Bourbon Pursuit

Empire Rye was founded by a group of distillers out of New York to create something so unique that it requires grains and a footprint in the Empire State. We're joined by Brian McKenzie of Finger Lakes Distilling, Christopher Williams of Coppersea Distilling, and Allen Katz of New York Distilling Co to discuss the culture of rye in New York and the regulations set forth by the Empire Rye act.Show Notes: Shout out to Brad Bonds of Cork N Bottle for hosting us after our New Riff barrel selection Patreon Barrel Picks -> http://bourbo.nz/BarrelPicks This week's Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about Trump, Trade, and NAFTA Chris thanks for coming on today because you about lost your voice this weekend too The oak is new and interesting. Are you sourcing from Independent Stave or somewhere local? Are you looking at different stave widths to adjust for micro-climates? Why culture of rye of NY? Can you talk about the history of it? Who came up with the idea of Empire Rye? And what is the sole idea behind it? During the drafting process, what are those elements that make something an "Empire Rye"? What are the stipulations about grains or can someone in a different state distill an Empire Rye? A rye whiskey is able to develop more flavor and mature faster than a bourbon at a 2 year state. Agree? What about the grains of NY make it interesting or fit that definition? What other grains are you experimenting with that other 25% that's allowable in the mash bill? Were you trying to find commonalities between bottled-in-bond act as well? Is there anyone actually enforcing the standard? When it comes down to the bottling proof, is there an expected standard or is it up to you all? Is there going to be a collaboration or plan on selling barrels with the standard of "Blended Empire Rye Whiskey"? What's the next phase to bring more NY distilleries on board? What's your distribution plan right now? Purchase Finger Lakes Empire Rye at Seelbach's - https://seelbachs.com/search?q=McKenzie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A first ever, in-person recording of the Roundtable crew! We got rained out from Bourbon and Beyond but we're not going to let that stop us from sharing some funny stories and cracking open a 1933 Old Taylor. We also take the time to talk about the Master Distiller shuffle happening at Heaven Hill, Maker's Mark, and Jim Beam. Show Notes: This week’s Above the Char has Fred Minnick discussing his Super Bowl We have a funny story to tell from the Speed Art Museum's rare bourbon auction Bourbon and Beyond talk Brian and Blake ask us the hardest question they were going to ask from their cancelled sessions We start talking about the actual roles of Master Distillers and the transition we've seen from Four Roses with Jim Rutledge Denny Potter from Heaven Hill is transitioning to Director of Operations to Master Distiller at Maker's Mark. Was this the right move? Brian from Sipp'n Corn brought a 1933 Old Taylor for the roundtable to open and try. wow. Thanks to Blake from Bourbonr.com, Nick and Jordan from Breaking Bourbon, and Brian from Sipp’n Corn for joining this week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

BP EXCLUSIVE! Get the inside experience of the 2018 Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame. Hear from icons in the whiskey industry as they stroll down the red carpet and listen to the heart warming speeches delivered by inductees from Freddie Johnson of Buffalo Trace, Matt Shattock, CEO of Beam Suntory, and Max Shapira, CEO of Heaven Hill. The first time ever this event is being made available to the public. Show Notes: This week's Above the Char has Fred Minnick discussing friendships and choosing that right bottle to celebrate The show starts off interviewing Fred Noe, Freddie Noe, and Matt Shattock of Jim Beam on the red carpet Transitions to the ceremony where Eric Gregory, President of the KDA, introduces everyone Louisville Mayor, Greg Fisher, gives an introduction of Matt Shattock Matt's speech is delivered unedited We transition back out to the red carpet to interview Freddie Johnson The ceremony then kicks off with Eric Gregory talking about Freddie's history A.J. Hochhalter, Film Producer of NEAT, introduces Freddie Freddie delivers his speech and talks about his dad and family - completely unedited The red carpet is alive once again talking to Mark Coffman, Master Distiller at Town Branch The ceremony resumes with Eric Gregory giving a history of Dr. Pearse Lyons of Alltech A short story from Jerry Summers, HOF 2017 inductee, about Pearse Lyons The final red carpet appearance features Andy Shapira talking about his father Max, as well as Larry Kass with a brief history of Rittenhouse 21-25 year single barrels The ceremony begins the wrap up with Eric Gregory giving Max Shapira's resume Donn Lux, Chairman and President of Luxco, shares some funny stories of Max's attention to the bottom line Max Shapira talks about his family, the history of Heaven Hill, and that growth will continue Listen to all of our Buffalo Trace, Heaven Hill, Town Branch, and Beam podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Private barrel selections are becoming the hot new item. These carefully selected barrels are brought into a store and chosen for a particular audience. However, can every one be a winner? Do you trust who picked it? Just because a label said it was chosen by a master distiller, did he really pick it or was it leftovers from other barrel picks? And of course, we have to cover stickers because it's the hotness. It's a podcast that is both fascinating and intriguing and will make you think twice about going into a unknown store to purchase a random barrel pick.Show Notes: This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about family and the new Bourbon Hall of Fame inductees. Ryan, when you go into a store and look for a single barrel pick, what do you gravitate towards? Back on Ep 124 we covered creating a barrel picking group and we've talked about individual barrel picks before but we're going to deep dive today What makes barrel picks more special than their standard bottling counterpart? Are all barrel picks always better than their standard releases? If a store picks samples out of a box, are they all just rejects? Is three samples really enough to go off of? What about stickers that say "selected by the Master Distiller"? Michael Iurato​ asks "I have not had that many store picks but from my experience it seems like the single store pick is usually better than when a major chain or the state run liquor outlet does a pick. Would you agree?" Talk about what it means to have a bourbon group together vs having a store pick for you Is it really possible to pick a barrel based on the tastes of the customers for a store? I mean everyone is different Is having "after market" stickers a good thing? Is there too much hype train on them? Let's speculate. Lets talk about store picks that are no longer available. Is there a false sense of demand or are they trying to play the game? Why can't there be just a few single barrels of Weller 12 or Elijah Craig Barrel Proof per year? Heaven Hill used to plenty of private picks, but now all you see is Elijah Craig. Why are they holding back? Why even continue a single barrel program is the bourbon is going to sell anyway? Frank Mentlick​ asks What is the first taste that turn you off a pick? Sweet? Lack flavor? What makes you excited about picks? Do you do a baseline by sneaking in a flask with the standard offering? Any tips on going on your first barrel pick? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is he the biggest Wild Turkey super fan out there? Without a doubt. David Jennings goes by the alter ego RareBird101. In this episode we explore his obsession with older dusty Wild Turkey and even some of the newest Russell's Reserve offerings. We also spend some time speculating on our theories on what has changed over the years and if Wild Turkey is headed in the right direction with premium offerings.Show Notes: Before we dive right in, what's your bourbon story? What got you into Wild Turkey? What keeps you interested in Wild Turkey? Talk about your blog for a minute and what you do at Rarebird101 Think about some of those reviews you’ve done, because I’ve seen some real turkey unicorns in there from tradition to split labels to Christmas Rye. Do you have any standout favorites? What is it about cheesy gold foil? Jimmy says nothing has changed. But Be honest, do you think dusty Wild Turkey is better than today? Since you’ve tasted almost everything in the turkey lineup, any thoughts on recreating that dusty flavor profile? We posted on Instagram a while back about waiting in line for a Weller107 store pick because people like us are dumb. You were playing the angle that if everyone focused their attention on Russell's Reserve picks you wouldn’t have to stand in line. I know you have an article on the 10 reasons why you should be buying Russell's Reserve picks, what are some of those favorite reasons of yours? How many different Russell's Reserve picks do you have? It seems that Wild Turkey limited releases don’t get many accolades. From Diamond to Master’s Keep. What’s you honest opinion? Do you feel they don’t deserve the high dollar or do you? Did you sleep on Russell's Reserve 1998 like I did? When are you getting your chance to meet Matt McConaughey? Support RareBird101 on Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why there is an extra L in Barrell Bourbon? Well, today we find out. Joe Beatrice and Tripp Stimson join us to talk about all things Barrell and how this brand is really one for the bourbon geeks with unfiltered barrel proof expressions. We then dive into the newest releases of the Infinite Barrel Project and talk about their plans for sourcing, distilling and blending as they have made Louisville KY their headquarters.Show Notes: This week's Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about sexism with Master Distillers. Do you remember you first bottle of bourbon or first memory with it? Talk about the history of Barrell. Why did you want to start it? What is it about barrel proof that consumers like over 90 or 100 proof? Would you rather blend than distill? What's the size of a Barrell batch? Which do you think is harder because we've had both master distillers and master blenders on the show? How does scale play into this bringing in more barrels? What's the release schedule and idea about numbering the batches? Why is there an extra L? Give us a run down of the line up products you offer Why rum? New year edition. Let's talk about what this is all about. The Infinite Barrel Project is super unique. Why keep doing new ideas and not sticking with the staples? Tripp are there any ideas that Joe comes up with and you're like "this is never going to work"? What's a rejected idea? Are you able to continually able to source good whiskey and are you able to turn it away? Talk about the operation now. Are are you contract distilling? straight sourcing? bottling? So are you itching to start distilling? Why distill when you haven't had a problem getting barrels before? Would you take your own distillate and mix from sourced goods? Why build a distillery that's a pure factory that doesn't look at making it a tourist destination? Why Louisville? You can build a distillery anywhere. What about storage? I know you’re at Castle and Key right now but where can you go? Do you think you started a revolution of brands following suit? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The full gang of the bourbon community roundtable made it for this one. We discuss the timing of distilleries starting to blend their own distillate and a whole second half of the show dedicated to Heaven Hill. Not only did they send some really good bourbon samples, but they are also suing Bob Dylan over Heavens Door Whiskey.Show Notes We are seeing a whole new slew of crafts that are moving from MGP to their own distillate. New Riff, Smooth Ambler, it will eventually be lots more. The question is, when is the right time? Can you taste potential? When do you stomach it up and buy another after you've been burned? Battle of the New Heaven Hill releases. Let's talk about them individually and where should you spend your money? Heaven Hill brings out the big guns to sue Bob Dylan's whiskey brand Heaven's Door over trademark protection Complaint -> https://www.dropbox.com/s/em64gkv5d3is7yc/Complaint.pdf?dl=0 Expert Report -> https://www.dropbox.com/s/wnm9u12bo8o911a/Expert%20Report.pdf?dl=0 What do you consider a modern unicorn? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Where can you see Lenny Kravitz, John Mayer, Bourbon Pursuit, Sheryl Crow, Eddie Russell, Sting, Fred Noe, and more! Only at Bourbon & Beyond Festival 2018! The entire Bourbon Pursuit Team is together for the first time to talk about the festival, the music , the Bourbon+ seminars, and a few backstage stories from last year. Oh yeah... you can win tickets to be there with us, visit Facebook and get entered to win.Show Notes: Buy your tickets to the Speed Museum’s Art of Bourbon hosted by Fred Minnick This week's "Above the Char" with Fred Minnick discusses state pride and whiskey bars across the country. Our first podcast with Fred Minnick joining as part of the Bourbon Pursuit team! Talk about the origins and the planning process behind it What was the idea about the culinary components? What did you see out if your attendees about who were coming from outside the city? Let’s talk about the sessions Kenny and Ryan are leading two Bourbon+ Workshops What are you looking forward to with regards of music? Let’s talk about the Big Bourbon Bar Rabbit Hole brought their own bartenders from Death and Co What is Fred’s mini bar? Got a cool story from backstage last year? What about vintage pours? What is it about having a Tiki bar as well? We're sipping on Old Jordan from the 1900s Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's time for the blind battle of private barrel selections! Three heavyweight bouts between barrels that have sweet stickers and demand a hefty market price. During this fight of flights we are joined by Ben Pickett and Paul Warnott to discuss blind tasting strategies, barrel selection processes, and overall thoughts on our competing picks.Show Notes: Buy your tickets to the Speed Museum's Art of Bourbon hosted by Fred Minnick This week's "Above the Char" focuses on the myth that bourbon can only be made in Kentucky Paul invited us to come, what was the motivation behind it? Ben, how do you disperse 150 bottles between 1000 people? Are you spoiled by being able to go on every single barrel pick? Do you see people faking store picks now because there are hang tags? Time to do our first blind tasting [Russell's Reserve Results between Blind Monkey, Bluegrass Berries, and Twix] Does trying anything in a particular order skew the results? Tell the story behind Bluegrass Berries Do you use anything as a palate cleanser When you're going into blind tastings, do you have a method for setting it up and breaking it down? Time do our 2nd blind tasting Have you tried a bottled-in-bond blind to remove the proof variable? Do you pick for the group or the store? Have you ever done a barrel proof line up and is that harder or easier than something that's 90 or 110 proof. What do legs do for you? What do you think the attraction is to NCF or is it all mental? [Buffalo Trace Results between Bourbon Community Roundtable, The Bourbon Review 2017, and Tipsy Buffalo] Is there any way you can get a barrel proof single barrel any more that is outside of MGP? Time to do our 3rd blind tasting What was your impression of picking a barrel at New Riff/OKI vs Wild Turkey or Buffalo Trace? When going back and forth between two, do you look for big discerning differences? When you are doing blind, is it harder to do 8 or more together or should you narrow the field? How often do you, if ever, spit anything out when tasting? [Barrel Proof Results between EH Taylor Barrel Proof and OKI 12 year "Ricky Bobby"] Stop in at Jake's Cigar Bar to learn more and try some of these barrels. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kentucky Owl has amassed a cult following. It hit the market in 2014 but didn't gain nationwide sensation until recently. Dixon Dedman joins the show to talk about the Stoli investment, huge rye releases, and what's in store for Batch 8 this fall. Listen as we talk about burnout as Dixon continues bussing tables and making fried chicken at the Beaumont Inn while building a brand.Show Notes: This week's Above the Char with Fred Minnick discusses responsible drinking and taxation. Can you give a refresher of Kentucky Owl and Beaumont Inn? Are you getting to the point of burnout? How much time are you putting into Kentucky Owl? What has changed with Kentucky Owl in the past 2 years? Were you looking for investors or being sought out? Why did you choose Stoli over others? Was the goal to really get this big? Have you caught yourself saying you want to do Kentucky Owl full time? Talk a bit about the blends and batches What is the ultimate goal in how you can take something and scale it for blending? Why have different batches and not have something consistent? Give everyone a refresher on the bourbon process for re-barreling How long are you re-aging? How often are you putting out new batches? What are we doing different with Batch 8 vs Batch 7? Why start the Rye release? Do you want the bourbon to become as big as the rye release? How many bottles were in the Rye release? Are you putting more emphasis on the bourbon rather than the rye? Talk about the investment from Stoli and what's going to happen with the theme park Talk about your epic samplings at Beaumont Inn on Instagram All Kentucky Owl Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices