New ‘infused’ Kentucky bourbon is like a cocktail in a bottle but with a punch
A new release hopes to fill the space between flavored whiskeys and straight bourbon.
Five Springs Bourbon, a new brand, has released “infused bourbons” that are bridging that gap in three tasty ways: Honey Sage, Vanilla Maple, and Blood Orange.
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The brainchild of spirits industry veteran Lisa Sawyer Derman, Five Springs Bourbon launched in June in Kentucky and New Jersey with a suggested retail price of $34.99 a bottle. It’s also available online from Reservebar.com in states that allow alcohol shipping.
Derman, a Kentucky native, went to the University of Kentucky then law school before starting her career in spirits laws. She eventually moved to the commercial side of the business, working with top brands like Stoli. She ran the North American and Canada operation for Macallan Scotch before going out on her own and launching her own Front Porch Spirits company in 2023.
“I had always had an itch to have my own brand,” Derman said. “Now I had the time and the opportunity.”
What makes Five Springs different
Her kids were all in their 20s, “and I saw them graduating from Fireball shots to wanting something more sophisticated,” she said. They gravitated toward classic bourbon cocktails such as the Old Fashioned and the Paper Plane.
“Bourbon was a natural thing for them. We started making infusions at home for cocktails and saw it as an opportunity to embrace something between Fireball and those not ready for bourbon on the rocks,” she said.
Although Derman won’t reveal the process, Five Springs is made with Kentucky bourbon, infused with natural flavors, she said.
It’s made with premium bourbon sourced from an undisclosed distillery, aged, blended and bottled in Bardstown, Ky., according to the company.
“We take barrel strength bourbon, about 120 proof, with a high-rye mashbill, cut it with Bardstown springwater and do the blending and infusing there,” Derman said. It’s bottled at 70 proof, which gives the bourbon plenty of room to come through.
“You still get the bourbon-forward profile. You feel like you’re drinking a bourbon cocktail, not a liqueur or a flavored whiskey,” Derman said.
The flavors are based on what her family was doing in their kitchen. “We spent over a year developing the flavors,” she said. “I had worked with some others, and I really want to do something with blackberry, but after a lot of testing these three were the crowd-pleasers.”
Cocktails and Five Springs Infused Bourbon
So far, she said, the top seller has been Blood Orange, a hit in a spritz made with Aperol, lemon juice and club soda.
The Honey Sage is perfect for the Paper Plane, with Aperol, Amaro and lemon juice, or Kentucky Mules, with ginger beer and lime juice.
This fall, the Vanilla Maple Espresso Martini could move to the fore.
While the target audience has been introductory bourbon drinkers, Derman said that purists are enjoying the releases as well.
“Even our friends who are bourbon purists really enjoy it because it makes it easy to enjoy an Old Fashioned at home, just add bitters,” she said.
And she said a local Mexican restaurant has been doing brisk business with a Mexican Old Fashioned adding a little spice to the Blood Orange, she said.
If you’re interested in trying Five Springs Infused Bourbon, they will be at Bourbon & Belonging in October as well as on cocktail menus in several Kentucky bourbon bars.
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