Nice Guys Finish First: Angel’s Envy Leads the Urban Bourbon Renaissance
While Green Day may have brought the idiom ‘nice guys finish last’ to pop-culture relevance in the 1990’s, Angel’s Envy Distillery is proving that nice guys actually finish first, with their pioneering secondary cask “finishing” techniques.
Established in 2010 by the late Master Distiller Lincoln Henderson and his son Wes Henderson, Louisville-based Angel’s Envy was a passion-project that celebrated the family’s profound devotion to and expertise in the industry while taking a modern approach to crafting bourbon.
Whereas other distillers love to gripe about the ‘Angel’s Share’, a cheeky term that describes the loss of liquid volume from barrels during maturation due to evaporation, Angel’s Envy received its namesake after Lincoln Henderson joked that he’d gotten a better deal than the angels with his bourbon.
Despite being a relatively new player in the bourbon industry, in just a few short years, Angel’s Envy has effectively ushered in a new era of urban bourbon making. From the physical location of their distillery to the whiskies they’ve created, this ethos of honouring tradition while cultivating innovation is present in everything they do.
To provide a bit of history for context, Louisville’s rise as Kentucky’s largest city in the 19th century was primarily driven by its strategic location along the Ohio River and the advent of steamboat transportation. The city’s bustling docks facilitated the shipment of various goods, including hemp, corn, and livestock, to destinations up and down the Ohio River and even to the Mississippi River ports. Additionally, Kentucky’s surplus grains, such as corn and barley, fueled the growth of the distillery industry, particularly the production of bourbon whiskey.
Distillers transported their products to Louisville for sale and warehousing, contributing to the city’s reputation as a leading producer of distilled spirits. Main Street, known as “Whiskey Row,” became a hub for whiskey-related businesses by the 1840s. However, these distillery-related businesses closed during Prohibition.
It wasn’t until 2016 that whiskey was brought back to “Whiskey Row” thanks to Angel’s Envy opening the first full production whiskey distillery on Main Street since Prohibition. Naturally, other distilleries follow suit. Evan Williams, Michter’s Distillery, Old Forester and Buzzard’s Roost have all opened locations since Angel’s Envy’s debut as well as the Frazier Kentucky Historic Museum. Opened in 2018, the museum now serves as the official starting point for the Kentucky Bourbon Trail (and might we add, it has the most bourbon-stocked gift shop we’ve ever seen). Needless to say, this newly revitalized, distillery-rich district attracts countless visitors, so much so that Angel’s Envy underwent a 13,000 square foot renovation (which opened in June 2022) just to accommodate an additional 64,000 visitors each year.
But back to this idea of finishing whiskey. Finishing has been a common technique in the world of scotch over the last few decades and describes a technique where whisky is matured and then put into a second barrel for a short duration to impart additional flavour. This technique had yet to become mainstream by American Whiskey producers until Angel’s Envy entered the scene.
Perhaps it’s because distilleries were interpreting the rules too literally. Looking at the US Code of Federal Regulations, for a whisky to be considered a ‘bourbon’ it must be made in the USA, with at least 51 percent corn and aged in brand new charred oak containers (among other requirements).
Angel’s Envy saw opportunity after realizing that the bourbon rules don’t specify that it can only be aged in brand new charred oak. Why not age it first in these new charred oak barrels, and in something else afterwards? That’s precisely what they’ve been doing since inception.
Their core product, Angel’s Envy Kentucky Straight Bourbon, uses a classic mash bill of 72 percent corn, 18 percent rye, and 10 percent malted barley, which is double distilled and then matured in those brand new charred oak barrels. They then place the bourbon in ruby-red port wine barrels to impart additional layers of flavour including raisinated dark fruits, nuts, and cocoa.
Somehow, they’ve been able to balance creating a bourbon that’s both distinctive and incredibly versatile. Drink it neat, pair it with an Orange Chemier chocolate, or try it in a Manhattan; there are countless ways to experience this bourbon which is widely available across Canada, and all of them are delicious. That being said, the best way to experience it, of course, is at the distillery in Louisville.
For those who venture to the distillery, not only is there a chance of running into Angel Teta — the award-winning tenured National Guardian of Advocacy and Brand Culture (and yes, her name is actually Angel) — but there’s a high likelihood you’ll also get to experience their rum-cask finished Rye, which is worth travelling for.
