Sazerac Co. has demanded Goodwood Brewing stop claiming it had produced its first spirit using bourbon that came from the Barton 1792 warehouse collapse.
Sazerac, Barton’s parent, denied selling the barrels to Goodwood or a barrel broker, but Goodwood stuck by its position that it acquired the barrels from a broker and was “100% from the collapsed barrel warehouse.”
That brought this response from Sazerac’s attorneys, as reported by Fred Minnick, the bourbon writer:
“As you likely know, Sazerac meticulously tracks the location and disposition of every single barrel in its rick houses. Sazerac is thus able to account for every barrel that survived the partial collapse of Warehouse 30, and determined that all surviving barrels are either still at the facility or have been moved to other facilities where their locations have been verified. Thus, the claim to have acquired either barrels or liquid from the Warehouse 30 collapse cannot be true.
“The claim that your product is sourced from Barton 1792 thus constitutes false advertising as well as infringement of the registered Barton and 1792 trademarks, in violation of federal and state law. This is something Sazerac cannot permit. Accordingly, Sazerac hereby insists that you:
“1) Immediately and permanently discontinue all claims, whether express or implied, that your bourbon was sourced from Warehouse 30 or the Barton 1792 facility;
“2) Promptly issue a public clarification identifying the correct source for your product;
“3) Provide us with a detailed accounting of where and how you purchased the bourbon used for your product.”
According to Sazerac, Goodwood responded quickly and stated it was an “innocent mistake.” They have appeared to delete public materials linking their product to the collapsed barrels.
Goodwood told Minnick it believed the information about the origin of the bourbon was correct, but once it realized it wasn’t part of the fallen rick house, “we immediately rescinded all assertions. . . . We deeply regret our misstatement and will make every effort to avoid such a mistake ever again.”