Overview: Whiskey Washback closed its summer slate with back-to-back stops in Atlanta and Chicago, drawing more than 1,000 attendees. The events featured guided tastings, brand tables, and ticketed seminars across both cities.
The Full Story
Whiskey Washback delivered a lineup that makes the event a must in every city it stops by. The two events were similar, featuring guided tastings, brand tables and ticketed seminars, but each had its own personality. Atlanta leaned into music and storytelling with the Blue Note Lounge and a bourbon-hunter’s masterclass. Chicago took a deep dive on Scotch with an intimate two-distillery tasting.
Chicago’s ticketed seminar centered on Ian Macleod Distillers, with Senior Whisky Ambassador Michael Brown guiding attendees through six pours spanning the unpeated Highland style of Glengoyne and the sherry-forward Speyside character of Tamdhu. The tasting ran from the Glengoyne 15 Year Old up through the Glengoyne White Oak 24 Year Old, a bottle that retails north of $400, alongside Tamdhu’s Distinction, 15 Year Old and Batch Strength expressions.
Atlanta featured the Blue Note Lounge, a juke joint-styled space. Guests joined a hands-on blending session to help shape the next release in the brand’s Mixtape series, tasted past Mixtape pours no longer available to the public. Separately, The Bourbon Pour hosted The Vault, a guided tasting through four whiskeys hand-selected by the host: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Proof Rye, JT Meleck 6-Year-Old, Peerless Double Oak Bourbon and Calumet Farm 15-Year Bourbon.
For Off Hours Bourbon, a Kentucky brand still building name recognition in the Chicago market, the event’s value came down to direct trial. Once people taste Off Hours, the quality tends to do the rest, Vice President of Sales Stephen Miles said. Many conversations at the Off Hours table started the same way, with attendees who had never heard of the brand before wanting to hear more.
Stonestreet Bourbon Whiskey poured its 5-year-old Founder’s Edition neat and in a Paper Plane, giving guests two ways to enjoy the bourbon. Brand Manager Daniel Dillon said the room’s depth of knowledge stood out immediately, with attendees who could name their preferred styles and expressions but were open to trying something new. For Bardstown Bourbon Company, back for another year, the venue and the crowd were the draw.
Production & Profile
The Chicago seminar highlighted specific expressions from Ian Macleod Distillers. The tasting included Glengoyne 15 Year Old through the Glengoyne White Oak 24 Year Old. Tamdhu’s offerings included the Distinction, 15 Year Old and Batch Strength expressions.
Atlanta’s Blue Note Lounge featured a hands-on blending session to help shape the next release in the brand’s Mixtape series. Off Hours Bourbon used deadfall oak in building its barrels. At 95 proof, the whiskey found its way into the hands of guests who don’t usually reach for something that strong, and the brand’s Bourbon Arnold Palmer gave the room a reminder that whiskey has a place in summer alongside the usual clear-spirit cocktails.
Stonestreet Bourbon Whiskey poured its 5-year-old Founder’s Edition neat and in a Paper Plane. The Bourbon Pour host selected four whiskeys for The Vault: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Barrel Proof Rye, JT Meleck 6-Year-Old, Peerless Double Oak Bourbon and Calumet Farm 15-Year Bourbon.
Brand & Industry History
Chicago’s ticketed seminar centered on Ian Macleod Distillers. Off Hours Bourbon is a Kentucky brand with founder Jake Ireland, whose story and philosophy behind the brand’s blends were shared at the event. Bardstown Bourbon Company is tied to the thoroughbred operation of the same name.
What This Means
Experiences like Whiskey Washback are central to Off Hours strategy because they allow people to discover the brand in a personal and authentic way, Stephen Miles said. For Bardstown Bourbon Company, the value comes down to what the event costs against what it delivers. Whiskey Washback events feel like a partnership, with the events team also sharing a love of whiskey, National Brand Activation Manager Brandon Smith said.
For a brand looking to introduce itself to new consumers in new markets, openness is vital. As a newer brand we are trying to get liquid to lips for as many people as possible to experience our product, and this is a great way to do so, Daniel Dillon said. His advice for other brands weighing whether to sign on: It’s worth the spend. The people attending want to hear your story.
Consumer Takeaway
Between seminars, dozens of brand tables and north of 1,000 guests, Whiskey Washback Atlanta and Chicago were both teaming with whiskey drinkers show up ready to be introduced to something new. The events combined awareness, education, tasting and purchase intent in a single setting. Putting a glass of Off Hours into someone’s hands remains one of the most powerful ways to grow the brand.
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