Lessons From The Maighstir With Kentucky Owl

Cocktails Distilled

There is nothing more romantic than the story of a revived brand, and none seems to have done it as well as Kentucky Owl. Founded in 1879, the brand created Whiskey until Prohibition shut it down.

A hundred years later, the great-great-grandson of the founder revived the family business with a view to respecting the past but looking to the future. And with that, a boutique Bourbon business known for its limited releases was reborn.

Its latest release, the Maighstir (which is Gaelic for master) epitomises the creativity and disruptive nature of the brand.

To find out more, we talk to Master Distiller Dr. Maureen Robinson about blending, legacy and turning Bourbon into Scotch

Chapters

1. Lessons From The Maighstir With Kentucky Owl (00:00:00)

2. The obvious question is what made you, or perhaps former master blender John Rea, think of blending bourbon so that it tasted like scotch? (00:01:37)

3. And how difficult was it to get a bourbon to taste like Scotch? (00:02:07)

4. And how long was the process from when the idea came about to when the bottle was released? (00:02:30)

5. Now on top of that though, you were doing this remotely. (00:03:30)

6. So what sort of qualities in the bourbon were both you and John trying to find? (00:05:36)

7. How many blends did you create? (00:06:46)

8. Tell us a little bit about the whiskies that you chose to use. (00:07:43)

9. So age and perhaps even things like yeast and mash bills really do come into play when you're deciding on the blend. (00:08:35)

10. Now quickly, if people don't understand the role of a blender can you explain the nuances of what you do? (00:10:42)

11. When you were working on Maester, you were still in Scotland. You weren't the master blender for Kentucky Owl at that point, john Rea was still. I suppose, in a way, maester was the expression that passed the baton to you. (00:15:09)

12. Do you think that Scotch whiskey drinkers, who may be familiar with your work at the Singleton or other Scotch brands, will find it a bit odd that a Keeper of the Quaich is now blending bourbon? (00:16:27)

13. Let's take it from the other side, though. If you're a bourbon drinker, what will you find appealing about this expression? (00:18:09)

14. Coming from that Scotch whisky background, though, what do you believe you bring to the world of bourbon blending? (00:19:19)

15. So in that idea, how do you want people to drink this expression? (00:19:55)

16. Now being a somewhat floral whiskey, though it could potentially work quite well in cocktails. (00:21:48)

17. If mood is an aspect of what we drink and when we drink it, does a somewhat floral bourbon like this have a particular time or occasion that you think it best suits? (00:22:37)

18. And if they are trying it as the first step into bourbon, what's their second step? (00:23:25)

19. What has the reaction been? (00:25:10)

20. Well, now that you're at the helm, can we expect lighter, more floral bourbons coming out from Kentucky Owl, or what sort of future direction do you want to take the brand? (00:25:51)