Old Forester Alum Jackie Zykan’s Hidden Barn Brand Announces It Has Been Acquired, Celebrates With Oldest Whiskey Yet
(Photo: Hidden Barn)
Hidden Barn, a non-distilling producer founded in the hills of Kentucky, announced on Thursday that it has been acquired not even two years after being co-founded by former Old Forester Master Taster Jackie Zykan, alongside Royce Neeley of Neeley Family Distillery and Nate Winegar and Matt Dankner, from Denver’s 5280 Whiskey Society.
Neeley is the one acquiring the company, and Hidden Barn assures fans its liquid will continue to be crafted by Zykan, who is well respected in the industry
To mark the acquisition, Zykan unveiled Hidden Barn’s oldest bourbon yet, a double-barreled, 7-year expression. Distilled from a mashbill of 70% corn, 20% rye and 10% malted barley, the bourbon was aged for five years in open-air-seasoned barrels before being finished for an additional two years in new charred French Oak. The limited drop pays homage to its 7-year age statement with a release date of July 7 — 7/7.
Taking advantage of her brand’s acquisition, Zykan chose just five barrels from Neeley’s collection to make up Hidden Barn’s latest expression.
“It’s actually more difficult to create a blend with fewer barrels than one might think,” Zykan remarked in a news release. “People think starting with a smaller base is easier, since there are less flavor components in play, but it’s actually harder. With big batches, it’s easier to achieve consistency and camouflage outlying components. But with a smaller batch, such as this with only five barrels, everything has to be intentionally incorporated because any disconnect will show up immediately.”
On the palate, Hidden Barn says you can flavors of overripe blackberry, red currant and crème brûlée, coupled with an allspice and banana bread-tinged finish. Bottled at a cask-strength 109.4 proof, Hidden Barn 7 Year will be made available online at a suggested retail price of $79.99.
Hidden Barn was brought to market in 2022, less than a month after Zykan stepped down from Old Forester. The imprint was founded alongside Neeley and Nate Winegar of Colorado’s 5280 Whiskey Society, the former of which now runs Hidden Barn through his Neeley Family Distillery.
In addition to Hidden Barn, the Neeley Family Distillery oversees The Old Jett Brothers, Old Pap Neeley’s Reserve and Southern Dew Moonshine. Though the distillery has been operating for decades, it wasn’t until 2015 that 10th-generation distiller Roy Neeley (not to be confused with eleventh-generation Royce Neeley) transitioned the business from an illegal bootlegger to an above-the-board operation.
“We’re excited to continue partnering with Jackie on Hidden Barn and to release what is ironically, her seventh blend of Hidden Barn Bourbon. Jackie has access to all my inventory for her blending,” Neeley said. “Basically, I’ve given her the keys to the warehouse, and we can expect to see more one-of-a-kind releases in the future now that she’s got thousands of barrels to play with.”
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