45,000 barrels of Whiskey. GONE!

[makattak]

https://twitchy.com/gregp-3534/2019/07/03/watch-45000-barrels-of-bourbon-destroyed-as-jim-beam-aging-facility-goes-up-in-flames-a/

I was so very distraught at this headline...

And then I saw it was Jim Beam. Well, I'm sure someone will feel the loss.

My only concern is that I'm sure the price of GOOD whiskey will also increase, as people have to drink something other than Jim Beam.

[WLJ]

Was just about to post this.

Yeah, JB isn't exactly the best bourbon around but I've had worse.
All the bourbon manufacturers have been building these warehouses like mad to keep up with demand, China is a huge market now, and you see them everywhere now. They don't too kindly to lightning strikes which is what I bet happened here, there were storms rolling through the area at the time..
  

[BobR]

Last year it was a warehouse collapse and now this, perhaps someone's deity doesn't care for cheap bourbon.

bob

[bedlamite]

The biggest problem with this will be fewer barrels on the secondary market for making good whisky.

[brimic]

It’s a loss to someone...

[WLJ]

45,000 out of 7.5 million barrels of bourbon.


https://kybourbon.com/bourbon_culture-2/key_bourbon_facts/

Production

    Kentucky’s iconic Bourbon distilleries filled a whopping 1.7 million barrels of amber nectar last year, the highest it’s been since 1972.

    Bourbon production has increased more than 115 percent in the last five years with premium small batch and single barrel brands driving the Bourbon renaissance.

    That gives the Commonwealth a total inventory of 8.1 million barrels of Bourbon and other spirits (7.5 million barrels of Bourbon) – that’s the highest inventory in more than 40 years.

    With 4.3 million people, there are now almost two barrels for every person living in Kentucky.

[Hawkmoon]

They don't too kindly to lightning strikes which is what I bet happened here, there were storms rolling through the area at the time..
  

Don't they install lightning protection? I would have thought that would be standard protocol for a facility that stores massive quantities of flammable liquids.

[WLJ]

Don't they install lightning protection? I would have thought that would be standard protocol for a facility that stores massive quantities of flammable liquids.

Never looked into it but you would think so. A few years back they had one go up outside Bardstown due a lightning strike outside Bardstown so maybe Murphy is playing his part.

Here's an example of what these aging warehouses usually look like

[charby]

My only concern is that I'm sure the price of GOOD whiskey will also increase, as people have to drink something other than Jim Beam.

This cracks me up because it wasn't that long ago (less than 20), Jim Beam was considered a premium bourbon. Then the whisky craze happened and same stuff that happened in the beer industry happened to whisky. Pinkies out snobbery.

I've drank Jim Beam regularly since turning 21, Beam and soda please.

[WLJ]

JB is considered to be a Run Of The Mill bourbon here, not bad, not great.
Many people consider Wild Turkey the best bang for the buck.
Though I will admit I don't drink enough of the stuff to say one way or the other.

[makattak]

This cracks me up because it wasn't that long ago (less than 20), Jim Beam was considered a premium bourbon. Then the whisky craze happened and same stuff that happened in the beer industry happened to whisky. Pinkies out snobbery.

I've drank Jim Beam regularly since turning 21, Beam and soda please.

I don't know if it's snobbery or not, but the first time I tried whiskey, it was Jim Beam. After that experience, I assumed I just didn't like whiskey.

Some time later, I tried Maker's Mark and discovered it wasn't whiskey that I disliked.

[BobR]

I don't drink bourbon but I do keep a bottle of Jack Daniels in the cupboard for cooking. Rum on the other hand has been known to get past my lips much more than any other spirits. Lately it has been Rumchata and coffee in the evenings.

bob

[Ben]

To add insult to injury, Scotch is apparently about to be hit by the tariff stuff. Luckily I'm stocked up on Lagavulin. :)

I used to think JD was great whiskey when I was in High School, then I thought Makers Mark was a premium whiskey when I tasted the difference between it and JD. Then I started drinking stuff like Lagavulin and High West, and began to understand what I do not understand. :)

Not that there aren't good cheaper whiskies out there - I recently discovered Sexton Irish Single Malt, which is a great buy at 30 bucks.

I'd never drink JD anymore. I might have Jim Beam or similar in a mixer, but for straight sippin' whiskey for a steak or cigar, or even for a proper Old-Fashioned, I want the good stuff.

[charby]

I don't know if it's snobbery or not, but the first time I tried whiskey, it was Jim Beam. After that experience, I assumed I just didn't like whiskey.

Some time later, I tried Maker's Mark and discovered it wasn't whiskey that I disliked.

Maker's has less oak tanins in their barrels vs Beam.

Beam (and others) uses oak staves in their barrels that has been kiln dried which results in keeping more tannins in the wood. A more bitey whisky.

Maker's uses outdoor air dried oak, this allows the natural elements to remove a lot more tannins in the oak. This produces a sweeter aged whisky.

I really do like Maker's neat to sip on, but in a cocktail I like the more tannin bite.

[makattak]

Maker's has less oak tanins in their barrels vs Beam.

Beam (and others) uses oak staves in their barrels that has been kiln dried which results in keeping more tannins in the wood. A more bitey whisky.

Maker's uses outdoor air dried oak, this allows the natural elements to remove a lot more tannins in the oak. This produces a sweeter aged whisky.

I really do like Maker's neat to sip on, but in a cocktail I like the more tannin bite.

And I just realized I've been confusing Jack Daniels and Jim Beam. I'm not sure if I've had Jim Beam at all; it was Jack Daniels that made me recoil in horror from whiskey. (Ok, turn with disgust, but that's less evocative.)

I hereby retract all the bad things I've said about Jim Beam and shift them to Jack Daniels. Jim Beam may very well be ok.

[charby]

And I just realized I've been confusing Jack Daniels and Jim Beam. I'm not sure if I've had Jim Beam at all; it was Jack Daniels that made me recoil in horror from whiskey. (Ok, turn with disgust, but that's less evocative.)

I hereby retract all the bad things I've said about Jim Beam and shift them to Jack Daniels. Jim Beam may very well be ok.

I have a feeling in you really like Maker's, you probably aren't going to be wowed by Jim Beam.

I'm not a fan of Jack either.

[Fly320s]

This cracks me up because it wasn't that long ago (less than 20), Jim Beam was considered a premium bourbon. Then the whisky craze happened and same stuff that happened in the beer industry happened to whisky. Pinkies out snobbery.

I've drank Jim Beam regularly since turning 21, Beam and soda please.

That craft whiskey is probably from a high-volume factory.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/your-craft-whiskey-is-probably-from-a-factory-distillery-in-indiana

[charby]

That craft whiskey is probably from a high-volume factory.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/your-craft-whiskey-is-probably-from-a-factory-distillery-in-indiana

The known secret of many years.

[brimic]

When I see people drinking or wearing apparel of or decorating their motorcycles with jack daniels- I judge them very hard. To me it looks like an outward badge of being white trash, because the brand has no redeeming values except a square bottle.

[WLJ]

People wait in line for hours and pay stupid money for Pappy Van Winkle, hundreds of dollars per bottles in some cases. Never tried it although I know people who buy bottles of it once in awhile. Last time I saw a retail price on their 23 year it was something like $250 or so per bottle but I've seen people pay over twice that

[Ben]

That craft whiskey is probably from a high-volume factory.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/your-craft-whiskey-is-probably-from-a-factory-distillery-in-indiana

We've talked about that here many times in the past. It still comes down to how they mix and age the base stock. For instance on the High West, their cheapest whiskey, Double Rye, is truly excellent, while one of their highest priced whiskies, Rendezvous Rye, is terrible. To me at least. That's the thing about whiskey - much of it (JD excepted as it's always terrible) is really individual taste. That's why I love smoky, smoky Islay scotch while other people hate the stuff and prefer to drink the Speyside whiskeys, which I don't care for.

[Ben]

People wait in line for hours and pay stupid money for Pappy Van Winkle, hundreds of dollars per bottles in some cases. Never tried it although I know people who buy bottles of it once in awhile. Last time I saw a retail price on their 23 year it was something like $250 or so per bottle but I've seen people pay over twice that

I'd love to try some of that - just a sip - because of all the hype, but not at any of the current prices.

[brimic]

People wait in line for hours and pay stupid money for Pappy Van Winkle, hundreds of dollars per bottles in some cases. Never tried it although I know people who buy bottles of it once in awhile. Last time I saw a retail price on their 23 year it was something like $250 or so per bottle but I've seen people pay over twice that

My sister is some sort of whiskey hipster like that.
last year I was up at her place, and she was really excited because she won some sort of lottery (I think her and her boyfriend paid $10/ticket) where the prize was the opportunity to pay $200+ for a bottle from a small batch of whiskey.

[WLJ]

My sister is some sort of whiskey hipster like that.
last year I was up at her place, and she was really excited because she won some sort of lottery (I think her and her boyfriend paid $10/ticket) where the prize was the opportunity to pay $200+ for a bottle from a small batch of whiskey.

They do the same for Pappy Van Winkle

[WLJ]

I've never seen anyone pay that much but I can't say I'm surprised. Maybe after it leaves Kentucky the price shoots up.

A line of tents snakes in front of a boxy Alabama liquor store. It’s early November, just after dawn, and the tents and tarps are covered in rain, but space heaters hum at the ever-faithful’s feet. If the weather is a torment, then so is the wait. All these people want is a little brown liquid; a few milliliters of bourbon.

It’s a Sisyphean task, all this queuing and waiting. The chance that even one of these people will lay their hands on the liquid gold that is Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve bourbon is so minute they’d have a better shot at winning a Powerball. Hell, stores in some states have resorted to a lottery just to decide who gets to buy a bottle during the once-yearly release. And, by the time the bourbon does reach consumers, the recommended retail price of $50 to $250 has gone up  $700 to $3,000.

Why Pappy Van Winkle Is So Damn Expensiv
https://www.thrillist.com/drink/nation/the-real-reason-why-pappy-van-winkle-is-so-expensive