FRANKFORT, Ky. — When you think about Kentucky, you probably think about the Derby, basketball, and of course bourbon.
The liquor dates to the 1700s and 95% of the world's bourbon is produced in the Bluegrass.
It may not be a shock to learn the world's youngest master blender lives and works in Kentucky.
"What I do for my position is take samples from each barrel, kind of smell, taste them a little bit, and then I'll start combining things," Logan Bechanan said.
At only 24 years old, he's the world's youngest master blender.
The company he works for, Vincero Spirits, is partners with Whiskey Thief Distilling in Frankfort. That's where he mixes, tastes, and creates many of his favorite bourbons.
He's a fifth generation Kentuckian with deep love for his home state, but perhaps an even deeper love for bourbon.
"I really started researching the spirits industry, researching barrels, mash bills, and bourbon," he said.
Bechanan attended the University of Kentucky's James B. Beam Institute where he took a wine tasting class to expand his palette.
"The wine tasting class allowed me to pick up on a lot of those subtleties that usually aren't found in bourbon," he said.
He also picks up on certain tastes that others might miss. Bechanan’s job doesn't stop at creating that perfect blend. He feels a responsibility to get rid of the stigma which suggests bourbon is an "old man's drink."
To do that, Bechanan suggested different options than the cask strength or 80 proof bottles you’d find at the store and to explore other options like wine or rum barrel finishes.
One might wonder the difference between master distiller and master blender.
Simply put, the distiller handles production of the product, like mastering the grains or distilling the bourbon until it gets put in the barrel.
However, the blender, "We're looking at them in the warehouse to see how they're aging and coming along, and then at the end of the entire process putting them together and really evaluating what's in the barrels each unique expression," Bechanan said.
Bechanan and Vincero Spirits will be at this weekend's bourbon festival in Bardstown, Kentucky.
They will be one more than 60 booths at the festival.
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