On this episode, we touch on three topics. First, we look at how bourbon producers can reach new consumers. Then we take on the new celebrity craze. Over the past year, there have been about half a dozen music artists and TV personalities that have come out with bourbons. While we don’t see this trend stopping, we ask ourselves if this is good for bourbon as a whole. Lastly, we examine the current state of the secondary market. It’s a group consensus that we all miss it, but how has it affected value, store pricing, and distributor allocation?

Show Notes:

• This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about celebrity whiskey.
• How do bourbon producers reach new customers?
• What about new label designs?
• What do you think about celebrities getting into bourbon?
• Are celebrities helping or hurting bourbon?
• Let’s discuss the current state of the secondary market.

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On this Whiskey Quickie by Bourbon Pursuit, we review Baker’s 7 Year. This 7 year old bourbon is 107 proof and $70 MSRP. Let us know what you think. Cheers!

DISCLAIMER: This whiskey in this review was purchased by Bourbon Pursuit for reviewing. We were not compensated by the spirit producer for this review. This is our honest opinion based on what we tasted. Please drink responsibly.

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Today, on the podcast we talk with Paul McLaughlin. He might not be known to you yet, or his cooperage, but the story he shares and how they hone their craft is like no other. We had the opportunity to check out Kelvin Cooperage and get a behind the scenes tour of their barrel building process. It’s amazing how everything is still very labor intensive and they use machines and tooling that have been part of their process since the beginning. We dive into toasting on a natural fire and what makes their barrels different from other cooperages around the country. We also discuss the economics of a cooperage and how they are trying to satisfy the growth of a world-wide demand for used barrels.

Show Notes:

• This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about faulty pipe systems at distilleries.
• Where are you from?
• How did you get into the barrel making business?
• How did you get into bourbon?
• How does Kentucky compare to Scotland?
• When did you join the family business?
• Was it hard to have your brother as your boss?
• How is your process unique?
• What is the reasoning behind toasting?
• Tell us about the natural fire.
• How long does it take a new cooper to get the hang of the process?
• Do you rotate positions?
• Do you have a high employee turnover?
• How many used barrels are you buying per day?
• What other barrels do you get besides bourbon?
• What’s the craziest barrel you’ve made?
• Tell us about selling barrels in Asia and Japan.
• Let’s discuss the economics of barrel making.
• What is your quality control process?
• What makes your cooperage appealing to customers?
• Is it harder to make a 25 gallon barrel?
• How do you see this business growing?
• How do you source oak?
• How do you determine pricing?
• What about secondary finishing?
• Where do you see the business in 10 years?

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On this Whiskey Quickie by Bourbon Pursuit, we review Maker’s Mark RC6. This is Maker’s Mark’s first national limited release. It’s non-age stated, 108.2 proof, and $60 MSRP. Let us know what you think. Cheers!

DISCLAIMER: This whiskey in this review was purchased by Bourbon Pursuit for reviewing. We were not compensated by the spirit producer for this review. This is our honest opinion based on what we tasted. Please drink responsibly.
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Today, we talk to one of the biggest up and coming distilleries in Bardstown…and that’s the Bardstown Bourbon Company. We covered the business side in a past episode, but this time we look at operations and the two guys responsible for filling thousands of barrels per year. Steve Nally and John Hargrove sit down with us to talk about their background in distillation. Spoiler alert, Steve Nally is kind of a big deal. We also touch on what the process is like for a customer to work with them as they choose a mash bill, yeast strain, barrel location in the rickhouse, and where they see the market in 5 years. If you are on the bourbon trail, be sure to stop at BBC for lunch and a dusty pour.

Show Notes:

• Jim Beam Cheat Sheet: http://bourbonr.com/blog/jim-beam-distillery-production-cheat-sheet/
• This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about Bolivia.
• What was your first taste of bourbon?
• How did you get into working in the bourbon and spirits industry?
• How was it going from Maker’s to a start up distillery?
• Do you have a formal education in science or did you learn on the job?
• How did they convince you to come to BBC?
• What was the initial BBC strategy?
• What is your distillery capacity?
• Did you see the need for contract distilling?
• Is it difficult to produce so many mash bills?
• Do clients have a mash bill in mind or do you help coach them?
• Walk us through the process.
• Can you pick your own yeast strain?
• Can you sample the yeast strains?
• Do you guide customers on wood?
• How long is your wait?
• How do you allocate floor levels in the warehouse?
• What’s the craziest demand from a customer?
• Is it more efficient to have a contract distiller?
• What are you distilling for BBC?
• Talk about the risk of experimenting with products.
• Where do you see bourbon in 3-5 years?
• Any plans for other spirits?
• Tell us about the decision to allow customers to customize the process.
• Do you bottle and help with packaging?

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On this Whiskey Quickie by Bourbon Pursuit, we review Kentucky Owl Batch 9. This non-age stated bourbon is 127.6 proof and $300 MSRP. Let us know what you think in the comments. Cheers!

DISCLAIMER: The whiskey in this review was provided to us at no cost courtesy of the spirit producer. We were not compensated by the spirit producer for this review. This is our honest opinion based on what we tasted. Please drink responsibly.

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Red Hook Rye… that bottling might be what made LeNell a household name among bourbon unicorn chasers, but LeNell has a story to tell when it comes to the spirits industry. Her story is filled with fortunate encounters that propelled her name and eventually put her little shop in Brooklyn on the map. Like any endeavor, her story has highs and lows. LeNell shares what owning a store in Red Hook was like back in the day and how she has gone back to her roots in Alabama. We also touch on secondary pricing of her famous private label. Now, before you go any further, this podcast does contain some explicit language so don’t say we didn’t warn you. You get to hear the real LeNell Camacho Santa Ana.

Show Notes:

• Jim Beam Article: https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-beams-are-americas-first-family-of-bourbon
• This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about the Super Bowl.
• When was your first taste of whiskey?
• Do you care about Alabama football?
• Where did you get the idea of LeNell’s?
• What were your early days like?
• Did your store ever experience any crime?
• How did you get into the liquor business?
• Why did you focus on bourbon?
• Talk about Straight Bourbon.
• How did Red Hook Rye happen?
• Tell us about the process of selecting Red Hook.
• Do you have any Red Hook left?
• What are your thoughts on the secondary pricing?
• What hurdles did you face opening up a store in Alabama?
• Why was this store so important to you?
• Do you feel like it is better now as a women in whiskey than in the past?
• Tell us about the success of your store.
• Are you helping other businesses open in your neighborhood?
• What is your newest project?

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On this Whiskey Quickie by Bourbon Pursuit, we review Knob Creek Quarter Oak. This non-age stated bourbon is 100 proof and $50 MSRP. Let us know what you think. Cheers!

DISCLAIMER: This whiskey in this review was purchased by Bourbon Pursuit for reviewing. We were not compensated by the spirit producer for this review. This is our honest opinion based on what we tasted. Please drink responsibly.

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This week’s Bourbon Community Roundtable touches on lots of good hot topics. We look at MGP’s stock as it continues it’s downward trend with our thoughts on how this will play out for them. Then we talk about sourcing in general and if consumers are getting oversaturated with the same bulk market products. Stickers are always a fun subject, but this week there was one released that got national media attention. Will distilleries crack down on stickers? Lastly, we congratulate Old Forester on it’s revamp of the barrel program and cap it off with our most annoying bourbon terms.

Show Notes:

• This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks more about smoked grains.
• Breaking Bourbon announces Stagg Jr. as their whiskey of the year. Let’s discuss.
• What do you think about the MPG losses for the 3rd quarter in a row?
• Is the bourbon market oversaturated with brands?
• What happens when the aged whiskey runs out?
• Let’s discuss the effect of stickers on bottles.
• What do you think about the New Riff Pitino sticker?
• Sticker predictions?
• Brown-Forman comes out with a barrel proof single barrel program for Old Forester. What is taking everyone else so long?
• What’s the most annoying term in bourbon?

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On this Whiskey Quickie by Bourbon Pursuit, we review Old Fitzgerald Fall 2019. This 15 year old bourbon is 100 proof and $150 MSRP. Let us know what you think. Cheers!

DISCLAIMER: The whiskey in this review was provided to us at no cost courtesy of the spirit producer. We were not compensated by the spirit producer for this review. This is our honest opinion based on what we tasted. Please drink responsibly.

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It’s the topic everyone loves to hear about, but hardly anyone is willing to talk about. And that’s the inside secrets of distribution. Distributors “hold all the chips” so it’s time we find out how deals are made. We sit down with Mike Bridges, who owns Jack’s Liquor Beer Wine in Fremont, Nebraska and was once a rep for Nebraska Wine and Spirits which was later purchased by Republic. He talks about what really happens behind those closed doors, who gets allocations (high volume stores vs small mom and pop shops), and consumer frustrations. There’s a lot of ground to cover in this one.

Show Notes:

• This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about the smoked grain debate.
• How did you get into bourbon?
• Tell us about your time in the food and beverage industry.
• How did you transition into a distributor position?
• What was the distributor called at that time?
• How do allocations work?
• Is there any transparency between the rep and the business?
• Do they tell you how you can get the allocated items?
• What motivates a distributor to sell products?
• How do distributors spend money to get retailers to carry products?
• Talk about high volume retailers vs mom and pop retailers.
• Do your distributors take price gouging seriously?
• How much blame are you putting on the distillers for not getting allocated items? Are they using the distributors to take the blame?
• Would a distributor advise a brand to raise a price?
• Do stores ever do favors for distributors in order to get allocated items?
• What would be a better system?
• Are allocations really down every year?
• How has your view changed as a retailer now?

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On this Whiskey Quickie by Bourbon Pursuit, we review Weller Full Proof. This non-age stated bourbon is 114 proof and $50 MSRP. Let us know what you think. Cheers!

DISCLAIMER: The whiskey in this review was provided to us at no cost courtesy of the spirit producer. We were not compensated by the spirit producer for this review. This is our honest opinion based on what we tasted. Please drink responsibly.

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Are you ready to geek out? Like super bourbon geek out? Dr. Tom Collins has dedicated part of his career to the details of different spirits and wine. His studies looking at the chemical composition of bourbon as well as the chemical influence from barrels is what intrigued us. We examine, at a scientific level, what char levels create different compounds and reactions, how entry proof affects these compounds, and how bourbon and rye are different in their molecular makeup. Like I said, get ready to geek out!

Show Notes:

• New EU Tariffs: https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2020-01-04/trump-wine-tariffs and https://qz.com/1779258/a-us-wine-tariff-on-the-eu-isnt-great-for-california/
• Scotland ankle monitoring: https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/5128975/scottish-criminals-alcohol-ankle-tags/
• This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about turning your hobby into a career.
• What is viticulture and enology?
• How did you choose this profession?
• Tell us about your research.
• What compounds are you looking for from toasted barrels?
• Are there times where a toasted barrel provides a certain flavor profile in the lab, but not in the real world?
• Is it hard to get consistency from the barrel?
• What was the outcome of your research?
• How do you get a buttery taste out of a barrel?
• Can you tell different whiskies apart chemically?
• What are the different compounds in rye vs. bourbon?
• Do bourbons have more differentiation compounds than ryes?
• How does each compound contribute to the bourbon?
• What kind of budget did you get to buy the bottles for research?
• Where do the fruity notes come from in bourbon?
• What are your thoughts on barrel entry proof?
• Do you think you could look at dusty bourbons from the 60’s or 70’s and see differences compared today?
• What’s a big takeaway from your research?
• What happens when a whiskey is aged in a wine cask?

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On this Whiskey Quickie by Bourbon Pursuit, we review Larceny Barrel Proof A120. This non-age stated bourbon is 123.2 proof and $50 MSRP. Let us know what you think. Cheers!

DISCLAIMER: The whiskey in this review was provided to us at no cost courtesy of the spirit producer. We were not compensated by the spirit producer for this review. This is our honest opinion based on what we tasted. Please drink responsibly.

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New for 2020, it’s Scotch Pursuit! Ok, not really. But what better way to start the new year by trying something new and having Dr. Rachel Barrie, the master blender for The GlenDronach, BenRiach, and Glenglassaugh of Brown-Forman, come and show us the ropes. We talk about malting, peat, Glens and Bens, rules and regulations to be considered a scotch, the temperatures and more. This is a fantastic 101 to the scotch world and even made us, not so much scotch curious, but more single malt curious. Since this recording, we’ve tried numerous single malts and found some great ones. If you have an “entry Scotch” for bourbon drinkers, drop it here in the comments.

Show Notes:

• This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about Al Young.
• Why all the Glens and Bens?
• Does the altitude affect the whiskey?
• Talk about growing up around scotch.
• Tell us about your doctorate.
• Tell us about the the brands.
• What is an old school malt?
• How do you keep malts consistent?
• What is malting?
• What is the process for making scotch?
• What kind of stills do you use?
• What is your favorite cask?
• How do you make a blend?
• How old does scotch have to be legally?
• Is there a lot of evaporation loss in the barrel?
• What proof does BenRiach come out of the barrel?
• How many barrels are in a typical batch?
• Do you have a team helping you blend?
• Is there a limit to the number of times you can use a barrel?
• Tell us about the special releases.

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