Backbone Bourbon Company started out of frustration. Founders Bill and Nolan were running an Indiana liquor distributor around 2011 when a bourbon supplier flaked on them, citing a need for "bigger and better representation" — they wished the supplier had more backbone, and within months had decided to build their own brand instead, right as American whiskey was about to take off. The company formally launched in 2014, sourcing barrels from Lawrenceburg, Indiana (the MGP distillery behind countless respected bourbon and rye brands) and bottling in Bardstown, Kentucky under their own labels and standards. The whole philosophy comes from the first barrel sample they ever tasted, which arrived at 114.9 proof — they kept expecting to water it down to a "proper" 90, and kept liking it more at full strength. That became the flagship: Backbone Uncut, a 70% corn, 25% rye bourbon bottled straight from the barrel with each batch varying between roughly 114 and 117 proof, no blending, no dilution. The range grew from there — Prime, a 104-proof blend of 6-year and 2-year bourbons with young rye and 8-year corn whiskey; Bonesnapper Rye; Bone Dry Gin; and Old Bones. Bold, high-proof, deliberately unadorned, with labels designed to jump off the shelf across a dark bar.

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