Equip Exposition has its own bourbon. Equip Reserve 42: Backyard Blend, an award-winning, small-batch Kentucky bourbon, debuts at this year's show, October 21-24 at the Kentucky Exposition Center. Attendees can sample it at the Louisville Tourism Booth on Wednesday, October 22, from 3-5 p.m.

A single barrel, 8 years old, 116 proof, picked by the Equip team out of bourbon country's secondary market.

How the barrel was found

Tim Knittel, founder of Lexington-based Distilled Living, Adjunct Professor of Bourbon Studies at Midway University, and Official Bourbon Ambassador at Churchill Downs, sourced the barrel from the industry's secondary market: "free-agent barrels" that distilleries release when a barrel drifts slightly from a brand's strict flavor profile. The Equip team tasted four products from the same lot at barrel strength before choosing this one.

• The specs. A single-barrel, high-rye bourbon from a big heritage Kentucky distiller, aged 8 years and bottled at 116 proof.
• The flavor. Sweet vanilla and smoked wood up front, then holiday baking spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, black pepper. "This is for those who like drinking bourbon at barrel strength, neat, right out of the bottle," Knittel says.
• Why Kentucky matters. Hot summers drive the liquid deep into the charred oak and cold winters pull the sugars back out, while a 2-4% annual "angel's share" evaporation concentrates the flavor. "It's Kentucky's environment that contributes so heavily and so uniquely to bourbon," Knittel says.

Equip Reserve 42: Backyard Blend debuts at Equip Exposition, October 21-24.

The name came from an attendee

Sam Meagher, owner of Sam I Am Outdoor Services in Chattanooga, submitted the winning name. He and his wife, Mary McGowan, have run the business since 2020 and have attended Equip every year since 2021. "It's become a tradition, a staple," he says. "Our Super Bowl, not just for equipment but the networking."

On the name: "I wanted something Equip expo-y, lawn care related. Something catchy, with alliteration. The feeling that name gives you: a lot of people in this industry could relate to that sentiment and that moment."

Taste it for yourself at the Louisville Tourism Booth, Wednesday, October 22, 3-5 p.m.