116. Blue Note Bourbon & Riverset Rye

Welcome to another trip down the Bourbon Road with your hosts, Jim and Mike. So grab a glass of your favorite bourbon and kick back.

We would like to thank Tommy and Gwen Mitchell from Log Heads Home Center for supporting this episode of the Bourbon Road. Find out more about their fine rustic furniture at logheadshomecenter.com. We would like to thank our friends at Premium Bar Products for sponsoring this episode. If you're ready to step up your game at your home bar, check out premiumbarproducts.com to choose from their wide selection of glassware, all of which can be custom engraved with your personal message or logo. And there's no minimum order. So after the episode, head over to premiumbarproducts.com and check out everything they have to offer. Now let's get on with the show. Hello, everybody. I'm Jim Shannon. I'm Mike Hyatt. And this is the Bourbon Road. And today, Mike, we are on StreamYard and we've got a great guest with us. Who's on the show?

Yeah, we got the co-founder and CEO of Big River Distilling Company down in Memphis, Tennessee, McCauley Williams. McCauley, how you doing, man?

Doing well, guys. Really appreciate y'all having me on the show.

McCauley, you have shipped out a couple bottles to us for us to try and use on the show here. And usually we like to get right to the whiskey, don't we, Mike?

Yeah, I'm excited about it. It gets a little bit of juke joint whiskey here. When I think juke joint, I definitely think Memphis, Tennessee, they got some great blues bars down there you can walk into on Beale Street, get off Beale Street, get yourself some catfish down there. And heck, why not get some juke joint whiskey, right?

Absolutely. Yeah, the two bottles we have today are our Blue Note Juke Joint. We also have our River Set Rye. I think we're starting with the Blue Note first, right?

Yes, sir.

Well, yeah. So the blue note juke joint, as, uh, as we stated earlier is named after the Memphis blues. Uh, we had, if we want to pay homage to, uh, where the blues is played and born in the juke joints. Um, this is a minimum age of three year, uh, product. It's a Kentucky bourbon that we've had distilled for us on contract to our mash bill. And we have aged it, uh, blended it and bottle it at our facility here in Memphis.

Three years, you say, huh?

Yes, sir.

That smells a little bit older than three years. I don't know. It's got a good nose to it.

Yeah, it should. Um, don't let the age, uh, distract you. You know, it's a fully matured bourbon. Uh, this is a sub $30 bottle. So this is, should be in the 27 to 29 99 range on the shelf. Uh, but it should definitely out kick its coverage in terms of the quality relative to price that you're getting. And it definitely doesn't smell or taste like it's three.

No, it definitely doesn't. I think Mike, if you had to guess the age on this without having any idea whatsoever, where would you go with it?

I would put it a four or five year old. I'm getting a little bit of corn, that corn sweetness on it, but I'm also getting those floral notes. Uh, some, I'm trying to pick up the fruit on this that I'm getting a little bit of all spice for sure, but I'm getting, um, man, like a peach. or apricot or something like that on the nose.

Absolutely. Yeah, it's a complex product. At only being 3 years old, the whiskey is still somewhat volatile in terms of the flavor. Meaning it hasn't quite made up fully the direction it's going to mature. So you got a lot of complementary and in some ways, contradictory flavors in there. But it makes for a really fun sip, a really fun drink. There's definitely some apricot in there. There's even some pear. But you're going to get your classic bourbon notes of You know, the all spice mixed with maple, cinnamon, butterscotch, and of course the vanilla.

Yeah. It's got a deep vanilla on it. I, I'm really, I'll tell you, the nose is very inviting. I'm ready to taste this whiskey. How about you, Mike? Let's do it. Cheers. Cheers. Yeah, that's a match. What do you think?

You ever get those sliced apples that are in a jar and they're kind of candied and got that spice to them? I'm getting those on this. I know that's funky, but that's, that's kind of what I'm getting. Get that sweetness on the front. Not a whole bunch of Kentucky hug, which I was expecting with a mash bill on this thing with 21% or I thought a little bit more, but not as much spice as I would have thought on it.

Yeah, I think the flavor is, it's got a fullness to it. Um, it definitely compliments the nose. It's rich. It's deep. This does not taste like a three year old whiskey.

We said minimum of three. So there could be some older barrels mixed into each batch.

We must've got the older stuff. So McCauley, how did a big river to stilling, how did it start?

So the company was founded in 2013 actually as a vodka distillery here in Memphis. My current partners and I were not with the business when it was started. We acquired the company in 2017 out of liquidation. I actually am a recovering attorney. I'm still on a licensed lawyer here in Tennessee. And I was representing the distillery during the liquidation phase and fell in love with the idea of craft distilling, had no interest in exploring vodka. But this concept of switching the distillery over it has the license and the necessary equipment to do really any form of distillate. We like whiskey. I like whiskey. We know that there's a booming bourbon and craft whiskey market. So we bought the company out of liquidation and then I quit my job as a lawyer to come on to the team full time to run the business and to build, uh, hopefully what will be a lasting, uh, bourbon business right here in Memphis.

Now, was it always big river distilling whenever you guys were buying it?

Yeah, it was. And we actually go by now we go by BR distilling sort of as a way to differentiate ourselves from the previous previous ownership group.

I like that big river. I mean, I spent a lot of time on that Mississippi river, Jim. When I was a little kid, my grandfather used to take me right across from Memphis there and I'd watch the tugboats and stuff go by and you could see Memphis and he had sell watermelons before people go over and into Tennessee. But I always had a dream about being on that river. And then I spent most of my life on that river. So I have a great fondness for it.

Absolutely. There's something inherently romantic about the river and the Delta region that we're in. You know, that's what Mark Twain wrote about. And that's what all the blues players wrote their songs about is, you know, about this area and the emotion and the feeling that comes from it. Now, are you a Memphis boy? I am. Yes, sir. Born and bred, huh? Born and raised.

What's your target audience for this blue note?

So for the Blue Note Juke Joint, so within our Blue Note brand, we have a number of different versions, number of different skews. We have a 9 and 10 year old single barrel, we have a 9 year premium small batch, and then we have our Blue Note Juke Joint. Those others are at 59 and $49.99 respectively. This is a MSRP $29.99 product. This is meant to be an every man and every person bourbon that is designed to become a national brand. Our goal is to build Blue Note into a national craft brand Emphasis on craft that we never want to compromise quality. Never want to cut any corners. We don't chill filter any of our products. We want to leave those fatty oils in there. Everything we bottle is over 90 proof. We do cast strength or barrel proof iterations as well. But with this, we're really going after the masses. So, we wanted to make sure that there's enough complexity and flavor to keep folks like yourselves, bourbon connoisseurs and collectors, aficionados engaged. A lot of the other sub $30 products out there are very one direction in flavor and admittedly can get a little boring on the palate. So we wanted to create something again with enough complexity to keep you all entertained. But then also we wanted to make sure it's approachable enough, both in price, but also flavor and smoothness to appeal to the masses and to help get more folks into bourbon. So a big part of our mission is not only just to sell to folks like us. live and breathe bourbon and collect, but we also want to help get other folks away from vodka, away from tequila and into bourbon, right? If we can get more people drinking it, it's better for the whole community.

That's definitely true. I got to say, um, this would, I'd pick this up off the shelf if I saw it now and I know what it is. Um, it's always hard to market a bourbon, but you guys bottle it beautifully. The color on it is, is a nice amber color, which you would expect out of a bourbon. the labels, not simple, but it, it, it'll catch your eye for sure on the shelf, I think. And if I was down in Memphis, I'd, you know, that's what I would want to get is something that says Memphis on it and heck with calling it blue note. And like you said, the Memphis blues, it works perfect and stuff, but I would say me and Jim going to have to get our hands on some nine year cast strength.

Amen. That that'll be the next bottle we review after we do the Riverside. Awesome. Yeah. I can't show all my tricks. The first meeting guys, you know, gotta save something for later.

So you chose 93 proof for this. I'm sure you had your reasons for that. Uh, obviously being an unfiltered whiskey, you've got to keep that proof a little bit higher, right? Is that the magic number?

So between 90 and 92 is the magic number. You wanna be over that threshold. Otherwise what's known as flocking will occur, which is where there's a funny chemical reaction between the water molecules, the oil molecules and the alcohol that when introduced to cold weather will create a clouding called flocking. So we obviously don't want that to occur. So we always wanted to stay above that proof point. 93 has become our kind of house proof. Our three main skews are bottled at 93. We were debating between just based on tasting the product, 93, 94, 95. 93 stood out as being a little bit smoother, but then we liked somebody in one of our early meetings pointed out that the nine and the three kind of is an homage to the 1930s, which is when Prohibition was of course repealed. And that's really when the blues scene was really taking off here in Memphis. So it just all seemed to make sense, but kind of when we look at it, everything's pointing towards that 93. So we've run with it and we think the product show really well there. It's got enough burn, enough strength and bravado to appeal to folks like us that like to drink the cast drink stuff. But then it's also still approachable for those folks that don't want the crazy burn or those folks that are a little newer to drinking whiskey neat.

So you guys say you contract to steal this. Is in the future, are you guys starting to steal your own product right now?

Um, we are, and we intend to build a much larger distillery to produce the volume. So, um, contract distillation. So when it comes to sourcing whiskey, uh, I think there's a little bit of confusion out there from the general populace. So it's really just, just cutting it to the point. There's actually two different forms of sourcing product. You can buy already aged inventory, right? Like on the market, uh, going to a broker or going directly to a distiller and buying their aged inventories. Or you can do what we've done here, where you actually go to a distiller and have them distill the product for you. And that way, we have a lot more control over the actual outcome of the product. So think of it as one chef going to another chef's kitchen using his or her commercial kitchen to make the product for you because they have the $80-$90 million facility that you don't yet have. So that way you can build the brand that you can eventually produce in your own kitchen one day. We've had a lot of control over not only the grain quality here, the actual mash bill, but really importantly, the coop ridge. Can't emphasize enough When making a bourbon, when making a whiskey in general, any form of whiskey, negotiating the right cuprage is key in terms of the quality. How long those staves have been air treated prior to the barrel being formed? Are those staves toasted? All that really comes into it and then the actual manufacturers reputation comes into play as well. So we've chosen some of the highest quality cupridge. All the staves are toasted. We go with the number four char. And just through that whole process, there's a lot more, I think, than most people realize to do it. Again, the goal here is to build a national brand, really putting Memphis on the map as a real deal whiskey market from which real whiskey comes from. So our goal is to one day build an industrial-sized facility. Again, still focusing on craft, but said facility can be $50 million. So we have a lot of growing to do before we can justify that investment.

Are you guys going to try to build that facility right downtown Memphis and that general location?

Yeah, so we're in an area just north of town. So our current facility at 802 Royal Avenue is a couple of miles north of downtown. We're right at the confluence of the Wolf River and the Mississippi. So right where the Wolf River spills out into the Mississippi. We have a great little microclimate there with the two rivers converging and there's a couple of swamps where there's just really high humidity. We think that's key to our maturation process. Yeah, we like our part of town because it's an old historic part of town where there used to be a lot of manufacturing jobs. There used to be a big firestone tire plant, international harvester there, a Coca-Cola plant that are no longer there. So it's an area of town that needs some love. And as just as passionate as we are about whiskey, making and just as passionate as we are about the blues. We're also really passionate just about Memphis as a city. And one of our core missions is to bring jobs, manufacturing jobs back to the city. And we think our area of town is a great area in which to do so.

Now, who helped you guys design that label for Blue Note? Because, you know, when I look at it, it has almost you could see the guitar on it. And if you really look into the label itself, you can see music notes. You know, it's really beautiful.

Yep. So if you shimmer that around, if you twist it around, you'll see the notes shimmer. There's a foil stamping on it that's supposed to kind of resemble the neon lights maybe on Beale Street or at a juke joint. So we worked with a local designer named Chris Porter. Uh, he runs creative punch. He's just a really a one man operation here in town. Um, we, we really did it in house, so to speak. We just hired one person to help us with the design. He didn't hire an agency or anything. Um, we knew what we wanted. The music notes on there are not just random music notes. We've actually had a custom blue song written from a local blues musician. So if you can read music, you can actually play the notes on the label on your guitar or whatever other instrument.

So can you do that or?

You know, I, unfortunately I'm a good consumer, like I'm a good consumer of music. I love to listen to it. I can't keep a beat or a rhythm to save my life. Uh, but when designing it, we knew we wanted to bring authenticity to it. So luckily we realized we wanted to put a real song on there early on.

I think Jim, didn't you used to play the bass back in the seventies? The seventies, Mike, careful.

Yeah. Back in the seventies, that was a long time ago.

So when our listeners Macaulay, when they go to Memphis, Tennessee, and they go on bill street, are you guys on all the shelves there? Have you guys expanded out to the bars there and stuff?

Absolutely. So our current facility, our current distillery is not open to the public for coding reasons and everything. It's really just a pure manufacturing facility. If y'all want to come down, we do invite only tours. But the best place to find our product is out in the market at your local bar, restaurant or liquor store.

Now, as I continue to sip on this mic, I think it does tend to develop just a little bit. I'm starting to pick up those, my famous Necco candies just a little bit. I hate to say it because that comes up every now and then. Let me ask you a question though, McCauley that you've got nine-year-old stocks and you've got three-year-old stocks. You've probably got some in between. Do, do both your, your extra or your well-aged stocks, as well as your, your younger bourbons, do they, do they originate from the same distillery in Kentucky?

Uh, no, sir. So we work with different, uh, different producers for the different iterations or versions of, of our brands. Um, the nine and 10 year, uh, products are Tennessee bourbon and the juke joints at Kentucky bourbon. And then we're even coming out with another product where we're going to use some of some M.B. M.G.P. juice as well. So we work with distillers in Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. As difficult as it is acquiring age stocks, laying up the inventory for the future is really where things get tricky from a financial standpoint.

Do you feel pretty comfortable with the amount of inventory you've been able to put up on your contract distilled product? Do you feel like it's going to carry you well or are you going to... Yeah.

Yep. So when we first got into the business, we knew that the biggest hurdle or the single biggest barrier to entry aside from getting the licenses, the real barrier to entry in this business is inventory. It separates the haves from the have-nots. You can't sell whiskey if you don't have it. And then when your product has the age, when you think about managing your inventory, you might watch Shark Tank or something and see Mark Cuban or whomever rip apart the entrepreneur for carrying too much inventory on their books. That's cash tied up in inventory. But with whiskey, it's got to age for years. So you have to make the investment today. for juke joints product 3-4 years in the future or for other products 9 years in the future. So you can... You don't have to be a mathematician to realize that that can snowball really quickly and you can tie up millions and millions and millions of dollars based on a spreadsheet that says in 2025, you're going to be selling however many cases of your product. So there's this big leap of faith that one has to take early on and say, we're going to figure out how to get to this sales threshold in the future and make multi-million dollar investments today to get there.

But a lot of people have proved in the whiskey industry that that's a wise investment and that's not a guaranteed return on investment. But man, a lot of people made a lot of money doing that though.

Absolutely. We think it's a sound investment because unlike clear spirits, vodka, gin, where you're really distilling or producing just-in-time inventory, we actually have physical assets. So when we raise money from our investors or when we meet with banks, we have an actual asset, i.e. the barrels. Aside from the facility and the equipment, the barrels quickly become more valuable than the actual property when you start building them out exponentially. So that does give some people a little more comfort that we're not a computer company where it's all just this idea, right? That as soon as somebody comes out with a better version of Facebook, Facebook's worthless or whatever, or whatever the technology is, we have actual assets backing us.

So I want to continue sipping on this blue note here, and I hope you guys will do the same. We're going to take a short break. And when we come back, uh, you've got another expression for us. It's your river set, right? We're going to check that out and talk a little bit about the future of your company.

Sounds great.

We would like to thank Tommy and Gwen Mitchell from Loghead's Home Center for supporting this episode of the Bourbon Road. Loghead's Home Center, nestled in the hills of Kentucky, is an industry leader in building handcrafted rustic furniture. Family owned and operated, they take pride in offering only the very best for their customers. The Logheads, and that's what they like to call themselves, are skilled wood crafters who are passionate about creating rustic furniture for people who appreciate the beauty of natural wood. Owners Tommy and Gwen don't just sell the rustic lifestyle, they live it. And you can be sure that Loghead's furniture will always be handcrafted in Kentucky by artisans who embrace the simple way of life. Loghead's rustic furniture is made from northern white cedar, a sustainable wood that's naturally rotten termite resistant. Its beauty and quality will add warmth to your earthy lifestyle for generations to come. Be sure to check out everything they have to offer at LogHeadsHomeCenter.com. And while you're at it, give Tommy and Gwen a shout on Facebook or Instagram at LogHeads Home Center.

All right, listeners, we're back with BR, the stealing company down in Memphis, Tennessee. And we're sitting here talking with Macaulay Williams. He is their co-founder and CEO. Macaulay, so you got this Riverset rye, which I know Jim is just going to love because he's a rye guy. That's my jam. Why don't you tell us about it?

Yeah, for sure. So we produce two different brands. We have our Blue Note Bourbon and then we have our Riverset Rye. They live sort of as independent brands with their own website, social media, rating package, etc. So Riverset Rye features a riverboat. And with this brand, we pay homage to the Mississippi River and its importance in the early whiskey trade. As you all might recall from any of the history books on bourbon or whiskey that you've read about, they used to move the cumbersome barrels to the cities. using the river systems and the riverboats. This was before the interstate and rail systems. I think it's a fun contribution that Memphis, the Port of Memphis played in the early whiskey trade. And then we just like the alliteration of the name Riverset Rye and the fact that, of course, Memphis is set along the banks of the mighty Mississippi River. This is a Tennessee rye whiskey bottled at 93 proof. It's a 95 five Nashville, which is unique for a Tennessee rye. So there's no corn content content in it. It's 95% rye, 5% malted barley. Um, it's going to be very different from any other rye you've ever tasted. Um, we like this differentiated flavor profile. Um, you're going to get instantly a lot of vanilla followed up by green apple and cinnamon.

Yeah, so I started nosing this already, Mike. Yeah, I'm surprised it's a 95.5, first of all. So on the nose, I'm getting this buttery nose, not so much of the heavy rice spice you would expect out of a 95.5, a little bit more baking spice, a little more, it's kind of buttery, a little bit of fruit, not too much though, but a lot of vanilla, a lot of vanilla for a rye, very surprising.

I tell you that, you know, remember I was talking about those spiced apples that you get in a jar and they're kind of candy and stuff. I get that even more on this. I get like just almost like a green apple, like a licorice green apple licorice that you would get. Maybe you could buy it at Royal King or you buy it at Tractor Supply or something, but I get that green apple in this.

Yeah, it's unmistakable, I think.

I usually don't like, uh, the nose on most rise or they're kind of pungent, but maybe with this 95 five, it does have some floral notes to it. But like Jim said, I get that vanilla on it and that spice, but man, is that apple just popping through for me. And it's, it's a beautiful nose.

So Mike, are you talking about those, uh, that apple like you get from the, the hard candy sticks, the bright green ones that are sort of clear that you get that, that apple flavor from it's sort of a deep dark.

Yeah. Maybe that jolly rancher, a hard candy apple. Um, I just think it's such a beautiful note on this.

I get that same thing.

Well, heck let's drink this thing, Jim.

Cheers.

Cheers.

Oh, wow. That's really good. I'm getting buttery. I am getting hard candy now that I've talked about it, but I'm getting a nice buttery vanilla, a little bit of spice, just a hint of mint and freshness on it, but not too much.

Very, very surprised this is a 95.5. I'm still an apple still coming through that cinnamon's coming through just, oh man, this is great. I think, uh, that Christmas, it's just really crisp on the tongue. Like a, this would almost be a spring or a summer separate for me to where the proof is not too hot for you and stuff. It's just really light and crisp.

Yeah, I agree. It's definitely differentiated in its taste from almost any other rye out there. It's a little more approachable for folks that are new to rye, but then we've also found that diehard rye drinkers love it just because it is so different.

Yeah, it's also got, you know, when I drink it, it kind of enhances that nose a little bit. If you go back and smell it again after you've taken a sip. And I don't know, if you guys, you know that smell you get when you're walking through like, like an antique shop or an old store in a small town or village with a main street and you get that smell of the older furniture and the notes of the wooden floor and the older building. It's got a nice note of an antique note to it, I guess is what I would say. Kind of an antique note and I kind of like that. I really do. Did you mention what the age was on this?

Minimum age of four on the Riverset.

Now, again, I'm going to go back to this question that I had in the first half and I'm not sure I got the right answer. The answer I was looking for this, this particular bottle has a minimum of four year in it, but it also has some, a little bit older barrels as well. You blend in some older stuff to give it this profile.

It just depends on the batch. The batch that y'all are drinking, I don't think so. I think it's all just four years old.

Okay. Well, job well done and excellent, right?

So McCall, I got to ask you about, again, about the art on this bottle is a little different. It's a side paddle wheeler and I'm going to dive into some history there for you because it almost resembles a very famous maritime disaster that happened. It was the Sultana and it was a side paddle wheeler that actually sank there in Memphis, Tennessee. I want to say it was almost 2,000 passengers that died on that side wheeler. It was just a horrible accident that happened in 1865, right after the Civil War. They were carrying 2,137 passengers at the time, and they were only supposed to be carrying 376 passengers. And the boilers on it exploded and it sank there in the Mississippi River. And that's one of the reasons the Coast Guard is on the Mississippi and it's on the Western Rivers. And part of the Coast Guard's inspection programs, that's what they do is inspect boats. And that's one of the reasons why it's the Sultana. So, and that kind of looks like the Sultana.

Yeah, it's really interesting. There's obviously a really cool, rich history of the river boats and the river system. When we designed the package, we drew inspiration from a lot of the famous river boats, but we didn't actually copy any specific boat. Our same guy, Chris Porter, with Creative Punch, who works with us on all the stuff that we do, did a hand drawing, and then we converted that into a gold foil stamp for the label. But just the riverboat system is so interesting, you know, through the Missouri, Ohio, and of course, the Mississippi River systems. They were originally used for transport of both goods and passengers, but also, you know, there's famously gambling going on. There's a whole lot of interesting characters that would have traveled up and down the river, sort of a vagrant. type community that just screams whiskey to me. You think of an old saloon on a boat going down the river headed to New Orleans. There's gambling, there's mischief and all kinds of things. And we just really wanted to embody that entire concept within the branding here. Another cool thing is that the riverboats, the steamboats, allow folks to go upriver. A little bit easier than some of the flatboats that mostly floated and were paddled upriver. So we use a saying, go against the current. We kind of use that riverboat system to be our sort of blaze your own trail, do your own thing, go against the current. And that seems to work well with rye in general, being sort of counterculture to bourbon. I think we're going to see more of the growth within the Rye community around this concept of wanting to be different and folks doing their own thing, blazing their own trail. So there's just a whole lot of fun that goes into the branding with these products and the history as well.

We got to actually a Facebook group and we got some coasties and another guy that actually they're from the Memphis area. I got him drew Alan. And then we got another Cody roadie. That's a, he's also on a coast guard and he's actually the sector commander of it's called sector lower Mississippi river. His name's Ryan Rose and he's a big whiskey drinker. We're going to send him over there and see if we can get him a private tour. What do you think Jim send both those guys over there and see if McCauley give them a tour?

I think, I think it'd be a good idea. You know, Mike, maybe you ought to meet them down there or we ought to meet them down there and we'll all go through it.

Y'all come on. Sounds great.

So we talked a little bit about your two flagship products here. We're tasting your rye now. You mentioned that you have some special releases, some older age bottles based on these two particular brands or labels. Do you have anything currently in the works for the future, things that you're working on that our listeners might want to know about?

Absolutely. But before I get into that, I got to ask y'all, what do you think this product, the Rye sells for on the shelf?

A four-year Rye, I would say.

Y'all might already know.

Actually, I don't. Mike probably does already know because he kind of knows that stuff, but I'm going to say $32.95.

That's what I was going to say. $33.

Yeah, it's a good guess. So it's a sub $30 product. $27 to $29.99. Again, just goes in our general brand theme of trying to always over-deliver on quality relative to price. We know that folks like y'all understand and appreciate value. We don't want to ever be one of those brands or one of those companies that's price gouging and selling our stuff for really more than it should. Jim, to answer your question about stuff we have coming down the pipeline, 2021 is going to be a really exciting year for us. In 2020, we have scaled from 6 states into 14 states. We've added 8 new states in our distribution footprint this year. We've scaled sales 450% year-over-year compared to last year despite the pandemic. So we're very blessed to be growing during these really uncertain, troubling times. And 2021 looks good for us as well, as far as moving into more states, expanding distribution, etc. And then also coming out with a few new product releases. So we're introducing a new product into our core skews. So we again have our Blue Note Premium Small Batch, we have our Blue Note Juke Joint, and we have our Riverset Rye. We do single barrels at cash strength of all of them. But those first 3 are really the 3 core skews. We're introducing what's going to be called the Blue Note Crossroads. which will be a really fun project that again will pay homage to the Memphis Blues and the whole story of folks selling their soul to the devil at the crossroads for blues skills. There's a whole lot of cool history and lore around blues music. We have right now in the rye sector, we have some rye finishing in sherry and a honey barrel that we're going to do some really small niche kind of halo concepts around Riverset. We just introduced our Riverset single barrel program. So that's the Riverset at Cask strength that's been gaining some steam here in the last few months of the year. And then we're also doing we have some bourbon finishing in Madeira, Port Cognac and Sherry barrels. That's going to be a fun series release in 2021. And then lastly, next holiday season holidays 2021, we're going to be releasing an 18 year old barrel proof released as sort of our highest end super premium product.

Wow.

Looking forward to that one. There's a lot going on down there at the BR Distilling Company. You guys are extremely busy, I guess, with thoughts of building the new distillery, putting out new products, making some great products right now for everybody to buy. And it's a tumultuous time right now too, with COVID and not knowing what's going to go on with this. Has that hurt your guys' business at all with bars closing and opening and closing again?

Yeah, there's no question that it's uncertain times. At the beginning of the year during the first shutdown, unquestionably, we switched over to help out folks in our community and also our business to producing hand sanitizer. We were able to employ a lot of the furloughed or laid off folks from the bars and restaurants to come help bottle hand sanitizer. We sold 250,000 8-ounce equivalents of hand sanitizer. I say that because we also sold it in the gallon form and not just the 8-ounce bottle. So we went through a huge hand sanitizer run this spring. But in a weird way, COVID has helped our business. Now, I want to be very careful about my choice of words because it hasn't helped any of our individual lives. But as a team, the adversity presented has really forced us to bond together and also forced us to really focus in on what matters most. During normal times, there's endless amount of events and marketing opportunities that we could be doing. We're now in 14 states. You can almost drown in the opportunity. But this has really forced us, since we can't do that, just to really hone in on increasing our efficiencies in the operations, our throughput capacity, converting a barrel of whiskey as fast and smoothly as possible into finished goods, into cased goods. And then it's really forced us on the sales side to really focus on where the real opportunity is in any given market. So it's through that adversity and overcoming that adversity, It's been a blessing for our team. Who knows what the future has in store in 2021 and beyond. But so far, we're really blessed as we sit here today.

So yeah, I mean, the old adage, and we're all having a rough time here and we all understand that, but the old adage, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger. What doesn't hurt us makes us stronger, rings true because we all look at opportunities to spend time in areas that a lot of times get overlooked. things, you know, working on efficiency, working on social programs, working on parts of your business that sometimes you don't have a chance to work on because you're so busy moving product or developing new product. We understand that and it's not the first time we've heard that.

That's absolutely right, Jim.

So, Macaulay, you said you could be found in 14 states right now. What are those 14 states for our listeners?

Yeah, let me rattle them off. So we're across Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Colorado, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.

So you're getting out there. What's the plans for expansion in the future?

Well, 2021, we've really expanded into a lot of markets in 2020. We really want to drive deeper distribution in some of these bigger markets in 2021. So Texas, Florida and New York make up around 25% to 30% of the overall bourbon consumption in the United States. So these are the major markets and we're a small fish in a huge pond. So we have to execute well there on the sales and marketing side. We do plan on adding a few more states in 2021. But it's really going to be focusing on servicing the markets that we've just expanded into. And it's no small feat. marketing and selling alcohol, no matter whether it's spirits or beer or wine, is one of the most competitive markets in the world. And like I said, we're obviously a small fish in a big pond. So we have a very small marketing and sales budget compared to our public company conglomerate counterparts.

And what about online sales? Our listeners can't get you in one of those states. Do you guys have online sales at all?

Yep. So online sales is just a growing trend in the industry overall. You can find our products at sealbox.com. S E E L B A C H S.com. Um, and then you can find out, you know, more about where our products are on our two brand websites, uh, blue note bourbon.com and riversetrai.com.

And then where can our listeners find you guys, uh, like on social media?

Absolutely. So we're growing our social media platform daily. You can follow us on Instagram or Facebook at Blue Note Bourbon and then at Riverset Rye. Each brand has its own whole page.

I got to say, Jim, hey, two solid whiskies here, a bourbon and a ride, one for each of us kind of. McCauley, thank you so much for being on. I'm sure Jim thinks the same thing. We appreciate you sending us some whiskey to try. It's always exciting when that FedEx guy or UPS guy drives up to the house and the old Woodrow starts barking. I know the, the old whiskey dog's happy.

Yeah. I plan on continuing to drink these a little bit longer, Mike, even once we're done with this episode, I've enjoyed both of them fully. And, uh, my hats off to you, McCauley. You've got a couple of fine expressions here for your flagship bourbon and your flagship, right? Uh, I think you guys knocked it out of the park. It's really good. And I can't wait to taste your other expressions. Really looking forward to it.

Well, thank y'all so much for having me. I can't say enough how much it means to come on shows like yours is we could not build these brands. We would not be successful without the support of you and your listeners. So again, thank you so much.

All right. Well, you can find the bourbon road at the bourbon road.com on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. You can also find us on the web at the bourbon road.com. Mike, you write a blog in there, don't you?

Yeah, I write a blog about, try to write about each show. Sometimes Jim will write it. It's not about the show so much, just what our general thought process is that day. Just us rambling on kinda. Some good reading though. You can also buy our glasses on there. One of these days, we're going to get some hats and t-shirts for our listeners. Check it out. Check out our website. We appreciate it. If you're listening to this and you really like it though, scroll on up, hit that subscribe button, and then scroll on down, hit that review button. Give us five star. Heck, why not? If you want to give us a one star, at least tell us why you didn't like us and what we can do better in the future. If you have ideas for shows, send me or Jim email at info at the bourbon road.com or team at the bourbon road.com. Um, we always are looking for ideas or new guests like McCauley. Um, we're always looking for that new bourbons. We do two shows a week. We do a review show on Mondays of craft distilleries. Sometimes we'll throw in a big boy in there just to liven it up a little bit, but we like to get you to see what's coming up. Um, We'll be reviewing a blue Monote nine year pretty soon here, which we're excited about. You know, me and Jim love that older whiskey a little bit. So check out our two shows, follow BR Distilling on Instagram and on Facebook, follow their blue note, follow their river set, give them some love, buy that whiskey from them. It helps them out, help them grow, helps them build that $50 million distillery down there in Memphis, Tennessee on the big river.

Lord knows we need to help.

And, uh, you will also find us in our private Facebook group called the bourbon roadies and the bourbon roadies. We're a group of about 1200 guys and gals that just absolutely love bourbon. We're single-minded. We're focused. We love that bourbon. We love to take pictures of it. Rye too. I'm a Rye guy. So yeah, it's all about the Rye too. We invite you to come in, answer a couple of questions. You can find us on Facebook at The Bourbon Roadies. And, uh, and once you're in the group, we just ask you to play nice and, uh, and join in the fun. Right, Mike?

Yeah, we don't tolerate any rudeness, but what I will tell you in there, you could be the brand new bourbon drinker, whiskey drinker, and you could be drinking Jack Daniel's and you're excited about your first bottle of Jack Daniel's or your first bottle of Jim Beam or your first bottle of Big River distilling whiskey. Put it up there. Show it. Nobody's gonna give you a hard time for it. Just remember that, that everybody starts somewhere. Um, we just don't tolerate any ruinous, but what you will get is our roadies share a lot of whiskey with each other. And what we ask is that if we share some whiskey with you, um, pay it forward, send some whiskey to another roadie. They'll love you for it. Introduce them to something new that's in your state, your area, like Drew and Ryan Rhodes down there in Memphis. Send some people some of this whiskey right here. Um, I'm sure they'd love it.

Yeah. Don't send me to Mike and I, we got our hands full, right? Yeah. Um, I'm a swimming in whiskey, I think. All right. Well, you can find me on Instagram at J Shannon 63. I'm one big chief. And we will see you down. We do appreciate all of our listeners, and we'd like to thank you for taking time out of your day to hang out with us here on the Bourbon Road. We hope you enjoyed today's show, and if so, we would appreciate it if you'd subscribe and rate us a five star with a review on iTunes. Make sure you follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at the Bourbon Road. That way you'll be kept in the loop in all the Bourbon Road happenings. You can also visit our website at thebourbonroad.com to read our blog, listen to the show, or reach out to us directly. We always welcome comments or suggestions. And if you have an idea for a particular guest or topic, be sure to let us know. And again, thanks for hanging out with us.