The current bourbon boom started around 20 years ago and for the last 10 years of the current boom long-time friends Ryan Cecil and Kenny Coleman have been talking about bourbon and whiskey on their podcast, Bourbon Pursuit, the #1 whiskey podcast and the proclaimed “Official Podcast of Bourbon”. The duo has accumulated thousands of hours of audio and video discussions with some of the most respected voices in the distilled spirits industry. Over the years, the pair have learned what it takes to create, select, and blend great whiskey.
Starting in 2018 Cecil and Coleman went beyond just talking about the world of whiskey and they began blending their own line of spirits under the Pursuit Spirits brand. Pursuit Spirits partners with distilleries in Kentucky, Maryland, New York and Tennessee to create six specific mashbills with customized barrel char levels. Barrels age at their respective distillery to maintain terroir then are hand selected and shipped before being united.
Pursuit: pur·suit
1: the act of pursuing
2: an activity that one engages in as a vocation, profession, or avocation
PURSUIT suggests a trade, profession, or avocation followed with zeal or steady interest.
‘Pursuit Spirits’ to Open Their Own Whiskey Experience on Whiskey Row in 2024
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Pursuit Spirits will start construction later this month on a new visitor experience located at 722 W. Main Street, Louisville, Kentucky. The four-story building and the former home to long time Louisville Boomer’s Canteen restaurant at Taylor Place. After operating for 24 years, the restaurant closed in 2021 and the building was put up for sale. In Taylor Place’s new life, Pursuit Spirits will take up the first floor and basement levels. Each floor is approximately 4,000 square feet. The street level first floor will feature Pursuit Spirits gift shop, classroom and private selection/fill your own bottle experiences. The basement will be a speakeasy-like experience with a full-on cocktail and tasting bar. Floors 2, 3 and 4 are also under renovation and will be overnight and short-term AirBnB rentals.
This location will put them within walking distance of other homeplaces like recently opened Buzzard’s Roost Whiskey and the soon to open Bardstown Bourbon Company’s new satellite location. Not to mention fully operational distilleries like the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience, Michter’s Distillery, Kentucky Peerless Distillery, and the Frazier History Museum which is the official starting point of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. A grand opening is planned for fall 2024.
Cecil and Coleman say that guests will feel like “bourbon insiders” by picking their favorite barrel and filling their own bottle in a brand new Pursuit United Private Selection experience. The classroom moves beyond “Bourbon 101” and will offer unique educational sessions on maturation techniques and breaking down blends. The shop will host a variety of events including limited and rare bottle releases and intimate tastings.
“We can’t wait to pull back the curtain and give bourbon lovers a truly insider’s experience they won’t find anywhere else,” says Ryan Cecil, CEO, Master Blender, and Co-Founder of Pursuit Spirits. “We will take guests to the next level of their bourbon journey.”
The speakeasy-style basement bar will feature rustic brick walls and a contemporary design. It will offer bespoke cocktails and a menu of flights and pours from their Pursuit United core whiskey offerings, single barrels from past Pursuit Series releases, special limited-edition whiskeys, and charcuterie boards from a partnership with Cultured. A soundproof studio for their popular podcast, Bourbon Pursuit, will give visitors a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the brand’s roots.
“For years we’ve given recommendations to Bourbon Pursuit listeners about the best places in Louisville and now we have a destination of our own,” says Kenny Coleman, COO and Co-Founder of Pursuit Spirits. “This home on Whiskey Row will introduce more people to the Pursuit Spirits brand and our whiskeys will make new lifelong fans.”
The architecture is led by Joseph & Joseph Architects, a firm specializing in distillery design and hospitality. The firm has well over 100 years of distillery heritage, credited with designing the original Four Roses distillery in 1909. Design is being led in-house with connections from a local design studio. The building is owned by CORE Real Estate Partners with plans for the top three floors to be short-term rentals with 18 rooms.
Pursuit United Bourbon and Pursuit United Rye were both awarded Double Gold at the most recent San Francisco World Spirits Competition. Pursuit United Bourbon was a finalist for Best in Class at San Francisco and was also 2022 Bourbon of the Year at the John Barleycorn Awards.
We’ll share more details of the project along with renderings as they are made available. In the meantime, whiskey fans can find Pursuit Spirits at retail locations in Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas.
Learn more about Pursuit Spirits.
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