Time for Bourbon at O.Z. Tyler

Today, this process is known as TerraPURE®—and if you have enjoyed a store brand or private label bourbon in the past 10 years, you may have already tried it.

Since 2007, Terressentia® Corporation, the company founded on Mr. Tyler’s TerraPURE process, has supplied spirits to large retail chains, individual brand owners and other distilleries or exporters. While Terressentia is the source of bourbon (and other spirits) for other companies, they experienced a sourcing issue of their own when the bourbon boom began to explode, ultimately leading to the creation of the O.Z. Tyler Distillery. 

That is a lot of alcohol to create and store, and the U.S. government is very strict about knowing exactly how much alcohol is in every location for tax requirements. The distillery needed a way to accurately trace its quantities.

They contacted Scale Consultants Inc., a local Rice Lake equipment dealer in Owensboro, to develop and install weighing solutions throughout the distillery. However, weighing barrels and totes housing 120-proof bourbon (it is later proofed down or “cut” with water before bottled) required special consideration.

Scale Consultants’ Lafe and Jim Benson recommended RoughDeck® floor scales for barrel weighing, with 320IS digital weight indicators to meet the environment’s safety requirements.

The 320IS indicator features a stainless steel, NEMA Type 4X/IP66 enclosure, T4 temperature rating and Factory Mutual (FM) approval for hazardous environments. The indicator’s power supply is intrinsically-safe and auto-ranging, allowing for simplified wiring to a single AC conduit line and seal from a safe area. The 320IS provided an ideal solution for weighing the highly flammable product without sacrificing safety—eliminating the danger of a bourbon BOOM nobody wants.    

“The scales have worked terrific for us,” says Jacob Call, master distiller of O.Z. Tyler, who oversaw the renovations. “It’s vitally important that we know exactly how much product we have at any given time for tax purposes, and I couldn’t have asked for a better solution than what Scale Consultants provided.” This importance cannot be overstated, as bourbon is one of the most highly regulated and highly taxed products in America.   

In fact, there are seven different taxes on bourbon, including a special “ad valorem” charge which taxes the increasing value of bourbon as it ages every year in the barrel. After all is said and done, when the consumer finally buys a bottle of bourbon, approximately 60 percent of the purchase price will have gone to Uncle Sam. 

There are also unseen “taxes.” As a barrel sits in the rick house, its contents are subject to evaporation. This is charmingly referred to as the angel’s share, but it can account for up to 20 percent of lost bourbon in four years.  
Minimizing the time a bourbon spends in the barrel is a huge competitive advantage for Terressentia. Quantities can increase, rick house space is reduced, ad valorem taxes are kept to a minimum and the angels don’t get as large of a feast. However, it’s all for naught if the final product doesn’t pass the taste test.  

There is no way to predict the bourbon boom’s ceiling. New brands are emerging at a record pace, and existing distilleries are putting away record numbers of barrels in anticipation of upcoming demand. While many of their competitors have teams devoted to forecasting market trends five to 25 years from today, O.Z. Tyler uses technology to better adapt to today’s customer. They also have their eyes on tomorrow however, as the company is working on new advancements, such as a mobile version of their TerraPURE system which can be transported to process whiskey at remote locations across the world. 

The future looks bright for O.Z. Tyler Distillery. Their extensive renovation of this historic location allowed them to implement the best of both worlds: traditional charm with modern technology. Rice Lake equipment, expertly installed by Owensboro’s very own weighing experts Scale Consultants, Inc., fits right in to the mix!