Kentucky Derby winner’s first bourbon is a runaway success. Will there be more?
After you’ve won the Kentucky Derby, what’s the next field to conquer? Bourbon, of course.
That’s why the co-owner of 2019 winner Country House (who was declared the winner after Maximum Security was disqualified) has launched a new whiskey.
To tie it all together Guinness McFadden named it Blackwood Bourbon, after his Blackwood Stables. And it makes for a nice pairing, as they say in bourbon.
“I had been looking into it for about 15 years,” McFadden said. “I’ve been fascinated with the process of making it, with the history around bourbon. And I obviously like drinking bourbon.”
McFadden, whose day job is running the Blackwood Training Center in Versailles, has partnered with Justin Thompson and Justin Sloan, the palates behind Justins’ House of Bourbon. They helped him source, pick and blend nine barrels to create the first release, Blackwood Toasted Bourbon.
“We were able to source some aged bourbon, and that’s our first foray,” McFadden said. They put six-year-old bourbon into a second barrel with a different char to finish the whiskey and give it extra flavor.
It was bottled at cask strength of 121 proof and has notes of creme brulee, gingerbread, toasted pecan and charred oak, according to tasting notes.
The limited release (only about 1,700 bottles) hit stores late last month and despite a suggested retail price of $150, is essentially sold out, he said.
More releases are in the works, including more barrel-strength toasted bourbons, a rye and a single-barrel bourbon, McFadden said. Liquor Barn, Total Wine, Ernie’s Spirits on Southland Drive and other Kentucky retailers are carrying the brand.
The next project, he said, is figuring out where to set up a craft distillery.
“Right now, I’m focusing on Versailles, or Midway,” he said. “Our goal is to distill our own juice within the next few years.”
