On July 16 we asked for your opinion about the proposed Bruichladdich buyout by Remy Cointreau. As of this writing, 80% of you went with “It’s not personal. It’s just business.” . The people have spoken and they have decided that the Bruichladdich buyout was a good business decision!
Now it’s Bruichladdich Managing Director Mark Reynier’s turn to speak out about the Remy Cointreau buyout…
The Best Laid Plans (an excerpt from the Bruichladdich blog)
The deal has been signed for Rémy to buy Bruichladdich for £58m including debt.
I am conscious there has had to be a dearth of information surrounding this news. Here’s my explanation of the recent turn of events.
Bruichladdich was the first to be bought out of industry ownership and reopened as a private, operating, single malt distillery. It cost £6.5m in December 2000.
Banks were not accustomed to an individual wanting to buy a distillery. Distilleries were, after all, the reserve of conglomerates and cartels. This hare-brained idea was turned down, out of hand, by every bank except one. And it took eleven months to get them signed up.
To have a chance to develop Bruichladdich along the lines I had in mind, time was essential. Private equity would be needed – and lots of it.
Finding equity investors was not so difficult, and knowing that the stocks of maturing Bruichladdich could be borrowed against, I knew how much equity investment it would take. At least I thought so…
Click here to continue reading Mr. Reynier’s blog post on the Bruichladdich blog website.
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July’s episode of WhiskyCast Virtual Tastings marks the end of its first year, and several members of tasting panels from previous episodes returned to help mark the occasion. Shelly Brisbin, Scott Rogers, Tim Davis, and Sean Fousheé tasted Suntory’s Yamazaki 18-year-old single malt, the Bunnahabhain Toiteach from Islay, and a “Mystery Malt” revealed after the tasting.
To celebrate the anniversary and the start of Year #2, I’ll be giving away a special one-off 20″ X 24″ edition of one of the photos from the WhiskyCast Photo Gallery during August and September. To enter, you’ll need to listen to the August and September episodes for the secret word that appears in each episode. Once you’ve figured out the secret word, email it along with your name, address, and age to contests@whiskycast.com. The July drawing will be held on August 15, and the August drawing will be held on September 15.
If you’d like to be a member of one of our tasting panels, just email comments@whiskycast.com and put “Tasting Panel” in the subject line. There are only a few requirements: you’ll need to have Skype on your computer and a headset or external microphone, and you can’t be employed in the whisky industry.
You can either listen to the podcast online, or download it via iTunes.
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Meet The 2012 Philly Vendy Awards Emcee, Judges, and Finalists
Philadelphia, PA – July 23, 2012 – Nominees have been chosen and the emcee is on board. The battle will take place Saturday, July 28, 2012, 3:00-7:00 p.m. at The Lot @ 39th and Market. “The People” will designate a “People’s Choice’’, but winners of the coveted Vendy Cup and Best Dessert? That power is in the hands of five local food stars. In alphabetical order:
Collin Flatt – editor of Eater Philly, and the first and only editor of NBC’s now-defunct The Feast, and before that, Phoodie.info. He teaches classes at The Wine School of Philadelphia, is a beer consultant for bars, and an educator at The Beer School of Philadelphia.
Anna Goldfarb (Emcee) – A local author, humorist, and screenwriter, her first book, “Clearly, I Didn’t Think This Through” is a humor memoir about how terrible she is at being an adult. She writes the popular blog, Shmitten Kitten, and is a contributing writer to The Frisky and Hello Giggles.
Tony Luke Jr. – Twice hailed by Gourmet Magazine for quality and innovation, and covered by GQ, The New York Times and scores of other media, Tony Luke’s redefined the Philly Sandwich experience with specialty favorites. Under his helm, the business has expanded into eight premier locations, making it one of the biggest success stories of the Philadelphia dining renaissance of the last two decades.
Joy Manning – Former restaurant critic for Philadelphia Magazine, Manning is a food writer specializing in restaurant coverage, recipe development, and culinary culture. Her work has appeared in Details, Food & Wine, Relish, Cooking Light, The Philadelphia Inquirer and Serious Eats. She is the co-author of “Almost Meatless” and most recently, worked at Prevention magazine as nutrition editor.
Lari Robling – Former food critic for the Philadelphia Daily News, and author of the internationally acclaimed cookbook “Endangered Recipes”, Robling produces sound-rich audio food segments for WHYY radio, and created a series of podcasts on the history of French cuisine for the American Philosophical Society Museum.
Marcie Turney – One of Philadelphia’s most prominent entrepreneurs, Chef Turney has worked for nearly a decade with partner Valerie Safran to transform the 13th Street neighborhood into Midtown Village. Their businesses include restaurants Barbuzzo, Lolita and Jamonera; gourmet prepared food market Grocery, and lifestyle boutiques Open House and Verde, which is home to Turney’s signature line of chocolates, Marcie Blaine Artisanal Chocolates…
Click the following link to read the complete press release:
Vendy 2012 Emcees Judges and Finalists
Follow the Vendy Awards on Twitter for the latest news and announcements at @vendysphilly and like them on Facebook at Vendy Awards.