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

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The trend of cask finished whiskey is here to stay. It’s run rampant over the past few years to the point that every single company has one. But how are barrels sourced? How many times can a barrel be used before it longer gives off those different flavors? To answer these questions and a lot more, I’ve invited Jessica Ann from H&A Barrel Management on the show. We’ve had the pleasure of knowing Jessica for many years. She recently got herself into the market of brokering barrels for different cask finishes. Jessica gives us the low-down on wine and exotic oak finishes and how difficult they can be to attain. There’s a lot to break down such as types of oak, toast level, and if cooperage reputation has any prestige. With the wide variety available, we’re going to see even more trends hit the market soon.

Show Notes:

• Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks if Pappy is a NDP.
• How did you and Fred connect?
• How many times can a barrel be used for wine aging?
• Why is French Oak the preferred type for wine?
• If I need barrels, what do you have readily available?
• What does STR mean?
• How are different barrels valued?
• How many times can those barrels be re-used?
• In the used barrel market are there cooperages that have more prestige?
• What are some of the newest barrels people want that aren’t common?
• Do customer’s ever request different toast and char levels?
• How do you properly read a wine barrel?
• Talk about your barrel leasing program.
• How do you find out about the various oak species available?
• @bourboninsider
• Support this podcast on Patreon

Bourbon and charity go hand-in-hand. There has been millions of dollars raised thanks to donations and the willingness of others to purchase for a good cause. However, doing it legally is not an easy task. I invited Eric Clements and Kenny Rambo of Give 270 on the show to talk about being legit. They started Give270 by raffling rare bourbons in Elizabethtown, Kentucky to raise money for local charities. Their mission is to make participation affordable and fun through bourbon raffles. This model has proven successful, but required getting licensed for charitable gaming. The founders discuss how they transitioned from a 501C3 nonprofit to operating legally, as well as how they source rare bourbons, select beneficiary charities, do real paper raffles, and handle taxes. While rewarding, they note challenges in navigating regulations and finding inventory amidst secondary market demand.

Show Notes:

• Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about single barrels not being regulated.
• Why did you all want to start doing alcohol reform in Elizabethtown, KY?
• What was the mission behind Give270?
• Do you feel the success of raffles are because of the secondary market?
• How did you move from a 501C3 to getting a charitable gaming license?
• Does the pool get bigger by having a raffle versus an auction?
• Do you really cut up names on a piece of paper and put them in a tumbler?
• Has there ever been a situation where you are underwater on a raffle?
• How do you discover and choose the charities you work with?
• What are the biggest challenges of trying to do all this the legal way?
• Are people letting you buy from their private collections?
• What sort of taxes are involved?
• Is there anything about the current system you would change?
• @give270
• Support this podcast on Patreon

Today’s guest is no stranger to the show. We’ve had the privelege of knowing Blake Riber of Seelbach’s for many years. However, before he had Seelbach’s he was a past guest on episode 007 when he was running one of the premier bourbon blogs on the internet called bourbonr. I wanted to invite Blake on the show to talk about the past few years because building an e-commerce business on bourbon, is no easy task. We talk about legal licensing, his first Purchase orders, and being scrappy by growing into his warehouses. Now he helps kickstart brands’ success by giving them an online presence. He finds new customers through content marketing and builds loyalty through customer service. It’s a story about passion, knowledge, and a little bit of luck.

Show Notes:

• Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) asks if barrel proof will last in the bottle over time
• Are you going to give us an updated shirtless picture we can use on our website?
• What opportunity presented itself to go from a blogger to a whiskey e-commerce business?
• What was some of those early hurdle of getting people to order online?
• How are you finding new customers?
• What legal hurdles have been the toughest to overcome?
• Can you share what your warehousing situation was like versus today?
• Is it gratifying to look back and think about what’s like to help kickstart some brand’s success?
• How do you figure out inventory management and the challenges of doing this on e-commerce versus brick and morter?
• Were you searching for brands or are brands coming to you now to have that online retail presence?
• How are you trying to connect the brands and the consumers?
• How are you building customer loyalty?
• Can you share your initial investment to get your licenses and first POs to get your first sales?
• Are you see a trade down with de-premiumization and how consumers are shifting?
• What does growth look like now?
• Support this podcast on Patreon

Is the daily drinker dead? I take this roundtable into the direction of deep thoughts once again. At some point in our bourbon journey, someone has asked you “what’s your go to?” and maybe you had an answer, but today you may be uncertain about it. I ask everyone on the roundtable if we’re living in the golden age of american whiskey and if they feel there’s too many options on the shelf to be living in the bubble of only a few bottles.

Show Notes:

• Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about bourbon legislation.
• Is the daily drinker dead?
• Are we living in the golden age of American Whiskey?
• How do you break away from the daily drinker?
• @breakingbourbon @fredminnick @drinkseelbachs
  @bourbonr
• Support this podcast on Patreon

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At this point, if you’ve been listening to the show then you know there is a whole world of investor barrels and there is plenty of talk about a bourbon bubble burst and market saturation. For that reason, I’ve invited Jeremy Dever on the show. I’ve known Jeremy for a few years and he’s a wealth of knowledge and has a pulse on the market. He got his start working with Steve Thompson at Kentucky Artisan Distillery and transitioned to brokering barrels for investors without brands. We discuss barrel values, overproduction issues, and if now is a good time to launch a new brand or if it’s too late. It’s a reality check for many people because the modern day bourbon glut may have arrived.

Show Notes:

• Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about leading a quick bourbon tasting.
• How did you meet Steve Thompson and get into the spirits business?
• What was your role at Kentucky Artisan Distillery?
• At what point did you get into the barrel brokering market?
• What do investors with barrels do when they don’t have brands?
• What is the benchmark for barrels when figuring out the value?
• Should investors think about acquiring brands to sell the barrels?
• Now are investor barrels being held on to wait for higher ages?
• What are we going to do with overproduction and all the stillage?
• Is the best time or the worst time to start a bourbon brand?
• When will see the open barrel market start to level out?
• Support this podcast on Patreon

The bourbon boom has sparked intense interest in America’s native spirit, but has also raised complex questions for longtime aficionados and novices alike. With so many new releases and labeling tactics, it can be difficult to discern what defines a quality bourbon. Producers walk a fine line between innovation and tradition, while consumers struggle to separate marketing hype from honest craftsmanship. To help me dive into a bunch of topics I’ve invited Kris Hart to be on the show. He’s the co-creator of The Prideful Goat, an organizer for the Houston Whiskey Social, a contributing member of the Houston Bourbon Society and former guest on the show. We talk about balancing innovation with integrity because that are signs of disenchanting consumers in an increasingly crowded market. We touch on more fun TTB loopholes that I’m sure you will find interesting as well.

Show Notes:

• Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about getting the first sample to review.
• Have you memorized the entire TTB manual?
• How do you promote education without coming off critical?
• Do you feel like today’s new whiskey connoisseur doesn’t know what good bourbon tastes like?
• Why doesn’t Four Roses do more special releases?
• What happens to experiments that don’t make it to market?
• Is it possible to turn aged whiskey into bourbon?
• How do we keep companies honest with the labels they are filing to match the whiskey?
• How far have the rules been bent on bourbon?
• Do you feel as a producer that you have to put names to your releases for differentiation?
• Is adding coloring in scotch pretty common?
• What’s on the horizon for the prideful goat?
• Have we seen more consumer burnout?
• @whiskypete
• Support this podcast on Patreon

This is another installment of bourbon community roundtable but digging deep into the psychology realm. I posed this question a few weeks ago to our Patreon community to get some initial feedback and I asked them, when is it enough? Not enough of buying bourbon, I’m completely cool with that. But at what point do you have enough of the same thing? It’s pretty common to see people talking about and chasing the same bottles. Every day there is a load of comments on every picture of Blanton’s or there’s a line outside of a store with people waiting for Eagle Rare or Weller. And now we’re getting to the point where I’m seeing pictures with nothing except one type of bottle lined up 10 deep on the shelf of the same thing. So if you see an Eagle Rare and you grab it, and you have had it plenty of times, why do you continue to pull it off the shelf instead of thinking “maybe I should put my resources into something different?”. When is it enough? Are you looking for value? Are you looking for status? Are you afraid of change? I want to go deep once again to understand more of the bourbon buyer mentality.

Show Notes:

• Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about ex-bourbon barrels.
• When is it enough of the same bottle?
• Why have 10 of the same thing?
• Is it all for status?
• Has your taste changed?
• @breakingbourbon @fredminnick @drinkseelbachs
  @bourbonr
• Support this podcast on Patreon

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The bourbon landscape has evolved dramatically over the past century, shaped by changing tastes, technologies, and regulations. In the 1970s and 80s, barrel proof options were limited due to higher taxes on high-proof spirits. Bourbon trends have ebbed and flowed, with favorites like maple finishes and honey cask maturation rising and falling in popularity. As innovation marches on, questions remain about what’s next. Ryan, Fred, and myself discuss the nuanced offerings like cigar blends and amburana barrel-aged bourbons and if they will be fleeting fads or establish themselves as mainstays and if rye whiskeys and light whiskies already peaked in popularity. While some trends fade fast, broader consumer excitement for bourbons finished in unique barrels suggests the underlying whiskey geek curiosity for new flavors won’t disappear anytime soon. However, core classic bourbon may regain flourish with consumers. With so many aging experiments underway, it’s impossible to predict exactly how tastes will evolve. But one thing is clear – the bourbon landscape will continue its dynamic change.

Show Notes:

• Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about the same bottle of bourbon tasting different.
• Why wasn’t there barrel proof options in the 70’s and 80s?
• Was bourbon taxed differently in the past?
• Were there bourbon trends back in the 40s and 50s?
• What does the lifecycle look like for finished whiskeys?
• Will the honey cask finish trend continue?
• Will whiskey geeks go back to drinking normal bourbon or is the everyday bourbon dead?
• When do trends become mainstays?
• What will happen to cigar blends?
• Will Amburana barrels experience a quick death?
• Will maple finish continue to be used?
• Will American Single Malt have a long life?
• Have we seen the end of light whiskey?
• Has rye whiskey peaked?
• Support this podcast on Patreon

At some point you will find yourself going to a bourbon festival. And rightly you should. It’s where people like us gather to try new things and meet a like-minded community. On today’s show, I’ve invited Diane Strong of Bourbon on the Banks and Drew Chostner of the St. Louis Bourbon Festival to come on the show to talk about throwing a bourbon festival that isn’t always the same. The goal is to make this a truly engaging event for bourbon lovers by bringing together an exciting mix of upstart distilleries and big brands for tastings. We talk about including educational seminars and the overall format. But then we dive into the nitty gritty of things like city permitting, access to water, and how to calculate ticket prices for attendees.

Show Notes:

• Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about operations after a master distiller leaves.
• What was your bourbon journey like?
• Was the reason for the festival to cash flow other projects?
• What are you trying to do to make your festival different than anything else?
• What types or permits do you need?
• Has the ABC ever showed up to one of your events?
• What approach do you take to get brands to sponsor the festival?
• Do you see attendees start venturing toward the startups vs the traditional distilleries?
• How do you make sure the distilleries are engaged with attendees?
• How do you promote responsibility?
• Why would you want to include educational seminars?
• How do you determine ticket prices for attendees?
• @stlbourbonsociety @bourbononthebanks
• Support this podcast on Patreon