We’re all too familiar with the barrel and it’s impact on whiskey but what about it’s life after whiskey? Actually, there’s quite a lot. These barrels can be used for aging other spirits, beer, furniture, bbq smoking chips, the list is endless. But did you ever stop to think how those used barrels go from one man’s trash to another man’s treasure? Well, there’s one company that has made a name for themselves and that’s Midwest Barrel Company. Ben and Jessica Loseke join the show to talk about how Ben got into the used barrel business and the economics behind it. If you ever find yourself glued to an episode of Storage Wars or Pawn Stars, you’ll love to hear how Ben stumbled into used barrels and everything else he tried to flip in the process. Today, Midwest Barrel Company is brokering tons of used bourbon barrels and talks about how he develops his sales pipeline and acquires new customers.

Show Notes:

• Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about price and quality opinions.
• How did you discover a business in used barrels?
• Do you remember for you first big score?
• Did you ever get in legal trouble buying and flipping stuff?
• What year did you buy your first barrels?
• How many empty barrels can you fit on a full truck?
• Who were your main customers?
• How did you figure out how to scale this business?
• How hard was it to let go of certain aspects of the business?
• How do you find new suppliers and new customers?
• Is this considered commodity trading?
• Is this a cutthroat industry where you are overbidding others?
• How fast can you turn around a barrel once you receive it?
• What are you doing when you steam a barrel?
• What other things are people making with barrels?
• How do you know what your pipeline looks like for sales and purchasing?
• Support this podcast on Patreon

Cracking the can on a warm day sounds like something out of commercial. Over the past year we talked about the RTD or ready-to-drink category beginning to explode because of High Noon and now major bourbon brands are moving into the ready-to-drink space since the canned cocktails’ accessibility, lower alcohol content, and mixability make them an appealing gateway for newcomers while still leveraging whiskey’s premium status. Though launching requires significant investment, the potential for brand awareness and category growth is alluring. In this episode, Ryan, Fred, and Kenny sip on 5 different bourbon-based RTDs and give our theories on canned cocktail popularity, health concerns, ingredients, and where the category could expect to go.

Show Notes:

• Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about the best rickhouse in the industry.
• Drinking Jim Beam Highball
• Why do brands decide to get into the RTD category?
• Drinking Jack Daniel’s Honey Lemonade
• How important is sugar content in the RTD?
• Can RTDs be a gateway to more bourbon drinkers?
• Is it better to have brand recognition before starting a RTD?
• Drinking Home School Blood Orange Manhattan
• Is it too expensive to get into the RTD game?
• What is the shelf life of a RTD?
• How do you define a RTD?
• Drinking CANVAS Bourbon Lemon Spice
• Is Bourbon Cream a RTD?
• Do prefer carbonation or no carbonation?
• Drinking Thomas Ashborn Classic Old Fashion
• Does it matter what kind of bourbon you put into it?
• Where is this category going to go?
• Support this podcast on Patreon

Now that we have our own bourbon with Pursuit Spirits, we’re learning first hand how distributors can make or break your brand. There’s a huge learning curve to understanding the lingo and just being able to communicate on the same page. But this can be maddening if you choose the wrong distributor that doesn’t give you any attention and let’s your brand go stale. We invited Johnny Foster to come back on the show to give us insights on how to work best with distributors. Johnny was a guest back on Episode 227 when he was a part of Smooth Ambler but now he’s at Ragged Branch and leads their sales and distribution. He gives the pros and cons of selecting large versus boutique distributors, how to spend smartly on incentives, and targeted marketing funds. Ultimately though, motivating partners comes down to building authentic relationships through regular visits and communication.

Show Notes:

• Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about the export market.
• What are you doing today at Ragged Branch?
• How do you motivate distributors without losing your damn mind?
• How do you tell a story and justify a higher price tag versus the big 6 staples?
• What can smaller distillers do to appeal to distributors?
• How do you guide people on choosing a distributor that is big or small?
• How do you spend money with a distributor through incentives and programs?
• What does it cost to get in-store displays?
• What dollar amount per case do you put towards programming?
• What makes a company look attractive for acquisition?
• What are successful methods for marketing and getting product off the shelf?
• Where do you put focus on chains vs independent stores?
• How do you protect yourself from contracts?
• Support this podcast on Patreon

This is the first roundtable of 2024 and, as usual, we want to pack it with our best 2024 predictions of the year. Some may seem obvious, some may seem way out of left field, and some are even dreary. Yet, the current landscape of bourbon has changed so we’re in for another wild ride in 2024!

Show Notes:

• Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about drinking too much water.
• Our 2024 Predictions. Sorry, no spoilers.
• Support this podcast on Patreon

(more…)

There was a huge buying frenzy during the pandemic, but where is the secondary market of bourbon headed? We saw a huge boom and that bubble is starting to deflate a bit. Nata Gana originally started as a whiskey-focused Instagram account and worked directly with brands, but has since evolved into a writer covering the entire spirits industry and has also began curating his own sample packs out in the market called Bevridge. As secondary whiskey market values skyrocketed the past decade, iconic bottles like Pappy Van Winkle became difficult to obtain, yet seem poised to stall. Nate gives his opinion on the state of collecting and what allocated bottles are worth the chase and where he sees the bottom falling out.

Show Notes:

• Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about present day prohibition on our economy.
• How did you initially monetize your Instagram account?
• Are the guidelines changing for how brands have to interact with influencers?
• When did the transition change from Instagram to bring a writer?
• What is your philosophy on collecting and holding to sell versus flipping?
• What is the current state of the secondary market and will it rebound to where it was?
• Will Pappy Van Winkle sustain its current value?
• What whiskey category do you think has room to grow in value?
• Talk about your Bevridge sample packs.
• Support this podcast on Patreon

We’ve all been driving through bourbon country and been amazed at the rickhouses that paint the country side. But what goes into building and engineering those? Buzick Construction has a long family history in the whiskey business, with their family building multiple rickhouses for Jack Daniel’s. Today, the average size of a rickhouse is 50,000 barrels, presenting engineering challenges compared to older 20,000 barrel ones in terms of weight load, airflow, and temperature control. We brought their President, Donald Blincoe, and chief engineer, Kevin Aldred, on the show to talk about what goes into building a rickhouse. We talk about different wood types, exterior materials, precise airflow design needs and humidity considerations. We also dive into the costs because a rickhouse run into the millions these days. Overall, Buzick has been the name in construction around Bardstown and has a reputation in these time-honored warehouses.

Show Notes:

• Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about food and whiskey pairing
• Talk about the history of Buzick Construction
• How many rickhouses did your great grandfather build for Jack Daniel’s?
• Do you have a patent on the ricking system?
• What’s the average size of rickhouse today?
• How did the engineering change when going from 20,000 to 50,000 barrel rickhouses?
• Do you have to defend your plans to local governments and municipalities?
• What options do you have when building such as wood types?
• What’s the usual cost for building a rickhouse?
• How do you design for airflow?
• Do you have to go into older buildings and modernize them?
• What is the preferred exterior material to use now?
• Does creating a heat controlled warehouse interfere with natural flow?
• Have there been any crazy requests for rickhouses like a smart rickhouse?
• Support this podcast on Patreon

It’s the final Bourbon Community Roundtable of the year it’s number 88. In typical fashion we have two topics. First is wondering why there isn’t a consumer blowback when a brand gets acquired. It happens all the time in beer when a small craft brand is gobbled up by a large corporation and there is a small piece that dies. In the second half of the show we revisit our 2023 predictions to see who got it right and who got it wrong.

Show Notes:

• Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about the expiration date of whiskey
• Why is there never consumer blowback when a bourbon brand get acquired?
• Let’s review our 2023 predictions
• Support this podcast on Patreon

(more…)

We rate bourbons all the time. But we’ve never really rated things that surround the product and the bourbon culture. In this episode, Ryan, Fred, and myself look at a bunch of subjects and ask whether it’s under rated, over rated, or properly rated. From single barrel picks to bourbon-themed weddings, there’s a lot to cover. We’ll break down whether booker’s boxes and wax dipping are gimmicks or genuinely enhance the experience. And what about all those whiskey influencers on YouTube, Instagram and Tiktok – are they spreading valuable knowledge or just hype? We’ll also discuss whether tasting notes and bottled-in-bond really mean anything and if the Fred Minnick effect is real.

Show Notes:

• Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about taters and hype around allocated products.
• Under rated? Over Rated? Or Properly Rated?
• Single Barrel picks
• A single barrel bottle from a brand
• Spirit awards
• Booker’s boxes
• Wax
• Whiskey YouTube’rs
• Instagram and TikTok
• Bourbon tattoos
• Distillery weddings
• Bourbon barrel furniture
• Cooking with bourbon
• bottled in bond
• Tasting notes
• The Fred Minnick Effect
• Support this podcast on Patreon

Let’s say you want to start a new bourbon brand but you don’t have generations of family heritage or an existing legacy to promote. So how do you get consumers to try something new instead of reverting to something like putting horses or barns on the labels? Branding today seems to require more storytelling than focusing just on the whiskey. One modern brand trying to break that mold is Frank August. I invited their CEO and Co-Founder, Johnathan Crocker on the show to talk about navigating this challenge and how they are reinventing branding in a crowded bourbon market without relying on a legacy. They’re focused on creating an authentic modern brand that resonates with consumers. It’s an interesting case study on building a bourbon brand from scratch in today’s industry.

Show Notes:

• Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about will the bourbon boom ever end?
• How did you get tied into whiskey and with Drew at Willett?
• Why create a new bourbon brand during COVID?
• How do you see yourself and brand fitting into this industry?
• What does the name Frank August mean?
• At what point does it feel like overthinking vs simple strategy?
• Would a consumer just like to buy a bottle with a horse on it instead of new labels?
• Does a brand have to speak directly to a specific demographic or can brands adapt?
• Historical brands like Old Forester and Heaven Hill sourced their whiskey at first so how did they adapt?
• Can you change the mindset of a whiskey drinker away from the staples like a horse or a barn?
• Do you have to talk about the story instead of the whiskey?
• Are any legacy brands that have successfully pivoted to tell a new story?
• @thefrankaugust
• Support this podcast on Patreon

It’s Bourbon Community Roundtable #87 and this one dives into a single topic that has perplexed me over the past few months. It seems that there are only a handful of brands people talk about yet there are over 2000 distilleries across the US. I would like to think the stigma of craft is changing but my newsfeed is always talking about the same select few.  What makes us always gravitate to the big 6 or perhaps we should refer to as the big 7 now? Is it accessibility because it’s on the shelf or could be on your shelf pending allocation? Is it marketing and the big brands can throw their weight around at the distributor level? Or is Big Bourbon just better than craft?

Show Notes:

• Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about mocktails
• Is big bourbon just better than everything else?
• Support this podcast on Patreon

(more…)