Posted on 06/27/2014 5:26:55 PM PDT by Kaslin
Hunt down your favorite label of rye, and keep an extra bottle in your cabinet. Due to market forces beyond our control, the great whiskey drought of the 2010’s will soon be upon us. I know what you’re thinking: Is this how the apocalypse arrives? Peter Venkman probably articulated the magnitude of this news better than anyone:
But… There is some good that will come from all this. If you happen to know a hipster liberal who looks down their nose at you, because they’re too busy sipping some obscure brand of whiskey, you might be able to conduct a little impromptu economics lesson. You might even be able to convince them that free markets are not about big-business or big profits (well… not entirely), they’re just democracy in action.
So next time you’re out at the bar, or tipping back a Templeton Old Fashioned with your Don Drapper wannabe liberal buddy (doesn’t he know Don’s a registered Republican?), whip out the headline conversation starter: “This stuff might be hard to get soon…”
Don’t get discouraged when they initially blame George Bush. It’s just a knee jerk reaction, because they assume what follows will be a rant against Democrat policies, or “big-government”. So now is when you get to surprise them by simply taking a sip of your drink, and casually blaming “big business”.
Such an utterance could yield a variety of reactions: They might quizzically raise an eyebrow, they might simply nod in smug approval of your words, or they might break out into a spontaneous Occupy Wall Street rally. Regardless of their reaction, this is exactly when you want to explain why the big-bad-businesses are about to take whiskey away from the proletariat. (Yeah… You can use that. They’ll love it.)
See, whiskey isn’t exactly a “liquid commodity”. Wait… We should start that over: Whiskey takes a while to distil. And by “a while”, we’re talking 5-20 years when you consider the aging process. As a result, “whiskey reserves” can’t exactly be increased overnight. So when distillers began the process of barreling what we are drinking today (several years ago), fickle consumers were ditching the wonderful world of rye. Cranberry and vodka, appletinis, and dirty martinis were the major focus for the average bar-goer. As a result, producers of bourbon didn’t anticipate the most recent boom to their popularity. Demand has outpaced supply by 2 to one.
In the short term, this might be bad news for consumers. Prices could go up and certain handcrafted labels will probably be harder to find. But in the long run, this will be good for the industry and the consumer. Eventually, supply will increase, demand will decrease, and the market will be flooded with whiskey. (Not as delicious as it sounds.)
Ok… Get ready. This is where you have to win over your liberal friend:
When the drought corrects itself (several years from now) things may get tough for distillers. Prices for some labels will plunge, and competition among the many brands will become cutthroat. Only the best, most loved, most widely enjoyed whiskeys will emerge from this boom and bust cycle unscathed and healthy. Which is why free markets are so democratic in nature. (Careful. At this point, their head could explode.) Democracy, after all, is simply the will of the masses; and what’s more democratic than consumers being provided with the products and services that they enjoy and demand? It’s not about “corporate Darwinism”, or “creative destruction”… It’s about businesses only surviving by giving “the people” what they want at a price they are willing to pay. Essentially, capitalism was built for the huddled masses… Not the elites.
If you have properly conveyed this message to your Manhattan-sipping liberal, one of two things will likely happen next: Either they will immediately get on their smartphone and download the unabridged version of Atlas Shrugged, or (more likely) they will roll their eyes and mutter something about “the man” rigging the system. But, hey… At least you tried.
Now, I’m serious: Go buy your whiskey; because things are going to get dry out there.
I’ve still got a couple shots of the Old Bushmills I bought for St. Paddy’s day. After reading this thread though, not for long.
I am a big Powers fan, but man the price has gone up 50% in the last two years.
No bourbon, and no helium. My Saturday nights are going to start going down the tubes real soon...
Vodka. Plentiful, no hangover
Allegedly, very small barrels do the job very fast.
I did not know that as I have not kept up with prices.
I can verify that... I've been in China (and Thailand) for the past two weeks.. coming home TODAY, YEA! I've been in some fairly remote places. In years past, the ONLY kinds of non-beer alcohol you would find out there was Johnny Walker scotch and the unbelievably crappy Chinese wine, Bai-ju.
On this trip, I have been pleasantly surprised to see Jim Beam available almost everywhere. It's expensive as hell... but, it's here.
Drink scotch
That’ll work!
Secrets to a great G&T:
-rolling the lime between your palm and the table before cutting
-stir with a metal spoon.
Or you can just go with grapefruit juice!
“My current favorite is Elijah Craig”
I, too, like Elijah Craig. Generally at a good price.
I’m having a hard time finding a good rye at a reasonable price. The Templeton Rye mentioned in the article is good, but isn’t actually made from 100% rye. My local favorite is Catoctin Creek’s Roundstone Rye. It’s 100% organic rye, but it’s only aged 2 years. It’s a relatively new distillery, and as the company grows, I assume they will have better aged ryes. It’s about 50% higher than other ryes, however.
Knob Creek rye makes a good Manhattan.
Supper should be sipper. Auto correcting gizmo not so smart.
The Undead Thread has been discussing this for the last six weeks. We’re not scared: we have our own supply.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/bloggers/3161048/posts?q=1&;page=1#1
I'm not much of a "konnisewer", but Very Old Barton ain't bad for a 6-year old source of sipping alcohol.
If the supply of Black Jack tightens, guess I’ll be forced to drink Kentucky rot gut.
Who the hell drinks Rye any way. What is rye?
Wasn’t there a similar price surge with tequila a few years back? High demand (”the trendy thing to drink”) creating the need to produce more, but the time required to make quality liquor creating a gap?
I’m like Sinatra; a couple fingers-worth, a couple rocks, a little water and I’m happy.
A good Manhattan on the rocks... anytime.
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