Its all coming together...

Well I've been on the Beer desk for three weeks now. I am getting the hang out it, and wondering how I can make it a little more challenging. I currently manage the Vons (Socal), Texas and Portland divisions. I am still learning about who owns what, who the contact person is, etc. The whole three tier system (Supplier-Distributor-Retailer) is much different than Spirits... In California we had two major distributors that had about 97% of the business. For beer there are 70+ distributors in California. The distributors are constantly buying each other, consolidating, makes things a little tricky when it comes to the correct authorizations for each store.

We leave for Kentucky this coming Saturday. We are quite excited - we have a load of distilleries ready to give us tours. It will be exciting to pick the brains of the master distillers... I just need to come up with some questions! Apparently there are also some abandoned distilleries that are in disrepair, but look just amazing in the open fields of Kentucky - I'm excited to see those as well...
Here is a little breakdown of the schedule so far:

Saturday: Arrive in Louisville (prounounced loo-uh-vul, from what I hear...or read)

Sunday: Jim Beam Outpost and exploring Louisville

Monday: The Shaker Village

Tuesday: Maker's Mark

Wednesday: Heaven Hill

Thursday: Buffalo Trace & Woodford Reserve

Friday: Wild Turkey & Four Roses

Saturday: Fly home

Quite a busy trip but we are ready... hopefully I'm not bourbon-sick when we get back...

Oh yeah - check this out (it would make a good birthday present for me - if you can find where to buy them...). Tyler sent this to me - its bourbon barrel furniture made by a company named Uhuru - its their Kupe line...