In the middle of the covid-19 pandemic, a homesick Cara Blaize Osborne decided to compose a love letter to her native state and so a bourbon brand was born.
Blaize & Brooks' Homesick, a Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey, is now available in Arkansas and Kentucky and can be purchased in 31 other states though online channels. The 50% ABV, 100 proof spirit has a mash bill of 75% corn, 21% rye and 4% malt. Prices for the product vary but it retails from around $85 to $100 a bottle.
Osborne holds a doctorate in public health and is a trained nurse midwife. A serial entrepreneur, she teaches entrepreneurship at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
In her UA classes, Osborne used a hypothetical bourbon company as a case study to teach a variety of aspects of business building. During the pandemic she longed for home but couldn't visit so she decided to do the next best thing, turn her business concept into a reality.
"I got deeply homesick," Osborne said.
Blaize & Brooks is a self-financed venture and is based in Healing Springs, west of Lowell and in the vicinity of Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport. The landscape in Healing Springs is reminiscent of Kentucky and evokes feelings of home, Osborne said.
The bourbon is sourced from Kentucky distilleries and blended by Ashley Barnes, master blender with Louisville-based The Spirit Group LLC. To qualify as bourbon, whiskey must be made up of more than 51% corn and Osborne said they wanted more rye in the blend and less wheat.
She said the target was a bourbon with a less smokey and oaky flavor. The result was Homesick, with notes of citrus and vanilla that finishes with a great "Kentucky Hug" -- the warm sensation in the upper body after sipping whiskey.
"We picked 15 barrels that played well together," Osborne explained.
The whiskey and bourbon distilleries industry in the United States experienced substantial growth from the past five years to 2021, according to market research company IBIS World. Its report noted a rise in disposable income resulted in more consumers trying higher priced brands for the five year period. Annual revenue was up 6.1% to $4.8 billion, despite the impact of covid-19. IBIS World predicts slower but steady growth for the next five years, anticipating an annual revenue increase of 3.1% to $5.6 billion by 2026.
There are 11 licensed distilleries on Arkansas scattered around the state, according to information from the Alcoholic Beverage Control division of the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration.
According to the Kentucky Distillers' Association website, Kentucky is the birthplace of bourbon and the state produces 95% of the world's supply. The industry creates more than 20,100 jobs in the state with an annual payroll of more than $1 billion.
Homesick was introduced on Kentucky Derby Day and that's when it faced its greatest test -- being sampled by Osborne's family. Happily, it passed muster.
"They would have told me if it was bad," she said mater-of-factly.
Osborne said Homesick has been well received in Arkansas and is available in liquor stores and select bars throughout the state but primarily in Northwest Arkansas and the Little Rock area. It's distributed in Arkansas by Fayetteville-based Natural State Distributing. It's also been gaining traction in Kentucky, she said, where sales are brisk.
"My uncles can't be drinking it all," Osborne said with a chuckle.
Plans are underway for a second offering called The Butcher Rose, a single-barrel bourbon named after Osborne's soon-to-open B&B venture in the Butchertown Neighborhood of Louisville, Ky. It's expected to hit shelves and bars in the spring.
Cara Blaize Osborne pours a glass of Blaize & Brooks bourbon Tuesday Dec. 7, 2021 at a Fayetteville restaurant. Osborne teaches entrepreneurship at the University of Arkansas. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.T. Wampler)