CAMPBELL RECORDER
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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2019 ❚ BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS ❚ PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
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The hemp harvest is in Now nail-biting is about to begin Julia Fair
Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
Editor's note: This is an excerpt from the fi nal installment of The Long, Hard Road, an Enquirer special section at Cincinnati.com. Daryl Burns looks out on his crop, and it is not a familiar sight. The 66year-old lifelong farmer took a gamble with his crop this year. “We had to,” said Addison Burns, Daryl’s 33-year-old son. “Tobacco was done, and we had to try something new.” The Burnses are hemp farmers, at least for now. This Campbell County family, like many across the U.S., has been dealing with declining tobacco profi t. The labor wasn’t worth it anymore. They won’t know how profi table their fi rst hemp crop is until the process is over, and that makes Daryl Burns nervous. The weather will determine if what they have grown is, in fact, legal. That’s because weather impacts how much CBD and THC a plant has. To have a profi table – and not illegal – crop, the Burns family needs its plants to have a large percentage of CBD and a very low percentage of THC. CBD, short for cannabidiol, is the nonpsychoactive chemical in hemp that is rising in popularity because it’s believed by some to reduce anxiety and help with sleep and pain. THC, short for tetrahydrocannabinol, is the compound responsible for the psychotropic eff ects of marijuana. At $3 a plant, the Burns family spent $24,000 to plant 4 acres of hemp. It was another few hundred dollars to put down special tape and plastic to help the plants grow, something tobacco never needed. Hemp takes a lot of “babysitting,” as the family puts it. Daryl’s days on the farm could span
Daryl Burns, 66, shows hemp drying in his barn in Alexandria, Kentucky. Daryl grew tobacco for his entire life. This season he and his son, Addison Burns, are growing hemp for the fi rst time. MEG VOGEL/ THE ENQUIRER
from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the summer. “We don’t go home for lunch. We bring us a bologna sandwich and spend the day here,” he said. The investment and time commitment could be worth it. In 2018, hemp processors reported $57.8 million in gross product sales, compared with $16.7 million in 2017, according to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture. But a lot could go wrong. Hot temperatures, like the days Northern Kentucky had this summer, could produce more THC. Then the state can destroy the family's crop. No one will know the exact levels until the plants are sent to the processor. How
long that takes depends on how the weather dries the plant. CBD levels can vary as well, which means the pay scale varies. Plants have diff erent levels, and some levels vary within the same plant. “But that’s farming,” the elder Burns says. Once, he lost an entire acre of tobacco in a fi ve-minute hailstorm. In the barn, as his hemp dries, Daryl smushes one of the dry plants between his fi ngers. It’s how to release the oil that has the CBD in it, he explains. The market for this magic stuff is expanding. A farmer could do worse. “I think,” Daryl says, “we’ll probably do it again next year.”
Hot temperatures, like the days Northern Kentucky had this summer, could produce more tetrahydrocannabinol.
Newport’s New Riff Distilling makes list of ‘Top 20 Whiskies of 2019’ Seven whiskies from Kentucky chosen for list Briana Rice
Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
New Riff Distilling has made Whisky Advocates’ list: “Top 20 Whiskies of 2019.” NEW RIFF DISTILLING/PROVIDED
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A Newport, Kentucky, distillery has made a list of “Top 20 Whiskies of 2019.” New Riff Distilling was chosen by Whisky Advocates reviewers who sampled hundreds of whiskies, including rare and extremely limited releases from across the nation. In fact, seven whiskies from Kentucky were chosen for the list. The top 20 were determined by looking at “outstanding” whiskies that rated 90 points or higher on Whiskey Advo-
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cate’s 100-point scale. In addition to the score, selections were chosen based on price and availability. The New Riff Bottled in Bond Rye ranked 17th on the list. The whiskey scored a 92 on the Whiskey Advocate point scale. Each bottle has a 50% ABV (alcohol by volume) and cost $46. “We take great pride in every spirit we distill at New Riff , knowing that every step of the process is done with utmost integrity,” Founder of New Riff Distilling Ken Lewis said in a press release.
Other Kentucky whiskies chosen for the list: ❚ Four Roses Small Batch Select
News: 513-248-8600, Retail advertising: 513-768-8404, Classified advertising: 513-242-4000, Delivery: 859-781-4421, Subscriptions: 513-248-7113. See page A2 for additonal information
❚ Heaven Hill 7-year-old Bottled in Bond ❚ Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Batch Proof (2019 Release) ❚ Old Ezra 7-year-old Barrel Strength ❚ Bardstown Bourbon Company Fusion Series #1 ❚ Baker’s Single Barrel (No. 000185706) “Our Top 20 is a selection of whiskies worthy of your attention. The list includes great values that might otherwise be overlooked, whiskies that are best in class for their style, and highly accomplished bottles you should be looking for. Most importantly, each of these whiskies generates excitement and marks a highlight across a year of tasting,” the Whiskey Advocate wrote.
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