Bourbon Pursuit

Conor O'Driscoll is beginning to make a name for himself. After spending part of his career at Brown Forman and Angel's Envy, he was recruited to fulfill the role left behind by Denny Potter. Conor is now the seventh Master Distiller in Heaven Hill's 84-year history. We spend some time getting to know Conor's past, what the recruitment process is like to find a master distiller, what his role is going to be with the operation side of things, and how at the end of the day he just doesn't want to screw anything up.Show Notes: This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about dry January. Where are you from? How did you end up in Terre Haute, Indiana? How did you get into bourbon? Tell us about your time at Woodford. What was difficult to learn about the distilling process? Talk about working at Angel's Envy. Is distilling rum the same process as bourbon? Are distillers in charge of blending? How did you end up at Heaven Hill? Did you have to give up anything to move into this role? Are you looking for ways to improve the legacy brands? Was there a learning curve coming to Heaven Hill? Who determines the increase in production? Were you involved in forecasting at your other roles? How did you learn the Heaven Hill portfolio? Do you have a favorite brand? What was it like to sign your first bottle? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Whiskey Quickie by Bourbon Pursuit, we review Widow Jane The Vaults. This 14 year old bourbon is 99 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The online community is one of the biggest forces behind bourbon growth. This is where people go to learn more, ask questions, make connections, and find new and interesting bourbons to try. Reddit has been a platform for those conversations for a long long time. The popularity of the /r/bourbon subreddit has now eclipsed over 109,000 members and it’s continually growing. We sit down with T8ke, one of the moderators of the /r/bourbon subreddit, to get a glimpse into a moderator's daily life. We look into the type of content that gets upvotes, how the AMAs work, and how being anonymous plays a role vs Facebook where it’s your actual name and profile. Join the sub https://www.reddit.com/r/bourbon/.Show Notes: Whiskey Advocate Top 20: http://whiskyadvocate.com/top20/ This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about whiskey marketing. Tell us how you got into bourbon? What led you to discover more? What type of content do you see on Reddit? Is there a newbie factor? Do people really like the reviews? Who is the typical person checking out these reviews? What does AMA stand for? What were the top AMAs? Tell us about the Reddit culture. Talk about the anonymous factor. Are there any issues since it is anonymous? Are there sales in the forums? What kind of growth are you seeing in the forum? What topics are popular? Why do so many people on Reddit hate Fred Minnick? Have bourbon posts ever been on the front page of Reddit? How much time do you spend moderating? How many posts do you get during release season? When people post do you have to approve it? Who has it worse, Facebook or Reddit mods? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Whiskey Quickie by Bourbon Pursuit, we review E.H. Taylor Amaranth Grain of the Gods. This non-age stated bourbon is 100 proof and $70 MSRP. Let us know what you think. Cheers!DISCLAIMER: A sample of this whiskey was provide to us by a member of our Patreon community. We were not compensated by the spirit producer for this review. This is our honest opinion based on what we tasted. Please drink responsibly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the final roundtable for 2019 as we head into the new year. And this one packs a few punches. First, we dive into Instagram news where the number of likes are now hidden from your view. How will it impact bourbon Instagram stars? Then we roll into the meat of the podcast talking about Pappy and Sazerac vs The Secondary Market. Lastly, we share what we are thankful for in 2019. I also want to take this opportunity to say thank you to you, the dedicated listeners and viewers of Bourbon Pursuit. We really appreciate the hours you spend with us every week to hear us talk about bourbon.Show Notes: Warehouse X: http://www.experimentalwarehouse.com/ Marianne Eaves at TEDxBroadway: https://www.tedxbroadway.com/talks/2019/11/19/making-the-impossible-and-doing-the-unthinkable-marianne-eaves This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about vintage whiskey collections. Instagram removes likes. Does this impact bourbon influencers? Do Instagram posts drive people to your content? Will the lack of likes deter people from using influencers? Should Instagram hide the number of followers? Do you think Sazerac is behind the secondary take down? Why make the Van Winkles the face of the blame? Should they raise the SRP of Pappy? Do you think other distilleries are happy they took action on the secondary market? What are you thankful for with bourbon in 2019? Thanks to Blake from bourbonr.com, Nick from BreakingBourbon.com , and Brian from sippncorn.com for joining. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Whiskey Quickie by Bourbon Pursuit, we review Chattanooga Whiskey Cask 111. This non-age stated bourbon is 111 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Penny & Sparrow is a folk music duo from Austin, TX. On their tour through Louisville, Andy Baxter and Kyle Jahnke, the talented guys behind the band, stopped by for a few bourbon pours. We talk about life on the road, their musical creation process, and how their fans give them bourbon at shows. You can catch their latest album, Finch, wherever you stream your music.Show Notes: Pappy Map retires: http://bourbonr.com/blog/pappy-van-winkle-release-map-retires/ This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about the holidays. How did you all get into music and start the band? Where does your inspiration come from? What is your craziest moment with a fan? How did you get into bourbon hunting? What bourbon got you hooked? How does the band work when you live in different states? Who is the messy one? What's it like on the road? What do you listen to on the road? Have you been on the Bourbon Trail? Where do you go when bourbon hunting? Do you ever get free bourbon? How did fans discover your were into bourbon? What does it mean to you when someone says your music has changed their life? Where did the name Penny & Sparrow come from? Was there a moment where you felt like you made it? Tell us about your latest album, Finch. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Whiskey Quickie by Bourbon Pursuit, we review Old Forester 1910 Old Fine Whisky. This non-age stated bourbon is 93 proof and $55 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Little and John Foster of Smooth Ambler are good friends of the show. We’ve had them on before and they’ve been doing a lot of stuff recently to keep their audiences engaged. They have a new video series, divulge their plans for future whiskey production, and talk about their latest launch of their MGP based Old Scout. Tune in to hear their take on what’s happened to American Whiskey in the past 2 years.Show Notes: KDA Press Release: https://kybourbon.com/2-barrels-for-every-kentuckian-distillers-top-9-million-barrels-for-first-time-in-modern-era/ This week’s Above the Char with Fred Minnick talks about blind tastings. Tell us about your video series on YouTube. What's been happening in the past two years? When are you going to use the new make? What is the game plan for Rye? What's the plan for the American Whiskey? Let's talk about sourced whiskey. Do you see Big Level as always evolving? Do you consider yourselves a craft distiller? What impact has Smooth Ambler made in West Virginia? What's the Whiskey Wagon? What benefits have you experienced from the Pernod Ricard deal? Where does the name Smooth Ambler come from? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this Whiskey Quickie by Bourbon Pursuit, we review Blanton's Straight from the Barrel Bourbon. It's non-age stated, barrel strength, and import only. Let us know what you think. Cheers!DISCLAIMER: This whiskey in this review was purchased by Bourbon Pursuit for reviewing. We were not compensated by the spirit producer for this review. This is our honest opinion based on what we tasted. Please drink responsibly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices