| I was asked to write a description for the distillery’s About Us page. Actually, a sub-page in the About Us section. It’ll show up in the Tribe’s new website. There was so much to cover, the writing became a pretty intense exercise in what to leave out. With so much left unsaid, it almost felt like a disservice to not write a manifesto. What do you think? Did I at least cover the main bits of this ridiculous ride?
"The Crowded
Barrel Whiskey Company is the world's first crowdsourced whiskey distillery - and the Whiskey Tribe is that crowd. At its core, Crowded Barrel is a distillery for the terminally curious. Beyond funding, our community decides what whiskey gets made, and how it gets made - but we don't stop there.
While many distilleries are held back by the whims of big-investors as they chase prestige or profit, thousands of Magnificent Bastards have stepped up and broken those traditional shackles. Based in central Texas, Crowded Barrel is financially backed by those whiskey lovers through Patreon (a funding platform), where behind the scenes content and conversations determine it's future.
No quarterly financial goals, no dusty dogma, no snobbery - our distillery is squarely aimed at exploring one question above all else, "What is whisk(e)y capable of?"
One week, we may poke at the gilded edges of an
exquisite single malt with arched eyebrows and a pinky raised pedigree. The next may find us trying to wrestle and tame a feral budget bourbon. Can we blend, finish and proof that beast into a magnificent balance of affordability and deliciousness? Dunno, but we’re sure as hell gonna find out!
As we bob and weave our way through bottles, we’ve also opened the door to other whiskey makers. After all, the world of whisk(e)y is way bigger than anything we can fit in a single building - so why not collaborate with other distillers in a transparent way? When you consider the unique combination of ingredients, tools, climate and techniques behind each distillery, collaborating with allied whiskey makers just makes sense.
We’ll always love making our own whiskey - but sourcing, blending, finishing, and experimenting with someone else's best stuff is an explorer's dream. Maybe we mooch a single barrel unicorn from an
award winning distillery. Or carefully piece together an international blend that yields a new and exotic creature, begging to be uncorked.
The possibilities are boundless, and the Crowded Barrel Whiskey Company is a grand experiment made for whiskey lovers, by whiskey lovers. Care to join us?"
I'm still not quite satisfied with it. It's got the biscuits but still needs some gravy, ya know?
~ The Magnificent Bastard
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