Buzzard’s Roost Sipping Whiskey has landed in its new home on Whiskey Row in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. The whiskey brand was founded in 2019 by Judy Hollis Jones and Jason Brauner. Buzzard’s Roost value proposition is they take fully aged, sourced bourbon and rye whiskies and re-barrel them for approximately 90 days using a proprietary second barrel created using specific seasoning, toasting and charring methods.
After proving its Phase 1 whiskey concept over the last few years, the company has moved on to Phase 2 of its plan to open a bricks and mortar location that features a micro-distillery, bar, retail shop, tasting room and classrooms.
Buzzard’s Roost Whiskey Row Experience Cuts Ribbon on Micro-Distillery and Tasting Room
Buzzard’s Roost celebrated the grand opening of their new 6,000 square foot facility with a ribbon cutting. The new micro-distillery will be unique. Rather than a full-blown distillery where mashing and fermenting take place Buzzard’s Roost distilling process will start with a doubler. The new facility includes a 75-gallon Vendome Copper & Brass Works doubler where they will use bourbon or rye whiskies from a distilling partner, and produce up to seven barrels of new-make per week finished in their doubler and then placed in their custom char #1 barrels for aging.
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“This is a big step for us,” said Buzzard’s Roost Co-founder and CEO Judy Hollis Jones. “When we decided to open on Whiskey Row, we wanted the experience to go beyond the expected – like our whiskies. We’ll offer interactive classes for those who want to go deep into the how’s and why’s of bourbon and rye and craft cocktails, and during our tours, visitors will learn how our secondary maturation brings complex and rare flavor combinations to our whiskies. We are very excited to welcome guests!”
What Can Visitors Expect at the Buzzard’s Roost Whiskey Row Experience?
Visitors to the Buzzard’s Roost Whiskey Row Experience will be immersed in whiskey education and have access to a variety of cocktails. Acclaimed bourbon expert and author Susan Reigler created three whiskey classes and author and whisky educator Heather Wibbels (AKA Cocktail Contessa) developed three hands-on cocktail classes. Each class includes tastings and will be taught by trained Whiskey Guides.
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“In our [Buzzard’s Roost] Whiskey Row Experience, we offer what we call ‘The Experience’ and that’s where we will share with you the story behind Buzzard’s Roost, how Jason and I decided to start the business, why we decided to start Buzzard’s Roost and the techniques that are unique to us in the development of our whiskey,” said Jones.
“We’re all about maturation and so we share that story. You’ll also get to taste four whiskeys and hear much more about the tasting notes and the information about our process.
“We also have classes, and those classes go much deeper. Susan Reigler, bourbon author, has developed the class material for us. There’s one on the barrels and maturation, one of the science behind distillation and whiskey, and my favorite is called the perfect match, it’s the pairing of chocolate and bourbon. There are other classes coming but we want to go much deeper into education.”
“We also have retail space and a bar. We hope that this will be a place that people are comfortable coming, to learn, to come to have a drink, come to say hello.”
What is the story behind the name Buzzard’s Roost Whiskey?
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“As Jason and I traveled around for about 18 months, looking at properties and getting more immersed in the whiskey industry. We would see rickhouses and we would seem to see buzzards roosting on the top. And we realized that that’s sort of a roosting place for buzzards. We also saw a street near a farm that we loved, we didn’t buy it, but we loved it, it was called Buzzards Roost Road, and that’s when we said Buzzard’s Roost, that’s it.”
The Buzzard’s Roost Whiskey Row Experience was conceived and designed by Work Architecture + Design, led by Mitchell Kersting and Kathryn Curtis.
Buzzard’s Roost Whiskey Row Experience at 624 W. Main Street, Louisville, Kentucky is now open for visitors. Since launching in Kentucky in 2019, Buzzard’s Roost continues its expansion across the U.S. and Canada and is now distributed in 11 states with more on the way.
Three Things to Do Nearby
While you are on the distillery trail there are plenty of other things to do, see and taste. Here are three things that are just minutes away.
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