Blue Run Blueprint Series Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey Wheated Founders Mash Experimental Shaylyn Gammon 105 Proof 52.5% ABV 750ml

Blue Run Spirits was born in Georgetown, Kentucky — named for the Royal Spring River that runs through the town, affectionately known as the Blue Run — and built on a founding conviction that bourbon could be both technically exceptional and culturally modern. Its early releases established the brand as one of the most design-forward and liquid-serious independent bottlers in the country, guided first by legendary Jim Rutledge (Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame, former Four Roses Master Distiller) and now by Shaylyn Gammon — one of the most decorated women in American whiskey and the brand's Head of Whiskey and Innovation.

The Blueprint Series is Blue Run's most considered and most ambitious production statement yet — a new flagship platform designed not simply to showcase quality but to serve as a literal blueprint for discovery. The inaugural release arrives May 1, 2026, built from a genuinely unusual dual-mashbill architecture that Gammon describes as a blend that "must be tasted to be understood." A classic wheated bourbon provides the softness, roundness, and approachable warmth that makes wheated expressions so broadly appealing. An experimental 80/15/0/5 corn-malted rye-malted barley composition — known affectionately inside the brand as the "Founders' Mash" — provides the fruit-forward fusel character and unexpected structural depth that sets this bourbon apart from standard wheated expressions. The Founders' Mash was laid down during the infancy of the Blue Run brand and aged on a lower floor, where the cooler, more stable temperatures produced a grounding, fruit-forward character that the top-floor-aged wheated component's woody heat and pleasant softness perfectly complement.

The proof point — 105 — was arrived at after extensive evaluation of the brand's most intriguing barrels, selected specifically because it delivers bold flavor concentration while maintaining the balance and silkiness that makes the Blueprint Series genuinely accessible. Platinum and Gold at the ASCOT Awards. Gold at the TAG Global Spirits Awards. Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. The liquid behind the bottle has an award record that precedes the Blueprint Series and validates the blending philosophy behind it.

Origins & Craftsmanship

Blue Run Spirits was founded in Georgetown, Kentucky — named for the Royal Spring River that flows through the town — by a team of industry outsiders from technology, marketing, and design who recognized that bourbon deserved a brand as modern and culturally forward as the category's most exciting liquid. The brand's visual identity — the signature French-cut glass bottle, the precious metal elements, and the iconic viceroy butterfly medallion (Kentucky's state butterfly, representing change, hope, and transformation) — was designed from the outset to attract a new generation of bourbon drinkers beyond the traditional collector circle.

Shaylyn Gammon became Blue Run's first Head of Whiskey and Innovation — a role that gave her full creative authority over the blending program and the freedom to push the category in genuinely new directions. Gammon's background spans multiple spirits categories, and her technical palate and commitment to innovation have driven the award-winning releases that established Blue Run's reputation before the Blueprint Series arrived.

The Blueprint Series inaugural release brings two distinct components into a single, unified expression. The first is a classic wheated bourbon — the mash bill whose replacement of rye with wheat as the secondary grain produces the characteristic softness, vanilla roundness, and approachable sweetness that has made wheated bourbon one of the most beloved styles in the category. The wheated component was aged on upper rickhouse floors, where the more dramatic temperature swings accelerate barrel interaction and produce the woody heat and dried fruit complexity that provides the blend's structural backbone. The second component — the Founders' Mash — is the experimental heart of the Blueprint Series: an 80% corn, 15% malted rye, 5% malted barley composition laid down during the brand's early years and aged on lower rickhouse floors, where the cooler, more consistent temperatures allowed the spirit to develop a distinctive fruit-forward, fusel character that provides a grounding depth and unexpected tropical dimension unavailable in standard bourbon mash bills. The two components were blended by Gammon after extensive barrel evaluation and proof testing, arriving at 105 proof — 52.5% ABV — as the precise point where the blend's bold concentration and its silky balance coexist in genuine equilibrium.

Critics Reviews

ASCOT Awards — Platinum & Gold TAG Global Spirits Awards — Gold Medal San Francisco World Spirits Competition — Gold Medal

Recognition across three of the spirits world's most respected independent competitions — confirming the liquid quality at the heart of the Blueprint Series platform. No widely published numeric scores from major trade critics are available for the Blueprint Series inaugural release at this time, given its May 1, 2026 national release date.

Tasting Profile

Nose Soft, welcoming, and immediately accessible — the wheated component's influence apparent from the first pour. Gentle floral notes open the nose with a light, slightly heathery lift, followed by subtle orchard fruit — crisp apple, pear, and a suggestion of white peach. Vanilla and a soft baking spice warmth provide the classic wheated bourbon foundation, alongside light caramel and a barely detectable honey note that adds depth. The Founders' Mash's fruit-forward contribution emerges beneath the softer aromas as a subtle tropical thread — ripe and slightly exotic — that distinguishes the Blueprint Series from a standard wheated expression. Approachable and inviting throughout — a nose that rewards both the first-time bourbon drinker and the experienced enthusiast.

Palate Where the architecture of the blend becomes most apparent. The wheated component arrives first — soft, round, and gently sweet, delivering vanilla, toffee, and a pleasant warmth that coats the palate generously. The Founders' Mash then asserts itself through the mid-palate: juicy apple and a warm, fruit-forward fusel quality that adds an unexpected dimension to the standard wheated profile, alongside cinnamon, baking spice, and a light rye-derived structure from the malted rye component. The 105 proof carries the whole with genuine presence and warmth — bold enough to be confident, balanced enough to remain silky. The top-floor-aged wheated component's woody heat provides structural integrity and a pleasant dryness that prevents the fruit and sweetness from becoming cloying.

Finish Medium to long, warm, and toasted. Toasted oak and a lingering warmth of spice lead the close — the wheated bourbon's characteristic finish — alongside a hint of dry wood heat from the Founders' Mash contribution and a final echo of apple and vanilla that fades gradually and cleanly. The 105 proof delivers a finish of genuine length and presence without harshness — warm, spiced, and deeply satisfying.

Quick Overview

Serving & Occasion

Blue Run describes the Blueprint Series as performing equally well neat, on the rocks, or in an Old Fashioned — and all three are genuinely rewarding. Neat in a Glencairn or tulip glass with a few minutes of air is the fullest expression of the dual-mashbill character — the wheated softness and Founders' Mash fruit depth most apparent without dilution or temperature suppression. A single large ice cube deepens the apple and baking spice character and softens the woody heat. See cocktail suggestions below. An outstanding gifting bottle for modern bourbon enthusiasts, design-forward spirits collectors, and anyone who appreciates a bourbon where the story behind the liquid is as considered as the liquid itself.

Cocktail Suggestions

Blueprint Old Fashioned (Blue Run's own recommended serve) 2 oz Blue Run Blueprint Series · 1 tsp Demerara syrup · 2 dashes Angostura bitters · expressed orange peel. Stirred over a large ice rock. The brand specifically calls out the Old Fashioned as the Blueprint Series' natural home — and with good reason. The wheated softness and apple-and-cinnamon mid-palate character align naturally with the Old Fashioned format, the orange peel amplifying the orchard fruit notes, and the bitters providing the structure that frames both mashbills' contributions in a single cohesive build.

Blueprint Manhattan 2 oz Blue Run Blueprint Series · 1 oz sweet vermouth · 2 dashes Angostura bitters · Luxardo cherry. Stirred over ice, served up in a chilled coupe. The wheated component's vanilla and caramel softness bridges naturally with sweet vermouth's botanical complexity — the Founders' Mash fruit depth adding an unexpected dimension to the mid-palate that distinguishes this Manhattan from more straightforward wheated expressions.

Founders' Sour 2 oz Blue Run Blueprint Series · ¾ oz fresh lemon juice · ½ oz honey syrup · optional egg white. Shaken hard, served up or over ice. Honey syrup echoes the vanilla and orchard fruit character on the nose — lemon cuts through the wheated softness and cinnamon spice with precision — and the egg white version creates a foam that carries the floral and apple aromatics dramatically on approach.

Blueprint Highball 2 oz Blue Run Blueprint Series · chilled premium soda water · expressed lemon peel. Built over ice in a tall glass, stirred once. The simplest serve that allows the Founders' Mash's fruit-forward character and the wheated bourbon's softness to carry through in a clean, refreshing long drink. The lemon peel amplifies the orchard fruit notes and adds a citrus brightness that makes the Blueprint Series particularly rewarding in this format.