Brett VanderKamp (New Holland Distilling) shows of his "new" still. It had has been stored in a garage in New Jersey for almost 50 years.
Plans are to build a new production facility and produce 10,000 cases of whiskey a year.
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Ansley:

Just read your op-ed to Bill Owens and as I told him when I asked for your e-mail, in all my years of screaming about the stupidity of those few greedy folk who wanted direct shipping, yours is the most lucid and "from the front lines" piece I've read. The last straw for me here in NY came when a coalition of retailers in the upstate vine growing area formed a coalition to fight for direct shipping on the grounds that it would help them sell more of their wines "in California at least" and gain them wider distribution. I wished them well and laughed my way to sleep before I started crying about their ignorance of reality.

Naturally, as Senior Editor of the Beverage Media Group what I say is suspect because our magazines carry distributor price lists where required by state laws.Of course we would want the distributor tier to prosper. However, I believe, as you do, that when you have a system that's worked so well for more that 70 years and has become a model for the rest of the world -- why screw around with it.

Second, the illusion of how much good would come from shipping directly to someone's home would be proven to be about as real as the dot.com stock boom.

But the idiots continue blindly on their merry way.

I'm going to see if I can get our publisher Bill Slone to agree to accept an article on this using your material as a base with full credit to you.I don't know when it will come about but I'm pretty sure it will happen.

In the meantime, while I know your questions were rhetorical but I'll answer them any way based on a thorough investigation into who's behind this effort, why it won't work, and a lot of years in the business at various levels of communication and marketing.Here goes:

Is single malt Scotch a successful category?
Yes after a long pull and a lot of attitude adjustment by the distillers, I think it finally is and will continue to grow -- not like vodka of course, but as a very profitable niche market with or without the fuss and feathers of lots of consumer advertising. People who like it, like it. People who can afford the "good stuff" will continue to afford it and more and more drinkers will join them based on their recommendations.

How many craft beers will be on the market in 2015?
My guess is not as many as today. Not because consumers' tastes will change but because more brewers will be owned by the foreign and domestic majors. That will mean cost cutting and eliminating many brands from the same label. I could be wrong, but watching Anheuser-Busch wiggling to get out of their own self-induced business problems such as lack of diversity, lack of innovation and reliance on old-style advertising by adding spirits, imports, and domestic craft beers. I can't see that as a model for success.

Life expectancy for a start-up craft distilled brand? You said it all in your article. Life expectancy depends on the tenacity of the distiller to fulfill an idea. Fads will come, zoom up and then either be sold to Diageo or someone, or disappear. Watch what happens to vodka and healthful fruit juices as soon as ignorant drinkers discover that it's really cheaper and less debilitating (in other words, drinking eight-ounce "bathtub" size "martini" at 40%ABV in more than one or two drinks) will cause a hangover no matter what's used to add flavor. However, locally-made vodka or better yet a local area favorite type such as "schanpps" in the upper Midwest should live on because it meets consumer expectations -- and that's what counts. Old ad business line from Bill Bernbach: "Nothing ruins successful advertising faster than bad product." Meaning: word of mouth (in both meanings) is what really counts in a new product.

Fair and effective price for a hand-crafted spirit? Fair would be the cost of production plus 30-percent. That isn' fair to the distiller nor does it do anything for the reputation of the product in building the real and hidden desires to buy the product by a consumer. Take Tequila as an example. When I first tasted it you had to use salt and a lime wedge to even drink it. That Tequila sold cheap because that was what was fair to the end user. Today the same product has been refined, no more emphasis on the salt routine, put in beautiful bottles and priced accordingly. Personally I wouldn't give much for a I'm but that bottle is now bringing $40 and more on the market. What's effective in pricing is what the consumer is willing to pay and giving him/her truthful reasons to buy. In doing that successfully the hand-crafted distiller actually has an edge over the mass produced version simply because it's available only in limited supply and the customer won't see it in many homes but his own or in whit tablecloth restaurants.

Unfair pricing is explored above.

"Ought to be" for consumer demand. The only thing a distiller must do is tell the consumer his take on what the product is as truthfully and completely as possible -- including the fact that his Royal Highness the Duke of ---------- (or similar expert) is a customer. In a niche product such as a hand-crafted spirit, everybody who will buy it is a person who does not want to be one of a crowd unless the crowd is important. As for demand for a specific type -- see the Tequila argument above. Your local customer likes you, has faith in what you tell him, tries the product and then buys more and there are any number of legal ways to encourage repeat business as you must know after 20 years.

Let me know whether it's OK for me to go forward with the idea of publishing nationally.

And once again, thanks for your thoughtfulness, and not for not unthinkingly following the heard.

Best
Perry Luntz
Senior Editor
Beverage Media Group
and Editor/publisher
Beverage Alcohol Market Report
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Anyone got time to answer some questions about opening a distillery?

Bill
Thank you for our brief conversation this morning. As I mentioned, I am interested in craft distilling, but as you mentioned there isn't a lot of information available to the public. If you could send me any information you have that would be great. Some of the more basic questions I have revolve around capacity, costs & pricing. Here are a few:

1. What capacity do most distillers run (or range)?
2. How much would something like that cost?
3. What are the general operating costs for vodka/rum/gin?
4. What is the general sale price people are getting?
5. What are the most successful distribution channels?
6. Where do most of the distillers get 'educated'?

I don't expect you to provide me with all the answers, but any information you could convey would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks you for your time!
rbrandvold@hotmail.com
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http://public.leginfo.state.ny.us/menugetf.cgi
====================

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Looking for a mash pump?
I would bet my life on a 1" diaphram pump from ARO.
It is air powered explosion proof and is a 1:1 ratio with air. If set at 20 psi it will stop pumping when it reaches 20 psi and so forth. I have used them exclusively for over 20 years and they have not let me down, even with abuse and neglect they still seem to work. they come in Stainless steel and Polyprop. with teflon, neoprene or sanaprene diaphrams. the 1" will pump about 30 gal/min. i would suggest 2 60 gal 5hp compressors.the one that you can get at Home Depot for $500. 2 because i always like backup capacity. put air regulators on the diaphram pumps to regulate the air/fluid pressure. also the diaphram pumps should be set up with flanges or Quick disconects so they could be used for other uses if needed. www.mcmaster.com or www.granger.com has them but are more expensive than going through a ARO pump distributor. like Mechanical Equipment company in Kansas City. 816) 444-7088 talk to Linn Harris. or better yet find a ARO dealer close by.
I might also suggest Grainger for their 1 1/2" x 1 1/4" bronze impeller pumps. I am using one on a mash turn that will pump 70 gal/min with a 3hp motor. the whole thing would only cost about $700.
if you need anything just let me know.
Seth Fox, High Plains Distilling.
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E-mail from Bill Wensrich

Turns out Erick's Dad was right. I just read an article in today's Wall Street Journal about rising American "spirits."

In 1970 America sold 65 million cases of straight and blended whiskey. By 2000 they were selling less than 20 million cases. The distillers took an idea from the makers of single malt Scotch and began creating luxury brands by experimenting. The first to do this back in 1984 at the depth of their sales crash was when Blanton's was launched. Now their sales are headed back up with the introduction of the new Bourbons.

There's more to the article, but here are the authors rankings of "single-barrel" Bourbons. We'll have to get a bottle of both number 1 and number 2 for the January Vituscan Mission (looks like #2 is a best value).

Blanton's ($47) - very good/delicious

Eagle Rare Single Barrel ($26) - very good

Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit ($44) - very good

Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Tennessee Whiskey ($38) good/very good

Elijah Craig 18-year-old Single Barrel ($43) -- good
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I wonder who judged these product?
Bill
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Want to read back issues of DISTILLER? Go to:
http://distilling.com/backissues.html
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--To obtain a distilled spirits permit go to: http://www.ttb.gov/spirits/index.shtml

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--To obtain TTB list of DSPs go to: http://www.ttb.gov/foia//err.shtml

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--To obtain TTB statistics on distilling go to: www.ttb.gov then scroll down to "spirits" and then the "year".
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--To obtain Distilled Spirits Laws and Regulations go to: http://www.ttb.gov/spirits/spirits_regs.shtml

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--To obtain label regulations go to: http://www.ttb.gov/spirits/bam.shtml distilled spirits manual circular.
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