The Kentucky Distillers’ Association does more for bourbon in the US than just Kentucky alone. Eric Gregory, the President of the KDA, has been on both sides of the government trying to put the interests of the distillers and consumers first. We talk about his experience with government lobbying and how he revived the organization. What is the future of bourbon? Are distribution laws changing, what will happen with tariffs, and how will the Bourbon Trail maintain growth?

Show Notes:

• This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about up and coming writers.
• Tell us about your background.
• What was it like at the KDA when you first got this job?
• What was your first lobbying experience at the KDA?
• Any good horse racing tips?
• How do you see bourbon growing?
• What do you think of the tariffs?
• Tell us about the lobbying process.
• How do you keep it bipartisan?
• When you hear rumblings of new taxes what do you all do?
• Tell us about the steps you have taken from the promotional side of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and the Kentucky Bourbon Affair?
• How many trail visitors did you have the first year?
• Talk about partnerships.
• What are some of the weirdest requests you’ve gotten from people?
• Are there other states that look to your organization for guidance?
• What is your position on the secondary market?
• Why do so many people oppose shipping alcohol?
• What do you think about bourbon tourism growth in Bardstown vs. Louisville?

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If you don’t live in Kentucky, you still need to listen because this is the first piece of legislature that could hit your state next. Adam Koenig, State Representative and Chairman for the Licensing and Occupation Committee in the House, and Christy Trout, Lawyer, Former Commissioner the KY Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, and Special Counsel to the Speaker of the House, give us a break down of the Kentucky House Bill 415. HB415 is the beginning of dismantling the three tier system. Giving consumers the ability to buy directly from distilleries and producers themselves, putting more money back into the pockets of the distillery. No distributor in the equation AND the distiller also acts as the retailer. Second is shipping. Distilleries, as well as breweries and wineries, can now ship to your doorstep in reciprocal states. Listen to get all the details

Show Notes:

• Download the HB415 Summary

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In this special bonus podcast, we take a moment to talk to Aaron Goldfarb, whiskey and cocktail journalist and the author of Hacking Whiskey. We talk about his origins and how he got into journalism. The state of NYC at the moment during COVID-19. Then we talk about what led him into covering spirits, his thoughts on the secondary market crackdowns, some of his favorite articles, and where inspiration strikes.

Show Notes:

• Hacking Whiskey

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As we’ve seen with the impacts of COVID-19, it’s now become necessary for the spirits industry to adopt technology and delivery services to stay alive. Cory Rellas, the CEO of Drizly, was on the forefront of this years ago. This podcast dives into their business model and how they are helping stores build a digital infrastructure to sell their goods online and get it into the hands of consumers faster. We hit on all kinds of topics such as their competitors in the market, what shipping laws could mean for Drizly, and if there is an opportunity to extend this business model into cannabis.

Show Notes:

• This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about the power of packaging.
• What is Drizly?
• How did you come up with this idea?
• What’s the timeline?
• What was the state of the industry when you got started?
• What were the challenges?
• Why did you go through New York early on?
• What is your big selling point to retail locations?
• Any pricing restrictions to prevent gouging?
• Talk about pricing transparency.
• How are you using the data you are acquiring?
• Are you sharing the data?
• Do you have a CRM?
• How are the products delivered to the consumer?
• How are you dealing with competition?
• Are you all interested in getting bought out?
• What’s the end game?
• What happens if shipping laws change?
• What is your best selling bourbon?
• What are the top 5 selling spirit categories?
• What’s your favorite bourbon?
• How do you work with brands?
• What needs to change to get more people buy alcohol online?
• Are you lobbying at all?
• Is there an opportunity with cannabis?
• What would the perfect alcohol market look like?
• What’s the latest trend?

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Do you find yourself talking to the same people about bourbon every day and realize you talk to them more than your best friends? In fact, maybe they are your new best friends. We’re all in that situation now and that’s what today’s episode is all about. Bourbon has a magical element that seems to bring people together across every demographic to share a common bond. Perhaps you’re getting started and want to figure out, how do you find your bourbon people? We sit down with Jeremy Mandel, he’s an admin and founder of a few online communities and one of our Patreon supporters. We go through what it takes to find connections with other like minded individuals that can be done online with people around the world or perhaps in your own backyard with meet-up groups, bourbon societies, and much more. You’ll come away at the end of this realizing you probably followed some of these same steps without realizing it.

Show Notes:

• This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about money.
• How did you get into bourbon?
• What was your introduction to the online bourbon communities?
• Do you ever have events with your bourbon friends?
• Do certain groups create more bonds than others?
• What about your local society?
• Do you think raffle groups encourage camaraderie?
• What did you think of the Bob Dylan whiskey?
• Would you rather go to someone’s house to drink bourbon or a bar?
• Can these bourbon networks get bigger?
• How can people find a bourbon community?
• What relationships have gotten you a really good bottle of bourbon?

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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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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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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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The Bourbon Pursuit team takes a minute to look back on some of our favorite podcasts we recorded this year. We also look at all the bourbons that were released in 2019 (around 55) and Ryan and Kenny vote on their favorite while we have to wait for Fred. Then we take some time to look into 2020 with what we think is going to happen with TTB labels, marijuana, tariffs, and the 3 tier system in 2020. We wrap up the show giving our individual 2020 predictions about barrel programs, secondary markets, and other legalities. Happy New Year!

Show Notes:

• Barrel Picks: https://www.patreon.com/posts/jack-daniels-wow-32305844, https://www.patreon.com/posts/eagle-rare-with-32446056
• This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about barrel char.
• What was your favorite episode of 2019?
• What was the most awkward episode?
• Bourbons released in 2019.
• What do you see on the horizon for tariffs and the export market?
• Do you think we will see a marijuana or CBD infused whiskey in 2020?
• Will TTB crackdown on new COLAs in 2020?
• Do you predict a shakeup in the 3 tier system?
• Will we see the rise of the big secondary groups in 2020?
• Other predictions for 2020.

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Brown-Forman and the Kentucky Distillers’ Association are two organizations focused on growing bourbon both domestically and internationally. Taylor Amerman and Ali Mize represent these brands to balance the scales by focusing on ways to promote a better drinking culture. This means awareness of moderation, being inclusive of those who don’t drink, and how more ID checking systems are being installed at distilleries across the state. As we go into the holiday season, please remember to be safe and drink responsibly.

Show Notes:

• Worst Old Fashioned: https://www.esquire.com/food-drink/drinks/a30172952/viral-old-fashioned-cocktail-video-jim-beam-redo/
• The Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act: SpirtsUnited.org, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/16/business/economy/craft-distilling-liquor-tax.html
• This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about control states.
• How did you get into bourbon?
• How did you end up in this position? Tell us about your background.
• Talk about bourbon and the environment.
• What are the responsibilities of your position?
• What’s Intellicheck?
• Does it track which distilleries you visit?
• Any concern about upsetting consumers?
• Tell us about what you all are doing with mocktails.
• What did you do with mocktails at Derby?
• What is on the event checklist?
• How do you promote social responsibility in marketing?
• What’s next to lobby for?
• Tell us about ride sharing.
• What do you want the listeners to takeaway?
• For more information on responsibility efforts, visit brown-forman.com/responsibility and kybourbontrail.com/responsibility.

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