A first in Blue Run history.

The story behind this bottling is a long one, but the idea was sparked when Trey Wade from Blue Run was in the Alaska market. During an event at the 5th Avenue Lounge, Ylli, Long, and Trey had a conversation about whether Blue Run would allow the guys to create their own blend. It had never been done before, but that is exactly why conversations like this happen.

Of course, Long being Long, he strongly requested that if this did work out, they needed the retail price on the shelf to be no more than $100. He knew that the Chosen single barrels from Blue Run usually run anywhere from $120 to $250. Trey had quite the ask on his hands from the ALCTD crew, but when brands prioritize relationships over pure profit, magical things can happen.

After getting the idea approved, the magic truly began during the ALCTD 2025 Kentucky trip, where Trey hosted a blending session for the crew at Justin’s House of Bourbon. Served entirely blind, the guys got straight to work. Once they finalized detailing their tasting notes on each and every single barrel, it was time to talk. Long kicked off the conversation by asking Ylli if his nose was broken, because everything smelled so sweet. Ylli agreed. After hyper profiling each single barrel and deciding which ones would complement each other, they began the blending process. It was only after the team finalized the blend that Trey finally revealed the stats of the single barrels.

Trey revealed that everything they had just tasted consisted of unreleased mash bills that Jim Rutledge had produced at Castle & Key. They were just slightly over 5 years old at the time– the perfect age to make it feasible for the brand to get the bottle to ALCTD at the exact price point they wanted.

Thus, The Symphony Blend was born. It is a rollercoaster of flavors that constantly shift from the nose to the palate and through the finish– an insane first that Allocated couldn’t wait to release to the Alaska market.