While bourbon may be our drink of choice, coffee is a close second, especially if it’s before noon. And while Kentucky may be best known for its Bourbon Trail the “coffee trail” is on the up and coming with dozens of new specialty coffee roasters coming to the area. Picking a favorite coffee may be hard for some, but the good folks atGood Folks Coffee made it easy for us when we were searching for our ideal coffee partner.

For those of you new to Good Folks Coffee, their name really says it all. Started in 2010, they’re a small team based in Louisville, KY who focus on finding high quality coffee. Their focus, much like ours atPappy & Company, is to build strong relationships with their partners including farmers, importers, exporters, suppliers, customers and the greater community meanwhile producing a really high quality product.

Our partnership stories usually entail a long winded tale about how our father or mother used their matchmaking skills to pair us with our next partner turned good friend. But in the case of Good Folks Coffee, it is pretty darn simple. We just knocked on their door. For real.

We knew that abarrel aged coffee could be a great addition to our culinary line, but like all of our culinary goods, wanted to make sure we found the right partner who could help us make a best in class coffee. It also helped that they appreciate a styling pair of socks!

A lot of barrel aged foods out there are more about the trend rather than the quality. Most barrel aged coffee products start with low quality coffees and go through a haphazard process of aging and flavoring. But at Good Folks Coffee, they start with the highest quality coffee and have tight parameters on how they age the coffee in the bourbon barrels. These guys are like scientists when it comes to coffee, they meticulously document and test along the way to get the best final product possible. No flavoring products are ever used, just delicious coffee hanging out in a freshly-dumped Pappy Van Winkle bourbon barrel.

So while a friendly knock on the neighbor’s door started the conversation, we knew it was the sign of a great partnership when they told us that what’s most important to their company is:Doing business with integrity while maintaining the highest quality.We’re fortunate to continue to work with partners who all share this business vision and is an underlying theme that ties all of our collaborations together. It goes back to the age old saying of Pappy himself “We make fine bourbon. At a profit if we can, at a loss if we must. But always fine bourbon." And with those words of wisdom we continue to seek out the best quality products we can produce.

So what’s next? The guys at Good Folks don’t want to spoil the surprise, so this is what they're willing to share for now: a product for duck hunters. Yes....duck hunters. Oh yeah and obviously barrel aged cold brew coffee! Stay tuned for details on both.

In the meantime don't miss this post on ways you can use your coffee for more than just brewing your morning cup of joe. This recipe for Coffee Rubbed Pork Shoulder is a great way to use coffee in your kitchen as a savory cooking element and will not disappoint.

Pappy Pro Tip: Be sure to check out thiscoffee brewing guide put together by Good Folks Coffee, it literally tells you everything you need to know about making the perfect cup of coffee in just about any device. Happy brewing!