Author Archives: Rob Theakston

Big news in whiskeytown. The New York Post is reporting that Maker’s Mark will be cutting its flagship brand down from 90 proof to about 84 proof in order to meet the global rise in demand for the brand. No word on when the cut will be in effect or when the lower-proof Maker’s will be hitting shelves. Stock up now if you like it hot. [New York Post]

Business Week has had quite the week of investigative reports in the service of spirits. First, BW reports on a new, insidious practice, which could potentially infest your local watering hole: an upcharge for ordering a drink neat. (The argument: You’re getting extra booze if there’s no ice in the glass.) While this may be an incident isolated to the island of Manhattan for now, it will be interesting to see if this deplorable act makes it way to the rest of the nation.

In other news, BW finds the answer to one of life’s most nagging questions: How come Australian wine is so cheap compared to other imported wines? [Business Week]

Continue reading “Drinkhacker Reads 02.11.2013 – Maker’s Mark Drops to 84 Proof, Bars Charge More for Neatness” »

In a recent study by Northern Kentucky University and the University of Chicago, researchers have discovered that drinking alcohol mixed with diet soda as opposed to regular soda may increase the rate in which you become intoxicated. [Yahoo]

Buffalo Trace has announced the release of the eighth round of its Single Oak Project will hit the shelves shortly. Drinkhacker’s review of this round — now at the halfway mark of the project — will be coming in short order. [Single Oak Project]

Continue reading “Drinkhacker Reads – 02.07.2013 – Buffalo Trace Single Oak Project + Diet Soda Accelerates Intoxication Rates” »

First off today, just a gentle reminder of our contest being held in conjunction with our friends over at Lapham’s Quarterly. Be sure to enter to win their latest issue, all about intoxication.

If you missed it earlier this morning, CBS Morning News reported that the Justice Department will be taking on one of the largest beer companies in the world, and goes into detail about how it will change the landscape for the future. [video: Orlando Sentinel via CBS Morning News]

Although the predicted date for the so-called Mayan end of humanity came and went, weird things continue to happen all around our globe, including the fact that beer drinking has now hit an all time low in Germany. On the plus side though, Time also profiles a brewery in Alaska using beer to generate its electricity to – of course – make even more beer. Recursion is awesome! [Time] Continue reading “Drinkhacker Reads – 02.05.2013 – Hooray for Beer Edition” »

Today’s Reads will boil down to one important story and that’s it. We’ll return to our regularly scheduled 5-6 stories of interest and bemusement tomorrow, but today we felt it important to highlight one particular news item that entered our inbox over the weekend.

Any bourbon fanatic will instantly know the name Parker Beam, and not just because of the automatic association of the last name either (he is the grand-nephew James Beauregard “Jim” Beam). He has been a master distiller of the highest order, first with his father Earl and now with his son Craig, for over half a century at Heaven Hill distillery.  He is synonymous with some very high quality expressions, including the Parker’s Heritage series, which consistently receives high marks and critical acclaim here at Drinkhacker and beyond.

Recently, Mr. Beam received very sad and unfortunate word that he has been diagnosed with ALS. However, like most men made of Kentucky stock, he refuses to take this news lying down and is digging in for a long, courageous fight. He has repurposed his passion for making quality bourbons into helping to raise money in an effort to find a cure for the disease that has taken so many far too soon in their lives. For starters, he has established the Parker Beam Promise of Hope Fund, and $20 of each bottle of Parker’s Heritage sold this fall (the seventh in the series) will be donated to the ALS Promise Fund, a donation that promises to bring in over a quarter million dollars.

Autumn is a long ways away from today, and of course we’ll be here to remind you closer to release date. However, this time around, take great comfort in knowing that your purchase of Parker’s will make a big difference in the name of a man who has given much comfort and enjoyment to countless others over the past several decades.

To learn more about ALS or to donate to the Parker Beam Promise Fund, please visit their website.

In an announcement probably making a lot of sense to many people, the owner of Pabst Blue Ribbon is allegedly in negotiations to purchase the Twinkies brand.  Speaking over a lunch of Cheetos, chili fries, pizza, three sodas, a few PBRs, some ribs, peanuts, a burrito and two orders of onion rings, Pabst owner C. Dean Metropoulos, tweeted* that he was going to up the hipster ante with Twinkies by offering free trucker hats** to any malnourished Brooklyn hipster effected by the sponge cake’s absence on shelves, and will be sponsoring a music festival “but like, in a totally unironic way”. Stay tuned! [qz]

Continue reading “Drinkhacker Reads – 01.31.2013 – Pabst Buying Twinkies, USA Tops In Wine Consumption” »

In a sign of the times that all is not well in Europe, the French city of Dijon was forced to auction off 3,500 bottles of wine to pay for emergency social services.  With some wines being exceptionally rare, the town pulled in roughly $203,929 to help cover costs in a time when budgets are being slashed. [Bloomberg]

In other wine news, USA Today profiles Casa Larga vineyards in upstate New York, one of the many vineyards in the region responsible for the laborious task of making ice wine. Reuters reports that the demand for Australian wines in China is growing steadily, but questions how long this demand will last. [USA Today, Reuters]

CELEBRITY SPIRITS-BASED LAWSUIT OF THE WEEK: Last week we reported on a suit featuring hip-hop producer Pharell and Diageo over the discontinuation of his liqueur. This week it’s the Ying Yang Twins taking Oregon distiller Side Pocket to court over their commissioned premium vodka. We’ve unearthed a YouTube video for the brand’s promotional campaign. If you can handle the 9 minutes of local cable access quality production values and have time to kill in your cubicle, go for it. [WWeek]

Continue reading “Drinkhacker Reads – 01.29.2013 – Wine, Lawsuits and the Perils of Stealing Pinnacle Vodka” »

Another week, another article on the bourbon renaissance: this week we find Time giving Beard-winning author Josh Ozersky pixels to pontificate on the resurgence of bourbon. There’s nothing for seasoned die-hards to pick out of this article, and of course no article on bourbon would be complete without the obligatory mention of Van Winkle, but it’s well written nonetheless. [Time]

The Spirits Business is reporting that the next edition of its highly successful Balvenie Tun1401 series – Batch 7 – will be available in global duty free travel outlets in March. [Spirits Business]

Continue reading “Drinkhacker Reads – 01.28.2013 – Bourbon, Balvenie, and the 2013 Drammies” »

While the unstable economic climate has caused many consumers to scale back on product purchases, craft beer seems to be keeping up a steady upward trajectory. A report from Mintel says that craft beer sales have nearly doubled in the past five years, with projections for the industry to significantly increase further in the next several years. [Mintel]

The Sazerac Company is launching a new line of vodkas called Epic to compete in the unstoppable vodka market. The vodkas — which of course are flavored — include: Peach, Whipped Cream, Kiwi Strawberry, Cherry, Cake and Coconut. The first shipment of this latest bout of flavored goodness will arrive later next month. [PR Newswire]

Continue reading “Drinkhacker Reads – 01.24.2013 – The Rise of Craft Beer and Epic Vodka” »

This one’s been making the rounds of late at your favorite internet watering hole: talk of Sazerac/Buffalo Trace now developing something it’s calling Stagg Jr., a presumed spinoff of its wildly popular George T. Stagg whiskey. According to these papers filed with the Alcohol Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, Stagg Jr. will be near or about 100 proof and will be unfiltered. No word yet on a release date, and an inquiry to Buffalo Trace has been made for further comment.  In addition to Stagg Jr., Buffalo Trace looks like it is gearing up to add a couple more small batch bourbons to their lineup. More updates once we get them, but in the meantime, here’s a major tip of the hat to the internet sleuth who was vigilant enough to dig this information up.  [Team Internet]

Continue reading “Drinkhacker Reads – 01.23.13 – The Rise of Stagg Jr.” »