Barrell Craft Spirits Virtual Tasting with National Director, Will Schragis

Join us in the inaugural tasting of whiskeys from American brand, Barrell Craft Spirits. The brand  is in 45 markets in America but has just landed in Australia, about 2 weeks ago! Australia is actually also the very first direct export market out of America. It is imported and distributed by marketer and distributor of premium spirits, Orrsum Spirits. Director of Orrsum Spirits, John M. Weifert "has been a big fan of Barrell Craft Spirits for some time now, and is honoured to bring these award-winning spirits to the Australian whiskey community".

So join us in celebrating the arrival of Barrell Craft Spirits and be amongst the very first people in Australia to taste the whiskeys. I have to admit, I have not been this excited over a brand in a while, and therefore have selected a very special line-up for the tasting.

A quick history on the brand
Barrell Craft Spirits (BCS) was founded in 2013 by Joe Beatrice in Louisville, Kentucky. BCS is an independent blender and bottler (totally up our alley!) that has created a unique niche within the spirits industry by focusing on the art of sourcing and blending. Rather than follow the traditional path and build his own distillery, Joe drew inspiration from Scotland's long-established independent bottlers who elevated barrels of whisky into something greater than the sum of their parts. With the goal to become the most creative, forward-thinking, and progressive whiskey blenders, BCS selects and blends a variety of spirits including whiskey, bourbon, rye and rum, and bottles them at cask strength. Every batch is produced as a limited release and has a distinct flavour profile. 

Joe remains intimately involved with every step of the production process, using his exceptional palate to choose and create great spirits. He works alongside Chief Whiskey Scientist and Director of Distillery Operations Tripp Stimson, who joined BCS in 2017 after having spent nine years with Brown Forman Corporation, owner of Jack Daniel's, Woodford Reserve and Old Forrester brands.

BCS took top honors at this year's two most prestigious US Spirits Competition. At the 2020 San Franciso World Spirits Competition, Dovetail American Whiskey was awarded the "Chairman's Trophy" and top score (97/100) in the American Whisk(e)y Category, while Barrell Bourbon Batch 021 won Double Gold and was named Best Bourbon and Best Small Batch Bourbon - both overall and within the 6-10 year category, in the Ultimate Spirits Challenge. BCS has also been consistently highly rated by Whisky Advocate and named "Best American Whiskey of 2018" in Forbes by whiskey authority Fred Minnick.

Presenting the whiskeys to us will be the National Director, Will Schragis, who will be joining us all the way from the States. Will works closely with distributors and key accounts, and also has an active role in product development. But he is also responsible for compliance, communications, incentives, planning and market work. And when he is not busy spreading the word about BCS, he guest lectures on distillation science at the Culinary Institute of America.

This is definitely not a tasting you will want to miss. Join us for more stories and insight to the brand, and taste some pretty spectacular whiskeys.