Behind the Pursuit: From Bourbon to Brand

You didn't think the pursuit was over did you? I'm here to let you know that we've moved Behind The Pursuit into the Bourbon Pursuit podcast. All brand new episodes will be released on Wednesdays at Bourbon Pursuit. Cheers!

We are continuing in our Pursuit University discussion we began in Episode 094.

Herb Heneman, now an instructor at the James B. Beam Institute for Kentucky Spirits at the University of Kentucky, teaches students about marketing and building a spirits brand from the ground up. Both Ryan and Kenny share a connection with Herb, and not long ago he invited Kenny to guest lecture for his class. The session covered a series of insightful questions about the industry, but unfortunately, it wasn’t recorded. In this two-part episode, we revisit those questions and the conversations they sparked from the inception of Bourbon Pursuit, through it’s now 10-year career, and how they’ve built a Spirits brand out of it. 

We hit on:

and much more.

P.club by Pursuit Spirits puts you in the inner circle. As a member, you’ll unlock exclusive distillery-only releases, VIP access to live virtual tastings with Q&As, 10% off all merch and special perks. Whether you choose free doorstep delivery or distillery pickup, you’ll always be first in line for our newest drops. With a flexible cart and priority access to limited barrels, P.Club isn’t just a membership—it’s your all-access pass to Pursuit. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up today⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Come and see us at 722 W. Main Street! Be sure to visit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ pursuitspirits.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and click on Visit Us to book a tasting or barrel selection experience. For questions or topic requests on upcoming episodes, email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Another year, another festival recap! In this episode of Behind the Pursuit, we share our takeaways from the 2025 Kentucky Bourbon Festival. We dive into how our booth placement shaped the weekend, the activations we brought to the event (and a few others that caught our eye), and the trends we noticed across the festival floor. We also talk about the reception to our expanding lineup, from Cognac Rye to the Mellwood Collection, plus where we see room to keep pushing limited expressions to meet growing demand. All that and more in this year’s festival wrap-up!

We hit on:

00:00 Welcome and Festival Recap

03:24 Kentucky Bourbon Festival Highlights

10:21 Sales and Community Engagement

17:31 Brand Observations and Future Trends

24:07 Exploring Craft Bourbon and Flagship Expressions

27:54 Consumer Experience and VIP Access at Bourbon Fest

30:45 Festival Layout and Vendor Interaction

34:20 New Releases and Trends in Bourbon

39:02 Accessibility and Consumer Preferences in Bourbon

and much more.

P.club by Pursuit Spirits puts you in the inner circle. As a member, you’ll unlock exclusive distillery-only releases, VIP access to live virtual tastings with Q&As, 10% off all merch and special perks. Whether you choose free doorstep delivery or distillery pickup, you’ll always be first in line for our newest drops. With a flexible cart and priority access to limited barrels, P.Club isn’t just a membership—it’s your all-access pass to Pursuit. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up today⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Come and see us at 722 W. Main Street! Be sure to visit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ pursuitspirits.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and click on Visit Us to book a tasting or barrel selection experience. For questions or topic requests on upcoming episodes, email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

“It’s been a whirlwind.”

After three years of talking about it, we’re finally settling into our new home at 722 W. Main Street in downtown Louisville, Kentucky.

Today, we’re taking you back to that first walk-through in August of 2022, and reflecting on the journey that’s brought us here. From unforgettable experiences to limited releases, and yes, even our own little basement bar for when our wives kick us to the couch, there’s a lot to share at The Official Home of Bourbon.

We hit on:

00:00 A Welcome to the New Pursuit Spirits Studio

02:41 The Journey of Opening 722 & Trial & Error Bar

05:31 Creating a Unique Bourbon Experience

08:44 The Vision Behind the Space

11:31 Navigating the Cocktail Bar Concept

14:35 Engaging with Tourists and Locals

17:32 Product Development and Future Releases

20:34 The Importance of Unique Offerings

23:43 Future Directions

and much more.

P.club by Pursuit Spirits puts you in the inner circle. As a member, you’ll unlock exclusive distillery-only releases, VIP access to live virtual tastings with Q&As, 10% off all merch and special perks. Whether you choose free doorstep delivery or distillery pickup, you’ll always be first in line for our newest drops. With a flexible cart and priority access to limited barrels, P.Club isn’t just a membership—it’s your all-access pass to Pursuit. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up today⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Come and see us at 722 W. Main Street! Be sure to visit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ pursuitspirits.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and click on Visit Us to book a tasting or barrel selection experience. For questions or topic requests on upcoming episodes, email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Herb Heneman, now an instructor at the James B. Beam Institute for Kentucky Spirits at the University of Kentucky, teaches students about marketing and building a spirits brand from the ground up. Both Ryan and Kenny share a connection with Herb, and not long ago he invited Kenny to guest lecture for his class. The session covered a series of insightful questions about the industry, but unfortunately, it wasn’t recorded. In this two-part episode, we revisit those questions and the conversations they sparked from the inception of Bourbon Pursuit, through it’s now 10-year career, and how they’ve built a Spirits brand out of it. 

We hit on:

and much more.

P.club by Pursuit Spirits puts you in the inner circle. As a member, you’ll unlock exclusive distillery-only releases, VIP access to live virtual tastings with Q&As, 10% off all merch and special perks. Whether you choose free doorstep delivery or distillery pickup, you’ll always be first in line for our newest drops. With a flexible cart and priority access to limited barrels, P.Club isn’t just a membership—it’s your all-access pass to Pursuit. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up today⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Come and see us on Mellwood! Be sure to visit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ pursuitspirits.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and click on Visit Us to book a tasting or barrel selection experience. For questions or topic requests on upcoming episodes, email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

With the launch of Pursuit Spirits' new Cognac Rye, we're taking a step back to explore the product’s development and the broader journey of experimentation at Pursuit Spirits. From the early days of P.Club to the upcoming gift shop exclusives, we dive into how the brand approaches innovation in a world where opinions on finished whiskeys still vary widely. How do you know when a small-batch test is ready to scale? And in an industry where “nothing is new under the sun,” how do you continue to create something that feels fresh and exciting? In this episode, we unpack what it takes to move beyond experimentation and consistently deliver a great whiskey experience.

P.club by Pursuit Spirits puts you in the inner circle. As a member, you’ll unlock exclusive distillery-only releases, VIP access to live virtual tastings with Q&As, 10% off all merch and special perks. Whether you choose free doorstep delivery or distillery pickup, you’ll always be first in line for our newest drops. With a flexible cart and priority access to limited barrels, P.Club isn’t just a membership—it’s your all-access pass to Pursuit. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up today⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Come and see us on Mellwood! Be sure to visit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ pursuitspirits.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and click on Visit Us to book a tasting or barrel selection experience. For questions or topic requests on upcoming episodes, email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Why do whiskey drinkers chase after marketed checkboxes - like age statements, mash bills, or bottle rarity - that don’t always guarantee quality, while overlooking great-tasting whiskey that may lack the same level of hype? Is the playbook always used? Are there products that break the cycle? What started as a casual conversation turned into today’s episode: a deep dive into the psychology of the whiskey consumer, and whether a bottle can truly "walk the walk" without the constant buzz of online enthusiasts.

P.club by Pursuit Spirits puts you in the inner circle. As a member, you’ll unlock exclusive distillery-only releases, VIP access to live virtual tastings with Q&As, 10% off all merch and special perks. Whether you choose free doorstep delivery or distillery pickup, you’ll always be first in line for our newest drops. With a flexible cart and priority access to limited barrels, P.Club isn’t just a membership—it’s your all-access pass to Pursuit. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up today⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Come and see us on Mellwood! Be sure to visit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ pursuitspirits.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and click on Visit Us to book a tasting or barrel selection experience. For questions or topic requests on upcoming episodes, email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Another PursuitPalooza is in the books! Each year, the guys host a unique and immersive experience here in town for their listeners and fans. The event includes distillery tours, barrel picks, tastings, and social gatherings from relationships they’ve built over the years of running the podcast. This year, the event featured visits to Angel's Envy, Lux Row, and the new Heaven Hill Springs Distillery. Participants had the opportunity to taste rare and limited-edition whiskies, learn about the distillation process, and connect with fellow bourbon enthusiasts. The event also included a whole lot of Shebanging at the Pursuit HQ, as well as guests having their own Whiskey Quickie for Bourbon Pursuit from blind samples in the building. On today’s episode, we recap it all. 

P.club by Pursuit Spirits puts you in the inner circle. As a member, you’ll unlock exclusive distillery-only releases, VIP access to live virtual tastings with Q&As, 10% off all merch and special perks. Whether you choose free doorstep delivery or distillery pickup, you’ll always be first in line for our newest drops. With a flexible cart and priority access to limited barrels, P.Club isn’t just a membership—it’s your all-access pass to Pursuit. ⁠⁠⁠⁠Sign up today⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Come and see us on Mellwood! Be sure to visit⁠⁠⁠⁠ pursuitspirits.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ and click on Visit Us to book a tasting or barrel selection experience. For questions or topic requests on upcoming episodes, email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠.

We know - Whiskey Row still isn’t open. But don’t worry, we’re just a “soft 30 days out.” Delays in buildouts are pretty much inevitable, but what does that really mean for the team, the experience, and the products at Pursuit Spirits? In this episode, we dig into how shifting timelines affect more than just the grand opening.

We hit on:

and much more.

P.club by Pursuit Spirits puts you in the inner circle. As a member, you’ll unlock exclusive distillery-only releases, VIP access to live virtual tastings with Q&As, 10% off all merch and special perks. Whether you choose free doorstep delivery or distillery pickup, you’ll always be first in line for our newest drops. With a flexible cart and priority access to limited barrels, P.Club isn’t just a membership—it’s your all-access pass to Pursuit. ⁠⁠⁠Sign up today⁠⁠⁠.

Come and see us on Mellwood! Be sure to visit⁠⁠⁠ pursuitspirits.com⁠⁠⁠ and click on Visit Us to book a tasting or barrel selection experience. For questions or topic requests on upcoming episodes, email us at ⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠.

It's another solo episode today with Ryan, and we dive into the complexities of entrepreneurship, discussing the entrepreneurial mindset, the challenges anxiety can bring, and even the balance between content creation and business realities. We dig into the current state of the whiskey industry, financial stability, and navigating the ups and downs of business ownership. From maintaining a positive mindset to setting achievable goals, we end on the balance between personal fulfillment and family responsibilities, highlighting the challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship.

We hit on:

and much more.

P.club by Pursuit Spirits puts you in the inner circle. As a member, you’ll unlock exclusive distillery-only releases, VIP access to live virtual tastings with Q&As, 10% off all merch and special perks. Whether you choose free doorstep delivery or distillery pickup, you’ll always be first in line for our newest drops. With a flexible cart and priority access to limited barrels, P.Club isn’t just a membership—it’s your all-access pass to Pursuit. ⁠⁠Sign up today⁠⁠.

Come and see us on Mellwood! Be sure to visit⁠⁠ pursuitspirits.com⁠⁠ and click on Visit Us to book a tasting or barrel selection experience. For questions or topic requests on upcoming episodes, email us at ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠.