I’d like to thank Clarion Call Media for setting up the interview with Tyler Boone and for providing the review sample with no strings attached.
I get a lot of press releases that come across my desk from small producers. Most of them are get a quick skim and press of the delete button. Occasionally though something catches my attention. At that point, I give it a more thorough read through to see what made me stop and take notice. Of course, by now, I’m hooked. They have me interested. And I always figure that if I am interested, then you may be too.
The thing about the press release for tonight’s bourbon that interested me was that it was almost as much a press release for a music video as it was for a bourbon. I love music. Any music. It doesn’t matter the genre as I have very eclectic tastes. So I listened to the song, watched the video and was intrigued. I reached out to the PR company to see if there was a review sample of the bourbon available. There was. They also arranged for an interview with musician Tyler Boone, the man behind Boone’s Bourbon.
ERIC: First off, congratulations on the new video release, I took a listen and I really like it.
Now, there have been a number of whiskey brands that have been released in recent years in collaboration with musicians. Metallica has their Blackened Whiskey, Drake has his Virginia Black Whiskey, Willie Nelson had Old Whiskey River Bourbon, and Bob Dylan has the Heaven’s Door line of whiskeys. Just to name a few. As a musician that has his own bourbon brand, what is the draw here? Is it just celebrity endorsement, a vanity project, or is there a real connection between whiskey and music?
TYLER: Thank you for the special congrats! This has been a love project of mine since 2015 when I had a major "music row management deal" in Nashville coming my way from the likes of Kenny Chesney's people. My music doesn't even come close to "bro country" so obviously I turned down the deal but it sparked interest from another party (who wasn't even in the music industry) for me to start a "spirits brand." The deal was for me to figure it all out, such as all the compliances, registering, licenses etc...and how to even create the "juice" and then they would fund it. Sounds easy right? Nope, sure wasn't (lol).
With my last name being "Boone" I figured "Boone's Bourbon" would be PERFECT & on top of that to have REAL bourbon in the bottle & not whiskey. I was going to launch this collaboration with Tenn South Distillery out of Lynnville, TN but the investor never had the money to start this venture so we had to move on from this idea.
Shortly after I moved back to Charleston, SC, where I'm from, for special eye surgery and while I was recovering I founded Striped Pig Distillery & contacted them about my idea of starting my own brand. After another year of saving and this time partnering up with my Father (Michael Boone), we raised the capital and started our own family mash bill with the distillers from Striped Pig Distillery! It was such an exciting time. Boone's Bourbon - 1st day of bottling (April 2018)
In just under 2 years due to my music touring and constant work habits (lol) we have partnered with Local Choice Spirits landed in 8 states (38 states available for online orders) and should be launching into many more this 2020.
The idea is for me specifically that when you are at a show, most people have a drink in their hand right? Well, why not make that our drink (the artist) and with authenticity grow your brand to not just the music fans but to the ever-growing "bourbon" world. I think we are doing a pretty amazing job with it so far.
ERIC: How involved were you in the process of production? Was it a case of describing what you wanted or did you “roll up your sleeves” and get involved in the actual production process?
TYLER: 100% - I was the person who chose the proof (we are 117% proof) and the mash bill before even my Father got involved. Our mash bill is 75% corn (which is usual for most bourbons) 21% rye & 4% barley. Of course, Striped Pig helped with this but I made the final decision.
Our promo video that we still use constantly is of the 1st actual day (April 2018) of the bottling line, boxing, us tasting, everything. We also used to fill the mini bottles (50ml) by hand but we finally just bought a machine to help with the 50s. It's pretty cool.
Just to note how our operation works. My Father and I work the brand every day whether that being tastings, bookings, reaching out to retailers, our distributors, socials and then Local Choice Spirits fulfills the orders and alerts us when we need to bottle again. It's us running a small business.
ERIC: Getting to the bourbon itself, this is a six-month-old bourbon, which traditionally is a little on the young side. Frankly I was expecting the bourbon to be terrible at that age, but it isn’t. Take us through the thought process that resulted in the bourbon being released at what would usually be considered a very young age.
TYLER: First off, thank you. We always get that and & we are very proud of it.
When we started "Boone's Bourbon" this was a 5 year aged product from Striped Pig Distillery that we then changed the mash bill on. Once those barrels dried up we were already in so many states we then had to switch to MGP for allocating due to the demand & because of this, we had to switch the age statement on the back. It is always AT LEAST 6 months but there can be 1 year in there. Our process now goes MGP, then Terressentia (my business partner & music manager Pixie Paula is the majority shareholder over there) for their TERREPURE process, then back to Striped Pig for tasting & our final touches before we bottle & ship out.
We are 100% honest about this process & happy to be apart of the MGP family. They make some of the most incredible products out there.
ERIC: 117° proof! That is a hefty proof! Talk about what lead to that decision. High proof means less profit since you aren’t cutting it with as much water, so it seems this was a "whiskey decision" not a business decision.
TYLER: This was my final decision. I wanted something different, more original & to stand out from the rest. Everyone is usually a safe 80 proof and maybe it's the "rock n roll" in me where it’s “let's push the envelope a little” and see how the market takes it. It's the 1st thing everyone notices...but after tasting about 2-3 seconds people's faces change to a happy "wow, wasn't expecting that." I call it "it's for bourbon drinkers who like to taste their alcohol" :)
Boone's Bourbon
Purchase info: This review was graciously provided for review purposes. I see that it is available for sale for $36.99 at Total Wine in Tennessee.
Prince per Drink (50 mL): $2.47 (based on the pricing above)
Details: 58.5% ABV. MGP mash bill of 75% corn,21% rye, 4% barley “at least 6 months” that then undergoes the Terre Pure process.
Nose: Caramel, buttered popcorn with a slight vegetal undertone
Mouth: Warm cinnamon, buttered popcorn, lemon.
Finish: Medium heat and length. lingering notes of caramel, green tea, and lemon.
Thoughts: This is the best TerrePure product that I've had. That, of course, is a low bar to clear (the first was spit it out and the second was dumped out). That said, this is not a terrible bourbon. However, that doesn't mean that this is a good bourbon. I'm giving it a meh. This is a serviceable well bourbon for cocktails where the bourbon isn’t the main flavor component. I tried it in both a whiskey sour and in a boulevardier. It performed much better when paired with other strongly flavored liquors.
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