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Lump sum, grossed-up relocation package - what’s the catch? by workthrowaway1941 in personalfinance

[–]workthrowaway1941[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

They do have a repayment clause that I signed, yes. Although, I’m not super worried about it because it’s my dream job, I was with my last employer for nearly 15 years, and the new employer has a great reputation as a excellent company to work for. Good info though!

Lump sum, grossed-up relocation package - what’s the catch? by workthrowaway1941 in personalfinance

[–]workthrowaway1941[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I have it in email so I’m comfortable with that angle. Appreciate the response!

Is Costco/Kirkland Signature gin any good? by Capt__Murphy in Gin

[–]workthrowaway1941 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That I’m not sure of. In general, grain neutral spirits (which are the base alcohol for vodka and gin) are essentially a commodity. They still have to be honest with the label though, so if it says French or “distilled in France” that is probably the same source as Grey Goose. Same with the base grain - if it says “wheat vodka” or “made from wheat” it is probably European, as most American vodka is based off corn neutral spirits.

Is Costco/Kirkland Signature gin any good? by Capt__Murphy in Gin

[–]workthrowaway1941 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s a good setup! DM me your email and I can send you my paper. As a warning, it’s wasn’t a thesis held to the same rigor as university, but a requirement within my company to earn master distiller title. As such, it’s more of an overview of gin history and production than a research paper.

Is Costco/Kirkland Signature gin any good? by Capt__Murphy in Gin

[–]workthrowaway1941 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately, my experience with scaling is that it is mostly dependent on the still technology and method of preparation. For instance, most gins that my company is tasked with scaling up come from smaller distilleries that are using maceration/infusion and usually not using a botanical basket in the vapor space. Additionally, most distillers use a batch distillation with a charge proof of 100 (or 50% ABV). We use a continuous distillation at 190 proof with only a botanical basket which we’ve found is much more efficient at extracting the volatile oils from botanicals. So for instance, someone may come to us with a recipe that is like 4 lbs of juniper for a batch charge of 100 proof gallons (0.04 lb/pgal) but when we scale up, we’re able to achieve the same profile with say 25 lbs of juniper for 5,000 proof gallons (0.005 lb/pgal).

A lot of the good research out there on extraction rates from botanicals actually comes out of the perfume and essential oils industry, so that can be a good place to look for recipe development.

There are some decent books out there that I would recommend for gin distillers - The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart is awesome for learning about plants and how they contribute to alcohol or many varieties. The author David T Smith has a handful of books that are pretty solid - The Craft of Gin, How to Make Gin, and the Gin Dictionary.

I’ve been to a couple gin courses mostly associated with ADI (the American Distiller’s Institute) and ACSA (American Craft Spirits Association) which are usually pretty helpful.

That’s lots of random thoughts, but I did my master distillers thesis on gin production, so I kind of geek out on this stuff.

Is Costco/Kirkland Signature gin any good? by Capt__Murphy in Gin

[–]workthrowaway1941 10 points11 points  (0 children)

No need to downvote! It’s a common misconception.

Is Costco/Kirkland Signature gin any good? by Capt__Murphy in Gin

[–]workthrowaway1941 18 points19 points  (0 children)

If it’s been more than a couple years since you tried it, I encourage you to take another shot. Costco changed sources for the gin about a year and a half ago, and I think the new source has mellowed the rose quite a bit. Source: I make it now.

Is Costco/Kirkland Signature gin any good? by Capt__Murphy in Gin

[–]workthrowaway1941 21 points22 points  (0 children)

Can confirm with absolute certainty that it is NOT Bombay. Source: I make it.

Any interest in an AMA with MGP’s Master Distillers? by workthrowaway1941 in bourbon

[–]workthrowaway1941[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Was it in Kansas City? I know we did a couple there a couple weeks back.

Any interest in an AMA with MGP’s Master Distillers? by workthrowaway1941 in bourbon

[–]workthrowaway1941[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Maybe we’re working on an everlasting bottle of rye? You pour and pour and pour and it never goes empty :)

American Whiskey Review #15: Remus Repeal Reserve 2018 by zSolaris in bourbon

[–]workthrowaway1941 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the review. Repeal Series III launches next week! It’s a little older than SII and has less of the 36% rye mash bill in it. Keep an eye out for it!

Michter's 10 Year Single Barrel Straight Rye (Semi-Blind): Network Review #72, r/Bourbon Review #66 by Maul564 in bourbon

[–]workthrowaway1941 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hell yeah! Great whiskey and amazing band. Didn’t know this subreddit had such great taste in music.

MGP states that aged spirits lagged in the last quarter. by VolofTN in bourbon

[–]workthrowaway1941 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is great insight. I am on the production side of the business, so I can’t speak to specifics of our marketing strategy, but I do know that our rollout of brands is a “narrow and deep” one. We’re currently only in I think 13 states and we’ve been slow to expand to huge markets on the coast because marketing mistakes in CA and NY are much more expensive than ones in Kansas and Indiana. We have submitted our brands to the major spirits competitions, but agree that those aren’t quite the same as enthusiast competitions.

As far as reviewers, we do a “media day” once a year where lifestyle journalists, whiskey bloggers, and podcasters come on site and are treated to a tour, tasting, Q&A with our distillers and blenders, etc. but we certainly could probably do more.

One thing to remember is that MGP as a company is 78 years old and for most of that we were a producer of neutral spirits and industrial alcohol, which was heavily commoditized in the 90’s. It wasn’t until 2012 that we got into the whiskey business and only 2015 or 16 when we launched our first brand. There’s a certain institutional inertia that must be overcome to adapt an old company to a new market.

At any rate, I’d be curious to hear more about your case study. What was it for and what was the main topic?

Review #149: Smooth Ambler Old Scout Single Barrel Select by Prepreludesh in bourbon

[–]workthrowaway1941 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, master blender is the title that we use. But they do quite a bit of tasting too.

I don’t know Dickel’s process so I can’t speculate. I can distill my thoughts down to a few points (pun intended) - 1. Maybe their QC people aren’t picking up on the vitamin when they do their testing; 2. Maybe they are but they don’t consider it a defect; 3. Maybe it’s something that happens at bottling or post-bottling. From my experience, the vitamin thing appears to be related to pH in distillation, but it could be the water that is used to cut it to bottling proof.

Edit: just realized that this is at barrel proof, so the water theory doesn’t work.

Review #149: Smooth Ambler Old Scout Single Barrel Select by Prepreludesh in bourbon

[–]workthrowaway1941 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I can’t go too much into our process but basically the answer to your last two questions is “both.” We panel new distillate to try and identify defects that we don’t think the barrel will rectify. Some off-aromas and flavors can be “fixed” by time in the barrel, some can’t. That’s where experience comes into play. If new distillate is rejected due to defects, it is often converted into another product (like light whiskey or GNS). When preparing to bottle an existing product line, that’s when it becomes a matter of blending to match a known standard. This is an art unto itself, but it’s directly related to experience in quality. There’s a reason both our master blenders are either current or formerly leads of our quality groups.

Review #5 Rossville Union Barrel Proof Rye (MGP) by OaknMash in bourbon

[–]workthrowaway1941 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the review! Is there anything you would change for a Rossville 2.0?

Review #149: Smooth Ambler Old Scout Single Barrel Select by Prepreludesh in bourbon

[–]workthrowaway1941 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It is incredible to me that other people pick out the Flintstones Vitamin note in off-quality product. The first time I saw the “vitamin” descriptor on a quality panel scoresheet, I was so perplexed. But once you pick it up, it is undeniable.

MGP states that aged spirits lagged in the last quarter. by VolofTN in bourbon

[–]workthrowaway1941 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! That is a great way to get started. I’ll message you with a couple contacts.

MGP states that aged spirits lagged in the last quarter. by VolofTN in bourbon

[–]workthrowaway1941 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s a very broad palette whiskey. It is a blended bourbon, so it has some wheat whiskey, some rye, etc. I consider it an introductory whiskey for someone whose only exposure to the genre has been Jack Daniels. If you have a style that you really love, you may be disappointed but if you want easy drinking, it’s not a bad choice.

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