Within the age of bourbon sourcing, mixing, and cask finishes, Jefferson’s Bourbon definitely stands out as a pioneer. Launched in 1997, the model predates the 2010s “Bourbon Growth” by greater than a decade, and Jefferson’s founder Trey Zoeller has witnessed a lot of the trade’s present traits since their inception. Certainly, Zoeller and his staff had been early to embrace bourbon mixing — which he initially referred to as “marrying” to keep away from associations with Scotch — in addition to novel getting old strategies, made well-known by the Jefferson’s Ocean line of spirits aged at sea.
Right now, Zoeller is open with tales about close to misses and fortunate triumphs from a unique period in American whiskey. He bought among the previous couple of hundred barrels from the outdated Stitzel-Weller distillery, liquid that’s now the stuff of legend amongst bourbon aficionados. Whereas such bottles fetch upwards of 4 figures at public sale in the present day, they used to take a seat untouched by shoppers hesitant to spring for “premium” bottles with $100 value tags.
Extra lately, Zoeller has redoubled efforts to assist Jefferson’s stand out in an more and more crowded bourbon market. Meaning navigating the internal workings of multinational drinks large Pernod Ricard, which acquired the corporate as a part of the Citadel Manufacturers acquisition in 2019.
Zoeller, now Chief Strategist for Jefferson’s, lately sat down with Drinkhacker for a wide-ranging interview on the state of bourbon, together with how Kentucky delight formed the corporate’s trajectory from the beginning.
Notice: This interview has been evenly edited for readability.
Drinkhacker: If you happen to may return to 1997 and provides your self one piece of recommendation, what may that be?
Trey Zoeller: Purchase every thing. I’d say by the 12 months 2000, perhaps 2001 when United Distillers was divesting of Bernheim and Stitzel-Weller, I had a kind of outdated purple binders with the inexperienced bar paper. It needed to be 4 inches thick, of all their stock, every thing. And I may have purchased all of it for a track. And it ended up that Heaven Hill and Sazerac ended up shopping for most of it, and I cherry picked somewhat right here and there.
Drinkhacker: I’ve had a few of what you cherry picked, and it turned out fairly good.
Trey Zoeller: I picked out some good things. One other factor, Brian Hue, who owned Cork ‘N Bottle, he owned Hirsch, the 16 and 20 12 months outdated, had all of it in stainless-steel. And he stated, “Simply purchase my model, purchase this juice and exit and promote it for nothing.” And I couldn’t promote my very own stuff on the time. So I handed on that, however I may have purchased every thing left of Hirsch 16 and Hirsch 20 on the time.
Hindsight is 20/20. So, you already know, by no means look within the rear view mirror as a result of it doesn’t do you any good aside from study from it. And go on instincts. I knew that Hirsch 16 was one of the best bourbon I’d ever had, and I knew it’d be value one thing sometime to someone, and I ought to have trusted my instincts.
Drinkhacker: What are some selections that felt dangerous perhaps within the late ’90s, however ended up paying off in a giant means?
Trey Zoeller: So I purchased what could be the final 400 barrels of Stitzel-Weller juice out of there. And I had a tough time promoting it for $100 a bottle, and Julian Van Winkle Julian wasn’t promoting any of it on the time. Making purchases like that, there was no assure it might repay. There have been definitely no desires that it’d be value what it’s in the present day. Everytime you’ve acquired one thing like that, it may possibly’t be replicated once more, it’s going to be value one thing down the road. You don’t know when. It’s type of like shopping for beachfront property in 2008. You maintain on lengthy sufficient, it’s going to be value one thing, as a result of there’s no extra of it. Identical factor with a few of that nice outdated bourbon, however no one actually cared or wished outdated bourbon on the time.
There wasn’t a marketplace for it. That was dangerous. Placing barrels on a ship is an instance. A variety of the experiments that we do, a few of them repay, a few of them don’t. You win a few of these, you lose a few of them, however I believe once you have a look at it and also you’re placing out higher bourbon otherwise you’re investing in higher bourbon in the intervening time, every thing goes in circles.
One factor I want I’d’ve completed sooner was investing in amenities, giving me the chance to regulate extra of our future.
Drinkhacker: What are you centered on so far as serving to Jefferson’s stand out as extra manufacturers, extra blenders, and extra sourced manufacturers enter the market?
Trey Zoeller: It’s making an attempt to push issues ahead to the subsequent frontier. We had been mixing means earlier than mixing was cool. And as a matter of truth, it was the exact opposite of cool, mixing was a complete soiled phrase. After I began, we had been mixing Jefferson’s and Jefferson’s Very Small Batch and Jefferson’s Reserve. All people considered blended Scotch whisky once you stated “mix.” So I stated “marrying” on the time. I believe we had been the primary individuals speaking about it. There have been in all probability different individuals mixing, however to not the extent that we had been on the time. After all we had been simply sourcing on the time, began contract distilling, after which distilling afterwards. However I knew that I needed to do one thing totally different to separate ourselves from everybody else.
And about distilling: What am I gonna do? Out-distill Jimmy Russell or Parker Beam, or any of the greats again then? It’s not gonna occur. So I wished to take what they’ve completed after which add processes onto it to hopefully improve it. So not making an attempt to shortcut, however put extra time, cash, and energy into hopefully bettering it, however definitely make it totally different. Once we first got here out with Ocean Bourbon, individuals stated, “That’s not Kentucky bourbon, it wasn’t aged in Kentucky.” Nicely, individuals had been initially getting old whiskey on boats, which made it flip into bourbon for the primary time. So everyone’s going to push again, together with on completed bourbon.
And when one thing works, you simply begin peeling that aspect additional and additional and additional and pushing it an increasing number of and extra. Simply doing one other end proper now, that’s not that thrilling. Once we had been doing finishes 10 years in the past, that was one thing new and totally different. Our wooden experiments that we began doing in 2012, that was actually novel on the time. Now, not a lot. We’re engaged on some thrilling new issues to maintain pushing issues ahead that I can’t fairly go into proper now, however it’s based mostly on 25 years of expertise, and we’re very enthusiastic about it.
Drinkhacker: How has coming into the Pernod Ricard portfolio modified the trajectory of what you wish to do and what you are able to do as a model?
Trey Zoeller: It’s been a hindrance and a assist to some extent. After two years, I’ve type of discovered learn how to work inside Pernod Ricard to get the machine working for me as an alternative of in opposition to me. Particularly on the tempo of innovation. Now I had improvements able to go, however the firm wasn’t essentially prepared for me, and we needed to get a belief stage the place they had been trusting what we had been doing with out having to undergo the filters of a giant firm. However the assets that they supply — distribution, PR — when you get that barge transferring in the suitable path, it’s laborious to cease it. From my standpoint, it hasn’t all the time been straightforward, however once more, it’s been a studying curve the place I’ve needed to learn to work inside that system to get issues going at tempo.
Drinkhacker: How did your upbringing in Kentucky impression your notion of the bourbon trade up till the founding of Jefferson’s?
Trey Zoeller: I’ll let you know, David: It wasn’t till only in the near past that I discovered actually why I did it. And it was nothing greater than Kentucky delight. After I was youthful, I moved to half a dozen totally different locations across the nation that weren’t consuming bourbon. If you happen to went to a cocktail get together in Kentucky, all the fellows had been consuming bourbon and water.
Then I went to Tulane College. I met all these those who didn’t drink bourbon in any respect. And I wished to introduce them to bourbon. I definitely wasn’t consuming any premium bourbons on the time, however I nonetheless thought what was out there was a lot better than Scotch whisky. So it was actually taking Kentucky delight and being obnoxious about it greater than something.
You return and at my grandmother’s home, she didn’t ask you what you wished to drink, however, “How do you are taking your bourbon?” Every thing she cooked was smothered in bourbon, which I hated as a child. I hated bourbon balls. However as you become older, you begin to notice, “Hmmm, these are fairly good!”
I used to inform individuals I used to be from Kentucky. In the event that they had been from Brooklyn, they might go, “Oh,” and switch and stroll away. Now they’re like “Kentucky? I wish to go on the Bourbon Path.” And Kentucky’s cool unexpectedly. It wasn’t cool 20 years in the past.
Drinkhacker: I’m a local Kentuckian as nicely. And within the 11 years I’ve been in New York, it’s transitioned from, “Oh, you’re from Kentucky” in a really dismissive means. And now it’s “Oh, you’re from Kentucky? Are you aware anybody who can get me an appointment at XYZ distillery or restaurant?”
Trey Zoeller: I simply acquired goosebumps. That’s so my expertise. It’s unbelievable! And bourbon heritage 1000% is answerable for that.
Drinkhacker: Talking of bourbon heritage, are there any teams you assume are under-appreciated within the trade?
Trey Zoeller: I all the time say the coopers are bourbon. Brad Boswell from Impartial Stave, I believe he in all probability is aware of extra about bourbon than anybody as a result of he’s acquired the within scoop on virtually all distillers. Cooperage is the life blood, that’s the distinction between bourbon and every thing else. In order that they don’t practically get the popularity that they deserve.
Drinkhacker: Is there the rest you’d wish to say about what bourbon heritage means to you or the way it’s mirrored in Jefferson’s in the present day?
Trey Zoeller: I take into consideration the cyclical nature of spirits. When you construct up a style for what you want and also you develop into educated about bourbon, I believe it’s type of just like the Renaissance. And the way do you return to the Darkish Ages? You’re going to return to consuming vodka after build up this information? Bourbon has constructed a group for me. It’s allowed me to journey the world and meet probably the most unbelievable individuals. And it’s type of a ticket into lots of issues that I’d by no means get to do in any other case, and folks I wouldn’t in any other case meet.
With a bottle of bourbon, there’s a narrative that you just’re giving to someone and also you’re sharing it with them. And that’s making a buddy.
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