Your "craft whiskey" was made in a giant factory in Indiana

[Balog]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/07/28/your-craft-whiskey-is-probably-from-a-factory-distillery-in-indiana.html

If this is true (and I would bet it is, given that they name names) then these people should be in jail for fraud.

[charby]

This has been know for several years. If you are a small distiller and can't keep up with demand, so you have a large distiller contract your product, then you age it back at your place.

[MillCreek]

Wow.  I have heard of contract beer brewing, in which large breweries brew to a particular recipe for the end customer.  But not using the same recipe for several different brands.

[Balog]

This has been know for several years. If you are a small distiller and can't keep up with demand, so you have a large distiller contract your product, then you age it back at your place.

Not at all what the article is about. This is not contract distilling, it is buying another co's product made to their generic recipe and then passing it off as their own. And (as was pointed out in the article) it's hard for a 1 year old distillery to have contracted and aged 15 y/o rye.

[TommyGunn]

Not at all what the article is about. This is not contract distilling, it is buying another co's product made to their generic recipe and then passing it off as their own. And (as was pointed out in the article) it's hard for a 1 year old distillery to have contracted and aged 15 y/o rye.

It could happen, if they have a time machine.

[mtnbkr]

This passage shows just how little the source distillery matters and how much the treatment after affects the outcome:

Bulleit Rye properly discloses on its back label, the whiskey in the bottle comes from Lawrenceburg, Indiana.

Some of those bottling and branding MGP whiskey make an effort to give the juice some sort of finishing touch to make their product distinctive. George Dickel Rye starts with MGP whiskey but charcoal-filters it before bottling.

I've had Bulleit Rye and currently have a bottle of Dickel Rye at home.

Bulleit is quite good.  Dickel is only drinkable when mixed (and barely then).

Chris

[RevDisk]

That is pretty deceptive marketing. I'm not a whiskey drinker, but still. That is one area that I think the US government does have a legitimate role in economic regulation. Intentionally conducting material misinformation to consumers about your product isn't a legitimate business practice.

[Balog]

This passage shows just how little the source distillery matters and how much the treatment after affects the outcome:

I've had Bulleit Rye and currently have a bottle of Dickel Rye at home.

Bulleit is quite good.  Dickel is only drinkable when mixed (and barely then).

Chris

Except many of the secondary distilleries only "treatment" is adding their labels to the bottle.

[mtnbkr]

Except many of the secondary distilleries only "treatment" is adding their labels to the bottle.

Obviously.  Point is, buy based on price and flavor, not where it comes from.  The two MGP Ryes I have experience with are quite different from each other.  Which one is typical of an MGP rye, I dunno, but there were obvious differences in flavor (Dickel was harsh) that were noticed before I knew they both had the same source.

I've tried 7 Ryes in the last year.  Of those, 1-2 could be called "craft".  One of those, from a local distillery, won't be purchased again (was ok, but more expensive than better, yet more "corporate", ryes).  The other will be stocked up as I can find it (not available in VA yet and kind of pricey).  I doubt I could tell you where any of my whiskeys come from (except for the local one where the name was a strong hint), I buy based on what I've read, been told by friends, or simple curiosity.

Chris

[French G.]

A possible explanation why the Bulleit bourbon I picked up to have some mid-grade stuff around to keep people out of my good stuff tastes like crap. I've done a ton of winery tours from a media point of view. Plenty of all hat and no cattle types there that have extensive marketing about terrior and such crap and then have only 5 acres of grapes along the front drive. 

[Ben]

A possible explanation why the Bulleit bourbon I picked up to have some mid-grade stuff around to keep people out of my good stuff tastes like crap. I've done a ton of winery tours from a media point of view. Plenty of all hat and no cattle types there that have extensive marketing about terrior and such crap and then have only 5 acres of grapes along the front drive.  

The green or the orange label? The orange label is mixed with bourbon, and I like that one a bit better than the green label. I like Bulleit for stuff like mixing in old-fashioneds, but have several ryes I prefer to drink neat. Most all of the High West whiskeys being at the top of my list. I'd be interested to see where their's comes from -  I wish there was a full list.

I just picked up Whistlepig (on the list) for the first time last month, and really like it, regardless of where it comes from. I do think they should all do "truth in labeling" though, especially given the price of some of the very high end stuff.

[charby]

Plenty of all hat and no cattle types there that have extensive marketing about terrior and such crap and then have only 5 acres of grapes along the front drive. 

Wineries where I live a very open about how they have to purchase grapes and concentrates to make wine to supplement their few acres of grapes.

[mtnbkr]

Kind of related:
http://www.gq.com/life/food/201311/bourbon-whiskey-family-tree

Chris

[brimic]

Wineries where I live a very open about how they have to purchase grapes and concentrates to make wine to supplement their few acres of grapes.

They have to be, by law.
The BATFE has mapped out locations where grapes grown can be labeled as a certain type of wine. Example: A grape grower in WI cannot call their wine a Cabernet, if the the only growing regions for that particular grape are in California, unless they obtain the juice/grapes/skins etc from the correct area in California, regardless of how similar the grape grown in WI is to the california varietal.

[RevDisk]

Wineries where I live a very open about how they have to purchase grapes and concentrates to make wine to supplement their few acres of grapes.

*shrug*

Virtually all wineries over 2 or 3 acres have to mix their wine to achieve consistency and desired results. More than that, and you're going to have some degree of variance in soil conditions, weather conditions, environmental conditions, etc. So folks pay a lot of money for a professional to mix and match batches. And some folks buy either concentrate or actual bulk wine to mix with their own stuff.

[Brad Johnson]

No big surpise.  It's a food-production staple.  A few large factories nationwide produce and package foodstuffs or foodstuff bases for hundreds of corporate entities and private labels, some of which are sold as super-premium brand exclusive items.

Brad

[zahc]

So, where can I buy the factory made commodity whiskey itself? Perhaps in plain bottles with white labels that say "whiskey"?

[Brad Johnson]

So, where can I buy the factory made commodity whiskey itself? Perhaps in plain bottles with white labels that say "whiskey"?

Except it's labeled "vodka".

Neutral grain spirit (raw ethanol) is used in a lot of liquor production.  Ship it in, age it, bottle and sell it.  Most liqueurs are made with it, too.  Several premium vodka makers here in Texas bring it in as their base and run it through their particular distillation process.  Cheapo vodkas do little more than cut the raw spirit with water and slap on a label.

Then there is Everclear.  Straight neutral grain spirits.  Pure headache in a bottle.

Brad

[mtnbkr]

FWIW, there are "whiskey" and "gin" kits out there where you get the stuff (charred barrel for whiskey, adulterants for gin, etc) to "make your own" with neutral grain spirits.

Everclear is good for making new and interesting beverages.  I used some to make a blackberry hootch that was wonderful (not only to my palate, but to a coworker's).  I soaked blackberries in a couple quarts, muddling the blackberries in the liquor.  After a few weeks of that, I filtered the solids out, then added about half a cup of simple syrup and a cup of distilled water.  Dayum.  Packed a kick, but had a great flavor. 

Next time, I'm going to soak blueberries.

Chris

[charby]

So, where can I buy the factory made commodity whiskey itself? Perhaps in plain bottles with white labels that say "whiskey"?

Remember you are going to pay $27 fed tax per gallon of 100 proof alcohol.
http://www.ttb.gov/tax_audit/atftaxes.shtml

[mtnbkr]

Remember you are going to pay $27 fed tax per gallon of 100 proof alcohol.
http://www.ttb.gov/tax_audit/atftaxes.shtml

When I was in TN last year, I bought 2L of 190proof neutral grain spirits (similar to Everclear) for about $36.

Chris

[Ben]

I wonder how many of these are made in the Indiana factory? 

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/07/29/pricey-pour-worlds-most-expensive-scotches/?intcmp=features

[Brad Johnson]

I wonder how many of these are made in the Indiana factory? 

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/07/29/pricey-pour-worlds-most-expensive-scotches/?intcmp=features

Trying to be sneaky, are we... 

Brad

[charby]

I wonder how many of these are made in the Indiana factory? 

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2014/07/29/pricey-pour-worlds-most-expensive-scotches/?intcmp=features

smart ass

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotch_Whisky_Regulations_2009

[TechMan]

Never knew...Driven buy it multiple times.