Japanese Maker's?

If you enjoy spirits then I'm sure you've caught wind a little bit of the makers of Jim Beam and Maker's Mark being sold recently to Japanese company called Suntory Holdings.
 
I won't pretend to understand all of the business end....in regards to profit margins and shares rising and what not.  But I'd be curious to hear if you have any opinions to whether or not you believe the product will change or quality.
 
My personal opinion:  I don't think anything will change.  The only difference is that my money will ultimately go to a Japanese company.  I don't plan on taking a stance, as some claim they will, and cease drinking Maker's Mark.  It is what it is. 
 
Please be careful to keep any comments within the realm of quality control and the product, rather than morphing this into a forbidden political conversation.
 

In looking at the company, it looks like they have their hands in a lot of different companies.  They are the company that owns Yamazaki Japanese Whiskey.  It looks like they have been a partner with Beam and Maker's for some time, along with other well known people, MaCallan, Glenlivet, Laphroaig.
 
I don't think the quality will go away.  Not much of a Beam fan, but Maker's is pretty good.

I have had plenty of Suntory while I was in Japan.  I liked it.  It's a shame another American institution is being sold, but I guess that comes with a One World Economy.

Wasn't there a big row over them going from 42% to 40% recently? If they're smart, nothing will change.

JHolmes763 said:

Wasn't there a big row over them going from 42% to 40% recently? If they're smart, nothing will change.

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I remember there was a big fuss made when they were going to water down a tad, I don't remember the percentages.  But yes, to answer your question, and apparently they decided not to do it.
 
I'm guessing nothing will change, other than who makes the profit.

I realized that it doesn't really matter who the rich business man is that adds a few more coins to his investment account?  American or Japanese, it's all the same to me.
 
Beam has been increasing production for several years to meet the growing global demand.  I would guess that Suntory will try even harder now to grow the Japanese market for Beam products.  That means more jobs for Kentucky.

LarryH said:

I realized that it doesn't really matter who the rich business man is that adds a few more coins to his investment account?  American or Japanese, it's all the same to me.
 
Beam has been increasing production for several years to meet the growing global demand.  I would guess that Suntory will try even harder now to grow the Japanese market for Beam products.  That means more jobs for Kentucky.

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That's correct, unless they start outsourcing production to Japan to cut on the cost.

You can't produce bourbon whiskey anywhere except America.  Otherwise it is not bourbon. :whistling:

It's a buy, then you can sell later on down the road and say this is the US version. Make a ton of money and retire to that villa in the south of France.

I don't know as much about spirits as you guys but I have worked in the Quality Assurance/Control field for 10 years now. One of which was with Unilever a European company. When I was there they worked with a few investment firms and ended up selling their holdings to the firms. Initially everything went well but when the projected profits weren't turned for the investors they started learning hard to make up for it. So Unilever just decided to sell at a profit and not risk making it cheaper. I know after that for a good 2 years we had angry customers calling thinking we were still producing the products. So I think it's a crap shoot on what they are more concerned with.

Four Roses is owned by Kirin Beer which is a Japanese company. Kirin Beer is the best thing that has happened to Four Roses in many years. The quality of FR Bourbon is vastly improved and new products are released on a regular basis.
Wild Turkey is another company that has a history of foreign owners. Most Bourbon enthusiast would agree that the French and now the Itilians have not done well by this brand.
Let's hope that the Japanese will encourage the folks at Clermont Ky to work toward higher quality and new products just as Kirin has done for Four Roses.

cubacroc said:

Four Roses is owned by Kirin Beer which is a Japanese company. Kirin Beer is the best thing that has happened to Four Roses in many years. The quality of FR Bourbon is vastly improved and new products are released on a regular basis.
Wild Turkey is another company that has a history of foreign owners. Most Bourbon enthusiast would agree that the French and now the Itilians have not done well by this brand.
Let's hope that the Japanese will encourage the folks at Clermont Ky to work toward higher quality and new products just as Kirin has done for Four Roses.

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Yeah, good point about Four Roses.  I recently learned about their foreign ownership and was pleased to hear how well they are doing.  I guess like many things, only time will tell.  I know that in the short term this will not prevent me from continuing to drink Maker's more regularly than any other bourbon.