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Bourbon tastings, Curator, Kentucky tours, Certifications
Exclusive bourbon tastings & narration
Become the most popular person in your circles when you ask
The Bourbon Whisperer to co-host a tasting of top shelf, limited release or impossible-to-find bourbon for your closest friends or best clients. Rod narrates events of all sizes, from intimate "Party of 8" dinners to formal, seated affairs for 100+ attendees. Discover the updated alternative to the typical "steak dinner evening". Throw an event your friends and colleagues will be talking about for years.
Fundraiser Events
Combine an educational bourbon tasting with an auction element, live or silent, culminating in a very successful fundraising effort for your organization and an event to remember. This option has become an extremely popular request, and The Bourbon Whisperer can assist in event planning as much or as limited as desired. He recently conducted a catered, seated tasting/ auction event for 130 participants, having secured everything from event venue and catering to custom etched souvenir glassware and gifts.
Become a Certified Bourbon Steward or Add vintage bottles to your collection
Rod is an Executive Bourbon Steward and a lifetime member of the Stave & Thief Society of Louisville, Kentucky. He is certified to lead classes for individuals wishing to become Certified Bourbon Stewards. The class can take the form of an epic, customized tasting event.
He also utilizes his vast bourbon network to help enthusiasts (or their wonderfully-devoted spouses or friends) locate specific vintage bottles for their private collections.
All Things Bourbon...
On-premise staff training, retail curation & special events
What if your entire bar staff were Certified Bourbon Stewards?
Rod is asked by restauranteurs for two things: Train their bar staff to become Certified Bourbon Stewards, and help expand their retail bourbon offerings with the development of unique bottle collections, both of which are certain to increase sales and customer loyalty.
Certification helps service staff increase sales, expand their knowledge of product lines, learn anecdotal industry history to share with customers and identify tasting notes.
Generate excitement with your barrel picks
There's a big difference between a "store pick" where the distributor sends a few bourbon samples for a store owner to choose, versus a hand-selected, "barrel pick" from personal tastings conducted at the distillery. Store owners with limited process knowledge or no time to travel to Kentucky ask Rod to either accompany them or go in their place, using his trained palate to choose outstanding barrels with knowledgeable distillery staff members. Rod also joins bourbon clubs in their distillery sojourns to lend his expertise and assist in identifying true "honey barrels" for their picks.
Rare Bottles & Special gifts
Laser-engraved messages or corporate logos on cases of "Barrel Select" bottles? Wooden gift boxes or custom glassware? Be it holiday gifts by the dozens, or one-off rare collectible bottles to celebrate the closing of a special deal, Rod can locate and acquire memorable bourbon-related items which will leave a lasting, positive impression.
Kentucky Bourbon Trail V.I.P. Tours...
Recent V.I.P. client feedback
"What a trip!! Thank you for the "Bucket List" bourbon tour. What a phenomenal experience! You exceeded every expectation, from the well-planned route to the distillery stops and introductions (both people and whiskeys). We will never forget this trip, the bourbons tasted and wonderful folks we met, yourself included. We are extremely grateful you took the reins and made it such a brilliant affair. We most appreciate your unsurpassed knowledge of not only the drink itself, but also the histories behind each sip. I hope we get to meet up again soon. Thanks again, Rod!" -Jake & Kristen S. / Dallas ,TX
Save time and create more fun
Instead of loading into a slow-moving tour bus with 50 of your "new closest friends" and making only two stops a day, why not customize your trip and travel swiftly with an expert? We'll plan the routing to include not only all of your favorite distilleries (and our favored exclusive retail stops), but V.I.P opportunities to meet with Master Distillers and owners. Come away with a series of one-of-a-kind experiences and stories to last a lifetime.
"If you know, you know"
Fun and often elegant lodging accommodations off the beaten path; hidden speakeasies; behind the scenes tours of ancient bourbon historic locations. The kind of experiences which make the difference between just being a tourist or arriving as a guest and leaving as a friend. We'll show you Bourbon Country at its finest and most entertaining.
Meet Rod Arnold, "The Bourbon Whisperer"
A highly-regarded search industry executive for three decades, Rod increasingly found himself involved in "all things bourbon" as his personal hobby became part of a nationwide obsession shared by thousands of enthusiasts and new converts. His vast product knowledge is sought out by retailers, restauranteurs, chefs, spirits industry representatives and casual enthusiasts alike. He is a certified Executive Bourbon Steward, a lifetime member of the Stave & Thief Society of Louisville, and currently serves as the president of the Atlanta Bourbon Cartel.
