by cowdery » Tue Jun 12, 2007 4:59 pm
This was inevitable. If it hasn't happened already, expect the age statements to disappear from all of the less expensive (let's say <$20 for a 750 ml) Heaven Hill products.
Here is what will happen. Initially, they will take pains to match the current profile while working in younger whiskey, but it will come to taste younger and younger, until it's basically a four-year-old. If sales plummet as a result, they'll discontinue this expression, which may be in the cards anyway.
But look for this as well. Heaven Hill has been slow with new product introductions in the whiskey category. They also have not touched the Fitzgerald line, in terms of the expressions offered, since they acquired it. They could, for example, re-launch one or more of the Very Old Fitzgerald expressions, with an 8 or 10 year age statement, and at a premium price.
As for their rye-flavored bourbons, it could be that the growth of EWSB, EC12 and EC18 is taking up all of the whiskey in those age groups that they can spare and they don't have enough for any new expressions, but we'll see. It would not surprise me if they make a couple of new product introductions, either line extensions or new brands, that involve age statements and premium prices.
They already have the Henry McKenna 10-year-old which, when you think about it, would be drawn from the same stock of 10-year-old whiskey as EW1783, but sells for more than twice as much.
If it was your distillery, what would you do?