Maker's Mark hopes it has managed to avoid a New Coke-style disaster by reversing its widely-scorned decision (which was revealed in a Bloomberg Businessweek article) to dilute its iconic bourbon with water. Just days after his initial decision to cut the proof of Maker's Mark from 90 to 84, CEO Bill Samuels Jr. realized the error of his ways, turned tail and just hoped that the brand hadn't sustained any permanent damage.

On Sunday, Feb. 17th, the company announced on Facebook that it had surrendered to the collective will of thousands of bourbon drinkers expressed over the last several days after Maker's Mark tried to extend tightening supplies of its flagship spirit by adding extra water that, it said, didn't affect the taste. Fans, however, rose up on social media and argued that the move diluted the brand, too.

"They've told us that they would rather deal with the occasional supply shortage than have us change their whiskey," Samuels Jr., son of the founder of Maker's Mark, told USA Today.

Effective Monday, supported with a new cover image on its Facebook page (with the tagline "You spoke. We listened. Here's proof"), every bottle coming out of the Loretto, Ky.-based brand owned by Beam Inc. is reverting to its historic 45-percent-alcohol content.Continue reading...

Wild Turkey's new commercial won't make it on TV but that doesn't mean it won't be seen. Currently the spot is going viral all thanks to a simple (albeit vulgar) twist.

The new commercial hides a background copyright battle for the tagline "Give 'em the Bird," in which Wild Turkey has sued bird-named-liquor Old Crow and, in return, Old Crow has sued back. Yes, the claws are out.Continue reading...

Anyone who has taken the time to read the label of a bottle of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey has probably taken note of the population of Lynchburg, Tenn., the town where Jack Daniel’s is distilled: 361.

Well, its population hasn't been that number for decades, and Jack Daniel’s is replacing the folksy label with a new label that removes the population misinformation altogether and corrects a few other inaccurate details. For instance, the claim that Jack Daniel’s is the “Oldest Registered Distillery in the United States” is gone, as well as the citation of “Lem Motlow, Proprietor” — the Motlow family sold the distillery for $20 million in 1956 and it is owned by drinks giant Brown-Forman.

The new label even volunteers that Jack’s name was actually (gasp!) Jasper. But truth only goes so far. There seems little danger that your average biker is going to roll up to a bar and ask for a “shot of Jasper.”Continue reading...

After last week's look at a Coors product placement in the upcoming PG-rated Tron: Legacy, which prompted a revisiting of the the Coors placement in the classic E.T., we presented three PG or PG-13 films with alcohol product placement. Could you name them?Continue reading...