Season 7, Episode 24: Zane Brammell, Founder - New Era Whiskey & Social Club

On this Episode of The Bourbon Life Podcast presented by VisitLEX, Mark sits down with first-time guest Zane Brammell, founder of New Era Whiskey & Social Club, for a fun conversation about how a Lexington barrel club grew into a whiskey brand built around single barrels, storytelling, and community. Zane shares his path from working in healthcare and through the COVID years to discovering bourbon through time spent with his stepfather. That interest quickly turned into a passion for barrel picks and eventually a local barrel club that grew from a few hundred members to nearly 3,000 before inspiring him to take the next step and create New Era. They dig into the story behind the brand, including the newspaper-inspired labels, the headline concept, and Zane's love of physical media and creative storytelling. Zane also explains the principles behind New Era's whiskey program: sourcing whiskey at a minimum of eight years old, bottling at cask strength, and keeping every release single barrel. He also talks about the hands-on approach to selecting barrels and why making the barrel-pick experience fun and personal is such an important part of the brand. The conversation also turns to the newly opened New Era Distillery and Social Club in Lexington. Zane talks about the community-first vision behind the space, the strong turnout for the grand opening, and how Social Club members receive specially selected monthly bottles while also having a place to gather, taste, and connect. He also shares how the Social Club gives New Era another way to use its labels to tell meaningful personal stories. Mark and Zane also look ahead to continued growth for New Era, including plans to expand into additional states in 2027 while continuing to work with retailers, clubs, and groups on unique single-barrel selections. And, of course, they taste and review three different New Era single-barrel picks, including: · New Era 1st & Market Kentucky Straight Bourbon – 8 Year · New Era Warriors Rise for Princess Nyla Rye – 14 Year · New Era Midnight Flight Kentucky Straight Bourbon – 19 Year It's a wide-ranging conversation about finding community through bourbon, building a brand from the ground up, creating memorable single-barrel experiences, and giving every bottle a story worth telling. This episode of The Bourbon Life Podcast is presented by VisitLEX and sponsored by Bluegrass Distillers, District 7 Social, The Kitchen Table at the James B. Beam Distilling Co., and Hotel Distil.