Bourbon Pursuit

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Latest Episodes:

044 - Born into Bourbon at Jim Beam with Master Distiller Fred Noe Apr 15, 2016

Show notes

Fred Noe, Global Ambassador and Master Distiller at Jim Beam, talks about the history of Jim Beam, his celebrity encounters and the new Booker’s Rye release.

Show Notes:

You were born into this. Talk about your child hood and some Beam history
What are some things your dad taught you about this business and made you appreciate what you do today?
Your role is not only a master distiller but also a brand ambassador, do you ever sleep?
What’s the short list of some of your favorite places you’ve been?
What do you think has made Jim Beam grow to the #1 product in the world?
You've probably done a lot since then, best and worst jobs of working at the distillery?
The latest Beam ads feature Mila Kunis. Talk about your interactions with Mila.
A question from one of our listeners, what did you think of Mila when she blew up one of the rick houses in the latest ad?
What’s the current state of Jim Beam today?
As more engineering programs expand and more universities offer programs. Do you think the future of distilling is more science than art?
There's a lot of different bourbons under your portfolio, who are some of your right hand people to make sure every brand stays consistent?
Another question from one of our listeners, what is the inspiration behind the Signature Craft series?
Talk about Booker’s Rye that will be hitting the shelves soon.
If you have to start a journey for drinking Jim Beam bourbons to get to the point where you drinking Booker’s neat, where do you start?
Lastly, we need to get the Kentucky Chew.

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043 - Every Booker's Bourbon Box Is Made at Promotional Wood Products with Patrick Hutchens Apr 08, 2016

Show notes

Patrick Hutchens, Owner of Promotional Wood Products, shares his company’s story of giving premium bourbons the extra edge.

Show Notes:

Tell us about your first encounter with bourbon
We’re sipping on a barrel of Knob Creek that you picked out. Tell us about it.
What is Promotional Wood Products?
How did the relationship form that you began to make all the boxes for every Booker’s?
How has production scaled in Booker’s boxes over 22 years?
Talk about how the scents of the Goose Island Rare box that you did
What’s the process for making a box?
How have you tried to perfect the manufacturing process?
Talk about the process of the barrel heads
Talk about the amount of moisture inside of the used barrel products
Are wooden boxes today like the gimmick of the ceramic decanters of the 70s?
Is your goal to have every bottle of bourbon out there in some wooden box?
When you do put these items in boxes, do you really feel that you are making it a premium product?
Any special release boxes coming out?

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042 - Wild Turkey is a Bourbon Staple with Matt Gandolfo, Brand Ambassador Apr 01, 2016

Show notes

Matt Gandolfo, Brand Ambassador for Wild Turkey, talks history of the brand, non-GMO grains, each of the expressions and the new “Decades” release set for May 2016.

Show Notes:

We kick off the show talking about one of our past guests, Marianne Barnes, and the new name for the Old Taylor Distillery.
Tell us about your first encounter with bourbon
Tell us about your role and what it consists of
Why is Wild Turkey 101 and not 100?
How did it grow to a business from 101?
What did the name Austin Nichols mean to Wild Turkey?
So why remove the name Austin Nichols from the brand?
What are some of things during the process makes Wild Turkey unique compared to other brands?
What does Non-GMO products give you in regards to quality?
What’s it like hanging around Jimmy Russell?
Talk about the individual expressions and the differences between each.
Talk about the new release called “Decades" that will be coming in May 2016
Is there something that holds true to the quote “Older turkey is better turkey”?
If you have to have one Wild Turkey product on the shelf as a staple, which do you choose?

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041 - Maker's Mark Collection Obsession with Brian Gelfo, Maker’s Mark Ambassador Extraordinaire Mar 24, 2016

Show notes

Brian Gelfo, Maker’s Mark Ambassador Extraordinaire & Bourbon Mafia Member, goes in depth about the Maker’s Mark Ambassador.

Show Notes:

Markers Mark is now starting a “private barrel” program. But it’s more like a private blend program.
What’s your story?
Tell the listeners about your Maker’s Mark collection
How do you get a hold of all the export bottles?
What would you consider your most prized Marker’s Mark collectable?
Explain to the listeners what the Marker’s Mark ambassadors program is
How does someone sign up for the program?
Is it free of charge?
What are the benefits of being an ambassador?
Give the listeners some idea of the best items Marker’s Mark has sent over the years to their ambassadors.
what’s the process for going to pick up a bottle from your batch? Is it like the Willy Wonka golden ticket?
What is life like for the Samuels outside of bourbon?
What are some of your favorite Maker’s Mark events over the past decade?

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040 - Is Old Forester the same thing as Woodford Reserve? with Jackie Zykan, Master Bourbon Specialist Mar 16, 2016

Show notes

Jackie Zykan, Master Bourbon Specialist for Old Forester, talks about each of the individual expressions and the history behind this Louisville based brand.

Show Notes:

We are coming to you from Rye On Market in Louisville
Tell us your coming to age of tale of bourbon
What is it about Old Forester that made you leave working behind the bar
Is Old Forester the same thing as Woodford Reserve?
What do you actually do as a Master Bourbon Specialist?
The name “Brown” has a stigma and prominence in Louisville. Talk about George Garvin Brown?
Where is the 2nd “R” in the name?
How did Old Forester move from sourcing to distilling it’s own stuff?
How did Old Forester survive prohibition?
Brown-Forman owns it’s own cooperage and what does that mean to you?
Talk about each of the Old Forester brands and what makes each unique compared to the next
What was the market reaction for the Whiskey Row edition?
Give the listeners some kind of idea behind Birthday Bourbon
What can you tell us about 2016 Birthday Bourbon
Give us some of the more well-known cocktails you make

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039 - Maker's Mark Bleeds Red with Rob Samuels, COO Mar 11, 2016

Show notes

Rob Samuels, COO of Maker's Mark, talks about the operations behind Maker's and holding almost every job at the distillery since he was 9.

Show Notes:

We kick off the show talking about bourbon tourism numbers from 2015
Talk about your childhood and growing up in the family business
What does the phrase mean “blow your ears off?”
Maker's has a great relationship with Keeneland, talk about it.
Where do you see Makers as a part of the growth of bourbon?
What do you think kept Maker's alive 20-30 years ago when vodka was king?
What are some your favorite ads Maker's has had over the years?
This is a family business. What was the best piece of advice your father ever gave you?
You started at the distillery at 9 years old. Talk about holding all those various positions over the years. Best and worst job
How do you get on the tasting panel at Maker's?
Back in 2013 was the great proof reduction debacle. Talk about that.
What are some of toughest decisions you’ve had to make as COO?
Let's talk about life outside of bourbon. Do you have any other hobbies?

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038 - It's Florida's Whiskey Obsession Festival with Turner Moore Mar 03, 2016

Show notes

Turner Moore, President of Whiskey Obsession Festival, joins the show to talk about the festival and what to expect this year. It takes place 3/30/2016-4/1/2016 in Sarasota Florida.

Show Notes:

How did you get into bourbon or whiskey?
Is there a certain bottle you would favor towards when you first began?
Talk about your festival
What do a lot of attendees coming away with at the end of the day and why do they love coming to your event?
How does the panel session work?
Talk about the tasting session and how you move from light to bolder flavor whiskies.
What happens on the day of the main event?
Where can you buy tickets?
Talk about the cigar and whiskey pairing and what’s a good start for someone just beginning on that journey?
Are any local distilleries going to be there?

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037 - Bourbon Has Badges with Bernie Lubbers, Brand Ambassador for Heaven Hill - Part 2 Feb 20, 2016

Show notes

(Part 2) Bernie Lubbers (@BernieLubbers), The Whiskey Professor and Brand Ambassador for Heaven Hill, continues in Part 2 talking about Heaven Hill bourbon brands, the removal of the 12 year Elijah Craig age statement and breaks out the guitar for a Bourbon Pursuit first.

Show Notes:

Let’s talk about some of the brands from HH, because there are quite a few of them. But we will focus on the bourbon, of course. I’ll give you a name and you give us a fun fact or tidbit. (this is awesome! must listen part!)
The cat is out of the bag. And it’s been the hot topic for the past week Elijah Craig is dropping the 12 year age statement and it’s going to be a blend of 8-12 years. You have a pretty firm stance on age statements. Talk about what that means to you
What are the pros and cons of keeping and removing the the age statement?
We wrap up the show with Bernie playing an original tune that has lots of different bourbons.

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036 - Bourbon Has Badges with Bernie Lubbers, Brand Ambassador for Heaven Hill - Part 1 Feb 16, 2016

Show notes

(Part 1) Bernie Lubbers (@BernieLubbers), The Whiskey Professor and Brand Ambassador for Heaven Hill, talks about his past, catchphrase, and overview of bourbon badges in Part 1.

Show Notes

Talk to us about how you first got into whiskey.
You signature catchphrase or tagline is “Stay Bonded”. Tell the folks what you mean by that.
http://www.whiskeyprof.com
Bernie talks about the history of Bottled-in-bond
Bernie talks about words on labels and how those are badges
You do a lot of bourbon-related research. Is there something you’ve found that has fascinated you?
Bernie talks about flavor profiles and how they are attained through distillation, aging, and yeast. How each distillery does something different.
What’s the day in the life of Bernie for being a Brand Ambassador?
Give us a 101 level rundown of why a bar needs three different labels of the same stuff.
Stay Tuned for the next episode where we talk about the removal of the Elijah Craig age statement, dive into the individual brands, and also a solo guitar performance.

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035 - What's Fun at The Bourbon Classic with Seth Thompson Feb 06, 2016

Show notes

Seth Thompson, of The Bourbon Classic, chats about all the awesome events being held from Feb 23-27th, 2016 and how you can get last second tickets.

Show Notes:

Tell us your story of how you got into bourbon?
If your house is on fire, what’s the one bottle you grab?
Give the high level pitch of The Bourbon Classic
How has the event grown over the years?
Let’s dive into the events. Talk about the key events on Friday and Saturday
It’s awesome because consumers can take away knowledge about food pairings
It looks like Saturday is the big day. Friday is the pre-game. Talk Saturday’s all day extravaganza
Bourbon and ham pairings sound very intriguing
If you’re coming from out of town, you can learn about Louisville’s Whiskey Row in a session with Mike Veach. Talk about that.
Talk about The Classic Taste
How much are tickets and how many are left?
Talk about all the events leading up to the main events on Friday and Saturday
Talk about the Van Winkle event that is sold out
What are the added benefits of VIP tickets?
Talk about the brands and distilleries that are going to be a part of the event.
Any ideas for the 2017 event?

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