Award-winning Portfolio of Limited-Release Whiskey and Rum Bottled at Cask Strength Reflects Unique Distillation Methods, Barrels and Aging Environments
Louisville, KY – Barrell Craft Spirits® (BCS), the award-winning independent blender and bottler, has created a unique niche within the spirits industry by focusing on the art of sourcing and blending. Founded in 2013 in Louisville, Kentucky, BCS selects and blends products that explore different distillation methods, barrels and aging environments, and bottles them at cask strength. Every batch is produced as a limited release and has a distinct flavor profile.While BCS considers themselves traditionalists when it comes to the identity of spirits, they embrace a progressive approach to exploring ideas for blending, emphasizing what people want now versus what has been successful in the past. This affords the team access to some of the most interesting and delicious spirits in the world.
Founder Joe Beatrice, who launched his first venture to help companies establish, brand, and grow their products online, brings more than two decades of experience in marketing, technology, business strategy, and product development to BCS. A longtime home brewer, Joe was captivated after tasting whiskey straight from the barrel for the first time. But, rather than follow a traditional path and build his own distillery, Joe drew inspiration from Scotland’s long-established independent bottlers who elevated barrels of whisky into something greater than the sum of their parts. With his creative juices surging, he began to source whiskey and blend exceptional casks from established producers, bottle them at cask strength, and sell them as transparently as possible.
Today, BCS blends a variety of spirits, including whiskey, bourbon, rye and rum, out of ingredients sourced from all around the world. BCS’s extensive stocks of high-quality casks mean they can craft extraordinary blends that maximize the nuances of each ingredient. Creative finishes, a liberated approach to blending, and a deep-seated commitment to releasing each whiskey at cask strength and without chill filtration guides every product release.
“Our goal is to become the most creative, forward-thinking, and progressive whiskey blenders in the nation,” said Beatrice. “But, successful doesn’t mean static. We’re passionate about pushing the creative envelope every day,exploring opportunities to source and blend outside the box, and showcase the world’s most exciting spirits.”
Joe remains intimately involved with every step of the production process, using his exceptional palate to choose and create great spirits alongside master blender Tripp Stimson, who joined BCS in 2017, as Master Distiller and Director Distillery Operations, after having spent nine years with Brown Forman Corporation, headquarters to Jack Daniel’s, Woodford Reserve andOld Forrester. National Director Will Schragis, an experienced bartender, sommelier and brand development manager, rounds out the core team. In addition to working closely with distributors and key accounts, he plays an active role in product development.
Award-winning
The BCS cask-strength small-batch and single-barrel releases have quickly become an influencing force in American whiskey, picking up awards from the world’s most prestigious distilled spirits publications and competitions. BCS has been consistently highly rated by Whisky Advocate and recently named Editor’s Choice (Winter 2019). At the 2019 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, BCS won “Best Small Batch Bourbon over 11 years old” (Batch 018) as well as three Double Golds. In previous years, they captured the 2017 “Best Bourbon” (Batch 011), “Best Small Batch Bourbon,” and “Best Over Proof Rum” (Batch 001). They were also named “Best American Whiskey of 2018” in Forbesby whiskey authority Fred Minnick.
Special Releases
In addition to its ongoing offerings, including Barrell Dovetail and the Infinite Barrel Project, BCS issues special releases that allow its creativity to flourish. BCS recently introduced an American Vatted Malt bottling, a blend of exclusively American single malt whiskeys that’s complex and multi-faceted, rewarding the drinker with unfolding layers of flavor. BCS also has a selection of single barrels available to retailers, bars, restaurants, and whiskey societies, via its Single Barrel Program. Each is a true single barrel – bottled at cask strength without combining it with any other barrels, unlike batches which are bottled from a selection of several barrels blended together to a specific flavor profile. Finally, the Private Release Rum Series showcases the team’s blending expertise while maintaining a single barrel-like scale controlled entirely by hand and by palate. Every ounce of every ingredient changes the overall character of these blends, as does the barrel that each one is aged in, making every bottling singularly special.
The award-winning line of Barrell Craft Spirits releases are currently sold in 43 US states. For more information, visit https://www.barrellbourbon.com. Follow BCS on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @barrellbourbon
For more information, follow Barrell Craft Spirits on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram or visit www.barrellbourbon.com.
Barrell Craft Spirits
Barrell Craft Spirits is an independent blender and bottler of unique aged, cask-strength sourced whiskey and rum spirits, that is recognized for its blending expertise. The company selects and blends products that explore different distillation methods, barrels and aging environments, and bottles them at cask strength. Every batch is produced as a limited release and has a distinct flavor profile.
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