BOURBON NEWS & NOTES – 16 October, 2020, by Susan Reigler
Diageo Launches Craftswomen Program
International spirits giant Diageo, which owns the Bulleit bourbon and rye whiskeys and operates a distillery in Shelby County, has introduced a line of spirits to honor the women in its company including Johnnie Walker master blender Emma Walker, Cascade Hollow general manager and distiller Nicole Austin, and Bulleit’s blender Eboni Major.
Major has created a Bulleit Bourbon Blender’s Select No. 001, a combination of three of the Bulleit recipes and described as having “distinct notes of vanilla bean, honey, dried fruit, and toasted oak, as well as a smooth finish with a lingering of sweet cream and fruit wine decadence.”
The limited addition, 100 proof bourbon retails for about $50 and has been released nationally. For more information, https://www.bulleit.com/whiskeys/bulleit-blenders-select/.
O.H. Ingram River Aged Whiskey
A whiskey company located in Wickcliffe at the far western tip of Kentucky has recently released the first expression in its new River Aged series. O.H. Ingram River Aged Whiskey is a spirit that has spent three years in the company’s “floating rickhouse” a specially outfitted barge moored to the Mississippi River bank. It is 96 proof and retails for $79.99. The company plans to release a River Aged Straight Rye next month. For more about O.H. Ingram, https://ingramwhiskey.com.
Kentucky Distillers’ Association and the University of Louisville Announce Diversity Program
The Kentucky Distillers’ Association/University of Louisville Scholars Program has been launched to offer five full-tuition scholarships with preference given to Black, people of color, LGBTQ+, women, and other students currently underrepresented in the bourbon industry.
The scholarship pays for UofL’s Distilled Spirits Business Certificate, a graduate level, online program. For more information: Online Distilled Spirits Business Certificate.
Brown-Forman Foundation Announces Major Community Donations
The philanthropic arm of Louisville-based Brown-Forman Corporation has announced $4 million in funding to several local organizations. In a prepared statement, Lawson Whiting, the Brown-Forman Foundation director and Brown-Forman Corp. president and CEO said, “The Brown-Forman Foundation, in partnership with Brown-Forman Corp., strives to ‘be better and do better’ as individuals, leaders and neighbors in Louisville and in our West Louisville home. From early education through to high school success, as well as programs to increase college and career readiness, today’s donations represent our belief in these organizations and the important role they play in transforming our neighborhood. We view these contributions as an investment in our future.”
Organizations receiving grants are the Louisville Central Community Center’s Mini-Versity Child Development Program, the Louisville Urban League’s Equitable Education Engagement (E3), Simmons College of Kentucky’s Minority Teacher Education Program, AMPED, EVOLVE502, the Jefferson Community & Technical College Rise Together Initiative,, and the Brown-Forman Diversity Scholarship for the University of Louisville J.B. Speed School of Engineering.
For more information about the foundation’s mission and donations, https://www.brownformanfoundation.org.
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F&D Bourbon Columnist Susan Reigler is the author of several whiskey books, the most recent being Which Fork Do I Use with My Bourbon? Setting the Table for Tastings, Food Pairings, Dinner, and Cocktail Parties, co-written with Peggy Noe Stevens.
Autographed copies are available from Carmichael’s Bookstore. It can also be purchased on Amazon, or directly from the publisher at https://www.kentuckypress.com/9781949669091/which-fork-do-i-use-with-my-bourbon/.
Photo credits: Diageo, O.H. Ingram, U of L, and Brown-Forman.
