Episode 114: Woodford Reserve

Woodford Reserve is a super-premium Kentucky small batch bourbon crafted at the Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles, Ky. Woodford Reserve is the Official Bourbon of the Kentucky Derby and its distillery is the oldest bourbon distillery in America. As just the seventh Master Distiller in Brown-Forman Corporation’s 140-year history, Chris Morris is responsible for maintaining the award-winning taste of Woodford Reserve. He crafts the yearly Master Collection with different handcrafted distilling methods to a variety of grain recipes, fermentation styles and maturation processes to create a range of unique whiskeys. Woodford Reserve recently partnered with Bourbon Barrel Foods for a line of bourbon-infused products like barrel-aged cocktail bitters, smoked salts and sugars, and bourbon-soaked cherries. Woodford Reserve’s annual $1000 mint julep, sold at the Kentucky Derby, raises money for equine charities. This program has been sponsored by Tekserve.

“Craft isn’t about how big you are, how old you are, it’s about quality.” [4:15]

“The modern straw was invented for the mint julep.” [25:15]

—Chris Morris on The Speakeasy