Just another example of white whiskey climbing the ranks as a viable product: Chuck Cowdery made a small post about the the delay of Beam's Jacob's Ghost which I believe highlights an interesting trend. Since micro-distilling has jumped on the scene, most have not known what to make of many of these young and unaged spirits flooding (or more of a trickle) into the market. Is it a viable product, even within a niche market? Will it only be something bartenders latch onto? Or is it something that will disappear once many of the current craft distillers release extensively aged products? I think Jacob's Ghost is a possible clue into the turning market. Tuthilltown, as one of the first major players in the craft distilling industry, has been putting out partially aged products for some time now. And without getting into the small barrel debate, we see there is more of an appeal for products that are partially aged, to take some of the green-ness out. Jacob's ghost is doing something on a large scale and it appears they are putting a bit more thought into it than Jack Daniels with the release of their unaged white whiskey. Aged in barrels for one year, the products, though "still raw, [is] much milder than the white dog, with significant amounts of corn body and barrel sweetness." This is a product almost entirely produced for the bartender and at $22.00 per bottle, compared with Jack Daniels ridiculously high price tag, this is nothing to dismiss. Something we have rarely seen and something which might be a turning point in understanding the place of young whiskey.
Photo from guyism.com.
Richnimrod says; Aged for only a year?... And still getting way over $20 a bottle?
ReplyDeletePuhleeeeze! Where does that leave a decent, large-volume, lower-shelf offering that's been appropriately aged? Something like Four Roses Yellow label for instance. Will we suddenly see all these offerings jump up by 10 bux?
Yes, the price is a problem, but only a bit. Once the barrels are used, they can't use them for bourbon, so they either sell them or they have to find some other project. Also, this is not produced on a scale as their other spirits, which means there is a degree of scarcity. Yes, Four Roses is a deal, but to compare the two on the same plain is hard. If you're wanting an aged bourbon, Four Roses could be the one, but the uses and flavor profiles are way too different to actually compare them on one level. At 22 a bottle I can hardly complain - but your point is a pertinent one.
DeleteHow much do you pay for a bottle of vodka? Try not to judge the product until you taste it, you are going to get an eye opener because what you expect will not be what you taste. The versatility of this product is only limited by narrow minds.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say this 'White Whiskey' isn't versatile. I WOULD, however still say it's overpriced. Any distillery that can put product in an already-paid-for-barrel, then age it for only a year, followed by some filtering, before mass-marketing it at a price far exceeding their four-year-aged product made from the same juice is doing very well indeed financially!
DeleteTrue true. But also, know that for a product to be economically viable, if produced on a smaller scale, it needs to be sold at a higher price. This is a niche product and thus will not be simply filling their pockets. And again, it should be a bit cheaper.
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