I always say everything looks easy and nothing is.

Yep.

And everything is about all those little, those thousand things that nobody thinks about

that you have to do and you have to do pretty well.

Yeah. This is Bourbon Pursuit, the official podcast of Bourbon, bringing to you the best in news, reviews, and interviews with people making the bourbon whiskey industry happen, and I'm one of your hosts, Kenny Coleman.

So when does a family business take a venture into bourbon? Well, here is one such story.

And in this one, we sit down with Rick and Ricky Johnson. They are the father-son team behind

15 stars bourbon. And their journey begins in kind of an unexpected place, which is popcorn.

You know, like you put in a bag in a microwave and you get popcorn. Yeah, of all things, popcorn. Because they had their own

brand called Black Jewel popcorn, and they turned this specialty brand into a launching pad

for their bourbon venture. And this conversation dives into how this college project that was actually sparked by

Ricky's interest in creating, bourbon using their unique black corn led to a partnership

with Bartstown Bourbon Company.

The Johnson shared their meticulous approach to blending and they do some flavorproofing

using some older whiskeys, including some of those 14 and 15-year-old blends

that you've seen on the shelf. They highlight the role of heirloom corn varieties and the shaping

their bourbon profiles. And yes, if you paid any attention to our whiskey quickies, we get

schooled again on the meaning of 15 stars, which does reflect Kentucky's bourbon heritage

and everything Americana.

With that, enjoy this week's episode.

And now here's Fred Minnick with Above the Char.

I'm Fred Minnick, and this is Above the Char.

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