by Michael Shoer | May 23, 2023 | Blog, News, Wholesale
It’s no secret that the cost of new fill Bourbon today is nearly double what it was four years ago. While the costs of grains, transportation, and utilities are still higher than they were back then, they have stabilized and are even slightly down. The single...
by Michael Shoer | Jul 20, 2026 | The Ascent--Coming of Age
Trust, but Verify the Mash Bill The mash bill is the load-bearing fact of a barrel deal — and the easiest thing in the transaction to assert and the hardest to check. That gap is where the seller has always lived. Every barrel trade rests on a claim. This is an...
by Michael Shoer | Jul 6, 2026 | The Ascent--Coming of Age
The federal excise tax is the largest line item most barrel buyers treat as fixed. It isn’t. And the money left on the table doesn’t vanish — someone collects it. There is a number attached to every proof gallon of distilled spirits that...
by Michael Shoer | Jul 1, 2026 | The Ascent--Coming of Age
The boom pulled a decade of production forward. What comes next is not a crash — it is a repricing, and it favors whoever can find the inventory a home. Booms end the same way. Demand climbs, everyone lays down more than they can sell, and the barrels keep aging on a...
by Michael Shoer | Jul 1, 2026 | The Ascent--Coming of Age
Every other asset class has a number you can check. Whiskey has a phone call. Here is what it would take to fix that. Ask three people what a barrel of four-year MGP high-rye is worth and you will get three answers, each delivered with total confidence and none of...
by Michael Shoer | Jun 30, 2026 | The Ascent--Coming of Age
MARKET STRUCTURE · ISSUE Nº 01 The Last Opaque Market Bulk whiskey is the final great commodity inefficiency. It is about to become someone’s opportunity. Here is how a barrel of aging whiskey changes hands in 2026. A broker hears that a distillery has surplus...
by Michael Shoer | Jun 30, 2026 | The Ascent--Coming of Age
PROLOGUE -- ISSUE 00 BASE CAMP. Here is the strange fact at the center of this market: a barrel of aging whiskey, an asset that can be worth thousands of dollars and take a decade to make, still trades the way it did fifty years ago. A broker makes a call. A number...
by Michael Shoer | Jun 13, 2026 | Blog, News, Whiskey Lot Details, Wholesale
At Victory Spirits Barrel Lab, we believe bourbon buying should involve more than a text message, a barrel age, and a price. So naturally, we created a fictional mad scientist to say it out loud. Meet the Barrel Lab™ Professor — the founder’s fictional...
by Michael Shoer | May 15, 2026 | News
Victory Spirits Development Expands Barrel Lab™ as a B2B Platform for Bulk Spirits, Co-Pack, Compliance, and Brand Route-to-Market Support Barrel Lab™ is recruiting strategic partners, distillers, brand owners, and whiskey buyers as it builds a...
by Michael Shoer | Apr 30, 2026 | Blog, News, Wholesale
How 21% rye became the hidden platform behind modern bourbon % Rye Bourbon Mash For most bourbon drinkers, the story starts with the label. For producers, brokers, blenders, and brand builders, it often starts with three numbers: 75 corn / 21 rye / 4 malted barley.70...
by Michael Shoer | Apr 2, 2026 | Blog
Why Victory Real Value™ Changes How Serious Buyers Think About Barrel PricingWhy Victory Real Value™ Changes How Serious Buyers Think About Barrel Pricing Victory Spirits Development · Barrel Lab™ Intelligence Series · ...
