At Bourbon Pursuit, we always talk about the community aspect of whiskey, but rarely do we get to sit down with someone whose personal journey so deeply intertwines with building that community. That’s why I was so excited to welcome Randy Sullivan to the show today. You might know him from Bourbon Real Talk or his brand, Prideful Goat. Randy shares a truly heartfelt story about how personal loss, specifically the passing of his brother, became a catalyst for him to create welcoming spaces for whiskey lovers. This conversation is packed with genuine moments – from hilarious reflections on his early days and the unique connections he’s made, including how challenge coins got introduced into the scene! Randy is incredibly open about his own battles with mental health and the powerful impact the whiskey community has had on him. We also touch on the spontaneous journey behind co-founding Prideful Goat, focusing on quality and authenticity. Ultimately, this episode is a powerful reminder from Randy about the warmth and support found in the whiskey community and the simple, yet profound, importance of connection and looking out for one another

Show Notes:

• Randy Sullivan’s heartfelt journey in whiskey
• The impactful role of Jack Daniels in his life
• Founding Someone Say Whiskey and fostering positivity
• The concept of “challenge coins” in whiskey networking
• Navigating mental health dialogues within the whiskey community
• The inception of Prideful Goat and its core values
• The power of relationships and cherished memories through whiskey
• Randy’s uplifting message about love and support for the community
• Support this podcast on Patreon

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We talk a lot about rarity, allocated bottles, and market prices on this show, but what about the bottles that mean something more? What about the ones that aren’t worth a fortune on paper, but hold irreplaceable memories? That’s the topic we’re diving into today in a really special episode featuring myself, Ryan, and Fred Minnick. Prompted by a listener asking about the significance of bottles beyond their monetary worth, we each opened up our personal collections – not just the unicorns, but the bottles tied to moments in our lives. You’ll hear some incredibly personal stories, from Ryan saving a specific bottle for his son’s future birthday, to my own reflections on a signed Maker’s Mark from my college days, and Fred sharing the significance of a Maker’s 46 sample straight from Bill Samuels himself. It’s a reminder that while the hunt and the hype are fun, the true value of bourbon often lies in the memories made and the connections shared over a glass. We get into the culture of trading and even touch on the financial side, but ultimately, this conversation is all about the joy, the nostalgia, and the heartfelt connections that make these bottles truly priceless to us.

Show Notes:

• Emotional connections tied to bourbon collections.
• Personal anecdotes behind treasured bottles.
• The significance of sharing experiences over rare finds.
• Fred’s humorous caution about revealing bottle names.
• Ryan’s Rowan’s Creek bottle for his son’s future birthday celebration.
• Kenny’s college memories associated with a signed Maker’s Mark.
• Insights into bourbon trading and its emotional rewards.
• Celebrating connections formed through memorable bourbon experiences.
• Candid discussions about the financial aspects of collecting.
• Reflecting on the joy of bourbon journeys and friendships.
• Support this podcast on Patreon

You know, if there’s one topic that sparks debate and curiosity among bourbon enthusiasts, it’s definitely wheated bourbons. Today, we’re doing a deep dive into these unique spirits with an incredible panel: the always insightful Brian Haara, the ever-knowledgeable Blake Riber, and our good friend Nick Beiter. We’re exploring the history and the recent surge in popularity of these bourbons, tracing their lineage back to legendary names like Maker’s Mark and Stitzel-Weller. But the conversation quickly shifts to a spirited debate: what truly makes a bourbon wheated?

Show Notes:

• Kenny leads a roundtable discussion on the rise of wheated bourbons
• Brian shares his initial experiences with wheated expressions
• Blake discusses the historical legacy of Maker’s Mark and “poor man’s Pappy”
• A debate on how to define a wheated bourbon, including brands like Penelope
• Examination of marketing’s role in consumer understanding of wheated bourbons
• Insights into how wheated bourbons compare to rye-based counterparts
• Speculation on the future evolution of the wheated bourbon category
• Support this podcast on Patreon

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We’re back with Day 2 of Between Two Barrels from the 2024 Kentucky Bourbon Festival. Kicking off day 2 is Chris Chapanar of Whiskey Noobs telling us what you should be paying for bottles, then it’s Chad and Sara of It’s Bourbon Night on how to make cocktails easy at home, next is TJ of Brewzle who says the three tier system is destroying craft distilleries, Frank Dobbins who writes for UPROXX gives insight into how many bourbons are all derived from a single mashbill, and we wrap up the day with Jack Beguedou, the Hood Sommeilier, who will take us on a sensory experience. It was a special moment for us to host this event with everyone at KBF and now the planning has started for a completely new format we’re bringing to the 2025 Kentucky Bourbon Fest.

Show Notes:

• Chris Chapanar @whiskey_noobs – The Price is Right… Sometimes
• Chad and Sara @itsbourbonnight – Making Cocktails Easy
• TJ Gamble @brewzle – Why are we trying to kill craft whiskey distilleries?
• Frank Dobbins @bourbyourenthusiasm – From One Mash Bill Many Bourbons Are Born
• Jack Beguedou @hood_sommelier – SPICES AND WHISKEY: A sensory experience
• Support this podcast on Patreon

At the 2024 Kentucky Bourbon Festival, we ran an activation at the Pursuit Spirits area called Between Two Barrels which featured lightening talks from people who you probably already follow on different social media platforms. The topic was up to them and they had anywhere between 5-15 minutes to speak freely on whatever they wanted. We ran this activation for two days with 5 session on each day and have broken this up into two different releases. This first day features Chris Blatner known at the Urban Bourbonist talking about session cocktails, Jacob Kiper from Coming Whiskey with the origins of the three tier system, Mark Rucker of The Bourbon Life discussing how to turn a passion into a way of life, Tyler Zoller of Louisville Bourbon Buzz gives tips on whiskey content creation, and we wrap up day 1 with Heather Wibbels known as the Cocktail Contessa, telling us how to select the perfect bourbon for your cocktail.

Show Notes:

• Chris Blatner @urbanbourbonist – Drinking Less While Still Drinking
• Jacob Kiper @comingwhiskey – Origins of the 3 tier system of distribution
• Mark Rucker @the_bourbon_life – Turning A Passion Into a Way of Life
• Tyler Zoller @louisvillebourbonbuzz – Whiskey Content Creation 101
• Heather Wibbels @cocktail_contessa – Selecting the Perfect Bourbon for Your Cocktail
• Support this podcast on Patreon

In this episode, we sit down with Amine Karaoud, the founder behind Old Louisville Whiskey Company. Amine’s path is unorthodox, transitioning from a safe career in engineering to living a life behind the counter of a struggling liquor store in Old Louisville. At that store, he learned about the business and how to navigate the three tier system. He also had some foresight where he took profits from the store and started buying barrels at MGP years ago but he didn’t know what to do with them. Fast forward a few years, he’s got a healthy stock of double digit aged barrels and an idea of creating a new brand. His past life with the retail ingrained a sense of hospitality which is one of the reasons why he has fostered a community that grabs up all his releases.

Show Notes:

• What inspired your move from engineering to the whiskey industry?
• How did you revitalize the liquor store you took over?
• What obstacles did you encounter while launching your whiskey brand?
• Can you elaborate on your barrel sourcing strategy?
• Why did you choose to build your own distillery instead of using co-packers?
• What role does community engagement play in your business?
• Insights into your blending process and the importance of mash bills.
• How has your retail experience influenced your whiskey offerings?
• Any tips for budding distillers or liquor store owners?
• Support this podcast on Patreon

We’re coming together and we’re talking about age statements. Wild Turkey 101 is making its 8 year return for the first time since 1992. But I really wanted to pose a question of when do age statements really matter? You see all kinds of brands that are very successful without age statements, namely coming from Brown Forman with the likes of Old Forrester and with Woodford Reserve. Even the most famous bourbon on the planet, Blanton’s, doesn’t have an age statement. So when do age statements matter?

Show Notes:

• Wild Turkey 101 is making an 8 year return
• When do age statements matter?
• Support this podcast on Patreon

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Every year we get to talk to a brand that has started to captivate the market and I can’t stop seeing Found North pop up all over my feeds. Founders and brothers Zach and Nick Taylor join the show to talk about how they found a product-market fit. They did it the right way by finding really high quality Canadian whiskey, double digit age statements, and appeal to the cask strength chasers with high proof whiskey.

Show Notes:

• Journey of Zach and Nick Taylor into the whiskey industry
• Transitioning from tech startups to whiskey entrepreneurship
• Challenges and milestones in launching Found North
• Importance of age statements and high-proof Canadian whiskey
• Insights on blending techniques and flavor innovation
• Marketing strategies focused on authenticity and consumer engagement
• Community building and the role of word-of-mouth in whiskey promotion
• Support this podcast on Patreon

This is one of my favorite types of episodes because this bourbon world is full of hype, flops, superstitions, and just weird stuff. We return to this beloved format of is something over, under, or properly rated. We ask if the iconic cocktail, the Old Fashioned, whiskey collections, MGP, cigar blends, speakeasies and more as we ask are these over, under, or properly rated?

Show Notes:

• The Old Fashioned vs. Manhattan: cocktail preferences of whiskey enthusiasts
• Scotch: overrated or properly rated?
• Discussing MGP’s role in the market: reputation vs. reality
• The evolution of whiskey collections and wise collecting practices
• Cigar blends: a trend or a genuine innovation?
• Light whiskey: its place in the greater whiskey landscape
• The value of tasting flights and the allure of speakeasy bars
• Support this podcast on Patreon

You’re probably reading the title to this podcast going, what? a podcast from 2018? Yes, this is a never before aired episode that Ryan and I recorded at Bourbon Bonanza back in 2018. So here’s the story. Bourbon Bonanza was an offshoot event that would happen during Kentucky Bourbon Festival but wasn’t associated with the festival. It was tied in with Willett so there were a lot of influential people at the time that came to this event. Ryan and I took our equipment, plus our very first release of Pursuit Series, into what was Harrison-Smith House at the time which is now the new Chicken Cock visitor center and we sat down with Bill Thomas of Jack Rose in Washington DC and Mike Miller of Delilah’s in Chicago, who still to this day run the most successful whiskey bars in the country. There is also a small appearance by Tatsumi at the very end and you will hear his story as a part of this episode. The sound environment was challenging and I wasn’t happy with how the audio turned out. Let’s fast forward almost 7 years and audio cleanup software has gotten so good that it’s now time to release it. We talk about the festival, barrel picks, community, and trends they were seeing at the time. So here you go, a blast from the past with an unreleased archive episode.

Show Notes:

• Bourbon Bonanza Festival Highlights
• Bourbon Culture Transformation
• Community Building in Bourbon
• Enjoyment vs. Investment in Collecting
• Personal Whiskey Memories
• New Distillery Discoveries
• Insights on Barrel Picks
• Trends in the Bourbon Market
• Support this podcast on Patreon