The Scotchy Bourbon Boys
The Scotchy Bourbon Boys love Whiskey and every thing about the industry! Martin "Super Nash", Jeff "Tiny", Rachel "Roxy" Karl "Whisky" and Chris "CT" all make up The Scotchy Bourbon Boys! Join us in talking everything and anything Whiskey, with the innovators, and distillers around the globe. Go behind the scenes of making great whiskey and learn how some of the best in the whiskey industry make their product! Remember good whiskey means great friends and good times! Go out and Live Your Life Dangerously!
The Scotchy Bourbon Boys
Tales from A Distillery: A Whiskey Journey at Neely Family Distillery
There's something magical about the clink of glasses at a distillery, where stories flow as freely as the whiskey being savored. That's exactly where we found ourselves at Neely Family Distillery, spinning tales of barrel selections gone hilariously awry and the kind of camaraderie that can only be forged over shared pours. Join us for a riotous recount of our adventures through varying ages of bourbon, the heart and soul poured into every bottle, and the flavors that hark back to the innocence of childhood with every sip.
Whiskey isn't just a spirit; it's a living timeline where every year in the barrel brings a new chapter of depth and character. We navigated the intricate dance of aging, where a two-year bourbon shows youthful zest, and a decade-aged dram reveals profound complexity. The rollercoaster of whiskey maturation, akin to the ebb and flow of long-term relationships, unveiled itself through our rich conversations, highlighting the peculiarities of rye, the boldness of Bloody Butcher corn, and recalling the distinct memory of blood oranges that defied our taste expectations.
As we wrapped up our session, filled with the warmth that only fine spirits and good company can provide, we took a moment to appreciate the small-scale distilleries that bring such innovations and joys to our glasses. We reflected on the communal spirit that lifts these local artisans and the teamwork reminiscent of the great Chicago Bulls. So, settle in with your favorite dram and get ready for some hearty laughs and intriguing insights from our time spent with the passionate souls at the Neely Family Distillery.
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What's up? Scotchy Bourbon Boys fans, this is Alan Bishop of. If you have Ghosts, you have Everything. You may know me better as Indiana's Alchemist of the Black Forest, but if you're at all interested in the Fortean high strangeness, the paranormal and the unexplained, then you should tune into my new podcast. If you have Ghosts, you have Everything available now, wherever you get your podcasts, including Spotify, google Podcasts and Amazon Drinking burning, sipping on some scotch.
Speaker 2:We did a little while, but it sure was fun to watch. We love what we do.
Speaker 3:We're drinking every fruit and it's all some super, but we're telling the truth. Yeah, we're the Scotch and Berlin boys. We'll be right back. Yeah, alright, alright.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, yeah. We're Welcome back to another podcast of the Scotchie Bourbon Boys. Tiny here with Rebecca and Royce hey Beck.
Speaker 1:Royce and.
Speaker 2:Rebecca Neely, I'll get this right Eventually. It's been a long two days it has but I'm so glad to be here.
Speaker 1:I love what you did with the beard.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah and then, we also have whiskey, so if you've been following us across Kentucky.
Speaker 2:We started off at full strength and we lost two last night and then we lost one this morning. So it's attrition, but we're here and this is one of our favorite places.
Speaker 3:Jeff, life is a marathon, it's not a sprint.
Speaker 2:And only so many people can run that marathon.
Speaker 1:That's true, we're right here.
Speaker 3:Now.
Speaker 2:I will tell you that Whiskey would have dropped off also, but he's just I dropped off in the car out there. Yeah, he was the only reason why he's here is he's along for the ride.
Speaker 3:He didn't have a choice. Yeah, I mean, it was only an hour drive closer. I turned on the Kentucky Speedway.
Speaker 2:I look over and he just fell asleep and the whole time I'm like, dude, it's 30 seconds, wake up, it's just like. But he rose to the occasion.
Speaker 1:We're happy you're here.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, I'm happy to be here, and so is Tiny, Of course, even if he doesn't say so.
Speaker 2:So this is the first time that I've had both of you on live, so that's really kind of cool. You did the one podcast where we did the together one from the. You guys were here and we're actually home.
Speaker 4:I think you did it from home. We haven't done a live one together, but we've done one together where he tasted through a lot of products and you got trashed. I got one.
Speaker 2:I did a lot of them at Urban on the Bank. You've trashed me a bunch of times, you know honestly, rebecca, that describes about 75% of the podcasts. Yeah, oh, I'm aware. Well, when I'm home, yeah, I'm fine with getting trashed, when all I got to do is walk upstairs and, at least, if it goes long enough, roxy's asleep and Roxy's asleep, and then I don't have to worry. Otherwise, I have to actually go upstairs and not be slurring any words, usually on a Tuesday or Thursday night, that's the only rule that checks out so he just doesn't talk, do you?
Speaker 2:have those same rules for Roy he has those for me he always looks at me and goes are you drunk?
Speaker 4:I'm like absolutely I'm not drunk. Just so you know, anytime someone asks you if you're drunk.
Speaker 3:He always looks at me and goes are you drunk? I'm like absolutely, I'm not drunk. Just so you know, anytime someone asks you if you're drunk, if you start the sentence with absolutely, you're just already drunk, you're absolutely drunk.
Speaker 2:It's almost not fair when you're running a whiskey podcast to try, especially on weeknights, you can't stay sober. Now that we're in in the three eighties you know 380, I actually can not drink on a few of them because it's just gotten to the point where you know it's a problem.
Speaker 3:It's not an intervention. It's okay.
Speaker 2:No, it's not a problem, it's just kind of like on a Tuesday.
Speaker 3:You can be honest, Jeff. You're on step four.
Speaker 2:I look for that podcast that doesn't involve whiskey.
Speaker 1:We're a whiskey podcast Jeff.
Speaker 2:No, it involves the business. I could talk about your family, that kind of thing. That doesn't mean I have to be drinking it.
Speaker 3:You talk about my family. We're going to fight.
Speaker 2:I'm not talking about your family, but anyways, that's kind of the fun part about it. But we're here at the Newly Family Distillery. You guys have done such a good job. If anybody hasn't been here, they're right off of 71. If you're coming up from the north Cincinnati, Ohio, Covington, you're headed down into Bardstown or Frankfurt. It's right off. It's the greatest stop in the world.
Speaker 4:And we're the easiest stop, really, yeah, if you're going down to Bourbon Country or you're going up to Cincinnati, I mean, either way we're right here.
Speaker 2:But you're also a destination stop. Absolutely you should be. It's like come down just for Neely because the experience is great. I mean, you've got the tour is awesome, the tasting is awesome, the whole. You know you're in a compact situation so you can get the distillation aspect of it, you can get the gift shop, you've got the tasting bar, you know, and then the whole history of your family is just fantastic.
Speaker 3:You even have a couple of tables in the back of Rick's house. That's true. You know that seems like a picnic right in the avenue, oh yeah.
Speaker 5:That's our barrel picking area that we're doing now yes, it is. What better place to pick one at? It's in the barrel room In the rickhouse, right in the rickhouse.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and Rebecca does such a great job with the barrel selections. Right, yeah, I going you've got to be maxing out on your barrels of what you do for each year. It's got to be close because I hear about people picking the barrels now.
Speaker 1:We picked one in.
Speaker 2:Also, some of the people that are our fans talk about how great it is to come down here, but as far as a tasting experience, it's so, it's so unique and it's so much fun. It's fun your employees. They're very knowledgeable. It's the people that have been with you the whole time for the most part. I mean it's just great.
Speaker 5:That was kind of the big thing for us. Tiny is, you're getting it set up in a way and that's why we pay these guys more and they don't rely on tips to survive and things like that. For one, I train all of my. Everybody that works here is trained to do a little bit of everything and I mean that like they can help you know all of them can help the steel can pump, mash, you know they can bottle, they work in the tasting room, they can do tours. The last thing really get everybody set up on is getting that full tour done. But families in the name Neely Family Distillery, we try to treat people like family when they come here. I'm really not looking to grow much more than where we're at, because I love the aspect of being able to give people that down-home, that Kentucky experience, and I think you get that here at Neely. You don't always get that everywhere else, so that gives us a spot to always live at.
Speaker 2:No, and this is like I said. When we first did this and we stopped down, it was 2019 and it was like, well, let's stop there. And we then it's been a meeting place for us on our way down. It's always something, and you guys make us feel so the welcome isn't just us either, you know what I mean. It's just like so we always try and get here whenever we can. There's no doubt about it, and if we can't, it's kind of like as you're passing it, you're just bummed, but it's usually because you guys are off somewhere. I think you know either of you know if taking some time off, yeah, we're here all the time.
Speaker 2:So so talk about let's let's talk about, um, from when you started, okay, and the brand that you were putting out, and you know, and then how everything was going, and then where you are, where you are now. Your stock is maturing, you keep producing, your production is, uh, where you want want it to be, because you don't want to get that. But then you've got a couple more brands and those brands are very unique and uh, I, you know, I a lot of people when they see it, they're not not sure what I mean. But let's talk about the it's three of the main brands, and then then talk about a little bit about your absinthe.
Speaker 5:I mean okay, so we started out with uh, and when I launched uh with the bourbons, uh, what actually was going on is I was letting people come down off of some of the tour buses Uh, it was mid julep tours and they wanted to have a thieving experience. So I was like, well, you know, I've got bourbon that's 14 months old. Sure, I'll let them, they can try it. We're just, you know, I was dead set. We would never sell anything below two years and I was really going to try to hold and push for the four-year mark, relying on the moonshine and everything to keep us going, which was selling fantastic. So when people were th buy a bottle, can we?
Speaker 5:buy a bottle, so that that took me all of about a couple of days. Carl and we were designing labels and I was like, all right, changing the plan. The answer is yes, yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 3:Changing the plan. Cash flow is king.
Speaker 5:You know, and we started to see those. You know some of the nuances of. You know, even though it was a younger bourbon theselling product that we sell here in the gift shop and I always keep a rotation of we've got a 25% rye bourbon that's up there, we've got a 19% wheat bourbon that's up there and we've got our oatmeal that's got 19% wheat, sorry 16%.
Speaker 4:wheat, 9%, no 16 oats 9 wheat, 9 malt.
Speaker 5:That's what it is, yep and the balance of the corn. And then we keep a couple different rye uh whiskeys as well that are in the smaller 375. So we had this, but it was just named the house brand, neely, family story, kentucky straight bourbon whiskey. And then we had the white label first and as it aged we went to the black label on it right. So fast forward we get to uh, you know, starting to move into where, like you said, we've now got four-year-old and five-year-old stock.
Speaker 5:We launched our Old Jet Brothers brand. So Old Jet Brothers was a distillery. It was the closest legal distillery to where I'm at today, so a lot of the terroir influence that was found in their bourbon is also found in mine as well, because not a whole lot really has changed out here in Sparta, kentucky and around our area From when the Jets were operating before Prohibition to really where we're at now. So I was able to go in, pick up that brand, love the history on it, love what James Jett had done, and I designed it to be a finish brand for us. So I had a bunch of different finishes that we've put out and it was going to be my main distributed brand. Is what I was going to do with it. So we were going to put out a Baldwin Bond offering as well and do single barrels off of it.
Speaker 5:And then here comes Jackie's I Can and Hidden Barn. So I get pitched. Hidden Barn. You know, royce, we want you to be involved. You know, we want the. We love the profile of your bourbon. We want to do this, we want to do that. So I agree to do Hidden Barn. It's been fantastic thing. That changed up my direction with old jet. I left it as a sourced brand only and now our main skew, our flagship products, run under that hidden barn brand.
Speaker 5:So that's what we're doing our single barrels a finished brand only sorry a very clear distinction. Yes, yes, thank you we source no products here. Right right, I was like wait what I want to make sure.
Speaker 1:I correct you on that one.
Speaker 5:Thank you for that I wouldn't have had the source from right here off these tools.
Speaker 5:Exactly, you were saying it's sourced from about 250 people, it is a finished brand, only I left it as a finished brand only and then moved over to Hidden Barn, which was sourcing from me at that time. Since that's happened, Neely has now officially purchased out all of Hidden Barn and owns it outright, keeping Jackie and Nate Weiner on board with the brand, and we just moved it into 12 different states. But it runs a Mashville minus 70 2010 rye. We're doing some wheat releases with it. You'll see a ball and bond.
Speaker 5:The other cool thing we're getting ready to put out with Hidden Barn is I'm now at where I've got some seven-year-old bourbon. It's the oldest stock I've had. You guys actually got to try it in New Orleans off the single barrel. We've got the batch done now. So our first release of our seven-year-old Hidden Barn product distilled by yours truly will be coming out probably the next month, a month and a half. And then we've also got a six-year-old organic weeded bourbon that's going to be coming out as well. Organic Organic, Certified organic. Quite the process. It has been quite the learning experience to get certified organic going through all that. But you know, Kentucky Department of Agriculture has been great to work with. They've helped me out. I have to say that.
Speaker 3:It's been great to work with. Yeah, so you're going to do a gluten-free, non-GMO.
Speaker 5:Do to do a gluten-free non-gmo? Yeah, we call the tree huggers. We actually do do, uh, we actually do, do all non-gmo grain on the corn.
Speaker 3:But uh, I don't know about the uh, the gluten-free and whatnot I don't know you can make gluten-free bourbon, because it's got to be 51 corn.
Speaker 5:I think they, they did a ruling.
Speaker 4:it technically like distills out but like I've got a very celiac friend and she can drink bour bourbon but there is a lot of gluten in the air.
Speaker 5:Well, we're milling. What you get is wheat particles around. I guarantee you the bottle doesn't have gluten on it.
Speaker 2:It's beer that you can't Beer still has. If you were going to make a beer, the gluten aspect is still there.
Speaker 3:But the distillation. I would never want to make a beer. I might want to drink a beer.
Speaker 5:I tried. I tried making beer once in college. It didn't go that well.
Speaker 3:I'll stick with the distilling part of it.
Speaker 5:Hell yeah, it didn't go too well for me, especially in college because you can filter through a tube. Sock, I think the TTV ruled, though, that it was gluten free right. And then what?
Speaker 4:the TTV ruled this past year, I do not remember.
Speaker 2:Whiskey is there's nothing left as far as that, the only flavor that comes after off the still. I mean you got the grain, whatever, but it's alcohol, okay, and then the flavor's picked up by the barrel. Right, you know what I mean. And so when it's like that, that's now if the barrel had gluten, don't just set them there, pass them around. There you go. We don't want to look at it, and so when?
Speaker 5:it's like that. That's now. If the barrel had gluten, don't just set them there, Pass them around. There you go. We don't want to look at it, carl.
Speaker 2:So what's this?
Speaker 4:This is a seven-year. Okay, that's where we'll start next. It's around. I think it's 109 proof. So, this is one of the lower proofs that we've got up here today.
Speaker 5:So you guys tried the single barrel at barrel strength. This is the barrel strength batch, so a sum of five barrels.
Speaker 3:Jackie is still going to select the proof on this, so the proof could still be changing hey, we'll give a shout out to walker who just said it's an awesome lineup here at neely so.
Speaker 2:So, rebecca, I'll ask you this audience, because I've been in this for a little bit and with a lot of distillers that are when we first got into it. We're at that two-year, three-year, four, you know, and have gone through to get to seven and eight and nine, and I firmly believe pot still whiskey can be drank and be very good at two years, I agree can be drank and be very good at two years, I agree.
Speaker 2:I agree, but as it ages, there's an aspect of that barrel that still, when it gets up into that eight, nine, 10 year, that maturity level of what you're adding in, plus that really good distillate that all of a sudden I'm just like, yeah, it was good at two and four but, this is now getting into that level of I appreciate that Holy shit. You know what I mean and I know that you guys had you have to put it out at two and four, Right.
Speaker 1:But when you look at it, you know, and you're the one.
Speaker 2:That's why I wanted to ask you this question, because you've been tasting it all along. Do you agree with that, that you're now getting some of those, or is it?
Speaker 4:I mean, obviously the flavor profile is going to change a lot because it's aging, so it's obviously going to change, and it does. I mean it's going to hit different flavor profiles that different people enjoy at that older age. There's some of the stuff that I've tasted at a year where I'm like I would just drink this all the time but would everyone I don't know. You know it's pretty young.
Speaker 1:It's just so different from barrel to barrel.
Speaker 4:I think it just changes from every single one, and obviously this is what people have come to expect out of a lot of bourbons, because a lot of the stuff they do drink is between 6 to 10 years old.
Speaker 5:For instance, I just pulled the same recipe two days ago, gave it to a client of ours, but it was a 4 and a 5-year-old Barrels, literally right beside of each other. Same mash bill tried them. I'd rather have the 4 between the two barrels. I like the 4 better than the 5.
Speaker 4:It's just different. It's just, I think, that this profile is where people are more used to the flavors that you're getting off of it. It's just more familiar, I think, for a lot of people and that's why a lot of people do like it a little bit.
Speaker 3:Fundamentally, for somebody that's getting into this business, or somebody that doesn't understand what it takes to get into this business. This is like the worst investment opportunity ever, Because you lay down a barrel and eight years later you crack it. I mean, what do you do for that? Eight years?
Speaker 5:And you hope it's still in there, yeah.
Speaker 4:That's the scary part.
Speaker 2:So it's always bad when you thief and you put the thief in and you're sitting there and you pull it and you go like this and it's like drip, drip, drip.
Speaker 4:We had two right around Christmas One we got 44 bottles out of and one we got 65 bottles out of. And you just know it.
Speaker 2:It's like, yeah, and then you put it in a barrel that's full but whatever, and you put it in there and all of a sudden it's heavy and it's coming out so fast and it's like what level it's?
Speaker 5:all good and there's a sweet spot, and that's what we're still trying to figure out exactly where ours is Because unlike a distillery that's been legal for a long, long time, that knows how their 8-year-old, their 10-year-old, their 12-year-old, their 15, their 20, how it matures out. We're still waiting to see, because you guys know this is what I do.
Speaker 3:There's a lot of good whiskey that's old and there's a lot of bad whiskey that's older older doesn't necessarily make it better by any means, oh, no it goes both ways right, no right, but you know it's interesting to me because you know there's the old adage time is money, and the longer you leave that whiskey in the barrel, the more expensive it is for you as a producer definitely off the taxes on it too and so um less bottles to sell and and yeah, part of your product disappears every year.
Speaker 3:That's right, I mean. Can you imagine if you bought a new Ford pickup truck and every year somebody came and took a couple of parts off of it? Right, I mean, and that's literally what it is in the bourbon business.
Speaker 2:It's right there with the wine industry too. I mean, there's a certain aspect of good wine, but if you let it go too long you lose it, and you know there's you know.
Speaker 3:what's interesting, though, about bourbon is you can taste the seven-year barrel and you're like yeah, that's pretty good, but you know, we want to give it another year. Then you taste it at eight, nine and you're like man, that is awful.
Speaker 4:And then, all of a sudden, at ten, it comes back and you're like this is the best thing we that everyone realizes how much it changes from like month to month, season to season, and it can go from being good to all of a sudden switching to being not good and then switching back again to being really good.
Speaker 3:That sounds a lot like marriage.
Speaker 4:Exactly.
Speaker 1:Wow, he's in trouble.
Speaker 3:You're trying for a man, just for the record, my wife doesn't watch a podcast. That's a good thing for you.
Speaker 4:Yeah, but I don't think that people realize how much it can change from just like month to month, from season to season. And it can get, it can taste not very good.
Speaker 5:Oh, absolutely you can lose flavors too, yeah, but then they come back.
Speaker 3:That's right, or?
Speaker 5:they change or they change yeah.
Speaker 3:So you might lose some of that youngness or some fruity notes. But it's replaced by the tannins.
Speaker 2:But like the Van Winkle line. I think what they're really good at is taking all those Weller barrels above Buffalo Trace and picking out the ones they know well. This is what it has to taste at five, six years to go on and be something decent at 15, 20, and 23. Right when they've got, like you said, they've got that experience. Now, the thing that's been illustrated to me the most is when it comes to rye whiskey, because there's a note on rye. I absolutely hate which note is that Do you ever have seagrass?
Speaker 2:Do you ever have bullet rye? Those two notes of that green or whatever is so rancid to me.
Speaker 4:And I can't help it.
Speaker 2:I mean, I've tasted it, and same thing he makes a funny face.
Speaker 4:Heaven's door. I thought that was his face, sorry, no, she's got jokes honey.
Speaker 1:Yes, she does, she's got jokes.
Speaker 2:I expect nothing, but that I can take it.
Speaker 3:I brought some bottles back from around the country, and we'll just say that some have been less well-received than others.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but I talked to Hunter Coffee when he was there and I asked him about it. I'm like why he goes. Do you believe that you'll be getting a? You'll get about five, six year rides. You're tasting it and and one month it'll have that taste and the next month it'll taste like mint chocolate and then you'd go and then the next month it's back to tasting the, the rye spice. He says it just changes so much and I'm just like so it's not. At first I thought it was all rise. You know what I mean but it's not.
Speaker 4:It's not at all, not not all rise right.
Speaker 2:so it's just kind of like. But there, when it's that flavor and it's not anything about because there's people who absolutely love seagrass, there's people who will just drink bullet rye, that's it. You know what I mean. So they're that, so that's their palate, so I get that. But I think our most favorite or famous podcast was For Heaven's Door and we were tasting it and the bourbon was great. The Tennessee bourbon was great. And I get to the rye and I refer to it as formaldehyde or old man's urine.
Speaker 3:And all of a sudden that was, which, by the way, are not endorsed as official tasting.
Speaker 2:No they're not. But that's how bad it was to me. You know what I mean. But I also said everybody else doesn't get that. You know what I mean.
Speaker 5:So there's people out there that that's the other thing we're finding too, especially when we get people from all over the world that come through here and on the bourbon trail is what I like. Somebody else might not like. And that can be a very difficult thing for Becca to go and select barrels for what's going to be coming out here, especially presented in our gift shop. We take a lot of pride off of what comes out of that gift shop there we take a lot of pride.
Speaker 4:I definitely have a specific flavor profile that I really enjoy and on occasion when I'm selecting barrels like I'll grab either maybe Tom, or I'll grab Brian I'll say, hey, give this a taste. Just like, make sure that it's a community good taste and it's not just me being like I love this when it might be super funky and Brian will call me on that sometimes. Be like that's maybe a little bit crazy.
Speaker 2:I'm like I understand that At this point aren't we looking for different stuff? I mean it's like you're wowed by all of a sudden something's there that you're not because you've tasted so much, but you also know you have to stay.
Speaker 5:That's right Exactly and knowing what we want to put out as we distribute now. We don't want to maybe necessarily put a single barrel like that out into a market first. That might be something we follow up with or send to a group afterwards In the gift shop.
Speaker 4:It's a good spot to have it at because it's fun to taste them alongside each other. I usually like to have something a little bit more funky, something that's a little bit more mainstream, and kind of have some selections, because there's definitely people that they want that super funky flavor to stuff and there's other people that are like I don't want it to taste like anything fun at all.
Speaker 5:Fun to her, yeah.
Speaker 2:Right, true, I mean, but that's you know, you can't not make whiskey for those people.
Speaker 3:They want that consistency or whatever. That's the beauty about bourbon, I mean you can have eight distilleries that are all using the exact same mash bill.
Speaker 5:And they all taste different.
Speaker 3:And they will all taste different depending upon where it was in the rick, what part of Kentucky, they're in, especially if they open top.
Speaker 5:Exactly, if you open top, furman, you get that. I mean pretty much everybody in the state does you know. You get that wild yeast in specific to your area. It's going to change them all up Absolutely Well, it's going to change them all up.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. Well also, it's crazy to me because, to your point, rebecca, I mean you have a profile that you love and you probably have that zeroed in right. I mean you know exactly what it is and, royce, you probably have something you enjoy more than others. I certainly do. I know exactly what it is I like, or generally like, but then every once in a while, you know, because of the podcast, we get to try some things that I would never spend the money for.
Speaker 3:And then you go, holy crap, that's good, I got to have that. Or Holy crap, I want to share that with people so that they can understand you know what a you know a hundred percent ride tastes like. Or you know whatever, because it, it, it, whatever. Because it's a great experience and everybody's taste buds are a little bit different. So what I like is a little bit different than what Tiny likes, for sure.
Speaker 5:And this is why it's important to especially as you own your place and whatnot to not just drink your own product only I can't stress that enough to any other distillers, master tasters or blenders. But to develop a great palate you need to try a lot of different things, and that keeps your palate fresh and that way you don't just get too fixated on what you're making, and that allows you to miss nuances that come off in your whiskey.
Speaker 2:It keeps you straight.
Speaker 5:It does.
Speaker 2:But also I find the main reason and the best part of what bourbon whiskey and it's getting together with the people you're drinking it with. And really I find it's like when you come down on a winter day and Rebecca goes in there and all of a sudden she's drilling barrels and French oak finishes before that ever was even anything and she gives you a sample of that and it's cold and you're doing it and it's just like, oh my god, I'm in heaven, you know what I mean kind of thing, because you're with the people you know you want to hang out with you know, just like when we come down.
Speaker 2:So a lot of times it's biased, you know what I mean you know, it's like there's that day that's been rough at work and you go and then you use it to relax, but but then there's this like a Saturday you're doing a podcast and then also you've got to admit there's better days than others, correct? Yes, I mean people. How does a taster taste all the time, especially at?
Speaker 1:big places Like I'm sure.
Speaker 5:Jackie had to have that a lot at Old Forrester right. That was one of the biggest things I learned from Jackie. I mean just being able to watch how she and we're talking 50 samples she might go through of ours before she selects a batch off of them. But just watching the way I mean the spitting and the way she resets her palate or resets her nose and how she goes about selecting them is one of the best things I've got to. I'm still learning it, but that I've got to witness and learn learn from her, because I never got the experience of working in a big distillery like she does, where she's got thousands and thousands and thousands of barrels to go be able to pull samples from yeah, and it's like if you look at her and if she was drinking at all, yeah, she wouldn't even be with us anymore right, very rarely.
Speaker 5:I mean she pretty much. I mean she tastes everything, but she's she never, uh, drinks any of it. She spits every single bit of it.
Speaker 4:This is a good segue into You're saying she's a spitter, not a spitter, god damn.
Speaker 1:Anyways, we're going to segue into our Bloody Butcher rye.
Speaker 4:This is actually 106 proof. That's you, royce, this is you.
Speaker 2:You did really well on the glasses, thank you.
Speaker 4:Yes, I was pouring them small for you.
Speaker 2:No, I even order. I saw you put specific order.
Speaker 4:I mean, I know we could, you know, share glasses, but All right, that's great news.
Speaker 5:Thank you, this was a 65 rod, so 30 bloody butcher corn and 5% malted barley, and I went. I tried a few different mash bills and different things with it and I love like I love heirloom varietals of corn, but I really like to use them as a sister grain, a secondary grain for flavoring, more than I do a predominant one that overpowers.
Speaker 3:So for those that don't know what bloody butcher corn is, do you want to?
Speaker 5:Yeah, it's an open air pollinated heirloom varietal. So just a different variety, a different type of corn.
Speaker 4:It is red, it is red, it's very red. It gets its name Bloody Butcher.
Speaker 5:This one specifically. I got this one specifically out of West Virginia. We grew this here. This is the Jimmy Red. The Jimmy Red I grew here.
Speaker 4:No, yeah, this Bloody Butcher. This is the one that you. I think we got the seeds from Adam.
Speaker 5:That's right. And then we.
Speaker 4:So this one was a pain in the ass just so you know, let me prove it You'll be good at a lot of these.
Speaker 5:Yeah, I come from a family of farmers and I've got too much going on. It's hard for me, but I come from a family of farmers so we've always grown corn and sweet corn and things like that, but never any of this heirloom varietal. So Stump gives me a bunch of seed and we go out and we get a local farmer to help us and we, we grow this grain over here on our family farm right, and the deer just annihilated I mean, they eat the daylights out of it and I don't know. Heirloom varietals grow taller so, and so they're more susceptible to blowing over as well. So then we decided, all right, we'll plant a regular corn around it to guard it, right, so the deer will eat the regular.
Speaker 5:You know, number two, yellow dent, and we'll save it, nope, they go through the number two yellow dent to eat the red corn in the middle of it. So yields were lower on it. But uh, I didn't make some burden with it of the of this one here that we grew on site, so we did this. We did a jimmy red and then we did the hickory king white hickory king.
Speaker 4:I got out of west virginia, yes okay, um, but this is like I just think this is such a cool profile too for us and us, and we didn't do too many of these because Royce didn't know how it was going to turn out. He's like, oh, we've never done it before, let's just try it out and see how it turns out. Turns out it's delicious and people have loved it. These were actually two of the barrels that we had those really short barrels on, which was unfortunate, but those are the ones where one tasted like eggnog right around Christmas time, which was a crazy profile for it. But like smoky, sweet. Yeah, you get a lot of smoky stuff, good yeah.
Speaker 3:You still get a little bit of that spicy rye right. What's the age on these, rebecca?
Speaker 4:This one is, I think, 41 months.
Speaker 5:So this was in a 25-gallon Kelvin, two-year air-seasoned char, two medium plus toast barrel.
Speaker 3:That's what these were done in. And you know it's interesting because on the finish I could feel it almost changing and I get blood orange, which is very unusual. I mean it's people pull cherry.
Speaker 4:Yeah, blood orange we get we actually get that flavor. We get mandarin orange like the cuties. Those happen a lot to us and and they've they've been a consistent flavor over the years that I've been here for four years and it's been a consistent profile that I've found where I'm like do I taste oranges on this one?
Speaker 2:again this one is so. It starts off with me tasting the rye that I don't like, no. But then it starts he's going to spit it out. No, I'm not spitting this out, but then the cutie or the orange.
Speaker 1:I can vouch for that.
Speaker 4:You get the echo right, there's no way.
Speaker 2:Anyways, the orange or the cutie is there then, and so, in other words, you get just the start of the flavor, but it's always the finish aspect of what then makes me go whatever. And that's not there, it's the orange, I mean. It's once again another unique flavor that I'm always looking for to push your palate Right.
Speaker 3:And here's the interesting thing too, because a lot of times when you pick up a citrus flavor in a distilled spirit like this, it turns into tang, and I don't have great memories of tang.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean. I've got great bad memories of tang.
Speaker 3:It's like orange powder that tastes like oranges and butt.
Speaker 1:You mean?
Speaker 3:And I know that because Tiny's told me he's had some butt. But the reality is, I mean, this is that blood orange flavor. It's developed, I mean, and it's consistent, it's not changing, it's not. You know that orange hits your palate and it stays there, whereas so Walker's saying TMI, carl, tmi.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, that's right.
Speaker 3:You know you do what you gotta do to survive in county but the oh God, it's all good, all right, here's this one.
Speaker 4:You survived the Rye Whiz.
Speaker 2:No, it's the orange aspect no.
Speaker 4:The orange aspect no, it was county.
Speaker 2:Very, very, very. Yeah, never mind, I'm not even going there. The orange aspect of it was very nice.
Speaker 3:That's what I look for, honestly, that would make a bitch in all.
Speaker 2:That's what I was saying. Do you guys use that for old fashions? That would make a bitchin' old fashioned. That's what I was saying Do you guys use that for old fashions? We can.
Speaker 4:If someone asks, then we'll do it, but it's so limited it's not the.
Speaker 2:You don't want it to just be pouring we all.
Speaker 4:just make it with that. We'll make it with our other. We always do ours with a rye whiskey. We do it most of the time with the ball and bond, don't we the brandy and we'll do a brandy old-fashioned. Maybe you should have a premium old-fashioned.
Speaker 2:Don't you have dried blood oranges. We do yeah, in your old-fashions.
Speaker 4:Which are delicious.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but that would be very interesting to do that To try that.
Speaker 5:That's it over here to Carl we're on the toasted French oak. I'm not going to lie, I had some Over to Carl.
Speaker 3:We're on the toasted French oak. I'm not going to lie. I had some of this last week.
Speaker 1:I'm not even going to lie.
Speaker 3:It's one of my favorites.
Speaker 4:No, no this one just hit the shelves today. This is round two, so you got. This is round two of our toasted barrels.
Speaker 3:You might not remember Rebecca, because I don't think you were with us, but when we podcasted from bourbon on the banks.
Speaker 4:Oh, we had a different one, though.
Speaker 2:This is this, is this is aged a whole nother year single barrel of it yeah, yeah, just so you know. Yeah, he had the one that I had back. This is this is just their new batch. This, yeah, this is actually the reason why so?
Speaker 5:I have the the you everybody know, you know, you all know the story. But I got the bottle from brad bonds at their revival the original old jet brothers from 19. When I tasted it, this was the reason why I actually decided to go with Ojet for this finished brand, because this tastes the most similar to the original Ojet Brothers. Wow. I mean it almost tastes dead, it almost tastes spotless.
Speaker 3:Yeah, shout out to Brad. It's almost like you can serve. There's a place we can go and taste what the spirits were really like 80 years ago.
Speaker 2:The mouthfeel is almost like syrup.
Speaker 4:It was aged 25 months in a new toasted French oak barrel and I just think it's such a cool toasted profile.
Speaker 5:It's fantastic. I do. Yeah, this one's in the same frame, correct?
Speaker 4:Yes, it is.
Speaker 5:We're still waiting for the results. This year We've got, hopefully, some real high hopes from what we sent in.
Speaker 2:I don't think you have anything to worry about, but hopefully some real high hopes from what we sent in. I don't think you have anything to worry about.
Speaker 5:I hope this one, you know we- come up last year with the salt turn and we got runner-up for best finish overall.
Speaker 4:Against a toasted, against a toasted.
Speaker 5:So this year I went with a toasted. I got beaten in the finals. You know I got the double gold.
Speaker 2:We got beaten in the finals, okay. So when you double oak on French oak, you're putting it into a, and especially if you're taking your distillate, which is bourbon, and then putting it in another brand new barrel, like you do, you're just keeping this is still bourbon, right, but when you finish it with the wine barrel, that's a whole different story.
Speaker 5:This one Technically? No, this one's technically. The chred, the charred, continues to age.
Speaker 4:The charred. Yes, so the very first one would continue to age. This is a toasted barrel, so there's no char.
Speaker 2:So you didn't put a char on it, so it's still finished. Yes.
Speaker 4:But in a toasted barrel. Why don't you say that?
Speaker 2:toasted got out of control and it became a one charitable char.
Speaker 4:It's a one toasted char, right I mean a level one, char I mean for for all practical purposes, there's no catering there's just some darkening, right right, but it's like getting a spray tan.
Speaker 2:But you know there's. You're not adding. All you're doing is adding more flavor from the barrel, and it's french, and you're toasting that french oak and adding those sweet, sweet flavors. And you just wait and you don't need any. It's already filtered from the first. And you just wait and you don't need any. It's already filtered from the first barrel and you don't need anything, except for the flavor, you know, and you don't need it to be caramelized sugars, you know.
Speaker 5:These were, I believe, five-year air-seasoned French oak too. I made sure, because I was using them for secondary. I made sure that they were seasoned the way I wanted them.
Speaker 2:Gosh, this is my, this is Well, I can't tell you that, across the whole thing, the double oaking and the French, it's just so. Did you say Frenching?
Speaker 3:French oaking. It sounded like you said Frenching. Are you telling them the barrel Tiny, Whatever?
Speaker 2:Those finishes are like you said, at the competition it lost to another, whatever Right, but you know the wine barrel finishes. Those are definitely getting into more unique, different flavors, but this is still.
Speaker 4:Which, when we talk about stuff that like could be maybe too funky on occasion, that salt turn is one of them, Like it's super funky. Is it delicious and amazing? Absolutely, but is it too far for a competition? And that was Brad's super funky. Is it delicious and amazing? Absolutely, but is it too far for a competition?
Speaker 5:And that was Brad's revival pick when he came in. We sent it in last year for him. Of course, the one we got beat by was a source brand.
Speaker 3:Does that make you feel?
Speaker 2:At one time it was distilled. We lost to MGP.
Speaker 4:They make great bourbon Well, but it's always they won again.
Speaker 2:No, I mean, MGP makes good, but each different label does so many different things. And then when you talk to the people, but I think we're at the end of there's not going to be. You can't have any more of it. There's just so much of it out there.
Speaker 3:You're overwhelmed and it's like and I mean nobody knows for sure. I haven't seen anything, but at some point you got to run out of you got to run out of product. There's so many people sourcing from the same handful of distilleries, okay yeah, but there's more of them popping up every day, but you have to go there.
Speaker 2:And if you go there, from everything I've been told that distillery's been in it forever, it's not whatever and they just kept making more and more. The reason why this sourcing is happening is because they knew it was coming and they, probably more than any other distillery, was ready for making enough and at first they had too much on. And they, probably more than any other distillery, was ready for making enough and at first they had too much on. If you remember, it was cheap, you could get the agent, nobody was doing it, but then all of a sudden, once it kicked in, they had to do that.
Speaker 5:I love MGP Hill. They're only located about 30 minutes away from us. We met their master distiller in New Orleans. He was a super knowledgeable, great guy from us. We met the master distiller in New Orleans. He was a super knowledgeable, great guy. Not the super old guy, I think he was close to around my age. That runs their whole plant up there. I don't know what they make a day, tony, but it's probably upwards of a couple thousand to 2,500 barrels a day.
Speaker 3:It's a good pair to contrast what you filled here. Yeah about two barrels a day.
Speaker 4:We're very busy. I'm proud of that. I'm proud of every day, exactly.
Speaker 5:Well, I can tell you, it takes a lot to squeeze two barrels.
Speaker 3:We've talked to some craft distillers and they make a barrel every two days.
Speaker 3:Or there are some craft distillers that went out and bought a really big still and then they found out how much it costs to actually run a batch. The biggest pot still in what we think is the biggest pot still in the United States is about $24,000 or $25,000 to lay down a batch. They run them once a week. Yeah, think about the capacity there. Yeah, I mean, that's nuts, yeah, and they don't have the cash flow to run it more than once a week.
Speaker 3:I've got our next taste here. That's one of my go-to bottles right now.
Speaker 5:The city of Carrollton and Carroll County has really got behind the brand. They do a lot with it and send a lot of people up here as well. It's really cool to get local history and bring it back and make sure it's preserved.
Speaker 4:This is a single barrel pick that we did with East Ave Liquors up in Rochester, new York, and this I'm just going to tell you guys the flavor profile, just because I think it's fun. Annie Ann's Pretzels.
Speaker 5:Good, I love Annie Ann's.
Speaker 4:This is a really unique. It's a cool pick that we did with Sam.
Speaker 3:I guess I'm a little hungry now.
Speaker 2:So, I'm getting butter and salt. I told you so. When we do our single barrel.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, I told you.
Speaker 5:Popcorn. They call it Annie Sam's.
Speaker 4:Annie, sam's Annie.
Speaker 5:Sam's.
Speaker 1:That is crazy.
Speaker 4:This is on its way it hasn't even hit yet.
Speaker 5:This is on its way to Rochester, New York right now. But when we do our single barrel program, so Jackie will come in, select through our stock, get us like 25 barrels she thinks you're right for Hidden Barn. And then when we bring people in to do the picks, Becca takes them through and that's what they select from.
Speaker 3:The nose is crazy on this isn't it I told you. I want to sit down with a bottle and a movie.
Speaker 2:What the shit Is that a technical?
Speaker 3:term. It is what the shit.
Speaker 4:Is it a real term? We tried it on.
Speaker 5:Toadstam If you guys don't buy this today I'm taking the restaurant.
Speaker 4:We're putting it in the gift shop immediately if you don't take it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, there's so much butter that comes through. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Way more than you usually get. It's unlike anything.
Speaker 4:It's a super cool. It's a really cool barrel pick.
Speaker 5:And this is the. You know, this is kind of the love you get from a pot still and a single barrel program.
Speaker 4:Yep.
Speaker 3:So where did this live? In the workhouse, this barrel, oh well.
Speaker 5:I'm always curious when you get something that's really on the edge of. Here's the thing, carl All my barrels have moved different times as we've grown, so I can't ever say one until where we're at now, these newer ones we're laying down. They will stay in the same spots forever. They've been moved all over, but we get really no temperature. We're only six hot.
Speaker 4:Six rows hot. There's really not a sweet spot for flavor profiles. Now they do go up in proof a little bit, but only a little bit. The heart, but only a little bit. But it's yeah, say it's not much, but but flavor profiles. There's no difference. From the bottom to the top of our rickhouse flavor profiles are about the same. Like I'm not finding, I'm not like, damn, I'm finding all these honey barrels around the bottom rick or in the very back.
Speaker 5:It's all over we designed the rickhouse and set it up on the. You know we're on the ridge here, so we get a ton. You can see it out there, the wind is always blowing, but that way we get to tell you. You can see it out there, the wind is always blowing, but that way we get a lot of airflow through there too. That keeps movement in the barrel. That keeps movement, oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Airflow makes all the difference.
Speaker 2:I mean we were at a controlled warehouse, the place we were at is where they used to import all the DeLoreans in the 80s you know all those and they'd store them in this. Well, it's not a warehouse, he's turning into a rickhouse and it it goes. It's high, but he put these giant fans for air circulation and he said that at first they had him up and there was a ton of air circulation and he goes. We started tasting through and we turned those suckers because if you, when it just changes everything, one your humidity and as it's passing through and that air is brushing up, people don't realize what that's extracting and how it pulls. And it's like you said, it's the consistency of where you're at and learning.
Speaker 5:So at first you probably didn't either have the doors open all the time, or you'll close them, but you kind of get the feel for what you want to do as far as circulation right, well, we like to close them at night so it cools her down and then open it during the day. You know what I mean and get that flow and that movement.
Speaker 5:It's almost like a louver really, too, to get a movement at least twice a day. Yeah, see, what about that? Carl, I've got some engineering too. Huh, yeah, there you go. I just, I used to tell people we were going to at one point we were going to put, because I and this was strictly from Copper and Kings, but we were going to put some speakers out there and do some George Jones aging, you know some ice, black and stuff but yeah, I don't know how much that works.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we. It's great that Metallica age barrels are there and it's a great, it's a cool.
Speaker 5:Well, the trade-off of electric in the Rick House. We just decided not to put them out.
Speaker 2:Yeah. I mean if anybody knows anything, if you start vibrating liquid, there's going to be something happening.
Speaker 1:It's going to loosen up those barrels, how much decibels do you?
Speaker 2:have to get in there.
Speaker 3:I would definitely say that if you vibrate stuff, things happen.
Speaker 4:Oh yeah.
Speaker 2:Like leaks? Yeah, frankly. But then is it the rock music with the interruption of the vibration, or if you just got it going Continuous, I don't know I mean there's no.
Speaker 4:We get enough thunderstorms here that we get a lot of vibrations out there. Okay.
Speaker 2:You can contest to that, because your house is right on top of it.
Speaker 4:We had a tornado coming down 1039 not too long ago.
Speaker 5:My dad was in Cancun. He called me.
Speaker 1:It's coming down the highway. How the hell would you know You're in Cancun?
Speaker 5:he called me there's a tornado heading your way. It's coming down the highway. How the hell would you know? You're in Cancun.
Speaker 3:I'm a weather app send me an alert.
Speaker 4:Yeah, we survived, so we only got two more left to taste. The second to last will be the one we're about to taste is going to be the organic wheat. This comes in, I think, at 11, 118? Yes, it's up there it's 118-ish, so a little bit higher proof-wise. And then the last one we're going to do is that Jamaican rum. Tiny loves rum more than anything in the world, so I know he's really excited.
Speaker 5:I do know Jackie has already started to work on the proof on this one. This definitely drinks better at a round. I know she's targeting. I want to say 110, and then, going to even try a little bit lower than that, I want to say 110, and then going to even try a little bit lower than that.
Speaker 2:Well, and then you guys talk a little bit about the people who consistently are proofhounds.
Speaker 1:You can be a proofhound and you want that boldness.
Speaker 2:But what they don't understand is as you start to proof down that you can actually get more boldness. Oh yeah.
Speaker 1:And you talk to the down that you can actually get more boldness.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, If you're just paying attention and you talk to the other distillers and everybody Bananas Foster and there's a sweet spot, right, mm-hmm.
Speaker 3:Y'all get Bananas Foster on the nose, a little bit of the caramelization of the sugar, a little bit of that fruit in the back, but it's real subtle.
Speaker 4:And this is the first wheat that we've actually tasted as well.
Speaker 5:Up for today.
Speaker 4:yeah, Up today, yeah.
Speaker 2:Ever, ever, the first one ever. This is a historic podcast. I've never had a wheat eater. It's different For me, so this is.
Speaker 5:Hidden Barn at the moment. This will be a hit. Yes, this will be a Hidden Barn release.
Speaker 3:What are you going to call that one? Ape Shit Crazy. Ape Shit Crazy yep how did he know?
Speaker 4:Did you tell him?
Speaker 1:Did we leak our?
Speaker 4:sources. I'm telling you.
Speaker 3:Holy shit, the proof on it I'm a freaking psychic is what it is.
Speaker 1:I knew it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we plan to no secret safe shit of proof on it. I'm a freaking psychic is what it is.
Speaker 5:I knew it. No secret safe. We'll do a pretty good marketing campaign behind this when we go to launch. You guys will get an official kit then with the final proof and everything done in it after Jackie selects it. We should be launching this one in the next couple months.
Speaker 2:We'll have to meet Jackie more often, because I got to meet her at New Orleans for the first time I've ever met her. But I walked up to her and I told her who I was and I almost I think I freaked her out. She was like straight up, like she gave me that. Look like who the fuck are you?
Speaker 1:It's just like okay.
Speaker 2:I'm sorry. I said you know because I talked about, because Chris hung out with her at the when she had the patch, remember she had the whole thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she got the surgery on her face and that's when Chris was hanging out and they you know, because he was telling me but I never got to meet her. That time I didn't even feel comfortable trying. Yeah, come on a podcast, you know, and you're dealing with all that stuff. And then finally I walked up to her right afterwards and you could just tell she was like who is this guy?
Speaker 2:I think a lot of women, and you even referred to me in the talk a couple times, but I think she was sitting on the floor and didn't.
Speaker 5:Yeah yeah, she was on the floor helping you with the IT stuff and whatnot.
Speaker 3:I think a lot of women get freaked out when you walk up to Don Cone. I'm sure they do. I think that's a pretty common occurrence.
Speaker 4:I've always liked your tiny.
Speaker 2:I never freaked her out.
Speaker 3:I think Rebecca could take you.
Speaker 2:That's also fair.
Speaker 5:It is. I'm an old man, you know what?
Speaker 2:I'm not trying to figure it out. It's just like I'll just concede. Right, that's right. Yeah, I don't. Yeah, if you promise to give me whiskey afterwards.
Speaker 2:He's like whatever yeah, I mean from the first time when we stopped by. It's like we came and she was talking you guys had just done the absinthe, just known about the absinthe. She had it up there. She's just pouring all the stuff and she's like I got this special bottle that we just won in a war and she's like pouring and I'm just like, wow, that's good. It's like whiskey makes friends, it does, oh absolutely.
Speaker 4:He read me out with Royce right now. He's like she's been giving these guys all these tastes.
Speaker 2:Well, look at, I mean Royce, just look at that. I know I've never let she's never lit me.
Speaker 3:You should be used to it coming up short. Oh my God, he's just on a roll. Yeah.
Speaker 4:Just jokes and jokes.
Speaker 2:Well you, know there's a couple I'm on a roll, I think you it's just like we've had a couple corporate podcasts and so he's had to behave. So now he knows this is more about.
Speaker 5:I've been on a jelly boat.
Speaker 2:He's over here with the outlaw Right right, right, he can say whatever the fuck he wants and he's just taking it out on me.
Speaker 5:We've been talking about killing people and looking at Chevelles out there. Carl's gone crazy. He's back at home.
Speaker 3:He's back in West Virginia.
Speaker 2:It's like being in a holler. Yeah, oh, my God, I've got to tell you, tony, if we went there, you would not make it out. I'm going to tell you I'll wear those jeans and I'll make it out.
Speaker 3:No, you don't know me. You wear those jeans. My cousins will make sure your shredded jeans, tony. No, he just doesn't. You've never my shredded jeans I've seen your shredded jeans.
Speaker 2:And he doesn't like them.
Speaker 4:They're not my favorite either, I just got a bit, that's okay. You know honestly, he paid a lot of money, it takes a real man to be able to wear a girl's jeans.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's right, it's just that simple. Yeah, you know, you know the buckle story, right? So there's no, I never thought I jeans. I'm like those are really cool, but they would never fit me, right? I go in there and they're all fitting. I'm like you guys make jeans for guys like me. They're like, absolutely so. They're just doing that. I was just I'm at it.
Speaker 3:Honestly, Tiny never knew he was a size 20.
Speaker 2:I mean it's amazing. Yeah, my waist is size 20.
Speaker 3:No, no, no, that's a female-sized tiny. Obviously you've never bought anything for your wife, but that's okay, get out, no.
Speaker 5:We have the Jamaican rum now. Yeah, thank God. Pass this over to Carl, just so you know, carl, I'm really smart.
Speaker 2:I let my wife buy her clothes. Yeah, that's what I do too. I'm not so. You actually buy clothes for your wife. I do too. I'm not so you actually buy clothes for your wife I do.
Speaker 4:Well, that says a lot also. It does yeah, so does Jamaican rum. So how about that?
Speaker 5:So this is a how about them bears? Yeah them boys. We got the rum barrels from Rolling Fork Rum. So it was a pot-distilled Jamaican rum, and then it's a pot distilled Neely Family Distillery bourbon, and it's finished for 28 months. Is this the highest proof I've ever released here.
Speaker 4:This is a 120.
Speaker 5:Yeah, this is a hot rum For rum drinkers.
Speaker 3:they're used to 80 proof.
Speaker 4:Well, it's not rum, though, it's bourbon yeah.
Speaker 5:But the influence is heavy on it.
Speaker 4:Yeah, you're going to taste that.
Speaker 5:That rolling fork rum is definitely there I just talked, so I've got a great relationship with Jordan Morris and Turner. Obviously, you guys know, oh, it is that's different, you guys know we're making rum for them on site now too, but I just talked to Jordan, the other day and he guaranteed me that he wanted to keep this lineup going. So every time they dump a Jamaican rum barrel. He's going to give me the opportunity to go buy it and get it from me. As long as you keep making the rum for him.
Speaker 2:That's right. Keep making the rum.
Speaker 5:It's all about relationships.
Speaker 3:It is, life is about relationships.
Speaker 5:Jordan is one of the we just got really deep. Jordan's one of the best attorneys out there. He helps me all the time with any different legal things I need.
Speaker 4:This is called the Scotchy Bourbon Boys. I think that there's some Scotch-ish notes to it, that kind of funky smoky.
Speaker 3:There is a funk. It's a real rapid succession of different flavors.
Speaker 5:And then it evens out and also lighten the color of this bourbon.
Speaker 3:And I'll tell you, it's interesting to me Because we've talked to some other distillers that are doing a rum finish and they're leaving it in their rum barrels for maybe six months, maybe eight months, and 28 months is long I do very long finishes.
Speaker 5:Well, Rebecca, you're a lucky woman. I'm just saying that was a compliment, it was. I got your back, not like we're in county or anything. No, don't. I mean, that was a compliment.
Speaker 3:It was. I got your back, lewis. Thank you, not like we're in county or anything.
Speaker 2:Oh, my God. Yeah, I'm drinking like the best whiskey I've ever tasted in my life. And they're talking about county.
Speaker 4:Yeah, that'll happen.
Speaker 2:You're not talking about counting. He's talking about counting.
Speaker 3:Since I brought the reference up earlier, I just figured I'd finish the thought, keep going with it.
Speaker 2:So I'll just say there's a brandy-esque aspect to it.
Speaker 3:There is.
Speaker 2:Actually that's a fair assessment. I taste a little bit of that grape. I can see that too.
Speaker 3:Yeah, even on the nose, there's something, there it's. It's just fun to smell it is.
Speaker 5:I get that. I mean, like I said, the funk comes through, which you'd expect from Jamaican. Oh, yes but the Neely barrel we put into it was funky too it's almost like a lemon specifically on the nose have you guys?
Speaker 2:had some of Turner's the rolling fork stuff? You've tried that. Have you guys had some of Turner's the Rolling Fork stuff? You've tried that? I mean, when you do the rum in a whiskey barrel aging in a whiskey barrel, opposed to whiskey in a rum barrel, there's some what would you say, the vanilla and those sweet notes of rum just coming out what he does is crazy.
Speaker 2:It's really country, it's just coming out. What he does is crazy. I mean, we've been in the Rick House, you know thieving, you know all the different, and it's just. It's something that not a lot of people are doing.
Speaker 5:And it's great to see that he doesn't have to buy the rum now, although he's probably going to want to put some age on that Because that's one of the things that he definitely does when he buys that mature rum and they're still going to source some different spots too, but they wanted to have their own source they had control of and we're making I mean you're talking super high ester rum, so I mean we're 30-day ferments. It's like I mean, whatever I can do to stress the yeast out more, that's what we're attempting to do with it, just to try to create as much flavor as possible.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because. I, you know, and those guys, you guys did a really good job of showing, when you were distilling that mash, what that mash tub looked like. It's like what?
Speaker 5:Yeah, well, jordan would always hit me up like hey, man, send me an update on it. So when I'd send him an update I'd just post it online too. I thought people it seemed like people were enjoying kind of watching the the journey of making this rum. I think Jordan's sending it off now to have the ester content tested in it. They're in France today drinking Armagnac. Turner and Jordan did you send me a photo this morning. They're in France. You know what's the problem with France.
Speaker 3:It's Turner.
Speaker 2:What do you think of this one?
Speaker 4:I do appreciate this but, as Royce knows and as Jordan Morris and Turner Waltham know, I am not a Jamaican rum fan. That is just me. I like a lot of funky stuff. Jamaican rum is not my favorite thing, I think that this yes, I think that this is really cool and I appreciate everything that's going on in this. It's just it's not like I like it, but not like it's not. I like it but not like it's. I just don't like to make it. You're just no no, no.
Speaker 2:Even tasting the ride that you guys had, which is I, I liked it and everything, but when I, when I go down into the 600 or 700 bottles, I have downstairs and I want to pour?
Speaker 3:there's almost never a time where I go.
Speaker 4:I want a rye more than a bourbon. I just I know why I understand that the boogers rye.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but even then, I mean, it was very special and it was something that was given to us by Sandy Ngo and I shared it with everybody and it was really freaking good it was amazing. But at the same time, if I had, I could pick a lot of bourbons that I would rather drink than that really good rye it was.
Speaker 5:Kentucky Owl Batch 1. I love that rye.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, is that not amazing?
Speaker 5:I, like Dill, love the deal that comes through on that one you know what's interesting?
Speaker 3:we spent some time with Mark. I get it, I just said it.
Speaker 2:I like the ride, but it's like you have to drink so much, you gotta drink what you really like, and nothing wrong with that, it's just.
Speaker 5:I mean, somebody distilled it, I believe was that Heaven Hill Dist one. No, I think it was mgp that's it, really that's it.
Speaker 3:That's all. That's all the things we're gonna taste, so so, really so the neely family distillery is not just the neely family. We've got, yep, we've got the old, we've got the old jet brothers right the old jet brothers we've got hidden barn and hidden barn and I know down in new or Orleans. You were talking a little bit about the Hidden Barn brand.
Speaker 5:Oh yeah. Well, that's our number one distributed brand that we're doing out of our distillery.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so what's the plans for this? I know it seems like you're putting a lot of energy behind this. What kind of plans do you have for the brand in the future?
Speaker 5:We're in 12 states with it right now and every one of them is performing very well. Having Jackie behind it helps a ton. It's like getting Michael Jordan. That's really an AI test to it.
Speaker 3:It's like one of the small town guys, is that Jordan with Pippen or without?
Speaker 5:Pippen. I could take Becca's Pippen there you go, I'm Pippen, I'll take that.
Speaker 4:Sure, I figured.
Speaker 5:I was the water boy. I stay on that. Sure, there you go.
Speaker 3:I figured I was the water boy, I stay on, you know, running the business.
Speaker 4:Very important part of the team.
Speaker 5:Running the business and making the whiskey and you know I still love every aspect of that, but when it comes to tasting and selecting barrels, I leave that up to Becca and Jack.
Speaker 2:I don't think she's more like the coach. What was the coach's name? Coach like 47. He, he's got 47 rings. The coach of the Bulls. We need that, that's more you, is it, pat Riley Me?
Speaker 5:You coach. It's Pat Riley right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that sounds right. Well, Pat Riley. No, it was the.
Speaker 4:He was with the Lakers Lakers. Did he go to the Bulls?
Speaker 5:No, it was the guy that did the triangle yes.
Speaker 2:What was the guy that did the triangle yes?
Speaker 3:What was the guy known for, phil Jackson? Phil Jackson, that would be more you because I don't know.
Speaker 2:I feel like sometimes you've got everything going and everything, and there's people over here doing this and there's people over doing that, and you're just over there doing it and you kind of get everything.
Speaker 3:You know how they're making it, so you're doing more of the. We can't remember Right, because don't think for one second that you don't participate.
Speaker 2:Wait more like Pete Rose when he was playing it, that's my favorite baseball player.
Speaker 5:There you go, I'm Pete Rose.
Speaker 4:Yeah, there you go Do you want me to wear the?
Speaker 1:jersey next time We've got season tickets to the Rams.
Speaker 2:I'll wear a Pete Rose signed jersey to the games and just so you know you wouldn't give a shit if she's gambling on you. There you go.
Speaker 3:She's gambling on you I guess, as long as she's winning. No, that's it. She'd only be gambling on you to win. I'm always gambling on.
Speaker 2:Royce, yeah to win, always, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 5:She buried me so that's the ultimate gamble. I hope it pays off off.
Speaker 3:It was better than eight. She went for the long nugs 30 to one.
Speaker 2:It still was a great time when he was managing and playing. He'd be sitting there and the game would be like six. They'd be losing six to five and all of a sudden he'd be like, oh, I'm pitching him now.
Speaker 5:I just want a team, I mean, you know, Bench Morgan Perez, oh, yeah, that whole team.
Speaker 3:So if somebody wanted to stop by, obviously your doors are always well, no, they're not always open, but I mean, if somebody wants to stop by the distillery Seven days a week, though we're open at some point every day. And I got to tell you being open on Sundays on the Bourbon Trail is kind of a little bit of a boom because there's so many distilleries and Mondays we do a lot on Sunday and.
Speaker 5:Monday.
Speaker 4:Those days we get so many people that go. I'm trying to go to a distillery and everyone's closed except for you guys. And I'm like what do you mean? Everyone's closed? What else are they doing on Mondays?
Speaker 3:We run into it too at the Scotchie Burgers.
Speaker 4:We're always open.
Speaker 3:So if somebody wanted to book the tour or tasting, just show up.
Speaker 4:There's no reservation, that's right, unless you have a very large. If you have like over 12 people, you should call ahead just so we can plan for it, just so we're aware. But other than that, it's just walk in so you can come as your favorite nude pilgrim.
Speaker 3:I'm mild-standish for that, by the way, of course you are.
Speaker 5:You just show up and you guys will walk them around back and show them the pot. We have set times. As long as you come in at one of the times, we do them for two people or 100.
Speaker 4:We've done it with one person. We've had a one-person tour with two or nine being right off the highway.
Speaker 3:I will say it doesn't get much more convenient than this.
Speaker 4:We do them at 11.30, 1.30, and 3.30 Monday through Saturdays, and Sundays are just at 1.30 and 3.30. But tastings are every half hour. I always tell people to show up at least. Well, if you want to get a cocktail and kind of look around a little bit, show up 10 minutes early Because you can bring your cocktail with on the tour itself, which I think is makes it more entertaining because you got a cocktail obviously. No, I'm always more entertaining exactly, and so I always tell people, like you can show up exactly when we start, even if you're a couple minutes late, we'll add you right on into the tour. It's not a big deal, but it starts that video that you guys got to watch earlier about the moonshining. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 3:So, I was gonna, I was going to say if you come, you got to watch the video. If it's not, run and ask them, because you guys threw it on for us. But I mean, you know, everything here is just oozes Kentucky history you know the barnwood you know the barnwood siding on the inside and you know even on the outside you got that log cabin feel.
Speaker 5:And so I mean most of this log siding actually come off of my great-great-grandfather's house.
Speaker 3:Wow so 11 generations right 11 generations of them, so it's uh, there's a lot of history here in these hills and uh, and a lot of history here at the neely family distillery well, and also the great thing is is let's just say you did the like a lot of times.
Speaker 2:You go do the distillery tour and you've been here but on your way passing by, just stop in because you always have new releases, new barrels, new 375s. You can still. There's a barrel that you can fill your own bottle on. That's always new. So if you just stop in for the tasting, you don't have to be here for four hours doing a tour and everything because you've done it before. But, you're always going to have something out there. The new batch of Hidden.
Speaker 5:Barn, we probably put out at least one new single barrel a week.
Speaker 4:There's something new in here every week.
Speaker 3:This is the perfect distance, too, because you're just going to start losing your buzz from Louisville, and you can stop at Neely Family, oh my God. And you can stop at.
Speaker 4:Neely Family, oh my God, and you can throw down. No, no, no. Neely Family Distillery does not promote anything.
Speaker 2:No. So you better have a yeah, responsible drinking, yes, responsible, yes, don't yeah, you just have a designated driver and then you're good, that's right. Yeah, it's just a great place in a great location. I just love your location, you know, and there's so many people that come down from Ohio, you have to see it and that, and then the more people that know about it. It's just like, and that's what we want to do, get the word out, yeah you can If you don't want to do anything.
Speaker 4:You just want to get a cocktail. You get a cocktail.
Speaker 4:Sit outside on the rocking chair, smoke a cigar you get a cocktail, sit outside on the rocking chair, smoke a cigar. That's one of my favorite. I had one guy come in and he said, can I just get uh like lower proof burping on the rocks, and can I get one of those cigars? And I was like, yeah, and I look outside and he's taking his shoes off, he's got his music on low, he's smoking a cigar. It was like the middle of the week, there wasn't many people and he was having a blast, just hanging out. Just, he said he had a long drive and he just wanted to relax, smoke a cigar and have a little cocktail. Yeah, no, I don't think I've ever seen someone more relaxed than that guy and and that's.
Speaker 2:That's what bourbon's about. So all right, man, that was fantastic. It's great to finally do a podcast right from here. We've been trying to do this ever since we started. And it's like a couple times where, yeah, we're going to do it, but we finally did it, not that we didn't get it done. Last year at Bourbon on the Banks, that was great.
Speaker 2:And once again, everybody Neely Family Distillery and most days you're going to find either Royce or Rebecca, or both of them, here Most days you know, I would say it's like right up there about at least 80, 85% Cause, that's you know, we stop in, and especially on a Sunday, although that even that one Sunday you're like I wasn't supposed to be here, but I'm here and I'm like I'm so happy you're here.
Speaker 4:That happens a lot, yeah All right, so let's finish this up.
Speaker 2:We're the Scotchy Bourbon Boys.
Speaker 3:ScotchyBourbonBoyscom for all things Scotchy Bourbon Boys.
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Speaker 3:Make sure you leave comments for us so that we know what you think.
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely, please leave feedback. That helps. So remember good bourbon equals good times good friends. Don't drink and drive, except for me. Drink responsibly and live your life dangerously, and little Steve-O is going to take us out. This is our oboe music Bum, bum, bum bum.
Speaker 1:Oh, show me the way to the next whiskey bar. Oh, don't ask why. Oh don't ask why. Oh don't ask why. Show me the way to the next whiskey bar oh, don't ask why. Oh don't ask why, for if we don't find the next whiskey bar.
Speaker 2:I tell you, we must die. I tell you, we must die.
Speaker 3:I tell you, I tell you I tell you, we must die.
