Aussie Bourbon Lovers

Who says great bourbon has to come from Kentucky?

Kia and Jack from Honey Barrel are back, and they've brought a very special Ben Holladay Bourbon Lore 18-barrel blend to share with us.

This limited release helped introduce Holladay Distillery to a much wider whiskey audience, with reviewers discovering just how good Missouri bourbon could be.

We explore the juicy, biscuity flavours of the whiskey, why Holladay's commitment to making its own bourbon and sharing detailed production information matters, and how the distillery built its reputation without rushing whiskey to market.

Kia and Jack also explain why they chose to bring Ben Holladay into Australia and reveal the expanded range they're preparing for Australian whiskey drinkers, including High Rye Bourbon, Rickhouse Proof, eight-year single barrels and experimental finishes.

A great conversation about bourbon beyond Kentucky, doing things properly and an exciting future for American whiskey in Australia.

Cheers!

Is Kentucky Bourbon Festival worth flying all the way from Australia to attend?

We think so—and this week we're explaining why.

We're opening the Kentucky Bourbon Festival 35th Anniversary Commemorative Bourbon, a limited Heaven Hill release blending 10, 12 and 13-year-old bourbons to celebrate the festival's 35th anniversary.

It's a beautiful whiskey, full of buttery caramel popcorn, chocolate, hazelnuts and silky sweetness, and one of the more overlooked bottles we brought home from Kentucky.

Then we tackle some of the biggest misconceptions about attending Kentucky Bourbon Festival.

Are tickets really that difficult to get? Is it expensive? Do you have to pay for samples? And what else is there to do in Kentucky once the festival is over?

We share our experiences, why we love the atmosphere and community, and why we think every bourbon lover should seriously consider putting Kentucky Bourbon Festival on their bucket list.

Is 107 proof the sweet spot for bourbon?

This week we're opening Weller Antique 107 – The Cigar Cut, a special single barrel selected for Australia by The Drink Society.

And it's an absolute beauty.

We're finding crème brûlée, burnt sugar, buttery caramel, rich cherry, dark chocolate and even a little freeze-dried raspberry, all wrapped up in a wonderfully creamy mouthfeel.

We explore what makes Weller's wheated bourbon so appealing, the details behind this particular seven-year-and-five-month-old barrel, and why Antique 107 has become such a beloved bottle for so many bourbon drinkers.

We also discuss the increasing availability of Buffalo Trace products in Australia, the excitement of local barrel picks, and which distillery we'd choose if we could select our own single barrel.

And H is already asking for another bottle.

What happens when you grow up in the Bourbon Capital of the World?

We're visiting Whitney Rye at The Parlor Room in Bardstown, Kentucky, where she's sharing a very special 15-year-old Willett barrel pick and some wonderful stories about her hometown.

We discover how Whitney selected the barrel alongside Drew Kulsveen and Pablo Moix, why she looks for chocolate when choosing a whiskey, and how blind tastings can completely change your mind about your favourite bourbon.

Then we get into life in Bardstown.

It's a conversation about great bourbon, great people and the joy of sharing the place you call home.

What makes a whiskey worth importing into Australia?

We're joined by Kia and Jack from Honey Barrel to crack a bottle we brought home from Kentucky Bourbon Festival: Brown-Forman's limited Kentucky Boy bourbon.

Created to celebrate Chris Morris and his remarkable career at Brown-Forman, Kentucky Boy brings together whiskey from King of Kentucky, Old Forester Birthday Bourbon and Woodford Reserve Double Oaked.

We taste honey, maple syrup, pancakes, caramel, orange peel and plenty of rich dessert notes while debating limited releases, resurrecting historic labels, pricing and whether the whiskey ultimately lives up to the story around it.

Then we put Kia and Jack's importer hats on and ask what they actually look for when considering spirits for the Australian market.

Their answer leads us into flavour, proof, storytelling, authenticity—and the importance of only recommending bottles you'd actually be happy to spend your own money on.

Honey Barrel does not import Kentucky Boy or Brown-Forman products; Kia and Jack are joining us as guests and sharing their experience as importers of other spirits into Australia.

We bought this bourbon because it came in a bowling pin.

Seriously.

Fresh home from Kentucky Bourbon Festival, we're cracking one of the more ridiculous—and brilliant—souvenirs we brought home: Jim Beam Ten Pin.

It's a 10-year-old, 100-proof bourbon packaged inside a proper white-and-red bowling pin decanter.

The surprise? The whiskey inside is genuinely delicious.

We find peach crumble, whipped cream, stone fruit and plenty of confectionery sweetness before heading down the rabbit hole of bourbon decanters, why they became such a fascinating part of bourbon history, and why we're suddenly seeing so many fun examples again.

We also recap how we actually got the bottle at Kentucky Bourbon Festival and why we reckon a few more Aussies should make the trip next year.

Come for the bowling pin. Stay for the bourbon.

This week we're finally cracking a bottle that's been sitting unopened on our shelf for far too long: Heaven’s Door Tennessee Straight Bourbon Whiskey, the expression now known as Revival.

We find spice, nutmeg, apricot, caramel and a lovely syrupy mouthfeel before disappearing down a few fascinating whiskey rabbit holes.

We talk about Bob Dylan and the story behind Heaven’s Door, the distinctive design of the bottle, and Dave tries to untangle the difference between Tennessee Whiskey and Tennessee Straight Bourbon Whiskey.

Then we head back to Louisville and The Last Refuge - the spectacular former church that's been transformed into a Heaven’s Door whiskey bar - and why sitting at a great bar, talking to strangers and trying unfamiliar whiskey can be one of the best parts of exploring bourbon.

Sometimes you need to stop choosing your own bourbon and let someone else put something in your glass.

That's how we discovered 2XO Sneakerhead Blend at Evergreen Liquors in Louisville.

We told an incredibly knowledgeable bartender what we liked, asked him to pour us something we hadn't tried—and ended up liking his recommendation enough to bring a bottle all the way back to Australia.

This week we're revisiting that bottle and finding buttery hazelnuts, candied orange, chocolate, oak and even some popping candy.

We also get into Dixon Dedman and the story behind 2XO, what "Two Times Oak" actually means, why this expression has a sneaker on the label, and why a high-rye bourbon can still surprise someone who doesn't normally go looking for high-rye whiskey.

The moral of this one is pretty simple: try new things.

This week we're opening our first bottle of Pinhook—and Helen was sold before we'd even tasted it because it came dipped in purple wax.

It's a Pinhook Single Barrel Cask Strength selected by Whiskey Hunt Australia: five years old, 115 proof and packed with fresh fruit, green apple, caramel and some rather unexpected fairy-floss vibes.

But the story behind Pinhook might be even more interesting than the whiskey.

We discover why its bottles deliberately resemble wine bottles, why Pinhook doesn't necessarily want every year's whiskey to taste identical, how thoroughbred racing inspired the brand, and what the term "pinhooking" actually means.

We also get into sourced whiskey, single-barrel selections and why supporting Australian groups doing barrel picks ultimately means more interesting bourbon making its way to Australia.

This week we're opening a particularly special bottle: a 2025 Michter’s 10 Year Kentucky Straight Bourbon that Dave's friends gave him for his 40th birthday.

And it's an absolute cracker.

We find currants, dark chocolate, baked fruit, caramel and sweet oak before getting into some of the things that make Michter’s whiskey so distinctive.

We work our way through six production choices Michter’s makes differently, including its 103 barrel-entry proof, extended wood seasoning, toasted barrels, small batch sizes, custom filtration and heat cycling its warehouses.

We also revisit what Andrea Wilson and Dan McKee taught us at Michter’s Shively distillery, talk about Michter’s being named the World's Most Admired Whiskey for the fourth year running, and explain why a Michter’s 10 Year can actually be considerably older than the number on the bottle.

A special whiskey, for a special birthday, from some fabulous friends.

Cheers!