Barrell Bourbon Going From Bottler To Distiller

By Richard Thomas

Barrell Craft Spirits, the independent bottler behind Barrell Bourbon, Barrell Whiskey and now Barrell Rum, announced yesterday that they would be getting into the business of making their own in-house spirits and opening a distillery. Their plant will be a production-oriented facility with few frills, stepping away from the tourist-friendly distilleries that have become the norm.

Barrell Craft Spirits named Tripp Stimson, formerly a lab scientist at Brown-Forman and Master Distiller at Kentucky Artisan Distillery, as Master Distiller. Simson is also noted for opening the first barley malting operation in Kentucky in 2016.

Barrell Bourbon built a strong fan following during the last four years with its string of cask strength releases of Bourbon from a few sourced, varying in age from five to thirteen years. This was followed by Barrell Whiskey, which while American was not aged (at least not entirely) in new oak. Finally, the company recently got into the rum business as well with Barrell Rum.