As my wife and I recently watched the Ken Burns documentary, “Prohibition,” its rise, rule and fall, all of these current messes, while not wholly analogous to problems created by that 13-year disaster, made sense.
Knowing what you now know about these events, are you having a, “Who’da thunk it?” moment? Twenty years ago, as American whiskey was rising from its three-decade slumber, no one would have predicted that bourbon or rye would be at the center of scandals, store raids and lawsuits.īut then again, it was likely inevitable. The lawsuit claims Washtucky lost out on $21.7 million in profits (before storage and transfer costs), which is some serious skrilla. But in the lawsuit, Washtucky claims the relationship with WTD broke down and that WTD unlawfully cancelled the contract, leaving it 12,500 barrels short of what was promised. According to in Louisville, Ky., in 2020, Washtucky and WTD signed a contract for 40,000 barrels of whiskey over four years, and sometime later, an additional 13,500 barrels were added to the deal.Instead, the investors sell it to companies who buy it by the barrel, bottle it and sell it at retail. Such investors pay distilleries to make, barrel and age their whiskey, but they don’t typically take possession of those goods. What’s a hedge fund doing buying barrels of whiskey, you ask? In the last several years, aging whiskey stocks have become attractive alternative investments for moneyed groups and private investors.Washtucky suing Wilderness Trail Distillery (WTD): Washtucky, which is part of Freestone Capital Management, a Seattle-based hedge fund, is suing Wilderness Trail Distillery in Danville, Ky., for not delivering 12,500 barrels of whiskey it distilled, aged and promised to the fund.“Some are flat-out flagrant about it, so I’m surprised more aren’t in trouble.” One comment I’ve heard recently is, “I know lots of retailers who are doing the very same things,” one reporter friend said.whether any outcome will discourage others from opening a vintage spirits business. what, if any, lasting impacts will change how JHOB operates, and 3. how vintage spirits laws are written and could be upheld, 2. The details are too numerous to list here, but it’s safe to call this a case study in 1.In January, both of its stores were raided, as was its Washington, D.C., online store HQ, Numerous bottles were confiscated from all three locations, but all locations remain licensed and in operation. Now, the Kentucky Alcoholic Beverage Control is accusing the business of improper acquisition, possession, transport and sale of whiskey, including vintage spirits. Raids at Justins’ House of Bourbon (JHOB): This two-unit retail chain in Kentucky was a trailblazer when it opened its Lexington, Ky., shop and began buying and selling vintage spirits a few years ago.So far, only Steve Marks, the Commission’s executive director, has resigned. Apparently, this has gone on for years, and Oregon Gov.According to “The Oregonian” newspaper, a half dozen agency managers-including its executive director-were implicated and reprimanded (whatever that means for ANY government official anywhere). These folks took the pick of the litter before such bottles ever made it to retailers. Commissioners of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) are in hot water for holding back bottles of highly allocated bourbons for their own consumption.In case you don’t know, the stories I’m referring to are these:
But people relate to it more nowadays because they know the product involved.” I’m not surprised it’s happening in whiskey. A reporter friend summarized it nicely: “Ahh, that kind of stuff happens everywhere. Yet I’m more fascinated by the lack of surprise that anything illegitimate is happening here.
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