Marketing

A longtime customer and friend of mine sent me an email this morning lamenting the days when he could read a new article (sometimes one of mine) and find out about interesting, new, affordable whiskies.

“I miss this kind of whisky writing,” he wrote at the end.

Agreed.

The hang-up with writing about new whiskies right now is that you need new whiskies worth writing about to make it interesting! And right now there’s very little worth writing about (unless you want to write about brands that have been on the market for decades and are mostly known to everyday consumers).

That’s also not to say people aren’t doing it. Because they are.

Here’s the current booze marketing formula:

• Write about new product from large company = clicks for advertising (often paid for by that same company)

• Start a blog to write about new products = receive free booze samples from that company

• Start an Instagram site about whisky = combination of the above two

Hence, plenty of people out there willing to take that deal.

But to write a truly exciting article about a truly exciting new whisky requires the latter of those two things.

Unless you want to fake it.

Which I don’t.

-David Driscoll

Cycles

During a tasting this past week, a sales rep said something to me that made me smile: “There’s never been a better time to be a whiskey drinker.”

I asked him why.

“Because there’s never been this many whiskey brands on the market at the same time,” he replied.

I laughed and said: “So you must think this is the best time to buy a home, too?”

He was caught off guard and replied: “Homes are way too expensive right now. I think it’s the worst time to buy a house.”

“Yes, but there are so many on the market to choose from! Isn’t that the criteria?” I answered with a twinkle in my eye.

Without a doubt, this is the WORST time to be a whiskey drinker in the last twenty years. It’s also the worst time to be a Tequila drinker, and the worst time to buy a house. Quality is low; prices are high.

I said it. I stand by it.

We’re at the tail end of a bust cycle that is getting ready to pop. This happens every few decades. The glut that follows the bust is what leads to the subsequent renaissance. Because whiskey takes time to mature, it also takes time for stocks to build back up once the latest fad fizzles out.

We call them cycles in the booze business.

And it’s not just the case with whiskey. Cigars are also matured for greater sophistication, and—like whiskey—aged tobacco happens to tastes better.

To quote Richard Hacker’s The Ultimate Cigar Book:

During less demanding years when cigar consumption was languishing, companies like Consolidated Cigar Corporation, General Cigar, and A. Fuente used to have huge stores of tobacco that went back as far as the 1980s. Unfortunately, the overwhelming demand for cigars during the boom years of the 1990s depleted this decades-old reserves supply of vintage tobaccos. With the end of the boom followed by a dip in cigar consumption caused by the Great Recession, these stores of aged tobaccos have been allowed to build up again. Today, with a notable increase in cigar consumption, supplies of aged tobaccos are back, which bodes well for the future of super premium cigars.

See how this works with these products?

When no one cares, quality is high. When everyone cares, quality goes down.

Contrary to popular culture, I didn’t get into whiskey because I’m a whiskey nerd at heart. I got into whiskey because—back in 2006—it was getting interesting.

Why was it interesting?

Because there was all this old whiskey available that had been sitting in warehouses for decades and only a small population of people seemed to really care much or know anything about it.

That didn’t last long, however. As soon as everyone started caring, it became far less interesting.

Why?

Because it became a cash game rather than a hobby.

In 2010, I was selling single casks of 30 year Brora cask strength single malt for $300. Today, Brora sells for as much as $3000.

Much like Hacker talks about the cigar boom of the 1990s, the whiskey boom of the 2010s depleted all the reserve stocks of mature single malt and Bourbon. When I say whiskey is less interesting today, that doesn’t mean I don’t drink it anymore; it just means I stick to basic value bottles that I think still deliver quality.

All of the old whiskey that made whiskey hunting fun is long gone. And if you can find it, it’s way too expensive.

That’s the reason I’m digging deeper into cigars right now. Cigars have been out of fashion since the last big boom, and only over the last few years have they been picking up steam once again. The cycle has come back around, cigars are once again where whiskey was back in 2006.

I’ve had a number of friends in the cigar industry recently tell me: “There’s never been a better time to be a cigar smoker.”

Why?

Because there’s never been this much good, mature, high-quality tobacco on the market at the same time, both because we’re at the start of another quality cycle and because other tobacco-growing countries have had time to improve their growing practices.

If you’re not into cigars, I get it. What I’m saying is: don’t wait another five years to start learning about cigars. By that time, it will probably be too late.

-David Driscoll

Central American Focus

I’ve been learning quite a bit about Central American tobacco lately, as I try to quickly educate myself on cigars ahead of the big PCA show in Las Vegas next week. Just about everything I’m reading points to a modern renaissance in Nicaragua, especially in the region of Estelí where a number of top producers are growing tobacco right now. It’s a hot topic among industry professionals right now.

Interestingly enough, another industry professional recently spoke to me about the incredible quality coming out of Nicaragua, but he wasn’t talking about tobacco; he was talking about rum.

Karthik Sudhir, the man behind the incredible new Ron Izalco rums, is passionate about the rising quality of Nicaraguan rum, especially as a base for his ten and fifteen year old Central American rum blends. “The structure of Nicaraguan rum is what makes it unique,” he said during a visit to Mission earlier this year, touting the virtues of Panamanian rum and Guatemalan rum as well, each adding richness to the blend.

While I’ve been completely smitten with Karthik’s 10 year old Ron Izalco as a cigar rum, with its sweeter profile and rounder texture, I can safely say that I have never tasted anything quite like the new 15 year old 55.3% ABV expression. I’ve been doing my best to stay patient while Karthik put together a new batch (as it’s been sold out for months), but since first tasting it back in April it’s all I’ve been able to think about—especially given my growing interest in cigars.

If you want to get geeky about Central American rum, Karthik will go deep into the fertile, volcanic soils where the sugarcane is grown, how the heat leads to a greater evaporation, and all the other details that make these spirits unique. But if you want tangible proof that Karthik is on to something special, look no further than the incredible 15 year old Ron Izalco: without a doubt the most complex and mind-bending spirit I’ve tasted in 2021.

Comprised of rums from five different Central American countries—Nicaragua, Panama, Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Guyana—each matured for at least 15 years in ex-Bourbon barrels, the nose is a whirlwind of tobacco, dried fruits, scorched earth, and molasses, with some brighter aromatic notes bringing up the rear. The palate carries some sweetness, but it’s far drier than the 10 year and it quickly dissipates under the intensity of both the proof and the flavor.

There are no additives in this rum, nor is there any sugar—or mercy! Take off the rum training wheels and throw them across the room. In fact, throw them out the window, into the garbage, and bring the garbage can out to the street. This is not a spirit for beginners or for people who like to sip on something sweet from time to time. The Ron Izalco 15 year is bold, robust, and incredibly earthy, but it’s also harmonious, balanced, and completely in sync. It starts with richness and dried fruits, but halfway it transforms into something else entirely. It quickly turns into a big mouthful of dried tobacco, bitter herbs, and cigar smoke. The finish is as dry as it is intoxicating, leaving your mouth wondering: what in the hell just happened?

That’s when you go in for another sip. And another. And another. It’s a transformation that you have to experience to really understand. I’m obsessed with it.

Karthik has described the 15 year old as something more for agricole and pot still fans due to its intensity, but it’s not at all along those lines in terms of flavor. There’s no grassiness, no funkiness, and none of the high-toned ester notes you get from Jamaican pot still rums like Hamden. The Izalco 15 is more akin to a peated Sherry butt Scotch, or a super earthy Bourbon, where the smoke ends up more like ash, or the wood comes through as damp and herbaceous. You still get that little smack of caramel and molasses on the front and the finish, but it’s really just a canvass for the earthier elements.

As you might imagine, I took it for a test spin yesterday evening with some fine Nicaraguan tobacco from A.J. Fernandez: the Upmann Nicaraguan Toro, which got completely obliterated by the intensity of the rum. You need to match like with like, so I’m gonna have to try this again with the Room 101 10th Anniversary or the Diesel Crucible, both of which have a little more grit. Or I may even go the Tatuaje route.

I’m excited to find the right pairing because I know once I hit that right balance, it’s going to result in something truly special.

-David Driscoll

Bourbon Hunters

The tough part about being a retail whiskey buyer is that you’re part whiskey lover, but you’re also part businessperson.

Yes, I love whiskey and I want to share the love with all my customers, but there’s also the harsh reality of what it takes to secure allocated bottles these days.

Sometimes those two things don’t mesh.

As an example, in order to lock down a recent allocation of Blanton’s, we had to purchase hundreds of thousands of dollars of other spirits from the distributor, which will hopefully sell through as part of our regular daily business.

So while I’m stoked that I can now offer our best customers a bottle of Blanton’s, I’m also frustrated when customers reach out who only want to purchase Blanton’s and nothing else. Obviously, I understand how badly people want these bottles, but I’m also running a business.

In fact, because a good number of customers see me as a fellow whiskey lover rather than a whiskey business operator, they like to share their bourbon hunting stories with me.

Someone will write an email like:

“Hey David, snagged a bunch of your Eagle Rare Mission single barrel bottles from your Glendale location today, while I was driving around to various liquor stores. Check out the haul from today! (photo attached) By the way, do you have any Blanton’s?”

Wonderful.

We just spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to get rare inventory that went to some joker who has no intention of ever shopping at Mission regularly, other than as part of a weekly hoarding expedition to pull as many allocated bottles as possible into his stash. And now he wants Blanton’s on top of that?

Check around on social media and you’ll see this is a thing, akin to posting photos of your kill after a hunting trip.

What makes me laugh (out of both sadness and pathos) is when guys post photos of their receipts next to the bottle, so you can see how much they paid. Because the kill is even more impressive if you paid standard retail pricing!

But retail stores cannot operate by selling allocated bottles alone. And they can’t keep regular customers happy if the allocated bottles they get are not fairly distributed to their core customers; the ones who actually shop there for more than just allocated whiskies.

It’s gonna be interesting to see if Buffalo Trace hunters end up sending independent retailers the way of the buffalo. That would be ironic, wouldn’t it?

-David Driscoll

Singani 63 Summary

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by David Driscoll (@davidwdriscoll)

I posted this short video yesterday on my personal Instagram page about what one month of drinking Singani 63 every week night had taught me.

Basically, what I learned is that Singani 63 and soda is cocktail that can be consumed in limitless volume, allowing my body to awaken clearheaded and fresh the following day. So much so that I can run three miles in the morning, regularly, without losing a beat.

Granted, I go to bed pretty early. Often around 9 PM, getting up around 5 AM to hit the coffee pot and the treadmill.

Hence, as part of a healthy lifestyle, a balanced breakfast, and a good night’s rest, you can enjoy Singani 63 cocktails en masse without sacrificing your most important routines.

I’m in a great shape at the moment. I’ve been sleeping like a log. My spirits are elevated—in more than one way.

-David Driscoll

Hacks

There’s a new series on HBOMax that I’ve become quite smitten with as of late called Hacks, documenting the struggles of an aging stand-up comedian forced to hire a young, millennial writer who was recently cancelled on social media for making an off-color joke.

The aging comedian (picture Joan Rivers) is increasingly frustrated by her diminishing relevance and her lack of understanding concerning what young people find funny. The young writer is eager to make an impact, but lacks the experience of her older employer and as a result gets herself into difficult situations. Together, however, they make a pretty good team.

Every episode reminds of me of the struggles we’re facing in the booze business right now.

As a 41 year old, I’m young enough to understand where technology is taking the wine and spirits industry. Yet, simultaneously, I’m also too old for social media platforms like TikTok where micro-influencers have become the talk-de-jour.

Like the aging comedian, I’m not all that interested in learning new tricks, especially when those tricks involve hard seltzer, celebrity-endorsed Tequilas, and RTD canned cocktails backed by Gen Z YouTubers. Like the young writer, I’m equally frustrated by some of the antiquated habits we’re still adhering to in our industry, and I feel like we’re not moving forward quickly enough.

It’s interesting to look at where the industry has landed in 2021. We’ve slowly eaten away at anything creative and relegated ourselves to three core marketing buckets:

• Rare and allocated products

• Points/press-driven products

• Celebrity/social media-driven products

If it’s not hard-to-get, or rated 100 points by the Wine Advocate, or the featured product of the day’s most popular influencer, then forget it.

This narrowing of the marketing funnel is exactly why dozens of my friends have recently quit the business. That, and the Amazon-like transformation of their careers from educated professionals into warehouse fulfillment packers.

When the booze world consists of three core marketing buckets, none of which require the advice or opinions of a seasoned drinker, the need for professionals recedes and the demand for hourly manual labor increases.

It’s funny how quickly things swing the other way.

For the last decade we’ve been in the midst of an educational renaissance for alcohol, where informed consumers have been interested in learning more than ever about what they’re drinking.

Now, ten years later, that wave is over and the complete opposite is happening. Everything is about marketing. Quality isn’t even a forethought.

What’s makes this wave different from previous iterations of marketing-driven alcohol (a la Spuds MacKenzie) is the new understanding that every trend is temporal and cycles move faster than ever.

An incredible amount of planning and production goes into creating a new line of alcohol, but with the fickleness of consumer interest in the social media era, it may no longer be worth the investment. By the time you get the product to market, the category is already fully saturated and the next trend is taking off.

For older generations—those who long to find their perfect bottle and stick with it—this phenomenon is absolutely maddening. As soon as they discover their favorite new beverage, that product line is either out of production, no longer available, or it’s moved on to a different iteration.

When I hear customers ask: “Why can’t they just make more?”, I have to laugh somewhat sardonically.

This is by design, guys.

Always short in supply. Always high in demand. Keeping customers in a frenzy. Rinse and repeat.

-David Driscoll

The Rise of A.J. Fernandez

In the whiskey world, there are those producers whose names are continuously spoken by drinkers both casual and passionate, not only because of their popularity, but also their commitment to quality.

Springbank. Heaven Hill. Balvenie.

These are not just legendary whiskey producers, they’re also family-owned distilleries that continue a legacy of artisanship that began generations ago.

In the cigar world, there’s one name I’ve heard continuously since entering the fray, and I’ve heard it from passionate smokers who I chat with on social media, as well as industry professionals like Matt Booth who I interviewed this past Monday.

A.J. Fernandez.

When people talk about A.J. Fernandez, it’s akin to the way beer drinkers talked about Russian River Brewery ten years ago (and his name pops up on a number of collaborations, much like we see in the beer business). Everyone wants to work with this guy.

It’s pretty easy to see why.

The cigar I’m smoking in the above photo is the Diesel Crucible, a collaboration between A.J. Fernandez and Diesel’s Justin Andrews, and it’s one of the most perfect cigars I’ve tried this year. Flawless construction, a slow and steady burn, effortless draw, and big, billowy smoke that coats your palate like cream.

So who is A.J. Fernandez and why is he such a big deal? That’s what I’ve spent the last week trying to ascertain, smoking through a variety of his cigars and collaboration efforts with great pleasure.

A.J. Fernandez is a Cuban tobacco farmer and cigar blender who has continued his family’s cigar-making traditions in the rich and fertile soils of Nicaragua, setting up tobacco farms in Condega, Jalapa, Estelí, Pueblo Nuevo, Quilali and the island of Ometepe. His family-run operation is renowned as one of the finest artisanal tobacco producers in the world right now, and 100% of that hype is based on quality rather than marketing.

Like any great winemaker, A.J.’s reputation for quality starts in the field, rather than the factory. Like most great winemakers I’ve met, A.J. started by making cigars for other companies before launching his own brand. Around 2008, companies like Rocky Patel and Diesel tapped Tabacalera Fernandez for a number of limited edition sticks, some of which have become the stuff of legend. Over the last decade A.J. and team have continued that momentum, expanding production and creating their own line.

Starting with just six cigar rollers at a small facility in Estelí, today Tabacalera Fernandez is one of the largest producers in Nicaragua, and in 2017 the company purchased another facility in the north of the country called San Lotano, named after the brand started by A.J.’s grandfather in Cuba. While other major cigar brands contract tobacco sales from growers all over the world, A.J. is in complete control of his own supply. You could say that A.J. Fernandez is an “estate” cigar producer, understanding that the only way to truly control one’s quality is to control the means of production.

According to an article I read this morning, A.J. was born in 1979, which makes him the same age as me. That means a 28 year old kid was the mastermind behind some of the most cultish cigars of the late aughts; sticks that have cemented his fame as one of the best tobacco growers and blenders of this generation. While I was just getting my feet wet in the wine and spirits industry, A.J. was blending world-class cigars from his own estate-grown tobacco.

Who wouldn’t love that story?

Do yourself a favor though: get one of the limited edition 2021 Diesel Crucible cigars and experience the magic for yourself. Because the proof is in the pudding. I have a feeling I’ll be going further down the rabbit hole this weekend.

-David Driscoll

Instagram Live Repost: Heaven Hill Master Distiller Connor O'Driscoll

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mission Wine & Spirits (@missionliquor)

You’ll never meet a nicer guy than Conor O’Driscoll, and you’ll never visit a cooler distillery than Heaven Hill’s Bernheim facility in Louisville with a column still that looks more like a rocket silo than a whiskey machine. You’ll also never see a more jaw-dropping sight in Kentucky than the Heaven Hill campus in Bardstown with its 50+ warehouses and 1.9 million barrels currently aging. As Conor mentions in the conversation, Heaven Hill is also still a family-owned company, unlike many of Kentucky’s other famed producers, which is also pretty cool.

But don’t take my word for it. Listen to Heaven Hill master distiller Conor O’Driscoll break it down.

-David Driscoll