A Walk Through Lexington’s Brewery Distillery With Dave Bob

We hang out with Dave Bob from Lexington Brewing & Distilling and get a guided walk through Town Branch, from the visitor center that feels like an Irish street to the barrels that shape everything. Along the way we taste through beers, bourbons and American single malts and end up stunned by a single barrel with raspberry, vanilla and butter notes we can’t stop talking about. 
• what it feels like to arrive at Town Branch and start a tour 
• Pierce Lyons’ Irish roots, yeast legacy and why it still matters 
• how Bourbonola went from Prohibition story to 12% RTD 
• why the brewery and distillery combo changes the tasting experience 
• beer highlights including Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale and vanilla barrel cream ale 
• the barrel thieving tour and why tasting from the barrel hits different 
• the core whiskey lineup from 90 proof bourbon to True Cask batches 
• Overproof 104 as a bartender-focused blend for cocktails at home 
• a live barrel pick on air and the single malt that steals the show 
• what we want to see next in Ohio distribution and upcoming releases 
make sure that you leave good feedback, become subscriber, member, top shelf on on uh YouTube 
Drink responsibly 
don’t drink and drive 

You can learn a lot about bourbon from a label, but you learn a lot more when someone who lives in the rickhouse walks you through it. We sit down with Dave Bob from Lexington Brewing & Distilling and let him take us inside Town Branch, a true brewery-distillery that feels equal parts Kentucky Bourbon Trail stop and Irish whiskey hideaway. From the moment you step into the visitor center, the place is built for discovery and Dave explains why that “experience design” is just as intentional as what goes into the barrel.

We dig into the Pierce Lyons story, the Irish roots behind Town Branch, and the yeast-driven mindset that shaped everything from their American single malt whiskey to their Kentucky straight bourbon. Then we go deep on Bourbonola: how a Prohibition-era idea became a modern 12% ready-to-drink bourbon cola, why the team built a custom cherry cola flavor to match their whiskey, and what makes it stand apart from the usual canned collabs.

The night turns into a live barrel pick, tasting multiple single malt and bourbon samples on air. We talk True Cask (their cask strength bourbon batches), Overproof 104 for cocktails, the barrel thieving tour, and the rare moment when a single barrel stops the conversation cold with notes like raspberry, vanilla icing and butter. If you care about barrel picks, Lexington bourbon tours, American single malt, or finding the best value cask strength bourbon, this one is for you. Subscribe, share this with a whiskey friend, and leave a review with the barrel note you’d chase first.

voice over Whiskey Thief

If You Have Gohsts

Transcript

Sponsor Pour And Cold Open

SPEAKER_05 0:00

You gotta.

SPEAKER_01 0:01

I mean it's Middle West founded in 2008, like focused on elevating the distinct flavors of the Ohio. You'll look good with like honor their roots. You know, you got a nice demand phase. And their passion for crafting spirits from grain to glass. Their mixalone reserve line reflects their story from the start to the bottle of your glass with unique wheated and rye bourbon and also rye and wheat whiskeys. The Mixcalone brand is easy to set. It might be a grain to glass experience, but I like to think of it as uncut and unfiltered from their family. This is gonna be an exciting podcast. I've been looking forward to this ever since CT set this up. We have Dave Bob from Town Branch or the Lexington Brew Brewing Company and Distillery, correct? I got that right. There we go. And we also have Super Nash. All right.

SPEAKER_03 2:24

Yeah, what's up, everybody?

SPEAKER_01 2:26

We're gonna get right into it tonight because I I'm excited. We so we've already had had Dave on for a little bit prior to this, and we did we're doing kind of like, and and there's something one thing when you meet Dave, he is everything about the bourbon industry that's good. You can just when you meet him, he's straightforward. There's the you know, you you just get the feeling there's he's not gonna tell you any non-truths. He's truthful, honest, right out there, tells you everything

Meet Dave Bob And Town Branch

SPEAKER_01 3:00

about it, and he knows so much about town branch. And when quite frankly, I went out in 2019 and I was there, and then I this past uh right before the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, I kind of got a hold of him, said we're in the area, and we and we did the whole experience. And from what it was in 2019 to what it is now and all the changes that it had gone through, I was really, really impressed. And then I got to meet Dave at the festival, at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, and that just finished me off to how I impressed. So, welcome, Dave, to the podcast tonight. Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_05 3:41

You know, that's my first time seeing the show's intro. That intro was incredible, it brought back memories of like uh family matters, uh, and it had some great vibes in there. Music was perfect. Y'all need to have like a bourbon sitcom on Netflix.

SPEAKER_01 4:00

That was Kenny, that was Kenny Fuller. He was with he was with for a while, he was with Luca Mariano, and he then he also the the they had a band attached to Luca Mariano, you know. So, and he played all the time, and he has some of his own music, and so we became friends. After a podcast, he's like, Do you think I want to do a theme song? And I'm just like, Well, can you just he go and he started doing some things and I'm like, Can you make it a little bit Melencampish? And he's like, Yeah, I can do that. And so he came up with it. I think I changed like one thing he said, it was that perfect. It was just like, Do you think you can just do that? And he's like, Yeah, absolutely. So, and and yeah, that's one thing. I have a have a guy that does another podcast in the area, and he and he me and him kind of sparred a little bit back and forth, you know, with in friendly competition. And he's like, once I had that theme song, he's just like, Man, he goes, I don't know what to

Theme Song Origins And Show Vibe

SPEAKER_01 5:00

say. He goes, That theme song, I just can't get it out of my head. So, yeah. Yeah, and I'll I'll never change that because that's not AI. He did that, so I was very proud of it. Yeah, I mean, we at the end you'll hear our AI, I generated that AI always takes us out when we leave. So, but that's still that that'll never switch.

SPEAKER_05 5:25

Yeah, no, good stuff. I appreciate the introduction and and all the uh thoughtful words, and yeah, thank you. Thank you for having me on. This is awesome. I I love you know how long we've known each other, and now that we get to do this and share this with some people, it's great. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 5:41

And and when we saw you in Columbus, I I had had some people that are part of that group, and they're like, Well, I don't really know much about town branch. And I'm like, All right, listen, if you don't even know anything about town branch, you go because of Dave Bob. And they were like, Dave Dave Bob? Like, okay, what who is this mythical creature you speak of? And I'm like, well, listen, his hats are on point. The guy, you know, he's doing some great stuff. But it what was great is every time I'm around you and people meet you, they always walk away saying great things. Like the energy is great, like Jeff said. You just leave a uh impression on people. And I said that posting some stuff on Facebook today that if you had the chance to watch, don't listen for us. Yeah, listen to know you because you have you're you're a guy that if you're in the bourbon world or you enjoy bourbon at all, you want to know because at some point you need to go downtown branch, you need to do a tour, and pretty good chance they're gonna see you there or have a chance to and walk away a better feeling of the bourbon industry just by meeting you. So that's a that's an awesome thing.

SPEAKER_05 6:53

I would say anybody that comes down, whether you're you know before the tour, after, or during it, during, if if you don't see me, just say, Hey, is Dave Bob here? And I'll I'll be somewhere most likely if I'm not on the road.

SPEAKER_01 7:06

So Kirk, who's a a top shelf member on YouTube who's been joining us in, also left a super chat. So when they do super chats and they he just said cheers to you, and he said it's lonely up here, so other people need to join the top shelf memberships. That's what I'll I'll I'll promote the podcast, right? But, anyways, okay, so and I will tell you if you get a chance to hang out with you, there's an aspect of how you you exude friendliness and everything that bourbon is what why I love to be a part of bourbon. And I just looking looking at the fermenters behind you and the cookers and everything, and then in the dis you know, in the distillery, it's like we were talking before, it's a beautiful distillery, but it's just so well set up. You know what I mean? When you go in there, it you see you sometimes can go into distilleries and there's a lot of stuff happening, and there's a lot of stuff that it was industrial, and there's things in the way, but but with this one, it was designed to be a part of the bourbon trail. There's no doubt about it.

SPEAKER_05 8:20

Yeah, well, and that was that was Pierce, our founder, the whiskey maker, mastered, brewer master distiller, his PhD in yeast fermentation. But he built this with his wife, Deidre. And Deidra has her PhD in the arts. So you have you have somebody with decades experience of a scientist and brewer and distiller who needs functionality, and then you have somebody who wants to give uh the community an experience that's also engaging and beautiful, and they did such a great job blending the two together.

SPEAKER_00 8:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 8:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 8:57

Well, everybody that's watching is

Designing A Distillery For Visitors

SPEAKER_04 9:00

not gonna be able to take the visual tour, but we talked about this earlier, Dave, about the the podcast tonight taking us on a journey of kind of what somebody would experience from the moment they step in. What are they gonna experience when they come there? And then some of the products that they may experience. And then as we finish up, we talked about this barrel pick that I have behind me. Uh Jeff has unfortunately Nash, I'm sorry. But he's doing okay with that 15-year-old Bob Wind Bar. I think absolutely. If he doesn't find the good fantastic. If he's here at the end and not on a UFO, we've done great. So take take us through what people experience when they come down there and then talk about all the product that you that you guys have, because there's a lot of stuff that isn't necessarily name town branch, yeah, that is huge in the industry.

SPEAKER_05 10:10

Yeah. Well, I mean, right when you walk in, and if you've been on the Bourbon Trail, everybody has their own personality, character, soul, history, atmosphere. You know, whether you're in Loretta at Makersmart or your downtown Louisville going through Old Forrester. And when you come over here, you're you're coming into a small college, big town, and we're right at the end of downtown near Ru, beautiful neighborhood with four of our buildings, one being original from the 1860s, serving as our visitor center. And you walk into this beautiful historic brick building surrounded by the brewery, the distillery, and then you walk into Ireland, and it feels like you're in the in the you know Gaffton Street of you know Dublin, Ireland, with with how it's set up.

Walking In Feels Like Ireland

SPEAKER_05 11:05

And that's because of Pierce and his family being Irish. Pierce was born and raised in Dundalk, Ireland, outside of Dublin, and raised there, and that was his beginnings of a brewer and a distiller with Jameson and working with Barry Crockett side by side. And Pierce led the team that built Middleton. So he was a legend in Ireland as a whiskey maker in that history. So tons of Irish history attached to us as a distillery, and then a total shmorgis board, because we're the only brewery distillery. So you're walking into Barrel Age Beer, Singamalt Whiskey, Urban, and then we here started our second distillery in Dublin, Ireland, at St. James Church across from Guinness. So then we got a whole area dedicated to our Irish whiskey and gin that we're bringing over to the stateside. So it's it's an incredible experience.

SPEAKER_01 12:02

Well, we can't you can't forget bourbanola, though.

SPEAKER_05 12:07

Then Burbanola, there's so much.

SPEAKER_01 12:20

Knowing what you what you know, just what you said, real quick, the fact that he comes from Ireland and was so initially when the distillery opened, like when I was around in 2019, they they were winning some awards for American single malts. So that is something that was familiar to him, a sing uh to do a single malt, and you know, that type of thing. So that was kind of kind of cool at the same at the same time.

SPEAKER_05 12:50

Well, he never made bourbon.

SPEAKER_01 12:52

Right. Right. And and now and now he's he's in Kentucky all these years.

SPEAKER_05 12:58

And when they when he gets to Kentucky, you know, in the late 70s, when he came over here, he already left distilling. He had his curve career in distilling, did everything that he wanted to do. And he was he was such an incredible scientist, and he went on to start studying and really getting involved in alternative ethanol in yeast beyond distilling. And that's what brought him to Kentucky was the gas crisis in the Carter area, error. So he gets head-hunted, he's in Kentucky, he's doing all this alternative ethanol work and doesn't really enjoy the work, but love Kentucky. I mean, the the the comparison of Ireland and Kentucky and the Irish immigration into the Kentucky area for you know decades, the rolling green hills, the horse culture, the music to whiskey making and bourbon making. He loved Kentucky. So what he started doing was um he started making his uh his yeast. And back then, 80s and 90s, this yeast was the most aggressive, fast-reacting uh yeast in Kentucky. And pretty much every distillery in Kentucky was buying Pierce's yeast. You talked to all the OGs, uh Jimmy and uh you know Jody from Heaven Hill and all these guys that have been a part of the distillery, you know, f during that time, and and inside those circles, Pierce was a legend because of that yeast, and then he had his opportunity to start brewing the distilling uh on his own again.

SPEAKER_01 14:37

Yeah, great story. That's just a great story.

SPEAKER_04 14:42

So so Dave, they they they come into the welcome center, which like we said, it you have to visualize it's like a town street. You're really you you you walk into a cobblestone street with buildings, it's it's just they all look like pubs with that yeah, that yeah, that deep lacquer paint, like you would see at pubs and streets in Ireland.

SPEAKER_05 15:06

Uh even even we got lampposts and and everything, yeah. Right, right. So from there, what's the next step of usually? So next stop, you know, you're gonna come in, check in, have a cocktail, have a beer, wait for the tour to start. That tour is gonna start with beer. And you know, during the journey of walking through our little neighborhood, going over to the brewery,

Pierce Lyons Story And Yeast Legacy

SPEAKER_05 15:30

you're gonna hear that story of Pierce and his family. Uh you're gonna hear about the beginnings of the brewery. And I mean the beginnings of the brewery, then this goes back to the Civil War. I mean, during the Civil War, they burnt down the brewery when it was downtown, Main Street. From then till Prohibition, it changed hands multiple times. Uh the brewery was still downtown Lexington on Main Street, all the way through Prohibition. You know, they were quietly still making cast sales, and the FBI and the police, state police and local police, raided them. And, you know, there's we have the photos and newspaper clippings, and you know, they're breaking barrels and dumping them in the sewer, and a whole spectacle that this was a big deal in 1920. And they took around 400 plus bottles and crates of booze and they put it into city hall, right downtown, you know, just a few buildings down. And they forgot

Bourbonola From Prohibition To Today

SPEAKER_05 16:35

or didn't know, well, they must have known, but the mayor was a silent owner, and half that booze went missing that that night. And and I'm telling all this because of bourbonola. So shortly after that, they're still open, you know, they're hurting, they gotta keep the doors open with some legal cash. So they're like, okay, let's make a cola. It's gonna be a cola, nothing else in it. We're gonna call it bourbon, Ola, Ola for cola, bourbon to kind of give the little finger to the cops because they'll think there's booze in it, but there's not. That's CT.

SPEAKER_01 17:14

That's what you should do, right?

SPEAKER_05 17:17

Oh, it's a great idea. And and CT is wearing that shirt, that bourbonola, that logo, that is the original logo from over a hundred years ago from Lexington Brown. And we brought it back a hundred years later, and we put Cast Strength bourbon in it, our bourbon from Lexington.

SPEAKER_01 17:40

And it's fantastic.

SPEAKER_05 17:41

It is delicious. Yeah, it is.

SPEAKER_04 17:45

It's like can you describe the flavor? Cherry Cola and bourbon had a baby at 12% ABB. And and it is, you know, these are a four-pack, so they're definitely not something you're gonna go slam for these and call it anything. You know, one of these, it's just it's nice to sip on. I like it if I'm out at the lake. I like it sitting on the back porch when I don't necessarily feel like bourbon that night, or maybe beer's not hitting right. And I'm like, uh the bourbonola just has a very nice it just it works most of the time for me.

SPEAKER_05 18:25

Yeah, and this one this was a hard product to make, you know, because in a sense, we're purists, we're making bourbon and whiskey, and we have a beautiful bottle, and and to put out an RTD, you know, anything's at risk, but you're also putting it up against, you know, a beautiful bourbon. And it took our whole team to get this going from uh how the can is designed. Uh, this is all internal. We have an incredible designer and marketing team that was all done in-house. We're going through the process of, you know, what should the ABV be? What should the notes be? You know, we went through, you know, six plus companies to try to get cherry colas, and none of them tasted right. They're all generic and it tastes good. And then, you know, what barrel should we use? What should the proof be? And it was, you know, some, you know, wanting, you know, a certain proof, but you know, I told them, hey, you know, we can't dip into older barrels. You know, we can't have this a $30 four pack. Um, you know, I said, I said, you know, our younger barrels, two and a half to three years old, have some great flavor to them. We're getting that cast strength. I it's gotta be cast strength, which means we gotta go hit a home run and just put it at 12%. And let's put in three ounces in every single can. But what really brought it through was uh our whole team together, but also our Tammy, who's on our team, who has her degree in brewing, but she's a master flavorist and scientist. And her and I and the team were taking those bourbon barrels and her developing and making her own cherry cola, and us putting that together and making sure those notes of the bourbon that were spicier or oaky really blended well with her cherry cola. So adding certain like ginger and cinnamon aspects to make all that blend together to have a great drinking experience. So we put our heart and soul into that can.

SPEAKER_01 20:38

So, what you're saying is the cherry cola that you came up with isn't necessarily what a cherry cola would be if you put it on the market. You designed a cherry cola that would work well with your two to two and a half, three-year-old cast strength bourbon and bring out the flavors that you wanted. Yeah, yeah, exactly. So I think the first time I had it, you can correct me if I'm if I'm wrong. Have you guys were you guys ever at New Orleans Bourbon Festival?

SPEAKER_05 21:13

Yeah, for years. Yeah, this is the first year we couldn't make it.

SPEAKER_01 21:17

Okay, so so it would have been 20 years.

SPEAKER_05 21:20

So we couldn't make it to New Orleans.

SPEAKER_01 21:22

2024 was my that that yeah, when we were there, me and Nash and I believe Whiskey, I you were there, right? Yeah, I was I was there every year. Yeah, because that's what Stacy told me to do. Stacy Pritchard, she's like, You gotta be amazing, yeah. You gotta go try their bourbonola. She's and that was my introduction back into Town Branch. You know what I mean? After and and honestly, that was like that night, it was hot, and then we were running around, and the you know. Smoke from the oysters, and I had one of those, and it was freaking so good. I you were pouring it in a glass. I wanted it, I wanted the whole can. You were just pouring it in a little in one of those. Yeah. But I mean, think about that. At a bourbon festival in New Orleans, that's something I was desiring over the bourbon. It's just like pretty cool.

SPEAKER_04 22:28

We're happy to do it.

SPEAKER_01 22:30

Yeah. See, that's exactly refreshing. Yes, let's go.

SPEAKER_04 22:35

In the beer, in the in the beer line, you have, of course, the Kentucky bourbon barrel ale, but then you have is the Imperial a different one?

SPEAKER_05 22:48

It's just uh it's a stout, you know, so it's just a different style of beer, but that's year-round. That's a core beer. This this is the one that if you go to a restaurant and you see the wood handle, is this the one you're usually getting? Mainly no, that our flagship is gonna be the Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale. So this one is different because it's a different stout, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 23:07

And and then my favorite was the tangerine.

SPEAKER_01 23:12

Yeah that was that was impressive, CT. That was impressive what you just did. Yep.

SPEAKER_04 23:19

I know, yeah. Cocktail dreams over here. So so you have the tangerine, you have regular bourbon barrel ale, you have Imperial

Barrel Aged Beer Lineup Breakdown

SPEAKER_04 23:30

Stout, and then what else follows the corn?

SPEAKER_05 23:33

Vanilla, uh vanilla barrel cream ale would be the second or third most hold. Yeah, that's a good one. Yeah, so you know, a cream ale flake corn connecting the distillery to the brewery even more. That flake corn, maybe that very light mild cream body vanilla beans, you know, right with that barrel aging process for months. So, what what was so interesting about that beer being created by our former master brewer, Mark Phipps, was he was brewing, you know, I'm gonna say the name wrong, but you guys are Ohio guys too. So Green King, Little King, what's it? Little Kings, Little Kings. So Mark brewed for Little Kings for years, decades. That's all he did was brew America's first craft beer, cremail, in Ohio, and was always talking to Pierce, oh man, I'd love to do a barrel-aged cream ale. And then finally it was time, and Pierce said, Go for it, and he did the vanilla. And that vanilla and that tangerine, that tangerine with dried uh orange skin appeal. Um when you're drinking that beer, it's just so light. When you pour it, it's that really nice golden straw color. But that's being that's being barrel-aged for you know five plus months. So I mean he created what I call is the the first real sessionable session barrel-aged beer.

SPEAKER_04 24:54

Well, and little kings. There's a lot of stories in Ohio of Little Kings of people, of people in their evenings wrapped around Little Kings and how they don't remember a lot of things of Little Kings. So, but that is still a product that you see, like, and you come around like the liquor store here down the road from me. Yeah, they still sell it. Like, it's still like one of those things that I it's kind of like people go back to it, like, oh my god, do you remember when we drank those? It's such a way stealing them from your grandfather, yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01 25:29

So Chat GPT gave me something. They said, What you produce. What the hell is bluegrass sundown?

SPEAKER_05 25:37

Oh, so bluegrass sundown, this was Pierce's apertif after dinner drink, something similar that he would drink in Ireland, one of our first products that he made, um, and and is actually funny enough, it's the number one sold bottle at the visitor center. This bottle beats our bourbon.

SPEAKER_01 26:00

That's and and I was amazing. Yeah, that's that's cool. And I'll say that if anybody who comes to the the comes to the distillery and let's just say you're a bourbon guy on the bourbon trail, okay, know that when you get there, that that you guys pay homage to the beer, the burb, the and the bourbon. And when you're in when you're in the the gift shop or the you know the the welcome center, when you get in there, there's a there's a lot of sampling that can go on, there's a lot of stuff that happens, and it's all right there. And the team will they don't I'll put it this way, they try and if you're there for the beer, they want you to try the bourbon. But if you're there for the bourbon, they want you to try the beer. It's just like it's like I've I've no I noticed that when I when we were when we were in there, when you know, both times I was in there, and I thought that was kind of cool because I'm you know originally from Milwaukee. So when it comes to beer, I've had my share. And but I will say the coolest thing is is your barrel-aged, your bourbon barrel-aged beer is probably one of the most, especially here in Ohio, one of the most it's it's reasonably priced, put it that way. It it's so it's very popular and it's really good.

SPEAKER_05 27:31

Yeah, it's not to mention again, this is your either I like to start high, go low when I'm drinking. You know, whether it's bourbon, whiskey, beer, wine, anything. You go with the good stuff first, and then and then I'm ending with uh with the you know, whatever stuff later, because yeah, you know, and I don't care about my palate as so far down the road. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 27:55

And it is cool in the gift shop the dedication you have. And if anybody goes, you really get a feel for their Ireland distillery. I mean, how many? I mean, how many distilleries and breweries for one brewers and there's not a lot, a whole hell of a lot of distillery breweries that mix that are mixed together. There you go. And then two, they also own an Irish distillery, and they have a whole thing with the Irish whiskey. So you you got the whole gamut covered, you know, there.

SPEAKER_05 28:27

Well, I mean, it's pretty incredible what Pierce was able to build. And you know, he built brewery distilleries in two iconic bourbon making uh places in the world Lexington, Kentucky, and Dublin, Ireland. I mean, that's that's um not happening a lot. And when you look at Pierce, he's the only person in the world to be in the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame and the Irish Whiskey Council, which is Ireland's whiskey hall of fame. Uh yeah, and he really was. He was he was a genius, he was incredible and and and so caring and giving, and and he gave a lot to the industry and to charity, and we keep on doing it. And we're lucky to have Mark his son who followed his footsteps. Mark, who I spent most of my time with, you know, 14 14 years ago. Mark has his master's in brewing and distillant, his PhD in yeast fermentation, and and because of Mark, all this new stuff you're seeing is because of him. You know, verbanola, the four-barrel plant, uh overproof 104, you know, all the new innovations because of Mark.

SPEAKER_00 29:38

That's that's awesome.

SPEAKER_04 29:40

Yeah. So because we'll get tight on time, so yeah, they talk talk about the different oh yeah, that that picture's terrible.

SPEAKER_05 29:54

My god, show off. Keep talking. I'm gonna I'm gonna get uh something new and pour it. Oh, sure. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 30:01

Yeah, so what am I waiting what let's what I need to get something in the glass, and and I just have all these samples. I need to start drinking them. Tell me what I'm pouring in. Which sample am I pouring in first?

SPEAKER_04 30:13

Well, just go ahead and pour the samples so they're ready. And then while Willie Wonka gets ready, let's let's talk about anything else to do with the yeah, and here I'll just so because you know you know you're on conference calls and people have a background, so I'll prove that it's not a bad. Here he goes.

SPEAKER_05 30:34

We're really here at night.

SPEAKER_03 30:43

Nice freaking amazing.

SPEAKER_02 30:46

Uh still over there.

SPEAKER_04 30:49

Hey, the flavor of snowberries taste like snozeberries. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 30:59

What the hell? Oh my god.

SPEAKER_05 31:07

Let's think this. This is a brand new bottle, so we'll see if it I'll try to stick your weeded? Yeah. God bless it.

SPEAKER_01 31:14

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 31:18

There we go.

SPEAKER_01 31:19

And then real quick, the one thing you guys have done is you've upped your distillery experiences. And that was one of the cool things that we got to do. How old is the weeded in your barrel pick your barrel thieving program? It's the six-year.

SPEAKER_05 31:38

Yeah, that, yeah, that's um, it'll be six and a half plus years, that one that we're thieving out of in the room over there. Yes. And that barrel, that bear is incredible.

SPEAKER_01 31:52

When we were there, I was like, holy crap. It's like, and then I forget. Do you remember the tour guide's name? He was awesome. I forget right off the my um Stevens, one of our it was it was Steven.

SPEAKER_05 32:08

It was Steven. Steven's incredible.

SPEAKER_01 32:10

Yeah, he's Steven. Yeah, he's he was incredible. He took us where we

Barrel Thieving Tour And Rare Tastes

SPEAKER_01 32:15

yeah, he was like, You want to come in here and you can look at our stuff? And I'm like, Yeah, and then he's like, Well, I'm not I like I don't know if we should be in here, but I'm taking you in there anyways. I got a key.

SPEAKER_05 32:28

Was he rolling back that huge white gate door? Oh, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:32

Yep, yep, yep. And he's like, Hey, you want to taste this? And I'm like, Yeah, sure.

SPEAKER_05 32:39

Well, thank goodness the kid didn't have a drill on him.

SPEAKER_04 32:45

Hey, don't don't let us around a wreck house with a drill. It's a bad day.

SPEAKER_01 32:58

Anyways. No, I didn't. Anyways, so but when we were, it was really kind of cool in the barrel with the barrels to be able to taste those barrels, and now they have that, they've got the age on them. It was it was like being just was a cool. I love the lock on the on the you know, you've got the those prohibition locks on the bung, and and yeah, that was just yeah. It was cool.

SPEAKER_05 33:25

Yeah, it was so cool. Yeah, yeah, all taxes paid. Yeah, yeah. And I didn't, you know, one of I mean the weeded that that single barrel cast strength, even out of that weeded's incredible, but our old pot still single barrel bourbon right next to it that's coming on you know, nine plus years, I mean that one just explodes with with overripe flavors of of fruit and stone fruit. And I mean, I could drink that one all day. It's absolutely incredible. I'd say anybody, you know, if you know, we're all true bourbon fans, enthusiasts, and lovers of bourbon. If you're coming to Town Branch and you're you're on the day that we do the thieving tour, you have to do it. You have to taste, because it's the only time you can taste the weeded at cast strength out of a barrel, and it's the only time that you can taste an older pot still single barrel, thieving it right out of it. They're they're absolutely incredible. They're they're one of those barrels that just melts your soul and just makes you say that's delicious, you know? Yeah, uh, I still have I've it's one of those sifts that just you want to go back to, it gives you the goosebumps. You know, I got a handful of those in my brain from other distilleries.

SPEAKER_04 34:49

So walk us through because uh Nash has got a certain bottle, and we'll get to that in a second, but walk us through from bottom to the top. Like, what is the lineup right now? Somebody goes out and they're looking, they see town branch on the shelf. Everybody's got their naming, and you know, like your name of your barrel proof is different from others. So, what are they looking at and what's out there? I guess is what you put it. Well, you're gonna go first.

SPEAKER_05 35:23

You know, first, I'll just start with the first thing that we ever made. And that's uh Pierce's Kentucky Cinnamon whiskey, uh, 7 to 11-year-old blend of what I'm blending. This is that 87 proof. Uh, so you know what he preferred and what he enjoyed, and and I took what he made, which was incredible, and I just dialed it up. You know, you know, peerance being Irish always wanted something lighter and smoother, but still had great flavor. But I feel like for me and in my palate and my style, and getting approval from the family, there is

Bottles To Buy From 90 Proof Up

SPEAKER_05 36:00

there was amazing flavors that were being muted, and I wanted to bring those out, and our our current blends of our Sigmalt whiskey explode with green apple, overripe fruit, nuttiness, interesting sweetness, caramel, and and and and it's such a great drink to experience. Because I know as a bourbon drinker, I love experiencing new flavors that are either similar to bourbon or could be off track a little bit, you know, on the Scottish side. You know, it depends what type of. I mean, for me, I have to challenge my palate on a weekly basis. I need to drink everything, I need to experience and expose aromas and notes that I'm not used to to challenge my tasty notes and me as a blender and a distiller. But our single malt, and and because it's being age and rickhouses in Kentucky, I mean you're you get mango and papaya out of it too. It's absolutely incredible.

SPEAKER_01 36:57

Well, and then you're you on site, you have the the the Rick House room that is that you're doing those special things. I mean, you've I mean just you have barrels from the oh I think you have a couple barrels that are almost from the beginning, right?

SPEAKER_05 37:18

Yeah, we have Pierce's first barrel he ever filled.

SPEAKER_01 37:20

Right. And so and you're and instead of exposing RD stuff, right?

SPEAKER_05 37:25

Stuff for blending, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:27

And and in that that warehouse is actually refrigerated, if I'm not mistaken, right?

SPEAKER_03 37:32

The secret room, yeah, yeah. Yeah, which is which is what I was gonna say something about that. Uh is that was one of the most unique things that uh when I went to your distillery, is the refrigerator room where you put barrels in the air that to slow down the aging process.

SPEAKER_05 37:51

Yeah, that's that's that's something that's not uncommon. Luckily, you know, for me, as the maker and protector of these barrels, we also have to keep uh kegs cold. So we get very good. We got a huge room that's 38 degrees, and I probably have you know 60 plus barrels in there that I kind of put pause on, and I'm I'm just trying to uh slow them down. There's a lot more research happening with slow cold maturation and and how those notes will change. So it's not gonna stop aging, but it will put it on a very slow pause. And you know, those 15-year-old, 16-year-old were doing a 17-year-old this year. Last year, I put 10 barrels in front of us, and two of them were bone dry from eight months ago. So I said, hey, I gotta, I gotta, I gotta keep these chilled and and protect them as much as possible to get to 21 years old and older. Yeah. Yeah. But when you're when you're looking at you know, us urban and whiskey makers, next would be our bread and butter, and that's gonna be our Kentucky Straight bourbon at 90 proof. This is gonna be a blend of usually around 30 to 35 barrels at a time. Uh 35 to 38 is gonna be our max, uh, just with our tank and proofing down space. But this this outsells our next two SKUs three times over. And it tells you us as a national brand, America still wants a smooth, gentle, easy-drinking bourbon that still brings you on a journey of mature oak and spice and different sweetness, uh, even at that 90-proof.

SPEAKER_04 39:41

And that bottle, just for people watching in the state of Ohio, everybody differs a little bit, but it's close. Ohio, that's $34.97 for that bottle. So, you know, like it's about $40 here in South Carolina.

SPEAKER_05 39:56

Okay, and that's pretty good for South Carolina.

SPEAKER_03 39:58

Oh, yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_05 39:59

Yeah. Uh, you know, and that I think that says a lot about Pierce and us still being family owned and independent. You know, we're we're among the top 18 Kentucky bourbon trail distilleries. And, you know, of course we're not as old as some of the other ones, but we're considered heritage and and still craft. And of the top 18, we're the only ones that are still independent family owned. You know, so when we're talking about making something new or doing an LTO or making something that's gonna be year-round, like a six-year weeded, you know, or having our bourbon at $35, having a castring bourbon below $45, you know, we can make those decisions with a very small team. We want to make things that taste good and excite us that we love and put it at a price point that hopefully people can pick up another bottle and share it and enjoy it.

SPEAKER_00 40:56

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_05 40:58

Yeah, what's up next? Up next would be our cast strength. I gotta find where that bottle is.

SPEAKER_04 41:08

I got it.

SPEAKER_05 41:09

You got it? You show that. So this is um, we're on we'll be bottling batch 13 pretty soon. So we're 13 now. Uh, we've been doing this for a couple years with us. This is usually between 20 to 24 barrels at a time. Always kept at cast strength. Uh every batch I'm making completely different from the batch before. I want the proof to be different, the nose to be different, the tasting notes and the finish. I want it to be a collector's item of true bourbon lovers. We're collecting the different batches and flavors that are coming through each batch. You know, you're gonna have ones that are 107, you know, could go up to 116.6. Uh, and and then buy two or three bottles and compare them. You know, right now, you know, we'll we'll have some that shout a lot of cherry, then we'll have some leather and spice, then we'll have, you know, a maple bomb, and you know, every one I'm trying to make different. And I'm trying to chase other ones too. I had one that tastes like Skittles, and I want it back.

SPEAKER_04 42:19

This this one I have is batch 11, and it is uh 116.6. Yeah, so one of the newer batches, yeah, absolutely. And that came out great. And again, for a what they what you guys refer to as TrueCask instead of barrel proof. Yeah, true cask is gonna run you in Ohio 42.99. And I feel like I tell people this if you're looking for something with a little more proof, that's one of the best values out there. I mean, it it's it's really good to drink. Yeah, Jeff, I think I gave you a sample of that.

SPEAKER_01 42:58

What number?

SPEAKER_04 42:59

It would be true, it'll say true cask. Could be 11. You have batch 11. So I gave it batch 10.

SPEAKER_03 43:08

Oh, you yeah, yeah, batch 10. Yeah, batch 10. And that's uh 114.6 proof. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 43:19

And you know, when you're looking at these bottles, you know, with our we're bottling everything's on this other side of the wall. Every bottle, whether you're getting it from California to New York City and Dublin, Ireland to Seoul, South Korea, we're bottling it, we're filling it by hand, we're labeling it by hand, and we're packaging it by hand just over that wall. Today, all week, we've been I've been with the team bottling.

SPEAKER_04 43:47

Yeah, the bottles look great. I like the square. I it's yeah, it's it's unique because I mean, my God, of all the bottles that we all have, there's not too many bottles that resemble this bottle. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 44:00

You know, Deidre created that bottle. You know, Pierce always said, you know, I I, you know, created and make the whiskey, and Deidre created the vessels to hold it. So that's her design with a company out of France. All those bottles are made in France and brought over.

SPEAKER_04 44:19

Now I have a single barrel. Yeah. And it has a glass cork. Yeah. So is it glass, that bottle?

SPEAKER_05 44:28

What's that? So that bottle is 100% glass. So that is on the purpose instead of using the cork. That's on the purpose. Yeah. If you when you open it, and sometimes you know you gotta wiggle it and get it open. It won't break, is you know. But that closure, flip it over, that closure is a hundred percent glass. Yeah, that's yeah.

SPEAKER_04 44:53

So yeah, this one is a 120.1 proof tangle barrel.

SPEAKER_05 44:59

Good. What is who was it picked by?

SPEAKER_04 45:02

The party source down in northern Kentucky.

SPEAKER_05 45:05

Yeah, good, good, perfect.

SPEAKER_01 45:06

Nice. You're drinking right out of the bottle.

SPEAKER_04 45:10

Nice.

SPEAKER_03 45:11

I actually have the cherry bomb from the distillery. Nice. Oh yes. Nice. Nice. Yeah, this is a distillery single barrel. And it is the Tanner Branch Visitor Center Cherry Bomb. Oh my gosh, it's a cherry bomb. It just lights up in cherries in the flavor.

SPEAKER_05 45:36

You know, we you know, Ben, our our whole team's incredible. I wish I could say all their names and how amazing they are. But Ben, who is our visitor center tour manager, he's a Somalier phase two. We're so lucky to have him. He's so engaging, runs the team amazing. Because he's coming into a team that already been there for years. If you work on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, you don't leave the trail unless you retire. You know, when you're in, you're in. It's that type of place. That's for everybody. Um and uh yeah, about every, you know, every month or so, we're throwing barrels at for him and his team to taste and pick for their own single barrels at the VC.

SPEAKER_01 46:19

Yeah, X ones. I think Ben was there also that day because it was Ben and Steve. Because Ben was Ben actually, we walked in and you had mentioned, and I'm, you know, you I think when we were talking, we hadn't finalized it. So Ben had to get on the phone to talk to you. He's the one that called you that day, and then he's just like, we're waiting, and he's like, and then he just was like, he told Steve, he's like, oh yeah, take them, show them. Yeah, go. Go.

SPEAKER_04 46:53

Good call.

SPEAKER_01 46:54

So yeah.

SPEAKER_04 46:54

So so Dave, is there any other bottles before we get into this barrel pick experience? Yeah, one more. This is this is Markenized Baby.

SPEAKER_05 47:04

This was really the the first, way different bourbon whiskey we did after Pierce passed away. And and Mark always wanted to do uh a really creative blended bourbon whiskey uh for bartenders and bartenders at home. And uh, and luckily Mark is very patient. And I said, we could do it. I got these barrels, I got some great barrels, but I need time. And this took over two years. And luckily I have the support from the whole team. If we're gonna do something, especially now where we are now, let's just make it perfect. Let's wait. If it's not perfect, let's wait a little bit longer, you know, whether it's gonna be six months or a year, because once it's good, it'll continue to be good. You know, you gotta wait for those barrels to tell you when they're ready. So that would be our four-barrel blend called Overproof at 104. This is 90% bourbon, 100% Kentucky. Uh, I'm taking 20 barrels of our bourbon over six to over eight years old, two barrels of our weeded bourbon over six years old. And that was the first time we used our weeded, uh, was in this blend. Two barrels of our rye over nine years old, and then two barrels of bourbon we put into our freshly decanted rye barrels that have now been maturing for almost over three and a half years. So 26 barrels every single time, those four unique barrels blended, um, and it makes the perfect overproof cocktails. Manhattan.

SPEAKER_01 48:44

We got we got to try it, and it was fantastic, right? Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 48:50

Just have this on its own with ice, and it's already done.

SPEAKER_03 48:54

Yeah, yeah. I picked up a bottle of it the same time that I acquired all these others, and especially the the 15-year. Yeah, but it's sitting in there in the vault yet to open it.

SPEAKER_05 49:05

Okay, it is a roller coaster of a high rye bourbon with a curveball of weeded and tons of fruit notes. Yeah, it's a roller coaster.

SPEAKER_03 49:18

And I think I've seen it when I tasted out. I knew I had to have a bottle of it.

SPEAKER_01 49:22

Yeah, I'm surprised you didn't throw in a barrel of single malt.

SPEAKER_03 49:27

No.

SPEAKER_01 49:28

Maybe down the line, right?

SPEAKER_05 49:31

We have we have uh every now and then we'll have single barrels of the single malt whiskey. I mean, you you know, no, no, no. The in the overproof. That would have been that would have been too much.

SPEAKER_01 49:45

No, I'm saying maybe down the line when people are used to to surprise them.

SPEAKER_05 49:50

Yeah, yeah. I should I should do it right now.

SPEAKER_01 49:57

There you go. Now we're we are talking blending right here on the Scotchy Bourbon Boys. A pure blend. Yes. There we go.

SPEAKER_05 50:08

And we'll just do a little dash of this.

SPEAKER_02 50:14

All you got left is a here.

SPEAKER_05 50:23

There we go. So probably like a fifteen percent ratio on top of that. Swirl that around and mixing it, aerating it.

SPEAKER_01 50:37

Let's see what it is.

SPEAKER_05 50:39

You get that uh that sweet funk from that single mall.

SPEAKER_01 50:52

I drink it in a bourbon meal. I mean, that's what the overproof is for, right?

SPEAKER_05 50:59

I mean it's put that one in a whiskey sour.

SPEAKER_01 51:02

Yeah, I mean, honestly, that's a go, those are the go overproof is for right to go on the back bar and make those mixers, right?

SPEAKER_03 51:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 51:13

I agree. Uh, what about putting it with bourbonola? Yeah, just take it one step further.

SPEAKER_05 51:19

Yeah, you want to, you know, you know, like they used to have like Pepsi Max, we'll do a we'll do a bourbonola max.

SPEAKER_01 51:26

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_05 51:27

It'll just be a drop shot.

SPEAKER_01 51:29

Oh, and then you gotta have Van Halen Van Hagar sing the theme song, and then you got it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 51:39

All right, so before we get too long-winded in this, and we're already an hour in. Not quite. We're close.

SPEAKER_01 51:46

Oh, yeah. For when you came on, we're on the audio, we're at 53 minutes, so you're okay.

SPEAKER_04 51:52

So let's go through, and again, Nash, I'm sorry you don't have these, but let's go through. So your barrel picks are available. You guys do them a lot, and and this is kind of what you sent us. So if people are watching are like, eh, sorry, that light messes it up. But you can send samples of different barrels, their numbered, they have a SKU number so you know what they came from. And people could do this if they were so inclined to whatever. I'm sure you send them to a lot of different places all over parts of the country. Yeah. When they can't come air that way.

unknown 52:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 52:34

So we are gonna do this. Might be is this the first time we've done a barrel pick on air like this?

SPEAKER_01 52:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 52:46

Yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 52:47

With the with with the blender, yeah, 100%. It's the first time we ever did a what no.

SPEAKER_04 52:54

We're all for

Live Barrel Pick Setup On Air

SPEAKER_04 52:55

new new things that we haven't done before. So let's start. Let's start with call call Ann. See if we hey, I'm gonna call Ann and ask her why we don't have overproof in Ohio.

SPEAKER_00 53:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 53:10

We need overproof in Ohio, Ian. Sorry. Please.

SPEAKER_01 53:17

So the let's go with the 3-0. I think that's a sub- How about why don't we start? Why don't we start numerically low and go high? The first one two nine. Oh, proof, okay.

SPEAKER_05 53:32

105 name, what do we say?

SPEAKER_01 53:34

114, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 53:36

Or we can start by the year by the youngest and go oldest.

SPEAKER_01 53:40

Well, I don't know the 121. So there's a couple 105s as low proof. Yeah, there's 3099 and 15891 is are the 105s.

SPEAKER_04 53:57

105.34 is the smaller or the lower one.

SPEAKER_01 54:02

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 54:04

All right, let's start with that. Let's we're gonna start with 105.34?

SPEAKER_01 54:08

Yeah, 3099.

SPEAKER_05 54:11

All right.

SPEAKER_01 54:12

So this it's quite, you know, that's that's the lightest one of them all.

SPEAKER_05 54:18

That's quite light. Did I send you a single malt whiskey? No, it's a burden. I know it's a but it definitely smells like a single malt. I think I sent you single malt, that 3099.

SPEAKER_01 54:30

It looked like one.

SPEAKER_05 54:33

Yeah. Smells like a single malt. Yeah.

unknown 54:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 54:37

You're drinking a single mall. All right.

SPEAKER_04 54:39

Is this a mixture then or is this just single malt? Oh, this is uh 100% American Singamalty.

SPEAKER_01 54:45

100% a single malt.

SPEAKER_04 54:48

Are the other ones there are just yeah, I gave you bourbon too. You you just gave us a hey, go just screw with your palate.

SPEAKER_05 54:57

Like this is Yeah, I think I sent you four

Single Malt Barrels With Wild Notes

SPEAKER_05 55:00

bourbon and two malts.

SPEAKER_01 55:02

How old was the how old was this single malt?

SPEAKER_05 55:06

I mean, this could be 10, 11 years old. CT, read that, read that bottle to find the the fill date code. Fill date is 16E29. 16? Okay, so 2000, the summer 2016. So that's right, almost 10 years old. Nice. We're probably shy about one month. All right.

SPEAKER_00 55:30

All right.

SPEAKER_05 55:31

Smells great.

SPEAKER_00 55:32

Does.

SPEAKER_04 55:33

I mean, it's got that that single mole Irish whiskey notes to it.

SPEAKER_01 55:39

It even it even pulls off scotch notes when you drink it. There's a char aspect to it that adds in the smokiness of it.

SPEAKER_04 55:50

Scotty Irish boys drinking some beer and making some noise.

SPEAKER_01 55:55

Which, why the hell would you try and make Irish uh single malt in America? American singer malt tastes like an Irish whiskey when you own an Irish distillery. Yeah, you don't, if anything, it's this single malt goes towards, yeah, definitely. The warmth, the note and the warmth on this that you're getting is probably the most hug I've ever gotten off of a single malt in my life. I mean, I I uh this is definitely a good sipper.

SPEAKER_05 56:32

I think, you know, I think very, very, very slowly, like a snail on a hot day, the category is growing. And it's definitely getting attention now that it deserves with the you know changes of recognition in law and in and media getting behind it. Singamalt whiskey is a huge passion of mine, and I'm still investing in you know, interesting RD and recasting and and making bolder versions of it, hopefully for the future. Uh, and I just urge people to any chance that you have, whether it's at a festival or a liquor store, bar, tried more American single malts, they're coming, they're starting to hit. You got to give them time. You know, if if you had if you had our original bourbon, you know, in 2002 or 13, you know, we had we had those immature batches of hanging grass, and that's just a part of making it on your own. And you need time to mature and come back to those distilleries, and it's the same thing with American single malt. I mean, ours, just because we've been doing it so long and we were able to age it for a longer time, and we have these incredible seasons in Kentucky. We really are making some of the best single mall whiskey in Kentucky. And there's a lot of other distilleries that are putting it out there, whether they're in Kentucky, you know, Bullet, I don't know if they still have theirs. They did uh they did a really good job of putting one out. Woodford Reserve, I know they they put one out every now and then. But you know, obviously there's gonna be states out west and in New England, you know, that are more favorable with single whiskey, and and hopefully we can we can have this category mature and and grow into great tasting whiskeys that I think I think I think Freddie put one out in his experimental series.

SPEAKER_01 58:21

I think I've got that too. But what you're saying, okay, so I will make this statement. There's a there's only a few distilleries, in my opinion, that are really putting out that American single malt where they're not just doing it as a secondary category. It's you guys. There's a place out in Oregon that I the name is is missing me, but she's she the distiller out there is doing a really good job. And then also there's one out of Baltimore, I forget uh other Maryland that he's he he originally was in what they moved to, you know, they did some stuff that, but overall, I've I felt the category was gonna get really hot there for a while, and then it kind of just like leveled off, you know. But that but the the commitment of you guys and these other places, and it's not you you guys don't do American single malt as a secondary category. It's you're you know, with Pierce, it it's it's up there. He he knows, you know, and those stills seriously behind you, that's what they were made to do.

SPEAKER_05 59:36

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 59:37

So, yeah, good job.

SPEAKER_05 59:39

Yeah, it'll take time, it'll come. We you know, I mean, honestly, you know, outside of the incredible media support that we've been getting, we need, we really need all these amazing bartenders across America to not just put it on the menu, but put it into a cocktail. You know, our Sigamalt whiskey, that seven to eleven year blend that screens tropical notes, it works really well with uh tiki cocktails and interesting uh whiskey sours. Two years ago, I was working in Dublin, Ireland for Town Branch and our distillery, Pierce Lyot's distillery in Dublin, and I made, I guess, bartended, uh and I can't remember the name. That I can't, what's the iconic bar street? Temple. Bartender at Temple, Temple Bar. And and I created uh a really fun but simple cocktail. The Irish don't drink a ton of cocktails, the day-to-day regular drinking bar Irish. So I wanted to make something fun, but Kentucky, uh, and easy with bourbon that they would enjoy. And we have the pawpaw fruit in Kentucky, that Crown is native here. And it's like this it's this weird fruit that that you can't buy, and it over-ripens within a few days when it falls off a tree, and it tastes like banana and mango together called a pawpaw. Yeah. And so I made a bourbon deal with puree mango and puree banana, and that drink crush at that event. Yeah, so we we need we need more cocktails with American Sigma whiskey on the menu.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:15

Well, I mean, the answer to and and everybody knows it, what what killed the the bourbon industry late you know in the 70s and then into the 80s was cocktails. The the the cocktail was for for bourbon was an old fashioned yeah, but brandy was even more prevalent in other states where bourbon couldn't even get in in old fashion.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:41

There were no bourbon cocktails, Wisconsin, Illinois.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:46

Exactly. There were soda, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:48

You couldn't still drink brandy.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:50

Yeah, they yep.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:52

So they're not just drinking brandy where Jeff's from, they're drinking oranges with bourbon just splashed on top of them. Yeah, yeah, they sure are.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:01

Oh, gee, man. They're drinking grasshoppers and whatever was being made.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:06

Oh, we drank everything. That's all we did. It didn't matter. And and and you know, it's funny because you were saying in Ireland, it's their cocktail is is Guinness. Or it really gets, I mean, it's just like you know the highball.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:22

A highball with them to is like that's mixology, it's a highball.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:25

Yep.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:26

So it just looks back to amazing Irish bartenders.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:30

So is the other 105.38, is that the other Irish? What is the 105.38?

SPEAKER_04 1:02:36

So so Dave, there is actually three single malt whiskeys in this 15891. So let's go to the 105. Hold on a second. Let's go to the I put them in the let's go to the 114.74. This is a 17 E17. So obviously, this is 2017.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:07

2017 again, another summer batch.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:12

Now, what is this one?

SPEAKER_05 1:03:13

Well, that nose that's gonna be May. So May 2017. This this nose is way different than the first one.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:20

This nose this smells like butter. Oh my god, like melted butter.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:26

It it that's exactly it's it's a brown sugar butter.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:30

It's like I want some lobster with this.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:34

Nice.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:35

So is this a single malt also? No, no, this is bourbon. It is it should be bourbon.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:42

That's malt whiskey on my little well, then it's a malt whiskey.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:45

Yeah, 114.74? I've never had a 1.1474 single malt.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:53

It this is skewed number. Show me the bottle. Show me the label for show, yeah. Yeah, that's our single malt whiskey. That that is so different of a nose compared to the other one. Yeah, so that's why I wanted to I wanted to show the difference. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:12

What the shit. What the living fuck? What what just well he even I'm sorry, I didn't mean he doesn't like people swearing. The dog doesn't like it. What is wait? That is the best tasting single malt whiskey or or or malt whiskey.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:38

Straight out of the barrel.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:39

Oh my god. Wait, yeah, flavors.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:46

That flavor is unbelievable.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:48

No, you gotta eat, you gotta, you do I wait. Can I buy a bottle of this? You can buy the barrel. You gotta buy the whole barrel? Damn it. All I'm telling you is that is that would be a restaurant owner's. I would pair this with crab legs, king crab legs. I would pair this with lobster, and you would I would demand that you drink it while you eat it. There there is a butter there, the most butter I've ever tasted in a in a whiskey ever. And then the sweet, it's sweet, it's almost, but it's not sugary. All right, well, we we gotta move to the next one. As you're falling in love with that one, yeah, that's that's what look at look at what it does in the glass CT. Look at that. Oh my god, look at the oiliness. Yeah, and that's a nine year. Yeah, that's a 2017 May. What what the heck happened for that to do that? I mean, just yeah, they just swing so many different.

SPEAKER_05 1:06:00

Ways.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:01

So this the next one we're gonna go to, Jeff, is an the last of the malt whiskeys. And it is a 118.75 proof. It's the highest proof. It is a 10-year-old D28.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:19

Alright.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:21

16 D28.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:23

2912.

SPEAKER_05 1:06:25

I'm gonna move to charge my computer.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:29

Okay, now we're now we're back in the single malt reality.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:32

Kind of a do you there's like a there's a little bit of grape on this?

SPEAKER_01 1:06:38

A funk. It's a grape, grapeish funk.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:42

Ooh, I gotta I get I'm getting like great hubba.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:47

That's not good. I don't know if that's good.

SPEAKER_03 1:06:51

Oh great hubba is it is definitely good.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:57

Yeah, you can't go wrong with great hubba.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:01

Absolutely. So, what's the notes you get on that 15-year single malt Nash?

SPEAKER_03 1:07:12

Oh my gosh. This is 100% malted barley. There is so much fruit to this, it's like juicy fruit gum right off the bat.

SPEAKER_05 1:07:24

Yeah, there's a ton of overripe fruit on that, and then it can get rich with Marzipan and some really interesting wood and nutty notes to it. I mean, that that right there, that barrel produced 157 bottles at 100 proof. Um, that's one of the cool things that I got. So this is a challenge coin. So that challenge coin, everybody who gets that challenge coin with every series and and keep it and pass it on, whoever holds it and walks into the distillery, you get on a free tour. The next one that's up. Forever.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:06

That was how did you get that challenge coin, man? By buying this 15-year. It comes in this box and it comes with the challenge coin. Yeah.

unknown 1:08:17

Yep.

SPEAKER_03 1:08:17

That is a challenge like like he just said, is a challenge coin for life. That's my first lifetime challenge coin.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:26

I mean, it makes sense that you have it. You are challenged.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:38

13 year challenges. Yeah. Okay. Not that super Natch needs a challenge coin to come in for a free tour. But whoever, whoever holds it and brings it in. You're you're coming in.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:53

So this third one of the single malts, this this has got a lot of grape going on for me. Like the nose is super grapey.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:03

It's a grape, it it tastes a lot like a scotch. I mean, this one has that char. The grape is sweet enough that it's not bitter or bitterer like peat, but there's a there's an aspect of a peat on this one. Which single malts can come by honestly, right?

SPEAKER_04 1:09:30

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, all right. All right, I have my favorite single malt out of that bunch by a lot of money.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:36

Yeah, well, yeah, that that that's one of my favorite whiskeys I think I've ever drank. Unique wise.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:44

We we may need to talk about that one after this is over. But let's move on to bourbon number one. This is gonna be the 105.38 proof. It is filled date 2000. Yeah, so younger barrel.

SPEAKER_05 1:10:02

Yeah, this is this is gonna be right around six years old.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:10

All right, we've got it in there.

SPEAKER_05 1:10:13

We'll get a sense. I wanted you to have a single you'll get a sense of what would be really our minimum age. Single barrel is at that six-year range.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:24

What's the note single?

SPEAKER_01 1:10:27

What's the note you're getting? I get like a floral.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:30

Oh, super perfumey.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:10:34

Yeah, there's a perfume like florally note. Trying to think of it's it's like God,

Bourbon Barrels And The Final Pick

SPEAKER_04 1:10:45

what is that? It there's there's something that that is that it reminds me of, and it's okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:53

It's like a it's it's a violet. There's a violet note on it. No, is it? No, no, no, no. Oh my god, it's not violet. It's lavender. It has a bit of a lavender note to it. Yes, on the nose.

SPEAKER_04 1:11:13

I can't pick what flower it is, but there's it's lavender.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:17

I've I'm perfumey. I've smelled that smell a lot. There's there's an essence of lavender.

SPEAKER_04 1:11:25

Panel number five, you know, something like that.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:28

Oh you guys.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:29

Wait, wait, wait, wait, here we go.

SPEAKER_03 1:11:32

And then I'm not even tasting it, but but then we'll what then then we'll let them tell us what is what what it is.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:46

There's a a sugar, a confectioner's sugar.

SPEAKER_04 1:11:53

It's got a good mouthfeel for six years. You know, like that's got a nice it's not you know, it doesn't just fall away. It's got a nice little uh mid-pallate to front palate. Hey, I'm I'm not feeding.

SPEAKER_05 1:12:09

Yeah, and we don't we don't have I don't put a ton of six-year-olds in the single barrel program. You know, if it's a week and I'm looking at a hundred barrels in front of me and I'm gonna taste through those in about three three days, uh I'm organizing them. I'm I'm tasting and I'm splapping my notes on them and writing code on the barrels. And you know, one, I'll taste it and that'll go to the single barrel program.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:34

So that so you're picking that single barrel, like if it's if it's a younger single barrel or whatever, it's it's it's me it's up to par for you.

SPEAKER_05 1:12:43

Like I can tell the majority of a six year is gonna go to blend, it won't go to right, right.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:48

This definitely has a sweetness in it, and I understand why you picked it for the program.

SPEAKER_04 1:12:53

Yeah, like you would I I had some uh the thing that it keeps coming back to me is this is a wheat waffle without anything on it.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:03

Yeah, it's got a nice sweet, waffly kind of taste. Almost like a it almost has a buckwheat flavor, like buckwheat.

SPEAKER_04 1:13:14

When the hell did you have buckwheat?

SPEAKER_01 1:13:17

What are you talking about? I used to have buckwheats all the time.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:24

I did I set them up perfectly, Nash. But you know, you know where that that could that's coming from, some of those notes. That's that's an Irishman using Scottish pot stills to make bourbon in Kentucky with 13% malt in the mash bill. So malt appears as an Irish whiskey maker term, bourbon maker. The malt, you know, normally in American distilling in Kentucky distilling with bourbon, you're gonna use just a little bit of malt. It's gonna be used as a binding enzyme. Because most distillers don't want too much of that malt flavor into the bourbon.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:10

Especially if they're column stilling. Column stillers don't, but there's a lot of pot stillers that want it, you know, there's not extra malt. There's very few, but I mean, some have done it. I mean, I know that old old elk was like 31% malt. There, old elk is that bourbon with Greg Matt's, that bourbon is a malt bourbon. I mean, and how how rare is that? And they don't even market that, it's just old elk.

SPEAKER_05 1:14:38

And they had they have great single barrels. I've got great single barrels for them. But yeah, that that malt really brings that out and some really unique flavors. Some of those baking flavors, like that, yeah. Yeah, they have yeah, that's an interesting one.

SPEAKER_04 1:14:54

With flavors that you've never had. That waff that sweet waffle flavor stays even on the finish. And and for somebody like listening, they're like, oh god, what's a sweet waffle? Go buy the waffles that are pre-made at Aldi that you buy in the freezer section that you just throw in the toaster oven, and they're thicker, they're not like a uh ego waffle, yeah, but they're made to put like stuff on top of. That's what it has that flavor of.

SPEAKER_05 1:15:21

So normally, you know, for us, you know, we're getting notes of biscuits, you know, notes of you know, baked dough, sweet bread. Yeah, that's pretty normal.

SPEAKER_04 1:15:32

So next one, and I hope to God this goes to more towards the waffle house, too, because that sounds happening.

SPEAKER_03 1:15:39

Yeah, we should have oh man, we should have waffle house plain waffle. So that sweetness, readiness, that one was 105 suburbit.

SPEAKER_04 1:15:53

The next one is going to be 120.29 or 39. 120. I'm trying to read my stinking labels. 120.38. Or no. Is that right?

SPEAKER_01 1:16:12

I mean, it could be an eight.

SPEAKER_04 1:16:17

I I think it is that 120. Good lord, that is hard to read.

SPEAKER_05 1:16:23

I that's not my handwriting.

SPEAKER_04 1:16:25

It's 120.89.

unknown 1:16:27

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:16:28

Is that what you got, Jeff?

unknown 1:16:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:30

9429 is the the number.

SPEAKER_04 1:16:33

Yep, yep. That's the one. So that's what we're gonna go to next. So it is a 18E14.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:40

Oh, so it's an eight year. An eight year at 120.

SPEAKER_05 1:16:47

I mean, this is gonna be this will be really rich.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:58

What is the jar that you guys use for your barrels? Char four. Okay. Every single one. I would tell you that whatever how he's straight across the board. The one thing that I'm noticing is that there's a char flavor in the barrel that is very unique to a scotch that I taste, and I'm not I get the caramels on this, but I still get that little bit of a char. And so he and I and I know he's doing it on purpose. I know you guys do are doing it on purpose because it makes sense to do it. That's kind of like it's something that that was picked up in the distilling of the single malts when he was distilling, and he knows you know, whether it's in the aging or how he distills or whatever, and the acceptance of the char of the barrel along with those sugars, opposed to just the sugar. A lot of times at eight year, you're just getting a lot of the sugars. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:18:11

I think when you're tasting town branch for the first time, you know, it's gonna throw a little curveball at you with some of those sweet grain notes from that higher malt mash bill. And us just being unique from our neighbors. I think some other people with the notes that you're getting, uh, it could be more subtle, like a creme brulee or a slightly burnt brown sugar. So it'll vary. This one is like burnt.

SPEAKER_04 1:18:39

It's something that nose goes to that like cereal grain sweetness that is like, and again, I hate to always compare stuff, but it just comes to me. It's like stop it. But Lucky Charms, it has that sweet grain note to it. Yeah, it smells like um, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:19:02

I on the nose, but I mean on the taste, it's it's like a burnt butterscotch. I mean, this one really your your eight-year is like the perfect balance. That's the in my opinion, after drinking some of these, that eight-year with this is pulling off that sweet flavor of the barrel that you're pulling, but it's still maintaining a char and a little bit of the flavor. So I'm on this one, I'm picking up butterscotch and it's sweet, and then there's the and then there's the char to it, or the like he said, it's almost like a burnt butterscotch. And one of the things that I love in my journey is I like you know, my wife burns the cook, she thinks she's burned the cookies and she wants to throw them all away. And those are that's the only time I ever eat her cookies because otherwise they go to all the grandkids and everybody, you know, it's a baked sale. But when she burns them, so I'm always hoping she's gonna burn them because I love the flavor. And her idea of burnt isn't like black, but you know what I mean, it's just overcooked. But that's what this has with the butterscotch. It's got a really nice note, and once again, the hug on this is unique to it's not, it's like a an inner warming kind of thing that slowly comes up on you. Not the kind of hug that a lot of whisk bourbons where it's like as you go down, it's a little hot, and then it's just it this is like a radiating, calming.

SPEAKER_05 1:20:42

What I love about our eight years and and notes that I get more, and this one doesn't have it, are really rich notes of prune, raisin, fig. They're very deep, they're very rich of that, you know, dried over the dried fruit.

SPEAKER_01 1:20:57

It tries, but then like I'm like my tongue is going like, and then all of a sudden, right at the back of your throat, it's like butterscotch char.

SPEAKER_05 1:21:10

I like this one. When we're together next, I'll I always have a bottle. It's the TrueCast number 12. It's the last Bourbon eye blended in 2025 of December. You know, I'm I'm getting ready to take my long holiday. And, you know, I get a call from sales and shipping and and logistics are like, hey, look, we need another blend of TrueCast that just flew out in November than we expected, which is a good problem to have. I gotta make another batch real quick. And I'm like, all right, I mean, I gotta, you know, this is I gotta focus on this. This is a quick turnover. And I'm, you know, I'm doing it, and I'm thinking, you know what? It's December. I'm gonna be on vacation in 10 days. This is my last blend of the year. I'm tossing in some older barrels. And and I had them, I gotta use them. And I tossed in two extra older pot still barrels that I need to use eventually. And this batch 12 came in at 107, but it is so deep and dark and rich uh and drinks well above the age statement. I can't wait to share that with you guys, the true cast 12.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:26

Well, we can't wait to get there. Wait, what next week? Can we be down there next Saturday?

SPEAKER_10 1:22:33

Nash's probably already.

SPEAKER_04 1:22:35

I'm around, yeah. I'm around that's already got it. I guarantee you, Nash has already got somebody that's got it for him. Yeah, yeah. Find that number. I got him on the hood. So don't blow it for me, CT. The Martians have brought it to you. We understand how it works now.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:54

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 1:22:56

Yeah, because all the and we know how to get it.

SPEAKER_04 1:23:01

All right, so the last of the barrel pick, this is gonna be the 124.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:10

121.27?

SPEAKER_04 1:23:13

Is that 121 or 124? I can't.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:16

Well, you wrote a 121 when you were sober.

SPEAKER_04 1:23:21

There's a slight yeah. It is one, it is 121. I can see it through the bottle now on the the Sharpie written part. So it's 121.27, Jeff. Is that our fill day on that one? Oh boy. I'm gonna have to read it through the back. 19. 19. That was it has a bad smudge. So it's 19 something. Oh, wait.

SPEAKER_05 1:23:48

Okay. Well, I mean, norm normally it's it's gonna be, you know, probably spring. So yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:24:02

Again, you get that doughy kind of grapes.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:24:07

Isn't that weird? You get like, it's almost like this is like the dough before you make like before you make cinnamon rolls. Before cinnamon goes on them, and pillsberry since you do that stupid sleeve you have to crack open. Yeah, these are the dough that you put on the place before you put in the room.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:29

Yeah, yeah. Are you saying Pillsbury?

SPEAKER_04 1:24:35

Pillsbury. You want me to go get some? I have some in the fridge. I'll bring them out and I'll do a comparison.

SPEAKER_01 1:24:41

No, don't do that. You'll wreck it forever. Every time you start. Don't ever let him actually eat other foods like that with your whiskey because he he did that with Amberana, and he hasn't been able to have an Amberana whiskey since. So you can't let him, you can't let him go get Pillsbury dough from the thing because all of a sudden it'll be like three days later, I can't drink town branch.

SPEAKER_04 1:25:10

Okay, Dave, just just stay away from Amberana and everybody's good. I've got it.

SPEAKER_01 1:25:20

I don't know. Just then C T's good. The rest of the drinking, the drinking bourbon people, you you you bring in a good amount of people who are in it to it's just Ambarana is something that's like not popular amongst the the purists, but the people who drink whiskey and they don't or not a lot of it, and they think it's hot or whatever, and Ambirana changes that because it gives it those those notes that they're familiar with, and it really lets you taste those notes opposed to you, as we all know, when you're when you're drinking whiskey, a lot of times it's it's a a veil of that cut of that taste that you're picking out that you could pick out those notes, it still tastes like bourbon.

SPEAKER_05 1:26:09

Yeah. I mean, for me, I have no interest in ever making one. Um if I ever if I ever did, I would taste it every 12 hours for two weeks.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:23

You might not get to the two weeks.

SPEAKER_05 1:26:29

But you know what I'd love to do with with that wool and that finish? I would love to make, I would love to finish our ale in our stout in those woods. I think that would make, you know, just real quick, a couple days. Oh, that would be cool.

SPEAKER_01 1:26:50

If you did that with the and then finish the bourbon in there real quick after you did the beer. Now that would be uh Amborana ale finished bourbon. I mean, come on.

SPEAKER_03 1:27:04

Yeah, gosh. That that sounds wonderful right there. Amirana ale finished beer, bourbon. Whose side are you on? What are you doing here, bro? I'm just just saying, you know. He has a point. I'm not I'm not I'm not an amirona bourbon kind of guy.

SPEAKER_05 1:27:26

But uh would be a nice stout finished maple barrel in there too. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 1:27:38

Listen, you guys, you started this show woke up now. Yep, he's like, yeah, send me some samples, and he's like, life goals.

SPEAKER_04 1:27:47

Like, literally, like he hasn't said shit the whole time. And as soon as you said that word, he's like awoke from he's like cracking.

SPEAKER_03 1:27:57

Yeah, he he's like that that. That's his life goal is to get a beer, beer finishing Amarana.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:06

So Kirk asked a question a little bit earlier. He said he he he drinks down his heartburn pill with beer. And he said, I need to put out the flames with Dave Bob's chugger. So he wants to know what your chugger is so he can get it so he can put out the heartburn flames with this heartburn pill.

SPEAKER_05 1:28:26

I would say, I would say probably that vanilla barrel cream ale.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:30

There you go.

SPEAKER_05 1:28:31

5.5, barrel age for months, mild, creamy body, ice cold, boom.

SPEAKER_01 1:28:37

There you go. Yes.

SPEAKER_05 1:28:39

And you you chase that what you do, you drink. I mean, I'm I don't know if you know, but I'm a Vermonter. I grew up in Vermont. You know, so another unique perspective of bourbon whiskey maker growing up in Vermont. Uh but our rye, you take a stip of our rye, give that a good chew, swallow that, and then chase it with our vanilla barrel cream ale, you get caramel kettle corn coat right on your tongue. One. Yeah, so drink the rye, drink the vanilla right after that. Chase it, kettle corn.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:12

I'm doing it. You are. Wait, I gotta come to your house when you do that.

SPEAKER_05 1:29:18

No, it's it's happening. It'll work with true cast. That's got some heat on her.

SPEAKER_04 1:29:26

Okay, let's go. Let's go back because first of all, thank you for sending us the barrel pick because sending us that.

SPEAKER_01 1:29:35

It's two barrel picks. He said he let us do a single barrel of the American Wick, the American single malt, and a single barrel pick of you know the bourbon's.

SPEAKER_04 1:29:47

Yeah. Yeah, exactly. So of those single barrels, that malt, the 11474. Yeah, that I'm getting second malt. Yeah, that that thing is there's a raspberry, there's peach. Oh my god, this thing is on the single malt?

SPEAKER_01 1:30:10

That is going back to it, and then the butter. No, you're you're talking about yeah, that's the 114, right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:30:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:20

The 114 with the butter. Oh no, that is that that was that was single most.

SPEAKER_04 1:30:28

But see if you don't get the did you just smell it out of the two-ounce little shitty bottle? I put a glass.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:34

I did. Did you see me pour it?

SPEAKER_04 1:30:38

Smell the raspberry.

SPEAKER_01 1:30:40

I you want to know why I smelled it out of here? I wanted to make sure I had the right bottle and I easily was able to figure it out. I didn't want to make a mistake. Oh my god. I just wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. It's like a raspberry dream sickle.

SPEAKER_04 1:30:58

Yeah. It's red. It's all even.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:01

Oh my god. The but now this time vanilla's coming out. Raspberry vanilla.

SPEAKER_04 1:31:07

Okay. Wake, wait for it. You went to Sam's Club or Krover or Sam's Club.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:14

I'll go with Sam's Club.

SPEAKER_04 1:31:16

And you went in, and they have that raspberry tart that has the icing on top of it. Yes. That's what this is. It's like eating that.

SPEAKER_01 1:31:27

Why did it get so much sweeter? Because we drank the bourbon. Because initially, this was butter. I mean, it's still butter. It finishes. Wait, wait. It's the raspberry tart at Sam's Club, like the raspberry loaf. It's got like a raspberry loaf with the icing. You're right. And then it's like you took a half a stick of butter and just smeared it all over it and ate it.

unknown 1:31:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:31:52

Well, one, you know, talking about that inflators exposing themselves after a while, you know, all of us and everybody watching, and something that I do, you know, to build my palate and to give every whiskey and bourbon a chance when you can, is, you know, you know, enjoy four sips over 20 minutes and really let it rest and seep it in. You know, continue to go on if if you can, and then come back to it the next day. Give it another four sips in six plus minutes or so. It's gonna open up. I mean, I've had stuff of ours and and and other whiskeys and and bourbons where you know, the give you an example, the weeded. So that six-year-old weeded came out incredible. Um I'm so happy how it came out and can't wait for people to experience it. I'm hard on myself too. The nose is a little bit too gentle for my liking, and that's just kind of how it is. But once you let it sit and open up after a while, that nose exposes itself. And same thing when you're trying something new, you know, give them the give them the time and the sips it deserves, you know, which is usually, I would say, you know, within you know, 30 plus minutes of tasting it a few times and even coming back to it a day later.

SPEAKER_01 1:33:15

I mean, I'll tell you this. This this one is seriously the best whiskey I've ever drank that's not bourbon. I mean, I've had some bourbons, like whatever, but I've never anything that rice, single malts, Irish whiskey, Japanese whiskey, you know, all the different single malts that are out there and all the different whiskeys. This is by far the I mean, that barrel is just it's it's insane. I mean, when you were sending it to us, you you had to know.

SPEAKER_05 1:33:54

Yeah, that's why that's yeah. I mean, I I wanted you guys to experience the wide variety of Sigamalt whiskeys and single barrels and how far they can come from each other in flavors.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:07

I mean, if you could just do it like this, this is this would be like you you you could just get people lined up out the door all day long. I mean, there's just not this this is this is one of those mind blowers. You know what I mean? It's just I will always remember this.

SPEAKER_05 1:34:26

Yeah, I'll say in the future, I don't know how many years it's gonna be down the road, but that's the goal of our single malt whiskey to put a much higher payment on an American single malt whiskey to have those richer, bolder flavors that are closer to a bourbon.

SPEAKER_04 1:34:43

Yeah, that because that one that's not close to bourbon, though it's unique in the way that it it expresses itself with that higher-end raspberry note that is not typical. Like, I feel like regular the the other two do not have that.

SPEAKER_01 1:34:58

No, no, it just doesn't exist. No other single malt I've ever tasted had that. I mean, come on, it's like it sets itself so far out of what everything else is. It's it just goes, it's way at the top. It's like I said, 99% of the bourbons I drank don't set themselves. I mean, you're talking about that's in my all-time five.

SPEAKER_04 1:35:30

Six. So the good thing is Dave's. I I guess you still have this barrel. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. So Walker said he'd pitch in. The Intamins. Have you had Intamins Donuts?

SPEAKER_00 1:35:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:35:47

No, don't Intamins is a brand we see in Ohio. It's a white box with blue writing. So Intamins makes a raspberry, like that that dish, that little pastry I'm talking about, which would make a killer barrel pick.

SPEAKER_10 1:36:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:36:06

Oh. We should wait, we should just get Ann to buy this for the state of Ohio. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:36:14

Ann, if you're watching, we'll come down and do the barrel pick, even though this is the barrel we're picking.

SPEAKER_01 1:36:20

Yeah. Wait, wait, that's when when are you guys are you guys scheduled soon with them?

SPEAKER_05 1:36:27

I'd have to ask the team. I mean, the last time I was with the Ohio State Liquor was with Mark Kaufman, our former retired master distiller, and we tasted the Ohio State Liquor crew. I mean, it was 12 people, and we sold them, I think we sold them 15 barrels that day.

SPEAKER_01 1:36:51

Yeah, but that was last year, right?

SPEAKER_05 1:36:54

That was probably a little, it was longer than that. Okay, so we need to have to check with our sales team and what they're doing with Ohio.

SPEAKER_01 1:37:01

Well, why don't you please I'll I'll talk, but that that needs to, I mean, seriously, that's freaking that's an amazing barrel. I mean, if I could get that up here, I would I would go to any store to get that barrel. I'd be I'd be there.

SPEAKER_03 1:37:19

I mean, you know, you know, I'll be putting my South Carolina order in too, too.

SPEAKER_04 1:37:25

Hey, challenge coin. Listen, you don't you don't your challenge coin doesn't work here, okay?

SPEAKER_03 1:37:34

Wait, wait a minute, it might we we got the main guy here. He he he sets the rules.

SPEAKER_05 1:37:43

So what do you think, Dave? I I think I need to come down to South Carolina and hang out. Oh yeah you do.

SPEAKER_03 1:37:53

I would host you most wonderfully, brother. Anytime you're ready.

SPEAKER_04 1:37:58

Well, Dave, I think that with that being said, we're almost two hours in. Your save and ours.

SPEAKER_01 1:38:06

So what did wait, we didn't we didn't finish. What did we pick for the bourbon? I mean, I'm picking the second. Oh, I didn't do two picks.

SPEAKER_04 1:38:15

I did one. And I'm picking the 114.74 is my pick for the whole thing. Pretty high praise for the single mall category. It it just hit differently than all the other.

SPEAKER_01 1:38:27

Oh, yeah, but but then are you doing it justice? But I mean, are you gonna you you want to do the you don't so you think it's just so far off you just forget about bourbon?

SPEAKER_04 1:38:40

It so it is in a unique way today where I've had bourbon, bourbon, bourbon, bourbon. That raspberry, that fruit note that's there. The butter and that butter. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:38:53

I'm like, there's there's I mean, just imagine eating a lobster or have and having this sit there, and you you're you're just duck dipping butter, and then you have a sip of that. I mean, it's amazing. Or or King Crab legs, same thing. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_04 1:39:11

This is why earlier, when Dave was standing by the stills and I said it's Willy Wonka. Yeah, this is the Willy Wonka shit that he's doing.

SPEAKER_01 1:39:22

Right.

SPEAKER_04 1:39:22

And then well, Dave, when what this isn't raspberry, it's snare. He's totally screwed us up. We don't even know that we're drinking snare. I mean, here's another thing.

SPEAKER_01 1:39:34

You should do a chef, I mean, you should you should bottle this as the what a single barrel for the gift shop and then do a chef dinner where they where they do not the classic Kentucky stuff. It's seafood. I mean, and that would be just, I mean, it just blows my brain. Uh Matt's like raspberry and lobster, it's not enough lot, it's more butter. It just all I'm saying is, Matt, it's like you got the icing, which is vanilla, and you got the raspberry, but then you take like a half a stick of soft butter and put it on top and then eat it. That's what this is.

SPEAKER_05 1:40:12

Well, here's another thing, and why I love CT's pick is you look at me tasting thousands of barrels per year, okay? And majority of them, you know, imagine me at seven in the morning starting my day with 40 barrels to taste, okay? You love it or not.

SPEAKER_01 1:40:32

You're getting ready to spit.

SPEAKER_05 1:40:34

Getting ready to spit. Almost all of them. And you're picking up real quick notes, you know, you know, you do it so long, it's not gonna take much and go through your process, whatever it's gonna be. But then every now and then, you know, whether it's a rye or a bourbon or or singamalt whiskey, you'll taste one and and I'll just yell out, whoa, whoa is that, you know, and it'll be like I'll get like sweet peach iced tea, and I'll be like, No, whoa, that's good, hold on, stop. And then I gotta dive into that, you know. So, so for me, just can you know tasting so many barrels and blends and and you know, and other people's stuff too. I I want the unique. I I'm searching, I'm hunting for that sip that just blows my mind.

SPEAKER_01 1:41:27

And it takes you know, it takes about all into that. The first time that ever happened to me is with Greg Schneider. He had done this 15-year batch of cast strength, okay? It was chicken cock 15-year cast strength, and he they hadn't even bottled it. He brought me a sample, 200 milliliter, and he's like, I'm gonna leave this with you because we finished the podcast at Bardstompurb and Company and whatever. And he left it, and and my wife opened it and did a little pour, right? Just a little bit on in one of the in the glass, and we were cleaning up, and I went over there and she said, You should taste that. And I and I was like, Okay. And I went over there, and you know, you taste so many, and I and I took it and it, and then I set it down and I went to walk away, and it just hit me. And I had to, it's like I had no control. I actually turned around and looked at the glass again. Like I didn't know that that it could taste like that, and that's what this one is. I mean, honestly, I there's no way if someone told me that that American single malt could taste like raspberry icing and butter, I would just say, you know, show me. I would want to be shown, and you did.

SPEAKER_05 1:42:53

Yeah, and I'll I'll say it one more time. You know, come come do the tour, it's gonna be amazing if you're able to get in the day and book the thieving tour. We're I'm in it right now. There are one of those barrels. When you do this, and you actually let me come over and I'll show you that specific barrel. You know, you're you're gonna love this weeded. This is a great experience, this bourbon. This older one in the pot still, this will blow. This will this will have you thinking, I don't even know what this is. How's this bourbon? These flavors that come out of this, it's like a charcuterie board with every fruit and nut and bread, and it's it's insane. The flavors that explode out of this barrel itself.

SPEAKER_01 1:43:45

I mean, is that the barrel that was there when we were there in September, or was there another one there?

SPEAKER_05 1:43:51

Yeah, yeah, that was there.

SPEAKER_01 1:43:52

Okay.

SPEAKER_05 1:43:53

Yeah, we may not have time. I don't know if we dipped into it.

SPEAKER_01 1:43:56

Well, we no, what he did. I mean, definitely.

unknown 1:43:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:44:00

I we were that that that brought me back to Town Branch. I was like, holy crap. Yeah, you're all right.

SPEAKER_04 1:44:10

Where where is the bourbanola barrel?

SPEAKER_05 1:44:13

Well, I mean, that's you know, I mean, I'm handpicking every single one of those barrels. I would I would just like to thieve from a bourbonola. You want to just dump the cans into a barrel?

SPEAKER_04 1:44:27

I want a thief from a barrel and it'd be bourbonola. Like it's just like that. It's not that awesome.

SPEAKER_01 1:44:34

Hey, hey, wait, wait. Daybob, that's what the Scotchy bourbon boys need to do next time. We need to come down and work with you, and we're gonna stay there after hours, and we're gonna dump can and we'll fill a 53-gallon barrel for you with cans of bourbonola. Yeah, it'll be the infinity barrel of bourbonola. Bourbonola, yeah. We'll just keep until it's full. We'll we'll do the legwork for that. And it's and and you don't have to pay us. Pay us in pay us in bourbonola.

SPEAKER_04 1:45:08

He said you don't have to pay us. Well, we we appreciate you coming on. I mean, this has been in the world for almost two months that we have been putting this together because the the spring is and early summer has just been so busy. So we appreciate you taking time, not only sending us the sample kit, but taking the time because you're still there, you still gotta go home. You still unless you're sleeping there. No, but we we do appreciate it, and yeah, I think that the Ohio Town branch does exist. You will see the true cast, you'll see the the regular barrel that was like the $34 one. Yeah, we're we're gonna work on getting some more stuff because I think the overproof needs to be in Ohio. We do obviously have Kentucky bourbon barrel ale. Maybe the Imperial stout isn't as readily available, but the regular is because they serve it in bars everywhere. Yeah, it's everywhere. And then I mean that's a cult following that year. Burbanola? And I I completely bitched about it last time when we saw it even in Columbus. And Anne's like, I've never even heard of bourbanola. And I said, How the hell haven't you heard of bourbanola? Well, a lot of people haven't. They don't realize they see that can.

SPEAKER_01 1:46:35

It doesn't match the brand, so they don't think that it's like okay, it it but it blows away like a Jim Beam and Cole Coca Cola, whatever they do, it just blows it away. It's not good. It's almost it's almost that I mean, whatever they do, it it has such a rich vanilla, cherry, bourbon beer. There's there's even like a root beer aspect of it. It's just all those flavors all in one, and that's just and you know, you explained it to us.

SPEAKER_04 1:47:09

And and nothing against Jack Daniels, but Jack Daniels, and obviously they've got their branding with Coca-Cola, yeah, and whatever it is, you know, it is so different.

SPEAKER_01 1:47:20

It's not the same. No, it's its own, it's kind of like ale eight. It's it's ale eight is nothing, it's its own thing, and bourbonola is its own thing.

SPEAKER_05 1:47:31

Talk about a dream, you know, and obviously we're not the only you know, distilleries that would love to do this, but yeah, you know, imagine, imagine one of one of one of uh the Kentucky distilleries doing a bourbon LA one. I mean, yeah. Obviously, you know, L8's a great family. Well, you know, LA's an incredible family-owned company, and obviously, I'm sure it's come down the line multiple times, but well, until then, we just gotta make it at home by ourselves.

SPEAKER_01 1:48:02

Well, the person that the people that should be doing it is Freddie, Freddie's why isn't why why don't they have why do they have Freddie's ginger ginger ale and you know and Freddie's root beer, but they don't have the spiked one? I mean, I mean, come on. Yeah, you guys did it. You guys really did it. Nice job. Yeah, no, I mean, if if somebody could partner with ALA and come out with a line of RTPs, why isn't your person making a ginger ale that'll mix with your bourbon? I mean, I don't that's the same thing. How is cherry cola and ginger ale? I mean, you would you would like create the ginger ale that should go with the bourbon, not just a ginger ale. Something you know.

SPEAKER_05 1:49:00

Let me let me end with two things secret stuff over here. Uh imagine if imagine if a Kentucky bourbon distillery decided, hey man, this cherry cola is so good. What else could we make? And imagine a guy that makes bourbon and blends, who used to be award-winning global bartender, made a cocktail in Ireland with the mango and banana puree. And imagine if that sparked an idea to make a second flavor. And imagine it was called bourbonola tropical with bananas. And imagine if it was kind of like a bourbon mule with those tropical notes. Well, that's coming out. That guy wore a hat.

SPEAKER_01 1:49:46

Imagine you wore a hat with well, and so is are you calling it bourbonola Malibu?

SPEAKER_05 1:49:53

No, no, that would

New Releases Bourbonola Sub Tropical

SPEAKER_05 1:49:55

be funny. That would taste like coconuts, probably. Uh no, it would no, so it's it's uh It's in the process of we've been in the process of developing and making it for over a year. It's going into canning production this summer. It's gonna be it's gonna be called Bourbonola Sub Tropical. It's uh it's different, same design, different colors, great packaging. It tastes incredible. I mean it it tastes like a bourbon ginger ale, ginger beer with with uh banana and mango. Notes to it.

SPEAKER_01 1:50:34

Are you gonna have a launch party? Are you having a launch? Are you gonna have a launch party?

SPEAKER_05 1:50:40

Oh yeah, oh yeah, we'll be doing a launch party here for that.

SPEAKER_01 1:50:43

You gotta grow some palm trees.

SPEAKER_05 1:50:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:50:47

Some palm trees, get some. Well, let us know about the launch party because that sounds fun.

SPEAKER_05 1:50:53

Yeah. And then another thing that you guys were huge supporters of, and what I'm starting tomorrow, Friday morning, to come into the long weekend, I'll start doing my first micro blends of Imperium. Oh. You guys had the Imperium 1 in 5, and I loved how you know how much you enjoyed that and compared it to the first batch that I did and how much it grew. Well, Imperium this year will be a cast drink.

SPEAKER_04 1:51:25

I think we didn't we drink that first at uh bourbon on the bank?

SPEAKER_00 1:51:30

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:51:31

That that was really good.

SPEAKER_00 1:51:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:51:33

So for those who haven't had it, and these are for the true town branch lovers and those that want to try something new, but you gotta put a little bit of coin down. It's every year, three of my favorite bourbons blended perfectly with three of my favorite weeded bourbon barrels. Three on three. And this year will be at Cast Strength, and that's around $120.

SPEAKER_01 1:51:56

Yeah, that was that was I I remember that. That was phenomenal. And we were uh it was awesome to taste that the Imperium.

SPEAKER_04 1:52:04

I remember it because we were walking around and we stopped with Dave Bob and he's like, you know, in his normal animated self, and he is talking to people that are at the at the tent and he's pouring them stuff, and he's like, hang on, hang on. And then he pulls this bottle out from underneath the counter and he's like, hey guys, try this and tell me what you think.

SPEAKER_01 1:52:27

Like, holy crap!

SPEAKER_04 1:52:29

And you're like, okay, and the people that are walking by are like, what the shit? Exactly. How do we get in on that? Well, we appreciate you a lot. I love the direction that town. You've been awesome, man. Thank you so much. The brand is headed in a killer direction, and I keep telling people in Ohio, I don't care what you have, go out and buy a bottle of True Cask, try it, see what you think. If it's not your thing, you know, give it to somebody, you know, share it. But I think that most people will find when they try that it's fantastic for the price point that it is.

SPEAKER_01 1:53:15

I think I think it's their thing. I mean, honestly, I think you, you know, what what we that's why we did this, and that's why we when Dave, you you've you've got the attention on the bourbon, and still with everything else that the distillery does, and you've put the time and effort in to be able to create the what what the brand, you know, even what you know Pierce wanted you to do, wanted it to be. I think you've taken it to that next level and done some great things with it. I know early on some of the stuff, what you know, as far as bourbon, it wasn't always everybody's favorite. So when you when I hear somebody say it, I go, it's time now. It's time now because it's there. Dave's doing a great job. Dave Bob's doing a great job. Just keep it up. I mean, you definitely you understand what bourbon drinkers like. Everything I tasted. And just so you know, it was the the the middle 120.39 one that I would have picked for the bourbon. I it was just I think that was the eight-year. So that one, that one, that one did it for me. That would have been a pick, that would have been my pick for the bourbon.

SPEAKER_05 1:54:30

Appreciate it. Yeah, and and again, ending at, you know, it's it's our whole team to run this place as temporary distillery and you know, from our sales team to marketing and uh everybody on production, we're we're so lucky to have everybody, and they've all been here for so long. You know, you can't get rid of us. Yeah, it's a great team.

SPEAKER_04 1:54:50

Thank you, Dave. It's a family two hours out of your evening to spend with us and go over such an amazing journey that you're on. And the the single barrel pick was phenomenal. I I don't know. Tomorrow I'm gonna try that bottle again tomorrow. Yes, if it again. And if it still has those notes, we have a problem. I love it.

SPEAKER_05 1:55:17

Seriously, and we'll have to come down here and drill into it and see how it's matured.

SPEAKER_01 1:55:22

Oh god. Not this Saturday, but the following Saturday. Uh just as I'll be down, just name the Saturday.

SPEAKER_05 1:55:32

You come, you come. I'm here the next two Saturdays, and then give me, you know, a couple more weeks and I'm back. Yeah, you yeah, you want to come in on a Saturday, we'll do it. All right. And then we can go have lunch somewhere. I'm bringing my kids.

SPEAKER_01 1:55:48

Fine.

SPEAKER_05 1:55:50

Well, thank you so much.

SPEAKER_03 1:55:53

And just for everybody, you know, tuning in tonight. Thanks for tuning in and listening to Dave and everything that town brand has to offer.

SPEAKER_01 1:56:06

All right, if you want to get out and get going, because I know you do, we'll finish up here. All right.

SPEAKER_05 1:56:13

Finish up, I want to watch it.

SPEAKER_01 1:56:14

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_05 1:56:14

Oh boy.

SPEAKER_01 1:56:15

All right. All right, www.scotchybourbonboys.com. What what how can they get to you on the on the internet?

SPEAKER_05 1:56:23

I'd say uh social media, townbranch bourbon on Instagram and Facebook at townbranchbourbon.com or lexingtonbrewing co.com. If you want to see some kind of inside secret stuff and travel that I do and talking about bourbon, go Dave Bob Bourbon on Facebook on Instagram.

SPEAKER_01 1:56:45

Perfect. All right, everybody, we're on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and X, along with Apple, iHeart, and Spotify, and anywhere else you want to listen to

Where To Follow And Final Toast

SPEAKER_01 1:56:55

us, we're probably there. But whether you listen to us or watch us, make sure that you leave good feedback, become subscriber, member, top shelf on on uh YouTube. A shout out to Kirk for leaving two the first time, two super chats tonight. Just so you know, he likes old mill and old mill light. I have no idea what those beers are because I'm a bourbon guy. And then also remember good bourbon equals good times and good friends. Make sure you drink responsibly.

SPEAKER_03 1:57:27

Drink responsibly. Yeah, don't drink and drive.

SPEAKER_01 1:57:31

And live your life.

SPEAKER_03 1:57:32

Live your life of bourbon and a filter.

SPEAKER_01 1:57:36

And AI will take us out.