IBGerm

Fans of Knob Creek bourbon may find their favorite whiskey in short supply this summer as the brand’s bottle warehouses near Clermont, Ky., are empty and the next batch of aged whiskey won’t be ready until November. 

Bourbon experts say the looming shortage is somewhat unusual, although brands such as Knob Creek, which is aged for nine years, are more susceptible because their distillers must predict demand far in advance.

“It’s very difficult to forecast out nine-year demand,” said Kelly Doss, senior director of U.S. bourbon and whiskey at Beam Global Spirits & Wine, which makes Knob Creek. “We can only sell what we can bottle and ship.”

Beam Global, itself part of Fortune Brands, sells about 150,000 cases of Knob Creek annually, putting it at the top of the company’s small batch collection, but well below Maker’s Mark, and its flagship Jim Beam bourbon which is aged four years.. Doss said none of those brands are expected to face a shortage this summer.

Beam recently sent T-shirts emblazoned with “The drought of 2009″ to 16,000 Knob Creek fans who registered on the brand’s Web site.

The company also plans to use the shortage as a marketing tool in the months ahead, playing on the notion that the lack of Knob Creek is connected to its popularity. A recent company statement announcing the shortage carried the headline “thanks for nothing” and said the brand will be “even more popular and profitable once supply is restored.”

Tom Pirko, president of industry consulting firm Bevmark, said the promotion probably will boost the brand’s image in the short-term. But if it lasts longer than a few months, he said it could prompt customers to switch.

The next batch of Knob Creek will be dumped from barrels in October, and ready for retailers the next month. Areas that could see tight supplies first include southern California, and the eastern United States. Beam raised the price of Knob Creek earlier this year, she said, but the move was unrelated to the shortage and there are no more planned price hikes.

“They’re getting some publicity out of a real situation,” Cowdery said. “I expect that with Knob, they’ll come back in November right before Christmas with a lot of new supply, and they’ll make a lot of noise about it, and price it to move.”

===============================================================================================

The Federal Reserve warned local governments, state contractors, and other potential recipients of the state of California issued IOU’s. Sacramento  issued IOU’s back in 1992, most banks accepted the IOU’s then.

The Fed warned to check with banks about details about the IOU’s before depositing the IOU warrants. $3.4 billion dollars in IOU’s will be handed out. If the IOUs were not handed out California would run out of cash by the end of July.

These are desperate attempts from Californian politicians that are facing a growing budget deficit. The IOUs will add to the growing debt with interest that will amount in the millions.

http://www.sco.ca.gov/5935.html

 

===============================================================================================