Bourbon Pursuit

While the rest of society is busting down the doors on Black Friday for TVs, the beer lovers are hitting up every liquor store to grab the most iconic barrel aged stouts on the market coming from Goose Island. Every year, Bourbon County Stout has beer lovers drooling to see what variants will be released. We’re joined by Bill Savage, a lead brewer for the barrel aging program at Goose Island, to get an inside look into one of my favorite beers of all time. We talk about the time that goes into this yearly release and what happens when yeast goes wild.Show Notes: Kroger’s Ultimate Bourbon Auction: https://one.bidpal.net/zero/welcome This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about bourbons to pair with Thanksgiving. How old is the oldest pair of shoes in your closet? How long have you been with Goose Island? How did you end up working in the Goose Island Barrel Program? Tell us about the process. How many barrels are going into the release? How long do you age it in the barrel? Do you test each barrel? Can you over age a barrel? Do you reuse barrels? What's the rationale for the high ABV? How do you pick your variants? What's the thought process behind the collaborations with distilleries? Are you exploring aging other styles? Support this Podcast on Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Whiskey Quickie by Bourbon Pursuit, we review Michter’s 10 Year Single Barrel Rye Whiskey. This 10 year old rye is 92.8 proof and $160 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

Every business wants to make their marketing dollars stretch further. The focus has shifted to targeting demographics through Facebook campaigns, social media, and even podcasts. We’re joined by Mike Provance of 3x3 to see how brands and liquor stores are using their platform to reach new customers.Show Notes: This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about wax. What sport would you compete in if you were in the Olympics? Tell us about your platform. How do you convince retailers to adopt this digital trend? How can you make your dollar stretch further with your platform? How do stores learn what their customers like? What do you use to build audiences? Does more marketing spending by a supplier benefit the retailer? How is shipping changing your business? Influencer marketing vs. targeting marketing? What about in-store experiences? Support this Podcast on Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Whiskey Quickie by Bourbon Pursuit, we review Old Forester 150th Anniversary Batch #1. This non-age stated bourbon is 125.6 proof and $150 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

It’s the 50th Bourbon Community Roundtable! 4.5 years later and we are at a milestone podcast. I won’t get sappy because there is plenty of that towards the end, but we kick off the show talking about the recent news of many secondary groups banning Van Winkle Sales. Then we take a look back at our time together and play a few games of “who said that?”.Show Notes: This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about Halloween candy.  Secondary groups have banned Pappy Van Winkle sales. What are your thoughts? Do we still feel the same about our top 5 bourbons for beginners? Are we still tired of $100 MGP… now $150 MGP bourbons? Let’s play a game of Who Said That? Support this Podcast on Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Whiskey Quickie by Bourbon Pursuit, we review Rabbit Hole Boxergrail Founder’s Collection. This 6 year old rye is 114.6 proof and $195 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

Joshua Steeley, Marketing Director for Bourbon at Buffalo Trace, joins the show to cover the Old Charter Oak series. It’s a line extension that focuses on the effect different types of oak have on the bourbon. We’re talking oak harvested from all over the world and some of the oak being hundreds of years old.Show Notes: This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about decanters. What's the most ridiculous thing someone has tricked you into doing or believing? Tell us about your role at Buffalo Trace. Any brands you are putting more effort behind? Are you going to have a part in Early Times? How did you get into bourbon and end up at Buffalo Trace? Let's talk about Old Charter Oak. How do you decide what bourbon goes into each brand? Tell us about your experimental process. Old Charter Oak Tasting. Where do you source your barrels from? Talk about what went into the packaging design. How hard is it to find this brand? What is the price point? Any failed experiments? Support this Podcast on Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this special edition of Whiskey Quickie by Bourbon Pursuit, we review the 2020 Buffalo Trace Antique Collection in five 60 second reviews. The collection includes: Sazerac Rye 18 Year, Thomas H. Handy, Eagle Rare 17 Year, William Larue Weller, and George T. Stagg. Each bottle has a suggested retail price of $99. What's our favorite this year? Watch to find out. 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’re joined by Ted, Christian, and Blake to talk about the family history on the farm that led them to have DSP-IN-31, which is a super super low number when it comes to a distilled spirits producer. We take a few twists, but there is one thing we came away with and that’s how this family never settles with a single recipe, single barrel entry proof, single cooperage, or even a single distiller. These three take turns at the helm steering their bourbon in a new direction. After recording, we went to the warehouse and tasted 12 or 15 different barrels and not one of the two was alike. Make sure you try a single barrel selection from Starlight Distillery and you will know what I’m talking about.Show Notes: This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about media packages. Would you rather be an astronaut or an olympic gold medalist? Talk about the history of the farm and distillery. What law allowed MGP to operate as a distillery? Talk about your brandy. What were the learning curves when transitioning from brandy to whiskey? Tell us about the bourbon. What's the difference between a brandy still and a whiskey still? Why do you use so many different cooperages? Is there a better time of year to pull barrels? Tell us about your corn varieties. Talk about your latest releases. What is Carl T.? Support this Podcast on Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Whiskey Quickie by Bourbon Pursuit, we review King of Kentucky 2020. This 14 year old bourbon is 130.6 proof and $250 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