A lot has been made lately, here and elsewhere, about the concept of authenticity in craft spirits. The fact is, many products give the impression of being locally made, distilled in small batches or otherwise "from-scratch" artisanal, when, in actuality, they are re-bottling third-party or "sourced" alcohol, sometimes involving only a tweak or two in the finished product. Is this technique, in and of itself, so wrong? Are we throwing the baby out with the bathwater when we critique the transparency of sourced products?

The shorthand for these third-party producers of whiskey, gin and vodka is NDP or "non-distiller producer," and some are now coming under fire. Templeton Rye, a product based in the town of Templeton, Iowa, is currently facing a lawsuit alleging that the whiskey producer has been less than forthcoming about the source of its rye whiskey (mostly Indiana) and the authenticity of its elaborate backstory (a rediscovered old family recipe that was a favorite of gangster Al Capone). Meanwhile, Texas-based Tito's Handmade Vodka is also under attack, with a lawsuit alleging the corn-based vodka, which prides itself on its humble origins and hand-built stills, no longer qualifies as "handmade" due to its sheer size of production. (There is no Federal definition for a "handmade" spirit). Templeton declined to comment for this story.

Here's the thing: Using other people's alcohol and putting your label on it has been going on for a long, long time.

Head over to AskMen to check out Robert Haynes-Peterson's full take on sourced whisky.

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