Master distiller Marianne Eaves is one who has already made some significant waves in the American whiskey industry during her career. A range of circumstances, including “her love of science, analytic mind, exceptional sensory skills, creativity, and a fateful internship choice with Brown-Forman,” led to becoming among the first women in Kentucky to earn the title of master distiller, which she dutifully served out at the Castle & Key Distillery in Frankfort. She later left here, becoming an independent consultant on projects such as the recent high profile Sweetens Cove Tennessee Bourbon Whiskey launch.
Now, as she continues to work on her own, she is debuting Eaves Blind, a self-described “membership-based subscription service that provides exclusive access to a number of first-taste samples of small batch and single barrels curated” by her. This comes alongside a new “mobile spirits laboratory to advance the research and development process in the spirits business.” The two work in tandem in that Eaves Blind is designed to be both, as she puts it, “part of building this revolutionizing laboratory and part sharing the evolution of my work as I raise quality and push creativity to the forefront of the spirits world.”
What Eaves Blind seems to truly offer is an up close and personal look inside the mind of a creative distilling type such as Eaves. In allowing its members to taste newly blended products, she is giving members “the opportunity to engage in educational experiences to expand the palate and improve tasting skills through two programming levels: apprentice (for those new to spirits) or aficionado (for more advanced tasters).”
“Eaves Blind allows even the most sophisticated spirits taster to leave preconceived notions of flavor at the door and come along with me on this exciting journey,” said Eaves in a prepared statement.
From a practical perspective this boils down to seasonal membership kits (shipped four times a year) that, depending upon the membership level, offer a number of unique bourbons blended by her in different size sample containers. Also included, again depending upon the level, are detailed educational materials, special tasting glasses and exclusive related content on different platforms.
Pricing for this service, which looks to be launching soon, is set at $300 for apprentice and $550 for aficionado.