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Herbsaint
J. Marion Legendre learned about absinthe while stationed in France during WWI. Upon his return to New Orleans during
Prohibition, Legendre, an apothecarist, began secretly making it in his Uptown home. When Prohibition ended, he also began
legally selling it as Legendre Absinthe. When the government forced him in 1934 to remove the name absinthe from his product
because of the ban on absinthe from 1912 (which was still in effect), Legendre renamed his product Herbsaint. In commemoration
of the 75
th
anniversary of Herbsaint production, the Sazerac Company launched Legendre Herbsaint Original in 2009.
W
e asked master bartender Chris
McMillian for his thoughts on some
of the Buffalo Trace brands. For more
from McMillian, turn to page 28.
Buffalo Trace
I think the Buffalo Trace Distillery is the most
innovative distillery in the United States, maybe in
the world. They are redefining American whiskey.
Buffalo Trace is their namesake bourbon.
It’s just fantastic.
Elmer T. Lee
This one is named after Master Distiller Emeritus
Elmer T. Lee. His name says it all.
Blanton’s Single Barrel
Blanton’s was the first to bottle single barrels. If
I made five barrels of bourbon, and I put each
one on a different floor in a warehouse, I’d have
five different bourbons because there are five
different climates in the warehouse. The floors,
even exact spots on those floors, break down into
microclimates. You’re getting bourbon from one
barrel from one spot. This is truly a unique bourbon
experience, plus it’s just plain fun.
George T. Stagg
There’s a reason you don’t age tequila for more
than five years. Any longer and you taste the wood
instead of the agave, and you want to taste the
agave. The upper limit for bourbon is typically 10
years because of the climate conditions in Kentucky.
Stagg is aged for no less than 15 years, but it has
the incredible quality of having all that heat, while
still being so drinkable. To have a product like Stagg
where you taste the bourbon first is an incredible
achievement. Extremely limited.
Eagle Rare
This one is aged for no less than ten years.
The 17-year-old is my desert island
bourbon.
W.L. Weller
All of the wheated bourbons trace
their DNA to Stitzel Weller distillery.
Weller is bottled at 90 proof. It has an
exceptionally smooth taste.
instilled in me by my parents as a young man … the idea that you can derive
much happiness by helping others. I believe you must serve your community.”
“What I appreciate about Bill is that he is always in it for others, never himself,”
says Rouse.
Rouse walks the philanthropic walk as well and is a big proponent of supporting
local farmers, fishermen and manufacturers under the corporate mantra “locals
supporting locals.”
He also shares Goldring’s philosophy of “eat or be eaten.”
“I compete with the largest grocers in the country,” says Rouse, “and Bill is the
largest in his industry. Like Bill, I’m always trying to improve, always continuing
to grow, working to keep up with the times and the trends. I believe we have
gone from simply being a place to sell groceries to being a destination.”
“I’ve always told my family if you wake up in the morning and think you have
a J-O-B, then you are in the wrong business. If you don’t love what you do, you
are in the wrong business.”
Both gentlemen are in the right place at exactly the right time, and to be sure,
wake up happy every day. And both have found the Holy Grail of friendship.
PROFILE