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Master Distiller Marianne Eaves
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Sweetens Cove Tennessee Bourbon
Sweetens Cove Tennessee Bourbon made a splash when it launched this past spring, mostly thanks to an A-List team of partners, including Peyton Manning, Drew Holcomb, and Andy Roddick.
They, along with Mark Rivers, co-owner of Sweetens Cove Golf Course and co-founder Sweetens Cove Spirits Company, came up with the idea for a high-end spirit after purchasing the Sweetens Cove Golf Course, a revered 9-hole, public course nestled in South Pittsburgh, Tennessee in 2019. The idea for a high-end bourbon came easily: It’s a tradition at the course to do a shot of bourbon before you step up to the first tee and the team thought there ought to be a bourbon that was as rare and intriguing as the golf course itself.
A group of “treasure hunters,” the Sweetens Cove team went in search of already distilled product and came across a lot of 100 barrels of Tennessee bourbon that was being stored in a Kentucky warehouse. While a traditional spirits brands would likely seek out a traditional master distiller, Sweetens Cove wanted someone adventurous who would go against the grain to help them blend an exceptional product. A number of conversations later, they connected with Marianne Eaves, Kentucky’s first female bourbon Master Distiller since Prohibition.
Sweetens Cove partners
Eaves’ journey to Master Distiller ran shorter than most. Born in Chattanooga, Eaves grew up in Kentucky and attended the University of Louisville as a chemical engineering student—she wanted to pursue a career in renewable energy. But during her sophomore year, in 2009, an internship requirement led her to a position at Brown-Forman, one of the country’s largest wine and spirits businesses that umbrellas brands like Jack Daniel’s, Woodford Reserve, and Old Forester.
“I would say I was a drinker but I definitely had no appreciation for bourbon at the time,” she laughs. “But I guess making spirits, in a roundabout way, can be considered a renewable energy.”
The internship was in the research and development department, where she learned about each of the company’s brands and the nuances between them. The internship eventually led to a permanent position and soon, Eaves found herself fascinated with the distilling process—troubleshooting and efficiency optimization triggered her engineering mind. She joined a sensory panel, where panelists progressively taste through a number of products. Turns out, her palate was excellent.
“I pretty quickly developed an appreciation for the elegance of a beautifully made spirit,” she says.
The bosses noticed and soon, Eaves was called into a meeting to be asked: Would you like to be our next Master Distiller? She went on to train under veteran distiller Chris Morris of Woodford Reserve and became a Master Taster for the brand. She was involved in starting the single barrel program at Old Forester and the job sent her around the country. Though still in training, Eaves had built some notoriety in the industry and started to pique the interest of other brands. In 2015, Eaves left Brown-Forman and was hired as Master Distiller for the reinvigorated brand, Castle & Key.
Being young and female, Eaves received some backlash for taking the title—most master distillers work their way up gradually and hold onto the title for decades. But Eaves worked hard for it, and in many ways, brought a fresh new perspective to the role.
“I was going to be reviving a distillery that had been defunct for nearly a century and bringing back and developing recipes,” she says. “I was doing the job.”
Four years into her role there, Eaves decided to set off on her own. With her name and experience established, she had platform to work as a consultant. Shortly after, she connected with the team at Sweetens Cove, one of her first independent projects.
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Sweetens Cove Golf Course
“What got me really excited was the product itself. It’s rare that you get a spirit that’s 13 years old. And, it had been a long time since I’d had the chance to taste through 100 barrels,” Eaves says.
The bourbon was brought down to a distilling facility in Columbia, Tennessee, and Eaves set to work tasting each and every barrel—labor intensive work that many people wouldn’t do.
“There weren’t two barrels that tasted the same. But with the nuances, I started to identify different flavor notes that worked together and began hand assembling batches, saying ‘I’ll take these two barrels and pair it with this one,’” she says.
Eventually, she produced five batches of about 22 barrels each—an extremely small run—and also identified four singular barrels that stood out entirely on their own. Sweetens Cove launched its first batch in late May with more on the way; those single-batch releases will hit shelves later this year.
What differentiates the five batches, Eaves says, will be a test for tuned-in tasters and aficionados. The batches will be released in waves throughout the fall, with the only identifying difference being the proof levels. The team hopes that fans will track down a bottle from each batch.
“It’ll be like an Easter egg hunt,” Eaves says.
Eaves’ dedication to the work has resonated with the founding team—they’re already making plans for another release. A distillery is not in the current plans but may be in the future, so for now, the group continues to seek out distilled product that Eaves will blend.
Mark Rivers says the partnership with Eaves is part of what differentiates the brand.
“It’s a great opportunity to [work with] an all-star in her prime,” he says. “Peyton Manning has suggested that she's really like the quarterback in the huddle on this. When someone like him says something like that, I think you’ve reached higher ground.”
$200 per bottle; Sweetens Cove Tennessee Bourbon can be found at your local liquor retailer, subject to availability. Only available in Tennessee and Georgia.