Kentucky Boy: Tribute to Master Distiller Chris Morris; Ep. 102

Dan, Bob, Calvin, Michael, Ric: Good evening. Welcome back to Bourbon Brass and Beyond. episode 102. We are going to talk about the Kentucky Boy. What? From the Kentucky Bourbon Festival release. This is from Brown Foreman. It is a tribute to the master distiller emeritus Chris Morris. Now, from what I've read, this is a combination of Barrels from Old Forester, Woodford Reserve, and was it Jack Daniels? Yes. Yeah. So this is a combination of barrels that higher aged barrels from all of those. Everybody. Yeah. So it's Jack fourteen? Maybe. Jack sixteen. Is it time for Jack six? It could be Jack fifteen and a half. Tennessee boy. Well but we're on the timeline, right? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. But that Jack fourteen was good. Yeah. That was really good. so this is a bottle that Rich brought. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I was I was lucky enough to have somebody bring it back from the Bourbon Fest for me. and you know, like I said, this is what we do. Yep. I got a guy and he said, How many do you want? All of And he was lucky enough to, you know, share a couple with yeah. It's awesome. Awesome. Well Do you want to do the honors? Yep. Gentlemen, send those glasses. Rich gets to read the label. please no. So the label says Kentucky Boy. Straight bourbon whiskey. Distributed by Brown Foreman Distillery Company in Louisville, Kentucky. It's a Hundred Proof. And in 1976, Chris Morris began his career at Brown Foreman. He went on to deliver numerous developments that transformed the bourbon industry, including the creation of Woodford Reserve. Oaked and Old Forester birthday bourbon, as well as the resurrection of King of Kentucky. To recognize his inspiring 50-year legacy of intellectual curiosity, pioneering innovation, we proudly resurrect another classic brown form and trademark with his distinctive offering curated by his progés. And if you have an erection lasting longer than four hours, please seek immediate medical attention. That's really on there? Absolutely. Man. Especially if you're drinking whiskey. They plan for everything, yeah. So I have a funny story about Pri Prism. When my grandfather passed away, the family we had to go to the funeral home, and you know, we had to pick a casket. And my my grandpa had a a real funny sense of humor. Good, good, good, good. So the the funeral home director, she's like, and how did your loved one pass away? god. Like what what caused him to pass? away. And I said, well, it was the whole family sitting around, including my grandmother. I said, Well, it was prior prism. And she's like, priorprism? I'm like, yeah. And then I spelled it for her and she wrote it down. And my grandmother looked at me, she's like, What's that? Is that cancer? I'm like, no, don't worry, grandma. It's fine. And then finally they eventually Thank you. Super butterscotchy. Glad to be here. And and again. Cheers. We did it. Good on a banana too. wow. Yeah. Banana. Yeah, this is this is the mashup. For sure. Yeah. Good legs, hunter proof. wish there was an age statement, but yeah, there's so many it's dark. So many cooks in the in the kitchen you can't tell. Well and and it's kinda hard because with the old forester, a lot of it's the heat cycled. Heat cycled warehouses. I wonder though, I it's one of the things the barge town I think does a good job of is they tell you the whole mix of everything, which ones are which ages. Something like this, I could see that. Tell me that it's just The leftovers from wherever. I I yeah, and if you change my if you if you get a true north or if you get a barrel pick, they typically tell you the percentages and you know, I I wish we knew what was really in this in this secret sauce. The nose is great on this thing. So I did listen to a podcast that talked about that it was the barrels that were used from Old Forester were the president's choice barrels. Mm-hmm. So that Just kinda tells ya the quality. Cheers. Grapey, what is that? So you get a char. Like a definitely. Definitely. It's almost that nineteen ten char. Yeah, that's what I was saying. But but you get a little bit of the Woodford Reserve on that palette that I did not get on the nose. No. I'm getting a blend of the nineteen ten and a bottle of the double oaked, I have a single barrel, double oaked barrel proof. I it comes in at ninety-six percent, but the wood for blend yeah, a blend of the two of those. Mm-hmm. And I can't describe how, but that just shockingly reminiscent of those two whiskies. And and drinking this, why don't they do this more often? Right? Yeah. I mean, you know, the idea that You you're trying to recreate a flavor that's, fifty years old. A generation or two old. And the only way to do it is, you know, to to blend, you know, multiple bottles or I'm sorry, multiple batches from multiple, you know, distillers. I think that that's a It has a little bit of that old funk on it though too. You're right. I I just we know they all work together. You talk about people's yeast strains and who covered for who when somebody's w warehouse buffer. all of those things still exist. I you're right. I don't know why they don't do this more frequently. 'Cause this is a really good bottle. Yeah, especially the big boys. Yeah. Because they got extra shit. it's it's release it. It's it's a gimmick for the small guys to blend whiskey, right? I'm gonna I'm gonna find these three MGPs or I'm gonna, get a Jefferson Ocean's or yeah and a buff turkey and I'm gonna blend it and but when you get the big boys that bring a trusted profile because going back to the nineteen ten, the nineteen ten was really one of the first double oaked yeah bottles on the market. Now double oaked is I'd say gimmick, but it's a gimmick. A trigger word or what what's it they call it? Yeah. And do they think this lessens their individual brands because it's not any of their individual brands? Yeah. I mean I I guess there's gotta be a reason why they don't do it. Well technically, this is a brand they have owned for quite a while. The Kentucky Boy. Yeah, but if this is a blend of Old Forester and Woodford, technically I see this released by Brown Foreman. Okay, the map makes sense but at all of this. But I it's still not any of those things, right? Correct. Correct. That's why it's Kentucky. Pardon me? What was the MSRP on this bottle? ninety nine bucks. Yeah, and I I just watched I don't remember. I was on scrolling through Instagram. People talking about allocated bottles that are still in the price range for people to buy that aren't like five hundred bucks. But They're unique and if they started doing whether it was yearly or every five years coming out with a batch of Kentucky Kentucky Boy. S some blend that is accessible to the masses. It's a little bit higher than your normal bottle as far as price point, but not something astronomical. As long as it doesn't become Panel be pledge. Then Well is this one of the things we've talked about in the market is that the regular beam white labels are not selling, right? The things that are selling are the special releases, the limited editions, whatever else. I don't know. Which is what this becomes at a certain point. I think the bottom shelf bourbons are still selling because no matter what, that's the most affordable bourbon. Yeah. And if somebody wants to drink bourbon for a party or the bar, whatever. Yeah. Yeah. And they're and they're recognizable. Yeah. Yeah. Well but And every time I've gone into a liquor store, there is somebody in there buying bottom shelf. Yeah. No matter what. Black velvet, yeah. Virginia Gentleman. The guy on Tuesdays. Yeah. I'd like some yellow corn. Yeah, mellow corn. It's right. It's right there. There's some right there. Yeah. How dare you call that bottom shelf? It's hiding in the corner. It's not even on the table of shame somehow. Yeah. Yeah, Meliphorn is. I need a bottle. He's just hiding it down there soon enough to ask for it too. And what's funny is like I'm not necessarily I'm I'm not a Willet fan, but Rowan's Creek is is a great bourbon. I mean for under fifty dollars, that's a great it's a great bottle. I get four bottles in the basin I'll make you deal on. Well didn't you also trade a single red? For all of the benchmarks too? I did. I think it was two reds. Two reds and I got all of the benchmarks. All seven. Yeah. I'm like, how can you go wrong with that? Yeah. Yeah. We've not opened any of them, have we? the one or two. Okay. We did the comp comparison with the E. H. Taylor single barrel and the single barrel benchmark. 'Cause it's the same it's the same mash bill. Yeah. Yeah. That would be a good episode. Do the benchmarks. We we have to do that. We go from BTAC to the benchmarks. Talk about we did this the wrong way. You go from collecting to alcoholism. Not a far trip. This is good. Yeah. Yeah. It's it's it's a surprising model. Yeah. because you're expecting the the forester to come through and it's it's distinctly different. I mean even if they did this yearly, I mean, it still would be some sort of different version. Like I'd chase it every yeah. Yeah, I'd still try I mean wouldn't probably like wait in life. Well I wait over eight hours in life. No. But when I Well, but this was the bottle out of KBF that went crazy, right? this is the one that everybody wanted. Yeah. Yeah. But for good reason apparently though, now too. But you also 'cause from this year from what most people have said about this year's KBF, they said the smaller and the NDPs and then even the lower price bottles, those were the ones that shine this year versus the you know, the allocated stuff, the highly allocated stuff. And it just goes to show that whether it's a fifty dollar or a two hundred dollar bottle, it's still gonna doesn't matter as long as the flavor. Well, it sells it initially sells on the gimmick. It gets legs on the you know, the on the actual flavor. That's a good find. Yeah. You just got one of these, I need to get one now too. This is good. Yeah. Well done. Yeah. Yeah. I like it. Yeah. Thank you. I'm glad we can do it, guys. Thanks, Rich. So Kentucky boy. Go figure. Yeah. Let us let us know what you think if you've tried it. leave us a comment. Any complaints? Email Bob. Dick picks the Dan's. Yeah. You're welcome. Are you asking for his facial recommendations again? Like, subscribe, share. And thanks for watching. Everybody have a great night. Have a good night.