BARDSTOWN, Ky. (LEX 18) — Logan Bechanen has a job many Kentuckians would consider their dream gig.
"It's hard to say I have a bad day at work when I get to come in and do this," he told LEX 18.
At just 24 years old, the Nicholas County native is now the world's youngest master blender, working for Vincero Spirits.
"I don't distill the bourbon, I don't mash the grains, I don't do all that part of the process," he said. "I'm more on the barrel management side of things, so keeping track of aging, warehousing, and then at the end of it all, tasting everything, seeing which barrels were good and which flavors fit together."
Bechanen is a 2022 graduate of the University of Kentucky. He studied distilling at the James B. Beam Institute.
"It all kind of clicked and made me realize I could combine all my interests into one and pursue something I was very passionate about," he said.
Now, he's using his skills and tastebuds to move the bourbon industry forward.
"There's this thought throughout the industry and the United States that bourbon is an old man's drink, something your dad or granddad would drink," he said. "But like you said, trying to make it approachable, trying to make it something those younger generations would be interested in."
Who better to do that than a fifth-generation Kentuckian born in the 21st century?
"I feel very privileged to have it, because it's something not a lot of people are trusted with," Bechanen said. "But it means someone trusted my palette enough and my judgement enough to put me in this position, and especially in my home state of Kentucky, it means the world to me."
You can find Vincero Spirits and dozens of other bourbons at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, happening this weekend in Bardstown. Their bourbons include The Bond and The Bond: Eternal.
