313 – Dos and Don’ts of Barrel Picks with Macaulay Minton of Wilderness Trail and John Wadell of Peerless
We talk about barrel picks all the time on the show and we do 40-50 barrels selections per year with our private barrel program. But instead of hearing us talk about it, let’s hear some stories from the people that live and breathe it every day. We’re joined by Macaulay Minton of Wilderness Trail and John Wadell of Peerless Distilling. Both of these guys run the barrel select programs for each distillery. We get to know more about the programs and the dos and don’ts of going on a barrel pick.
Show Notes:
- This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about his dental routine.
- How did you get into bourbon and working on single barrel programs?
- Is there a certain percentage you are allowed to allocate to private barrels?
- What do you like and not like about other barrel picks?
- How do remote picks work?
- Are remote picks harder than in person?
- Are there some people that are hard to please with picks?
- What gets you blacklisted?
- What are things you shouldn’t do on a pick?
- What do you think of stickers?
- What is the most positive thing that has happened for you working in a private barrel program?
- @thebourbonswami, @wildernesstraildistillery, @sir_jwadell, @kentuckypeerless
306 – The Largest Liquor Retailer You Never Knew About with Chris Blandford of Kroger
We talk to the largest liquor retailer that you never knew about…Kroger. Yes, the huge grocery chain that has liquor stores adjacent to almost every location. When you add it up, it’s thousands of square feet of retail space spread over hundreds of stores. We’re joined by Chris Blandford, who is the Adult Beverage Field Specialist for Kentucky, Southern Indian, and Southern Illinois Kroger stores. We talk about the challenges of operating over 115 stores, distribution, competition, barrel picks, and of course allocation.
Show Notes:
- This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about spirits competitions.
- What is your fast food restaurant of choice on a road trip?
- How do you manage inventory for so many stores?
- How do you use data to predict what people will buy?
- What are the challenges of distribution?
- Talk about the store experience.
- Are larger or smaller stores more difficult to manage?
- How do you distribute products?
- What is the most stolen item?
- How do you approach pricing?
- Do you try to compete with pricing against the larger liquor stores?
- What is the method for allocated items?
- If Sazerac increased their pricing on Pappy, would there still be lotteries?
- Talk about your barrel picks.
- Do you have a favorite barrel pick?
- Any other challenges?
- What product doesn’t move as well as you think it would?
- Are there any plans to grow?
- Will Kroger ever deliver or ship?
304 – The Best and Worst of Barrel Pick Experiences
One of the biggest crazes right now is the single barrel. That special barrel that was chosen from a select few and shared with a bunch of people, most likely with a sticker on it. And as Ryan so eloquently puts it, it’s the perfect product. It’s a consumable, it’s one of a kind, and there will never be another. Myself, Ryan and Fred have done our fair share of single barrels, probably selecting over 250 combined and probably tasting over a thousand at different distilleries. We’ve seen it all. In this episode, we talk about what we prefer when we do a private barrel selection experience. And speaking of single barrels, don’t forget we have our own private barrel club where we select over 40 different barrels every year.
Show Notes:
- This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about deciding what to drink.
- What is your favorite part about a barrel pick?
- Would it still be exciting if everyone drilled into the barrel vs. thieving?
- What do you think about distilleries pre-picking barrels to select from?
- What is a good number of barrels you should be able to taste through when picking?
- How do you feel about proofing down the barrel pick?
- Do you have a glassware preference?
- Snacks or no snacks during a barrel pick?
- Should distilleries provide lunch?
302 – Instagram and Bourbon with Scotch and Time and The Bourbon Enthusiast
What does it mean to be an influencer? Actually, what’s the deal with bourbon and Instagram and why is it so popular? We’re joined by Eric Kim of @scotchandtime and James Ashcraft of @bourbonenthusiast to analyze these questions and many more. It’s a great insight into how social media and whiskey join forces to provide hours of entertainment, but also some annoyances.
Show Notes:
- This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about independent liquor stores.
- Are you a thrill seeker or do you enjoy relaxing?
- How did you start and grow your Instagram account?
- When did you get your first media sample?
- Do you see more brands using Instagram influencers?
- Do you think Instagram has a good ROI for brands?
- Why do people love day themed Instagram posts?
- How often do you post and when?
- Have you seen an influx of new bourbon content creators and is there enough room for everyone?
- How much time to you put into your Instagram account?
- What do you think of accounts who pay for followers?
- What do you think of people only posting pictures of sealed bottles?
- Talk about your whiskey reviews.
- What really is an influencer?
- What good things have come out of Instagram for you?
- Follow @scotchandtime and @bourbonenthusiast on Instagram.
300 – Does the Age of Your Whiskey Matter?
On today’s episode, the team sits down to discuss young whiskey. Is it a good thing or a bad thing? There are all sorts of angles because in this ever-changing landscape of losing age statements, craft distillers putting out amazing products at young ages, and bourbon drinkers continually looking for something new, we have to ask ourselves… is the age of the whiskey less important?
Show Notes:
- This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about daily bourbon drinking limits.
- What is your whiskey age range preference?
- What about craft distillers outside of Kentucky?
- How do craft distillers treat consumers differently than the bigger distillers?
- What do you think about using different grains?
- How do you fight the stigma of young whiskey?
- Let’s talk about pricing young whiskey.
- How important is packaging for craft whiskey?
297 – Scotch for the Bourbon Drinker with Single Malt Savvy
There’s a lot of whiskey out there and sometimes we get caught up in our bubble of bourbon. On this episode, I’m joined by Chris Perugini who does private tastings and boasts a lot of worldly whiskies on his instagram account @SingleMaltSavvy. He sent me a few blind samples and we discuss them to see what resonates with me as a bourbon drinker.
Show Notes:
- This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about pairing music with bourbon.
- For more information about the Scotches discussed in this episode visit: https://www.singlemaltsavvy.com/guides/scotch-for-the-bourbon-drinker/
- What was your first car?
- Scotch Tasting
- What’s a good brand for a new scotch drinker?
- What are the differences between Scotch and bourbon?
- Tell us about the Scotches you selected.
- How are these priced?
- Are they removing age statements from Scotch like they are in bourbon?
- What is the Pappy of the Scotch world?
288 – How to Scale a Brand on Sourced Whiskey with McCauley Williams, CEO of Big River Distilling
Building a brand on sourced whiskey is difficult. When you’re not the one distilling the product, it’s hard to be price competitive. At the same time, you’re at the mercy of the market on barrel availability so it’s hard to determine the continuation of a product. In this episode, we’re joined by McCauley Williams, CEO of Big River Distilling, who is behind brands like Blue Note Bourbon and Riverset Rye. We talk about how to run a large scale business that relies on sourcing and how you protect the brands flavor integrity for the future.
Show Notes:
- This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about empty bottles.
- What game show would you want to be a contestant on?
- How did you get into this business?
- What was the first step to start a spirits business?
- How did you raise capital to make this happen?
- Tell us about your brands.
- Did you have a proof of concept?
- How do you select a distillation partner?
- Talk about the competitiveness of the sourced market.
- Tell us about the pricing of sourced whiskey.
- How do you differentiate your products?
- Why 93 proof?
- How do you get a brand to market?
- Any states you’ve seen success in that you didn’t expect?
- Which is a better ROI, liquor stores or bars/restaurants?
- Do you experience any frustrations with acquiring packaging materials?
- Any other frustrations with the business?
286 – Bourbon Society Showdown #2
Bourbon societies are becoming prolific across the globe. But here’s the thing, they all do something different that makes them unique. In this episode, we are joined by representatives from the Dallas Bourbon Club, The Bourbon Society of Greater Cincinnati, and KOBBE (Kentucky’s Original Black Bourbon Enthusiasts). We get a deeper understanding of how each society operates from a social, educational, and philanthropic perspective. If you’re looking to start a society or grow your own, here’s a chance to listen how these fellas do it.
Show Notes:
- This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about StraightBourbon.com.
- We are joined by Jamar Mack (KOBBE), Pete Schmidt (Dallas Bourbon Club), and Todd Carnes (Bourbon Society of Greater Cincinnati).
- What’s the weirdest food you’ve ever eaten?
- How are you trying to reach new members?
- How is your group different from other bourbon groups?
- Do you have a motto?
- How are you putting on events?
- How are you involved with charities?
- Do you do any bourbon education?
- How do you get people to present to your group?
- How many women do you have in your group?
- Talk about your barrel picks.
285 – A Quick Behind the Scenes of Bourbon Pursuit with Lauren Coleman
You all see and hear from Kenny, Ryan, and Fred, but there’s a critical fourth member of this team. Lauren Coleman has been in the media space for her whole career and took the quality of Bourbon Pursuit episodes to another level. In this quick interview, get to know a little bit about Lauren.
Show Notes:
- Tell us about your podcast editing process.
- How did you get into video editing?
- How many days a week do you miss working for Heaven Hill?
- Are you ever worried about Kenny spending too much on bourbon and not being able to pay the mortgage?
- What’s one thing most people don’t know about Kenny and Ryan that you think they should know?
- If you were to host a podcast, what would it be about?
- How do you keep a work/life balance?
280 – Is Bourbon the Next Big Trend? with Brandy Rand, COO of IWSR
We’re currently experiencing the biggest boom there has ever been with bourbon. But is it going to be overshadowed by the seltzer movement? And we all know that COVID has impacted every single business sector, but what has it done to alcohol and, most importantly, bourbon? From the outside it seems that business is good, but Brandy Rand, COO for IWSR who specializes in drinks analysis and trends, provides a scientific view as well as reality check on where the market is moving.
Show Notes:
- Receive IWSR’s weekly industry insights email: https://bourbonpursuit.com/iwsr
- This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about labels.
- Who was your childhood actor or actress crush?
- What is IWSR?
- How do you gather data?
- How were you all tracking bourbon growth years ago?
- Do you classify canned cocktails as hard seltzers?
- Do you think cocktails to go will be an on going trend?
- What impact are tariffs having globally?
- Have you seen distilleries pivot their strategy due to tariffs and COVID?
- What has happened to travel retail because of COVID?
- Do you track e-commerce and shipping?
- Do you follow Drizzly’s data?
- Where do you see bourbon growth in the next couple of years?
