WHISKEY CULTURE
May 2020 | Issue 02
COME DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE WITH RABBIT HOLE WHISKEY PLUS: CHECK OUT BARDSTOWN BOURBON WHAT DOES "BOTTLED-INBOND" MEAN? A TRIP TO CARSONS IN LEXINGTON, KY
WHISKEY CULTURE, LLC
TABLE OF CONTENTS 01 A letter from the editor
06 Places to Visit: Carson's in Lexington, KY
12 Will's Cocktail Corner: Whiskey Sour
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Distillery Spotlight: A trip down the Rabbit Hole
Bardstown's Prisoner Release
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Distillery Spotlight: Bardstown Bourbon Company
Over & Under: EH Taylor Barrel Proof & Sazerac Rye
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What does Bottled-InBond even mean?
Sneak Peek for June '20 Issue #3
Editor's Note The first issue of Whiskey Culture Monthly was a smashing success! Thank you all for engaging with us and sharing our content with your whiskey buddies!
Welcome to the second edition of the Whiskey Culture Magazine We were absolutely floored by the support and engagement we got from you all. We were humbled. It proved to us that we are on the right track by creating multiple ways for you to get your whiskey info fix. This magazine, our podcasts, the blog, they are all spurred from a passion for whiskey. And, we love that we can share in that passion with you. The second edition of the magazine took a little longer due to the state of, well, everything right now. Thank you so much for being patient and allowing us the time to put our best effort into what we write. We've got a budding whiskey community on Facebook growing (click here to join) and we're just shy of growing to 30,000 followers. This has been all because of you and your love for all things whiskey. If we didn't have people reading, there wouldn't be much point in us continuing to write. Cheers,
Greg Sinadinos
Whiskey Culture is a labor of love. Greg started his whiskey journey in Tallahassee, Florida where he tried his first allocated bottle of bourbon on one of his friends' 21st birthday. A multi-month bottle hunt followed, and when he finally found the bottle, his passion for tracking down and trying unique and rare whiskies was born. Today, he lives in Tampa, FL and travels to Kentucky frequently to write about his experiences exploring the culture that surrounds whiskey.
President of Whiskey Culture
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www.WhiskeyCulture.com
RABBIT HOLE DISTILLERY LOUISVILLE, KY Louisville, Kentucky is many things. Beautiful, bustling, historic, and filled with passionate people. The architecture speaks to its history while looking towards the future. There is one distillery that is new, fresh, and embodies the innovation and clean modern aesthetic that so strikingly sits surrounded by historic red brick buildings. Rabbit Hole was founded by former psychologist, Kaveh Zamanian. He was a scotch man once upon a time, but his wife Heather introduced him to the world of bourbon. This sent him down the proverbial "rabbit hole" and such was born a unique and wonderful brand of whiskey. Rabbit hole was established in 2012 and, according to Kaveh, the development raised "a few eyebrows" at first, but soon it became a Louisville staple producing quality and craft whiskey that Kentucky is so well known for.
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Though the brand was founded in 2012, it wasn't until 2018 that the physical location was constructed, built of the back of the brand's massive success. The building is an absolutely stunning fusion of wood and steel, showcasing a highly modern look with flavors of a more rural undertone. This is a great analogy for the whiskey they produce. Classic flavors and profile with a unique notes that separate it from the pack. The gift shop has racks upon racks of their quality whiskey on display as well as all kinds of fun branded merch that have a clean, industrial look to them. We were quite taken with how nice everything was, and how easy it was to check-in. According to our guide, the building is separated into two distinctly purposed halves. One half is for research and development. It's where the powers that be decide how to tweak their existing lineup as well as develop the new lineup. The other half is for the physical operation. That is, their mash cooking, fermenting, distilling, barreling, and bottling all take place on the other half of the building. You can see through the open windows into the labs and different areas that transparency is a vital ingredient for Rabbit Hole's entire operation. Their entire distillation process is painted up on the walls along the main hallway, giving awesome insight to those who walk down its pathway. The actual distillery operation is clean, industrial, and impressive. There are clean, purely aesthetic additions that show the distillery had tours in mind when they were designing the architecture. The mash room has multiple levels with plenty of open space for you to appreciate and view the distillery in all its splendor. While the architecture and operation are impressive, the tour guides that we met have a deeply profound passion for not only whiskey, but for Rabbit Hole as a whole. Josh, their Brand Experience Manager was very transparent and genuinely excited about the whiskey they produce. It's incredible to see a staff that isn't just showing up for work, they're coming to this wonderful place with a sense of purpose and pride. It's absolutely infectious.
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Once the tour is over, you're brought up to the bar they have so rightly named "Over Look." The tasting includes chocolates and a full bar of ingredients for you to smell while you parse flavors from their drams. While the tasting is great, the bartenders also mix mean cocktails that showcase the uniqueness of Rabbit Hole's lineup rather than overshadow them. After grabbing your craft cocktail, you can go enjoy the landscape of their little corner of St. Louis. The cityscape is beautiful in all its varied splendor and color. Looking over the city, knowing you're in a beautiful city, full of beautiful distilleries, with oftentimes beautiful weather gives you a great sense of serenity. If you're looking for a distillery with a great sense of purpose, good whiskey, and a beautiful vibe and feel, then Rabbit Hole should be on your list for your next visit.
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Above The tasting bar at Rabbit Hole serves quality cocktails and generous pours of their whiskey..
Below The bar overlooks a beautiful stretch of Louisville and is an awesome place to enjoy your drinks...
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Bardstown Bourbon THE PRISONER Bardstown Bourbon Company's releases may seem few, but their quality and innovation is superb. They continue to push their innovative releases to our appreciative palates with their newest release, The Prisoner. A Collaborative Effort Bardstown created a beautiful whiskey of 84% corn, 8% rye, and 8% malted barley. With 9 years of maturation behind it, it's got a wonderfully woody depth. They partnered with The Prisoner Wine Company, a relatively new company that's made a big splash in the wine markets. They have made many widely enjoyed wines since 2000.
Tennessee Bourbon Whiskey Mash Bill: - Corn 84% - Rye 8% - Malted Barley 8% Aged 9 Years (18 mo finish) Finished in French Oak "The Prisoner Wine Company" French Oak Red Wine Barrels. Our taste of it on our tour of the facility was wonderful and complex. The wine isn't overpowering. It's more complementary undertones that mesh well with the natural sweetness of the bourbon. There is a juicy, sweet, and woody aroma. The palate was sweet and rich with full desert notes of berry compote, vanilla, and honeysuckle peaking through, and then balance with the wood and leather to round out the experience.
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PLACES TO VISIT
CARSON'S FOOD & DRINK Lexington, KY To be honest, we happened upon Carson's by chance. We were finishing up a tour at Town & Branch when we realized we needed to eat before we got back on the road to Louisville for the next day's round of tours and interviews. We asked the guys what they thought was a good area around the distillery. They unanimously said "Carson's." So, we scrapped our Louisville plans and swapped them for Lexington plans. We'd never actually been into Lexington's downtown before. We'd usually skirt around the edges to various distilleries. However, we were delightedly met with a beautiful city full of lively people, beautiful public art, and delicious food. We were brought in, and greeted with giant wooden shelves behind the bar filled to the top with whiskies.
The place had an incredible atmosphere. Open, lively, and decadently simple with a rustic edge. A lot of care is taken with this place, you can tell. From the brass distressed menus to the water carafe being an empty whiskey bottle, you could tell that everything was designed around an "upscale Kentucky" vibe. We ordered our meals. We are simple men of simple tastes. We got the meatloaf and the cheeseburger. We went a little crazy and got an appetizer of bĂŠarnaise truffle fries and I got a side of smoked gouda macaroni. However, when our food got to the table we were floored. Great plating, and a lot more than what we expected at the price on the presentation side. Though, how was the food itself? Pleased to report it tasted as good, or better than it looked, and the cocktails matched it.
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We were given various cocktails to sample. While all of them were great, our favorite had to be their Manhattan. While I'm usually partial to an old fashioned, the Manhattan was simple, balanced, and whiskey-forward. Though, if you're looking for something more on the... well... a pour straight or over the rocks, you're in luck. The whiskey selection at Carson's was great. They had a wide variety of pours for you to enjoy. That's good, because with as varied menu as Carson's has, you'd be hard pressed not to find a good whiskey to pair with your dish.
The burger was incredible. Cooked to order and elevated with a symphony of contrasting flavors and textures. The meatloaf had a nice spicy and sweet southern barbecue sauce that went well to enhance the dish but not overthrow it. The béarnaise truffle fries were unbelievable, the smoked gouda macaroni and cheese was creamy and rich. I wish I’d had been able to try more of their dishes, but we the portions were more than generous and we left absolutely stuffed just off what we had ordered.
Mark, the founder of Carson’s, was an absolutely incredible host. He was funny, kind, passionate, and a true whiskey fan. Everything you’d expect from the owner of such an establishment. From start to finish everything was great. You can tell the care taken in everything here. The food, the decor, the whiskey selection, and the cocktails all speak to the pride and intentionality put into Carson’s. If you’re in the Lexington area, make it a priority stop. April '20 | 7
Bardstown Bourbon SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE WHISKIES BEING PRODUCED 24/7
By: Greg Sinadinos President of Whiskey Culture
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Bardstown Bourbon lays just 7 minutes from Haven Hill and 10 minutes from Willett, two major stops on the Bourbon Trail. It is located in, you guessed it, Bardstown, Kentucky. It is a city overflowing with whiskey history, having been dubbed the "bourbon capital of the world" by many and is the official head of the bourbon trail.
Brands like Jefferson's, Calumet, High West, Belle Meade, and The Splinter Group make up just a piece of their portfolio.
Founded in 2016, Bardstown Bourbon is very much a new player on the scene that has made a huge splash in the community. Not only have they begun producing their own highly acclaimed Bardstown Whiskey line, but they produce a long list of whiskies you are most likely familiar with.
They produce whiskey 24/7 with only one official holiday where production ceases. It's out of necessity that they have this intense schedule. They measure every hour of their day with time block sheets to make sure they are able to meet their mind-bending production quotas.
Their sheer scale and volume of their production has led to a rigorous production schedule and systems that were custom designed to regulate the majority of their process automatically.
Before you get to their massive mash rooms, towering grain silos, or cutting edge labs, you walk up to the angular steel, stone, and glass walled building. It has a very industrial feel to it, but embraces a lot of natural balance with their landscaping. Once you pass through the doors, you're greeted by a beautifully simple yet elegant reception room. Claiming the space is a wall of foliage with their logo front and center. It's a very modern feel that sets the tone for the rest of the tour. The balance of modernist approach to traditional values and technique are what allow Bardstown to continue producing great whiskies at their near break-neck volume.
After you enter the main doors into the building from the reception room, you realize the distillery was built with much more than just whiskey production in mind. They wanted to create an experience. They have a dining and event room set up in a large open space. When we visited it was set up for a dinner service. There is lounge space towards the front, and large open windows peering into their sleek gift shop. The Bardstown Bourbon crew definitely loves entertaining and is constantly looking for local events to host. From weddings to high-end tasting dinners, they are looking to become a destination for traveling events as well as a resource for their local community.
The mash room is unlike anything we've ever seen. We have done dozens and dozens of tours from Kentucky all the way down to Florida. Bardstown has gone above and beyond in making their cookers state-of-the-art. They adapted a monitoring system developed for another type of beverage manufacturing, and had it customized for making whiskey. The system detects when things are out of alignment in the mash tub and can automatically add different amounts of water or other natural ingredients to re-balance the mash to specification so that every production is consistent and finetuned. This allows them to continue producing a reliable and consistent end product while still keeping pace with their production volume.
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The rickhouse Bardstown uses for presentations matches that same industrial rural fusion architecture as the main building. However, the inside is stacked high with aging barrels, and the presentation room is extravagant. You walk through an impressive armada of barrels containing all types of whiskies, and into the presentation lounge. The room has a glass wall that allows you to look into the main area in the warehouse, which is set up with enough open space for presentations or mixers. That's a unique setup and shows, again, that Bardstown had presentation and entertainment in mind when they were designing their buildings.
Bardstown bourbon has three primary "series" that their releases fall into. There is the "fusion series" features a unique blend of different aged whiskies with widely varied mash bills to create unique flavors. The "discovery series" uses varied ages and similar mash bills to create a more complex but straightforward blend. The "collaborative series" has Bardstown partner up with quality partners to create unique blends and finishes to create new and exciting flavor experiences. Each of these series' creates a unique product that has put their releases on the map and in bars around the country.
We got to try out the currently available lineup. We have to say, both the pours and the experience itself was wonderful. "The Prisoner" was an incredible pour that we really geeked out on. The classic flavors of a sweet Tennessee whiskey were great and complex. Notes of vanilla and toasted caramel were beautifully accented by the drier notes of the red wine giving a berry and earthy undertone. Overall, the experience was phenomenal. When you head to Kentucky, many people try to plan historic distilleries as their primary stops. However, if you overlook some of these younger distilleries, you could very well be short changing your own trip. Some of theses distilleries, like Bardstown, are doing some awesome things, and are wonderful places to visit. If you're going to visit Bardstown, make sure you put Bardstown Bourbon on your schedule.
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E.H. Taylor is a whiskey that has a nearly mythic level cult following. However, it hasn't gained such a level of prestige without reason.
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E.H. Taylor, now produced by Buffalo Trace, was originally part of Colonel Taylor's O.F.C. distillery. The barrel proof iteration clocks in above 120 proof (the actual proof depends on the year), but drinks much smoother than that. The flavor is sweeter than you'd expect with prominent notes of caramel and floral vanilla with heavy undertones of toasted wood and charcoal. With an average price around $90, it's definitely worth picking up. That is, if you can find it.
OVER
UNDER Review
$50 Sazerac Rye, or "Baby Saz" as it's affectionately called in the whiskey community, is the child of the highly coveted Sazerac 18 Year (part of Buffalo Trace's antique collection). However, unlike its highly allocated counterpart, this one isn't too difficult to find if you do a little digging. And, if you do, you'll be heavily rewarded for your efforts. Coming in at about $40 a bottle, this is an affordable pour that doesn't sacrifice flavor or smoothness.
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The pour is warm but easily drinkable with a blend of earthy and spicy rye notes that make it a unique blend in the rye space. The finish is warm and not as dry as you'd expect. There's a nice earthy and fruity note that finishes off the April '20 | 11 pour.
WILL'S COCKTAIL CORNER:
WHISKEY SOUR Recipe & Photo By: Will Taylor (Nashville, TN)
Though the seasons change, classic cocktails remain. The Whiskey Sour is less known than its cousins the Old Fashioned and the Manhattan, but it's not any less delicious. Though the first official record of a whiskey sour recipe wasn't until 1862 in Jerry Thomas' The Bartender's Guide, sours had been around for ages. They had been used by sailors to combat scurvy, malnutrition, and seasickness before becoming a staple for mixologists everywhere.
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Ingredients: 2 oz bourbon 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice 3/4 oz simple syrup 2 dashes Angostura bitters 1 orange peel 1. Add lemon, simple syrup, and bourbon to your favorite cocktail shaker. 2. Add ice and give it a good shake. 3. Strain into an ice-filled old fashioned glass over a large ice sphere or cube. 4. Add bitters (do not stir). 5. Squeeze the orange peel over the drink to release the oils. 6. Rub the rim of the glass with the orange and drop it in. 7. Enjoy!
A nice and simple cocktail that is both refreshing and pops with nice citrus flavor. Great for a hot summer day.
“It's a cocktail that is both invigorating and refreshing. It's great for a hot summer day.” - Will Taylor
THE FIRST CONSUMER PROTECTION
BOTTLEDIN-BOND By: Greg Sinadinos
Many who enjoy whiskey are familiar with the little tax strip that sits snugly over the top of bottles which adorn the phrase "bottled-in-bond." Yet, many have the question burning in the back of their mind, what does "bottled-in-bond" even mean? Well, to understand "what" it is, we also need to understand "why" it was put into place. Flashback to the late 1800s. The whiskey scene is reaching new demands and producers are looking for the quickest way to cash-in and make a quick buck. Many fly-by-night whiskey companies were popping up and producing whiskey of questionable quality. Many made pure corn grain spirits and mixed them with nasty additives like tobacco juice to make it appear to be an aged whiskey. They would also make blatantly false claims like fake age statements, false mash bills, and completely fabricated stories about their non-existent distilleries printed right on the label. Some of these companies' products would seriously injure or even kill consumers and these companies would close shop and disappear without a trace. NOMADIC
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18 The distilleries and their distillers who were busy actually producing quality whiskey were absolutely distraught. The production of real quality whiskey is both time-consuming and expensive. However, these fake companies were able to make false claims to make it seem like they had a competing product at a severely reduced price. Enter E.H. Taylor Colonel E.H. Taylor (yes, that E.H. Taylor) helped champion a movement in the US political scenes to help snuff out these dangerous companies and to create a clear way for quality companies to market their spirits. The result of this push was the Bottled-InBond act of 1897. This act was the first real consumer protections act that helped safeguard the American people against deceptive business practices. According to the act, a very specific set of criteria must be met for a company to be able to utilize the Bottled-In-Bond designation. This communicated to consumers a minimum level of quality that they could depend on, and helped re-build trust with the industry.
The Bottled-In-Bond Act of 1897 was the first real consumer protection act. It allowed consumers to have confidence in bottles that bore this designation, and know the minimum level of quality they could expect from their bottle. To be "Bottled-In-Bond," a whiskey must adhere to the following criteria: Be distilled in a single distilling season By a single distiller at a single distillery Produced in the United States No additives may be included Must be bottled at 100 proof Label must include where distilled and bottled (if different) Must be aged in a federally bonded and monitored warehouse for no less than 4years.
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June '20 | Issue 3
SNEAK PEEK
Distillery Spotlight Buffalo Trace - The legendary distillery will grace our June issue
Places to Visit On Swann in Tampa, FL is mixing up great cocktals.
Over & Under $50
Four Roses small batch select and Jefferson's ocean age.
Whiskey Art Jamie Craddock creates whiskey art at her studio Buffalo River Art Gallery
Why "Bourbon?" Why do we call it "bourbon" and how did it shape the expansion of the US?
THANK YOU Without your readership our entire blog wouldn't be possible. Thank you so much for being a valued part of our culture.
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