LEXINGTON, Ky. — New Era Distillery is introducing Marquee Exclusive Small Batch Bourbon, a new label whose inaugural blend was selected by nine members of Kentucky’s bourbon community, including bartenders, retail buyers, media personalities and bourbon society representatives.
The first release combines 11 Kentucky bourbon barrels ranging from 5 to 9 years old and representing seven mash bills. Priced at a suggested $49.99 for a 750-milliliter bottle, Marquee adds a small-batch offering alongside New Era’s cask-strength single-barrel releases.
“The tastemakers that blended this first batch of Marquee had a blast and created a stellar whiskey,” said Zane Brammell, founder of New Era Whiskey. “I love cask strength bourbon. All of our New Era single barrel releases are cask strength. But I recognize sometimes people don’t always want a super strong, high-priced bottle. Some cocktails and social occasions call for a bourbon like Marquee.”
To develop the inaugural batch, the nine panelists sampled 30 barrels ranging from 5 to 9 years old. Divided into three teams, they compared samples and developed their preferred blends. The teams then voted on the three blends to choose the first release.
The selection panel of batch #1 were:
- Edward Callico, Bourbon Brotherhood
- Felicia Chism, Kentucky Black Bourbon Guild
- Maggie Kimberl, Content Editor, American Whiskey Magazine and spirits judge
- Himanshu Mallick, General Manager and Bourbon Barrel Pick Specialist, The Pour House
- Kenny Mills, Co-host, the Mash Up Bourbon Podcast
- Chris Rose, Lexington Bourbon Society
- Mark Rucker, Co-host, The Bourbon Life Podcast
- Tom Wilburn, Creative Bar Lead, Watch Hill Proper
- Brad Williams, Senior Category Manager, Liquor Barn
“New Era has embarked on a new chapter, one which I thoroughly enjoyed participating in,” Kimberl said. “I was invited to a roundtable-style blending session, during which we broke out into teams to create blends we would all later vote on. We worked hard on this first Marquee Bourbon blend and I hope everyone enjoys the fruits of our labor!”
The collaborative selection process will continue with future batches. Each release will bring together a rotating group of participants to taste barrels, compare flavor profiles and determine how the whiskeys work together. The company plans to involve bourbon tastemakers from across the United States in future selections.
Marquee also carries forward New Era’s emphasis on distinctive packaging. Its colorful labels feature designs ranging from vintage-inspired artwork to futuristic combinations, an approach Brammell said is intended to encourage conversation.
“People seem to love the variety of creative labels on our newspaper style New Era bottles,” Brammell said. “We wanted to continue the fun with these colorful Marquee Exclusive labels.”
Marquee Bourbon is available at the New Era Whiskey Distillery in Lexington and online, with availability at select Kentucky retailers expected soon. More information is available at marqueebourbon.com.
