Proximo Spirits’ Post

I am so excited to announce Milam and Greene’s new release: The Bottled-In-Bond. Here’s why it is so special to me. Six years ago, when my team and I desiged the mash bill, yeast strains, how we wanted it to taste, look, feel, cost (yes, we think about that too!), I was full of naivite about what it would mean to be a CEO of a small Whiskey company. When we filled the barrels in the autumn of 2019, we had no idea that the world was about to change forever. During the aging of this product, I learned some good life lessons, namely that the only certainty we have is uncertainty. Supply chain issues, Hill Country climate changes, inflation, whiskey shortages, labor costs and even dear colleagues deaths were among the few surprises that came my way. I’ve accumulated talents in humility, grit, empathy, mindfulness, and what perseverance looks like running a small business in America. For small whiskey businesses, I’d argue that it’s actually set up to fail for many reasons I’ll adress in another post. Yet through it all, these barrels sat quietly absorbing the world and people around them, maturing into all the complex flavors they’re meant to have. I’ve been with this spirit all along it’s life, testing and tasting along the way, watching it evolve and age into a rich color while surviving whatever came it’s way. My tasting notes for it are like no other: on the nose, a whisper of excitment, dreams, and creativity. On the palate, grit, perseverance, hope and a hint of luck. Finish is mindfulness delivered with just enough hard knocks wood to give it struture and toughness. What did your life look like in 2019? How did you evolve? I bet you’ve learned a ton about yourself - and if you don’t quite know, maybe get a little curious about that over this new whiskey. I’m right there with you. The answers might be in a quiet moment with yourself or a good friend. Cheers to the Bottled-In-Bond, the inevitability of change and making that into something of beauty, and to each of our prescious and unique lives.

Please take a few moments to check out the Golden Vines Report!

Thirty years ago, Stella Liebeck purchased hot coffee from a McDonald's restaurant, accidentally spilled it in her lap, and suffered third-degree burns. Liebeck sought to settle with McDonald's for $20,000 to cover her medical expenses. When McDonald's refused, Liebeck's attorney filed suit in the U.S., and the jury awarded her nearly three million dollars, though they eventually settled for $600,000. In response, McDonald’s reduced the coffee temperature from 90°C to around 70°C and added a warning on the lids. While these measures reduce lawsuit risks, they also result in lukewarm coffee and unnoticed warnings. For those who prefer hot coffee without the risk of burns, more inventive solutions were needed. Is it possible to actually use the coffee's high temperature to reduce the risk of burns? This is where we apply SIT's Qualitative Change condition, which requires turning a harmful element into a neutral or beneficial one. Smart lids offer a more elegant solution: a lid that changes colour based on the liquid's temperature. When the lid is introduced to a hot beverage with a high temperature, the lid turns red, clearly indicating the risk. The Qualitative Change condition can be applied in two ways: (1) Reversal means that as the harmful element intensifies, the undesired phenomenon decreases. (2) Elimination means the undesired phenomenon no longer depends on the harmful element. Smart lids use Reversal: the hotter the coffee, the more noticeable the warning, reducing the risk of burns. This condition introduces a surprising and elegant element to the solution. Properly implemented, the harmful factor becomes either irrelevant or helpful in solving the problem. Have you considered exploring the problem space rather than the solution space? This approach leads to inventive and simple solutions by altering the correlation between the harmful element and the undesired phenomenon. #QualitativeChange #InnovativeSolutions #ProductDesign #ProblemSolving #SIT #InventiveThinking https://lnkd.in/e_iuyHGj

What is Asian cuisine? In my newest piece for the July 2024 issue of Atlanta Magazine, I push the readers to explore the cuisine through a more familiar lens, FRIES. And yes, I ate a lot of fries leading up to this issue... https://lnkd.in/eDBC47Xi

Here is our first episode of #winelandsedition of Conversations with WINENJIRU

Should the head on your beer be part of your pint’s volume? The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is urging politicians to guarantee people a full measure on the 200th Anniversary of the British pint. But db asks, is the pursuit of volume progression? Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eWkPCub4

https://lnkd.in/graM7xdx great reflection here. the culture of intentional collaboration is so important in our industry.

Quote: "In the late 1990s, distillers crept back into the market. And, when smaller stills were once again permitted in 2009, it fuelled an explosion in artisanal activity." Wrong. HMCE/HMRC had no power to refuse a rectifier's licence on application and only had the discretion to refuse a distiller's licence where the largest still would be less than 18 hl. HMCE's policy had been to refuse such licence. Such an absolute restriction was unreasonable under public law principles, so I changed the law/policy in 1996 such that a credible application for a distiller's licence with a sound business plan would be given fair consideration by HMCE regardless of still size. A rectifier's licence (such as per the Sipsmith enduring myth) should have just been issued on application. After I left, HMCE staff apparently couldn't read the law or apply their own policy written in the internal manual (originally written by me in book X-1 - Spirits production). Shambles. #HMRC #licence #whisky #gin #excise

!JuneShine Acquiring Flying Embers! *Breaking this a.m. in Craft Business Daily*: A pair of budding beyond beer brands are coming together, as JuneShine has announced the acquisition of Flying Embers. The purchase, which is set to close in coming days, is “an all-stock transaction” and is exclusive to the Flying Embers brand, trademarks and distribution rights. The combination of portfolios makes for a dominant player in the hard kombucha category and beyond beer: The two brands together will now represent “63% of all hard kombucha sold” in total U.S., “the 14th largest beyond beer & spirit based RTD brand family” across the States, and the “6th” biggest beyond beer & spirit based RTD brand fam in California, per announcement this morning. All in, JuneShine will now be about a 116,000-barrel or 1.6 million case supplier. Three interesting points from the article: 1.    The deal is for Flying Embers brand, trademark, and distro rights, not the FE brewery. This is about consolidation for efficiencies, scale, profitability “Our brewery’s not as nice as theirs,” Greg said. “They have a Ferrari, we have an old Tacoma,” he quipped, but the old Tacoma “gets the job done and it can make [Flying Embers] product” in a “very efficient” manner. After the deal, “we’ll probably be at about 75% capacity,” Greg said of their production facility in Scripps Ranch. “I think there’s some levers we can pull to increase our capacity, but yeah, we’re starting to fill the space out.”   2.    They don’t plan to immediately align wholesaler footprints. Flying Embers in in more states than JuneShine, but in common markets, they have “pretty good wholesaler overlap,” say Greg and Forrest.  “I don’t anticipate making any immediate changes to that,” said Greg, as they find it “disruptive.”   3.    Flying Embers founder Bill Moses (who also co-founded probiotic beverage co. Kevita and sold to PepsiCo in 2016) will be part of a newly created board of directors, along with co-founders Forrest Dein and Greg Serrao. But what about Beam Suntory’s previous funding in Flying Embers? It appears that investment will simply carry over. Bill Moses tells CBD in a statement that “Beam Suntory is a shareholder in Flying Embers and will therefore have an interest in JS Brands.”   Here’s a couple throwbacks (!!) to our Beernet Radio pods with both companies: JS with Greg Serrao and Forrest Dein, and FE with Bill Moses and Liz Tomic, both episodes two years old. Here's to the future. https://lnkd.in/gcUEceus https://lnkd.in/gY7Pr8Ze

New blog is up! 🥃 Discover the rich diversity of Scotland's whisky regions! We dive into the unique characteristics, history, and notable distilleries that make each region special. Enhance your appreciation of whisky’s varied flavors and traditions. Perfect for both beginners and enthusiasts. Link is in the comments :) Cheers! 🥃✨ #Whisky #ScotchWhisky #WhiskyRegions #DramDiaries