New Kentucky bourbon from legendary distiller: Smoke and history in a glass
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Chip Tate partners with KY investors to launch Burnt Tavern Bourbon in 2025.
- The 7-year bourbon features double-barreling and historic brand storytelling.
- Distillers plan future visitor facility while sourcing from Green River Distillery.
A new Kentucky bourbon brand is launching with a link to the state’s history and an assist from one of the industry’s newest stars.
Chip Tate, founder of Texas whiskey brand Balcones Distilling, where he created the famous Baby Blue corn whiskey, teamed up with Kentucky investors to create Burnt Tavern Bourbon.
Tate, who left Balcones in 2014, is credited with virtually inventing the category of American single malt whisky and has been working with Foley Family Wines & Spirits.
William Berkele Distillery in Garrard County invited Tate to create a special whiskey that captures a hint of smoke to echo the concept of the a brand inspired by the historic tavern. (Side note: Although in Garrard County, they are not affiliated with the Garrard County Distillery in receivership.)
History of Kentucky’s Burnt Tavern
The name Burnt Tavern references a stagecoach stop rest built in 1794 by the Rev. James Smith and his family in what is now Bryantsville, between Danville and Nicholasville. The tavern was destroyed by fire and rebuilt twice, becoming known as Burnt Tavern, famous among frontier travelers and locals.
The building has long since been razed but stood near the site of the William Berkele Distillery, founded in 1868 when Berkele began producing sour mash whiskey after the Civil War.
Reviving historic distillery name
Now the distillery name has been revived by Royce Blevins and Bennett Clark, president of William Berkele Distillery.
In an interview, Blevins and Clark said they are working with Green River Distillery in Owensboro while they make plans to eventually build their own facility.
“We have the property where the William Berkele Distillery once stood in in the 1860s and also Burnt Tavern was on the same tract of land, but that was there back in the 1790s. So we are sourcing our bourbon,” Blevins said. “Chip Tate is our master distiller and his is putting his proprietary turn on the liquid to tie it back to the story of the twice burned tavern.”
And there is a footnote for why they chose Tate:
Henry Smith, the son of tavern founder James Smith, became the first governor of the territory of Texas and played a vital role in Texas’ independence. “Working with Texan Chip Tate completes the Texas-Kentucky connection,” Blevins said.
What makes Burnt Tavern Bourbon special
They won’t say much about Tate’s process, except to say the bourbon is not infused. Rather, it involves double-barrelling, finishing the 7-year-old bourbon in two unique, slowly toasted and charred barrels.
The result is complex and elegant, with layers of flavor including burnt sugar, caramel and vanilla, with hints of blackberry jam and ginger.
“We came to Chip with a story rooted in legacy, fire and revival and he turned it into something you can actually taste. Very few distillers can take a brand’s origin and build a flavor that truly lives up to it. It’s not just bourbon; he captured the soul of Burnt Tavern. In every sip, a Kentucky story is told,” Blevins said.
Tasting notes, proof, price, where to find
According to the tasting notes, written by bourbon expert Peggy Noe Stevens, it has a nose of candied dates, blackberry jam, brown sugar, vanilla bean, allspice, clove, nutmeg, smoked caramel, toasted oak and char. On the palate, it’s bananas, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, cinnamon, ginger, clove, coffee, charred oak and saddle leather with a finish of hot spices with tannic oak & campfire smoke, ginger ale, toasted oak and warm baking spices.
Burnt Tavern hits shelves in Kentucky in September. It’s a 7-year-old premium Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, bottled at 105 proof, with a suggested retail price of $69.99.
Clark and Blevins worked with spirits industry veteran Tara Lubonovich to develop a design that incorporates the original William Berkele seal and echoes the brand story.
“We wanted to create a label that draws you into the journey of the Tavern, down to the last detail. The Burnt Tavern logotype was designed to feel like it’s branded into wood, and the shape of the label evokes an old hanging sign from the stagecoach days”, said Tara Lubonovich, creative director for Burnt Tavern Bourbon.
Plans for distillery, tourist draw
Given the economic climate, Blevins said they are not in a hurry to build anything yet.
“The wholesale market is soft, so it’s a great time to be a non-distiller producer that wants to focus on a brand,” Blevins said.
While the industry may be in a correction at the moment, he said, “Kentucky bourbon is not going anywhere, and our tourism numbers show that.”
He said they intend to develop a small craft distillery with a visitors experience in the next three to five years.
More releases will be coming as well.
“Everything we do will be tied to history, will be incorporated into it. It’s a bourbon story but also a history story,” Clark said. “Back in the day, all roads really did lead to Burnt Tavern.”
