Bourbon Lens

Is Texas bourbon really bigger? Jake and Scott head south to find out with Chris Seals of Still Austin, one of the most unique craft distilleries in America. Still Austin makes traditional Kentucky-style bourbon and rye in the Texas heat, and the whiskey doesn't taste like it.

Chris shares the story behind the distillery. It started as a "feasibility study" meant to bond with his retired dad and turned into a grain-to-glass operation now raising about 23,000 barrels.

In this episode:

• How a father-son bonding project became Still Austin
• Why Texas grain is different: white corn, Brassetto rye, and the highest starch content in the U.S.
• The élevage maturation philosophy, borrowed from Cognac and Armagnac, and what makes Still Austin the largest whiskey producer using it
• Slow water reduction, aged water, and how they tame tannins in a hot climate
• Tasting The Artist (100% rye) vs. the Cask Strength Rye, a "watercolor vs. technicolor" comparison
• The Musician bourbon mash bill (70% white corn, 25% Brassetto rye, 5% malted barley), plus the Musician Cask Strength
• Barrel entry proof, age statements, and what "aged at least two years" really means
• Inside the new Still Austin Quarter in Austin's Saint Elmo Arts District: 10 buildings on 6.5 acres, a recreated Steamboat music venue, and a musician's home built around 5,000 vinyl albums

Whether you're a bourbon fan, a rye lover, or curious about Texas whiskey, this one will change how you think about whiskey made outside Kentucky.

Listen on your favorite podcast platform or watch the full episode on YouTube.

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HASHTAGS

#StillAustin #TexasWhiskey #TexasBourbon #BourbonLens #BourbonPodcast #WhiskeyPodcast #RyeWhiskey #CaskStrength #CraftDistillery #AustinTexas

KEYWORDS

Still Austin, Still Austin Whiskey, Chris Seals, Texas bourbon, Texas whiskey, Texas rye whiskey, Still Austin Musician, Still Austin Artist rye, Still Austin cask strength, 100% rye whiskey, Brassetto rye, white corn bourbon, élevage whiskey, Nancy Fraley, slow reduction whiskey, craft distillery Texas, Austin distillery, Saint Elmo Arts District, Still Austin Quarter, grain to glass, bourbon podcast, whiskey podcast, Bourbon Lens, Jake Lewellen, Scott Bourbon Lens, cask strength bourbon, Texas distillery tour

Can a bourbon drinker fall for Highland single malt? Jake Lewellen tastes Aberfeldy for the first time with Gareth Howells, North American brand ambassador, including the brand-new Aberfeldy 18 Year Old finished in Sangiovese casks.

In this episode of Whiskey Lens, you'll learn:
✅ Aberfeldy's 127-year story in the heart of Scotland
✅ Why a 70+ hour fermentation creates that honeyed profile
✅ How ex-bourbon, sherry and wine casks shape each bottle
✅ Why the 18's nose reminds Jake of bourbon
✅ Why Aberfeldy is unpeated and not all Scotch is smoky

🥃 Tasted in this episode
Aberfeldy 12 (40% ABV): honey, vanilla, citrus, baking spice
Aberfeldy 16 (40% ABV): first-fill Oloroso sherry finish, dark chocolate, dried fruit
Aberfeldy 18 Sangiovese Cask Finish (46% ABV): limited release, candied citrus

⏱️ Chapters
0:00 Welcome
0:48 Gareth's favorite American whiskeys
2:44 The Bacardi whisky portfolio
5:43 Aberfeldy's history, 1898 to today
11:34 Long fermentation and the honeyed house style
12:55 Cask makeup explained
14:52 Tasting: Aberfeldy 12
23:17 The US lineup and wine cask series
26:02 Pricing and value
30:05 Tasting: Aberfeldy 16
36:32 The blending question
39:24 Tasting: Aberfeldy 18 Sangiovese
44:27 Was it French oak?
50:16 Scotch isn't all peat
51:04 Wrap-up

Listen on your favorite podcast platform and tell us in the comments: what's your gateway Scotch for bourbon drinkers?

Please drink responsibly. Must be 21+.

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Hashtags

#WhiskeyLens #Aberfeldy #ScotchWhisky #HighlandSingleMalt #WhiskyTasting #BourbonLens #WhiskeyPodcast

Keywords

Aberfeldy, Aberfeldy 18 Sangiovese, Aberfeldy 12, Aberfeldy 16, Aberfeldy review, Highland single malt, Scotch tasting, Scotch for bourbon drinkers, Sangiovese cask finish, wine cask whisky, Gareth Howells, Jake Lewellen, Dewar's, whisky podcast, whiskey tasting, new Scotch release 2026, Whiskey Lens, Bourbon Lens, Bourbon Lens News

Bardstown Bourbon Company Master Blender Dan Callaway joins Jake and Scott of Bourbon Lens to taste and break down three of the year's most talked-about American whiskeys: the 99-point Lochs of Jura Barrel Finish, the Garryana Oak 2026 Discovery, and the polarizing Victoria Pineapple Barrel Finish.

Dan explains how Bardstown Bourbon Company blends Indiana and Kentucky bourbon and rye with single malt barrels, Barbados pineapple rum casks, and rare Pacific Northwest Garryana oak. He also covers the 2026 label redesign, the growth of Green River Whiskey in Owensboro, the first-of-its-kind honey bourbon, and what it was like to appear on 60 Minutes.

If you love bourbon reviews, whiskey blending, finished bourbon, and Kentucky distillery stories, this episode is for you.

In this episode:

• Why Bardstown redesigned its core bottle and how it makes ordering at the bar easier
• Lochs of Jura: a 32-month finish in ex-Jura single malt barrels (ex-bourbon and ex-sherry), 104 proof
• Garryana Oak Discovery: campfire, s'mores, and wood sugar from handmade barrels
• Victoria Pineapple Barrel Finish: 27 months in rum casks, then fresh pineapple and staves
• How rickhouse floor placement changes a whiskey
• Cocktail ideas: highballs, tiki drinks, and a Painkiller

Chapters:
0:00 Welcome and meet Dan Callaway
1:04 Bardstown Bourbon's 2026 package redesign
4:09 Green River Whiskey, Distillery Select, and Owensboro
5:35 The honey bourbon and the barrel-leak lessons
8:03 Dan on 60 Minutes
9:30 From Distillery Reserve experiments to national releases
10:49 Tasting #1: Lochs of Jura Barrel Finish
21:41 The 99-point IWSC score
23:13 Tasting #2: Garryana Oak Discovery
27:35 Barrels, rickhouse floors, and the art of blending
31:11 Tasting #3: Victoria Pineapple Barrel Finish
38:34 How to drink it: highballs and tiki
38:55 Where to find it: Kentucky Bourbon Festival
39:08 Final thoughts

Chapter times come from the raw recording. Please check them against your final edit before posting.

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Hashtags

#BourbonLens #BardstownBourbon #BardstownBourbonCompany #LoftedSpirits #LochsOfJura #Garryana #PineappleWhiskey #BourbonReview #BourbonTasting #WhiskeyPodcast #BourbonPodcast #KentuckyBourbon #FinishedBourbon #DanCallaway #GreenRiverWhiskey

Keywords

Bardstown Bourbon Company, Bardstown Bourbon review, Dan Callaway, Lofted Spirits, master blender interview, Lochs of Jura Barrel Finish, Jura single malt barrels, Bardstown Bourbon Discovery 2026, Garryana oak whiskey, Garryana oak bourbon, Victoria Pineapple Barrel Finish, pineapple rum cask whiskey, finished bourbon, split base whiskey, 95/5 rye bourbon, Green River Whiskey, Distillery Select, honey bourbon, IWSC 99 points, Kentucky Bourbon Festival, bourbon podcast, bourbon tasting, whiskey review, bourbon cocktails, Bourbon Lens

Jake Norris was the founding head distiller of Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey and later of Laws Whiskey House. He joins Jake Lewellen on The Bourbon Lens to talk about the Curated Barrel Project, his direct-to-consumer, cask-finished bourbon series.

Jake Norris covers:

• How he went from Stranahan's and Laws to building his own Colorado distillery
• A hybrid still design: a continuous column stripper paired with a 4-plate pot column
• Why Colorado's altitude, microbiome, and locally grown grain shape the whiskey
• The Curated Barrel Project: eight quarterly releases of 7-year-old high-rye bourbon, including an unfinished control, an oloroso sherry cask finish, and a port cask finish still to come
• The vinyl-record idea behind each release: a handwritten zine, a Spotify playlist, and 50-person chef-driven warehouse dinners
• Why whiskey isn't dying, just repositioning, and why he is "anti-snobbery"

Learn more at thecuratedbarrelproject.com

⏱️ Chapters
0:00 Meet Jake Norris
1:17 From Stranahan's to Laws Whiskey House
3:16 Building his own distillery
5:24 Continuous column + pot column design
9:22 Colorado terroir, altitude & local grain
16:29 Watercolor, whiskey & learning your still
18:13 Origin of the Curated Barrel Project
24:26 The vinyl record idea, zines & playlists
29:16 The releases: control, oloroso & port
32:11 Membership & warehouse dinners
34:30 Whiskey's future & anti-snobbery
36:54 Where to find Curated Barrel Project

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Hashtags

#BourbonLens #JakeNorris #CuratedBarrelProject #ColoradoWhiskey #BourbonPodcast #WhiskeyPodcast #Bourbon #CaskFinish #CraftDistilling #Stranahans #HighRyeBourbon #Whiskey

Keywords

Jake Norris, Curated Barrel Project, Colorado whiskey, Stranahan's founding distiller, Laws Whiskey House, bourbon podcast, whiskey podcast, craft distilling, cask finish bourbon, oloroso sherry cask bourbon, port cask finish, high rye bourbon, direct to consumer whiskey, craft distillery startup, hybrid column pot still, whiskey club membership, whiskey zine, anti-snobbery whiskey, whiskey market 2026, Bourbon Lens

Is rye whiskey having a moment? Jake Lewellen reviews Proof & Precedent, a brand-new 11-year-old straight rye whiskey from Illinois bottled at 121.6 proof (60.8% ABV). It's a small batch blend of Illinois ryes, created with Brian Harris of Sipping Corn, Matt Cusack, and Marcus Neiman.

In this Five Minute Fridays tasting, Jake covers:
🥃 Why rye is surging, with Angel's Envy's Peach Brandy Cask finished rye, Silverthorn's 13-year, Dark Arts' 15-year, and Joseph Magnus' batched rye
🥃 Nose: apricot, peach, brûléed sugar, candied orange, honeysuckle, and a "hot toddy" aroma
🥃 Palate: fruit cocktail syrup, star anise, warm baking spices, and heavy oak on the finish
🥃 Why this high-rye rye drinks with the complexity of a high-rye bourbon, which makes it a good pick for bourbon drinkers who find rye too spicy
🥃 Jake's verdict: one of the top rye whiskeys he's had in 2026

⏱️ Chapters
0:00 Intro: a new Illinois rye from Proof & Precedent
0:42 Why this release matters
1:10 Rye whiskey is having a moment
2:02 Nose: apricot, peach & candied orange
2:53 First sip: 121.6 proof
4:13 Verdict: rye for bourbon drinkers
5:15 Final thoughts & rating

Have you tried Proof & Precedent? Tell us in the comments!

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#ProofAndPrecedent #RyeWhiskey #IllinoisWhiskey #WhiskeyReview #BourbonLens #FiveMinuteFridays #StraightRye #BarrelProof #WhiskeyTasting #BourbonCommunity

Proof and Precedent, Proof & Precedent review, Proof and Precedent rye whiskey, Illinois rye whiskey, 11 year old rye whiskey, 121.6 proof whiskey, straight rye whiskey, high proof rye, small batch rye, rye whiskey review, new whiskey release 2026, best rye whiskey 2026, rye whiskey tasting notes, Sipping Corn, Brian Harris, Matt Cusack, Marcus Neiman, rye whiskey for bourbon drinkers, Five Minute Fridays, whiskey podcast, bourbon podcast, bourbon review, Bourbon Lens, Jake Lewellen

How did Bardstown go from a quick distillery stop to a true bourbon destination? Bourbon Lens hosts Jake and Scott sit down with Sam Lacy, Executive Director of the Bourbon Capital Alliance (BCA), to break down the growth of Bardstown bourbon tourism, from new hotels and downtown tasting rooms to the Bourbon Capital District, where you can carry your drink from bar to bar.

Sam shares the story behind the Bourbon Capital Alliance, the nonprofit uniting 10 partner distilleries, and how National Bourbon Week grew from a 30-minute lawn ceremony in 2018 into an eight-day event in 2026. He also shares new data showing bookings from 37 states and 70% of them from out of state.

You'll also hear about the new Bourbon Capital Diplomat Certification Program, a hospitality course that teaches bartenders and servers about bourbon, Bardstown history and proper pours. We get into why it matters, what Jake and Scott scored on the exam, and what's coming for National Bourbon Week 2027.

⏱️ Chapters
0:12 – Welcome and meet Sam Lacy
1:17 – What the Bourbon Capital Alliance does
2:41 – How the BCA started (2016–2026)
5:34 – New hotels, restaurants and the premium shift downtown
7:37 – The Bourbon Capital District (open carry downtown)
8:33 – Downtown tasting rooms: Chicken Cock, Old Steel House, Boundary Oak, The Bard
14:14 – The history of National Bourbon Week
18:53 – 2026 data: 37 states, 70% out-of-state bookings
23:19 – The Bourbon Capital Diplomat Program
35:24 – Why proper glassware and "pour, not shot" matter
41:06 – What's next for National Bourbon Week 2027
49:16 – How to sign up: Academy, Guild and National Bourbon Week

Resources mentioned
Bourbon Capital Academy (Diplomat Program, $75): BourbonCapitalAcademy.com
National Bourbon Week: NationalBourbonWeek.com
Bourbon Capital Guild (member lottery): BourbonCapitalGuild.com

Subscribe for more weekly discussions, tastings, and bourbon insights from the Bourbon Lens community.
Follow on Instagram: ⁨@bourbonlens⁩
Visit: www.bourbonlens.com
Merch: https://bourbon-lens-shop.printify.me/products
Discord: https://discord.gg/pd6ys5nRS

Hashtags

#BourbonLens #Bardstown #BourbonCapitalOfTheWorld #NationalBourbonWeek #BourbonTourism #BourbonPodcast #KentuckyBourbon #BourbonTrail #BourbonCapitalAlliance

Keywords

Bardstown bourbon tourism, Bourbon Capital Alliance, Sam Lacy, Bourbon Capital of the World, National Bourbon Week 2027, Bourbon Capital Diplomat, Bourbon Capital Academy, Bourbon Capital Guild, Bourbon Capital District, Bardstown Kentucky, Kentucky Bourbon Trail, Bardstown distilleries, Bardstown tasting rooms, Bardstown hotels, things to do in Bardstown, bourbon certification program, bourbon education, bourbon hospitality training, Potter Jane Distilling, Limestone Branch, Heaven Hill, Maker's Mark, Lux Row, Bardstown Bourbon Company, Kentucky Bourbon Festival, bourbon podcast, Bourbon Lens, Jake Lewellen

Steve Beam of Limestone Branch joins Bourbon Lens to pour and break down the brand-new 2026 Yellowstone 101, a limited edition blend of 14 and 8 year old Kentucky straight bourbon double finished in Ruby and Tawny port casks.

Steve shares how he builds these limited releases from scratch: sourcing barrels through brokers, buying the port at the liquor store to test flavor pairings, blending in graduated cylinders, and why he "makes bourbon that I like to drink." Jake and Steve trade tasting notes (blackberry, cocoa nibs, charred oak, dark fig, and a peanut butter and jelly finish), and Steve explains why Limestone Branch is narrowing its focus to core products in 2026 and beyond.

Also in this episode:

🥃 The hand-painted Recollection Series, recreated from a late-1800s porcelain barback bottle found on eBay

🇺🇸 The US 250th Lady Liberty release: hand-picked single barrels in a throwback cylinder tube

📜 154 years of Yellowstone, sold continuously even through Prohibition ⏱️ Why a single LTO takes 18 months to 2 years from first idea to bottle 🥃 How Steve drinks whiskey: neat, wide-nosing glass, never on ice

Whether you're a longtime Yellowstone fan, a port-finish curious sipper, or planning a stop at the distillery in Lebanon, Kentucky, this conversation is a great look at the craft behind one of bourbon's oldest brand names.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 Welcome and Limestone Branch's 2026 focus
• 3:47 154 years of Yellowstone 5:15 The hand-painted Recollection Series 8:43 The US 250th Lady Liberty bottle
• 11:30 Yellowstone 101: how the limited editions are made
• 17:38 Tasting notes: nose, palate, finish
• 25:06 Blending vs. finishing: how this one was built
• 32:53 How long an LTO takes
• 34:24 What's next for Limestone Branch

🔔 Subscribe for more weekly discussions, tastings, and bourbon insights from the Bourbon Lens community.

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#YellowstoneBourbon #Yellowstone101 #LimestoneBranch #SteveBeam #BourbonLens #BourbonReview #PortFinish #KentuckyBourbon #BourbonPodcast #WhiskeyPodcast #LimitedEditionBourbon #BourbonTasting

This week on Thursday Thoughts, Jake sits down with Coby and Ben Franzini, co-founders of Chevalier Casks, to unpack one of the least understood — but most critical — corners of the bourbon industry: bulk spirits. Ben is also a co-owner of Bluegrass Distillers, and Coby spent 25 years as a commercial banker in central Kentucky before moving into bourbon finance, giving the two a unique combined view of how barrels actually move through the industry.

The conversation covers how distilleries quietly offload excess barrel inventory, why privacy matters so much in these deals, and how the wholesale barrel market has shifted dramatically in the last 18 months — with prices on some aged barrels dropping from thousands of dollars to a fraction of that. That shift, they argue, is opening the door for a new wave of small, independent bourbon brands who can finally make the math work again.

In this episode:

• What "bulk spirits" actually means and why it keeps bourbon on shelves
• How Chevalier Casks and Bluegrass Distillers work together
• Why distilleries sell barrels quietly — and why privacy is starting to matter less for some brands
• How barrel prices have shifted in the last 18 months, and what it means for small brands
• What trends are showing up in demand right now (hint: wheated bourbon)
• How Chevalier Casks' online marketplace works for both buyers and sellers
• The hidden costs (storage, tax, insurance, freight) brands often don't budget for
• How a new brand can get started working with Chevalier Casks

Subscribe to Bourbon Lens for more conversations with the people shaping the bourbon industry.

• 0:00 – Intro: what bulk spirits are and why they matter
• 1:19 – How Chevalier Casks got started
• 3:24 – How Chevalier and Bluegrass Distillers work together
• 5:23 – How barrels quietly move from distillery to broker
• 7:00 – Privacy, NDAs, and why some brands now talk openly about sourcing
• 10:49 – How barrel prices have shifted in the last 18 months
• 13:29 – Why it's a good time again to start a small bourbon brand
• 15:48 – How NDPs actually buy lots (and how fast double-digit ages move)
• 19:57 – What's trending: wheated bourbon and blending strategies
• 26:23 – Getting started with Chevalier Casks
• 28:9 – The hidden costs of building a brand (storage, tax, freight)
• 29:37 – How Chevalier's online marketplace works for buyers and sellers

This week, Bourbon Lens heads to Bardstown, Kentucky to sit down with Whitney Rye — founder and CEO of The Parlor Room, host of The Mash Bill podcast, and better known on Instagram as Bourbon Duchess. Whitney built The Parlor Room around a simple idea: teach people the story behind the bottle, not just tasting-note jargon, in a space designed for rare, allocated, and vintage pours.

In this episode, Whitney walks Jake and Scott through the tangled, dramatic history of Barton Distillery — from its 1889 roots as one of the first distilleries to reopen after Prohibition, through a 1940s fire and rebuild under Oscar Getz, a name literally drawn out of a hat, a trademark lawsuit from Woodford Reserve that forced a mid-run name change, and the 2013 pivot to Sweet Wheat. Along the way, the group tastes through a vertical flight of Barton-family whiskeys spanning nearly 40 years — culminating in a first taste of the brand-new 1792 Straight Rye.

In this episode:

• Whitney's origin story — from My Old Kentucky Home State Park to founding The Parlor Room
• Why she intentionally leaves formal "tasting notes" out of her classes
• The real (and litigious) history behind the Barton/1792 name
• A vertical tasting: a 1986 Very Old Barton, a vintage Tom Moore, Ridgemont Reserve 1792, and the new 1792 Straight Rye
• Why 1792's rye whiskey is also the backbone of several Buffalo Trace rye releases
• A broader conversation on bourbon oversupply, aging whiskey, and why age statements may be bourbon's next chapter

🥃 Featured pours: Very Old Barton (1986), Tom Moore 5-Year, Ridgemont Reserve 1792 8-Year, 1792 Straight Rye 📍 Location: The Parlor Room, Bardstown, KY

Subscribe to Bourbon Lens for more distillery visits, tastings, and bourbon history.

#ParlorRoom #BourbonDuchess #BartonDistillery #1792Bourbon #1792StraightRye #BardstownKY #BourbonLens #VintageBourbon #DustyBourbon #KentuckyBourbon #BourbonPodcast #WhiskeyPodcast

It's Bourbon Heritage Month, and on this episode of Five Minute Fridays, Jake goes straight to where it all started: Old Forester Birthday Bourbon, one of the most talked-about — and most divisive — releases in the bourbon world. This year's edition lands at 11 years old and 97 proof, released earlier this month.

Fresh off Kentucky Bourbon Festival, Jake sits down (with a little personal timing — his daughter's birthday is just days away) to break down the nose, palate, and finish of this year's Birthday Bourbon, compare it to Old Forester's recent "Kentucky Boy" release, and explain why he thinks this might be one of the best versions of Birthday Bourbon he's tasted yet.

In this episode:

• Why Birthday Bourbon is one of the most controversial releases on the market
• Tasting notes: burnt sugar, crème brûlée, brown sugar, caramel, French vanilla custard, tobacco, and cherry cordial
• How this year's release compares to Old Forester's "Kentucky Boy"
• Why Jake thinks Old Forester and Brown-Forman are "on a heater" right now
• The team behind the blend — Caleb, Melissa, and Chris
• Final verdict: would Jake buy it at SRP?

• 0:00 – Intro: Bourbon Heritage Month & Birthday Bourbon's controversial reputation
• 0:58 – This year's release: 11 years old, 97 proof
• 1:29 – Why today's tasting is personal (daughter's birthday)
• 2:11 – Nose: burnt sugar, crème brûlée, caramel, French vanilla, baking spice, tobacco
• 2:49 – On the 97 proof and the blending conversation from Kentucky Bourbon Festival
• 3:36 – Palate: oak, tannin, brown sugar, caramel
• 4:21 – Finish: tobacco, cherry cordial
• 4:58 – Comparison to Old Forester's "Kentucky Boy"
• 5:38 – Final verdict and the team behind the blend