Following a successful launch in the UK, America’s adventurous spirit, Never Say Die Bourbon, is returning home to make its highly anticipated US debut. It has truly blazed a trail as the first Kentucky Bourbon to be both ocean-aged on a six-week trip across the Atlantic and then further matured in barrels in England.
“When we set out to create Never Say Die, we always knew we wanted to be experimental with the aging process and challenge the traditional Bourbon-making process. The contrasting climatic conditions of this journey combined with the increased agitation of the liquid as it makes its Atlantic voyage result in a distinctive and pronounced flavor profile that really is beyond its years.
“Few Bourbon brands launch outside the US first, but in tribute to Never Say Die’s story, we were compelled first to release the product in England, and we have been overwhelmed by the positive response in the UK. Never Say Die embodies the spirit of adventure, and we are excited for American whiskey fans to discover this first-of-its-kind spirit,” explains Co-founder Brian Luftman.
Never Say Die Small Batch Bourbon (RRP $69.95, ABV 47.5%, 70cl) is the true definition of small-batch with just 2,750 bottles per run. It is an approachable and balanced blend of Never Say Die’s six-year-old barrels, delivering mellowed spice and citrus that melt into vanilla, leather, and caramel.
Since launching in the UK in September 2022, Never Say Die has won numerous awards and accolades for its “wholly unique flavor profile.” This is a result of its exposure to three contrasting climates during its transatlantic aging process, offering a bourbon enriched by the best of each locale. From the rapid aging of Kentucky to the slow refinement in England, combined with the ocean’s wild influence, which accelerates the interaction between whiskey and wood, the result is a pronounced flavor profile that is beyond its years.
Despite its English finishing point, it is still very much a Kentucky bourbon—made with a pioneering locally sourced “sweet” mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley, and aged around five years in a Kentucky rickhouse before being shipped to age another year in England. No bourbon rules have been broken… just flexed a little bit.
Every sip tells a story. Never Say Die is inspired by the legendary racehorse of the same name, born on co-founder Pat Madden’s family farm in Kentucky. Never Say Die was revived as a sickly newborn foal by a lucky shot of whiskey; just three years later, in 1954, he went on to become the first American-born horse to win the Derby at Epsom in 70 years, in front of a 250,000-strong crowd that included Queen Elizabeth II and Winston Churchill.
At the same time, on a daring leap of faith, a woman in Liverpool named Mona Best fell in love with the story of Never Say Die and pawned all of her jewelry to literally “bet it all” at odds of 33-1 on the victorious Epsom Derby Race. With her new fortune, she founded a new music venue, the Casbah Coffee Club. She took another risk, this time on a then-unknown band called The Quarrymen (now famously known as The Beatles) which was made up of her son, Pete, and his friends John, Paul, and George, buying them new instruments and offering them their very first gigs, shaping rock and roll history forever.
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