It’s This Week in Bourbon for July 15th 2022. Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience is currently in the process of changing their special releases. Bardstown Bourbon Company releases Discovery #8 and Discovery #9. Heaven’s Door Spirits announces the inaugural release of its Decade Series.
Show Notes:
- A global shortage of bourbon has led to a lack of cheap RTDs in New Zealand
- Securities Commissioner in Texas dismissed a cease and desist order against Whiskey & Wealth Club
- Heaven Hill Bourbon Experience is currently in the process of changing their special releases
- An ABC investigation led to four felony indictments against two men sharing Virginia ABC liquor store information
- Copper & Kings has launched a new tour and bourbon
- Bardstown Bourbon Company releases Discovery #8 and Discovery #9
- Barrell Bourbon Batch 033 is announced
- Heaven’s Door Spirits announces the inaugural release of its Decade Series
- Woodford Reserve releases its annual limited-edition Batch Proof.
- Second Booker’s Bourbon batch of its 2022 collection is here, “The Lumberyard Batch.”
- Support this podcast on Patreon
3 thoughts on “TWiB: Heaven Hill Suspends Special Releases, Bardstown Bourbon Releases Discovery #8 and #9, Heaven’s Door Announces the Decade Series”
I’ve been going to HH since January 2022 for Tues/Thur releases. Prior — in 2021 — they were daily. I’ve gotten there by 7ish AM (gift shop opens at 11, vouchers at 10:30) and have gotten EC18, OF16, PHS Heavy Char (only allowed once per release).
Due to problems in December 2021 chairs aren’t allowed anymore (incident with holding places and a knife). Folks would come put out a chair night before and leave, coming back in time for shop to open. New system seemed to work until release of HH17 and OF17. People started lining up 12+ hours before opening. If you weren’t there by midnight you weren’t getting a bottle (avg 50-80 per release). People had chairs, tents (security doesn’t show up til bout 7am to tell everyone no chairs). But the most recent 17YO releases added the additional issues of no restrooms for a 12+ hour wait (use your imagination) and people on line counting how many ahead thinking they’re in good shape, but around 10ish people start piling out of cars joining someone who’s already on line. On top of that, some take an immediate “crouch shot” after purchase and sold their bottle within minutes in a FB group for 3-4x what they paid. HH sees all this.
As far as surprise offerings: on the connoisseur tasting I was offered ECTB and PHC Orange Curaçao. The You-Do-Bourbon bottling offers 4 choices including 2 unique, a Bernheim 7YO and a HH Select. Some have posted this week that there are offerings at the gift shop if you ask including the PHS Curaçao, ECTB, ECFP and grenades.
So, waiting to see what’s next cause I’d sure love a HH17 and OF17 at SRP or close to it.
Thanks for the info. I’ll share this next week to add some more color to the story.
Kenny, thanks for sharing my comments. Just to clarify, the way the system worked was that at 10:30am HH gift shop folks would come out and hand out vouchers for the number of bottles available that they announced at 4pm day before. You had to show your ID and matching (by name) credit card (no cash purchase), which would again be checked again at the register and put into the system. A yearly release could only be purchased once forever. Buy a HH17 only once. Other gift shop releases like ECTB HM10, every 30 days. I’m seeing additional comments in HH FB groups of what got HH to stop the releases on top of the camping out, including someone banging on the glass doors, police called(?)
Old Forester has already announced to NOT show up (camp out) at the distillery on September 2 this year for Birthday Bourbon. Will not be available in the gift shop. My opinion it may be available to the $70 “Nothing Better in the Market” tour participants where to taste their top shelf juice including Birthday and Series 117. When we told that tour earlier this year we were offered the 117 High Angels Share.
Looking at Jackie Zykan, Jeff Arnett, Jacob Call (and others?) are there no non-compete agreements in the whiskey industry? Especially in the case of Jackie, in just a matter of weeks she’s releasing her own blended juice, which means this was in the works for a very long time, I don’t need to tell you guys about forming partnerships, licensing, label approvals, distribution, plus plus plus WHILE she working for Brown-Forman. Arnett – and partners – built a distillery and the tasting room is open. Jacob Call said he can’t say anything (what’s next) until the no-compete clause in his contract expires on October 31. WOW, non-compete for only 90-days.
Have a great week!