We’re finally ready and able to re-open the distillery and welcome you Magnificent Bastards (and your cohorts) to the Crowded Barrel Whiskey Company in South Austin, TX.
The standard safety guidelines will be in place, and the tasting room experience has been slightly modified to meet the times. Fortunately, there’s a huge deck for you to sit on outside the tasting room - which makes the whole endeavor much easier.
On behalf of the video and distillery teams, thank you for helping us weather this storm. I know the skies still aren’t completely clear, but we have fared better than most - and it’s the strength of this community that keeps us pointed in the right direction.
Speaking of which, while the tasting room was closed, the bartenders took a hit in their pocketbooks. (a closed bar means no tips.) A few weeks ago, Rex and Daniel did a livestream and aimed the resulting donations (super-chats) at the bartenders’ tip jar. As you can imagine, a legion of Magnificent Bastards stepped up to help fill the shortfall.
The generosity was beyond overwhelming, and the lads couldn’t keep up with the shout-outs and thank-you’s during the livestream. BUT, they made a new video that specifically gives direct shout-outs and thank-yous to everyone who donated to the bar-staff during the livestream here:
Beyond that, I want to extend our appreciation to the 36 Texas Lawmakers who put pen to paper and agreed that a craft distillery should be able to sell more than 2 bottles to a customer every 30 days. The fight isn't over, but the momentum is growing. If you’re so inclined, you can find their names here:
Finally, Rex is floating an experimental Whiskey Tribe video idea tomorrow. We want to know if it has enough juice to kick off a new series - so be sure to check out the Tribe’s channel on Saturday morning and thumbs up that thing if you’re into it.
Feels like wind in the sails y’all...
~ Magnificent Bastard
THE VAULT OF TRIBES
Check Out This Past Weeks Videos From Our YouTube Channels Whiskey Tribe and Whiskey Vault.
In this video, Rex and Daniel talk about The Whiskey Tribe - a big, salty and ridiculous community of whisk(e)y loving MB's. They've raised a whiskey freak-flag...
Is your inner bastard Magnificent enough to salute?
Through the power of frickin’ lasers, a Crowded Barrel rune has imbued the bottom of this rocks glass with whisk(e)y spirit powers. Upon finishing your ice-cold drink, you’ll find the bear and eagle spirits raging in maelstrom of fangs and feathers. Grip it tight, MB. Only 1 thing that can soothe the ferocious beasts.
Ian Piggott is our unofficial whiskey article curator. Basically he posts a bunch of great whiskey article links in the Facebook group, and we go steal them and post them in the newsletter. Thanks Ian :-)
Bars and restaurants are slowly reopening, but many Americans are content to keep drinking on the couch.
Sales of liquor for home consumption surged when bars and restaurants closed in March amid nationwide quarantine rules. A cold beer or a crisp chardonnay helped ease Americans’ mounting anxiety about the pandemic, not to mention the stress of juggling work and parenting duties from home all at once…
The lockdown has been tough for David Mkoswe, a mechanic who lives in Alexandra, a sprawling township on the north-eastern edges of Johannesburg. Since Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s president, restricted the country’s 56 million inhabitants to their homes in late March, Mkoswe only earns if he works, and any savings are quickly spent…
Whisky lovers are a varied bunch—just take a glance at the different whisky clubs that have sprung up around the country. But whisky producers, even those with diverse employee makeup, don’t necessarily reflect the same diversity at the ownership level.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t any Black-owned whisky makers, though. They’re out there, and they want to share their whisky with you! If you’re looking for a Black-owned whisky distillery or company to support, check out the folks below…
