Michael Symon's Go-To Bourbon Brand
These days it seems as if every celebrity has their own brand of alcohol. Ryan Reynolds, the Renaissance man of the decade, has his Aviation Gin, Kate Hudson is the name behind King St. Vodka, and Martha Stewart has joined the 19 Crimes family with her chardonnay aptly named Martha's Chard. Celebrity-branded liquor and spirits is big business. In fact, Statista projects by 2025, the global market size for alcoholic beverages will swell to over $2.2 trillion.
But despite the rise of these nouveau alcohol purveyors, the staying power and preference for iconic brands persist. After all, once you've had a drop of one of the gold standards in the world of Champagne, be it Dom Perignon, Cristal, or Tattinger (via Forbes), bubbles of another name do not taste as sweet. The same can be said for plenty of other alcohols as well. Whether that allegiance is born out of really good marketing, a play on nostalgia, or both, consumers like to consume products they feel a connection to.
According to Spotify Advertising, a survey found that an overwhelming "71% of US consumers enjoy things that remind them of their childhood." A case in point is what celebrity chef Michael Symon calls his "go-to" bourbon brand.
Traditional over artisanal
According to a Facebook post, while making fried risotto balls, also known as "arancini," and a peachy cocktail, Michael Symon revealed his go-to bourbon brand of choice is Knob Creek. Symon acknowledged there are a lot of "artisanal" brands of bourbon out there in artsy bottles that are "very great," but added that Knob Creek was the bourbon his dad drank, which made it the perfect choice for his adult beverages. "That's always been my bourbon of choice," he declared.
Spotify reveals the nostalgia for the 1990s is indeed "thriving," especially when it comes to their alcohol-drinking audience. So it makes sense that Symon would have a loyalty to Knob Creek Bourbon, which got its start in 1992 and has the knowledge seven generations of bourbon makers behind it, per The Spirits Educator.
Knob Creek is part of the Jim Beam family. And, speaking of nostalgia, has a name derived from "the creek that ran behind Abraham Lincoln's childhood home in Kentucky."