Sazerac Master Blender Drew Mayville was in Kuala Lumpur for the first time for a series of whiskey tastings and events, including a masterclass at Smith & Wollensky, which we recently attended.
For those unfamiliar with Mayville, he has spent more than 40 years in the spirits industry, including almost 23 years with Seagram, where he worked across distilling, quality, blending and technical services before becoming the company’s fourth and final Master Blender.
He joined Sazerac in 2004 as Master Blender and Director of Quality, overseeing quality and consistency across its American whiskey portfolio. He was also named a founding member of The Last Drop’s Assembly, an international panel of spirits experts, and in 2025 was recognised as American Whiskey Brand Ambassador of the Year at the World Whiskies Awards.The tasting featured four expressions, each offering a different perspective on American whiskey:
- Buffalo Trace Bourbon – providing a look at the distillery’s core bourbon style.
- Eagle Rare 10 Year Old – offering a more mature expression from the same distillery, with its 10-year age statement highlighting the influence of time and oak.
- 1792 Small Batch – from Barton 1792 Distillery, one of Kentucky’s historic distilleries, with its high-rye recipe giving it a more pronounced spicy character.
- Sazerac Rye – moving from bourbon to rye, with a strong connection to New Orleans and the history of the Sazerac cocktail.
Taken together, the four pours offered a useful look at the breadth of American whiskey, from the influence of age and maturation to the differences between bourbon and rye.
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| The masterclass wrapped up with a guest shift by the Remedy team. |
Sazerac is distributed in Malaysia by Single & Available.
For more:
https://www.sazerac.com/
https://www.singleandavailable.com.my
https://www.instagram.com/singleandavailablewhisky
