They set out to make Kentucky bourbon from popcorn. Then they started winning awards.
A Kentucky bourbon you’ve probably never heard of has been racking up rave reviews and awards. And they owe it all to a special popcorn.
15 Stars Fine Aged Bourbon, released by a father and son team working with Bardstown Bourbon Co., won Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Awards and won Double Platinum from the ASCOT Awards created by Louisville-based spirits critic Fred Minnick.
Their first limited-release bourbon, 15 Stars 14 Year Old Timeless Reserve, was a finalist for best straight bourbon at San Francisco, according to Rick Johnson, who started the company with his son, Ricky, three years ago.
That summer, before Ricky Johnson’s junior year in college, he took on a project: See if the black, red, blue and white heritage corn they use in their Black Jewell popcorn could be turned into a bourbon. The proprietary corn strains are grown in Indiana, Illinois and in Kentucky.
Ricky Johnson began working with Bardstown Bourbon Co., where they could produce as little as one fermenter vat of mash made from the five-inch ears to test.
“We tried the white dog and decided we had something,” Ricky Johnson said. “We started distilling with the black, then the red, the white and the blue separately and as a red, white and blue mix. But we thought it might take a while to age. So we started sourcing material.”
First releases are sourced
Over the next three years they bought whiskey made from conventional grains and began blending.
“We’re really fans of blending,” Ricky Johnson said. “We can craft something that’s better than either separately.”
The first release was a blend of a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old bourbon that were very different bourbons, he said. “They’re really quite spectacular together.”
So where can you buy it? Their first bourbon is in stores only in Kentucky, in very limited release of only 1,650, with a suggested retail price of $279 a bottle. It’s 103 proof with a nose of butterscotch and maple, a palate of dark chocolate and molasses and a finish of dark chocolate, oak and coffee, according to the tasting notes.
The next release, called 15 Stars 7&15, blends two bourbons of those ages and will be available in late July in stores in Kentucky including Liquor Barn and Total Wine & More. That bourbon also was awarded Double Platinum in the 2022 ASCOT Awards. It will have a suggested retail price of $139 a bottle. It is 107 proof with a nose of cinnamon, rose petals and apricot, a palate of citrus and spice and soft toasted oak finish.
15 Stars bourbons also are available at restaurants and bars in Lexington and around Kentucky.
Where does 15 Stars bourbon get its name?
They named the company 15 Stars to honor Kentucky’s heritage as the 15th state admitted to the Union. The U.S. flag from 1795-1818 had 15 stars, Rick Johnson said, and they’ve collected many historic artifacts with 15 stars including silver from Lexington silversmith Asa Blanchard, furniture and other items.
They plan to release sourced bourbon while their own ages.
“We’ve grown these specialty corns forever and we wanted to make a craft bourbon,” Rick Johnson said. “When we started distilling ... each expressed its own individual flavors and it’s pretty special. Those great flavors come through in these bourbons.”
