new kentucky tavern label

[tmckenzie]

I was in my favorite store yesterday and saw that Kentucky tavern has a new, one hell of an ugly label. This is what threw me off. Said bottled by glenmore distillery, Louisville. It gave sazeracs website on the side, which I know owns the label now, but are they getting somebody to bottle it in Loiusville?

[PaulO]

Isn't Kentucky Tavern the value brand from Barton (now owned by Sazerac)? It used to be the cheapest real bourbon I could find back in the '90s. Around here we only get the 80 proof. I have a BIB in my collection I got visiting KY. Now that I know a little about bourbon, I don't drink much KT. I'd still take it over blends, Canadian, or most Scotch.

[jburlowski]

Glenmore Distillery is owned by Sazerac. They do a lot of their bottling there.

[tmckenzie]

Glenmore is in Owensboro though, I thought.

[cowdery]

Glenmore is just a DBA for Sazerac.

Sazerac doesn't have any operations in Louisville but it has bottling houses in Owensboro, Bardstown, and Frankfort. The only bottling house in Louisville is Brown-Forman's, so if it says "Lousville, Kentucky," that's weird.

[tmckenzie]

I thought it was wierd as well, that is what puzzled me. Why would they bottle in Louisville, especially when they have one heck of a bottling line at Barton, and I have never seen one at BT, but I know they have one, then the one in Owenesboro. New square shaped bottle and one hell of an ugly label.

[p_elliott]

I thought it was wierd as well, that is what puzzled me. Why would they bottle in Louisville, especially when they have one heck of a bottling line at Barton, and I have never seen one at BT, but I know they have one, then the one in Owenesboro. New square shaped bottle and one hell of an ugly label.

They have 3 bottling lines at BT maybe 4 The 3 are 2 hand bottling lines that they bottle things like BTAC probably Pappy and Blanton's and other single barrel stuff. Then they have the big automated line.

[cowdery]

I've since found out that although Sazerac has no facility of any kind in Louisville, they can use "Sazerac Company, Louisville, KY" as a universal DBA and avoid printing all of their locations on every label. Nothing has really changed. KT is still bottled at Barton 1792 in Bardstown.

[callmeox]

Is this the label that you are talking about?

[tmckenzie]

can't see it. Says error.

[callmeox]

Here's the listing that I was referring to.

https://www.ttbonline.gov/colasonline/viewColaDetails.do?action=publicDisplaySearchBasic&ttbid=11091001000359

[cowdery]

Here's the listing that I was referring to.

https://www.ttbonline.gov/colasonline/viewColaDetails.do?action=publicDisplaySearchBasic&ttbid=11091001000359

That's not so bad. They're going for the old timey look.

What I've always liked is that the brand was somehow linked to an actual Louisville bar, frequented by Louisville downtown business types because it was conveniently located between downtown and their northeast side homes.

The bar's heyday was the 1950s, so I assume the bar was named after the whiskey. It may, for all I know, have been a coincidence, but the two came to be linked together in the minds of many. Both came to be called KT.

KT, the bourbon, was Glenmore's flagship and Glenmore was the other local Louisville bourbon company, along with Brown-Forman. I had friends who worked there. During the glut years, they were putting 10-year-old whiskey into popular priced NAS KT, and quietly spread that word around town.

When I was living in Louisville (1978-1987), a new KT's was erected on or near the original location near Cherokee Park. I'd say I was a regular, both then and later, it was a go-to when I was in town. Good bar. Good sandwiches. I haven't been there recently.

On my last visit to Louisville, I was reminded of a favorite haunt that's now gone: Hasenour's. Though not particularly close to KT's, it had the same attraction, being en-route between The Highlands and downtown. Somebody last week said something about the bar there, which as I recall was limited to beer and bourbon, something like that.

Also gone, though the business continues in a different location, is Cunningham's. It was always a lunch place for me. Fried fish sandwich and turtle soup, in private "booths" that were built originally as prostitute cribs. Ah, river towns.

[Halifax]

^ Interesting story. I like the new KT label. Looks cool. I recently passed up some tax stamper KT 80 proofers. I may have to pick up a few if they're still there.

[tmckenzie]

If you pick some up, I sure would love to have some.

[Halifax]

^ Will be a while before I get back there, but when I do I'll grab some for ya.