Country music star Brad Paisley is set to launch this month his “American Highway” bourbon, a whiskey aged in barrels stored in a 53-foot semi-trailer that followed his 2019 nationwide tour for 7,314 miles across 25 states.
“Bourbon is like songwriting, it’s a blend of things coming together to make something incredible,” Paisley said in a prepared statement. “These are really special barrels that saw more of the United States than most people I know.”
Paisley talked about the creative process that brought about his own bourbon brand. “It’s so similar to what goes into a great guitar. The right woods, the right craftsmanship, the right alchemy that makes this intangible, magical thing, and that’s what makes this so great to me.”
Aged in barrels stored in the concert touring trailer, travelling coast to coast, it is said the fluctuating climate of the barrels’ journey expanded and contracted their staves, imparting oak and char into the new bourbon.
This road-worthy batch was then blended with three-year, 13-year and 15-year-old Kentucky bourbons to create the final product. The next batch to follow, set to be released in 2022, was aged on the Rolling Rickhouse during Paisley’s 2021 tour.
American Highway’s literal path-to-market wasn’t the only unique aspect of its creation. Rather than sourcing whiskey and lending a celebrity name to it, Paisley explained, he worked closely with the distilling team at Bardstown Bourbon Company to create the final blend.
“You don’t get to see many celebrities that have such a technical palate. It was a super collaboration that resulted in a travelling bourbon in an exemplary expression,” said Dan Callaway, VP at Bardstown.
Callaway described the bourbon as “a blend of four rye-forward bourbons ranging in age from 3 to 15 years. The flavor profile is incredibly unique. Subtle, complex, spicy, well-traveled. As we like to say, it was, ‘born in Kentucky, aged across America.’”
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The initial release will feature 30,000 bottles of the 96-proof blend with a suggested retail price of $99.99. The bourbon will be available in AL, CA, CO, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MD, MI, MS, NC, NV, NY, OH, TN, TX, WI and WV, and online through www.seelbachs.com.
A few technical details on the bourbon are below from the brand.
- Proof: 96 / ABV 48%
- Mashbill: 28% 3YO 71/21/0/9; 25% 3YO 60/36/0/4; 24% 13YO 74/18/0/8; 23% 15YO
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