Chasing the Unicorn: Bourbon & American Whiskey

Luxco's Remus brand marked its Repeal Reserve series' 10th anniversary with two releases at once: Series X, a three-mash-bill anniversary bourbon, and the brand's first-ever rye whiskey, a 95%-rye release at 111 proof. Both are priced the same, both are on shelves now, and no lottery sits in front of either one.

The retail detail — the where, the when and the numbers — isn't in this episode. Platform rules for alcohol content don't allow it here. All of it is in the American Whiskey Industry Brief, free every morning at chasingtheunicornpodcast.com.

The Cut asks three questions today. First: should a bottle only count if you show up in person, using Bardstown's festival-exclusive debuts as the test case. Second: given a choice between Jeptha Creed's nine-grain solera bourbon and Brown-Forman's Kentucky Boy tribute blend, which is the better bet — new grain and method, or a proven back catalog. Third: what Four Roses' four-letter recipe codes actually promise, and where that promise runs out.

The retail detail — the where, the when and the numbers — isn't in this episode. Platform rules for alcohol content don't allow it here. All of it is in the American Whiskey Industry Brief, free every morning at chasingtheunicornpodcast.com.

Garrison Brothers took eight barrels from an identical French Limousin finishing program. Seven went into the standard Laguna Madre blend. The eighth was bottled alone at full cask strength for roughly four times as much. Same wood, same years, same distillery — one path costs a quarter of the other. John argues the premium buys scarcity, not a different whiskey, though the proof gap is real.

The retail detail — the where, the when and the numbers — isn't in this episode. Platform rules for alcohol content don't allow it here. All of it is in the American Whiskey Industry Brief, free every morning at chasingtheunicornpodcast.com.

Redemption's new Bottled-in-Bond single barrel was distilled at MGP's Ross & Squibb Distillery in Indiana and bottled in Kentucky — with the barrel number, mash bill and distilling season printed right on the label. It's a clean look at what a Non-Distiller Producer is, and why full disclosure, not the word "sourced," is what separates the brands that last from the ones that get called out.

The retail detail — the where, the when and the numbers — isn't in this episode. Platform rules for alcohol content don't allow it here. All of it is in the American Whiskey Industry Brief, free every morning at chasingtheunicornpodcast.com.

Today's Cut asks three questions cold: can you trust a court receiver's 30-day timeline for the Uncle Nearest sale when the case underneath it keeps producing defaults and a new IRS claim; what "Bottled in Bond" actually legally guarantees versus what people assume it means, using Bib & Tucker's new release; and whether Bulleit '87 is a genuine two-whiskey blend or marketing math dressed up as innovation.

The retail detail — the where, the when and the numbers — isn't in this episode. Platform rules for alcohol content don't allow it here. All of it is in the American Whiskey Industry Brief, free every morning at chasingtheunicornpodcast.com.

Old Forester replaced the camp-out line for Birthday Bourbon with a random mail-in drawing, but winners still have to make a trip to Louisville and show ID before the bottle changes hands. Franklin weighs whether that's real fairness or just a relocated barrier, points to Starlight's Mizunara lottery as the same argument in different clothes, and lays out what to actually watch — gift-shop drops of leftover stock, secondary market pricing on last year's bottle, and winners posting about their pickup trips. He puts his own guess on the unclaimed-bottle count on the record and asks listeners to do the same.

The retail detail — the where, the when and the numbers — isn't in this episode. Platform rules for alcohol content don't allow it here. All of it is in the American Whiskey Industry Brief, free every morning at chasingtheunicornpodcast.com.

This week's calls all circled the same test, whether it was a lottery, a sourced-whiskey launch, an eight-year rye, or a pair of finishing programs from one distillery. Franklin revisits Monday's Silverthorn Reserve call, Thursday's Garryana-versus-Jura call, and Friday's bourbon certification call — one held up, one is still too early to judge, and one, honestly, didn't. Plus a trip to a seed-to-spirit tasting room in Fort Collins and a look at what's in the American Whiskey Industry Brief that never made it to air.

The retail detail — the where, the when and the numbers — isn't in this episode. Platform rules for alcohol content don't allow it here. All of it is in the American Whiskey Industry Brief, free every morning at chasingtheunicornpodcast.com.

Two new bottles, two different bets. Basil Hayden's Cognac Cask Reserve leans on 20-to-25-year-old French oak that held Cognac; Remus's Repeal Reserve Series X blends three mash bills built and aged in-house for nearly two decades. One buys someone else's barrel. The other buys someone else's judgment. John argues the blend wins — and explains why finishing and blending aren't the same lever at all.

The retail detail — the where, the when and the numbers — isn't in this episode. Platform rules for alcohol content don't allow it here. All of it is in the American Whiskey Industry Brief, free every morning at chasingtheunicornpodcast.com.

Bardstown Bourbon Co. put out two whiskeys at the same price with opposite finishing bets — four months in scarce Garryana oak versus 32 months in Scottish casks. Shortbarrel added sherry to its 50-plus-cask cigar blend for the first time. And Brown-Forman's CEO exit lands the same quarter Jack Daniel's slipped while Woodford and Old Forester grew.

The retail detail — the where, the when and the numbers — isn't in this episode. Platform rules for alcohol content don't allow it here. All of it is in the American Whiskey Industry Brief, free every morning at chasingtheunicornpodcast.com.

Old Forester's Birthday Bourbon winners can't send a friend to collect — they need matching ID, in person, in Louisville. Sagamore Spirit's new Bottled-in-Bond rye leans on a federal age guarantee instead of a label's word for it. And Maker's Mark's oldest-ever bourbon raises the question of whether older automatically means better.

The retail detail — the where, the when and the numbers — isn't in this episode. Platform rules for alcohol content don't allow it here. All of it is in the American Whiskey Industry Brief, free every morning at chasingtheunicornpodcast.com.