New K & L podcast featuring Jim Rutledge of Four Roses

[Kyjd75]

Available off their blog or download from iTunes. Very interesting discussion and definitely worth listening to.

[Trey Manthey]

Awesome interview. I really gave me some good insight into the non-GMO corn shortage. Also, hints at the possibility of a new Four Roses product. On a personal note, it got me very pumped about finally opening this bottle I picked up from the gift shop this summer. Jim said something to the effect of this 17yo being "the best bourbon he has ever smelled or tasted."

On the other hand, I appreciate Jim's choice not to age barrels just for the sake of age and age statements.

Sometimes I get carried away trying to taste everything rare and special, and I forget that Four Roses is consistently pumping out GREAT stuff that I can get any day at any store for not much money. Who says the golden age of bourbon is over?

[TradingBoiler]

Available off their blog or download from iTunes. Very interesting discussion and definitely worth listening to.

Thanks for the heads up. Downloaded for the train ride home tonight!

[Tony]

Thanks for sharing, will listen at the gym tomorrow morning.

Best regards, Tony

[Bmac]

Thanks, it was one of the more informative interviews. Kinda scary thinking that most corn will soon be GMO due to cross-pollination. Yes, I understand it doesn't effect whiskey due to distillation; but it does affect other markets. I bet even organic farmers would soon suffer.

The interview really sealed the fact that 4 Roses is possibly one of best distilleries for me. It stands to reason that it will be the main-stay at my bar.

[HighInTheMtns]

Thanks for the heads up about this, this was a very enjoyable interview. I'm very impressed by Jim Rutledge's humility and straightforwardness. Unbelievable that he turned down the master distiller job until he felt like he deserved it.

I've had precious little Four Roses, but there are two TPS single barrels sitting unopened on my shelf right now. After listening to that interview, at least one of them won't make it through the night in that state.

[trumpstylz]

They mentioned that they were running out of people to interview. Someone should tell them to re interview people and just have different subjects (Our very own Chuck Cowdery, for example, could probably do days worth of interviews before running out of material).

[camduncan]

They mentioned that they were running out of people to interview. Someone should tell them to re interview people and just have different subjects (Our very own Chuck Cowdery, for example, could probably do days worth of interviews before running out of material).

Fred Noe, Bernie Lubbers, Jimmy Russell, Parker Beam, Craig Beam, Drew Kulsveen just to name a few.... then what about some of our own members who are in the industry - Chuck (as mentioned), Bettye Jo, Fred Mozenter, Matt Garretson would all have interesting stories to tell from a different industry perspective..

[David D]

Fred Noe, Bernie Lubbers, Jimmy Russell, Parker Beam, Craig Beam, Drew Kulsveen just to name a few.... then what about some of our own members who are in the industry - Chuck (as mentioned), Bettye Jo, Fred Mozenter, Matt Garretson would all have interesting stories to tell from a different industry perspective..

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm glad you all enjoyed the interview. The problem isn't finding someone I want to do it, the problem is finding some who will do it. Many of the above people have said "no, thanks" to participating. A lot of people don't want to go on record with the type of questions I'm going to ask, especially after the Harlen Wheatley debacle where he talked about what was in PVW and people used that off-the-cuff guestimate to start conspiracy theories. Chuck has already done one, so I'm not ready to start repeats, yet. It's not a show just about Bourbon, so I want to keep finding people who have different things to say. I've got an appointment with Rachel Barrie from Bowmore next Tuesday.

However, if people really like these who's to say we can't convince some of those who are uninterested to participate?

Edited October 4, 2012 by David D

[camduncan]

I thought that might be the case David, and I wasn't trying to suggest you couldn't think of anyone else to interview I think it would be a shame if (industry) people used the Harlen debacle as a reason not to be interviewed. To me that was a fairly unique situation that most other distillers etc wouldn't find themselves in. Oh, and one other important person I left off the list - Jim Butler the owner of this site. I'm sure if he ever agreed to be interviewed, his perspective on running a social media site in the industry would be pretty unique and eye-opening

[David D]

I thought that might be the case David, and I wasn't trying to suggest you couldn't think of anyone else to interview I think it would be a shame if (industry) people used the Harlen debacle as a reason not to be interviewed. To me that was a fairly unique situation that most other distillers etc wouldn't find themselves in. Oh, and one other important person I left off the list - Jim Butler the owner of this site. I'm sure if he ever agreed to be interviewed, his perspective on running a social media site in the industry would be pretty unique and eye-opening

A lot of these guys think it's going to be a fluff piece where I have them talk about how great their whiskey is. I'm more interested in the stuff they're not talking about and what they think about the issues being discussed online among the enthusiasts.

[Bmac]

A lot of these guys think it's going to be a fluff piece where I have them talk about how great their whiskey is. I'm more interested in the stuff they're not talking about and what they think about the issues being discussed online among the enthusiasts.

I am sure some of them are thinking of the obvious free advertisement possibilities as well. Me personally, I am glad you're not on a mission to only seek out "fluff" but rather substance. I for one am very interested in the 'industry' rather than high-ranking opinion.