Dear friends and family:
Sure enough, Albany ends the year buried by more snow than anything seen in over 50 years.
Seriously, 2020…
go f**k yourself.
Poised as we are to bid 2020 a long overdue adieu, the two of us (Patrick and Jesse) write to wish you a Happy Chanukah, a Merry Christmas, and a new year devoid of the many traumas—COVID-19 global pandemic, nationwide civil riots, Beirut explosion, death of Kobe Bryant, death of Chadwick Boseman, death of Alex Trebek, death of George Floyd, death of democracy, Australian bushfires, West Coast wildfires, f**king murder hornets(!)—that literally plagued 2020.
We’ve just completed an exhaustive/exhausting marathon Zoom session to synch ourselves on the state of our company, and to coordinate the rollout of our first two product lines next year. That’s right, folks! After five years of toil and plotting, New Scotland Spirits is finally postured to launch.
But before we detail the release of our flagship single malt whiskey (which we’re excited to ship out to our long-ago Kickstarter backers) and premium American corn whiskey, here are a few updates:
This past year, we ramped up production of our bourbon and signature rye whiskey, expanding reserve inventory stocks in anticipation of brand releases in 2022 and 2023.
We won our years-long legal dispute with the Scotch Whiskey Association, which finally withdrew its complaint against our use of the term “New Scotland Spirits”. We can now go to market under the banner that honors our hometown of New Scotland, New York. William Wallace would be proud of us…
We secured critical trademark protections and the Certificate of Label Approval necessary to bring our spirits to market. And on the heels of that victory, we bottled our very first whiskey,—“68W”—this past fall at the Schenectady Distilling Company.
We can’t wait to share it with you next summer.
Unfortunately, we have disappointing news to share with the many loyal friends and family members who’ve long sought to join our enterprise. After fierce debate between us and plenty of soul-searching, we’ve decided against taking on additional investors in our company.
We’re immensely humbled and flattered by your interest in equity. And when we began this journey, it’s true that we envisioned bringing along lots of fellow New Scots in this community endeavor. But legal obstacles, logistical concerns, and the many challenges facing startups in their earliest stages make the prospect of taking on additional investors untenable right now.
Yet there are lots of ways that you can get in on the ground floor of the craft spirits industry! Here are a few distilleries in which you can invest at affordable levels.
Thanks for understanding, guys. Trust that we’re sparing you more headaches than you might realize!
Indeed, it’s already been a wild ride. New Year’s Day marks the fifth anniversary of that faithful conversation at Russian River Brewing Company in California, where the confident courage alcohol oft summons inspired us to breathe life into a long dormant dream. Securing the licenses, assembling the supply chains, developing the brands, and crafting the spirits—it’s all been a challenge. And if it weren’t for the fact that we’ve grown accustomed to fighting like siblings for over thirty years, who knows if we would’ve made it this far!
And yet here we are… standing just shy of the starting line, having successfully navigated our way through the qualifiers. It finally feels like we’ve earned the right to compete in the real marathon ahead of us. And it’s because of y’all.
We wouldn’t be here without your support, and we’re just so thankful for all of you.
Someday, we hope our alcohol inspires you to manifest your own childhood dreams.
—Jesse & Patrick