VERSAILLES, Ky. (LEX 18) — If you're familiar with the Order of the Writ, it's almost like an honor society of the bourbon industry.
It embraces the spirit of bourbon, and once again, the University of Kentucky is playing a role in this special batch.
"That all comes from this crop and it's just such a nice thought and a nice way to reflect on agriculture as being the reason that we came up with bourbon in the first place," said Seth DeBolt, the director of the James B. Beam Institute for Kentucky Spirits.
Chad Lee with UK helps monitor the crop and says it's also an opportunity for undergraduate students to learn and participate.
"The Order of the Writ is an organization or membership of some of the very elite distilleries and master distillers in the state of Kentucky," Lee said.
The order plants a crop every year and UK has had this honor.
"Now we're honoring that legacy and continuing to study how to best utilize our natural resources in Kentucky," said Chris Morris, Master Distiller Emeritus for Woodford Reserve.
Morris adds this helps build a great inventory of some of the most unique whiskeys across the globe.
Each year, one of the membership distilleries is taking corn that was grown here in Kentucky and putting it into a very special batch of bourbon," Lee said.
While there's competition on the shelves when it comes to labels, leaders say there's a common appreciation for the crop heavily rooted in bourbon and Kentucky.
"There's nothing but sharing and collaboration outside of that," DeBolt said.
This bourbon is not available for purchase. Instead, it is given to select members of the Order of the Writ.
