Buzzard's Roost in Louisville with Jason Brauner
This episode is a focused tasting and conversation at Buzzard's Roost in Louisville with Jason Brauner who has deep experience in bourbon hospitality and single barrel selection. It covers how double oaking works, why barrel toast profiles matter, and how Jason's background on the restaurant side shaped his palate and industry relationships.We discuss bourbon production details, tasting notes, upcoming releases, and the culture of collaboration in the whiskey world. If you like technical whiskey talk paired with practical tasting context, this one is packed with useful specifics. #bourbon #doubleoaked #whiskey #podcast #buzzardsroost #bourbonbrassandbeyond
Key topics
- Buzzard's Roost breaks down its process: sourced aged whiskey, re barreled into proprietary barrels, and secondary aged with custom toast profiles.
- The team uses 17 proprietary barrel toast profiles and a char 1 finish, which Jason explains as preserving the toasted sugars brought to the surface.
- The barrel strength bourbon is 116 proof, but Jason and the host note that it drinks below its proof because of the double barreling.
- Tasting notes on the bourbon include white pepper, caramel, burnt sugar, vanilla, citrus, and creme brulee like crunch.
- The whiskey lineup is generally in the 5 to 7 year range, with many single barrels landing at 6 to 8 years.
- Jason explains the role of toast levels, from vanilla caramel and butterscotch to smoky, leathery, and baking spice driven profiles.
- French oak comes up as a special annual project, with discussion of its tighter grain, complex sugars, and higher tannin.
- Jason shares how Art Eatables chocolates pair with the whiskey, especially the rye and bourbon selections.
- His background at Bourbon's Bistro helped him develop his palate through years of single barrel picks, bourbon dinners, and distillery visits.
- The conversation highlights the friendly, collaborative nature of the whiskey industry, where competitors often support one another.
- Upcoming releases include a French oak expression, the return of bottled in bond, a wheated single barrel, and another smoked batch if market demand supports it.
- Jason also mentions the still upstairs and the excitement around their own spirit aging on site.
Timestamps
00:00 - Opening banter and setting the scene at Buzzard's Roost 01:02 - Double oaked bourbon and sourced whiskey explained 01:59 - Proprietary barrels, toast profiles, and char 1 aging 03:24 - First tasting notes: white pepper, caramel, and dark sugar 04:42 - Burnt sugar, creme brulee, vanilla, and citrus notes 05:09 - Age range of the whiskey and single barrel releases 06:14 - Art Eatables chocolates and pairing classes 07:12 - Industry camaraderie and why whiskey feels collaborative 09:19 - How toast levels shape flavor from sweet to smoky 10:28 - Using barrel profiles like a spice rack for blending 11:41 - Discussing the smoked limited release 13:30 - The rye that drinks like bourbon and finishes like scotch 14:00 - Rye blend makeup and why it is so approachable 15:10 - Limited release performance in different markets 15:52 - Daniel's background at Bourbon's Bistro and early single barrel work 16:45 - Bridging old school and new school whiskey people 17:45 - Bourbon dinners, flights, and early education in tasting 18:40 - Family bourbon history and connecting with Wally Dant 19:39 - Water, air, and how the bourbon opens in the glass 20:38 - Upcoming French oak, bottled in bond, and wheated single barrel releases 21:37 - White dog from the still and future house distillate 22:04 - Bourbon and Beyond, speaking on the Kroger stage 23:03 - Restaurant recommendation: Bourbon's Bistro
