USA: The Forecastle Bourbon Lodge, Forecastle Festival’s Kentucky Bourbon Trail outpost, will give fans exclusive access to some rare bourbons this year. The new Rarities Bar, presented by Liquor Barn and curated by category director Brad Williams, will feature some of the most sought-after, limited release Kentucky bourbon expressions, many of which are exclusive to Forecastle.
In addition, the Rarities Bar will debut unique, one-of-a-kind blends, crafted by Williams and Forecastle Founder JK McKnight, available for sample only at Forecastle and purchase at select Liquor Barn locations.
The Rarities Bar will include the following Kentucky Bourbon Trail offerings and Liquor Barn Private Barrel Selections:
Kentucky Bourbon Trail:
- Four Roses Al Young ’50th Anniversary’ Small Batch
- Four Roses Elliott’s Select 2016 Limited Edition Single Barrel
- Four Roses 2016 Limited Edition Small Batch
- Four Roses 2015 Limited Edition Small Batch
- Four Roses 2014 Limited Edition Small Batch
- Four Roses 2013 Limited Edition Small Batch
- Michter’s 10-Year Old Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey
- Old Forester Birthday Bourbon 2016
- Old Forester ‘The Statesman’
- Orphan Barrel Rhetoric 23-Year Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey
- Orphan Barrel Barterhouse 20-Year Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey
- Whiskey Barons Collection Bond & Lillard
- Whiskey Barons Collection Old Ripy
- Wild Turkey Decades
- Wild Turkey 17-Year Master’s Keep
- Woodford Reserve Double Double Oaked
Featuring commentary from Liquor Barn Category Director Brad Williams, peruse the Liquor Barn’s Private Barrel Selections below:
Elijah Craig 12-Year-Old Single Barrel
“The Elijah Craig barrel programme was ended several years ago, the programme was restarted this year. This particular bourbon is a single barrel that is over 12 years old, which is unique since the everyday version has removed the 12 year age statement from their blend.”
Four Roses Barrel Proof Single Barrel (multiple selections)
“These single barrel selections from Four Roses are bottled at barrel strength and will showcase multiple recipes from Four Roses 10 recipe line-up.”
Knob Creek 14-Year-Old Single Barrel – Forecastle Selection
“This spectacular barrel from Knob Creek is over 14 years old, which is rare these days. It has a great flavour profile of caramel, toffee and oak with a subdued but spicy finish. It’s a special barrel.”
Maker’s Mark – Personal Blends & Unique Expressions – Cask Strength – Forecastle Selection
“We will have a few different blends of Maker’s Mark Personal Selections. They will be at cask strength, and each type will feature a different barrel stave combination that results in very unique Bourbons. We went through about 20 different stave combinations resulting in these unique blends.”
All Rarities Bar offerings will be released at specific times throughout the festival, only available until limited quantities are depleted. A full schedule of releases will be shared prior to the festival and those with Bourbon Lodge memberships, currently available here, will have exclusive early access to the release schedule.
“The Kentucky Bourbon Trail is happy to partner with Forecastle on the Bourbon Lodge and the Rarities Bar to bring an even greater selection of Kentucky’s finest and most sought-after bourbons to the festival,” said Adam Johnson, Senior Director of Kentucky Bourbon Trail Experiences of the Kentucky Distillers’ Association.
The Bourbon Cares programme returns in 2017, also presented by Liquor Barn. This year’s programme will pair Forecastle Bourbon brands with Forecastle Foundation conservation partners to support numerous Kentucky based projects, including the Green River and Pine Mountain Wildlife Corridor initiatives. Forecastle attendees can purchase the single-barrel private selections by the drink in the Forecastle Bourbon Lodge or by the bottle at select Liquor Barn locations.
Bourbon Cares Private Barrel Selections:
- Woodford Reserve Double Oaked
- Four Roses Single Barrel 100 Proof
- Old Forester Single Barrel
- Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel
“These private barrel selections made on behalf of this year’s Bourbon Cares programme are an exceptional assortment of Kentucky’s finest, tailored specially to Forecastle’s audience. They will benefit some of the richest yet highly threatened regions of biodiversity left in our state – from endangered shrimp and mussel-filled watersheds in Central Kentucky, to old-growth forests in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky.”
Curated by The Wall Street Journal best-selling author Fred Minnick, Fireside Chats, presented by Liquor Barn, will also return this year — offering an intimate, living room setting for educational panels, speakers and demonstrations with industry experts, retailers, mixologists and master distillers. The full schedule and programming for Fireside Chats is coming soon.
