Fred Minnick - Wall Street Journal-Bestselling Author, and his Blog

The Trouble with Whiskey ‘First’ Marketing

Fred MinnickOctober 20, 2017

Sazerac acquires equity stake in Indian whisky company

Fred MinnickOctober 19, 2017

New Buffalo Trace Antique Collection

Fred MinnickSeptember 19, 2017

A Great Moment at Four Roses with Penny Chenery

Fred MinnickSeptember 17, 2017

Wine a backstage private tasting at Bourbon & Beyond This story appeared in Whisky Magazine in 2013. It is adapted from that publication. Penny Chenery recently passed away at the age of 95. It was a special day, and she was a speci...

Bourbon0 Comments

Bourbon & Beyond: Win a Private Tasting

Fred MinnickSeptember 16, 2017

Want to win Bourbon & Beyond (Sept. 23, 24) tickets and a private tasting with critically acclaimed Shawn James and me? Enter here for a chance to sip bourbon alongside one of the hottest blues artists in the world. ... and me in the Jim Beam ...

Bourbon0 Comments

Meet the new inductees of the Bourbon Hall of Fame

Fred MinnickSeptember 13, 2017

This year's Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame inductees are three individuals who should have earned the honor years ago. The theme amongst them is they were all extremely active in tourism, which has become the industry's greatest political ally. Dry...

Bourbon0 Comments

The story of a homeless master distiller

Fred MinnickSeptember 7, 2017

When people speak of Stitzel-Weller, they affectionately recall its founder, Pappy Van Winkle, and the mouth-watering wheated bourbons distilled there. But often forgotten are the master distillers who made the stuff. Pappy did not make whiskey. O...

Bourbon0 Comments

Beam Launches New Blended Whiskey, ‘Little Book,’ $79.99

Fred MinnickJuly 14, 2017

Jim Beam officially announced a new product—Little Book, an annual limited edition blended series. The news of this was first mentioned at my Kentucky Derby Museum’s Legends Series with Fred Noe, who revealed his son, Freddie, was “up to som...

Bourbon1 Comment

Wildernerness Trail Jumps Into Music Scene

Fred MinnickJuly 10, 2017

Bourbon distillers continue getting more involved in the concert business. The latest to offer a concert series is Wilderness Trail Distillery in Danville, Ky., which announced its “Summer Jams” last week. The first is this week with Jason ...

News0 Comments

I Watched Fireworks With My Son

Fred MinnickJuly 5, 2017

As the helicopter flew overhead, its rotor blades slicing through air, I stood on a rooftop, camera in hand, and the Louisville skyline transformed into Mosul, the Iraqi city where I perched on rooftops as an Army photojournalist. I felt my chest; I ...

BourbonRum1 Comment

The Cycle of Bourbon Geeks

Fred MinnickJune 30, 2017

Remember when you were a new bourbon consumer? Ah, the good old days. You walked into a store, chatted with the liquor store owner and grabbed a bottle in the perfect price point for your wallet. Then, you started reading about bourbon, maybe fou...

Bourbon0 Comments

Velier Foursquare 2006: The Greatest Rum I’ve Ever Tasted

Fred MinnickJune 22, 2017

What does a perfect spirit taste like? The perfect spirit is complex, challenges your senses and causes tingling sensations. On the nose, no matter the category, greatness is as much as what it is--bakery, earth, fruit or floral notes, e.g.—as wha...

Rum1 Comment

Limited Edition Early Times Release, $22.99

Fred MinnickJune 20, 2017

Brown-Forman announced a limited-edition Early Times Bottled In Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky today. The company said it's a tribute to the 75th anniversary of the original Early Times bonded bourbon recipe, a product that helped shape the ...

Bourbon0 Comments