Maker's Mark to reduce alcohol content

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Rausch

You can't steal video off the interwebs that will give you any knowledge about quality booze.

Just stay out of this one...

I admit to being completely clueless about booze...therefore I am asking.

Educate me, drunkard.

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by GoWalrus

I admit to being completely clueless about booze...therefore I am asking.

Educate me, drunkard.

1) Freeze the glass - don't add water to a good (expensive) drink.

2) Learn blends. Malts. How many malts? Filters. Age. All plays in to the taste of the drink.

3) Play stupid and taste for free. You're in shape - find a gay bartender and ask him what the difference is. You won't have much difficulty selling yourself as a legitimate opportunity.

If you feel guilty remind yourself that women do this every single day and get drunk for free (I don't know what the kids call it now but it use to be "milking a man.")

[Just Passin' By]

One fewer brand to have to choose from.

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by Rausch

1) Freeze the glass - don't add water to a good (expensive) drink.

2) Learn blends. Malts. How many malts? Filters. Age. All plays in to the taste of the drink.

3) Play stupid and taste for free. You're in shape - find a gay bartender and ask him what the difference is. You won't have much difficulty selling yourself as a legitimate opportunity.

If you feel guilty remind yourself that women do this every single day and get drunk for free (I don't know what the kids call it now but it use to be "milking a man.")

I'm not interested in drinking. I just want to know if you can REALLY tell the difference between 84 proof and 90 proof, especially when you're shitfaced.

It sounds like drunkard elitism.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by GoWalrus

I'm not interested in drinking. I just want to know if you can REALLY tell the difference between 84 proof and 90 proof, especially when you're shitfaced.

It sounds like drunkard elitism.

You'll find a lot of that.

I love a good scotch and I've kinda developed some of the drunkard elitism as well when it comes to scotches and red wines. Bourbons I don't drink enough of to really get riled up about, but I certainly recognize the breed.

I do think it's absurd that so many people are 'swearing off' Maker's Mark without even trying the new batch and I do think there's an excellent chance they'd have never known the difference had they not been told.

[Just Passin' By]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

You'll find a lot of that.

I love a good scotch and I've kinda developed some of the drunkard elitism as well when it comes to scotches and red wines. Bourbons I don't drink enough of to really get riled up about, but I certainly recognize the breed.

I do think it's absurd that so many people are 'swearing off' Maker's Mark without even trying the new batch and I do think there's an excellent chance they'd have never known the difference had they not been told.

When a company changes its formula, they face customer backlash. It's not snobbery. It's comfort, and faith in the product. This isn't shrinking the bottle by a few ounces, this is screwing with the drink itself. You've built up your brand by talking about its greatness, and you risk pissing away all of the accumulated goodwill and loyalty by changing what you claimed was great.

Coca Cola learned that.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

When a company changes its formula, they face customer backlash. It's not snobbery. It's comfort, and faith in the product. This isn't shrinking the bottle by a few ounces, this is screwing with the drink itself. You've built up your brand by talking about its greatness, and you risk pissing away all of the accumulated goodwill and loyalty by changing what you claimed was great.

Coca Cola learned that.

And one would think that those loyal customers that are subjecting you to such backlash would at least...I dunno...try it before flipping their shit.

And I see no way that Maker's doesn't make a 'premium' version that they do raise the price on so that folks that insist they can take the difference will have a way to spend more money on stuff that tastes the same.

It's just an odd rush to judgment with so many people already writing Makers off altogether without even seeing what they're going to produce.

[Just Passin' By]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

And one would think that those loyal customers that are subjecting you to such backlash would at least...I dunno...try it before flipping their shit.

Why would tasting it be necessary? Again, you've spent years pimping your product based upon its formula, and then you changed the formula.

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

And I see no way that Maker's doesn't make a 'premium' version that they do raise the price on so that folks that insist they can take the difference will have a way to spend more money on stuff that tastes the same.

It's just an odd rush to judgment with so many people already writing Makers off altogether without even seeing what they're going to produce.

It's not a rush to judgment at all. It's leaving a brand that's no longer exactly that brand, and a company that cannot be trusted. Again, Coca Cola learned this. New Coke tested better with people than old Coke in blind tests, but people refused to accept it. Don't blame the people. Blame the company for pissing on customer loyalty to the product itself after the company has tried to build up precisely that. A company can sometimes get away with the "new, improved taste" type of move with lesser known products, but even that tends to fail.

This sort of move isn't a guaranteed failure, but it carries a high risk. For me, as someone who's not a devout drinker of the product, I now know how they are willing to treat their customers, so there's no reason for me to patronize that company when there are so many alternatives.

[|Zach|]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

It's just an odd rush to judgment with so many people already writing Makers off altogether without even seeing what they're going to produce.

People are so finicky on the internet.