Adam Johnson (@CamperJohnson), Director of the KY Bourbon Trail, comes back to gives us the scoop on the 2016 Bourbon Affair and a more about Senate Bill 11.

Show Notes:

• Senate Bill 11 tourism reform bill
• You’re our first 3-peat guest, what’s been happening in the past year?
• We’ve said time and time again that the Bourbon Affair is like a fantasy camp for bourbon lovers. Give everyone a recap of what is the Kentucky Bourbon Affair.
• I was fortunate enough to go to the Opening Event last year at the MegaCavern and it was phenomenal. I was able to rub shoulders with titans of the industry and met some stellar folks. My wife even got me to do the ropes course since i’m scared of heights. What is the opening event like this year?
• Talk about some of the newer events happening this year?
• There was also one with Heaven Hill’s Build-aBarrel. talk about that.
• I see that half the events are already sold out. it seems like everyone wants the opportunity to do a single barrel selection.
• Pick the top 3 events with tickets still available.
• We talked about the Old Forester Speakeasy series with Andy Treinan a few weeks ago. That seems like another “can’t miss event”

Andy Treinen, the Director of Marketing at the Frazier History Museum (@FrazierMuseum), talks history of prohibition, the future Bourbon Museum for “bourbonism”, and the Old Forester Speakeasy Series.

Show Notes:

• Huge shoutout to Josh Menke for sending us a sample of Stranahans
• Talk about your introduction to bourbon
• What is the Frazier History Museum?
• Talk about the prohibition exhibit on display right now
• Talk about some of the things in the exhibit
• Talk about George Remus and Al Capone
• Why did they decide to do an exhibit?
• What do you think is the most prized possession in the exhibit?
• Talk about the future of this exhibit and your partnership with the KDA
• Talk about what we will see in the future bourbon museum
• This is important because of your location, so talk about that for a minute
• Talk about the Old Forester Speakeasy Series
• Finally, what’s the cost of admission to those who are on the trail and want to see the exhibit?

Patrick Hutchens, Owner of Promotional Wood Products, shares his company’s story of giving premium bourbons the extra edge.

Show Notes:

• Tell us about your first encounter with bourbon
• We’re sipping on a barrel of Knob Creek that you picked out. Tell us about it.
• What is Promotional Wood Products?
• How did the relationship form that you began to make all the boxes for every Booker’s?
• How has production scaled in Booker’s boxes over 22 years?
• Talk about how the scents of the Goose Island Rare box that you did
• What’s the process for making a box?
• How have you tried to perfect the manufacturing process?
• Talk about the process of the barrel heads
• Talk about the amount of moisture inside of the used barrel products
• Are wooden boxes today like the gimmick of the ceramic decanters of the 70s?
• Is your goal to have every bottle of bourbon out there in some wooden box?
• When you do put these items in boxes, do you really feel that you are making it a premium product?
• Any special release boxes coming out?

Turner Moore, President of Whiskey Obsession Festival, joins the show to talk about the festival and what to expect this year. It takes place 3/30/2016-4/1/2016 in Sarasota Florida.

Show Notes:

• How did you get into bourbon or whiskey?
• Is there a certain bottle you would favor towards when you first began?
• Talk about your festival
• What do a lot of attendees coming away with at the end of the day and why do they love coming to your event?
• How does the panel session work?
• Talk about the tasting session and how you move from light to bolder flavor whiskies.
• What happens on the day of the main event?
• Where can you buy tickets?
• Talk about the cigar and whiskey pairing and what’s a good start for someone just beginning on that journey?
• Are any local distilleries going to be there?

Seth Thompson, of The Bourbon Classic, chats about all the awesome events being held from Feb 23-27th, 2016 and how you can get last second tickets.

Show Notes:

• Tell us your story of how you got into bourbon?
• If your house is on fire, what’s the one bottle you grab?
• Give the high level pitch of The Bourbon Classic
• How has the event grown over the years?
• Let’s dive into the events. Talk about the key events on Friday and Saturday
• It’s awesome because consumers can take away knowledge about food pairings
• It looks like Saturday is the big day. Friday is the pre-game. Talk Saturday’s all day extravaganza
• Bourbon and ham pairings sound very intriguing
• If you’re coming from out of town, you can learn about Louisville’s Whiskey Row in a session with Mike Veach. Talk about that.
• Talk about The Classic Taste
• How much are tickets and how many are left?
• Talk about all the events leading up to the main events on Friday and Saturday
• Talk about the Van Winkle event that is sold out
• What are the added benefits of VIP tickets?
• Talk about the brands and distilleries that are going to be a part of the event.
• Any ideas for the 2017 event?

Chad Hartsfield, Owner of ReWicked Candles, discusses the process of turning old bourbon bottles into works of art.

Show Notes:

• Tell us your story of how you got into bourbon?
• Tell us about ReWicked Candles.
• What was the inspiration?
• How do you get around legal issues with brand names?
• Explain to us the process.
• How do you experiment with the scents in the wax?
• Where do you get all your bottles?
• What’s the reaction you get from bars or distilleries when you’re asking for empty bottles?
• How do you plan on keeping up with demand?
• Talk about the light fixtures and display cases your getting into
• What are you always on the look for when your picking or hunting?
• When did you start collecting bourbon?
• Any tips for dusty hunters?
• Do you barter for higher-end empty bottles?
• Where can people buy your products? Etsy Shop or [email protected]
• Lets talk about the cost of the candles.
• What are the most popular candles?

Robert Mohr & Tom Johnson of Aroma Academy (@AromaAcademyUS) join the podcast to talk about the science behind using olfactory senses to know more about your bourbon and the key aromas.

Show Notes:

• How do you store your extensive bourbon collection? Is it like storing wine?
• Give us a quick intro about how you are and how you got into bourbon
• The tagline is “a sensory training for DRINKS PROFESSIONALS” so talk about what is Aroma Academy
• Are the smells common between everyone or does everyone smell something different?
• What are some of the key aromas we get from bourbon?
• Has there ever been a bourbon, scotch or wine that you’ve nosed and you said, “I’m not even going to drink that”
• Talk about your blog post on creating a Pappy Van Winkle nosing sample
• Have you found two particular brands of bourbon that are two polar opposites of one another?
• If someone purchases a kit, is there a 24-hour turnaround time or how long does it take to better develop your olfactory senses?
• Do aromas change based on density levels depending on the type of glass its in?
• Talk about letting the alcohol dissipate after pouring it in a glass before nosing and tasting
• Special 20% discount for Bourbon Pursuit listeners on the 24 Aroma Kit – When checking out, just use the coupon code “Pursuit”.

John Kowalczyk reveals how he started a Bourbon Christmas Gift Exchange that grew from just a handful of friends to an event that is sponsored by liquor stores and distilleries.

Show Notes:

• Overview of the past few bottles to come out and Ryan is becoming a dusty hunter after attending Whiskey Pig at Willett Distillery.
• What’s your bourbon story? How did you get into it?
• Tell us about your Bourbon Gift Exchange
• Are there rules to your gift exchange?
• Throw out some of the names of the brands you had your first year
• How did more people find out about it and spread?
• Is there a certain bottle that stands out among the crowd?
• How did you get sponsorships from local stores and even distilleries?
• What are the plans for this year? Are you trying to step it up?
• After the exchange is over, do people just immediately open their bottle and start sharing?

Matt Jamie, Founder and Owner of Bourbon Barrel Foods, talks about how he started a company with Bluegrass Soy Sauce into a brand that does everything to promote “Eat Your Bourbon”.

Show Notes:

• We’ve taken a hiatus and we apologize. Sometimes life just gets in the way… and bourbon hunting. lots and lots of bourbon hunting.
• What’s your bourbon story? I know you are a Louisville native, has bourbon always been in your blood like ours?
• Tell us the story of Bourbon Barrel Foods and how it got created.
• Talk about some of the products and what makes them special
• I notice that you also have a lot of products from Woodford Reserve. Can you talk about their products or the partnership you have with them?
• Talk a bit about Kentuckiaki and Bourbon Vanilla Extract
• I was also reading about a sponsorship you received in 2013 to help build a Kitchen Studio. Can you talk about that?
• Do you have any of your favorite recipes?
• If people in louisville and traveling for the bourbon trail want to find a retail store, where do they go?
• What entails the Eat Your Bourbon Class and the Chef Series?
• If you want to learn more, you can visit the online at bourbonbarrelfoods.com or follow them on twitter @bourbonbarrel

Mikael Mossberg, Co-Founder & CEO of Distiller, talks about his whiskey recommendation app and how his whiskey passion led him to be in the startup world.

Show Notes:

• Kick off the show talking about Parker’s Heritage Collection #9, The Malt Whiskey Release
• What has your past been that led you up into Distiller?
• Tell us more about the app, what would you categorize it as?
• How did the idea spawn?
• We really like the “trending bottle”, how did that idea come about?
• Walk us through the recommendation engine
• Where do you find your expert reviewers?
• The reviews are like Amazon reviews, short and to the point.
• What sort of glasses do you drink out of? I found a good tidbit of information from Marianne Barnes about density and nosing.
• How many people are on the platform?
• How do you get all these bottles and samples for reviews?
• How did you come up with the tagline “The Whiskey Companion”?
• Shout out to our new audio engineer David Isreal