Also, check out the links below. You can win the whole line of Pappy and support a great cause by entering the NH raffle below. (You don’t have to live in NH. Just the US to enter.) I already put my $100 in the hat.
Plus, Heaven Hill will release two new bottles that collectors will want to get their hands on. And Bourbon Icon Jimmy Russell of Wild Turkey talks Bourbon. Finally, Bourbon writer, Fred Minnick plans to launch a new Bourbon magazine — Bourbon+. If you, like me, love the stories of Bourbon almost as much as the great elixir itself, it’s a must-have. I subscribed already and can’t wait to read the first issue.
4 Shots
Pappy Van Winkle Raffle to Benefit Best Buddies NH
The NH Liquor & Wine Outlets are offering the opportunity to win the ultimate Pappy Van Winkle Experience to benefit Best Buddies New Hampshire.
One lucky winner will receive one bottle each of the following Pappy Van Winkle Bourbons:
· Old Rip Van Winkle’s 25 Year Bourbon· Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve 23 Year Bourbon· Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve 20 Year Bourbon· Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve 15 Year Bourbon· Van Winkle Special Reserve (12 Year) Bourbon· Old Rip Van Winkle 10 Year Bourbon
Plus:
· An all-expense paid trip to New Hampshire for a Pappy Van Winkle Tasting Dinner· VIP access to the Distiller’s Showcase of Premium Spirits
ACT NOW – Only 1,000 tickets will be sold!
Cheers!
New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets
Why whiskey collectors are on the hunt for these two special releases
Talk about your historic whiskeys: Heaven Hill, which lost its Bardstown distillery and seven rickhouses in a 1996 fire, is releasing a limited edition bourbon produced before that fire.
The Heaven Hill 27-year-old Barrel Proof Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey (that’s a mouthful of a name) is so rare there are fewer than 3,000 bottles available, according to Heaven Hill.
“As stewards of the bourbon movement we take pride in the perseverance that is a hallmark of Heaven Hill’s 83-year history,” said Max L. Shapira, in a release.
According to the distillery, the natural barrel proof is unusually low at 94.7 proof, and the taste profile is one of dried fruits and baking spices, pipe tobacco notes, an explosion of vanilla with floral flavor with traces of pepper and clove.
If you can find this special pre-fire bourbon, it will be in an elegant bottle in a custom wooden box.
And it will cost you: The suggested retail price is $399.
If you can’t find that one, maybe you can luck into the 2018 Parker’s Heritage Collection Limited Edition, which will hit stores in September. The coveted Parker’s Heritage releases are sought-after for their innovative whiskey and as a commemorative of the late master distiller Parker Beam, who used the releases to raise money for ALS research.
This year’s Parker’s Heritage is the 12th; it was aged for seven to eight years in the upper floors of rickhouse Q, then aged for four months in barrels that previously held French orange curacao liqueur. The bourbon was bottled at 110 proof.
The suggested retail price is about $90, with a portion of proceeds again going to ALS research.
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SouthBound: Jimmy Russell, The Buddha Of Bourbon, On A Life In Brown Liquor
The South is responsible for the three greatest beverages in human history: sweet tea, Coca-Cola, and most of all, bourbon. And nobody alive has been involved with more bourbon than a man named Jimmy Russell.
Jimmy has worked at the Wild Turkey distillery in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky, for 64 years. He holds the official title of “master distiller,” and the unofficial title of the “Buddha of Bourbon.” A rival distiller told me one time that Jimmy Russell can tell you more about bourbon with one nostril than most people can with their whole bodies. I reached Jimmy at his office in Kentucky. His work day had started early, with a taste of … you know what.
Let’s keep the conversation going. Send a tweet to @tommytomlinson or @wfae, and use the hashtag #WFAESouthBound. You can also email me at ttomlinson@wfae.org.
Show Notes:
- Jimmy’s bio (you’ll have to sign into the Wild Turkey website first)
- A profile from The Bourbon Review
- A short film on Jimmy from Wild Turkey
- The Barton distillery collapse we mentioned in the episode
- A Very McConaughey Thanksgiving (with a Jimmy cameo)
I’M LIVING THE DREAM
“We are live!”
The text sent chills down my spine. The longtime, tightly held dream came true. My magazine, Bourbon +, was available for subscription. And all the hard work, the risk and my belief that people want in-depth bourbon long-form stories….was about to be tested.
For a decade, I’ve been somebody else’s writer, and I’m so thankful for the opportunities given to me. But I needed to do this, to build my own dream magazine and produce something I believe bourbon lovers want. It’s burned in my belly for a long, long time. And that text gave me butterflies in the same way as when I saw my first article, held Whiskey Women and when Eddie Vedder’s name was next to mine in the Bourbon & Beyond promotions. (Of course, these are professional feelings; nothing beats seeing my wife walk down the aisle or holding my son for the first time.)
Ordinarily, this Bourbon + moment would own my day. So much more happened on July 26, 2018, though, that it was only part of the story.
Earlier in the morning,my “Above the Char” segment debuted on Bourbon Pursuit Podcast. As I’ve become busier, I’ve lost my ability to write edgy blog posts. But I haven’t lost my desire to offer my opinion on things that matter, and that’s what Above the Char offers. It’s a no-holds-barred approach to things that piss me off and or I believe need to be discussed.My first segment covered the growing use of “Cigar” language on labels and in barrel selections.
Of course, neither of my accomplishments were bourbon’s biggest news of the day.
The Kentucky Distillers’ Association organized a meeting between the world’s whiskey-oriented trade associations to fight the tariffs hitting American whiskey. I’ve certainly been vocal on this matter, penning OpEds for the New York Times and the Louisville Courier Journal, as well as speaking out on NPR, CBS This Morning, CNBC and many more. But I am just a writer, and this unified industry voice is far stronger than anything I could ever say.
The KDA’s Eric Gregory and the rest of his staff showed tremendous leadership in organizing this effort with American Craft Spirits Association, Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S., Irish Whiskey & Spirits Associations, Japan Spirits & Liqueurs Makers Association, Scotch Whisky Association, Spirits Canada, spiritsEUROPE and The Presidents’ Forum. At the Frazier Museum in downtown Louisville, they signed a resolution that will be sent to governments around the world. Whatever happens, every bourbon drinker should “beam” with pride, knowing their beloved spirit’s leaders organized one of the most-important meetings in whiskey history.
As I watched the leaders speak at the press conference, I started pondering how I would celebrate the day. Would I pop open one of my rare 1930s bottles? Perhaps, I’d bust out my latest contemporary favorite, King of Kentucky? Or maybe I’ll kill my last drops of the Maker’s Mark Private Select I did with my good friends and now Bourbon + writers Chuck Cowdery and Lew Bryson?
Cheers and Enjoy the Chase!