottish distillery was 3,800 miles.

“It doesn’t mean I’m going to partake what’s in the barrels, but we’re glad to make the barrels,” Bentley said upon making the announcement of the project to be located midway between Florence and Decatur in lightly-populated Lawrence County. Brown-Forman, Jack Daniel’s parent company, already has a mill that cuts barrel staves in neighboring Jackson County.

American white oak is, by law, the only type of wood that may be used in bourbon barrels. It also is popular for making barrels that mature Tennessee whiskey, ryes and some blends. Most non-bourbon distillers, as well as some winemakers, like to acquire used white oak bourbon barrels because the process of spirits aging already has taken place and the wood readily exudes grace notes of color and flavor to their maturing liquid.

Most in the industry concur that aging in wood accounts for perhaps 60% of the taste of the finished product and, of course, for all of the beautiful hues of gold, amber and copper that result from the chemical interaction of spirit and wood.

 “I’ve experimented with putting new-make whisky into various woods,” Bill Lumsden of the iconic Scottish brand Glenmorangie told me. “You never know when something pleasing will come out of it.”

Lumsden had the opportunity in the mid- to late-1990s to try swamp, burr, chinkapin and post oaks in prototype barrels that had been air-dried for 18 months.

“There’s a high degree of spiciness in the swamp oak, and the burr oak has a pleasantly oiliness, almost buttery. The others didn’t provide much difference from American white oak.” Most people refer to Lumsden as the master distiller for the highland distillery located in Tain, Ross-shire, Scotland, but several years back his title was broadened to “head of distilling and whisky creation.” That’s a fancy way of saying he is Glenmorangie whisky.

Any complaints from traditionalists about his experimentations?

“Oh, some, but I put it down to jealousy,” Lumsden said with a twinkle.

While the vast bulk of wood used for aging Glenmorangie whiskies is American white oak, German Black Forest oak also is used. With perhaps 90 different types of oaks in the world, wood can continue to be Lumsden’s playground for a long time to come.

By the way, my entire “Forest to Flask” journey is included in my book “Barrels & Drams: The History of Whisk(e)y in Jiggers and Shots” (Sterling Epicure), available in bookstores and through online booksellers.

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New Bacardi rums are revealing items

For quite some time, distillers have been very particular about both the flavors in and the designs of their bottles and packaging materials as they fight for space on increasingly-crowded store shelves.

Bacardi, the world's top-selling rum, now is showing its attention in both areas as it rolls out its two newest flavored clear rums, Bacardi Wolf Berry and Bacardi Black Razz.

Wolf Berry is a blend of blueberry, rum and wolf berry (sometimes known as goji berry), which gives the spirit a sweet and tangy taste. Black Razz is a mix of raspberry, rum and black sapote, a Central American fruit.

New packaging features temperature- and light-activated bottles. When chilled, Wolf Berry reveals a red claw mark across the label; Black Razz reveals a large brilliant red berry logo.

Both the new flavors are available in 50ml, 200ml, 375ml, 750ml, 1l and 1.75l formats at a suggested retail price of $14.99 per 750ml bottle.

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World's largest gin collection in UK hotel

Duplessis (l) accepts the award.

OXFORDSHIRE, England -- The Feathers Hotel in Woodstock has officially been proclaimed the holder of the largest collection of gin in the world.

A Guinness Book of World Records adjudicator visited the hotel to count the 161 different varieties of gin stocked by the hotel bar as a crowd of guests and employees looked on for the entire 45 minute inspection.

Jeremy Duplessis, hotel general manager, said, "It's absolutely fantastic to be crowned a world record breaker. We have been building on the collection for three years and have picked up gins from all corners of the world -- from Holland, Spain, the U.S.A. and Germany as well as Britain, home of the famous London Gin, so it's great to have our efforts rewarded."

The hotel also stocks some of the world's most exclusive gins. For example, a bottle of Vincenzi 1950 comes in at US$348; a single glass of Burnett's White Satin 1960 will set drinkers back US$30; and, a seven-course dinner paired with gins is US$116.

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Followup (2) on Five Wives Vodka flap

In the face of widespread opposition, the Idaho State Liquor Division (ISLD) has reversed its earlier edict banning the brand Five Wives Vodka from being sold in the state.

The vodka, made in neighboring Utah, found favor with the Idaho drinking establishment, many of whom voiced objection to the ISLD decree. The distiller itself threatened a lawsuit against Idaho if the ban were not reversed.

The original ruling came in a nanny-state type of pronouncement from the ISLD that the ban was being instituted because the brand might be taken as a reference to the former Mormon practice of polygamy and that might offend someone. Both states have a significant Mormon population, although polygamy has been outlawed since the 1800s.

You can catch up on the nuances of the controversy on my earlier postings here and here.

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Drinking scene rejiggered in Kansas

TOPEKA, KS -- The Jayhawk State's drinking scene is in the midst of major changes.

Under a bill signed into law by Governor Sam Brownback, changes effective July 1 include:

• Liquor stores will be allowed to offer free wine, beer and liquor tastings as of Sunday, July 1.

• Dinner railway cars can obtain a liquor license. State Rep. TerriLois Gregory, R-Baldwin City, said the measure was aimed at luring a Nebraska dinner train business to operate between Baldwin City and Ottawa.

• Drinking establishments may offer "happy hour” specials. Previously, could offer special drink prices, but those charges had to last all day.

• Micro-distilleries will be allowed to to sell and serve their products on their premises.

Another provision of the law, that went into effect on May 31, allows visitors at wine tasting festivals to taste samples and buy bottles of those same wines at the event. Previously, wine tasting visitors had to go to the individual wineries to purchase those same wines.

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Maker's Mark gets court seal of approval

The first time I visited Maker’s Mark bourbon in Loretto, KY, I was invited to dip a just-filled bottle in the distillery’s iconic melted red wax.

In my enthusiasm, I plunged the neck of the bottle into the molten vat a bit too vigorously, and wound up with dripping wax coating the neck, half the bottle and my hand up to the wrist. My face was as red as the wax.

That embarrassing moment has always stayed with me, so when I saw a legal decree involving the wax seal, it naturally caught my attention.

From now on, if you see a whiskey with a dripping wax seal on its and it doesn't say Maker's Mark on the label, you may be seeing something illegal.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has held that the red, wax seal that covers the stopper on bottles of Maker’s Mark bourbon is a protected trademark that must be used exclusively by that brand. The ruling follows a lawsuit in which Maker’s Mark Distillery Inc. sought to prevent a similar seal from being used on bottles of Jose Cuervo tequila.

It's not the use of a wax seal, per se, that is the problem. Lots of distillers use wax seals -- Knob Creek, for one, and even Cuervo for years. Rather, it is the design of the seal that Maker's Mark worries about.

Until 2001, Cuervo bottles had been crowned with a straight-edge seal, then the design was changed to an uneven style that made the wax look as if it were dripping down the bottle neck, a la Maker's which was trademarked in 1985.

Judge John Heyburn II of the District Court for the Western District of Kentucky ruled in favor of Maker’s Mark on the dual points of infringement and trademark validity. This was upheld on appeal at the Sixth Circuit.

In their ruling, the three appeal judges noted: "The company has bottled bourbon for commercial sale under the Maker’s Mark name, and has used a red dripping-wax seal on its Maker’s Mark bourbon bottles, since 1958. Maker’s Mark -- and craft bourbon generally – garnered national attention when The Wall Street Journal published a front-page article about the bourbon, the red dripping-wax seal, and the family behind it ['Maker’s mark goes against the grain to make its mark,' by David P. Garino, 1980]." Furthermore, the appeal judges noted, a 2002 Business Week report declared the dripping-wax seal "one of the most recognizable branding symbols in the world." Six years later, the "CBS Sunday Morning" show referred to the factory process for applying the feature as the "famous dip in red sealing wax."

These findings, said the judges, "support the district court’s ultimate conclusion regarding the breadth of market recognition of Maker’s Mark’s trademarked, red dripping-wax seal."

Also, the judges wrote, "There is more than one way to seal a bottle with wax to make it look appealing.

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Dubonnet: Fit for a monarch

Vintage Dubonnet poster.

The salespeople at Dubonnet have had their hands full supplying their aperitif to PR-savvy pubs across the United Kingdom this week.

It is a blend of fortified wine, herbs, and spices with fermentation being stopped by the addition of alcohol. And, it is the drink favorite of Queen Elizabeth II, who this week is marking her diamond jubilee on the British throne.

Dubonnet was first sold in 1846 by Joseph Dubonnet, his entry in a competition run by the French government to find a way of persuading French Foreign Legionnaires in North Africa to drink quinine, which is part of the Dubonnet recipe. Quinine combats malaria, a disease prevalent in most places the Legionnnaires were posted, but is very bitter and, thus, not drinkable on its own.

 The brand-name Dubonnet was taken over by Pernod Ricard in 1976. It is available in Rouge (red), Blanc (vanilla) and Gold (orange) varieties.

The late queen mother, Elizabeth, was a noted imbiber of a cocktail that was 70% Dubonnet and 30% gin. QE II also has been photographed enjoying a Dubbonet-and-gin, which she has before lunch nearly every day.

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Followup on Five Wives Vodka flap

A few days ago, I reported ("Idaho joins ranks of the nanny states") that the Idaho Liquor Control Division has banned the sale of Utah-made Five Wives Vodka because its title may offend Mormons whose religion once allowed polygamy.

Part of the fallout from that ludicrous position -- polygamy has been outlawed since the 1800s -- was the possibility that the distiller, Ogden's Own Distillery, was considering withdrawing as a sponsor of the upcoming Boise Music Festival.

However, the distiller reconsidered after seeing a lot of public support for their product in Idaho. More than 1,000 T-shirts emblazoned with "Free the Five Wives" have been sold in the past few days. The company said it will use the proceeds to help underwrite the music festival at the original level of commitment. It will continue selling the T-shirts online.

"We are absolutely humbled by the support of the people in our neighboring state," said Steve Conlin, partner and vice president of marketing for Ogden's Own Distillery told the Idaho Statesman. "We've sold so many T-shirts to Idaho residents that we think it is only fair to give those proceeds back in sponsorship dollars. We feel bad that we can't get the shirts out fast enough."

Due to many state laws, the company cannot ship directly, but is hoping to have an online distributor available in 26 states early next week.

Ogden's Own is a micro-distillery located in Ogden, UT, the city's first licensed distillery since the 1800s. Its first product, Underground Herbal Spirit, won a Double Gold award at the 2010 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

Incidentally, the vintage photo used on the label of Five Wives is of an old, scandalous vaudeville group, not a group of Mormon wives. The Salt Lake Tribune did some digging to get the background on the story. A fun read, available here.

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Idaho joins ranks of the nanny states

While Mayor Mike Bloomberg is busy trying to extend his nanny-state proclivities by banning sales in New York City of sugary drinks of 32 ounces or more, the entire state of Idaho is being protected from imagined offense by a Utah distiller.

Here's the story:

Because the majority of the populations of Utah and Idaho practice the Mormon religion that long ago allowed polygamy, the Idaho Liquor Control Division (ILCD) has decided that the Utah-manufactured Five Wives brand vodka has the potential to offend. Thus, the vodka has been banned from Idaho.

A letter signed by Howard Wasserstein, deputy director for procurement, distribution and retail for the ILCD, says, “We feel (the) Five Wives vodka concept is offensive to a broad segment of our population and will not be carried.”

 Odgen's Own Distillery, maker of Five Wives, reportedly has been in touch with the attorney who won a 2011 suit that overturned a Michigan ruling that the Flying Dog Brewery's Raging Bitch Beer was offensive and could not be sold.

Curiously, a Utah-brewed beer named Polygamy Porter is available in Idaho.

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Sneak peak at bourbon maker's rye

The Knob Creek brand is well-known among consumer of premium bourbons. But, how about Knob Creek Rye Whiskey?

That's a new whiskey, scheduled to be released nationwide in July by the Clermont, KY, distiller.

I received a pre-release bottle of the 100-proof spirit to sample. If you're curious about my review, just go here.

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Diageo buys Brazilian cachaça maker

• Financial Times of London

With the World Cup and Olympics heading for Brazil in the next four years, it looks an opportune time to buy into Brazil’s national spirit.

Diageo, the globe’s biggest spirits company, has bought Ypióca and some production sites from Ypióca Agroindustrial Limitada for US$453 million, giving it a foothold into the world of the caipirinha.

Ypióca is a premium version of cachaça, which is distilled from fermented sugar cane juice and forms the base of Brazil’s national cocktail.

Ypióca has around 8% market share of the total cachaça market, ranking second by value and third by volume in the category. So is it a good deal? At around five times pro-forma net sales, it’s at a similar multiple to the company’s dramatic purchase of Turkish spirit Mey Içki in February 2011. And although the sales of Ypióca have declined slightly recently, the brand fits with Diageo’s general “premiumisation” strategy.

Ypióca leads the premium cachaça segment with a 62% share, and sells at 1½ times the usual cachaça price.

[Go here for the full story.]

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Irish whiskey big profit center for Pernod Ricard

• From Irish Central

Irish whiskey sales are thriving, so much so that the country’s biggest producer has paid over $100 million in recent dividends to its French parent.

The Irish Distillers Group, producers of big name brands Jameson, Paddy and Powers, made the dividend payment to Pernod Ricard on 2010 and 2011 sales figures.

The Irish Times reports that the payment was made through an Irish-registered company called Comrie Ltd. which owns 92.89% of IDG. The payment ... was made by the company in 2010 and 2011, according to the paper which says the figure reflects the highly profitable nature of IDG, a private unlimited company which does not publish any financial information about its business activities in Ireland.

According to the Irish Times, Comrie’s latest accounts appear to value IDG and related entities at over $5 billion, making it the company’s main financial asset.  

[The full article can be accessed here.]

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Shame on Sears!

I interrupt this blog to vent.

On this day put aside to honor the memory and the service of our military men and women, some idiot from a Sears call center telephoned me to (a) delay the start of her blather by giggling with her co-workers after I said hello, (b) mispronounce my name twice, then (c) try to give me a sales pitch about appliance warranty protection.

On this day dedicated to the likes of my father, a GI who died on a French battlefield in World War II; my stepfather, who served in the Navy in both WWII and the Korean War; my son, who spent four years in the Marines serving on three continents; my son-in-law, who spent eight years in the Marines …. all the way back to my great-great-great-great grandfather Colonel Samuel Miles who fought in the French and Indian War then commanded troops in the Revolutionary War, I couldn’t put up with such crass, unthinking commercialism.

As I said to her “You have the nerve to call me on this holiday when we are remembering the sacrifices and sometimes the deaths of people protecting our country? Shame on your company, and shame on you.”

And, as far as I, a decades-long customer of Sears, am concerned, that chain has gotten the last penny out of me. Sears, go to hell.

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A good sell for whisk(e)y

Craig Ferguson

Fettercairn is a Scottish whisky distiller.

OK, so who said it isn't?

Regrettably, "The Late, Late Show With Craig Ferguson" on Friday night called it a "whiskey" distillery, throwing in the " e" eschewed by the Scots.

Also regrettably, the show that featured a heavily edited and only mildly diverting account of the late-night show's visit to Ferguson's native land (his trip to Paris last year was much more entertaining on all levels) had very little mention, besides joking comments, of Scotland's No. 2 industry that trails only North Sea oil drilling.

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Irish prison to become distillery

The former prison.

Distilling is coming back to the capital of Northern Ireland.

Peter Lavery, a lottery millionaire who last year launched two whiskies being distilled in the Republic of Ireland, is heading a group putting up £5 million ($7.9 million US) to create a distillery in the notorious Victorian-era Crumlin Road Gaol that has been closed since 1996.

Lavery, a former bus driver who won US$16 million in 1996, heads a local consortium called Belfast Distillery Company. Once created, their distillery will produce the Titanic and Danny Boy brands now being made at the Cooley Distillery in County Louth.

Jim Beam, the U.S. bourbon maker that recently bought the Cooley distillery, will provide the technical support for the new project, which will produce 5- and 10-year-old malt whiskey.

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A cocktail shaker for the ages

Norpro cocktail shaker

It's excusable when people mix up events that happen close to each other. But, when they're a dozen years apart ...

Example: In the current issued of Chilled, a pretty good magazine about all things having to do with spirits and their trappings, its "Cool Products" page features a Norpro Penguin Cocktail Shaker.

As a collector of cocktail shakers, my eye was drawn to this one. However, as an avid reader of history, I was take aback by the text accompanying the picture:

" ... looks like it's straight out of the 1930's when post-war party-goers were flooding speakeasies excited to get their flap on and order a trendy mixed drink."

Grammatical goof aside ("as if," not "like"), it was the use of the phrase "post-war" that threw me. World War I ended in 1918, so the 1930s can hardly be referred to as post-war, a phrase that usually designates no more than 5 or 10 years. As to getting "their flap on," one must presume that is a reference to the flapper era, which actually was the Roaring '20s, not the '30s.

Now that I've gotten that out of my system, a few details on the shaker itself: Made of stainless steel, has a built-in strainer, holds 24 ounces and is dishwasher safe. Price: $39.95. You can get details here.

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American Spirit 'white whiskey' expands market

A new craft white whiskey.

Just last fall, partners Jim Chasteen and Charlie Thompson created a white whiskey they called American Spirit Whiskey. Now, they've opened a new whiskey blending and bottling operation in North Charleston, SC, to support the growing distribution of the craft brand in the Southeast.

American Spirit Whiskey label is being introduced to several markets in South Carolina this week. It already had been distributed to more than 250 restaurants and stores in Georgia, where the company was founded.

“We look forward to showing South Carolina residents that our product is one that can be sipped on its own as well as easily pulled out of the liquor cabinet at home or local restaurant to make a quick mixed drink,” Thompson said in a news release.

Chasteen said the company, which is headquartered in Atlanta, hopes the label can change the perception of whiskey as a quality drink.

“Southern culture and nostalgia for classic Americana are at the root of our whiskey, which makes it appealing to a broad range of spirits drinkers,” he said in the news release.

Unaged white whiskies form a fast-growing market niche that in my experience vary greatly in quality and character. Chastee and Thompson say their small-batch product is ASW is made in using bourbon-quality, un-aged whiskey -- 95% grain neutral spirits, 5% spirits from corn, rye and barley, bottled at 80 proof. They use a "specialized" filtering system that removes the bite typical of unaged whiskey.

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'The Imbiber' debuts new satellite radio show

Dunn behind the mike.

Dan Dunn, who writes about adult beverages under the title of "The Imbiber," will debut his new SiriusXM Satellite Radio show this evening.

"Dan Dunn's Happy Hour" will be heard from 7 to 8 p.m. (Eastern Time) on SiriusXM Stars Too (channel 104) every Thursday, then rebroadcast on Friday at 10 p.m. and Saturday at 5.

Dunn, an unrepentant wise guy and darned entertaining at it, notes, "Over the years, people have often told me that I have a face for radio. I, in turn, have kicked those people in the junk as hard as I could. But now that I'm going to be on SiriusXM ... the company's lawyers have advised me to let that clichéd, yet inexplicably irresistible insult slide. Such restraint is a small price to pay, I guess, for a shot at the BIG TIME! After all, anyone who's paying attention knows that radio is the up-and-coming new medium."

The debut show tonight will be broadcast from inside the 10 Pound Bar at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills, CA.

"We're going to do the show remotely from different locations every week: bars, lounges, wineries, distilleries, festivals... anywhere, really, where the management insists you show a valid ID to gain entry," Dunn said.

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Connecticut House OKs Sunday sales bill

HARTFORD -- Connecticut has moved closer to ending its ban on Sunday alcohol sales, among other actions involving the industry.

House Bill 5021 was passed this week, allowing sales on Sunday and certain holidays. It also calls for increasing from two to three the number of liquor stores a retailer may own. The vote was 116-27.

The bill now moves to the Senate where it must be approved my midnight May 9, the final day of the current legislative session.

If approved, Sunday sales would immediately be allowed, with any other aspects of the bill going into effect on July 1.

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Independent slams Beam for withholding Irish spirit

Lord Henry Mountcharles

• From the Irish Independent

A decision by the new owners of Cooley Distillery not to supply whiskey to independent operators has been slammed as "anti-competitive" by Slane Castle owner Lord Henry Mountcharles.

An angry Mountcharles said he had to cut short a U.S. marketing trip for his own-label brand when he discovered that the international Beam group would not sell him any more whiskey.

"It is not what they have done, it's the way they did it. It feels like we've been cut off at the knees," he said.

Former Cooley director Willie McArthur, now working in a marketing role for Beam -- producers of the Jim Beam bourbon brand -- said the own-label sellers were unwitting victims of the "runaway" success of Irish whiskey.

"The speed at which sales are growing caught everybody by surprise, including the new owners of Cooley. They have done a full review and the sales people say we may need more whiskey than we actually have.

"We aim to create another Jameson -- we are thinking at that kind of level. We have to make sure we do not run out of whiskey in three years' time," he said, explaining that this potential shortage explained the abrupt nature of the withdrawal.

He added, "We have contracts with a few customers but most, like Lord Henry, would just place orders as required and we cannot accept new orders."

Slane Castle Irish Whiskey was launched in 1999, targeting the premium U.S. market, with Irish prices of €50 a bottle, or about $65 American.

"We were about to sign a large distribution deal in the US when we learned our supplies would be cut off," Mountcharles said.  "I told Beam I regard their actions as anti-competitive. We won't take this lying down and I'm considering whether it could be referred to the Competition Authority."

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U.S.-Brazil pact should boost cachaça sales

Scotch whisky has long been regarded as being made in only one place. Scotland.

That is largely due to the vigilance of the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), a feisty trade group that rigorously monitors the world spirits industry to be sure no one is trying to pass off their wares as "true Scotch whisky" without it being precisely that.

The same cannot be said for many other types of spirits, unlike such things as bourbon and tequila, which have specific government-enacted regulations about their creation.

I was chatting over cocktails the other day with Gavin Hewitt, chief executive of the SWA and a man who knows a thing or three about global trade. He has headed the organization since 2003 and concurrently has been president of the European Spirits Organisation since last November. Before that, he was the British ambassador successively to Croatia, Finland and Belgium, and worked in a number of other diplomatic postings around the world.

Our topic was regulation in the manufacture and quality of various spirits, and cachaça, the distilled sugar cane liquor, was cited as a prominent example, particular with the upcoming visit to the White House of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

Cachaça is the base for the caipirinha cocktail that has so enamored tourists to South America in recent years that they demanded it when they returned home. That demand has been answered in many of the better cocktail lounges and bars throughout the U.S.

In my view, that means those consumers should be able to know the source of the cachaça is held to certain standards in purity and safety rather than being just anything tossed together and put in a pretty bottle. After judging several cane spirit competitions, I can attest to the fact that the latter has been the case too often and that quality has often been wildly erratic. Hewitt concurred.

"We do need some sort of uniformity in quality for such spirits," he said. "I'm not in favor of government or industry over-regulation, but there is the matter of safety and value for the money."

There are as many as 2,000 different names for cachaça in the vernacular, according to one authoritative Brazilian publication. Many cropped up over the years as illicit distillers sought to call their distilled sugar cane something that would not attract the attention of government tax collectors and regulators or even back in the days when the spirit was banned.

Now, the matter of quality seems well on its way to being addressed. In recent days, the U.S. and Brazil have exchanged letters of intent to increase trade in cachaça -- the bulk of which is made in Brazil -- and bourbon and Tennessee whiskey. This was part of President Rousseff's visit and various trade agreements discussed at the time between the two huge nations.

Specifically mentioning cachaça is a major change because since 2000, Brazil has had to label it "Brazilian rum," putting into a much more competitive market niche, because cachaça was not specifically recognized by the U.S.

Under the agreement, the U.S. pledges to recognize cachaça as a distinctive Brazilian product, and Brazil promises similar recognition for bourbon and Tennessee whiskey, each of which has long been manufactured under specific regulations. Inherent in the agreement is that the Brazilian government will be monitoring the quality of the cachaça its distillers export to the U.S. and, presumably, elsewhere.

There are two types of cachaça, unaged (white) and aged (gold). White usually is bottled right after distillation, although some is aged for several months, and usually matures wood barrels for at least three years.

To understand the scope of cachaça in the Brazilian economy, it helps to know that there are an estimated 40,000 distillers making 4,000 different brands of cachaça with total sales $1.1 billion (U.S.) annually, according to the Brazilian Cachaça Institute.

Brazil, the world’s largest sugar exporter, sold $17.28 million worth of cachaça to 60 countries in 2011, mainly to Germany, Portugal, the U.S. and France.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk said in an e-mail, "Cachaça and bourbon and Tennessee whiskey are among the United States’ and Brazil’s most unique and well-recognized products. This exchange of letters represents a very positive development for both of our industries, and reflects our governments’ commitment to stronger bilateral trade ties.”

By definition, bourbon must be made from a mash of at least 51% corn -- although most is made of a much higher percentage, and be aged at least two years in new, charred American white oak barrels. Tennessee whiskey is a bourbon-style spirit that then is filtered through maple charcoal.

The recognition is not yet a done deal. The U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau will publish notice of the proposed change and solicit comment. If it issues a regulation designating cachaça as a distinctive Brazilian product, Brazil then will reciprocate by recognizing the two U.S. whiskeys.

"Brazilians are rapidly acquiring a taste for the finest American whiskeys, and (this) agreement -- when implemented -- will ensure the integrity and authenticity of these world class drinks," said Peter Cressy, president of the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. (DISCUS). "Formal recognition for bourbon and Tennessee whiskey producers is critical because it will ensure that only those products produced in accordance with strict U.S. standards will be permitted for sale in the Brazilian market."

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Knob Creek Rye a winner even before release

The folks at Beam Inc, couldn't have scripted it any better.

As the Clermont, KY, distiller was getting ready to release its new Knob Creek Rye to the market it wins Double Gold and top honors in the "Best Rye Whiskey" category in the well-regarded San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

That wasn't the only honor the distiller took at that competition. Its super-premium Knob Creek Bourbon and Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve each took Double Gold.

The Knob Creek line was created 20 years ago by Booker Noe, grandson of James Beam and sixth-generation master distiller, with a 100 proof bourbon. His son, Fred, now the master distiller, added the Single Barrel Reserve at 120 proof last year.

"We carefully handcraft Knob Creek Rye using a blend of the finest quality rye grains in order to bring our product to life in a way that only Knob Creek can," Fred Noe said. "Being named 'Best Rye Whiskey' proves that the patience and care we put into every bottle is worth the effort."

The new rye, bottled at 100 proof, will be on the market nationally in July, at a suggested retail price of $39.99 for a 750ml bottle.

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Italian wheat vodka expands U.S. market

"Vodka" and "Italy." Not two words that quickly come to mind in the same thought. That, however, may be slightly changed by a new marketing effort.

The maker of Purus Vodka, an organic wheat vodka imported from the Piedmont region of Italy, this month will double the number of U.S. states in which it is available.

Currently, you can find it in Florida, Ohio, Arizona and Missouri. It now is being shipped to stores in Texas, Illinois, North Carolina and New Mexico.

Purus, which made its market debut in 2011, is the flagship brand of an emerging portfolio of super-premium spirits brands owned by Pure Holdings LLC, in Clayton, MO.

Purus is distilled five times from organic wheat grown by a group of Italian artisan farmers. Pure Holdings launched the Purus brand with Grey Eagle Distributors, Missouri Eagle Distributors, and Krey Distributing in Missouri. The company has signed similar agreements in each of the four new states.

The brand received the "Superb (90-95) Highest Recommendation" from Wine Enthusiast magazine's "Top 50 Spirits of 2010," and has been named "Best in Category" and received a gold medal at the Los Angeles International Wine & Spirits competition. Its bottle is 100% recyclable with a tree-free label and soy-based inks, water-based adhesives and a sustainable cork closure.

The suggested retail price for the 750ml bottle is $36.

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Analysis: Craft distilling going nowhere but up

Anyone who has been paying attention knows the craft distillery movement in America is on the upswing. The question is, how far is up?

According to industry figures, there were 254 producing distilleries at the end of 2011, with more scheduled to come on line this year. A market analysis just released by Coppersea Distilling LLC, projects the industry will grow more than 300% over the next decade.

"Should current growth trends continue, the number of U.S. craft distillers will certainly grow to over 1,000," said Michael Kinstlick, CEO of Coppersea Distilling, located in West Park, Ulster County, NY. "Craft distilling is following the lead of the farm winery and craft brewery industries, which have both grown to support thousands of small firms."

To show the continued upward spiking of new firms, there were only a total of 24 in 2000. By contrast 50 new firms opened in 2011 alone.

"The tremendous activity and excitement in craft distilling has been increasing year-by-year," said Bill Owens, president of the American Distilling Institute. "Customers are looking to smaller producers for unique and more authentic spirits. Clearly, American craft distillers are only getting started, and this paper points to how far they can go.”

Frank Coleman, senior vice president of the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. (DISCUS), said, "The rapid growth of craft distilling in the U.S. market in many ways reflects both the recent modernization of the supplier tier and an important grassroots development in the public policy arena. The Council recognized this trend by creating a Craft Distiller Affiliate Membership program, which has grown from 12 founding members to almost 60 in two years. This paper provides important perspective on this fast-moving segment of the spirits industry.”

 Craft distillers operate in 45 states. The complete "white paper" from Coppersea Distilling can be downloaded here.

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Legal update: VA, WV ease spirits laws

Two states have modified their beverage alcohol laws to become more consumer friendly.

In Virginia, Governor Bob McDonnell has signed legislation giving the state beverage control commission authority to expand Sunday alcohol sales into markets statewide, effective July 1.

House Bill 896 passed the House on January 27 and the Senate on February 23.

In neighboring West Virginia, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin has signed legislation allowing consumers to sample up to one total ounce of liquor at distilled spirits outlets during a scheduled event, effective June 8.

The original House Bill 3174 was sponsored by State Rep. Bonnie Brown. It passed the House on February 20 and the Senate on March 10.

"Control states across the country are updating their liquor laws to reflect modern convenience and demand," said DISCUS Vice President David Wojnar, a vice president of the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. (DISCUS).

"We applaud governors Tomblin and McDonnell for working with members of the beverage alcohol community and passing legislation that is good for consumers and good for the state treasury, too."

DISCUS is the trade association representing producers and marketers of distilled spirits sold in the United States.

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Tuthilltown creates 'orchard' gin base

GARDINER, NY -- The craft distiller Tuthilltown Spirits is launching a new gin with a definitely different twist.

The average gin is distilled from some sort of grain then infused with a combination of botanicals. The Ulster County distiller -- the state's first licensed operation since Prohibition -- has, instead, created Half Moon Orchard Gin from a base of wheat and apples. It is believed to be the first New York distillery taking that direction.

Half Moon, named for the ship captained by explorer Henry Hudson when he chanced upon the river that now bears his name, differs from the usual gin making approach by changing the base spirit itself.

Says chief distiller Joel Elder, "We're in the heart of the American apple industry, so it's natural for us to turn to apples to create an original New York gin. Gin has become a battle of the botanicals, with more and more complicated recipes making use of obscure flavors that get lost in the mix. We chose to keep our botanical bill small and focus attention on the base spirit which makes up most of the gin, using the botanicals to complement and enhance the delicate flavors inherent in the base."

The new product is being released regionally this spring, with wider distribution being considered for later in the year.  

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Book review: '99 Pot Stills'

"99 Pot Stills." Photos by Bill Owens & Andrew Faulkner. American Distilling Institute/White Mule Press.

Anyone at all acquainted with the distilling process knows a still when (s)he sees one. But, what they see can differ -- often greatly -- from venue to venue.

From gleaming bronze appliances with soaring graceful swan necks to rinky-dink apparatuses cobbled together in the backyard, a still is a still is a still. In other words, the operational theory remains the same no matter the design and style of the still.

Bill Owens, founder and president of the American Distilling Institute, and Andrew Faulkner put their collection of photos of various stills taken all over the country into this picture book. Even for the experienced distillery visitor, it has some eye-opening pictures. Here are some examples from the collection:

Black Heron Spirits, West Richland, WA.

Tom Cooper, Colorado Gold Distillery, Cedaredge, CO.

David Mahaffey with licensed experimental still.

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Belvedere in the stew over bad ad

Belvedere Vodka's uber-offensive ad -- seen over there ➨ -- not only was a flop in the court of public opinion, it now is landing the company in court to defend against a lawsuit.

What is widely known as the "date rape ad" uses an actress/model's image which she claims Belvedere did not have permission to use.

Alicyn Packard's original image appeared in a still photo from a comedy skit in which she appeared for Strickly Viral Productions.

In a statement, Packard told KTLA television, "To be affiliated with an ad that's so offensive to so many has just been horrible."

Belvedere President Charles Gibb has publicly apologized for the ad, which briefly appeared on Belvedere's Facebook page on March 23, saying it "should never have happened. … The content is contrary to our values and we deeply regret this lapse."

Belvedere also made a donation to RAINN, an anti-sexual-violence organization.  

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2 new specialty vodkas released

A pair of vodka makers has added to their lines, something that has become a regular business activity for virtually all such distillers in the crowded market category.

Blue Ice Vodka today announced the release of Blue Ice G Vodka, a multi-grain recipe that is the third item in its portfolio along with the original Blue Ice Vodka, made from potatoes, and Blue Ice Organic Wheat Vodka.

The new iteration from owner 21st Century Spirits of California is packaged in the familiar raised-glass icicle bottle, but a red signature "G" for grains makes it stand out from its siblings.

Suggested retail price is $15 for the 750ml bottle.

Elsewhere, the Swedish potato vodka maker Karlsson’s has added Batch 2008 Gammel Svensk Röd to its portfolio.

Karlsson’s Gold is distilled from a variety of potatoes harvested on Cape Bjäre, Sweden. This new expression is made from a single strain of potato -- Gammel Svensk Röd, grown in the same region.

Because of the specificity of its base, it carries a higher suggested retail price -- $80 for the 750 ml bottle.

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Cooking up a historic stew in Mount Vernon

Dave Pickerell (left) and Bill Lumsden proofing the distillate.

MOUNT VERNON, VA -- It was a scene that would drive a credentialed chef mad. Four proud master distillers working elbow-to-elbow in the same hands-on operation, seeking to create one historic concoction. It turned out to be anything but too many "cooks" spoiling the stew.

The occasion was a one-off project to make a Scottish-style single malt whiskey in George Washington's re-created distillery on the grounds of his Mount Vernon plantation this week.

"This is surprisingly nuanced so early in the run." ...  "Is it running too hot now?" ... "This would be nice over a cube of ice." ... "Some time in the wood and I think we've got a real winner." ... "Speaking of ice, do we have any? This really needs to be cooled down." ...

The comments tended to overlap one another as the distillers and the regular distillery staff went from one still to another in the line of five that dominates the 1790s-style building that was recreated and opened in the fall of 2006.

Hands briefly grasping the copper still column to check the heat of the evaporated distillate, fingers darting in and out of the stream of clear distillate emerging from a small tube aimed at a collection vessel, tasting, testing, tasting again, suggesting modest changes in the process that would bring out the nuttiness and inherent sweetness and heat of the malted barley used to make the mash.

From left: John Campbell, Bill Lumsden, Andy Cant, Dave Pickerell.

Except for the presence of the Scottish contingent, it was a typical distilling day at Mount Vernon -- well, except for one other thing. The aforementioned barley wasn't local. It had been shipped from Scotland, ground in the ingenious gristmill adjacent to the distillery, and used to start off the process.

This was a first-ever, and it closed a circle at the distillery, where a Scotsman named James Anderson expanded his role of George Washington's farm manager to master distiller after convincing the great statesman to turn his surplus grain into what he referred to as "liquid gold."

The enterprise went on to become the largest distillery in the young nation, and operated even after Washington's death in 1799 -- until it burned to the ground in 1814, becoming forgotten for two centuries, until its foundation was uncovered in a 2000 archaeological dig.

To modern distillers used to working in highly automated, state-of-the-art facilities with their huge, towering stills, this was quite a departure -- a tightly constructed domain of wood and stone and brick and copper, the only such distillery in North America, and perhaps beyond, that is a working model of how it was done in the 18th Century.

"Modern day distilling is all carefully controlled, measured, analyzed and automated," said Dr. Bill Lumsden, master distiller and head of whiskey creation for The Glenmorangie Co. "I am truly thrilled to have the opportunity to lead this project and actually roll up my sleeves and get my hands dirty," an enthusiasm illustrated by the baggy blue coveralls he was sporting.

"As a master distiller, you genuinely learn something new every single day, so I can't wait to supplement my knowledge of making Glenmorangie with something a little bit more old fashioned."

The other Scottish experts were Andy Cant, master distiller and Cardhu Group manager who oversees a number of different distillation products including those that are the heart of the Johnnie Walker blends, and John Campbell, distillery manager at Laphroaig on the island of Islay, a post he got at the tender age of 34 as the first island native to run the distillery since it was built in 1815.

Actor portraying James Anderson peers through the steam.

This was the first visit for any of them to Mount Vernon. They were hosted by the local master distiller, Dave Pickerell, former master distiller for Maker's Mark and now an industry consultant who spends eight months of the year flying around the country to work with his 20 or so client distilleries.  

As Pickerell explained, "This was a particularly challenging opportunity in that we had to invent and build a relatively efficient means of hand-separating the grain solids from the liquid between the mashing and fermenting operations, using items that would have been generally available in the late 1700s. That is a major difference between the whiskey production process in the U.S. and Scotland. In the U.S., we generally tend to leave the grain in during fermentation and distillation."

As I reported after witnessing the first work session of the three-day project, the venture was so successful it produced an especially fine first run from which a 15-gallon cask was filled with the heads of the distillation, to be aged separately from the general run and named the "Director's Cut."

Overall, the goal was to produce 100 bottles of the single malt, to be aged three years as is the Scottish way, in specially constructed casks, then sold around the world to support various charities. The number also is in recognition of the centennial year of the Scotch Whisky Association which supported this project along with the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. (DISCUS).

DISCUS, not so incidentally, spearheaded $2.1 million in distilling industry financial support for the distillery reconstruction and has an ongoing relationship with the Mount Vernon complex.

A distillery worker stokes the still firebox.

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