O.Z. Tyler Distillery and Duke Spirits — a company that crafts bourbon based on celebrity John Wayne’s handwritten recipe notes — celebrated their newfound partnership Wednesday in Owensboro.
Duke Spirits’ Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky, Grand Cru Kentucky Reserve Bourbon and Grand Cru Double Barrel Rye will all be distilled at O.Z. Tyler, and Wednesday’s launch allowed those in attendance to try a variety of cocktails inspired by Wayne’s legacy and mixed with Duke Spirits bourbon and whisky.
Duke Spirits Founder Chris Radomski was present for Wednesday’s gathering and spoke to his years in the industry and how he got started trying to recreate John Wayne’s ideal bourbon out of left-behind notes.
“I’ve been in the industry for 20 years. We started making wines in Napa Valley from scratch,” he said. “To have something like this — to have awesome people come together, to be able to combine one of the great American legends and the bourbon we make with the great history of O.Z. Tyler and the people here — and then to have Runaway June come — it’s really cool.”
Attendees also had the chance to meet and see Runaway June — a female trio nominated for Best New Vocal Group at the 2018 Academy of Country Music Awards — perform several songs onstage during the event. One of the group’s vocalists, Jennifer Wayne, is John Wayne’s granddaughter.
“I am so, so proud to be associated with you, Chris. My grandpa would’ve been really proud of all of the people who do this — and also of the liquor, because he loved to drink,” she said. “But the cool story is, he would leave notes of his favorite whiskeys and bourbons, and so [Duke Spirits] tried to create what would’ve been John Wayne’s perfect bourbon, and I think they’ve done an excellent job.”
Radomski credited O.Z. Tyler Master Distiller Jacob Call for his innovation and hard work in the distilling industry.
“This team here — they’re incredible. And [Call] truly is a master,” Radomski said. “So when I come up here to visit to check on what we’re doing and what’s going, it’s almost anticlimactic because when I get here, it’s all done. I get a list of things I’m looking for, and ‘here it is.’ All the men and women who work here — it’s a well-oil machine.”
