547 - What's The Future of Single Barrels?

Bourbon Pursuit

Food, Leisure, Arts, Hobbies

4.9 • 866 Ratings

🗓️ 1 January 2026

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It used to be that picking a single barrel was something reserved for the most dedicated enthusiasts. But today? They're everywhere. Every content creator has a club. There are regional and national facebook groups dedicated to it. And there's thousands of retailers all pushing their own single barrels. It has become an obsession that has completely transformed our industry. In this episode, we’re talk about the evolution of the single barrel craze from its massive explosion back in 2014 to abundance we’re navigating today. We share some personal stories and debate over "sticker" culture. We also hit on the business side where major distillers are favor high-volume accounts while the small retailers get left behind. Another issue we're seeing is the skyrocket prices for legacy programs like Four Roses. There's a lot of players in this game and we give our suggestions on what opportunities lie head for new brands to step in and thrive. I'm sure you're like me and you've got a shelf full of barrel picks and you've got the FOMO because that next single barrel, that's the special one. Show Notes: The rise and evolution of single barrel whiskey programs Personal experiences in barrel selection The influence of the pandemic on the whiskey market Balancing relationships with small and large retailers Pricing challenges in the single barrel segment Future sustainability for smaller whiskey clubs and emerging brands The significance of connections within the bourbon industry The role of innovation in the next chapter of single barrel selections Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Most people, if you go and you find a single barrel and you get it, you love it, it's great.
0:04.6	You probably don't understand the back-in process that's to happen from a producer perspective
0:09.7	of what do they need to go for different types of labels, that different proofs.
0:15.0	It is a beast of an animal to actually go and create a single barrel program that is going
0:20.7	to not only be
0:21.7	in compliance, but is also going to be operationally efficient.
0:47.4	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.
0:49.2	And I'm one of your hosts, Kenny Coleman.
0:55.0	It used to be that if you went to go pick a single barrel, this was something reserved for the most dedicated enthusiast or the elitist that are out there.
0:58.0	But today, they're pretty much everywhere.
1:01.0	Every content creator has a barrel club.
1:03.0	There are regional and national Facebook groups that are dedicated to picking barrels,
1:08.0	and there's thousands of retailers all trying to push their own single-barrel picks.
1:12.6	It's become an obsession that has completely transformed our industry.
1:16.6	In this episode, we talk about that evolution of the single-barrel craze from its massive explosion,
1:21.6	starting back around the 2014 timeframe to the sheer abundance that we're starting to navigate today.
1:28.5	We also share some of our own personal stories, and we debate over the sticker culture.
1:33.8	We also hit on the business side, where some major distillers are favoring those high-volume
1:38.3	accounts, while the smaller retailers are starting to get left behind, or what Fred likes to say,
1:43.3	you always forget about the
1:44.5	ones that took you to the dance. Another issue we see is the skyrocket prices for legacy programs
1:50.2	like Four Roses. But there's a lot of players in this game now, and we give some suggestions
	...

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