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Scott and Jake travel to Newport Kentucky to visit New Riff Distilling and sit down with co-founder Jay Erisman. We kick back inside the Aquifer Bar to discuss New Riff's history, their whiskey portfolio, and what's ahead now that the distillery recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. In this episode, we taste New Riff Bottled in Bond Bourbon, Silver Grove Bourbon, Malted Rye, and their 8 Year Bourbon. Stay tuned to Bourbon Lens for more coverage of New Riff coming soon, including their second batch of Kentucky Single Malt and their Whisky NRD tasting courses currently scheduled at the distillery. About New Riff: Fiercely independent and unabashedly innovative: New Riff Distilling starts with time-honored sour mash methods and bottled-in-bond standards, creating new riffs on old traditions since 2014. Located in Northern Kentucky — the gateway to bourbon country — the independently-owned distillery produces award-winning bourbon, rye, single malt whiskey and gin. Bourbon and rye are also available in single barrel selections, and the distillery boasts a popular private barrel selection program offering quarter, half and full barrel picks complete with personalized labels. New Riff sources its water from an alluvial aquifer under the distillery, accessed via a 100' deep private well and providing cold, clean and mineral-rich water perfect for whiskey making. The public-facing spaces in the distillery, renovated in 2023, include the Riff Shop with customizable gifting options and locally sourced artisan goods; and The Aquifer Tasting Room, located on the third floor of the distillery, featuring signature cocktails, flights, and pours of New Riff's entire portfolio of award-winning spirits including rare, limited-edition, and distillery-exclusive releases. About Jay Erisman: Jay Erisman is vice-president of strategic development and co-founder of New Riff Distilling. A home brewer who became a fine spirits expert and then a self-taught distiller, Erisman is nicknamed New Riff's “chief blender and palate.” He focuses on grains and raw ingredients, cooperage, aging strategies, product development and regulatory compliance. An expert in pot still distillation, Erisman also spearheads the distillery's gins. Previously, Erisman served as fine spirits manager at The Party Source.
When All-American footballer George Ratterman announced his candidacy for sheriff of Campbell County, Kentucky, in April of 1961, he said, “I am told that if I run for sheriff, I will be the victim of all sorts of personal slanderous attacks, but I say to our opponents, let the attacks start now, if they must.” And, well, the attacks did start – culminating in a high-profile set-up of Ratterman in a compromising position with a woman named April Flowers.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
This week we are keeping pop culture light and airy. We discuss the plans that have been secretly confirmed for a Community Movie giving us that six seasons and a movie we have been craving. Then we discuss Euphoria, the decision not to include Barbie Ferreira in the new season, and a new Dan Akroyd/Chevy Chase movie based on an R.L. Stein book coming out next year. Then we learn about the tragedy of the Beverly Hills Supper Club and how this could have all been avoided. This story touches both of us, having grown up in the surrounding area. Available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.To send in topics of interest, please email quiteabitpodcast@gmail.comFollow us on instagram and facebook @quiteabitpodcast Sources for this episode:https://explorekyhistory.ky.gov/items/show/519https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Hills_Supper_Club_firehttps://www.thenortherner.com/feature-on-homepage/2019/10/25/the-original-sin-city-exploring-newports-past-of-mobs-crimes-and-more/https://www.wcpo.com/longform/the-beverly-hills-supper-club-fire-on-its-40th-anniversary-cincinnati-area
16 Lots is fresh off not only their first big barrel-aged bottle release but also the massive announcement that they are going to be opening up a second location in Newport Kentucky, right at the Levy. It sounds like a great time to sit down for another episode of the Brewcast, right? Del Hall was … Volume 8, Episode 7 – 16 Lots, The Southern Outpost And Evolution Read More » The post Volume 8, Episode 7 – 16 Lots, The Southern Outpost And Evolution appeared first on The Gnarly Gnome.
In Episode 3, Fr. Matthew Young sits down with Audrey Owczarzak and discusses what it was like for her growing up in poverty, her time deployed to Iraq as a United States Marine, being one of 5% of career firefighters who are women, how she has people in the City of Newport Kentucky and beyond to raise and distribute charitably over $120,000 in goods and services over a period of five years to people in need, and much much more.
Today we're checking in at 3 different haunted houses: USS Nightmare in Newport Kentucky, Haunted Winery at Regal Vineyards in Madison Ohio and Terror Field in Clyde New York. These trip reports are courtesy of The Scare Factor (thescarefactor.com), the most complete directory of haunted houses and reviews. Follow along to our Hauntathon: https://linktr.ee/hauntedattractionnetwork
Today we're checking in at 3 different haunted houses: USS Nightmare in Newport Kentucky, Haunted Winery at Regal Vineyards in Madison Ohio and Terror Field in Clyde New York. These trip reports are courtesy of The Scare Factor (thescarefactor.com), the most complete directory of haunted houses and reviews. Follow along to our Hauntathon: https://linktr.ee/hauntedattractionnetwork
Taxi Phil Jones, President of the Cincinnati Beard Barons, is putting on the 7th annual Big Whisker Revival competition in Newport Kentucky at the Southgate House Revival. This will be a benefit for The Barracks Project where every dollar donated to TBP gets to their mission of serving and helping our veterans , service members and their families. Also Make sure you tune into Beard Laws after the show and check out TIkTok Tuesday. Please Cher this episode for a chance to win some great products from Honest Amish. Go to TalkingBeards.com for more info on the show and to subscribe to the podcast. The Barracks Project https://www.thebarracksproject.org/ Taxi Phil https://www.facebook.com/phil.a.jones.9 Big Whisker Revival VII https://fb.me/e/1VfO8bZpR National Beard & Moustache Championships https://www.facebook.com/nationalbeardandmoustachechampionships Grooming Emporium https://www.facebook.com/The-Grooming-Emporium-105907971248916 Talking Beards website www.talkingbeards.com SUBSCRIBE to the Talking Beards with The Beardcaster podcast by going to- www.thebeardcaster.com/subscribe Talking Beards Store https://teespring.com/ …/talking-beards-3 BS Buttons Beard Bulletin Board- let us know about something you want to promote https://www.facebook.com/groups/407082256748940/ BS Buttons on Facebook-order your buttons through this link- https://www.facebook.com/groups/872390072895713/ Talking Beards is LIVE on Facebook every Tuesday at 8pm est https://www.facebook.com/talkingbeards/ Talking Beards Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/talkingbeards Please check out our friends at Honest Amish and try one of the best selling beard brands available!!! Honest Amish- https://www.honestamish.com Also check out our friends at the Original Poop Knife! https://www.originalpoopknife.com/ Aaron D. Johnston- Aaron D Johnston- Facebook https://www.facebook.com/aaron.d.johnston1 Aaron D. Johnston-Instagram https://www.instagram.com/aarondjohnston Scott Sykora Scott Sykora- Facebook https://www.facebook.com/scottsykora Scott Sykora- Instagram https://www.instagram.com/scottsykora/ Check out our other great shows on Talking Beards-The Network www.talkingbeards.com/the-network Talking Beards is available of the KPNL Network-go check out other various “strange” shows- KPNL RADIO http://www.kpnl-db.com/ THE NEW HOME OF THE TALKING BEARDS NETWORK https://www.youtube.com/c/TalkingBeards/featured
Jim and Mike sit down with Jay Erisman, co-Founder and Chief Whiskey Man from New Riff Distilling in Newport Kentucky. Jay walks us through their two flagship products, the bottled-in-bond Bourbon and Rye whiskies. Find out more about New Riff at https://newriffdistilling.com/ Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @thebourbonroad Thanks to our sponsors for supporting this episode. Logheads Home Center - https://logheadshomecenter.com/ Premium Bar Products - https://premiumbarproducts.com/
Our guest K.A. Simpson, born and raise in Newport Kentucky, at the age of 16, graduated from Holmes H.S. Attend University of Cincinnati, then join military. Currently owner operator of the Spark Light Group and his new magazine BlackOutCincy --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
Kindsey Bernhard from Wooden Cask Brewery joins the exclusive three peat guestomer club in this episode. She joins Carrie and Lauren to talk about some new beer offerings from Wooden Cask Brewery in Newport Kentucky and her experience building a house with Habitat for Humanity in Florida. We break down some college football topics, including why players should or shouldn't wear school colors to awards shows. Bowl swag discussion is on the table this week since CFB bowl season has begun. A really old fruitcake in this week's news of the weird and a lot of food topics in Take It or Leave It, including pasta baking for eight hours.
Kindsey Bernhard from Wooden Cask Brewery joins the exclusive three peat guestomer club in this episode. She joins Carrie and Lauren to talk about some new beer offerings from Wooden Cask Brewery in Newport Kentucky and her experience building a house with Habitat for Humanity in Florida. We break down some college football topics, including why players should or shouldn't wear school colors to awards shows. Bowl swag discussion is on the table this week since CFB bowl season has begun. A really old fruitcake in this week's news of the weird and a lot of food topics in Take It or Leave It, including pasta baking for eight hours.
Kindsey Bernhard from Wooden Cask Brewery joins the exclusive three peat guestomer club in this episode. She joins Carrie and Lauren to talk about some new beer offerings from Wooden Cask Brewery in Newport Kentucky and her experience building a house with Habitat for Humanity in Florida. We break down some college football topics, including why players should or shouldn't wear school colors to awards shows. Bowl swag discussion is on the table this week since CFB bowl season has begun. A really old fruitcake in this week's news of the weird and a lot of food topics in Take It or Leave It, including pasta baking for eight hours.
On this Official Weed and Cliff Podcast: Short Dude Day. What happens in Newport Kentucky, stays in Newport Kentucky. Weed is a genius. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/weed-and-cliff-dot-com/support
Today is all about Barrell Bourbon. We had Joe and Tripp back on Episode 164, but it’s time we get an update on what’s happening with this team. We talk more about the flavors they are pulling from different states of distillation and how that goes into the blend as well as hearing about their newest release of the American Vatted Malt Whiskey. We then talk about some gripes with the TTB, take another stab at online sales, and then look to the future with new dovetail offerings while potentially phasing out other products. Show Partners: The University of Louisville now has an online Distilled Spirits Business Certificate that focuses on the business side of the spirits industry. Learn more at uofl.me/pursuespirits. Barrell Craft Spirits has won a few medals at some of the most prestigious spirits competitions out there, but don’t take their word for it and find out for yourself. Learn more at BarrellBourbon.com. The 2019 Kentucky’s Edge Bourbon Conference & Festival pairs all things Kentucky with bourbon. It takes place October 4th & 5th at venues throughout Covington and Newport, Kentucky. Find out more at KentuckysEdge.com. Receive $25 off your first order at RackHouse Whiskey Club with code "Pursuit". Visit RackhouseWhiskeyClub.com. Distillery 291 is an award winning, small batch whiskey distillery located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Learn more at Distillery291.com. Show Notes: Bourbon Warehouse made out of shipping containers: https://www.wdrb.com/news/wdrb-video/bourbon-warehouse-made-of-shipping-containers-planned-in-j-town/video_100e2934-e0ca-5335-a956-83f9d9a9150a.html Bourbon Pursuit Yelp Collection: https://www.yelp.com/collection/Si779eiZUmjGomZP2pZLTg This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about barrel proof bourbon. What's new with Barrell? Tripp, what is your role? Do you taste every barrel? What flavors are you looking for? Do you think every batch is significantly different? How many barrels does it take to get the right flavor? Tell us about Batch 18. What is your ratio of barrels from each state? What notes do you pull from KY, IN, TN barrels? Where do you get the barrels? What makes up an American malt whiskey? Is the TTB creating new categories for you? How do you decide what to blend? Why do producers have non-disclosure agreements? How many employees work at Barrell Craft Spirits? Did you envision this growth? What challenges have you faced? Are distributors knocking on the door for the next batch? Any plans for Barrell Vodka? Are you pro online sales? What's next? Is it hard to make a new label for every product? Any plans to phase any products out? Is sourcing rum similar to bourbon? Why rum? What do you think is the next it category? Have you considered using armagnac? Tell us about Dovetail 3. What's the difference between finishing and aging? How much product is left in the finishing barrels? What are you passionate about? Any plans to distill your own product instead of sourcing? 0:00 I love bourbon, but I'm not ready to restart my career in be a distiller. I have a bachelor's degree and I want to continue to use those skills in the whiskey industry. So check this out. The University of Louisville now has an online distilled spirits business certificate that focuses on the business side of the spirits industry like finance, marketing and operations. This is perfect for anyone looking for more professional development. And if you ever want to get your MBA their certificate credits transfer into Ul's new online MBA program. Learn more about this online program at U of l.me. Slash 0:35 pursue spirits when we're live it Kenny's dining room table we get ups man and you know and barking dogs. That's true. News Feed 0:43 is not the same without the UPS delivery and the dogs. 0:48 Were like all right, cut it 0:50 off. It was ok. back at it. 1:05 Alright everyone, it is Episode 221 of bourbon pursuit. I'm one of your hosts Kenny. And as usual, we got a little bit of news to run through. The 2019 bourbon Hall of Fame induction ceremony was two weeks ago, and I completely forgot to give them a shout out here on the podcast. But congratulations to Peggy know Stevens, Larry cast Wes Henderson and Evan Cole's mean on all their accomplishments. If you're interested to hear their stories and their appearances on the podcast, you can go back and listen to episode six 153 157 167 173 181 198 and 204. I guess we've been covering a lot of these people throughout the years. I'm glad to see that or be able to bring those stories to light. A new story was on a local level new station here last week. And it talked about a new bourbon where house being erected in Jefferson town, which is a part of the local area. But this one's quite different. You may remember us talking to music construction back on episode 137. And how their proprietary wrecking system is used in a lot of places that we see on the bourbon trail. But we're now also seeing a lot of palette ties warehouse is becoming increasingly more common because of lowering costs. Well, this new warehouse that has been planned is made of shipping containers. The developer wants to stack shipping containers six stories high and these plans were filed with the local Metro government. But at this time no bourbon distiller has been mentioned for the project. So who knows what this could end up being like because of air flow and other factors that plan that are in place. But the video news stories can be found with the link in our show notes. We talked a lot about the culture that builds around bourbon and the online community is a huge portion of that. Reddit, which is the biggest message board that's out there today has now surpassed 100,000 members in the our bourbon forum. We recently interviewed one of the Reddit mods for an upcoming podcast, which will air here in the next few months. We're continually moving forward with single barrel offerings that we want to have for our Patreon community. And the newest one that we are ready to announce is that we've been allocated a barrel of Eagle rare will be working through the process of nailing down a date and we will select eight Patreon community members to join us as we go to choose a barrel. Thank you to our partner Kagan bottle in the Southern California area for making this all happen. You can find hundreds of different whiskeys and Bourbons on their website and have them delivered to your door all around the country at keg and bottle calm that's keg the letter in bottle calm. And you can also learn more about what we offer@patreon.com slash bourbon pursuit. Are you going to be visiting Louisville soon and maybe looking for the best restaurants or whiskey bars to visit? Well, Ryan and I we live here and we built up a Yelp collection that helps you navigate our favorite places in the city. And you can get that link in our show notes as well. Now today's podcast is all about barrel bourbon, we had trip and Joe back on episode 164. But it's time that we get an update from what's happening with this team. They've been winning all kinds of awards. But we want to talk more about what they're doing inside these walls. We talked about the flavors that they're pulling from different states of distillation and how that goes into the blend, as well as about hearing their newest release of the valid American single malt. We've been talking about some of the greats we all have with the TTP, we take another stab at talking about online sales. And then we look at the future with new offerings. And of course looking at their new future dovetail offering. Now before you hear from Joe and the podcast, you get to also hear from him before above the char with Fred medic. So with that, let's get on with the show. 4:58 Hi, this is Joe from barrell bourbon. Bourbons have won a few medals, some of the most prestigious spirits competitions out there. But don't take their word for it. Find out for yourself, lift your spirits with barrel bourbon. 5:10 I'm Fred Minnick. And this is above the char. I often solicit ideas from listeners for above the char. This idea comes from Don Knotts. And Don is a longtime listener. And I really appreciate this idea, because it's one I've actually done a lot of research on, and I'm quite fascinated with it. And that's kind of the short history of barrel proof Bourbons. Have they always been this popular? And the answer is no. Now in the 1800s, they would actually advertise themselves as barrel strength or barrel proof. Or some would even say that they were fireproof meaning that they would catch on fire. And so that the proof in the 1800s was a way of advertising the fact that they were pure, they were real whiskey versus being adult rated with like prune juice, or water or tobacco spit or whatever the rectifier is a whole sellers were doing. And so barrel proof in the 1800s meant something entirely different. Now we kind of lose track of this barrel proof subject during Prohibition, and hundred proof kind of becomes the standard. And we don't really reset in terms of what has been bottled until the 1930s, specifically 1935 to 1942, really. And you would find some brands who are trying to market themselves as barrel proof or what they would refer to as barrel whiskey. Weller was one that probably did it the best, and they were going in the barrel at a very low entry proof, and it was coming out 108 212 proof. And in fact, the barrel entry proof up until like 1962 was 110. So the barrel strength bourbon coming out prior to 1962 would have been between 108 and 112. But we don't really see the explosion or interest of barrel proof bourbon until really the last 1015 years. But there's one brand we can point toward as being the most important for leading this trend, and that is Booker's. Booker's comes out in 1987, and was really the first to push the barrel proof conversation in American households. And you had Booker know going around the country, saying that you don't want to drink too much of this because it'll knock you back. Now the truth is that we don't really market it for like its strength for alcohol purposes. Today, we market it for the flavor intensity. And that's kind of where we are right now with American whiskey is we're looking at things in terms of how they taste, and people think that they find more flavor in the barrel proof products. But here's the thing. Don't be fooled ruled by the flavor necessarily, that high alcohol can actually mask a lot of flaws. That's why distilleries will cut the alcohol down to 40 proof to see if they find any flaws in the distillate or the barrel whiskey. So if you think you really like a barrel proof product, add a bunch of water, tastes it again, and see if it still has some of those characteristics that you like. Just because it's high in alcohol, doesn't mean it's good. And that's this week's above the char Hey, if you have an idea, like Don did for about the char hit me up on Twitter, or Instagram at Fred Minnick, that's at Fred Minnick. Until next week, cheers. 8:44 Welcome everybody to another episode of bourbon pursuit, the official podcast of bourbon and we're down here at down bourbon bar in Louisville, Kentucky, once again, we're gonna be talking about, you know, barrel bourbon, and they do more than just Kentucky, right? They update, they bring stocks from last different places. And their whole goal is to blend something that's truly unique and different. And it's never going to be replicated again. So each batches is like that. 9:08 Yep. So it's funny. Joe and I were talking before about people in Kentucky are laser focused on Kentucky only. And we were kind of guilty of that, as well. And we had our blinders on and, and then, with Barrow, they, you know, they're introducing a lot of stuff to the market. And you're like, Okay, this is actually good. And where's this coming from? Where else were you know, so it's like, I don't know, they brought a lot of stuff that I never thought I would enjoy. But I really enjoy 9:36 the offerings. They really do. I mean, even at the even the single barrel program that they offer, it's it's something that most people, if it was just anything else, they might stub their nose at it, but barrel is bringing out some killer barrels that are coming through their single barrel program. And you know, most of them are all distilled in Tennessee. And that's one of the things that I think it's starting to change those people's minds of really what else out there and they're kind of on the forefront of it. 10:02 Yeah. And even inspired us to start our own brands. So thank you guys. 10:06 For the catalyst. And not only that, thank you for these killer dog toys. If you haven't seen these are barrel bourbon, dog toys. Yeah, they're awesome beer. We always love having them they bring booze and now 10:20 I can't wait till next time. 10:22 So let's go ahead and introduce our guest today. So today we have the founder of barrell bourbon as well as the master distiller barrel bourbon barrel bourbon. So we've got Joe Beatrice and Tripp Stimson. So guys, welcome back to the show. Thank you for having us. So last time you were on was Episode 164. So Been a while now. And I would imagine that your next certain because you're carrying around all these gold medals that you're getting at all these competitions? 10:48 A little bit. Yeah, but it looks really good. And we go out 10:51 a little flavor. We were a lot of them. Yeah. 10:55 But it means like that Michael Phelps and bourbon. Yeah, got it kinda 10:59 kinda. How many? What did you come away with from from San Francisco this past year, because it was a lot 11:04 of this year, we won. I think it's three gold medals and three double golds. And we also we also picked up the best small batch bourbon over 10 years old and worn. 11:20 That's impressive. Who gets keep the mo 11:23 hasn't been the case in the display case. Yeah. 11:26 This is your week. This is not Yeah. 11:30 So before we start talking about more of the whiskey and some of that kind of things that gets people again, just a reminder, a little bit of your background and sort of where this all built out of because maybe they're not good stewards yet and haven't listened to Episode 164. But or every episode 11:45 or every barrel introduces right on above the char. 11:49 Yeah, I 11:50 should, I should have said that. It said, we're here with our good friend, Joe. Because I say that every single week. I said, listen to our good friend Joe from barrel bourbon. 11:56 He's our good friend because he pays us. 12:00 So I was going for Yeah, yeah. Well, we started this. We started the company. It's now it's stick around our six year and we've just been growing in leaps and bounds. This since we've seen you we have I had to make a list and had to write it down because it's too much because it was too much I was we're we've been really busy. We've done when we were here last time, we did our first release of the infinite barrel project. And since then, we've done 10 bottlings of it and just just remind you, the way that works is we started out by blending a large amount of whiskey. And then every time we bottle, we replace that whiskey. So right now there's, there are these whiskies from five countries and almost 40 different. I think it's 40 at this point, different distilleries, a product that's in there. We were going to talk a little bit about I guess later about dovetail which is which is our one of our new releases. We just finished our third bottling of that. We're in the middle of that. And we let's see, we did three barrel craft spirits products, which was a whiskey of bourbon and a rum. We did 12345 batch releases a new year. Oh gosh. About 250 single barrels and release of Canadian single barrel right, so 13:22 so you haven't been really that busy at all. Just relaxing 13:25 on the beach. playing golf, it just blends 13:29 and dumps itself 13:30 right around around golf carts and Northern Coleman. Yeah. 13:35 I don't have a golf yet. It comes 13:39 to the house. 13:42 So trip, what about you. So what's what's your car about a little more about your role and everything that you're doing behind the scenes here. 13:49 So I'm basically over everything that's operations. Bringing barrels in dumping barrels, putting blends together. I'll pull samples from all the different groupings and going the lab put blends together. and gentlemen, I'll sit around and taste all the different blends, make decisions on what barrels go with each other to create those blends. You name it. I'm involved in just about everything. 14:19 So the blends start with you or Joe, 14:21 like what is going in the blends just kind of it's a conversation. We know we're going to do something we talk about what we have. We fill in the gaps with things that we need. We only we ask each other question, what do you think it needs. And then we go back to our stockpile of barrels and say, well, in the past, we've had good luck with these particular flavors that we're looking for in this particular warehouse from this particular distillery. So then we'll bring those in, and we'll try it small scale first. If we like it, then we'll scale it up. And we'll scale it up step wise, to make sure we don't go too far. And it gives us room to kind of go back and forth a little bit toward the end, to make sure we we really hit it on the head. 15:03 It sounds like not to bring up another distillery. But we, when we do the Maker's Mark, you know, different states to do your own single barrel, it sounds like us, we go in and we're like, All right, we're gonna do all these different ones, and we're going to make our own barrel or whatever. And then you go back and realize that we should just start with something that somebody else did and work away from there, you know, because they have good flavors. So it sounds like a lot like that process for you all 15:27 it is. And it's a very tedious process, it's a 15:32 lot of time spent tasting different things walking away coming back. Again, like we talked about last time, Joe and I have similar palettes, but we're hypersensitive to different things that we may or may not like. So it works very well, when we have the conversation about putting our blends together because I may not get something that Joe gets, or I may taste something that joke doesn't. And we kind of we take each other's word on that and and just keep on pushing forward. Or you take that 16:00 I'm going to say are you tasting every barrel that's walking through this door as well? Because I know that you you're blending on a pretty large scale. So it's Are you like, Okay, well, these barrels represent this lot, and it should have some sort of similar profile. Are you are you really going through and sampling them all out? 16:14 We have, we have to look at him his lot, to some degree, because to taste every single barrel, I mean, we'd never leave, right? So we we spent enough time doing this, some people would think that's really a bad thing. You know, you get to stay there all day and just 16:28 drink whiskey. 16:29 We didn't get I guess it's one thing when you work in it versus actually doing it. It's 16:34 always hard and fast. So I mean, sometimes sometimes there is a lot of variation in a particular group of barrels. And sometimes there's not as much every barrel is unique, but it really depends on on what we on what we're doing. You know, it's sometimes we have tastes more than others. But I 16:47 would say the single barrels we do, we do handpick those. Yeah. But the batches we we try to rely on past experiences from the different distilleries, locations and put the blends good. 17:01 You know, it's a little bit different. As you know, we actually start with what we've started the whiteboard is a clean slate, we, once it's once something is done and packed up, we've been involved we we start with what are we going to do next? And then you know, the The first thing is, we come up with maybe a concept, you know, what is it that we want? What are we going for, we're looking for, what do we like about the last one that we make, we can tease out more and replicate. And that's really the starting point. And and you know, and then sort then the hunt is on between trying to find things that actually deliver that. But we spend, we can spend 17:34 two weeks a month on one particular blend, it's we have multiple projects going simultaneously at any given time. So 17:40 what are some things like he said that some things that trip likes that Joe doesn't and vice versa? What are some of those different flavors that you might like that Joe doesn't like for example, Katie and I, when we go pick our pursuit series, I know Kenny's searching for tannins, oak. And I'm like, let's stay away from those. I want more of the sweet kind of flavor. So what are those between YouTube and new Trump's? You? 18:04 know, there's never never it's always we always agree 100% on we're doing or it doesn't get the bottom. But 18:11 I think a lot of the differences that we talk about is it's not more of what we like and don't like, I think it's what we're sensitive to so certain stringency, these chemical notes. You know, if there are any certain off notes, like, especially in some of the new make stuff, I'm really hypersensitive to like a mildew note. So it's things like that. It's not that we like things that the other does. And it's the hypersensitivity to the different aromas and flavors that might be in there. Gotcha. 18:45 Well, what are those some of those aromas that you guys are really going for when you're when you're creating the blend? I mean, you said you start with a clean slate, but I mean, there's gotta be something you're like, Okay, like, dark cherries, or chocolate? Or, I don't know, carrot cake, like I don't know, like what's like what's like what's 19:01 marzipan, 19:02 bread, bread, bread pudding, marzipan, and the new all like the same sentence? 19:09 It's true. Well, I think one of things we really like our tropical fruit notes, juicy fruit, dragon fruit flavors, we love I love those. We love those. We love those. Anytime we can win him we can blend to that, will will just stop sometimes. And that's one of the reasons that badge 18 is is where it is in the sequence is that we blended that actually last winter, we bonded A long time ago. And it was a relatively small batch. But I love the story. Because as we were blending it, we were we were strips that we step our way up to the volume, like, we come up with the theoretical in the lab, and then we try to replicate it with the barrels. And as we do that, we we taste we stopped and we taste. And this one, we both at the same time said we cannot not add one more battle. And it was maybe two thirds of what we wanted. And we just stopped. Because it was exactly we had those super sweet notes at them in the middle palette of it. We just love that. We I think we look for a balance of the tannins and the grain. And I mean, that's, that's all really important. Balance is really key to us. We don't we try to make it as balanced as we possibly can 20:12 balance but without basically recreating the same thing over and over. So, I mean, there's, there's, there's got to be a lot of barrel junkies that are out there. And have you been able to say like, Okay, well, I think, you know, when we did barrel batch or bourbon barrel batch 12, like that might be pretty close to 16. Or you think like they're, they're all just worlds apart, 20:35 I think you're going to find some similarities in in all of them. Because you know, there's a, there's a, there's a grouping that we like, you know, we talk about complexity, we talk about fruit and flora, we talk about, you know, open battle, and all these different flavors that are out there. And all of those are going to mingle in different concentrations in all of our batches to some degree. So while some may be not day difference, I think you're going to be able to find some of those flavors in most of the batches. I would say something like maybe 12 or 14 is going to be a more traditional representation, which is going to be you know, an oak forward. traditional style bourbon, there's not a ton of fruit, there's not a ton of floral, whereas something like you know, back way back seven be was just loaded with that for floral note. So I think it Yes, the there are differences, but there are lots of similarities as well. 21:38 So when you're like making a blend, and you're trying to get those different flavor notes that you're looking for, how many barrels of a certain type of whiskey to make to get to that flavor. Like is it 21:50 such good? Or? Well, that's a really good question. It could be one yeah, it has to hit the threshold perception threshold of those particular compounds you're tasting. And sometimes one barrel will make all the difference. And that's it. Yeah, yeah. It's pretty incredible. Yeah, I kind of liked this live thing I can get. I'm getting instructions sent to me is ongoing. 22:12 dining room table, and we're live at Kenny's dining room table, we get ups man and you know, and barking dogs. That's true. News Feed is not 22:20 the same without the UPS delivery and the dogs. 22:23 were like, all right, cut it 22:26 off it. Okay. Got it. 22:30 Alright, so I guess back on topic now. So, you know, we we had the opportunity to getting a batch 17 and it was awesome. It was really I mean, it was out of this world as one of my favorite whiskeys of the probably the past few months. And now is 18 getting ready to come out. Is this released? what's what's the time Yeah, we're sold out. 22:50 We're sold on 19 is gone. We're 19 is almost gone. And we're teeing up 24 next month 22:58 Yeah, it's so you're running through the pretty 23:00 quick. We do about four releases a year yeah, for batch releases a year and then a and then the new year so it's really fine. Fine Bourbons give or take 23:09 Yeah, that's fine but sold out to it's it's available it's just it's all been allocated yeah right we still find it 23:17 right we don't have any money so that means we don't have any more with the distribute we've sold everything to distributor and then distributor now is pushing that means you've gotten your check and you've been paying 23:28 like yeah, you want to make sure that it's it's not sitting on shelves either right? You got to make sure you're still out there and doing your marketing and 23:35 we have two customers we have a customer we sell the distributor and then we have the the end customer who's in there so our sales are concerned with our distributor customer I'm concerned with you standing in the shelf or in the bar buying the product that's that's where we look at the world for sure. Yeah. 23:49 So talk about like the blends themselves because I know that a lot of these you're doing a lot of I don't know, tri state the way to really put it you know, you're doing some Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana. what's what's sort of like your ratio when you're when you're looking at these because, you know, is it is it you know, 35% Kentucky I'm sure it's different here and there. But like where where do you start at? Because there's got to be at by now. You got to have some sort of formula that you think in your head like okay, we know this is where we should start. How about you? 24:22 What's your Nashville? 24:24 Well, we stopped in the Nashville because we couldn't do the math on it anymore. Because there's different Bourbons, different Nashville's in from different states or Nashville's and then what percentage of those barrels and it was getting me know 27.2% it was was just the math was too hard, that we really truly don't have a starting point where it really the barrels lead us through at the barrels lead us into into what we what makes sense. And sometimes it will be more Indiana forward, but a lot of times it's Kentucky, it's Tennessee forward. And and then a lot of times we it's surprisingly, sometimes it's only, you know, 10% of 20% of a particular a particular group that makes that influence. So they really, do we have no real standard or no blueprint that we start with, we really do let the barrels lead us to the answer. 25:09 So in your opinion, when you're tasting each one of these different regions, different kinds of Bourbons, what are the notes that you're pulling out? Like if you're tasting something from Indiana vs. Tennessee vs. Kentucky? Do you? Do you think like where the distiller you're pulling from each has their own uniqueness to it? Or is it based by state like what what do you what do you kind of see that as 25:32 I think we have, let's back up and look at it from kind of the production standpoint where you have one, we're all in this same sort of region where we actually get four seasons, which is very beneficial for us. And then look at the different distilleries that are going to use different yeast strains with different grain bills to create these different flavors. And then you stretch those out in warehouses to say, Northern Kentucky, down into southern Tennessee, and you're going to see variations of flavor development across that region. So then being able to go in and say, you know, I'd like to get a spicy bourbon from Indiana, or I want to get a fruity or bourbon from Tennessee. I think you're able to do that. Because of the different again, you strain Nashville and then the difference in the warehousing. maturation. 26:36 Well, you know, the next question people want to know is where are you getting these barrels? 26:40 We go to the barrel store barrel get in place. 26:44 I mean, let me throw something I mean, if you want to go down this road, something completely different than we're working on speaking of different states, is we're about to blend a total different product and American valid multi product, which is so there are a lot of incredible American single malt produces in the United States. can't call it scotch. Because I mean in Scotland, and there isn't even really a category for for malt. It's either malt whiskey, which malt whiskey technically has to be a new barrels. And a lot of times the mall producers want to put it in US barrels. So we're going to be working with six or eight distilleries. We are we are working with six or eight distilleries from around the country. Arizona, New Mexico, Washington, New York, Texas. I think I may be missing one or two. And so we're getting barrels from all over the country. And we blending those. So you're going to see some real incredible regional differences. We when we when we put this together. That's going to be that's one of the next projects we're working on. That's 27:44 what makes up a malt American malt whiskey. Like, like somebody doesn't know. AK me? Yeah. 27:51 makes an American malt whiskey. 27:53 You want to do this? It's it's, it's it's multi barley. Okay. And so it's generally majority is multi barley. And there's and sometimes there's some corn in there. But for the most part, it's distilled malt, the single malt multiplies the 28:09 primary grain I got. Yeah. 28:11 Okay, great. So this is a little bit different than bourbon. Sure. 28:13 And there's some, there's a group that's actually lobbying, to the TTP trying to get a multi category to create something create something for us. us being the distillers. 28:26 What is it that you like about the malt that's going to, I guess, fit the barrel profile or blends or whatever? 28:32 Well, it's, um, 28:34 yeah, I was like, Can this compete with, you know, Forbes whiskey of the year as well? Like, how many medals can this one? 28:40 I don't know. I don't know. That's, that's sort of a nice, it's a nice accolade. We don't it's not our, our gold. You know, we really we love hearing other people talk about our products and, but the goal is to really is to make a product that people really love to drink. I don't know. I mean, this hasn't been done before. You know, but but it the inspiration of it was we we taste a lot of whiskies in and we know a lot of producers and and there is just an incredible amount of really high quality single malt produced in the United States, and they're relatively unknown. I shouldn't say that, I mean, of course, it's about colonies or by knows them and then there's less than a Reno's those guys, but there are a lot when you start getting into the smaller ones are a lot of people don't know. So we really wanted to bring that we want to bring that out. And, you know, and, and, and, and take our cut out, which is to take some of these great products, I mean, the world is our ingredients, and well as our pantry and take them and blend them together into something you know, even greater than the parts we hope will say 29:40 I want to say you keep going down this path and we were you know what, we'll talk about dovetail in a second because you were talking about all the TTV different categories like it seems like you're you're trying to make their job harder by making them just create new categories just for you like blending everything from here and there. 29:55 We're trying to make the job easier if they just go along. 30:01 Well, the difference the valid the valid Malden the malt whiskey is sort of a different, it's a different it's a different problem because there just isn't a category for what they want to produce, which is a a straight malt whiskey that is does not have to go into a new barrel. Because most scotch of all scotch is in us barrels. And there are different properties, different characteristics. And we're doing with this valid project we're doing a combination of whiskey that went into new barrels and whiskey went into us barrels previously as us barrels. But that aside, the whiskey category is is the one that was the category is sort of an really unusual one. because traditionally, a blended whiskey has can have 20% grand neutral spirit in it. So it's a category that's just that it was it was really looked down on a blended whiskey category. Our whiskies every one of our whiskeys is 100% whiskey, so 31:03 we're not doing Seagram seven and seven we're not 31:07 we're not putting brand new show spirits and and whiskey together hollering and all and go food 31:12 but we do 31:13 not you do you really awesome food coloring 31:16 speaking of blended way I found I went to state sale the other day and got a bottle of it's called golden wedding is like from the 30s or some wild and it was a blended whiskey but I was like all this is gonna be great I'm just in it was terrible. You could tell us neutral grain spirits with like, like brown died and it was on 31:35 the ground the Beatles Yeah, exactly. That was an ingredient of bourbon in the know it Yeah. In the early 1900s and it tasted 31:42 worse than that. I wish it was it was 31:44 color these kind of people he's Crisco to little bit but but so the dovetail is I think the dovetail is a really is an interesting project. Originally it was going to be our whiskey number six and so and what's in it, that was the name of that was the original idea. Well we have a series of whiskeys, we are barrel whiskey, and we do them in batches just like the bourbon so it was okay, this is the next one and and what it what's in this product is 11 year old Indiana whiskey that we finished in done vineyards Cabernet barrels done vineyards is is really incredible Napa Valley, hundred year old family vineyard. And they make an incredible, rich lush camber of Cabernet. And so we got the barrels and we and we finished that whiskey and then we took some Tennessee bourbon and finish some of it in in in rum casks. So our rum casks. We bring rum in from different countries usually comes in in a steel container because the barrels will leak over the place. We put it in x bourbon barrels. And then when we're finished, we dump it out and we take those x bourbon barrels that had rum in it and finish some bourbon in it for this product. We also have some special bourbon finishing late vintage board pipes. So there's a combination of different whiskeys in here with different finishes different proportions, we blended it, and sent the label off to the TTP and six months later. 33:14 And for everybody at home, this is what we're talking about the dope. 33:17 So what's what's the is we call it whiskey is a what's the category that this is followed. And so 33:22 this is technically a distilled spirits specialty, okay, which is in the same category that you can have bubblegum flavored vodka, and you could have 100% whiskey, so it's a little bit it's a little bit, it's a little bit of an odd category, 33:35 but it's fine that you have that because this is like the one product that I see like people are like this is actually really good. Like you've got to go out and get some and I'm trying it right now and yeah, I'm kind of floored like how really good it is. I mean you get you get those Bubble 33:50 Bubble Gum notes you get some 33:53 grape airhead you know those like to you come you come as a kid, you know, there's like, driven sort of like fruit by the foot. You know, like, 34:03 like you said, You love those Juicy Fruit kind of that this is like 34:06 get those know that we're happy to get those sugary kind 34:09 of great notes. So, 34:10 yeah, we want to bring you back to your childhood. That's what we're 34:13 I do I try to take everything I've had in my childhood. I'm like, all right, I taste this and that or whatever. So it totally reminds me of that 34:20 is one thing that you know, you just kind of kind of just piqued my interest a little bit when you were talking about like all these different barrels and all these different things you're doing you could almost open up like your own like week long vacation where bourbon nerd to come in. And they could just like, just pay you to be there for a week. And they could just sit there and just play around and experiment with everything and try to like make their own sort of crazy blend. I mean, because this was I gotta ask like how you 34:45 you got to this 34:47 idea that we should blend these two together? 34:49 Yeah, why didn't you stop at the the Indian thing is Evelyn in the Cabernet. Is it because like oh, that's been done whatever. Yeah, once I'm finished barrels, they're like so passe like everybody doesn't know 35:02 what we try we are always trying to try different new things. But we have these meetings where we all get together every every every month two months probably and we just brainstorm ideas what what is what is the most crazy thing we can do? What's the nice little story about the tale of two islands 35:20 so that was that was a meeting where we sit down and we needed some what we what we call it one off projects that we like to work on. And we knew that we wanted to use some of our leftover Jamaican rum from batch one and we want to do a finish so you know what we were going to do and we had like 20 samples set up in front of us and and what do we want to do this texture that finish and at the very end there was a blend of the rum with some scotch and we thought there's no way this is going to taste good. And it was one we liked the best so we put that in a bottle and called it tale of two islands and it was it was phenomenal so you're blending scotch now to 36:11 we do we do we do have we do blend scotch and infinite barrel we an Irish Whiskey Yeah. But these are those casks are 36:21 on but the those cat what I love about those casks is 36:27 it's a Kentucky distillery. So I can't say that which one 36:33 went to great distillery which I can't say that when we get the barrels 36:40 with both their names on there Why do you think that is like in the sourcing like I would think they would want to want to know like or want to be able to tell like hey this came from us like what why do you think they do that? 36:51 Well I think there's there's a lot of reasons why people do it but but part of it is they're protecting their trademark so in other words they wouldn't want us capitalize on their trademark so if we you know pick any pick any Kentucky this is already and if we username they would sue us you know, 37:09 federal bourbon brought to you by XYZ 37:13 and you know, Kentucky is a litigious state so it's sort of 37:16 Yeah, I agree. But I mean this is this is a fantastic blend like this is the first time that I've tried it and and it's definitely something that I was just kind of like Wow, I didn't 37:27 expect it this is the first like whiskey blend or whatever category it is you want to call it that I could eat this with a rebel most like it would go perfect yeah big fatty steak or even a dessert 37:41 yeah or just like a dessert kind of finished like 37:44 every day like really is you can taste it in like current bonds Nixon was big bowl cabs I like 37:49 I'm glad you like it you can you can pairs with so many movies tomorrow night. I'm like bottle 37:57 coffee 37:58 in your flask. Yeah, just part of the at the table there. 38:02 So what's what's next I just got I just got an I should clarify one point which when we when we do our brainstorming it's it's the company it's we all get together it's not just we spend too much time together anyway just doing stuff 38:16 in the company now. 38:19 Let's see 999 people 38:23 did you when you started Did you envision it getting this big do you envision getting bigger? The 2019 38:31 Kentucky's edge bourbon conference and festival Paris all things Kentucky with bourbon. It takes place October 4 and fifth at venues throughout Covington in Newport Kentucky, Kentucky's edge features of bourbon conference music tastings pairings tours and in artists and market Kentucky's edge 2019 is where bourbon begins. Tickets and information can be found online at Kentucky's edge.com from forest to still Bull Run distillery whiskeys are using some of the water in the US. 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Like what are you happy with where it's at? I mean, kind of talk about from a business standpoint. 41:03 We're happy with the growth. 41:06 I we're ambitious we want to be we want to be as big as we can grow. We're very happy with the control growth we've been having. We've been doubling every year and and we're it's where we're on track. We're absolutely on track to where we want to be. 41:21 How tough is it to like, I think you said you're like 100% up from last year? What are some of the challenges that you faced, like, I guess going from, you know, experiencing as much growth because like, for me a 20% growth is like chaos. In my biz I couldn't imagine doing like 100% growth. It still talks about some of the challenges or hurdles that you face doing that? 41:42 Well, we've been, we've been planning for business perspective, we've been really planning on this appointment, we have 10 people in the company. Somebody 41:51 somebody just 41:54 got the list 41:56 getting fired up. 42:00 Nine tomorrow, I keep getting texts like that. 42:03 It's just in. 42:06 But But to answer your question. 42:09 We're we spent a lot of time planning, we we plan our releases, we plan our production schedule, we we we account for growth within that. And so it's so a lot of it is logistics planning, getting the barrels to the right place at the right time getting the bottles, the corks, all that stuff, making sure that everything is everything is is lined up and correct. And we and we plan for our goals, which are which we've been pretty close. We've been we've been hitting our goals and exceeded our goals. So we're already anticipating that growth. So we're we've factored that into into everything that we do, you know, you've been selling through your batches very, very quickly. And our distributors sitting there knocking your door like Joe, we're ready for the next one, like Hurry up, when's it coming? When's it coming? That's such a complicated business. It's incredible, because well, first of distributor is sort of a generic term, we, we've put together a network of distributors across country, where with a couple of that we're in more than one state. But for the most part, we've been very careful about who we align with, because they have that they have to be the right size, we don't want to be too big. So we asked them to them, we don't want them to be too small, because they won't have the capital to buy the products that we need. So it's it's a very, it's a very, it's not such a straight line. And some are better than others, some are better others are planning and some will, will are right on top of the releases and others they need a monthly call to say by the way that you put your purchase order in and then it's not. It's not usually because they don't want to it's because they're they have a lot of products and they're they're torn a lot of different directions. But it's it's a very, you know, it's that whole aspect of the business is just it's just different. It's different from any other business. Because you have it's like you're dealing with 50 different countries. Every state has its own laws, is it is the federal there, but every state, every state can Trump it. And then you've got 13 control states, which, which are all entirely different. And they're all government state run. But each one of those has different regulations rules. So it's and then you have what's called franchise states, which are states that you make an agreement with a distributor, and you can never leave. No matter what the contracts are about. 44:26 This is not fun. Yeah. Yeah. Cuz you gotta be careful. Yeah, you partner with somebody and they kind of screw you over. And you're, you're you're stuck, right? You're contracted in for X amount of 44:35 time we've been we've had good relationships. Yeah. Because our products are selling and so there's, they do well, and then they're happy. But if you don't do well, then they're not happy, then that's a different story. 44:44 Oh, good. Yeah. So you're not going to come out with like barrel vodka yet? And then that's going to be sitting on the shelves is that? 44:49 I see. I think Fred's been telling us that we should do that. 44:52 Go. Yeah, he's an advocate. 44:56 How much he likes. 44:58 T shirts and hands and everything. NET? How much he loves it? Oh, absolutely. 45:03 So from your side of the business, would you guys be for online sales? Or 45:11 is that 45:11 original? My original business model I wrote was all online sales. Yeah. But because it's just and the thing is, the reality is, is it doesn't affect the distributors, it actually helps distributors, it would it would open up another channel and save them money. But they've got to see that point, the connection? Oh, no, the more we do with our do you think that is connected with them? Is it I mean, I guess just anything with bourbon or liquor, everything. So like old school, they don't want to change. They're like, I don't know, they're just stuck in an old nine. So you've got big aircraft carriers traveling. And in order to turn those around, it requires a lot of energy, 45:50 a lot of people and a lot of regulation. It's all that sort of stuff combined. Now, because I think we've, we've talked about on the podcast before we've had on the roundtables to kind of like figure out like, what, what's the discussion of, you know, why can't we open this up, like, when is Amazon finally going to start delivering to your door and prime next day, you know, dovetail next to you. And when people are going to start setting up online scrapers to go ahead and buy allocated products, like soon as it hits on Amazon or something like that, right? So the day could come, it probably will come it's just who knows when it's going to be. But I kind of want to talk about you know, a little bit more about trip, you know, the operation side of this, because I think that really what people want to know more about is is the blends and and everything that's going into this. So kind of talk about really what's next on the horizon for you all, and and are you worried you're going to run out. And because there's a thing that you talked about, before we started recording this, as you were saying that you guys are tripping over barrels at your warehouse, like you've got 46:47 that much stuff going on, you're ready to sell some, we'd be happy to take 46:53 that or we'll just go and make your own blend. Yeah, 46:54 there we go. So there is a blend. But 46:57 the process logistics get a little tricky when you've basically grown out of your space. So all the way back to what we order and when we order it. So Joe, and I'll have an idea what we're going to do. So we're so we're going to have a, you know, a dovetail and a batch of bourbon will have to infinite. And we'll just have a list. And then in our minds, we'll go through and figure out what barrels we think are going to go in each of those plus what we already have in house. So we'll ship everything in order. And as it comes in, it literally comes off the truck, goes to the dump trough gets dumped into the tank, empty barrel goes back out and onto another trip, because we don't have room to keep the empties in there. So that process goes on for an entire day when the trucks delivered, so that that's kind of how we get our base. And then once we have the base for whichever project we're working on, it then becomes the treasure hunt of what flavors are we missing? Where do we find them? And how do we put those together. But it is it's a bit of a logistical mess to do all that in, in a small space. And it was kind of funny the last the last time we got we had three trucks in one day and for our space, that's a ton. And we had to strategically place them in the facility. So that right up front where the tanks are, we had tanks, forklift dumped off, and then we just started working our way back. dumping barrels working because there was no room there was a path for the play. That was it can just 48:33 used to be a two dimensional problem. What was on the floor? Yeah. Now it's literally the three dimensions wrong way. It's like Tetris. I mean, Tetris, we're up for four levels. 48:43 Oh, wow. Just so people know, at least at least from at least I think my knowledge so a truck is about 96 barrels. Is that about what comes in? I'm dependent on how their ship? Yeah, yeah. 48:54 Or depends if they're up or down? 48:56 Yeah. So what up? what do you get for on a pallet, 48:58 what you do six pallets it for based on weight, you can get 49:03 lost, I don't do math, 49:04 okay. But you can do without the pallets, and you can get a few more. 49:08 So you ever more work? That's more human work? 49:13 Are you ever worried when when Joe or anybody else on the team, because we now clarify that there's 10 people on a team, 49:19 maybe 11 by now, 49:22 or none, when with like an idea comes up, and you're like, Oh, God, here we go another label. And like, you have to continue these these product expansion line, because you're still doing your barrel batch Bourbons got your infinite, you've got, you've got your rum. I mean, you've got all kinds of you've got your New Year's Eve bottle. So kind of talk about like, When is that going to end because you know, it's it's like a scale up thing that you're like a scale out thing versus like trying to scale up, that's kind of hard to be able to do, 49:54 I would say that. First off, we love to innovate, we'd love to do things that have not been done, we like to be creative, going, we've got a stack of ideas that if we had more time, we would be able to do. So we love that we don't want that to stop. When we talk about, you know, the batches and expansion and everything. When you look at someone who does a product the same way every single time, which there's something to be said for, they've already got a cola, they already have all that stuff approved, they know what's going into that bottle, it's just a matter of doing the same thing every time. Every time Joe and I put something together, we start from square one. So the bottle doesn't change, the shape of the label doesn't change, but everything that's on the label front and back changes, which means it has to go get cola approvals, and then come back to us. Everything that's in that bottle is going to be different, which means we've selected different barrels, we've come up with new ideas, we put different blends together. And then once everything is approved, we've we signed off on the blend, it gets bought cases shift. So every single time anything goes out from from barrel craft spirits, we've started from square one, to create that. And then on top of that, trying to constantly innovate and and better ourselves with each new product that we release. 51:18 So purposely inefficient, is that the best? 51:22 Well, the one thing that we have that is we spent a lot of time in the original label design, creating the structure of the label. And we have essentially a matrix of product. So and we fill in. So there there, there's, you know, buy type whiskey rum, right now, DSS and rum. And then there are different levels of of that were essentially three price points in all of our products going into those three price points, to make it easy for the customer and the distributor. And so then it's a question of creating the content for the label that fits that particular metaphor of that matrix. So we've we've, again, everything we've done is a lot of advanced planning, there's some things look haphazard, but they're really not. We've actually done a lot of the thinking about this already in advance, we spent a lot of time planning. 52:12 So with with all these, like line extensions and other things you're doing, are you looking at ever phasing anything off? Because it's it's a lot to keep up with everything and to continue blending? You know, great question seven different sort of releases. 52:28 Yeah, it is a great question. And I think 52:31 I think the the the public know, you guys will decide some of that when we when we love doing everything that we're doing right now, he said, but he's upset with it. Yeah, I mean, if you if you decide or the public decided that all of a sudden they don't like something, then we're probably not gonna do that again. But I mean, currently, we're having fun putting all this stuff out there. 52:52 The other thing too is, is if we don't like we have not done rum to yet, because we haven't found the rum that we've done. A Tale of Two islands, which is a limited release. But ROM two isn't out because we haven't found and we've looked at 100 different rooms we haven't found the right ones with it we're looking at we're about to do around project because we we did just buy a lot of ramen, I think that what we have is going to be interesting. It's combination of at least Jamaica, Barbados, Ghana, and maybe even Martinique, we'll see I'm not sure. And when that's right when that's right will release it but we don't feel the need to have it the only the only product we want to have out there all time is our bourbon and whiskey. But if the rye isn't the one we want, then we'll wait. Right three is we're kicking around right three right now. 53:41 That's been the sales like you don't you don't see a whole lot of the right on the shelves. Like that's kind of a really kind of hard to find product and I think correct me if I'm wrong, you were doing a few like single barrel rise this year as well. 53:52 We did we did a fair amount of single barrel Canadian rise. They were 13 years old. And they were they were they were 99 or 95%. Right? They were spectacular. Yeah, we 54:10 we have another Canadian Roz are good we 54:12 came right you know if you leave it alone, and 54:15 you may have a lot of those great big juicy for flavors they do as like, so I'm not surprised that like this. 54:23 Yeah. And then when we were about to acquire a lot of candy, right, and the first thing that trip days was bubble gum on it. It's so true. It's a very bubble gummy. How's that? 54:36 I got a question about source the buying round and sourcing. Is that similar to the bourbon game, like, is it similar? Totally, totally different? Because I know with bourbon, you got brokers and all that stuff. And you don't really talk I didn't. How's that process work with your you just get a one way ticket to the islands and hang out? Yeah, for a few months? Already? Yeah, 54:53 take a few 54:54 hands I figured out you can do. It's very different and depends on it depends on the silver, but but there is, there's a lot of spirits available. You just have to know where to get them in rum is rum. You know, aside for a couple of very specific distilleries, it's readily available. I mean, there's, if you you'll notice there's a lot of rums from Central America, there's run from South America out there now, you know, and and they're all very different. I mean, you know, some of them are just too much sugar. For us. It's, it's not what we want, we tend to really like those pure and kind of a funky Dunder, the fermentation distillation process, or just really heavy duty fat rums. No oily. 55:39 So if you guys do a lot of just bourbon whiskey and itself, then why run? Like why? It's, I guess it's one of those things, it's coming up. Well, now, I mean, look at it. You look at it from a business perspective, and you're like, Okay, like, we're gonna we're gonna chop off like the dead weight, like is from a dead weight to you? Or is it still like that's still like experimentation? Well 56:00 think about it this way. The person who drinks our rum is really a high end whiskey or bourbon drinker. So you're not going to take our rum and mix it with Coke. I mean, this is not a white rum or white rum. This is these are serious, serious products to drink. So it's a there's a natural crossover between some of the high end whiskey drinkers to some of these sort of vintage or really esoteric realms. They're not for everybody. And, and I don't even believe that rum is the next whiskey category. I think that this is that the people who drink the rums that we that we will bottle are a subset of the people who drink the whiskeys. They're not necessarily hardcore rum drinkers. Although they're the people who like rum do drink our rum, but it's not the general population. So we do it because because our customer likes it. And we like it. And you know, our promises. We only put in the bottle stuff that we like, 56:55 you know, you said rums, not the next category. 56:58 What do you think is the next category I think America was he's got a lot of room to go. I think we're, I think we're in the sick. My opinion completely. We're in the sixth inning of bourbon, we got a way to go with that. But American whiskey is there's a long runway on that. I think people are going to discover it the way they discovered bourbon. And that sort of fits our model. You know, we were looking at we look at people want to know what's new and what's different, what's exciting. We're always doing something new and different, exciting. And I think that if you look at that, that's what people like, and we're going to just keep doing that. I'll toss one at you because 57:31 I know that 57:33 you buy your whiskey. 57:35 We all go there. I know we're not going to get that without a chokehold here. 57:39 Yeah, actually, we already know. The 57:44 so a lot of people look at Armagnac as a as a as a kind of a good substitute for whiskey because it's it's, it doesn't have the same kind of flavor profile, but you do get some like very dark and condensed sort of flavors and floral fruity notes. Have you guys even thought about looking at Armagnac as a possible source? 58:04 Okay. new ones flavor? Yes, the answer? The short answer is yes. We don't know we're going to be out there. It's 58:12 3.5. Actually, we're already we just finished. 58:14 Finished, there's three more. 58:17 So So talk 58:18 to talk about talking about three real quick since it's probably going to come out. So kind of talk a little bit about like what was in the blend is a little bit different than we're drinking now. Like, kind of talk about that a little bit about that? 58:28 Yeah, there. The interesting thing about dovetail is that it is going to be a little bit different every time. But we do use you the same similar ingredients in that the barrels are the same. But, you know, grapes change every year. So the one that was in the barrels that we may get next time might be a little different than what we use previously. So there's going to be some flavor differences there, we might use a different number, we might use a Jamaican rum barrel instead of a guy in a Guyanese rum barrel, or all of those things are going to put subtle differences in there. But at the end of the day, when everything's put together, you still taste all of the same flavor characteristics, but a lot of them are in different concentrations. So it's it's a, it's a similar experience, but it's not the same experience. And I think being able to, to put all those compounds in there, in those different concentrations and let them vary a little bit as you go along. It's kind of fun to do it. 59:33 So another thing that you kind of piqued my interest, little bit too. I saw something from another friend of the show Wade wood or today and we're talking about finishing, it was more or less around like finishing versus aging. So you're talking about putting something into the barrel. And now do you all look at what you're doing is finishing like it's just in the in there for a short period of time, kind of marry some flavors you like really aging something in there? 59:57 No, I mean, everything we use is a Yes, yes. Yes, we put it in there for some maturation, but mainly, it's a finishing. 1:00:07 Yeah. 1:00:08 And some of us we have some whiskies. And we have some things we've been finishing for two years. 1:00:13 I mean, you'd have to classify that 1:00:14 would that would be I would consider two years age. Yeah. Well, 1:00:17 the funny thing is, you know, the I would think I think 30 minutes is finished, yours is probably age now the run finishing the run fish we do. I can be as short as two weeks. I mean, it depends on it depends on the particular finishing agent. And for us, one of things that we've really been careful about is we don't want the finish to overpower anything. fact, we, we don't even really want you to taste the finish, we want the finish to enhance the whiskey and make that greater than then either either parts. So you'll pick up some of the notes. You may pick up brand characteristics. But for the most part, what you're really tasting is something that's that is been created from the different finishes and the different whiskeys. So it's a totally different new flavor experience altogether. Yeah. So john, I want you to 1:01:02 taste it and go, Wow, what's that? I'm going to go back and taste it again. And then try to figure out what it is. And I know the bottom. Exactly, and we don't want you to take a sip of it and go oh, wow, that tastes like a big bowl cap. Yeah, you know, we want you to get 1:01:17 that deal. I know. 1:01:20 We actually that's that's probably an exception because that that cab is such an exceptional product. Right? That that it just brings out some beautiful nuance some 1:01:31 people about finishes, I guess there they have a concern that how much product is left in the barrels when your product goes into it. Can you talk about that
Hunting for rare bourbon is hard these days so many people have gravitated to single barrel selections as a way to combat it in the hopes of getting a stellar bourbon that is less expensive and more appealing. On this episode, we blind taste our way through a series of five comparisons where we try to see if a single barrel store pick can compete with past limited editions. We see if Weller CYPB, Booker’s Rye, 2016 Four Roses Single Barrel, and Elijah Craig 18 are worth the price. We also talk about flavors we prefer over others and how to create your own small batch limited edition bourbon as well. If you’ve done something like this before, drop us a comment with your results. Show Partners: The University of Louisville now has an online Distilled Spirits Business Certificate that focuses on the business side of the spirits industry. Learn more at uofl.me/pursuespirits. Barrell Craft Spirits is always trying to push the envelope of blending whiskey in America. Learn more at BarrellBourbon.com. The 2019 Kentucky’s Edge Bourbon Conference & Festival pairs all things Kentucky with bourbon. It takes place October 4th & 5th at venues throughout Covington and Newport, Kentucky. Find out more at KentuckysEdge.com. Receive $25 off your first order at RackHouse Whiskey Club with code "Pursuit". Visit RackhouseWhiskeyClub.com. Show Notes: This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about the return of bourbon. Is it worth waiting in line or camping out for bourbon? Tasting store picks vs. limited releases. Weller CYPB vs Weller 107 pick by Cork N Bottle Booker’s Rye vs Knob Creek Rye by Westport Whiskey and Wine 2016 Four Roses Limited Edition Single Barrel OESK vs North Atlanta Bourbon Society OESK Elijah Craig 18yr vs Elijah Craig Loch n Key Wild Turkey 17yr Decades vs Russell's Reserve by Cork N Bottle How many barrel picks have you been on? Is there something on the flavor wheel that you don't like to get out of a bourbon? Have you tried to create your own small batch before? 0:00 Hey everybody. If you have a bachelor's degree and live anywhere in the United States, there's now a way for you to take your bourbon education to the next level. The distilled spirits business certificate from the University of Louisville is an online program that can be completed in as little as 15 weeks and will prepare you for the business side of the spirits industry. It's offered by the AA CSP accredited college of business. And this certificate was developed in partnership with industry experts to be one of a kind and it's going to prepare you for your next adventure. Learn more about this online program at U of l.me. Slash pursue spirits 0:37 dry oak or the sweet Oh, I'm more of a circuit. Oh yeah, yeah, I mean, that's what that's my nickname. So they call me Coleman sweet. Oh 0:56 what's up everybody? It is Episode 219 of 1:00 bourbon pursuit. I'm one of your host Kenny, and we don't have a whole lot of news but it's festival season. And for bourbon pursuit, we are fortunate that we are going to be at some of the most prestigious ones around. We had a blast last weekend at hometown rising and now we are headed into bourbon and beyond weekend, the whole bourbon pursuit team is going to be there. And we have different sessions throughout the entire weekend. So make sure you go and check out the schedule so you can be there. bourbon and beyond.com. Of course Fred's gonna be there and he's scattered everywhere. But Ryan kicks things off on Friday at 1230 with beer drinkers bourbon, and I have the final session on Friday at six o'clock pm called what is a master distiller. On Saturday, I kick off at 1225 with barrel finished versus traditional bourbon. And we're going to be joined on stage by all the personalities that you've heard on the podcast before. So we would love to see you all there and please come say hi to us. There's always going to be bourbon pursuit t shirts. 2:00 Hats available at the Fred MC merchant so make sure you take a second and stop by their last week mark 65 years as Jimmy Russell being an active master distiller and now he is considered the longest tenured master distiller around Happy Anniversary Jimmy from the whole bourbon pursuit team. Maker's Mark is unveiling its first ever limited release bourbon that won't require a special trip to Loreto Maker's Mark wood finishing series 2019 new release, RC six will be available nationwide this fall. It marks the first of many upcoming whiskeys in the wood finishing series. As Maker's Mark plans to release a new one for a limited time nationwide each year. You probably already know about maker's 46 and the private barrel selection program that utilizes flavoring staves. This release was finished and secondary barrels containing 10 wouldn't staves dubbed RC six the staves made from Virgin America. 3:00 Or season for a year and a half and then baked in a convection oven. Before being introduced to the cast drink bourbon, Maker's Mark made 255 barrels, it's bottled at 108.2 proof. And you'll be able to find it nationwide in October with an MSRP of around $60. Not only is it festival season, but it's also release season. And release season means all the crazies come out. And for today's podcast, we look at really what that means because they're going to be bourbon lotteries that happen around the nation folks are camping out in parking lots. And there's a lot of hate around flippers and liquor store owners that are trying to get the most money out of these secondary values for these allocated Bourbons. So our goal in this episode was to see if we can help folks out there not feel the fo mo or the fear of missing out. We did our best to blindly set up samples of past limited edition Bourbons and compare them to single barrel private pics. The results are interesting, but the best part about this is that you can do this 3:59 At home, find a group of friends and get together and have a blind taste off and use some limited edition Bourbons versus some single barrels out there. Heck, if your taste buds prefer stag Junior over Big Boy George t stag, you're going to save yourself a lot of headache and money in the process. But you can do this as well for things like ego or 17 versus just standard single Eagle rare store pics. And there's a lot of them that spread the whole gamut of a lot of the big distilleries are out there. And if you ever get around to doing something like this, we would love to hear your results. Drop us a line on our Facebook page or mentioned us in your Instagram or your Twitter posts. All right, it's time to dive into the good stuff. Let's hear from Joe over a barrel bourbon. And then you've got Fred Minnick with above the char. Hi, Joe from barrell bourbon here. We're always trying to push the envelope of blending whiskey in America. Find out more at barrell bourbon.com. 4:53 I'm Fred Minnick, and this is above the char want to take you back in time, a time and bourbon will 5:00 wasn't cool when bourbon wasn't selling when Julian Van Winkle had to trade bottles of 23 year old Pappy, just to get a magazine advertisement. I'm talking about the 1990s. In the 1990s there was a very important event that happened that would shape the bourbon economy for the next 20 or 30 years. And that is the Japanese market crashed. You see up until that point the Japanese market was the number one thing kind of keeping bourbon alive. You had brands being specifically developed for the Japanese such as Blanton's Booker's know as mill the entire small batch collection essentially anything that was a an ultra premium of that time was being sent to Japan because the Japanese absolutely loved and continue to love bourbon. When the market crashed. You saw how the company's decided to deal with it. You had some 6:00 Who decided to put their efforts on domestic sales. So heaven Hill basically shifted their efforts to focus on the southeast and throughout the United States. Jim Beam really tried to double down and like places like New York and Chicago and San Francisco, they had really concentrated programs there and united distillers, now the CEO decided to sell. Up until that moment, they had actually been making more of their weeded bourbon to sell to Japan under the Rebel Yell label to compete with jack daniels. They had this excess of weeded bourbon and they decided to sell it and they also decided to sell their brands. They sold Rebel Yell eventually to the company that is now Lux go. They sold it old Fitzgerald to heaven Hill, and they sold Weller the Weller brand and the stocks and the archives to SAS racks. 7:00 Those are three companies who really wanted the bourbon and they really wanted to promote it. And as we all know, that particular whiskey was quite good and made an impression on anybody who ever tasted it. And I often wonder what would have happened if united distillers decided not to sell their whiskey and their labels to three companies who really did care about promoting bourbon? I've thought about that a lot. And I've come to the conclusion that I don't think bourbon would have ever has been as hot as it is today. The reason why united distillers has always been a scotch centric company and they've never put much effort into American whiskey. The exception being bullet and you know, George decal is kind of like barely, barely gets any budget, you know, at least they're now they're, they're paying attention to it, but that particular company has never really put a whole lot of focus on 8:00 American whiskey. So I look back on that time today as we celebrate bourbon Heritage Month. And we enjoy this incredible growth and all the fandom that we have in bourbon. I look back to the 1990s as the people who truly made the right decisions that got us to where we are today. 8:22 And that's this week's above the char. Hey, if you want to learn more about the history of bourbon, check out my book bourbon, the rise fall and rebirth of an American whiskey. Until next week. Cheers 8:37 Welcome back to the episode of bourbon pursuit the official podcast of bourbon, Kenny and Ryan here in our secondary recording studios in my basement if you're watching the video you you may notice the background it looks familiar. And we have a new guest on today and I'm sure usually when people come here they're always like, I can't wait to see Kenny's basement through all his bottles, bottles, bottles. I like upstairs studio better. We got more room. 9:00 On the dining room table, you were a little tight down here, but we'll make it work. So you can see the bottles. Yeah, so when I was planning the basement I never really planned this to be like a recording space. But it kind of turned out that well now you have lights and the whole shebang. You know, it's like, real deal. We'll make it work. We'll make it work in the cramped space. It'll, that's how to happen. But, you know, today, today's topic really came as it was a good suggestion by our guests. Because when we think about the significance and what it really takes to go in chase after unicorns and limited edition releases, it's becoming almost it's been it's difficult. Yeah, it's very, very difficult. It's either your, I don't even do it. I just gave up on it. Like two or three years ago. It's like no, not camping. Yeah, you're either camping or you're paying secondary prices, or, you know, CP and other people are kind of like, Oh, yeah, well, I've got a great relationship with the store manager. I buy everything there. And and that's great. But sometimes you also need to take a step back and think like, Okay, well, I 10:00 If I just keep buying a bottle of bourbon every two weeks, and I keep buying a 12 pack of beer odds are I'm probably spending almost two months as well and I could just bought off a secondary and in my case my store relationship it caused me a probably about five to $600 in tickets to like concerts and football games and all that stuff per year so I need to add that tax on to my math whenever I'm like I'm getting these a cost Yeah, maybe not. Yeah, I was like that big man. We've a lot be actually cost you more than the second Yeah. No doubt. That's definitely how it happens. But So with that, let's go and introduce our guest today. So today we have Mikey Conrad Mikey, welcome to the show. Welcome. Glad to be here. Yes. beautiful, magnificent basement. Yeah. See, we like to hear that it's all about the ambience. Right. That's the town. So Mikey, you know, first off, thank you for coming up with this idea because this is this is great because we get to kind of look at more of the bourbon culture side of things here. We get to look at really what does it take to look at a 11:00 Very good store, pick somebody that is from a Baroque barrel selection group, or whether they're stores that are very well known for it, versus chasing after those limited releases, which sometimes they're pretty much the same exact thing as those barrel selections just either aged longer or selected by the master distiller for various reasons, something like that. So kind of what was your your reasoning behind bringing an idea like this? Yeah, I mean that the main reason is kind of already been hinted at, like, it just got really almost ridiculous to camp to spend time, energy effort, money into chasing things that you weren't always sure if they were going to pan out to be what you think they're going to be because of everyone else telling you that you got to get this bottle. It looks pretty, you know, whatever it may be. And so you know, you start to take store pics or single barrel pics from clubs or stores or bars and you're like man says really 12:00 Good, this tastes better than you know the special release that came out. And so it really is just come to a simple like reality that time is something you don't get back. And so for a guy who's married, you know has three daughters. I'm like, Man Am I am I just spend too much time trying to always chasing bourbon. Yeah, man. I mean, come on. So Miss three genetics and glasses of the past. 12:25 I mean, that's where some of the really practical I mean, thought came into play as like, really, like, how much time should I be spending and it's like, man, there's access to so many great stores in this area alone, Kentucky, Indiana, like man, there's gotta be some a better way. So yeah, that's what and Ryan always talks about opportunity costs. Being when you say yes to something you're saying no to something else. Yeah, you definitely always gotta think of the opportunity costs. It's that and then it's also you know, in the value of your time, you know, Ryan being an entrepreneur and owning a few businesses. He he has this sort of level. 13:00 Thinking, because I go back and I think of like my 2014 days of camping in front of liquor barn and being like one of the first three people there and coming away with a 23 at the end of the day. Yeah, sure. It was fun. They were good times. And now if I think about it, like what I ever do that again, like, is my time more valuable than actually waiting in line? Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you gotta look at like your salary or what your earning potential is like as someone and and you're like, all right, I just invested nine hours to get this bottle. And it's, you know, 1300 1500 bucks, you're like, wait a minute, I could have just done my regular job and you know, done a lot better. But you know, but it's also fun to you got it. You can't discount that there's something in about going to the store going out for the hunt, hanging out with people to you know, get those bottles so that you can't totally just make it a numbers thing, but it's a Yeah, yeah. And nine hours is probably on the short end of the stick. Yeah, exactly. So it's even lower cut, you know, or even bigger opportunity costs. So, so I'm going to talk you know, we're going to talk a little more about these topics as we go but one of the 14:00 things that we're doing today is we are going to be kind of going into a double blind here. And this is going to be store pics versus limited releases. And these are store pics that I've had access to that I've purchased as well as limited editions that I purchased. And honestly, I told my wife I said, Let's set these up. We don't want to know if this is an Elijah Craig pairing. If this is a four roses pairing, I don't really know what it is. She really want to expose us. Oh, I mean, this is gonna make us look real bad. Yeah, okay. So so we're going to not not only know what the brand name, the mash bill, whatever it is, but then inside of that we don't know which one either one or two is the limited edition or is the store pick? Yeah, so we're going to go through and we're going to start off with our first one here. We were going through so we always know number one is on our left and number two is on our right. So we've got a lined up. So let's go ahead and kind of start 15:00 The process of nosing through these and figuring out I know what it is. Oh yeah, just by that. You're so fast, huh? Think it's a well or one of seven. You think you're going straight with the leader off the bat, huh? So I actually I have no idea I can I that was the first thing in my peripheral vision. 15:22 So I'll give you some ideas of what we have up line today. So we've got on the store pick side we've got a Russell's reserve from cork and bottle. We've got a knob Creek pick that was done to knob Creek right pick that was done by Westport whiskey and wine. We've got a nine year nine month OESK that was done by the North Atlanta bourbon society, which I chose that one because we're pairing that against a Brent face bottle which was the 20 1614 year old SK in addition to that, you know, we already said we got a well or 107 which is also cork and bottle pick versus a Weller 16:00 After perfect bourbon, which was a sample sent by Matt q six So Matt thank you so much for sending that along and hopefully we don't disappoint you here or hopefully hopefully we can yeah yeah 16:12 I really enjoyed the nose on this one I wasn't in love with the taste or finish or anything about it Mona maybe it's just cuz my first one 16:22 I'm kind of with you on that one. The nose is there but what taste might be a little weird Yeah, I mean we all profile on any of those on so they're trying to register in my head so this is also kind of the the issue with some store pics too is that a lot of people and a lot of stores? They will they always go and they want to find something unique. Yep. And so they try to find that that off profile one and so that could be the one here that is that is the off profile side of things about you Mikey need to have a guests on me and my guess is going to be way off. That's okay. It's got my brain. Ivan land I totally just glanced over. 17:01 But there is a big drop off on the back end of this thing. Yeah. The only thing I noticed up front when I first knows it was like some cherries and always get cherry out of like Weller's. But 17:13 that's the only reason why I said that. 17:16 I don't know. Wow, this is actually pretty hard if I just tasted the second one. 17:22 The taste is a lot better than the SEC. Oh, yeah. The second one's the first one. I'm going to go back to it because it was a little, like musty gonna, like funky? I don't know. Yeah, a little bit. I mean, it kind of had that weird finish to it, but I'm like some like I said, that's that's one of those things where you know, you go into a store and that's what they try to do they try to differentiate it by having some unique pick like that. They taste totally different, which is crazy, like did Laurin do these right? I hope 17:52 I can't be 100% on that one. But I hope so. 17:57 Mikey, how many barrel pics Have you been on? I know you came with 18:00 On one. Yeah, I think, right around five, and maybe, maybe one or two more, but at least five. Yeah. Have you found to find those like off profile ones? Have you found them before, I have felt small profile ones. And my brains always go in toward the masses. Unless there happens to be a large group of folks that just wants something really off profile. But if that's off profile can be off putting to someone that has an expectation of something that they want to, they want to sip or drink that's, that's within their, you know, their taste, right? And so we even at a place like New riff, like we, we got down to our two, we did them blind, and one was just significantly different. And my thinking was, man, guys, if we pick this one, people are going to think we're crazy. Yeah, they're not going to want to ever again, right, but the other one was just it was great, had a great nose, super sweet on the front, and this long lasting kind of sweet oak. And so we chose that one. So 19:00 But usually when that barrel picks I'm pretty simple like I have this very like Check. Check. Yes, yeah. Minus or check plus and yeah, if the nose on something is really weak I have a hard time putting it into the the check plus category but 19:15 I do like the nose on a second one a lot better than the first there's Yeah, like everything about the second one better. So I'm not entirely sure what it is. Yeah, I'm gonna put my vote for two on this one. I agree as well. But I mean, we've had so Ryan lands he's been on the show before he sent us a sample. A blind sample once Brian if you remember that. Yep. And we were we were dumbfounded by it. We were going through because we were like, is this a ride? Like it's got this minty flavor. It's like, totally, that means we couldn't pin it down. And then he was like, No, just a nine year Buffalo Trace. 19:50 Like, yeah, we're like, I didn't expect that when we were thinking I was like, some will have families day, like eight years or something from MTV, you know? But it was 20:00 Buffalo Trace Oh yeah, it was a crazy one. So I think I got my vote in number two Yankee what's your vote in? Yeah number two hands down all right all right so i think you won't do the reveal I'm already on the guess oh how about just trade them off you guys can you guys can both do reveals about that so you're real all right Mikey go ahead all right I'll reveal all right so here we go here we go number a number a number 20:27 oh boy sorry guys a one number one is Weller craft your perfect bourbon OC at least now I new 20:39 stuff right 20:41 the craft your own bourbon you whoever crafted it did not 20:46 you screwed up 20:49 yeah, that's I mean that kind of goes to show you right i mean we're out of the gate we already just said that doesn't work yeah, I mean and go me wrong like store pick one oh sevens like they trade upwards of 21:00 Like $100 now, but the crappy perfect bourbon i think is somewhere around 300 400. So you know, yeah, I mean, it was a limited release. It came in a fancy white label, but I'm just like, thrilled. I got it right on the nose. I was like, you should just leave now. Yeah, I'm done. See? 21:19 My drop word done? Well, let's uh, let's go ahead and refresh or reset here and he does dump dump bug it Here we go. Here's a here's a dump glass that you can use. Just go ahead and do that. All right. Have you done a 107 pic? I have not me either. 21:35 on the list though, I had the opportunity to do it. Which you know the Yeah, I mean, the honest weird thing about doing Yeah, we're going to have a just a big ol Weller mix mix, right here. So we'll just do that. We'll save that one for later. Is it pretty similar to like doing a Buffalo Trace where you know, you get it's 46 barrels and it's very similar. I don't need that here. So one 22:00 So when you do the when you do the well everyone oh seven pick. I mean, it's there's literally no difference than what you were doing with a Buffalo Trace or anything like that. 22:09 Except you have you have this high anticipation going into it. Yeah. Right because you're like, we did it like we're here like we're getting the Mecca. Yeah. I mean, you think like, it's going to be like crazy and like off the wall. Like you're super excited for it like you get it takes more than a little Yeah. You got barely a taste there. 22:30 And then so and so we're going to use it. So like I said, you go in like super, super amped for it. However, 22:38 when we did ours, I was actually sitting there with a few of the guys and I'm kind of like, it might be like one of the few times in my life where you're like, like so crazy going into it. That you say 22:53 can we get some new barrels? Because life's all about expectation? Nothing. No, yeah, nothing was like you 23:00 We're over the moon about any of them. I mean, so it was just kind of like Well, I guess we'll just choose one of these. Yeah, I mean, they were also kind of doing us a favor of giving this group that I'm in a 107 pick at the story behind it was this is all part of the the bourbon cartel as we've had on the show before doing a 1792 foolproof pick. And we are the team that was there chose the barrel and come to find out that barrel was already pre sold. And everybody had already left like guys came in from California for this all this other kind of stuff. And they were like, Oh, I'm so sorry. What can we do? What can we make it up for you? I don't know exactly how you want no seven pick and they're like, okay, let's make it happen. Yeah. And I guess when that happens, you might get the the last barrels all the rejects right into the year. Yeah, it's like when Eddie Russell was that the Russell's pig and they're like, well, operations is on air. Nevermind. 23:59 So we got 24:00 UV here. So with BO buddy. Oh, here we go again. So I feel like this is filling 24:10 or something logic correct maybe 24:13 behind you might be, you might have he's got this he's got his senses dialed in every night. Every night he goes home and just practice I actually do now ever since we've done pursuit series like I've kind of like trying to not take it seriously but really 24:30 put some effort into it. I can train my nose and palate. I don't know. I mean, it's I don't know I enjoy it and you know, so I've really, I'll probably with on this one so I don't hide me up too much. 24:44 But I just know it's like an alleged occurred to me up the gate. All right. I can tell you after the taste. I don't think it's Elijah Craig. Oh. 24:52 I think it's a rye. Oh, yeah. Because I had one Rive blind set in here. Maybe it's like a 25:00 bourbon and then you get four roses and some of the different recipes you get some of like a minty profile to it as well so yeah there's this earthy 25:10 earth you bite at the end 25:13 yeah it's definitely like you said get the ride and it's really standing out 25:20 we are more like a kind of peanut II nutty kind of, well, one of the things that threw in here I said there was a ride blind so there's a problem is the rods that you did are like gateway rods. Yeah, well, I know I don't know if their gateway rise because of the ride that I did. I did. I did a knob Creek Westport whiskey and what it was for what sports really known for a lot of good store pics. Chris has been on the show before from there. But I said what's a good limited edition to pair this up with and there's not I ok. I tried to be a smart consumer so I didn't go out and buy like the knob Creek hundred and 30th or whatever it was. I came in the box. That was like 26:00 150 bucks, but I had these. These had a bottle of knob or a Booker's rye sitting around. And so I said, well mean it's still Jim Beam at the end of the day. 26:12 Both of them like art super dry, heavy on the taste. So let's see if we can see if we can figure it out and blind. Hmm. I'm worried. Yeah, she's like, 26:25 I'll tell you a story because Booker's right, I bought a few bottles of them. When I told myself I said, You know what, like, I have a lot of money sunk into these things because they came out at 303 50 retail. And I said, I said maybe when it hits 1000 What's the perfect boogers raw? Is it cash flow? Its cash. Yeah, I mean, I think it's like around 100 and hundred and 10 hundred and 20. Some most most of the Booker's around 120 proof. So yeah, you could probably expect that now. I'm also it just seems like there's a huge difference in the 27:00 First and second one. I don't know. Maybe it's just me. Yeah, you might be right. I'm getting more ethanol knows on this first one. 27:08 But which one do you enjoy more? And the first one that I'll call like really 27:13 overpowers kind of everything for me there obviously, now that you said there's a lot more ethanol on the nose, 27:20 like on the nose and the palate and just really just takes over well and you know, also I can't be 100% of these are rise or not So, but the second one is so light, 27:34 and gullible. Is that word gullible? Not even close now, or do you think this could be I don't love either one of them, but I like the second one better than the first like now that I'm tasting it. I don't know if it is awry. I don't think it's a wrong at this. This might be the difference in the four roses. Yeah, because it could be the Brent face 14 year OESK versus the 27:57 the nine and a half year or nine nine 28:00 nine year nine months, North Atlanta Bourbons pick and I I chose both of those. I chose the North Atlanta one because the Brett face bottle was all OESK and this was one of the last store pics that I had that was also only OESK. Alright, so if you had to choose one where do you going with 28:25 I know hopefully their listeners I'm bored. Well 28:28 the comments going rolling around like I said, I don't love both of them. I think if I had to pick I'll pick two just cuz 28:37 like one just so I just get so much alcohol that I can't really taste much else whereas to I can kind of get some 28:46 basic bourbon notes you know a little bit better. They're both pretty underwhelming for me. Not underwhelming, but just very average number one has a bit more of a punch to me. Yeah. Which a lot of people think that 29:00 is hot or its heat. Yeah. I don't typically mind it as much. However, number two definitely has a little more subdued. Little more oak. Yep. And I like my tannins. So I know he does. Like, yeah, he's cheap for tenants. 29:19 Dry oak or the sweet. Oh, I'm more of a shadow. Yeah, I mean, that's what that's my nickname. So they called me come to sweet. Oh. 29:27 Alright, you want to reveal this one? Kenny. All right, I'll reveal this one. So I'm on number two. Ryan. I'm number two as well, man it is it's a close tie. But the ethanol knows on one. I yeah, I got I gotta go with to, to just got much more sweeter kind of reveal. All right, well, we kind of nailed that one. So this was the four rows. Okay. 29:49 Number two was the bread face bottle. It was the 14 year OESK barrel strength Limited Edition. And then the first one was the nine year nine months. 30:00 SK gotcha so in this particular instance the limit earliest when the limited release me yes so how about it? Alright, so let's go ahead and dump them out and get ready for them the first one was a store pick right the Yes The first one was the store pick that's correct grab another glass over there Ron if you can and will create our glass or dump glass over here. Mikey are the ones you've been on where the most memorable barrel pics or any stories from those two mean hopefully the one you went on with us but yeah you know no pressure 30:33 I mean Buffalo Trace is always on someone's just picking a barrel there and doesn't matter really what whiskey it is the set to get into a pickle Buffalo Trace it's on everyone's list right? So that one was great. I really as far as like tours go and overall barrel picking experience, man I mean castle and key. They they even though they don't have anything on the market yet, like the ability to taste arrived or weeded and then lay it back. 31:00 down. I mean, the experience overall was really great there. So I feel like Yeah, it was. That was overall my best so far. And you know, Buffalo Trace was great as well. But out of the out of the few that I've done, castle and key was, was hands down my favorite. And usually I'll try to point people toward a tour there for coming in from out of town, the castle and key I was kind of blown away with like, I'd seen it before the renovation and went, I knows time sensitive information. But last week, you know, last weekend did a pin hook pic with the breaking bourbon guys and man, that place is awesome. Like it is like the gardens are beautiful. Like all the architecture inside like it's a great blend of like modern architecture with old architecture like I just 31:47 I mean, it comes with a steep price tag. I think they said their tours are like 30 bucks. Yeah, for an hour. But I mean, but I know that I mean it's totally different. Like you could literally spend Well, we did spend six hours 32:00 If you wanted to you could spend all day there. I mean, it's it's a great beautiful location. Yeah. If you're a history nerd like I am. So there is that kind of on beyond that adds to the experience. Yeah. I mean new riff they're new, but man, they take care of you really well, there as well. So some of it is just, it's just different. So that's, that's the reality of some of these pics. Like, some might not be better than the other but who's our least favorite? Should we not say that we bought and again, bye bye. Yeah. My bad. No, don't do that. 32:32 There's really not some that are, like terrible, right? None are actually terrible. 32:38 I mean, the only ones that are terrible. 32:41 Maybe my opinion is terrible is that you don't even actually go in the barrel pick. You just have the sample ship tonight. Yeah, like that's just Yeah, I don't know. I mean, obviously, geographic geography kind of plays a role in that. But yeah, it's it's not as exciting. Well, it's just part of what it is though. There's probably very few people that go on a barrel pick and walk away, saying 33:00 I wish I would have done that barrel pick. 33:03 Yeah, that's that's probably very true. So I just so we're here at letter C Now I keep wanting to say the number c so letter C, and often knows like the nose right away like I'm like pulling number two, like way ahead of the pack here. Yeah. 33:21 They're both the both noses are far better than the ones from the last rounds. Like on the these two. So we're tasting right now trying to figure out exactly I know where we are. Right? We are. We are easily and Eliza Craig land. Yeah, this is totally worked on. I gave that spiel about how I'm taking seriously, I'm failing pursuit series. That's okay. But I mean, this is a work in progress. So, you know, the life of Craig brain in itself, like I'm a huge fan of it. Oh, yeah, they're, they're doing it. They're doing a lot of good things in regards of not only putting out what people have been asking for for years, which was a very 34:00 Proof release, you know, they brought out should I say reintroduce the 18 and 23 year expressions A few years ago, the only thing that you can't find anymore is the 21 year expression. But you know, honestly out of those older expressions and by the way i can tell you OA you can totally tell right just first said what each one is. Yeah, so I can tell you exactly the comparison here what we're looking at and ones and Elijah Craig 18 year another is an Elijah Craig store pick that was done by the lock and key society so lock Oh, I thought you were saying the first class logic Craig. I'm like, No, it's not. A second one is why I don't know. I don't know. Yeah, but I'm just saying. I'm just saying the lineup and so anybody that's unfamiliar lock and key is based out of Julio up a New England. They're a pretty big player in that that store pic world. They've been doing it for years and years and years. I've actually got an old store pick. I'm down. I think my last job 35:00 of one of the the last ever Bernheim we store pics that were ever available. Heaven Hill what opened up to doing your own Evan Williams your own Bernheim, your own header mechanic all that sort of stuff then they kind of put the handcuffs on you to is definitely got to be the 18 and one is the 35:21 it's that eight to 12 year like Elijah Craig got the nutty toffee candy bar notes like stuff I enjoy so I'm definitely like one year program pick to the Hollywood pick two. But you know when I was when I was talking to Mikey about this and we were talking about store pics versus limited releases I actually thought I didn't do it but I thought about doing it because it's not actually technically a store pick or store release. But I said what if we did an Elijah Craig barrel proof versus like a nine year like will it family estate? Oh, yeah, I was like that one actually might be that would be pretty comparable. Well, obviously it is comparable. 35:59 It's the same exact 36:00 Liquid but both of these are really good Actually, I prefer one just because it's kind of got some of the sweeter not your candy bar kind of notes that I like. But that's just preference and I think number one, it's pretty easy to see that the 94 proof plan Oh yeah. And that's I think that's also evolving on both of them. They're both very light. Well, I mean, Mikey, like, tell me about this like, what would what in the market would change if heaven Hill opened up a logic Craig program and they just said, Yeah, put it a barrel proof. Yeah, I mean, you're going to get a wider range. I think of a first off people wanting Elijah Craig. Because it is it is very 36:44 I don't want this I don't want us to use the word delicate but I will use the word LB feels very delicate. When you put it next to the the UCLA team. There's a lot more depth to it. I think there could be a lot more depth to a single barrel pic of alleged credible 37:00 Proof if they would just open that up I guess it just depends on your consumer so like if you're you know the the first one like for what I think it's going to appeal to more of a almost a common but i mean you know like you know it's just because it's it's not the it's not the enthusiast in mind here it's very approachable very enjoyable but like get to you're definitely gonna get like you said more complexity depth 37:28 to might be more off putting to like a common consumer I'd say common but like, you know, or new consumer but I don't know depends on your consumer but I want the barrel proof because it's logical. Operators are always home runs like I've never had a bad one. Can't say I've ever had one. Well, I mean, there's the mean. So you know, Mike Sahni personally so you know that there's a lot that actually goes into making sure that an electric guard barrel proof isn't just a mistake, either right? Like Like they, they choose barrels specifically that go in 38:00 into it 38:02 which is a little bit different you know we've we've talked to the people that haven't Hill and when you talk about Elijah Craig 23 or when you try to find 23 year old barrels, it's actually very very hard. Yeah, and end up dumping a lot of them into like, just Edwin's Black Label because it's so it's so it's undrinkable. Yes. It's the oak is just overpowered. There's a bank on that point, right? There's, there's Law of Diminishing Returns without like, you know, can and somebody went the good thing I learned to catch lucky with the Pinot guy, because I was like, so how do you? You know, you have a really good barrel it say like 12 to 14 years. Like do you bottle dinner? Do you let it age? Do you know to keep will I keep improving? And he's like, No, he's like, Do you want something that's going to age you need something that's really soft, elegant, sweet at that age, because the folks really at 15 1617 is really going to start to overpower it. If it's already ready, you know, does that make sense? Oh, no, it makes sense. And so that that was kind of an 39:00 Lighting because we talked about, you know, US buying some 14 year and sitting on it for three to four years. But we were like, how do you This one's really great. Should we just because it's so great we hang on to it or should we look for something that's will do better with age? And that was kind of good advice. Yeah. And it's always a it's always a costly mistake if it never works. 39:21 Well, we'll just bottle it anyway. 39:24 No, okay, so let's go ahead let's reveal this one because I think I think this one yeah, is as bad as it sounds like I knew the bottles I chose them going into it. However, I let my wife figure out exactly what we should do. However, I thought we had Yeah, it's it's I mean, we want to live correct tangent for 39:44 a bit funny. It feels like not Brussels. 39:48 It would have been funny, but yeah, this one's too easy. The locking key and see Tuesday 18 years. Oh, yeah. Alright, so good work. So I mean, but the thing is, is like I don't mind 40:00 lock and key one like you're right like it's totally like a good drinkable bourbon. Yeah, for an average consumer that just wants to get into it. However, 40:10 I don't know if a lot of the electric barrel pics are speaking to the the enthusiastic market yeah maybe they'll keep going it's still fun it's still fun to go you know you talk to people from like bourbon Crusaders and they come out with a lot of good pics too. And the thing is, is though it's just kind of like I just wish they didn't take it down in 94 proof you know there's there's something about when you cross under that hundred threshold that I don't know Mikey, have you found anything underneath 100 that you're like, Hey, you know, like I can do this every single day like there's one there's one bottle and Brandon I do and I did this in the blind. So that's how I know. But maybe I don't know the proof. Exactly. But George Remus. I tend to like I like that bottle. 40:59 Not a fan of 41:00 why they chose George Remus of all people But anyways, you're part of the ground 41:07 and stuff is not necessary someone to model your life after. But But Remus Yeah, I love I love that bottle. I love the bourbon in it. I think it might be 90 proof. Yeah, typically under 100 proof like, like, you have to get into some dusty. He's like, okay, dads, and I mean, and we're like, 41:27 you know, like Victor's 20s or something, you know, because they're 94 proof or they actually might be right I don't know I've got one back there but I don't feel like getting up and looking at it. And so we're handing everything to Ryan do not mix see one and see two together like because 41:44 ECA teams just too good. I like it like it. Yeah. For me, for me. I love Elijah Craig a team when I am I'm sitting in the basement, and it's late at night. And like, I can't do like a barrel proof. Like it's just it's just like 42:00 I'm not able to go to sleep at night if I if I got that back in the bottle well who knows I've got it's a long day ahead of us still so yeah, you know I liked 18 I mean it for me the tags really sit and kind of dry and just like on the in which it kind of sits there and lingers for a bit and I'm like hi go away please 42:20 see not me I mean I'm Mike What about you like Do you like tannins? Because I like I said I like a lot of rich oak complexity complexity that what those really bring into it. I mean, that's it for me when you when you get a lot of oak that means that the barrel is doing something like tremendous and that's that's really what I get out of it. Yeah, I I'm a fan of the sweet oak if you can give me a finish with a sweet oak and like a dried cherry name that just last four days. Yeah, I mean, sign me up. Sign me up. Not a fan of the dry. Oh because much. I feel like it's got my get your lip smacking back and forth. 43:00 And just makes you thirsty. Not a big fan of the drive but the sweet Oh yeah, it doesn't make you feel like oh man you can you can almost taste the process. Yeah a little bit so I'm with you on that one and that's what I mean I'm a fan of just open general because it definitely is more of an overpowering flavor like up. I'll put it to you guys is like is there is there something on the flavor wheel right i mean we've all seen before that that you don't like to get out of a bourbon. 43:33 The 2019 Kentucky's edge bourbon conference and festival pairs all things Kentucky with bourbon. It takes place October 4 and fifth at venues throughout Covington in Newport Kentucky, Kentucky's edge features of bourbon conference music tastings pairings tours and in artists and market Kentucky's edge 2019 is where bourbon begins. Tickets and information can be found online at Kentucky's edge calm 43:58 as the saying goes 44:00 Portland is weird. Perhaps it's something in the water. It turns out that there might be some truth to that. The Oregon capitals primary water source is supplied by the Bull Run watershed. It's also the key ingredient in one of the city's most popular watering holes, Bull Run distillery. The boulder and watershed is a very unique water source. 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Use code pursuit for $25 off 45:00 Your first box 45:04 I'll put it to you guys is like is there is there something on the flavor wheel right i mean we've all seen before that that you don't like to get out of a bourbon. I mean for me definitely like some people some people are like oh I don't like like orange zest or orange peel or whatever No, I mean honestly I like freer freer whiskies I really like 45:25 like I'm with you know we're talking the barrel guys I really like when you get those like great notes and just too much because very off putting for me, like like he said, he gets dry and you're smacking your lips and like trying to get some moisture back into your 45:42 region, you know, but 45:45 other than that, I mean, I obviously I hate young stuff like where you just get green forward, you know, grassy or like, where it's like hey are you know, we I won't name any names, but we've had, we've had 46:00 You know, that's just very off putting for me. I agree. I agree. It's the last thing you want to do is sit there and expect something and then all of a sudden, it's like, Did I just mow my grass a second video? And that's in my mouth? Yep. Yeah, for sure. Alright, so now we're on letter D. So, you all won that one. Right? Well, I mean, I should say you all, like I said, I'm a nice person. Yeah, I think like I said, I'm just a fan of of what they do there. However, you know, that's the limited release, you know, so limited releases up to two one. Well, that's a hard one, though, because it's because it wasn't the same proof. It wasn't, you know, yeah. You can get in the gift shop almost every day. Right. Exactly. So no, not this isn't limited to Maryland, Maryland. Okay, that's a hard one. Yeah. And, and, you know, there's it To be honest, like there's a lot of things that we thought about that we couldn't do today. So, we looked at the the potential of doing an old forester single barrel versus an old forester birthday. 47:00 But I would have been a good one. Yeah, problem is, we haven't been on old forester. 47:05 And I guess we need to probably line that up. But the other thing it was like, just weren't thinking ahead of time enough to be able I sounds like a little like, let's go ahead and get it. And then the other one was looking at 47:20 Oh, gosh, I'm like looking at the bar thinking, Oh, yeah, we're looking at doing like a and this is not even a store pic versus limited release. But this is like a Sazerac rye versus a Thomas h handy. Yeah, it's like the proof 47:33 is me too crazy. Like you go you'll be able to pick it out like well that's and that's the problem is that like to do any of these with the the antique collection actually be pretty difficult to do. Because you could do a stag where's the stag Jr. Maybe? That was about as close as you could probably get. But you know, when you look at Eagle rare 17 versus regular Eagle rare, I think you're gonna hit the same exact problem that you saw at the Elijah Craig. It's just gonna be 48:00 Rich of depth of the oak. The same thing was Sazerac, 18 and Sasha cry, it's just going to be the richness and depth, I mean, you're going to hit that same problem no matter where you go. 48:12 So there is there is a reason why they make limited releases. It's just trying to find some of those limited releases that matched sort of the either the same proof or profile or age that I think that you really need to try to find and get out of this. 48:27 I love the nose on both of these. Actually. 48:31 That's pretty common with Russell's, which I think this is I don't think so. The other thing is the Russell's, or anything. It's raw, I guess, right? I mean, I haven't tasted it yet. But it's only because I know. 48:43 Because, you know, right now see, I need to stop it. Okay. 48:50 So far? Yeah, we've been pretty good. So Mike, you all kind of point this question over to you because I know that there's a lot of people out there. Travis Hill. He's been Oh yeah, for totally rock and 49:00 Yeah, there you go. And there's a lot of people out there that try to make their own four roses. Limited Edition small batch. I mean have you have you looked at creating your own kind of like small batch out of like different store pics or anything like that before I've not done it with great strategic content to create a certain brand or for the lease I have done the you know, the classic blend bottle or simple call infinity bottle. It was infinity until I tasted it and liked it. Then I stopped and then they became my blend because I stopped putting things in it. Yeah, so people would people tasted like this is great. And I give it out. And you had a record of it out like Exactly, yeah, regret it. Yeah, I do keep your record but I yeah, I lost it. But yeah, I would give it my dog always doing like bottle shares and things like that. Get people assemble, get everything done what it was, and they were like, this is really good. What is it like? It's actually just a blend of like 17 different two outs for else and things that were time, but I've never done it intentionally. I haven't 50:00 guys that's tried you know the the poor man's Pappy and have tried to recreate the the Al young with the blends that they think will work but sometimes it's 50:09 in there 50:11 there is something to it. You know, there was there was a blind taste in that Blake from bourbon or hosted years ago that I was a part of as well as a few other people. And oddly enough, like he sent six samples and we had to rank each sample kind of like flavors and everything notes and everything that we're getting out of it. 50:31 And, and it was it was it was so climatic at the very end because it was all happening. You know, he sent the samples we submitted him. And then at the very end, you know, we all got on YouTube or Google Hangouts and promoted on YouTube and we all got on there and come to find out the variant. The number one bourbon we all love was a exactly what you said a poor man's Pappy that was mixed in a ninja blender. 51:01 Me and I don't know if it has something to say about aeration. I don't have the something to say about anything else but it's this like, Yeah, he literally threw in a ninja blender. Yeah. And that's what one out of like, six different Bourbons. So it's crazy it kind of goes to show that you can 51:18 can always just think that the most limited things are going to be the best things. Yeah, I'll probably be adding a ninja blender to my Amazon wish list here Yo, I have they are fantastic. My quick smoothies and movies and bourbon What else? What else you want to mix just don't mix the smoothies with the barber. Alright, so for me I already know like what this is I can smell it. I can taste it. So two is going to be it for me. tues definitely, I mean, I'm torn one would be a great everyday drinker. It's got a lot of complex like great it's a great poor but to is like, to me is like really like something special. Like 52:00 That I would want out of a limited release or like a store pick, you know, something special. Like, that's I really like to so I they're both really good I already I mean, I can just buy the nose and it tastes like already know what they are. So my camera on a push over to you is to worth like $950 more right now. 52:20 That's a great question. 52:23 What is that? Because that's that's ultimately I mean, I'll tell you what if if it's reversed in the reveal, I will I'll just go ahead and wrap it up. I'll put my card like listen bourbon pursuit over my case the was 15 point proof difference, you know, between the wanting to 52:42 which kind of gives you a hint, but yeah, it'd be funny though if they are reversed. Hey, is the 52:49 question, but I think it has an easy answer. And there's no price difference wise, there's no way 52:56 if you want something that's simple, and there's there's nothing 53:00 off putting about this, right? To me, there's nothing like putting at all. But this one does have the number two has a lot more depth character. And the proof differences, definitely evident. 53:15 Especially on the back end it just stick in there to your tongue in a good way. I mean, at this point, there's, there's a lesson to be learned here. Right? I mean, we're, we're four or five deep. And I think we've already noticed that when it comes to special releases that the age the age is the important part. You know, the age adds a level of complexity and characteristic to it that you necessarily won't get anywhere else. Yeah. So far, we were dumbfounded by one, right. Yeah, having a 53:45 Weller 107 pick that actually beat out the Weller craft your own perfect bourbon. From then on. It's been really a difference in age. Yep. From there, I mean, it's Yeah, it's hard to replicate well, and that's why I mean, 54:00 With like NGP you know people go crazy with like the 1012 for it. It's more has to do with age like the age age whiskey is great like these Tennessee age whiskeys are fantastic. Like Kentucky age stuff it has to do with age like it's not necessarily the magic pill, the Jews, whatever, it's when you get to that 10 to 14 year range it there's magical, you know happens right there and it's it is it is what it is. Alright, so I'm going to go ahead and do the reveal. Because I can't wait anymore. Yeah, that's exactly what we thought it was. So D one was the knob Creek from Westport whiskey and wine in D two was the but they didn't try. They did a great job on do you want I mean, that's a sore pic for me. Yes. And that's what I mean. That's, that's the thing that we talked about the whole entire time is that you can get that for what 60 bucks versus 950. You know, it's I mean, even if you were if you were even on top of it, even when it was 450 55:00 Yeah to even get your hands on it so and this was years ago so it was definitely a tough way to to make it happen so again this is one we're not going to mix yeah do not do not mix these guys after the show is over y'all we are going to be probably just celebrating with the rest of the stuff we like to drink covers. Yeah the leftovers right. So the best of the all infinity bottles if you will. So Mikey, ending on a lot says elimination we have Russell's we 55:33 can i can tell you right now because I was a part of it. We're pouring out letter E. And we do with letter E like I already know what it is versus the brand. However, these guys don't know what it what it is. So I'm going to go ahead and just kind of reserve my comments for absolutely everything and just let them figure it out. So you know as we as we start going down this path though. What do you 56:00 You found like the most interesting well so far I mean the three three limited releases have one versus the store pics wishes Do you think it's a Do you think it's an oversight on our part that maybe we didn't choose the best comparisons because as I mentioned earlier like it's it's age versus a lot of stuff some I don't know though because I mean it store pictures still getting really good pores I mean, but think about it like think about other brands like I mean look at the shelf like is there anything else that like we missed going into this like think of like, like I said, we already talked about old for certain for suburbia urban bag would be the bag and stag it's Junior would probably be a good one as well. Like I said you could do like you could do a 7092 full proof versus like a Kentucky alpha later. Oh, cuz cuz you you think that's where it comes from? I think so. So that's your that's your excuse guess? Yeah, I think so. But I was way off on Sunday. 57:00 These guys have them. So, but yeah, I mean, other than that, I mean, because you got some MGP stuff, but like, they're all there. There's such a wide range like from person. It's hard and it's not often there's not like a ton of everyday offerings with MGP. Well, we had talked about this beforehand. I've tried to figure out like, Is there a single and that's that's an I guess that's the problem when you get when you get to what we can do this but it might kick us in the teeth like a pursuit series versus 57:31 decal, you know. 57:34 We're not well, just kidding. Well, 57:37 it doesn't exist. Yeah. So that's the other thing. Yeah. But the other the other part of it was ready barrel, I guess. Barrel versus procedure. They do a lot of blending. Yeah. So that's not a true comparison. So I mean, it's it's an Indiana country, I think the will it will it versus Elijah Craig barrel proof would be a good one because just to get it out there. 58:00 Yep, I mean, who knows, but I mean, when I look at it like I, it would have been good to do like a regular Booker's versus I mean, Booker's I didn't want to open up a book or 25th for this I was sorry just be honest with you, I'm not going to achieve f4 but I mean, that versus Booker's 30th or something like that like Booker's vs Booker's because at the same exact, you know, the end of the day, like each one of those is very good in its own right. However, like the the proof points are can be a whole lot of difference. Yeah. When you get to that high improved and you're in the hundred and 25 230 130 proof. Yeah. Who knows if your your your your taste buds in your flavor profile can actually discern a lot of stuff that's actually happening at that level. Yeah, right. Actually. Oh my gosh, like I'm tasting these I'm knows the side by side. I don't think I can tell the difference now. So now we're doing a wild turkey comparison. Russell's reserve versus the 17 year decades for 59:00 Nice. And I mean on first on first knows, like, there's no difference. There's no discernible difference whatsoever. The first one? 59:12 I don't know, they're pretty close. I was like, the first one may have a little more alcohol, but I don't know. That's they're pretty similar. You mean and this is and this also goes back into each conversation right? I mean like when we talk about age like 17 years you expect to have a lot more depth on the complexity a lot more more of this sort of stuff. However, we've we've seen the praises of Russell's reserve for years. It's one of the best single barrel pics that you can get out there today. You know, me and the best I can I'm one of the not been altered and pick yet I'm turkey pick y'all man, but you're the one actually brought today's pic. I didn't know. So I'm getting I mean, maybe it's because I do get a little more ethanol on the first one. And then I go straight to the second one. The smells a little sweeter. Yep, I'm totally getting a little sweeter on the second one. 1:00:00 But they are very very close. I love both of them. I knew that was was like I mean Russell's are one of those things you can just knows all day. Both these are fantastic. I mean it, it's actually very good number one is really good. 1:00:15 It's actually very hard to find a discernible difference. I mean, there's a little bit of difference in the taste, but it's not so much that you're like, Okay, this is this is a difference of $100 right here like it's it's it's very, very different. tues got I don't know I like the mouth feel have to like it's got and it's got more like a little more sugary brown sugary, kind of syrupy kind of texture to it. One is very good, but two is kind of more I don't know just real rich and sugary to me like syrupy like they're they're pretty damn close are very close. I mean for something that's almost like a mean it's not it's not a decade's worth of difference, but I mean, you're looking at at least six to nine years. Right of what you see between 1:01:00 Some of the older reserved pics from Russell's versus the decades releases so I'm going to go with two but not that much. They're they're pretty close tues oily on the panel I don't know you kind of want to yeah two is got a longer lasting finish the nose is sweeter 1:01:20 sounds like for you it's a landslide one this is a yeah for me it's a landslide too so too Alright, so Ryan there go ahead and reveal the last one we have today. 1:01:30 haha what do you think? 1:01:34 Well it sounds like it sounds like you're gonna toss balls with sounds like well so two is actually the CFPB pick Oh 1:01:44 decades There we go. So yet another chance where we get the final store pick Yes, you do single barrels making a comeback. I mean, when we look at the results from today, I mean it's three to two but it's not it's not a it just said a landslide victory. I mean, it's it's something that is it's a 1:02:00 It's almost comparable, if you can find that, that one little place that does really good things, versus somebody that just, I don't know just accepts it or finds the barrels at the store and does whatever. There's there's actually validity to the, to the that. By the way, this was all for science. Yeah. So make sure that everybody knows is all today, but it's all subjective and we don't matter. Yes, that's also very true. And you cannot buy any of these anywhere. So it's it's it's all it's all gone. So yeah, I mean, the first two I mean, we're really like, you know, with the 1:02:40 the CYLB. I mean, I was amazed at how bad that was. Like, I just did not like it at all. Well, not bad. Not a bad for the money. Ryan we get a lot of stuff. Yeah, yeah, it's not bad. We know what bad whiskey I guess I was just after revealing it. I was like, pretty disappointed. And if anything, 1:03:00 I feel like what it does is helps people see to not fall into the trap of fo mo to fall in trap of hype because the fact that CYPB is for 500 bucks and you can get a single barrel pick a low WA for 150 or if you're lucky enough good at retail 60 bucks it's like man chase chasing one that tastes better yeah and so and it should bring some validity to those who are still into those who are blending because Ed lie is a blender and he picked this barrel at turkey so there is some validity even to like hey they they're getting paid lots of money every year to do this professionally. So let's end even if you go to a liquor bar party source or cork and bottle they have tasting bars Yeah, so you can taste these things before you get into all the gotta have it because there's a line well maybe you don't even like the bottle that you're standing line for. Yeah, it's hate tastings before you before you buy them but I mean there's there's some psychology there to the line thing. Oh for sure. I mean every everybody thinks that like 1:04:00 We've all been there. We've been in the morning, and then all of a sudden, there's somebody that walks up be like, online for. I know, like 1:04:10 there's, there's, there's a there's a group mentality to it, right? Yeah, for sure. It's not fun, but it's reality and what it is, it's animal spirits, you know, we're all we all just follow the herd, you know, so. 1:04:23 But I mean, for today, I'm actually very pleased to kind of see the results because coming away with at least two out of the five that weren't limited releases, give some justification. Yeah, well, and we're thinking today into what I mean, when you're doing store pics. It's really based on who's going who's picking what they like and whatnot so like, you know, find a store or find someone that kind of meets your what you like, and you know, that's, you can find stuff that's just as good as the big price tag Islam releases. It's not even that I mean, we had we had some unfair 1:05:00 competition to. Right mean, if you think about it, like the logic reg. Yeah. 18 year versus like a nine to a 12 year? Yep. It's not it's not a fair competition. So when we think of which I preferred the nine to two, I know 1:05:17 a lot of people f
Some people thought it was crazy to build a business doing 100% contract distilling. David Mandell, Former President and CEO of Bardstown Bourbon Company, told us this back on Episode 019. Four years later, we catch up with him to see how the operation has tripled from its original plan. This podcast covers what it takes to be a client of Bardstown Bourbon Company and how they are making 40 different mash bills for them. From the business side, we talk about building a destination for visitors and what it takes to find the right talent pool and keep employee retention. We look into their recently launched bourbon line and what the future has in store for more collaborations. Show Partners: The University of Louisville now has an online Distilled Spirits Business Certificate that focuses on the business side of the spirits industry. Learn more at uofl.me/pursuespirits. Find out what it's like to taste whiskey straight from the barrel with Barrell Craft Spirits. Learn more at BarrellBourbon.com. The 2019 Kentucky’s Edge Bourbon Conference & Festival pairs all things Kentucky with bourbon. It takes place October 4th & 5th at venues throughout Covington and Newport, Kentucky. Find out more at KentuckysEdge.com. Receive $25 off your first order at RackHouse Whiskey Club with code "Pursuit". Visit RackhouseWhiskeyClub.com. Only one week until Bourbon and Beyond. Learn more and get tickets at BourbonandBeyond.com. Show Notes: Barrell American Vatted Malt: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190827005179/en/Barrell-Craft-Spirits-Releases-First-Ever-American-Vatted NAWR post on 21 states violating the constitution for shipping laws: https://nawr.org/twenty-one-states-in-violation-of-constitution-after-tennessee-wine-supreme-court-case/ Bardstown Bourbon Company’s new CEO: https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2019/09/bardstown-bourbon-co-names-new-ceo/ Bardstown Bourbon Company new Visitor Experience: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bardstown-bourbon-company-opens-immersive-visitors-center-experience-300914083.html This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about glassware. What's been going on since the last time you were on the podcast? What is Bardstown Bourbon Company? What kind of brands do you work with? What technology have you implemented in the distilling process? Talk about building Bottled & Bond Kitchen. How did you find the right staff? Do you see an end of investing into the business? Tell us about your innovation. How did you decide to get into this business? How many locations did you scout? What do you do for employee retention? Tell us about your bourbon. What's the next phase for the Fusion line? What about your vintage whiskey? Where do you see the business going in the future? 0:00 Have you thought about a career in the whiskey industry? I'm not talking about being the next master distiller. But if you want a leg up on the competition, you need to take a look at the distilled spirits business certificate from the University of Lobel. This 30 week program will prepare you for the business side of the spirits industry like finance, marketing and operations. This is 100% online, meaning you can access the classes at anytime and anywhere. So what are you waiting for? Get signed up to make your next career move@business.louisville.edu slash online spirits. 0:35 All right, David, you wanna give me some? I don't know just about your breakfast this morning. 0:40 Protein Shake, protein shake. He said this testing right? Yeah, sound healthier than me. 0:46 And you're surrounded by bourbon in a restaurant. You really got to be careful 1:03 Hey everyone, it is Episode 218 of bourbon pursuit. I'm one of your hosts Kenny. And as usual, let's hit some news, barrell craft spirits. You know, Joe, you hear him on the podcast all the time, they have announced the first ever barrell American bad malt. It's a blend of exclusively American single malt whiskies, which we've actually become quite big fans of single malts on the show recently, and barrel has partnered with small and large producers across the country to select whiskies that express the full diversity of American terrier and style. This release was years in the making, and as many of the components in the blend come from emerging distilleries that have never traded or sold bulk whiskey on the market before. And this is coming from Joe who've you've heard on plenty of times. As we said before, in addition to expanding our ever growing portfolio of spirits, this new project is also an important step in advancing our vision in the next chapter of whiskey in America. We'd love to hear it 2:00 Your reviews and your thoughts on it. So make sure you comment and let us know. Now smooth Ambler is relaunching their old scout brand. This is the same brand that we all knew about when it was sourced from NGP. And now this is the new return of MGP product. It is now a five year old in GP bourbon it will be bottled at 99 proof and widely available in the US starting in the fall of 2019. We have a whiskey quickie where we review the new old scout that will be published here in just a few short weeks. The na WR or the National Association of wine retailers has put out an article stating that after the Tennessee wine Supreme Court case ruling that we've talked about so much on this podcast is saying that there are 21 states in violation of the Constitution. One shipping laws and these 21 states violate the Commerce Clause with their bands on wine shipments from out of state wine retailers. The case mandates that states may not pass protectionist 3:00 laws that discriminate against out of state wine stores and retailers by banning them from shipping wine to consumers. Now lawsuits have been challenging these bands on wine shipments from out of states are now underway in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, and Texas. The remaining states with unconstitutional wine shipping laws are California, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Washington state lawmakers in the other 14 states that we just mentioned need to take it upon themselves to start fixing their shipping laws. You can read this article in our show notes that today's podcast wasn't intended to air for quite some time. David Mendell had previously been a guest on the podcast way back on episode 19. And as Ryan would say, that's when we sucked, but this past week, I saw Bardstown bourbon companies, Instagram that there had been a leadership change, David 4:00 is taking a step back and they've hired a new president and CEO, Mark Irwin. Everyone actually was part of the bros on bourbon company and was part of their board earlier this year. And he comes from a long history in the US Army and investment groups. Now I'm sure we're going to have a lot of time to talk about more about mark in the future. But this podcast is all about David, and it's been a pleasure to watch him spearhead this movement from years ago into what Bardstown bourbon company is today. The growth of this company has seen has been tremendous, and you're going to hear about it relatively shortly, as well as some of the new product offerings. However, it looks like David wanted to go out with a blast because today also marks the grand opening of the new visitor experience at the Bardstown bourbon company. The expansive development includes curated tours, cocktail classes, exclusive tastings, and multiple private event spaces. Guests can choose from multiple levels of experiences including the main event which is a one hour fully immersive tour and 5:00 The Bardstown bourbon company's best, which is a top tier 90 minute tour featuring sensory exercises, cocktails, and a personal tour given by the master distiller Steve Nally. The sensory exercises will allow visitors the opportunity to examine distillate taste how bourbon ages and learn how it is used in finished products. The tours will showcase Bardstown bourbon companies experimental distilling process of 40 mash bills for over 24 customers guess will also be able to enjoy the visitor center, which is adjacent to the Rick house tasting bar, which is also surrounded by stacks and rows of Kentucky bourbon barrels, where they will feed whiskey straight from the barrel. Visitors you can book your online experience right now on Bardstown, bourbon.com. And you can read more about all this in our show notes. All right, let's kick off the show. Let's hear from Joe over a barrell bourbon. And then you've got Fred Minnick with above the char. 5:57 Hi, this is Joe from barrell bourbon tasting whiskey. 6:00 Straight from the barrel was truly a life changing moment for me. In 2013 I launched our craft spirits so everyone could have the experience of tasting whiskey cast strength. Use our store locator to find a retail or bar near you at barrel bourbon.com. 6:14 I'm Friedman again, this is above the char. If you follow me on Instagram, you might have caught me in a story where I did a live tasting. And I was testing the New Orleans glass versus the Glen Karen. Obviously, this is something very unique cannot really do a tasting objectively because you're touching the glass you have a feeling of what it should taste like and inherently you're going to like how one glass looks more than the other. So what I did was as I have blindfolded myself with a bandana and I had someone pour the whiskey in my mouth now this is is going to sound weird, but I actually could not tell which glass was which, by the way it was touching my lips, Italy 7:00 Initially, when Jessica did it a second time she liked cram the glass of my upper lip. So thankfully, I did not cut my lip. Anyway, the results were really fascinating to me in that I liked the Glencairn more because it gave me more surface area coverage on my tongue. Whereas like the New Orleans glass, which is very, very nice looking, it came in like a direct point on to my palate like a bead like shooting onto the palate, and I would have to work to get the whiskey all over the place. Now this is good and bad. It's good if you are a whiskey that you're trying to mask, like how you feel in different parts of the tongue because you're going in in a very narrow trajectory, and it's bad if you're like me, and you're trying to be analytical of the whiskey because you're not getting the full surface coverage that you want. Now, I own the aromatic side. I also noticed that the New Orleans glass only 8:00 offered up, you know, some of the more prominent notes like it wouldn't let me really assess the spirit as much as like the Colin Karen. And what I mean by that is that with the Glen Karen, I got layers of the aromatic properties, like I could tell what the various notes were and what they smell like. With New Orleans, I got one note, and then a bunch of little bitty other ones, but I could not really discern what some of those other little bitty ones were. Now some of this may be I typically drink with the Colin Karen. So I'm more used to how that hits my notes. So preference definitely comes into here, but I'm asked all the time, what glass should you use, and it really all depends on the moment, you can drink bourbon out of a solo cup, and it would be great if you're with your buddies. So I would say let's not focus so much on things like the glassware and let's focus more about who we're drinking it with. Now, if you're if you're being analytical and you're wanting to do these blind tastings, you need to have like a consistent glass 9:00 What if it's just hanging out with your buddies? Your old college friends? The glass doesn't matter. The company does. And that's this week's above the char. Hey, if you want to catch my Instagram stories, make sure you're following me on Instagram. It's at Fred Minnick again at Fred Minnick. Until next week. Cheers. 9:23 Welcome back to another episode of bourbon pursuit the official podcast of bourbon Guinea here today riding solo as we are at Bardstown bourbon company, and this is talking to a guest that you may have heard a long, long time ago. This was back on episode 19. This is when we were starting to break ground when they were starting to break ground. It was quite a while ago so the journey on both ends has been explosive and growth which is fantastic to see on both sides of the table here. And if you hear some clinging, some silverware going on, it's because we're in their their main restaurant here and you're 10:00 hear more about that more about really what's happened here? What are the big plans for everything that's going on more as we start diving down this this path. So today on the show, I have David Mendell, you might have remembered from back on episode 19. He is the president ceo and one of the co founders of Bardstown bourbon company. So David, welcome back to the show. Thank you, Kenny. You know it, I'll tell you, it's remarkable because when you think back to Episode 19, where we're sitting right here, none of this existed, and we had an empty room, you know, and we were just getting up and running. And it really is incredible. And I just want to congratulate you on your tremendous growth. I think you guys are the leading bourbon podcast out there, aren't you? Well, we are and thank you so much for saying that. You know, we've we've gone through a lot of growth as well. I mean, like I was saying at the we started this. We were We were Episode 19 like this is we do these every week and I was thinking like holy crap that's years ago. And I was thinking of like, wait, you united anyone put a shovel in the ground yet when we started talking about 11:00 This it was this was all just like press release it was pie in the pie in the sky kind of idea and like, how are we going to execute on this? God? That is right. I mean, you were here. That was before we actually even had the building finished. So that that's tremendous. That's tremendous. Yeah. So I guess, a few years later, how's it going? Well, I mean, you look around here it is really, it's unbelievable. I mean, I oftentimes we sit back and we say, you know, how did we do this? And I'll tell you it is it's going incredibly well. You know, since that day, more than three years ago now, you know, we have built one of the largest distilleries in the country. We do custom whiskey production. Now for 24 different companies will do 40 different mash bills. We have probably one of the most sophisticated whiskey distilleries in the world. We build an award winning restaurant and bar here in the middle of the rest in the middle of the facility. We're opening a visitor center and an experience. We've got some really aggressive plans for bottling and a hotel coming and we could not be more excited. Holy smokes. That's a lot of stuff going on. 12:00 stuff. 12:02 So, I mean, I remember if I if I remember the one of the first things that we even talked about or maybe it was like a it was a rumor that that even said that was like even before like the doors were open, you all had basically contracted out I mean, cuz let's let's also make sure we set the precedent that the the the goal of what Bardstown bourbon company is is that you are a large contract distiller for anybody that wants to come in and make their own bourbon, right. And I'll put a little bit of a twist on that because what's what is interesting is we're a celebration, the entire craft of making whiskey. So we bring everybody together here, distillers enthusiasts, lovers, you know, and the community and we do that in our collaborative distilling program in the restaurant and bar as you can see around you, we serve everybody's products, and you find ours through the lens of everybody else, and we're really about that. But when you go back to the we call it the collaborative distilling program, because I'd make a distinction between that and 13:00 Custom. It is a exclusive program. If you're accepted into it, you then get the ability to have us showcase your product. If you look, we sell everything from Jefferson's to Kentucky owl to many of the companies that we produce for their integrated into our cocktail menu. Then they can bring their guests, the distributors, the retailers here, this is their home. So it is a bit different. But you're right before we opened our doors, we sold out the first 25,000 barrel capacity of the distillery. We expanded to 50,000 barrels six months later than 130,000 barrels, about six months after that. And we have almost all of that effectively under contract for the next five years. It's been a remarkable program. I mean, it just it just goes to show you like how big this boom is really getting that everybody really wants to get into this action because yeah, I mean, like that's, that's an incredible number of whiskey that you all are producing. And people are saying yes let's I want to gobble this up. Like I want to be a part of this. 14:00 So where does Where is like the I mean, those are those are impressive numbers begin with right of kind of like, how it was and how it was all contracted out. I guess kind of give me the give the rundown if if if I'm Joe Schmo and I'm like, Hey, you know, I'm ready to do this. I really want to get into get into the whiskey game. Do they call? Hey, David, I heard you on the podcast, like, what's, what's the next step? We take you? So the answer to that one is going to be? We're not the right, we're probably not the right provider for you. So we get a lot of those calls. We get them every day. But I think, you know, the beauty of our program is that we produce for great brands. So one of the you know, one of the primary considerations if you you know, even be considered as you've got to have a great brand, it's got to be on the market. You've got to be a company that has been in the industry. That's who we focus on. That's why we only produce for 24 different companies right now. We've turned away over the last several years. You know, more than obviously that we've accepted we get those calls every day. There are many options. 15:00 still out there for people like that, you know, that want to get in the business have never been in it before. They're much smaller options were not the option for them. But, you know, what's been most exciting for us is how we have really changed the the whole kind of dynamic and landscape of the contract whiskey production, you know, market. And it's that it's that program, and it's been really, really exciting. Yeah, I mean, it's, it's, it's, it's fun, right? Because other than you all, like there's only like a few places where you can go and do something like this. Yeah, let me tell you what I think is what is one of the most exciting things about it. When you look at what happens in that distillery, we bring together of those 24 companies. We have massive companies and we have some small craft distilleries and a number of them in the middle. They're all working together with us there. We've got their teams coming in. And we're learning every day. They're learning. We're learning. We're pushing innovation. We're balancing art, and science, but we're pushing innovation. It's all happening in there. 16:00 We're sharing best practices. And that's making our team better. And the result of all that is now coming out in our brands. So we're taking all that knowledge that we have created in a short period of time doing a lot of innovation. And you're seeing that now come forward in our brands, that's never going away. The collaborative distilling program is a core piece of who we are. It's something that will drive innovation drives, you know, has us pushing the edge all the time. That's really one of the most interesting I think an exciting pieces of what's happening here is by having everybody work together, you've never had that before, in the whiskey industry in one place. Absolutely. Most the time. It's like, hey, David, here, here's the magical, I won't go make it well, and you know, even more than that, what you had in the past was you had effectively, you know, a couple of companies, you had one where you got to choose one of three different mash bills, and you got it, great whiskey, great bourbon, but there wasn't a lot of choice, or you had, you know, another large distiller producing for you and the problems you had, there's 17:00 You didn't get great customer service. You know, you were kind of seen as you know, we're not we're, you know, we're selling extra capacity. And other cases, it was kind of behind the scenes, you don't really want to talk about it. And sometimes you're not allowed to talk about it. And we were the first to really embrace this kind of production and say, we want to do it, we want to be proud of it, we're going to put it out there, it's going to be about transparency. And everything now that we drive with our customers is full transparency, access to the data in real time chemistry, we just put in a system called ignition that is used primarily the food manufacturing business that gives complete historian and transparency at every stage of the production and the customer gets to watch it in real time. They're kind of like really powerful. What What is it? Is it Volkswagen or BMW somebody where like you, you buy a car like you can brand new you can actually go to go to Europe or Germany and actually, like watch it as it's made in the last essentially the same thing. They get a portal, they can watch their production, they can see their barrels in the warehouse. We just implemented it in this last 18:00 upgraded the distillery when we just came off of shut down a couple weeks ago. Really, really neat, really neat software I was about to say I was like is do people get like push notifications like an app like it's like it's dominoes delivery dude. That's what this was. So it's really crazy about it is extremely user friendly, john Hargrove and Steve now I can, can can access the distillery from their phone at home, they can see it and they can control it. So Sierra Nevada, Coca Cola, a number of you know, very large companies are using this platform. And it is amazing because the data that comes out of it in the control of the system in the transparency, it also feeds into your financial, you know, software, it's really really powerful. Something that people like can could totally geek out on Yeah, so let's let's keep going down this path because you know, as a as the business side of it, like what, what more value do you think that that you get out of this by being able to give the power to Steve and john and be able to be able to do that. So it goes 19:00 Even one level beyond so we're giving not only this power to Stephen, john, but we're handing that power to our customer. And so that is really our partners in the collaborative distilling program. Never before have they been able to watch their production in real time, you're getting literally you're getting the chemistry is on each firm enter in real time as it's taking place, you're able to see it, you're able to, you know, work with us, there's something that, you know, you see that's wrong or is out of line, you can make immediate changes, you know, to production, but that kind of transparency. And that kind of data is really valuable for the consumer when they're used to an industry here. Again, when you talk about traditional contract whiskey production, you had no transparency, you had no data, you got what you got. And that was it if you didn't like it too bad. And that was the attitude. You know, don't tell me how to make bourbon. I know how to make bourbon. Well, what if the customer doesn't like it? So we're going we're going to make it and we're going to get it exactly right under your specifications, because you're our partner. That's what we do. And so it's it's been very neat when you talk about 40 different Nashville's 20:00 One facility. Most you know most, yeah, most facilities are one to five, maybe 20:06 two to three. So it's, it's really neat what's happening in there. Now it's making me think of like, remember Willy Wonka. And he was trying to put a candy bar like through the TV. Now it's like whiskey, like just be like sampling through the app like, 20:23 hey, if we could figure out how you could drink product out of your out of your smartphone, I would change social media advertising, it would it would change that might be a whole new business venture like let's just go Yeah, let's just get out of this. We're gonna do whiskey by the phone that's right. 20:39 Now but it is it is really neat. And then when you carry over what is taking place there and then when we built the the restaurant and the bar here when we invested tremendously in terms of bringing incredible talent here, we've got chef, Felix Mazda, from the Greenbrier, Chef john Castro, who just joined us who ran Sullivan's 21:00 Culinary Institute in Louisville incredible background he is in charge of all of our culinary Dan Callaway on our beverage team who ran deca and built an incredible team. What happened is organically, they started working together with the distillery and that is how we got here to our products. And so we're no it's no longer just about one singular person making decisions about a product. It's about a team of experts, beverage commentary and distilling, creating these very unique blends, and bringing lots of different perspectives and pushing innovation and that's what I think of everything right now. That's one of the things we're most proud and most excited about where we're headed there. But when our own brand Yeah, before we before you're touching your brands, because I think that's that's gonna be a very big part of this. Talk about what it meant to actually like build bottle and bond kitchen because you know, you think about Bardstown there's something that is missing. Right there is you can go to Miami. There's nothing wrong Miami, right but like this 22:00 There's definitely that that sort of, like, finer dining experience that was really missing. So what, why create this this large, you know, place where people can come and eat and have a really, really good meal, rather than than just like, Hey, we're going to serve sandwiches out of the back of the truck over here. Well, I'll tell you so again, like everything, you know, I'd love to say that, you know, we had, you know, full clarity of this vision when we when we walked into this, but when, you know, when you get into the business and you start going, it's an evolutionary process. And so for example, you know, with this, we like to say, you know, the distillery is our heart, you know, bottle and bond is a soul, you know, all of us and so, it really kind of brings together everybody but if you back up to 2017, you weren't allowed under Kentucky law, late 2016. You are unable to sell by the drink. So we worked with the state legislature, we got sell by the drink pass, we got vintage whiskey passed, and that changed everything. And we had not yet built this out at that point. So we stopped 23:00 And we said now that we can sell actually sell cocktails in the distillery, let's look at doing a full restaurant and full bar. And let's really complete this whole idea of the Napa Valley destination experience. And so, like everything else here, we launched into it without having the history and the perspective of the industry. So we did something completely different. And we worked with the community and we build something that I think really remarkably balances, the visitor on the trail coming in, and the community member of Bardstown and what do I mean by that? That's everything from food style, to pricing, to having a place where people can come and just enjoy. It's not pretentious, it's a high level of style and service. But you can come in here you can spend $30 for a bottle of wine, you can spend 1000 you can have a $4 pour whiskey, you can have a 20 $500 pour whiskey, you can come in and have a meal that is comparable in price to chilis, you know and to Cracker Barrel, but you're getting fresh food scratch 24:00 Me local ingredients. That's, that's the goal is to bring everyone together. And it's worked. Yeah, it really has worked. Yeah, I mean, I've done here a few times. And it's it's always fun to do that. I mean, there's, you'd mentioned i think that's that's one of the things that I think Bardstown was really key and missing, as well, as was having that sort of experience. We can have this sort of, like elevated dining experience, where it is good, it's good food. I mean, from local, we've got massive amount of restaurants around us and good places, the but like, yeah, Bardstown was really missing some of that, that key and great war and the community is so supportive, and they are so proud of what we're doing out here. I know, Ryan's gonna kill me too, because he's from Barcelona. 24:42 And, but you know, and it's great. And because, you know, we're very proud to be here. We've all moved here. We moved, you know, probably 20 people here, you know, of our team that have come from all over the country here and settled here to build this great company. But you know, what I would I'd say is we've created what I would call and we call the modern bourbon experience, and what is that 25:00 It's no longer just about drinking bourbon, just straight, all day long going through a formula tour and tasting. When do you want to have these types of products, when you want to enjoy them, a lot of times it's going to be over a great setting or a meal, you're gonna want them in cocktails, you're going to be sitting outside, you're going to want to enjoy them, along with a great culinary experience, because that's, that's a lot about, you know, the, the fun of having great high quality alcohol products. And so it's not about over consumption, it's about good, responsible consumption of better products. And so, and that's where the trends are going. And people want to see they want to know everything about their products. They want to know where they're from, they want an experience, and that's what you get here. And that's what this is. So let's talk more about the business side here because I think you bring up something relatively like a good point about finding it in moving 20 people here at least 20 people and finding the right kind of staff 26:00 kind of talk about like how that search really went and you know we john and Steve like they're great guys we know them like they've been in the industry for for a while but like talk about everything else that that goes into this from the marketing the promotional the restaurant everything like that to to find the right staff and really what it takes to look outside of just the local area Bardstown. Yeah, I mean, I think you know, at the end of the day, you know that the story of this company is the story of the people that have come together here to build this union of all this fancy equipment and all these great furniture, but it's it is the people and the culture and what we have created here and it starts from the top at my level and it goes all the way on down. And we have focused on building the best team from the day that we got here. And we knew it myself, Garnet black, who was our executive vice president hospitality, Dan Lind, our CFO and COO, our chairman Peter loft, and you know, we had to, we had to make sure we were here and so we moved here and 27:00 We started the company. But when you get into each piece, every piece is different. So in the restaurant, for example, we have a program with the State Department. Jay, one program we bring in 20 culinary students from South Africa, India, in the Philippines. We have them in four different locations. Wow, I didn't know that. Yeah, we provide transportation educational program, they stay with us a year. Amazing program. We're in our second class now of students, because the culinary talent is just not here locally. We then supplement that too, with as much as we can get from the community. You know, our beverage team comes from all over many of them move from Louisville, from some of the best places there. But we try to recruit the best people we can and and show them what the opportunity is here. And to be part of something really exciting. Yeah, we've done it across every aspect of the business. So you have to make those investments and you have to invest in the people and create the right culture in order to do what we're doing. That's in our opinion, is the is the miracle 28:00 town shaking your hand yet, like thank you for bringing in more people in business. We're at about 120 employees. We've had very, very fast growth, we're hiring at least another 20. More here. In the next couple of weeks. We're opening the visitors experience here. We're just a couple weeks away from that the warehouse bar, we have a second kitchen that has just gone in that's triple the size of this that's going to be covering our all of our catering, wow event opportunities here. So there's, you know, there is so much and a lot of hiring. We work closely with the city. We work closely with economic development. We work closely with the Chamber of Commerce in both Louisville and in Nelson County, to really help attract 28:42 the folks and we're very invested in and and we think ultimately all of this investment you look at heaven Hill $65 million facility down the street, you've got 2.3 billion over the next eight to 10 years and investment projects in bourbon. A lot of hospitality 29:00 It's coming. We're going to attract the talent here. It's going to be great for the state and it's going to be great for the community. Yeah, I mean, it's, there's, there's no shortage of the money that's getting pumped into this. And, and it sounds like you all mean it. As as like, you know, starting this business and starting another business, I know that it's hard to sit there and be like, all right, where can I see return for a little bit? Let's keep pumping money into it until we start, you know, figuring out finding our groove. So like, where do you all see the end of like, the investing into the business until you can sit back? I mean, I don't think you I mean, any good business. 29:35 You're never stopping the investment. I mean, especially when you're doing something, you know, as you know, innovative like we are in cutting edge. You're constantly pushing the boundaries here. And I think that's one of the things that really is exciting is we've got a very nimble team, we can move quickly. We see opportunities we go after them whether they're on, you know, on all of this, even just and to the brand side, pushing innovation, creating 30:00 Very interesting collaborations, testing, trying not everything works. But you've got to be bold enough to give everybody especially the folks on your team, the freedom to run. 30:11 And to you know, you have a good vision set out, you've got good people, you've got a nice structure and you give people the freedom to create any of the right folks on board. You see, amazing things can happen. And that's how we've done this in three years. And that's the story. Well, it seems from from you know, from your level, that you're giving them the freedom and flexibility to go and try things right because it's it's tough to be able to say like, hey, let's go experiment. Let's do these things. When we know that we've got to we've got to do a lot of things right to be able to make sure that we are we're pushing the boundary our first things out there going to be home run stuff like that, too. I mean, it's it's hard to have that experimental mentality Come on. It's like a lot of things. I mean, you can overthink things and you know, you can over test things, but the real test 31:00 doesn't come until you put it in front of the consumer. So you can plan, plan, plan, test tweak. But until you take this and you stick it in front of the consumer, and you find out, do they like this? Do they love the fact that we have complete transparency on the label? How are they going to react to that? Well, the consumer really likes it. Are you going to like these unique finishings where we're taking different companies and we're pushing the envelope on some of these types of finishings with bourbon? 31:27 You don't know until you put them out there. But I think one of the most interesting things is having bottle and bond kitchen and bar in the middle of the facility is like having a laboratory with the consumer. So every day, we're experimenting, and we're getting direct feedback. So it's, this is like our focus group test. You create it, you put a better way to do it, right. I mean, you're right here you have, you know, you have an audience that comes in here every single day from all over the world. And we're able to try with them lots of different things. We're able to get feedback, we're able to tell 32:00 So we're getting it in real time from consumers. And it's a it's a another very interesting component of the business that you wouldn't necessarily think about. You know how you would use that when you first coming up with the idea. So thinking of ideas and kind of rolling back and I can't remember everything we talked about back on episode 19. 32:22 But kind of what was what was the idea of you even wanting to get into this wanting to do this? 32:31 The 2019 Kentucky's edge bourbon conference and festival Paris all things Kentucky with bourbon. It takes place October 4 and fifth at venues throughout Covington in Newport Kentucky, Kentucky's edge features of bourbon conference music tastings pairings tourists and and artists and market Kentucky's edge. 2019 is where bourbon begins. Tickets and information can be found online at Kentucky's edge.com 32:57 there are more craft distilleries popping up around the country now. 33:00 More than ever before. So how do you find out the best stories and the best flavors? Rock house whiskey club is a whiskey the Month Club, and they're on a mission to uncover the best flavors and stories that craft distilleries across the US have to offer. 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And we learned a lot about who's we, by the way, myself, Dan Lind, who's our CFO and CEO and Garnet black, who is our executive vice president hospitality, we'd started this vodka company. And, you know, we, we sold that in 2009. And we stayed in the business and we worked. We did a lot of work with lots of different companies in the spirit space, and we connected over that period of time with our chairman and main investor in the company, Peter loft and, and we all you know, sat down and we had this vision for creating something in bourbon, we saw where the market was going. And we wanted to do something and it at the time. It wasn't necessarily this, we didn't come here with this exact vision in mind, we had another idea. And as we all got into it together, that changed from that to here, and it continues. 35:00 evolved as we learned more, and we saw more every year every year every month as I say that the business changed and everything from standing over there when the when the city was showing this property right across the road a small parcel the turning of looking across here and seeing the hundred acres you know and saying you know what, we can see where this is headed this the Napa Valley style destination experience, you know, begins that you plant begin to plant the seed. And so nothing happens immediately overnight. It's it was evolutionary. 35:34 And so you had the idea let's get into bourbon, let's do this, I guess kind of talk us through those those days to of dealing with the city of, you know, weather permits where they're like, hey, was this was this like you saw this place and said yeah, or I mean, how many? How many other like locations where you? First I the city leadership was and is not only extremely supportive, they're one of our greatest allies. 36:00 Just in the, you know, in building our business is very important to make sure you have a great relationship there. Kim Houston, who has economic development, our current our current mayor, judge and judge, Dean watts, who is a county judge executive. 36:15 And Bill shackles, who was the former mayor at that time, all So, so supportive, but the funny story is, initially, they didn't want to sell us this property, they had it. They had it, you know, slotted or thought out for different business, you know, and when you have an unknown entity coming in, and wanting to buy 100 acres of your best city property, you know, not always 36:38 making all sorts of promises. And like a lot of communities across the country, they get burned with these, you know, people come in, they make promises, they don't deliver, they buy things and it doesn't materialize. So there's a lot of trust and a lot of faith that goes on and I think that's one of the things that I am and we are a team most proud of is we have over delivered here in Bardstown, and we've been able to 37:00 Do it with their support. It is had been a team effort across the board with the state with local government. And with the community members, we named we named the company after the town. I mean, we really believe in this place, and we believe in where it's going. Yeah. So I know you're dying to talk about these kilometers. So let's, so let's let's, let's talk about I will, we'll talk we can cover this and cover any subjects. 37:25 I mean, like I said, you gotta get a lot of knowledge on the business side of it. I know it's, it's not a, it's not an easy feat to sit here and think like, okay, let's, let's dive head in. Like let's really go all in on this and, and, and, you know, really, I mean, let's be honest, like, you look around here, there's not you hit the nail head modern type of operation. There's no there's no corners that have been cut here. There's a heavy heavy dollar investment and, and I think, you know, in me personally, that I really want this all to succeed too because there's it's a different kind of experience than what you see 38:00 Really anywhere else on the drill and this is the funny thing Kenny is this there was a very significant investment made here and there has been in there has been over time. But when you compare this investment with other similarly situated companies, we spent a fraction of what they spent and that is a tremendous testament to our all local construction team. Busa construction that has been with us for six years. And so I still conduct the same construction team meeting at 9am, every Wednesday morning, and we've done it for six years with the same team that has built everything on this site, and will be building everything else. And so it's a small team. We're nimble, we make decisions immediately versus bringing in huge construction companies and giant engineering firms and architecture firms and nobody's really understanding the business or distilling and you know, you get into spending a tremendous amount of money it goes over, you know, goes over budget it goes over time. We have done this again for a fraction of what others have spent. And that's really an untold 39:00 portion of the story. We couldn't have done this without the use of construction and that team till more of the story then because I mean, that's it seems that's that's really that's interesting, right? Because I mean, a, I guess on the other side of it too is is you do get some more of that upfront capital because you can kind of pre sell some of this sort of stuff, the contract, distilling the barrels and everything like that beforehand. It's not like me, if I wanted to build this over again, I would have to be like, Oh, I gotta wait five, six years until I have a product right? You can spend a lot of money creating a distillery and especially one of this size. I mean, we are now you know, but we did look, we did it. And I think we did a very smartly in terms of we built, we did it, so we had a modular expansion. So we could go from 25,000 to 50,100 30,000 barrels, we just didn't expect to do it in two and a half years. 39:47 It was more like the five to 10 year plan exactly, originally. But you know, so, but the ability to make those changes to say, okay, we're going to expand now and now we're going to expand again and we're going at the same time we're going to build a real 40:00 restaurant and a bar and Oh, wait a minute. before we're done doing that, we're going to start the visitor center. And we're going to start bottling. And that is only because we have this relationship, but the construction team that lives with us is effectively an in house construction team. We want to build something, it gets built. We have a problem, it gets fixed. You know, we're able to do that now. It's a blessing and a curse. You want to build something it's all of a sudden you start building something, but it is fun, like the Bochy ball court out there. You know, that showed up a couple weeks ago. Yeah, it was just that was Dan Callaway, his idea. And then now we have a professional Bochy, ball court, you know, construction team goes out there and builds it overnight. So it's fun. It's also it's also good for, 40:40 like employee satisfaction and stuff like that, too. Right. Like, let's, let's go, let's go have lunch play given Bochy will go have a few meetings. That's right. Yeah. Yeah. And that's right now, so it is, but it is. It is a very important part of the story of how we develop this so quickly, because if you tried to do it with big, conventional 41:00 construction firms, it would be extremely hard, it takes a long time, and it would cost a lot of money. And, you know, I won't, you know, point two examples, but you can find them out there in this industry where you have, you know, seen those problems. So talk about as well as, you know, I guess, again, business side, what do you do to like, have employee retention, right, because this is, this is an industry that most of the time people look at account managers, they look at marketing professionals, they look at, you know, you have your culinary side of things, that it's a lot of turnover and some of this industry, what do you do to help keep that employee retention and make this a positive working, so we do a tremendous amount there. And a lot of that work is led by Garnet black, who runs is our executive vice president hospitality, but she also is our head of HR and our HR team here, that starts with the culture and it starts with day one, you know, we created our mission, vision and values with our employees. We wrote them together. They participated in writing the employee guide 42:00 lines with us, you know, they we give them we did it all of this together every employee, the first 18 barrels that rolled off the line at this company went to the employees. And most people set most companies sell those for a lot of money. They went to the employees, every employee that starts here, I get a in whiskey gets a barrel of bourbon. Right? Yeah. You know, it's everything from, you know, the way you recognize the right way you reward, you know, and the type, the type of culture we create by bringing people's families together here too. And so, you know, we look at we emphasize all of those things, and that there's appropriate work life balance, and that we support the community and, you know, the charities and the organizations that the employees care about. So there are multiple different levels to this. And in a company that is growing so quickly, we I think we spend a very significant amount of time focused on culture. 42:54 And, and it's important, yeah, no, absolutely. I mean, because I come from a tech background. I know most listeners know 43:00 Already and, and so I, I venture out to Palo Alto in the valley very often. And I get to see the ping pong tables and the arcade machines and the puzzle room and also that kind of stuff that most companies around here would be like flabbergasted at. Right. Right, you all build about you ballpark, right? So yeah, you're trying to create a culture that makes you feel like you really want to be here, that it really helps, as I said, helps the employee retention but really helps create that sort of like positive environment that you feel good about coming here in China. That's exactly right. And that's what we try very hard to do. And you know, you're running, you know, very different businesses to you have the distilling side of the business, which is very different from the restaurant and the bar, which is different from the visitors experience, which is different from brand sales and marketing with our team that's out there in the marketplace. Now. You know, we're building world will be in six states with the product by the end of the year, and that is an entirely different business and architecture and one of the most important pieces of the business and we have just this year now ventured into that. 44:00 It's actually the part of the business that we know the best, ironically, because that was the business we were in before. We did a lot, right? We did a lot wrong there. But we learned a tremendous amount and it's one of the most exciting You know, one of the areas I am certainly most excited about with where we're headed is the brand All right, let's talk about that. Okay, let's talk about I know I've been I've been taken off the rails here and there's a lot going on here it well it really is and it's it's fascinating and talk about what this what the multi do do this and we can keep talking let's not wait 200 episodes to do another saying come back here what's going to be a different place a year from now as it is six months from now, so So talk about you know, the first three expressions that you all put out what did it take for the collaboration side of this to really make it happen and I should mention that you also you there was the the collaboration series that kind of came out in this like square bottle? Yes, I think about a year or so ago, correct? Well, we have one case of that left. But that would that sparked an idea and so all of us 45:00 I'll take back to that. But just to start this, this is the Bardstown bourbon company that you see in front of you, this is our brand format, so that this style bottle, you know, and label, this modern presentation of a cohesive brand. And I think the challenge that you have with any young whiskey or bourbon company, is how do you create and begin to create a brand, when your whiskey that you're making here is still maturing in the warehouse and take some time to mature. We don't cut corners. We don't plan on putting anything out that is young, we made a very early decision that we weren't going to put out a six month rye and a one year old, right? That we were really going to wait and we were going to put it out when things were ready because we're not under a rush. But in the meantime, we want to do we want to create really exciting things. So what's happening, what are the trends in the industry? Where are things going? blending, blending is a very exciting trend. It started in scotch. It's been going on for a long, long time, but it really is becoming you know more 46:00 Prominent now bourbon, we want to be great at that. And what's unique about it, we got a Distilling Team, a beverage team and a culinary team that are now all different flavor experts in cocktail team is looking at I mean, a beverage teams looking for cocktail balance, colonnade teams looking at for pairings distilling teams work looking at traditional methods, and they're blending for those reasons. So as we began to get into it, how do we bridge that gap? Well, we start with, you know, a couple of different expressions fusion. Our fusion series tells the story of our blending capability but begins to introduce our young bourbon in with a fully mature or older bourbon and we put it all on the label. So we have 60% of this is two year old bourbon. One is a 20% wheat one is a 36% rye, blended with a 11 and a half year old Kentucky, so it's a Kentucky straight bourbon. And what you get is these bright notes from the younger bourbon with kind of the heavier 47:00 You know the notes from the older bourbon and it makes a very complex blend, where you would get much more of just a uniform product. If you had just the 11 and a half year old here, you're putting these really neat notes. And we went this process went through 50, blind tastings with the Distilling Team, the commentary team and the beverage team to arrive at this unique blend. Its series one, because it's going to adapt. Next year at 6040, maybe several months from now, it'll be 7030, then at 20, but you get to really kind of see how this is going to change as we move to our fully mature product. Then Discovery Series. Discovery is our series that just is about making phenomenal blends using whiskey and bourbon that we didn't produce ourselves. So Discovery Series, one is a blend of four Kentucky straight Bourbons, the core of it being 11 and a half year old, but you've got some, you know, sprinkled in 13 year old 10 year old and five year old and again, went through the same process with the 48:00 Teams blending. And instead of having one singular product, they're adding these like, it's like little notes like little spice notes into the blend, so that you're getting something much more complex. And it's really neat again, went through multiple blind tastings with those teams to arrive at this. Yeah. So I mean, that's and that's what I think is what you're starting to find that a lot more prominent now is being able to get these, these these older Bourbons and then do this blending and there's going to be varied amounts of the type of one product, a proof of another product. And really, you're not going to find the same thing everywhere you go when you do this as well. It really makes it fun because the consumer is looking for interesting things. The consumer is open to innovation, which is where the collaborative series comes in. And you go back to the square bottle. So that idea started over dinner with Joe Harris, from copper and kings. And I was sitting with him and we said, let's Why don't we just start 49:00 This was three four years ago. Let's just start making some neat stuff. We had this glass, we actually owned inventories of 10 and a half year old MGP Indiana bourbon 21% rye. So we took Muscat misspell barrels. And we finished, selected the bourbon finish this bourbon in the Muscat misspelled us for 18 months with the same with American brandy. It was a remarkable product. And it sparked this idea of why don't we create a series very limited edition that tell the story of two great companies working together to produce a really unique product. So then we did the fight for Patrick reserve with Suzanne Fiverr private, great winemaker out in Napa Valley 18 month finish in her Napa Valley cab barrels 18 months is quite a quite a long time. I mean, usually you hear about finishing it's like two to three months, maybe a few ways. Yeah, we were doing 18 month finish on every one of our products at a minimum. And it's a major investment. But you see a remarkable difference. You know, some people will say oh, you know, the products done 50:00 It's going to turn. We have never seen that yet. And I you know, Joe Heron is a huge, you know, believer in this to just keep waiting. And so we have 10 more of these products, projects coming out. We've got three more with copper and kings. We have a really neat one one coming out and beginning of next year with prisoner one. So fabulous that's been that has been finishing now over 16 months. We have great Armagnac house a really neat run one again, we're not held on whole story of the two companies working together. And so these remarkably long finishes produce exceptional products. We actually go one step further to we make sure that there is no degradation in the underlying quality of the wine or spirits. So for example, our wine cast, we ship on refrigerated trucking across the country, they never sit out in the heat, not even for a second they come off the truck, they're filled. And so you prevent all degradation. So tremendous care and making them as well to say I was like, that's a that's 51:00 Investment right there, just I mean, I know what it takes to ship a barrel, you know, across 51:05 state lines and everything like that. But now to put in a refrigerated truck here, it's, it's a lot more expensive. But at the end of the day, you know, our goal is to create exceptional products. Because if you make really good quality things you're going to do great. And that is, we just firmly believe that, you know, if you go take the extra steps to make an exceptional product with a really deep authentic story. You know, that's what consumer, that's what many consumers are looking for these days. And we see it every day. Absolutely. And so I mean, it's it's good to see that this is where the brand's heading, you're doing a lot of good things here too. When do you start seeing it? Because granted, I know you contract with a lot of stuff, but you're also distilling for yourself. Oh, yeah. So all right. Oh, yeah. A lot for yourself. So what's the what's the next phase of, you know, taking fusion to its its own so you'll see you 52:00 You'll see that fusion blend change, you know, multiple times. And then what you're really looking at is about 2022 when our whiskey and bourbon is, you know, really hitting that, you know, about five to six year sweet spot, that's when you're going to start seeing it. And so you'll see rye and different bourbon mash bills. We've been doing a lot with malt whiskey. 52:20 We have a lot of experimentation taking place to so I think there's a lot of exciting things everything also, you know, we're going to be launching a single barrel program here shortly for the public and for retailers, which is different because because we do 40 different mash bills and we create so many different things. You're not limited as a consumer you're going to come into our new bear can be quite the quite the experience and like I don't know if we'll be able to make it through all these Nashville's exactly so you go Rick house bar here, which is beautiful. I you know, I think we're going to take you out and see all these things today. But that structure, you have all glass looking into the warehouse, it's all lit, beautiful setting intimate bar, we're going to be able to provide 53:00 The consumer the retailer with five six different selections different mash bills you'll be at a try those barrels you'll be able to secure them now you'll wait several years will bottle them for you and you know you have a very different single barrel you know pick program where you're not just limited to one tiny let's do a whole array of different things yeah, I mean that's that's gonna be impressive when that when that comes around because a lot of fun Yeah, well Sign me up 53:29 great Yeah, no, I mean it's it's it's cool because there's there's definitely room at of what you all are doing and pushing the envelope not only just in regards of the whiskey production, the kitchen, the single barrel program and one thing we even talked about was the vintage whiskey you all are doing as well like that's it that's the way it is here. It is so exciting. And as part of the new visitors experience, we have a whiskey library that we have built a little secret hidden library back that you can do dinner for up to 10 people in it. And we're that's where we display and showcase our 400 bottles of vintage whiskey. 54:00 that date back to the late 1800s. We secure that and curated the collection with Fred Minnick. It's all for sale by the poor. And it is we built the product we built that collection based on stories. And we didn't wasn't based on volume it was based on what is some really hard to get very unique products that tell great stories. And so some of the some of them back there are absolutely incredible. And they further the whole discussion about whiskey and bourbon. So you come here and again, carry everything but you have discussions like why is you know, the Old Crow chess set considered one of the best whiskeys made? Why is this 1929 see grams Canadian bourbon, which we have, which was before you know, the the statute went into place. Why was that at eight years old? so unbelievably rich. Why are some of these products so terrible? Yeah, that's right. That's, that's 54:56 a stuff and you're like, Well, that was Yeah, that was good. 55:00 And you know, and so, but it starts a conversation. And, and that's what this is all about. That's what I mean, the enjoyment of whiskey, and bourbon, and all of these things is all about a conversation. It's all about an experience. It's all about trying things, sharing things, talking about them. And that is at the core of who we are, and what this place is about. All we want all those conversations about all different things happening in here. It's not just about one brand, or just about our brand, our brands great. And we will put it against anything. But there are also other wonderful producers out there, and it's a big community. And we want all those discussions taking place in here. Now, absolutely. And you know, as we kind of wrap this up and start thinking about really what's on the horizon for you, like on the business side, like where do you Where do you kind of want to see this year? I mean, shit, you already talked about, hey, we're expanding every six months, but like, do you want to stop expanding? Like is there is there a time when you're like, hey, like, let's let's pump the brakes on this for a little bit. I mean, you are seeing the expansion is we're not in 56:00 anticipating further expansion in distillery, so are now our focus we have you know, upgrading yes improving our capabilities always. But we are now focused on building the brand building the visitors experience and the elements around that including bottling and the hotel. And so those are things that we are looking at right now. And we're really excited about that's what's on the horizon and making this a fully not only a fully integrated production entity from you know, from whiskey production to storage to bottling but also on the vent on the visitors experience side, from restaurant to bar to lodging to being able to stay here in the heart of the bourbon capital of the world and make this a full destination experience Am I gonna be able to use my Marriott Rewards points here you know, and I went on a yet 56:49 so we'll leave it on that you know, David, I want to thank you again for coming on. You know, like I said, For for Ryan and myself and Orion's on here, but we always like to hear, you know, we can always talk about like, oh, 57:00 We can do this many barrels a day able to love but, you know, hearing it from a business aspect, I think is one one crucial component that I think a lot of people need to understand as we start getting this and, and you you really talked about it earlier about how you create the culture. And the culture is what builds everything around it right that point and, and really what ultimately makes any venture successful. That's right. And I look and I want to congratulate you guys, because your growth has been as significant as ours and you know, up to 200 podcasts now. It's incredible. And you guys are the leading and if you know, for those of you who are out there, I mean, Kenny and his team, they are the leading bourbon podcast out there, period. And so sign up, listen to it, we encourage it, and we love what they're doing spreading the word here and helping educate everybody about what's happening in this industry. So congratulations to you. Well, thank you, David. I appreciate that mean, I always like a good 57:53 great, it's wonderful to see that, you know, rising tides is lifting all boats across all of this and you know, we're all 58:00 Part of this, you know, bourbon journey together. Absolutely. Well, hopefully we're going to be a part of it with you. And we're going to be excited to kind of see where this is going to go here in the next year too. So, gonna be happy to see that. So before we kind of close up, if people want to give them the address, where can they find it? And they can type in Bardstown bourbon company, and Google M
Welcome to Bourbon Heritage Month where it’s full of awesome festivals like Bourbon and Beyond. We dive into the show talking about Pernod's intent to acquire Castle Brands which Jefferson’s is a major portfolio player and if $223 million was a good deal. We comment on PBR's newest whiskey which is aged for a grand total of 5 seconds. Next is looking at the artificial tongue and what this could mean to the future of the industry. We wrap it up examining EU tariffs and it’s impact 1 year later on the whiskey market. Show Partners: The University of Louisville now has an online Distilled Spirits Business Certificate that focuses on the business side of the spirits industry. Learn more at uofl.me/pursuespirits. Barrell Craft Spirits has a national single barrel program. Ask your local retailer or bourbon club about selecting your own private barrel. Find out more at BarrellBourbon.com. The 2019 Kentucky’s Edge Bourbon Conference & Festival pairs all things Kentucky with bourbon. It takes place October 4th & 5th at venues throughout Covington and Newport, Kentucky. Find out more at KentuckysEdge.com. Central Kentucky Tours offers public and private bourbon tours for groups from 2 to 55. Learn more at CentralKentuckyTours.com. Receive $25 off your first order at RackHouse Whiskey Club with code "Pursuit". Visit RackhouseWhiskeyClub.com. Show Notes: This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick takes a look back at the Legend Series. Let's discuss Bourbon and Beyond. Pernod buys Castle Brands for $223 million. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190828005771/en/Pernod-Ricard-Acquire-Castle-Brands-223-Million Do you think more smaller brands are going to get bought out? Is Pernod trying to get back to bourbon? Was this a good buy for Pernod? What do you think about PBR making whiskey? https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/beer/2019/08/22/pabst-blue-ribbon-now-making-whiskey-collaboration-new-holland/2086883001/ Have you all seen Screwball Peanut Butter Whiskey? What are your thoughts on the artificial tongue? https://www.geek.com/tech/artificial-tongue-can-taste-subtle-differences-in-whiskey-1798999/ More secondary markets are gone. What are your thoughts? Who do you think is behind the shut downs? Tariffs continue to hammer down on bourbon. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-whiskey/us-whiskey-exporters-struggle-after-year-of-eu-tariffs-idUSKCN1V80DN What do you think is next for tariffs? What impact do tariffs have on the bourbon industry? Thanks to Nick from breakingbourbon.com, Brian from sippncorn.com, and Blake from bourbonr.com for joining. 0:00 I love bourbon, but I'm not ready to restart my career in be a distiller. I have a bachelor's degree and I want to continue to use those skills in the whiskey industry. So check this out. The University of Louisville now has an online distilled spirits business certificate that focuses on the business side of the spirits industry like finance, marketing and operations. This is perfect for anyone looking for more professional development. And if you ever want to get your MBA, their certificate credits transfer into Ul's new online MBA program. Learn more about this online program at business.louisville.ecu slash online spirits 0:38 so I'm just waiting for the movie where artificial tongues go rogue and one of them decides is going to go and replace everybody's whiskey with like rapid each whiskey because it's got the perfect profile and there's just insanity and chaos. You know 1:08 This is Episode 217 of bourbon pursuit. I'm one of your host Kenny. And as usual, a little bit of news to go through. So larceny from heaven Hill has launched a new app. It's an augmented reality app called unlock the Rick house. The app was inspired by the history of john II Fitzgerald. He was a treasury agent back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, and was one of the only people that was legally allowed to carry the keys to the barrel storage Rick houses with a discerning palate for fine bourbon john Fitzgerald often uses Rick house keys to gain access to some of the finest bourbon barrels for himself. And those barrels from which he chose to help himself were often referred to as the Fitzgerald barrels around the distillery. The infamous active larceny led to the larceny brand and has now inspired the newest augmented reality app. So Once downloaded, you can explore the Rick houses by tapping on each one to search for the prize winning 2:00 Fitzgerald barrel, and from September 1 through December 31. Each tap of the Rick house gains one entry into the grand prize of $10,000. Daily prizes will also be awarded and include everything from a mini barrel shot glass and larceny magnets all the way up until a larceny guitar or an LED sign. So you can get unlock the Rick house available now on the Apple Store and Google Play. On Tuesday this week, I had the pleasure of joining four roses master distiller Brett Elliot, to a special media preview of the 2019 limited edition small batch, were able to ask him anything in taste through all the individual lots that comprised of this batch. And here's some of the details. The 2019 limited edition small batch will have a breakdown of four different bourbon runs. There is an 11 year old ESV that accounts for 26 27% of the blend. A 15 year old GSB at 40% of them blend a 15 year old ESK with 25% and a 2:59 21 year old BSB at 8% on the blind, and we got to go through each one of these and kind of rate them all and kind of figure out how they all lead into creating their own blend and the 21 year OBSV had the best knows it was super okie but the finish lacks some depth. And there was I know there's a lot of OESK lovers out there, but this one had a pretty strong bite to it honestly wasn't my favorite. However, the 15 year OESV was the real star of the show. This had depth and complexity and just kept going at all the right components into it. But come to find out. This is the same version of OESV that was sold at the gift shop this past year for Father's Day. So there's a few lucky people out there sitting on some really good bourbon right now. And the final proof of this will be 112.6 with around 13,440 bottles to be released in the US in around 3002 the rest of the world with an MSRP of $139 and 99 cents. 4:00 During this time with Brent, we also discussed the barrels and if we would ever see a single barrel limited edition ever again. Well, the unfortunate news is that he said it's likely to never happen again. With the explosive growth of bourbon, it's almost impossible to find a run of barrels that were all distilled at one time that would be able to satisfy this type of demand. Instead, these runs will be saved for future small batches for years to come. He said they have plenty of high AH stock. So this is great to hear for enthusiasts like us. And hope you're out there enjoying these whiskey quickies that we're releasing. As we get into the fall we're going to be bringing new reviews of all the newest releases including next week's as we review the new four roses small batch Limited Edition. All right now on to the podcast. On this Roundtable. We talk about bourbon festival season as we just wrapped up one, but we're heading into bourbon and beyond right around the corner. And if you haven't yet, go get your tickets. We'd love to see you there. Drink some good bourbon and listen to some good tunes. But after that, we dive into 5:00 To the acquisition business was the 230 $3 million deal for Pernod Ricard to acquire castle brands which Jeffers is a part of. Was that a good deal? Well, we had a lot of folks that were commenting in our chat section and talking about the EPA or the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. It's a measure of a company's operating performance. One comment we received was from Craig Kessler, he's a Chief Investment Officer as well as an executive bourbon Stewart. So he talked about per node selling wild turkey at 12 times its EPA, while brown Forman was selling at 10 x. So per node got an above market value during the time of the value of other competitors out there in the market. As for promotes re entry to the market, castle was trading at a price sales ratio of one x and per node paid about to exit the company. So brown Forman is currently trading at eight x. So per node is paying 75% less than brown Forman on a price per sales basis. So from this production 6:00 It looks like four nodes sold above market for wild turkey and bought castle below. So we'll see about more of that into the podcast that after that we also dive into PBR is new whiskey, the artificial tongue and if you tariff data that's now been published is still going to continue to wreak havoc on new exports. All right, now let's get on to it. Let's hear a word from Joe over a barrel bourbon, and then you've got Fred Minnick with above the char. I'm Joe Beatrice, founder of barrell craft spirits. I know I talk a lot about blending here. But we also have a national single barrel program asked you a local retailer or bourbon club about selecting your own private barrel. 6:41 I'm Fred Minnick, and this is above the char. In 2013. I started a series at the Kentucky Derby Museum called the legend series. It was a great opportunity for me to sit down with the legends of the industry and ask them questions about their careers and taste their whiskeys. I've talked to great people. 7:00 Julian Van Winkle, Edwin Foote, Harlan Wheatley, Chris Morris, Bill Samuels, Jimmy Russell, Jimmy Rutledge, and many, many, many more. It's been one of the most important events of my career. And now as I go into building the eighth season of The Legend series for the Kentucky Derby Museum, I just look back on it, and all. It's also where I made my first connection with the fellas here at bourbon pursuit. You may have heard this story where Ryan showed up and forgot to turn on the microphone. We still razz him about that. But it really was a great, great moment. I think, not just for me or the Kentucky Derby Museum. But for all of bourbon. The Legends Series was really one of the first high level high education events that allowed people to get really connected to a master distiller or a CEO and learn about what makes them 8:00 Tick. And I'm very glad to see that today we know everybody's mash bill. We know people's business procedures. And you have companies like heaven Hill who are creating diagrams for social media about airflow in a warehouse. So much has changed in eight years and the people who are most to be credited with this, are you, you the consumer have more power today than ever before. And let me tell you, the whiskey distillers pay attention a lot more to what you think, than they do. The USA Today or the New York Times, you are the most powerful person in the all the equation of American whiskey. They follow what you say on social media. They follow what you listen to what you read, and they want to know your opinion, constantly. So join me in the further pursuit of knowledge and let's 9:00 asked people to open up and tell us more about their distilleries. Some people may think it's unfathomable to know what's going behind the scenes when they're making a price increase, or what they're thinking when they're changing their barrel entry proof. But eight years ago, heaven Hill didn't disclose their mash bills. Now, they freely tell you every single grain that goes into their whiskies, so things can change. And that's this week's above the char. Hey, make sure you're following me on Twitter and Instagram. So you can come to next year's Kentucky Derby Legends Series. You can find me at Fred Minnick again at Fred Minnick. Cheers. 9:45 Welcome, everybody. This is the 36 recording of the bourbon Community Roundtable. This is where we talk about what's happening in bourbon bourbon culture bourbon news. We've got a lot of topics to cover, but you know, this is also the beginning and how we're kicking off 10:00 bourbon heritage month so everybody welcome to bourbon heritage month it's kind of like our Super Bowl if we will right we're finally here doing that. But you know not only this bourbon Heritage Month starting to kick off but one of the biggest things is this is also turning into festival season. You know we just wrapped up bourbon on the banks. There's one called Kentucky's edge that'll be coming up and first week October however, Fred Super Bowl here is here and in two weeks so Fred you getting getting mighty pumped for bourbon and beyond? Yeah, bourbon and beyond is right around the corner. I've got two other festivals right before that one but bourbon and beyond is my baby. I work on a year round. We've been working so hard on it, obviously we got the Foo Fighters ZZ Top. 10:41 Alison Krauss, Robert Plant, Zac Brown band we got all these incredible bands but we also have 10:47 you know, grand Melia from top chef and we have a lot of lot of cool panels here. So you all are on the panels. Nick Jordan's there on behalf of breaking bourbon. But I'm very proud of 11:00 The curation of the panels this year, and it's just an incredible, incredible lineup of of education and cocktail. Yeah, I mean, do you want to kind of give people a little bit of a teaser on what some of these panels are so they can go out and yeah, so well one year of moderating Kenny is like what is a master distiller and that's something that we in our community we talked about all the time like what is a master distiller? I mean right now technically Brian who's just a lawyer could be a master distiller without even going any kind of like training for it. We're I'm moderating a panel about the history of slavery and American whiskey. This is the very first time that anybody in our industry has approached this and I want people to realize that you know, this is something that 11:50 you know, it we, we kind of like avoided a lot but you have people like fun Weaver 11:58 and you know, who's bringing 12:00 to the forefront and making sure people want to talk you know, make sure people talk about it because it is something important that is a part of the American whiskey heritage. And I don't think we should just like gloss over it with and so that that's, that's a big seminar we've also got one called bourbon disruptors. I'm excited about Brian's panel that he's doing. It's called whiskey dark past, you know, there's been a lot of murders, there's been a lot of bootlegging. All kinds of shenanigans have been associated with with American whiskey. And, and so you have some some deep ones. And then we have some like real basic like high about how to make a high ball and how to make a man hat and an old fashion. We have a lot of stuff like that as well. So licenses, as well as the hardcore ones. Yeah, and I think at least all of us, we're super excited to actually be there be a part of it beyond the panels. And, you know, while we're doing that, let's go ahead and introduce all of our guests that are here or sorry, our typical roundtable member 13:00 Is that are here today. So let's start off with somebody who might not be able to be here for that much longer because he's getting ready to start batten down the hatches as as the hurricane starts making his way so Blake from Florida checking in How are you, buddy? Doing well, How are y'all? 13:18 We're trying to sneak sneak in a little bit. Yeah, it's been quite the week we you know, I'm kind of a little bit of a procrastinator on the on the storm side, but this one looks like we could get a little bit so yeah, no school for the next two days at least. 13:36 Well, good deal. Well, make sure you you stay safe out there. You know, we're all we're all making sure that you know, everything is everything's good for you, as well as all the other flirty and bourbon residents that are down there. So hopefully everybody is staying safe and heat and all the warnings of evacuating if you actually need to evacuate. That is true. Yeah, you know, but the streak continues. I just kind of throw that out there. The streak continues. 14:00 Introduction. 14:01 Absolutely this qualifies. It sure does. Yep. Yep. So Blake, if you could go back 10 to family please do please go for it, man. Thanks for thanks for chiming in here. 14:12 Yeah, I'm good for a few minutes. arena question Where were we? Not yet we're just still we just started going through the the table just going around the horn so well. 14:23 Yeah. Well, let's take a break. So Brian, you go ahead and take next. Yeah, thanks, Fred. And again, this is Brian with sip and corn. You can find me on Twitter and Facebook sipping corn Instagram to sip and corn and online at bourbon justice calm and sip and corn calm and just to echo Fred's comments. 14:44 Probably no one is is is as excited as he is. But I'm I might be second place got rained out last year for my bourbon workshop. So I'm really excited about doing it this this year. And Fred Thanks for including me. Yeah. 14:58 And Nick, let's go ahead break 15:00 bourbon. Let's hear it. All right, thanks, Kenny. I've Nick from breaking bourbon breaking bourbon com. Check us out on social media at breaking bourbon. And yeah, unfortunately, I will not be able to make bourbon and beyond this year, but Jordan will be there. I will say I am pretty disappointed. It was a pretty fantastic festival last year even with the day the rain out the second day. And you know, I think anybody who's gonna be making it out there probably won't be disappointed. So I'm sure Fred you're probably going nuts now still getting ready for this thing but yeah, it's a pretty fantastic bourbon festival seems to seems like it's only getting better year after year. Wow. Thanks, guys. I gotta tell you, you know, it means a lot to me hearing you all say that because, you know, getting rained out. It was like it was like a gut punch. And it was just so it was really devastating because we had to cancel the other festival which is the Hard Rock Festival louder than life the next weekend. So all three days were canceled. 16:00 So we're really hoping and praying that we don't we have great weather and we're at a weird a better location that can handle the rain so like it's at the fairgrounds it's like right across from the actual Expo Center building and it's like that flat plane and it's a much more it's not as beautiful as champions park with all the trees but it's something that you know is if if this thing floods the whole city's underwater 16:32 there's gonna be a new meters thick that's going to be on the side of the bridges the show the the great flooded 20 2019 if that's what it is. Knock on wood. Yeah, let's we're not gonna have that it's gonna be remember the first year it was hotter than hell out. The second year was just torrential downpour. Third year it's got to be just clear skies. It's what it has to get it perfect. Yep. Alright, so let's jump into it. So the first topic of conversation is kind of a big one. You know, we've had days all our 17:00 on the show before good friend of the show from Jeffersons, and it was announced last week that Pernod Ricard is going to acquire castle brands which Jefferson's a part of that portfolio for 223 million. So it's good to see that porno is still still on the hot streak of buying a lot of stuff. You know, I was just looking at Castle brands. His website, of course, like Jefferson's is the one that kind of screams out to a lot of us. But they've got they've got an Irish cream and an Irish vodka. They've got Gosling's rum, they've got Aaron whiskey, which I had never really come around before. But again, it's a it's a bigger portfolio but it's it's pretty good to see this sort of thing you know, we've been not really not accustomed to seeing a lot of these. These brands start getting acquired. Now porno is actually kind of on a buying streak. It seems a lot recently. 17:51 You all kind of see. This is a trend that's going to continue to happen like do you think these more smaller brands are going to continue to keep getting 18:00 swallowed up by a lot of these big ones. 18:03 One thing that I noticed about this and I know, I know what they're paying for, obviously 223 million sounds like a lot of money. But for these larger companies, it's really, to me that's a that's a low amount for a brand like Jefferson's, which really is a workhorse. I mean, that that's a good selling brand that, you know, that alone could have probably sold, you know, you know, five years ago when you had high West sell for 170 $5 million. You know, Jefferson's was 10 times the brand of high YS at that point. So I think and I know what I know what rabbit holes sold, but I can't really say and I felt like that was a low amount as well. And so I feel like they're getting these these these brands that might be in debt and they may not have as much like 18:56 you know, may not they I don't know what 19:00 How porno is doing this, but that's not a lot of money for for castle brands. I just don't I just don't think there was anyone else looking to buy them. And so, right now you have the big companies and I don't know if they're out there looking to buy up, you know, brands unless it's like white cloth at the moment. You know, the like laws the hot one. So I guess that you know I come from the I always say that where I come from the tech side and so seeing things in the, you know, a couple hundred million dollars of acquisitions aren't, you know, it doesn't really I don't really bat an eye at it anymore. So you said that 223 millions just really not a lot. 19:37 And you think that it also could be 19:41 are there really only like a just a tiny handful of big players in this game that actually have the capital to acquire and if they already have something that's in their portfolio, do they need to continue to keep acquiring? Yeah, let's look at the brands that the big. The big portfolio is proud for 20:00 pronounce Ricard Diaz. Do you throw Proxima in there? BM Suntory obviously 20:07 Karen which has four roses would you know throw them in there and you know there might be a couple others that could really move the needle but you have to look at like what are the who has what it says rack Africa says RX a big player obviously. 20:27 And in 2009 porno basically got out of the American whiskey game when they when they spun off 20:35 you know Barton and you know, wild turkey and so you had like this incredible you know, they got rid of these these great brands and 20:47 and, and now they're trying to get back into the game after it was too late and pornos got a great Irish Whiskey portfolio. So Irish Whiskey is the only you know, whiskey that's really hotter than bourbon and 21:01 It makes sense for them to to try and get some jargon juggernauts but you know they've got smooth Ambler rabbit hole now and Jefferson I think they got rabbit hole really because of the facilities and rabbit holes facilities have incredible potential for expansion they fit right into the like the tourism model and Jefferson's is a hot hot brand smooth Ambler two is got you know they're they've penetrated a lot of really good markets so they made some interesting moves and I think they did them at you know whoever negotiated their deals I think probably did a very good job for them. Yeah, you know Nick or Brian Do you kind of see this as is Fred said it is this PR know kind of like crawling back into the market a little bit. You know if you know if you got rid of wild turkey at the wrong time because you thought it was a you know, basically a bad stock and you sold when the you sold out when is low and you know you bought it when is high like it they tried to like flip the script for themselves here. Well 22:00 I think they they definitely trying to do that. But they're they're filling their roster with D league players instead of what they lost. And I think their problem is going to be capacity. I mean, how can they increase production of any of those without huge distilleries to be able to turn this out? I see that is their issue. I mean, they they can get some from rabbit hole and they can get some from smooth Ambler. But that's a ways off. 22:28 Jefferson's is still just bottling in Crestwood. Right? I mean, they don't have a whole lot of capacity of their own. They're still sourcing. So where's it going to come from? So I see it is problematic there, they're buying the league players, and they can't, they're not going to be able to increase production. And I think that to kind of piggyback on the sourcing, and that's, you know, probably the comments that were, at least that I saw, you know, here in there, with, of course, the focus then Jefferson's in the in the bourbon world. 23:00 With respect to this acquisition, you know that's the question thing about high West with Ambler there, they've got distilleries, they've got the that kind of capability, you know with Jefferson's for example, it really is the brand that's bought the distribution you know, the labels that that kind of thing. So kind of to Brian's point it's that you know, it's that want to get back in the game want to get in in the game. I think there's still a lot of growth potential in general, but it's what is that you know, what are you going to do with that so now they've got two brands now they've got a pull out from you know, pull out from behind them probably invest quite a bit more Jefferson's to like they go from a company that didn't necessarily didn't necessarily have the ability to walk into a company like brown Forman and and strike a deal for 5000 barrels of stock. I'm not saying that's going to happen now if you're in our carbon now printer card. I mean, trees owners got muscle like NASA castle brand was is like 24:00 You know, that was like, 24:02 you know, a triple A baseball team, you know, in comparison to our car, who would be the Boston Red Sox or the Yankees, you know? So the buying power that they have to be on the source market. I mean, it just went up. And because they can, they can strike deals that he could never dream of before when they start sourcing from wild turkey that or MGP, which, you know, they they own the facilities after, after Seager. I'm sad to shutter all their stuff. 24:35 They got the facility in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, and DIZO. got, you know, Crown Royal and they're like, you know, who got the better end of the deal on that because they can never make Pernod Ricard can never make that Lawrenceburg, Indiana distillery work, and they sold it to LDI. And that, you know, I became kind of like the source capital but so that would be ironic if they end up sourcing from wild turkey. 25:00 GP. 25:02 And I guess another question that kind of throw at you all about this is do we see, this is going to be a lot tougher game going into this, you know, we had Trey on the on the podcast before I last year and we talked to him he said like, Is it getting harder now with sourcing, like our people kind of trend in your territory or you are in had all these relationships for and now you've got people that are on your turf barrel prices are going up. How can you maintain, you know, with not actually having a distillery that can pump significant volume? You know, is this was this a good buy for per node like it? It's That's a tough question. I think. I think Brian kind of alluded to that and I wouldn't say that they're, you know, deep play or anything like that. I I still am a fan of Jeffersons. I still like the whiskey they put out. However, in regards of an operation, it might have been a kind of a weird acquisition in my opinion. Anybody have any thoughts of like, is 26:00 Is ditches they don't actually do a lot of distilling or heavy distilling, like Was it a good acquisition? Or is it just something that you know as Nick said to it, just maybe a brand recognition thing that you have to understand like this business is driven by brands like we look at things from where the liquid liquid comes from, but this business is really driven by like a name and they're like it or not, whether you if you if you follow it or not, the Jeffersons ocean is one of the one of the best like marketing ploys of of the last 1015 years and American whiskey. Now I remember asking, I remember asking Trey for to see a man manifest that was barrels at that it was going to punch me but you know, you've got you have some people who disbelieve in that it's the ocean barrel concept, but he does put them out there and it's been one of the best like my 27:00 And the conversations that are marketing boys, I've turned into conversations. 27:05 At least in my world, everyone's like is a real? Is it real? Is it you know, so it's it's one of those things that it's probably just just on that alone. And the fact that Jeffersons is, is everywhere. 27:19 I think it was a great, great acquisition for PR now. So there's another comment here from Dan wall ski, you know, he sees Jefferson's brand is probably worth the investment. However, he wouldn't be surprised to see it now eventually start getting separated from Kentucky artisan and then becoming like a visitor destination of its own now, it's a pretty good theory, I think for for what this could potentially be and where could go to think about the Kentucky owl situation, for example, you know, immediately it's the plans for a gigantic, gigantic park in distillery, you know, so are we going to see something like that? Is that going to be the growth plan for her, not in this 28:00 Or are they just going to keep you know, continuing with the brand as it is and sourcing and kind of doing business as usual? Be curious to see how that changes over time. 28:10 For sure, and I think you know, there's there's also something that kind of it kind of jogged my memory when I think about this when we look at you know, we had Corky was last week's podcast, we've had coffee from rabbit hole on and there's always like this. A lot of these CEOs they say a lot of the same things of like, we're never going to sell this is going to remain in the family forever. And then it's like, is it though like is it like is it puts a fat check in front of your face? Like it's got to be pretty hard to turn down. There's always a number. I agree. I think you have to look at you know, let's take a look at at those two particular brands. Kobe had a lot of investors. 28:56 Corky did all this with his own money and he's got 29:00 Trust lined up and everything, it always comes down to the money. And look man, I'm in business. I don't come from money. I've had to work for everything I've gotten. And when you sit down in a room with with money people, you know, they always want something. So, you know, you give up something to give up shares of your company or something to get what you want out of them. But this, you know, there comes a point where they're like, okay, we've had a good time on this fried where's our payout? We went out and that we want to cash out and so everything depends upon how your business structure is when you have these small distillers 29:41 you know one other one other in games is that like, this is Yeah, no, I agree. And I think for anybody that is ever getting into business like you always want to think like yes I do for the passion. I do it for the for the joy of what it is, but at the end of the day, if somebody puts a big fat check in front, your face 30:00 That's, that's part of the American dream too. So you can't you can't discount that. So, you know, as we kind of almost kind of switch gears a little bit. And this is one that I actually kind of like this one because Fred sent this a little bit before we started here. And this was the fact that 30:18 PBR is getting ready to start making their very own whiskey. So I will drop the link here into the chat. I'm also going to drop it into 30:28 the YouTube chat as well so you can kind of see it, but really what it is, is PBR is now making a whiskey that's been aged for a complete total of five seconds. So that should probably already kind of get your blood flowing a little bit. So they have recently talked about their have a new, hard sell to it's coming out with a percent. But now they're actually going to be doing a 40% whiskey. It's already 40% ABV that has been aged for five seconds. So Fred kind of talked about this one Fred does this. Make your blood boil a little bit 31:00 Yeah, I have two words for PBR. Fuck you. 31:07 Yeah, I think it's I think it's a, you know, PBR is trying to be trendy and they got some headlines with this. But you know, 31:20 given that we're, we have a brand that's raised, basically repackaged Zi Ma, taking over the space of 31:30 millennial consumption. And actually really, Why call penetrates the entire world right now. 31:37 Anything is possible with what will be the next big thing and PBR has got a big brand behind it and I just, I just wish they would, you know, 31:47 this is this is a mockery of whiskey so i just i hate everything about it. 31:55 Nick, do you share any the same the same feelings, you know, I 32:00 Always look, I do think it's interesting, it really created a buzz I think people who may not normally think about whiskey or bourbon or what they really are, you know, I think that just that buzz about that it's going to go into a container into an oak container, it's going to be aged for five seconds or, you know, whatever they end up doing with it, if anything, that's an awareness, you know, piece of will have number one, how good is it going to be, you know, so for somebody that is just doing shots at a bar, they never think about anything, you know, as far as you know, whether they like things that are you know, higher quality, you know, longer aged, etc. What am I really drinking? Where does it get its color from things of that nature? It may cause some people to kind of get curious about what's really there. And I think once people start getting educated reach the point of, you know, anybody who's listening to this or watching this right now, you know, you're obviously this is much farther behind, you know, where your journey started, or, you know, much farther behind where you are now where your journey started, but I think that's the interesting 33:00 part about it is kind of just that awareness. And what's probably a younger crowd that's going to be more, you know, 33:07 in tune with this or tasting this or whatever the case might be, you know, where it might make some people curious about exploring a little further and eventually getting to the point where they respect what's going on with the actual, you know, creation and aging and things of that nature. So I think it's interesting I don't hate it in the same way that I guess that Fred does. You know, Willie succeed. I don't know. You know, it's it's different than the beer in that sense of, you know, the beer. I see the market for this. I'm not so sure. I guess we'll see. Yeah, I think you look at it, like everybody wants to try to create something. And you know, what's PBR? PBR is not supposed to be some glorious luxury brand, right? Like this is supposed to be like bottom shelf like how like, How fast can we get this out the door and you know, really just churn product. And this might be following that same exact suit. I'm not too sure if this is supposed to be a a premium product by name. 34:00 Yeah, they're not trying to be premium and I guess from my standpoint it PBR five second whiskey has no impact on me whatsoever and I don't care about it. But I see where it's it's going like like Nick said it's going to be at the is going to be at the bar for a shot and hopefully it overtakes 34:22 you know, some of these other flavored whiskeys which I don't care about either as the you know, the new hot shot for college age through mid 20s. And then there's going to be a market for that and there always will be in my day it was Yeager Meister and you know, that's awful. 34:42 So, you know, knock knock your socks off, go ahead and do a five second whiskey. Try to sell it by by the shot to 24 year olds and I'll keep drinking what I've been drinking. 34:55 So you know, you talked about flavored whiskey there. Have you all seen the the new phenomenon of 35:00 screwball the peanut butter flavored whiskey. Okay, I think I had it first at your house to tell you the truth. But it started it's starting to catch on now like it's out here. Now I see it here. It's I mean, it's in all the forums, people are talking about it. It's like It's like the white glove whiskey right now. That was the first time I had it was bourbon and beyond last year. So I don't want to call myself a trendsetter. But you know, we did a 35:28 shout out to Tony from keg and bottle who actually gave me that probably about a year and a half ago. And he said, Kenny, I kid you not, this is going to be the next fireball. And so I mean, I guess a year and a half ago, he gave it to me and now all of a sudden, like people are buying and it's taken off a little bit, but you gotta like peanut butter, that's for sure. Because Yeah, definitely definitely has that. That flavor to it. Okay, then liked it or hate it. 35:55 All right, right position. Yeah. So So back to back to work. 36:00 whiskey. You know, there was something else that came out a few weeks ago on on geek calm, talking about the artificial tongue. Do y'all remember this? So I'll talk about it. So the artificial tongue can taste the light. Subtle, subtle, subtle differences. Wait, hold on. Wait, hold on. Okay, I got it. You don't have the art. I wonder what the artificial Tom thinks about the five second whiskey? I don't know. That's a good question. 36:26 I don't know if that's what it's really made for, though. Who knows? Right? I guess we'll find out one of these days. But this was built by Scottish engineers and it's ultimately made to sit there and try to find counterfeit frauds or anything like that. That's on the on the open market. And of course, you know, we talked about it with bourbon, you know, having counterfeit Pappy all the time and stuff like that. However, you're going to see this even larger scale in the scotch world as well. So Fred, what are your kind of thoughts on this artificial tongue? Well, I've actually talked to 37:00 Quite a few people about this who are like in a tasers role and I think most everyone knows I do a lot of tasting. And I think it's, I think it's great if it's not like, you know, stealing 37:16 that I'm curious to see like the data that like goes into it like how they how they create it, because I know of one like, you know algorithm that's out there that's been taking people's tasting notes and applying them to basically putting a collective 37:37 algorithm together of like white to say, from people various like if you're, if you're writing tasting notes on Reddit, or if you have tasting notes on a blog or anything that's scalable, there is now a there's some spiders out there that's out there taking him and they're applying them elsewhere. So, robot tasting, so if it's something like that, I'm not a fan of it, but if it's something that really 38:00 actually adds to the, you know, our world. I'm all for it. But, you know, the thing is, is like Canada, it's the right now their marketing is like spotting fakes. And that's great. But I wonder what their next iteration will be. Because, you know, 38:23 eventually it's going to be about like, you know, this is how you taste. So this is what you're going to like. And, you know, I think that's cool. Yeah, I think this could definitely lead to a lot of different things. I think. I think finding the counterfeits is a, it's kind of like a it's I don't it's like a gateway. Like, it's, I don't think it's going to have a large purpose at first. Like, I think you need to cover a little bit more blanket area here when you're trying to figure out exactly what can you do with this technology? It's got to be a little bit more uniform, a little more universal of actually how to catch on into the point where, you know, you know, Fred, you taste a lot, however, like, is this something where it's like, okay, 39:00 We've got six panelists that are humans and then our seventh is this AI machine, right? To make sure like, everything works like this out of this distillery, like, you know, we've been going for utilizing people for the longest time to you know, knows and tastes and actually understand what this what this is supposed to taste like and what typical batch it goes in, but we're human like what is human it's, it's you have error error is built in versus a computer. Whereas if you're feeding a data, like it's just computations, so you know, knicker or Brian, like, do you kind of see this like, much more spreading its way out into? Maybe distilleries should start looking into this time of technology as well. So I'm just waiting for the movie where artificial tongues go rogue, and one of them decides is going to go and replace everybody's whiskey with like rapid each whiskey because it's got the perfect profile and there's just insanity and chaos. You know. 39:59 I'm visually just look 40:00 is like little tongues across the street like just around like overtaken a rogue tongues. Yeah, rogue tongue, I think there could be great applications for it. You know, they just the question is, is it going to replace, not necessarily master distillers but you know, people that you know blend in in, you know, testing that takes place, you know, within distilleries, and producers, you think about kind of that non scientific nature of so much of this and even just tasting notes, like you're talking about, I mean, the very non scientific process in the sense and that's one of the kind of magical things about whiskey, you know, would we, you know, if there was inside each label or on each bottle, kind of like a very specific profile of a particular whiskey or almost a map that was scientifically put together, you know, would that be something that, you know, would enhance the experience to people want that, you know, is that the end result of what we're even, you know, kind of dealing with here? I think it's interesting from that aspect at the same time, I do think one of the 41:00 great things about whiskey is kind of the human and the art of whiskey. So it's almost a kind of a weird dichotomy of technology and, and kind of that, you know, our full human interaction that, you know, you don't want to see that necessarily overtaken but you do want to, you know, you do want to add you value when you can, you know, there's so many whiskies are so expensive, that I could definitely see a, you know, a value proposition for somebody to say, Hey, is this something I might like, you know, for example, or how do we design a better, you know, a better whiskey. I'm just really I'm really excited that there's been tech applied in 41:38 a valuable way usually, tech people apply it in the most into rapid aging or something that everyone's trying to fix that when there's really not a problem other than waiting. 41:51 But I'm just I'm just glad that somebody in the tech world is applying, applying their know how and skills to a very 42:00 particular area that we do probably could use some consistency. And I agree with Nick and I'll take it a step further though i mean i think while it's it's beneficial in some respects, to have this AI tasting because the AI is not can be thrown off with what you had for lunch or what you had for dinner. It's but it's on the other hand, it's going to be much more sterile of, 42:28 of an experience of a description of what you're supposed to be tasting. And so much as Nick said, is so much of drinking whiskey is the experience and it can change if you've got a steak versus something else. And it can change in the mood and I've been doing it presentation Fred did. Music can affect what you're what you're experiencing, and AI is never going to get to well Famous last words as never going to 42:58 have the experience 43:00 That you can have with whiskey and if I've got a piece of Gouda that I'm eating with it, AI is not going to be able to tell me again Famous last words how that's going to affect what what I'm experiencing at that moment. So it's it's nice but it's to me it's sort of like a party trick and we all know that Jim Beam or somebody would hack it to give like something like a legion like a 95 43:28 so now Brian, I'm picturing like, VR goggles, some scent thing going on here. 43:34 headphones with your favorite music, you know, you can certainly get right there. tastes and smells right at your at your disposal. Yeah, you see, a few Metallica, Metallica does that they have one of their tasters played various have everybody put on, you know, special headphones. And they have to taste like five different whiskeys. It's all their whiskey but they 44:00 People say like the whiskeys taste different based on the music they're listening to, and that there's news, new evidence that suggests that what you listen to has a much deeper effect on on how you taste. So I am definitely on board with what Brian just said there that the AI will never be able to pick out a more of a human element at least and probably in our lifetime. I think. I mean, I don't know, I think I think you're right, I don't think it's gonna have that human element to it. However, I think there's there's a lot of potential of what this could do in regards of thinking that you want to create more, say a brand that has a very, very specific kind of character. And so you take, you take one outside of a particular barrel, then you get a chemical breakdown of like the 30 different things that are in it. And it's like, you know, x percentage of something versus white percentage or another, and then you kind of figure out exactly Okay, I need this kind of percentages, and they all start equal now. 45:00 Alright, dump these barrels together. And now we eat. Now we kind of see this, this sort of specific profile that could be coming. So could be completely different in a way of building new brands versus just sitting there and saying like, okay, we'll just go and make sure this is this is this is not Pappy. This is just regular WO Weller. And you know, the thing about checking if something's fake or not, most the time when it matters, it's sealed, and you want to keep it that way. So that application is a bit of a struggle, you know, because you're probably rarely going to find a purchase contingent on you know, opening, pouring, tasting or testing or whatever the case might be. Yeah, how would you like to be the guy who just dropped $1.5 million on a bottle of McKenna gets a test and like, Oh, yeah, now. This is actually Glenfiddich, 12 year old, you almost don't want to know. 45:55 Like, no, just keep those things away. 45:59 Yeah, there's this 46:00 Definitely a bad side to that to it you know it as we start coming going down this path you know there's something news that happened last week. You know, there has been a tear on the secondary market lately like there's just groups are disappearing left and right. 46:17 The 2019 Kentucky's edge bourbon conference and festival pairs all things Kentucky with bourbon. It takes place October 4 and fifth at venues throughout Covington in Newport Kentucky. Kentucky's edge features of bourbon conference music tastings pairings tourists and and artists and market Kentucky's edge. 2019 is where bourbon begins. Tickets and information can be found online at Kentucky's edge.com. 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Their Dragon's milk beer is America's number one selling bourbon barrel aged out in 2005. They apply their expertise from brewing and began distilling beer barrel finished whiskey began production 2012 and rock house was the club is featuring it in their next box. The barrels come from Tennessee get filled with Dragon's milk we are twice the mature bourbon is finished and those very same barrels. Rocco's whiskey club is a whiskey the Month Club on a mission to uncover the best flavors and stories from craft distillers across the US. 48:00 Along with two bottles of hard to find whiskey rackhouses boxes are full of cool merchandise that they ship out every two months to members in over 40 states. Go to rackhouse whiskey club com to check it out and try a bottle of beer barrel bourbon and beer barrel rye. Use code pursuit for $25 off your first box. 48:20 There has been a tear on the secondary market lately like there's just groups are disappearing left and right. And even the secondary backup BSM group that was over on me we may way whatever it is, is that's now gone as well. So it's not like it's just Facebook, it looks like this is like a virus that's continually trying to spread and it's just getting knocked out sort of wherever it goes. Now don't get me wrong, there's still a few groups that are remaining You know, they're probably around like the two to 3000 member Mark but there's nowhere near even on the bsm on me was like almost 10,000 or above. So it seems that we're everybody flocks to 49:00 These are just getting can left and right. 49:03 Now I've tried to reach out haven't really heard anything of in regards of why it happened or anything like that. However, it just seems there's there's no safe haven right now. Do you all kind of see this as is this can be the new norm? Or is it just like, it's just hot for the moment? We'll have to wait ride this wave, and then maybe here in another three months, will we back up to where it was, is going to happen. It's just a matter of what in when. And it might change over time. You know, as we're seeing right now, it's certainly changing how the communication is done. Probably the bigger question is if we have these call it a period of a drought, for example, which is interesting, because this is happening, you know, before we start seeing some of the big fall releases and things of that nature, you've got to ask yourself is is that going to change the the primary market, you know, because how much of the primary market is driven by what ends up happening on the secondary market? You know, so a lot of people buying you know, basically 50:00 The idea that they're going to be able to turn around and sell for a profit, if that is no longer in place or that you know, you knock out 50% or some in reasonable percentage of the, you know, people that are able to do that or see their ability to do that. Does that start driving prices down on the primary? I think it'll be interesting to see how that you know, kind of goes over the the upcoming months here. Yeah, I think we're going to see this in Natalie. That is, I think Brad Atlas had a post that was on Blake's group, this past week of, you know, the the new each Taylor amaranth has been album release. However, nobody can figure out what a price should be on it because there's no room there is no place to auction off and figure out what's going to be even today. There were I think, like 72 birthday Bourbons that were sold at old forester distillery downtown to kind of commemorate the old forester birthday bourbon and George bourbon Browns birthday. However, I haven't seen a whole heck of a lot of them show up on anywhere. So you know, this 51:00 Is this could be a sign of the times that, you know, hopefully you're buying it to hold on to it because finding the outlets to sell it is getting a lot harder now. It's definitely interesting. 51:12 I, you know, I, I'm beta testing an app right now and I've been asked if, like, people can do that and I'm like, Well, you know, I have that I have to, like, seriously look at that now. And I'm thinking of like the potential liability associated with it. I'm like, 51:29 you know, maybe you don't know maybe in your chat your own little private chat group, which I can't see but 51:37 it's, it's fascinating to me. How this this domino effect and I would love I would love to sit down with Mark Zuckerberg interview request I put out many times by the way, never that I have a probably, but I would love to find out if like he's had a hand in or some on Facebook, haven't you know, I would love to hear the rationale behind it. But I know they 52:00 said some things but there's more to it, there's gotta be more to it. It just doesn't. just doesn't make sense to me, especially with this new, this, this new social media site dumping it so quickly. It just, it's odd. Just, it's gonna be coming down from somewhere else. I mean, fame makes you wonder if brands are involved. Sorry, brands, you know, if we've got brands or somebody specific, you know, with intent, you know, and is watching this more closely, and specifically, I think that's a great question. And they have been watching these markets for for some time because they would even like, you know, price their whiskey to, to combat it, but I would, I would argue that it may not be a brand behind it, but a very powerful retailer. You know, who wants that money 52:58 and knows that that money 53:00 He's out there they want they want your dollar. They don't want you to buy it, you know, SRP and then flip it. I mean, there's any number of areas this could go, there's any number of people who would like to see it stop. 53:13 But I do know this. I, I know that most of the like the state authorities don't really care. You know, I mean, I've talked to him about it, and they're really care, you know, but like Texas does, Texas cares, Pennsylvania. All the control states actually. But 53:33 you know, this is doesn't seem to be like, any kind of state leading it. 53:39 Yeah, I mean, I don't know. The control states, they don't want competition. And Sylvania doesn't want to know, what cracks me up about Pennsylvanians. Every year they send out a press release, and oh, we lost like three or four of them this year, or one was broken in and transport. And I'm like, wow, I bet it suddenly got lost on the 54:00 The state majority leaders front still front step and you know the bottle accidentally broke after it was consumed by the directors house in our at the directors house and me is just it's all kinds of silly with with Pennsylvania 54:15 well let's control states in general but you know I think when we when we look at just the secondary market you know we've talked about it in regards of like how this built a culture This is probably how bourbon has a mass to how big it is because most people wouldn't even know about a lot of brands if they didn't see them on the secondary markets begin with I mean it's we all have our stories so I think it'd be it'd be interesting to kind of see where this is going to go you know me when I look at it I think this was this is a critical and crucial part of really what made bourbon what it is today. And you know, there's going to have to be somewhere where people can basically value this as sort of currency maybe it's trading You know, I'm, I don't like to sit there and say like, yeah, go get a birthday bar, birthday bourbon, 450 bucks and go try to sell for 300 like 55:00 I'm not all about that However, it's like, if you get a birthday bourbon 450 yet, you can't get a George t stag this year. And that's just part of the trade. And that's great, right? That's, that's something that you are able to get your hands on, you can kind of trade your way there, you know, and start with a paperclip unit with a plane. But that's that's essentially like where I like to be able to see this because it's all about getting the, you know, the bourbon that you want in your hands and kind of how to get it. But yeah, I mean, I think you're right, but for to the point of like this, this help kind of like spread the enthusiasm. 55:33 I know like the people in the groups, if you if you put it on scale, you're looking at maybe at most like 2 million or something, at least the various groups that I knew of, and that's not a lot in the grand scheme of things. Those people who are like everybody's influencer in their families in their workplace, and they would be the people out there talking about bourbon so and it was the these groups kind of became community 56:00 Bs and I was, you know, I, I love them. You know, I love them because we're actually I love them five years ago, you know, they they changed quite a bit in the last couple years, but they were very, very engaging. You can talk history, you can talk about who distilled water like, I mean, I remember having a conversation with someone educating them about Woodrow Wilson, which if you don't know, he was a master distiller, it's it's a well or for a very short period. But you know, he made some good whiskey. And so I guess a, you know, as we start thinking of other ways of how is the bourbon market being hindered, you know, there's been finally some data that's now coming out about the US whiskey exports and the tariffs that are now happening over in the EU. So when we start looking at this, you know, I look at some of the data here and I'll again, I'll drop the link in the chat for folks that want to be able to see this. You can see all these links in our show notes as well. 57:00 But the distilled spirits council came and said that there was a 21% decrease from June 2018 to June to 2019. That was all lost sales after shipments to Europe plummeted. So we've got the data coming in. 57:19 You know, I know Fred, you're you're kind of close to this. Is there a way that things could eventually bounce back to help bourbon brains grow? And I will always say it again that if somebody says, Oh, yeah, this is great, because it means more bourbon on the shelves for me. You're in the wrong here. Okay. Think bigger. Well, there have been some really nice trade related things that have happened like in a couple weeks, I was invited to to meet the European Union ambassador to the United States. And they're celebrating scotch Irish and bourbon whiskey, the you know, the unique designations of them and like all the all the country 58:00 kind of coming together in Washington DC to celebrate this. And so, from an industry perspective, you know, they have the ears of their legislators, their ambassadors, their Parliament or whatever. 58:14 You know, Brexit also, you know, through a wrinkle into it. So in an odd way Brexit could be 58:23 you know, it could be good for for the tariffs, 58:27 you know, for that particular portion. But, yeah, so those are a couple of the good things but in in all seriousness, you know, they're not letting up you know, Europe is still very hell bent on applying pressure. And you know, there's been reports that they want to apply more pressure you know, in in in mitch mcconnell areas so I just, I just don't see this you know, being good and it's in it's shut out small brands like the topping Creek completely. And Kenny, I know you're a brand owner. 59:01 You know, you want to, let's say you want to open them. You have a small shop in Poland, who absolutely loves to show loves you wants to make you his number one whiskey in his store, you won't find a distributor in that entire country that'll take your call. You know, it's just because of tariffs, they don't want to pass that on it. They're just not taking calls from small American lyst companies. So 59:25 yeah, and I think this is this is, as I mentioned before, I mean, this is so much bigger than just what you can get here in the shelves like this is this is trying to grow the category as a whole to start taking on scotch as as, you know, the whiskey in the market. And we can't get to that level scotch unless you have a fair playing field, you know, across the board to be able to say like, okay, like, let's get this in the hands of people in Australia and Zimbabwe and China and, you know, in the EU as well, like, how can we grow this as a whole. And this is really where the tariffs are going to start really being that that first sort of 1:00:00 Hand slap, I guess you could say is, if you're trying to reach a new market, you know, all of a sudden, if you have a, if you got a 30 or $40 bottle here in the States, I mean, you're, you're looking at doubling that, if not coming close to triple as you start getting, you know, already just distribution overseas, but now the tariffs are adding a lot more to it. And if you can't compete with a, you know, 50 $60 bottle of scotch, then you're, you know, you're already setting yourself up for failure. And so, you know, as we start kind of rounding this out, you know, Nick and, Brian, I kind of want to get your sort of thoughts on this, if you have any sort of inkling of what do you kind of see next? Maybe, if it's an election year, is there anything that could change? You know, after that as well, Nick, you go ahead and go first. I was gonna I was gonna say the same. 1:00:53 You know, I, it's, I think it's tough to say what's going to happen going forward. I'd be really curious. 1:01:00 To see, you know, what small brands are seeing the impact of this right now? 1:01:06 Immediately, 1:01:09 you know, like anything, I think there's the initial shock of it, but then, you know, demand is demand. So if that means to 20% increase in price or whatever the case might be, if the demand is there 1:01:21 over time might cause that to, you know, to become a non issue. But, but it's a barrier of entry as a starting point. So when you think about bourbon growing on a global scale, and the potential it has on a global scale, you know, certainly that's a pretty 1:01:40 pretty immediate, you know, block of have taken that first step for a lot of you know, a lot of these brands on that larger scale. You know, what if you see this go on for a period of time, then suddenly it goes away, you know, do you have the opposite impact you have suddenly a flood of, you know, a flood of opportunity, a flood 1:02:00 brands that are saying, Okay, now this opportunity just opened up, we're going to put pressure on actually doing this. Because if you think about all the brands that are out there, especially the small ones, how many of them are actually taking those steps right now to get overseas? I'd be curious out of this 1000 or 1200 distilleries. You know, in the US, for example, how many you're saying, Let's get on the shelves in Europe, or let's get on the shelves in Australia or Japan or whatever the case might be? China, what's the market like over there? But it will be interesting to see how it plays out, you know, like anything, it's it's a global economy, we're going to see the push and pull. And I think ultimately, the long term play for bourbon for us whiskey is to be probably bigger than scotch, quite frankly, I personally think is better, you know, so there's no really no reason why it can't be bigger or at least just as big it's just a matter of time and what you know, things are going to have to move and shift around and what dominoes are going to have to fall in when 1:03:00 can't allow that to, you know, to really gain some momentum and happen. Bourbons got a long way before it catches scotch. And I'll tell you like, this is why this is why the tariffs are so frustrating to me is that, you know, bourbon became a unique product to the United States largely in part because they were trying to get special designation so they would not get tariffs after world to the country, the rest of the world basically tariff bourbon and open the open the markets for scotch to help the United Kingdom recover from World War Two because, you know, they were bombed and everything, they took a much greater hit on the physical real estate of their country. And, and so they were places like Argentina, you know, was terrifying us like 200% United Kingdom actually had like limits of bourbon that they would allow in the country for a given year. And when they would actually when the bourbon distillers would push to like, you know, have exports. You know, the French basically came back and said, 1:04:00 Why would we give you any kind of anything carefree when bourbon doesn't mean anything to us? Like you have no special designation, of course the French, you know being the home of cognac and Champagne has a very unique understanding of like designation for alcohol. And and so in 1958, they started the bourbon industry started banding together and working to make bourbon, a unique product in the United States. And after that in 1964, they then had the ability to negotiate and free trade agreements to peel away tar
Old Fashioned, Manhattan, Gold Rush, Seelbach, Pink Lady. These are all names we associate with standard cocktail menus. Today, we invite Molly Wellmann, owner of Japp's, and Bill Whitlow, owner of Rich's Proper, to look at the influence bourbon has had on the bartending culture and when should you use a particular bourbon in a staple cocktail. We then examine the changes of the season and how tastes change between having something refreshing to dark and oaky. It’s all about cocktails for the right occasion. Show Partners: The University of Louisville now has an online Distilled Spirits Business Certificate that focuses on the business side of the spirits industry. Learn more at UofL.me/pursuespirits. At Barrell Craft Spirits, they spend weeks choosing barrels to create a new batch. Joe and Tripp meticulously sample every barrel to make sure the blend is absolutely perfect. Find out more at BarrellBourbon.com. Check out Bourbon on the Banks in Frankfort, KY on August 24th. Visit BourbonontheBanks.org. Receive $25 off your first order at RackHouse Whiskey Club with code "Pursuit". Visit RackhouseWhiskeyClub.com. The 2019 Kentucky’s Edge Bourbon Conference & Festival pairs all things Kentucky with bourbon. It takes place October 4th & 5th at venues throughout Covington and Newport, Kentucky. Find out more at KentuckysEdge.com. Show Notes: Tom Bulleit steps back: https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article234080232.html, https://www.just-drinks.com/news/diageos-bulleit-bourbon-founder-steps-back-as-abuse-claims-intensify_id129116.aspx, https://www.hollisbofficial.com/ Castle and Key spillage: https://www.kentucky.com/news/politics-government/article234080232.html Willett Distillery Barrel Pick: https://www.patreon.com/posts/29294662 This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about the news of the day. Tell us about your journey into spirits. Was there a moment when you saw bourbon become a staple behind the bar? How do you study the history of a cocktail? Tell us about the Gin Ricky. What are good cocktails for Summer? What are the ingredients in your favorite cocktails? What is a Clover Club? What is a Gold Rush and Brown Derby cocktail? What are good cocktails for Fall? What is a gateway cocktail to get someone into bourbon? What ingredients go in a Seelbach? Is it hard to go to other bars and witness bartenders making cocktails improperly? Let's talk about bourbon slushes. What do you think of barrel aged cocktails? What style of bourbon works well in certain cocktails? What's the ultimate mixing bourbon? What do you think about using allocated bourbon in a cocktail? Is there a cocktail to make lower end whiskey taste better? How do you coverup or reduce negative notes in younger bourbons? What do you think of Mint Juleps? What's a good Winter cocktail? What about vodka cocktails? How do you make an Old Fashioned? What proof bourbon do you use in your cocktails? 0:00 Everybody Are you interested in looking at the distilling process and pairing that with key business knowledge such as finance, marketing and operations, then you should check out the online distilled spirits business certificate from the University of Louisville. It's an online program. It can be completed in as little as 15 weeks. It's taught by both of you have all business faculty and corporate fellows. So you're getting real experience from real experts at the most renowned distilleries, companies and startups in the distilling industry. And all that's required is a bachelor's degree. Go to business.louisville.edu slash online spirits. 0:35 Got all for being out of town. And then you know, my 30th anniversary of Booker's is like down here. It's like, you drink straight from the bottom right now I've been making whiskey sours with it. 0:48 Been there 1:01 Everyone it is Episode 215 of bourbon pursuit. I'm one of your host Kenny. And as usual, we've got a little bit of news to run through. For anyone that has been paying attention to the bourbon scene and social media for the past two years, you may have been seeing some turmoil within the bullet family. Tom bullets daughter Hollis b worth has made numerous public claims about her father being homophobic and it led to her separation with theology, where she felt she wasn't being compensated properly for helping build the brand. This week the Herald Leader at Kentucky com broke the news that Tom bullet has now taken a step back as the face the company and will not be representing the brand after New claims have emerged of sexual abuse and pedophilia by his daughter Hollis. On August 13. Paula's told her story on Hollis be official calm that her father has been protected from Dr. ZO for these crimes. A spokesperson for Dr. Joe said the company took worth his claims about her father very seriously and began an internal 1:59 investigation after receiving a letter stating all this from her attorney, the audio found no indication that anyone at the audio has been made previously aware of such claims. According to a spokesperson for the company. In an interview, Tom bulleit said the accusations are terrible, they're false and they need to be addressed and they are just drinks calm has reported a resolution was reached at the start of 2018, which saw worth receive a payment of around $1.2 million. corresponding the amount Dr. Sue says she would have received had her contract been renewed equal to the five year deal as well as unpaid overtime. You can read more about this story from the Herald Leader and just drink calm with the link in our show notes. Castle and key distillery has discharged an unknown quantity of untreated wastewater last Thursday August 15 into Glens Creek, killing an unknown number of fish and this was all reported by state environmental officials. Castle and key told the investigators 3:00 Its water treatment system had failed sending untreated oxygen depleting waste directly into the creek. The discharge was stopped around four o'clock pm, about two hours after the state officials received report. lab results are pending on the affected Creek water. Potential penalties could reach $25,000 per violation per day. But the state won't decide a penalty until the case can actually meet with the company and determine more about what happened. Castle and key confirm the incentive in a statement that they had issued. So those are kind of grim, but let's kind of switch it up a little bit and talk about something positive because this week's we selected not one but two barrels at will at distillery that will be bottled as well at family estate. And this is just on the heels of last week's announcement saying that we have two barrels that will be bottled as pursuit series. It was another hot Kentucky date reaching around 96 degrees but we powered through to select one bourbon and one ride. Central Kentucky tours was our ride and took us from 4:00 lovin to the Willett campus. The group asked to start off slow and build up during our tasting. So we tried 207 proof entry, high corn mash bills. Then this was a little bit lightened body the first one so drew tapped into a second barrel that was on the other side of the warehouse that had a lot more of the oak influence because it sat where the sun was just beating down on it. We then headed over to another floor to try the weeded mash bill. And the third barrel was something special because it didn't have a sweet taste that you would expect Instead, it was kind of spicy, come to find out that barrel used 25% of a ride back set to its sour mash process. We are unsure if we were able to find another barrel is unique is that but we pressed on, we headed out to the fifth floor where it was easily 110 degrees. We got a poor of the OG mash bill and then headed back down to the fourth floor to cool off. This bourbon just had the depth and the punch that you would expect from a Willett family state 125% 5:00 Entry just gave way to loads of flavors and oak tannins. It was a crowd favorite. After that was selected that we move on to the rise where we came away with a fantastic one after only trying three. It was a high rye rye mash bill and will be seven years old when bottle. These will all be available to our Patreon community here in just a few months. Thank you to Willett distillery and drew for hosting us. Thank you to Central Kentucky tours for hauling us around and big things to keg and bottle for making this barrel selection available to us. Learn more about Central Kentucky tours and keg and bottle with the links in our show notes. today's podcast is all about the cocktail. For myself. I love cocktails, especially when I go out to dinner because being a fluent bourbon drinker, you know what it costs for some basic Bourbons on that back wall. So instead, I like to take in the drink culture and try something new that may only be available to that particular restaurant. And the bourbon culture has been getting a big boost from bartenders. 5:59 Creating fantastic concoctions. And that's why we invited Molly Wellmann and Bill Whitlow to come on the show. As we start winding down summer and heading into fall, you're going to get a better understanding of a bartenders mindset and how cocktails change in the menu. And if you got a favorite cocktail during a specific season, let's hear the comments on YouTube or Facebook. Now, let's get on with the show. Here's Joe from barrel bourbon. And then you've got Fred Minnick with above the char. 6:28 It's Joe from barrell bourbon, myself and our master distiller a trip Simpson spend weeks choosing barrels to create a new batch. We meticulously sample every barrel and make sure the blend is absolutely perfect. Find out more at barrel bourbon calm. I'm Fred Minnick, and this is above the char 2019 has been a very bad year for whiskey, not from a sales perspective or even a quality angle. Actually, domestic sales are nice, and I've tasted a lot of great new releases. I'm speaking about the news from the international terrorists crossing distillers. 6:59 Millions to the bulleit family drama that led to Tom bulleit stepping down whiskies been a daily soap opera this year finding itself trending for all the wrong reasons. For example, last week video surfaced of MMA star Conor McGregor pouring shots for folks at a Dublin bar. The crowd skewed older and didn't really seem to be into the celebrity when Connor offered shots of his proper 12 whiskey. One man hunkered over the bar didn't want one or said something to Connor. I don't know what really happened, but like a cobra striking McGregor's fist hit the side of the man's head. It happened so fast that I missed the punch and wouldn't have seen it if TMC didn't zoom in and slow motion it indeed. McGregor is a professional fighter and is lightning quick, but he punched an old man over a dispute with his whiskey. That's a true turd move. But for me, the story isn't just about McGregor. It's the fact somebody partnered with him knowing of the potential 8:00 consequences and put whiskey in the bottle he represented proper 12 is awful, by the way, and nobody really viewed McGregor's incident as a whiskey story. Rather, it's a celebrity story. But for those of us who cover whiskey professionally, we often get pulled into covering these things and it takes away the romance and the fun of a good drink. And I hate it. I can pinpoint the exact moment when my bourbon innocence was lost when covering the theft of the Pappy Van Winkle and wild turkey bottles and barrels. A few years ago, I studied the police reports and saw that one of the arrested persons was suspected of possessing child pornography. Up until that point, even covering the illegal activity surrounding whiskey was fun. After that, I realized that not even our beloved spirit is protected from shit bags. And I often finally look back to the moment just before I learned the evils of some when whiskey was just about the grains, water yeast stills barrels 9:00 warehouses. How great it would be where I was just talking about the whiskey. Instead, we have the news of the day. And that's this week's above the char. Hey, did you know i curated a super cool auction for the speed museum? It's September 19, and called the art of bourbon. Learn more at speed museum.org that's speed museum.org Until next week, cheers. 9:29 Welcome back to the episode of bourbon pursuit the official podcast of bourbon for it and Kenny here making the trek to Northern Kentucky in the Covington area at a I don't know this is pretty fancy place. I'm surprised they haven't kicked us out yet. Yeah, this is like the the castle of the North for for Kentucky. So Northern Kentucky. We are with the queen of the North. So 9:52 it will introduce them in here in a second. But I mean, we're at the MIT club. I mean, I was just I was walking in I was like, usually kick people out like me in here. So it's 10:00 Well and normally I'm here routing Normally I'm dress for a place like this but not today. Not today no beach shirt hat and 10:09 socks I wore yesterday that you go on a vacation sometimes you kind of get into that mood you know actually no it's matter. 10:17 We had some some work done in the house today and I don't dress up for the repair man. 10:24 They don't get the they don't get the Sundays. They don't get the good Ascot. But today we're going to be talking about cocktails. And this is a really This was also a a listener inspired idea. Because bourbon is really starting to come in and be a big contributor to the cocktail culture. It You know, there's you talk to any distillery, they say, oh, like it's all about drinking a neat mixing of the cocktail. It's great for this and this and this. And it's also inspired, you know, a revolution of things that we've seen also with inside of pop culture with Manhattans and old fashions that have 11:00 Really kind of skyrocketed as some of the premier cocktails that are out there that are some are all whiskey focused. Yeah, I mean, this story is about, you know, 15 years old. But what it started to change in the evolution of bourbon cocktails is that people aren't trying to force it anymore in particular like ice for a long time. You saw people trying to create like a bourbon equivalent to the Margarita like that, you know, they don't have bourbon readers even had a bourbon Rita. It's it's not you can't 11:32 you know, so you're starting to see like true. 11:36 You know, people like focus more on bourbon that complements it that people are not trying to force it to be something it's not in bourbon and my opinion is not the most mixable spirit. You know, you definitely have some, you, you can't go everywhere with it. It's very finite. And that's one of the reasons why bourbon really struggled in the 60s was because they 12:00 We're trying to get people to mix it like they mix vodka. So they were they were promoting bourbon and orange juice, which did not really appeal to that audience. I don't think it appeals today now. So so the I think finally for the first time, 12:18 at least from what I've studied in the history of bourbon, I think we have finally found Bourbons place and the growth of the cocktail bar. And that's a great way to kind of introduce both our guests because both of our guests are really pioneering and spearheading a lot of the the cocktail culture around this area and around the United States as well. So today on the show, we have Molly Wellman. Molly is the owner of objects as well as Molly's brands and we've got bill Whitlow of riches proper in the cocktail creative consulting, so Molly and Bill, welcome to the show. Thank you. Thank you. So before we kick it off and talk about cocktails, kind of talk about your journey into spirits. Like how did it happen? 13:00 Because I'm sure that there's always always some good story behind this. Take it away You go first. 13:06 It's mine. I feel like mine's a little typical. I've been bartending for around 20 years, but for the longest time I was swinging out by visors and mega bombs and ski with steak houses with muddled old fashions and shakin Manhattan's and it's kind of what we did. 13:24 What until behind the bar for about probably 10 years before I went to New Orleans and had a size rack at you know, down in New Orleans at their moms. We had a real cocktail down there for a music festival and kind of opened my eyes a bit. And then when I moved to Louisville and started managing the bar at the seal Bach hotel, really got the chance to play around with like a real chef. Bobby Benjamin was a chef Tom and really get to play around with flavors and actually have a whole bar full of anything we wanted. We were a hotel that did tons of money, they didn't care what I bought, and they did 14:00 care what I wasted. So that was the first time I really got a chance to do whatever I wanted and play around. And that gave me a chance to do a lot of self discovery as well as learning from an amazing chef. Then when I went over into managing over at crows and mobile, 14:17 worked with a guy named Jackie from old force or Jackie's I can never heard of her. She taught me a lot about technique because I never I didn't take you know, teach myself that. And she taught me really how to start how to shake your proper dilution, things like that. And then, when I went on with a company called Goodfellas, pizzeria for a number of years, they kind of gave me complete autonomy. Let me kind of just run with it. And we were able to set up some really cool things there and just have a lot of fun with a lot of cocktails and expand past just the bourbon that they're known for, but also play around in all kinds of different realms. And 14:53 now here, we're going our own restaurant, MIMO life and yeah, play around and have more fun. Well, that's awesome. So it was 15:00 I know you'd mentioned your time down on Bourbon Street. You know, we all love New Orleans, maybe for different reasons than just the cocktails, but it's on the moves. It's a 15:10 Party City. But it was there a pivotal moment when you started seeing like bourbon become a key staple behind the bar. 15:20 Yes, before North when I started bartending, we were pretty high volume restaurant and nicer restaurant in town in Lexington. And we had four Bourbons behind behind the bar. And then I remember when I was at another Steakhouse within the same company, we had like 10 Bourbons behind the bar that was like 2003. And then like a year or two later, we expanded to like 20 Bourbons behind the bar and we got this thing called a lot be and I couldn't understand why, you know, when we sold out of it, that we weren't allowed to get any more I was like, so I'm going to just order more. We just need more of it before drinking it order. It was it was coming awakening, as I saw that growth and then 16:00 grew exponentially from there. Absolutely. Molly, let's hear your your coming of age tale here. Now I, you know, it's funny, I worked in high end retail forever. I worked I lived in San Francisco. And then I got into the service industry, I got kind of thrown behind the bar. And the only thing I knew how to make was in Manhattan, because I drank them all the time, because I was in high end retail. And that's the only thing that I like, saved me. Anyway, when I throw it in, I was like, just push the Manhattans. It's the only thing I had to make. But I grew, you know, I learned how to make different drinks and stuff, not not to the craft and classic cocktails that 16:39 I've known for now. But 16:42 when I moved back to Cincinnati, in like, 10 years ago, I started this place called chalk. Right? Kind of like right over there. 16:50 And they were like, We need somebody who can do craft and classic cocktails. I'm like, Oh, I could totally do that. I had no idea. But I went home, googled it and I fell down the rabbit hole and that was it. 17:00 I loved every bit of it. I studied, I read every old cocktail book I get my hands on. I love the idea that I love the thing that every single drink seemed to have a story. And I loved that I could, you know, learn history through cocktails. I just loved it. So 17:19 I've I've never looked back. So it's been 11 years now that I've been doing craft and classic cocktails. And I love studying I'm still I love writing about them. I love 17:31 still entertaining people behind the bar. You know, they get a drink, they get a story with it. It's like my favorite thing. What kind of stuff can you study with a cocktail? I mean, you said you that you study me? Like what? What kind of, I mean, is it like a history based? Is it just kind of knowing where the origins of it like what kind of talk about that? Kind of the origins? It's kind of it's almost like a treasure hunt. So I find it you know, I looked through old cocktail books from over 100 years ago. I love to read the first part of there's something about like, how 17:59 Baraka 18:00 tenders really took this job so seriously, you know, it was such a 18:06 every aspect of the job is like laid out in the first, you know, folks the technique or the first part, you know, part of the cocktails, the techniques, the glassware, the ingredients that were used, you know, it's fascinating, you know, it really is, it's, it's the same but different than it is now, you know, and then going through some of the cocktail, some of them are boring. And you're like, well, that's exactly the same as this one except the Ito the measurements are a little different. 18:31 But then you come upon when you're like, Oh, that sounds so interesting. Why would I think about that, you know? And then I want to know everything about it, or it has a weird name and like, Well, why did they call it this? You know, I want to know, so then I start digging, and I start looking through your it's amazing, like all these different 18:48 resources, you can find that you can find the stories where this cocktail came from, or kind of get an idea of where in history and why they were drinking this certain cocktail. Does that make sense? Yeah, and one, one 19:00 story that we've we had a fun conversation about one time what was the Ricky yeah and like how that how the regular regularly this revived ever seen the movie get him to the creek Yes Yes What's a Jeffrey yeah 19:15 what's not going on that 19:18 share share with the audience this this is an example of of like how cool like cocktail history can be Molly share with us the story of the of the gin Ricky's and the Ricky. So the gin Ricky is really interesting one, there was a guy named Joe, Ricky, he was a veteran of the Civil War. And he was in Washington, you know, Washington DC, and he would go and he would drink every night at this bar called shoemakers, which isn't around anymore. But he had this idea like he had this idea of being healthy, you know, and he felt that sugar and sweet things would affect his his blood and make him sick, so he didn't like anything sweet. So the original 20:00 Ricky was not made with jet it was actually made with rye, rye and lime juice. He squeeze a half a lime in a glass drop in the Rhine, and then fill it with rye. It's kind of really disgusting with the right. Cassidy and then eventually it turned to, you know, to gin which is a lot better ice and then soda water on top and that's adyen Ricky and it has no sugar in it whatsoever. Now, the gin Ricky there's different kinds of gin. So the gin Ricky would usually always be made with an old Tom gin, which was sweetened gin, which is weird because he thought that sugar but I guess that didn't count with the old Thompson. But yeah, that's the Rickey pretty much in a nutshell. Let's see that see the the story there is 20:43 a bartender you know, was very focused on his health. And that, you know, he creates an entire style of cocktails. And oh, by the way, where he's, you know, his bar. He's probably influencing a lot of very important people for the time in DC. So yeah, 21:00 He actually wasn't a bartender. He was a he was a lobbyist. And he got the bartender at shoemakers to make this for him. So, I mean, but still to this day people in Washington DC drink gin Ricky's, it's like the best summer drink in Washington DC 21:14 kind of story. And we're already kind of leading on to the what we were talking about. It was like this is cocktails for the right occasion. And so you're talking about the summertime and having a gin Ricky and, and let's kind of hit some of those different seasons of the year. So you've already started off with summer. I think it's probably proved and we kind of just start there so we got gin Ricky, what other kind of cocktails are going to be good for an a just a little say a back porch drinking kinda kind of afternoon. How about that? You wake up. I'm pretty simple when it comes to summer cocktails. I love egg white cocktails. Yes. That know. My wife's language there. Yeah. And I'm, I'm trashed me. I have a sweet cocktail. 21:55 sweet wines. I'm not your normal. So I love sweet echo. 22:00 cocktails young whiskey hours. Yeah. I love biz's things like that. And then just, of course, whatever the bartender is going to come up with like, Pisco sours, I can show you one of my absolute favorite things in the world. Take Take one of your favorites right there and kind of kind of talk about some of the ingredients because I know a lot of our listeners are probably, they're curious, they hear that they hear the pisco sour. They hear some of these things with egg whites, but they kind of want to know like, what what what really entails into this that really like a craftsman such as you all could actually create. Welcome pisco sour. It's a classic from ru ga South America did simply uses simple syrup, lime juice, egg white and Pisco. Right now on our cocktail menu, we change it up just a little bit by throwing in a little bit of the Mexican side of the Doritos, the guava, and then throwing some real age tobacco and weather bitters on top and it changes the whole aspect that makes it slightly sweeter. We actually go to Apple in there as well to counterbalance 23:00 Some of the sweetness you're gonna put any CBD oil in there and, you know, I'll be honest, there's a there's a kind of a hippie Music Festival coming up in like a month. I know that's kind of how it is but we're thinking about making some CBD cocktail. 23:14 Going into that I got that hippie festival just why not? I haven't tried it before and I know it's a pretty upcoming thing. They were everywhere in Las Vegas and we went 23:24 sure of A is 23:26 like balloons filled with CBD air was like the world you know, you could do that, either. It's crazy. 23:35 actually had to like call the ABC office and make sure we are allowed to do that. No, and they're right. Yeah, we don't have anything against it. Yeah, yeah. They emphasized yet I could totally see you as a clever club guy. Ah, no, I think a good coworker. Yeah, I put that on the menu before just people didn't order so much. 23:58 Go for it. I love the clip. 24:00 I just had it on my menu. There you go. So the clover club is a classic from the night from 1900. And it was created for a gentleman's club that met every Thursday in Philadelphia at this hotel called the Stanford Bellevue hotel. Right? And like every one is like the last third has the third Thursday of every month they meet, and these guys would dress up to the nines and they would, you know, all have drinks before dinner. And then they would be led into this room that had this big table that was sheep in a clover clover, you know, set up you know, and they would have this like ceremony, you know, where the youngest member of the clover club would have to like, first sit in a baby chair is not a high chair. And until one of the members was like, okay, you can get up from the baby chair and this is it adults, you know, an adult man, and then he would have to go around with the clover club, sharing cup and then everyone would take a sip out of the 25:00 The clover club sharing cup. I still I have no idea what the drink is. But apparently the chef would come up with whatever concoction was in this like flowing cup, right? That would pass. I have no idea what it is. I can't find it. But then they sit down at dinner and through the courses, you know, it would be like, I think the second to last course they would have this cocktail or a punch. And in 1900 they had the clover club, which is a combination of gin, raspberry syrup, dry vermouth, and and then egg white. And it shaken, you know, so frothy, and it's this beautiful. It has like this beautiful, sweet flavor, but the driver who's kind of dries it out a bit. It's absolutely gorgeous. It really is. And I could totally see you. It's the it's one of my jams. Yeah. Now it evolved after prohibition, they kind of dropped the dry vermouth and then they put lemon with it so it kind of turned into a Pink Lady. So this cocktail it evolved, but it's fantastic. 25:55 We dug it I do both. So it depends on the 26:00 You know what's fancy? And yeah, I was like, it'd be hard to have Fred and I go to bar and order Pink Lady. I don't know. It's just, there's just something about the name. If you don't know anything about it, I think there's a I'm gonna drink a cocktail. It's gonna be a Pink Lady. 26:15 But if you did tell you that history of where it came from, you know, like, here's how this evolved. You know, it came from this gentleman's club. And but it goes for I mean, it wouldn't have it would have, it probably would have fizzled out if it wasn't for George Bush, who is the owner of that Stanford Bellevue hotel who went on to help open up that would have a story in New York and he brought that recipe with him making it popular. So really fascinating. That is fascinating. So that was summer we captured so are there a little bit. I got one more for summer because I'm a big fan of the gold rush. Are you what kind of workout kind of season Do you all see that? Any 26:54 say summer fall, but I mean, honey really falls anytime for me now. It's it's funny like I'm in a very 27:00 Similar favorite cocktails to brown derbies my favorite gold rush and brown Derby. kind of related. Can you all kind of talk about the the different components of each one of these as well as so our listeners understand that they're not sitting there googling like Oh crap, I don't know. I don't know what a because I'm not sure what a brown Derby is and I couldn't tell you everything that goes inside of a gold rush either. So so the brown Derby is bourbon, grapefruit juice and honey, it's really simple. But when you use the honey, you have to make sure that you water it down make the honey syrup because otherwise you will put honey into this drink and it will turn into a glob of a ball in the bottom of your drink because you're adding ice to it. So one part honey one part sugar, make a syrup or honey syrup and then it's about two ounces of bourbon. I put an ounce of 27:47 grapefruit and then half ounce of honey that's how I make my nice Yeah, yeah and you might have a history or better than this summer here a little bit on history but I mean honey sir win that. 27:58 fight about that like back in the day like 28:00 During the Tiki wars and we're trying to figure out how to recreate each other's cocktails and it was so simple as one person couldn't figure out how he was making that money nightclub open and a drink. Yeah, I had the formula. Yeah. It was Yeah, it was between I believe it was between Don the Beachcomber and 28:18 it was in all they had to do is add hot water 28:22 silly stupid little things that are so obvious and then you figure it out in your like your face palming because she figured out a long time ago so for Katie, you know, I know he's gonna follow up with this the Gold Rush, break that down. I mean, gold rush is just as simple as that three part lemon, honey, Jen, I, 28:41 a lot of these cocktails, all these classes, all these things are easy, you know, renditions of each other, just replacing one ingredient with another. You can go to the Daiquiri, which is another three part, you know, just some sort by rum game. What's Gen line? Yeah, it's, it's all these different ways of just doing your two, three 29:00 Quarter three quarter kind of sour recipes and tart recipes. Okay, okay so Fred already kind of alluded to it let's kind of move on to the next season let's let's enter the the fallen winter time because it's a little little darker a little warmer kind of kind of talk about what are your favorites during those those periods? Well, I mean for false, I mean, everything bourbon, I think a dark rum. 29:23 Rum cocktail. What I get into something warm and cozy. I mean, I get into the warm I know it's more 29:30 more winter. I think I get really excited in the fall when that you know, first colbrie starts to come in that first leaf falls. I want to start making tardies all over the place. I mean, already, I don't I do. ciders also. 29:45 That's kind of grabs my jam. Yeah, we get all season local cider and put it like heated up and then we add, you know, whatever, whatever. Like it usually is bourbon or around 29:57 the cider and it's like everybody's favorite. It's awesome. 30:00 So yeah, and people really start grabbing on like heavy hitters cocktails more so even in the fall than in the winter, because I think in the winter they're used to getting cold that point use once third boozy bourbon cocktails but I can use a lot of crazy bitters cocktails in the fall. 30:17 turning 30:18 things like I have a one I do like bourbon and apple and ginger beer, but then a ton of barely bitters and it almost tastes like an apple cider and you just kind of get into those really 30:31 jagged, not like Irby. Yeah, 30:34 like those coffee, you know that the whole tomorrow thing. It's not my jam. I have a lot of bartenders who are like lava Mars and Mars are Italian bitter spirits pretty much in the right way. In the right way. I hate shooting and I got shoot me down probably will get shot for being a bartender who's not a big fan of for net. 30:57 Goodbye for me. It's not like 31:00 rumble that I'll just throw away but you'll never ever see me order a shot for net and that's what every bartender out a kiddie that just so you know this is a this is an industry thing like the bar like you go out with a bunch of bartenders somebody inevitably gets a round of for net and I think it's like someone you know for net has, 31:21 you know as you know putting little envelopes all over the country 31:27 or something but it's like who in the right mind would order it? It kind of reminds me of I saw I saw a picture the other day on the internet that said there's a secret society of people living among those that are still keeping long john Silver's and business. 31:40 So this is probably like that same, that same analogy. So true that places grow. 31:46 Like this. 31:49 And I gotta say, Molly, you know, went to fall cocktails. I was kind of shocked that you didn't talk about a punch. Well, yeah, well, I was getting there. 31:58 I know how much you love. 32:00 I do I love punch. I think it's, first of all, it saves every party. It saves every host hostess at a party, you know, but the history behind the punches are, 32:12 are the best, the best. I mean, there's one it's more of a, I think a Christmas punch, but I started serving in the fall, the admiral Russell's 32:21 punch is so great. I mean it has its its brandy and Sherry. And those are the two main things and then lemon and and then there's a sweet to it as well. So punch means five in Hindi. So five different components or another spirit sweet, sour water and spice that is a template for a really good punch and punches date back almost 500 years, you know, it started when you know Europeans started, you know, traveling all over the world, you know, putting merchant companies into different parts. 33:00 The world the English pretty much in, in India, and then once they get to this, you know this country, you know, the native people trying to make sure that everybody's refreshed. You guys think like people just didn't get off the boat and like, give me water, you know, they absolutely they're like, I need a drink, you know, and usually it was liquor or something that was some kind of alcohol and they couldn't trust the water, they drink the water, they get sick. Yeah. So it was very a lot of people didn't drink water, you know, they drink, you know, ale or wine, you know, or spirits. So, making sure that everybody got refreshed in this hot country, you know, pulling all their resources together and mixing it all together in a big bowl to make it palatable punch bill. 33:46 It sounds like it was just like a means to survive and what punch really became well think about this. So the admin Russell's so I'm gonna tell you the story. There was a guy named Errol Russell. He was in the English army 1600s and he was traveling of the 34:00 coast to Spain. And he decided on Christmas day to get off and throw a party in the city of cookies. And in CODIS, they had this huge fountain in the middle of like the governor's courtyard or something like that or the town. And he's like, well, we're going to use that as a punch bowl. So they poured in, you know, these big you know, barrels of brandy and Sherry spit a Sherry and then added limes and added everything and they It was so big and there's so many there's like 600 people there. They had to get the cabin boy from the boat in a little lifeboat to serve the punch. Everybody got naked, they drink the place dry and then everybody had a great hangover the next day. I always think how cool it would be if I could do this at Fountain Square in Cincinnati. If I get the mayor to let me like use Fountain Square it as a drinking fountain. You know, I could use it as punishable. Would you recommend everyone getting naked? Yeah. I 34:54 mean, gosh, we're not that conservative in Cincinnati. 35:00 Naked fun run around there somewhere anybody's gonna like break that conservative you know boat it's gonna be me 35:09 to all our listeners out there start petitioning Cincinnati mer for Molly's naked fountain party party love me oh god 35:21 well and maybe that could happen to at the party. Yeah You never 35:27 know blushing or anything No, it sounds awesome. I want I want the invite to this party. Yeah, it'll be epic. 35:35 Yes, punch is great. It really is so easy to do. That's good. I mean, that's that's a history of punches that that I had never known about. Seriously up until now. But you know, the other thing that we want to kind of talk about too is 35:48 you know, I guess we'll stay on the cocktails the right occasion kind of part kind of talk about, say, say Fred and I were you know, we're taking our wives out. what's what's that kind of cocktail bourbon kind of cocktail at that. 36:00 Somebody could go out on a date with their wife, nice romantic place and maybe kind of maybe guide her in a way to say like, you need to try this other kind of good bourbon cocktail. Because my wife isn't Are you asking how to man's playing to her? 36:14 I'm just trying to figure out like, how can I get my wife to drink more bourbon cocktails? Right? I know I know this is a Ryan Brian property because his wife is only only drinks wine and she she probably knows is I don't got that problem with Jacqueline and I got the opposite problem. I got home from being out of town. And then you know, my 30th anniversary of Booker's is like down here. It's like, straight straight from the bottom right now. I was rapping making whiskey sours with it. 36:43 Been there. 36:46 We were finishing up a new year's eve one evening, we got home late night from the bar and we had a couple friends over and I was like, hey, let me push out a bourbon for everybody. Let's celebrate as I can just go grab a bottle for some shots. She comes back and 37:00 I'll take a shot all kind of wins and it was a I was it was definitely a barrel proof. Okay, I 12 years. 37:07 You know, they're like the 120s and 30s or whatever and I was like, well, that happened 37:13 a little shorter. But 37:16 my husband doesn't drink bourbon which I married. That's the reason why I married him because you always need a driver. Yeah, that will. Not that much but he doesn't get into my bourbon collection. Except if he has like a tattoo guy because he's a tattoo. When somebody is visiting and they're in the bourbon. He'll open up my, you know, my pantry which used to have all my bourbon in it. I'll be like, pick one. 37:39 world is yours. Yeah. He got in one time to my 2013 Elmer Tilly that was given to me by Omer TVO you know while ago sign and it was like cherished, you know, drank the whole thing. I was so mad. I was divorced and I was like 37:57 you like 38:00 How 38:01 high is like models that you cannot touch is like, she can't even reach it. And I think she knows at that point she can't reach it. Don't touch it. My wife, my wife will climb the shell to get it. Oh, he wants me not to have that one. So she ended up she ended up having a bourbon that I couldn't touch. She got a bourbon women barrel pig. Oh, and, like, Peggy is the one who gifted it to her. She's like, Fred can't have any of this. And so, you know, I couldn't have any until I eventually got permission and when I got permission, I drained that. 38:38 Anyway, I know he's gonna I know. 38:42 We 38:43 got to figure out like how, you know, I think what Kenny's looking for, like the gateway, what is it? What is a gateway cocktail to get people into bourbon? I know. It's a seal buck. I know. It's like, whatever cocktail. You know if you have those. Yeah, I mean, it works. 39:00 It works. The robot cocktail is a champagne cocktail. And it had a story that a lot of people thought was true. And then we found out it wasn't true. I worked at that I was the bar manager at the CEO bar before the, you know, huge wall street journal article that kind of threw out the old historic story of the cocktail. And it hurt me a ton because I use it even after I left the seal Bach to introduce people to bourbon and I've still got people that come see me to drink the COI cocktail. I had a couple who came in for their anniversary the other night and they've been drinking from me for years. And it just hurt my soul When I 39:37 see her. We're just like, fraudulent. 39:40 Oh my god. Well, I think it's safe to say that everything in the spirits business is bullshit. You know, JN true. Your your book. What does it bourbon cure? Yeah, I read that a few times. Thank you bit about that. Yeah, just you can't trust anything. 40:00 Ricky stories is pretty legit because the guy wasn't really in the business. You know the real guy well back in the day before smartphones, 40:09 shit to 40:13 throw anything at you is fantastic but you know a great story is a great story and it does create an experience No matter if it's true or not. So I say Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story. That's right. So tell us about the seal Bach what's the best bourbon to use there? What's the best champagne? How do you make it work? I like First of all, I like to use a sugar cube. I don't know if he's a sugar cube use sugar. I don't know I use just a splash of simple syrup about consistency. And I like I like the sugar cube because I love the little crystals that go through it. So sugar cube, I douse it with both Angostura and patient bitters. I'm heavier on the patient with an iron Angostura. Yeah, a little more citrus for Yeah, it makes it a little more crowd pleasing. Yeah. The CEO box even at the hotel, I had it sent back 41:00 When I would do super heavy on both yeah started bringing down the Angostura a little bit yeah back OD became more palatable for the masses so that and then I like to use just for your for roses yellow label for sale bought because it seems to be a little lighter you know worse there for me I leveled for sure but there's something about I don't know the when I like when I make 41:23 for some reason for roses yellow label has a lighter 41:29 lighter something about it for these lighter cocktails I use that another one my cocktails it's one of the most popular on our menu. I actually like the the old force you can still a little bit of spice it has yet to go against the champagne and a little bit of sweetness in there. So well and then I top it off usually with a dredge Prosecco and then the champagne does any dry but we have used Prosecco or dry champagne. And you do use terms like or do you use like in my strike here, I use I make my own Triple Sec. So I triple sec, just a little 42:00 Orange look for so that brings it all together and there's something about this so you still can taste the bourbon but it's not overpowering because it's lightened up with the champagne. 42:12 So any any not just bourbon, but you don't use a little ins and outs of bourbon and when I make so it's not like overpowering people and a half 42:22 and half the triple. Yeah, there's been a lot of differences between these. It's really good. Just a simple cocktail. Yes, it's fascinating. Oh, I don't think it's the right answer. That's why that's why MIMO we've been friends for a long time. It's because we understand that it's the great thing if you know there's there's certain cocktails, you know, everybody like little fashion for instance, everybody makes their own fashion different. They really do. I don't I don't think I've ever had unless it's a bartender that I trained on how I make my old fashions. I don't think I've ever had an old fashioned same hopefully they're making it the same way. 42:58 Yeah, I've done that before. 43:00 Hear that before where people like know we're going to model this I'm like no not in my bar we're not doing Have you seen the YouTube video? The woman Oh talk 43:11 last night yeah 715 43:15 army we used to talk them with soda. Like I used to call that the steak house old fashioned. Yeah, that's how I learned it. Back in the early 2000s. We were you know, we were modeling orange and cherry and throwing a couple sugar packets in there. soda water and it was and this is a white tablecloth Steakhouse that Yang $10 a cocktail, at least you didn't like just take a thing of simple stare and go, you know, like this. I've been a bourbon police, a bourbon place downtown August they were and the guy was making these old fashions. He's just like, it was like probably like a full house and half a simple syrup in the glass, and then bourbon on top and then and then he just threw a cherry and an orange in there. I was like, oh my god. It's like we both know some places around here that we might not go to and go back 44:00 Drink bourbon. No, no, no. Is it hard for you to go places when you see when you see other people like creating cocktails and you're kind of like, send it back like every day? do you do that? I mean, what's your there? I have I mean not not because I will spin people who don't who didn't understand the egg white thing that you have to actually shake it a lot. And he got outlawed in some areas. So there are some cities that have outlawed horrible things back. I mean, it was slimy still, it wasn't it didn't have the aeration of the A. And I've said back old fashions because they were just so sweet. Like it just was disgusting. So usually though, I don't do that. I just ordered a bourbon on the rock. 44:39 I don't drink cocktails, the whole I drink more cocktails and I'm out of town. Yeah, for some reason. When I'm out of town in a different city. It's kind of inspirational. It's kind of like getting a feel for where you're at to drink more cocktails. Or if I'm at a, you know, a new restaurant or bar in town that I haven't had cocktails at, but if I'm going to visit my friends at their bar, I'm not ordering cocktails from them hardly ever 45:00 They might make me something they want me to try, but I'm drinking a beer bourbon. Yeah. Yeah. I don't drink beer so I drink a lot. OJ go Martini. I drink Beefeater martinis or Plymouth martinis depending on my jam. Good. Yeah. Jim. 45:15 So let's go back to like the the entry level kind of cocktails. 45:22 Hey, it's Kenny here and I want to tell you about the Commonwealth premier bourbon tasting and awards festival. It will be happening on August 24. In Frankfort, Kentucky. It's called bourbon on the banks. You get to enjoy bourbon beer and wine from regional and national distilleries while you stroll things along the scenic Kentucky River. There's also going to be food vendors from regional award winning chefs. Plus you get to meet the master distillers and brand ambassadors you've heard on the show, but the kicker is bourbon pursuit. We're going to be there in our very own booth as well. Your $65 ticket includes everything all food and beverage on Saturday. 46:00 Plus you can come on Friday for the free Bourbon Street on Broadway event. Don't wait, go and buy your tickets now at bourbon on the banks.org. 46:10 You've probably heard of finishing beer using whiskey barrels, but a Michigan distillery is doing the opposite. They're using beer barrels to finish their whiskey. New Holland spirits claims to be the first distillery to stout a whiskey. The folks at Rock house whiskey club heard that claim and had to visit the banks of Lake Michigan to check it out. That all began when New Holland brewing launched in 97. Their Dragon's milk beer is America's number one selling bourbon barrel aged out in 2005. They apply their expertise from brewing and began distilling a beer barrel finished whiskey began production 2012 and rock house was the club is featuring it in their next box. The barrels come from Tennessee get filled with Dragon's milk beer twice, the mature bourbon is finished in those very same barrels. RackHouse whiskey club is a whiskey the Month Club on a mission to uncover the best flavors and stories from craft distillers across the US along with two bottles. 47:00 hard to find whiskey rackhouse's boxes are full of cool merchandise that they ship out every two months to members in over 40 states. Go to rock house whiskey club com to check it out and try a bottle of beer barrel bourbon and beer barrel ride. Use code pursuit for $25 off your first box. The 2019 Kentucky's edge bourbon conference and festival pairs all things Kentucky with bourbon. It takes place October 4 and fifth at venues throughout Covington in Newport Kentucky, Kentucky's edge features of bourbon conference music tastings pairings tours and in artists and market Kentucky's edge 2019 is where bourbon begins. Tickets and information can be found online at Kentucky's edge.com. 47:45 So let's go back to like the the entry level kind of cocktails. One that I have found is almost a surefire winners not really a lot of people's radars. And that's bourbon slushies, huh? Oh, yeah, I mean, I have yet to find someone who didn't like bourbon. 48:00 But I introduced them to like a really nice bourbon slushy recipe and they were just wow, do you guys do anything with slushies? I have I have snow could thing. 48:10 It's not Snoopy either. 48:13 I have it's like it's harder for me. Um, it's kind of breaking the law to do those. And I'm pretty stickler for those things. A lot of the people that pre mold it's against the law to have a slushy machine as a as with drinks in it in Kentucky. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, 48:35 hi. Oh, that's completely legal. No, I'm not doing that in Ohio. But man, I was going to open a slushy liquor bar in Kentucky and now it's all 48:42 right now as it stands right now in Kentucky and I had to check this recently. Because we wanted to do so she's a 48:50 spirit has to be served from its original container last being consumed immediately. So by their iteration and Kentucky, if it sits and 49:00 mixture of less than 24 hours then you can serve it out of a machine or a pre mixer things like that. If it sits over 24 hours it's no longer legal. So interesting right so yeah so no barrel aged. I we when I was at my old Goodfellas we got rid of our house michelman show we got rid of our barrel aged cocktails all because there were some a couple people that got hit by the ABC on that Eric Gregory if you're listening to this with this on the Kentucky distillers associations I don't mean to throw it out there sorry. We saw 49:35 hillbilly Eric not who he was up nobility Yeah, but he got hit hard on that and it shut him down. Wow, I did not know that. Yeah, I watched a restaurant go down in flames because of something simple like that. And I don't I'm not gonna risk the entire business doing that we got a few emails will send after this one to some friends who 49:54 I had no idea but I mean, you say things like, okay, like more beverages wine that's not 100 50:00 Spirit you can do like local things like that. No saucy vermouth cocktails. Well you said you actually brought something up that that I always love going places and I've had good ones I've had bad ones that barrel aged cocktails kind of talk about your we got a yes and a no 50:17 go yeah it's very age who we send out in we did right across up I love that one. So I don't I love I love to use, you know, aged products to make a fresh cocktail. I don't think it doesn't taste fresh and it comes out of like, if you read if you make a cocktail, you may begin to granny or Manhattan and he put it into a barrel. 50:41 I hate that. I mean it kind of rounded out the rough edges you had to do it correctly like we would do two barrels. We took one barrel was our serving beer and we put paraffin wax on the inside so it's no longer reactive because people will keep it in a fresh barrel where it becomes over age and many tannic rough on your palate. If you get it to the right point and then change it over to an honorary 51:00 barrel that's where I think you you keep it is so you would age yours to a certain time age it to what we thought was right and every time you use the barrel it changes a little differently tasteful different so you're tasting and every couple days a week or so and then you bottle it yeah cabin and then you have you're serving in st you're you're serving barrel that we paraffin wax and you would fill that up and serve it from there. Yeah. Oh 51:28 I love Sam fights breakout 51:32 no I don't like oh, no, no, we've had differences opinion before so 51:38 I'm just not really drink is barely, you know, making them anytime soon. So I gotta tell you I kind of lean with Molly on my opinion of barrel aged cocktails. Like I have found them to be over tannic way battery the essence of the spirit is often lost. And if there is any kind of citrus in it, I 52:00 Swear to God I said wait hold on so I put sisters in a bed so you can put sisters in a very shocking that's just 52:06 I think that's the thing is like people think that they can just like make a cocktail and throw it into a barrel anything you know, and they don't realize there's some oxidation that goes on is very unsafe. I think it just you got to know what you're doing it's like Molly knows what she's doing what she's making tobacco bitters, but tobacco bitters are dangerous part to me. margins are playing around with activated charcoal they're out there playing around with things that they don't know fully about. And there it's not exactly Well, the the nitrogen one there's been a couple cases of customers are having burning their throat or having their stomach. Huge lawsuit with George Clooney, his old brand new they sold Castillo because of ego. They were having a party like even after he sold it or whatever. And somebody like Woody was out of work for eight months because they destroyed their esophagus on dry ice stupid. Well, yeah, don't use dry ice at home now. 53:00 There's so many things you show me that I'm dumb down. Well, let's keep the the disagreements going here because 53:09 so this is this is another one where I think our listeners would be interested to kind of see what is the right bourbon for the right type of cocktail, because you've got, you've got your weeded, you've got your high rise, you've got your low rise, you've got your craft that has sort of a more of a grainy flavor to it. So with these four, like where did they fit in inside and there's one other kind, the kind where they're paying you to put it in the cocktail? 53:37 competition competitions and things. I guess this will work. 53:42 I don't know if you agree, but I rarely and this is gonna be a kind of a blanket statement. I rarely find that we did Bourbons go into cocktails for me. Like a smash. Yeah. But not too often do I use a weighted bourbon and cocktails? Yeah, don't use a lot of we I mean unless I have to for like makers or something. 54:00 Right What do you mean less I have to well like you said like like if they're you know paying for it like 54:09 a lot of makers things and I you know I usually will like figure out the the cocktail for that you know it really well I mean 54:18 makers find to be a little sweeter so not 54:26 and not as complex as a lot of the other Bourbons I love makers don't don't think that I'm like putting it down no telling telling you like what I think I just gotta like you gotta figure out like what to put in it so that he doesn't like Lakers in a smash right it's about the only thing I put it I love smashes that was like one of my favorite like a Bramble even Rambo works I mean, I've made Maker's Mark brambles All right, y'all gotta remember 54:51 talking other languages fruit, smashed fruit and 54:57 and then your spirits and sometimes I put citrus in 55:00 Bramble and then top it off with spotlight club soda. Very simple, easy to make it home and bright cocktail. Yeah. 55:09 Like switching up the Bourbons there's lots of times where like a competition is happening and you make it with the bourbon gives you have to but you know it tastes better with a different burger. Yeah, that's how I've done that plenty of times. I'll just switch it up and put it on the menu with a different bourbon even though the competition required this and that. What's the ultimate bourbon mixing? cocktail? My what's the what's the cocktail mixing bourbon? I love old forester January. I mean, even my bar uses a lot. I will say there's bourbon. I'm gonna hate me for saying this. I'm not a big fan of Woodford straight. 55:45 Yeah, 55:47 straight out my favorite 55:50 other products but then like we said, we both love old forester. Yeah, if somebody buys me a word for it, I'm going to drink it, but you know, but I'd rather drink old Forester, the old forester signatures. 56:00 jam you know I say go for some signature all the time and it's not on the label anymore and 56:06 I go give me a bottle versus signature well 56:09 I noticed both of you all mentioned four roses yellow label to time to update. 56:15 Yeah 56:17 I love you been around the block you reference I brands I love using 56:23 in my well use I use Ancient Egypt 10 star for can get it if not benchmark. Ancient ages are well yeah. 56:34 And then sometimes sometimes Evan Williams if I can't find those other two that's how it goes in Ohio though. So there's a great for mixing if I make an old fashioned I use old granddad 100 or bonded if I making a Manhattan usually it's old forester. You know, or you know man, maker smart makes a great old fashioned 56:59 way 57:00 Deal force arrived 57:02 in Ohio know when I started using that all my Manhattans so 57:08 I like right in my man hands too but I think in this area there's something about a bourbon man and I don't know maybe it just goes back to that me working in high end retail and it was always with a bourbon. That's what I always did it with and I kind of gone back to using rye because we use it also in black Manhattan's which we serve a ton of and the rye helps cut through that tomorrow a bit. Have you ever made white Manhattan's Have you ever used a nice whiskey and made man? 57:34 I feel like I probably have at some point but I can't wait good. Yeah, yeah, shame on HH whiskey. I got white dog. Yeah, us especially that. What is it the OMG the 57:46 What is it? What is it out in Utah? What are they? 57:51 totally blank. And yeah, they're OMZ is this still called that? I can't get in Ohio. This what I used in Kentucky, but that with orange bitters, and then 58:00 dry vermouth instead. Holy moly you're a bigger fan of white dog and I know we discussed this before I I enjoy it but you like to sit around just sip on it I like the Buffalo Trace mash one. She's, she's old school. Love it. So when we look at you know bourbon cocktails we tend to look at it from like it's it's a price thing. It's usually the $30 and under. But there are some bartenders who will slap you know, slap a little Pappy in, in a cocktail shaker. Do you guys ever go crazy and put like an alley or super allocated? 58:36 bourbon or rye in a cocktail? Yes. 58:40 I got two ways of saying it. One is you're paying me the money. You're the one paying for the whiskey. I'll do it. Do you enjoy your way but anytime anyone's ever ordered a patented coke for me. My way of serving it has been I give him a glass of Pappy I give him a glass of coke and I give him ice and tell them with it being such a nice bourbon. I wanted to give you the component 59:00 You can mix it yourself to the appropriate mix. I've never mixed the coke not once so I try to not be offensive by Tom mirror. Wow fucking idiot 59:12 my bartenders always say I'm good at saying fuck you with a smile. 59:18 Like, my husband's always like you really good being like fuck you but your hair looks really nice. 59:28 Now I'll just say I, I feel like 59:32 I'm at my bar I'm there I'm I control the bar and I am there to educate people on what they're drinking, how they're drinking it. And so I will not serve them a copy of coke. I will educate them on why they shouldn't drink this with Coke. If it's really it's, I mean, they push it then I probably do the same thing but I have never had do that. It's happened me a few times that actually add a few bars. had to do that a couple times. But like I said, it's never gotten mixed. They've always thank 1:00:00 Me In the end I appreciate you not letting me ruin that that 1:00:05 you know the best thing out there and you know that's what obviously we go into it to our walk on this you probably don't need it I did you set up the next podcast. My sister took her to wild turkey though, you know Lawrenceburg and we did the high end tasting and right in the middle of it she cracks open a diet coke was died like my sister of all people. You can't do that. Like you cannot mix that with the diamond. 1:00:31 Yeah. 1:00:33 So sorry. 1:00:35 It's apologize to our family wild turkey too for that. 1:00:40 So another question I kind of had for you. You know, we've all at least in the bourbon world, we see stuff on the shelf, we buy it, we all make mistakes. It's it might be like I said it could be craft and a little bit too green forward. We're just not a big fan of drinking it neat. Is there a cocktail that you can use to make these a little bit more palatable? 1:01:00 Absolutely yes so kind of kind of talk about where ginger ale and 1:01:09 fancy it up a little bit rather than just adding ginger ale but you can always play around on something and doing something that is really going to cover flavors Manhattan's and no passions more enhance and you can do some stuff and a heavy smash or do a bird a sour even that I help cover it. Still I've had some I had to come through bed but yeah, let me let me I'm sure you guys get stuff sent to you sometimes from yesterday. Just show up. Yeah, yeah, twice, not mad about it. But sometimes it's usually from a newer distillery or a craft distiller and it's not that their products. It's not bad. It's just different than what you're used to, you know, no. 1:01:54 Bad. I've had some stuff where I'm like, Oh, this isn't bad. It's just it's just different. Yeah. 1:02:00 dozy Tyler yet have you all for God's sake. 1:02:04 Shit. Bad. So 1:02:07 one of the few that I've it spit out I've had, you know, he's like drywall. Yeah, got 1:02:14 some I poured me one recently to that I had to spit out it was out of a tin can. I can still 1:02:21 Yeah. 1:02:24 So there there's a 1:02:27 you know, I write reviews I score whiskeys and people started pointing out you know if you really don't like something you say would make a great cocktail bourbon and I didn't I really did not realize I was doing that. I'll be honest, I did not realize I was doing that. But I was passing it on to like, yeah, you know what it's drinking need. It's cocktail bourbon, but I have found that there is one note and some of these, these Bourbons that you cannot get out if it's a bad one. And it's that over charcoal Lee woody know, it's like there 1:03:00 Nothing that I've been able to find that can cut that Do you have any recommendations for like how to cut cut that charcoal that over woody note that you find a lot of two year old craft bourbon because like what I call it is that new bourbon tastes like this the big green exactly No. I mean, I just did I just had a bourbon and I it wasn't that was bad. It was really good. It was different. And by a very really respected new distiller new distiller who I have a lot of respect for. 1:03:34 And I couldn't figure out what to do with it but final
In this episode we are joined by Kindsey Bernhard from Wooden Cask Brewing in Newport Kentucky who not only came to Ft. Lewis studios, but brought us several varieties of beer to try. We talk women's soccer, Carrie finally has the Top Chef experience she always wanted, Leigh goes Parrot Head and gets to see John Daly in all his glory. We decide what we would drink out of the Claret Jug if given the opportunity and what would it take to squat a sheep. We get into a bit discussion about why people aren't attending college football games in Take It or Leave It.
In this episode we are joined by Kindsey Bernhard from Wooden Cask Brewing in Newport Kentucky who not only came to Ft. Lewis studios, but brought us several varieties of beer to try. We talk women's soccer, Carrie finally has the Top Chef experience she always wanted, Leigh goes Parrot Head and gets to see John Daly in all his glory. We decide what we would drink out of the Claret Jug if given the opportunity and what would it take to squat a sheep. We get into a bit discussion about why people aren't attending college football games in Take It or Leave It.
For more information, including Kelsey’s notes, pictures, links and a breakdown of all the ranking, head on over to https://www.thenky.com/nomiddlegroundCheck out the blog post for the after after show podcast recording!
Travis and Teresa McElroy (Shmanners Podcast! @travismcelroy @teresamcelroy) join Kevin and Caroline to talk all about Carman, LIVE in Newport Kentucky at the Falcon Theater!PATREON!Subscribe to our Patreon to get a weekly 2nd Service episode and become a "Patreon saint" ;)GCF - Second Service Patreon!SHOW NOTES:Good Christian Fans - Facebook GroupGCF Spotify PraylistCHARITY:This month we're matching iTunes reviews with donations to the I Have A Dream Foundation in LA. Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts and we’ll match it with $1. 2000 reviews = $2000 donated!Become a follower on social media:Twitter: @christianfunpodInstagram: @christianfunpodFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/christianfunpod/Website: www.goodchristianfun.com