Bourbon Pursuit

On this Whiskey Quickie by Bourbon Pursuit, we review Bespoken Spirits Rye Whiskey. This rapid aged rye whiskey is 100 proof and $40 MSRP (375mL). Let us know what you think. Cheers!DISCLAIMER: The whiskey in this review was provided to us at no cost. We were not compensated by the spirit producer for this review. This is our honest opinion based on what we tasted. Please drink responsibly.Support this Podcast on Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve had the opportunity to interview lots of great people from Michter's such as their Master of Maturation Andrea Wilson, President Joseph Magliocco, and their former Master Distiller Pam Heilmann. When Pam retired in April of 2019, Dan McKee stepped in. Dan worked alongside Pam at Jim Beam for many years and has a wealth of industry knowledge. We talk about selecting barrels for the 20 and 25 year old releases and learn more about what goes into their everyday products.Show Notes: This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about local store relationships. What's the funniest animal you've owned as a pet? Are there ever any bad barrels when selecting Michter's 20 and 25? What is your process for choosing older releases? How did you train your palate to pick these releases? What was it like working at Jim Beam? What can you tell us about your yeast? Talk about the distillery. Do you have specific protocols for picking barrels from certain places in the warehouse? How big are the batches? Is it easier to blend smaller batches? What was the transition like to Master Distiller? Do you overlap job tasks with Andrea? Are you a morning taster? What variations do you see in barrel proof? Does lower entry proof age well? What about the heat cycled warehouses? Talk about the toasted barrel craze. Any professional goals for 2021? @michterswhiskey, @michtersmasterdistiller Support this Podcast on Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Whiskey Quickie by Bourbon Pursuit, we review Dubliner Irish Whiskey. This 3 year old whiskey is 80 proof and $30 MSRP. Let us know what you think. Cheers!DISCLAIMER: The whiskey in this review was provided to us at no cost courtesy of the spirit producer. We were not compensated by the spirit producer for this review. This is our honest opinion based on what we tasted. Please drink responsibly.Support this Podcast on Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Bourbon Community Roundtable, we do an in-depth analysis of The Bourbon King, two episodes from the Netflix series Heist. Now I have to warn you, if you haven't seen it yet this is full of spoilers. If you plan on watching it, go watch it and then come back and listen. On the 2nd half of the episode, we talk about the new executive order coming straight from the Whitehouse that is going to put a microscope on the alcohol industry and look at unfair trade practices when it comes to distribution and competition.Show Notes: This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about tasting notes. Breaking down Netflix's Heist featuring Pappygate, the story of Gilbert “Toby” Curtsinger, an employee at Buffalo Trace that stole hundreds of thousands of dollars of Pappy Van Winkle. Do you think Buffalo Trace let them film on property? Who is Moonshine Mike? How do you steal a barrel and where do you hide it? What are your thoughts on the sheriff sensing it was an inside job right away? Do you think the sheriff was media hungry? What do you think of the sentencing? How was his wife not aware? How will the executive order on promoting competition in the American economy impact distributors and distribution? Thanks to @bourbonr, @breakingbourbon, and @sippn_corn for joining. Support this Podcast on Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Whiskey Quickie by Bourbon Pursuit, we review Three Chord Strange Collaboration Batch 1. This 2-6 year old finished bourbon is 99 proof and $45 MSRP. Let us know what you think. Cheers!DISCLAIMER: The whiskey in this review was provided to us at no cost courtesy of the spirit producer. We were not compensated by the spirit producer for this review. This is our honest opinion based on what we tasted. Please drink responsibly.Support this Podcast on Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

$1000 bottles, store price gouging, and bots taking bottles. These are some of the most annoying trends with bourbon releases. The team gets together and analyzes what we're seeing in the current environment and air some grievances, but we always try to find a silver lining on what we see as some positive trends as well.Show Notes: This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about limited edition bottles. What do you think of the press releases? Would you rather see special whiskey in limited edition bottles? What do you think about price gouging at the store level? How should liquor stores handle limited releases? What is annoying about limited releases? Any advantages to online releases? Support this Podcast on Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Whiskey Quickie by Bourbon Pursuit, we review Bradshaw Bourbon. This 2 year old bourbon is 103.8 proof and $40 MSRP. Let us know what you think. Cheers!DISCLAIMER: The whiskey in this review was provided to us at no cost courtesy of the spirit producer. We were not compensated by the spirit producer for this review. This is our honest opinion based on what we tasted. Please drink responsibly.Support this Podcast on Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We talk about barrel picks all the time on the show and we do 40-50 barrels selections per year with our private barrel program. But instead of hearing us talk about it, let's hear some stories from the people that live and breathe it every day. We're joined by Macaulay Minton of Wilderness Trail and John Wadell of Peerless Distilling. Both of these guys run the barrel select programs for each distillery. We get to know more about the programs and the dos and don'ts of going on a barrel pick.Show Notes: This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about his dental routine. How did you get into bourbon and working on single barrel programs? Is there a certain percentage you are allowed to allocate to private barrels? What do you like and not like about other barrel picks? How do remote picks work? Are remote picks harder than in person? Are there some people that are hard to please with picks? What gets you blacklisted? What are things you shouldn't do on a pick? What do you think of stickers? What is the most positive thing that has happened for you working in a private barrel program? @thebourbonswami, @wildernesstraildistillery, @sir_jwadell, @kentuckypeerless Support this Podcast on Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Whiskey Quickie by Bourbon Pursuit, we review Heaven's Door Redbreast Master Blenders Edition. This 10 year old finished bourbon is 100 proof and $100 MSRP. Let us know what you think. Cheers!DISCLAIMER: The whiskey in this review was provided to us at no cost courtesy of the spirit producer. We were not compensated by the spirit producer for this review. This is our honest opinion based on what we tasted. Please drink responsibly.Support this Podcast on Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lisa Wicker should be a household name to any bourbon enthusiast. You will get to learn about her pedigree of industry and blending experience in this episode. Before ever meeting Lisa, people in the industry would tell me she had one of the best palates. She has been involved with lots of brands from the very beginning and played a critical role to their future success. Now, she leads Widow Jane and gives us some tricks on her blending techniques.Show Notes: This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick (@fredminnick) talks about bottle modifications. What is the craziest fashion trend you've ever worn? How did you get into working in whiskey? How did you end up at Widow Jane? Was it a big change moving from the Mid West to NYC? Who is Widow Jane? What is the history of the brand? Do you store barrels in the mine? Why do you use the mineral water for proofing? How do you decide which distillate goes into each product? Do you enjoy the challenge of putting a unique spin on a sourced whiskey? Do you have a whiskey blending playlist? @widow_jane @lbwicker Support this Podcast on Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices