Author: BourbonBlog News

Kaveh Zamanian, founder and whiskey maker of Rabbit Hole Distillery, tells BourbonBlog.com Mizunara Founder’s Collection 15-Year-Old Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Finished in Japanese Oak, the second expression of Rabbit Hole Founder’s Collection and the brand’s oldest and most exquisite offering to date.

Rabbit Hole Mizunara Founder’s Collection is out now with only 1,403 sequentially numbered bottles will be released for a suggested retail price of $1,500 per bottle.

This cask-strength offering is 114.2 proof/51.7% ABV.

Mizunara Founder’s Collection pairs Rabbit Hole’s rarest expression of Kentucky Straight Bourbon with oak from Japan’s most pristine forest to create the ultimate double-oaked bourbon. The extraordinary and rare Kentucky Straight Bourbon was aged for 15 years in new charred American oak and spent another one year of aging in virgin Japanese Mizunara oak.

About the Bourbon

Rabbit Hole says this Mizunara Founder’s Collection is the marriage of two traditions and terroirs and is comprised of ten total rare 15-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon whiskeys selected by Kaveh from his private collection.

They say that each of the ten different whiskeys was well balanced and exceptional on its own, yet when blended, the whiskeys created a story of dimension and complexity.

To explain the process for this release, Kaveh Zamanian takes us back to the days before he founded Rabbit Hole. It was then that he began curating his personal collection of whiskey barrels as he selected those that “spoke to him.” Kaveh purchased these barrels, admittedly not knowing what he would do with them.

He cloistered the charred American oak barrels, allowing them to expand, contract, and deepen the whiskey’s complexity for fifteen years of vibrant seasonality in Kentucky.

About the Mizunara Finishing Process

Kaveh says he instinctively knew that this special whiskey could be made even richer by additional aging in virgin Mizunara casks. Working for 2 years to acquire the right casks, he ultimately selected the family-owned Ariake Sangyo cooperage in Shochu Island, Japan.

Made from indigenous wood harvested from 200-500-year-old oak trees and charred at levels 3 -5 mm, the hand-shaped Ariake Sangyo casks are said to bring forth notes of scented wood, mint, and an array of exotic flavors.

When the yearlong Mizunara cask aging was complete to his liking, Kaveh decided that this truly rarefied whiskey simply had to be shared and he did so at cask strength, so the true essence of the whiskey would take center stage.

Kaveh tells BourbonBlog.com, “I have long had a desire to explore the impact of terroir on whiskey. By blending and maturing 15-year-old Kentucky Straight Bourbon in new Japanese Mizunara oak, I set out to push the envelope on innovation, creating a truly unique expression that gives connoisseurs an opportunity to experience the marriage of two whiskey terroirs.

It was a bold choice, an act of risk and reward for me to take some of the oldest and finest bourbons from my personal collection and finish it in Mizunara casks. I could not be more pleased with the result; Rabbit Hole Mizunara Founder’s Collection is one of the finest whiskeys I have ever tasted and I take great pride in being able to share it with those who have a passion for one-of-a-kind whiskey.”

The post Rabbit Hole Mizunara Founder’s Collection 15-Year-Old Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Finished in Japanese Oak first appeared on BourbonBlog.

Woodford Reserve Bourbon tells BourbonBlog.com that The Woodford Reserve $1,000 Mint Julep charity program, one of the Kentucky Derby’s most unique annual traditions, is honoring the Black jockeys who dominated horse racing in its early years. Master Distiller Chris Morris speaks with Bourbon expert Tom Fischer in the video above about this.

Proceeds from this year’s cup sales benefit the Project to Protect African-American Turf History. The non-profit organization, based in Kentucky, has been working for more than a decade to tell the history of the Black jockeys.

The jockeys were considered the first professional athletes in America — winning 15 of the early Kentucky Derbys before being pushed out of the sport by racism and segregation. The full list is below and Jimmy Winkfield, jockey for the winner of the 1902 Kentucky Derby is pictured above.

“The jockeys played a significant role in horse racing that many people know little about,” Woodford Reserve Master Distiller Chris Morris tells BourbonBlog.com. “It’s time to honor them and their legacies. They each exemplified love for the sport and the pursuit of excellence, despite the inequality and injustice they faced throughout their lives and careers.”

A total of 100 julep cups go on sale on Tuesday, April 6, at woodfordreservemintjulep.com Cups numbered 1-11 are gold-plated and sell for $2,500 each. Cups 12-100 are silver-plated and sell for $1,000. Each cup is engraved with the name of one Black jockey and the year or years they won the Derby. Due to the global pandemic, the cups will be mailed directly to consumers, along with most of the ingredients to make the Cherries and Cream mint julep.

Cherries and cream were common ingredients for a Derby Day menu in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The cups were designed and hand-engraved by From the Vault jeweler in Louisville. Each comes in a bespoke purse designed by Louisville artist Albert Shumake — and each cup is cradled in decorative silk designed by Louisville artist Gwendolyn Kelly. Kelly’s custom pattern is the “four-man clover,” representing the interconnected network of support and strength among Black jockeys, trainers, and groomsmen.

Here is the recipe…

CHERRIES & CREAM  JULEP RECIPE

The cherries and cream julep is inspired by the Derby Day menus of the late 1800s and early 1900s when Black jockeys won the race. Vanilla bean pods represent the cream.

2 OZ. WOODFORD RESERVE KENTUCKY STRAIGHT BOURBON

.5 OZ. CHERRY JUICE

HALF A VANILLA BEAN POD (CUT INTO SMALL SEGMENTS)

1 TSP. POWDERED SUGAR

MINT SPRIG, CHERRY, AND VANILLA BEAN POD FOR GARNISH

CRUSHED ICE

In the julep cup, add .5 oz cherry juice. Add half a vanilla bean pod cut into small segments. Add 1 tsp. of powdered sugar. Muddle or mix together. Add crushed ice to 2/3 of the cup. Add 2 oz of Woodford Reserve. Top off the cup with crushed ice. Garnish with a mint sprig, real cherry, and vanilla bean pod.

Images provided by Woodford Reserve.

The post Woodford Reserve $1,000 Mint Julep Charity Program Honors Black Jockeys Who Won The Kentucky Derby first appeared on BourbonBlog.

Woodford Reserve, the Presenting Sponsor of the Kentucky Derby, tells BourbonBlog.com that they are honoring “The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports” with the release of its 2021 commemorative Derby bottle. The one-liter bottles of Woodford Reserve Bourbon are on now sale across the United States and the globe with a retail price of $49.99.

It features the artwork of Louisville resident Richard Sullivan, a former professional baseball player. Sullivan’s stunning watercolor is of thoroughbreds as they thunder down the stretch.

It was designed as a complement to last year’s Derby bottle artwork, which Sullivan also created.

BourbonBlog.com’s Tom Fischer interviewed Richard Sullivan about his bottle art on BourbonBlog Live on the video shown below and linked here.

“There is a depth of beauty in Richard’s watercolors — and his back-to-back Derby bottles are a winning exacta,” Woodford Reserve Master Distiller Chris Morris tells BourbonBlog.

“The Kentucky Derby is resplendent with color, pageantry, and pure athleticism — and I wanted to capture that in my artwork,” Sullivan explains.

Sullivan played baseball at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), and in 2008, he was drafted by the Braves in the 11th round as a junior and played six years of minor league baseball. He returned to SCAD in 2014 to finish his degree and focus exclusively on his artwork.

His work is featured across the United States, including at The Atlanta Braves Truist Park, Mercedes Benz Stadium, and the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Sullivan says he enjoys the parallels between sports and creativity, connecting two seemingly divided worlds that, in reality, require the same sense of dedication, practice, and expertise.

The Derby bottle has been an annual collector’s item anticipated by bourbon and racing fans since 1999.

 

The post Woodford Reserve’s 2021 Kentucky Derby Bourbon Whiskey Bottle first appeared on BourbonBlog.

Uber Technologies, Inc. and Drizly tell BourbonBlog.com they have reached an agreement for Uber to acquire Drizly for approximately $1.1 billion in stock and cash.

So how many bottles of Bourbon will Uber need to deliver to make back their investment? We’ll look into that later.

Drizly is the leading on-demand alcohol marketplace in the United States, available and designed to be fully compliant with local regulations in more than 1,400 cities across a majority of US states. Drizly works with thousands of local merchants to provide consumers with an incredible selection of beer, wine, and spirits with competitive, transparent pricing.

After the completion of the transaction, Drizly will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Uber. Drizly’s marketplace will eventually be integrated with the Uber Eats app, while also maintaining a separate Drizly app.

Drizly plans to innovate and expand independently in its fast-growing and competitive sector, while also gaining access to the advanced mobile marketplace technologies of the world’s largest food delivery and ridesharing platform.

Merchants on Drizly will be able to benefit from Uber’s best-in-class routing technology and significant consumer base. Delivery drivers will have even more ways to earn. And Uber’s rewards and subscription programs will be able to deliver even greater value to consumers with new benefits and perks on Drizly.

if you haven’t tried Drizly, use our referral linked here for $5 off.

“Wherever you want to go and whatever you need to get, our goal at Uber is to make people’s lives a little bit easier. That’s why we’ve been branching into new categories like groceries, prescriptions and, now, alcohol. Cory and his amazing team have built Drizly into an incredible success story, profitably growing gross bookings more than 300 percent year-over-year. By bringing Drizly into the Uber family, we can accelerate that trajectory by exposing Drizly to the Uber audience and expanding its geographic presence into our global footprint in the years ahead,” said Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.

“Drizly has spent the last 8 years building the infrastructure, technology, and partnerships to bring the consumer a shopping experience they deserve. It’s a proud day for the Drizly team as we recognize what we’ve accomplished to date but also with the humility that much remains to be done to fulfill our vision. With this in mind, we are thrilled to join a world-class Uber team whose platform will accelerate Drizly on its mission to be there when it matters—committed to life’s moments and the people who create them,” said Drizly co-founder and CEO Cory Rellas.

Uber currently anticipates that more than 90 percent of the consideration to be paid to the Drizly stockholders in the transaction will consist of shares of Uber common stock, with the balance to be paid in cash. The acquisition is subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close within the first half of 2021.

 

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