It’s always nice when a celebrity owned and marketed spirits brand doesn’t rely solely on the presence of a famous face to make a case for its own existence. It shows that the person whose name adorns the product cares at least a little bit about where that bottle sits in the market on the day it’s released, and has desired to find at least some niche to call their own rather than simply bulling their way into an already overcrowded space. Because really, it’s a simple matter to go out and source some tequila, or rum, or whiskey, from one of the major producers and slap your name on it, where it can join a host of near-identical products on the shelf. Some credit belongs to the likes of Stephen Curry for not falling down into that particular pitfall. His newly released Gentleman’s Cut Bourbon might look fairly familiar, but this is pretty unusual as far as nationally available American whiskeys go.
As the Gentleman’s Cut bottle proclaims, this is a product distilled and aged in “Boone County, Kentucky.” A quick trip to Google would suggest to most drinkers that this probably means the spirit is a product of one Boone County Distilling Co., and the press release and specs of the whiskey back it up. Already, this is pretty unusual for a celebrity brand in the American whiskey space, which tend to gravitate toward bigger producers, from the old-school stalwarts (Beam, Heaven Hill, MGP) to the newer breed of sourced bourbon kings (Bardstown Bourbon Co.). But it’s really only the start of what conceptually sets Gentleman’s Cut Bourbon apart. For one, this is 100% pot still bourbon, which is still a rarity in the American whiskey market. Boone County Distilling Co. works on 500-gallon copper pot stills, before aging this product for 5-7 years in newly charred oak. One has to wonder how this compares to the company’s own flagship pot still bourbon, which is available somewhat cheaper on the market (compared to the $80 MSRP of Gentleman’s Cut) but doesn’t seem to carry an age statement. Perhaps Curry’s brand is a showcase for some of Boone County Distilling’s oldest barrels?
Regardless, the pot still component suggests a flavor profile that will likely be quite different from so many of the traditional column still bourbons on the market, suggesting that the company is looking to exploit a different niche in the market–perhaps consumers who especially appreciate the grain-derived flavors that tend to be preserved in pot still bourbon. It will be one of only a handful of pot still bourbons in national release, and indeed will be expanding to international sales at the same time. That’s the power of being attached to an NBA legend and future Hall of Famer. At the same time, I find myself wondering if perhaps Curry and co. have theorized that the flavors found here will have more of an appeal than traditional bourbon to Black American drinkers, a demographic that too often goes overlooked in the whiskey world. It’s hard to say, so let’s just get to tasting.