Chip Tate Whiskey Genius Emeritus

 

(Photo credit Waco Tribune)

Back in 2011, I discovered Balcones whiskey (or whisky as Balcones called it).  I was in Texas, Balcones was a Texas distillery.  The whole concept of a distillery making whiskey in Texas was new to me; it was an exciting enterprise, and an exciting time.  The frontman for Balcones was its colorful founder, Chip Tate.  Tate was a transplanted Texan, as were so many, but he had embraced the maverick culture, of which, Texans are so proud.  Tate was from Virginia, with detours to Germany, and Indiana.  Tate’s father was a nuclear engineer and his mother a nurse.  Tate went to college at William and Mary.  At William and Mary, Tate studied physics and philosophy.  While in Richmond, VA, Tate turned his homebrewing hobby into a passion.  But after graduation, Tate went to the cubicle and worked several white collar jobs, often following his wife, a professor, to her different assignments.  That’s how Tate found himself in Waco, TX.  In 2007, his wife left, and Tate decided to pursue his newest passion, distilling.  In 2008, Tate started Balcones. https://balconesdistilling.com/

It didn’t take long for the charismatic and entertaining Chip Tate, to become the darling of the craft whiskey movement.  He and his company Balcones, were routinely profiled and received wide acclaim, for their pioneering of non-Kentucky whiskey.  The conventional wisdom was that Tate was a genius, at least in most things whiskey.  Mr. Tate, and Balcones were early to the craft whiskey scene.  Prohibition knocked out most of the distilling industry, only six large Kentucky distillers continued to operate making “medicinal products”.  It took over 50 years for a “new” distillery to open in 1982. The Texas distilling industry owes a debt to Bert “Tito” Beveridge who obtained the first legal permit to distill in Texas.  https://www.titosvodka.com/titos-story 

The first fortunate or maybe brilliant decision Tate made, was not to make bourbon. Avoiding bourbon, also avoided the comparison and competition with the Kentucky whiskey giants.  Bourbon palettes had been set by these huge legacy distillers, and as others discovered, doing something different in the category can be a hard slog.  Many craft distillers of bourbon have a tenuous relationship with the  bourbon community.  The standards set by the legacy Kentucky distillers are difficult to match at a competitive price. 

Tate, either by genius or luck, avoided the competition and comparisons that plegged his craft bourbon contemporaries.  Tate created a newish less established and less competitive market segment.  He used unique local ingredients and rejected the column still for the more funky pot still.  This uniqueness turned out to be an advantage in this niche, but for many craft bourbon producers the same traits were a liability, as the fans of Kentucky bourbon preferred the taste of bourbon distilled in column stills.  

Tate’s forays were into the more niche non-bourbon, non-scotch markets.  Here, similar to early craft beer brewers, Balcones was not competing with the establishment on their turf but rather was the first mover in a new category they just created.  

The public and the press loved Chip Tate’s story, his colorful quotes, and the unique flavor profiles of Balcones whisky products.   Between 2010 and 2014 Balcones won over 140 awards. Tate was hailed as a genius, and was often called the Steve Jobs of distilling.

But by 2014, Tate, in an effort to grow Balcones, had entangled himself with a private equity group.  Differences arose and accusations flew back and forth from Tate’s lack of business acumen to his treatment of staff.  Tate publicly disagreed with these characterizations. After a drawn out court battle, Tate eventually was bought out by Balcones majority ownership. (For a complete history see) https://www.texasmonthly.com/food/the-hangover/  And here https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/28/business/how-dreams-and-money-didnt-mix-at-a-texas-distillery.html

As part of the court settlement, Tate  agreed to a 13 month non-compete agreement, but shared in various forums that in Texas it really meant nothing, and he expected to release new whiskey products soon. Tate set-up Tate Distilling Company https://tatedistillery.com/  

Occasionally, in the last eight years, Tate has briefly surfaced to comment on some aspect of distilling, or to sit for an interview.  The latest public appearances I found have been on podcasts, including Distiller’s Talk and Still Life.  On each appearance, Tate seems most interested in building copper pot stills and discusses this part of his business in-depth.  Tate hardly mentions distilling whiskey.  

It has been over eight years and no new Chip Tate whiskey product has been released.  In listening to Tate, I hear his trepidation about the regulatory environment, corporate finance, and perhaps an uncertainty about the reception of a new Tate whiskey in today’s market.

The distilling landscape is different than it was in 2008-2014.  An explosion of craft distilleries has taken place.  Lots of craftsmen and entrepreneurs have jumped into the space.  Established craft breweries have pivoted to distilling, and younger distilleries have started  by offering less time consuming products such as vodkas and gins to generate immediate cash flows that support their future whiskey offerings.  It’s tough, it's competitive, and maybe the window for Chip Tate has closed.

I do hope we see a second distilling act from Tate, but having read all I could about Chip, having listened to his interviews, and finally by observing that no new products have launched.  I have my doubts. Perhaps Tate has decided to go from being a gold miner to the merchant that sells the miner his shovels.  For now if you want to sample a Chip Tate whisky, you still have Balcones.