Derek Trucks — ‘Whiskey Rock-a-Roller’

JUICE IS LOOSE: Manager Andy Mendelsohn, promoter Danny Wimmer, Derek Trucks and The Tavern’s Casey McGrath, gathered at the Bourbon & Beyond Festival. (AP Photo)

Tedeschi-Trucks Band guitarist makes most of his time at Bourbon & Beyond Festival

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — Guitar virtuoso and bourbon aficionado Derek Trucks made the most of his primetime slot at the Bourbon & Beyond Festival in Louisville on Sept. 19, performing a blistering set with his Tedeschi Trucks Band and guest jams with other artists.

One day earlier, Derek played an intimate solo gig to coincide with the release of his new branded hard liquor line, dubbed “Ass Pocket Whiskey.” His showcase took place at Ashbourne Farms, about 30 miles northeast of Louisville, where a crowd of special guests and die-hard superfans were treated to tunes, appetizers and a taste of the APW, to which the 200 attendance gave a toast.

Trucks, a whiskey enthusiast, recognizes and appreciates the history behind the brown liquor collective.

“This could not be better for me,” Trucks said ahead of his Friday set at Bourbon & Beyond. “We now have real, lifelong friends here in Louisville and the bourbon community. It’s incredible having everyone here, getting to meet (American Spirit columnist) Fred Minnick, and it was fun seeing the Van Winkle triplets (great-granddaughters of bourbon industry pioneer Pappy Van Winkle) together in one place. This feels historic and important; it’s the perfect place for it.” 

The 233-acre farm has put on semi-private concert performances previously, known as “Showbarn Sessions,” and hosts weddings and other special events alongside its actual agriculture operations, including beef, pork and produce. 

Trucks said the semi-private event, where fan club members could find tickets online for $200, was his first performance without wife Susan Tedeschi in more than 15 years, and the pop-up nature of the show led to spontaneous moments and one broken guitar string on his signature cherry-red Gibson SG. “It was all rental gear, so I was glad it worked out, but maybe it could have sounded 10% to 20% better,” he said with a laugh.  

Trucks, clearly more than a casual bourbon taster, says the concept behind “Ass Pocket Whiskey” was to eschew the tendency to horde, save and sell rare bottles, where the only occasion worthy of unsealing the liquor is if someone dies or gets married. Instead, he encourages the consumption of high-quality “juice.”

That’s why APW is offered in one size, 200ml bottles, or about 6.7 ounces.

At $50 per bottle, all 3,000 bottles initially released sold out before the end of the weekend.  More releases are planned, but only when the time and taste is right.

“We’re going to have some good aged, quality collector-level bourbon,” said Trucks. “It’s a different way to get it to you, in a way that feels like you’re more apt to actually drink the suckers.”

The heritage Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey is a joint venture developed in partnership with consultancy The Tavern and “drinks drop” company Spirits of the Night, which pairs artists with spirits.

To the casual bourbon drinker, the first batch of APW tasted sweet, complex and spicy, although easy to drink straight despite being 100 proof.

“Right now, it’s a startup, but there’s a pathway to a national market,” said Full Stop Management’s Andy Mendelsohn, manager of Trucks and the Tedeschi Trucks Band. He said a whiskey release has long been a goal for Trucks, a bourbon proponent who often attends barrel picks and was already interested in the industry. That credibility goes a long way toward putting a stamp of authenticity on the product.

“If he’s saying the bourbon’s good to drink, it’s going to be good to drink,” Mendelsohn said. “The juice that’s in there now isn’t going to be the juice that’s in the next release. It’s going to always evolve into different partnerships. The idea is that we can become more about the vessel than the juice inside, that everybody’s going to trust the product when something is released, like the way people buy tickets for Jazz Fest.”

Another of Mendelsohn’s clients, rock band Kings of Leon, developed and released their own whiskey in 2022.

While APW was served as part of mixed drinks at Bourbon & Beyond, which featured local and craft cocktails and food, there were legal and practical reasons not to sell the glass bottles onsite. Trucks said the festival platform couldn’t be better for the release or himself personally.

The festival, produced by Danny Wimmer Presents, reported 210,000 total attendees over its four days, with 60,000 in attendance on Saturday, which was headlined by country star Zach Bryan.  It’s the largest festival DWP has produced since the company formed in 2011.

“It’s the perfect situation. All of the things came together at the same time, and partly because of this event,” said Trucks, who took part in multiple panel discussions at the festival. “It’s our maiden voyage here. The lineup here is incredible, and Danny Wimmer’s even a Jacksonville Jaguars fan! This is my Super Bowl, man — or it’s more like Christmas. As a Jaguars fan, I can’t really talk about the Super Bowl,” he said with a laugh.