Drinkhacker Reads – 10.20.2014 – Chip Tate Opens Up and Other Legal Matters
We’ve been reading a lot about the recent turmoil surrounding Balcones distillery, its owners, and distillery founder Chip Tate. Now Chip comes on the record to speak with Fred Minnick over at Whisky Advocate to tell his side of the story. Judging from the look of things, this feud is just getting warmed up, and it’s going to get ugly quite quickly. [Whisky Advocate]
In other litigious news, the Wall Street Journal publishes an overview of the court battle currently in process against the folks at Tito’s Handmade Vodka. The suit is claiming Tito’s is made under false pretenses and is not really “handmade” as the brand claims. [Wall Street Journal]
Three folks have been arrested in a £80 million alcohol fraud bust by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) officers in London. Details are developing as of this post time, but officers believe the three to be part of a major booze diversion and laundering deal. We’ll follow up as more information becomes available. [Telegraph UK]
And finally today, just a heads up: Pappymania is almost amongst us. The Chicago Daily Herald runs the gratuitous profile piece on how folks can’t keep up with demand, and the Lexington Herald Leader follows up one year later on the now famous Pappygate heist (we still maintain it’s with Jimmy Hoffa). Bourbonr also has created a Pappytracker update application, so users can determine when Pappy arrives in their state. Oh yes, and if that wasn’t enough, there’s a new site dedicated to all things PvW: Pursuit of Pappy. So here we go!
