This pioneering pair of whiskies are distilled and aged for 5+ years in Kentucky, before embarking on a 6 week ocean voyage to England where it matures for a further year.
Never Say Die has truly blazed a trail as the first Kentucky Straight Bourbon to undergo a transatlantic aging journey, maturing on a six-week voyage across the Atlantic before further maturation in its original barrels in England for a further year.
The contrasting climatic conditions of this journey combined with the increased agitation of the liquid as it makes its maritime voyage, results in the spirit’s distinctive and pronounced flavour profile that is beyond its years and it has garnered multiple gold awards and accolades, including Double Gold at prestigious San Francisco Spirit Awards and Gold at the ISC.
It is a traditional Kentucky Bourbon made with a high rye mash bill and limestone-filtered water rich in minerals from the deepest aquifer in Kentucky.
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. The ‘easy sipper’ 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.
Never Say Die Rye Whiskey (RRP $84.95, ABV 52.5%, 70cl) is made using a proprietary ‘sweet mash’ which results in a smoother, more flavorful spiced whiskey. Heated spices are layered with rich butterscotch and honeycomb with a herbaceous finish and lingering notes of invigorating mint. It was recently awarded Double Gold and 97 points at the prestigious San Francisco awards
Despite its English finishing point Never Say Die 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.
Never Say Die’s unique trans-Atlantic aging process follows in the hoofsteps of the legendary Kentucky-born racehorse that was saved at birth by a lucky shot of Bourbon and then went on to win the Epsom Debry at odds of 33-1, triggering a sequence of events that led to the formation of The Beatles. (Full details in Notes to Editors)
Co-founder Brian Luftman says:
“More than anything, Never Say Die is a labor of love, driven by our ambition to create interesting and never seen before whiskeys. The contrasting climatic conditions during this journey, coupled with the liquid getting a good shake-up as it crosses the Atlantic, really gives our whiskey a flavor that’s way beyond its years
“We take pride in custom-producing all our barrels and despite its English finishing point, it is still very much a Kentucky bourbon—made using a “sweet mash” process with a pioneering, locally sourced mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye, and 4% malted barley, and aged around five years in a Kentucky rickhouse before being shipped to the White Peak Distillery in England for further aging and maturation.
Never Say Die Bourbon will be available in Kentucky, Illinois, Washington, California, and can be ordered nationwide from Seelbachs. For more information, please visit: https://neversaydiebourbon.com/ or @neversaydiebourbon
About Never Say Die
Never Say Die has truly blazed a trail and is the first time that a US Bourbon distilled in Kentucky has been ocean-aged on a six-week trip across the Atlantic, then finally matured in barrels in the Derbyshire peaks to give it a distinct British finish.
The idea for Never Say Die was born at the Kentucky Derby when old friends David Wild and Pat Madden were talking about racing, and Pat told the story of Never Say Die, the horse that was born at Hamburg Place, his family’s farm. After a few mint juleps, they decided to build a team and create a premium bourbon that would travel as a world’s first, in barrels, to the UK to be further matured and bottled, following in the hoofsteps of its namesake, Never Say Die – the first American racehorse to win an English derby in 70 years. In 2017, Pat and David founded Never Say Die Bourbon alongside Brian Luftman, Shane Baker, Pat Heist, Martha Dalton, and Fran O’Leary.
Fast-forward five years, and the first batch of Never Say Die Bourbon made its maiden voyage from Kentucky to Derbyshire’s White Peak Distillery, landing on English shores in July 2022. Never Say Die is produced using proprietary mash bills and yeast strains at a partner distillery 30 miles south of Lexington. It is made using only the finest ingredients, with a custom mash bill designed to highlight the essence of the small grains with consistency, using local seed-grade grains. It is cut with mineral-rich, Mesozoic Era limestone-filtered water sourced from the deepest aquifer in Kentucky and then added to virgin American Oak barrels and matured for up to seven years in Kentucky before embarking on the final leg of its journey across the ocean to the White Peaks Distillery in Derbyshire to finish.
Awards
Never Say Die Barrel Strength: DBSB Spring Tasting 2023 (Master)
Never Say Die Barrel Strength: American Masters 2023 (Gold)
Never Say Die Barrel Strength: Luxury Masters 2023 (Gold)
Never Say Die Small Batch: American Masters 2023 (Gold)
Never Say Die Small Batch: DBSB Autumn Tasting 2023 (Gold)
Never Say Die Small Batch: Luxury Masters 2023 (Gold)
Never Say Die Rye Whiskey: DBSB Spring Tasting 2024 (Master)
Never Say Die Rye Whiskey: San Francisco Spirit Awards (Double Gold)
Never Say Die Small Batch: San Francisco Spirit Awards (Silver)
The story of Never Say Die (the racehorse)
In 1951, on Hamburg Farm in Lexington, KY, a foal had a rough birth, and its life was in danger due to poor breathing. Legendary horseman John A. Bell III was on site and poured a shot of whiskey down the throat of the struggling foal. During the night, the young horse made a dramatic recovery and was aptly named Never Say Die.
Three years later, after experiencing some success in England, Never Say Die was entered into the biggest race in the world, the 175th running of the Derby Stakes at Epsom Downs (aka the Epsom Derby). In front of an incredible 250K spectators, including Queen Elizabeth II and Sir Winston Churchill, Never Say Die, at 33-1 odds, beat out 22 other horses to become the first American-born horse to win the race in over 70 years.
Meanwhile, on the other side of England, a woman in Liverpool named Mona Best had fallen in love with the name and story of Never Say Die. On a daring leap of faith, she pawned all of her jewelry to bet on Never Say Die. With her new fortune, she purchased a historic Victorian home in Liverpool to transform it into a music venue. The basement was a low-key stage for up-and-coming musicians called the Casbah Coffee Club.
The opening night of the Casbah Coffee Club featured a band called The Quarrymen. The band members, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison, were each paid 3 pounds for a recurring weekly gig. The Quarrymen hired Mona Best’s son, Peter Best, to be their next full-time drummer (he was eventually replaced by Ringo Starr).
Rock and roll history was forever changed by a band’s humble beginnings in the Casbah Coffee Club and the shocking upset victory of Never Say Die, a horse who may have never run a race without that fateful sip of whiskey on that cold Kentucky night.
