Innholdsfortegnelse for Bourbon 2023 i Bourbon

If there is one resounding feeling I get when thinking about bourbon, it would be its ability to unite. Although I edit American whiskey publications, I'm permanently based in the United Kingdom. Like many, a glass of bourbon was my first experience of a whiskey made in the US and because of what would go on to happen in the years that followed, I will forever love it. Since that first sip, I've enjoyed many wonderful moments with friends across the globe while savoring a bourbon, getting to know each other through the spirit and discussing our favorite expressions. During the past few years it feels as though there has been an exciting change in the way whiskey makers are approaching bourbon. For many brands there are layers, and years,…

The B-Line was launched in 2018, bringing together local businesses to attract a piece of the bourbon tourism pie in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. There weren’t many options even in 2018 – the main offerings were the Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar, Newberry Brothers Prohibition Bar and Coffee Shop, plus Boone County Distilling, Old Pogue Distilling, and New Riff Distilling. The area did not have much to draw tourists other than the Newport Aquarium. According to local lore, Newport, Kentucky is America’s original “sin city,” so named before Las Vegas even existed. And Karl Raitz states in his 2020 book Making Bourbon that Covington alone had 19 distilleries in the 19th century. But after Prohibition, the area’s bourbon heritage dried up. Today, the bourbon offering includes a number of additional distilleries:…

One of the most controversial things in the American whiskey world is the notion that bourbon can be made outside of Kentucky. While there were several decades during the 20th century when bourbon was almost exclusively made in Kentucky, it has been made outside of the state for almost as long as it has been called bourbon. One such producer is the Holladay Distillery in Weston, Missouri – although its story does start in Kentucky, in Nicholas County, the birthplace of brothers Ben and David Holladay. “Our history dates back to 1856,” explains master distiller Kyle Merklein. “Ben Holladay and his brother, David, were from Kentucky and they knew the importance of limestone spring water. They had various businesses in Weston itself, and they bought this property, which was an…

Over the last several years, the whiskey world has experienced incredible innovation through distilling and blending techniques. However, one industry component lacking inventiveness is the direct-to-consumer (DtC) shipping of spirits – which is no fault of the distilleries or thought leaders in whiskey. Instead, you can thank the antiquated laws in effect that date back to Prohibition. Each state is sanctioned to establish its own laws for how alcohol may be produced, sold, and transported within its borders. Consequently, distillers may only ship in or into a state if that state’s laws allow for DtC shipping. Currently, only eight states and DC permit distillers for interstate shipment of spirits to their residents, which – as the below stats prove – is scarcer than craft spirits enthusiasts would prefer. A 2022…

The James E. Pepper Distillery in Lexington, Kentucky has reached a milestone. After beginning distillation again in December of 2017, Old Pepper Bourbon and Rye are once again available as products distilled completely on-site. These bottled-in-bond offerings signal a shift from the brand’s years of contract-distilled products, to products made entirely in-house – a triumph for a distillery and a brand that were almost completely lost to history. James E. Pepper was the son of Oscar Pepper and the grandson of Elijah Pepper. Elijah Pepper started the distillery that today is Woodford Reserve, and his son Oscar hired James Crow to work in the family business, ushering in the age of quality control in distilled spirits. James lost his father at a young age and became the ward of E.…

Bourbon is a unique agricultural product that was perfected over the generations as new technologies and techniques became available. It began as a way to preserve crops through fermentation and later distillation, and then it went from being stored in earthenware jugs to charred barrels. Once regulations were put into place to protect consumers and ensure they knew what they were buying, the basic framework for bourbon was established. Legally in order to be called bourbon, a whiskey must be: • Made from a minimum of 51 per cent corn and any other combination of cereal or pseudocereal grains (think: quinoa), water, and yeast • Must be distilled to no higher than 160 proof • Must be barreled at no higher than 125 proof • Must be bottled no lower…

Storm King Distilling Company in Montrose, Colorado was founded in 2018 by father-son duo Greg and David Fishering. Son David runs the day-to-day operations of the tiny distillery that produces, at most, four 53-gallon barrels of whiskey a week, though output is typically half that. The story of Storm King Distilling Company begins nearly a decade ago when David and his wife were working in Washington, DC and decided to head first to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and later to Scotland to tour distilleries, igniting a passion that would lead to a 2023 World Whiskies Awards win. “My wife and I visited the Kentucky Bourbon Trail,” recalls David. “That same year, around the holidays, we were in England visiting her family, and we had to go to Scotland. We went…

Sometimes in life we come across a piece of information that is far too intriguing to simply digest and move on from; towards the end of last year, Never Say Die Bourbon had that very effect on me. A Kentucky straight bourbon that was matured in the UK? One moment, can you explain that to me again? The question to ask in this scenario is, “Well, why not?” There is a good argument to say that I feel an affinity to this brand, as a UK resident that edits an American publication, but either way the question posed is still valid and something to consider when your future self is selecting which whiskey to try next. Firstly, it is worth noting this bourbon is a love letter to an important…

To fully understand where the Kentucky Owl brand is going, you must first see where it has been. It was founded in 1879 by pharmacist Charles Mortimer Dedman; his distillery was located on the banks of the Kentucky River and produced ‘The Wise Man’s Bourbon’ until Prohibition put a stop to his work in 1916. At that point, 250,000 gallons of Kentucky Owl whiskey were seized by federal agents and shipped up river to the state capital. However, shortly after, the warehouse mysteriously burned to the ground and took all of the bourbon with it. It took until 2014 for new life to be breathed into the brand. That new life initially came in the form of Charles’ great-great grandson, Dixon Dedman. Dixon had worked at his family’s Beaumont Inn,…

Karla Green is the creative director of Louisville’s Watch Hill Proper, one of the largest whiskey bars in the United States. There are more than 1,700 American whiskeys on the menu, so I wouldn’t recommend trying to order a white wine spritzer or a gin and tonic. There’s a whiskey, or a whiskey cocktail, for everyone and food and cocktail menus there rotate seasonally. We recently caught up with Green to understand how she develops these continually rotating cocktail menus. Maggie Kimberl (MK): How does designing a cocktail menu for a whiskey bar differ from designing a cocktail menu for a general bar? Karla Green (KG): The difference with Watch Hill is just the magnitude of offerings that we have. Only being American whiskey, since that is our primary focus,…

Milam & Greene’s Very Small Batch Bourbon: Batch 1 Whenever I’m given the opportunity to wax poetic about quality Texas whiskies, Milam & Greene is usually a name I drop. This summer, it added a new expression to its core collection, the Very Small Batch Bourbon: Batch 1. In 2018, Milam & Greene’s master distiller Marlene Holmes began using its bourbon mash bill and a yeast strain that has been used in its Texas-based distillery at a Kentucky distillery. The first barrels of the Kentucky distillate laid down in 2018 are now four years old, matured, and ready for bottling. This “inciting incident” got the team’s gears turning to create the Very Small Batch Bourbon, as Milam & Greene’s CEO and master blender Heather Greene notes. The Very Small Batch…

Barrell Craft Spirits celebrated a decade in November 2022. During the past 10 years, founder Joe Beatrice and his crew have brought dozens of products to market that have won hundreds of awards. The secret to Barrell’s success? A steady stream of new products to meet the consumer desire to find the next best bottle. Barrell has had a loyal following from the start and is beginning its next decade on a strong footing by continuing to offer unique blended spirits with no smoke and mirrors. “I ran [Barrell] for the first year from my bedroom at my house,” says Beatrice. “It’s been really quite the 10 years.” After a weekend visit to a few distilleries in New York more than a decade ago, Beatrice decided he wanted to build…

In September of 2022 it was announced that Abby Martinie would advance within Four Roses to channel brand growth, elevate consumer awareness, and develop world-class cocktail programs. No pressure! Before stepping into this role, the aptly named Martinie brought with her more than a decade of experience in the spirits industry. Phoebe Calver (PC): What is your current job title? Abby Martinie (AM): Brand ambassador and mixologist of Four Roses Distillery. PC: What was your introduction into the world of spirits? How did you know it was the career for you? AM: I became interested in American whiskey while working behind the bar several years ago in Phoenix, Arizona. My love for bourbon continued to grow as I moved throughout my career, later working in bar programs for some of…

Despite a handful of positive developments in policies pertaining to whiskey, there remains room for an opportunity with the help of new and amended regulations. And it is the mission of Justin and Jennifer Stiefel – the husband-wife team behind Heritage Distilling Company – to motivate US legislature to act in driving even more momentum in the growth of the whiskey industry. The Stiefels founded Heritage Distilling Company in 2011 with a love of craft spirits and a wealth of experience from their government backgrounds. Justin has long held an interest in the art of whiskey making. At six years old, he watched re-runs of M*A*S*H with his father, where the soldiers in the TV series built a still in their tent. In seventh grade, he made a still for…

In southern Texas, there is a ranch that is bigger than the entire state of Rhode Island. It’s a working cattle ranch, said to be the largest in the United States. While the world-famous Santa Gertrudis cattle are the focus of the ranch’s business, King Ranch is also famous for quarter horses and has had a Triple Crown-winning thoroughbred, named Assault, as well as three other Kentucky Derby winners. Now, King Ranch has partnered with Old Forester to create the unique Old Forester King Ranch Edition Bourbon, only available for sale in Texas. King Ranch is as much a brand as it is a working cattle ranch. In the local town there is a King Ranch saddle shop and a King Ranch museum – big draws for tourists to the…

Peggy Noe Stevens is a master taster, whiskey reviewer, and competition judge. She is known in the industry for her super palate, as well as her founding innovations connecting whiskey and food pairing styles and methods. This month we feature a number of brands and the inspiration for creating unique profiles and food pairings. The following is a guideline to discovering the ultimate food pairings for your guests. How To Pair The below is a simple chart outlining my three-part breakdown to pairing. BALANCE is when you complement a predominant note in the whiskey and balance the flavors so one does not dominate over the other. It creates harmony. COUNTERBALANCE is when opposites attract and you fire up a food flavor, only to have the flavors of the whiskey tame…