Pinhook was founded in 2011 when three friends, Sean Josephs, Jay Peterson, and Charles P. Fulford, III, purchased 20 barrels of bourbon from Midwest Grain Products (MGP), brought them to Kentucky to age, and started releasing very small batches of bourbon in 2014. In 2014, Castle & Key began work to restore the old Colonel E.H. Taylor distillery in Frankfort, Kentucky, and began housing barrels, blending and bottling. When Castle & Key’s stills became operational in 2017, Pinhook started distilling their own proprietary mashbills of bourbon and rye. You can now taste the first of this distillate with Pinhook’s latest release, the ‘Rye’d On’ Rye Whiskey.
The history of horse racing in Kentucky, inspires many parts of the Pinhook brand, the first being the name itself. The act of Pinhooking is an old Kentucky term for buying baby thoroughbreds based on their lineage, raising them to maturity, and then selling them when they’re ready to race. Pinhook’s founders immediately drew the parallels that they were pinhooking whiskey by buying young barrels based on their provenance, then blending, bottling and selling the whiskey when it’s ready to drink.
Along with its name, Pinhook pays tribute to horse racing with bottles inspired by the bright colors and geometric patterns of jockey silks. Each batch is also connected to, and named for an up-and-coming and actively racing thoroughbred horse, with beautifully drawn portraits of these horses on every bottle.
Blended and proofed to be different is Pinhook’s mantra and it is evident in their approach. Unlike most American whiskies, which utilize blending and fixed proof to replicate an established flavor profile amongst all batches, Pinhook pulls inspiration from the wine world, to treat each set of barrels as a new vintage. Each vintage is bottled and proofed to express the best whiskey rather than the same whiskey, therefore each batch will taste different than the one before it.
Straight Kentucky | Bourbon - Orange Wax and Rye - Green Wax
Blended for everyday drinking, but at a proof that stands up to dilution in a cocktail or when poured over ice. Non-chill filtered.
High Proof | Bourbon - Magenta Wax and High Proof Rye - Teal Wax
A limited annual release comprised of a small selection of our finest barrels, blended and proofed for whiskey enthusiasts and connoisseurs. Proofs above 105, pinpointed to maximize complex flavor and balanced alcohol integration. Unfiltered.
True Single Barrel | Bourbon - Yellow Wax and Rye -- Light Blue Wax
Our single barrels are selected for individual character to showcase the tremendous variability and uniqueness that exists from barrel to barrel. Bottled at cask strength, every single barrel delivers rich and intense flavors with a balance and harmony that belies proofs averaging 114 and higher. Unfiltered.
Vertical Series | Bourbon - Gold Wax and Rye - Silver Wax
A limited series of nine consecutive annual vintages that follows a single group of MGP barrels (with similar fill dates and identical mashbills) as they mature from 4-12 years of age. Different proofs are set each year to best highlight and express the unique attributes of that vintage’s blend. Non-chill filtered.
