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Open Houses to Open Bottles: The Bourbon Guide’s Unexpected Career Path

S1 E2 · Non Chill Filtered

9 Plays16 hours ago

This week on Non Chill Filtered, I host Jeremy aka "The Bourbon Guide" as we talk about what got him into bourbon, his real estate career, creating content to keep himself relevant to todays bourbon market.

We dropped out at the end there but we will be picking it back up in a few days.

Check him out on socials;

instagram.com/jeremy_bourbonky/

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From Posts to Pours: Justin from Whisky In Isolations Indie Bottling Breakout

S1 E1 · Non Chill Filtered

01:17:13·14 days ago

Transcript

Intro

Welcome and Introduction

00:00:18

Jez

And welcome back to Non-Chill Filtered. ah We are rolling into episode two now, but I have my good friend, Jeremy, aka The Bourbon Guide on Good afternoon, sir. It's like 4 a.m. in the morning here, but coming to you at

00:00:37

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah, we're at 2 p.m. over here, so I'm i'm rolling today.

00:00:42

Jez

I love it. Anyone that isn't watching, cause it's typically audio based, but Jeremy does have a cigar in his hand and he looks like he is loving life.

00:00:52

jeremybourbon_ky

yeah

00:00:53

Jez

i've ah Just to keep it on and off brand, I've just whipped myself up a little bourbon cream. What is it? Just coffee and

00:01:08

Jez

but just to get it started. I don't know if i yeah I should be putting it in the milk frother, but it definitely slaps. I'm all about it.

00:01:16

jeremybourbon_ky

Oh, the bourbon cream kills, man. That stuff is amazing. um

00:01:19

Jez

it

00:01:20

jeremybourbon_ky

it is It is the best coffee creamer.

Milk and Coffee Discussion

00:01:22

jeremybourbon_ky

And just so you know, in case you can't find some, um some Buffalo Trace bourbon with a little bit of French vanilla k creamer, liquid creamer.

00:01:31

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah. That does about the guy gets about the same mileage.

00:01:35

Jez

Because ah I ah don't know if you guys have a like ah famous ad in Australia and they were talking about the different kinds of milk. like This guy goes into a little servo and he's he's looking for milk and you know this this bird is rattling off all these different kinds of milk, but he just wants milk that tastes like real milk. And I don't think you guys have milk that tastes like real milk.

00:01:58

Jez

It's all... I don't even know what you you have. It's all like you guys call coffee creamer, but then you've also got, what is it? Coffee made or something. And it's like a milk powder.

00:02:08

jeremybourbon_ky

So I don't use coffee. I use half and half for mine. You can get like what they would call whipping cream here. And that's going to be that's that's gonna be just about the thickest kind of milk you can get from the store.

00:02:15

Jez

Hmm.

00:02:23

jeremybourbon_ky

Whipping cream will, I mean, that's what a lot of the bakers and chefs and pastry chefs and stuff will use. ah It's a little heavy for coffee because it just sinks right to the bottom. Half and a half does really, really good because it's half, I think, whole milk and half um

00:02:38

Jez

Cream?

00:02:38

jeremybourbon_ky

That whipping cream. Yeah.

00:02:40

Jez

Okay, okay. I guess ah a track, right? But yeah, you mix that because I'm trying to see if got any other. Ah, I do.

00:02:51

jeremybourbon_ky

I need to pour.

00:02:51

Jez

Definitely not.

00:02:52

jeremybourbon_ky

What are we pouring?

00:02:53

Jez

Yeah, i was well, I've got bourbon cream because I was like,

Running and Law Enforcement Experiences

00:02:57

Jez

well, you know.

00:02:58

jeremybourbon_ky

Because you're in 2 a.m. in the morning. Yeah, or 4 a.m.

00:03:00

Jez

Yeah, 4am. Yeah.

00:03:01

jeremybourbon_ky

of every breath.

00:03:03

Jez

Messaging Jeremy, I was like, yeah, do you know what? we I'll get up at four. I'll just go for a run and come back.

00:03:08

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah, go ahead. Get up to four, go for... Yeah, imagine that. In certain neighborhoods, someone running through the neighborhood at 4 a.m. might elicit a phone call. but

00:03:17

Jez

um I've always got like ah a story of me when I was at my old place and the amount of times I was stopped by the cops. And they're just like...

00:03:28

Jez

grabbed me i was just running down the main street and i'm wearing all black and they're like it's three o'clock in the morning what are you doing out and they'd search me and i'd have literally nothing on me except my airpods and my my watch attached to me and i'm just like what are you doing up why are you out and about at this time it's like well you know they've got to get to work so stats on the board

00:03:31

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah.

00:03:39

jeremybourbon_ky

yeah Hey,

00:03:51

jeremybourbon_ky

um um I go to work early. I get to get my fit in.

00:03:56

Jez

Exactly

Bourbon and Podcast Focus

00:03:57

Jez

right. But let me, I'll kick off to the the scheduled part of this podcast, but um yeah, please get yourself something in the glass to start with.

00:04:04

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah, let's go something to glass.

00:04:05

Jez

What are you vibing?

00:04:06

jeremybourbon_ky

what are What are we thinking? I mean, what are we? Who are we gonna put front and center?

00:04:12

Jez

Well, we both have an incredible love for wilderness and you've got, yeah, because ah

00:04:16

jeremybourbon_ky

Well, I mean, you're going to have to twist my arm with that then. I mean, all right, remember what's what's my p what's my rating on on this?

00:04:22

Jez

the amount of,

00:04:25

jeremybourbon_ky

Am I PG-13 or where are we at?

00:04:28

Jez

No, no, go hard. Go hard in the pain.

00:04:30

jeremybourbon_ky

Oh, perfect, perfect, all right. Yeah, absolutely.

00:04:34

Jez

It's me. Like...

00:04:34

jeremybourbon_ky

So this is, Wilderness Trail, eight year weeded, personally autographed by Shane Baker and Dr.

00:04:40

Jez

Oh.

00:04:41

jeremybourbon_ky

Pat Heist, so little bit of flex there.

00:04:43

Jez

Beautiful. it tos Yeah, because you are...

00:04:47

jeremybourbon_ky

Oh God.

00:04:48

Jez

<unk>d I'd say good friends. i it to one of my original runs to Kentucky and getting to hang out with you, like the incredible lineup we had at Wilderness, it's just mind-blowing to taste different kinds of things.

00:05:01

jeremybourbon_ky

that was That was a ridiculous lineup. That's when we first tasted that four grain together.

00:05:06

Jez

Yeah.

00:05:07

jeremybourbon_ky

That was, and then we brought them down to Copper and what was it? Me, you, Lahanna, Pat, and Mac. Oh my God.

00:05:16

Jez

Yeah. And then the police chief showed up and it was wild.

00:05:19

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah, Tony.

00:05:21

Jez

It was a wild kind of night. um i I couldn't even believe I met at home. i definitely shouldn't have driven home, but you live and you learn and the statute of limitations and everything else.

00:05:33

jeremybourbon_ky

here

00:05:34

Jez

But Jeremy, please kick us off.

Jeremy's Bourbon Journey

00:05:37

Jez

How did you get into Bourbon? What is your comic book 01 origin story on this one?

00:05:43

jeremybourbon_ky

So my my origin story. So what I tell people is I never had the wild college drinking years. I started drinking after I had children.

00:05:53

Jez

Understandable.

00:05:54

jeremybourbon_ky

You know, it's cause-nation correlation.

00:05:55

Jez

I've met your children.

00:05:55

jeremybourbon_ky

I've not delved too deeply in it to find out which came first. But um at the time, everything was craft beer. And dove into that whole scene, was having a lot of fun there.

00:06:08

jeremybourbon_ky

And then seemingly overnight, everything turns into an IPA. yall I have functioning taste buds, so that was not going to work for me. So with that, um I started kind of getting into red wines and was having fun there, but I'm getting wine headaches and heartburn. And I'm like, look, if this stuff is going to have after effects later, i don't want anything to with that.

00:06:32

jeremybourbon_ky

um And that was when one of my friends handed me my very first sip of bourbon. And it just happened to be not this specific bottle, but Weller Antique 107 was my very first sip of bourbon neat.

00:06:44

jeremybourbon_ky

And yeah, it you know, my wife tells me the way to get out of a hole is to put down the shovel.

00:06:45

Jez

Oh, I'm so sorry. That was your first sip of bourbon though.

00:06:55

jeremybourbon_ky

But I'm convinced one more shovel full will get me through it.

00:06:59

Jez

with you. i was having the same conversation last night. Oh.

00:07:05

jeremybourbon_ky

But from there, ah really, I mean, all right, you remember the movie Ratatouille?

00:07:11

Jez

Yeah.

00:07:11

jeremybourbon_ky

I know it's a Disney Pixar movie or whatever.

00:07:13

Jez

No, love it.

00:07:14

jeremybourbon_ky

there's There's a scene in that movie where the food critic takes a bite of the food and he goes back to his childhood. And not to be too cheesy and everything else, that was me when I tasted that Antique 107.

00:07:27

jeremybourbon_ky

Only for me, I was holding that little piece of butterscotch candy in the little... We call it we call it penny candy over here, because you used to be able to buy them for a penny.

00:07:34

Jez

ah

00:07:36

jeremybourbon_ky

And it was the little little Brock's disc that was in so yellow cellophane. And...

00:07:43

Jez

It's like Weathers original for us or something.

00:07:45

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah, where those originals, rich people, granddad candy. So around here, it was always, we always around, i think now they call it like church lady candy, you know, that just that kind of cheap butterscotch.

00:07:48

Jez

Okay.

00:07:58

Jez

Yeah.

00:07:58

jeremybourbon_ky

And it was always one of my favorites. But I knew once I tasted antique 107, I was like, okay, that candy was just whiskey flavored candy. There's a reason they call it butter scotch.

00:08:11

jeremybourbon_ky

and And at that point, it just made sense to me. And i really started to like bourbon. And oh over the last, God, it's been, i mean, the last 15 years or so, I'd have to go back and pull out a calendar, but it's been about the last 15 years.

00:08:20

Jez

But a scotch, not but a bourbon. i get it.

00:08:31

jeremybourbon_ky

And started dabbling a lot. Just kind of hitting there. I've always loved to cook and prepare things and I've always loved food. So I've always loved the sensory aspect of it.

00:08:42

jeremybourbon_ky

But I'm ADHD, which means I'm going to rabbit hole into every fucking thing I can look at. um And so it just really tripped a lot of triggers for me. And straight in I went.

00:08:53

jeremybourbon_ky

And um that was just kind of there kind of dabbling for a while. and And didn't really do a whole lot big. i was developing a little bit of a collection.

00:09:03

jeremybourbon_ky

you know, i modest. I mean, 20, 30 bottles, something like that.

00:09:06

Jez

ah

00:09:07

jeremybourbon_ky

Just modest. Something I could carry around a couple of times. It wasn't big. um And then 2020 hit.

Impact of COVID-19

00:09:13

jeremybourbon_ky

And, well, we all know what happened then.

00:09:17

Jez

nothing in Australia yet let me tell you

00:09:18

jeremybourbon_ky

But... Yeah, right. um And so when 2020 hit, we were all sitting in our in our living rooms, rediscovering our liquor cabinets.

00:09:29

Jez

good times

00:09:33

jeremybourbon_ky

And in doing so, I was in real estate at the time and had a mentor, because I'm kind of stressing out over the whole thing, self-employed, doing the yeah over here in the United States, all self-employed realtors.

00:09:46

jeremybourbon_ky

And I'm trying to figure out with the whole world shut down, how am I going to pay to feed my family? And

00:09:55

jeremybourbon_ky

I had a mentor who said, hey, he's a he was my real estate coach. He was really big in California. And he told me, he said, hey, i've got I'm partners in on this whiskey brand that we're doing.

00:10:11

jeremybourbon_ky

And it's called The Duke. And let's see, where was maybe i should just started with that one today and

00:10:19

Jez

ah No, no, like it all it all ebbs and flows. See, now you you lean into the Duke. See, I'm all about it.

00:10:27

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah, see, right here, I got the Duke. So, he said, what if I send you a bottle? Would you do a review on it? i was like, well, yeah. um

00:10:41

jeremybourbon_ky

So, he sent me a bottle. This was the replacement. And um I contacted a friend of mine who was front house manager. That was Lahanna down at Copper and Oak here in Danville.

00:10:54

jeremybourbon_ky

And We get down there and I say, hey, look, I know you guys are looking to stay in front of people. you guys are looking to keep marketing going, the same as I. You like bourbon, I like bourbon.

00:11:06

jeremybourbon_ky

Let's do a review on this Duke Founders Reserve Grand Cru.

00:11:09

Jez

Thank you.

00:11:11

jeremybourbon_ky

And she said, let's do it. So went got a $30 bourbon. tripod from Walmart and used my iPhone and drug it down there and it was awful.

00:11:22

jeremybourbon_ky

That podcast, do not watch that video. It's terrible.

00:11:27

Jez

I will have to link it in the description.

00:11:29

jeremybourbon_ky

It's so bad.

00:11:30

Jez

know, but like the I'm all about the storytelling of the first episode. Like if you ever watch some of mine that I've put out from like, I guess the first one, it looks like my hostage.

00:11:43

Jez

um And it's like a yeah, like,

00:11:43

jeremybourbon_ky

Oh. yes I remember those. You used to do it straight for the Instagram. And I'd always check, ah you'd always check your watch. Cause I always thought you were seeing your video on your watch as well to make sure you were either in frame or in time one.

00:11:58

jeremybourbon_ky

Um, yeah, some of those early ones, man, it's like cringe factor 10 and God, but it was so bad.

00:11:59

Jez

Yeah.

00:12:03

Jez

Absolutely.

00:12:07

jeremybourbon_ky

yeah, After we finished, I was packing up my stuff and I looked at Lahana said, we need to do this again. So we weren't able to do every week at that point, but we were doing every other week.

00:12:18

jeremybourbon_ky

We'd go down there, we'd meet at about 10 a.m., shoot the podcast down there, do two or three bourbons at a time. And my Mondays were wrecked straight out of the gate.

00:12:29

jeremybourbon_ky

um

00:12:35

jeremybourbon_ky

And so that really started to grow. um We and were building immediately in in town because people knew us and everything. People were being supportive. Everybody was staying home, so there was nothing else to do but doom scroll and watch videos.

00:12:49

jeremybourbon_ky

And so um things really started to get going, and we really started building this thing out.

Building a Bourbon Network

00:12:58

jeremybourbon_ky

Now, we have Wilderness Trail right here in town. We're friends with Dr. Pat Heiss and Shane Baker, principal partners in Wilderness Trail. They were the original owners.

00:13:09

jeremybourbon_ky

Campari came in the whole nine yards. You get it. but um So Pat was one of our first connections. And...

00:13:20

jeremybourbon_ky

He was like, hey, come on out here. We'll do some stuff. And all of a sudden, he's opening doors for us and getting introductions for us. All of a sudden, we've got a body of work through our podcast, through our videos that we're working on.

00:13:35

jeremybourbon_ky

that we were able to send to other um distillery owners, brand owners and whatnot, marketing folks, brand ambassadors about, hey, this is how we're going to treat you in our videos and everything else. And that really started to open doors. So for about three years, we were, gosh, we were just all over the place for three years.

00:13:55

jeremybourbon_ky

um

00:13:58

jeremybourbon_ky

And that's really when you and I started connecting because I was making content like crazy. You were too. um and, I mean, I was still doing my real estate business back then and really started getting into a lot of places. We went to Spirits of French Lick, did RD1, Mark and Sherry Carter at Old Carter, now just Mark Carter.

00:14:19

jeremybourbon_ky

um I mean, we were just getting into places that I never thought we would get into. um and And it was great. We really had a lot of fun. A little ways into it.

00:14:32

jeremybourbon_ky

talking with my mentor and whatnot, I began to, he was like, all right, you guys are having a lot of fun. You guys are out there. youre getting things done. He said, how's this helping your real estate business? I was like, well, that's a good question. So,

00:14:44

Jez

It's clearly not.

00:14:45

jeremybourbon_ky

no, clearly not. We were just having a lot of fun. It was getting my name out there and getting my face out there, and that's fine.

00:14:51

Jez

but You're establishing that brand as the bourbon realtor, right?

00:14:52

jeremybourbon_ky

And so,

00:14:55

Jez

Which is purely important for being self-employed and I guess pushing that brand aspect, right?

00:14:56

jeremybourbon_ky

right.

00:15:02

Jez

Because you want to be referred to as the bourbon realtor. You want to be people to be talking about you consuming your content across all platforms.

00:15:10

jeremybourbon_ky

Right.

00:15:10

Jez

Just like,

00:15:10

jeremybourbon_ky

And that was really the key. He was he was saying things like, what if you do half real estate, half bourbon on your podcast? I'm like, yeah, that's not going to fly. Not with the audience for bourbon and whiskey podcasts. I said, that's this not going to fly.

00:15:24

jeremybourbon_ky

I said, but what I can do, nobody else calls themselves a bourbon realtor. And nobody, I mean, really, i mean, quite honestly, the name, the realtor name is actually a registered trademark. So me doing it anyway, but I was a realtor at the time. And so I walked the line.

00:15:41

jeremybourbon_ky

um

00:15:43

Jez

Play ball.

00:15:44

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah, I mean, and so. I started, I would introduce all my videos with, hey, I'm Jeremy, welcome barsels and bur or i'm welcome to Barstools and Bourbon, I'm Jeremy, the the Bourbon Realtor.

00:15:55

jeremybourbon_ky

That was it. And that was the only time I would talk about real estate my podcast, because I would very much keep it whiskey-centric. and And that's really what I wanted to do, is keep it that way.

00:16:08

jeremybourbon_ky

um That really started to help. Now, Lahanna got really super busy, they opened up a second restaurant, so she had to step away. and completely understandable. She got super, super busy. She's got two young kids.

00:16:21

jeremybourbon_ky

My kids are self-maintaining, so that wasn't much a factor for me.

00:16:28

jeremybourbon_ky

So that was really our first big shift, was when Lahana stepped away.

COVID-19 and Bourbon Reviews

00:16:33

jeremybourbon_ky

um Late 21, I got a bad case of COVID, and i was down...

00:16:40

jeremybourbon_ky

um I mean, I had double pneumonia, did the whole thing. i didn't have a good sense of taste and smell for almost six months afterwards. I did i never, you've got an exclusive here now, because I've never gone public with any of that.

00:16:54

jeremybourbon_ky

um And

00:17:00

jeremybourbon_ky

it was during that time i was just doing mostly, don't photography as far as my bourbon content, some videos, some side videos and stuff like that.

00:17:11

jeremybourbon_ky

But reviews, reviews for me were pointless during that time. I mean, absolutely pointless. And so I really had to stop, had to dial back with those. And it was like, all right, how am I going refocus this?

00:17:23

jeremybourbon_ky

um That whole time, I'm diving straight into basically all things bourbon and whiskey. um Again, ADHD, feeding my dopamine, just killing it, chasing every single little thing I could, and learning everything I could about bourbon.

00:17:46

jeremybourbon_ky

um And so I really became a student of it. It was during that time that this whole monstrosity behind me really started to develop. And I really started to think about what I wanted to do, who I wanted to be in this bourbon world and say, all right, what is this going to look like? Because I had a lot of time to reflect on it.

00:18:06

jeremybourbon_ky

um Coming out of that, getting my sense of taste back and my sense of smell back finally. um Then it was like, all right, how is this reinvention going to happen?

Transition to Bourbon Guide

00:18:17

jeremybourbon_ky

I worked another, say I finished out 22 in real estate. And then I start seeing some shifts market-wise in real estate, but then industry-wise as well.

00:18:30

jeremybourbon_ky

Whereas our industry is being reshaped over here. At that point, I'm riding pretty good. I'm in a decent place where I can step out. I transit and start doing some other work. In the meantime, getting back into podcasting, but still diving deep into bourbon and whatnot.

00:18:46

jeremybourbon_ky

From there, those relationships just kept connecting. And it's just gotten to the point now where, you know, I don't even think about who I know in bourbon. And then all of a sudden it's like, oh, wait, I do know that.

00:18:59

jeremybourbon_ky

And all sudden I'm able to make connections. And it's been that whole side, building it through the bourbon realtor side of things. Now that's transitioning into bourbon guide type of stuff on this side where, you know, I do work for a major distillery. I am a tour guide at a major distillery here in Kentucky.

00:19:19

jeremybourbon_ky

um And I'm not here as an official representation of that. Otherwise I'd be in uniform. But anyway, um so... um

00:19:26

Jez

Yeah, you have to get that plug in. You're just like, actually, now I've got mark, by the way.

00:19:28

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah, i mean, you gotta get that in there. It's like, all right, so when when the when the corporate guys go reviewing your video, they're gonna be like, oh, okay, all right, all right, all right.

00:19:39

Jez

that's the Just let them know. It's like 19-minute mark. We said the disclaimer. Sound it off.

00:19:43

jeremybourbon_ky

That's fine.

00:19:44

Jez

Push it out.

00:19:45

jeremybourbon_ky

Yep, so hold on let me get this warmed up again.

00:19:51

jeremybourbon_ky

there we go. So during that time, I'm really starting to dial in on who I want to be as, as a bourbon person, what kind of content i want to do. Every other content creator, just about every other big one that is all making, you know, um,

00:20:08

jeremybourbon_ky

Thousands of dollars a month, tens of thousands of dollars a month through Patreon, through sponsorships and everything else.

00:20:12

Jez

Only fans.

00:20:13

jeremybourbon_ky

They're all chasing the big releases, the unicorns and all this kind of stuff that 90% of the bourbon collectors are never going to taste.

Philosophy on Bourbon Accessibility

00:20:24

jeremybourbon_ky

And so I really stepped back and said, you know, i don't connect with as amazing as it is to see a podcast from some of these very popular guys about The Last Drop.

00:20:37

jeremybourbon_ky

which is an extremely exclusive whiskey that gets released every couple years. Um, I'm watching those things and I'm like, I feel like they're describing unicorn farts to me.

00:20:52

jeremybourbon_ky

Um, because it's just, it's not anything I'm ever going to be able to experience. So what's the point in telling everybody else about it? You know, are you full of shit or do you know what you're talking about? this actual,

00:21:07

jeremybourbon_ky

And what's the point in it? um It's like somebody talking about, hey, I just drove this brand new Bentley. That's cool.

00:21:15

Jez

Yeah, but like, what's...

00:21:16

jeremybourbon_ky

ah what What do you drive? You drive a Toyota. Great. Tell me about your Toyota because I might actually buy one of those.

00:21:21

Jez

That's spot on.

00:21:23

jeremybourbon_ky

that's And that's really what what my what my content became about. And even when you go through my bar, people will say, oh, man, you don't have any pappy. Right. Because I don't need unicorns on my bar in order to be able to have a really good time and appreciate bourbon in a lot of big ways.

00:21:39

jeremybourbon_ky

um To chase those big things for me just doesn't, it's not the thrill for me. If I find one at retail, will I pick it up and have to take it from my wife when I get back home? Sure.

00:21:50

jeremybourbon_ky

But I'm not going out spending secondary on those things. I just won't. And so at that point, it was like, what's available? What what will people actually be able to buy?

00:22:01

jeremybourbon_ky

And on a regular basis and then go from there. ah And so that has really kind of shaped my whole thing with as far as who I wanted to be, with the content I wanted to produce. But I always kept in mind the person who was at the liquor store. This was always my my person that I thought of whenever I was creating my content.

00:22:22

jeremybourbon_ky

Here at Liquor Barn in Danville and whatnot, we have this massive wall of ah bourbons and whiskeys down the entire thing. Huge wall. We're a little spoiled, I get it completely. um I always thought that the person who's standing in front of that thing, they knew Maker's Mark. They knew Woodford. They knew Buffalo Trace. They know those those big name brands.

00:22:43

jeremybourbon_ky

But they're looking at hundreds of other labels and they don't know anything about any of those. And so what they do is they grab the red wax because, well, it's what their cousin has on their bar. And that's as informed as most of them get. They live here in Kentucky. They know they know they know they're supposed to know, quote, know about bourbon.

00:23:02

jeremybourbon_ky

They just don't. And so they go with the safe options. um So really my stuff became, hey, here are some other options out there that are really, really good.

00:23:12

jeremybourbon_ky

And I wanted to focus on those. So for me, a lot of times the stuff that I would grab were shelfers. um There are some guys who love to do the the bottom, you know, the sub $15, sub $30 shelfers.

00:23:26

jeremybourbon_ky

I really find myself in that $50 to $100 range. I can go over that, but that's really, I mean, you can have a good time between $50 and $100 here in the States on a bottle bourbon.

00:23:34

Jez

Oh, absolutely. ah Yeah, that's exactly my price point. It's funny, we share the exact same ethos about bourbon, right? Like, that's where I

Bourbon in Australia

00:23:46

Jez

live as well.

00:23:47

Jez

It's like that for you guys, it'd be 50 to 100. Like, for me, it's probably capped out at about 200 Aussies. So what, 61, 20-ish? Maybe 130.

00:23:53

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah.

00:23:53

Jez

But... that's what sixty one twenty maybe one thirty um but just going through and like seeing those classic bottles that people aren't typically grabbing and then just educating the the common market on it.

00:24:09

jeremybourbon_ky

right

00:24:12

Jez

Because like, even in Australia, people are like, oh yeah, buy bourbon. Like I really love Jack Daniels. And you're just like, but okay, you've,

00:24:25

Jez

You clearly have no idea, but let me show you. Let me take you on a little journey. But um it it's funny.

00:24:28

jeremybourbon_ky

right Well, and you, you were the one for me to get me in.

00:24:30

Jez

We landed on Jack Daniels. That's...

00:24:33

jeremybourbon_ky

You got me into Jack Daniels, and I and i still cuss you for it. um Because, now, I'm not a native Kentuckian, but I have lived here long enough to know what landmines not to step on.

00:24:47

jeremybourbon_ky

um That one's usually one. But, oh, it was this one. this was the one This is the one. The Liquor Barn um is Jack Daniels Single Barrel Select.

00:25:00

jeremybourbon_ky

This was, you could tell when it was, Quarantine 2020. That's what they named it for a Liquor Barn. That was their barrel pick.

00:25:07

Jez

Beautiful.

00:25:09

jeremybourbon_ky

um And that was the one. that You connected me to Jack Daniels because before then, I didn't have any Jack on my on my bar whatsoever.

00:25:15

Jez

Actually, you wouldn't believe it. I've got a 2020 pick here too. ah yeah Let me get this front center for the camera here. This is a Bobo Distillers Smooth Selection as well from 2020.

00:25:29

jeremybourbon_ky

Nice.

00:25:29

Jez

Get that up there.

00:25:32

jeremybourbon_ky

But now I've got Jack Daniel's single barrel rye.

00:25:32

Jez

There's...

00:25:36

jeremybourbon_ky

That's another quarantine 2020 liquor barn. Jack Daniel's single barrel barrel proof. I don't, wait, oh, I do.

00:25:45

Jez

Barrel Proof Rye?

00:25:45

jeremybourbon_ky

The rye barrel proof.

00:25:46

Jez

Yes, attaboy.

00:25:48

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah, that one took a little bit more to come around. i had to wait until the second release on that one to pick that one up. um Because that one got short quick. But I realized it's like, all right, Jack 7, Goose and Coke, and that's about the full extent of it.

00:26:06

jeremybourbon_ky

And, I mean, well, I mean, the the reality is there's a lot of other bourbons in Kentucky that are that way,

Bourbon Tours and Education

00:26:12

jeremybourbon_ky

too. Jim Beam White Label.

00:26:15

Jez

Hmm.

00:26:15

jeremybourbon_ky

I mean, yeah. It's a well bourbon, that's all it is.

00:26:17

Jez

Yeah. Oh, spot on.

00:26:19

jeremybourbon_ky

It's fine for well bourbon.

00:26:19

Jez

No. Hmm.

00:26:21

jeremybourbon_ky

Connoisseurs aren't going, mm, the nose. I mean, it's it's it's whiskey, it's bourbon by definition, and that's and that's what it is.

00:26:25

Jez

no

00:26:29

jeremybourbon_ky

um And so that was that was really cool to have that whole thing opened up to me. But then it really became about trying to educate people. And even now what I do when I'm when i'm on tours with groups,

00:26:46

jeremybourbon_ky

Typically, we've got a third of the people who are very interested in what we're doing. And the other two thirds have been drugged there against their will. um

00:26:55

Jez

How many wives is that?

00:26:55

jeremybourbon_ky

yeah

00:26:56

Jez

That's the real question. That's, uh, I was like, uh, how many wives have been dragged there against their will?

00:26:59

jeremybourbon_ky

What was the question?

00:27:03

jeremybourbon_ky

um

00:27:03

Jez

Cause that's the.

00:27:05

jeremybourbon_ky

yeah Almost every one of them by default. byby There are exceptions and they will call your ass out if you make an assumption about

00:27:09

Jez

Yep.

00:27:12

Jez

Yeah.

00:27:13

jeremybourbon_ky

They will call your ass out and rightfully so. Truly rightfully so. But... I don't talk to that 30%. They may get something from what I talk about.

00:27:22

Jez

Hmm.

00:27:26

jeremybourbon_ky

I'm talking to that middle 30% who maybe has a passing interest in bourbon, um but I can tell the story in a way that is engaging for them, that they can begin to learn something more.

00:27:41

jeremybourbon_ky

The other 30% who literally are hostages on this thing, um I just hope to be able to connect with them. And that approach has really served me well ah with tours.

00:27:56

jeremybourbon_ky

Now, i'm I'm not soft-spoken, but i'm ah I'm an absolute nerd. I do love storytelling. I'm loud and obnoxious and sarcastic, which really, really helps. um And so we just, we have a lot of fun when we go out um because I'm passionate about what I'm talking about.

00:28:16

jeremybourbon_ky

I go to the other distilleries and you can tell right away for who, which tour guides these are, this is just a job for. And, and it's, it's, it's, you know, it's whatever, but do the job well, that's fine. Go home at the end of the But then you can tell the ones who are like, yeah, we're going to dig deep and we're going to have a lot of fun.

00:28:36

jeremybourbon_ky

And that's really where I tend to hang out with. um And one of the main things, one of the real kicks that I like, like we'll sit down, we'll have a tasting. I'll have about eight or ten people. And there's always typically one person and I look for them. They'll take a sip and you just get the face, right?

00:28:55

jeremybourbon_ky

Because they're used to vodkas. They're used to tequilas or whatever else. They're used to wine, if anything, and lighter, low-proof drinks. And there's nothing wrong with that.

00:29:05

Jez

Not 156 time distilled vodka, but vodka all the same.

00:29:08

jeremybourbon_ky

Right. Yeah. So they're they're used to that kind of stuff. And what ends up happening is couple of people around them will start to laugh at them because of the response to the whiskey.

00:29:18

Jez

Hmm.

00:29:21

jeremybourbon_ky

And what I like to do rather than laugh at them is get their attention. And now I start teaching them like, hey, Now I start telling them about the two-sip method, which is one that Freddie Johnson has taught me, where you have you know a glass of water.

00:29:36

jeremybourbon_ky

This is a dirty-ass Glencairn. you have a glass You have a glass of water in one hand. You take a sip. You hold that water right in your mouth, right into your tongue, and then you sip your bourbon right on top of it.

00:29:47

jeremybourbon_ky

You don't swallow right away, and then you swirl it around in your mouth, and then you drink it.

00:29:47

Jez

Hmm. Hmm.

00:29:51

jeremybourbon_ky

And I have them do that. Everybody else is just along for the ride at this point in the middle of this tasting. And then all of a sudden I watch the the eyes light up of, hey, wait, I can drink this.

00:30:04

jeremybourbon_ky

and And it's really funny to me because now I've given them something out of this that they did not expect when they came in that day. They thought this was going to hostage situation for their spouse, boyfriend, father, whatever else.

00:30:18

jeremybourbon_ky

But now I've given them something that they can that they can enjoy this right alongside.

Bourbon Myths and Preferences

00:30:24

jeremybourbon_ky

And I tend to call out the machismo bullshit too. The whole, I've got to have uncut, or they'll say some things like, don't add water to whiskey.

00:30:36

jeremybourbon_ky

This is bottled and bonded at 100 proof. Who in their right mind thinks this came out of the bottle ah or came out of the barrel 100 proof, right on the money? I mean, that's it.

00:30:44

Jez

magicians.

00:30:47

jeremybourbon_ky

It's like we just miraculously pulled this stuff at 100

00:30:52

Jez

and

00:30:53

jeremybourbon_ky

what did we add to

00:30:54

Jez

Low barrel entry proof. i don't know.

00:30:56

jeremybourbon_ky

Right. I mean, it's like we dialed it in, wait until it hits right at 100 proof. 100 points, 0, 0, 0, exactly 100 proof. Boom. We did it. Dump it. It's ready.

00:31:07

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah. No, we're adding water to it. And so I always tell them, look, if you are only drinking uncut, unfiltered whiskey, fine.

00:31:14

Jez

Hmm. Hmm.

00:31:15

jeremybourbon_ky

That's fine. Beat your chest all day long. But if you drink anything less, if you drink anything that's right at those 114 proofs, that 107,

00:31:26

jeremybourbon_ky

you've got water in it. At that point, it's just a matter of dialing into your taste.

00:31:27

Jez

ah

00:31:30

jeremybourbon_ky

And i like giving them permission to be able to do that. And, you know, it's it's really funny to start seeing that happen. And now all of a sudden it's like, wait, you watch it in their face as they go, I get to be part of this now too.

00:31:44

jeremybourbon_ky

And this was something for, I was here for somebody else and now I get to be part too. And i love that. I love doing that. um And that really, for me, is where I find my joy with this thing other than just celebrating the spirit.

00:32:00

jeremybourbon_ky

and really when you go back to with barstels and bourbon our tagline was Originally celebrating all things bourbon. And that really kind of set up the idea in our mind that we weren't going to shit on a bourbon, no matter how bad it was. Jep's the Creed.

00:32:15

jeremybourbon_ky

But um you can cut that. But

00:32:18

Jez

that

00:32:20

jeremybourbon_ky

We weren't going to shit on bourbons. um

00:32:23

Jez

ah

00:32:24

jeremybourbon_ky

Because even if we don't like them, and I think that things are seriously wrong with the way someone is producing something, we weren't going to shit on it. Because if I... No, I don't carry any weight whatsoever. what I am. i am one of But if if I cost somebody their job because of a podcast that I did...

00:32:49

jeremybourbon_ky

I don't think I can look at myself in the mirror over that. Um, will somebody enjoy it? Maybe. And if so, then that's their bourbon. You do that. Um, and that really became the whole emphasis for me is celebrate the bourbon, celebrate the spirit, celebrate the work that goes into it.

00:33:09

jeremybourbon_ky

Um, and push it in a positive light that way because you've been on tiktok you've been on instagram there was a wave there for a while where it was shitting on whiskey for clout and it didn't matter yeah i mean it still is i mean what is it will it pop still that is one of the favorite ones for people to shit on is it a great burger duet

00:33:22

Jez

It still is, though.

00:33:31

Jez

I'm not a fan, by the way. Ah, like, it's... Okay, so... Like, you take ah bourbon country out of it entirely for Australia, we get a limited amount of Willett here.

00:33:43

jeremybourbon_ky

Right.

00:33:47

Jez

um Very, very few bottles. So, like... For Will It Potsteel to carry around the same price as what your like family estate releases would carry, I'm like, it's not great for the amount of money we'd pay for it.

00:34:01

jeremybourbon_ky

right

00:34:06

Jez

But once again, it all comes down to... price palette however people make the decisions on whiskey um but i'm more curious on like not shitting on whiskey but more not enjoying something and then being vocal about it is there like a ah trade-off there because you don't have to say you enjoy everything like i i've said multiple times yeah yeah

00:34:28

jeremybourbon_ky

And I think there was...

00:34:33

jeremybourbon_ky

So I would use the scale. Mine was buy, borrow, pass. That was my scale. It was never a 10 out of 10. It's buy, borrow, pass. Will I buy it? You bet.

00:34:44

jeremybourbon_ky

Will I try it at a bar or recommend you try it at a bar first and then you buy it? If you like it, great. For me, the last one would be this is going to be a pass for me, but you can try it.

00:34:57

jeremybourbon_ky

So it wasn't just only doing reviews on stuff I liked, but I'm not going to shit on something intentionally. It could be, this just doesn't match where I'm at with things.

00:35:09

jeremybourbon_ky

And because it it was just, it's just so too easy to jump into the, this is a shit whiskey. And...

00:35:18

Jez

Oh, of course. You could do that all day, though. like There's so many releases, even from the mega brands, like um countless.

00:35:20

jeremybourbon_ky

right

00:35:26

Jez

um i I even had something like a single barrel pick that my friends did recently um from High West that I'm like, what is this? There's no way you could have said, let's bottle this and release it because I'm like, it tastes like watered down habanero.

00:35:45

jeremybourbon_ky

Right.

00:35:45

Jez

I'm like, why... I'm like, for me, no. And that's why, like, i early on, I adapted the the method of, what is it, sip, shoot, or sink. And it's like, you know, you're either going to shoot it like you would a F-worded whiskey that um that triggers Jeremy or a um you'd gently sip it like you would a good whiskey or you'd sink it like drain pour.

00:36:04

jeremybourbon_ky

yeah

00:36:09

Jez

Like, it's it's like, yeah, you might end up with it, but are you going to be finishing it or?

00:36:10

jeremybourbon_ky

right

00:36:14

jeremybourbon_ky

Well, I mean, I've got some that are like that as well. I've got one. um it was a barrel pick from Nulu.

00:36:23

Jez

Oh, can we talk about Nulu for a second? Because...

00:36:27

jeremybourbon_ky

Let's see.

00:36:27

Jez

ah

00:36:27

jeremybourbon_ky

Where is one there? I think it's up top. I've got it up. to I've got it up top for a reason because, well, it's not hidden for it's it's up out of view.

00:36:31

Jez

Yeah, you hide that.

00:36:36

jeremybourbon_ky

because That's why it's up top.

00:36:37

Jez

to

00:36:38

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah.

00:36:38

Jez

Yeah, I'd not tell people you have it either. It's...

00:36:41

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah, this one here, um it was called Campfire and for good reason. And I keep it.

00:36:47

Jez

Like High West or...

00:36:48

jeremybourbon_ky

No, no, it's a new. luke swear

00:36:51

Jez

No, no, like a um like reference to High West. So like their campfire was like um like a little bit smoky, a little bit...

00:37:00

jeremybourbon_ky

Yes, that's that's exactly what it was.

00:37:01

Jez

Yeah, okay, cool. Yeah.

00:37:03

jeremybourbon_ky

it It smelled and tasted like campfire, like day-old campfire.

00:37:07

Jez

Yeah.

00:37:07

jeremybourbon_ky

you know If you've ever been out camping, you put the thing out, you wake up the next morning, you gather around, you're about to get it ready to start up. The kind of damp, ashy, burnt, that type of smoke.

00:37:16

Jez

Yeah.

00:37:19

jeremybourbon_ky

Not fresh, nice oak from a nice rolling campfire, but that next morning, all over it.

00:37:26

Jez

Ooh.

00:37:27

jeremybourbon_ky

I keep it, not because I'm going to drink it on a regular basis, but because I want to show people the full range of what can happen and what kind of flavors can be out there in whiskey.

00:37:40

jeremybourbon_ky

That's why I keep it more of an of a lab type of a setup than anything.

00:37:45

Jez

Yeah. Did you find your selection of whiskeys? Cause majority of your bottles are open. Did you find yourself leaning more into that side of things where you'd have friends around and then like discovering their palates? Like ah essentially what I do is like get a couple of guys around from work and they're like, oh I'm curious about whiskey. I'm like, look, rather than going to a bar, come to my place and I'll pour you out five mils, taste it in a glass and we can work out your palate and go, you can just go hard.

00:38:11

Jez

on this one particular brand, one particular bottle you love rather than going to a bar going, I'm going to pay $20, $30 per like 15 mils or what is that? Half ounce.

00:38:23

Jez

And like just blow your cash trying to find something you like when you're blindly picking.

00:38:26

jeremybourbon_ky

right Because this is what's great about this. Everybody asks me, they'll they'll say ah they'll see a picture of it. I'll be showing somebody or whatever. And they'll go, what bar is that? And I'll say, it's mine. They go, no, no, no, what's the name?

00:38:38

jeremybourbon_ky

i said, it's in my basement.

00:38:38

Jez

Hmm.

00:38:41

Jez

Yeah.

00:38:41

jeremybourbon_ky

They're like, I don't know the name of that bar. and what but No, it's at my house.

00:38:47

Jez

You're not listening.

00:38:48

jeremybourbon_ky

And yeah, it's and it's just they're not registering.

00:38:48

Jez

Why are you not listening?

00:38:52

jeremybourbon_ky

and And that's one thing that I love to do is bring people in And showed them. I did it with my brother even. he came When he was first here, he was kind of hammering out some stuff and helping me build some things.

00:39:05

jeremybourbon_ky

I gifted him a Weller Antique for helping out He didn't really understand what it was about. So I kind of led him on a journey with it. That's where I really find myself these days.

00:39:17

jeremybourbon_ky

Not so much in the podcasting side of things, but I'm doing, ah outside of my distillery, doing it privately, um I'm doing whiskey tastings for people.

00:39:28

jeremybourbon_ky

and that's where I really have a lot of fun. Did a couple of groups last year and really said, you know what, I can have a lot of fun with this. And so then what I like to do is the person I'm asking in my kind of questionnaire when I go through is I talk to them and say, what type of things are you looking for with this?

00:39:36

Jez

Thank you.

00:39:46

jeremybourbon_ky

You know, is this just a patchwork? And, you know, you want hyper stuff and you want to go from there. Or do you want to go on a journey? What type of journey do you want to go on? You want to go on a bottled and bond journey? Do you want to go on a journey to find out and see how barrels age over time and how that reflects in whiskey?

00:40:07

jeremybourbon_ky

and those types of things. I truly, I get off on that. That is the best for me when I can lead somebody on a journey that way. And it's it's probably the most rewarding thing that I do these days is to be able to help a group of people go on a journey and watch light bulbs go off on their head, in their head, just as they begin to make connections.

00:40:31

jeremybourbon_ky

I mean, perfect example. And the only reason I'm going to use this example is because I know it really well. But

00:40:41

jeremybourbon_ky

So we'll just type like a vertical series. So Buffalo Trace has Benchmark is Mash Bill 1. Benchmark Small Batch is Mash Bill 1. um it's over four It's over four years because it's not age-dated, so we know it's there.

00:40:56

jeremybourbon_ky

90 proof. Buffalo Trace is Mash Bill 1, seven to eight years at 90 proof. And Eagle Rare is minimum 10 at 90 proof. ninety I can take the White Dog from Mashville One, we can start there, 125 proof with that.

00:41:11

jeremybourbon_ky

That's what goes into the barrel. Now, obviously we're gonna proof down when it comes out. But then we can go on a journey, and then I can go from Benchmark to Buffalo Trace to Eagle Rare and show them how that whiskey develops over time in the barrel.

00:41:24

jeremybourbon_ky

And all that they're changing is location and time in the warehouses. That's it. And that to watch that change and watch those light bulbs go off, I love that.

00:41:37

jeremybourbon_ky

That goes right back to my to my wanting to teach people and have people develop a deeper appreciation on this thing.

00:41:45

Jez

The Bourbon Guard, more like the Bourbon Educator. you Just like showing people on a little Bourbon journey here and guess discovering their palettes, working out what they love so they can go hard in the paint.

00:41:58

Jez

I love it.

Exploring Other Spirits

00:42:02

jeremybourbon_ky

Without a doubt. I mean, and that's that's really what I like. Now, that's what I get to do most of the time when I'm meeting with people. What I'm playing with now is I'm starting to explore different spirits, um just for me personally.

00:42:19

jeremybourbon_ky

um And we talked about this. We took a little trip up to, did you did you release your content on Neely Brothers yet?

00:42:25

Jez

ah Yeah, that dropped because that was what, day one?

Neely Brothers Distillery Story

00:42:28

Jez

Yeah, that is is out and about. um

00:42:31

jeremybourbon_ky

Okay, I didn't know if you were doing stills or anything else. I saw some of the videos and stuff on it. um

00:42:39

jeremybourbon_ky

Because we went to my place um where I work. We toured our place, went around there. And then i will ah you were like, where are going next? I'm like, we're going to to Neely Brothers. Neely who?

00:42:50

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah, that's right. Because it was it was a little it was a little bait and switch because it was like, I want to go to Neely Brothers because of the absence. But they have whiskey you might like. So let's go up there.

00:43:02

jeremybourbon_ky

and And we went up there and I remember, we gosh, it's such a contrast. Because working with major distilleries, going through their tours and everything else, they all run away from the controversial sides of their histories.

00:43:18

jeremybourbon_ky

Neely Brothers does not.

00:43:19

Jez

oh no they dive head first into it it's it's pretty much plastered on the walls um

00:43:25

jeremybourbon_ky

I mean, it was crazy. i remember sitting in that video watching it with you And we're just watching this video. It's just us. And because it's a small distillery.

00:43:37

jeremybourbon_ky

And three quarters of the video, normal, normal whiskey distillery stuff. Origin story stuff.

00:43:45

Jez

I can't wait to talk to Rose about this. I cannot wait.

00:43:48

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah. And then the next five minutes, there was like 15 fucking murders. i mean legitimate murders they are murdering people and the first one starts with here's my grandpa's browning 45 from the army he shot a guy in the back of the head with it it's like wait what it's like huh and and that's the first one and then there's this whole shootout where like a dozen people die or whatever it's crazy and then they cut the credits i remember you and i just went

00:44:08

Jez

but

00:44:26

jeremybourbon_ky

Did I see that? did I'm not the only one, right?

00:44:29

Jez

yes

00:44:31

jeremybourbon_ky

Ridiculous. They're talking about, here's my papa's gun. See these marks on the back, we're just in front of the trigger? Yeah, that's not from shooting turkeys. What?

00:44:41

jeremybourbon_ky

It just...

00:44:43

Jez

I couldn't believe it. I was like, how... Like, it it just blew my mind how... um how they didn't have a media team look over this and go, how will this be portrayed?

00:44:53

jeremybourbon_ky

Oh, a media team would have had stroke.

00:44:56

Jez

Yeah, that's, and like, you know, you've got the mega distilleries that are like, all right, we've got to get this clean cut. We've got to make sure it looks pretty for the entire market. These guys are like, nah, let's tell everyone about our ah ah family history and really just go head first into it.

00:45:09

jeremybourbon_ky

link Lean straight into it. Lean straight freaking into it.

00:45:15

Jez

And do you know what?

00:45:15

jeremybourbon_ky

and

00:45:15

Jez

that It's a palate c cleanser from the rest of the market.

00:45:16

jeremybourbon_ky

And I loved it. I mean, I fell in love with it. because i mean And that's exactly it. Know your market. Know your know your clientele.

00:45:23

Jez

Mmm. Mmm.

00:45:24

jeremybourbon_ky

I mean, they called their they call one of their whiskeys, the one that they're working was with, with Zycan, Hidden Barn. Come to find out, the Hidden Barn was where Papaw used to do his moonshining at. And it was like, oh!

00:45:38

jeremybourbon_ky

I mean, this moonshiner, he would sit, I mean, at like 90 plus years old, be sitting out on this old car, this bench seat from an old Packard or whatever, sitting out there with his wife, just chawing and shooting the shit with everybody and They'd hand him some money, and 20 minutes later, he'd say, you know what? I reckon I saw somebody hide something over behind that tree. You might go over there and take a look.

00:46:03

jeremybourbon_ky

And they'd go over grab a bottle of moonshine, and off they'd go. And it was like, all right.

00:46:09

Jez

That's, yeah, literally how they were doing it.

00:46:09

jeremybourbon_ky

it's like wait

00:46:13

Jez

I couldn't believe it.

00:46:15

jeremybourbon_ky

It was, I'm not making, am I making it up? I'm not making it

00:46:17

Jez

No, you're like complete. That's why I said I cannot wait to have Royce nearly on because it's just literally just going to ask him about it. So I'll i'll um make sure I tee you back up for when we have Royce on as well.

00:46:28

jeremybourbon_ky

ah because it was it And here comes Royce, and he's got an engineering degree from UK. He goes, hey, how about we make some money legally with this?

00:46:40

jeremybourbon_ky

And it's like, what? It's like nobody thought about doing that before Royce walks in. they're like, we're doing fine selling Pat Bowls Shine. And, i mean, their doubler, I mean, this was the thing i had didn't I had to check. Their doubler has a plate on it. It's called Old Brownie.

00:46:58

jeremybourbon_ky

That sounds fun. And do you see that the image that's on it is the cult 45. I'm like, okay, all right. Here we are at my distillery and so many others running from anything that appears controversial.

00:47:15

jeremybourbon_ky

I mean, hauling ass from anything that appears it. And they're just like, fuck it, all in. i'm like Let's go.

00:47:28

jeremybourbon_ky

it's our That sets the tone for everything that comes after on that tour. That was great. I love that. That's been my favorite one so far, and I've been to a lot. It's crazy.

00:47:38

Jez

It's once again, it's just nice to see that families are leaning into the history as opposed to just keeping it clean. Cause we all know what was happening back then. Like it's not like Australia doesn't come from a a troubled past, but like Nick Kelly and the Bush Rangers and like, they're pretty open about around here.

00:47:57

Jez

But it was like, when you you go to the U S it's like, no, we've got to keep this clean cut and make sure it's family friendly.

00:47:57

jeremybourbon_ky

right

00:48:03

Jez

It's like, why we're all grown adults. It's not, you sell this to kids.

00:48:06

jeremybourbon_ky

Right, so and and i'm gonna keep I'm gonna keep names out of this because i might get paid by some of them, but that's fine.

00:48:07

Jez

I don't,

00:48:13

jeremybourbon_ky

um You have these major whiskey distilleries here in the United States during Prohibition, and you can link to a Prohibition, what is Prohibition for anybody outside America?

00:48:24

jeremybourbon_ky

ah And for 13 years, there were six central warehouses in the United States where that had medicinal whiskey licenses. They weren't making whiskey.

00:48:35

jeremybourbon_ky

All the other distilleries had to send their whiskey to these central warehouses and all these whiskey companies were waiting to get paid as this stuff was sent out medicinally. For some reason, their stuff just never sold until their companies went bankrupt and they went out of business and the companies that were holding them went, huh, we got a lot more whiskey now.

00:48:59

jeremybourbon_ky

I guess we'll just sell it.

00:49:02

jeremybourbon_ky

Bro, I mean, that's some gangster level shit right there. I mean, you're just like, yeah, we'll take it.

00:49:06

Jez

Just big dogdom.

00:49:08

jeremybourbon_ky

We'll put it up here. boom boom Oh, you went out of business? I guess we'll just sell it.

00:49:13

Jez

Yeah. I guess we'll buy your company now.

00:49:15

jeremybourbon_ky

I mean, you think about the level of conniving that went into into those decisions.

00:49:16

Jez

Yeah. Hmm.

00:49:23

Jez

yeah

00:49:23

jeremybourbon_ky

And... All the guys are all in suits and ties and everything else. You're like, yeah, okay, I got you. And then you get guys like and MGP, midwest big Midwest Grain Spirits, now i don't know what they call themselves now.

00:49:37

Jez

Midwest grain products.

00:49:39

jeremybourbon_ky

they They just change names.

00:49:39

Jez

um Ross and Squibb.

00:49:42

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah, Squibb, something. i mean, what a terrible name. But anyway, so I don't work for them, but obviously.

00:49:45

Jez

Oh, yeah.

00:49:47

jeremybourbon_ky

But they do Remus.

00:49:48

Jez

Hmm.

00:49:51

jeremybourbon_ky

Well, Remus was literally a bootlegger. But they kind of hem-haw around it. But he was literally bootlegger. they I mean, he's got a body count, apparently.

00:50:02

jeremybourbon_ky

um legendarily. He's got a body count. ah And it's just like, okay. And that that brand for them, they release a couple of years, but they don't lean into that thing at all. And the the whole reason Indiana even becomes a thing when you're talking about whiskey distillation and and alcohol is because all the bourbon was being made in Kentucky and where do you have to go through to get to Chicago where all the gangsters were at?

00:50:30

jeremybourbon_ky

Indiana. And so they were on the way.

00:50:31

Jez

Yep. Hmm.

00:50:35

jeremybourbon_ky

And so these guys were bootlegging up through Indiana, up to Chicago, dealing with Al Capone and all the rest. And it just is is absolutely crazy to me. And yet, we just take our foot off the gas around so much of it. But it's such an amazing history to go back and look at.

00:50:55

jeremybourbon_ky

And to see Neely brothers and those guys, Neely family, they're just leaning into that thing. Just, just kiss. Absolutely love it.

00:51:02

Jez

Yeah, breath of fresh air. I'm all about it.

00:51:04

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah. Yeah, I am too. am too. So, but yeah, so I, I, I just finished off my, my, uh, wilderness trail. I'm going to, if you have any questions, you can ask me a question or whatever.

00:51:16

jeremybourbon_ky

I'm going to set this next one up. I'm going to, I'm going to pour out this Neely family.

00:51:18

Jez

no

00:51:21

jeremybourbon_ky

Uh, hold on. Neely's wormwood absence verte. Uh, golly, let me put my eyeballs on. Hold on, Jeremy. I'm getting old.

00:51:32

Jez

Oh, come off it.

00:51:34

jeremybourbon_ky

Super...

00:51:34

Jez

This guy.

00:51:34

jeremybourbon_ky

I don't know. There's some French word on this. Super...

00:51:37

Jez

We need translator.

00:51:40

jeremybourbon_ky

S-U-P-E-R-I-E-U-R. Something French.

Absinthe Exploration

00:51:43

jeremybourbon_ky

Something moonshine.

00:51:44

Jez

no

00:51:45

jeremybourbon_ky

Alright, so they make this absinthe out of moonshine. um So...

00:51:49

Jez

So take us through your journey into absinthe thing because as you you set up your glass of absinthe here, you got your your strainer, your sugar cube, pouring it into that cute little absinthe glass you got there.

00:52:02

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah, you got to do it right. So now I've always been um, like a black licorice fan.

00:52:03

Jez

Yeah, I'm all about it.

00:52:09

jeremybourbon_ky

Uh, my wife never, never, never, never never was. Um, she cannot stand it. So more for me. Um, I love the good and plenty that I don't know. Do you guys have those down there?

00:52:20

Jez

ah No, we do not, but...

00:52:23

jeremybourbon_ky

So good and plenty is basically black licorice with, um, yeah candy coat like a hard shell candy coating around it. And then um that's that's just all.

00:52:36

jeremybourbon_ky

They're like pink and pink, white, and purple and whatnot.

00:52:39

Jez

Oh, you were saying you get these from the Dollar General.

00:52:39

jeremybourbon_ky

and Yeah, that's exactly it.

00:52:42

Jez

Because we were talking about that...

00:52:42

jeremybourbon_ky

can it for like a dollar box because nobody likes it.

00:52:44

Jez

Yeah.

00:52:44

jeremybourbon_ky

So I'm all about

00:52:45

Jez

Yeah. Because you were like, oh, you've got to go to the Dollar General and grab yourself some. And I'm like, I can't think of anything worse. But...

00:52:52

jeremybourbon_ky

it. I mean, down here, Dollar General is like, that's like Macy's. Come on, man. and we're good it's not that It's not that bad. But um so I love.

00:53:03

Jez

Oh, no, I just don't like licorice that much. I'm like...

00:53:06

jeremybourbon_ky

Well, that's thing is I love licorice. when I started learning a little bit more about Absinthe, I started learning more about um that it is essentially black licorice flavor.

00:53:18

jeremybourbon_ky

And you see how that went from this color green to the pearlescence.

00:53:22

Jez

Yeah, it's just super cloudy.

00:53:25

jeremybourbon_ky

That's how you know it's done right. um And that's what you're really looking for. So typically it's like one part absinthe and then two parts water or so. And then all done by taste.

00:53:39

jeremybourbon_ky

So I was dabbling, just finding some different things. um I found one called Grunzfei. Hold on.

00:53:52

jeremybourbon_ky

This is a shit absinthe. it it is It is if you want to make a cocktail that tastes semi-absenty, that's the one you get. But you're not going to drink that like this. You're not going to do one of these pure absinthe cocktails.

00:54:07

jeremybourbon_ky

um And then a buddy of mine, Alan Bishop, he was over at Experience French Lake. He's over at... Old Homestead distilling now in Paoli, Indiana. It's southern Indiana.

00:54:19

jeremybourbon_ky

He calls it Hoosier-Occupied Northern Kentucky, which is a really funny joke if you know anything about Kentucky and Indiana. Probably doesn't translate to Australian, but that's all right.

00:54:32

jeremybourbon_ky

but um So he when he made this move, all all of a sudden he's starting to play around with abstinence. And so i I'm like, all right, I wanna know more about this stuff.

00:54:39

Jez

Mm-hmm.

00:54:42

jeremybourbon_ky

So I took my first sip of absinthe and I was like, that's black licorice and that is amazing. um My company sent me down to New Orleans to do some video work because you know I've got a decent resume of filming distilleries and so forth.

00:54:59

jeremybourbon_ky

And so they're like, hey, would you be willing to do this? And I'm like, you're gonna pay my way and pay my hotel and pay my food bill for me to go down and shoot some video, which I'd love to do anyways. Sure, when do I leave? um

00:55:09

Jez

Don't threaten me with a good turn.

00:55:11

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah, right. i mean, twist my arm. Hold on. Yeah, it's go to the negotiating tactic. No, no, no, no, no no please don't make me go. um And so I get down there, and I'm connected with one of the best guys. His name is Matt Ray.

00:55:26

jeremybourbon_ky

And he is a spirits. When you talk about spirits and cocktails, this guy is a god. Because his depth of knowledge across spirits as a whole and then cocktails as a whole, ugh.

00:55:40

jeremybourbon_ky

I mean, I hyper-focused into bourbon and whiskey. He has a library in his brain, and it's insane. um And so when I'm down there, I'm asking him, I'm like, right, I'm here right outside the French Quarter.

00:55:54

jeremybourbon_ky

What bars do I need to go to? He gives me a list. I hit every one of those on that list. Oh, my God. um Now, other than just the simple fact that New Orleans as a city has basically told the Atkins low-carb lifestyle to go fuck itself, um and yeah getting out of there with no carbs. there There's no vegan dinners down there. That's not happening.

00:56:18

jeremybourbon_ky

um You're going to have flour in something. You're going to have... i mean it it's It's going to be what it's going to be. So one of them was the old Absinthe House. And it's right on Bourbon Street, not up in the trashy part where they're just selling rum slushy drinks out of big, tall souvenir cups and all that garbage.

00:56:36

jeremybourbon_ky

Way farther down. I think historically they say they're the oldest bar in in New Orleans. And so I get down there and it is, i mean, it looks like it's out of the late 1700s. This thing looks like it's off a movie set.

00:56:50

jeremybourbon_ky

and It's so old. It looks like it's going to crumble into the ground. And I'm like, this is beautiful. And my wife's like, this is it. I'm like, yeah, this is great. So we we wait. It's evening. we go in.

00:57:02

jeremybourbon_ky

ah sit at the bar. And apparently I found that I have a type and it's got the,

00:57:07

Jez

oh

00:57:09

jeremybourbon_ky

tatted up goth bartender with black hair and they treat me rude and they burn absinthe in front of me. And so, yeah, it's a whole vibe.

00:57:18

Jez

Oh yeah, that's definitely a time.

00:57:22

jeremybourbon_ky

It really is. And my wife was like, you'd end up chained to a wall. And I'd be like, worth it.

00:57:26

Jez

yeah

00:57:27

jeremybourbon_ky

no Thousand percent.

00:57:28

Jez

Once again, don't threaten me with a good time. that's

00:57:31

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah, right. Worth every moment. um So I go in and I'm just like, look, I'm an idiot when it comes to absinthe. I'm very, very curious. I'm absinthe curious. there we go how about that

00:57:42

Jez

Yeah, I get it

00:57:43

jeremybourbon_ky

i'm ab curious fred minnicks tees off this one. um And so I said, tell me about Absinthe. What might I like? And she was kind. And she looked at me and she said, the butterfly is really good. And I'm like, the butterfly, we don't name whiskeys after butterflies. That does not happen.

00:58:01

jeremybourbon_ky

um And I'm like, right, fine. I'm going to take your recommendation because A, you're glorious. B, I'm along for the ride. And she sets this thing up in front of me and I taste it and it is literally liquid black licorice. And

00:58:19

jeremybourbon_ky

Absolutely delicious. So I have a great time. My wife's just sitting there going, when can we leave? I'm like, never. I'm moving in.

00:58:26

Jez

Circling back to the hostage situation.

00:58:27

jeremybourbon_ky

ah Yeah, back to the hostage situation. She is the hostage now. couple nights later, we go to a speakeasy bar called Tatlow down there.

00:58:39

jeremybourbon_ky

And when this place... If you've never been to New Orleans, most of the bars down in the French Quarter have a vibe. And they lean into the vibe, hardcore.

00:58:50

jeremybourbon_ky

And this speakeasy bar named Tatlow is like a cult, voodoo, all that kind of stuff. So if you have spiritual sensibilities, don't go um If you don't, you're like me and you're planning on going to hell and enjoying all the looks on the people's faces who get to join you and didn't think they were.

00:59:07

jeremybourbon_ky

I mean, feel free.

00:59:07

Jez

Oh yeah.

00:59:09

jeremybourbon_ky

You're going to have a good time. That's my favorite part. um So we go in there and it's it is. It's all voodoo, a cult, and everything else is very cool. And they have the old Absinthe drips.

00:59:20

jeremybourbon_ky

These things are 200 years old. there You can run your fingers across them and feel where the water, of the water dripping from these, water dripping has eroded the the bases on these things.

00:59:23

Jez

It's mental.

00:59:34

jeremybourbon_ky

Just crazy. And so I go on, take an Absinthe flight down there, absolutely fall in love. And I'm like, this is this is where I'm at. The food is... Ridiculously good.

00:59:45

jeremybourbon_ky

That's where my wife had a good time. Not that she say she eats a lot because it was small portions, but it was amazing. She loved it. I loved it too.

00:59:51

Jez

Well, the food down there is incredible. Yeah.

00:59:55

jeremybourbon_ky

I mean, if you I think everybody in New Orleans, after you live there, you have to have a food blog.

01:00:00

Jez

yeah

01:00:00

jeremybourbon_ky

I love. I mean, it's it's absolutely ridiculous.

01:00:06

jeremybourbon_ky

up

01:00:09

jeremybourbon_ky

So then I come back, and then I start i start researching some more. That's when I got connected to the Neely family, find out what they're doing up there. But I knew Alan Bishop, so now we're full circle.

01:00:22

jeremybourbon_ky

So I knew Alan Bishop over in southern Indiana was doing absinthe over there, and he was playing around with some things. and And I've been asking him a lot of stuff. He's been kind of like my guide on these types of things. So I go over there.

01:00:35

jeremybourbon_ky

um It was what? Oh, well, it was about a month ago. We had a significant flooding event here in Kentucky about a month ago. um And I was out of work for a couple days. So you can put things together.

01:00:50

jeremybourbon_ky

Anyway, um if so on one of my days off, um I was like, you know what? I'm sitting around. I'm bored. I'm going to go to Southern Indiana. And drove over. And it's only like two and a half hours for me.

01:01:01

jeremybourbon_ky

drove over and I sat down with Alan and we went through about three or four of his new absences that he's doing and oh my god I mean he's got this guy anyways he When he was over with spirits of French Lick he would name all of his spirits after one of the Whiskey personalities in that area at the time from William Dalton to Matty Gladden, Delise Sinclair all that kind of stuff He's very spiritual in like astrology and all this kind of stuff.

01:01:33

jeremybourbon_ky

I'm not that. But he was doing all this kind of stuff. And I'm less like, that's a cool ride you're on. I'm going sit over here. um Just drink your spirits and that's fine.

01:01:45

jeremybourbon_ky

And so when he starts talking about how he's really leaning into absinthe. Because he was over at Copper and Kings when they did an absinthe. finished bourbon and I tried um what was it Peerless does one as well but they only release it every once in a while and so I really started getting interested in it and then he started playing over there and we sat down for like an hour and a half and we were just going over all those absents and it's incredible I mean it's just got this green milky kind of pearl color to it it just he could get in there and do what

01:02:00

Jez

um

01:02:19

Jez

You describing that doesn't sound appealing. I said you describing that doesn't sound appealing, but like being able to taste that absinthe, like once you add water, we didn't add sugar to it from when we were at nearly, but like once again, it's just watching that color change and,

01:02:39

Jez

trying someone's like, okay, I can see what all the hype's about. yeah I pulled up a bottle of this absinthe had sitting at the bar. I probably had it for, don't know, seven years and I noticed it. It smells absolutely atrocious.

01:02:50

Jez

Reminds me why I don't like absinthe.

01:02:54

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah, and if you don't like black licorice or star anise, you're going to hate most absents because...

01:02:59

Jez

Oh, every absinthe except the one from Neely. Like after having that, I'm like, okay, i that's what's up.

01:03:07

jeremybourbon_ky

It is really crazy. I mean, and here's the thing, in the United States, we banned it for almost 100 Well, for, yeah, for 13.

01:03:14

Jez

Well, you burned bourbon for, what's it, 13 years, so.

01:03:18

jeremybourbon_ky

well for yeah for thirteen But, um so this stuff here proof. So,

01:03:24

Jez

Hmm.

01:03:25

jeremybourbon_ky

out um but typically absence were one thirty one forty i think the blin de green fa is is Man, don't get old. Let me tell you.

01:03:37

jeremybourbon_ky

I had perfect eyesight until I turned 35.

01:03:37

Jez

Time.

01:03:40

jeremybourbon_ky

is 130 proof.

01:03:44

jeremybourbon_ky

This is essentially black licorice flavored Everclear. If you ever... i mean...

01:03:48

Jez

Beautiful.

01:03:50

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah. Okay. So... Everybody was like, oh, it's the wormwood. It's hallucinogenic. it's It's all this kind of stuff and everything else.

01:04:00

jeremybourbon_ky

No, it's 130 proof. You're getting rocked off your socks.

01:04:02

Jez

Yeah. Absolutely.

01:04:06

jeremybourbon_ky

And then they're all like, you know, bubble blah, blah, blah. It's hallucinogenic. And then the whiskey industry was like, hey, wait. Absinthe is really becoming popular. They're eating into our market supply our market control. How about we work with these people that are saying it's of the occult and the leucigenic and we get this stuff banned?

01:04:21

jeremybourbon_ky

And that's exactly what happened. The whiskey industry got in, threw their weight behind it, got it banned. Then you end up with HerbSaint. which comes out, which is essentially absinthe minus the wormwood.

01:04:35

jeremybourbon_ky

And it's the same thing. And now one can one company in particular owns it and produces it and puts it in the, wait for it, the Sazerac cocktail. So we'll just bring that full circle all the way around.

01:04:45

Jez

ah

01:04:48

jeremybourbon_ky

But the only the only ingredient it's missing is wormwood.

01:04:52

Jez

Right. So Wormwood's the one they have the issue with. Yeah.

01:04:56

jeremybourbon_ky

right But this has wormwood in it because it's not hallucinogenic.

01:04:58

Jez

yeah

01:04:59

jeremybourbon_ky

It was 140 proof. it and oh So I need to recommend you to you and and your if anybody's still even listening to us at this point. um

01:05:09

Jez

and Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Of course they will. it's It's you.

01:05:12

jeremybourbon_ky

No, of course, of course.

01:05:13

Jez

that's Of course, of course.

01:05:14

jeremybourbon_ky

ah yeah You're doing me a favor by flattering. um There is a book, and it is called it's called Drunk. You can probably look it up quicker than I can because I'm talking to my phone.

01:05:22

Jez

Mm.

01:05:27

jeremybourbon_ky

um It's called Drunk, and he he traces, this is how much of a nerd I am.

Alcohol in Society and Policy

01:05:31

jeremybourbon_ky

He traces the history of um alcohol in society from, like, the origins.

01:05:39

jeremybourbon_ky

I mean, we're going back Mesopotamians. I mean, it just seems.

01:05:41

Jez

By Edward Slingerland, Drunk, How We Sipped, Danced, and Stumbled Our Way to Civilization.

01:05:45

jeremybourbon_ky

That probably sounds correct.

01:05:49

jeremybourbon_ky

That's it. That's the one. Great book. He's a professor. So it is on that level. So you're talking undergrad level reading material there.

01:05:59

Jez

It's $45 on Amazon. ah What is that?

01:06:02

jeremybourbon_ky

It is incredible. It's on audio version as well. I highly recommend. If you want to learn, oh God, it is it is beautiful.

01:06:07

Jez

Yes, it is.

01:06:09

jeremybourbon_ky

It is a great, I love it. i'm doing I'll probably add it to my annual listening list. But he talks about how in Europe when they were burning witches, because everybody's like, oh, witches, witches, witches.

01:06:21

jeremybourbon_ky

They were just distilling essential oils with alcohols and stuff like that. That's what they, they were taking the roots, these medicinal roots, and they had the ability to distill.

01:06:33

jeremybourbon_ky

People didn't know it. They didn't know what was going on. All they knew was there was this really powerful, pretty awful tasting stuff that came out on the other side, which for all intents and purposes, yes.

01:06:44

jeremybourbon_ky

I mean, you get 140 proof alcohol and you distill some roots and stuff in it, it's probably gonna taste like armpits and that's fine.

01:06:51

Jez

Yum.

01:06:51

jeremybourbon_ky

And all the all of a sudden they're like, wow.

01:06:51

Jez

yum

01:06:54

jeremybourbon_ky

how did the you know The wife comes home and she figures out that, wait, the maid's pregnant. And she accuses the husband and he says, no, no, no. It was the witch. She gave me a potion and ah and that's why she got pregnant.

01:07:08

jeremybourbon_ky

No, you got drunk and screwed the maid. That's why she's pregnant and you burned her for it. Stop. That was the whole thing. And when you start putting that stuff together, it's like,

01:07:20

jeremybourbon_ky

Wait, it all makes sense now that they were the first ones.

01:07:22

Jez

Allegedly.

01:07:23

jeremybourbon_ky

These women were the first ones to stealing over in Europe. And it was us who caught on later and then basically took it away from them. And now it's this whole man's dominated thing.

01:07:31

Jez

Allegedly.

01:07:33

jeremybourbon_ky

So great read. Absolutely great read. Highly recommend. um But that's when you talk about absence, that's what happened with it. is there was all these accusations that were flying around.

01:07:46

jeremybourbon_ky

And then you had industry lean into it because they're like, look, we want market share. And they got this thing banned for like 100 years. And it only was unbanned. Unbanned? Is that even a word? I don't even know.

01:07:58

jeremybourbon_ky

um They only removed the ban.

01:07:59

Jez

Yeah, well, yeah.

01:08:01

jeremybourbon_ky

They only removed the ban about 10 years ago on Wormwood and this stuff. 10 years.

01:08:05

Jez

Right.

01:08:06

jeremybourbon_ky

Then we're talking 2015. Just

01:08:09

jeremybourbon_ky

just crazy

01:08:10

Jez

That's, well, I guess Jack Daniels only, like, I'd say ah around the same time started letting people taste Osro Bio Whiskey at the distillery.

01:08:11

jeremybourbon_ky

so

01:08:20

jeremybourbon_ky

thank you

01:08:20

Jez

So is it really that backwards?

01:08:24

jeremybourbon_ky

it's I mean, it what do you mean? Is it really that backwards? um What's does the question?

01:08:29

Jez

So like ah like in 2015, they started, um like they made, ah I guess, Wormwood not ah essentially unbanned, if you will.

01:08:43

jeremybourbon_ky

right

01:08:44

Jez

um And then like around the same time, Jack Daniels ah started allowing retail sales at the distillery through their bottle shop. coming off the back of prohibition because it is still a dry county. So is Wormwood being like unbanned, if you will, um that backwards? I'm like, the country still seems just as backwards. So I'm like, it kind of tracks.

01:09:06

jeremybourbon_ky

It is. We have a very difficult relationship with alcohol in the United States, um to say the least.

01:09:12

Jez

You're telling me.

01:09:14

jeremybourbon_ky

And, I mean, we're still, i mean, like you said, Lynchburg, Tennessee is in a dry county. They produce more bourbon, and I don't want to hear any of the a haters say otherwise, because I'll wrestle do you to the mat on it. There are very few arguments I'll take you to the mattresses on, that's one them. It's bourbon. I don't care.

01:09:32

jeremybourbon_ky

The Lincoln County process or not, it's bourbon. um But theyre they create more bourbon, more whiskey than any one single place in a dry county. And it's 2025.

01:09:44

jeremybourbon_ky

And they can't even sell it in a liquor in a store a half mile from the distillery. And so when we talk about the relationship that we've had in the United States with alcohol, it's been...

01:09:58

jeremybourbon_ky

ah One massive headache after another. And it all goes back, I mean, you really end up with a lot of our puritanical roots and all that kind of stuff that really goes back into it and plays a whole lot. And it just gets crazy. But at least we're not burning witches anymore. Master Distillers. Harlan would really object to that.

01:10:16

Jez

You want to talk about things that are backwards though. Uh, you probably can't see it cause you got your camera turned around, but I have a bottle of benchmark that is 37% and it is still tagged as bourbon.

01:10:29

Jez

That exactly. So hence why shit is backwards.

01:10:29

jeremybourbon_ky

Because they cause they they prove it down when they get to you.

01:10:33

jeremybourbon_ky

Yep.

01:10:37

Jez

It's like the fact that they can still call this bourbon.

01:10:37

jeremybourbon_ky

Yep.

01:10:39

Jez

And I was, uh, One of the guys that works at Olcada. I was having a very funny discussion with him, Booth.

01:10:54

Jez

He was talking about how it can't be called bourbon. Like, you know, once it reaches that ABV and I'm like, if they're shipping it out of 40% 80 proof and then proofing it down when they get over here, your bourbon rules don't count.

01:11:07

Jez

They can do whatever they want to it.

01:11:08

jeremybourbon_ky

Over there.

01:11:09

Jez

Yeah. Like once it it leaves United States.

01:11:11

jeremybourbon_ky

That's what is it is.

01:11:12

Jez

Yeah.

Bourbon's Historical Journey

01:11:13

Jez

So it's like.

01:11:13

jeremybourbon_ky

it's

01:11:13

Jez

Yeah.

01:11:14

jeremybourbon_ky

It's why during Prohibition we had Mexican bourbon show up. Because it wasn't even until the 1960s that we even decided to say, hey, we're going to protect the brand that is bourbon.

01:11:27

jeremybourbon_ky

And actually codify some rules around it. Up until then, it was just a ah style of spirit of whiskey that came from central Kentucky. That was it.

01:11:37

jeremybourbon_ky

And and the only reason that we even know of this, when we we get it I you're pulling on some of my strings today. The only reason we even know that bourbon is bourbon outside of central Kentucky is because we have two major rivers that flow to the Ohio River.

01:11:53

jeremybourbon_ky

And that we have the Kentucky River and you've got, what is it, the Salt River that flows from basically Bardstown, Elizabethtown. And if you're ever trying to look at where bourbon is made in Kentucky, let me tell you, it's on both of those two rivers and the one city where they both join.

01:12:10

jeremybourbon_ky

um So you've got Frankfurt and that whole string. You've got Bardstown up through there and you've got Louisville.

01:12:15

Jez

yeah

01:12:17

jeremybourbon_ky

When you talk about the triangle that is bourbon,

01:12:20

Jez

That's the hub.

01:12:21

jeremybourbon_ky

That's the triangle. That's the whole triangle. The only reason that you know bourbon outside of Kentucky is because of those rivers, and it was able to ship out to St. Louis and New Orleans and then out to the world, all because of the rivers. Otherwise, it would be about as popular as apple brandy from southern Indiana.

01:12:38

jeremybourbon_ky

And that would be it because there was no rivers for them to be able to get it out. And it would just be this localized regional style of whiskey that would be a footnote in some guy's Scotch whiskey or worlds of whiskey biography or whatever.

01:12:51

Jez

The old, yeah, Jim Murray, whiskey Bible.

01:12:55

jeremybourbon_ky

who It would just be a footnote somewhere. you But because of those two rivers, you guys get it in Australia. That's, yeah, I told you I was a nerd.

Unique Whiskey Experiences

01:13:10

Jez

And for that, we are grateful. But look, we I've used up enough of your time this, ah I'd say this morning, but for you this afternoon. Did you want to fire through a couple of questions with me around this little podcast out?

01:13:26

jeremybourbon_ky

Sure, yeah, what do you got?

01:13:27

Jez

All right. where's What is the weirdest place you've ever tried whiskey?

01:13:31

jeremybourbon_ky

In my butt.

01:13:38

Jez

Did you have a perfect proof for your bourbon?

01:13:39

jeremybourbon_ky

that That's such a bad joke.

01:13:41

Jez

um No, i'm I'm not even going to I'm going leave it there. I'm done.

01:13:46

jeremybourbon_ky

No, um the weirdest place I've ever tried whiskey. um Golly, it just...

01:13:53

Jez

Yeah, butt chug, we'll leave it.

01:13:55

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah, butt chug. Yeah, I don't think I've ever done a butt chug of whiskey. That would hurt. That would probably...

01:14:00

Jez

You can use your 37% benchmark if you don't want.

01:14:00

jeremybourbon_ky

but yeah that's good Yeah, that you could get away with. Anything else probably put you in the hospital.

01:14:06

Jez

It's going sting. Yeah.

01:14:08

jeremybourbon_ky

um

01:14:09

Jez

I've got some hazmat baby stag.

01:14:10

jeremybourbon_ky

I'm i'm very standarded when it comes um'm pretty standard when it comes to my whiskey drinking. I'm i'm kind of a homebody. I like i like my um my locations.

01:14:16

Jez

Hmm.

01:14:23

jeremybourbon_ky

I kind of cater because when I'm sipping whiskey, um there's a reason I'm sipping it. I don't drink it like just to have it in a glass.

01:14:27

Jez

Hmm.

01:14:30

jeremybourbon_ky

um So for me, and so I'll answer the question this way. The place where i ideally choose to drink whiskey is around my campfire, cigar in hand. Listening to his name is Tyler Childers. He's an Eastern Kentucky kind of bluegrass country. singer Nashville sound. You can find them on iTunes, anywhere else.

01:14:49

jeremybourbon_ky

You play that, you light a cigar in my hand, put me beside my fire pit, pours me some whiskey. I'll philosophize with you all night long. That is, that is my vibe right there.

01:14:58

Jez

I am all about it.

01:14:59

jeremybourbon_ky

107.

01:15:00

Jez

I'll have to get you back on so we can talk about cigars though, because you might be able to educate some people. um But yeah, what is your perfect proof for whiskey? 107.

01:15:08

jeremybourbon_ky

but of that

01:15:09

Jez

one i seven Okay. Okay.

01:15:11

jeremybourbon_ky

107. I kid you not. I know a lot of people love the bottle and bond stuff. I think some of the regulations about bottle and bond these days are kind of irrelevant. Um, So but the distilling season thing doesn't matter anymore.

01:15:25

jeremybourbon_ky

um These distilleries have stocks that are so big that a spring season for them could be, I mean, there are distilleries that are filling 2000 barrels a day. That's a half million gallons of barrel a half million gallons of whiskey a week.

01:15:39

jeremybourbon_ky

How much of that can you do in six months?

01:15:41

Jez

yeah

01:15:42

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah, so to do a bottled and bond out of that, that what What is it? That doesn't mean anything. um it's ah Most of them are over four years anyways. So um like E.H. Taylor, seven years old, so or six, seven years old. So fine.

01:15:58

jeremybourbon_ky

So that's that pours out. You already know where it's at, where they're delivered at or where they're distilled at anyways. So that's that's all. Some of it's just very redundant. The only thing that you can really taste in a bottled and bond is the 100 proof.

01:16:13

jeremybourbon_ky

That's it.

01:16:14

Jez

Mm-hmm.

01:16:14

jeremybourbon_ky

And that's the only big factor. The rest of it is all flex. um So not a big Bottled and Bond fan guy. 107 for me across the board with bourbon tends to be the perfect proof.

01:16:26

jeremybourbon_ky

um You get the mouthfeel. You get the concentration of flavors. You are also getting away from a lot of the... the heavy alcohol proof that tends to push people away.

01:16:39

jeremybourbon_ky

You get very rare occurrences where, like I've got a bottle of Blanton straight from the barrel, we tasted this one, it's at 122.4.

01:16:45

Jez

It's gorgeous.

01:16:47

jeremybourbon_ky

What did it drink? Maybe like a 105?

01:16:49

Jez

It

01:16:49

jeremybourbon_ky

I mean, that was that that's a stupid easy drink. But, oh, it just was, it absolutely was beautiful.

01:16:53

Jez

drinks like a gold, yeah.

01:16:57

jeremybourbon_ky

and But it was 122.4, but those are rare. Typically for those 130s and everything, drink like I mean, you just got to take a moment with them. Once 107 for me tends to be that golden standard across the board. Yeah.

01:17:11

Jez

Well, I feel like I know your answer to the next question, but you've landed yourself in a whiskey apocalypse and all the bottles have disappeared but one.

01:17:18

jeremybourbon_ky

Well,

01:17:18

Jez

What is that dram you'd start the cult around?

01:17:22

jeremybourbon_ky

where am I at? Where am I? Where'd I go? Here we go. For now, my whis my whiskey cult is going to be my Wilderness Trail eight-year weed.

01:17:31

Jez

I actually had a feeling you'd say well at 107, but it is hilarious that you...

01:17:32

jeremybourbon_ky

Okay.

01:17:34

jeremybourbon_ky

You know, that is, it is a very sentimental favorite, but I'm telling you what, this this tops it in that. um I love World of Australia 8-Year. I think this is some of the best stuff that they've produced.

01:17:50

jeremybourbon_ky

I'm waiting for their 10. They did a single barrel last year at $250. Love you, Pat, no. So, yeah, like, can get no um but so so

01:17:59

Jez

it's campari pricing what can you what can you say

01:18:01

jeremybourbon_ky

yeah it was like like o can i get a Can a podcaster get ah get a freebie? No, apparently not.

01:18:08

Jez

no no love

01:18:09

jeremybourbon_ky

No, no, it was what it was. And that's fine, too, because they were doing it for charity. um But the eight-year week is perfect. It's bottled in bond. I would form a cult around Wilderness Trail.

01:18:21

Jez

Let's fucking go. Last two for you. are What is the you're your most highly rated and currently undervalued whiskey on the market at the moment?

01:18:31

jeremybourbon_ky

Oh, undervalued whiskey highly rated undervalued all right that's two questions

01:18:38

Jez

Highly rated for you and undervalued by the current market.

01:18:45

jeremybourbon_ky

so lack of oh okay easy easy easy you said whiskey not bourbon right that was the question

01:18:45

Jez

You had zero prep for these questions too, so i am all about it.

01:18:54

Jez

Yeah, whiskey. it it can go yeah It can go anyway because you know you enjoy whiskey. I've got all different kinds of consumers on here.

01:19:04

Jez

Oh, okay. I see what you're doing here.

01:19:08

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah, the JT Mellon.

01:19:08

Jez

You're grabbing a couple of bottles. Okay.

01:19:11

jeremybourbon_ky

Yeah, so that's good enough. The JT Mellon.

01:19:12

Jez

Rapid fire. What's the... Yeah, run us through

01:19:15

jeremybourbon_ky

These are the six years. And I don't want to take more of your time than i already have. But these guys are out of Branch, Louisiana.

01:19:20

Jez

No, you're fine.

01:19:23

jeremybourbon_ky

He actually even signed my wall right over there. um

01:19:26

Jez

I didn't autograph your wall while I was there. I should have done that.

01:19:28

jeremybourbon_ky

Oh, no, we should have had you do that. completely forgot. We were pretty deep into it that night, though.

01:19:32

Jez

Yeah, we were hitting it hard.

01:19:32

jeremybourbon_ky

But anyway. um So this is their six year wheat. um No, no, six this is their six year.

01:19:37

Jez

Hmm.

01:19:39

jeremybourbon_ky

All right. And I need to preface this because when I introduce this to people, I do it very specifically. I make them try it blind every single time without without regard.

01:19:53

jeremybourbon_ky

You knew about it anyways, so I didn't make you try it blind.

01:19:55

Jez

Hmm.

01:19:57

jeremybourbon_ky

But when I have people try this, I always have them try it blind. There was the other blue one that I was looking for.

01:20:04

jeremybourbon_ky

for a very specific reason. Because when I say what this is made out of, people have preconceptions about it.

01:20:12

Jez

Oh.

01:20:12

jeremybourbon_ky

And they go off on tangents. Because when I tell you that this is 100% rice whiskey, immediately people go, oh, I don't like sake.

01:20:19

Jez

oh

01:20:21

jeremybourbon_ky

Shut the fuck up listen to what I'm saying. Rice whiskey is a rice, or sake is a rice wine. Forget all that. And then they'll go, oh, well, i've had Japanese whiskey. Stop it.

01:20:33

jeremybourbon_ky

It's not that either. Japanese whiskey tends to be a lot more along the lines of what Scotch is doing rather than what this is. This is 100% rice whiskey, American rice whiskey out of Branch, Louisiana.

01:20:47

jeremybourbon_ky

He uses 100% of his rice. His mash bill is 100% rice. He's got a nine-day fermentation cycle on this thing. Nine days.

01:20:56

Jez

wow it's huge it's like three to six for you guys

01:20:57

jeremybourbon_ky

That is stupid. Because, I mean, it's... Three. I mean, three. Three right now is what we're working with. um We always say three to five because if a fermenter gets left over the weekend or whatever. Anyway, it's three.

01:21:12

jeremybourbon_ky

um It's three days on a ferment.

01:21:13

Jez

looks like jeremy's dropped out there for a second see if we jump back in

01:21:14

jeremybourbon_ky

Nine days because he's not adding enzymes. He's not adding barley, which releases the enzyme.