BourbonBlog.com talks with Willd Turkey Master Distiller Jimmy Russell and American Honey Girl Haley at Great Kentucky Tasting and Gala at Kentucky Bourbon Festival,
They are pouring their finest Wild Turkey Bourbons including American Honey, Wild Turkey 101, Wild Turkey 81, Wild Turkey American Spirit, and Russell’s Reserve as the bottles are displayed proudly on the formal, elegant bar at the tasting.
American Honey Girl Haley with Wild Turkey Master Distiller Jimmy Russell
Hosted and produced by Tom Fischer
Filmed by Dan Brown
Edited by Claire Ramsay
Four Roses Master Distiler Jim Rutledge tells BourbonBlog.com‘s Tom Fischer about the “Frozen Four Roses” advertisement that appeared in magazines over 50 years ago.
At this Great Kentucky Tasting and Gala at Kentucky Bourbon Festival, 4 red roses were frozen in a block of ice and displayed on the tasting bar to symbolize the award winning advertisement.
4 frozen roses in a block of ice that appear the same as they did in a vintage Four Roses advertisement that won many awards
The Original Classic Vintage advertisement with Four Roses frozen in a block of ice
Four Roses Master Distiller Jim Rutledge and BourbonBlog.com Tom Fischer at Kentucky Bourbon Festival Gala 2012
check out this video BourbonBlog.com‘s Tom Fischer speaks with John Shutt and Mixologist Gary Gruver.
Blanton’s Original Single Barrel Bourbon is perfect enjoyed neat and makes a killer cocktail.
Filmed at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival‘s Great Kentucky Bourbon Tasting and Gala event, where the Blanton’s Bourbon tasting bar / booth is shaped like the bottle itself.
Blanton’s has made several appearances on BourbonBlog.com, including this video where we tasted all four expressions of Blanton’s Bourbon
You may have also seen Blanton’s Bourbon on the following TV shows:
Outlaw
Entourage
True Blood
Bored to Death
Desperate Housewives
Justified
Big Bang Theory
Southland
NCIS
CSI
(L to R) Mixologist Gary Gruver, John Shutt International Sales and Marketing Manager, AGE International Inc, and BourbonBlog.com’s Tom FIscher with Blanton’s Bourbon
Hosted and produced by Tom Fischer
Filmed by Dan Brown and event photo by Dan Brown
Edited by Claire Ramsay
Old Forester Birthday Bourbon 2012, marking the first year that Birthday Bourbon is bottled in new Old Forester bottle design
Among the first opportunties that Brown-Form gives the public to taste their annual release of the new Old Forester Birthday Bourbon is typically at The Great Kentucky Bourbon Tasting at Kentucky Bourbon Festival.
In the video segment above, BourbonBlog.com‘s Tom Fischer tastes the new 2012 expression of Old Forester Birthday Bourbon with Brown-Forman Master Distiller Chris Morris.
It has is released in honor of George Garvin Brown, the founder of Louisville-based Brown-Forman and Old Forester, America’s First Bottled Bourbon. Every year in September, Old Forester releases an expression of this bourbon to commemorate Brown’s birthday and this year marks the 11th limited-edition release.
“This year’s vintage release of Old Forester is crafted from an 82 barrel batch, selected from a single day of production. That day’s mash bill had 2% extra malt added to the fermenter resulting in the creation of a more nutty spirit,” said Chris Morris, Brown-Forman Master Distiller.
“Once barreled the bourbon was ricked on the fourth floor in warehouses H and I where it experienced a balanced maturation environment. There the angels’ share resulted in low barrel yields and therefore intense barrel flavor concentration.”
Old Forester Birthday Bourbon is vintage-dated and offers a one-of-a-kind character that will never be replicated.
“It’s like the Beaujolais Noveau in France as it is released only once a year. Every drop leaves the Brown-Forman Distillery in Louisville at the same time in September. There won’t be another drop til the following September.”
Old Forester Birthday Bourbon has received acclaim and has collected honors from USA Today, Malt Advocate, Whisky Magazine, Spirit Journal, Ultimate Spirits Challenge, Wine Enthusiast, and Santé.
Old Forester Birthday Bourbon 2012 retails for $49.99 and is sold at many fine liquor stores in limited quantities.
Chris Morris Brown-Forman Master Distiller with BourbonBlog.com’s Tom Fischer
Hosted and produced by Tom Fischer
Filmed by Dan Brown, edited by Claire Ramsay
Sampling all 10 unique recipes of Four Roses Bourbon Whiskey
Watch the video segment above as BourbonBlog.com‘s Tom Fischer joins friends from Seven Grand, Los Angeles to select a private barrel with Master Distiller Jim Rutledge.
In this Private Barrel Selection program, we taste all 10 unique recipes of Four Roses at barrel strength as we start our day around 11 am Thursday morning.
Seven Grand’s motto is “Whiskey for The People.” Now that is our kind of approach at BourbonBlog.com, so we’re happy to help them select a barrel!
Of all the barrels we tasted, Seven Grand selected a barrel of 10 year old with the OESF recipe Mashbill, which is not currently used in any of Four Roses releases except for the Yellow Label, which includes a mixture of all ten.
“We’re excited that this recipe has never been released as a stand-alone whiskey, so this barrel will be unique to the world, a totally new expression,” Seven Grand Spirit Guide Pedro Shanahan tells us.
We also interview Seven Grand General Manager Angus McShane, Fours Roses Master DIstiller Jim Rutledge, Al Young Brand Ambassador and others from California who have made the journey during Kentucky Bourbon Festival week for this selection.
Four Roses Single Barrel – Barrel Strength Program
In this program, Rutledge will bring out all 10 recipes aged between 8 and 10. years old . A retailer or establishment is invited to a private tasting and selection of their favorite barrels at the distillery.
Once chosen, each selection is bottled and private labeled as a non-chill filtered Single Barrel at Barrel Strength in limited quantities of approximately 200-230 bottles.
Friends from California , Seven Grand of LA and Four Roses Bourbon
Tasting Glass of Fine Four Roses Bourbon Whiskey thieved fresh from the barrel, non-chill filtered to review at barrel proof for this Private Barrel Selectio
All of us autographed a the selected barrel of Bourbon which Seven Brand will keep
Hosted and produced by Tom Fischer
Filmed and edited by Claire Ramsay. Photos from tasting by Claire Ramsay
Ben Barger Olympic Sailor and US Olympic Gold Medalist and
U.S.A. Olympic Sailor Ben Barger joins Four Roses Bourbon during Kentucky Bourbon Festival 2012 to try his hand at sailing through the world of Bourbon!
You’ve probably seen Ben on TV as he is a professional athlete, 7 time National Champion, winner of 3 World Cup Medals, and an alternate in the 2012 London Olympics. Now watch Ben Barger interviewed in the video above by BourbonBlog.com‘s Tom Fischer (the “Olympic Bourbon Drinker”).
We had a lot of fun with Ben. He is a genuine, wise and fun guy to have in Bourbon Country and we hope he returns!
Ben is a seven-time national champion in the Olympic windsurfing discipline and placed on the podium at various world cup events.
Ben is now onto his next challenge which will be conquering the world of work. Ben is in Kentucky explore to “A Tempting World” as a program with Adecco’sAthelete Career Program.
As part of Adecco’s partnership with the United States Olympic Committee, the Athlete Career Program provides athletes with career training, job placement assistance and employment opportunities while they pursue their Olympic or Paralympic dreams.
Addeco also helps ease their transition from the field of play to the world of work once their athletic career comes to a close with expert resume development, interview coaching, career seminars, job research and placement.
Since originally partnering with the USOC in 2005, Adecco has served more than 2,000 U.S. Olympic Movement participants including Olympians, Paralympians, coaches and elite athletes. To learn more about the Athlete Career Program, contact
This is the 21st year of the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, and the 20th year of “Let’s Talk Bourbon.” This weeks also marks the opening of the new Four Roses Visitor Center.
We speak with Four Roses Master Distiller Jim Rutledge before he has a conversation with the friends of Four Roses who have gathered in this event.
He tells us that growth in 2011 vs. 2010 in North America at Four Roses was up 42%, the first 7 months in this year 2012., they were up 59% from 2011.
Caterer from Lady Fingers of Louisville pour Four Roses Bourbon for guests after the conversation at Let’s Talk Bourbon
BourbonBlog.com’s Tom Fischer (L) Four Roses Master Distiller Jim Rutledge (R)
Shot of Whiskey
All photos by Dan Brown taken at the Let’s Talk Bourbon event.
BourbonBlog.com‘s Tom Fischer joins Four Roses Bourbon as the new 5,000-square-foot visitor center and gift shop opens in the video above!
This is part of a $2.4 million expansion of the distillery property, which has seen significant gains in tourist visits in recent years. Since 2004, visitors to the Four Roses Distillery have increased at approximately 35 percent each year and by year’s end, the distillery expects to host 50,000 visitors.
The visitor center includes antique bottles, vintage advertising and other memorabilia, along with displays of equipment and ingredients that illustrate the distilling process. It also includes two bourbon tasting bars allowing guests to sample FourRoses products following a full distillery tour.
Additionally, 9,000-square-feet of office space was added to the property to accommodate an increased number of marketing, sales and administrative employees based at the distillery.
Hand-crafted iron roses in a real used Four Roses Bourbon Barrel hang in the new Four Roses Visitor Center in a chandelier which greet guests as they enter – photo by Dan Brown
In the video segment, we speak with speak with project designer Lee Guilfoil French and Stokely , Four Roses Master Distiller Jim Rutledge, COO John Rhea, President CEO Hideki Horiguchi, Dan Gardner, Julie Gorham Lawrenceburg Mayor Edwina Baker, and KDA President Eric Gregory .
A special limited-quantity single barrel bourbon aged for 17 years and 5 months was selected to mark the grand opening and will be for sale in the distillery gift shop while supplies last.
Four Roses Master Distiller, Jim Rutledge, along with the distillery’s Chief Operating Officer, John Rhea, led a group toast of the single barrel selection. A custom rose garland ribbon cutting and showering of rose petals also marked the occasion.
“We’re so proud of our history, our unique process and how far we’ve come and we want to share that with our visitors,” John Rhea, Four Roses Chief Operating Officer tells BourbonBlog.com. “The Four Roses brand has achieved monumental success since our return to the U.S. 10 years ago and we intend to build on that success for many years to come.”
(L to R) Al Young Brand Ambassador for Four Roses, BourbonBlog.com’s Tom Fischer, and Karen Young, Four Roses Corporate Communications Manager at the ribbon cutting and grand opening of the new Four Roses Visitors Center – photo by Patrick Kramer
Four Roses Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey awaits guests who thirst for a taste at the sampling bar of the new Four Roses Visitor Center – photo by Dan Brown
Four Roses Distillery Tours:
Monday – Saturday • 9:00 am – 3:00 pm, on the hour
Sunday • 12:00 pm – 3:00 pm, on the hour
BourbonBlog.com‘s Tom Fischer joins Jim Beam 7th Generation Master Distiller Fred Noe and his son Freddie Noe IV in the smokehouse at the house of Jim Beam in Bardstown during Kentucky Bourbon festival 2012.
They review the Knob Creek Rye with an on camera tasting and discuss Fred’s new book Beam Straight Up.
Joining Jim Beam for their annaul Bourboncue (Bourbon Q) has has become a tradition for our Bourbon Festival experience.
Last year, Tom interviewed Fred in the smokehouse in this video segment.
Eddie Russell Wild Turkey Associate Master Distiller with BourbonBlog.com’s Tom Fischer
As BourbonBlog.com follows the story of new Wild Turkey Visitors Center, we join Associate Master Distiller Eddie Russell and Master Distiller Jimmy Russell at the distillery for a preview in the video above.
We walk through the incredible plans and take a ride through the grounds where this impressive new Wild Turkey Vistor Center is being built in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky
The new Wild Turkey Visitor Center will be an upgrade over the small, 1,000-square-foot, circa 1800s building that currently hosts tastings for bourbon fans and serves as the company gift shop.
Offering breathtaking views of Wild Turkey Hill and the Kentucky River, the striking new building will occupy 8,500 square feet and be perched just behind the new distillery expansion, which opened in 2011.
Slated to open in April 2013, the new Wild Turkey Visitor Center is expected to welcome upwards of 70,000 visitors annually – up significantly from the 35,000 visitors per year of the previous facility.
BourbonBlog.com will keep you updated as construction continues and bring you more coverage on the progress!
Outside View of the soon to be Wild Turkey Visitor Center Lawrenceburg Kentucky handled by De Leon & Primmer Architecture Workshop
Hosted and produced by Tom Fischer
Filmed and edited by Patrick Kramer
