The Change That Killed The Old Crow Bourbon Brand
How could one change kill a brand that was over 100 years old? This article explores the history of the Old Crow Bourbon brand and how a simple change led to its status as a bottom-shelf bourbon.
The Birth of The Old Crow Brand
Old Crow Bourbon was named after Dr. James C. Crow. A trained physician and chemist who immigrated to the US from Scotland in 1822. The early bottles of Old Crow were distilled at what is now the Woodford Reserve Distillery. It was one of the first American whiskies to be established as a distinct brand, with merchants advertising it by name as early as 1845. After the death of Dr. Crow in 1856, his recipe and distillation process notes were used to continue the production of Old Crow Whiskey. In 1872, sixteen years after his death, the Old Crow Distillery was opened, using his now-famous sour mash process. The Distillery produced whiskey until 1920, when it was forced to close due to the enactment of Prohibition in the US. Old Crow Whisky’s production was moved to Canada during the decade-long US ban on alcohol production.
After Prohibition was repealed in 1933, the brand was sold to National Distillers, and the Old Crow Distillery was reopened. It became the #1-selling whiskey in the world until World War II disrupted spirits production in the US. However, after the war, it remained a top brand under National Distillers until an unnoticed change cost the brand everything.
The story goes that in 1964, the Old Crow distillery underwent a renovation. It is believed that during that renovation, something changed, an error was made, that affected the quality of the product coming out of the Old Crow Distillery. Over the next 20 years, the brand declined until it was sold in 1987 to its biggest competitor, American Brands, the parent company of Jim Beam. The brand went from one enjoyed by presidents like Andrew Jackson and Ulysses S. Grant to dusty bottles relegated to the bottom shelf.
But what change could have affected the brand so drastically? This is where a process like Change Analysis can help. Change Analysis is a process for uncovering what has changed within a process or piece of equipment that was working but is no longer, or identifying what is different between two similar processes or pieces of equipment that are not producing the same result. You can learn about performing change analysis in the 5-Day Advanced TapRooT® Team Leader Training
Change Analysis of Old Crow Quality
First, we need to examine the factors that influence bourbon quality.
We will keep this simplified, as there are more factors involved in each performance factor. However, the fundamentals of distilling are controlling what goes in, preparing the ingredients for fermentation, managing the fermentation process, distillation, the type of char on the barrel the whiskey is put into, and, lastly, how long the whiskey slumbers in the rickhouse. Once you have those factors, the next step is to gather facts related to current and past performance.
This is where we look for changes to discover if there are any differences between previous performances and the current state. When we analyse the Old Crow referbushment we notice two changes. A change in the amount of backset being transferred to the next batch of mash, and the equipment that some of the product was run on.
However, just because there was a change does not instantly mean that factor contributed to the change in quality. You have to look at the results. If I fixed this issue, would the difference in performance go back to the original state? I call this the light switch test. Can you reproduce the results by turning the defect on and off like a light switch?
So, what is backset? Distillation is the process of separating alcohol from the fermented mash. The stillage is what is left over after distillation. Some of the stillage is sent back to be used in future fermentation batches. That is backset. It is the spent mash (nutrient-rich grains, water, and non-volatile flavor compounds). The process of using the backset in the next mash is called sour mash. This is the process pioneered by Dr. Crow. What irony it would be if that very same process were to kill the brand?
The story of the backset change has been well documented in many blogs and a few documentaries, but how true is it? Does it actually change the flavor of the whiskey? To determine whether the change in backset would affect quality, I needed to consult the experts.
When I talked with distillers, this is what they told me: “I’ve changed the amount of setback many times and do not find that it causes the product to be ‘bad’ or not good or not the same or whatever it was that people thought about Old Crow.”
So, the amount introduced backset in the mash likely wouldn’t change the quality much. It seems this did not affect Old Crow’s quality. This change in backset caused some problems at the distillery; the dry house was unable to keep up with the volume of liquid being produced, but this is a downstream process and has no effect on product quality. However, that story of the backset change was associated with the brand’s decline.
Likewise, a new stainless steel column still (not copper as the old drawings indicated) was installed in 1955. The more superstitious of the whiskey distilling community believe that every dent and imperfection in the still adds up to create a unique profile in the whiskey, but there is little evidence that the changes in the still would have accounted for anything noticeable in quality.
But if these well-known factors didn’t result in the quality drop, what change killed the Old Crow brand?
First, we have to challenge our assumptions of what we are looking for. Did quality actually decline across the 1950s-1980s, or was there a different change that led to the brand’s decline?
The process used at the Old Crow Distillery did not change drastically between the 50s and the 80s, but consumers did. There are two large factors that influence the bourbon industry as much as process:
- Consumer demand
- Supply of whiskey in the warehouses
The 1970s were filled with recession, inflation, political upheaval, and the rise of the baby boomers. There was increased interest in vodka, gin, and other lighter spirits, leading to greater competition in the spirits industry. At a time when demand for bourbon was decreasing, the bourbon industry was sitting on tons of inventory. Companies like National Distillers faced surplus inventory and aging facilities. During the 1970s and 1980s, there was significant consolidation among brands and distilleries. Despite Old Crow Distillery undergoing many renovations, by the 1980s, many of its critical systems were over 50 years old. They were not able to compete with newer distilleries on costs. This resulted in the distillery being shut down and the brand being sold to Beam in 1987. This is when the true changes in quality would occur.
Old Crow, produced under Jim Beam, changed many of the key factors that affect bourbon’s flavor and quality.
These are the changes that have led the Old Crow brand to become a bottom-shelf bourbon. These are the real changes that killed the Old Crow brand. However, in Jim Beam’s defense, there have been attempts to revive the brand, but as of this article, they have been unsuccessful.
If you want to learn more about the process by which this investigation was done, and are interested in investigating your own company’s safety and quality problems, then find the nearest public 5-Day Advanced TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis Team Leader Training. You can find the course outline at the end of the article.
This story has some good news: you can step into history and try some bourbon at the former Old Crow Distillery in Woodford County, Kentucky. In 2013, the site was purchased, and Glenn’s Creek Distillery was founded. They are part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, with tours and tastings available onsite.
The Glenn’s Creek Distillery also works to preserve and restore the history of the Old Crow Distillery. David Meier, the owner, admits that “the road ahead to restore these great buildings is a long one, but one that everybody at the distillery is willing to undertake.”
I can confidently say that good quality whisky is once again being produced at the site of the Old Crow Distillery. Stop by and share in the ever-growing history of the distillery.
And don’t forget to stop in at an upcoming TapRooT® public course!
5-Day TapRooT® RCA Course Outline
Day One (8:00 am to 5:00 pm)
- Class Introductions and TapRooT® Introduction
- TapRooT® System Overview – What You’ll Be Learning
- SnapCharT® Basics – Gathering Information
- SnapCharT® Exercise – Practice
- Causal Factors – Identifying the Errors
- Root Cause Tree® – Eliminating Blame
- Root Cause Tree® Exercise – On Your Own
- Corrective Actions – Developing Fixes
- Corrective Action Exercise
Day Two (8:00 am to 5:00 pm)
- Software Tips
- Generic Causes – Systemic Problems
- Enhanced Corrective Actions
- Preparing for Your Investigation
- Collecting Information
- Interviewing
- Interviewing Exercise
- Interviewing Exercise (RCA)
Day Three (8:00 am to 5:00 pm)
- Management System & Changing Behavior
- Equifactor®
- Human Engineering
- CHAP & Exercise
- Change Analysis
- Change Analysis Exercise
- Improving Procedures
- Putting It All Together
- Work Direction & Exercise
Day Four (8:00 am to 5:00 pm)
- Human Factors Jeopardy
- Proactive Improvement
- Auditing Using Safeguard Analysis
- Water Hammer Exercise
- Analyzing Training Problems
- Grading Investigations
- Presenting to Management
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Start Final Exercise (SnapCharT®)
Day Five (8:00 am to 1:00 pm)
- Final Exercise: Safeguards Analysis
- Final Exercise: Define Causal Factors
- Final Exercise: Find Root Causes
- Final Exercise: Find Generic Causes
- Final Exercise: Develop Fixes
- Final Exercise: Presentations
Course materials:
- TapRooT® Major Investigations Book
- TapRooT® Essentials Book
- Laminated TapRooT® Root Cause Tree® Diagram
- TapRooT® Root Cause Tree® Dictionary
- Course Workbook
- Corrective Action Helper® Guide
Upon completion of the course, attendees will receive a certificate of completion and a 90-day subscription to TapRooT® Personal Software, our dynamic online software that guides you through the TapRooT® process easily and efficiently.
We look forward to seeing you there!
