Today, we are bringing you part 1 of 2 for our Pursuit Palooza 2026 AMA session recorded live with myself and Ryan Cecil. We take a look back at how Palooza originally grew out of having way more whiskey and industry guests than we could ever fit on the podcast and why we decided to start having Palooza.

From there, take questions from our fans in the audience about transparency in labeling, dissecting “bottled by” statements, straight bourbon requirements, and whether the average consumer actually cares about production details versus price, story, and flavor. Plus, we address the big question on everyone’s mind: has the bourbon boom peaked, or is there still room for category growth?

Show Notes:

• Palooza Origins: How having too many podcast guests and leftover whiskey barrels spawned Pursuit Palooza.
• Labeling & Transparency: Breakdown of “bottled by” statements, legal requirements, and what consumers actually value on the shelf.
• Pursuit Archive & Revivals: The story behind Sherry River Rye, keeping an archive of past releases, and future P-Club plans.
• State of the Bourbon Industry: Addressing market shifts, changing distribution habits, international growth, and the end of truck-chasing.
• Hard Lessons in Craft Distilling: What we underestimated about packaging, marketing, and navigating the three-tier system when starting Pursuit Spirits.
• Underrated Distillates: Ryan and Kenny highlight hidden-gem producers like Tennessee Distilling Group, Woodinville, Still Austin, and Southern Distilling.
• The Reality of Organic Bourbon: Why large-scale organic grain production faces massive hurdles with pests, weeds, and high costs.
• Palooza War Stories & Blending Dreams: Recalling wild Palooza mishaps, dream blending-room collaborators, and the ultimate death row food and pour pairings.