HD samples

[rednose]

I’m trying to get the best out of my product and would like to have some feedback.

So, my idea is to send some 50ml samples all around the world.

I’m pointing most to rum as we have really good molasses and would like to know what the opinion of our HD distiller friends is.

Now, as in most countries it’s forbidden to distill, how we could do it without reviling who we are?

I would not charge any bucks for the booze, only need to get the shipping quote until stock of promotion is finished.

The ones I send the booze HAVE TO leave a feedback to know if I'm doing fine or not.

Any idea how to manage that?

I’m thinking to manage it with one of my private web pages but not sure how to.

I would like to start that in about two to three month.

Any idea would be highly apreciated

Joe

[MuleKicker]

Joe, its a great idea. i just dont know how we could do it with out putting ourselves in jepardy. i think it may be too risky for some. I wouldnt have a problem with some members but, the whole thing could open up a big deal.

[olddog]

I think the big problem would be the customs dept of the countries you are mailing to.


OD

[rednose]

Yeah, that's the big problem.

I don't want to have a data base of illigal distillers, lol.

That's why I need an idea how to manage it.

I would love to send you a sample of the ecuatorian cachaça, the corincho, as you have sugar cane (was you right?).

But as I mentioned it's a little delicate.

How to?

Joe, its a great idea. i just dont know how we could do it with out putting ourselves in jepardy. i think it may be too risky for some. I wouldnt have a problem with some members but, the whole thing could open up a big deal.

[rednose]

Not sure if that will be a biggy as it is a gift, you would only pay the real shipping cost.

But that is why I opened this topic to have as many as possible critics and ideas.

Thanks OD.

I think the big problem would be the customs dept of the countries you are mailing to.


OD

[The Baker]

Joe, a couple of thoughts.

I guess a legal distiller could make an offer of a bottle at a discounted rate to people who would agree to provide feedback.

Stated to be limited to a certain total number of bottles because of legal implications; otherwise a lot of people could insist the distiller supply them a bottle and the total could (maybe not likely but...) be so many he would go broke.



There would be perhaps no need to have or use a database but if, for example, a good friend of mine happened to learn of the possibility of an offer being made, he might send an e-mail to see if he could get a bottle...

Nothing to do with any group or database.....

And it might be worth while to send my friend a full sized bottle of the rum (say) rather than a very little bottle, for a price that covered the postage and enough to pay for the bottles and bottling and packing and a bit more. Because my friend would know how important the results of the survey are to the legal distiller in the overseas country, he would ask a number of his friends to a sampling of the foreign rum and some other rums and they would all write down their opinions of all the rums and how they compared.

So if that happened the foreign distiller would get several opinions of his rum, hopefully along with comparisons against other rums; and the cost to him would be the cost of a bigger quantity of rum. But the FIXED costs could be the same or near the same.
Big glass bottles would maybe be not a lot more expensive than smaller, because big ones are bought in such large quantities.
The handling costs (filling, etc.) would probably be much the same PER UNIT, whether it is a big or a small bottle.

But there remains the difficulty of the excise (the tax on spirits). A legal distiller in a foreign country supplying spirits to people in (say) Australia would have to satisfy the excise rules, and I don't know what those rules are. Maybe it is allowed, to supply a few little sample bottles, without paying excise. Probably not.

But as you say it could be a gift, just the postage AND PACKING to be paid. (Note, the 'packing'. That could help our foreign distiller quite a lot, financially.)
I have no idea what the rules are for gifts but the rules could well be different to the normal sales situation.
And there could be special rules, probably favourable, for 'promotions'. And the little bottles could be okay for promotions where the big bottles might not.

My rum-tasting friend would not mind paying tax on his bottle so long as it didn't make it a LOT more expensive than other rum in his country, because he likes to try new things.
And to be helpful, especially to people who are trying to make a go of a new enterprise.

Just some thoughts, for what they might be worth. Maybe they are not worth anything.

[ammo man]

Great idea rednose, but I think it will never fly. I, for one, and I am sure most others on this forum will not send you their snail mail address using their email. Then you have the legal problems of shipping booze from one country to another by a commercial distiller which I am sure are many.

I do hope you can overcome these problems. I would love to have one of your samples.

Bert

Edit. This might work as far as addresses, etc. go: Post the Internet site address on this forum of a personal web site on which you have a "little box" for a person to fill in his name and address requesting a sample of your product for which they would agree to submit a report to you on what they thought of it. I don't know if many would be willing to pay or not. You could write this off as advertising expense.

B

[MashMan]

Hi Rednose, another slant, I know most of us would rather consume our own product over that that is available comercialy, but there are a lot of good quality rums available world wide. why don't you run an opinion poll of HD members favourites, select a half dozen bottles, purchase these yourself, I can't imagine you would have much trouble finding a dozen candidates to do a blind tasting and get some feedback in your own backyard.
Might be a bit easier than trying to send samples all over the world.

Cheers,
MM.

[kiwistiller]

I have an idea. Send them all to me, and I promise with my fingers crossed behind my back to distribute them to others, and not just drink them all myself

[rednose]

Hmmmm

I promise with my fingers crossed behind my back to distribute them to others, and not just drink them all myself

[rednose]

I will go for a mix of my idea and the one of MM.

Will get shipping quotes soon and let ya know, maybe there is no cost at all if we go with no more than our mentors which should have a good tongue.

Joe

[kiwistiller]

I'd be happy to pay for a bottle of your finest, RN, even just out of curiosity. I think teddysad is a bit of a rum fiend, and local to me, I'm sure he'd have some good feedback and I could flip him a sample from anything sent to me. I think customs will be annoying, but should be alright as long as we can prove it is a 'gift'.

[rednose]

I had a meeting with a custome folk here and he told me that there is no problem with 50ml of samples as gifts, anyhow I have to double check it.

Another story would be the recieve side which depends on local laws, but it's worth a try.

We had a lot of fun today violating the local law (not to sell booze on sundays, but who says you can't invite, it's my home )

We made Cuba Libre and Mojito, was just great.

I think customs will be annoying, but should be alright as long as we can prove it is a 'gift'.

[Kentucky shinner]

has anyone ever shipped any within the USA. I have some relatives that want me to send them some and I am just not very comfy with the idea.

[Husker]

I have never 'sent' any myself (yet), but have received samples from a couple members here. Simply pack it VERY well, so that it will not break, and ship it. Double wrap it in bubble wrap, pack the 'loose spots of the box with peanuts or tight wads of newspaper, and ship it fed ex.

Both of the packages I got, came USPS, I think. Nether had any problems. But I would recommend Fed ex.

One other option, is to put it in a wine bottle, and make it look 'sealed'. There is no law at all about shipping wine, you can even list the contents if asked. However, make damn sure it does not leak, and is packed well enough to not break or have damage.

H.

[rednose]

I went to the local post office some time ago and they told me that they don't accept any alcoholic liquid sending outside EC, that's why I didn't go any further with my idea.

I might be in the next year or maybe one year moe in USA with some legal exported samples.

Joe

[ammo man]

Concerning the wine bottle idea: I am just now expanding to wine making and have discovered you can buy heat shrink thingies to put on top of your bottle. I tried one as a test. I put it over the top of the wine bottle, and stuck it in boiling hot water (other ways will work). The dang thing after shrinking looked like it had just come from the bottler. Neat and very professional looking.

You can buy them from any Homebrewer.com. They are very inexpensive.

Bert

[Kentucky shinner]

Concerning the wine bottle idea: I am just now expanding to wine making and have discovered you can buy heat shrink thingies to put on top of your bottle. I tried one as a test. I put it over the top of the wine bottle, and stuck it in boiling hot water (other ways will work). The dang thing after shrinking looked like it had just come from the bottler. Neat and very professional looking.

You can buy them from any Homebrewer.com. They are very inexpensive.

Bert

I have been using them for a little while now. I use a heat gun on mine. and yes the work really great. I have made some small labels with date and what they are. I am putting them away for a rainy day many years from now I hope.

[Samohon]

I think the sealed wine bottle is the way to go here... Have a few friends I'd like to send some hooch to...
Maybe now I've found a way round this....

[ammo man]

Shoot KS, I am going to make labels too, but putting away for years to come - forget it. Between me and the many friends I am beginning to find out that I have, I will be lucky if I can make a five gallon batch last a month.

Bert

[olddog]

Just put a wine label on it.

OD

[Mr.Spooky]

im pretty sure that you can ship wine. just put it in those smaller wine bottles. as far as the mail thing,,,,, if you was to get a P.O box or something Joe, and oh say,,, put it in yur signature, people could send you a writen request.. but lets get real,,, as far as being "under cover" ir discrete, the day you joined here, you could be traced. oh and BTW, with over 6000 members, one would be nieve to believe that there wasent a few LEO"s enjoying the fine art of home distilling.
just my thoughts
spooky