Neil Giraldo Revamps His Three Chord Bourbons, Revisits John Waite Album He Produced More Than 40 Years Ago

Neil Giraldo stepped inside the Power Station for the first time in more than 40 years in early June 2025. The last time he was at the iconic New York City studio, where everyone from John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, Madonna, The Clash, and others recorded, was to produce John Waite‘s 1982 debut solo album, Ignition.

There, Giraldo went down memory lane with the album, his first production credit, breaking down several tracks, while introducing five new additions to his whiskey company, Three Chord Bourbon, a newly rebranded line of music-themed blends.

Part of the Backstage Series, which gives fans the chance to taste bespoke whiskey custom-blended by some of their favorite artists, the new custom blends in the Volume Two collection, out July 7, are titled under some musical monikers: Un-Edited, Strange Collab, Riot, Flipside, and Hard Pressed.

“I’m deeply proud of the diverse musical genres already represented by the artists we are working with in our Backstage Series,” said Giraldo, who founded Three Chord Bourbon in 2016, in a previous statement. “We will continue to expand the collection with additional musicians. We’re just getting started and know we can truly make an impact by expanding the connection between music artist and fan.”

Giraldo’s new blends follow the Three Chord Bourbon partnerships with Goodbye June and The Cadillac Three in 2024. The brand launched with whiskies from The Allman Brothers Band, Halestorm, Dinosaur Jr., and Taking Back Sunday, with more blends by Lucero, Black Stone, Theory of a Deadman, and many other artists.

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“We wanted to have more fun than a lot of whiskey brands out there, which go towards the middle, don’t take chances, and don’t express things that they’re passionate about,” said whiskey maker Ari Sussman of the new bottle design and labeling for Volume Two, which feature a “classic record aesthetic” and imagery of live music and concert photography.

“At Three Chord, we are about the intersection of music and whiskey, and creativity, and exploring creativity through whiskey making and the entire music culture,” says Sussman. “We wanted to infuse a little kinetic energy, live music into the liquor store aisle and people’s back bars. … And these are the first albums or releases, but we’ve got quite a few more planned.”

The collection is aligned with music, whiskey, and art, with each bottle in the collection designed by artist Ronnie Lewis, who has worked on album covers, concert posters, and music campaigns. Volume Two bottles are each set as a different album covers: Flipside Triplewood Bourbon features the late blues artist Guitar Shorty; Hard Pressed Bottled-in-Bond Bourbon features rockabilly pioneer Cordell Jackson; RIOT Double Bonded Rye features punk band the Darts; Un-Edited features the singer of the Australian band Purple Disturbance. and Strange Collab is a shot of Giraldo and late friend and bandmate Rick Derringer.

“Working as a designer for the music industry is already great,” said Lewis. “It’s true we all wanna be rock stars, so when you end up getting to design things for your favorite band or a huge act rolling through town, it’s always thrilling. It was great to be a part of creating this Backstage Series, and having a chance to be part of something new for these fans.”

Sussman says Three Chord Bourbon will continue to work closely with the music community, including expanding partnerships with several charities they’ve worked with for several years, including MusicCares.

“We’re musicians making whiskey for and by musicians,” said Sussman. “And our give-back program is incredibly important. That whole ethos in the company starts from the very top, the idea that we’re in this as a community. We’re here to support the music community and creativity.”

Along with the Backstage Series, the Three Chord Bourbon collection also features small-batch whiskeys sourced from the top distilleries in Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, and North Carolina, and its core expressions: Bourbon Cream, Blended Bourbon Whiskey, Amplify Rye Whiskey, Strange Collaboration, and Tennessee Straight Whiskey, and Strange Collaboration. The latter is a blend of Kentucky Straight bourbon aged between three to six years and aged three months in French Oak Pinot Noir casks.

During the intimate event, guests sat inside the studio where Waite’s Ignition was recorded. Revisiting the album, Giraldo played back “Mr. Wonderful” and Waite’s hit “Change,” which was featured in the 1985 movie Vision Quest. Breaking the track down piece by piece, Giraldo pulled out the bass and vocals on “Change,” and isolated a backing vocal by Scandal’s Patty Smyth, while tying the music back to whiskey and how the perfect blend and attention to smaller details can make a great song, and whiskey.

During the demonstration, Giraldo also took a moment to raise a glass and toast to his friend and former bandmate Derringer, who died on May 26, 2025. “There’s five people in your life that dramatically impacted who you are,” shared Giraldo. “Rick is one of the five.”

He remembered first auditioning for Derringer’s band in 1978. “When I auditioned for Rick’s band, I had no idea I was going to get it because I auditioned [along] with over 200 guitar players,” shared Giraldo. “There was one thing I did know: when I got there, I wasn’t leaving. I wasn’t going back to Cleveland. When I got there, I knew that, but still I couldn’t believe it.

Giraldo played on Derringer’s 1979 album Guitars and Women and remained in his band for a year before joining his then-future wife Pat Benatar‘s band. “Rick did so many things for me, and had it not been for Rick and the things I learned from him, I would never have been here, I would have never made the records I did, I would never have produced records, written songs … none of that stuff would have happened without Rick.”

Giraldo closed his story with a toast to the late musician. “A toast to the great Rick Derringer, my dear friend,” he said, looking up and raising his whiskey glass to Derringer. “Salut.”

Photos: Courtesy of Three Chord Bourbon