Inventory for July 17th, 2016

Cheers! With the current weather we’d rather stay indoors and let other people take care of what’s happening in the outside world. That’s fine, we’re just here to read about it. So, without further ado: this week Our/Vodka opened its newest distillery in Los Angeles, Diageo’s whiskey union launches its third in a series, the Huxley Rare Genus Whiskey, and a US judge allowed Starbucks to be sued over a too-small cup of coffee.

Interested in opening your own drinks business? Don’t know where to begin? If you’re in Berlin on Tuesday, the 19th of July you’re in luck! The Food Entrepreneurs Club and nomyblog will be hosting “The Drink Edition” of the FEC networking event at Hallesches Haus. Questions like “How much money, patience, and hubris do I need to succeed? And how do I make my business successful?” will all be answered. Expect experts on the field of coffee, mezcal, and beer will in attendance.  

New Vodka Distillery in LA: Our/Los Angeles

Located in the arts district of downtown Los Angeles, the newest branch of Our/Vodka just opened its doors. Our/Los Angeles is the sixth distillery to open beneath the Our/Vodka brand, this time it’s a partnership between Steven Ocheltree and Tyler Simmons (the co-founders of creative agency Sew) and Pernod Ricard’s Our/Vodka. Pernod “teams up with local entrepreneurs around the world to give select cities their own vodka”.

The vodka is produced in a micro distillery according to the same global recipe in each city, the differentiator being “locally-sourced ingredients” which lend each vodka its unique flavor profile. Ocheltree and Simmons have a background in non-profits, community action, and design. They want to “challenge the current perception of a Tinseltown vodka being celebrity, glitz and glam”. Following LA, Our/Vodka is set to launch in New York, Miami, and Houston this year.

Diageo’s Whiskey Union Launches Third New Whiskey: Huxley Rare Genus Whiskey

Huxley is combining scotch, Canadian and American whiskies/eys “to craft a blend greater than the sum of its parts”, so Drinks International says. Its newest product, the Huxley Rare Genus Whiskey, is named after T. H. Huxley, a 19th century anatomist. In honor of him the label features a ‘mobsprey’, a mythical hybrid beast that combines the best characteristics of Scottish, American, and Canadian animals.

For now the whiskey will be available in Germany and Austria. Diageo describes the Whiskey Union as a “new experimental whiskey collective”. It’s am is to “recruit new consumers into the expansive whiskey category with distinctive and exciting brands that are cultural discovery magnets”.

Sued over a Cuppa’ Jo

This headline might just soon be reality. Reuters reports that last week “a federal judge said two Starbucks customers may pursue a lawsuit accusing the coffee chain of cheating patrons by underfilling lattes”. In San Francisco the U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson ruled that the “California plaintiffs may seek damages from Starbucks Corp in their proposed nationwide class action, including for fraud and false advertising”.

The situation is this: Starbucks has been accused of systematically cheating their customers by serving lattes that were 25% too small by using milk pitchers that were etched with a low “to fill” line and by living ¼ of an inch of space in the cups. In response, a spokesman for Starbucks spokesman said “the company believes the lawsuit is without merit and is prepared to defend itself against the remaining claims”. He added: “if a customer is not satisfied with how a beverage is prepared, we will gladly remake it”.