Spotlight on Colorado: The ADI Conference is celebrating its 16th year by returning to one of the most vibrant community of distillers. 
Join us in Denver, Colorado March 18-21, 2019. Above
, The Family Jones Spirit House in Denver, Co.
ADI Annual Year-End Survey
of Craft Distillers - LAST DAY!

_ Producers in Category by Entry Year graph from previous Year-End Survey results
We're collecting data from all craft spirits producers . Please take a minute to participate! ADI's anonymous survey is the industry's most comprehensive poll of actual craft distillers and the most-quoted source of information on the growth of the industry.
Awards/New Releases
Sebago Lake Distillery Spider Island Rum Wins Gold
Sebago Lake Distillery Spider Island Rum Wins Gold  at Artisan Awards Competition

Gardiner, Maine (January 4, 2019) - Sebago Lake Distillery is proud to announce that its Spider Island Rum has won a coveted gold medal at the 2018 Artisan Spirits Awards. Sebago Lake Distillery is the dream of five long-time friends who opened their own distillery, energized by Maine's long and storied history of rum production.   Read more.
Catoctin Creek Distilling Company Releases 2 Bottled in Bond Spirits
Catoctin Creek bottle

PURCELLVILLE, Va.-   Catoctin Creek Distillery is celebrating its 10th anniversary next month with the release of two limited-edition Bottled in Bond spirits, Rabble Rouser Rye Whisky and 1757 Virginia XO Brandy, both launching Feb. 16. Distilled in 100-gallon batches, the 1757 Virginia XO Brandy has been aging since 2010 in 53-gallon Bordeaux red-wine casks,     Read more.
Stave Robber Bourbon back in stock at Young & Yonder Spirits
Young and Yonder bourbon bottle

Apologies to anyone who stopped by Young & Yonder Spirits over the holidays only to find that they were sold out. It's back in stock and ready to enjoy, and be sure to save enough time to enjoy an Old Fashioned cocktail at the bar, too!     Read more.
Scotland's Arbikie Highland Estate releases 'Highland Rye' Single Grain Scotch Whisky

Arbikie Highland Estate, Scotland's leading 'field to bottle' distiller, has announced its arrival in the Scottish Whisky industry by launching its 'Highland Rye' Single Grain Scotch Whisky, the first Rye Whisky distilled in Scotland for over 100 years.
 
Read more.
Scotland's Raasay Distillery releases While We Wait Single Malt Whisky
Raasay While We Wait 2018

The release of Raasay While We Wait 2018 begins the countdown to 2020 when the first ever Raasay single malt in Scotch whisky history will be released.  Read more.
iStill introduces the all new 1,300 gallon iStill 5000 
iStill 5000 on palate with forklift

The iStill 5000 can strip and finish, or do a one or one-and-a-half distillation approach. Equipped with the agitator and boiler radiator, the unit can also mash and ferment... Read more. 
The Cocktail Bar: Notes for an Owner & Operator  on Amazon
The Cocktail Bar book cover

In the first book of its kind, award-winning bar operator Chall Gray leads readers through an overview of the complicated world that is bar ownership. The Cocktail Bar: Notes for an Owner & Operator covers everything from conceiving an initial idea for a bar to managing a successful and profitable operation... Read more. 
Events/Industry News
Noted Spirits Writer Lew Bryson To Lead Barrel 21 Tasting Dinner
Lew Bryson with Barrel 21 Distillery and Dining logo

Barrel 21 Distillery and Dining is proud to announce the appearance of Lew Bryson, noted beer and spirits writer, and author of Tasting Whiskey, to lead an intimate and fun evening of fine food, craft spirits, and great beer for twenty special guests on Monday, January 14 from 7 until 9:30 p.m.
BDAS One Day Class in Brandy Production, Tasting, Maturation
Dan Farber_stills outlines_Brandy Class announcement
February 25th, 2019
Class led by Dan Farber, master distiller and passionate expert on brandies of all kinds,
distilled spirits pioneer and highly requested judge who runs Osocalis Distillery in California.
Atlas Holdings Announces Acquisition of Saxco International
Sacco International logo

Saxco's Eight Decades of Market Leadership and Expertise in Wine, Beer, Spirits and Food Packaging Create Unique Platform for
Sustained Growth
    Read more.
Caleb Kilburn now Master Distiller at Peerless Distilling Company
Caleb Kilburn_ Master Distiller at Kentucky Peerless Distilling Co.
In late December 2018, Caleb was honored with the title master distiller as Peerless released its 3-year Rye Whiskey and continued to be recognized for its tremendous quality and craftsmanship . Read more.
TTB News
APPROPRIATIONS LAPSE NOTICE: CESSATION OF TTB OPERATIONS with LIMITED ACCESS TO www.ttb.gov
TTB logo
Due to the ongoing lapse in government funding, only websites supporting excepted functions will be updated unless otherwise funded. Our TTB website will be available during this shutdown period, and you will continue to be able to file electronic payments and returns for federal excise taxes and operational reports.

You will also be able to access TTB's eGovernment applications, including Permits Online, Formulas Online, and COLAs Online, during the shutdown period, but submissions will not be reviewed or approved until appropriations are enacted. 
Read more.

New mobile-optimized  ADI  map of distilleries on  Distilling.com
ADI map of distilleries
Visit our new mobile-optimized  map page and find the 15 distilleries nearest you!  
Fall issue of Distiller magazine on newsstands and online
Fall issue of Distiller magazine

Distiller is available at 400 retail locations including Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and various newsstands. Contact us for copies for your tasting room or gift shop.
Join ADI to receive Distiller for free!

ADI's Certification Program 
now has 3,579 spirits listed!
View the stats here .
Apply today  and join the 730 micro-distilleries who are truly  craft.

Craft Maltsters Guild logo
Whiskey sour: U.S. craft distillers say Trump
trade war with Europe is killing export plans 
By Jeanne Whalen, The Washington Post
Addie Moore works at Catoctin Creek Distilling Co. in Purcellville_ Va. The business has been hurt by tariffs imposed by the European Union. _Matt McClain_The Washington Post_
Addie Moore works at Catoctin Creek Distilling Co. in Purcellville, Va. The business has been hurt by tariffs imposed by the European Union.

PURCELLVILLE, VA - The Catoctin Creek Distilling Co., maker of rye whiskey, gin and the occasional fruit brandy, had big dreams of conquering Europe in 2018.

Scott and Becky Harris, founders of the small-town distillery in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, even had handshake agreements with the cocktail shakers of London's finest hotels.  Read more.

Navigating Craft Distilling Association Memberships 
By Alicia Cypress, SevenFifty Daily
Tom Mooney. _ Westward Distillery_ Rhonda Kallman_ Boston Harbor Distillery_ and Jay Irishman_ New Riff Distilling.
Above, left to right, Tom Mooney, Westward Distillery, Rhonda Kallman, Boston Harbor Distillery, and Jay Erisman, New Riff Distilling.
Distillers weigh in on the benefits of joining the various industry organizations
A craft whiskey distillery based in Portland, Oregon, recently received the largest purchase order in its 14-year history-not from someone in its local or regional market but from the other side of the world, in Australia. It came about, says Tom Mooney, the distillery's founder and CEO, because of a trip to Sydney that was organized by the Distilled Spirits Council, the trade association responsible for advocating, lobbying, and policymaking on behalf of the entire U.S. spirits industry.
Read more.

Know your 2019 Malting Varieties 
By AMBA Industry Barley Variety Surveys

Know Your 2019 Malting Barley Varieties graphic
Milwaukee - January 3, 2019 - Each year, the American Malting Barley Association (AMBA) releases its list of recommended malting barley varieties to US growers. AMBA is a nonprofit trade association of 76 brewing, distilling and malting companies that are end users of US malting barley. The list is meant to inform US producers which malting barley varieties the industry intends to use in the upcoming year. Some varieties will be used in large quantities and others are only utilized is niche markets, so producers are encouraged to contact their local elevator, grain handler or processor to gauge market demand for any variety grown in their region prior to seeding.  Read more. Graphic .

Terroir in whiskey 'does exist', distillery study finds 
By Phoebe French, The Drinks Business
The preliminary results of a study exploring the influence of terroir on barley derived Irish whiskey has concluded that "environmental differences in whisk(e)y flavour are present".

Field of barley
A study entitled the Whisk(e)y Terroir Project, which is a joint venture between Waterford Distillery and Enterprise Ireland alongside Dr Kieran Kilcawley of Teagasc; Dr Dustin Herb of Oregon State University; and independent whisky analysts Tatlock & Thomson, has completed its first year of research.

Defining terroir as "the 3D influence between microclimate, soil and place on a plant", the study aims to understand the influence of the environment on whiskey produced from barley.  Read more

How to Crack the Code of Cruise
Ship Beverage Programs
cruise ship deck with swimming pool_ dining tables_
Cruise Ship Lines are Linking Up With Big Suppliers For Their Beverage Programs in order to Emphasize Premium Alcohol Sales.

It may not be a well-known fact yet, but the cruise is now the fastest-growing channel in the retail travel industry. Not only are big cruise ship lines now overhauling their beverage programs and linking up with big-name suppliers (e.g. Bacardi), they are also re-thinking every aspect of the online cruise experience in order to emphasize premium alcohol beverage sales, such as by organizing special onboard bartender competitions. That, of course, opens up enormous opportunities for anyone looking to ramp up their annual sales of alcohol beverages. 
Read more.

Connecticut craft distillers say tight laws holding back industry's growth  By Joe Cooper, Hartford Business Journal
Hartford Flavor Co. co-founders Tom and LeLaneia Dubay.
The state's growing craft distillers industry is banding together to push for legislation that would allow them to sell cocktails at their production facilities and offer visitors more bottles for off-site consumption, with the hope it will build greater awareness for their alcoholic concoctions, similar to the way beer brewers have grown their fan base.  Read more.

Could changes be coming to Virginia's alcohol laws?
By Mechelle Hankerson, Virginia Mercury

hands raising glasses in a toast
Virginia Mercury reports that the commonwealth's alcohol control laws - from its decision to keep retail liquor sales under the state's purview and the liquor ratio rule that effectively bans bars - are relics of the post-Prohibition era.
...And while lawmakers have figured out most of the regulations for breweries, there is at least one proposal to tweak the operation of distilleries.
Right now, spirit-makers have to give ABC the markup on products sold onsite. It's about a $4 million source of revenue for ABC over the next two years.
 Read more.

  Bill's Corner   Miscellany from  ADI Founder/President, Bill Owens
Where am I?
Mystery location...Bill Owens photo


Winning responses will receive a copy of my book: 


Bill Owens photography at Berkeley Art Museum 

Bill Owens_ 1974 gelatin silver print_ __Our eighth-grade graduation dance was really far out...__

Bill Owens' 1974 gelatin silver print, at right, ("Our eighth-grade graduation dance was really far out...") will be a part of an exhibition entitled "Get Dancin': Selections from the Collection" at the [U.C.] Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive  
January 9-March 31, 2019. 




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