Proof on Main was SMTV’s first stop on Louisville’s Urban Bourbon Trail, so it seems only fitting that it would also be our first segment to hit the channel in full. Proof on Main and the attached 21C Hotel made international waves earlier this month when Conde Nast Traveler Magazine announced that the 21C hotel was their 2009 Readers Choice Award for Best Hotel in the US. WATCH THE FULL PROOF ON MAIN SEGMENT HERE!

Having visited 21C  and Proof just last month we have no questions about why Conde Naste Readers would favor the unique destination. Situated in renovated Tobacco and Bourbon warehouses in the heart of Louisville, this industrial space has been transformed into a restaurant/ art museum and 90 room boutique hotel. The light-and-art filled space attracts travelers from throughout the world who are drawn to the unusual and conveniently located establishment which opened in 2006.

Sarah Robbins of Proof gives Ali Mutch a tour of the gallery as one of the famous penguins looks on.

One of the most popular and identifiable characteristics of both Proof and 21C are the big red penguins—these beloved statues are a permanent fixture in the art museum and can often be found in peculiar places (guest’s rooms, bathrooms…etc.) so renowned are these unmistakable creatures that guests often request them as props in playing practical jokes (a penguin in the bed? no problem at the 21C).

Sarah Robbins shows Ali Mutch around Proof on Main.

Hear from Sarah Robbins, Proof on Main Director of Operations as she regales the Singlemalt TV crew with tales of the penguins, the great food, art and some TERRIFIC bourbon cocktails (courtesy of bartender Jenny Pittman). See it all on Singlemalt TV as we take you to Proof on Main in the first installment of our full coverage from the Urban Bourbon Trail in Louisville, KY.

Proof on Main Bartender and bourbon cocktail Maven Jenny Pittman.

Parker Beam: Heaven Hill Master Distiller since 1975.

Tonight Heaven Hill Master Distiller Parker Beam will celebrate 50 years making bourbon. Surrounded by his friends and family Parker will toast the occasion in Bardstown, Kentucky at Heaven Hill’s award-winning Bourbon Heritage Center. Singlemalt TV crews have had the honor of working with Parker quite a bit in the past year, you can catch Parker discussing his amazing career in our interview, WATCH PART ONE / WATCH PART TWO. You can also read about Parker’s Golden Anniversary in our news section HERE.

A screen grab from Parker Beam’s interview with Singlemalt TV.

Parker Beam is a remarkable man and a remarkable Master Distiller, and having collected a ton of great footage from our times with Parker—at the distillery and numerous events—we wanted to do something special for this monumental occasion.  As an honor to Parker we’ve put together a tribute video (it includes some great unseen footage and fantastic vintage photos courtesy of Heaven Hill), and Heaven Hill will be screening it tonight at the celebration!

We’ll share the video with our viewers this evening as well, so that we can all join in the festivities and raise a glass (bourbon of course) to Parker Beam.

Heaven Hill will honor Master Distiller Parker Beam tonight in Bardstown.

Heaven Hill will unveil Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage 2000 tomorrow (Parker introduced Evan Williams Single Barrel in 1995) as their busy weekend continues.  You can watch Parker’s tasting notes on Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage 1999 HERE.

Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage 1999, Heaven Hill will unveil Evan Williams Single Barrel 2000 tomorrow.

There’s been a serious buzz about bourbon for a while now, and tonight it will all come together in the launch of Kentucky’s monumental “Team Bourbon.” The brainchild of a group of spirited Kentuckians—all invested in the tourism and economic stability of the state—Team Bourbon will combine the efforts and offerings of a number of agencies interested in promoting the “Bourbon Lifestyle.”

The logo for newly formed Team Bourbon, Singlemalt TV will bring you the launch live from Lexington tonight.

Having experienced astounding growth in the past year (the Kentucky Bourbon Trail is ticking off passports left and right, as is Louisville’s restaurant-based Urban Bourbon Trail) there is no better time for Bourbon to enter the limelight. Team Bourbon members include the Anderson County Tourism Commission, Bardstown-Nelson County Tourist & Convention Commission, Frankfort Tourism Commission, Lebanon Tourist & Convention Commission, Lexington Convention & Visitors Bureau Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau, Shepherdsville/Bullitt County Tourist & Convention Commission, Woodford County Tourist Commission, Kentucky Bourbon Festival, Kentucky Department of Travel and (of course) The Kentucky Distillers’ Association.

Team Bourbon will officially kick off tonight at the Hilton in Lexington, and will be accompanied by a reception for the runners participating in this weekend’s inaugural Bourbon Chase.

…and Singlemalt TV will be there to bring you the event LIVE at 7pm (broadcast may begin shortly after 7 depending on actual the start time of the event).

You won’t want to miss this truly historic event, the who’s who of the Bourbon industry will unite catalyze an effort that will continue to celebrate and  promote America’s Native Spirit and the Bluegrass State. Look out Napa Valley, from all forecasts Bourbon Country is looking like the next hot destination, and we’re positive Team Bourbon has some great ideas in store.

Stay tuned to Singlemalt TV on Facebook and Twitter. For updates throughout the day—we’ll keep you posted on the happenings as Team Bourbon prepares to make it’s debut! And mark your calendars for a weekend rife with Bourbon Country fun—SMTV crews will be on the scene around the clock to bring you full coverage of the Bourbon Chase beginning Saturday morning.

I’ve just learned that (in a ceremony last night) the prestigious Keepers of the Quaich named Charles MacLean Master of the Quaich, an accolade akin to the industry’s highest honor. Charlie was inducted into the Keepers of the Quaich in 1992.

Congrats Charlie!

It’s been a busy couple weeks at Singlemalt TV headquarters! By now you’ve surely had a chance to check out some of our video from the Kentucky Bourbon Festival (September 15-20), and if you’re ready for more you’ll be in luck this weekend.

A screen grab from the Maker’s Mark Booth at the KY Bourbon Festival Gala 9/19.

We’re sending a crew back to Kentucky to shoot the FIRST EVER Bourbon Chase—and we couldn’t be more excited.

In case you hadn’t heard about this innovative event, the Bourbon Chase is a 36-hour, 200-mile relay along the Kentucky       Bourbon Trail. Beginning Saturday teams of runners will head from Jim Beam east to Bourbon Capital Bardstown, through Heaven Hill Distillery and onward to scenic Maker’s Mark in Loretto. The route takes runners through some of Kentucky’s most historic and ogle-worthy regions. After leaving Maker’s Mark runners head past a famed Civil War battlefield and south through the Bluegrass’ second oldest city, Stanford. North to Danville and on through Harrodsburg—runners will pass through some of the most significant locations in the rich history of the Southeast.

Runners  will begin the Bourbon Chase at Jim Beam

This sign will greet runners at Maker’s Mark Distillery in Loretto.

Stops at Four Roses and Wild Turkey in Lawrenceburg are first as the route re-enters Bourbon Country. Runners will then cross the Tyrone Bridge suspended high above the Kentucky River as they head into Horse Country and some of the most gorgeous visuals imaginable. The natural progression lends itself to a stop at Woodford Reserve, the home of the Derby’s official bourbon.

Bourbon barrels at Woodford Reserve.

Onward to Frankfort, past the remains of the Old Taylor Distillery now relegated to nary more than a landmark. Through The Capital and on to Buffalo Trace Distillery, another gem in the bourbon history books.

Finally runners will head for Lexington—miles on exquisitely beautiful countryside will eventually giveway to the buzz of the city—and (of course) the finish line.

The famous water tower at Buffalo Trace.

The event has been HUGELY popular in its inaugural year—with over 200 12-person teams participating and a fantastic party to end the race in Lexington (trust us, the folks in Kentucky are some of the best hosts on earth) you WILL NOT want to miss SMTV’s coverage of the Bourbon Chase.

Cheers.

The bottling line at Heaven Hill in Bardstown, the largest family-owned distillery.

The best exclusive coverage of the Kentucky Bourbon Festival is available at www.singlemalt.tv—check it out!

Once you’ve seen our coverage of the Kentucky Bourbon Festival head on over to our facebook page and leave us your thoughts, as always you can reach us through the blog as well!

Cheers and enjoy the videos!

I write this from the heart of Bardstown, where Singlemalt TV has two crews on the ground cover Kentucky Bourbon Festival….

Singlemalt TV’s Ali Mutch (left) clinks a glass with new friends at Bourbon, Cigars and Jazz on Friday.

….I guess that was all I had time to write as it is now a full week after I began this post and the Kentucky Bourbon Festival has come to an end. Back at Singlemalt TV Headquarters we’re already reminiscing about the seven days we spent in Kentucky, and while the week was packed it is impossible not to have a great time in Bourbon Country. From the incredible hospitality (bakery fresh donuts anyone?) to the fantastic bourbon (Evan Williams Single Barrel was a true champion of our cause) to the Kentucky Bourbon Festival itself–there is nothing that quite compares.

Competitors at the Legendary Barrel Relay where distillery employees show their strength.

Our Bardstown outpost, the old library right in historic Court Square, looked out over the very heart of town. The cavernous space was offered up to us by the community, and it served us remarkably well. Though our efforts were centered around that old brick building, our cameras (we were informed) were seemingly everywhere.

Our daily live webcasts were promptly followed by hours of shooting—footage was constantly arriving from the crews as they returned from each location–only to venture out once again Niki (our editor and Parker Beam’s biggest fan) working tirelessly from her editing suite in the center of the massive room. Each night, bone-tired, we gathered around her screen to watch the night’s show. Time was captured on screen as all of the meticulous detail of the day materialized on Singlemalt TV. From the red wax-dipping at Maker’s Mark in Loretto on Tuesday to the red carpet at Saturday’s Kentucky Bourbon Festival Gala–the essence of Bourbon Country seems captured in every frame.

Singlemalt TV’s Ali Mutch chats with bourbon industry icons Jimmy Russell of Wild Turkey and Fred Noe of Jim Beam.

Singlemalt TV’s Ali Mutch talks with the Wild Turkey Barrel Rolling Relay team.

Then there were the people, each of them could perhaps occupy a blog post of their own. the Master Distillers—true geniuses of the drink in all of their laughing, good-natured glory at the Kentucky Bourbon All Star Sampler. Later we caught up with some of these icons of bourbon in their tuxedoes, a world away from their distilleries but smiling and carrying on just the same. The restaurant staff on the Urban Bourbon Trail–each with a little trick or special recipe that they happily shared with our presenter as cameras rolled. All the PR and media folks from each of the distilleries, eager to have Singlemalt TV visit, for the umpteenth time in some cases. The staff of the Tourist Commissions and Vistitor Bureaus In Bardstown, Louisville, Lexington and Frankfort–all elated to have our crews in town. We encounted the same struggle with drafting the credit roll for our last show, there are just too many to list.

Ali Mutch Shares a laugh with Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear at Saturday’s Bourbon Festival Gala.

We joked that the old library had become our home, but truly it is hard not to feel at home in Bardstown–where the locals embrace strange camera-toting interlopers with open arms–and the hospitality is (truly) as good as the bourbon.

Tom Bulleit makes his Master Distiller’s Hall of Fame acceptance speech.

If you missed Kentucky Bourbon Festival we hope our coverage will transport you to Bardstown–if you were fortunate enough to attend I hope you had a chance to meet our crew (or even appear on SMTV!).

Bourbon Lovers stay tuned to Singlemalt TV, Kentucky we hope to see you soon.

In recent weeks I’ve noticed a bit of an interesting phenomenon: everywhere I go young people are drinking whisk(e)y. To clarify, the travels I’m referring to are those of the social nature,  and at every bar and event a quick glance around the room always reveals a pleasing number of hands clutching rocks glasses of that tell-tale amber spirit. When I first came to work at Singlemalt TV I did so with an open mind, and a penchant for work-related “research.”  My friends would raise their eyebrows when I ordered a (insert whisk(e)y of the night) on the rocks, and would keep those brows raised as they watched me sip (and enjoy) the drink, savoring its nuances and relegating them to my mental log of tasting notes. I wrote in an earlier post about ordering a Blanton’s at a local establishment and watching the waitress deliver it to my male companion, assuming that his vodka/grapefruit was (naturally) my order. Though I’m not sure who was more embarrassed I can assure you that I knew she was wondering about a girl like me and a drink like that. It was hard to refrain from smiling.

Last night I ventured out to see a fairly hip Boston area band, as the driver I sipped water and observed (often a great point of view for a writer!), lo and behold whisk(e)y was the drink of the night. In the mostly 24 to 35 year old crowd I’d estimate one out of three was sipping a whisk(e)y. Though the pickings were slim at this establishment everyone seemed content with a Jameson or Glenlivet (they kind of had to be!). I was floored.

It seems that whisk(e)y, in all its glory is working the young crowd with ease. The next time, when it’s not my turn to drive, I’ll be looking forward to clinking glasses with my fellow whisk(e)y drinkers—hopefully somewhere with a wide variety of great drams to choose from.

What do you think? Leave us your feedback.

I’ve been exchanging emails for the past two weeks with Leslie Townsend, Founder and Director of New York’s inaugural multi-day celebration of the cocktail. Today I received the seminar schedule for their Fall Preview Seminar Series (this will preempt a May 2010 event). Each of the seminars is conducted by a member of the MCC’s advisory board which features several stars of the spirits world including Paul Pacult and Andy Seymour.

the seminars run the gamut—from congenial talks about about cocktail culture to intense discussions of the historical nuances of select spirits. This event looks fantastic and appears to have a great sense of humor. You can check out their website for more information—and stay tuned to Singlemalt TV as we’ll have an interview with Lesley coming soon.

Tickets for the seminars will go on sale September 7. The schedule goes a little something like this:

Saturday, October 3, 2009

“Have Cocktail Shaker, Will Travel”
“Cocktails for Your Home Cocktail Party”
“The Agave Session: The Magical Elixirs of Mexico”
“The Many Faces of Cognac & Armagnac”
“History of the Cocktail in New York, 1810-1920”

Sunday, October 4, 2009

“Audrey and Gary’s Unparalleled Gin Palaver”
“Glasses & Tools: How Do You Choose the Right Glass for a Drink?”
“Call of the Rye”
“Sherry: The Cobbler and Beyond”

Continuing the my intriguing local discoveries this week, I’ve just gotten off the phone with Jonathan Forester, cocktail aficionado and partner in the soon-to-be constructed Penobscot Bay Distillery. Fresh off the road from Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans Forester spoke to me from his home in Winterport, Maine spitting distance from Winterport Winery and the grounds that will house his distillery. Forester moved to Maine a mere two years ago when he was writing about the state’s wineries. Having developed a friendship with Mike Anderson of Winterport Winery the men found that they could combine their passions to create a brewery/distillery and set to work on executing the plan.

Forester, who harbors a penchant for the history of the cocktail, looks forward to producing a bourbon, a rye whiskey and an American single malt. Additionally he’ll add a trio of brandies: peach, apple and pear. To make use of the leftover casks he’ll round out his offerings with a blackstrap rum. The rye whiskey and the peach brandy will be modeled after the quintessential “farmhouse” spirits produced in the 1800s, as Forester’s collection of antiquarian distilling books and traditional recipes have served as paving bricks for his vision. Though the brewery portion of the distillery has produced several beers, outfitting the distillery has been a lengthy  process. Forester likens the set-backs (mostly equipment related) to waiting for back-ordered items, but seems confident that in the long-term his patience will persevere.

Forester’s involvement with artisinal or “craft” distilleries throughout the country has allowed him unique perspective on the emergence of the American small-batch spirits movement. He also uses his multifaceted culinary background (he’s trained as a chef) to influence the flavor profiles he’ll cultivate in his spirits. About that American single malt? Forester envisions a heavier new make spirit, one that can stand-up to charred barrels without being overwhelmed, he explains that it would more like a barley wine in its initial stages than a traditional single malt Scotch (not that it would be a Scotch anyway since its distilled in the USA).

We’re looking forward to meeting Jonathan and learning more about the Penobscot Bay Distillery next week, stay tuned for an interview coming to SMTV!

Let us know what you’d like to see on Singlemalt TV by weighing in via the comments section of this blog.