As a Kentucky native, Alex Castle knew she wanted to work in beverage alcohol before most—bourbon is culturally important in the state, and she wanted to play a part in its continued tradition and evolution. She learned the ropes on pot stills at Alltech and a high-throughput continuous still at Wild Turkey before building out and launching Old Dominick in Memphis. But her return to Kentucky to helm Augusta Distillery and the Buckner’s brand has ushered in a new chapter of both learning and sharing, as she stashes away barrels of their own distillate for future releases while sourcing older barrels from fellow Kentucky distilleries for limited single-barrel releases.

In this episode, Castle and host Sydney Jones discuss:

learning the ropes at Town Branch Bourbon and Wild Turkey before building out and launching Old Dominick in Memphis
building out Augusta Distillery in a historic Kentucky building
the challenges in distillery processes that use Kentucky groundwater
building a flavor through-line in aged sourced-bourbon releases
barrel rotation as a means of balancing stock for intended age-statement releases
the impact of rye on bourbon flavors
how location can impact barrel maturation
weathering the current spirits-market slowdown

And more.

G&D Chillers: G&D Chillers understands that each distillery’s chilling requirements are unique. On every distillery project, G&D offers the front-end design and engineering your team needs at no cost to you. Hank Pressley, head distiller at Moon Drop Distillery says, “Early on, we made a decision to partner with quality American-made companies. One of those companies was G&D Chillers, and we are proud of that choice. Our equipment from them has run long and strong. We put our first barrel in our rickhouse in September 2021, and in the next 3 years we have put back more than another 540 barrels. What a great decision to team up with a company like G&D Chillers.” Reach out for a quote today at gdchillers.com.

42: Alex Castle of Augusta Distillery Embraces New Challenges in Old Bourbon

Spirits & Distilling Podcast