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The Aftermath – Help Needed

November 13, 2012 No Comments

Two weeks after the super storm, parts of New York and New Jersey remain damaged or devastated.

Here is the story of three booze businesses and how they are faring.

1. Jack From Brooklyn and Sorel is struggling and needs some help.

They suffered catastrophic damage as five feet of seawater swarmed through the distillery, wiping out supplies and equipment and causing long-term damage. But, they are committed to rebuilding and need support.

If you’d like to donate please go to http://www.gofundme.com/jackfrombrooklyn

You can also help them by buying some product. Astor Wine and DrinkUpNY are two of the online retailers who sell Sorel.

What’s in a Name?

November 9, 2012 No Comments

Bevlog, the blog run by my favorite alcohol industry attorney Robert Lehrman, has an interesting posting about a new vodka product. It’s called “Chokin’ Chicken.” The TTB approved the label in early Oct. You can find the blog here.

Is it a new direction in vodka? Are we moving from candy, cake, bacon and other flavors to nomenclature designed to get attention by being over the top. You know, like the guy who thinks he can get a laugh by putting a lampshade on his head.

Probably not. This most recent example of branding “excellence” joins the ranks of other previously approved sexual innuendo brands like – Spank My Ass and Call me Sally, a red wine from California; Well Hung Vineyard, a red blend from Virginia; and Vas Deferens Ale. (You’re just going to have to Google that one.)

Fortunately, none of these brands have seen the light of day, so far as I know. Which, I suspect, will be the chicken’s fate.

I don’t know about you but I’m glad the TTB approved these names. Their job is to regulate, not act as censors. Besides, they probably didn’t get the double entendre of chokin’ chicken.

It’s your tax dollars at work.

Red Hook Distilleries and Sandy

October 31, 2012 No Comments

“Red Hook was overrun by the Sea,” my friend Jack Summers owner of Sorel Artisanal Liqueur, told me when I called to check in with him. “The storm was a disaster, but not a catastrophe.”

From what I read and saw, I’m not sure that’s totally accurate but then again, Jack is the most can-do person I know with a strong positive outlook.

Red Hook is the home of many of the Brooklyn distilleries and breweries and the area was among the hardest hit neighborhoods in New York City. Sandy killed people there and knocked out power for hundreds of thousands.

Some booze business distilleries were destroyed, some somehow managed to survive unscathed and some, like Jack From Brooklyn were dealt serious, but hopefully not fatal blows.