Ah, the times, they are a changing. Diageo has relaunched TheBar.com, and instead of focusing on high end cocktails and flashy Webitude, they’re rolling toward the economical home bar. It turns out people are drinking in bars less thanks to the recession, in the parlance of our time. Diageo’s new website reflects that, with Bar Basics for home bartending tips, Barnomics for figuring out how many drinks you can mix per bottle, and information on pre-made cocktail mixes.

From:

http://www.liquorsnob.com/archives/2009/06/diageo_resets_the_bar.php

Ask Brian Duax about Iowa’s best-known, least-available whiskey, and one of the first phrases to spout from his lips is “a pain in the ass.”

Duax, co-owner of Central City Liquors in Des Moines, said he gets an average of 30 to 35 phone calls a day inquiring about Templeton Rye, a three-year-old whiskey brand made from a Prohibition-era recipe developed by moonshining Iowa farmers. The calls come from regular retail customers and from the roughly 300 bars and restaurants that Central City supplies through its wholesale license.
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Duax’s answer for most of this year has been the same: No, he doesn’t have any. Nor, usually, do Duax’s competitors.

For some, that’s starting to get annoying.

“When none of us have enough Templeton to supply to any of our customers, a lot of my bars are just saying, ‘Screw ‘em, Templeton is going to die,’ ” Duax said. “It’s not dying. But it could, and I think, it probably will, if they don’t get some Templeton here.”
Made in Iowa

Short supplies and long demand landed the makers of Templeton Rye in their second round of shortages since the prize-wining brand launched. The whiskey is based on a recipe lauded by the 1920s Chicago gangsters who purchased it during Prohibition. The rye was produced legally for the first time after distillery president Scott Bush persuaded Templeton, Ia., old-timers to share a mostly quiet part of their past.

The initial batch of Templeton Rye, produced by third parties outside Iowa, sold out less than four months after its 2006 launch and was followed by eight months with no whiskey on retail shelves. The company expanded production and moved into Illinois bars and restaurants the following year, then ramped up again with an expansion at its Templeton, Ia., distillery in 2008.

Bush said Iowa consumers still receive 70 percent to 80 percent of every drop Templeton Rye produces. It’s simply not enough.

Faced with shortages again in 2009, Templeton makers decided to ration Iowa shipments, based on a schedule that for most of the year will supply 400 to 500 cases a month for the entire state. Additional rationing by Iowa’s Alcoholic Beverages Division means whiskey distributors for much of the year have been able to purchase no more than one six-bottle case of Templeton Rye per week. But the state’s supply usually runs out before most distributors place their third order of the month.
Short supply frustrates maker

Lynn Walding, head of the state liquor agency, said Bush could have raised prices to choke back demand but chose not to. A bottle retails for $36-$40. The state’s one-case-per-week move is simply to spread the whiskey among as many outlets as possible.

“The bottom line is there’s no way to make everyone happy,” Walding said. “The reality is that most retailers can turn that product very quickly, so you’re essentially giving them cash.”

Bush concedes the frustration and says his company underestimated demand – an easy thing to do considering that each batch of “the good stuff” must age for four years before it’s sent to market.

“Very simply put, we’re still a small company,” Bush said. “When we started this company, we were an extremely small company. … The biggest annoyance for us is that retailers and bartenders, who we consider our best customers and who are going to help us grow this brand in the future, are frustrated.”

A big batch now in the pipeline will quintuple supply and should alleviate most shortages, Bush said. But that’s not scheduled to be ready until fall 2010.

“What we’re telling people is, ‘Look, we’re not going anywhere. And we hope that very soon the inventory situation, for Iowa at least, will be relieved,’ ” Bush said. “Until then, we’re asking for some patience.”
Customers mostly patient

Patience seems to be thinning in some quarters but getting mixed with perseverance in others.

Nevres Sehic, manager of Ingersoll Wine and Spirits, said his Templeton Rye waiting list usually runs 30 names. Most customers happily wait six weeks or so before they get their chance at a bottle, Sehic said. Not one person has ever turned it down when he’s called.

At the Jordan Creek Parkway Hy-Vee in West Des Moines, liquor department manager John Weber said he doesn’t keep a list. Well-studied customers have learned to be on hand when the whiskey shipment arrives on Wednesday mornings. “I don’t even put it on the shelf anymore, because within a half-hour of it coming in, I’ll have five or six people ask about it, and they get it,” Weber said. “Occasionally, it’s made it to noon.”

Walding said demand has been further fueled by Templeton Rye’s marketing efforts – the company created a barbecue sauce largely so it could have something to sell at the downtown Des Moines farmers market – but Bush balks at suggestions he’s over-hyping a product the company can’t deliver.

Among other things, farmers market appearances give Templeton Rye makers a chance to talk to people and explain production issues, Bush said.

“If it’s frustrating for other people, take that times-10 is how I feel,” he said. “Every day, I wake up and we don’t have enough product is a day I’m not allowed to grow this company” the way I want to.
Will demand remain?

Duax, who calls Templeton Rye “the hottest product I’ve ever seen come through the state of Iowa,” estimates he could sell 50 cases a month if he had them.

He and others warn not to overestimate consumer interest.

“I would be a little nervous if I was with Templeton only because people eventually do move on,” said Weber of Hy-Vee. “By the time they catch up with demand, there may not be demand.”

“I think it’s borderline,” about whether demand can wait until October 2010. “If it was much longer than that, they might have a problem.”

From:

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090628/BUSINESS/906280325

So if you have been following my Twitter feed you know about the current state of the stock on Knob Creek.

If you haven’t been reading it here is more info on what happened with Knob Creek.
When I checked my email today I saw an email from Knob Creek with the subject of: “Thanks for nothing” and below is the content of that email.

Dear Stillhouse Member,

Because you’re such a dedicated friend and loyal consumer of Knob Creek® Bourbon, we wanted you to be the first to know about some big news here at the distillery. For the first time ever, we’ve actually run out of Knob Creek.

Because you and your fellow Stillhouse members have done such a great job sharing your love of Knob Creek and spreading the word far and wide, consumer demand for our bourbon has finally outstripped our current supply. And we’ve got nothing left to bottle until November. So, from the bottom of our hearts, thanks for nothing.

Of course, we could bottle the next batch a little early to make up for the shortage, but we believe Knob Creek must be aged a full 9 years in order to reach its true potential. So we’re just going to wait it out. If you happen to experience a shortage where you live, just remember that everything will be back to normal this November.

We’ll be in touch soon. And again, thanks for nothing.

Cheers!
Your friends at The Knob Creek Stillhouse

OK so this story have been a long time coming. This is my first story for the re-launch of Whiskychat.com
One of the main things that got me back on track with this site is, of all things, Twitter. I would have never believed it but there is any amazing Whisk(e)y / Bourbon niche on Twitter that happily took me in with open arms to join with them and talk about our love for all things Whisk(e)y.
So where do the Whisky Stones come in, your wondering? Well one of the first people I had some interaction with on Twitter was Mr. Andrew Hellman who goes by WhiskyDaze. From his Twitter profile I found my way to Teroforma and a very interesting product called Whisky Stones.

I soon become very interested in what these stones can bring to my whisky drinking experience. To give you a little information on what Whisky Stones are & what they do, here is a quote from the Teroforma website.

“More mellow than ice, our natural soapstone Whisky Stones™ will cool your next dram just enough to take the edge off without diluting its perfectly balanced flavors. Milled exclusively for Teroforma in Vermont by some of the oldest soapstone workshops in the US, simply chill the stones in the freezer, add 3 or so to your glass of spirits, let stand for 5 minutes and enjoy!”

So you see you take the neat little soapstone “cubes” chill them then add them to your dram of choice to give it a bit of a chill without diluting your drink with ice that would melt. Personally, I immediately thought ‘Wow – that is genius’ and that I really have to get some as I think it is something definitely worth giving a try. Well no sooner am I thinking that I ‘need’ these, the awesome folks over at Teroforma ship me over a set of samples to put through their paces.
So, now comes the hard part – what to choose as the first drink to try with the stones. I spent a good day or two thinking about this a bit, as normally I drink most of my whisky ‘neat’, I had to put a little thought into the right choice. Then it hit me .. now some of my Whisky tweeps (that’s my whisky friends on twitter) might not totally agree, as Canadian Whisky doesn’t get a lot of discussion, I have a Canadian Whisky that is truly one of my favorites and it is definitely a ‘sipper’ that would surly benefit from the chill of the Whisky Stones without the drawback of the ice dilution. My choice was a nice couple finger pour of Crown Royal Cask No. 16 an amazing product of the Crown Royal line.
So after chilling the Whisky Stones for a good day whilst I decided on the right whisky, I sat down for a nice glass of Cask No. 16 with a couple Whisky Stones. I put three of the stones in the glass and the made the pour of the whisky. I let it sit for a spell while choosing something to accompany me and my dram on TV. Next was to sit back and relax and see what the drink was like.
Well .. I absolutely loved it .. the Whisky Stones had brought a mellow chill to the glass that opened up the Whisky just right, but that’s only the beginning. As I mentioned I love to just sip the Cask No. 16 and let it keep me company for a while. What the Whisky Stones did was provide the ability to maintain just that mellow chill while not altering the composition of the whisky & allowed for the glass to be enjoyed over a period of time without having to worry if the dram was getting to watered down. I have to say that for my first run with the Whisky Stones I have to give them a major thumbs up.
Now my conclusion is not always shared by everyone, some people think its just a gimmick, some don’t care for the look of the stones in the glass, or the ‘thought’ of the stones in the glass. Some whisky ‘purest’ totally dismiss the idea of something like the Whisky Stones, but really, how many of us are purest and how many of us are just whisky lovers or enthusiasts?
I know that I enjoy whisky and drinking whisky and that if something like Whisky Stones can make that even more enjoyable for me then I say I am all for it.