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Making The Same Thing Every Day.


cowdery

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Micro-distillers seem to be taking one of two paths. The majority, it seems, want to try their hand at as many different distillates and final products as possible, perhaps even going so far as to follow a "never make the same thing twice" philosophy. The other, minority, path is to make the same thing every day, with a devotion to continuing quality improvement of course, but essentially making one product or, perhaps, one product with a small number of variations or expressions.

Garrison Brothers in Texas falls into the second camp. Wyoming Whiskey does as well. Both, it so happens, are making wheated bourbon. Stranahan's falls into this category as well, making malt whiskey. Every day they make the same product and fill barrels with it. Wyoming, which just started to distill in 2009, hasn't sold a drop yet. Garrison and Stranahan's have.

I believe there are others, such as Phil Prichard, who make one product perhaps 95% of the time, but who dabble in a few other things as well.

Off the top of my head, I can't think of anyone else who is following the "make the same thing every day" path, at least where that 'same thing' is whiskey. Who am I missing?

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Micro-distillers seem to be taking one of two paths. The majority, it seems, want to try their hand at as many different distillates and final products as possible, perhaps even going so far as to follow a "never make the same thing twice" philosophy. The other, minority, path is to make the same thing every day, with a devotion to continuing quality improvement of course, but essentially making one product or, perhaps, one product with a small number of variations or expressions.

Garrison Brothers in Texas falls into the second camp. Wyoming Whiskey does as well. Both, it so happens, are making wheated bourbon. Stranahan's falls into this category as well, making malt whiskey. Every day they make the same product and fill barrels with it. Wyoming, which just started to distill in 2009, hasn't sold a drop yet. Garrison and Stranahan's have.

I believe there are others, such as Phil Prichard, who make one product perhaps 95% of the time, but who dabble in a few other things as well.

Off the top of my head, I can't think of anyone else who is following the "make the same thing every day" path, at least where that 'same thing' is whiskey. Who am I missing?

we in washington state have the 51 percent state grown rule . so rum is out and agave spirit. we are parliament distillery and we are still a month from opening . we are planing on making only whisky . cant make rum. cant make an agave spirit. not a big fan of gin and i dont drink vodka. im not going to make somthing that i dont drink myself because it probly wouldn't be up to par.so its just whisky for us. cheers

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Colorado Gold has been making and selling a straight bourbon whiskey, available since April 2010, and corn whiskey for almost 4 years. We make it all the time, but also have to have other things to sell. So we keep a supply of Gin, Vodka, a Grape Brandy and two types of Agave Spirits. You need to have cash flow to make what you really want to make, Bourbon First but you need to keep the doors open. Coop

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Colorado Gold has been making and selling a straight bourbon whiskey, available since April 2010, and corn whiskey for almost 4 years. We make it all the time, but also have to have other things to sell. So we keep a supply of Gin, Vodka, a Grape Brandy and two types of Agave Spirits. You need to have cash flow to make what you really want to make, Bourbon First but you need to keep the doors open. Coop

i hear ya coop.

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Colorado Gold has been making and selling a straight bourbon whiskey, available since April 2010, and corn whiskey for almost 4 years. We make it all the time, but also have to have other things to sell. So we keep a supply of Gin, Vodka, a Grape Brandy and two types of Agave Spirits. You need to have cash flow to make what you really want to make, Bourbon First but you need to keep the doors open. Coop

are you still selling your distillery?

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My feeling is if you have the money and tools to test the water sooner or later your going to find fish (hehe) I crack myself up. I can see pros and cons to both sides of the coin. My feeling is small batch whiskey is more collector friendly. I also understand that volume helps consumers adjust to your new products. The last thing any small distillery needs is empty shelf space. I think this is a balancing act.

if your in the camp that wants to build one thing (GOOD) just remember that innovation is the mother of all new business

If your in the camp that wants to build lots of new spirits (GOOD) just remember that brand recognition is the mother of your bottom line.

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My feeling is if you have the money and tools to test the water sooner or later your going to find fish (hehe) I crack myself up. I can see pros and cons to both sides of the coin. My feeling is small batch whiskey is more collector friendly. I also understand that volume helps consumers adjust to your new products. The last thing any small distillery needs is empty shelf space. I think this is a balancing act.

if your in the camp that wants to build one thing (GOOD) just remember that innovation is the mother of all new business

If your in the camp that wants to build lots of new spirits (GOOD) just remember that brand recognition is the mother of your bottom line.

NICE! i like that Curtis

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It's an interesting topic, I think. There are some distilleries that we think do a great job producing 1-3 products and others we think do a great job producing 12 or more. I've never been so sure which one had the better idea. I think if selling your business is your ultimate goal, then 1-3 is the better target. 12 or more probably gives you the ability to have a better business, at least in the short term. Just my opinion.

We make vodka, gin, white whiskey, and about 5 different aged whiskies. Mostly, we make a wheated bourbon. But we have some variations. I think Curtis has a good point, that having some products out there in limited quantities allow you to "fish" a bit to see if any of them have legs. Of course, as you all know, what has legs now may not have legs by the time your aged product is out.

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The other, minority, path is to make the same thing every day, with a devotion to continuing quality improvement of course...

Cowdery,

You're not implying that every single distiller dedicated to the production of a single product necessarily also has a devotion to "continuing quality improvement" and that the same is somehow not also necessarily true of distillers who have a more diverse product portfolio, right?

To answer your question, at Santa Fe Spirits, the bulk of our production and forecasted sales consists of single malt whiskey. The expected release date for the first expression is mid 2013

Currently, we offer an unaged "pure malt" whiskey called Silver Coyote, and Santa Fe Spirits Apple Brandy. In 2012 we will stagger releases of a Vodka and a Gin.

Whether or not we fit into the "making the same thing every day" category is up to you I suppose. I think that you could stand to clarify your question as well. For whiskies, does making the same thing every day mean:

The brand owner has no other occupation? (e.g. a brand contracted through one of the large producers, but owned and marketed by an individual who dedicates all of his time and energy to that one brand)

The brand is produced on a dedicated still? (e.g. produced at a facility with multiple stills and multiple products, but on a dedicated whiskey still)

The brand is distilled and packaged at a dedicated facility? (e.g. produced by an individual or a large corporation, but at a facility dedicated to the production of just that one single product)

The brand is owned, produced, packaged, and bottled by a single individual, at a single plant, dedicated to the production of a single brand? (I don't know if anyone would fit into this category)

Are you making an allowance for the production of different brands and expressions in your criteria, and if so what ratio of production of flagship vs other products are you looking for, and would this ratio be on a proof gallon basis, a cost basis, a sales basis, or some other basis? (By the time that we sell our first bottle of single malt, I'd estimate that it will represent more than 80% of our historical production on a proof-gallon basis, FYI)

I know you weren't really asking about this, but to go of on a tangent for a bit, I think that one of the reasons that we see so few micros or macros dedicated to the production and sale of a single product is because that is so much more risky than a diverse portfolio. Not to say that it can't be done (especially since it has been done), but most such brands end up eventually being absorbed into larger brand portfolios anyway (as was the case with Stranahan's and most Scotch whisky distillers). Does that mean that they no longer fall into the "making the same thing every day" category? I don't know.

I would assert that the quality of a product has no relation to the number of brands being produced by the brand ownership, production staff, and production facility, and everything to do with the dedication and skill of the ownership and staff, and the effectiveness of the production facility.

I can tell you absolutely that every single product that leaves our dock is of outstanding quality, period. We take our time with recipe development, production, testing, etc, for every product.

Does every single distillery have the same dedication to quality that we do? How should I know. But I personally wouldn't make the assumption that because a distillery produces nothing more than a single product, it therefore necessarily has a "devotion to continuing quality improvement."

Nick

P.S. Another distillery that might fit your bill is Breckenridge Distillery. I believe that the bulk of their production is a bourbon.

P.P.S. You going to the ADI conference this year? I might be bringing some samples of the single malt...

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There are three different brands working off of the DSP that covers our facility. One brand makes the same thing everyday, another makes an aged and unaged whiskey and a vodka, and my company is all over the place experimenting with different whiskies and moonshines. The point is that each of these companies is doing well. I don't know about long term viability for a company that only makes one product, it has to be enjoyable enough to return to or at least have fantastic marketing, and that's what makes this a hard subject to be objective about.

I know I don't want to drink the same thing everyday, why would I want to make it?

Am I at times frustrated with the brand that only makes one product because of their efficiency and orderly schedules? Maybe. Do I at times pull my hair because a new recipe is not cooperating and my mash is irrevocably stuck? I wouldn't admit to it. But opening up a barrel of new make? That's just all right with me.

I'm with Curtis, it's all about finding the balance between keeping the doors and the horizon of your brand product open.

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I absolutely in no way intended any disparagement of either approach, although considering my history here it's understandable that someone might think otherwise. As far as I'm concerned, they're equally valid approaches. All I meant about 'continuous quality improvement' is that for someone who is making one product 90% of the time, they don't get a lot of opportunities to be creative, except with regard to continuous quality improvement, whereas the more experimental distiller has multiple creative outlets. But I'm sure everyone is constantly trying to improve their quality and did not mean to imply anything else.

I'm simply looking for people who are following what seems to be the path less traveled, which is making one product about 90% of the time, or more. That's all. If that prompts a discussion about the relative merits of each approach, so be it, but I'm not going there. I'm just interested in who is making one product either all of the time or virtually (>90%) all of the time.

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We've committed to making the same offering 90%+ of the time. After taking a long look around the field and figuring on the pros/cons of specializing vs. diversifiying, a good bit of inspiration was drawn from the models set forth by Stranahans and Montanya (both colorado based). We've opted to shape our brand around american style whiskey(s) with a creative twist. Our first white whiskey offering (yeah, COLA was a bitch) is a hardly-aged version of the same spirit that is being laid down in 30g barrels.

It's definetely tempting to stetch the portfolio as far as the pot still will allow - and garner greater sales at each account (the first question from a major retail liquor channel when inquiring about taking on our white whiskey was "what else do you have for us?"). We're hoping that the hit we take on limiting our range will pay off in the end via precision branding. If things don't fall into place the way we expect... that's where the agility of a small (micro) distillery comes into play.

P.S. Breckenridge distillery bottles a killer bourbon, but they seem to balence things out with a vodka offering as well. I could be mistaken on the two offerings being ballenced. Regardless, they appear to be crushing it on every front. Inspring stuff from a very cool distillery.

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Breckenridge Distilleries "Killer Bourbon" is in fact a blended bourbon. I think they purchased there bourbon from 4 roses. They have not been in business long enough to be selling there own bourbon yet as was noted in a tastings of Colorado Bourbons in the Indulge in Denver magazine for December/January 2011. Quot "In fairness, and being totally open about the facts, we must disclose that Breckenridge Bourbon's first batch was not completely produced in Colorado like the others. The whiskey was distilled back east and brought to Breckenridge to be blended and bottled". I think that there is only 2 all Colorado bourbons on the market at this time, one from Peachstreet Distillery and my own Colorado Gold Distillery. Coop

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  • 3 months later...

To be Transparent: I am new to this industry and in the planning phase of my own Craft Distillery in northern CO.

That said, I have 15 years of Beverage Marketing in my background infused with time at Coca-Cola and dabbling in the Micro-Brew world. Having owned and operated small businesses in various sectors the two adages that come to mind while reading this string are:

1) You can grow big, or you can grow profitable.

2)The superior man understands what is right; the inferior man understands what will sell.

My plan is to roll out with a blended CO single malt while my own recipe is in the casks, a Gin, and a reposado Tequila/Mescal; keeping a manageable cash-flow model in place while focusing on quality of product and effectiveness of brand positioning. My goal is to develop a distillery that can be passed on, not grown and sold. If I can understand what is 'right' and maintain profitability, the end goal should be attainable: A high quality, well respected and sustainable craft distillery that I can pass on to my children or grand children.

Will these brands evolve and mature as my knowledge and experience develops? Sure.

Will I strive to be all things to the marketplace and to my customers, always looking to profit? Probably not.

Will Quality and Brand development always be in my forefront? Definitely.

So my expectation is that over the first 3-5 years I will offer 3 products to the marketplace, but may end up with 6, 8, 12 "brands" by the time I find the sweet-spot. I still think that is "the same thing every day".

Wood's

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  • 7 months later...

We currently offer just our vodka, but we will have 3-5 or so releases a year (for the foreseeable future) keep the ones that work and retire the ones that aren't a hit. Vodka, gin, brown gin, absinthe, whiskies of all kinds, rum. I will be a busy guy! But we are limited by our batch size too. I think you need a blend of both monotony and spontaneity too. Breweries are a great petri dish for this kind of marketing.

Montana has great diversity in this manner. We have Rough Stock in Bozeman making great whisky, Ridge Distilling making gin and absinthe only, as well as many small players trying to dabble in a little bit of everything (like John up at Headframe Spirits in Butte).

To each their own, and success to all!

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