5. Jeff Irish - Bourbon Barrel Rehab, Four Roses SB Select and Glenn's Creek OCD #5

A mimosa with a kick.

Yes. This is day drinking at its finest.

Well, that's really different than just your traditional mimosa. That's got a special flavor to it.

Exactly. Yoo-hoo, honey. Yeah. We got us a new drink for tailgating in Land Rover this weekend in Lexington.

Welcome to another trip down the Bourbon Road with your hosts, Jim and Randy. 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. Randy had a great time today. It was an amazing interview with Jeff over at Bourbon Barrel Rehab. Those guys make some amazing stuff.

Him and Liz are incredible. I've never torn down a barrel before. That was pretty awesome.

Yeah, I had to watch out for the sparks.

I don't know. And I think you took some video. I don't know. We need to get that out because that was kind of fun.

Yeah, it was a lot of fun. These guys take bourbon barrels, and they make some amazing stuff. And it looks like they've really got a booming business.

Yeah. I love the whole rehab thing. And one of the big things now is repurposed wood and that kind of thing there. So why not a bourbon barrel?

Another thing that's cool, it's kind of a bonus for those guys. Every now and then, they get a little bit of juice in those barrels.

Oh yeah, that whole story of the barrels that sat in the back of the van for a little while and what he got out of those. That stuff tasted okay. I thought it did too, you know.

All right, well let's get on into our interview with him and I think everybody's going to enjoy it.

I have a feeling we're going to be seeing Jeff and Liz again.

I think so. All right, let's do it.

Well, hello everybody. We're here at Bourbon Barrel Rehab on Adams Street, right? Here in Louisville, Kentucky with Jeff Irish and Liz Davis. We're looking forward to this show, because I think between the two of them, they know everybody in town, Jim.

Yeah, I'm excited about this. Now, you've met these guys before. I'm just meeting them for the first time today.

Well, we're going to get them crunk up in just a minute here. But why don't you tell us about our first pour before we get going too much.

OK, so first pour today is going to be the new offering from Four Roses. It is the Four Roses Small Batch Select. And this was put together by Brent Elliott. It is a 104 proof. It's a non-chill filtered whiskey. And I'm not gonna go through, you know, all the match bills and recipes, the four rows of recipes that make it up. But let's just say that it's a good pour and it's a good one for us to try today. It's been out about a week now. Of course, by the time this show airs, it'll be some time longer than that. It'll be gone. Yeah, it'll be gone.

It already, I think pretty much is, like I was telling you guys before the show, My wife's boss took off, what, earlier this week and took off work, decided to go stand in line to get some of this. So it must be some pretty good stuff. I'm looking, looking forward to trying it. So.

Yeah. So I was down there the morning of the release at the gift shop and picked up a bottle. It's take a minute, take a nose on it guys. And, and see what we get.

Delicious.

What you think?

Oh, it's amazing. Got a great smell. Got a great, great nose.

You know, it reminds me a little bit of some of the limited edition releases. That's not as, I don't think it's as bold as those maybe, but still.

I think being 104 brings it back just a little bit off of say barrel strength or single barrel.

I would go as far as to say this might be in my top one or two from Four Roses actually.

Yeah, for sure. It's delicious. Liking this stuff.

While we're having our little sip here, Jeff, why don't you tell us what the bourbon culture means to you?

The bourbon culture over the last eight years has changed dramatically. When Liz and I started the business, there was Probably nine bourbon distilleries on the distillery trail, bourbon distillery trail. And now there's 29 or 27 or something like that.

Which nine? Do you remember which nine there were?

The originals, Wild Turkey, Buffalo Trace, Four Roses, Maker's Mark. 1792 is not in Jim Beam. Yeah. 1792 is not in it. Like while our rabbit hole wasn't involved, you know, now it's changed. I mean, just dramatically.

So now we've got like the urban bourbon trail.

Exactly. Louisville has blown up in the last probably four years with bourbon and the urban bourbon trail has just taken over.

And then there's a craft bourbon trail as well for just the craft makers, right?

Yeah, with Angel's Envy and Rabbit Hole and Old Forester moving in downtown, it's just a wave.

You know, I'm sitting here sipping on this Four Roses and I can't help but think I'm picking up a little bit of cocoa chocolate.

Yeah, there is something. There's a sweetness. Definitely sweetness. I don't get in some of their other products, that's for sure.

But it's smooth, it's delicious. Oh yeah.

Much recommended. Thumbs up over here.

Yeah, for sure. Two thumbs up over here. So Jeff, where'd you grow up? That's a great story or great question as well. I grew up in Birch Run, Michigan, which is an hour and a half north of Detroit. Eleven years ago, I got the opportunity to come down to build the University of Louisville student housing over on Seventh and Ship and fell in love with the city of Louisville, the food scene, the music scene. And then Bourbon came into the picture and just took over our lives. I mean, it took over our household. It took over almost every aspect of our life. We can't go to a function anymore without talking bourbon.

So had you had bourbon before you came to Kentucky?

Never. Oh, of course, Jack Daniels. Jack Daniels. Okay, I was going to ask you what your first one was. Everybody's high school go-to was Jack Daniels. So that changed very quickly for me. Once I got into the military and out in the United States and got to see different places, people drink different things, different states. It's always tried and true this or tried and true that. Depending on if you're in the South or in the upper Northwest, everything changes. You know, living in Seattle was the most beautiful state I've ever been to, but at the same time would not live there. Just would not. It's too dreary, too depressing. I mean, it's just bad.

I used to live in Tacoma.

So, yeah, it was it was depressing and it was beautiful for like three months out of the year. And that was that was it.

Definitely.

So, yeah, but it was a beautiful state. I love waking up to a snow cap mountain every day.

So, yeah. So how did you first get into bourbon then?

Well, when when I first came to Louisville, I was I got into a tiling job that we did the PRP fire department and was on the golf course with a guy and he was a bourbon lover fanatic. And Makers Mark was one of the first things that was kind of pushed toward me. And I always found it too sweet. So I kind of drifted to wild turkey and some of the single barrels, something a little bit more full flavored than I think production line, good bourbon. I mean, maker's market is good bourbon, but it's just still to me production line.

So I understand Liz didn't really care for bourbon at first.

No, that was my buddy, the first sergeant changed her whole outlook on bourbon for sure. And saying that, Drinking top shelf bourbons will change anybody's thought process on bourbon. Most people that try bourbon are trying a mid-level bourbon or a bottom shelf bourbon. Most people don't get the opportunity to try or to drink frequently mid-range or high dollar bourbons.

The good stuff that's underneath the bar.

Yes, the ones you put in lock cabinets. The ones that are signed.

So we've kind of heard your transition there from drinking Jack, then to Trying Makers, and then maybe on to the Wild Turkey. Was it 101?

Oh, absolutely. 101 right off the bat. Austin Smith? Austin Nichols? Austin Nichols, yes, sorry. I always get it wrong. Yes, I love the full flavors. And you pick up so many different notes. characteristics in in wild turkey that most people don't realize that while turkey said they were going to stay with their recipe and they did it 100% never wavered they never went into the craft market never went into designer bourbons until recently i think that's was just it had no choice it was just going there but wild turkey for sure solid bourbon just solid

Is that your daily drinker or do you have something else you prefer for a daily?

I'm ashamed to say my daily. No, please. All right. So cost effectiveness for the love of bourbon. You can't go wrong with benchmark eight. It's only eighteen dollars a half gallon, but it is from Buffalo Trace. So regardless of how you approach. you're still tasting the same mash bill as regular Buffalo Trace. They're all drawn from the same barrels from Buffalo Trace. So you can look at it however you'd like, but if you open a bottle and you open a bottle next to a Buffalo Trace, you're gonna find similarities that you just won't understand. But for the price, Everybody thinks it's bottom shelf. It isn't any good.

So have you done blind between the two?

I've done it to my friends. I'll put it in a flask and I won't tell them. And they'll never know. They never know. But now guys that are in the business, they know something's wrong right off the bat. They know this isn't aged four years, this is only aged two years or whatever.

It's a little bright.

Right. Well, the guys that really like full flavored bourbon, they know. They know right off the bat because an 80 proof bourbon to a 93 or 94 proof bourbon, it's pretty smooth. And until you get above 100, like bottled and boned, everything bottled and boned is strong and it's full flavored. And that's what I love about bourbon. So how are you drinking the benchmark? Normally on ice or I'll put ginger ale, a splash of ginger ale in it just to knock the edge off a little, I guess. Just to make it a little sweeter.

Do you have a favorite cocktail?

Oh, old fashioned all day long. Yeah. Or there's a restaurant that I just got done building. I did 17 tables, a 35 foot bar and 20 foot back bar out of bowling alley lanes. And they have a cocktail there at one of their one of their managers created called the Good Night Moon. And it is it's surreal, you guys.

So what's in it?

I couldn't tell you. If I would have known this was going to come up, I would have got the recipe for you guys. But it's just amazing. And I can get the recipe for you before you leave today.

I tell you what, you know, we're probably going to write a blog article on this episode. So if you get it to us, we'll try to include it for everybody. Adam would love that.

Adam would love that.

So where did you get the idea? for this place we're sitting called Bourbon Barrel Rehab. I love the name.

Thank you. It's an ode to a band out of Atlanta that my youngest brother hooked us up with. It's pretty crazy band called Rehab. And Liz and I were Christmasing, and we went to Woodford Reserve. And as most people know that have been there, you walk down into a beautiful setting. It's just an amazing, amazing place. We walk into the first warehouse, warehouse one maybe, and there is a three-story wall of bourbon barrel basket-weaved pattern. And you walk through a giant door that is this wall, massive wall. And Liz said, Jeff, can you make me a headboard out of that, something that looks like that? And I said, sure. And it just, what else could you make from a bourbon barrel? So Liz and I went home. We put a $5 bet. We both put it on the table and said, I challenge you. How many ideas can you come up with? Write them down right now and we'll talk in 30 minutes. And so she sat and wrote and I went in the other room and she beat me by like 40. So when then we started, realizing that you could do furniture, you could do custom wall art, you could do wedding stuff, you could do stuff that was not offered to the public at that time. Now there's such saturation in the market that it's very hard to be at the top of some of the companies that do bourbon barrel art.

So did you just get the barrels and start? Yes. Or did you have just the staves or how did that work?

The first barrels we bought 11 years ago, we bought off the internet from some kid and we bought two of them out of his barn and they were like 15 bucks a piece or something. and I took them apart and I made a garden bench. I made a guitar stand, which I still sell them today. They're beautiful. And we made something else, coat hangers, coat racks. And everybody saw them and said, well, we want one. We want one. And then our friends that are in the military at Fort Knox I have a bunch of buddies that were, they were transitioning the tanks and removing them from Fort Knox and sending these trainers elsewhere. And all these guys had barrels in their basement and they said, hey, can you make us something before we leave that we can take with us? And so there it started. I mean, I was making benches and guitar stand for friends that were in the military and signs and, you know, they're something they could, you know, James's bar or Dennis's bar or something like that.

I don't know how you can get the bands off. Let me explain something to you here. I have a couple that I have. When you and I first started talking, I was like, I'll get Jeff to make me a table. Well, you know, they're on there. And then the next thing you know, you go, oh crap, they're out in the shed. And now it looks like a bunch of hula hoops down at the bottom of the barrel.

Absolutely.

Is that the best way to get those things off?

I don't know. No, the best way is a grinder with a cutting wheel and you get to make sparks and you get to hope that it doesn't catch on fire with the bourbon inside the barrel. So it's like living on the edge kind of.

So the devil may have his due after all.

Actually, no, there's tools created for barrel making, coopering. And there's actually a steel implement tool that I can show you that it slides and sits right on that sixteenth inch piece of steel. And it literally cups right up to the edge of the barrel. And you can hammer it as hard as you want with a large mallet, two pound, five pound mallets and drive those steel hoops. Now, That's traditional time. I mean that's what they used to do. Nowadays they have computer control arms that squeeze these bands down on that no human could do. So the production line goes up, the barrel quality comes out better, and you got more barrels being produced now than ever before.

Well, and you're the first one to basically turn me on to the idea that there were 30 to 33 staves in a barrel, and they had small, medium, and large staves. I didn't know this. I mean, you could tell there was a little bit of different size, but I didn't know they had like three different sizes.

I'll talk to a good friend of mine. He'll see if I can get you guys into Brown Forman Cooperage over by the airport. They are not set up for commercial tours. They put you through a safety class, and you can only stand in certain areas. It's not really set up, but they have no choice. The Bourbon community wants more information and more sites from Brown Forman. They're producing some of the best Bourbons out there. People want more of them. So how hard is it to get barrels now? Has it gotten harder? Yeah, that's one of the things. It's changed so much in eight years, nine years, ten years that we've been doing this. In the beginning, we could find them for nothing. I mean, there's cooperages around here that would throw them out, all their pieces that were broken or cracked or whatever, they'd throw them out on the side of the street and people would come take them and use them for firewood through the winter. That's no joking. I mean, they would get pallets of barrel heads and throw them in their wood-burning fireplaces to sustain through the winter. Now, times they haven't changed for sure. It's hard to find barrels. And if you do, you can't really buy barrels for under 150 bucks. And that means they're being made for $499 brand new. And they've still got a nice markup on the second tire use.

A lot of barrels are being used also for secondary finishing on Scotch whiskeys, tequilas.

Absolutely. The beer market has changed dramatically. It has taken over using whisky as a back note to some of these stouts and IPAs and sours that nobody ever thought of 10 years ago. And it may have been a thought 10 years ago, but how to implement that. And now with so many microbreweries going around the country, There's a distiller somewhere. You can get a barrel and finish it. All Tabasco products are aged in Jack Daniel's barrels. There's so many things. Great cognacs are finished in barrels. You get these notes that wines get finished in there. Angel's Envy has an unbelievable bourbon that's finished in port wine barrels. If you've never had it, it is a joy. I mean, it is a beautiful, beautiful bourbon. And I'm not a wine drinker per se. I don't really drink wine very often. Liz has got that covered. She loves wines. And when we first started dating, we went to a lot of vineyards and winery just for the effects of seeing how bourbon barrels are changing the wine industry, beer industry, designer industry of craft, anything anymore. Syrups, maple syrups are being made out of bourbon barrels. I mean, that's pretty amazing taste and flavor.

So what are the more popular ones that people are wanting?

Of the barrels? Yeah. Oh, double-oaked right now is going crazy. Everybody wants double-oaked. And the bad thing is that you can't really say, I can get you a barrel that says that. It could be multiple barrels being put together to make one great bourbon instead of this is a single barrel and here you go. That's the difference.

So what kind of new designs have you come up with in the land? You're probably coming up with new designs all the time, but what are some of your new exciting designs of things that you're making out of barrels?

The wall art, for sure. Commercial wall art. We've had a lot of companies, including Churchill Downs, the casinos. A lot of the companies want to display the look of bourbon with their logo. Marathon has a corporation headquarters here. We do barrel heads for them pretty regularly for their executives. We do states of Kentucky from three foot to 10 foot with company logos, wood burned on them or painted on them, depending on what their client wants. But right now it's commercial wall art. I do a lot of hotel stuff, bar stuff. Like there's a barrel place, a bourbon room in a hotel in Atlanta called The Barrel Room. And we did basically giant sconces that when you walk into the room, they're on either side of you when you walk in. And it's, you know, she would burn, Liz would burn the logo on it. So when you walk into the bar, they're right there. And it's beautiful. Well lit backlighting, you know, LEDs big this year. So when we when we anything we do with LED lights with Kentucky's or panels of a bourbon barrel weave pattern, people just fall in love with it. I mean, it's just gone crazy.

These customers, they're they're finding you.

Yes. You know. We get a lot of referrals from other people. We've worked with the Van Winkle family. We worked with Buffalo Trace side by side. I built Heaven Hills Traveling Bar. Once your name gets out there, people say, well, call that guy. Call this guy. He can do that. Or he can help you with that. And I've had people call me and say, listen, I'm building this bar and I'm running into a little bit of problems. Is there any way you can help me? And of course, this is one of the greatest industries for carpentry and art and sales. that I've ever been in. I built houses for 16 years and this is like a big family. There's nobody pointing fingers and saying they're not any good or their bourbon is not any good. There's a bourbon for everybody out there. I mean, the palate changes daily and people love new and different bourbons and it's just amazing, the industry. So I mean, there's all kinds of things going on. It's just new bourbons and it's all exciting, different flavors.

Yeah, so when you made the transition, you made a transition from building houses and then into this industry here, what kind of new knowledge and techniques did you have to learn in order to make that transition? It's not the same, right?

No, not even close. So bourbon barrels, the staves are actually curved. And when you look at your work, they're actually straight. You've got something. You don't have to go through pattern and stuff.

There's a transition that we do that takes the curved barrel piece and it kind of flattens it out. So once it's back to semi-dimensional lumber, which is flat lumber, I can build a pattern and I can attach and make whatever you can think of. I mean, I've literally made a four foot dragonfly, you know. Yeah, I made a giant five foot horses that you hang on a wall. I've made, you know, I'm getting ready to make a giant set of glasses for a web based company that's going to be 10 foot wide. So all out of states. So your ideas are, are limitless. You can go on and on and on and on. You just, it, there is no, there is no stopping point.

Well, I noticed you guys, you happened to have a thunder over Louisville party here at, at bourbon barrel rehab for the last two years. And so, you know, which helps me transition into the part about, you know, how do you basically balance work and family and fun? And, uh, when you're running a successful business like this one here,

No, it's uncontrolled chaos. There's no better way to describe our lives. It's uncontrolled chaos. We're scheduled a year in advance for 40% of what we do during the year. And then the companies that we are part of or visit or are involved with, they have their own functions four times a year, three or four times a year. And then we live in Louisville, Kentucky. So in the summertime, it's like every weekend is a festival. I mean, no joke. And then we've got one of the largest music venues or concert series that happens here in Louisville. Bourbon and Beyond, Louder Than Life, and a lot of the bluegrass festivals and the Waterfront Wednesday, it's just ridiculous. So it just goes on and on and on. Oh, and Forecastle Music Fest that happens in September is the largest, or in July, sorry, is the largest introduction to a younger generation of bourbon ever on the planet by Rolling Stone magazine. They put a bourbon lodge tent in the middle of a giant five-stage music festival that went on for three days, and no more younger people were introduced to bourbon anywhere in the world. So it really changed the culture of downtown Louisville. Young kids now are drinking bourbon.

So we just think we're exploding now, basically.

I think it's just an evolving explosion. It's going on as we speak.

Well, there must be a time of year when you and Liz are able to take a break and sort of wind down a little bit.

Yes, I rent an island outside of Maryville, Tennessee. And we get our friends and we get away for about four days and plus we go to a bunch of music festivals throughout the year. So that's kind of our mini vacations.

But pretty much busy, busy, busy. Well, this is a good place to end, Randy. I think go ahead and take a pause and we'll take a break and then we'll come back and we'll see what you brought for us to drink. Oh, this is going to blow your mind for sure.

Can't wait. All right, cool.

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 woodcrafters 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 rot and 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 LogHeadsHomeCenter. We are back. Jeff, what have you brought for us to drink today?

This is a new bourbon, relatively new. You can still get it at a liquor bar and liquor warehouse. made by Glens Creek Distillery on Olbecrackin Pike Lane in Frankfurt. And it is called OCD number five. And it is a barrel strength, cast strength bourbon. And it is 105 proof. And it is a single barrel. It is what you would say for the stronger bourbon drinkers, a full flavored bourbon, hands down.

Now, this distillery, it's the one that is right kind of close to the Castle & Key distillery, right?

That's correct. Old Crow distillery is probably 400 yards down the road from Castle & Key, which was the old Taylor distillery company, and down the road from Woodford Reserve. So the same creek that provides water to Woodford Reserve Castle and Key and Glens Creek is Glens Creek. So that's why he named it on there. He doesn't own the rights to Old Crow, so he named it what he thought would be prevalent in that area.

So in keeping with the way things are done now, I guess Castle and Key, they're not named after the Taylor Distillery. but they're allowed to say that they are in fact the old Taylor distillery because it's a matter of history, right? Sure.

It's the same way with... Same thing with Glens Creek. He wants to preserve the most history about Old Crow and the origin of the beginning of Bourbons. And like we said, what Colonel Pepper, we came out with his name. Did we figure out his first name? James. James E. I think James E. Pepper. Bill 18. 1835, we think it says it on the I can look it up in the pictures. Well, cheers. Cheers to you. So what kind of flavors do you pick up on that?

My nose, when I first smelled this, and I don't know if it's because I had other stuff, and we were working on these bourbon mimosas here that we're going to have, I was smelling orange juice, but I was picking up brown sugar almost right off the bat. So a sweet... Yeah, a very sweet nose on this. Yes.

So I'm getting... I mean, there's definitely some rye in this mashbill, no doubt about it. I'm picking that up. I'm also getting... okay don't call me crazy crazy but i'm getting kind of charred hot dog kind of charcoaled like kind of a little bit of a savory meaty kind of tone to it don't call me crazy no i will say that that

The nose is definitely way different than what I was expecting when I put it in my mouth.

Wide variety of flavors. Caramel sweetness, like a thick dark chocolate essence.

But the sweet went to savory, like you were talking about, went to savory when I went to taste it. I don't know that I've ever had.

When I say charred hot dog, guys, let me try and put this in perspective here. So that's the imagery that comes to mind. I don't know that it actually tastes like a hot dog, but I can tell you that the barbecue grill, the savory kind of, yeah, very full flavor.

Yeah, and I wasn't expecting it.

All right, so this so upon reading the back of the label, which I probably should have done before we started. So Dr. James Crow, who have made was has made in the 1830s, we produced the finest bourbons in America. So this was they grabbed a culture of wild yeast from fermenting tank number five from the old Crow distillery. hence the old OCD number five. So they've got a yeast strain and they reproduce that bourbon semi mash bill.

That's amazing. Well, tell us about the story on the front of that because it looked to me like it was just a bottle of, if you look from a distance, it looks like a bottle of bourbon.

When the property was vacated in the 80s, they had to remove all the heavy equipment that scrappers or whoever would take or steal. And so they would go in and knock holes in walls of the buildings and bring out the grain sifters and the heavy machinery. So they knocked a hole in this wall. And from a photographer's standpoint, you can stand back and you can see through it and it looks like a bottle of bourbon. So they photographed it, had a professional photograph and made it part of their label. You don't notice it until you actually look at it.

you have to look at it, but you can tell where the machinery busted the hole through the wall. And then up above that is the window that makes the neck of the bottle. And it's really by chance.

Yeah, just by happenstance that it looked that way. That's cool. So Dave, the owner and master distiller of Glens Creek, he's very historical, loves to keep the history and the knowledge of Old Crow, what it was and what it... It's part that it played in history of bourbon. And he wants to change how these aging years and these mash bills are put together and create something very unique. And he's done that. He's got probably four or five different bourbons that he's creating right now.

And that's Dave Meyer.

Dave Meyer, Glen's Creek Distillery. very innovative approach to making good bourbons.

So that distillery is quite old. I mean, there's a lot of, I would say, dilapidated materials, equipment.

Sure. 75% of the grounds you cannot access. By state law, you just cannot. They're falling down, coming down. There's walls that have collapsed. pretty much cut off, and he'll take you through a tour, but it has to be a hard-hat guided tour. It's just something that they have to look out for.

Well, hook us up.

I got you. We're ready to go. I've got you.

Because I was looking at some of your work out here, especially what's interesting is the rebar that you brought back from... Yes, from the 1830s. 1830s, folks. When you look at regular rebar, you can see the little ribs and stuff on. It doesn't look like much, but it looks like... My Ferrier went out here, a blacksmith, and twisted this metal.

Yeah, I've used it in multiple projects. It's beautiful to look at. And basically, all they did in the 1830s was heat up half-inch steel and twist it. And that became rebar.

And the reason they twisted it so it would lock into the concrete?

Exactly. It would give the concrete something to grab on the edges as it was formed in what we would normally call rebar in anything concrete. So the walls that have come down, I was able to go out in a section of the property and take out 10 foot sections and I would use them as the toe kick on bars. But to give the story, like you said, this is from the old crow distillery from the 1830s. I mean, it's just beautiful. So, and then I've got, we want to build, like I said, the conference room table out of the Rick House number three beams. And we want to lead that into the Japanese market. The only reason for that is the Japanese, they just worship historical bourbon industry stuff. And how much more historical can you get than the 1830s from, you know.

And I wonder where it actually started because it goes back to the 1800s. If you read some of the books on bourbon, the Japanese affinity for bourbon goes back to the 1800s, 1830s.

I think the affinity for really good, smooth drinking whiskey I think was the key. Everything we know from back then could be considered rock cut. So how do you explain to people that it's not rock cut anymore? It's just a strong, it's a full cast strength.

I don't think the Japanese think that, that's for sure.

And they've definitely, I think, have tried to maximize the flavoring aspect of really high-end bourbon. And that's, you know, everybody's love of that.

So we have something unique about to happen today here with the podcast. We're actually going to have two pours for our second pour. So would we call this a third pour or part two?

Well, we don't want to call it a third pour because we have an actual show called the third pour.

Oh, well, this would be an accessory, let's say 2.2. Yeah, 2B. 2A and 2B. Exactly, 2A and 2B.

So tell us about what you have sitting in front of us here.

So when we met Dave Meyer from Glens Creek, it was one early afternoon, rainy day. We went out and we were going to spend some time with him looking at beams and looking at the warehouse and looking at some projects that we could do to help when he was starting four years ago. to build products out of things that were there on the property that were historical that you could put into projects. So we're out walking around and he said, well, hold on, let me get something for us. And he went to the refrigerator and he made us a bourbon mimosa. And if you've never had one, then it's definitely a treat on something you should definitely try. So he poured orange juice, champagne and this cast strength bourbon into a nice little glass and we were blown away. I mean, it was just it was perfect recipe. So this is a hundred proof Rittenhouse Rye and orange juice and some champagne. And you tell me what you think.

A mimosa with a kick.

Yes, this is this is day drinking at its finest.

Well, that's really different than just your traditional mimosa. That's got a special flavor to it.

Exactly. Yoo-hoo, honey. Yeah. We got us a new drink for tailgating in Land Rover this weekend in Lexington.

Exactly. That would go great with some, I don't know, some breakfast sauces.

Yes. And eggs Benedict. And I'll picture taking the rye out of it and putting in, say, a doubled oak. OK. Or say putting in, or what we're drinking, anything cast strength. OK. gives it that full flavor, but you also get the orange juice and the champagne doing something to the bourbon that it's not normally.

But you probably want to stay away from the sweeter bourbons, right? Absolutely.

I think Maker's Mark is something is not something you should put in. And some of the four roses, like we were talking earlier, the single barrel or single batch probably wouldn't be the best to put in this. I like like the Wild Turkey 101. I think would be perfect in this. I think it would be a full flavored and it's not taking away from the bourbon. It actually adds to it. And it's a delightful change. Yeah, absolutely.

So it's one third part.

Yeah, a third, a third, a third. We usually make them up in batches and serve them to our friends. And camping is the best. Most people, like if they're beer people, they'll find a beer that they can drink in the early afternoon and we call them lawnmower beers. So they're lightweight, but they're still good flavor and with the mimosa bourbon mimosa. How do you go wrong?

That's that's great. I'm gonna sip on both of these as we move on I think I still have three here. So switching gears a little bit. You've done some pretty large-scale jobs as well. Can you tell us a little bit about some of those?

Sure. Back seven, eight years ago when Heaven Hill was launching a couple of their bourbons, they contracted us to build a mobile bar. They had a mobile bar they used for 14 years, and it had all the bourbon barrel heads on the front of the bar, and it was all their products. They wanted to move past that. They wanted something a little more elegant, something more classy. Liz and I, we came up with the design of the bourbon weave pattern that we discussed before at Woodford, and throughout Kentucky, people have started to use it. We did Yeah, we did a three sectional bar piece all with heavy duty wheels and it could be rolled in and out of a truck and taken and then it all hooks together. Right, and with, so it was mobile first, durable second, and be elegant and nice looking in third. And so once we did that, we said we may need to make this thing pop, and it's 2014 or something, 15, and we needed to have something that did it. So we put remote control LED lights in it, and that right there changed everything. We started doing projects with LED lights, and that really changed how people looked at a mobile bar or a wall piece or whatever. So yeah, we did the Heaven Hill bar. We moved right in from that into building custom bars here in Louisville. We've done three, four bars now. It's bringing bourbon barrel pieces into reusable lumber, reused, just that rustic look.

So you guys use like barnwood stuff too?

Yes, a lot of access. I mean, the last couple of years, people have wanted nothing but barnwood reclaimed lumber for their projects.

You got to be careful because if you can have an actually really good barn and boards be missing when tours come.

There's problems all over Eastern Kentucky right now with people stealing barns.

So speaking of these pretty big jobs that you've done, tell us about this bank job that we laugh about here in Paducah.

Yes, we had to stop using that nickname for sure. Paducah Savings and Loan moved their corporate office to Louisville and was going to open up smaller branches. And their designer came to us and said they wanted a concept of a roll-up door which was 11 foot wide and 10 and a half feet tall. And it looks like a roll-up door. And they put a nice chandelier in it and a 50-inch TV. It just turned out beautiful. So the designer came up with an idea that they thought was not possible. And we made it possible.

And so where is this located? And in fact, if I wanted to go see it, Where could I go? Do you know what the address is?

901 Hirshborn and it's behind the P.F. Chang's restaurant. So you can drive up to the building and you can go through the parking lot and you can see it. It's in the all glass frontage. You could see it right there.

I know what you're talking about.

It's beautiful. And all the managers in there, they have many questions that they can answer for you. They love it.

Yeah, so earlier in our interview here, you mentioned doing some work for the Van Winkle's. Can you tell us a little bit more about that?

Sure. Six years ago, seven years ago, we hooked up with the Van Winkle triplets and they were starting a company called Pappy & Co. And through partnering with their father, Julian Van Winkle, we were doing barrel heads that came off of their barrels. So they would do a line of 30 barrels, which is 60 barrel heads per aged Pappy Van Winkle. So the 12 year lot B, the 18 year, the 21 year and the 23 year. So we had 30 barrels of each one of these in our shop. We took them apart. We took care of the heads, sanded them off, and then we would wood burn their Pappy Wann Winkle logo on it. And Julian would sign them, and they would market them as the top of the barrel, bottom of the barrel. So this was A and B of that line. They numbered them, gave them a letter of authenticity, and when they launched, there were people as far away as Chicago coming here just for a barrel head off of Happy Van Winkle Line. We did all their wood burning on barrel heads for two and a half years, and they slowly started getting into bourbon barrel products instead of actual bourbon barrel pieces. They're having a great, great run. They have some great products.

Yeah, I've seen their stuff in like some of the liquor stores, the big, big brand liquor stores.

Yes, the chain stores are the, yeah, they just recently opened their own store.

So they opened their own store. Where is their store at? In the Nulu area of Louisville. Okay.

Yeah. Really? Yeah. So we need to catch the trolley on a Friday night and go down to the. Absolutely. And check that out.

Absolutely.

So when I first met you, You told me a very interesting story about meeting Fred No from Jim Beam. Such a great night. I think this friend of yours, Hickory, was involved.

Yes, and he normally is involved in most things nefarious and bourbon related.

Tell us about that night because it cracked me up.

Hickory is one of Fred No's really good friends. When Fred had his birthday out west a couple of years ago, that his family flew Hickory out as a surprise to sing Happy Birthday at his birthday party.

So who is Hickory? Let's go ahead and go on.

Hickory Flott is a local musician here in Louisville. He's a mandolin player, old school bluegrass. His family was in the music business. He's an amazing, amazing musician. And he is a character. He's a Bourbon ambassador for the larceny program for Evan Williams. He's just a bourbon connoisseur. He can tell you more about bourbon just by trying it than most people could ever give you a paper and say this is what's in it. And plays mandolin. And plays mandolin at the highest level. An unbelievable voice that you will not believe. I mean, he's just amazing. Hickory always gets hired during Bourbon Fest as Liz and I are down at Bourbon Fest for the last couple of years. And we were setting up our camp site and Hickory calls me and says, where are you at? And I said, I'm just getting done. We're going to head into town for dinner. And he says, come see me. I got my tour bus out front. And he says, I'm playing an event for Fred. No. And I said, That's great. So we'll meet you there in 30 minutes. So we go meet Hickory and he is sitting at an empty bar in the front of a restaurant, which is completely empty. I mean, there's not a soul to be seen in this. Not a bartender, nobody. And I'm looking at him like, where's your drink? He says, there's no bartender. He says, I just can't walk back there and get what I want. If you look through the back doors of this bar restaurant, there was a giant venue room that John Veronese was having a pairing with Bourbon, the Black Diamond.

John Veronese, the Veronese restaurant and the River House. Yes, exactly.

Very fine dining chef. Amazing. And he paired an evening for people to buy tickets to this Black Diamond event. bottle was giving away and it was pairing with some great foods. So my friend Hickory is sitting at this bar without a drink, cannot find a bartender anywhere. And we're trying, we're just making small talk and he says, I have the perfect gig. I'm only playing for when they showed up and when they leave. So we sat there the whole time while they're in there, just nothing to do. John Veronese is one of John Veronese's chefs came in and says, why don't you guys have drinks? And so he went back and made us drinks. So we sat there and then hour goes by and Hickory says, you guys got to leave. And he's talking to his son, Liz and myself. And we're like, OK. And he says, I got to play for these people that are getting ready to leave. So we sit there. We go outside. We relax. We're waiting for all this to be over with. Hickory comes out and says, he goes, get on the bus. And I'm like, what are you talking about? He says, get on the bus. We're going to Fred's house. And now it's 1130, 12 o'clock at night. And I'm like, what do you mean we're going to Fred's house? He says, come on, we're going to Fred's house. So we get on this tour bus and we're driving around this very small town of Barshown, which you both have been there. You know, it's a very small town and he's trying to find a certain road and. he couldn't find a certain road. So we finally pull into this house and he says, don't worry, this is my friend's house. He'll be fine. And I said, are you sure? He goes, no, not really. And I said, if you're not sure, we're walking into people's backyards. And so we get off the bus and we walk through these people's backyards and he walks up and you see this garage and it's like, SUV, SUV, SUV, SUV, all black. And he walks up to the garage door and he opens it and he screams out, Fred. And next thing you know, we're in Fred's garage, which is like no other garage you've ever seen. It's a full on kitchen, more memorabilia, Jim Beam memorabilia than you've ever seen in your entire life. Every celebrity is photographed on the wall, a big giant bar. a full kitchen, I mean, chef's kitchen, it's beautiful. And it's in a barn, it looks like a barn, but it's beautiful. So next thing you know, we mosey up to the bar and Fred is handing out drinks and it was- Fred No. Fred No was handing us drinks, yes. And there was no mixers, I don't know, for the faint of heart, it was not for you. It was full pours of glasses of straight bourbon and just a little bit of rocks.

What kind? Did you know?

It was Bookers, yeah. So it was very strong, very, very full flavored.

Everybody slept on the bus that night.

Everybody, yes, definitely slept on the bus for sure. But while we were there, we got to meet Robert Williamson III, who is a professional poker player that comes into Derby every year. is, does pairings with Fred No for events. So this year, he's bringing a first time poker tournament to Louisville for Derby this year, and it's a $250 buy-in. So that's the largest one that we've ever done here, and it's going to be handled at the Frazier Museum. So that is, they've always had a poker tournament, a Texas Hold'em poker tournament. I didn't know that. Where? On the Bell. of Lule on the Padwheel boat. They always have always had a Derby tournament every year, and it's only a $100 buy-in, $150 buy-in. So this one is bringing, every year we have a very large showing of professional poker players that come here for Derby. The gambling aspect, I would assume. I get that. I would assume. So Bernie Lubbers, we've talked about the brand ambassador for Heaven Hill and Evan Williams. He's got a lot of friends with Phil Hellmuth, Jennifer Tilly, Phil Locke, Robert Williamson III. So those guys come to Derby and hang out every year. So now they're trying to bring professional poker players to the Derby for a tournament that kind of kicks off Derby. So that's something new this year.

And when is this? Is that this week? I don't have the date.

I just saw the announcement yesterday. It's before the Derby. It's definitely before the Derby for sure. through that interaction with Fred No, we were hooked up with, you know, four or five other people that are, you know, executives in Louisville and urban industry. So it's good to know good people.

We need to all go check out Hickory one night. I think that sounds like fun. And he does bluegrass?

Yes, traditional old school bluegrass. And he does a lot of covers that are just amazing. I can play you some music before you leave and it'll blow your mind.

Well, I'll tell you what, we'll make sure we make a note of that. We'll make a note of that in our blog as well. Oh, absolutely.

And we can go back to the history of bluegrass or history of bourbon through bluegrass. And that is Hickory Vaught and Bernie Lubbers at Heaven Hill. They travel. You can pay them to come to your event and play music and talk about the history of bourbon, the mash bills, where it came from, how it started. And Bernie Lubbers is one of the the most knowledgeable bourbon connoisseurs out there. And he is known on the internet as the whiskey professor. So you can buy his multiple books. He's just a wealth of knowledge for bourbon.

So how is... I'm gonna sort of change direction here a little bit. How is the international market for your business? I mean...

In the beginning, we advertised on Alibaba for... Probably four years and we were, I've sent, I've set probably 35, 40 orders international. So we've sold barrels to Sweden, France, Germany, Italy, projects have gone to, and then we have our Japanese customers that we run into at Bourbon Fest, and they've bought stuff and taken it back with them.

What kind of things are the Japanese market buying?

Like the coat racks, we do coat racks with vintage whiskey labels on them. And they're just something that you can't find every day. So they're kind of unique. And we use a lot of vintage whiskey labels or bourbon labels. So you just don't really see those out there.

Like the ones you have displayed over there on the table.

That we brought some for you today. With our partnership with the Oscar Getz Bourbon or Whiskey Museum, we've dealt with the curator for years and we've partnered on projects and we ended up with a bunch of labels.

So I could actually buy something with like the Old Crow distillery label.

Absolutely. We have a line of coffee tables that we are putting old whiskey labels on and decoupaging or epoxy resining old whiskey labels. So you could have a coffee table that is completely vintage.

Now, these whiskey labels, are they unused or unapplied labels from their actual day?

Yes. We have a variety of them. We have ones that are no longer in existence. They haven't been produced in you know, a hundred years. And then we have ones that are still owned, but not in produced. And you can still find them, but most of them- And how old are some of these? Oh, 120 years old. Oh my goodness. Are you serious? So from the beginning of bourbon to, you know, 40 different bourbon companies being in Bardstown at one time. And they had just the wildest names.

So you'll have a J.W. Dant label from the 1800s.

Oh, that's a great store.

And they're in pristine condition.

and their descendant of J.W. Dant owns a bar, a bourbon bar here in town, and nobody knows that. He's very quiet about it, but there's a guy that owns the back door bar in Louisville, and his name is John Dant, and he came to us four years ago, and we went to the Bourbon Museum and got his family, they have a copper, that they have this copper template that they use, they paint on the end of the barrel. So that's their DSP number and their family logo. We went to the museum and got his, traced it onto a barrel head and gave it to his siblings. He bought them and gave them to his siblings for gifts. So J.W. Dan, his descendant, John Dan is a friend of ours. He loves bourbon history. I love bourbon history too.

Jeff and Liz, you're going to have to watch Jim's hands when he gets near that table. I'm just saying.

Well, we can hook Jim up. We got some things for you guys. Awesome.

So how did you guys end up in the Bourbon History Museum at the Bourbon Fest?

It's a great question. We were hired by Heaven Hill to build the traveling bar. At the same time, we met Bernie Lubbers, who was leaving Jim Beam as the brand ambassador and going to Evan Williams or Heaven Hill. We met the lady that runs the museum was the curator is, she's a wealth of knowledge. We met her and they hired us or contracted us to do the barrel head for the master distillers auction. So every year at Bourbon Fest, every distillery signs bottles and or, you know, bottles you can't get and they put them on an auction and all that money goes to keep the Bourbon Museum up and running. So every year I would build something and donate it to the museum.

And so they asked us to come in by something. What are you talking about?

I I've done multiple barrel heads for them that are custom one off one of a kind. And then I've done states of Kentucky and I've done so designs, whatever they have, whatever. Whatever's the hot seller that year I'll make, I've given away guitar stands and states of Kentucky and barrel heads, custom work, everything from there. And when that is sold at the auction, all that money goes back and keeps them up and running. Over an eight-year time, I donated as much as I could. I fell in love with them. It's a hard business. Barstown's a small town, so it's hard for people to realize that they're not just going to see a distillery. There's a Bourbon Museum right there as well, and most people don't know that.

So I'm going to change switch gears here just a little bit. You have something here in your shop that when I was visiting and hanging out with you guys that I thought was just totally unique had to do with your birthday. And I think it's about 15 gallons and it's a little 15 gallon barrel. And when I told Jim about this, I said, we've got to get Jeff to tell us about It was this 15 gallon.

Yeah, it was a shock to me first. We bought the barrel from a friend of mine that owns Glen Creek, David Meyer. I bought this barrel for me. I was going to use it as a project. Did you know at the time what kind of project? No, no, no. I was just going to just going to use it as a project. I bought it from him because it was there empty and you got to buy it when it's for sale. And so I bought it. Then my girlfriend here, a business partner and and and person that reigns me in keeps me sane. Yeah, partner in crime for sure, but keeps me sane. Better half, better 80 percent. I'm the 20. So she calls all my friends. And when we moved into this shop two years ago, my birthday, Liz called all my friends and said, I want everybody to bring a fifth of bourbon to his birthday party. And I didn't know anything about it. And she said, you should get that barrel out and show people. And I said, OK. So I got it off the shelf and I brought it out. And she's like, well, everybody will love it. And when my friends started showing up with bottles in their hand, I was like, what's going on here? Yeah, so she had coordinated this whole little thing for my birthday and all my friends poured in. Everybody brought a fifth or two or a half gallon or whatever and everybody signed the barrel and put what they poured in there. So there was a

I think I saw everything from bullet to larceny.

Seventeen bottles and a couple of half gallons and somebody threw some really horrible. Kentucky gentleman, I thought I saw that one too. But then the honey one was thrown in there, too. I don't think I was privy to that when it happened. But so, yes, so we got this 15 gallon barrel and she invited everybody to bring it for my birthday and everybody filled it up. And so the secret behind it is we're going to let it age with all these different bourbons in it and we're going to open it. in two years for my 50th.

So it's a 10-year aging process.

No. We're like three-year aging process.

Four-year aging.

Yeah, four-year aging when I was 46.

I think you'll appreciate that honey they added to it.

We may. And I think the bullet will give it a little bit of full flavor. And I think Dr. Stapleton brought the maker's mark, so there's some sweetness there.

But what a great idea. It's almost like a little pony keg for bourbon. And do that for your birthday. Get one of these little pony kegs, tell people to bring stuff, and you age it for however many years you want to. Exactly.

And the great thing about it is you get to see where the barrel leaks. You get to see it. Like, wow, that's leaking. Let me rotate this barrel so that it doesn't leak.

Oh, are you sure you don't put a glass underneath the leak?

I've been so tempted to get some out. I just want to try it so bad.

Well, Jeff, we really appreciate you taking time out of your day. I know it's a busy time of year for you with Burt, with Derby and everything, and all your customers are probably clamoring for their products right now.

Yes, it's been a very busy couple of weeks, but when we got into this, we thought that January, February would be when we take our vacations, but we've got hit with our biggest projects in January, February.

Really? Wow.

Yeah, it's been pretty crazy. When we did the Camacho cigars, we built two traveling exhibits that went on a 36-city tour. And that was January, February. And then we got the bar from Heaven Hill January, February. And then when the remodeling bars in Louisville that we've been working on January, February.

Well, when Derby's over, we'll have to get back with you and find out what this Derby project was.

you know, classified. Yeah, there's some really nice cool things going on in Louisville with the casino, the Derby City gaming casino that's affiliated with Churchill Downs. It's an amazing place. And the things that are happening at Churchill, just awesome. And downtown Louisville, with Whiskey Row, it has blown up.

Okay, well we'd like to give you a chance now at the end of the show to sort of let our listeners know how they can find you guys, how they can reach out to you.

Social media, that kind of thing.

Social media, email, website, all of those things so that they can find out more about what you do and maybe if they've got an idea in their head and they want you to.

We're willing for sure. I mean, the wilder the idea, the better, the more time we'll have fun. You can get ahold of us easily. Bourbon Barrel Rehab on Facebook, on Instagram, Twitter. The website is Bourbon Barrel Rehab. The email is bourbonbarrelrehab at gmail.com. And you can go on any of the sites and get directly to Liz, an emailer with designs, ideas, thoughts, price quotes, whatever you need. We can take care of you.

Well, we sure appreciate it. This has been a lot of fun. Oh, this has been a blast. And you know, it's not over. I hope we can have you back again sometime. And here's more stories. Absolutely.

I'm going to keep drinking my Mimosa. It's delicious, isn't it? It is. It's a new little perk for you guys. Thank you guys. Anytime, anytime. Thanks a lot.

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 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 on 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.