Supports the qualified proposition that premium bourbon can be created through selection and product architecture rather than a unique recipe alone.
The product brief, barrel-selection concept, and single-barrel positioning are presented as coordinated business and production decisions.
Ferdie Falk and Robert Baranaskas asked Elmer T. Lee to develop an exclusive, top-shelf bourbon that could command a higher price and compete with premium Scotch. Lee proposed bottling selected Warehouse H barrels individually, turning the familiar fact that some barrels outperform others into a marketable single-barrel product.
PDF sheet 89; displayed eBook p. 80
PDF sheet 85; displayed eBook p. 76
Chapter 3 — Center Cut and the super-premium idea
Textually verified against the complete extraction and visually verified against rendered PDF sheets 85–89 on 2026-08-27.
Evidence
Ferdie Falk and Robert Baranaskas asked Elmer T. Lee to develop an exclusive, top-shelf bourbon that could command a higher price and compete with premium Scotch. Lee proposed bottling selected Warehouse H barrels individually, turning the familiar fact that some barrels outperform others into a marketable single-barrel product.
Locator
PDF sheets: 85–89
Displayed eBook pages: 76–80
Section: Chapter 3 — Center Cut and the super-premium idea
Context
The product brief, barrel-selection concept, and single-barrel positioning are presented as coordinated business and production decisions.
Research use
Supports the qualified proposition that premium bourbon can be created through selection and product architecture rather than a unique recipe alone.
Verification
Text and page geometry were verified against the complete extraction and rendered PDF sheets on 2026-08-27.