History - BourbonSphere

Jodie Filiatreau Chats with Bourbon Obsessed

In 1981 a young Jodie Filiatreau strode into the offices of the Heaven Hill Distillery in Bardstown, KY. Acting on the advice of his father, the 20 year old headed straight for the office of Max Shapira, then Vice-President of Heaven Hill. Max was not in charge of hiring and Jodie had no appointment, nonetheless, he introduced himself and inquired about work at the distillery. Max listened to his appeal and sent him off to Human Resources, the rest, as they say, is history.

The post Jodie Filiatreau Chats with Bourbon Obsessed appeared first on Bourbon Obsessed℠ .

Join us as we chat with Jodie Filiatreau, Artisanal Distiller at the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience.

Jodie Filiatreau Joins Heaven Hill Distillery

Hello, Jodie!

We met up with Jodie at his “office”, the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience in Louisville, KY, where he is the Artisanal Distiller. After greetings were exchanged, we headed down to the prohibition style speakeasy bar in the basement for bourbon and conversation. It’s been 41 years since Jodie walked through Max’s door and much has changed. To begin with, Max Shapira, has been President of Heaven Hill for over 25 years while Jodie has been the Artisanal Master Distiller for the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience since 2017.

So, Jodie, tell us about your early days at Heaven Hill

With so many years at Heaven Hill, our conversation first naturally steered toward all the various duties Jodie has performed. Back in 1981, Jodie said he was just looking for steady work and that he thought the Heaven Hill Distillery would fit the bill. And boy did it fit! He originally was hired on as a laborer on the second shift. Short stints as a forklift driver, a truck loader and as a utility operator in the distillery followed. Ultimately, Jodie found a more permanent home amongst the barrel warehouses. Once again he began as a laborer, then foreman, and finished his 28 years in warehousing as supervisor.

Bourbon Warehouses? I bet Jodie’s got some great stories!

After spending so many years outside minding the health and safety of all that golden nectar, Jodie had his share of interesting stories. He first explained that originally most barrel warehouses did not have power. It was simply a safety issue, with fire being a large concern. The warehouses are enormous, now holding 20-50 thousand barrels each, although not quite that large back in the day. Flashlights were frequently needed. So it wasn’t uncommon to find a strange pair of eyes, belonging to creatures that are supposed to be living out of doors, staring back at him from between the ricks. Today, the newer warehouses have lighting and alleviate the safety issue by having power completely cut off once the work inside of that warehouse is done. Perhaps, there are also fewer surprises from glow in the dark eyes.

Of course, there are times when safety may just not be the top priority of the hour. Say for example, the warehouse lock is frozen solid and you know that the whiskey does not wait. You’re a problem solver, so you grab your closest acetylene torch, fire it up, and unthaw the locks. Fortunately for Jodie, what happens in the warehouse stays in the warehouse, at least till you retire.

Time for a change

Although Jodie loved his time in the warehouse and stories such as these make the job more interesting, after twenty-eight years it was time for a change. Jodie Filiatreau was ready to try something different. Timing can be everything and fortunately for this industry veteran, a new Heaven Hill venture was on the horizon in Louisville. The company would be opening Louisville’s first bourbon tourism experience, the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience, in downtown. As luck would have it, the EWBE would also feature its own artisanal distillery. So with the help of his daughter, Jodie put together a resume (none needed, at least for Jodie, back in 1981) and applied for the assistant distiller position. And in 2013, Jodie went from the barrel house to the still house; a new chapter with Heaven Hill had begun.

Jodie Filiatreau chats with Bourbon Obsessed — Jodie Filiatreau chats with Mrs. Bourbon Obsessed

Things are different in an artisanal distillery

The still house came with a whole new learning curve for Jodie, as well as for his mentor and Master Distiller, Charlie Downs. Even though both men had many years of experience at Heaven Hill, the two artisanal pot stills were a new twist. Heaven Hill uses column stills, and giant ones at that. The much smaller pot stills operate a bit differently from the column stills. Even so, the two carried on mashing and distilling and learning on the job, while putting their problem solving skills to the test when needed.

Charlie retired in 2017 leaving Jodie to step into the lead role in the distillery. He really enjoys the artisanal process. While production is just one barrel a day, five for the week, the process keeps the distilling team plenty busy. How so? Jodie pointed out that everything is done by hand, from adding the grain to the mash cooker to cleaning said cooker. There’s no high tech here. The smaller scale however allows for ample experimentation with different mashbills. According to Jodie, they’ve distilled about 20 different ones.

Square 6 High Rye Bourbon

While the stills at the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience have been busy distilling for the past 8 years, at last, one of those unique mashbills was ready for prime time last May (2021). Much excitement surrounded the first release of the Evan Williams Artisanal Distillery! The bottle was a 5 yr old high rye bourbon (52% corn/35% rye/12% malted barley) named Square 6. It was sold for the most part exclusively in the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience gift shop. This summer will again bring a new release to the gift shop. Jodie’s vault was locked as he would not spill the details, but if it’s anything like last years, it will be a bottle not to be missed.

What about Heaven Hill’s new Bardstown Distillery

The last topic of conversation drifted to the new Heaven Hill Distillery to be built in Bardstown by 2024. We were curious, since the press release had just been issued. According to Jodie, the Bardstown facility will initially add another 1300 barrels a day to the 1500 already produced at their Bernheim Distillery. It will be able to scale up considerably when the need arises. The truly interesting tidbit was the fact that Heaven Hill will once again propagate its own yeast!

Heaven Hill Yeast?

Up until 1996, when a massive fire destroyed Heaven Hill‘s original distillery in Bardstown, they propagated their own yeast . However, when the company purchased the Bernheim Distillery in Louisville in 1999 as its new production facility, they switched to using dry yeast, no longer using their own live strain. So in 2024, when the new Bardstown distillery opens, yeast propagation will have come full circle.

Saying our goodbyes

The hands of the clock had made their full circle as well, and so our time with Jodie was up. We thanked him for his time and truly appreciated the insight we received from such an industry giant. It’s safe to say that Max made the right call that day back in 1981 by sending young Jodie Filiatreau off to HR where he did indeed find steady work. Steady enough to work his way to the top. Forty-one years and he’s still going strong. We didn’t ask about the R word, but I would suspect he would like to see more of his whiskey out of the barrel and into the bottle. We’ll be ready and waiting!

We hope you enjoyed our chat with Jodie Filiatreau, Artisanal Distiller at the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience. If you would like to read some more, check out our Evan Williams Bourbon Experience Review and our Square 6 Bourbon Review!

Would you like to learn more about distilleries and bourbon? Are you planning a trip to Kentucky Distilleries? Maybe you would like to live the bourbon life vicariously through us? If any of these are true, then check out BourbonObsessed.com today!

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American Spirt – Hardcover Edition

Believe it or not, nearly two years have passed since my first book, American Spirit: Wild Turkey Bourbon from Ripy to Russell, was published. After two successful paperback printings, I’m proud to say that the third printing of American Spirit is a ha…

The post American Spirt – Hardcover Edition appeared first on Rare Bird 101.

357 – A Brewing History Dives into Bourbon with David Coors of Molson Coors

When you think of Coors, you are probably like me and you […]

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When you think of Coors, you are probably like me and you get the image of the silver bullet and the cold blue mountains on the side of the can. Or perhaps you know Molson-Coors as one of the top beverage brands in the world. But you most certainly didn’t think of Coors as a whiskey company, until now. David Coors joins the show to talk about the family business and going from a just beer company into a full beverage enterprise. David has a deep connection with whiskey that spans back to his childhood and he is spearheading the next phase of company expansion by releasing their first ever collaboration whiskey, along with Bardstown Bourbon Co, called Five Trail. Listen to David’s story and how Coors is learning what it’s like to get into the whiskey business.

Show Notes:

Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about answering questions on industry news vs people’s thoughts
Talk about your involvement with the family business and when you got into it
How has Molson-Coors grown over the recent decade?
At what point did you realize your name carries weight?
When did Coors diversify away from Banquet into other beers?
Why did your dad try to kill Blue Moon?
What internships did you have at the brewery?
What made Coors Banquet go to the stubby bottle?
Was Cobra Kai a paid placement or organic?
What lessons is failed marketing that you can apply to today?
Did you have a hand in the seltzer craze hit?
So what made you want to dive into whiskey?
Did you have to sell your dad on venturing into whiskey?
How did you figure out what kind of whiskey to do?
Can you scale and sustain the malt part of the blend?
How did you come to your proof point?
What are those hard lessons you’ve learned by entering the whiskey business?
Can your R&D team figure out how to make the barrel hoops blue when it’s ready?
Do you yourselves going even further into the whiskey category?
What trends in the beverage alcohol space do you see happening?
What is your cannabis strategy?
@fivetrail @molsoncoors
Support this podcast on Patreon

The post 357 – A Brewing History Dives into Bourbon with David Coors of Molson Coors appeared first on BOURBON PURSUIT.

Happy Hour Live with Tara Nurin (Episode 939: April 6, 2022)

Women have had a long – and under-appreciated – role in brewing and distilling for generations. Beer and spirits writer Tara Nurin explored that history in her book “A Woman’s Place Is In the Brewhouse,” and joined us in-studio to discuss some of that history over a beer and a dram. Links: Tara Nurin’s web site

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Links: Tara Nurin’s web site

125th Anniversary of the Bottled-in-Bond Act!

As I write this, it is currently the 125th Anni…

IMAGE: My poster of the Bottled in Bond Act.

As I write this, it is currently the 125th Anniversary of the passage of the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897. Because one of my best-selling products in the BourbonGuyGifts.com Store is a poster of the Bottled-in-Bond Act, I’d like to offer a 10% discount on orders over $35 until March 10, 2022. It’s a site-wide sale. No need for a coupon code.

The poster is printed on thick, high-quality paper. It features the entire text of the Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897 and images from an 1800’s era distilling handbook. Honestly, folks, it is one of my favorite things that I’ve designed in over 20 years of being a professional designer. And I’m not just saying that in order to get you to support the site. I have one of these hanging in my living room. (And because you are a reader of BourbonGuy.com, if I’m out of the poster for some reason, send me a note and I’ll be happy to reorder and give you the same discount when I get more in.)

Of course, if you don’t want a poster of a 125-year-old law, maybe you want one that contains some good cocktails. Or maybe you don’t want a poster at all. I get that. I also have a tasting journal that people seem to like, hand-made by me with a wood cover. My wife takes all her notes in them. I also offer bourbon-themed stickers, lapel pins, and keychains. Honestly, I felt like this was an appropriate day to share all the fun things that keep the site running.

In celebration of the day, below is the entire text of the act that helped make Bourbon what it is 125 years ago:

CHAP. 379.—An Act To allow the bottling of distilled spirits in bond.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That whenever any distilled spirits deposited in the warehouse of a distillery having a surveyed daily capacity of not less than twenty bushels of grain, which capacity or not less than twenty bushels thereof is commonly used by the distiller, have been duly entered for withdrawal upon payment of tax, or for export in bond, and have been gauged and the required marks, brands, and tax- paid stamps or export stamps, as the case may be, have been affixed to the package or packages containing the same, the distiller or owner of said distilled spirits, if he has declared his purpose so to do in the entry for withdrawal, which entry for bottling purposes may be made by the owner as well as the distiller, may remove such spirits to a separate portion of said warehouse which shall be set apart and used exclusively for that purpose, and there, under the supervision of a United States storekeeper, or storekeeper and gauger, in charge of such warehouse may immediately draw off such spirits, bottle, pack, and case the same:

Provided, That for convenience in such process any number of packages of spirits of the same kind, differing only in proof, but produced at the same distillery by the same distiller, may be mingled together in a cistern provided for that purpose, but nothing herein shall authorize or permit any mingling of different products, or of the same products of different distilling seasons, or the addition or the subtraction of any substance or material or the application of any method or process to alter or change in any way the original condition or character of the product except as herein authorized; nor shall there be at the same time in the bottling room of any bonded warehouse any spirits entered for withdrawal upon payment of the tax and any spirits entered for export: Provided also, That under such regulations and limitations as the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, may prescribe, the provisions of this Act may be made to apply to the bottling and casing of fruit brandy in special bonded warehouses.

Every bottle when filled shall have affixed thereto and passing over the mouth of the same such suitable adhesive engraved strip stamp as may be prescribed, as hereinafter provided, and shall be packed into cases to contain six bottles or multiples thereof, and in the aggregate not less than two nor more than five gallons in each case, which shall be immediately removed from the distillery premises. Each of such cases shall have affixed thereto a stamp denoting the number of gallons therein contained, such stamp to be affixed to the case before its removal from the warehouse, and such stamps shall have a cash value of ten cents each, and shall be charged at that rate to the collectors to whom issued, and shall be paid for at that rate by the distiller or owner using the same.

And there shall be plainly burned on the side of each case, to be known as the Government side, the proof of the spirits, the registered distillery number, the State and district in which the distillery is located, the real name of the actual bona fide distiller, the year and distilling season, whether spring or fall, of original inspection or entry into bond, and the date of bottling, and the same wording shall be placed upon the adhesive engraved strip stamp over the mouth of the bottle. It being understood that the spring season shall include the months from January to July, and the fall season the months from July to January.

And no trade-marks shall be put upon any bottle unless the real name of the actual bona fide distiller shall also be placed conspicuously on said bottle.

SEC. 2. That the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, may, by regulations, prescribe the mode of separating and securing the additional warehouse, or portion of the warehouse hereinbefore required to be set apart, the manner in which the business of bottling spirits in bond shall be carried on, the notices, bonds, and returns to be given and accounts and records to be kept by the persons conducting such business, the mode and time of inspection of such spirits, the accounts and records to be kept and returns made by the Government officers, and all such other matters and things, as in his discretion, he may deem requisite for a secure and orderly supervision of said business; and he may also, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, prescribe and issue the stamps required.

The distiller and may, in the presence of the United States storekeeper, or storekeeper and gauger, remove by straining through cloth, felt, or other like material any charcoal, sediment, or other like substance found therein, and may whenever necessary reduce such spirits as are withdrawn for bottling purposes by the addition of pure water only to one hundred per centum proof for spirits for domestic use, or to not less than eighty per centum proof for spirits for export purposes, under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury; and no spirits shall be withdrawn for bottling under this Act until after the period shall have expired within which a distiller may request a regauge of distilled spirits as provided in section fifty of the Act of August twenty-eighth, eighteen hundred and ninety-four.

SEC. 3. That all distilled.spirits intended for export under the provisions of this Act shall be inspected, bottled, cased, weighed, marked, labeled, stamped, or sealed in such manner and at such time as the Commissioner of Internal Revenue may prescribe; and the said Commissioner, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, may provide such regulations for the transportation, entry, reinspection, and lading of such spirits for export as may from time to time be deemed necessary; and all provisions of existing law relating to the exportation of distilled spirits in bond, so far as applicable, and all penalties therein imposed, are hereby extended and made applicable to distilled spirits bottled for export under the provisions of this Act, but no drawbacks shall be allowed or paid upon any spirits bottled under this Act.

SEC. 4. That where, upon inspection at the bonded warehouse in which the spirits are bottled as aforesaid, the quantity so bottled and cased for export is less than the quantity actually contained in the distiller’s original casks or packages at the time of withdrawal for that purpose the tax on the loss or deficiency so ascertained shall be paid before the removal of the spirits from such warehouse, and the tax so paid shall be receipted and accounted for by the collector in such manner as the Commissioner of Internal Revenue may prescribe.

SEC. 5. That where, upon reinspection at the port of entry, any case containing or purporting to contain distilled spirits for export is found to have been opened or tampered with, or where any mark, brand, stamp, label, or seal placed thereon or upon any bottle contained therein has been removed, changed, or willfully defaced, or where upon such reinspection any loss or discrepancy is found to exist as to the contents of any case so entered for export, the tax on the spirits contained in each such case at the time of its removal from warehouse shall be collected and paid.

SEC. 6. That any person who shall reuse any stamp provided under this Act after the same shall have been once affixed to bottle as provided herein, or who shall reuse a bottle for the purpose of containing distilled spirits which has once been filled and stamped under the provisions of this Act without removing and destroying the stamp so previously affixed to such bottle, or who shall, contrary to the provisions of this Act or of the regulations issued thereunder remove or cause to be removed from any bonded warehouse any distilled spirits inspected or bottled under the provisions of this Act, or who shall bottle or case any such spirits in violation of this Act or of any regulation issued thereunder, or who shall, during the transportation and before the exportation of any such spirits, open or cause to be opened any case or bottle containing such spirits, or who shall willfully remove, change, or deface any stamp, brand, label, or seal affixed to any such case or to any bottle contained therein, shall for each such offense be fined not less than one hundred nor more than one thousand dollars, and be imprisoned not more than two years, in the discretion of the court, and such spirits shall be forfeited to the United States.

SEC. 7. That every person who, with intent to defraud, falsely makes, forges, alters, or counterfeits any stamp made or used under any provision of this Act, or who uses, sells, or has in his possession any such forged, altered, or counterfeited stamp, or any plate or die used or which may be used in the manufacture thereof, or who shall make, use, sell, or have in his possession any paper in imitation of the paper used in the manufacture of any stamp required by this Act, shall on conviction be punished by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars and by imprisonment at hard labor not exceeding five years.

SEC. 8. That nothing in this Act shall he construed to exempt spirits bottled under the provisions of this Act from the operation of chapter seven hundred and twenty-eight of the public laws of the Fifty-first Congress, approved August eighth, eighteen hundred and ninety.

Approved, March 3, 1897.

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Of course, if you want to support BourbonGuy.com and get a little something back in return, you can always head over to BourbonGuyGifts.com and purchase some merch. I’ve made tasting journals, stickers, pins, and more.

Happy Birthday Bottled-in-Bond Act

Some days are turning points in history, from whence all other days are measured. Whether it’s April 19, 1775 when the “shot was heard…

Some days are turning points in history, from whence all other days are measured. Whether it's April 19, 1775 when the "shot was heard round the world", or December 7, 1941, or ... March 3, 1897. What happened that day, you ask? The ,Bottled-in-Bond Act became law. But, is it still relevant? Is it still needed? Those are great questions. To see where we're at, it's important to learn how we got here.

Don't Make Faces

In my hometown, it is illegal to make faces at dogs. Yep. Cannot make that one up. We've all seen the lists of weird laws still on the books. Using false names at a hotel, swearing at sports events (seriously?), and no hunting in cemeteries (what exactly are you hunting?). I've shared in articles the phrase “bottled in bond”. What exactly does that mean? Why was it needed?

America's First Consumer Protection Law

Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr. was the driving force behind America's first consumer protection law - yes - that E.H. Taylor of the Old Taylor Distillery (now ,Castle & Key). Nearly a decade before Americans were protected from impure drugs or food (remember Upton Sinclair and "The Jungle" that exposed the meatpacking industry in 1906?) Americans wanted to ensure that their whiskey was pure.

While Taylor and others in Kentucky were offering true, straight bourbon whiskey, rectifiers, blenders and charlatans were passing off grain neutral spirits with additives and passing these off as bourbons. Similar to those, today, in the industry that are rapidly aging product, these scoundrels were adding a variety of items, including molasses, prune juice, kerosene, and even tobacco spit to give the illusion of an aged whiskey,

Reputable distillers wanted to protect their brands. Taylor - a well-connected politician - worked with U.S. Secretary of the Treasury John Carlisle to create and pass an act to provide assurances to the public that what he and other distillers were producing were pure and of the highest quality.

The Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1897

The Bottled-in-Bond Act that we know today was signed into law on March 3rd, 1897. It contained a number of provisions:

It must be "produced at the same distillery by the same distiller" (so no blending from different locations)
Mingling of different products, or even "the same products of different distilling seasons" was prohibited. Distilling seasons are defined as January - June and July - December.
The addition or subtraction of any substance or material, or alteration of the "original condition or character of the product" is prohibited.
It must be aged in a federally bonded warehouse under federal governmental supervision for at least 4 years. Even today, on distillery tours, you can see signs on warehouses that read "Federally Bonded Warehouse" or "Bonded Warehouse" ensuring that there are always eyes on the facility.
Producers must affix an engraved tax stamp over the bottle closure and must label all cases, both of which identifying "the proof of the spirits, the registered distillery number, the State and district in which the distillery is located, the real name of the actual bona fide distiller, the year and distilling season, whether spring or fall, of original inspection or entry into bond, and the date of bottling.

Since this time, the laws have loosened up a bit, but it did take more than 80 years to do so. In the 1980s, bottled-in-bond was determined to no longer require a tax stamp with the season and year made and bottled (so brands today don't have to disclose this). The current regulations state that the bourbon must be:

A single type of spirit
Produced in the same distilling season by the same distiller at the same distillery
Aged at least 4 years
Unadulterated (except that filtration and proofing is allowed)
Proofed with pure water to exactly 100-proof
And labeled with the registered distillery number and either with the real name of the distillery or a trade name.

Is Bottled-in-Bond Still Relevant?

In short, yes, and perhaps even more so than in years past. While, certainly, we're not experiencing the introduction of hazardous (and even deadly) additions to our bourbon, if nothing more, the 4-year age statement ensures an adequately aged product.

As you wander down the aisle of large, regional chains, consumers face a myriad of bottles with half-truths about "passed down family recipes" or an eye-catching label. I recall speaking at a nearby micro-distillery (now defunct) where the owners shared that they had created spirits by "watching Youtube videos and aging the product 6 months". And did I mention they were selling the spirits for $60?

Today, as consumers face a myriad of products, both from large and small, national and regional distillers, few carry age-statements. The bottled-in-bond notation, for me, makes sure that the product I'm purchasing won't be little more than unaged corn whiskey. On a recent shopping trip, I noticed a regional distiller that had been receiving a lot of interest (and has subsequently been purchased by Heaven Hill). On the shelf, I noticed their straight bourbon (typically a 2-year product) and a special release bottled-in-bond product for a few dollars more. You can guess which one I purchased, and was very happy to do so.

If you're thinking that maybe this topic has struck a chord, there are actually plenty of bourbons today that carry the bottled-in-bond label. Here are a few of my favorites that are readily available:

,Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond

,New Riff Bottled-in-Bond

,Old Tub

,Old Forester 1897

,Wilderness Trail

Hats off and a tip of the glass to New Riff and Wilderness Trail as both have been determined to deliver bottled-in-bond products to the market.

So, today, raise a glass to Colonel E.H. Taylor Jr and be thankful that your bourbon is pure and unadulterated. Better yet, stop by the store today and grab a bottle carrying the bottled-in-bond moniker and enjoy the 125th anniversary of America's first consumer safety law.

343 – African American Contributions in Distillation History with Erin Gilliam, Associate Professor at Kentucky State University

The contributions of African Americans in the distilling industry has largely gone […]

The post 343 – African American Contributions in Distillation History with Erin Gilliam, Associate Professor at Kentucky State University appeared first on BOURBON PURSUIT.

The contributions of African Americans in the distilling industry has largely gone unnoticed and unrecognized for a long period of time. The story of Uncle Nearest put mainstream media attention and a spotlight on the issue. But there is one person who spends her time on capturing stories and diving into distillery archives to discover more African American influence on whiskey. Erin Wiggins Gilliam is an Associate Professor Of History at Kentucky State University and she sits down with me to talk about some of her findings. She gives an amazing amount of insight into record keeping that documented how slaves that knew how to distill were quite valuable. Erin also spends her time interviewing older generations of people who worked at distilleries in Kentucky and nearby states to document the culture and the roles African Americans held at distilleries through recent periods of time. She is always on the hunt for the next great story so if you have a relative or a family connection, reach out to Erin so she can continue her quest.

Show Notes:

Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about family members buying bottles.
How do you keep on losing so many AirPods?
What led you into academia?
What got you into spirits?
Was Buffalo Trace the first distillery to let you come see their archives?
Can you talk about some of your findings about African American influence at Buffalo Trace?
Can you share one of your stories interviewing from interviewing and documenting people?
What was one awful story that really sticks out?
How far back can you go with oral history?
How did enslaved Africans bring the skill of farming and barreling?
Describe the feeling you get when you discover a document?
What’s the end goal when you gather all the information you can?
What is an example of something you read of African American history at a distillery?
Is there a certain individual that had a very interesting story?
Since you’re a tequila person is there any African American involvement you’ve discovered with tequila?
@dr_eringil @_kbbg_
Support this podcast on Patreon

The post 343 – African American Contributions in Distillation History with Erin Gilliam, Associate Professor at Kentucky State University appeared first on BOURBON PURSUIT.

The Bottled in Bond Act: Fun Facts

I know many of you are familiar with the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897. But what you might not be familiar with is that it doesn’t only apply to whiskey. It applies to any distilled spirit, including fruit brandy, which is specifically named in the original act. The Bottled in Bond Act of 1897 was essentially the first consumer protection act. It ensured the purity and identity of the spirit that was being purchased; something that was sorely needed at the time.

The post The Bottled in Bond Act: Fun Facts appeared first on Bourbon Obsessed℠ .

Bottled in Bond: It’s not just for whiskey

I know many of you are familiar with the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897. But what you might not be familiar with is that it doesn’t only apply to whiskey. In fact, the Bottled in Bond Act applies to any distilled spirit, including fruit brandy, which is specifically named in the original act. So, yes, the Bearing Rum from Marlin & Barrel Distillery pictured here can indeed be Bonded! How cool is that?!

Let’s review a little about the Bottled in Bond Act:

The Bottled in Bond Act of 1897 was essentially the first consumer protection act. It ensured the purity and identity of the spirit that was being purchased; something that was sorely needed at the time. In a nutshell, it states that distilled spirits must, in addition to any other style requirements, be:⁠

Produced by 1 distiller at 1 distillery⁠ in 1 distilling season⁠
Aged in wood (and in contact with the wood, except for vodka) for at least 4 years in a federally bonded warehouse⁠
Bottled at 100 proof⁠
Free of additives except water

Tax Stamp & Labelling

The Bottled in Bond regulations have changed a bit over the years. At one point the bottles labelled as Bottled in Bond or Bonded had to be sealed with a tax stamp and marked with the distilling season, bottling date and distillery or DSP. However, the tax stamp was eliminated as a requirement a while back. The Bottled in Bond Act still has labeling requirements which include the real name of the distillery where the spirit was produced, the DSP number and where the spirit was bottled, if different.

Old Grand-Dad Bonded Bourbon Review — Old Grand-Dad Bonded Bourbon

Evan Williams Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon — Old Grand-Dad Bonded Bourbon

100 proof. Not always!

Oh, and here’s another Bottled in Bond Act tidbit for you; one that’s certain to win a few bets at parties (if you go to the kind of parties that I do, that is). Bottled in Bond spirits don’t have to be 100 proof; or at least they didn’t. “What???!” I can hear you saying; “This Ed guy should have called it a night long ago”. But I kid you not. For export purposes the proof just had to be above 80, although this provision seems to have been dropped from the current version of the regulations. How’s that for a tidbit!

Bottled in Bond….Vodka?

Another weird thing about the Bottled in Bond Act is that vodka can be Bonded, but the barrel it is aged in must be lined or coated with paraffin or other substance such that the vodka is not in contact with the wood. I am not sure of the point of aging vodka in a barrel and specifically not allowing contact with the wood, though… Bonded gin can be similarly aged without contacting the wood, or it can be exposed to the wood and become more traditionally barrel aged.

Are you a fan?

Are you a fan of bonded spirits? Have you ever had a Bottled in Bond rum (or vodka or gin)? If you would like to learn about some more great bottled in bond whiskeys, check out some of my Bottled in Bond bourbon and rye reviews! Here are a couple of my reasonably priced favorites to get you started: Old Grand-Dad Bonded Bourbon and Evan Williams Bottled in Bond Bourbon. Cheers!

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Why The Trade War Didn’t Put Pappy Back Within Reach

Trump’s Trade War Didn’t Help Bourbon Consumers At All, But It Might Have Crippled The Goose Laying The Golden Eggs By Richard Thomas Between March and June 2018, President Trump enacted tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum for certain countries, and then extended those tariffs to imports from the European Union. While …

Trump’s Trade War Didn’t Help Bourbon Consumers At All, But It Might Have Crippled The Goose Laying The Golden Eggs

By Richard Thomas

These shelves weren’t emptied by exports to Europe. (Credit: Jno. Skinner/Wikimedia Commons: CC by-SA 4.0)

Between March and June 2018, President Trump enacted tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum for certain countries, and then extended those tariffs to imports from the European Union. While many targets of Trump’s controversial trade policies retaliated in a tit-for-tat fashion, the EU instead came back with a series of more selective measures. Among them was slapping a 25% tariff on American Whiskey, widely perceived as a pressure tactic aimed at Mitch McConnell, senior senator from Kentucky, a leading Republican and then-Senate Majority Leader. Other countries followed suit; Canada, for example, later imposed a 10% tax on American Whiskey imports.

It was the EU that hurt the most, though. Before Trump started his trade war, 17% of all American Whiskey exports were consumed in the EU. That should come as no surprise, given that many of the US whiskey industries most lucrative foreign customers are found there. The sticker shock of seeing the price of a bottle of bourbon rise by a quarter-measure had the predictable effect: American whiskey exports fell by 35%. From Brown-Forman to modest craft distillers, everyone in the business felt the bite.

The one thing that did not happen was the return of scarce brands to store shelves, thwarting the predictions of many sitting in that space where voting Republican and collecting bourbon overlap. The same folks are now saying the resumption of normal trade relations will only make things worse… as if normal trade relations were a thing of the distant past, and not just a few years ago. Of course, that fantasy requires one to willfully forget or rewrite their own experiences that Blanton’s, Eagle Rare and Henry McKenna were still at least somewhat obtainable at reasonable prices in 2016; their conversion into unicorns happened during the Trump Administration; and Trump’s two year trade war did absolutely nothing to put them back on store shelves.

Market Mechanics
The reason exports have no direct impact on what whiskey brands appear in an American liquor store is that the American market is the most lucrative in the world. As individuals we might not drink as much as the French, but there are five times as many of us and we generally have more money to spend. The American whiskey market was valued at over $10 billion in 2020, substantially larger than the entire Kentucky bourbon industry, which is valued at $8.6 billion. By contrast, the total value of all American whiskey exports was just under $1 billion in 2018, before the trade war.

What you are missing was bought at home, not abroad. (Credit: Philippe Alès/Wikimedia Commons CC by SA 4.0))

Americans are more than capable of drinking the entire output of the American whiskey industry, with room leftover to take in generous helpings of Scottish, Japanese, Irish and Canadian whiskies. The Kentucky and Tennessee Majors already have the biggest share of the biggest market in the world, so the reason America’s whiskey-makers look overseas is to spread their eggs around. Having well-established export markets is a bulwark against the risk American palates might change in the same way they did in the 1970s, precipitating the Great Whiskey Bust.

In digesting those numbers, it’s important to remember how a big distiller makes money. To cite one example: sure, Heaven Hill makes some money on Parker’s Heritage and Old Fitzgerald, but that is just balance sheet gravy. Evan Williams is their bread, Elijah Craig is their butter. It’s not the pricey and rare limited edition whiskeys that make up the bulk of a statement like “exports plunge by 35%.” The whiskey that isn’t selling in Europe isn’t the stuff that is in short supply.

Doubling down on that simple fact of business is the psychology of the whiskey collector with disposable income. Five years ago, the market value (what one pays to get a bottle on demand) for W.L. Weller 12 Year Old Bourbon was approximately $150. Today, Wine Searcher lists it at $361, while the (laughable) official price remains $40. That is a more than 200% climb over five years, vastly more than the 25% imposed on European drinkers by the trade war. Yet people still pay that. Shoppers may balk at paying +25% for a basic item, especially when they have other basic items to choose from. The psychology of shopping for luxuries is entirely different, something one might learn in a 200-level microeconomics class. Such choices are driven not so much by bargain hunting, but by what the buyer desires and can afford.

So, the trade war cratered exports of mass market and premium American whiskey brands, while leaving the super premium class of rare and pricey limited edition brands largely untouched. Europeans who wanted Pappy Van Winkle still bought those bottles, however many were available. Yet even if higher prices had dented sales on these luxury whiskeys and forced distillers to keep them in the American market, it would have made little difference.

We don’t actually know how much of a specific brand is allocated to export, as American distillers are very secretive with that information. With the exception of brands created specifically for export (i.e. Blanton’s Gold Label) and travel retail items, however, it is usually a very small slice of the overall picture. Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that Very Old Fine And Rare Kentucky Bourbon ships 10,000 bottles per year, and 10% of that total goes to overseas markets. The 9,000 bottles that remain in the US are unicorns and have a market value of $2,000 per bottle, because 100,000 collectors are chasing them. Bringing back 1,000 bottles only makes a real difference to the 1,000 collectors (or less!) who snag those bottles, not to the 90,000+ collectors who do not, and will have only a negligible impact on the market value of the bottle.

“But what about Buffalo Trace,” they cry, deflecting all facts and economics. What about Trace? The trade tantrum didn’t put Buffalo Trace products back on the shelves any more than it took them off those shelves. To say anything else is the mewling of a colicky baby.

Trade policy can hurt the whiskey industry, but in the short term has little or no impact on what you see on store shelves. (Credit: Architect of the Capitol/Public Domain)

Besides, Buffalo Trace is a useless case study for anything to do with the state of the larger modern bourbon trade; at a time when the general availability of other premium and super-premium brands are stable or improving, their availability is growing worse.The issues relating to that one distillery are not even reflective of what is going on with its parent company, Sazerac, as a whole, let alone with the entire bourbon industry.

I suspect the truth behind the scarcity of Buffalo Trace whiskeys is more complicated than mere supply and demand. Regardless, no other major whiskey distiller is seeing the same kind of allocation issues that Trace is, and citing a singular outlier is the opposite of making a case. At best it is ignorant, and at worst it is willfully misleading.

When President Biden’s trade team achieved its status quo antebellum deal with the EU, they averted a scheduled hike in the tariff rate from 25% to 50%. That hike would have destroyed the export business of the American Whiskey industry, and you don’t need to take my word for it: it’s what literally everyone concerned in the industry said. To ignore that and even applaud it, while clinging to myths that did not play out and all the while professing to be a fan of American Whiskey and the industry behind it… well, those psychological gymnastics are hardly extraordinary these days, is it? People have been literally dying these last two years while jumping through those hoops.

What will really happen now is that many a distiller great and small can get back to the business of selling their wares overseas, a business they were counting on to pay for the many capital investments they have made this past decade. Buffalo Trace products will continue to become ever scarcer until that particular bubble pops, but everything else should be fine. After all, the only thing that has happened was tariffs went back to the way they were in 2017.

The Untold Story from Castle & Key

This whiskey, The Untold Story Of Kentucky Whiskey from Castle & Key Distillery, is a special one. Released by Castle & Key Distillery in partnership with the Kentucky Black Bourbon Guild, it is dedicated to uncovering and telling stories from generations past. The series honors African American contributions to the distilling industry, contributions which are many but which have not been widely recognized or discussed. This whiskey is also a step towards the future as well. It was donated by Castle & Key and 100% of the proceeds will go to the Castle & Key Scholarship Fund. This release, Chapter 1, will be the first release of a series of annual “Chapters”, each telling part of the story, right on the bottle. Check out the photos to read it.

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The Untold Story Of Kentucky Whiskey
Castle & Key Distillery
106.6 Proof
A blend of Straight Whiskey
Aged 4.5 years

The Untold Story

Chapter 1 and the Scholarship Programs

Chapter 1 of The Untold Story was written by Dr. Erin Wiggins Gilliam, of Kentucky State University and the KBBG historian. The Castle & Key scholarship is called The Diversity in Kentucky Distillery Scholarship Program and will provide $5000 scholarships to students of color who have interest in working in the Kentucky distilling industry. Proceeds from the release brunch ticket sales as well as from sales of the commemorative Glencairns will to the KBBG’s own scholarship fund, the Minority Scholarship Fund.

For full disclosure, I have been a member of the KBBG since its inception. I attended the release brunch today which had attendees including Governor Andy Beshear and Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton, who decreed today as Kentucky Black Bourbon Guild Day. It was quite an event celebrating the whiskey, and so much more than whiskey.

The Whiskey

So what about the whiskey? It’s a blend of Castle & Key’s own rye and bourbon. They have been releasing their rye under their own label since last year, but they have not yet released a Castle & Key bourbon, so that also makes this whiskey very special.

The Untold Story of Kentucky Whiskey from Castle & Key

Tasting Notes

Let’s taste it:

Rested for 15 minutes in a Glencairn

Nose: Simple syrup sweetness, caramel, apple, sweet cherry, cinnamon, baking spices, toast, oak; moderate alcohol
Taste: Light caramel, subtle black tea, toast, cinnamon, mild simple sugar sweetness, light oak
Finish: Cinnamon, touch of apple, some white pepper builds. Fairly long finish with a moderate burn

A great whiskey but so much more!

Overall, The Untold Story Of Kentucky Whiskey from Castle & Key is an enjoyable whiskey, and a milestone itself, but it’s what it represents that makes it truly special. Pretty great, isn’t it? Cheers!

Would you like to read about Castle & Key Distillery’s rye? Check out my Castle & Key Restoration Rye review!

Are you interested in learning more about individual distilleries? Do you need information to help you plan your own distillery visits? If so, we can help. At BourbonObsessed.com we have an interactive map of ALL of the Kentucky distilleries, as well as useful information for planning your visits. Check us out today!