One of my favorite experiences in 2024 was my trip to Kentucky with my brother. Back in April, he and I went up to Frankfort and Lexington to tour some distilleries. Check out the series here:
Related: Adventures in Bourbonland, Part 1, Adventures in Bourbonland, Part 2, Adventures in Bourbonland, Part 3
We made an unplanned stop at a distillery that turned out to be one of our most pleasant surprises on the trip. Glenns Creek Distilling isn’t one of the big names in whiskey, but it’s holding its own with a terrific line of bourbons and a unique sense of humor. We enjoyed the tasting there, but the real surprise came after the tasting was over.
“The employee told us about one of the bourbons (which I would’ve tried if I’d heard the story before) that the company believes is the only bourbon using the original Old Crow recipe,” I wrote in Part 3 of my travelogue. “They call it ¡Cuervito Vivo! (The Little Crow Lives!).”
“Here’s where the story gets even better. Glenns Creek received a cease-and-desist letter not too long ago, but it wasn’t from Jim Beam, the current owner of the Old Crow brand,” I added. “The letter came from Jose Cuervo, which wants Glenns Creek to avoid the Cuervito branding, even though Jose Cuervo makes tequila and not bourbon. Oddly enough, Jim Beam sent Jose Cuervo a trademark warning in 2011 over the crow in its branding.”
Naturally, my brother and I had to buy a bottle of ¡Cuervito Vivo! We met another employee in the parking lot who was familiar with my work here at PJ Media, which was the icing on the cake for me.
Apparently, Glenns Creek had to abide by the cease-and-desist letter in the new year. Not long ago, I looked at their website (mainly to see if they had started shipping their products) and noticed that the run of ¡Cuervito Vivo! was almost complete. I wondered what was next.
It didn’t take long to find out. On New Year’s Eve, Glenns Creek posted an announcement on its Facebook page.
“Well, the time is upon us that we have to change the name of our Spanish name bourbon formerly known as CV,” Glenns Creek announced. “One of our visitors gave us an idea so we are trying it out. Let me know what you think.”
A photo accompanies the post showing a label that’s similar to the original label. The branding and label design aren’t finalized yet, but the new branding with the same recipe and mash bill as the original is appropriate: Flippin’ the Bird!
One commenter referred to the rebranding as a “perfect public inside joke.” Another commenter suggested that Glenns Creek change the name to “Cease and Desist” and used AI to create a label idea. Of course, I think Glenns Creek is pretty settled with what it wants to do.
However Glenns Creek decides to rebrand its tribute to the original Old Crow recipe, it’s refreshing to see a company that responds to corporate bullying with a sense of humor. The distillery is worth a visit if you’re ever in the area.
