As more labels backed by famous faces enter our whiskey aisles, it’s easy to roll your eyes and presume they’re all cash grabs. What can this celebrity actually know about distillation, maturation, and blending? Very little, right? And that’s true for some.
Not Ian Somerhalder and Paul Wesley, founders of Brother’s Bond whiskey.
“We’re meticulously laying barrels down in certain places of the ricks based on when they’re distilled,” Somerhalder tells us. “We’re able to pinpoint flavor profiles this way. October distillate in one particular section always ends up in our rye. We know exactly which [rickhouse] spot that barrel needs.” Somerhalder can talk your ear off about maturation, in a manner of articulation typically reserved for master distillers.
The duo met as actors playing brothers on the hit TV show "Vampire Diaries" and forged a friendship over bourbon, hence the brand’s name. Launched in 2021, Brother’s Bond is one of the fastest-growing whiskey brands, with more than 100,000 cases shipped across the U.S, since then, to more than 22,000 distribution points.
Somerhalder and Wesley are involved in every aspect of the brand, far beyond approving mailed samples. They routinely travel to Indiana, where their products are distilled and aged, at MGP. “We’re personally testing and tracking barrels in Lawrenceburg,” Wesley says. Samples are brought back to Somerhalder’s California farm, where the two squirrel away for days, amid endless beakers and Erlenmeyer flasks, to create blends. “We spend months perfecting minute details,” Wesley says.
Pushing Whiskey Category Classification
Brother’s Bond whiskey’s three core offerings—an 80 proof straight bourbon, a 115.1 proof cask strength straight bourbon, and a 95 proof blended rye. We’ve tried the straight bourbon, a solid dram despite a proof that may deter some bourbonites. And we’ve had the cask strength, a seriously delectable pour that demonstrates Brother’s Bond can appeal to those who enjoy the higher end of the proof spectrum.
The newest release, that four-grain rye blend, is “for rye purists,” according to Somerhalder. “It’s 77% rye, which is a lot but it drinks very uniquely. And we put away a lot of barrels for it, so there’ll be bigger inventory.”
Happy accidents from blending sessions may hit shelves, too.
“When coming up with our rye, Ian blended a sweet rye,” says Wesley. “It was delicious, but legally not enough rye. Which makes me think we should launch a new category. That sweet rye—a four-grain mix led by 38% rye—is atop the list of experiments that Brother’s Bond is exploring. “We’re over the hump of launching the brand. Now we can have some fun,” echoes Somerhalder. “Forget classifications; let’s make great whiskey that people haven’t seen before.”
Their Whiskey Discovery Journey
“I had this idea that all whiskey was the same,” Wesley says, a notion owed to his Polish grandfather who had an affinity for scotch when the actor was growing up. “I tried scotch with him a few times and wasn’t into it at all. Now I love it.” Somerhalder’s first taste of whiskey also happened due to his grandfather, as a toddler growing up in Louisiana. “I snagged my grandfather’s cup and had a sip,” he smiles. “I think I was 4.” Over the decades, his appreciation for the spirit of the South burgeoned.
Wesley credits Delta Airlines for supercharging his passion for the category. “We filmed [“Vampire Diaries”] in Georgia, but I flew home to Los Angeles every weekend,” Wesley says. “I’d get on the plane, ready to decompress, and I’m not getting tequila; I wanted something dark. Delta serves Woodford [Reserve], so I went for that. And fell in love with bourbon.”
While shooting the show, bourbon abounded. Their characters drank whiskey on-screen; the actors explored the spirit off-set. Woodford Reserve paved the way for more classics, including Bulleit, Jeffersons, and Maker’s Mark. “We weren’t that inventive; we didn’t try niche craft brands then,” Wesley says.
Basil Hayden and Angel’s Envy were brands they kept returning to: “A lot of awesome in those bottles,” Wesley says. (Incidentally, Wes Henderson, Angel’s Envy co-founder, and son of Lincoln Henderson, creator of Woodford Reserve, “is a good buddy of ours now,” says Somerhalder.) When it came time to suss out flavor profiles for their brand, those were benchmarks.
“If Basil Hayden and Angel’s Envy hooked up and had a love child, it would be Brother’s Bond,” Somerhalder says.
The Future of Brother’s Bond Bourbon
Now, both buy every new bourbon they encounter—particularly craft options—a bid for flavor discovery and market research. “I’m picking up 10 or 12 bottles every time I shop,” Wesley says. They dissect samples together, sharing tasting notes, ruminating on future ideas.
A series of new blends are on the docket. “We’ve got a bottled in bond bourbon, and a bottled in bond rye coming,” says Somerhalder. And some MGP-sourced 8 year old—“one year in the barrel for each year we were on air together”—and an 11 year old that will finish maturing three years from now. “That cost a fortune,” Somerhalder says. “So much evaporation.” Lastly, expect something they’re calling Magical Brother’s Bond, a 100-proof blend hailing from 4 year old barrels, higher in MGP’s rickhouses.
Future iterations of Brother’s Bond Cask Strength bourbon may increase in proof. “We were thieving from some barrels with Sam [Schmeltzer, master blender at MGP],” says Wesley. “We loaded up glasses with this 119 proof, and it’s got this beautiful deep amber hue. You can taste the grain and wood perfectly. There’s spice and heat, but no burn. It shines.”
The door is open for a single barrel program, too. And finishing casks. “I’m curious about port finishes,” says Wesley, while Somerhalder is interested in what local California vineyard barrels can bring to the party.
What’s the last whiskey they drank that wasn’t their own? Blue Run Reflection, Redwood Empire, and an Angel’s Envy single barrel pick. Wesley is currently remodeling a New York City apartment and had the architect design a sizable bar. “I want to have an outrageous whiskey selection,” he says. “So you can try something new every time you come.”
Send an invite our way, Paul.
