Bourbon steps into the spotlight

As the saying goes, “All bourbon is whiskey, but not all whiskey is bourbon.” Drinks Industry Ireland looks at this American whiskey category and how it is faring in a highly competitive global market place

After years of sustained  investment, innovation  and consumer demand,  bourbon has emerged  from a historic period of growth  bigger, stronger and more globally  recognised than ever before.

What was once seen primarily as an American whiskey category has become an increasingly important  part of the international spirits  landscape, with producers targeting new markets, experimenting with  styles and expressions, and finding  fresh ways to engage consumers at home and abroad.

There are now more than 1,000 distilleries across the United States  producing whiskey, from longestablished  Kentucky names to a new generation of ambitious craft  producers operating across the  country. Each brings its own vantage  point, priorities and approach to  bourbon, reflecting an industry that  is broader and more diverse than it  has ever been.

Yet this expansion  has also brought new pressures and  questions for the category, from  changing consumer demand and  inventory levels to the challenges of  sustaining growth in an increasingly  competitive global market. We take a  look at some of the important players  in this market.

A Kentucky bourbon  distillery to watch 

Kentucky Bourbon is still the voice  of bourbon worldwide. Of all the  distilleries producing bourbon in  Kentucky, only a relatively small  number are making whiskey for a  truly global audience. As the saying  goes, “All bourbon is whiskey, but not  all whiskey is bourbon.” Today, that  distinction matters more than ever  as bourbon has returned as a vital  part of mainstream whiskey culture,  increasingly recognised for its quality,  authenticity and versatility. Which  brings us to a lesser-known brand  that deserves some attention: Town  Branch Distillery.

Town Branch, the first new  distillery built in Lexington,  Kentucky since Prohibition  and the seventh member  of the Kentucky Bourbon  Trail®, is an emerging  distillery with a path  unlike many of its peers.  Its story actually begins  with beer. After the  Lyons family acquired  Lexington Brewing Co.  in 1999, the brewery was  revitalized and, within  a decade, had become  known internationally  for producing Kentucky  Bourbon Barrel Ale® – The  Beer of Bourbon Country.

Today, distilling is at the  center of the operation,  with Town Branch  building a portfolio  designed around  Kentucky Bourbon and  the broader world of bourboninspired  drinking. That portfolio spans  traditional bourbon, cask-strength  and single-barrel expressions, a sixyear  wheated bourbon, overproof  whiskey, the Kentucky Bourbon Barrel  Ale family and its newest and oldest  brand, Bourbonola, a bourbon-based  ready-to-drink cocktail line inspired  by its Prohibition-era roots.  But the story of Town Branch isn’t  really about a single bourbon or  brand. It started long before bourbon  became fashionable, and it has a long  way yet to go.

Long before the current bourbonboom, before celebrity-backed brands   and before distilling became a global   investment phenomenon, Dr. Pearse   Lyons, an Irish emigrant to Kentucky,   was building a family business rooted   in agriculture, fermentation and the   science of yeast and enzymes.

His work helped advance fermentation   technology and improve efficiency   across the distilling industry, while   his vision ultimately brought a new   distillery back to Lexington after more than a century. He also saw something   others might have overlooked, the life of a bourbon barrel didn’t have to end when the whiskey was gone.

Under the broader Lyons family vision, barrels could move between bourbon, beer and whiskey, creating a unique connection between   brewing and distilling that continues today. Lyons’ contributions earned him induction into the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame in 2018 and, posthumously, the Irish Whiskey Association’s Chairman’s Award in 2020, making him the only individual to have received both distinctions.

Today, that legacy continues under   the care of his son, Mark Lyons,  who oversees both Town Branch Distillery in Lexington and the historic Pearse Lyons Distillery in Dublin. As the seventh generation of a family steeped in brewing, distilling and cooperage, Mark carries forward a tradition that spans generations and two continents.

Town Branch Bourbon may not yet be on everyone’s radar. Perhaps that’s exactly what makes it worth watching. When you look beyond today’s bottle and consider the history, the science, the generational commitment to brewing and distilling, and the family’s   continued willingness to innovate, Town Branch begins to look less like   an emerging brand and more like a  story still in its early chapters. This is a brand to seek out, experience and perhaps most importantly, watch for what comes next.

Honouring the past  

Over the last decade, Jack Daniel’s   has been experimenting to recreate a   product that would honour the liquid Jack Daniel’s created at the end of the 1800s, all while keeping up with   the growing demand for Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey around the world.

The first aged stated whiskey from the Jack Daniel Distillery was released in the early 1900s. Archives   tell us Jack Daniel Distillery released   10, 12, 14, 18, and 21-year-old whiskey   between the early and the mid-1900s. To honour the distillery’s past, Jack Daniel’s master distiller, Chris Fletcher handcrafted this aged-stated whiskey   and evolved its whiskey process to   achieve a rare flavour profile. Jack Daniel’s Aged Series highlights the   modern-day world-class whiskeymaking expertise of Jack Daniel Distillery while honouring their past.

To reinforce Jack Daniel Distillery’s history in aged whiskey, the label on this bottle gives a nod to the original cartouche on Jack Daniel’s age-stated bottles from a century ago.

A brand of   exceptional calibre  

MCM Spirits have been   appointed as exclusive   distributors of Michter’s American Whisky range.   Michter’s Bourbon & Rye Whiskies are   world-renowned and   multi award winning.

Originally known as Shenk’s and later as Bomberger’s, the   whiskey company which ultimately   became known as Michter’s was founded by John Shenk, a Swiss Mennonite farmer, in Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania in 1753.

Today, Michter’s   has three locations in Kentucky – an   88,674 square foot distillery in the   Shively section of Louisville, the architecturally significant Fort Nelson Building on Louisville’s Museum Row and 205 acres of farm land in   Springfield”.

According to Paul Flynn, sales & marketing manager, “I am delighted to be representing Michter’s American Whiskey range in the Irish market. Michter’s is a brand of exceptional calibre, with their commitment to quality, craftsmanship   and authenticity.

Their reputation   and standing within the American whiskey industry speaks for itself. We are looking forward to sharing their prestigious and highly respected portfolio to the trade in Ireland.”