From Restaurant to Brand Owner with Jason Brauner of Buzzard's Roost

Our guest today carved a path that may seem unlikely, but in the end, seems almost fitting. Jason Brauner joined us back on Episode 057 where he talked about building the first bourbon focused restaurant in Louisville, which you all know as Bourbon's Bistro. That concept has stood the test of time and now people from all over flock to his restaurant for dinner and drinks. One particular patron of his is Andrew Wiehebrink of Independant Stave Company, who was on episode 346 talking about stave science. They began talking and came up with some proprietary barrels that will enhance a whiskey based on its original profile whether it was nutty, sweet, or floral. And that's how Buzzard's Roost bourbon was born. You will get to hear more about this journey and their process and how Jason is also moving into a brick and mortar location on West Main Street in the heart of downtown Louisville.
Show Notes: Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about combining barrels together because of angel's share Give us a refresher about how you got into bourbon When did you start collecting dusties? Do you remember your biggest dusty score? Were you one of the original restaurants that did barrel picks? What was the motivation behind Buzzard's Roost? Do you remember the first phone call when you wanted to start the brand? How did you decide what type of whiskey to use? How many proprietary barrels do you have? How do you categorize the whiskey to go into different finishing barrels? How does your blending process change when you go from 3 to 40 barrels? Are you continuing with MGP or going to work with other distilleries? When is your location in downtown Louisville going to open? Did moving from a restaurant to brand owner feel like a natural progression? What was the origin of the name Buzzard's Roost? @buzzardsroostwhiskey @bourbonsbistro Support this podcast on Patreon