Wednesday's American Whiskey Industry Brief opens with the most time-sensitive MSRP call in the current window: Heaven Hill's Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond Spring 2026 Decanter at 100 proof and an 11-year minimum age statement — the most defensible bourbon gift in the $75–$90 tier, with Father's Day ground-shipping deadlines expiring tomorrow. The Cut Spotlight is the Elijah Craig 18-Year 2026 at $89.99, pre-allocation open through June 25. First Sip covers The Mash Bill — the grain-by-grain framework that resolves the 18-year bracket's $10 price gap into a palate question rather than a value question.

Today's full written brief (free): https://chasingtheunicornpodcast.com/podcast/2026-06-17-the-cut-daily/

The American Whiskey Industry Brief on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/ChasingTheUnicornPodcast

Tuesday's Cut: Michter's confirmed the Fort Nelson walk-up window for the US★1 10-Year 2026 — July 11, 12, and 13 in Louisville, no lottery, no reservation, $159.99 MSRP against a $350 to $450 secondary floor. First Sip Concept 46 covers the three access mechanisms — pre-order, lottery, and walk-in — and when each one rewards a buyer. Cut Spotlight: Four Roses 2026 Limited Edition Small Batch, TTB confirmed 108.2 proof, pre-allocation open at $149.99 before the recipe reveals and secondary adjusts. Bar Talk: EC18 at $89.99 and 86 proof versus Elijah Craig Barrel Proof C926 at $79.99 and 130.4 proof. Full American Whiskey Industry Brief at patreon.com/ChasingTheUnicornPodcast. Written brief at chasingtheunicornpodcast.com.

Monday's American Whiskey Industry Brief opens with the value reset that reshapes the premium tier: Heaven Hill's Elijah Craig 18-Year Straight Bourbon confirmed at $89.99 — the brand's first 18-year age statement, 6,000 bottles through standard retail, pre-allocation closes June 27. A year older than Eagle Rare 17 at ten dollars less. First Sip Concept 9 covers age statements versus NAS and what the 18-year federal floor actually guarantees. Cut Spotlight is Wild Turkey Master's Keep Triumph 2026 — today is the final day at primary retail, with pre-sale secondary tracking $280 to $320 on 11,400 bottles at 17 years and 116.4 proof.

Franklin maps out the allocation calendar for the week ahead, starting with Wild Turkey Master's Keep Triumph 2026 — 17 years, 116.4 proof, 11,400 bottles nationally — closing its window Monday, June 15. BTAC 2026 lotteries are live in Virginia and Ohio, with Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Michigan portals expected soon. The feature this week is the Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch 2026: buyers are committing on proof data alone — 108.2, the highest the series has run since 2019 — before master distiller Brent Elliott reveals the recipe on July 8. It's a look at what trust in a distiller actually costs.

Franklin walks through a week where the common thread was access — who gets the bottle, how, and on whose terms. BTAC lottery portals opened free of charge in Virginia and Ohio, a federal label clearance for E.H. Taylor Old Warehouse "C" gave specialty retailers a quiet window, and Wild Turkey's Master's Keep Triumph started drawing secondary quotes before most buyers had heard of it. The week's standout story comes from Hye, Texas: Garrison Brothers released what the Texas Whiskey Association is calling the first Bottled-in-Bond bourbon in Texas craft distillery history — the same 129-year-old law, doing real work in a rickhouse where summer runs past 105 degrees and the angel's share runs twice what Kentucky surrenders. Franklin closes with what's still reachable this weekend.

Friday's American Whiskey Industry Brief opens with National Bourbon Day 48 hours out and the sharpest community one-bottle debate in years: Larceny Barrel Proof A926 at 126.8 proof and $69.99 versus Wild Turkey Master's Keep Triumph 2026 at 116.4 proof, 17 years, and $199.99. Triumph allocation window closes June 15 — one side of this debate has an action clock. Cut Spotlight: A926, BUY AT MSRP. First Sip Concept 24 covers the framework for comparing two bottles smartly. Full analysis at patreon.com/ChasingTheUnicornPodcast.

Thursday's American Whiskey Industry Brief opens with the sharpest active price spread in the current market: Wild Turkey Master's Keep Triumph 2026 at $199.99 while secondary pre-sale tracks $280–$320, allocation window closing June 15. Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond 11-Year walk-up closes tomorrow at $99.99 — today's Cut Spotlight, 100-proof federal BiB credential, walk-up at Heaven Hill-connected retailers through June 14. First Sip Concept 6 covers the angel's share — the evaporation physics behind why 17-year bourbon costs what it does. Full analysis at patreon.com/ChasingTheUnicornPodcast.

Wednesday's American Whiskey Industry Brief leads with a clean Father's Day gift map: three confirmed bourbon MSRPs — $54.99, $99.99, and $199.99 — landed in the same 48-hour window with hard shipping deadlines closing before June 21. First Sip Concept 10 covers Finishing — what stave finishing actually does to bourbon and how to taste through it. Hunt Cut Spotlight: Wild Turkey Master's Keep Triumph 2026, 17-year minimum at 116.4 proof, allocation closes June 15 at $199.99. Full report at patreon.com/ChasingTheUnicornPodcast.

Tuesday's American Whiskey Industry Brief leads with E.H. Taylor Jr. Old Warehouse "C" Bottled-in-Bond 2026 — TTB confirmed June 6, press release not yet dropped, and the retailer notification list is at its narrowest in this gap. First Sip Concept 8 covers The Rickhouse: what warehouse designation actually tells you about what's in the bottle and why the secondary market prices it the way it does. Hunt Cut Spotlight: Wild Turkey Master's Keep Triumph 2026, 17-year minimum at 116.4 proof, MSRP closes June 15. Full report at patreon.com/ChasingTheUnicornPodcast.