Monday Mash Up

A totally un-themed blog post because Monday.

Jefferson Wood Experiment. The inspiration behind Jefferson's Wood Experiment Collection came from Trey spending time in a wine cooperage in Missouri. Wine cooperages are different than what you find in Kentucky as they have different treating processes, which focus more on toasting, slow cooking, and searing to bring different flavors to the forefront. It was at this point we asked, "How could we change up what the final flavors of the bourbon are after we mature it in typical bourbon barrels?" Trey started by putting 4 year old bourbon that had been aged in new charred white oak barrels, and finished it in 13 different environments/vessels.

There were so many combinations to experiment with – new bourbon barrels, new wine barrels, wine barrel heads on a new bourbon barrel, insert oak staves that have been seared, or oak cubes that have been slow cooked, etc. Over a period of 32 months, we charted the characteristics of each experiment monthly and analyzed how the different treatments have affected the outcome of the final whiskey.

We decided to bottle them up in five 200 milliliter experiments so you can try five different experiments and see for yourself how these small changes make a vast difference. Limited availability.

Survey Says. Last week, we sent a survey via email to our newest Bottle Club® shoppers. We truly appreciate all of the kind words, which we'll share on another day. We do want to address one particular comment. "It would be great if you could highlight any specials or deals that you might be having periodically via email." For our new shoppers, we ask for your contact information when you sign up for the Bottle Club®. Sometimes, it can take a couple of weeks for the information to get fully processed. Once it does, you will typically receive two emails per week, and that's where we do share some of our best sale items.

Gift Drive. Joe Canal's in Woodbridge is working with Mother Hubbard Photography to collect birthday gifts for an autistic young lady who had no one show up to her recent birthday party. The CBS News story is here. We will be collecting gift items until Sunday, June 19. Thank you in advance for your generosity.

Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey, Canal's Family Selection. The latest addition to the Canal's Family Selection portfolio is now in our stores.

Stranahan's is the first Colorado-born whiskey, hand-crafted from local, natural ingredients. Typically when a distiller bottles his whiskey, several hundred or even several thousand barrels are combined for a staunchly uniform taste. And the way we see it, we want you to be able to trust what's in the bottle, without sacrificing character. So each week we produce about 5 minutes worth of production made at some of the mass producing distilleries. We select ten to twenty of our choicest barrels, and combine them for a small batch with a reliable, yet distinctive flavor unique to Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey.

See you here tomorrow for the Craft Beer Corner.