Thursday, March 27, 2008

News...

Hello all...

Just a few quick things...

Our next meeting will be on Saturday May 3rd at 7:30. We will be tasting blended scotches as well as eating some fantastic Mexican food that my mom is making - yum!

As usual please bring $5 to chip in for food. Also, if you have a bottle of blended scotch that you would like to bring, please let me know by April 18th so we can prepare the tasting notes.

I've found a great whiskey blog written by the editor of the magazine Malt Advocate, John Hansell, I encourage you to check it out - What Does John Know?

Speaking of Malt Advocate, their annual WhiskyFest is coming to San Francisco on October 10th. You can order tickets at Malt Adovocate's website.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Web is 'fakers' paradise' for whisky crooks

Source: The Scotsman
March 15th, 2008
It's A dangerous combination of the mob, money and single malt.

The Italian mafia is targeting the rapidly growing fake antique whisky market by selling counterfeit bottles for thousands of pounds online. The industry has tried to clamp down on bogus bottles being sold in auction houses. But experts now claim the trade has now moved to the internet - which has been described as a "faker's paradise". Unwitting collectors are being fleeced after discovering the whisky they have bought is little more than modern-day spirits poured into old bottles.

Whisky enthusiast Serge Valentin has launched a website exposing the dubious trade after paying a "substantial" sum for a bottle of vintage whisky that turned out be a sophisticated forgery. The Frenchman said the scam had been driven underground and online. He said: "Internet auction sites like eBay have become a faker's paradise. You can buy old bottles, old labels, capsules and display boxes. "There is nothing illegal about this, but obviously it can be misused by unscrupulous individuals."

Valentin said fake vintage whiskies online ranged from the downright crude to sophisticated forgeries. "Labels can be laser copied, tax stamps produced and stains can be added. All that is needed is an empty bottle." His website, whiskyfun - features a rogue's gallery of dubious bottles.

Whisky writer Dave Broom says the fake whiskies may have been put on the market by organised criminals from Italy. "When anything becomes collectable, whether it is paintings or whisky, the forgers will move in," he said. The bottles usually come from distilleries such as Bowmore, Macallan and Highland Park, he said. "If an offer seems too good to be true then it will be exactly that. But I know of a number of collectors who have been duped by forgers."

Whisky merchant Sukhinder Singh, director of the London-based Whisky Exchange, said: "There have been some classic cases when an empty bottle is sold on eBay. Four weeks later it will appear for sale again, this time filled with whisky. "I'm seeing vintages being offered for sale that I have never seen in more than 20 years in the trade. "I'm seeing bottles dating back to 1941, '42 and '43. I have never ever seen them before and, believe me, I have tried hard. If you are in any doubt you should do a bit of research and contact the distilleries directly for advice."

Dominic Roskrow, consultant editor of Whisky Magazine, believes the trade has been fuelled by the rising financial clout of tycoons from the former Soviet Union. "I understand the new Highland Park 40-year-old is retailing for just under £10,000 and the Russians are more than willing to pay it," he said. Last year an anonymous Russian collector set a new world record when he bought a bottle of vintage Bowmore single malt for £29,400. The Mutter Bowmore was sold on the basis that it dated back to 1853, but this has been disputed by a number of whisky experts. Carbon dating has failed to resolve the controversy, although Glasgow auction house McTears, which sold it, insists it is completely satisfied that its provenance is genuine.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Jack Daniel's Master Distiller to Retire

Source: AP

By BRUCE SCHREINER

For lovers of Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey, Jimmy Bedford has the dream job. As the brand's sixth master distiller, Bedford is responsible for making the world-famous whiskey at the Jack Daniel Distillery, which was registered in 1866.

He's been featured as the face behind the product in advertising. And he's traveled from the tiny Tennessee town of Lynchburg around the world to promote the brand. In recent years, Bedford took on the added role as a global ambassador for the brand, traveling to every state as well as 40 countries to promote Jack Daniel's.

Once he's retired, Bedford won't be far away. His farm is about two miles from the distillery. Soon the role of maintaining the whiskey's consistent taste will fall to someone else. Even while sticking with tradition, that doesn't mean there won't be a few tweaks by his successor. "The master distiller prior to me didn't do some of the things I'm doing," he said. "Maybe the next person's not going to do exactly the same things I'm doing."

On Tuesday, the 68-year-old Bedford said he'll retire effective March 31 after working 40 years at the distillery, including the last 20 as master distiller. "It's been 40 enjoyable years for me," Bedford said by phone in his deep baritone voice, as smooth as the whiskey he makes. "Being part in making a product that's shipped around the world, I've had a lot of satisfaction in doing that." The job is important for Louisville-based liquor producer Brown-Forman Corp. Jack Daniel's is the company's flagship brand, with yearly worldwide sales surpassing 9 million cases. "We're going to miss Jimmy here in the hollow and around the world," said Tommy Beam, the distillery's senior vice president and general manager. "We thank him and wish him the best."

Brown-Forman spokesman Phil Lynch said the company has been preparing for Bedford's retirement for several years, including training potential successors. He said the company will announce a successor soon. F. Paul Pacult, editor of Spirit Journal, said Bedford represents the best of American distilling. "He's been a creative, insightful force; a stickler for quality; and a fine, thoughtful gentleman to boot," Pacult said. "The success of Jack Daniel's has not been a surprise to the people who know Jimmy and his high standards of excellence."

Bedford grew up on a farm near the Jack Daniel Distillery and worked there as part of the construction crew during his high school and college days. He thought about becoming a veterinarian but was talked into coming back home to work at the distillery. He eventually went to work full time in 1968 as a supervisor-trainee under the tutelage of master distiller Frank Bobo. The trainee designation soon was dropped, and the supervisory role gave him a broad knowledge of the distilling process. "Back at that time, being a supervisor just didn't mean that much," he said. "I worked with my hands, ran the still, helped in the yeast room, helped in the mash room รข?" whatever had to be done."

When Bobo retired, Bedford was promoted to master distiller in 1988. He oversees the entire whiskey-making process of milling, yeasting, fermentation, distillation, charcoal mellowing and maturation. As the brand's ads long proclaimed, Jack Daniel's isn't ready for bottling until Bedford says it is.

Bedford has overseen a dramatic surge in production as the brand's popularity soared. When Bedford started 40 years ago, Jack Daniel's sales totaled fewer than 800,000 cases. Sales had reached 4 million cases when he took over as master distiller. Last year, sales exceeded 9.3 million cases and Brown-Forman predicts sales will approach 10 million cases in 2008. The brand is now sold in 135 countries. But some things haven't changed through the years. "We still use the same grain formula, the same process," Bedford said.