The Bourbon Life

This week on The Whiskey Trip Podcast, Big Chief takes you on a ride to announce his 2023 Craft Distillery and Whiskey of the Year with special guest Steve Johnson.

I’m the first half Big Chief announces Treaty Oak Distillery in Dripping Springs Texas as his 2023 Craft Distillery of the Year. The Big Man explains that Treaty Oak won it with an overwhelming feel of hospitality and experience. Food, Music and great whiskey is never missing at this Texas Hill Country Gem.

In the second half Big Chief announces Maker’s Mark Celler Aged as The Whiskey Trip 2023 Whiskey of the Year. There is no surprise that this Wheated Bourbon at 115.7 proof wowed the Big Man. While there were others that came close, this expression of Maker’s Mark hit all the right spots with sweetness, spice and a long finish.

Big Chief and Steve start the show sipping on a Treaty Oak Single Barrel expression that is 5 years old and 119.7 proof.  They finish the show on the second half sipping on the Celler Aged from Maker’s Mark.

This ride on The Whiskey Trip gave Big Chief an opportunity to thank all his great guests who took a ride with him on the Podcast in 2023.

Cheers!

In this Episode of The Bourbon Life Podcast, Matt and Mark spend some time hanging out in The Bourbon Life Studios with Sam Rock, Founder, of Bluegrass Distillers in Lexington, KY. Sam was previously a guest on Episode 102 in January 2022.

The guys talk with Sam about all of the changes that have occurred with Bluegrass Distillers in the almost 2 years since Sam was last on the show, including the trials and tribulations of building a brand new Distillery from the ground up, their new side project, Chevalier Casks, which is a wholesale spirits and new oak barrel brokerage, as well as what the future looks like for Bluegrass Distillers, including the much anticipated opening of their new Distillery in Midway, KY in Spring 2024.

They also taste and review Bluegrass Distillers’ Wheated Bourbon, their Elkwood Reserve 9-Year Old Bourbon, and their Bluegrass Distillers’ Toasted Oak Bourbon.   

This Episode of The Bourbon Life Podcast is sponsored by Liquor Barn, The Stave Restaurant, Three Chord Bourbon, and District 7 Social.

Check out all of our amazing sponsors online at: 

www.liquorbarn.com    

www.thestavekentucky.com 

www.threechordbourbon.com

This week on The Whiskey Trip Podcast, Big Chief takes you on a ride with a Liquor Store and Whiskey Festival. His guest is Michael Wright, General Manager of Longhorn Liquor chain in Southeast Texas and Director of the SETX Whiskey Festival.

Michael tells the Big Man about the ins and outs of a liquor store chain and how they manage their allocated whiskey. He also tells Big Chief about his Festival that supports Cure Rare Disease and how last year’s inaugural event raised over $300,000 for the nonprofit.

Big Chief and Michael start the show with a Garrison Brother’s store pick that was 148.2 proof. Wow!! It was a flavor bomb. They finish the show with a Balcones Honey Barrel Finished Whiskey that had a cult following. High proof kept the sweetness to just the right level.

This ride on The Whiskey Trip is an example of the goodness whiskey can create to help those that need it the most. Please visit Cure Rare Disease today.

Cheers!

In this Episode of The Bourbon Life Podcast, The Bourbon Life Crew spends some time hanging out live in The Bourbon Life Studios for their Holiday Spectacular, or as Matt called it their Bourbon Life Crew “Crewza Booza Reviewza Palooza”, aka the “15 Whiskey Blind Challenge.”

The Crew also discusses Bourbon Influencers on social media and what each thinks is acceptable and what isn’t when it comes to Influencers and then the Crew presents Mark with a collection of rather interesting Christmas gifts.

They also taste and review 15 different whiskies blind (3 different pours each for the 5 Crew members) and try to guess what they are each drinking.

Who did the best? Well, you’ll have to listen to the Episode to find out.  

This Episode of The Bourbon Life Podcast is sponsored by Liquor Barn, ZBiotics, The Stave Restaurant, Three Chord Bourbon, and District 7 Social.

Check out all of our amazing sponsors online at: 

www.liquorbarn.com    

www.zbiotics.com

www.thestavekentucky.com 

www.threechordbourbon.com

This week on The Whiskey Trip Podcast, Big Chief takes you on a ride with a lawyer. His guest is Brian Haara, author of Bourbon Justice: How Whiskey Law Shaped America. He tells Big Chief about how he would review old litigation and how he stumbled on an interesting case from the late 1800’s about The Old Pepper Distillery.

This led to him finding more and more cases in the Kentucky State archives, which led to Fred Minnick pressuring him to write a book about the stories that marketing fails to tell. And just like that he had a book - well sorta. Listen to the episode for the rest of the dram.

Brian sips on a Woodford Reserve barrel pick to start the show and Big Chief starts with Marker’s Mark FAE-02. In the second half, the guys sip on Elijah Craig Barrel Proof - Heaven Hill has never missed the mark with this expression.

This ride on The Whiskey Trip is an example that there are stories buried that need to be told. Thanks to guys like Brian the consumer can be told the truth and learn the facts of these historic whiskey law cases.

Cheers!

In this Episode of The Bourbon Life Podcast, Matt and Mark spend some time hanging out live in The Bourbon Life Studios with Brad Williams, Senior Category Manager for Spirits at Liquor Barn/BevMo/GoPuff. Brad was previously a guest on Episodes 90 & 127.  

The guys talk with Brad about what has changed and what has stayed the same with his position over the past year and half since he was last on the show, what it’s like being responsible for picking barrels for over 400 stores across the US now, and what the future looks like as Liquor Barn fully integrates with GoPuff.

They also taste and review a Liquor Barn Rittenhouse Rye Pick, the new James E. Pepper Barrel Proof Bourbon, and the James B. Beam Distilling Co. Distillers’ Share Batch 04.   

This Episode of The Bourbon Life Podcast is sponsored by Liquor Barn, The Stave Restaurant, Three Chord Bourbon, and District 7 Social.

Check out all of our amazing sponsors online at: 

www.liquorbarn.com    

www.thestavekentucky.com 

www.threechordbourbon.com

This week on The Whiskey Trip Podcast, Big Chief takes you on a ride to Lewisville, Texas and introduces you to Bendt Distilling Co. He chats with Raleigh Hughes, who is the Head of Sales. Raleigh takes the Big Man through all of this beautiful distillery’s expressions that are all Bottled in Bond and they discuss their unique submarine pot still. This place is the reason Big Chief came back to podcasting.

Raleigh and Big Chief start the show with the Bendt No. 5, which is a blend of all their expressions and has a citrus zest to it. They then move to the UnBendt Rye which has a unique mash bill of Elbon Rye, Triticale Hybrid Grain, Marris Otter Malted Barley, and Naked Streaker Oats. This gives it a thin mint cookie taste. They finish the first half with the UnBendt wheat whiskey which makes Big Chief light up with excitement.

In the second half they start with UnBendt Bourbon, which at 5 years old can compete with anything on the shelf. They finish the show with UnBendt Malt Whiskey. What a wonderful expression of Malted Whiskey using wheat as a secondary grain.

This ride on The Whiskey Trip shows that Texas Whiskey’s are coming of age and are to be respected as their own classification. Get out and get on the Texas Whiskey Trail.

Cheers!

In this Episode of The Bourbon Life Podcast, Matt and Mark spend some time hanging out live in The Bourbon Life Studios with Denny Potter and Jane Bowie, Co-Founders, of Potter Jane Distilling Co.  

The guys talk with Denny and Jane about their very impressive backgrounds in the industry, the difficult decision to leave what many would consider dream jobs at Maker’s Mark to build their own distillery from the ground up, and what consumers can expect from the new Potter Jane Distilling Co. once it’s up and running, including their decision not to source any whiskey while they wait on their own distillate to mature.

They also taste and review Old Fitzgerald 17-Year Old Bourbon from Spring 2022 (brought by Denny), an old bottle style Baker’s 7-Year Old Bourbon (brought by Jane), and a 25-Year Old Highland Park Single Malt Scotch (also brought by Jane and one of her personal favorites).  

This Episode of The Bourbon Life Podcast is sponsored by Liquor Barn, ZBiotics, The Stave Restaurant, Three Chord Bourbon, and District 7 Social.

Check out all of our amazing sponsors online at: 

www.liquorbarn.com    

www.zbiotics.com     

www.thestavekentucky.com 

www.threechordbourbon.com

This week on The Whiskey Trip Podcast, Big Chief takes you on a ride to North Texas and introduces you to Ironroot Republic Distillery. He chats with Robert and Jonathan Likarish and also gets a surprise visit from the Mother of Texas Whiskey, Marcia Likarish. This family tells us their story of how a family reunion and a visit to a distillery got their gears rolling.

The brothers traveled the country, visiting other distilleries, learning how to distill their own whiskey. With being a distiller in Denison, Texas which is the sister city to Cognac, France, they wanted to use the French technique of elevage when making whiskey. The brothers give praise to their mother, saying she’s the glue that keeps the distillery together.

The Likarish Family and Big Chief start the show with Promethean. It uses a Floriani Red Flint corn in the mash which gives it a cayenne spice. They then move to Ironroot Harbinger 115, one of the Big Chief’s favorite whiskies of all time. The brothers call it their brunch whiskey. They end the first half with a winter tribarrel blend which is a 5-, 6- and 7-year-old whiskies.

In the second half they start with a Saint’s Alley, an MGP blended with their whiskey. This is a collaboration with the Liquor Hound. The next expression is the Saint’s Alley The Nobleman Rye. They finish the show with Ironroot Apotheosis V which is a bourbon finish in a PX Sherry and Amburana cask. It’s cinnamon rolls drizzled in caramel coffee. Delicious!

This ride on The Whiskey Trip shows that there are still new ways to finish and make whiskey that are exciting and will expose your palate to notes you have yet to experience.

Cheers!

In this Episode of The Bourbon Life Podcast, Matt and Mark spend some time hanging out live in The Bourbon Life Studios with their good friend, Chad Watson, Single Barrel/Operations Manager, for Rare Character Whiskey. You might also recognize Chad as a member of The Bourbon Life Crew.

The guys talk with Chad about his background in the world of Big Box retail and how that led him to his current position with Rare Character, the story behind the Rare Character brand and how it all got started, as well as what the future looks like for Rare Character.

They also taste and review Rare Character’s Exceptional Series Kentucky Straight Malt Whiskey, their yet-to-be-released 10-Year Brook Hill Bourbon, and Rare Character’s Fortuna Kentucky Straight Bourbon Batch 4 (blended by Chad himself).

This Episode of The Bourbon Life Podcast is sponsored by Liquor Barn, ZBiotics, The Stave Restaurant, Three Chord Bourbon, and District 7 Social.

Check out all of our amazing sponsors online at: 

www.liquorbarn.com    

www.zbiotics.com     

www.thestavekentucky.com 

www.threechordbourbon.com