Barnstable Brown Gala 2010 Red Carpet interviews in the video below with Jerry O’Connell, Rebecca Romijn, super model Marisa Miller, Salt-N-Pepa and more! The Barnstable Brown Gala benefits the Barnstable Brown Kentucky Diabetes and Obesity Center at the University of Kentucky.

Featured in this video: Jerry O’Connell, Rebecca Romijn, super model Marisa Miller, Ashley Simpson, Pete Wentz, Tito, Marlon and Jackie Jackson, Salt-N-Pepa, Terry O’Quinn, University of Kentucky Basketball Coach John Calipari, Patrick Patterson, John Michael Montgomery, Taylor Dayne, Bode Miller, Maria Menounos, Allison Baver, and Diane Lane.

Special thanks to Cinephreak Pictures and Corky Coryell.

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BourbonBlog.com just spoke with Maker’s Mark Master Distiller Kevin Smith as he was thieving some Maker’s 46 from the barrels where the finishing process occurs. Kevin Smiths tells us that now after 7 weeks of the finishing process, the whiskey is tasting just as it should be. “It’s that nose which develops first on Maker’s 46,” Kevin tells BourbonBlog.com.

“The taste will come in a few more weeks.” As Kevin Smith explained to us in February in the first video interview ever on Maker’s 46 included below and on this link, this process starts with the original fully aged Maker’s Mark as the base and is then finished in another barrel using specially designed seared seasoned staves from Independent Stave added inside the barrels.

Kevin Smiths tells BourbonBlog.com that this batch of Maker’s 46 will be finished, dumped and bottled near the end of May or beginning of June and should be on store shelves by July. The first release of Maker’s 46 will be 15,000 cases, with 6 per case. No matter how many Bourbons you have as you calculate that, it equals 90,000 bottles across the United States only. “It probably will be tough to find because it is going to sell so quickly,” says Kevin. The expected retail price will be $33-35 a bottle.

Not the fully finished bottle design. This was the bottle of Makers 46 that Makers Mark Ambassadors could purchase at an event recently

Some Maker’s Mark Ambassadors has the opportunity to purchase a bottle of Maker’s 46 during an Maker’s Mark Ambassador Day at the Maker’s Mark Distillery in Loretto, Kentucky. “As we are holding tasting on this across the country, the feedback is positive. People tell us that they get come cinnamon and spicy flavors along with deep vanilla,” says Kevin. Check out video coverage and story that James Hills of Mantripping.com brought us from a tasting in Chicago on this link.

Kevin Smith tells us that the most of the batches of Maker’s 46 as he originally perfected had been aged the cooler months. The Spring of 2010 in Loretto, Kentucky has been exceptionally cooler, so he is happy with the result now.

Be watching BourbonBlog.com for more updates on Maker’s 46.

Video from February 2010. BourbonBlog.com was the first media outlet to do an on-camera interview and tasting with Kevin Smith on Maker’s 46.

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BourbonBlog.com at Kentucky Derby 136 where we capture an interview Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear from the Winner’s Circle, footage of Calvin Borel riding Super Saver to victory, and the wet and muddy infield. Watch the video episode below.

Special thanks to Churchill Downs, Cinephreak Pictures, Four Roses Bourbon

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BourbonBlog.com joins Dennis Rodman as he DJs a live set along with Vic Latino at the Frazier International History Museum in Louisville, Kentucky. This was one of the hottest Derby-Eve parties we have ever attended. We also partied with professional poker players Phil Hellmuth and Robert Williamson III here.

Special thanks to Cinephreak Pictures, Kristy Buhr, GA Agency and Mike Willett. All photos by Jake Bilinski.

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BourbonBlog.com attends the Premiere Pre-Kentucky Derby event Out of the Blue at Louisville Executive Aviation in video episode below. Luxury cars and private jets for sale along with Woodford Reserve Bourbon and elegant jewelry.

Special thanks to Louisville Executive Aviation‘s Ron Geary and Eric Potempa, Fabio Alexander, Cinephreak Pictures Mike Willett, Stephen Dennison, The Bourbon Review Magazine, Brown-Forman, Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards, and Merkley Kendrick Jewelers.

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Woodford Reserve Bourbon tells BourbonBlog.com will celebrate the glamour and glitz of the Kentucky Derby with the Ultimate Kentucky Derby Luxury: the world’s most exclusive mint julep cup. The Woodford Reserve $1,000 Mint Julep Cup Experience will feature a collection of 73 silver cups designed by Tiffany & Co. exclusively for Woodford Reserve. Proceeds from the cups will benefit The Barnstable Brown Kentucky Diabetes & Obesity Center.

The Mint Julep Cup’s Exotic Ingredients:

The $1,000 Mint Julep will be made with the most exotic ingredients in the world

* Organic Turbinado raw-cane sugar made from 100 percent organic sugar cane grown in Brazil. This sugar provides a smooth, mellow and rounded flavor, perfect for the world’s most exotic Mint Julep.
* A special Kentucky Colonel Mint from Louisville, KY which was grown in a used Woodford Reserve Bourbon barrel.
* Ice made of water from a 10,000-year-old glacier in the far northern region of the Pacific Ocean near the Gulf of Alaska. This iceberg is by far the rarest and purest type of water on earth, pre-dating man and pollution.
* A small batch of the Master Distiller’s personal selection of Woodford Reserve super-premium bourbon, selected specifically for the $1,000 Mint Julep.

“We are so delighted to have the Barnstable Brown Kentucky Diabetes & Obesity Center be the beneficiary of this year’s Woodford Reserve $1,000 Mint Julep Cup sales,” Tricia Barnstable Brown tells BourbonBlog.com. “This wonderful partnership will further help the cause of diabetes research, education and care for years to come.”

Owners of the Woodford Reserve $1,000 Mint Julep Cup will enjoy a mint julep featuring a unique set of ingredients from around the globe: raw-cane sugar made from 100 percent organic sugar cane grown in Brazil; Kentucky Colonel Mint from Louisville, KY which was grown in a used Woodford Reserve bourbon barrel; ice made of water from a 10,000-year-old glacier in the far northern region of the Pacific Ocean near the Gulf of Alaska; and a small batch of the Master Distiller’s personal selection of Woodford Reserve super-premium bourbon. The 73 silver cups will be presented on Kentucky Derby Day at Churchill Downs in The Woodford Reserve $1,000 Mint Julep Cup Experience located near the clubhouse escalator inside Gate 10.

“Woodford Reserve is proud to partner with Tiffany & Co. to bring horse racing fans the most well-crafted mint julep cup ever to be sold,” Woodford Reserve brand director Wayne Rose tells BourbonBlog.com. “Through the sale of these julep cups, we look forward to assisting The Barnstable Brown Diabetes and Obesity Center.”

“Tiffany’s great heritage of sterling silver craftsmanship was established in the late 19th century with the trophies our silversmiths created for the great horse races of the period,” said Diane Brown, vice president of Tiffany & Co. “We are gratified to continue that heritage with the creation of these silver cups for Woodford Reserve bourbon for presentation at this year’s Kentucky Derby and for the benefit of the Barnstable Brown Diabetes and Obesity Center.”

Fans will also be able to follow Woodford Reserve online from exciting Derby events and activities via Twitter at @derbyinsider. Visit www.twitter.com/derbyinsider for all the details.

How to Purchase a Cup

Starting April 12, 2010 at noon, (EDT) consumers age 21 years and older can log on to www.woodfordreservemintjulep.com to purchase one of the 73 cups. Presented on one day, at one place only, all cups purchased must be picked up by the buyer or the buyer’s proxy on May 1, 2010, Kentucky Derby Day at historic Churchill Downs.

The Exclusive Cup

73 Cups are being sold online for $1,000 on a first come, first buy basis. This will be the 73rd year that the Mint Julep has been recognized as the traditional beverage of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Each individually numbered cup is presented with a sterling silver sipping straw and features the Woodford Reserve logo along with a unique horse racing design. The handmade silver cups have been designed by Tiffany & Co. and come with a sterling silver sipping straw. Each cup will be presented in a unique Tiffany & Co. “blue box” and will be set in a Woodford Reserve casing made from the same wood as Woodford Reserve barrels are made. The cups will be on sale from April 12-28 at www.woodfordreservemintjulep.com for $1,000 on a “first come, first buy” basis. Any unsold cups will be available for purchase at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day.

About Woodford Reserve

Woodford Reserve, the “Official Bourbon of the Kentucky Derby”, is crafted at the historic Woodford Reserve Distillery in Versailles, Kentucky – the heart of thoroughbred country. Woodford Reserve is one of the fine spirits produced and marketed by the Brown-Forman Corporation. For 140 years, Brown-Forman has enriched the experience of life by responsibly building fine quality beverage alcohol brands. The company’s brands are supported by nearly 4,000 employees and sold in approximately 135 countries worldwide. For more information about the company, please visit http://www.brown-forman.com, and for more information on Woodford Reserve visit www.woodfordreserve.com. Please enjoy your bourbon responsibly.

About Tiffany & Co.

Tiffany & Co. operates jewelry and specialty retail stores and manufactures products through its subsidiary corporations. Its principal subsidiary is Tiffany and Company. The Company operates TIFFANY & CO. retail stores and boutiques in the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe and engages in direct selling through Internet, catalog and business gift operations. For additional information, please visit tiffany.com.

About the Barnstable Brown Kentucky Diabetes & Obesity Center

The goal of the Barnstable Brown Kentucky Diabetes and Obesity Center is to organize and integrate clinical and scientific approaches to enhance diabetes and obesity research and clinical practice at the University of Kentucky. Since 2008, all proceeds from the annual Barnstable Brown Gala go to develop this large-scale center that brings together the University’s breadth and depth of researchers, educators and clinicians focused on diabetes and organizes them to attack the problem collaboratively.

About Churchill Downs®:

Churchill Downs, the world’s most legendary racetrack, has conducted Thoroughbred racing and presented America’s greatest race, the Kentucky Derby, continuously since 1875. Located in Louisville, the flagship racetrack of Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN) also operates Trackside at Churchill Downs, which offers year-round simulcast wagering at the historic track. Churchill Downs will conduct the 136th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 1, 2010 and the Kentucky Oaks on April 30, 2010. The track will conduct its 2010 Spring Meet from Saturday, April 24, through Sunday, July 4. Churchill Downs is scheduled to host the Breeders’ Cup World Championships for a record seventh time on Nov. 5 and 6, 2010. Churchill Downs tickets are available at Tickets.ChurchillDowns.com or by calling (502) 636-4400. Additional information about Churchill Downs can be found on the Internet at www.ChurchillDowns.com.

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