The Bourbon Shortage Is Here And We Could Be Fucked
There has been much debate over whether or not we are going to have a shortage. I am here to tell you that we are, in fact, entering the bourbon shortage era. Good news for all you Jack Daniel’s drinkers out there : this does not affect you (at least not yet), because as we all know, bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon.
It looks as if our increasing demand has finally caught up with the supply and then some. Buffalo Trace Distillery sent out this email yesterday, confirming the impending doom of bourbon supply:
Last year we warned consumers that a shortage was looming, but many markets across the nation are just now feeling the full effects. Along with increased production, adding more bottling lines and hiring more people, we have also hired a full-time barrel allocation manager, just as we intended last year. Despite the increase in distillation over the past few years, bourbon demand still outpaces supply. Bourbon must be matured in new oak barrels and we age many of our barrels for eight to ten years, and some over two decades. That’s a long time to wait for a bottle of bourbon. Not to mention, with the amount of bourbon lost to evaporation over time, barrels are half empty after ten years. The increase in sales, coupled with the aging process and evaporation loss, leads to a shortage with no end in sight. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we try to catch up!
Buffalo Trace could always do what Maker’s Mark tried to do by watering down its bourbon, but we all remember how well that went. This is a dark, dark day for bourbon drinkers. I’ll save you the boring economics lesson, but basically, prices will rise and you will feel the brunt of it..
[via Business Insider]
Image via Wikimedia Commons
Fuck I’m gonna need to stock up
11 years ago at 2:18 pmGood thing I prefer Rye
11 years ago at 2:44 pmCool. I was wondering what you preferred.
11 years ago at 4:44 pmJust means I might be buying a lot more Old Crow.
11 years ago at 2:46 pmStep back from the ledge, and take another swig from your flask. Long term, this will primarily affect the “trendy” bourbon drinkers, such as the legion of tools who bicker over which Pappy year is superior(I’ve had them all. They’re each good. But, honestly there isn’t much difference between the 23yr and the 10yr, taste-wise, unless you’re an expert). There are a lot of brands of bourbon out there, and price variation is across the map. So, for the consumer who doesn’t want to auction off his kidney for a bottle of swill, there will always be something decent at a reasonable price. I keep a bottle of $15 Weller 7yr on the shelf at any given time, and if I get the hankering for something fancier, I’ll occasionally pony up for a glass or two of the higher priced stuff at a bar. And if you ever want to have some fun at the expense of one of the trendies, do what I do, and keep an old bottle of Pappy 20yr filled with 8 dollar grocery store bourbon. Nothing more gratifying than to hear them rave about how wonderful it is.
11 years ago at 3:00 pmIf you tried any harder you’d pull something
11 years ago at 5:13 pmWasn’t trying to gloat, sport. I just drink a lot of bourbon, and am around the industry though various family members. This so-called bourbon catastrophe is a gimmick created by the industry to inflate prices. Same with the epic Kentucky liquor heist, last year. Most everyone believes it was an inside job, designed to desaturate the market, and build some sort of cultish hype around the product. And if some so-called expert were paid by one of the companies tomorrow to apply unwarranted praise to Old Crow or Cabin Still, magically those two brands would suddenly become the hottest thing since sliced bread. Point is, there is a LOT of great bourbon out there, both pricey and affordable. So, the masses need not freak out, if a few of the trendier choices(as deemed by the manufacturer/distiller) become scarce.
11 years ago at 10:59 pmStop talking. Nobody cares.
11 years ago at 12:42 amGo rape an AIDS patient.
11 years ago at 1:12 pmI’m already scratching my neck like a crackhead. this is not ok.
11 years ago at 3:11 pmThank God for moonshine.
11 years ago at 3:29 pmDistilling is the way to go if you can afford a damn setup.
11 years ago at 4:39 pmAt least this means more durant
11 years ago at 5:04 pmFUCK ME *no more durant
11 years ago at 6:26 pmMost of the reason why this happens is because distilleries allocate a lot of their bourbons overseas. They make more money in other counties. There is even a cask strength Blanton’s they sell in Asian countries other than America. Bourbon has become the more sought after spirit in the world, and slowly becoming the most dominant in the world. Buffalo Trace is also careful about its expansion because it’s a historic landmark. They want to keep it all authentic.
11 years ago at 8:58 pmThis is the biggest load of shit I’ve ever heard.
11 years ago at 9:09 pm