Whiskey Talk with Chris Morris and Elizabeth McCall, Woodford Reserve

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On today's film in whiskey, I'm
flying solo for an unscheduled

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bonus episode.
We have some fantastic interview

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guests and I get to drink a
whiskey that would make rad

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jealous.
That's all ahead on film and

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whiskey.
Hey everyone, welcome to the

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podcast.
I'm Bob book, Brad is not

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joining us today.
He is still taking some

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well-deserved time off from
having his first child.

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So, congratulations again to
Brad, I'm back today with an

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unplanned bonus episode.
I received an email the other

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day saying that our guest today
wanted to, Come on the show and

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talk about their new product.
And when Woodford Reserve comes

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a-knockin, you don't say, no,
I'm joined today by Woodford.

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Reserve Master distiller, Chris
Morris, and assistant, Master

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distiller, Elizabeth McCall.
We're here to talk about the new

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Woodford, Reserve Masters
collection, very fine, Rare

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bourbon, and we're going to get
to that.

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But before we get there, Chris
Morris, this is your second

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appearance on our show.
The first time you were here, we

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talked about your favorite
films.

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I had no idea that you were such
an expert at Sci-fi.

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But that episode was such a
blast that I have just been

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dying to talk to you.
Since, thanks for being here

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today.
How are you sir?

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Are you?
I'm very fine.

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Thank you, Rob.
And I bought.

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I enjoyed our last visit.
That was so fun.

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We're also joined today by
assistant Master distiller,

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Elizabeth McCall, Elizabeth.
It sounds like Chris has kind of

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set the bar pretty high for
movie breakdowns.

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And we may not have a chance to
talk about your favorite movie

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today, but just know that Chris
has become a favorite around

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here, but it is so good to meet
you.

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I cannot Not wait to get into
talking about today's product.

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Thanks for being on the show.
How are you today?

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I'll thank you for having me and
I have to say, you know, Chris

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Morris is like no other.
I mean, and breadth of knowledge

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of different topics is always
astounding to me, so I don't

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know if I can quite reach that
far.

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Maybe on my tippy toes, oh my
gosh.

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Well if you don't mind me giving
just a little bit of bio for

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you.
Elizabeth since this is your

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first time on our show,
Elizabeth started out in the R&D

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department at Brown Forman and
Nine as a sensory expert, she

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quickly Rose through the ranks
in that field eventually working

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with brown-forman to train
people at different brands,

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under the brown-forman name in
their sensory methodology

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eventually.
She caught the attention of

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Chris Morris and was named the
master taster at Woodford

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Reserve before.
Becoming assistant Master

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distiller, she continues to rack
up the accolades.

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I just saw that she was named
one of wine enthusiasts 40 under

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40 for 2020, so Elizabeth,
congratulations on that.

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Accomplishment, thank you very
much.

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It was a huge honor and just all
of it is just astounding to me

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and I just got to keep working
hard to keep, keep going.

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So, my first question for both
of you today, I love that.

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You both came up through the R&D
worlds with brown-forman, and

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obviously, it's not totally out
of the ordinary for a master

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distiller, to have a background
in the sort of chemistry and the

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development side of things.
But we've done enough episodes

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of this podcast now that we've
interacted with some Whiskey

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Brands who is master distillers
are really just kind of

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installed in a figurehead sort
of roll and you guys seem to be

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the exact opposite of that.
And so, how unusual I guess is

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it for somebody in a position
like yours to still be as

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heavily involved in the research
and development side of things

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as you both are?
Well, well, thank you for saying

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or we're in.
I mean, we're very proud that

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every, every product under the
woofers Nerve umbrella, we've

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created proposed created, and it
also takes great partnership

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with our brand teams in sales
teams.

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So we work as one team at
brown-forman parent company,

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Brown of with reserve, of
course, but at brown-forman, the

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distiller is, is in charge of
the product.

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So we're very, very proud of
that that tradition we continue

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on and, and Elizabeth, of
course, Is still heading a lot

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of our R&D not still heading.
She is heading a lot of our R&D

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initiative so I let her talk
about that.

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Yeah Bob I think it's really
interesting at brown-forman to

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we have I mean I'm in a
development program it is not a

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title that is just thrust upon
someone.

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It is a full development that
takes years and years of working

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in the distilleries getting to
know all the teams.

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And then also knowing the The
commercialization side, the

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supply chain side, the marketing
side.

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So it really is a something that
ground form and takes a lot of

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pride in and it's somebody that
has technical but then the

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marketing side as well.
So it's a very unique role

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within the company and it's one
that I think coming up through

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Rd has been beneficial for me.
And as Chris mentioned, I mean,

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I still work with those teams to
develop our our Innovation.

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So it's it's a group.
A team effort and I work with

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our processing team to really
get down to the nitty-gritty of.

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How do we take a concept that
I've talked through with Chris

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and, and we've talked it
through.

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And I said, I think that this
flavor sounds interesting for

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whiskey and then we work out the
Kinks with our processing team

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to understand how do we, how do
we do this and how do we work to

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make sure that the micro side
Works in fermentation and then

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scaling it up because
scalability is A huge, huge

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component when it comes to
Innovation and we can do a lot

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of small things that are pilot
plant and have fun and maybe

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that becomes a Distillery series
but for something to be scalable

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to become a masters collection
is definitely a huge Challenge

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and it's something we work with
our teams closely on Elizabeth.

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You started out as a sensory
expert in the quality department

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at Brown Forman in doing
background.

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I thought this was like, the
most interesting thing that you

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actually We're training to go
into psychology and then in the

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sensory field they kind of seek
out psychology Majors because

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it's a huge component of the
sensory experience.

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Could you maybe like elaborate
on that a little bit?

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Why is it that sensory is
looking for people with

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psychology backgrounds?
Yes.

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Actually my, the entire team I
worked with at the time and I

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believe still the the sensory
team is all comprised of people

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with psychology degrees and that
is because in sensory, Three

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you're using human beings as
your instrument and though it's

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looking at human response, the
same thing if I were doing a

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psychological assessment on
someone and trying to see

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behaviourally how they're
working, or how their mind is

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working, it's the same kind of
concept with sensory and it's a

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very methodical practice and
something that you need to know

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the statistics on how to analyze
your results and properly set up

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an experiment so that you are
eliminating different.

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Bowls to making sure that you
can really know what you're

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testing for and so we have three
different areas within sensory

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just to break down what it is.
We're trying to do to look for

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in our testing.
So we have quality control,

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which is where I started out,
and then we also have our

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research side which is all the
shelf life testing.

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So any product out there on the
market goes through these sort

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of sensory tests depending on
the product.

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But you do shelf life, testing,
or for your reformulating,

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something you're going.
To test it in a lab first to see

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if people can figure out.
Is there a visual difference or

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a nose or taste difference?
And then we look at it from a

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consumer side as well.
Going through a consumer

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advisory panel.
So, and then we have a

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descriptive analysis panel.
So really have a guess for

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different panels that are at our
fingertips.

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So, when you're interviewing for
a job like that, or when you go

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in for your performance review,
how are they like testing your

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palate and your nose things like
that, I'm kind of just picturing

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those game shows where they,
like, put a blindfold on

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somebody and feed them tartar
sauce off of a spoon or

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something.
How do they gauge?

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How fine-tuned your palate is?
We don't, I mean, we do get, so

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we do get tested but it's not
going to make or break us having

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our job, I guess?
Because I mean, My job as the

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sensory technician was to run
panels and analyze data and

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really help our plants
troubleshoot whenever they have

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a quality issue.
So that's really your goal.

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And then the bonus is that you
become highly trained with your

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palate because you're dealing
with all these, the whiskies are

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the different Liquors.
You're making every day.

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And the other component of that
is how do you make sure that you

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are a good instrument?
And so Chris sits on the panel.

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So we have these panels that run
all of our regular lives

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samples, but then we put in
markers samples or Spike two

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samples, to make sure that
people are properly evaluating

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and catching those.
And if you don't do well, your

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data doesn't get counted.
So you are essentially

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considered broken for that panel
and you just your data is not

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used.
So there's a way that we

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calibrate to make sure that our
panelists all know how to

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properly nose and taste pick out
any defects And can do different

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tasks that are required for
sensory, work.

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Thanks a lot of sense.
Okay.

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Yeah.
There is a way to check it, but

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it doesn't mean if I don't get
it that day of my job is never

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pretty, I don't know, Chris
might say, has have a different

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opinion.
I was gonna say you might be

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cutting a closer than you think
actually.

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So Elizabeth.
The first time we had Chris on

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here, I mean, it's very obvious
that he is known for his

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Innovative spirit.
It.

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And one of the things that
you've become really passionate

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about and known for is returning
the production of Rye grain to

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Kentucky especially because of
the the conservation efforts

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involved in that.
But when it comes to the more

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Innovative and experimental
things, is there a grain that

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you prefer to work with, is it
right?

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Because of your focus on Rye or
is there may be another one that

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you like to toy with a little
bit more in your Mash bills, you

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know, without giving away any
top secret recipe.

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That are coming up.
What do you like to experiment

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with in terms of grains?
Well, that's a great question

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and a lot of it.
So I feel like a lot of my

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brainstorming at always bounce
off of Chris because Chris is

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the original Just Master
innovator.

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And kind of, it's taking, you
have to look at not just

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something that we're passionate
about.

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But also, what is the market?
What are people looking for?

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And so, yes.
I'm very passionate about rye

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and more Particular, just not
because of that grain in

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particular, but because of the
overall project of the

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sustainability regenerative,
agricultural practices that it

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is helping to bring back and
supporting Kentucky.

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There's so many positive
elements to that, but when it

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comes to looking at Flavour
crisps and miles down and talk

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about like different roasted
notes, we did chocolate malted

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Rye, which was kind of, I had,
just I'm, I worked with the new

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make on that, but Chris, you
know, worked on that grain.

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And so after I fell in love with
that whiskey and then talking to

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him about what can we do?
We went down and looked at

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there's a whole library of
different roasted grains and and

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just kind of thinking of ideas
of how from a flavor standpoint

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and then also what's the story
and how do we Market this?

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Because that's another component
to it is not just does it taste

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good but why do we want to do
this?

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And what's the thought process
behind it?

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Well, and that's one of the
things that I've really

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appreciated about the Masters
collection in In general, is

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that Woodford is not afraid to
put its name on some of these

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more experimental Mash bills are
talking about chocolate malt.

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And I've seen that the oat one
as well and I feel like Woodford

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is really on The Cutting Edge of
some of these more experimental,

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Mash bills and grain recipes.
You know, I just saw one the

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other day, from a smaller
distiller here in Ohio that uses

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spelt in their grain recipe.
And, you know, I know you guys

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may not have gone that far yet,
but I think it says a lot about

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Woodford, that it Used to plant
its flag in that experimental

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mindset and I guess that's a
good segue into talking about

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00:12:50,500 --> 00:12:53,700
the Masters collection here.
Chris, I'm wondering if maybe

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00:12:53,700 --> 00:12:56,500
for our listeners you could just
give us a brief history of the

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00:12:56,500 --> 00:12:59,200
Masters collection.
What was the impetus behind it?

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00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:02,800
What sparked this really
Innovative collection and run of

230
00:13:02,800 --> 00:13:05,600
Whiskey's that you all are doing
Under The Heading of the Masters

231
00:13:05,600 --> 00:13:08,800
collection?
Certainly this is our 16th

232
00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:12,400
release.
So going back 16 years of

233
00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:15,700
bottles on the Shelf.
If which means, production

234
00:13:15,700 --> 00:13:18,400
predates that.
So, from the very early, very

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00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:24,300
early years, we were innovating
and experimenting and that goes

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00:13:24,300 --> 00:13:28,800
back to Alice, Lee Brown, the
second delayed owsley Brown.

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00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:30,700
Who's the creator of Woodford,
Reserve?

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00:13:30,700 --> 00:13:32,900
Chairman of brown-forman at the
time.

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00:13:33,300 --> 00:13:38,900
And as Lee said, what for
Reserve would be the home of

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00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:44,400
innovative whiskies Innovative
Whiskey's plural and I That

241
00:13:44,600 --> 00:13:49,200
comment to heart and of course
innovation in our industry,

242
00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:54,200
really began our was solidified
at our current building long

243
00:13:54,200 --> 00:13:57,000
before we owned it.
When James Christopher, Crowe

244
00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:01,600
and Oscar pepper.
Again, defined, the sour mash

245
00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:05,400
process that uses new charred,
Oak, barrels, and also

246
00:14:07,400 --> 00:14:10,200
introduced other aspects of
modern bourbon production,

247
00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:13,500
whiskey production to Kentucky
in the United States.

248
00:14:13,800 --> 00:14:17,000
So we were playing off that
history of innovation.

249
00:14:18,100 --> 00:14:23,400
And also we wanted to, you know,
these are the early years Bob

250
00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:26,100
before bourbon was even popular
again.

251
00:14:26,100 --> 00:14:29,800
And and we thought that this
would give us a good chance to

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00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:33,900
develop future products, as a
trial.

253
00:14:34,100 --> 00:14:38,000
And also to generate some
publicity zappy, are to get

254
00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:40,500
stories written about the
Woodford Reserve, Distillery.

255
00:14:40,700 --> 00:14:46,200
So there were multiple aspects
to the Concept and chosen a

256
00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:50,200
masters collection.
I chose that name and it was

257
00:14:50,200 --> 00:14:54,600
again to honor the masters of
the past was not bold enough at

258
00:14:54,600 --> 00:15:01,900
the time or 21 honor us.
It was about the past And again,

259
00:15:01,900 --> 00:15:06,100
we were pushing the envelope.
And as you very kindly noted, we

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00:15:06,100 --> 00:15:09,900
have done it, we've been adduced
wood finishes to to America in a

261
00:15:09,908 --> 00:15:14,900
way that no one ever had thought
before using varietal wines

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00:15:14,900 --> 00:15:17,900
using all new wood.
Such as sugar, maple,

263
00:15:18,300 --> 00:15:23,000
introducing oats to Bourbon and
other specialty grains.

264
00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:26,100
And just, you know, the list is
16 116 long.

265
00:15:27,200 --> 00:15:34,700
So this current release marks a
transition, we're still going to

266
00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:39,000
be Innovative, but now the
Masters collection is about

267
00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:42,500
Elizabeth and myself and that's
noted in the Hang tag.

268
00:15:42,500 --> 00:15:46,200
That little brochure book like
that is a fixed each bottle.

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00:15:46,500 --> 00:15:49,200
We're no longer talking about
the past, we're talking about

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00:15:49,200 --> 00:15:52,700
the future.
So this is a bridge, the product

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00:15:52,700 --> 00:15:57,200
is a bridge to the past and, and
the new package And going

272
00:15:57,200 --> 00:16:01,500
forward, the name is is a bridge
to the future or the present.

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00:16:01,500 --> 00:16:05,100
You might want to say.
So Elizabeth's name, joins my

274
00:16:05,100 --> 00:16:10,300
name on the product and it's
about the masters of today and

275
00:16:10,300 --> 00:16:13,900
tomorrow going forward, it's
about Innovation.

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00:16:14,300 --> 00:16:18,200
It's about developing
potentially developing future

277
00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:22,100
products are rye, whiskey came
for the Masters clutch and oo2

278
00:16:22,100 --> 00:16:26,000
came from the Masters, clutching
our wheat, and malt whiskies

279
00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:29,000
have come for the Masters
collection, those were the the

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00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:31,600
sounding boards.
This Elizabeth was saying with

281
00:16:31,600 --> 00:16:36,000
consumers for tweaking them and
changing them for scalability

282
00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:39,100
purposes.
But they've led to, our current

283
00:16:39,100 --> 00:16:42,900
products are, would Reserve
Baccara, as its, as its

284
00:16:42,900 --> 00:16:44,600
foundation in the Masters
collection.

285
00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:48,000
So the Masters collection has
really served as well.

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00:16:48,100 --> 00:16:51,300
Well, in that takes us into
talking about today is whiskey,

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00:16:51,300 --> 00:16:52,800
which is this Masters
collection?

288
00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:57,400
Very fine Rare bourbon.
Now this is a is a blend of

289
00:16:57,400 --> 00:17:01,700
Bourbons with the oldest among
them being 17 year old barrels

290
00:17:01,700 --> 00:17:05,500
of Woodford Reserve bourbon
which I believe is the oldest

291
00:17:05,500 --> 00:17:08,099
stock that you all had in your
possession.

292
00:17:08,500 --> 00:17:12,000
These 17 year old barrels were
distilled in Chris's first year

293
00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:16,599
as Master distiller, 2003.
And what I love about it is it

294
00:17:16,599 --> 00:17:20,400
just has such a great story to
tell it represents a transition

295
00:17:20,700 --> 00:17:23,900
from, you know, honoring the
history but looking towards the

296
00:17:23,900 --> 00:17:26,300
future.
But I want to zero in on these

297
00:17:26,300 --> 00:17:27,400
seven.
Here old barrels.

298
00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:30,200
This is a huge deal.
Did it just come to a point

299
00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:32,900
where they had hit the perfect
maturity point and you said,

300
00:17:32,900 --> 00:17:34,300
okay it's time to pull the
trigger on.

301
00:17:34,300 --> 00:17:37,800
These were you holding them back
with this sort of a release in

302
00:17:37,800 --> 00:17:40,000
mind?
How do you, you know, just kind

303
00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:43,200
of let something sit around
Beijing for that long?

304
00:17:43,200 --> 00:17:46,000
I'm curious to hear the story
behind those barrels.

305
00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:51,900
They were not intended for this
product was not conceived

306
00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:56,300
because as you, well, know, we
do not believe in an age claims

307
00:17:56,300 --> 00:17:59,800
or a Statements.
There is none and very fine

308
00:17:59,800 --> 00:18:02,300
Rare.
Whiskey is using terms from the

309
00:18:02,300 --> 00:18:06,500
past from Oscar pepper and
James, Christopher crows day

310
00:18:06,500 --> 00:18:09,100
because they didn't use age
statements in the past.

311
00:18:09,300 --> 00:18:12,900
They use those kind of terms for
older whiskies and we have all

312
00:18:12,900 --> 00:18:15,800
this in various old
advertisement.

313
00:18:16,100 --> 00:18:18,400
We've obtained from the
University of Kentucky, the

314
00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:22,400
Kentucky historical society and
the Filson Historical Society in

315
00:18:22,800 --> 00:18:24,700
Louisville as well as our own
archive.

316
00:18:24,700 --> 00:18:28,900
So again, there's that nod to
the Past using the old terms for

317
00:18:29,100 --> 00:18:33,100
very rare.
Well, special whiskey and the

318
00:18:33,100 --> 00:18:38,200
core, the oldest Barrels in this
group or if it were through

319
00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:43,000
experimentation.
We were seeing how long Wicked

320
00:18:43,100 --> 00:18:47,800
old barrels and our unique heat
cycle warehousing.

321
00:18:48,000 --> 00:18:52,300
So they're these barrels.
Were they just got to a point

322
00:18:52,300 --> 00:18:56,600
where they were so old and the
yield or the volume left in.

323
00:18:56,600 --> 00:19:02,800
The barrels was getting so solo
as well, and I tasted them.

324
00:19:04,700 --> 00:19:07,600
Took samples of each and then
hand Elizabeth taste them and

325
00:19:07,600 --> 00:19:11,400
they were just incredible like
oh my gosh these are so good.

326
00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:14,300
Let's put them to use before
they're all gone.

327
00:19:14,300 --> 00:19:17,200
They would have been gone in a
couple more years.

328
00:19:17,200 --> 00:19:23,800
Barrels would have been empty.
So that's that's why is

329
00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:28,100
Elizabeth has learned from me,
is sometimes just opportunities

330
00:19:28,100 --> 00:19:31,700
present themselves, you hadn't
planned on them but like here's

331
00:19:31,700 --> 00:19:35,700
a here's something we might be
able to use Use and and that's

332
00:19:35,700 --> 00:19:38,100
what we did.
Well and I'm just so curious

333
00:19:38,100 --> 00:19:42,300
about the 17-year old barrels
because it's so unusual to see

334
00:19:42,300 --> 00:19:45,300
whiskey that's been aged that
long in the bourbon world and

335
00:19:45,300 --> 00:19:49,700
generally it's considered much
much riskier to aged bourbon for

336
00:19:49,700 --> 00:19:52,300
that long as opposed to like a
scotch whiskey because at some

337
00:19:52,300 --> 00:19:55,200
point the oak kind of overtakes
things and you just given up too

338
00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:58,700
much to the angels, I'm
wondering as you continue to go

339
00:19:58,700 --> 00:20:02,300
back to these barrels as they
age and as you took samples, was

340
00:20:02,300 --> 00:20:05,100
there an element that you were
kind of Playing with fire.

341
00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:07,800
The more and more you went back
to the well and said, you know,

342
00:20:07,800 --> 00:20:09,800
maybe not yet.
Let's let him sit a little while

343
00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:14,700
longer does it seem risky to you
to take that approach?

344
00:20:14,700 --> 00:20:17,700
Oh, yes.
And that's and let's be clear.

345
00:20:18,600 --> 00:20:22,400
This bottling is not all 17 year
old whisky.

346
00:20:22,400 --> 00:20:25,700
It's a bad Sheena, barrels that
are all still quite old.

347
00:20:25,700 --> 00:20:31,200
There's 12 and 13, and some 11s.
So it's a bashing of various

348
00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:35,600
ages, but their flavor profiles
and I think again, it's one of

349
00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:38,800
their so many storylines that we
can't cover them all on a

350
00:20:38,808 --> 00:20:41,600
package, the importance of
batching, which is the

351
00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:45,200
fundamental practice at
Woodford, Reserve, we batch

352
00:20:45,200 --> 00:20:48,900
barrels together to develop a
flavor profile.

353
00:20:49,500 --> 00:20:51,800
So some of the barrels may have
been Woody.

354
00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:54,900
I can't say they all they were
or they weren't some could have

355
00:20:54,900 --> 00:20:56,800
been, I can't remember each and
every barrel.

356
00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:01,300
But again, we're batching them
with other very rare find

357
00:21:01,300 --> 00:21:04,600
barrels to come up with what we
thought was a In flavor

358
00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:08,600
combination and of course, it's
a masters collection.

359
00:21:08,700 --> 00:21:12,200
So it's its own standard.
We don't compare it to anything,

360
00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:15,600
we compare it only to itself and
we don't have to make it again

361
00:21:15,600 --> 00:21:19,100
because Masters collection is a
one-time release.

362
00:21:19,100 --> 00:21:23,000
So it's a unique flavor profile
created from batching our oldest

363
00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:26,500
barrels together to come up with
what we did.

364
00:21:27,100 --> 00:21:29,400
Well and I've been sippin on
this throughout our discussion

365
00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:32,100
and if I could just give even
the briefest of tasting notes

366
00:21:32,100 --> 00:21:33,900
Here.
What immediately?

367
00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:37,600
Oops, out to me on the nose is
the rice spice, just jumps out

368
00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:40,300
of the glass on this.
Obviously, there's a Great Oak

369
00:21:40,300 --> 00:21:43,300
character from the 17-year that
that's kind of bumping up some

370
00:21:43,300 --> 00:21:47,900
of that Oak heavy, you know,
aged scent and flavor here.

371
00:21:48,300 --> 00:21:51,100
But the predominant thing for me
on the nose, is the rise spice.

372
00:21:51,100 --> 00:21:54,000
And then on the flavor, there's
some really great fruit notes.

373
00:21:54,000 --> 00:21:57,600
It's incredibly fruity, which I
was not necessarily expecting.

374
00:21:57,900 --> 00:22:01,000
There's some great summary,
stone fruit like a peach but

375
00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:03,900
then also some much darker
elements like a raise.

376
00:22:04,100 --> 00:22:07,900
And poem a little bit of red
wine character as well.

377
00:22:08,300 --> 00:22:11,400
But the crazy thing is that this
doesn't fall outside.

378
00:22:11,400 --> 00:22:14,700
The general sort of flavor,
profile of Woodford, Reserve.

379
00:22:14,700 --> 00:22:19,700
It's a great kind of marrying of
these additional fruity flavors

380
00:22:19,700 --> 00:22:22,400
into what we all know and love
with the Woodford.

381
00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:25,400
Reserve flavor profile.
Well, thank you, thank you,

382
00:22:25,700 --> 00:22:27,300
Elizabeth.
You want to mention anything on

383
00:22:27,300 --> 00:22:31,600
the flavor profile.
Other than just, you know, we

384
00:22:31,600 --> 00:22:35,400
taste our barrels throughout
Maturation and whenever we have

385
00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:41,700
something kind of earmarked as a
project or as a a yeah I guess

386
00:22:41,700 --> 00:22:44,500
special project or future
Masters collection, Distillery

387
00:22:44,500 --> 00:22:46,700
series, whatever you want to
call it.

388
00:22:47,100 --> 00:22:50,100
We make sure we have access to
those barrels and we taste them

389
00:22:50,100 --> 00:22:53,400
on a regular basis so it's
they're very nurtured and loved

390
00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:55,100
from the get-go.
Not that we don't love and

391
00:22:55,100 --> 00:22:58,200
nurture all of our barrels.
But we can't possibly taste

392
00:22:58,200 --> 00:23:00,500
every single barrel.
We have resting Chris and I

393
00:23:00,500 --> 00:23:04,700
would do nothing but live in
warehouses but We taste every

394
00:23:04,700 --> 00:23:07,700
batch, we always give a quality
rating to every batch of whiskey

395
00:23:07,700 --> 00:23:11,100
we produce and then we have
things that we're marking for

396
00:23:11,100 --> 00:23:12,700
something special.
We keep tasting.

397
00:23:12,700 --> 00:23:15,800
And we make sure that they hit
the flavor we're looking for.

398
00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:19,600
And and you know, these, we kind
of you taste them as they're

399
00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:23,100
aging and it kind of hit that
sweet spot and some about, you

400
00:23:23,108 --> 00:23:25,900
know, and all the back barrels
that went into these batches is

401
00:23:26,700 --> 00:23:28,600
Masters collection.
So it was just kind of a fun

402
00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:32,000
project.
A good learning for me, I'm kind

403
00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:33,600
of how we monitor whiskey that
goes.

404
00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:37,800
That Long because we struggle to
age a long time in our

405
00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:40,100
warehouses because they are heat
cycled.

406
00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:45,100
So this is not something that we
can do and have it be a real

407
00:23:45,500 --> 00:23:48,200
winning thing because we're
going to see with this key lost

408
00:23:48,200 --> 00:23:51,200
at a greater rate than most
warehouses in Kentucky.

409
00:23:53,200 --> 00:23:57,700
We've had a barrel that if you
looked at as contents by itself,

410
00:23:57,700 --> 00:24:00,500
it had six bottles of whiskey in
it.

411
00:24:00,500 --> 00:24:03,500
Wow.
So it is very fine and rare

412
00:24:03,500 --> 00:24:04,800
indeed.
I love that.

413
00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:07,700
Well, the other thing that's
debuting along with this

414
00:24:07,700 --> 00:24:10,700
product, is this new bottle
design that you all have, which

415
00:24:10,700 --> 00:24:14,900
is just absolutely gorgeous.
And, you know, I've always said,

416
00:24:15,100 --> 00:24:18,200
I love Woodford, Reserve and
their bottles but I just can't

417
00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:22,100
use it as a weapon.
So I feel like you have really

418
00:24:22,100 --> 00:24:24,900
remedied that, it's got a nice
club shape to it.

419
00:24:24,900 --> 00:24:28,700
Now, I'm wondering if you could
just give any insight on, you

420
00:24:28,700 --> 00:24:30,400
know, the development of this
bottle.

421
00:24:30,500 --> 00:24:33,300
What was the thought process
behind kind of this new design?

422
00:24:33,300 --> 00:24:35,800
This new rebranding.
Branding of the collection.

423
00:24:36,700 --> 00:24:40,300
Well again the pot still shaped
bottle the now-familiar.

424
00:24:40,300 --> 00:24:46,400
Pot still shaped bottle was a
not a generic model by any

425
00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:51,700
means, but it was a bottle that
we did not own but we had some

426
00:24:51,700 --> 00:24:56,400
rights to it over the years and
and we didn't have anything

427
00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:58,300
else.
We had the original Woodford

428
00:24:58,600 --> 00:25:02,900
bottle didn't have double oaked
or baccarat and again going back

429
00:25:02,900 --> 00:25:05,200
so many years.
How can you for tell the future?

430
00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:10,400
But now as we've expanded to the
distillers, select range with

431
00:25:10,400 --> 00:25:14,300
four expressions and then we've
added Double Oak with its unique

432
00:25:14,300 --> 00:25:16,800
bottle baccarat with its unique
bottle.

433
00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:20,800
It was time to look at that,
that pillar that held the

434
00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:23,100
Masters collection and batch
proof.

435
00:25:23,100 --> 00:25:28,300
And again, that bottle look like
the family anymore because the

436
00:25:28,300 --> 00:25:31,400
family had grown.
So the brand team decided to

437
00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:35,800
design a new bottle that we
would only I'm 100% that would

438
00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:42,600
fit in with the price tearing
with the the premiumness of the,

439
00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:45,500
of the family.
And of course, look like

440
00:25:45,500 --> 00:25:47,100
Woodford.
Look like it belonged to the

441
00:25:47,100 --> 00:25:49,500
would Reserve family.
And I think they've come up with

442
00:25:49,500 --> 00:25:56,500
a real nice response to that.
And there we have it.

443
00:25:58,100 --> 00:26:01,500
I never thought of it as a
weapon but you know, that's

444
00:26:01,500 --> 00:26:03,800
that's what we're here for.
You know, we're constantly

445
00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:07,300
Trying to give new ideas.
So you're welcome for that one

446
00:26:08,500 --> 00:26:11,600
so Elizabeth.
I can't let you go today without

447
00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:14,100
talking about one other thing
that we do here on the film and

448
00:26:14,100 --> 00:26:17,300
whiskey podcast, when we had
Chris, the first time he joined

449
00:26:17,300 --> 00:26:20,000
us for a series of bonus
episodes that we do called my

450
00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:22,900
favorite movie and we kind of
hinted earlier that he brought

451
00:26:22,900 --> 00:26:25,800
up a western and he also brought
up The Day the Earth Stood Still

452
00:26:26,200 --> 00:26:29,200
I'm wondering for you if you
could maybe just give us a small

453
00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:32,900
teaser of what your favorite
movie might be because I'd love

454
00:26:32,900 --> 00:26:35,300
to have you back on the show?
Though we'd love to do a my

455
00:26:35,300 --> 00:26:38,600
favorite movie bonus episode and
talked about this at length.

456
00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:41,700
But if you you know, on the
spot, if we asked you, what your

457
00:26:41,700 --> 00:26:43,500
favorite movie was, what would
you say?

458
00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:47,200
Okay.
Um, I had to come to mind,

459
00:26:47,500 --> 00:26:49,300
they're both very different
films.

460
00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:55,100
First of all, Forrest Gump is my
I love that movie, I could sit

461
00:26:55,100 --> 00:26:57,900
down and watch it at any time,
start watching it, no matter

462
00:26:57,900 --> 00:27:01,200
what where it is in the movie.
I know what they're going to say

463
00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:03,800
next.
I just love love.

464
00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:08,400
That movie another one that I
love is Steel Magnolias.

465
00:27:08,500 --> 00:27:11,600
So yeah, I mean that's just a
classic for any.

466
00:27:12,000 --> 00:27:14,500
I think southern woman just
loves Steel Magnolias.

467
00:27:14,800 --> 00:27:18,200
Yeah.
So the holiday movies, the what

468
00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:20,900
Chris pointer was talking about
is that we all really like

469
00:27:20,900 --> 00:27:24,300
Christmas vacation, I mean and
when somebody doesn't know that

470
00:27:24,300 --> 00:27:29,800
movie it just it's my soul.
I don't understand how you don't

471
00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:33,500
know Christmas vacation but
that's definitely a classic

472
00:27:33,900 --> 00:27:37,000
Well, this sounds like a
fantastic future episode is

473
00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:39,600
shaping up already, Chris and
Elizabeth.

474
00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:41,800
I cannot thank you enough for
being on the show today,

475
00:27:41,900 --> 00:27:43,300
everybody, this has been
Woodford.

476
00:27:43,300 --> 00:27:46,400
Reserve Master distillers, Chris
Morris and assistant Master

477
00:27:46,400 --> 00:27:49,600
distiller, Elizabeth McCall,
talking about this new Woodford,

478
00:27:49,600 --> 00:27:52,100
Reserve.
Masters collection release very

479
00:27:52,100 --> 00:27:55,000
fine.
Rare bourbon, guys, it's

480
00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:56,800
fantastic.
If you get a chance to try a sip

481
00:27:56,800 --> 00:27:58,900
of it, it is absolutely worth
it.

482
00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:01,300
I have to say thank you both
again for being on the show.

483
00:28:01,400 --> 00:28:02,700
Thank you.
Thank you.

484
00:28:03,100 --> 00:28:05,000
All right.
We'll see you again on Monday

485
00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:06,800
for a regularly scheduled
episode.

486
00:28:06,900 --> 00:28:09,700
But until then I'm Bob book and
we'll see you next time.