Hops & Spirits: Neat & Mixed

Copper & Kings Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey is made from a blend of 5-, 10- and 15 year bourbons. This is a flavor forward remix of the Kentucky tradition and is finished in American Apple Brandy barrels for 12 months. It comes in at 111 proof (55.5 ABV) and an MSRP of $65.

Barrell Barrell Bourbon Cask Finish Series is a limited edition series launched in the fall and will introduce two blends each year. Up first, the Amburana is a blend of Indiana (5, 6, 7, & 10-year) and Kentucky (5-year) bourbon whiskeys, which were further matured in sustainable Amburana casks. The Barrell blending team created a bourbon blend of two mashbills with different char levels finished in Amburana casks. A vatting of individual casks without finishing was then layered in to add depth, richness, and complexity, ensuring the bourbon shines through first and foremost. Featuring a derived mash bill of corn (75%), rye (21%) and malted barley (4%), the blend was bottled at cask strength (116.42 proof).

Remus Highest Rye Straight Bourbon is a new, year-round release coming in at $55 MSRP. Aged six years and offered at 109 proof, Remus Highest Rye Bourbon packs as much rye into a bourbon as possible, with a mash bill consisting of 51% corn, 39% rye and 10% malted rye. Cheers!

El Mayor Extra Añejo Bourbon Barrel Aged Tequila marks El Mayor’s 25th anniversary and is distilled from Blue Weber agave then aged for 39 months in American Oak bourbon barrels. It has an MSRP of $129.99 per 750-ml. bottle and is a limited release.

We've Got Questions for As Above So Below co-founder/master distiller Caley Shoemaker. Caley talks about how she got into the alcohol business, what made her launch/be part of As Above So Below, what's in the name, what folks can expect with their spirits, why they approach things differently in distilling, what's next and more.

We try the fourth release from Kentucky Senator Bourbon named after US Senator John Sherman Cooper. This comes in at 107 proof with an MSRP of $135. Roughly 1,000 bottles of this was released.

We tried the Blue Note Juke Joint Single Barrel Uncut at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. This came in at 121.7 proof with an MSRP of $40.

While at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, we tried the Three Chord Honey Toasted Whiskey. This features 5 & 6 year old MGP Bourbon and 8 year old KY Corn Whiskey blended together and aged for 3 months in toasted barrels from Independent Stave Company and Speyside Cooperage. Those 3 months were followed by 1 month in barrels that previously held honey from Fern Valley Farms in Arkansas. Cheers!

We had questions for E.J. Curley & Co.'s Ashley Barnes at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. We talked to Ashley about how started working for EJ Curley, working in the bourbon business while pregnant, what she's trying to do for EJ Curley, future releases and more.

We've got questions for Lexington Brewing & Distilling's Dave Bob at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. We ask Dave Bob about his role, their barrel-aged beers, how he got into this industry, their bourbons, what's coming soon and much more.