FOR THE FULL STORIES , VISIT WWW . BEVERAGEDYNAMICS . COM . former Stranahan ’ s Head Distiller Owen Martin . He becomes the first new Angel ’ s Envy master distiller since 2013 . This happened under the radar ; securing high-level distilling talent has become significantly harder due to industry growth . Martin brings substantial experience in experimentation — including his work with Stranahan ’ s Snowflake — a welcome new wrinkle for Angel ’ s Envy and its relatively small SKU lineup . A wise personnel move , indeed .
MICHTER ’ S FORT NELSON DISTILLERY Abandoned for decades , the historic Fort Nelson building leaned 23 inches into the adjacent street in Louisville ’ s Whiskey Row when Michter ’ s bought the structure . That was in 2012 . Seven years later , after 400,000 pounds of supporting steel infrastructure , the beautiful site reopened with a pot still .
Nothing made at Fort Nelson has released yet , owing to aging . The company expects these first releases in the market sometime between 2024-26 . When we visited , Andrea Wilson , Michter ’ s Master of Maturation , led us on a new make tasting , Forth Nelson versus the company ’ s distillery in Shively , KY .
Shively runs a column still ( which started 24 / 7 production last November ). New make from Shively was naturally refined , floral with lighter fruit . Out of the Fort Nelson pot still came a traditional rounder new make , herbal with darker fruit . Both were delicious .
And both will remain their own products . The plan , for now , at Fort Nelson is to put out individual , limited releases .
KENTUCKY PEERLESS DISTILLING CO . Quiz time . We all see Peerless everywhere . Quickly , it has become nearly ubiquitous . So how much whiskey do you think this Louisville distillery produces ?
The answer astounded us . Peerless only fills 10-12 barrels of whiskey per day . Earning their national profile off such a comparatively small production run is quite the accomplishment .
How did Peerless pull this off ? Extremely aggressive market expansion was one answer . Another was the knack at Peerless for
making correct decisions . For instance , the distillery is among a small number that runs a “ sweet mash ” method rather than the much more common “ sour mash .” Basically , this means that the company makes each of its mashes with only fresh yeast for fermentation , rather than parts of the former mash . While the latter helps save time , a sweet mash helps prevent risk that could ruin batches , says Master Distiller Caleb Kilburn .
It ’ s an interesting business decision for a distillery that can trace its family ownership back five generations — and to DSP-KY-50 . Not every generation of this business-oriented family ran a distillery . Current owner , Corky Taylor , great-grandson of Peerless founder Henry Kraver , revived the brand in 2014 .
The mash bills are new , and the whiskey is coveted . Peerless Double Oak Bourbon has joined the ranks of allocated bottles more often seen on Facebook groups than store shelves . It ’ s a good problem for a fast-growing company . Due to the previously mentioned staffing shortage , Peerless does not yet distill 24 / 7 . Plans do call for an additional rickhouse in Henry County , doubling the company ’ s warehouses .
As for more distilling ? “ We have dreams of growing production ,” says Kilburn , with emphasis .
But Louisville and surrounding whiskey regions have turned into the land of bourbon dreams becoming reality . What was unthinkable during the industry ’ s recent nadir in the early ‘ 90s is now an astounding reality . Kentucky is the new California wine country , treating an exponentially rising number of tourists to elevated drinking and dining experiences . No end is in sight for our modern bourbon golden age . BD
6 Beverage Dynamics • April 2023 www . beveragedynamics . com