A Bevy of Bourbon

by

VISIT

If you’ve tried one bourbon, you have not tried them all—and new bourbon producers are making sure this is the case as they bring new recipes onto the market.

Kaveh Zamanian, founder of Rabbit Hole Distillery in Louisville, has made it his mission to approach bourbon from the perspective of the consumer. Rabbit Hole is one of a handful of new craft distilleries that have opened in the last year or are slated to open soon.

“Bourbon is quintessentially American, and as a consumer, I was frustrated with the fact that you’ve got very few Americans who know about their native spirit, and there are a lot of bourbons on the market that are basically just blends coming out of the same distilleries and in different bottles but the same liquid,” Zamanian said. “I thought I could produce a lot of interesting varieties of bourbons—different mash bills, different yeast forms and some subtle distinguishing features.”

The mission of Rabbit Hole, which opened in May, is to be a fully transparent company, including producing bourbon in full view of the consumer.

A wine and spirits enthusiast, Zamanian did not take the conventional approach to a career in bourbon. He spent 20 years as a certified psychoanalyst before shifting gears. He is Iranian-born but spent time in California, New York and Chicago before moving to Louisville, the hometown of his wife Heather, a decade ago when, he says, “bourbon was still a sleeping giant.

“I have not felt like an outsider from the standpoint of industry folks helping out at all levels,” he said, noting that he felt welcomed. “But I do feel that being an outsider gives us different vantage points, approaching this mostly as a consumer rather than an industry person. So in a lot of ways, part of what I think makes Rabbit Hole stand apart is that we approach the industry in a nontraditional way.”

Kentucky Distillers’ Association President Eric Gregory enjoys seeing more new Kentucky bourbon, especially because of the “juice’s” status as a Bluegrass State landmark around the world.

“People do associate Kentucky with bourbon,” he said. “Everywhere I go, people want to know what’s the best bourbon, where they can stay, where they can eat. They see that it’s authentic and uniquely Kentucky. It’s so closely associated with Kentucky and always has been.”

Rabbit Hole and other new craft distillers are helping the state catch up in bourbon production. “Our records go back to 1967, and the state had a little over 9 million barrels then, and we’re at about 7 million right now,” Gregory said. “Back in the ’80s, we were down to like 2 million, so we’ve had a significant rise. In 1999, the entire state of Kentucky only produced 455,000 barrels of bourbon. Jim Beam produced that last year alone. If you look at where this business was at its height back in the ’70s, the bourbon category, we’ve grown quite a bit. But we are nowhere near those numbers from the ’70s. So there is a lot more runway for the category.”

He said producers are now filling about 1.5 million barrels a year, which is unprecedented in the modern era of bourbon. “That’s why we’re so concerned about tariffs slowing things down. It’s an unknown for us,” Gregory said. “It’s something we never expected to get caught in the middle of because a lot of the investment has been with an eye toward a growing global market.”

Knowing how to navigate adversity in the bourbon market—like tariffs or Prohibition—is par for the course for some of the state’s oldest bourbon producers. The Brown-Forman Corporation has been in business for almost 150 years, and its flagship brand, Old Forester, is now under the guidance of President Campbell Brown, the great-great-grandson of founder George Garvin Brown. Brown has been with the company for 25 years, starting out with internships as a student.

Though Brown was raised mostly in Canada—his mother is from Montreal—he was born in Louisville and remembers looking at pictures of faraway family members in annual reports that came in the mail. He feels a combination of “pressure and pride” being a Brown and carrying on the legacy of the nation’s oldest brand of bourbon.

“It’s a great industry, and it’s great to be part of it,” he said. “It’s almost like a true north, and there’s a path of seeing [family members’] successes. It’s a compelling story for someone who’s younger to see family who’s done it in a responsible way.”

He feels the brand has persevered because the company remains family controlled with a long history, and it has grown locally, nationally and globally.

“It’s a brand that’s important to Louisville … There’s always been a nice network of consumers and advocates that have proudly stood by the brand,” Brown said.

Zamanian looks to brands like Brown-Forman when considering his new company’s legacy. “I want Rabbit Hole to be essentially the next big American whiskey brand—I would even say the next big American spirit brand,” he said. “I want Rabbit Hole to be around as a multigenerational brand.”

Zamanian added that he wants to challenge vodka as a frontrunner in the spirits game in America. “To me, whiskey—it’s really about flavor and harnessing the flavors of the grains and what’s indigenous to the region,” he said. “That’s what’s sexy and exciting about it.”

He compared Kentucky bourbon to California wine and feels there is room for a whole new level of sophistication and understanding of Kentucky bourbon. “Hopefully, Rabbit Hole is on the front lines of trying to do something different,” Zamanian said.

For a brand like Old Forester that’s been around for generations, Brown said innovation sometimes means looking to the past. “Our story is our story. There’s no way we can start something fresh,” he said. “If anything, it allows us to reach back and use our timeline to help inform our innovation strategy or how we talk to consumers and share moments of time that were important to not only Old Forester but also the category. We’re not going to go messing around with our mash to create something new, but we might look down our past and see what the style of bourbon was [that] people were drinking after Prohibition or what we were doing in the ’60s and ’70s.”

According to Brown, with so many new bourbon brands on the scene, people are forced to be clever and thoughtful about how they position their brands. For example, Jeptha Creed Distillery, which opened in Shelby County in 2016, uses a special variety of red corn in producing its bourbon. For Brown, it means preserving Old Forester’s story that “has already been written and people care about.”

In addition to Rabbit Hole, the bourbon industry gained a couple more new distilleries this past spring—Lux Row Distillers and Preservation Distillery—both in Bardstown. Lux Row Visitor Center Manager Kevin Didio admitted the team feels a healthy amount of pressure to do bourbon well in the epicenter of bourbon production.

“One thing we really like to do here is celebrate the fact that we are in the bourbon capital of the world,” Didio said. “We’re in an exciting place to showcase our brand and welcome visitors. It’s a fun town with a lot of momentum and a lot history and heritage.”

In keeping with that heritage, Lux Row is family owned and operated, as most of Kentucky’s distilleries were at one time and some remain today. Its parent company, Luxco, is a spirits producer based in St. Louis that was founded in 1958 by Paul A. Lux. Lux’s son, Donn Lux, serves as Luxco’s chairman and CEO.

 “There’s not so much pressure, but a tremendous amount of pride being located where we are, being one of the new guys on the [Kentucky] Bourbon Trail,” Head Distiller John Rempe said. He has been distilling spirits for more than 20 years and created the Lux Row brands Rebel Yell 10-year, David Nicholson Reserve and the Blood Oath series.

Prior to opening the state-of-the-art distillery, Lux Row produced its bourbon at other distilleries for four years. The goal is to ensure the bourbon produced at the facility, which began distilling in early January, is consistent with what customers have come to expect. Currently, Lux Row has about 8,600 barrels aging in rickhouses.

In mid-May, Lux Row became the newest addition to the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, making it a draw for tourists. “We definitely want to lead with hospitality,” Didio said. “[Visitors will] see everything involving the production side—from the grains being milled, the cooking and mashing, what makes our mash bill and taste profiles unique.”

Louisville-based Angel’s Envy is about eight years into building its brand, but its story began more than 40 years ago. The distillery’s patriarch, the late Lincoln Henderson, was in the business for decades. His son, Angel’s Envy’s chief innovation officer and co-founder Wes Henderson, thinks customers love how their bourbon is constructed.

“It’s got an incredible flavor and complexity,” he said. “The port barrel finish adds another dimension to the bourbon.”

Henderson, who now runs the ship with his sons, Kyle and Andrew, said he also feels that customers love bourbon with substance and a good story behind it. Angel’s Envy is just old enough to be one of the first craft bourbon distilleries that still has a wide appeal.

“I think we’re that first wave of craft distillers that came on the scene about eight or nine years ago, and fortunately, we’ve been one of the brands that’s been able to break out of the pack a bit and lead, as far as craft brands go,” Henderson said. “That’s something that will be remembered as being a key part of it as people look back on the industry and where the industry is going.”

Part of the success is due to the great sense of camaraderie and support within the industry. Sometimes, that means master distillers lending a hand to up-and-comers. In his case, it was his father.

“We are in a unique position because of my family’s history in the industry going back 40 years and Dad’s relationships,” he said. “We are blessed to be able to sit at both the kid and adult table, whichever we’re in the mood for at the time. I don’t know which [distilleries] are the kids and which ones are the adults. I’ve never seen anything like it, where everyone gets along so well.”

Henderson said he hopes his company eventually joins the ranks of the big old-timers and builds a legacy.

Speaking of the kid table, western Kentucky’s RH Resolute Distillery is an ambitious newcomer to the bourbon industry, breathing new life into the area’s spirits scene.

RH Resolute is revitalizing the long and rich history of bourbon production in that part of the Commonwealth. The bulk production facility is in Hickman in Fulton County and is not only the largest producer of bourbon ever in that part of the state but also one of the largest distilleries in Kentucky. The RH Resolute Downtown Distillery will be located near the river in Paducah and is slated to open in the fall of 2019.

Brand director and co-owner Sarah Jones is investing almost $10 million to outfit the Hickman facility and hopes eventually to churn out 2,600 barrels a week. She said western Kentucky’s corn, wheat and heavy limestone water combine for an ideal “hand-crafted sour mash bourbon whiskey.” Jones said the water quality there, primarily due to high pH levels, is better than that of central Kentucky for bourbon making.

“We are so far on the western side of Kentucky, and a lot of people don’t know that Early Times Distillery started in Paducah,” Jones said. “And John Henry Beam worked at the family distillery over here, originally.”

She said the Mississippi River gives RH Resolute access to transportation and provides a tourist attraction for those coming to visit the distillery. Whiskey producers of old, like Red Devil and Old Dixie, sent their products all over the country via the Mississippi, according to Jones.

“We’re going to make some good bourbon,” she said, adding that RH Resolute’s master distiller, Thomas McKenzie, has years of experience helping start distilleries around the country. “[Thomas] is really focused on and interested in making bourbon in a traditional, full-flavored taste, which isn’t being done a lot. When you taste a number of bourbons, you start to recognize the various flavor profiles that can range from butterscotch all the way over to a leathery, smoky flavor. There are so many different profiles, and what we’re hoping to add to the industry is something that’s an old-fashioned, rich taste that hasn’t really been available in a lot of bourbons in the past few years.”

The Hickman distillery should be open this fall, and the distillery experience due next year will include a restaurant and tasting room. Jones said RH Resolute also hopes to capitalize on riverboat tours that stop in Paducah and Hickman in the summer.

“We’re the last stop if you’re leaving Kentucky going west, and the first stop if you’re coming east,” she said. “Some people will never make it to the middle of Kentucky.”

Tourism is a major part of the plan, arguably, for all modern bourbon distillers.

 “I often think about what George Garvin Brown or Evan Williams—or any of our forebears—what would they think if we dropped them down into today’s bourbon scene,” Gregory mused. “They’d be proud but think: ‘Wow, you’re making a lot more money than we have.’ It has really transformed, from a tourism angle, almost overnight.”

About 12 years ago, the Kentucky Distillers’ Association’s Kentucky Bourbon Trail had around 300,000 visits a year, he noted, and next year is projected to have 1.5 million or more visitors. But there is still room to grow in production and tourism.

“Believe it or not, Kentucky ranked 11th in the country in the number of distilleries,” Gregory said. “Places like California, Washington, New York, Texas, Colorado—they just have more distilleries than we do, but we have the volume and the heritage and history. We have seen a very steady increase since 2010, when we had about six distilling companies, and now at last count, there are 30 companies operating 50 distilleries.”

He noted that, in the past year, there’s been a remarkable rise in the number of distilleries opening their tourism centers earlier than expected, “and that’s mainly because we’ve changed several laws, so they can really take advantage of the tourism potential.”

Buffalo Trace has expanded its visitors center several times to keep up with demand, and Bulleit Bourbon is slated to open a Shelbyville visitors center in 2019. In June, Old Forester Distilling Co. returned to the same building it once called home on Louisville’s iconic Whiskey Row (see Kentucky Monthly’s June/July issue, page 7). Guests at the $45-million facility learn the production process of America’s first bottled bourbon.

Brown speculated that Whiskey Row of the late 1800s probably looked different than it does today.

“It’s still a bit of a cottage industry, where we all know each other and we talk,” he said. “I think it must have been very similar to that at the turn of the century. There were a lot of businesses down there that were dependent on each other … My guess is that, back then, it was not about tours. It was: ‘Get it out the door.’ It was tough and hot and sweaty, and they’re rolling barrels and rolling them down the hill and hoping they stop before the river.”

These days, distillers have the benefit of guidance, leadership and support from the KDA, and Gregory is proud to see how all of the state’s producers work together.

“It’s really spread the distilling footprint all across Kentucky,” he noted. “Bourbon is jobs and investment and tourism, and they see that. They’re competitors on the shelf, and there’s no doubt about that, but in a room together, they’re all talking best practices and learning from each other. And they help each other in the bad times and celebrate the good times and speak with one voice.”

Tagging for the Trees

For whiskey to be labeled bourbon, it’s legally required to be aged in new white oak barrels. Alas, white oak trees do not grow overnight, and with the rapid increase in bourbon whiskey production in the state, trees are on the minds of distillers.

One company leading the charge to plant new white oaks is Louisville Distilling Co. LLC, producers of Angel’s Envy bourbon. This month, Angel’s Envy will again “Toast the Trees” in celebration of National Bourbon Heritage Month.  

The campaign is in its fourth year, and last year it helped plant more than 10,000 American white oak trees. This year, the aim is 20,000 trees. It takes 70 years for an American white oak to reach maturity, and each one yields one to three barrels.

Angel’s Envy officials crowdsource the efforts by asking customers to participate on social media. In partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation and Green Forests Work, the company will plant an American white oak tree for every Angel’s Envy drink or bottle photo that fans share on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter with the #ToastTheTrees hashtag in September. Trees are planted in the Daniel Boone National Forest in Laurel County. Angel’s Envy already has planted tens of thousands of trees, but with millions of barrels of bourbon aging in rickhouses in Kentucky, more work is yet to be done.

“The Toast the Trees initiative is a fun and easy way for our consumers and fans to interact with Angel’s Envy on social media and have a real impact on our industry at the same time,” said Wes Henderson, co-founder and chief innovation officer. “Each post helps us preserve the future of bourbon through planning and sustainability.”

Henderson said the efforts are a way to give back “where we have been blessed to receive, as far as the trees go.” Other bourbon producers also have environmental preservation—including tree planting and repurposing old barrels and bourbon ingredients—written in their business plans.

Additional information can be found at angelsenvy.com/toast-the-trees. 

Complementary Combo

With a shared passion for culinary culture and excellence, Woodford Reserve has partnered with the James Beard Foundation, which for more than 30 years has nurtured and celebrated chefs and others who contribute to making food in the United States more diverse, delectable and sustainable. Main concerns of the foundation include reducing food waste, sustainably sourcing seafood and promoting women’s leadership.

“Woodford Reserve and the James Beard Foundation share a dedication to quality and flavor, and this partnership will showcase our shared passion,” said Mark Bacon, senior vice president and global brand director of Woodford Reserve.

The partnership will include sponsorship of the Woodford Reserve Beverage Studies Scholarship, aimed at honing the skills of beverage professionals-in-the-making and, like several of Woodford Reserve’s other programs, raising a glass to classic cocktails and their craftsmen. For more information about the Woodford Reserve Beverage Studies Scholarship, visit jamesbeard.org/scholarships.

Woodford Reserve also will sponsor the James Beard Foundation’s Taste America dinner series, which kicked off in August at the James Beard House in New York. Taste America will visit 10 U.S. cities—Austin, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Louisville, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco and Seattle—this fall to spotlight Woodford Reserve cocktails and food pairings prepared by some of the nation’s top James Beard Award-winning chefs. For more information about Taste America and to purchase tickets, visit jamesbeard.org/tasteamerica.    — Cait A. Smith

Producing Worldwide Distillers

Louisville’s Moonshine University, founded in 2012 and the exclusive beverage education provider of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association, has opened its 200th distillery, Full Circle Craft Distillers in Manila, Philippines. Holding classes for prospective distillers from 45 states and 27 countries, the university has produced a diverse group of graduates who are now instituting unique and revolutionary distilleries all over the world.

Four Moonshine University-assisted distilleries are breaking new ground in the distilling industry. The most recent, Full Circle, operated by COO and Moonshine alum Matthew Westfall, is utilizing Philippine crops to make it distinct from other spirits and is preparing to release its first batch of gin. Another Moonshine alum, Laura Johnson, one of the few women in the United States who heads a distillery, opened You & Yours Distillery Co., San Diego’s first urban distillery, in March 2017. The Distillery Company owner Pierre-Luc Chabot, a graduate of Moonshine’s six-day Distiller Course, has begun producing rum made with 100 percent Melanesian ingredients, in the South Pacific Ocean island country of Vanuatu. Silver Creek Distillery, owned by Moonshine alum Mark Taverner, imports water, sugar and flavors from Kentucky into Gauteng, South Africa and has become Africa’s largest moonshine distillery. 

— Cait A. Smith