As a bourbon geek, last night was a thrill. Through a friend of my wife I was able to acquire a bottle of the recent limited release of W B McBrayer bourbon. As it turns out, it came from the great-great grandson of T B Ripy. Based on that he was gracious enough to invite me to the T B Ripy House in Lawrenceburg for one of their continuing bourbon session series. It featured Sherrie Moore, Director of Whiskey Operations at the newly formed Uncle Nearest. The locals refer to South Main Street as “Bourbon Built It”. Seven mansions contained in about three blocks were built by the local whiskey barons in the late 19th century. They are in various state of (dis)repair and Tom Ripy is rich in his knowledge of local history (tbripyhome.com) Tom was able to entice Sherrie to come for an evening of sharing Uncle Nearest and tell his story as the black man that taught Jack Daaniels how to distill. She brought a bottle 1856, 1884 and Master Blend Edition which is only available at the distillery for 129. The bourbon is currently sourced and she confirmed my thoughts as to sourcing but asked me not to share. Sherrie has been in the industry for 35 years, mostly with Jack Daniels where she was involved with the operations. She lamented that the industry today is more focussed on the marketing side and works hard to make sure that the product is ready. It was most interesting to hear her discuss the long term effects of this year's cool damp spring in KY and TN. She has significant concern that the bourbon is not aging as barrel migration and evaporation have been hampered. I loved picking her brain All three samples are about 85% corn with the balance evenly divided between rye and barley. First up was her 1884 product, about six years old. It was very sweet and thin textured. Little fragrance and depth with no finish. Nearest 1856 came through similar to my previous tasting, sweet again and a little more depth (I gave it 2.75) Master Blend was a whole other animal. The three were set up in medicine cups which I hate but the aroma of this one overcame that handicap. It was rich and eticing. Heavy on caramel and molasses with maple in the background. Get your nose real close and smell the rick house. It has a clingy mouth feel, real chewy. Vanilla leads the way evolving to creme custard on the palate with a burnt brown sugar finish that could have been a little longer. The bourbon was good but the event was outstanding.