171: Building a Bourbon Brand with More Than a "Puncher's Chance"

“IT’S (BOURBON) TIME!” with Bruce Buffer and Umberto Luchini as we talk about their brand Puncher’s Chance Bourbon and its two current offerings.  If you don’t know Bruce Buffer, you likely know his voice and his iconic trademarked introduction; “IT’S TIME!”®. He’s the official Voice of the Octagon for the UFC and he is putting his name and reputation behind this bourbon brand that he loves so much.  We are also joined by the brand’s founder, Umberto Luchini.  He’s an Italian with tons of experience in the international spirits world as well as Kentucky Bourbon; he previously helped grow the Campari Group portfolio, which also included Wild Turkey.  Don’t miss this episode and get hyped to grab a bottle of this Kentucky Straight Bourbon when you see it on shelves or online.

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Scott & Jake
Bourbon Lens

About Bruce Buffer: “The Voice of Mixed Martial Arts”

Bruce Buffer, an entrepreneur, announcer, entertainer, and motivational speaker who excites the public about products and events he represents, is perhaps best known for introducing events worldwide with his internationally trademarked phrase, IT’S TIME!®

Most will recognize Bruce as the official “Voice of the Octagon” for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) since 1997. He currently appears on all ESPN -televised UFC events and Pay Per Views. Bruce also appears and announces for many other sporting events such as the NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB, various collegiate sporting events such as the University Of Kentucky’s March Madness event, as well as Fantasy and Esports events.  On the virtual side, Bruce is a feature character in nine UFC video games released since 2014 (ex., CRAVE, THQ, UFC) and is the model and voice for the boxing character Tony T. in the Ready 2 Rumble Boxing Round 2 video game by Midway.

Among numerous TV and movie appearances, Bruce has appeared with Robin Williams and Billy Crystal on “Friends”; on HBO’s “Entourage”; alongside Antonio Banderas in the motion picture “Play it to the Bone,” and Will Ferrell in the comedy “Holmes & Watson”; as well as performed voice over work for Clint Eastwood’s 2004 Best Picture Oscar award winner “Million Dollar Baby.” A ranked professional poker player, Bruce has been seen on NBC’s Poker After Dark, the Travel Channel’s popular “World Poker Tour TV Show,” and co-stars in the critically acclaimed instructional poker DVD “All In” along with poker pro Phil Gordon.

Bruce manages his entrepreneurial ventures through Buffer Enterprises, Inc., as well as guides and manages the career of his brother Michael Buffer, including the creation, design, and management of all product and promotional licensing surrounding Michael Buffer’s world famous LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE® trademark phrase, which has grown into a major international enterprise, approaching $500,000,000 in retail sales worldwide.

Bruce’s latest project is Puncher’s Chance™ pure Kentucky Straight Bourbon, inspired by two great American traditions: whiskey, and fighting for what we believe in. Bruce explains: “A puncher’s chance means that anyone has the potential to succeed, whatever the odds, if he or she works for it. Being the underdog is often the greatest strength. Puncher’s Chance is the bourbon for everyone who believes and lives that credo.”

About Umberto Luchini

Founder & Proprietor, Wolf Spirit

Umberto Luchini (pronounced: oom-BEAR-toe loo-KEE-nee) is the founder and proprietor of Wolf Spirit, a different kind of spirits company started in a former Eugene, Oregon laundromat (Nanny’s Wash & Dry, in fact). Wolf Spirit brands include Puncher’s Chance Bourbon, Blood x Sweat x Tears Vodka, Bosscal Mezcal and Tom of Finland Organic Vodka from Finland.

Umberto was born in Milan, Italy into a small, tightly-knit family. He attended school in London, worked in France, became jobless after 9/11, and took a low-paying job with a great brand: Campari (Monaco). Umberto rose through the marketing ranks, ultimately moving to San Francisco in 2004, where he resides today as an American citizen.

Umberto worked with Campari America for 17 years, during which time he formed an award-winning team of 30 marketers and developed well-known marketing programs for globally recognized brands. Umberto led the team behind the reimagining of Wild Turkey, following the purchase of the brand by Campari Group from Pernod Ricard in 2009. He also took an unknown tequila brand named Espolòn and turned it into “the Tito’s of Tequila,” selling more than 400K 9L cases. In 2017, Umberto left Campari with multiple business models and dreams of becoming an entrepreneur; that same year Wolf Spirit was founded.

Umberto is happier than ever and working harder than ever to grow his own brand, as he did for so many others. In his spare time, he enjoys ultra-endurance sports and traveling.

About Puncher’s Chance Kentucky Straight Bourbon

Eugene, Oregon-based Wolf Spirit released its first foray into fine whiskey with the release of Puncher’s Chance® Kentucky Straight Bourbon in Fall 2020. Crafted through a partnership with IJW Whiskey Company of Louisville, Kentucky, Puncher’s Chance is now available at fine spirits retailers and online at $34.99 SRP for a 750 ml. Inspired by two great American traditions – whiskey and fighting for what you believe in – Puncher’s Chance was created for the whiskey curious who appreciate an approachable knockout bourbon with finesse.

Puncher’s Chance Kentucky Straight Bourbon is a five- and six-year-old blend of fine whiskies, crafted from a 75 percent corn, 13 percent rye and 12 percent barley mash bill and proprietary yeast. The liquid coming off the all-copper column still is aged in American white oak barrels with a #4 alligator char in traditional wood rickhouses. Clocking in at 90 proof, the final whiskey strikes the nose with aromas of apricot and maple oatmeal.

“Our goal with Puncher’s Chance is to create perfectly balanced whiskies,” says Umberto Luchini, Founder of Wolf Spirit. “This means the flavors and aromas that comprise a memorable whiskey, such as sweet, spicy, fruity, floral or savory, sing in resolute harmony, with none outshining another. Puncher’s Chance will explore how that is achieved as we release new expressions in the future, including extra aged/barrel finished and single barrel offerings in 2022.”

On the palate, this new-to-market American Whiskey entry leads with caramel, spicy, slightly sweet, and creamy vanilla notes. On the back end, the bourbon shows complex oaky sweetness alongside orange, dark chocolate, leather, and baking spices. The finish is long with sweet maple and sugar notes.

The brand name “Puncher’s Chance” is a boxing reference, denoting that almost anyone can deliver a knockout punch, no matter what the odds... particularly if that punch is delivered with perfect balance.

Puncher’s Chance comes housed in a jet-black, screen-printed bottle with a gentle fade at the bottom to reveal the amber liquid within. The brand’s tiger mascot, a common symbol in boxing and MMA fighting, prowls the label. Bruce Buffer (IG: @BruceBufferUFC), the “Voice of Mixed Martial Arts,” serves as a partner in Puncher’s Chance – introducing his more than one million fans to this fine whiskey.

Exceptional as a sipper, Puncher’s Chance also brings perfect balance to a well-crafted Manhattan, Old Fashioned or Boulevardier.

The brand may be purchased in California, Florida, Kentucky, Colorado, Oklahoma and New Mexico (Southern Glazer’s); New York, Tennessee and Georgia (Empire); Massachusetts and Rhode Island (Atlantic Beverage); Missouri (Major Brands); Connecticut (Murphy); and Wisconsin (Badger/Frank), and through the Puncher’s Chance website.

Find Puncher’s Chance online at www.puncherschancebourbon.com and on social media Instagram and Facebook @puncherschancebourbon.

About Puncher’s Chance The D12tance

Finished in California Cabernet Sauvignon Barrels in January 2022.  The D12TANCE is a Straight Tennessee Bourbon. Aged for 12 years in traditional stone and wood rickhouses and finished in California Cabernet Sauvignon barrels, The D12TANCE is now available at fine spirits retailers at $120 SRP for a 750 ml.

Just 70 barrels of The D12TANCE, sourced from the IJW Whiskey Company in Louisville, Kentucky, were born from a mash bill of 84 percent corn, eight percent malt, eight percent rye and a proprietary yeast strain. With a complex aroma of vanilla, dark cherry fruit and toasted oak, this Tennessee Bourbon yields incredible flavor. At a respectable 96 proof, the warm hint of caramel and vanilla hits the palate first. As the proof gently fades, the tongue picks up a long, fruity finish reminiscent of the French Oak wine barrels in which the liquid rested for two months.

The D12TANCE is the second release from Puncher’s Chance – a new American Whiskey entry from Wolf Spirit, out of Eugene, Oregon, and comes on the heels of the fall 2020 release of the company’s foray into aged dark spirits with the release of Puncher’s Chance Kentucky Straight Bourbon. The brand name of Puncher’s Chance itself is a boxing reference, denoting that almost anyone is possible of a knockout punch, no matter what the odds. Naming our latest aged spirit entry The D12TANCE is a double entendre – referring both to the age of the liquid and the 12 official rounds in a formal boxing match.

Says Umberto Luchini, Founder of Wolf Spirit, “As a relative newcomer to the whiskey category, Wolf Spirit knew the liquid for Puncher’s Chance The D12TANCE needed to pack a punch (pun intended) if we wanted to make our mark, which is why we partnered with the talented team at IJW.”

“With The D12TANCE, we are finishing a 12-year-old Bourbon in wine casks, which is quite unique, as you usually see much younger whiskies receiving this treatment. This was critical to us because we didn’t want the fine Bourbon overpowered by the wine barrel finishing. Our goal was to use the finishing to coax more of the existing characteristics out of the whiskey,” Luchini continues.

The D12TANCE comes housed in the traditional Puncher’s Chance jet-black bottle with a gentle fade at the bottom to reveal the amber liquid within. The Puncher’s Chance tiger, a common symbol in boxing and MMA fighting, again graces the label, but this time in striking gold leaf making it easily identifiable on the backbar.

The D12TANCE is best served neat or on the rocks to truly experience the subtle effects the finishing has on this perfectly-balanced and nuanced liquid.

With only 2,000 cases produced for the U.S. market, The D12TANCE may be purchased in California, Florida, Kentucky, Colorado, Oklahoma and New Mexico (Southern Glazer’s); New York, Tennessee and Georgia (Empire); Massachusetts and Rhode Island (Atlantic Beverage); Missouri (Major Brands); Connecticut (Murphy); and Wisconsin (Badger/Frank).

About Wolf Spirit

Perhaps the only liquor company in the world founded in an old laundromat (Nanny’s Wash & Dry, to be exact), Wolf Spirit is a true Eugene, Oregon original, producing fine, handcrafted products that capture the pioneering spirit of the American northwest. Founded by Campari Group veteran Umberto Luchini and helmed by longtime spirits industry expert Bradd Levitan, Wolf Spirit embodies the traits of its namesake. Guided by instinct and fueled by a hunger for brands with authentic stories, Wolf Spirit is building a pack of unique products with courageously bold identities that come together with purpose. Our premium brands include Puncher’s Chance® Kentucky Straight Bourbon, Tom of Finland® Organic Vodka, Blood x Sweat x Tears® Vodka and Bosscal Mezcal. Launched in 2017, Wolf Spirit’s products are now available in more than 35 states across the US with a keen focus on national and regional on- and off-premise chains. Find out more at https://wolfspiritdistillery.com/.

Show Links:

• Puncher's Chance Bourbon
• WolfSpiritDistillery.com
• Puncher's Chance™ Kentucky Straight Bourbon - Wolf Spirit Distillery 
• Puncher's Chance Bourbon®️ (@puncherschancebourbon) • Instagram photos and videos
• Bruce Buffer
• Here's the origin story of Bruce Buffer's iconic UFC 'It's time!' catchphrase 
• Facebook Video on Bruce Buffer
• @brucebufferufc • Instagram photos and videos
• Puncher's Chance™ Kentucky Straight Bourbon: A Pandemic Success Story