Earlier this year, Knob Creek made headlines with their much-publicized “Thanks For Nothing” campaign, celebrating having run out of their 9yr Old Bourbon. Globally, over the course of the past few years, whisky consumption has risen at a rapid pace, and many suppliers are now finding it increasingly difficult for their supply to meet the market’s demand, without compromising quality.

In February, Spirits Canada announced that, for 2008, Whisky was the largest spirits category in Canada. Of those sales, three quarters belonged to Canadian whisky and Rye, accounting for approximately 3.6 Million cases sold in 2008. These kind of numbers aren’t without their consequences.

Most recently, Canadian Whisky makers “Gibson’s Finest” announced a looming shortage of their 12yr Old product. Shelves across Canada may already be finding themselves light for the holiday season, but supply of Gibson’s flagship “Sterling Edition” Canadian Whisky won’t be affected this year. In an effort to not compromise the quality and flavour Canadian’s are accustomed to, Gibson’s has no desire to rush the next batch of their 12yr Old Whisky. Instead, fans of the product will just have to wait until the whisky in the casks fulfills all of Gibson’s age standards.

What else can we expect? As the whisky market in Asian countries begins to surge at an uncontrollable rate, the demand for 12yr or older whiskies is putting the pressure on distilleries worldwide. In 2007, Singapore alone saw a 121% surge in imports, and as drinks like green tea and whisky become the norm in Chinese and Japanese clubs, we can only expect the demand to surge further. For bartenders, what this means is that, assuming we can get ahold of enough of the product, the prevalence of neutral spirits like vodkas, which once dominated the market, are being forgotten in the consumer’s search for quality within their cocktails.

Viva la revolution!

Popularity: 60% [?]

Having trouble getting a hold of a bottle of Knob Creek lately? Probably not, but in some parts of the United States, distributors of Knob Creek have been experiencing a drought over the past couple of months due to a shortage of the 9 year old bourbon.

While the product takes a mere 3 days to make, in an effort to not rush the 9 year aging process specific to Knob Creek’s recipe, the barrels distilled in 2000 ran dry this year, leaving no more new bottles of Knob Creek to be shipped to distributors and liquor stores across the world.

In early September, to respond to questions about the brand and it’s shortage, Knob Creek launched a live webcast with it’s cast of “Whiskey Professors” and Beam Global head, Fred Noe. They’ve archived the webcast here.

Thanks for Nothing.
Earlier this year, Knob Creek turned heads with their “Thanks for Nothing” ad campaign, which ran nationally. Beverage writers, often lucky enough to receive product samples and promotional material in the mail, were surprised to instead received a box containing an empty bottle of Knob Creek, and an attached press release saying “Thanks for Nothing”.

While many have been quick to jump on the bandwagon in criticizing the move, and offering solutions to preventing the drought, Knob Creek’s business has been affected minimally. While few stores have ran out of the supply from the 2000 distillation, the awareness of Knob Creek’s brand has increased dramatically, and as the bourbon industry continues to enjoy double digit growth, Knob Creek has positioned itself as a quality, drought-worthy, bourbon in the eyes of consumers.

Barrel Dumping Day is Thursday, October 29
If you’ve run out of your favourite bourbon at home, well the wait is almost over. One week from now, on October 29th, Knob Creek’s latest batch of bourbon will be finished, and ready for bottling. Unfortunately, their distillery isn’t open to the public, so there will be no grand ceremony to signal Barrel Dumping Day, leaving us to celebrate at home. However you enjoy it, join me in pouring a glass of Knob Creek this coming Thursday.

We survived the drought of 2009.

Popularity: 14% [?]