About – Seelbach's
Seelbach's

About Us

The Story Behind The Name

You may have heard of the bubbly-bourbon cocktail by the same name. In 1995, the bar director of the famed Seelbach Hotel found a recipe for the pre-Prohibition drink on an old menu. A fumbled Champagne cocktail mixed with a Manhattan to created the Seelbach cocktail.

The cocktail was a hit. Both during its heyday in the early 1900s and its resurrection in the late 90s. There was only one problem: the bar manager concocted the whole story! Like most good tales, the Seelbach story spread like wildfire.

Historic Seelbach Hotel, Louisville, KY circa 1900s
The Seelbach
~ A Classic Bourbon & Champagne Cocktail ~

Ingredients

  • 1 oz. bourbon, preferably Seelbach's Spirits
  • ½ oz. Triple Sec
  • 7 dashes Peychaud's bitters
  • 3 dashes of Angostura bitters
  • 5 oz. Champagne or sparkling wine
  • Orange peel, for garnish

Method

1

Fill a mixing glass with ice. Add bourbon, triple sec, and bitters. Stir for 30 seconds until well-chilled.

2

Strain into a champagne flute & top with sparkling wine. Express oils from an orange twist, then add as garnish.

Seelbach Cocktail
Served in a
champagne flute

Our Story

Twelve years into running the whiskey blog Bourbonr, I started seeing the signs everywhere: craft distilleries sprouting like Kentucky bluegrass. And not just weekend hobbyists, but a small rebellion of purists and innovators. The old prejudices were crumbling: craft whiskey wasn't just young, harsh moonshine anymore. These were serious operators making some liquid gold.

Blake Riber, Founder of Seelbach's

Then the loophole appeared - bureaucratic perfection that let me slip between the cracks and work directly with these regionally diverse distillers. Seelbach's was born from this discovery, connecting small-batch revolutionaries to whiskey evangelists across America. Limited supply wasn't a drawback; it was the whole point. True craftsmanship doesn't scale — and that's exactly what makes it worth seeking out.

Whiskey barrels aging in warehouse

The numbers tell the story: eight major distilleries control 99% of the bourbon market. Their large-scale operations produce consistent, reliable whiskey we love, but craft distillers have different advantages. They can experiment with heritage grains, unusual barrel treatments, and adjust fermentation and distilling techniques in ways that massive operations simply can't. The flavor difference between a large column still and a small pot still is remarkable — it's the difference between manufacturing and craftsmanship.

99%
of bourbon market controlled by
8
major distilleries

Explore Craft Spirits

How we help

Finding Emerging Brands

Craft or micro-distilleries are popping up everywhere. Something like one new distillery per day. You may already know many popular or local products, so we help you discover emerging brands across the entire country.

Assuring Quality

Every bottle on our site is tasted and reviewed by our team. We aim to provide background information on each product and the assurance that we have vetted the products we share with our community.

Providing Access

We work directly with craft distilleries which gives us access to the often limited supply of the latest releases. We find and share a constant stream of craft products with our spirit enthusiasts.

What we look for

Grains/Materials

Grains/Materials

Distillers growing their own grain or grains sourced from local farms. We love distillers that resurrect nearly extinct heirloom grains. These raw materials allow new twists on the flavor profile of classic spirits.

Distillation

Distillation

We feature heritage distilling methods. That's anything from open flame pot stills to lower distillation proofs off column stills. Production decisions made on the still change the flavor profile of the spirit in a bottle.

Maturation

Maturation

Most spirits need time to mellow. Seelbach's brands make the hard decision to wait years before each barrel is ready to release. Maturation focused brand push the limits where large distillers don't have the flexibility.

Blending

Blending

Our blenders do the painstaking work to source and explore new methods for blending. Seelbach's offers the unique, ambitious and a little funky. Above all else, the spirit has to taste good!

Meet The Team

Blake Riber

Founder & CEO
Favorite: Boiler Maker

Andrew Dewhurst

COO / CFO
Favorite: Old Fashioned

Brian Beyke

Director of Media
Favorite: Negroni

Denaya Jones

Brand Manager
Favorite: Mezcal Margarita with a half salt rim

Parker Newman

Director of Vendor & E-Commerce Marketing
Favorite: Old Fashioned

Alex Gonzalez

Warehouse Manager
Favorite: Mexican Mule

Emily Chenot

People Operations Manager & Special Projects Manager
Favorite: Wisconsin Whiskey Old Fashioned Sweet, omit the orange slice. Garnished with olives or mushrooms.

Rashida Reid

Night Warehouse Lead
Favorite: Mezcal Mule

Our passionate team of whiskey enthusiasts, curators, and logistics experts work together to bring you the finest craft spirits from across America. Each team member brings their unique palate and expertise to ensure every bottle we select meets our exacting standards.

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