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The story of Barrel C

Following the Writers Room Bar team from Park Hyatt Toronto as they select their own barrel at The James B. Beam Distilling Co.'s Clermont Campus.

September 2024

A distillery host pours a barrel sample into a glass as three visitors gather around him in the warehouse.
Work

A barrel of their own

The team from Writers Room Bar, on the rooftop of Park Hyatt Toronto, visited the Jim Beam property to choose their own single barrel. This photographic story follows the visit, the tasting and the selection of Barrel C.

Two visitors walk toward the James B. Beam Distilling Co. building in sunlight.
Rows of wooden barrels recede into a quiet warehouse aisle, with light falling across the floor.
Arrival at the distillery, then into the barrel warehouse.
A close view of whiskey being poured from a wooden sampling tool into a glass held by a visitor.
A sample drawn from the barrel.
A visitor in a red shirt considers a glass of whiskey beside a flight of samples.
A hand holds a dropper above a row of whiskey tasting glasses on a reflective counter.
Time with the samples, and the details of the tasting.

The selection

The photographs move between the people making the choice and the small details around them: the glasses, the conversation, and the handwritten record of Barrel C.

Three members of the visiting team discuss the samples beside wooden barrels and the tasting table.
Discussing the samples at the tasting table.
A hand holds a wooden barrel bung marked with a handwritten date and Barrel C.
A signed Knob Creek Single Barrel Select Experience card rests on a wooden barrel.
Barrel C, and the signed record of the single-barrel selection.
A smiling distillery host shakes hands with a visitor at the end of the selection.
A handshake to close the visit.