The form. The function. The precision that goes into every bottle. When Jim Hand was looking to take his love of bourdon to a new level, he decided to co-found his own brand. With Hand Barrel Bourbon, Hand and his team have crafted a bourdon where each pour is pure perfection.
And if the bourdon is perfect, the presentation is next level. Incorporating a richly colored glass and cap hand-dipped in wax, the Hand Barrel bottles are specifically designed to shroud the whiskey from damaging UV light.
From barrel to bottle, Hand Barrel was created to deliver a whiskey experience unlike any other, i.e., the vessel it comes in is a contemporary take on a centuries-old American pastime that not only looks good, but protects the content inside.
We sat down with Hand for a peek into what’s helping the Hand Barrel brand catch on with today’s craft spirit lovers.
Give us a snapshot of today’s craft spirits market from your perspective.
The craft space is always in flux. Companies are trying to find an edge in our slice of the market. To compete with the “big dogs” we need to spend extra careful attention on all aspects of our process to ensure we’re producing a consistent and memorable experience for our customers to share with their peers.
In addition to this, similar to the craft beer boom, many craft spirit companies are experimenting with crazy ABV whiskeys, strange mash bills, and interesting flavor add-ins.
What trends to see happening heading into 2024?
The craft space is always changing with tons of “experimental” products hitting the market every year. The biggest trend that we’ve seen is “finishing.” In our space, this typically looks like introducing your bourbon to a new cask somewhere in the neighborhood of one to six months. This can be with another new American oak cask, like our Double Oak or with any number of exotic woods from around the world, giving them an interesting flavor boost.
What’s your story from a brand perspective?
The way Hand Barrel came to be was a bit backward from many brands. Since many consumers buy with their eyes, we focused on creating a truly eye-catching and iconic bottle that our customers will display proudly in their homes. Our eco-friendly printing technology allows us to print onto glass vessels and create something that can be appealing to anyone. Following this, we scoured the state of Kentucky for a partner that could help us grow.
After many distillery tours, we finally happened onto Bardstown Bourbon Company, and the decision was made for us. BBC has incredible state-of-the-art facilities and an eagle-eye for detail that makes them an easy group to work with.
Today we’re focused on putting the absolute best bourbon into the best-looking bottles on the market. Unlike many brands that want their consumer to relate to their product—we want to relate our product to the consumer
Walk us through your branding strategy.
Our strategy is to be the bourbon you pick up when you’re looking for something different. We have three eye-catching bottles that utilize our 64-24-12 mash bill in three very different ways, which is not very common in the market and we think is really cool. In addition, as we grow, we will continue to release more and more special edition one-off runs that appeal to many affinity groups around the country.
“The way Hand Barrel came to be was a bit backward from many brands. Since many consumers buy with their eyes, we focused on creating a truly eye-catching and iconic bottle that our customers will display proudly in their homes.”
Talk a little about your work with the Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF). How did the special bourbon come together?
It started a little over a year ago. As we “got on our feet” as a brand, we wanted to figure out a way to give back to those in need. Since our team has friends and family in the armed forces, and my brother is a disabled Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) veteran, I was adamant about finding a veteran charity partner for our inaugural special edition bottle.
We floated this idea to our partners at Bardstown Bourbon Company, and their CEO (also a JSOC veteran) pointed us to SOWF, which he currently works with. Their cause really resonated with us. As we continue to grow as a company, we will look for other ways to give back to worthy causes around the country.
What’s the biggest issue today related to the marketing/sales side of the business?
As a new brand, saying that we have limited resources is a bit of an understatement. Many other brands in our space are spun up by a group of people that have much deeper pockets than us and the ability to spend on marketing from their vast cash reserves.
Right now, we’re just three guys who were able to secure a little bit of money and are bootstrapping this brand to the best of our ability. New-customer acquisition is an expensive game, so we need to figure out ways to market our product at the lowest cost possible (i.e. custom bottles, etc.), and really key in on higher ROI events, programs and activities.
What’s the secret to creating a branding story that consumers can buy into?
Honestly, it is the best policy. Many new brands intentionally withhold where they’re getting their whiskey from, stretching the truth of their story, trying to exaggerate their size. We are very open about our partners, who we are, and how we got started in the business and it resonates with our customers. There are only so many brands that can find a 1,000 year old recipe in their grandmother’s basement.
How does your taproom space integrate into your branding/marketing strategies?
Currently, we have no physical facility to call our own. We are featured at Bardstown Bourbon Companies bar and gift shop. It’s a great place to showcase our brand to new customers, as they can see the type of facility we come from.
What’s the one thing every craft spirit brand should be doing in the way of marketing?
I think just being as open and honest as legally possible about what you’re bringing to market. There are situations that don’t allow for transparency due to NDAs, but customers really want to know exactly what they’re getting.
What do you see as some of your biggest opportunities moving ahead?
Again, I think for us, it’s the ability to change the look of our bottle. Right now, we’re in conversation with a few NCAA schools to do limited-release bottles for them as well as a few other organizations that want to create something unique and cool for their followers.
What’s the biggest item on your to-do list right now?
Easy, sell more bourbon. This is a wildly competitive space, and keeping our product in front of consumers is the only way we get to keep living the dream.
Sitting down with…Hand Barrel Bourbon’s Jim Hand
What’s the most rewarding part of your job?
It’s easy to see our product “out in the wild.” Walking into a store you’ve never been to before and seeing them have our product in a prime location. It gives you a real “we made it” feeling.
What was the best advice you ever received?
You won’t last as a bourbon brand without good bourbon
What’s the best thing a customer ever said to you?
My favorite interactions are when the skeptics are proven wrong. Many people see our bottle and think, “Well, if the bottle looks this good, there’s no way the whiskey is any good.” There’s nothing like seeing someone’s expression change after trying some Hand Barrel and saying, “Wait, this is really good.”
Interview by Michael J. Pallerino
Michael J. Pallerino is an award-winning writer and editor. Along with producing a number of business, news and sports stories for a number of local and national publications, he has executed a number of content strategy initiatives across myriad communication channels. Over the past 30-plus years, he has won numerous awards, including the Jesse H. Neal Editorial Achievement Award, recognized as the Pulitzer Prize for business-to-business magazines. As an editor in the sports product industry, his monthly columns generated national attention from USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, ESPN Magazine, Sports Business Journal and BusinessWeek, among others. One of the magazines he co-founded, SportingKid, serves as the official publication of the National Alliance for Youth Sports (NAYS). He also served as a communications specialist for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, working closely with the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) during the 1996 Olympic Games.