How soon will it be before all the cool stuff in Park City is owned by out-of-staters??
The beverage world is buzzing about a Bloomberg report yesterday that Pernod-Ricard is among the bidders in an auction for High West, the landmark Park City whiskey distillery, founded in 2009 by Dave Perkins.
Let me say right now that I have nothing new to report: Perkins isn’t talking and when I called Christa Graff, who handles High West’s publicity and marketing, she didn’t have a clue either. Pernod-Ricard is a brand gobbler, one of the top two companies in the wine and spirits industry. Think Chivas-Regal, Absolut, Ballantyne’s, Beefeater, Havana Club, Jameson, Kenwood, Kahlua, the Glenlivet…If you’ve drunk it, they probably own it.
High West, the first legal distillery in Utah since Prohibition, has been wildly successful with its Rendezvous Rye, Rocky Mountain Rye, Bourye and other specialty liquors, however, as at many other “craft distilleries,” High West’s products are based on the usual base from Indiana.
The original distillery/restaurant in the restored livery stable in Park City and the new distillery in Wanship have become beloved Utah icons—it’s sad to think of them becoming part of an international conglomerate…well, details to follow as people start talking.
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