It’s hard to think of a more successful launch in the whiskey business in the past decade than that of Angel’s Envy, the bourbon finished in port barrels and rye finished in rum barrels developed by Wes Henderson and his father Lincoln, an icon in the spirits industry for decades. I recently met with Wes when he was in town for a bottle-signing event where people from as far away as Atlanta drove up just to share a drink with him and get his signature on a bottle of barrel-strength Angel’s Envy that they had already paid hundreds of dollars for. So, yeah, he’s kind of a big deal.
So it’s great that he’s coming to town to support the screenings of a locally produced documentary on the bourbon industry called Straight Up: Kentucky Bourbon, which will screen today (May 16) and tomorrow (May 17) at the Nashville Film Festival. Our own Steve Cavendish wrote a little something about Straight Up in the Scene's extensive Nashville Film Festival coverage, noting that, after watching the doc, "even the casual drinker will walk away with a better sense of why bourbon is important to our national identity."
Wes will attend the May 17 screening of the film, which features Angel’s Envy prominently along with stories from a host of other engaging Kentucky distillers that have been gathered together by producers Eric Byford and Cary Ann Fuller. Wes is proud to have been a part of the film, saying, "This film will be viewed 100 years from now as being an important historical record. To top it off, it is interesting and engaging."
After the lights come up, the party will move over to Urban Grub at 2506 12th Ave. S. for a meet-and-greet with Wes featuring small bites and a special Angel’s Envy cocktail crafted for the event. The reception will run from 5-7 p.m. For more information about the documentary, visit the Facebook page and watch trailer. Visit the NaFF website for ticketing info.
