Sue Sea and I had the great pleasure of meeting Phil Prichard at one of the Rum Queens's former Rum Fests held in Tampa, also the home of Florida's cigar industry. A marvelous event. Phil was there and he is quite the curmudgeon. Back then his main product was his own distilled "Fine Rum", aged in his 15 gallon barrels.
A great product by a unique individual. We liked him then and we like him now. However, an issue has arisen, one promoted by yet another curmudgeon, namely Chuck Cowdery. The issue: Potemkin Distilleries, in the form of sourced products which are promoted as though they were actually distilled and aged by the promoter, but in actuality are simply rebottled bulk purchases with a misleading marketing story.
Recently Prichard showed up in Sku's list of ryes that are actually made by a huge factory distillery in Indiana (LDI/MGP) who make huge quantities of rye, bourbon, et al - which they then sell to independent bottler who bottle and promote them as though they are artisan, small batch, hand selected and produced products. They are anything but, and sadly, Prichard's Rye made the list.
His claim:
Now in most cases I would simply out such a claim and proceed with a good arse reaming, but not now. I respect Phil too much and he deserves a chance to tell his story. Ergo, I sent him this email:
Phil Prichard:
"Special select American Rye is used for our whiskey. This product is then distilled in our copper pot stills and AGED in our small American oak barrels for the perfect balance of smoothness and flavors we so desire."
I sincerely hope Phil has a good answer for this possible contradiction. We await...Moi:
"Phil, Capn Jimbo here of The Rum Project as you well know. And also as you know we have long been a strong promoter of especially your fine rum(s). I respect your history, your experiments and your process.
However, I am concerned about a number of products that you source, for one example your rye. A well known internet source states that your rye is sourced from MGP (whose ryes are quite well done), so the rye itself is not really the issue.
What is the issue is that your site fuzzes things up and gives the impression that your rye is distilled by you in small batches, and aged in your small barrels. This makes the actual provenance unclear.
My question: of the rye you are now selling, how much - if any - is your own distillation and aging, and how much originates at MGP? I could ask the same question of your Tennessee aged whiskey and white lightning (which appear to made and aged exclusively by you), or some of your other whiskeys where the same website states are whiskeys sourced from other makers.
Would you kindly straighten me out here, as this sourcing seems to fly in the face of your home page statement:
"When you taste Prichard's Fine Rum or our premium whiskey, you'll immediately be able to distinguish our product from the large batch, mass produced products that line the store shelves. Prichard's Distillery hand crafts their American distilled spirits in small batches. Our quality rums and whiskeys are distilled in copper pots and stored in 15 gallon white oak barrels to allow for the best possible flavor."
Trust me, this issue will not go away, but I think it only fair that you have a chance to resolve your statement with the actualities of some of your products....
Best regards,
Capn Jimbo
