Bourbon Pursuit

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Latest Episodes:

144 - Judging the San Francisco World Spirits Competition with Anthony Dias Blue Apr 12, 2018

Show notes

What does a bourbon that receives double gold actually mean? Are the whiskies judged blind? We learn all this and more as the Executive Director of the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Anthony Dias Blue, joins the show to give us an inside glimpse to the bourbons that can be entered and dispels some myths if it's a "pay to play" atmosphere.

Show Notes:

What sets your competition apart from the rest?
How many different categories do you have at the event?
Are all tastings done blind?
Are they shelf bottles (from a standard distributor) or do distillers get to choose specific bottles they send in?
Why not Jack Daniels and other major selling brands?
How medals are awarded, and what those medals actually mean when we see them on a bottle?
How many judges are there and how many need to rate a bourbon as Gold for it to receive a Gold Medal?
Most of the time when I see a sticker on a bottle saying that this bourbon was rated as Gold or Double Gold, it doesn’t have a date on the sticker. If a bourbon is awarded a medal does it have that medal forever? Is it or can it be evaluated ever again? Does the producer have to do anything to maintain that medal?
Is the "same" product is entered over multiple years and judged independently each year?
How much weight should we consumers put on these awards when we see them on a brand we’ve never heard of or tried?
Why have a competition at all?
Is it "pay to play" and your entrance fee will automatically score you a medal?
Do you see cases of "bait and switch"? Products/Sellers submit “honey” barrels to the competition to get a higher award, and then using that award to promote an inferior product.

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143 - MGP vs Tennessee Bourbon, WL Weller CYPB, and Shipping on Bourbon Community Roundtable #19 Apr 05, 2018

Show notes

Do you snuff at $100 MGP bourbon and will sourced Dickel be the next wave of NDPs? What does House Bill 400 really mean when it comes to shipping booze from Kentucky? And finally Buffalo Trace announced their new line of CYPB but who really wanted 95 proof Weller? We touch on all these topics and more on this Bourbon Community Roundtable episode.

Show Notes:

What's everyone drinking tonight?
Are we getting tired of seeing $100 MGP bourbons?
Bourbonr and BreakingBourbon have Doc52, let's hear it
Any good April fools out there?
Let’s talk shipping. HB400 passed
The new W. L. Weller Bourbon, CYPB edition (short for Craft Your Perfect Bourbon), is, according to those behind it, made from a wheat recipe, aged eight years on the top floors of the warehouses, and bottled at 95 proof. It is the bourbon which best fit into what over 100,200 bourbon drinkers voted most for over two years – a wheated bourbon recipe aged for eight years that’s been matured on the top floor of the bourbon warehouse and bottled at somewhere between 90-99 proof. Although very limited, one batch of this new bourbon will be released each year, beginning this summer. The recommended price is around $40 for a 750ml bottle. First off, who said we wanted 95 proof weller?
Kerry visited Bowman and Jack Rose Dining Saloon
Thanks to Blake from bourbonr.com, Jordan from BreakingBourbon.com, Kerry from Sobourbia.com, and Brian Harra from Sippncorn.blogspot.com

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142 - The Man Behind 100 Distilleries, Dave Pickerell Mar 29, 2018

Show notes

Dave Pickerell is well known in the bourbon world, he was former master distiller at Maker’s Mark and owns a consulting business, Oak View Spirits, where he has designed equipment, systems and processes for about 100 distilleries worldwide including WhistlePig, Hillrock, Corsair, and many others. This episode dives into to the distilleries themselves, the pricing behind Boss Hog, and questions we would want to know from a master distiller like grain sourcing.

Show Notes:

As usual, lets start from the beginning. Do you remember your introduction into whiskey or bourbon?
Did you think chemical engineering would lead to spirits?
First off, do you get tired of talking about your past at Makers?
Do you think Maker’s put you on the map?
Do people still ask you to sign Maker’s stuff?
It seems that consulting is becoming a pretty big business because there’s the likes of you, Jim Rutledge, Nancy Fraley, Greg Metze, and the list goes on. Is there that much demand?
Are you training new distillers?
Do they get off track?
Master distillers today are seen is high regards as a big marketing tool and the face of the brand relies on that one person. However, you’re wearing the badge of many distilleries at one time. Are you asked to go to places to talk about a specific brand? Do you play favorites?
You’re still heavily involved with WhistlePig still, correct?
Talk about the brand a bit because it’s one we typically don’t talk about on the show.
It’s just sourced MGPi, right? So what are you doing that’s adding a bit of pizzazz to it?
Tell me, what’s up with the pricing on Boss Hog? What sort of magic are you doing that makes a $500 bottle of whiskey?
You are working with craft distilleries every day, what’s the biggest challenge you see facing them?
Are you trying to produce the same product at all these places? Because when I think about it you could just have the Dave Pickerall SKUs where you say here’s your 3 options, choose one and we will put everything in that bucket
Whats your theory on sourcing grains?
Are chewing on them? Or after distillation?
Discuss year to year variation of crops affect on flavors.
Discuss how sourcing grains from different parts of the world makes a difference in the finished product.

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141 - Bourbon Brain Teasers with Wade Woodard Mar 22, 2018

Show notes

Can you name all the distilleries in Lawrenceburg? How is it possible that a straight bourbon is only 70 proof? Wade Woodard, blogger at tater-talk.com and witty comedic relief on Facebook forums, leads us through a series of bourbon brain teasers to see if we really know our stuff. Wade is an advocate for bourbon laws and makes sure that everyone is playing by the rules so he knows them inside and out. Listen to see if we get stumped and see if you can answer the questions before we can.

Show Notes:

None! Because I want you to listen and try to guess the answers for yourself!

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140 - Getting Nosey with Nancy "The Nose" Fraley and Joseph A. Magnus & Co Mar 15, 2018

Show notes

Blending is an art. We've discussed it many times before and our guest today would be considered the Queen. She provides Nosing Services, meaning she is a blood hound in human form. Listen about Nancy Fraley's past and how she has carved a path as one of the world's best blenders for whiskey, rum, armagnac, and many different spirits. In the second segment of the show, we talk about her current role at Joseph A. Magnus & Co and how she mirrored the current distribution to one that was found in a family closet from pre-prohibition as well as her exploration in the Jos. A. Magnus Cigar Blend!

Show Notes:

This is the second Master Blender we’ve had on the show. Back on Episode 103 we featured Drew Mayville. If you didn’t get a chance to listen to it, you really should. It’s an impossible decision to wonder if the master distiller or the master blender is the real star of the show.
Our guest today is renowned in the industry and gets the ever so attractive nickname “the nose”.
Lets talk about you for a bit. Do you remember your first experience with whiskey or bourbon?
Talk about your education and how you got your nick name
When did you realize you could start a business with this?
What do you do when you get a head cold?
So you currently freelance for many big names in the industry as well as craft distilleries out there. What services are you offering for many of these places?
What are some of the most common mistakes distillers make?
Talk me through nosing new make or white dog and how you can criticize or tweak it because in my opinion it’s damn near impossible. are there certain aromas?
Any examples of when you can sense something is wrong and how to fix it?
What’s the worst case you came across and had to salvage something. We can keep the names innocent, but what went wrong?
What else besides whiskey do you consult in?
I read somewhere you’re a big fan of armagnac.
Do you use the same method for judging different spirits or is there a playbook for each one?
Lots of craft distilleries are looking at you to help perfect their products.
How does you determine the amount of each different whiskey that goes into a blend? Does that always translate when your mixing small amounts in a lab then try to use the same percentages on a batch from barrels?
Lots of people do home blending with after market products. Perhaps it’s something as simple as an infinity bottle where you take the last ounce or two from every bottle and put it in a decanter, and others that buy these small 1 gallon barrels. Is there any recipe or formula you use to know what should go into a blend?
Do you find it odd or interesting that distilleries don’t do limited edition blendings with barrels from each respective distiller to form a collaboration?
Talk about Jos A Magnus and what you are doing there
I’ve got access to the single barrels as well as some of the infamous Cigar blend finishes. I want you to talk me through your involvement with single barrels, the standard Magnus release, Murray Hill, and we’ll finish it off with Cigar Blend
Do you see barrel finishes as the future of the industry?

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139 - Overaged Bourbon, PLCB Controversy, Reboot of Old Fitz, and the New Norm of $100 NDPs on Bourbon Community Roundtable #18 Mar 08, 2018

Show notes

We have a loaded show today with some hot topics hitting the boards. This episode touches on recent releases of NEAT, the less than stellar James Thompson & Brother incredibly overaged bourbon made its way out, we discuss the practices by Pennsylvania liquor control board setting lottery prices at secondary prices, thoughts on the new Old Fitzgerald release, we wonder if NDPs sourced from MGP being $100 is the new norm, and Kenny gets snobby a bit.

Show Notes:

What are your initial thoughts on the new release of NEAT at thebourbonfilm.com?
We've got our own bourbon film come out. You will love the cheesy graphics. It's fun to watch.
There was release for James Thompson & Brother Final Reserve 45 year old bourbon here in Louisville. 250 total bottles. only 150 to the public. It was $1800 + tax. People camped out in the rain. First few sold and then the reviews came out. It’s terrible. What’s the likely future outcome for pricing of this bourbon? and the subsequent 43 and 41 year old releases?
The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board admitting that it's pricing Booker's Rye with secondary in their online lottery. This is state run. Is this legal? What's to make of this?
Heaven Hill is releasing their Old Fitzgerald BIB Decanter at $100. Will you be buying it? What will happen to the bottom shelf Old Fitz?
Are $100 NDP MGPs the new norm? We used to scuff at this like 2 years ago saying you wouldn't pay these prices for something you knew was made in Indiana. Now with things like Mic.Drop. people are doing it. And keep in perspective that GTS is only $89.
Is it a problem with hype?
What's the next SAOS
MGP be the new stitzel weller...all these up and coming distilleries are going to switch to their own distillate and their mgp bottlings will become more valuable
Is it worth buying bottles over $50 now?
What's up with all the Wathen's Barrel Proof recently? When did this become a sought after item? Because it's barrel proof? a single barrel pick? Wathen's has been around forever but just now became something that continually shows up on my feed.
How about an additional topic: Blake hates Single barrel bourbons...thoughts?

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138 - The Truth About Unicorns, Bottle Collections, and Spirit Awards with Bourbon Truth Mar 01, 2018

Show notes

He might be the angriest man in bourbon and ruffles a lot of feathers along the way, but he's been enjoying the spirit longer than most of us. Bourbon Truth, or known as Lloyd Christmas on twitter, is well known for his jabs at the industry. In this episode, we talk about his disdain for shelf trophies, if the current market is overinflated, his opinion on how spirit awards are rigged, and even touch on apple brandy. He's back with another no non-sense episode about the harsh reality we often overlook.

Show Notes:

Also appeared on Episode 094
How has bourbon changed since we last talked?
How dumb are people getting that they are buying partial bottles?
What are your thoughts on WhistlePig and their pricing strategy?
What bottles are collectibles for you?
You said that you hate people that buy bottles as investments but it actually worked out for you.
Do you think you sold your collection too early?
Are prices just at the top ?
Are unicorns going to go up?
What are some of those bottles you would sell already open?
You mentioned KY Owl and it's pricing, do you see that as a long term investment for that particular brand after their Stoli funding?
Why do you think people feel the need to sell half-open bottles?
You had a funny tweet that said "Reviewers have so many different ways of saying 'the booze sucks'"
The Whiskey Advocate changed their whiskey review system with their original score and panel score so it's flawed.
Are those spirit awards just BS now? Because the most favorited spirits don't enter anymore
Is the problem that they are sending single barrels or limited expressions most people won't have access to?
What do you see as the movement of craft? Are bad ones ruining the reputation for the majority of them?
Are you jumping on the rum train too?
We haven't heard people talk about brandy much
How bad has Van Winkle quality gone down in recent years?
Allocations are becoming very scandalous

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137 - The Most Famous Name in Rickhouses, Donald Blincoe of Buzick Construction Feb 22, 2018

Show notes

The Rickhouse. A place where bourbon allows father time and mother nature to do its magic. Have you ever wondered who is behind all these rickhouses? Donald Blincoe, President of Buzick Construction, is carrying on his family's legacy of being the top name in bourbon business for rickhouses. Their patented ricking system is easily identified when entering a rackhouse and Donald talks about their history and process when constructing. Donald also talks a bit about the superiority of a rickhouse versus stacking barrels on pallets. Show Notes:

First let's give an overview of the company and then we will dive into the history.
So do yo know about the history of storing barrels before the idea of rick houses?
There's all different kinds of ways to store barrels. But you all are pretty much renowned for it. Talk about how that came to be.
Why wood?
Talk about the design of the rick itself
Why is your design better than pallet? More economical? Does it make it easier to move barrels in and out?
Is a rackhouse made to survive acts of nature?
What sort of maintenance is involved?
You also have a patented process, right?
Give us the basic idea of why a rick house is constructed the way it is
What man power is involved? I hear you all have a machine that is beginning to automate a bit?
How long to get one stood up?
What's the sustained weight?
Why is there hardly ever electricity ran to these?
Do people ask for other amenities like running water?
How has the engineering of the construction changed over the years or are they just getting bigger?

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136 - Past, Present, and Future Production at Angel's Envy with Kyle Henderson Feb 15, 2018

Show notes

We revisit with Kyle Henderson to talk about the past and current production of Angel's Envy with their new distillery and all the decisions and mistakes that came along with it. Kyle has a great excuse to build a bunker with "competitive tasting" that has amassed him over 1600 bottles of spirits and now he's getting into barrel aged beers and cigars. Kyle hints at a future of bottled-in-bond Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey and putting an end to their sourced whiskey years down the road. What else is in their future? Listen and find out!

Show Notes:

Kyle, You haven’t been back on the show since episode 13 back in May of 2015. Before we dive into what’s new, talk about you again for a moment.
How you came up in the ranks, became a part of the family lineage, etc?
You’re also not a newbie to the bourbon scene. I know you have quite a collection so talk about that too.
How has your role changed now that this distillery is up and running?
Now that you have your own distillery, could we see an Angel's Envy Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey?
That’s no where near the amount needed for sustaining supply of your product so sourcing is still a big means. Is there a future plan to cut off sourcing?
What has it taken for you to get up to speed to now understand distillation as well as outgrowing the co-packer?
Did you all have input on the design of your stills?
Talk about on-boarding and finding the right people
Talk about clocking barrels real quick
What was the benefit of the Bacardi buy out?
How many barrels are you pumping out a day?
That’s no where near the amount needed for sustaining supply of your product so sourcing is still a big means. Is there a future plan to cut off sourcing?

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135 - Barrel Pick Strategies and Theories, Crown Royal Bourbon Mash, and Ridiculous Blanton's Chasing with Bourbon Community Roundtable #17 Feb 08, 2018

Show notes

Everyone has a different strategy when it comes to picking barrels and we talk about each of ours. We also touch on the topic of a "group pick" versus a "store pick" when something is selected by the Master Distiller. Crown Royal Bourbon Mash has violated the TTB, but does the TTB even care? Why are consumers still regulating this? And we talk about bourbon FOMO and the ridiculous amount of people around the country that have Blanton's scarcity, where did it all go? But more importantly, who cares?

Show Notes:

We picked our first barrel together. Let's talk about the process a bit more.
Everyone has a different strategy
Blake can you give your tasting notes on it
Video will be posted on perfectpourtv.com in the future
Everyone passed on barrel #6 but someone will eventually take that barrel. Or do you think that goes to stores who don't select and ask the Master Distiller to pick on for them?
Wade Woodard who has started his new blog at tater-talk.com had an article called Diageo done screwed up. He talked about the Crown Royal Bourbon Mashbill release we discussed in the roundtable. Wade is a consumer advocate and whiskey law sleuth and discovered they are in violation. Can you take any guesses to what this product will be called after the 1 year period is over?
Why are consumers still the ones doing all the legal hurdles? Does the TTB not care? Does it really matter at the end of the day since it's not a real crime?
OKI announced the end of their line with a bunch of 12 year barrels being dumped soon but people are cleaning out shelves. In addition, the standard Old Scout is being cleared too. Not even store picks. Is there a panic mode being set in right now?
People are continually complaining about finding Blanton's. Is it just me or does regular Blanton’s not do it for you all anymore?
Is Buffalo Trace manufacturing demand?
Thanks to Blake from bourbonr.com, Nick and Jordan from BreakingBourbon.com, and Brian Harra from Sippncorn.blogspot.com
Listen to all the Bourbon Community Roundtables

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