Latest / The Scotchy Bourbon Boys / Buffalo Trace Distillery's Harlen Wheatley, The Art and Science Behind their Renovation

Transcript

Buffalo Trace Distillery's Harlen Wheatley, The Art and Science Behind their Renovation · The Scotchy Bourbon Boys

• 0:58
  Speaker 1: Hey Scotchy Bourbon Boys, This is tiny to tell you about the new Dant Crossing.
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: Dant Crossing is a one-of-a-kind destination to make lasting memories with family and friends.
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: The pastoral campus is anchored by log-still distillery, where you can enjoy their truly outstanding Monks Road spirit.
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: Enjoy world-class entertainment at their outdoor amphitheater, the Amp, stay overnight at one of their unique lodging options, host an unforgettable experience at their 18,000 square foot wedding and events venue, and enjoy acres of wooded walking trails and a 12-acre fishing lake.
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: More attractions will open soon at Dant Crossing, including a fully functional private train depot and farm-to-table restaurant.
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: For more information, go to wwwdantcrossingcom.
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: Visit wwwdantcrossingcom wwwdantcrossingcom.
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: All right, welcome back to another podcast of the Scotchy Bourbon Boys.
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: We are almost fully represented here and this is a special podcast from Buffalo Trace Distillery where we are podcasting today with Harlan Wheatley.
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: Welcome, we got CT here, we got Whiskey, we got Roxy And we got Andy.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: Andy's making his first.
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: I don't know how much he's going to talk, but he's making his first appearance on our podcast.
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: He's been keeping us safe.
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: That's his main job.
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: He's got security, silent Andy.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: There you go.
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: So I'm very excited about this podcast.
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: Harlan and I podcasted.
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: I believe it was in October of 2021, which was that's a while ago, but and that you guys had we're into starting the renovation And we talked a little bit about that.
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: But here we are in July, almost July of 2023.
• 4:13
  Speaker 1: And the renovation, that part of the renovation that we were talking about, is finished And we're so excited, you know, to get you know, get your take on how everything went.
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: I mean we're.
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: We were really excited because the whole idea was to be able to mimic the bourbon that we've been producing and continue to expand and, you know, make more.
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: And we did a lot of work during the expansion.
• 4:42
  Speaker 3: It was about a couple hundred million dollars to make sure that we didn't change anything.
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: We measured the stills, we mimicked the plates and the trays and the flow rates and all the heights and all the things that we did, and but we didn't really know until we started running it how it was going to, you know, work out And we started the whole system up in January of 23.
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: And we were extremely happy with the outcome and came out to be exactly as planned and and on track.
• 5:16
  Speaker 3: And we have been making bourbon seven days a week ever since then.
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: So they're, they're just running full out both, both stills.
• 5:25
  Speaker 3: Both stills are running full out, up to our fermentation capacity.
• 5:31
  Speaker 3: So the latest and greatest expansion.
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: now we've moved on to the third phase of our expansion, which is more fermentation.
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: So now we have to put eight more fermenters in and two more boilers, and when we get that phase done then both stills will be running at full capacity.
• 5:51
  Speaker 4: And where is it going to go?
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: They're basically going to go outside because we're out of room.
• 5:56
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I was going to say I've taken almost every floor.
• 5:58
  Speaker 4: you guys saw I'm going.
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: Yeah, So we have to put them outside and we'll be pumping them from the, from the building across the street, to our you know stills.
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: But So how much?
• 6:14
  Speaker 1: what, like what I say modernization, have you guys done as far as giving?
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: have you given yourself more control to do the same thing?
• 6:25
  Speaker 3: Oh for sure.
• 6:26
  Speaker 3: One of the things we wanted to do is make sure we incorporated new technology And so we're able to clean things better.
• 6:33
  Speaker 3: You know more.
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: We're managing our streams or processes better and, you know definitely, streamlining more efficient.
• 6:42
  Speaker 3: We put in a lot of controls and systems in place for us to be able to run better, smoother, you know.
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and there you know that's one thing that when we go to different distilleries and see people there's a lot of people building distilleries right now And you see all the, all the choices that they do make And what you I mean what's out there as far as almost full automation is.
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: It's crazy like what kind of control.
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: But I always felt that you know if you're just going to, if you don't have somebody who's done it in the past and knows what he wants to do, that that automate.
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: Automation can be bad because it becomes more you know vanilla.
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: But if you have somebody like yourself or some of the people in the industry and you give you that control, all of a sudden you're guaranteed one of your workers isn't going to screw up because it comes off exactly where you wanted at the time And it's not relying on stuff that can happen.
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: You know what I mean at a distillery.
• 7:47
  Speaker 3: Well, I'm one of the unusual individuals that was here before any automation And one of the things we were real careful about was the our predecessors.
• 8:00
  Speaker 3: You know we've been doing this for 200 years And a lot of the equipment when I started was put in in the 30s 1930s You look great for your age, yeah.
• 8:09
  Speaker 3: So you know, a hundred years later, one of the things we wanted to make sure was we developed our automation around our process and not change the process to match automation, and that was a really important piece to our expansion, as we we didn't change the process at all.
• 8:28
  Speaker 3: In fact, we made it more stable, and then we just added automation to make sure you know yeah, and like really important difference.
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's just like giving you a tool, like you said.
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: It's like you can.
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: You can just make it more secure, more that everything that needs to happen is consistent is going to.
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's the one.
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: thank you, he threw that out there for me.
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: So, one of the things you know we talked about and you know you're the brands all have been branded, for instance, the different warehouses where your different brands come from, and everything And you talked about.
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: Then you know you're working on constructing those, those warehouses, with the same conditions.
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: But when we were on tour, that was really cool that we found out about warehouse HH, which which is really cool, and but but talk about what you did in there to make sure that what's happening in H is the same thing that's in HH.
• 9:33
  Speaker 3: Well, one of the things we did on all of our new expansion is we did we used metal clad, but we also spent the extra million per warehouse and we built 19 of them up on our farm to ensure that we can control the temperature.
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: And then we installed floor heat, radiant floor heat and dual zones so we can control the temperature throughout the warehouse.
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: And that's really important for quality and consistency of the aging.
• 10:06
  Speaker 3: And we wanted to match some of the conditions that we have down at the original you know warehouses and we were able to do that.
• 10:14
  Speaker 5: So it's exciting that we can do that based on what we're trying to raise there And for people that aren't obviously here and don't realize it, I mean you're talking about warehouse H sitting down here between buildings in a low area, and this new rickhouse is going to be up on the hill, So can keeping them consistent between the two of them is like having one in Ohio and having one in Kentucky.
• 10:39
  Speaker 5: I mean a little bit.
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: A little bit.
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: We similar environment but we do again.
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: For us, the nice thing is we can have a lot more control on what those barrels are seeing as far as the environment, and I think we made some improvements because it's more consistent with the floor heat and some of the fans and things that we can do to make the I know it's going to be one of my questions.
• 11:02
  Speaker 4: You know it's funny because there are people that I don't know, that anybody isn't that's in the bourbon, isn't really aware of the expansions the warehouse on the warehouse is on top of the hills and the fact that you could fill them as soon as you could build them.
• 11:16
  Speaker 4: I mean that I think that's that story is out there, but there's.
• 11:21
  Speaker 4: I've heard all kinds of people say oh well, you know, they heated every floor and that way they can control humidity.
• 11:27
  Speaker 4: And then I'm like they're not a technology that would have to go into one of those buildings to match not just temperature but humidity convection.
• 11:37
  Speaker 4: There's a natural circulation in a large building that you would have to.
• 11:40
  Speaker 4: I mean, the technology is just replicate the airflow has to be astounding.
• 11:47
  Speaker 4: I mean you know you said you spent an extra million, you know, just on insulation, just on insulation.
• 11:53
  Speaker 4: Yeah, so I mean, what goes?
• 11:55
  Speaker 4: what goes into a building that you have to take up?
• 11:57
  Speaker 4: a building that's historic, like warehouse age.
• 12:00
  Speaker 4: It's completely different than anything on the property.
• 12:02
  Speaker 4: It's metal clad, you know.
• 12:05
  Speaker 4: It's got it's own characteristics, it's leaky.
• 12:09
  Speaker 4: You know from the sides And how do you?
• 12:12
  Speaker 4: match that in a brand new building that's filled full of insulation and technology.
• 12:16
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think the secret is control and and then ventilation and focus on what the barrel sees.
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: You know, not so much the look of the warehouse we did put some, we did make them look good, with some wrong.
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: We did focus on what does the barrel see And we wanted to make sure the heights and the air, the air around it, were the same and and the airflow and and some of it is designed just because you have to build the structure to make sure it withstands the weight of 59,000, 500, 59,500 pound barrels.
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: Oh, that's just the and then.
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: So I get that you have that control and they were talking about how your mute.
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: The prototype for the whole thing is warehouse H.
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: So you're all the other Rick houses or you know.
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: Warehouses are all mimicking what's happening, naturally, at H.
• 13:23
  Speaker 3: We have warehouse L.
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: You know all the concrete floors that we have.
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: Warehouse C is a really great warehouse for aging.
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: You know extended ages because of the air flow where I'll see.
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: So we had a look at all and so did you build a couple extra with that control so that you can do, instead of trying to mirror everything that you're like?
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: well, what happens if I do this today or if I do that today, where you actually have control?
• 13:55
  Speaker 3: well, we're in the early years, right?
• 13:57
  Speaker 3: so we're learning as we go and we are making adjustments as we go.
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: So you know how many windows do we need to open and what's the air flow need to be, and we have ventilation in the warehouse, and so we're adjusting as well as we taste and test and we also built a warehouse X, which is our experimental warehouse, and so that allows us to do exactly what you're talking about and very you know air flow and temp and humidity and we actually varied sunlight because of the surface.
• 14:34
  Speaker 3: We wanted to vary the surface temperature of barrels because we have 400, i think 438 windows and everywhere how it all the new ones, and how does that barrel in front of the window act versus a barrel that's down the row?
• 15:36
  Speaker 3: you know where the house is gonna act because it gets direct sunlight on the barrel.
• 15:41
  Speaker 3: So we wanted to understand that and it does make a difference because of the surface temperatures things is no barrels are rotated here well, the nice thing, if you look at these bottles, each one of these bottles are different taste profile, and if you rotated barrels you're leaning more toward the same whiskey, and so we want to have a good variety to pick from.
• 16:05
  Speaker 3: You know, it's like picking strawberries or whatever.
• 16:08
  Speaker 3: You want to pick certain strawberries for certain markets probably, but you know, for us we can take a buffalo trace recipe and age it two more years and get eager air, and so we want to be able to do that based on the taste profile each one, and we can't do that if we rotated the barrels, because we'll get to, you know, too much the same.
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: We're on the be, a little different so when you were I mean you've you're in a line of master distillers of what would you as a whiskey greatness, okay, and you've been doing it for a long time then you're still fairly young, there's no doubt about that for a master distiller, but anyways.
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: So you're young for a master distiller even now.
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: I mean, there's you and and your experience.
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: You know you've come along what, what from when you started here and you've done pretty much everything right, and and you've met so many people I mean you've in this industry and the people that know you and and and just when we talk about you with other people, you know that you know we only hear good things about you.
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: You never hear that guy's a jerk or, and you don't hear any of that.
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: So that's a good thing, right.
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: But but at the same time, what surprised you the most as far as the industry, when, from like when you started and you were doing this to what you're doing now, what, what?
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: is there anything that just stuck out where it's just like I can't believe this is happening?
• 17:57
  Speaker 3: I think most people that have been paying attention think are a little surprised that the bourbon industry expanded as fast as it did.
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: You know we always wanted back when I started.
• 18:10
  Speaker 3: This place was a big distillery, used to be owned by shenley, and shenley was a big operation and they saw the industry shrink.
• 18:23
  Speaker 3: But so our capacity was always really big here and we thought we'll never exceed capacity.
• 18:31
  Speaker 3: I mean, we've got enough room to make all kinds of bourbon yeah, someday I'd like to see two shifts.
• 18:37
  Speaker 3: I'd like to see us, you know, make a few extra barrels and so on, and, and that two shifts only happened about 12 years ago and the reason, i know that's when we started hiring more people and so it happened a lot sooner.
• 18:53
  Speaker 3: I wanted to do that before retired and now we're into three plus shifts, you know, around a clock, seven days a week, and expanding, like we talked about, and, and whoever thought we would have to expand this place with the size?
• 19:07
  Speaker 3: we were already the largest single bourbon site in the world, and now we're definitely the biggest site in the world for making bourbon, and no plans of slowing down.
• 19:19
  Speaker 3: So but that part was a big surprise, for sure, and it's a.
• 19:24
  Speaker 3: It's a global product too.
• 19:25
  Speaker 3: You know, anywhere you go, it's the same message.
• 19:28
  Speaker 3: We could use more bourbon if we could get it.
• 19:30
  Speaker 3: You know, even go to any country these days, and you know, used to.
• 19:35
  Speaker 3: When I started you, you'd have to explain what bourbon is.
• 19:37
  Speaker 3: You know this is bourbon, you know, and now nowadays it's.
• 19:43
  Speaker 3: You know what.
• 19:44
  Speaker 3: What kind of yeast do you use?
• 19:46
  Speaker 3: or?
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: are they tell you what?
• 19:53
  Speaker 3: it is, but but it's, it's.
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: It's changed a little bit yeah, for sure you got anything CT no, i mean so like on that line there.
• 20:03
  Speaker 5: Do you see, like the bourbon boom, the way it's going?
• 20:08
  Speaker 5: I mean, obviously in the United States it's gone crazy, but we have really not kept into the global site of it.
• 20:16
  Speaker 5: So what happens when the India market, for instance, wants more bourbon, is that?
• 20:25
  Speaker 5: do you see that being as much of an issue?
• 20:28
  Speaker 5: like when you're planning the new site.
• 20:30
  Speaker 5: You know you're you're doubling capacity.
• 20:32
  Speaker 5: Whatever is that?
• 20:34
  Speaker 5: a big part of it, more than even the US capacity.
• 20:37
  Speaker 3: So as busy as we have been and all the things we've been doing, we still say we're just getting started.
• 20:45
  Speaker 3: Yeah, which is craziness.
• 20:47
  Speaker 3: I mean it's busy as much stuff, things that we're doing, so we haven't really even touched the gold market.
• 20:53
  Speaker 3: I mean we're definitely getting involved, right, we're seeding the market and working with distributors and they've got a small sales team, you know well, we talked to a lot, like Jeff and I know I do.
• 21:06
  Speaker 5: We do especially with people on in our Facebook groups and stuff.
• 21:09
  Speaker 5: And India is so big that they have a huge interest in it and you know I think that scotches and and whiskeys, you know, obviously have their place.
• 21:20
  Speaker 5: I think people are really starting to get intrigued globally with the sweetness and the complexity, that you can use bourbon, like it works so well, and so many drinks.
• 21:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah, not just very, very straight, oh no, oh.
• 21:34
  Speaker 3: So we tried it's.
• 21:49
  Speaker 5: We took the H Taylor small batch okay, and substituted it for milk.
• 21:54
  Speaker 3: Oh yeah and a cinnamon, cinnamon toast crunch.
• 22:09
  Speaker 5: Okay, so usually get done with your cereal in your milk and then you drink it.
• 22:13
  Speaker 5: Yeah, was that good.
• 22:14
  Speaker 5: I'm gonna plead the fifth.
• 22:18
  Speaker 5: That was some of the hardest thing I ever did.
• 22:20
  Speaker 5: It was that was a little odd, but the friend of mine who liked it, okay, but yeah, so there's, yeah, yeah it's not often that when you finish your bowl of cereal you want to shot a milk, but yeah so it's it's complex all the way it has some use all the way up through that.
• 22:41
  Speaker 3: Well, i think that's a lot of the secret, that the reason bourbon did expand the way it has is because of the flexibility and the cocktails and the bartenders across the world are so creative and they some of these guys are turning out some awesome cocktails and you can make so many different drinks with these bourbons.
• 23:06
  Speaker 4: And yeah, and I think that's part of the reason it became popular is people were at the time, people were very sensitive to what they're spending their money on and they wanted something with a good, high-quality, you know cocktail well, i mean, if you turn the dial back to ten or twelve years ago, there was a big movement and the young people and young people, i mean younger than us and thank you yeah, that would be you, thank you.
• 23:29
  Speaker 4: And there was this whole like retro kind of thing where everyone wanted the old stuff right, and I think that revitalized like the old-fashioned, you're right, yeah, which is kind of a really bourbon drink, yeah.
• 23:41
  Speaker 4: And then all of a sudden, you know, you know, parents are going out to dinner with their kid, they're working in old-fashioned and they're like, oh, let me try that.
• 23:49
  Speaker 4: And then it became popular again.
• 23:52
  Speaker 4: It's easier to drink and get into it.
• 23:54
  Speaker 4: This is truly one of those bottom-up stories, in my opinion, because the young people are really what revitalized that cocktail, absolutely.
• 24:01
  Speaker 4: And then we, as the parents, have the resources and we're like well, i mean sure, let's do this and and and bourbon is.
• 24:07
  Speaker 4: I mean it's, it's America's beverage, you know it's uniquely American has to be made here, and I think that's some of the draw that we see from overseas, and it's like Jeff says all the time they want what they can't have.
• 24:22
  Speaker 5: You know, everybody does they.
• 24:23
  Speaker 5: They want something, but they can't go readily get their hands on.
• 24:26
  Speaker 5: So it's like, okay, you know, overseas, i'm sure so, and so has a bottle of something, but very few people yeah.
• 24:35
  Speaker 5: So it's like, boy, how?
• 24:36
  Speaker 3: do we get that?
• 24:36
  Speaker 3: well, and also when you're over there, wherever you are, and they're tasting their drink, and then you set this one beside it and you taste that and you think, wow, but that one is pretty good.
• 24:49
  Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, and it stands up to it.
• 24:52
  Speaker 3: To any whiskey in the world it stands up.
• 24:54
  Speaker 3: And that's the idea to be able to compete.
• 24:57
  Speaker 3: We, you know, people always ask who are your competitors and our competitors across the globe.
• 25:02
  Speaker 3: We want to, you know, we want to be able to compete with any whiskey on the market.
• 25:06
  Speaker 3: And if they just taste them, it's okay to like both, but if you just taste them, you're gonna like.
• 25:11
  Speaker 3: You know, i think you're gonna like.
• 25:13
  Speaker 3: You know what you, what you end up with and like I say, the, the flexibility of cocktails and all other things.
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: I don't know about cereal, but I know yeah but but what you know, i I contend that you take your buffalo trace product right and it sells right around between 25 $30.
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: And then you take the the high-end whiskies and just let's just take, for instance, old fire copper and that is a very expensive bottle and and it's a special bottle, and people are like, well, that whiskey is not worth you know that price, but you're not.
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: It's not about, it's not always about the whiskey.
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: It's about being able to have something that's very limited, that not a lot of people there's not a lot made and not a lot of people get to taste it or have it or obtain it.
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: And that's where that kind of comes in.
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: I don't think there's even a $150 bottle compared to, you know, buffalo Trace.
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: It's not $130 better tasting whiskey, but it's what you're trying to attain, whether it's marketing, as far as packaging and availability right.
• 26:39
  Speaker 3: The availability is the main driver behind those type of prices.
• 26:43
  Speaker 3: And also we learned early on it's important to attach a story to each of these offerings.
• 26:49
  Speaker 3: So when you think about the OFCs or the antique collection, the Pappies, all these different bottles, that offerings that we have, there's a story with each And, like you say, if there's only 500 bottles in the world and you have one of them, then that's what's driving most of that.
• 27:08
  Speaker 4: But it's got a really high meaner factor.
• 27:12
  Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely Yeah.
• 27:13
  Speaker 3: Yeah, i've experienced some of that.
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: But I always, i always say people talk, we're not, we're.
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: this isn't a big secondary podcast.
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: Okay, we pretty much get what you know we might trade sometimes for something, but as far as secondary goes.
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: but people are always like secondaries markets, out of control.
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: it's $230 for this bottle And it's two one and I'm like, well, you're really not paying any more for the whiskey, you're paying exact price retail, but what you're paying for is somebody to wait in line or somebody to obtain it for you and then deliver it to you.
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: That's what the secondary market, why it's out of control.
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: You know you're not actually paying more money for the whiskey.
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: you're paying for that service to obtain it And you know that's why I don't think most states unless somebody's doing for some reason.
• 28:00
  Speaker 1: you know, nefarious things always want to happen, you know, on some of the products And it's not something we want to touch base on.
• 28:07
  Speaker 1: But at the same time, it's good.
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: you guys have really really good whiskey that's sought after And it, it.
• 28:20
  Speaker 3: And we want people.
• 28:20
  Speaker 3: we want people to appreciate it And I think I think we we want it to be fairly priced.
• 28:25
  Speaker 3: We want everybody to be able to afford our whiskies and bourbons and spirits in general, and so we try to have a little bit of everything, and I think the secret is consistency, quality and variety and, you know, making sure that the customers and consumers appreciate what they're getting.
• 28:43
  Speaker 3: you know.
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: Well, in Ohio you guys have done that.
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: I mean, with the control and everything, how it's come through in Ohio.
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: We really, i really think that you guys have done a really good job, down to our lotteries for the really high end stuff.
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: People, people have a shot at it.
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: You still have to work at it, you know, if you don't want to hang out in line, you know some people are like I work and not, you know, but there's Saturday lines and whatever.
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: There's ways to get it And and you, you guys have the supply and how the whole thing.
• 29:14
  Speaker 1: Over the past couple of years we've been really happy on what you guys and we feel that's what you're trying to do throughout the country.
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: Definitely.
• 29:22
  Speaker 3: We're trying, we are trying and we're putting more out again, again, with the expansion that that'll hit the shelves in six or seven years But and there was a step change when that happened, so we'll see that as time moves forward.
• 29:36
  Speaker 3: But every year we've made more and more and it's been shipping out And, you know, luckily for us, we've had, you know, more demand Also.
• 29:44
  Speaker 3: We we appreciate that And we're planning on it.
• 29:48
  Speaker 3: I always ask people in 2048, will you sign up for a bottle, because we've already made the juice.
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: If I'm alive.
• 29:57
  Speaker 3: We want to make that juice for that brand And you know so, most people won't sign up.
• 30:02
  Speaker 3: So that's the risk that we're taking, Absolutely.
• 30:05
  Speaker 5: Yeah, if you need people to sign up, we're here, so there is very few industries that put forth the effort that the bourbon industry does to get a reward, some maybe down the road down the road And that's if you know like I think it's always amazing when you go to a tool and they talk about you know the angel share and oh, we got this great 15 year old barrel and now there's less than 10 bottles.
• 30:32
  Speaker 1: Well, prohibition was only 13 years long, right, when you think about it.
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: It's probably right at the point when all the stuff that had been distilled and had been aging was about used.
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: Besides the people like you guys which were, you know, medicinally distilling.
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: But that's about that.
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: With, all of a sudden, the judges, the judges and all the lawyers, they couldn't get the bourbon anymore.
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: So they said well, time to get rid of this, we need to start making more.
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: So, yeah, it wasn't that this country stopped drinking, was it?
• 31:04
  Speaker 1: Nope?
• 31:07
  Speaker 5: So talk about the bottle with your name on it, because I think that's something that we, you know we talk
• 31:14
  Speaker 5: about bourbon, but we will probably all agree in this room.
• 31:19
  Speaker 5: And vodka is not my choice, but women like it.
• 31:26
  Speaker 5: It mixes great with a lot of drinks.
• 31:28
  Speaker 5: Not men like it, but like 33% of the public.
• 31:33
  Speaker 5: But, your vodka is way better than in.
• 31:43
  Speaker 5: Ohio we drink, you know whatever brands it is, but it is just has a such a, it's drinkable by itself.
• 31:50
  Speaker 5: I think most vodka, I feel like, has to be in a red bull, a cranberry, whatever it is Red bull.
• 31:57
  Speaker 3: Red bull and vodka.
• 31:58
  Speaker 3: I'll tell you right now if you take a chilled glass out of the freezer and pour that vodka in it, you can sip it just like a nice bourbon.
• 32:08
  Speaker 3: And that is with all vodkas.
• 32:10
  Speaker 3: They're all a little bit different, just like the bourbons.
• 32:12
  Speaker 3: But we designed this vodka to be that way So you can drink it neat and, you know, enjoy it.
• 32:19
  Speaker 3: And we wanted it to be kind of a flagship for our distillery.
• 32:23
  Speaker 3: We had the equipment, we had the ability to do it, so we might as well.
• 32:28
  Speaker 3: So you say you don't drink the vodka, but we know somebody, probably in your family or your friends.
• 32:34
  Speaker 3: Exactly, and that's the reason we're going to have one on the shelf.
• 32:37
  Speaker 3: We want you to get this one, you know, because it's one of our brands.
• 32:40
  Speaker 3: It's on my shelf.
• 32:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, you blocked it, But he bought.
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: he bought the big bottle because he was with his girlfriend and she's got a picture.
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: He's she's like where's that bottle?
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: He goes, I never bought that.
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: And then all of a sudden she shows him a picture and he then he searched for it and found it.
• 32:55
  Speaker 3: But precisely why we started making it.
• 32:57
  Speaker 3: So we wanted to have something to offer those people who might not drink just bourbon all the time, And we wanted to.
• 33:03
  Speaker 3: you know, with my name on it, we're going to make sure it tastes good, obviously.
• 33:07
  Speaker 5: It.
• 33:07
  Speaker 5: is there one that drink that actually can be sick?
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: It's not, can you?
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: so I had it today in the in the, and I'm not a huge vodka fan, but I'll taste.
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: I dislike gin, but I'll taste them, but that seemed different even from when I've tasted it the other in the past.
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: Have have you altered it at all or is it?
• 33:30
  Speaker 1: still the same It must have been.
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: I'm having a good tasting day.
• 33:35
  Speaker 1: That's just how it works, right.
• 33:37
  Speaker 3: It's 10 times that we did everything a little bit different.
• 33:40
  Speaker 3: We made it kind of complicated.
• 33:42
  Speaker 3: We have a couple different recipes.
• 33:44
  Speaker 3: We do 82 proof in the bottle, 10 times distilled And we design it to be nice, delicate, sweet finish And inside.
• 33:54
  Speaker 3: The idea, like you say, is you can drink a neat course if you want to put it in cocktails, it's affordable.
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: Do you, do you take it off the still just as high as regularly, like higher level, okay, okay, well, all right.
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: So we wanted to talk about the Pete finished bourbon or not finished the peated bourbon.
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: So how did that come about?
• 34:23
  Speaker 3: Well, the idea is that you know some people like to drink the Scotch right and the idea we didn't have anything utilizing Pete And we wanted to, you know, try that.
• 34:35
  Speaker 3: We wanted to implement some of the same processes we do for the bourbons and then substitute the peated.
• 34:41
  Speaker 3: We competed barley with the, with the recipe And we wanted to see if it would carry through with our distillation And we didn't want to put make it overpowering, but just a hint, and I think it worked out to be what we decide, what we expected, and came out with that nice little hint of smokiness And it was part of our experimental collection And we you know we've done 26 of those since we started in 2006 started releasing them.
• 35:12
  Speaker 3: Our first experiment was in 1995.
• 35:15
  Speaker 3: We did some finishes and different things, but since then we focused on traditional style experiments here at Buffalo Trace and then things like finishes and things.
• 35:28
  Speaker 3: We can use it one of our other distillaries So.
• 35:32
  Speaker 3: But this one was a straight up recipe change And then use the same techniques as our bourbon And then see when we're in the back.
• 35:40
  Speaker 3: We were real happy with it.
• 35:41
  Speaker 3: We like the.
• 35:41
  Speaker 3: We wanted people to expect.
• 35:43
  Speaker 3: that's why we label it that way, because it's not a traditional, real traditional, you know bourbon.
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: But you know, i had that hint, so you, you did a separate match bill for that one.
• 35:56
  Speaker 1: So, okay, i didn't know that, you know.
• 36:00
  Speaker 1: okay, so okay.
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: Okay, so did you.
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: where did you source your Pete?
• 36:10
  Speaker 3: Well, we bought the pita.
• 36:13
  Speaker 3: Okay, we bought that.
• 36:15
  Speaker 1: It was.
• 36:16
  Speaker 3: We didn't make that.
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: But was it locally in the United States, or did you buy it from Scotland?
• 36:21
  Speaker 3: We did buy it from well, it came over from Germany.
• 36:25
  Speaker 3: Germany okay, Germany.
• 36:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we were at a place I think Thornton, and they did a.
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: They actually were able to do the bar.
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: They harvested Pete from Illinois.
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: Didn't know there was Pete in Illinois.
• 36:40
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so that was a fun, that was interesting, but the results that they had have to be similar.
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: I really think it adds When you're not trying Right And if it's being done with like you were doing it with art.
• 36:58
  Speaker 1: You didn't want to overdo it but you probably had different levels or whatever you pushing it.
• 37:03
  Speaker 3: Yeah, you can measure that, of course, but but we wanted just to add the hint And I think it was successful.
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I've got to figure out how to taste it.
• 37:16
  Speaker 3: I would recommend tasting it We, you know just to be able to pick that out and then drink it out.
• 37:21
  Speaker 3: We like it, you know yeah, it's just finding it.
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: That's the hard.
• 37:26
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, that's one thing, but I, if you, if you, you know, sometimes bars or whatever, you can get a, get a pour and you got to make the decisions when you're going to spend the money That one night sounds like it's worth it.
• 37:43
  Speaker 3: I think it's worth tasting Yeah, Yeah for sure, do you got anything?
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: How about you?
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: I guess I do too, you know.
• 37:53
  Speaker 4: So I'm kind of curious to see what your take is on this, because I'm kind of a purist If something's good and it's not broke, we don't need to fix it.
• 38:03
  Speaker 4: I mean, you can tweak it.
• 38:05
  Speaker 4: And certainly there have been whiskey companies, including some from where we're from that have said we can speed up the aging process.
• 38:13
  Speaker 4: That's BS, well and so.
• 38:24
  Speaker 4: So now you have this unique opportunity where you have basically created a laboratory in the form of a Rick House, and I actually know of somebody out West that is producing a bourbon, and they're artists Officially changing temperatures to make the wood cycle.
• 38:45
  Speaker 4: So that's their story.
• 38:46
  Speaker 4: Right, turn, heat up real high, take it down, and you know, 10 days high, 10 days low and we're going to get, you know, 10 years worth of aging in a single year.
• 38:54
  Speaker 4: Yeah, again, i don't.
• 38:56
  Speaker 4: there's something about nature that we just can't replicate.
• 38:58
  Speaker 4: Right Time cannot be replicated.
• 39:02
  Speaker 4: So I mean, what's your spin on on?
• 39:04
  Speaker 4: you know, are you going to be able to do that?
• 39:06
  Speaker 4: And you know, are you tempted, are you tempted, in warehouse X, to take a floor and start, you know, playing with the thermostat every two days?
• 39:16
  Speaker 4: or you know, and what's your take on people that say you can, you can, you can fake mother nature?
• 39:24
  Speaker 3: So we have learned that lesson through our experimental program and and other things.
• 39:29
  Speaker 3: But we've learned the lesson just like you said.
• 39:31
  Speaker 3: You can't cheat father time or mother nature.
• 39:33
  Speaker 3: You just are leaving out some one important ingredient that you can't replicate.
• 39:39
  Speaker 3: And then the other fact of that is, let's say you could and you went into the liquor store or the bar let's say a bar and you belly up to the bar and there's two bottles on the shelf and one of them says made in three months but tastes like a 20 year old.
• 39:57
  Speaker 3: And then you've got one under the left that that was aged for 20 years in a warehouse.
• 40:02
  Speaker 3: Which one would you pick?
• 40:03
  Speaker 3: You're going to pick the traditional one.
• 40:05
  Speaker 3: What does she look like?
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: Right Yeah.
• 40:08
  Speaker 3: You're going to pick the traditional one because you know what to expect.
• 40:12
  Speaker 3: You appreciate the work and effort that went into that.
• 40:17
  Speaker 3: 20 year old you know whiskey, you're going to pick that.
• 40:19
  Speaker 3: So now you might try the one on the right as a kind of just to see what it tastes like, but you're not going to go back to that.
• 40:26
  Speaker 3: So we know that long term that's not the solution to our industry.
• 40:32
  Speaker 3: And we also agree with you that you can't cheat and make it taste exactly the same.
• 40:38
  Speaker 3: We've proven that time and time again.
• 40:40
  Speaker 3: When you say attempt, we've done it, just to understand it.
• 40:44
  Speaker 3: So we know for sure that you can change the temperatures and change that whiskey, but what's going to happen?
• 40:52
  Speaker 3: you're going to get the color but you're leaving out father time and you're not going to get the extracts through time from that barrel, even though you force it through.
• 41:01
  Speaker 3: There's some that has to come through based on time, and so you can artificially age it, but you can't give it the experience.
• 41:11
  Speaker 1: No, no, actually.
• 41:12
  Speaker 1: Well, actually, what, what?
• 41:16
  Speaker 1: but you can do what you do.
• 41:19
  Speaker 1: When you heat up in the wintertime, you warm up the warehouses with the steam.
• 41:23
  Speaker 1: You can't.
• 41:24
  Speaker 1: You still include time.
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: So when you do what, you're not trying to get it out in three months, you're still doing the six, seven years.
• 41:34
  Speaker 1: You have time there.
• 41:35
  Speaker 1: But that's where these, these bourbons, start to become, where what what Taylor did with the steam, that's where you get that more caramel or more richness out of it because of the fact that you're not speeding up time.
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: Nobody can actually do that.
• 41:52
  Speaker 1: The, the amount of stuff that happened to it in that process added into nature, is where you get the quality And the reason we do that is because we're here in Kentucky.
• 42:04
  Speaker 3: If we would do the same process with the heat in Texas, oh, yeah, no somewhere south you're gonna get a whole different product.
• 42:12
  Speaker 3: That's not proper.
• 42:14
  Speaker 1: So you have to adjust what you're doing based on the environment.
• 42:19
  Speaker 3: We say anticipated use.
• 42:20
  Speaker 3: So if we know something's gonna be 10 years old, then we have to make sure it's aged properly for 10 years to get that balance of aging characteristics with time.
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: So in Texas they should be putting air conditioning in their rickhouses so they can make it a little bit colder instead of always so hot.
• 42:39
  Speaker 1: They made it for the second.
• 42:40
  Speaker 1: I mean yeah, yeah, yeah, i mean it's true, we shouldn't do it But they've proven they can do it Now, when you're aging in these rickhouses.
• 42:47
  Speaker 1: We also mentioned is that you keep on a on a level, a chemistry level.
• 42:56
  Speaker 1: You are analyzing the whiskey as it ages, comparing it to the other rickhouses.
• 43:01
  Speaker 1: Also right, you've gotten that detailed.
• 43:04
  Speaker 3: Oh, absolutely Every floor has a fingerprint based on anticipated use, and it's we analyze it not only just with our taste, but analytically.
• 43:15
  Speaker 3: We look at every single floor we have.
• 43:18
  Speaker 3: That's amazing.
• 43:19
  Speaker 1: This is just so exciting.
• 43:21
  Speaker 5: Okay.
• 43:21
  Speaker 5: So I have a question Because I hear this all the time throughout the bourbon community.
• 43:26
  Speaker 5: So of course the benchmark line exists in Ohio We only have benchmarky, and still really that's what you see.
• 43:34
  Speaker 5: But then small badge, single barrel, barrel, proof Absolutely, come out and all the rumors start about well, that's blanterns, that didn't make it to Blanens, all those things.
• 43:48
  Speaker 4: Oh yeah, yeah, waller.
• 43:49
  Speaker 1: Tailor.
• 43:50
  Speaker 4: So is the bandwidth already.
• 43:52
  Speaker 5: So, not that you have to tell us everything, because we don't, but what brought the benchmark line into the lineup?
• 43:59
  Speaker 5: Why was it brought?
• 44:01
  Speaker 5: when you know, obviously a six to seven year old Buffalo Trace for 2399, I think in Ohio already had a good stance.
• 44:10
  Speaker 5: What made that?
• 44:11
  Speaker 3: become a thing.
• 44:12
  Speaker 3: Well, it is popular right now to have varieties and different varieties of the original label And for us we couldn't do that with our older inventory because we didn't have the inventory.
• 44:24
  Speaker 3: So we were able to design the benchmark at a, you know, a younger age it's only a four year old product And we were able to do that.
• 44:34
  Speaker 3: So benchmark doesn't make it to Blanen because it's only a four year old product And but we were able to deliver a variety that people were that are wanting because you know barrel strength and all the different.
• 44:47
  Speaker 3: We actually have a couple of flavors, i think in that.
• 44:49
  Speaker 3: But that's the idea behind it is we're able to do that, you know with a younger bourbon.
• 44:55
  Speaker 5: So benchmark line, truly just because of what it is, is the younger line of the group Yep, whereas pretty much here six years and up.
• 45:04
  Speaker 5: Correct, taylor.
• 45:06
  Speaker 1: Yeah, so I had a EH Taylor single barrel and I try and explain single barrels are they're not all winners for that person.
• 45:19
  Speaker 1: What might not be a winner for you would be a winner for somebody else.
• 45:23
  Speaker 1: But I had a Taylor single barrel and I've had multiple.
• 45:27
  Speaker 1: That wasn't I, just it wasn't for me.
• 45:30
  Speaker 1: And then I got the single barrel benchmark and put the two together And the benchmark at four years was that was a really good barrel And that's the kind of thing that can happen with single barrels.
• 45:43
  Speaker 1: I mean, that's why they're single barrels.
• 45:46
  Speaker 3: We do it all the time, Of course.
• 45:47
  Speaker 3: We have a single barrel select program and people come in and they'll I keep trying, Well, three or four barrels.
• 45:53
  Speaker 3: I keep trying for years.
• 45:55
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a little different this year They're drawing them out.
• 45:57
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we love that, and then you get another ticket the next time, so we feel like we actually have a shot.
• 46:05
  Speaker 3: Yeah, you do have a shot.
• 46:05
  Speaker 3: Whatever?
• 46:06
  Speaker 1: the ratio.
• 46:08
  Speaker 3: But on the single barrels, if there's four there then some people prefer one over the other And we do it all the time.
• 46:15
  Speaker 3: And when liquor stores or retail shops pick their own barrel, they're doing that based on their personal preference And generally you know they're all pretty good.
• 46:25
  Speaker 3: We pre-approval when they go in.
• 46:27
  Speaker 3: So we know they're all good but they're all just slightly, a little bit different.
• 46:30
  Speaker 3: And that's the fun of the single barrel.
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah, there's no doubt.
• 46:34
  Speaker 1: I mean the Buffalo Trace.
• 46:38
  Speaker 1: When the Buffalo Trace, i've had some of your single barrel Buffalo Traces that were so sugary so I mean it was just like, well, i need to go down and get a case of that.
• 46:49
  Speaker 1: And then it's like then you're like, well, now Buffalo Trace has been wrecked for me forever because it's so good.
• 46:56
  Speaker 1: But yeah, that's that program.
• 46:58
  Speaker 1: Now you're always looking, i always look in that when we do single barrel picks is for complexity Cause.
• 47:04
  Speaker 1: A lot of times, you know, then there's complexity with flavor profile that matches And then there's complexity with which is completely different from the flavor profile.
• 47:14
  Speaker 1: So there's so much to do in a single barrel.
• 47:16
  Speaker 1: It's a very exciting process, especially if you get to do it with you.
• 47:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah, that's what.
• 47:20
  Speaker 3: I'm gonna do.
• 47:21
  Speaker 3: I'm glad to help with that, But they put a lot of times.
• 47:24
  Speaker 3: people will select them because they're a little different.
• 47:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 47:28
  Speaker 3: And they're not the standard.
• 47:29
  Speaker 3: As much standard.
• 47:31
  Speaker 4: You know, we like to be as consistent as possible but I tell people all the time that if you're gonna go for a single barrel or you find a single barrel you really love, right, and it's the ABC store, what you just picked one You need to keep shopping because chances are if you like that, that person picked that profile because that's what they like.
• 47:53
  Speaker 4: So you're a pilot and they're a pilot match.
• 47:55
  Speaker 6: That's true If you go somewhere and you drink a single barrel and you hate?
• 47:59
  Speaker 4: it stop shopping.
• 48:01
  Speaker 3: Well, the opposite is, if you taste it, you don't like it, then you better go for it, right, right.
• 48:06
  Speaker 4: If that person's pilot, they're gonna keep picking what they like.
• 48:10
  Speaker 4: That happened to me with wine.
• 48:12
  Speaker 3: I asked the guy because I don't drink a lot of wine.
• 48:14
  Speaker 3: I said pick bourbon.
• 48:16
  Speaker 3: Yeah, pick me out of good because I have friends that drink wine, just like he has friends that drink vodka.
• 48:22
  Speaker 5: But We got to get different friends, yeah, but anyway I said, pick me out of good wine.
• 48:30
  Speaker 3: And I already picked one out and I hated it.
• 48:32
  Speaker 3: It was terrible, so I never went back.
• 48:34
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, most of the CTs friends are actually imaginary.
• 48:38
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah, but it's easy to buy them.
• 48:40
  Speaker 1: Well, our daughter makes wine out of the apartment, and so she knows what I like.
• 48:45
  Speaker 2: So she says I don't know, Mom, you'll really like this one.
• 48:48
  Speaker 3: She knows I like the oak here, chardonnay.
• 48:50
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's what I like.
• 48:51
  Speaker 3: I like the creamier you know Yeah.
• 48:55
  Speaker 2: Well, more apricot, more of the warmer fruits rather than the dry ones.
• 48:59
  Speaker 1: So anyway As a sommelier and then she's getting into winemaking.
• 49:03
  Speaker 1: I keep trying to get her into the bourbon aspect, saying you got to get in this because her She's not tasting it Well, but when she tastes something she remembers what it tastes like and she can remember all the flavor notes.
• 49:17
  Speaker 1: So it's like when it comes to that she remembers it, whereas most people when they're tasting it, they're trying to figure out what they're tasting.
• 49:26
  Speaker 1: They figure it out, but then they drink two more things and then they, yeah, well, still, she has that memory up to now.
• 49:32
  Speaker 1: Yeah, but I am trying to get her into the whisky in the bourbon industry because we know a lot of people.
• 49:38
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we know both.
• 49:41
  Speaker 1: Yeah, all right.
• 49:44
  Speaker 1: So anything else you want to add in?
• 49:47
  Speaker 1: Thank you, nick.
• 49:49
  Speaker 1: Good, thank you.
• 49:51
  Speaker 1: So I have a final question So you know Buffalo Trace, You get a high five on that and you give him shit.
• 50:01
  Speaker 1: Who knew?
• 50:03
  Speaker 4: So you don't only have a great palate but you're psychic.
• 50:06
  Speaker 4: So it's interesting to me.
• 50:10
  Speaker 4: I've been Buffalo Trace so many times and I can't count, i literally can't count.
• 50:15
  Speaker 4: And I've been all of tours and I've heard all of history.
• 50:17
  Speaker 4: I feel like I could almost be a guy right.
• 50:19
  Speaker 4: And you look at some of the greats that have honored the Hollywood halls here And you can't talk about Elmer Teague without saying he was the first to bring Wayne single barrel right.
• 50:34
  Speaker 4: So I guess I'm curious, 50 years from now, when somebody is talking about Harlem weekly, what does it you hope?
• 50:44
  Speaker 4: Because you've had so much here?
• 50:45
  Speaker 4: I mean the expansion, doubling the size, the warehouses, obviously, the vodka.
• 50:50
  Speaker 4: I mean what's the one thing you hope?
• 50:52
  Speaker 3: you're remembered for I think I thought about song, but hopefully I got a few years.
• 50:59
  Speaker 4: But don't get it, everybody thinks about it.
• 51:01
  Speaker 3: Yeah, i think I thought about it.
• 51:03
  Speaker 3: It should be that we took the bourbon distillery up to the next level And while we did it, we were consistent and delivered really good whiskeys.
• 51:14
  Speaker 3: It's as simple as that, and we've more than doubled the capacity of the distillery and taken us up to the max.
• 51:24
  Speaker 3: This is a max.
• 51:25
  Speaker 3: It's never going to be any bigger than it is now, and so we were able to transition that into that without sacrificing a drop of quality, and we never will So focused on quality and consistency and delivering the volumes.
• 51:41
  Speaker 3: So hopefully you have to look at that part of it.
• 51:45
  Speaker 3: So what product do you think you're?
• 51:48
  Speaker 3: I mean, obviously the vodka.
• 51:50
  Speaker 3: There's your name while you're still here.
• 51:52
  Speaker 3: That's tough right, but I mean, what's that one?
• 51:56
  Speaker 3: Well, buffalo started from zero cases, so we were able to see that become global now.
• 52:03
  Speaker 3: That's a big accomplishment for us as a company And we were excited about all the brands.
• 52:09
  Speaker 3: Really, We're just kind of putting them on the market.
• 52:13
  Speaker 1: On the map.
• 52:13
  Speaker 1: I mean under you, they went from brands on the shelf to something that people want to obtain all the time and they can't get enough.
• 52:26
  Speaker 1: And I mean you're recognized by people who barely know anything about whiskey.
• 52:32
  Speaker 1: Because I mean, if you go to any whiskey store and you ask the person behind the counter what they hate the most, it's when someone comes in and asks them if they have Blanton's, they get they.
• 52:45
  Speaker 1: That is the.
• 52:46
  Speaker 1: Do you have Blanton's?
• 52:47
  Speaker 1: Moms come in with husbands have no idea.
• 52:52
  Speaker 1: Do you have Blanton's?
• 52:53
  Speaker 1: Everybody?
• 52:53
  Speaker 1: that's what.
• 52:54
  Speaker 1: That's the one question.
• 52:55
  Speaker 1: So, and you got to be proud of that, because people want something that you, you know that you guys are putting out and you've taken it to that level And I do think it's really important for people to understand.
• 53:07
  Speaker 3: It's a team And we have one heck of a team here and we've got about 700 people here now, which is crazy.
• 53:14
  Speaker 3: We had we had 50 when I started So we've changed the, we've changed the face of the place and everyone is pulling in the same direction.
• 53:22
  Speaker 3: So all is this happened because of this great team we have And I think it's a legacy that will continue because of all these people.
• 53:33
  Speaker 5: I and how big of a role you play in it.
• 53:35
  Speaker 5: I don't know.
• 53:36
  Speaker 5: But the, the overall facility, the, the visitor experience, i guess is a good way to put it is by far one of the best.
• 53:45
  Speaker 5: Oh, I mean, i see people and I come down almost every Friday and I'm down and I see people from every state And they, this is Disney world to most adults that aren't bringing their kids.
• 54:02
  Speaker 5: Some bring their kids but most of them are not.
• 54:04
  Speaker 1: But this, is that they?
• 54:06
  Speaker 5: they get a really, this is something where they just enjoy it, and I think that that creation, along with the product, has made it to where it is, what it is.
• 54:16
  Speaker 5: People want to be around it, they want to see the history, they want to see a Rick house that's full of barrels, that's been there for God knows how long.
• 54:25
  Speaker 5: That's important, i think.
• 54:28
  Speaker 3: And I think most of that stems from all 700 people that work here are very proud of what they do And they're excited about sharing, you know, the experiences and all the products that we're making, and then, well, they're happy Yeah.
• 54:44
  Speaker 5: Everybody you talk to has got a smile on their face.
• 54:46
  Speaker 6: There is not a person in the house that you have a drink, exactly.
• 54:52
  Speaker 4: How is that working Almost.
• 54:54
  Speaker 4: How many aliases do you have?
• 54:59
  Speaker 6: Hey, I will tell you a funny story.
• 55:00
  Speaker 6: Hey friends.
• 55:02
  Speaker 5: Real quick, funny story.
• 55:03
  Speaker 5: Last last year there was a period of time I came down six to eight weeks in a row, and or it was eight weeks.
• 55:09
  Speaker 5: Eight weeks in a row had not had a break And every Friday and all I wanted was a plans.
• 55:15
  Speaker 5: I couldn't get one Friday.
• 55:17
  Speaker 5: I get down here, Weller Green.
• 55:20
  Speaker 5: Next Friday, Weller Green, EH.
• 55:23
  Speaker 5: Taylor, maybe it didn't happen until I went to the Kroger down the road.
• 55:28
  Speaker 5: I got one there.
• 55:31
  Speaker 5: Eight weeks later I got there And then finally it was like the Fridays opened up and we started seeing some Blantons, But but you know that that that hunt was kind of what was really cool about it.
• 55:45
  Speaker 5: But at the whole time you're learning more about the industry, learning more about the people.
• 55:50
  Speaker 5: You talk to this person, you talk to that person And you learn so much about it that I mean, honestly, it's hard not to want to be involved in it.
• 55:58
  Speaker 5: It's, it's a very positive environment.
• 56:01
  Speaker 3: We're lucky enough.
• 56:02
  Speaker 3: We gave 500,000 people a tour last year.
• 56:12
  Speaker 1: And it's like he says, it's like the no, it's the free Disneyland, because when you come here you get a tour and that is, there's no expense.
• 56:22
  Speaker 1: You just have to make sure you book it.
• 56:24
  Speaker 1: That's the hard part.
• 56:25
  Speaker 1: Yeah, a tasting, yes.
• 56:29
  Speaker 4: Yeah, actually we were down there last time, yeah it was kind of a natural extension.
• 56:34
  Speaker 5: We have so many barrels and so much wood available, but it's a matter of starting to see their product trickle into the gift shop, which is even better for the visitors.
• 56:42
  Speaker 1: The only the only thing I had against the gift shop is they never had triple XL's.
• 56:47
  Speaker 1: But I came down this time and there's triple XL's of everything She's going and I'm like, wait a second, there's a triple She's like you.
• 56:55
  Speaker 1: Better stop They are.
• 56:56
  Speaker 1: Yeah, the property is beautiful, i know that picture doesn't even do it justice, but it is, and everybody here is so welcoming.
• 57:20
  Speaker 5: It's a great so that I think has as much to do with you know this obviously is a huge factor, but the whole experience is there.
• 57:28
  Speaker 5: I mean, it's just like a restaurant at the food's great but the environment's terrible.
• 57:31
  Speaker 5: You're not going to make some effort.
• 57:33
  Speaker 5: Don't miss it If you come down here with it.
• 57:36
  Speaker 3: Yeah, my wife would say it's a good product.
• 57:37
  Speaker 3: It is made with water.
• 57:39
  Speaker 1: I'm not gonna lie about that.
• 57:40
  Speaker 1: All right, everybody, we'll just let them, we'll let them down.
• 57:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, all right, we're the scotchy bourbon boys wwwscotchybourbonboyscom.
• 57:52
  Speaker 1: If you get a chance to come down to Buffalo Trace, you absolutely have to.
• 57:57
  Speaker 1: It's a stop that needs to be made anytime you're close to this part of Kentucky.
• 58:04
  Speaker 1: So, right, right.
• 58:07
  Speaker 4: But we're getting here early.
• 58:11
  Speaker 4: Yeah, if you're here, first thing that there's usually a cancellation or two on a Friday and you can walk on, so to speak, and that's what I've done.
• 58:23
  Speaker 1: Well it also.
• 58:26
  Speaker 1: It seems like the limits are off and so the tours are bigger.
• 58:30
  Speaker 1: We noticed that today, so that should help as far as people booking more people.
• 58:34
  Speaker 1: All right, so great podcast, guys, and Thank you so much Yeah thanks, i appreciate you coming, i appreciate you All right.
• 58:44
  Speaker 1: Remember good bourbon equals good friends and good times.
• 58:47
  Speaker 1: Make sure that you drink responsibly.
• 58:51
  Speaker 1: Don't drink and drive and live your life dangerously Till next time little Steve is gonna take us out Here we go.
• 59:04
  Speaker 1: What happened?
• 59:09
  Speaker 1: There we go.
• 59:14
  Speaker 6: Oh, show me the way to the next whiskey bar.
• 59:19
  Speaker 6: Oh, don't ask why.
• 59:22
  Speaker 6: Oh, don't ask why.
• 59:25
  Speaker 6: Show me the way to the next whiskey bar.
• 59:30
  Speaker 6: Oh, don't ask why.
• 59:33
  Speaker 6: Oh, don't ask why.
• 59:36
  Speaker 6: For if we don't find the next whiskey bar, i tell you we must die.
• 59:44
  Speaker 6: I tell you we must die.
• 59:47
  Speaker 6: I tell you, i tell you, i tell you we must die.
• 59:52
  Speaker 6: It's such a cheery song, yeah.