304: Fawn Weaver on Her New Book, Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey, and Honoring Nathan Green
Bourbon Lens
In this episode of Bourbon Lens, hosts Jake and Scott sit down with Fawn Weaver, the trailblazing founder of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey. Fawn takes us on a journey through her remarkable story—how she discovered the legacy of Nathan “Nearest” Green, the first African-American master distiller, and how she turned that discovery into the globally recognized whiskey brand, Uncle Nearest. Fawn also shares insights into her newly released book, Love & Whiskey: The Remarkable True Story of Jack Daniel, His Master Distiller Nearest Green, and the Improbable Rise of Uncle Nearest, which...
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303: A Deep Dive with Ross Cornelissen, Master Distiller of 1792 Bourbon
Bourbon Lens
This week, we’re talking about Barton 1792 Distillery and 1792 Bourbon. Master Distiller Ross Cornelissen joins Bourbon Lens to talk about the workhouse bourbon distillery. Barton 1792 is a historic distillery in the Bourbon Capital of the World and owned by Sazerac Company. We discuss three limited releases from Barton 1792, including Sweet Wheat, Aged Twelve Years, and Thomas S. Moore Port Cask Finished Bourbon. We are thankful for your support over the last 6 years. We must give the biggest shoutout to our amazing community of Patreon supporters! As always, we'd appreciate it if you...
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302: Sitting Down with Dierks Bentley and His New ROW 94 Whiskey
Bourbon Lens
We’re joined by multi-Platinum country music artist, Dierks Bentley, in this special episode of Bourbon Lens. Dierks recently wrapped up his Gravel & Gold Tour and is firmly planted back in Nashville preparing for his next album. We had the privilege to sit down with Dierks to talk about his newest project, Row 94 Whiskey. Row 94 is a Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey distilled at the historic Green River Distilling Company. Dierks aims for Row 94 to be the bourbon you reach for when you’re enjoying a night with friends, listening to live music, or pouring a whiskey...
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301: Restoration and History with Cook’s Mill Whiskey Founder Jason Queen
Bourbon Lens
On a recent trip to Myrtle Beach we crossed paths with Jason Queen as he was working to promote his bourbon in South Carolina. Jason shared a bit of history with us and a whiskey too. That chance meeting and conversation inspired this latest episode of the Bourbon Lens Podcast. Jason, a serial entrepreneur and conservationist purchased Cook’s Mill, an old grist mill in order to restore this once thriving mill. That goal set him on a path to creating a whiskey that is focused paying homage to North Carolina’s past. Sit back and buckle in for the latest episode of the...
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300: Celebrating a New Milestone with Birthday Bourbon at Old Forester
Bourbon Lens
We are celebrating a BIG milestone this week as we release the 300th Episode of Bourbon Lens. Old Forester and Brown-Forman were gracious enough to invite Jake and Scott to Whiskey Row to celebrate. Bourbon Lens is joined by Melissa Rift and Caleb Trigo from Old Forester to discuss the historic brand, its legacy and future, and to toast our milestone with the 2024 Edition of Birthday Bourbon. We couldn’t think of a better choice for celebrating this milestone episode and thank the team at Brown-Forman and Old Forester for their support all these years. As we celebrate this...
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299: Building the Best 5 Bottle American Whiskey Bar
Bourbon Lens
It’s the question that every whiskey enthusiast has been asked: What’s the one bottle of whiskey you keep on your bar? Since one bottle clearly wouldn’t make a great podcast, we decided to up the ante a bit and decided to build the Ultimate 5 Bottle American Whiskey Bar. Jake and Scott run through how they would build their whiskey bar if only afforded 5 slots. We’ve given ourselves criteria in hopes of finding a bottle for every niche and occasion. We run through our choices for 1) best everyday whiskey, 2) best cocktail whiskey, 3) high proof whiskey, 4) Top Shelf...
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298: The Most Exciting New Whiskey Releases for Fall 2024
Bourbon Lens
It’s been a wild season of new whiskey and bourbon releases and we’re catching up on some of the ones you may have missed. The press releases have been coming in fast and furious of late and Bourbon Lens is doing our best to keep you abreast of all the news. We recap some of the most exciting releases from the heritage Kentucky distilleries, the best distilleries both inside and outside of Kentucky, and even some celebrity brands that have the whiskey world talking. As always, be sure you’re following along at BourbonLens.com for all the latest news and notes of the whiskey world. ...
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297: Kentucky Bourbon Festival 2024 Recap and Planning for Next Year
Bourbon Lens
Scott and Jake sit down to debrief after a long weekend at the We discuss some of our favorite pours and experiences from yet another memorable Festival. We must give a shoutout to our AirBnB housemates who joined us to celebrate and to all our listeners who introduced themselves over the weekend. We wrap up this recap episode with some tips to consider as you plan your trip to the . Thank you to the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, its board and staff, and Estes PR for inviting us to the Festival to cover the events and festivities of the weekend. Image Credit: We are thankful for your...
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296: Our Trip to New Riff Distilling with Jay Erisman
Bourbon Lens
Scott and Jake travel to Newport Kentucky to visit New Riff Distilling and sit down with co-founder Jay Erisman. We kick back inside the Aquifer Bar to discuss New Riff’s history, their whiskey portfolio, and what’s ahead now that the distillery recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. In this episode, we taste New Riff Bottled in Bond Bourbon, Silver Grove Bourbon, Malted Rye, and their 8 Year Bourbon. Stay tuned to Bourbon Lens for more coverage of New Riff coming soon, including their second batch of Kentucky Single Malt and their Whisky NRD tasting courses currently...
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295: Four Roses New Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon for 2024
Bourbon Lens
We continue our coverage for Bourbon Heritage Month as we explore Four Roses Bourbon, including their new . We are joined by Brent Elliott, Master Distiller for Four Roses Bourbon Distillery. We discuss Brent’s process for crafting this limited edition bourbon, the , the distillery’s commitment to quality and tradition, and the recent announcement of an expansion of the Four Roses Bourbon recipe lineup. What is your favorite Four Roses recipe or release? About Four Roses: Established in 1888, Four Roses combines two mashbills with five proprietary yeast strains to distill...
info_outlineIn honor of International Women's Day and Women's History Month, we sat down with a very influential woman in the Kentucky Bourbon world. Peggy Noe Stevens has played a huge role in crafting Kentucky's bourbon-ism culture and creating bourbon-centric experiences for many thousands of guests in her career. Even if you didn't know her name before today, you definitely know her work if you've ever traveled on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.
Peggy Noe Stevens has written a new book to share her knowledge of hosting parties, entertaining, and pairing bourbons with meals in her latest book, “Which Fork Do I Use with My Bourbon?”, releasing in April 2020. Stevens, the first female master bourbon taster in the world, was recently inducted into the 2019 Bourbon Hall of Fame and the 2020 American Whisky Magazine Hall of Fame.
In the Mid-1990s, Stevens spearheaded opening the Woodford Reserve Homeplace and co-created the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, which now attracts more than 1 million visitors a year. She founded the Bourbon Women Association to provide an opportunity for women to network and learn. With her company Peggy Noe Stevens & Associates, she also builds distilleries around the country creating unique consumer experiences in food, beverage and tourism.
About the book:
"Which Fork Do I Use with My Bourbon?" places America's native spirit at the center of entertaining. Whether elegant or casual, for the holidays or just to celebrate an evening with friends, this book will give you all the tools for planning your bourbon gathering. Conduct a bourbon tasting like a pro, make bourbon the focus of your cocktail party, or plan a delicious, intriguing dinner party that pairs specific bourbons with certain dishes. Plus, some of Kentucky's legendary distilleries share their tips for hosting the ultimate bourbon and dinner event. Along with co-author Susan Reigler, these two Kentucky natives and bourbon industry leaders walk you through all stages of planning and hosting with party tips and tricks, along with recipes for bourbon-centric cocktails and dishes.
LINKS:
Order "Which Fork Do I Use with My Bourbon?"
2019 Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame Induction
2020 Icons of Whisky - Hall of Fame Induction
Peggy Noe Stevens & Associates
Forbes Feature: Women Running the Liquor World
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- Scott, Jake, and Michael
The Bourbon Lens