Tag Archives | Jefferson’s Bourbon

Jefferson’s Bourbon Small Batch Match Game

By Patrick "Pops" Garrett on February 19, 2013 in Bourbon Banter

The folks at Jefferson’s Bourbon launched their Jefferson’s Bourbon Small Batch Match Game last week. It’s an online game where you have a chance to win cash prizes that are paid out in $2 bills. I’ve already played a few times without any success which means your odds are still pretty good. But remember, I don’t give up so easily. I’ll be playing every day in the hopes of winning a few additional dollars to fund my bourbon habit. Here’s what the brand has to say about their online game:

Castle Brands Inc. is excited to introduce the Jefferson’s Bourbon Small Batch Match Game, an online instant win game with daily $2 cash prizes running until March 31st, 2013. Jefferson’s Bourbon is inspired by Thomas Jefferson, whose portrait graces one side of the $2 bill. This serendipitous connection inspired the online instant win game, available in website and mobile application form. Consumers can play daily for a chance to win cash prizes of $2, $10, $20, $50 and $100 doled out in $2 bill increments.

“We are excited to introduce this new instant win game, which will allow consumers and fans to interact with our ridiculously small batch brand in a fun, playful way. Plus, it links our bourbons to the iconic $2 bill,” said Trey Zoeller, Jefferson’s Bourbon Founder and Master Blender.

You can play the matching game via the QR codes found on the neck tags of most Jefferson’s products, the Jefferson’s mobile application, or via the Jefferson’s Facebook page. Consumers are encouraged to play the game daily for a chance to win.

Good luck and let us know if you come away a winner.

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Q&A with Trey Zoeller of Jefferson’s Bourbon

By Patrick "Pops" Garrett on November 28, 2012 in Bourbon Banter

A few weeks ago I sat down with Trey Zoeller of Jefferson’s Bourbon before our bourbon dinner & tasting. I was able to ask him a few Bourbon & Banter questions, along with some reader-submitted questions. Here’s a recap of our conversation.

What was your goal when you set out to launch Jefferson’s? How has that changed over the years?

Originally it was to bottle this unbelievable juice and build a brand that would someday finance the construction of a distillery. Now, it is to make Jefferson’s one of the most respected brands/portfolios in the industry. To continue to expand brand awareness domestically and globally and to put the best juice in our bottles possible.

What’s your perception of the bourbon industry/market now compared to when you started?

I feel like the consumers have caught up to the producers. We had this wonderful juice that was not respected until recently. Now bourbon is getting the respect that it deserves and the consumers are asking for more innovating extensions of their sacred spirit. It is wonderful to see you men and women ordering bourbon, neat on the rocks or in cocktails with pride.

Do you believe that we’re in the Golden Age of Bourbon?

I believe it is one of the Golden Ages. We have been there before. Prior to Prohibition and WWII bourbon sold more than all other spirits combined. Consumers appreciate bourbon for the time, effort and money it cost to bottle. I argue that there is no other whiskey as expensive to age as bourbon with the new barrels and the excessive angels share. Now the consumer agrees and even if someone does not appreciate the way bourbon taste, you are not ridiculed for drinking it.

What is Jefferson’s current yearly production?

We will sell about 50,000, six bottle cases this year.

You once said getting a hold of bourbon was your biggest challenge. With the increase in the interest in bourbon, and elevated small batch innovation by the big brands, is getting tougher to get barrels?

It is more difficult to find hyper aged bourbon, but not impossible. We will launch both bourbon and Rye products of over 20 years in the next year.

What’s your favorite non-Jefferson’s bourbons?

That is hard. I like to try anything new coming out and revisit those brands that I have not tried in a long time. That being said, I prefer bourbon with big flavors that are balanced.

What advice would you give wannabe distillers?

Follow your dream and be patient. Whiskies are not over night successes. Young whiskies are a work in progress. If you have the time and wherewithal to allow the whiskey to work in the wood it is only then that you know what you have.

Here are the questions submitted by Bourbon & Banter readers.

Would love to know about the design of the bottle, an elegant, stately promise of good things to come. (perfume bottle?)

With a very small budget we choose a stock “flask” style bottle, unfortunately, unbeknownst to me, it was also the bottle for Elijah Craig. Heaven Hill asked us to change our bottle and we choose one that was a bit more compact, similar to cologne bottles. Our goal in the design was to be stately, crisp and uncluttered. This was all done t the kitchen table. As I said, we had a very low budget.

With the success of the Ocean Bourbon, do you see any other types of experiments like that in the future?

Absolutely, as a non-distiller I feel I have control over the nurture of the bourbon, or the maturation process. I can affect how the bourbon is influenced in the years after it was born or distilled. There has been very little experimentation in bourbon in the last 100 hundred years, now the consumer has caught up to the understanding of better bourbons and is challenging the industry to evolve with them. We will tweak and expand the Ocean experiment. However, we will have more of a commercial quantity this time. We also have a number of experiments aging as we speak. Hopefully, one or two of them will demand us to expand the experiment to a commercial basis.

Did Chet and his Dad develop the receipe for Jefferson? Do they have any plans to build their own distillery or is that simply too expensive?

We did not develop the original recipe. We were able to source a fantastic recipe of age that we loved. This was due to consolidation in the industry. As we dug deeper, we found other great lots of bourbons of other ages and recipes and decided to blend them to evolve the flavor profile. Trying to make it more balanced and complex. Originally, I wanted to build a distillery, however as exciting as it would be, I have a hard time believing that I could match the production from the larger distilleries that have been doing it for hundreds of years with the knowledge of generations.

What are the youngest barrels actually used for both Jeffersons expressions?

6 and 8 years.

When are you going to visit my house?

Where is the invitation?

There you have it folks. Q&A with Trey Zoeller of Jefferson’s Bourbon. I hope you enjoyed a little peak into the mind behind Jefferson’s. Send in your questions for Trey anytime and we’ll look into doing this again with him in the future.

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Jefferson’s Bourbon Dinner Recap

By Patrick "Pops" Garrett on November 19, 2012 in Bourbon Banter, Bourbon Events

Jeffersons Bourbon Dinner Recap

This past Thursday evening Bourbon & Banter hosted a bourbon dinner and tasting featuring Jefferson’s Bourbon at Glen Echo Country Club in St. Louis. We were honored to be joined by Trey Zoeller the founder and master blender of Jefferson’s Bourbon who led the bourbon education and tasting portion of our evening.

The evening began with a cocktail reception in the “bourbon lounge” where guests were treated with a custom Jefferson’s cocktail while enjoying some banter with their fellow dinner guests. The dinner portion of the evening began with an introduction to bourbon by Trey Zoeller, as well as an overview of Jefferson’s operation and plans for future releases.

Trey also shared that earlier in the day he learned that their stock of Jefferson’s Presidential 18-Year bourbon was finally depleted. These stocks were from Stitzel Weller and those of you in the know understand the importance of this stock update. These are the very same stock barrels that serve as the foundation for Pappy Van Winkle bourbon. The Jefferson’s 18-Year that’s in the market is the last we’ll see…. ever. I suggest you run out and grab any remaining bottles of 18-year that you can find. I did.

Jeffersons Bourbon Dinner Recap

The tasting portion of the evening began with dinner’s first course. We started by tasting Jefferson’s Rye, which is one of my favorite rye whiskeys on the market. Trey was thrilled that everyone enjoyed the rye whiskey, but he was quick to add that he can’t really take any credit for the project. Unlike Jefferson’s Bourbons, Trey doesn’t do any blending with his rye. All he can claim credit for is finding some really great rye whiskey barrels and buying them to bottle under the Jefferson’s label. I suppose that’s not as sexy as blending something, but it’s still something to be proud of in my opinion. I mean, how often does someone just happen to find great rye whiskey laying around for purchase.

We also tasted Jefferson’s and Jefferson’s Reserve throughout the evening. I’ve been a big fan of Jefferson’s for years and thoroughly enjoyed learning more about them directly from Trey Zoeller. I’ll be posting some QA from my interview with Trey soon but I thought you’d be interested in knowing that that Jefferson’s Bourbon has bourbon ranging from 6 to 16 years in the bottle. In fact, 30% of the bourbon in the bottle is 16 years old. That’s a fantastic detail considering how affordable Jefferson’s bourbon is compared to other bourbons.

Jeffersons Bourbon Dinner Recap

The evening concluded with a dessert of crème brûlée that many of us decided to top off with a few spoonfuls of Jefferson’s Reserve before mixing it all together. If you get the chance to do the same, I highly recommend it. After dinner several of the dinner guests hung around to speak to Trey and finish off the remaining bottles of Jefferson’s.

The bourbon dinner and tasting was fantastic and enjoyed by everyone. Trey was awesome as our speaker and teacher for the evening. The bourbon was excellent of course, and the food prepared by Glen Echo was beyond amazing. (click here to see the original menu) My sincere thanks to Trey Zoeller, Glen Echo and all of the guests who joined us for the evening. I look forward to our next event where we can once again enjoy some great bourbon and friendly banter.

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Jefferson’s Bourbon | A St. Louis Bourbon Dinner & Tasting

By Patrick "Pops" Garrett on October 22, 2012 in Bourbon Banter, Bourbon Events

Update: Here’s a recap of our dinner with Trey Zoeller of Jefferson’s Bourbon.

Bourbon & Banter is excited to announce our next St. Louis Bourbon Dinner & Tasting will be held on Thursday, November 15th at the historic Glen Echo Country Club. The dinner will consist of a gourmet 4-course meal tailored to the evening’s selections from Jefferson’s Bourbon portfolio of whiskeys.

First Course:	Smoked rainbow trout on marble rye crostini with horseradish mousse and capers.
Second Course:	Baby spinach salad with warm bacon dressing, accompanied by sweet potato haystack, crumbled gorgonzola, dried cranberry and spiced walnut.
Third Course:	Duet plate with pan-roasted duck breast and porcini-rubbed grilled petit filet. Served with a pecan apple bourbon butter reduction, wild mushroom risotto and grilled asparagus.
Fourth Course:	Vanilla bean crème brûlée dusted with cocoa and espresso.

We’re beyond thrilled that Trey Zoeller, Jefferson’s founder and master blender, will be joining us for the evening. Trey will provide us with background on this family’s long history in the bourbon industry, lead us in a tasting of the evenings selections and answer all of your bourbon questions. It’s a rare opportunity to spend the evening with a true bourbon innovator (read about his latest innovation Jefferson’s Ocean-Aged Bourbon) and learn more about his approach to creating some amazing “ridiculously small batch” bourbons.

In addition to enjoying some great company, enjoying amazing food and sipping on fantastic bourbon you’ll be helping others by attending the Jefferson’s Bourbon Dinner & Tasting. Profits from the event will be donated to a charity of Trey’s choice.

The evening will begin with a specially crafted bourbon cocktail and appetizers at 6:30 pm in the Bourbon Lounge – a venue within Glen Echo created especially for our event. At 7:15 pm dinner will begin with an introductory overview from Trey and our first bourbon tasting of the evening. From there we will enjoy a new bourbon with each dinner course along with tasting notes and comments from Trey.

After dinner we invite you to stick around and enjoy a drink in the Bourbon Lounge and continue the evening’s enjoyment of bourbon and banter. You will be able to order drinks from the Club’s bar throughout the night. (Please note that cash is required for additional drink purchase or your can put it on your account if you belong to a reciprocal club. The Club does not accept credit cards.)

Here’s the bourbon dinner and tasting complete details for your consideration:

What:	Jefferson’s Bourbon Dinner & Tasting
When:	Thursday – November 15, 2012 – 6:30 PM
Where:	Glen Echo Country Club (click for directions)
Dinner Details:	4-course Gourmet Meal
Bourbons:	Our evening will being with a specially prepared cocktail in the evening’s lounge area featuring Jefferson’s bourbon that is paired with the evening’s opening dinner/appetizer course. Each subsequent dinner course will be paired with another Jefferson’s whiskey along with a tasting overview from Trey Zoeller. The following Jefferson’s whiskeys will be featured: Jefferson’s Bourbon Jefferson’s Reserve Bourbon Jefferson’s Straight Rye Whiskey
Available Seating:	Seating is limited to 45 people.
Dress Code:	Glen Echo Country Club has a dress code that requires business casual or greater for all guests. Please no jeans or shorts.
Cost:	$85.00 per person (includes dinner & bourbon tasting) Additional drinks are available for purchase during and after dinner. Please note that the Club only accepts cash. For those of you that belong to a reciprocal club you can put your beverage purchases on your account directly. The Club does not accept credit cards.
Reserve Your Seat Now:	Sorry but we are no longer accepting reservations for this event.

We hope you can join us for this amazing evening of food and bourbon. With only 45 seats available I’m sure it will sell out fast. Make sure to reserve your seat and invite your friends. We look forward to seeing you on November 15th!

Did you know that Glen Echo Country Club was founded in 1901 making it the oldest 18-hole golf course west of the Mississippi? It’s also the only place that’s held an Olympic golf match, earning that honor in 1904. In fact, you can see the Olympic flag and torch as you approach the front entry of the clubhouse. For those of you interested in learning more about Glen Echo Country Club here’s a brief video that should be of interest.

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