Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.
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TRIP REPORT 12 Beverage Dynamics • May/june l 2015 www.beveragedynamics.com light its fl avor characteristics. She created a lunch menu based on the fl avor profi le of the new Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey (see sidebar for the full line-up of pairings). During the tasting, our group also sampled un-aged Bourbon Reserve, un- aged Rye, aged Bourbon and Double Oaked. Among the chefs who have visited the distillery in Versailles, participated in tast- (including the annual Master's Collection offerings) change one or more of them to impact the whiskey's taste profi le. "The fl avor profi le behind Woodford Reserve really helped us climb the moun- tain in the beginning," Morris says. "No one needed a new Bourbon in 1996, since the category wasn't that popular at the time." Since that debut, the brand has intro- duced Double Oaked, which Morris calls a special-occasion Bourbon designed for dessert, and Kentucky Straight Rye Whis- key, which was released earlier this year. "The rye whiskey category was 90,000 cases, mostly from big distilleries when we started developing our rye," Morris says. "We were aiming for 10 percent of the market at that time. By the fourth year of our aging process, the category started to grow and we realized we wouldn't have enough. Now we can't even cover the market demand from a handful of cit- ies with developed bartending cultures." Creating a non-Bourbon whiskey is a departure for Woodford, but Morris ex- plains "the charter we created early on for Woodford Reserve says we'll be an inno- vative whiskey distillery. Nowhere does it say we'll be a Bourbon distillery." TASTING THE FLAVOR Because fl avor is so important to the brand, local restaurant owner Ouita Mi- chel serves as the Chef-in-Residence and often creates "fl avor wheels," which pair a variety of foods with the whiskey to high- Barrel tops are charred at the Brown-Forman Cooperage. The Brown-Forman Distillery in Louisville. BOURBON PAIRING LUNCH Woodford Reserve's Chef-in-Residence Ouita Michel prepared a three-course meal designed to pair with the brand's new Rye Whiskey. The fi rst course was a salad garnished with orange slices, red onions, sugared pe- cans and vinaigrette made with Woodford Reserve and sorghum. The second course, a chicken dish, included a rye honey glaze and was served with snap peas, carrots and rye berry pilaf. The fi nal course of Jamieson's chocolate bread pudding was served with Woodford Reserve butter sauce and a sorghum whipped cream. Woodford Reserve also recently launched a tasting app, which brings users through food pairings that help bring out the fl avor characteristics of the whiskey. The new app can be downloaded at www.woodfordreserve.com/app. BD Brown-Forman Master Distiller Chris Morris toasts a barrel using hay. ings and chosen barrels to take home are Emeril Lagasse, Guy Fieri, Wolfgang Puck and Julia Child (who also created a Wood- ford-based dessert). BD MORE ONLINE: For more tips from Ouita Michel on pairing Bourbons and whiskeys with food, read "Rolling Out the Bourbon Flavor Wheel" beveragedynamics.com.