Everyone has some news to share this week. We welcome, Fred Minnick, as a new co-host to the show and kick off a new segment called "Above the Char". Ed Bley, multi-appearance guest on the show, has some news to share as well. Can you guess what it is? What's going to happen to Old Baldy? What's on the horizon for everyone? Enjoy this week's episode! Show Notes: This week's "Above the Char" with Fred Minnick discusses cigar barrels or cigar blends Ed is leaving Cork N Bottle and opening a distil...
Jul 26, 2018•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 159
There used to be thousands of distilleries spread across Kentucky at houses, farms, and industrial sites. As time moved through the industrial revolution, prohibition, and the clear spirit movement, many of these became ruins and were long forgotten. Nick Laracuente has dedicated years to uncovering these forgotten pieces of history as an effort to piece together their story. He is also on the forefront of Buffalo Trace's Bourbon Pompeii exhibit. Listen to this episode as Nick tells his story of...
Jul 19, 2018•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 158
It's a tradition that has remained in the hands of the family for generations. Willett Distillery is one of the most recognized brands for bourbon enthusiasts and has accumulated a cult status. Even Kulsveen has seen the struggles and highs of his industry but had foresight to buy aged whiskey stocks when they were plentiful which put the spotlight on this brands. With Britt Kulsveen at the helm as their new President, this family is making bigger waves than before. Listen to their story as Fred...
Jul 12, 2018•1 hr 29 min•Season 1Ep. 157
How are businesses able to take advantage of Kentucky's House Bill 100 or better known as the Vintage Spirits Law? Today’s show features two opposite side of the spectrum. We have one side doing retail with Justin Sloane at Justin’s House of Bourbon in Lexington, and the other is on-premise at a restaurant with Larry Rice of the famed Silver Dollar in Louisville. Both of these places are known for having unique bourbons on the menu and we get an inside scoop into how this law has effected their ...
Jul 05, 2018•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 156
Pretty sure everyone has heard about Barton 1792's Warehouse collapsing but we take our stab at some chaos theories. Brian Harra from Sipp'n Corn defended Castle and Key against Sazerac in a lawsuit and won. And the second half of the show is discussing all the new releases that are set to debut. Show Notes: Drinking Old Forester's President's Choice, Kentucky Owl Rye, Wilderness Trail, Elijah Craig, and Henry McKenna Why doesn't Heaven Hill allow Elijah Craig Barrel Proof picks? It's the story ...
Jun 28, 2018•1 hr 30 min•Season 1Ep. 155
The spotlight is set on the man who has made non-distilling producers famous. It's an exclusive podcast to the operations behind one of the largest distilleries in the world. Our guest spent nearly 40 years with that very famous Indiana distillery. It's safe to say, Greg Metze probably produced more bourbon and rye in a single year than some master distillers will in a lifetime once you hear about the size and scale of MGP. Show Notes: Let’s do what we all always do and start from the beginning....
Jun 21, 2018•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 154
Wes Henderson ran with his father's idea of doing port barrel finished bourbon. He weathered the storm of critics and let the product carve a new path where barrel finishes are now commonplace. It caught the eye of Bacardi and is continuing to grow with their own distillery that's now up and running. We talk about brand loyalty, social media, acquisitions, and business models when it comes to bourbon and spirits. Show Notes: Wes, you were back on Episode 006 which was back in March of 2015. I me...
Jun 14, 2018•1 hr 2 min•Season 1Ep. 153
You know when people say "I miss the good 'ol days"? Guthrie McKay is one of them. He has seen the bourbon renaissance flourish as he's been nestled in a small little liquor store in downtown Bardstown called Toddy's Liquors. Toddy's has almost become a stop on its own as people visit the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. Listen as Guthrie tells stories of taking customers to visit Booker and Parker, his run in with Bill Thomas, and how the current boom has made him adapt business. Show Notes: Talk about ...
Jun 07, 2018•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 152
The craft beer and wine world has good apps, why doesn't bourbon? Have you started to see Henry McKenna games start with liquor stores and distributors? Are we entering a new era of specialty bourbon decanters to appeal to an audience that will bite? We investigate the reasons why it's so hard to make bourbon apps popular. Tell true stories from the front lines of distributors bullying store owners on purchasing cases of Henry McKenna. Reveal our opinions on the new Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-bon...
May 31, 2018•1 hr 15 min•Season 1Ep. 151
Is Jack Daniel's a bourbon? It's a question that has been asked thousands of times over and there never really seems to be a good answer. It's about time you hear it from the man himself, the one who helps make every drop of that charcoal mellowed goodness, Jeff Arnett, the Master Distiller at Jack Daniel's Distillery. We talk about the Lincoln County Process and if that changes the terminology from "Bourbon" to "Tennessee Whiskey" or if it can even be replicated in other parts of the country. I...
May 24, 2018•1 hr 24 min•Season 1Ep. 150
Picking a single barrel out of a line up seems relatively simple when compared to blending tens or hundreds of barrels together to hit a specific bourbon taste profile. Where does that process begin? Do you start with a few and keep taste testing? Is it a math formula of X spicy barrels to Y sweet barrels? This episode features Ed Bley, blender behind the underground phenomenon known as Old Baldy. We ask Ed what it's like to go from picking single barrels to learning how to blend multiple barrel...
May 17, 2018•1 hr 11 min•Season 1Ep. 149
Are you looking for an in-depth story on the Beam family history and how Fred and Freddie Noe are cementing their place in it? Look no further than the 2018 Kentucky Derby Museum's Legend Series. This episode will cover some of the fun times that were had by Booker, Fred, and Freddie and how the new release of Little Book is coming to be a yearly distribution. Fred Minnick is the host of the show as he covers many of the aspects of the family business, how they came up in the ranks, and tries to...
May 10, 2018•1 hr 45 min•Season 1Ep. 148
Will Longbranch slowly phase out Wild Turkey 81? Did you know that 92% of the entrants in the 2017 San Francisco World Spirit Awards won a medal? Did Buffalo Trace start aiming too high? We examine all of these topics much more in depth in this edition of the Bourbon Community Roundtable. Show Notes: Who's excited for the Matthew McConaughey bourbon? Was Longbranch a smart move for Wild Turkey because the Wild Turkey brand name is getting stale? Could this be the slow decline and phasing out of ...
May 03, 2018•1 hr 31 min•Season 1Ep. 147
Maker's Mark is easily the most iconic brand in bourbon. But did you know the brand would have probably ceased to exist if Bill Samuels Jr didn't try and sell his Dad's whiskey? Get ready to hear the untold history of how Bill Samuels Jr turned his Dad's hobby of making whiskey from a few barrels a week into the powerhouse it is today. Show Notes: So Bill let's start from the beginning. Did you and your Dad butt heads a lot? What was your Dad's original vision? What was the original investment? ...
Apr 26, 2018•1 hr 23 min•Season 1Ep. 146
The threats of a global trade war have been looming over the past few months. Sparked by an EU attempt to lower the tariff on steel imports, they targeted American products such as peanut butter and bourbon. What sort of economic impact would a bourbon tariff have on exports to other countries? How does that trickle back into Bardstown, KY and the growing market? Does it even matter? On this episode, we are joined by University of Louisville's Economic Professors, Conor Lennon and Keith Teltser,...
Apr 19, 2018•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 145
What does a bourbon that receives double gold actually mean? Are the whiskies judged blind? We learn all this and more as the Executive Director of the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Anthony Dias Blue, joins the show to give us an inside glimpse to the bourbons that can be entered and dispels some myths if it's a "pay to play" atmosphere. Show Notes: What sets your competition apart from the rest? How many different categories do you have at the event? Are all tastings done blind? Are ...
Apr 12, 2018•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 144
Do you snuff at $100 MGP bourbon and will sourced Dickel be the next wave of NDPs? What does House Bill 400 really mean when it comes to shipping booze from Kentucky? And finally Buffalo Trace announced their new line of CYPB but who really wanted 95 proof Weller? We touch on all these topics and more on this Bourbon Community Roundtable episode. Show Notes: What's everyone drinking tonight? Are we getting tired of seeing $100 MGP bourbons? Bourbonr and BreakingBourbon have Doc52, let's hear it ...
Apr 05, 2018•1 hr 14 min•Season 1Ep. 143
Dave Pickerell is well known in the bourbon world, he was former master distiller at Maker’s Mark and owns a consulting business, Oak View Spirits, where he has designed equipment, systems and processes for about 100 distilleries worldwide including WhistlePig, Hillrock, Corsair, and many others. This episode dives into to the distilleries themselves, the pricing behind Boss Hog, and questions we would want to know from a master distiller like grain sourcing. Show Notes: As usual, lets start fro...
Mar 29, 2018•1 hr 26 min•Season 1Ep. 142
Can you name all the distilleries in Lawrenceburg? How is it possible that a straight bourbon is only 70 proof? Wade Woodard, blogger at tater-talk.com and witty comedic relief on Facebook forums, leads us through a series of bourbon brain teasers to see if we really know our stuff. Wade is an advocate for bourbon laws and makes sure that everyone is playing by the rules so he knows them inside and out. Listen to see if we get stumped and see if you can answer the questions before we can. Show N...
Mar 22, 2018•1 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 141
Blending is an art. We've discussed it many times before and our guest today would be considered the Queen. She provides Nosing Services, meaning she is a blood hound in human form. Listen about Nancy Fraley's past and how she has carved a path as one of the world's best blenders for whiskey, rum, armagnac, and many different spirits. In the second segment of the show, we talk about her current role at Joseph A. Magnus & Co and how she mirrored the current distribution to one that was found ...
Mar 15, 2018•1 hr 24 min•Season 1Ep. 140
We have a loaded show today with some hot topics hitting the boards. This episode touches on recent releases of NEAT, the less than stellar James Thompson & Brother incredibly overaged bourbon made its way out, we discuss the practices by Pennsylvania liquor control board setting lottery prices at secondary prices, thoughts on the new Old Fitzgerald release, we wonder if NDPs sourced from MGP being $100 is the new norm, and Kenny gets snobby a bit. Show Notes: What are your initial thoughts ...
Mar 08, 2018•1 hr 31 min•Season 1Ep. 139
He might be the angriest man in bourbon and ruffles a lot of feathers along the way, but he's been enjoying the spirit longer than most of us. Bourbon Truth, or known as Lloyd Christmas on twitter, is well known for his jabs at the industry. In this episode, we talk about his disdain for shelf trophies, if the current market is overinflated, his opinion on how spirit awards are rigged, and even touch on apple brandy. He's back with another no non-sense episode about the harsh reality we often ov...
Mar 01, 2018•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 138
The Rickhouse. A place where bourbon allows father time and mother nature to do its magic. Have you ever wondered who is behind all these rickhouses? Donald Blincoe, President of Buzick Construction, is carrying on his family's legacy of being the top name in bourbon business for rickhouses. Their patented ricking system is easily identified when entering a rackhouse and Donald talks about their history and process when constructing. Donald also talks a bit about the superiority of a rickhouse v...
Feb 22, 2018•55 min•Season 1Ep. 137
We revisit with Kyle Henderson to talk about the past and current production of Angel's Envy with their new distillery and all the decisions and mistakes that came along with it. Kyle has a great excuse to build a bunker with "competitive tasting" that has amassed him over 1600 bottles of spirits and now he's getting into barrel aged beers and cigars. Kyle hints at a future of bottled-in-bond Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey and putting an end to their sourced whiskey years down the road. What ...
Feb 15, 2018•1 hr 5 min•Season 1Ep. 136
Everyone has a different strategy when it comes to picking barrels and we talk about each of ours. We also touch on the topic of a "group pick" versus a "store pick" when something is selected by the Master Distiller. Crown Royal Bourbon Mash has violated the TTB, but does the TTB even care? Why are consumers still regulating this? And we talk about bourbon FOMO and the ridiculous amount of people around the country that have Blanton's scarcity, where did it all go? But more importantly, who car...
Feb 08, 2018•1 hr 22 min•Season 1Ep. 135
Many seasoned bourbon drinkers know all too well the climate of things, but rarely ever stop to think how newcomers to this hobby view it. This episode takes an outside look in from experimenting with high rye, low rye, and wheated bourbons as well as a look into how our guest views allocated items. Darin Mellor, a spirits enthusiast, has been on the beer and tequila chase in the past and recently got into bourbon. Learn about his journey into the crazy hobby that can be very frustrating at time...
Feb 01, 2018•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 134
The grain to glass movement isn't new, but it's a way for brands to differentiate themselves as they have complete control of the distillation process from all locally sourced products. It sparks pride in your area and builds relationships across the process until it hits the consumer. Ryan Burchett, Co-Owner and Distiller at Mississippi River Distilling Company, joins the show to talk about new experiments are happening from partnering with other distilleries and how the wood effecting the barr...
Jan 25, 2018•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 133
What happens when you get Bill Samuels, Mike Veach, Reid Mitenbuler, and Susan Reigler in front of an economics class? You talk about the growth of bourbon, the economic impact of it, and how to get jumpstarted into a career. Thanks to the John H. Schnatter Center for Free Enterprise at the College of Business, University of Louisville for hosting and allowing us to record. This event is just one of a series of events on the bourbon industry in the college this semester . The bourbon theme inclu...
Jan 18, 2018•1 hr 20 min•Season 1Ep. 132
The community did a pretty quick 180 in regards to treating people more fairly in facebook groups. We discuss how banning unopened bottles has settled the drama and also evaluate the definition of the new vintage spirits law that has passed in Kentucky. Taking a speculative look at the success and if it has the potential to go mainstream across the country. Lastly, we wrap it up talking about our favorite wheated bourbons of all time. Show Notes Blake are you going to be coming out with a whiske...
Jan 11, 2018•1 hr 9 min•Season 1Ep. 131
You may remember of Dr. Pat Heist of Ferm-Solutions back on episode 121 talking about the science of yeast. This episode feature his counterpart Shane Baker, Master Distiller of Wilderness Trail Distillery, as he answers all the questions you ever wanted to know from a Master Distiller. These guys are very well known in the bourbon world amongst distillers who know what they are doing. We take a deeper dive into grains and how this distillery has been aging product for almost 4 years and still h...
Jan 04, 2018•1 hr 6 min•Season 1Ep. 130
