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Woodford Reserve's Master Distiller Reflects on the Iconic Bourbon's History and Future Leaning against the Brown-Forman corporate bar, Master Distiller Chris Morris pours himself a nice taste of Woodford Reserve Double Oaked, about two fingers full. He tilts the glass, the russet hues shimmering in his glasses, and takes a sip. "We haven't had a bad review on this," Morris says of his baby, Woodford Reserve's first permanent line extension. This Woodford Reserve Double Oaked is just one of many initiatives exciting Morris these days. In August, the Woodford Reserve distillery will celebrate the 200th anniversary of mak- ing whiskey on-site and the Woodford Reserve brand is executing its fourth Manhattan Experience this fall. But, long before Woodford Reserve became a brand in 1996, the distillery witnessed some of the most-important steps in bourbon evolution. Bourbon Pioneers In 1812, Elijah Pepper found a spot just outside of Versailles, Kentucky, that bumped right up against a beautiful spring from Glenn's Creek. With the limestone filtering out all the impuri- ties, the spring was the perfect water source—and it's the same one used today for Woodford Reserve. "They were cooking and fermenting on-site, as well as distilling and putting their spirit in an oak barrel," Morris says. "We do the same flavor-influencing processes today. We just do them a lot differently . . . a lot better." Yesterday's distillers checked mash temperature by sticking their finger into the middle of the boiling soup, Morris says. If it was too hot to touch, it was ready for distillation. But Elijah's son, Oscar Pepper, and his employee, Dr. James Crow, added something no dis- tiller had used before—industrial science practices. Pepper and Crow replaced the "digital" method with thermometers and determined that a sweet mash process can cause a bacterial infection that would destroy flavors in the mash. After their scientific deductions on the mashing process, the industry nearly unilaterally adopted the sour mash process. Crow and Pepper modernized the industry, Morris says. "People who aspired to be distillers worked under Crow and Pepper and then went on to work at other distilleries," he says. In 1877, the year of the "Long Recession," the Pepper family sold the distillery to Labrot & Graham. And, in 1940, Brown-Forman purchased the property. As the bourbon business slowly dwindled, the company sold it in the 1960s to an area farmer. In the 1990s, Brown Forman repur- chased the distillery and commenced a $10-million rebuilding project, the first of its kind. Since then, Morris has changed the industry much like Crow and Pepper did. With the Woodford Reserve Master's Collection, Morris started the trend of finish aging the whiskey in non-bourbon barrels, most notably the Sonoma-Cutrer finished whiskey. Now, when Morris is doing whiskey tastings at consumer events, the fans who surround him are all asking, "What's next?" Woodford Reserve is distilled in small batches in copper pot stills. The Manhattan Experience Finding the Master of the Manhattan This is the fourth year of Woodford Reserve's Manhattan Experience, the brand's quest to find the Master of the Manhattan. Local competitions take place throughout the year, and five finalists will face off in January in Manhattan. "This was a way for bartenders to play around with Woodford Reserve, put their own spin on the Manhattan and create a cocktail that consumers can have fun with," says Laura Petry, Woodford Reserve Brand Manager. Last year's winner was Joann Spiegel from Mercury Bar in New York City. Her cocktail, the Leaving Manhattan, combined Woodford Reserve with Punt e Mes, crème de cacao and lapsang smoke tea syrup with dashes of orange bitters. Woodford Reserve has become one of those iconic premium spirits that whis- The classic Woodford Reserve Bourbon and the more recent Woodford Reserve Rye, released last year. key geeks may not appreciate being mixed with other ingredients. Let's face it, some whiskey purists may not even want to add a splash of water or a piece of ice to Woodford Reserve. And to create a cocktail from the new Double Oaked might just be blasphemy. To which Petry simply says: "A better bourbon is going to make a better Manhattan." For more information, go to www.wellcraftedmanhattan.com. august 2012 / the tasting panel / 7