Clearing the air…
Chris Stapleton recently partnered with Buffalo Trace to release his own brand of whiskey, affectionately titled Traveller Whiskey.
The Kentucky native, called it a bucket list scenario:
“Partnering with Buffalo Trace Distillery and Harlen Wheatley feels like a bucket list scenario for me. Some things just make total sense – and this is definitely one of those things.
Bottles from barrels that Harlen has cared for have been with us for every note we’ve ever recorded, backstage before shows and in all the moments we’ve celebrated along the way.
I believe what we’ve achieved with Traveller Whiskey not only represents our shared history but also a common artistic vision and uncompromising standards of taste. I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve made.”
However, the launch comes on the heels of an interview with Chris, where he reportedly been “all but sober” for a number of years.
In the conversation with GQ, he discussed feeling like he had to have alcohol so that he could understand the songs he was writing, and then for health reasons, he cut it out:
“I like to tell people that I got into a drinking contest with myself in my 20s, and I lost. I didn’t have to go to rehab, but from a 45-year-old-man health perspective, a doctor’s gonna look at me and go, ‘Hey, man, probably cut out the drinking,’ and I’d be like, ‘Okay, cool.’”
However, that’s not quite the case.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Chris detailed his love of bourbon and walked back the reports that he is “sober.” But rather, he got to a point in his life where being a father, his health, and his other responsibilities have left him with little time to tie one on.
He clarifies:
“I think the word ‘sober’ got used in an interview, and it’s probably a disservice to sober people to call me sober — certainly as we’re sitting here talking about drinking. I don’t drink as much as I used to.
I’m a 45-year-old man who has a lot more responsibilities and a lot less time for leisure than I used to have. But I do enjoy it. The first room you walk in at my house, there’s probably 200 bottles of bourbon there.”
Any parent knows exactly what he’s talking about. Sure, plenty of people enjoy boozing it up with their friends, but as a father of two under 3, I’ll be the first one to tell you… you just don’t have the time anymore. It sure doesn’t mean you’re “sober” by any stretch of the imagination.
Traveller Whiskey is now available in retailers, bars and restaurants nationwide, and will run you $39.99 per bottle.
Turn it up…
“Traveller”
