216. Bourbon Hunting and Allocated Bottles

Holy shit. It's four French mocha, two 46, three French cuvee, two American pure, and one French spice. Man, this bottle has been insanely good.

Welcome to another trip down the Bourbon Road with your hosts Jim and Mike. So grab a glass of your favorite bourbon and kick back.

Hello everybody I'm Jim Shannon and I'm Mike Hyatt.

And this is the bourbon road. And today, Mike, you're joined once again by some great roadies.

Yeah, we got our moderators on. We got Adam Boothby from Chattanooga, Tennessee. We got Drew Allen from Memphis, Tennessee. Man, that was Tennessee people. And then we got a South Carolina get boy on here. Jason Waller from the low country state there.

Fellas welcome to the show. Jason, we just had another South Carolina bourbon on. I saw that. Well, listen to it today. It's really a Shelbyville whiskey. Yeah. Oh, come on. Let them own it, man. Let them own it. Yeah. It was still a really good whiskey. And they contract distilled it. So they were calling all the shots. Yeah.

That's an easy way for Jason to get over to Hilton Head and get some Kentucky whiskey. Yes, sir.

So guys, what we're going to do tonight, since it is really hunting season, and I'm not talking about deer hunting season, I'm talking about bourbon hunting season, right? We're in the thick of it right now. And we were going to talk about what big bottles you have bagged so far this season. I've been pretty lucky, so I'm pretty excited about it. But I know a couple of you have gotten some good bottles. So I figured we'd talk about Bourbon Hunt season and some changes this year in Bourbon Hunt season, if there have been any, and what's kind of going on with Bourbon Hunt season.

This can be a fun topic, P.G.

and Jim.

Oh, yeah. So first, before we get to all that, let's start off a little bit about what everybody's drinking. What do you say, Mike? Let's do it. Jason, let's start with you.

Little Wild Turkey 101 to start the night.

Wise choice. I have to say a wise choice.

Drew? I'm drinking all the cookies bourbon, which is the newest edition of the R&D department at Old Dominic Distillery here in Memphis.

Drew, you were making me hungry every time you started talking about oatmeal, oatmeal cookies. Is there something really with bourbon going into oatmeal cookies or is it the other way around?

Oh, it's, it's, it's all, it's like all the baking spices and then cookies and makes you just super hungry.

Adam, what do you have in your glass?

I'm sipping on the new Fourgate, the Bluegrass Trilogy 2 for their new trilogy release.

Ah, how is that?

It's fantastic. I've become a little obsessed with the, with the four date releases. So that's, that's both good and bad.

Mike, what's in your class? Well, you know, Queenie King in Kentucky, you know, I've got to have a little C Y P B in my glass. It is bourbon. This is a bourbon hunting show. So I figured, Hey, why not try to get one of the ones that everybody's going to be hunting, right? Or standing in line, whatever you're going to do, whatever you call it. What about you, Jim? What you sipping on?

I'm drinking a little bit of the 2021 release of the Restoration Rye out of Castle & Key.

Now they started doing some single barrels over there and they're supposed to be pretty dang good.

Yeah.

Has anybody got to taste any of those?

I haven't, but it was the single barrel rye, right?

It was. Yep. And it's a weekly release. Well, that's something a little bit different. Um, but they're doing a weekly release. Let's get into this. So have any of the three of you, have you picked up any bottles this bourbon hunting season? Have you got a phone call? Have you got a text? Have you stood in line for a bottle?

Drew, you might need to go first on this one.

Um, I got a, uh, I got a Michter's 10, which is the first time I've gotten anything like that. You know, it may not be on everyone's hunting list. It's definitely allocated. And then a four rows of single barrel, barrel strength, the OESB.

Wow. Two, two big bottles there really.

Didn't, didn't Buster's have a release that you managed to stag? Yeah.

I was able to get an OWA, uh, pick from them. They had, they had three total. I was only able to get one, but, uh, they dropped, uh, the first stag junior store pick here in Memphis, as well as, uh, the first or second well or full group of the season.

I think both of those is bourbon honey.

Didn't snag the other two, just got the OWA, um, but I'll be hunting for the other two for sure.

What about you, Jason? You picked up anything?

The only thing I got, which I guess is now out there for everybody, but, uh, the Mickers toasted barrel.

That's a nice one.

Yeah. I actually got it at, uh, I guess the previous release price when they, I guess when they first pushed it out, at least my liquor store rep told me I like a store guy. He said when they first pushed it out, they pushed it out at the price that it was the last time they released it. And they realized they made a mistake and had to bump up the price. The next time I went in. So it went from, I got, I paid 79 and it went up to about 115 almost in a span of a week.

Now, Mike, I know you put that on the table when we were in Frankfurt.

Yeah, pretty much a bottle kill. We drank it on a show. I'd cracked it down in Tennessee and we killed it within like three weeks, the whole entire bottle. And it was a popular bottle. Everybody's like, can we, can we have a taste of that? And I was like, that's what whiskey is for right there. It is for Sharon. And, um, I'm always glad to get a bottle like that. I forgot about that. I got that bottle things. Yeah, I forgot all about it. It was out of my memory. I guess it really wasn't that memorable. Adam, what do you what did you snag so far this year?

this year. I haven't snagged anything since spring, believe it or not. We've been completely dry here recently on the hunting season releases or allocated bottles, as you might see them. So yeah, we haven't had a whole lot. Now, I'm hoping for next weekend. I have high hopes for next weekend. It at least may be a birthday bourbon, so we'll see. Nothing since spring, but spring, I couldn't complain about spring, right? I walked out of that store with a William Leroux Weller for 200 bucks. So I can't complain a whole lot. I really can't.

That was a good grab. Yeah. Yeah. There's, there's nothing wrong with that. Right. So there is a spring for new listeners out there listening. There is a spring hunting season that kind of coincides with the real spring hunting season, Turkey season. Um, it's right around that same time. So I always got to debate what I'm going to do. Am I going to go get some bourbon or I'm going to go get a Turkey. Um, And I just go to the store and get some wild turkey and just be happy and go turkey hunting, I guess. I mean, that's the way to do it, right, Jim? That's right. Absolutely. So, Jim, have you gotten anything?

It seems like I would know, but you know, sometimes... Yeah, I think I'd probably let you know if I did. You know, I'm thinking that it's not quite cold enough yet to go out and stand in line. I think it's got to be just a little bit colder. You got to be like four o'clock in the morning, frigid, standing in front of Total Wine, right? Isn't that how it works?

Actually, I think it's, I think it's all night long sitting in front of the liquor store with some of those propane heaters for, you know, that you can pick up at Lowe's, you get a propane heater that attaches to the top of the big tanks and blows all the heat. Then you survive all night in the cold.

Thermos full of coffee with some bourbon cream and it helps.

Lots and lots of bourbon cream, right? That's what me and Vivian, I've been going through the pounded bourbon cream, uh, cause we, you know, just, I guess on our off days, we're off together more. Um, and I'll come in from hunting, like real hunting and, uh, we'll, uh, have our coffee together and man, we went through several bottles of that, but my bourbon hunting season this year, not that I went out hunting if I haven't stood in line or anything, but I got that mickters toasted. Um, I got a four roses limited. Addition that from this year. Um, I'll call about that. Got a birthday bourbon. I got a King of Kentucky. It's hidden away from, from my beautiful eyes. I just, uh, I know if I don't look at it, I'll forget about it. Um, so I don't, I don't want to touch it. I guess I'm worried about it. If I, if it's there, I might drink it. Um, That's been a pretty good bourbon hunting season. And today I heard a little rumor. A little birdie told me that Kroger this year is not going to do a Pappy lottery. Um, which I don't know if I'm excited about that or not.

Well, you should be excited about that. You should be very excited about that.

Well, I'm pretty excited about it. I can't tell you how overjoyed I am about that.

So does this mean that Pappy could show up at any possible Kroger at any possible time?

I think so. I don't know how true that is, but, um, I trust the guy that told me that. So we'll see, we'll see how it works out.

Jim, I think you ought to be awfully excited about this news too then.

Yeah. I mean, I like the way Costco does it. I actually, I like the way, you know, the, the manager keeps the big bottles locked away and every now and then he'll walk out and just stick one up on the shelf at random at random times of the day. Nobody knows when. I think that's a good way to do it. I mean, doesn't really help me out a whole lot, but I think it's a good, fair way to do it.

I don't, I don't know if that I liked that because the working guy that doesn't either leave his house like Jim or a guy like me that stuck in office for 12 hours, we don't have that opportunity to, I'm just talking about the average Joe guy out there working, right? That doesn't afford those people that opportunity to get a bottle. But because as soon as they stick it out on the shelf at Costco, you can look on pages and pages and pages of people posting that. They're like, Hey, there's three bottles left. There's two bottles left. There's no bottles left. You guys that are working too bad for you. That's one bad part. I guess a good part of it is no lines, right? Yeah. I mean, I like that. I like, I loved how four roses did it this year, but their lottery is online lottery and me and Jim didn't get picked for it. I think all you guys put in for it for right.

Oh yeah, absolutely.

You didn't put in for it. Was it the thing about having to pick it up at the distillery? Was that the major factor to you?

Yeah, definitely for me, just because of the distance.

You could have mailed me your driver's license. I could have walked in real quick and flashed it real fast.

I liked how they did it. That seemed fair to me, but. You know, there's always the guy out there that hasn't figured out how he enters 50 people from his family and luck of the draw, he might get two of those. I don't know how many times you would have had to enter to get that. Um, but it, to me, it seemed fair that way. Then the ways of past where people would just line up for a day and a half out there, parked in people's yards or blocking off that road. And I've heard it's, I've heard from people that were out there in line that it's not blocking that road, but imagine living on that road, that single road that goes in there, how it is all those people lined up overnight and stuff.

Just from our conversation so far, you can see opinions really vary on how, you know, how these releases or these picks ought to go, because, you know, there, there are people who prefer the lines, right? They, they've got every opportunity in the world to go stand in line for a day and a half or two days, and they're willing to do it. It doesn't bother them. And they know it guarantees them a bottle. So some people like that guarantee other people don't want to stand in the lines. You know, they try to establish relationships with the shops. You know, some people like the lotteries because they get an equal chance with everybody else. So I guess there's a, there's a wide variety of, of methods and there's good and bad to all of them.

There, there are definitely so many different methods, you know, even outside, like, you know, I think about the lines outside of old Forester and then the people gathering out there. And if that's what people are able to do and it guarantees the bottle, I think it's fantastic. Uh, you know, one of my ways around here is, is honestly the only way to get you know, bourbon hunting season or allocated bottles is to set out overnight at some of these stores that do decide to do what they call a bourbon drop. You know, and they do a few in the in the fall and they do a few in the spring. And that's kind of it. And so I don't mind going out and sitting out overnight and, you know, waiting for something that might be on a list that I really, really want to get and try. You know, for me, it's, it's a lot of fun because we all get together and we all share different bourbons with each other. So you get to try things you haven't tried. We play soccer out in the parking lots and football and everything else. And we have a really good time. And, uh, you know, so sitting in line works as opposed to trying to build relationships around here. You know, the ones who aren't doing the drops and holding those bottles to them, they, um, they're basically putting them out in the shelves, but they're above what you might refer to as secondary prices. So regardless of building a relationship or not, you're not going to get those bottles for anywhere close to affordable.

And that's another thing that I failed to mention. Then you have the shops that hold the bottles at extravagant prices, whether it be $200 for a bottle of green label or whatever it is. But there are people who say, you know what, I don't care what it costs. I get to go there and I get to buy what I want when I want it. I've got the, I've got the necessary funds to make that happen. And it just doesn't matter to me. So many perspectives on it. And I'm not going to say anyone is entirely wrong, but they certainly cause a lot of debate.

That's true. I mean, I don't know ones that one is better than the other, you know, the standing line of the shop. I think the shop is probably great, um, for the shop. Cause you get customers that come in there to a shop and buy more whiskey, right? Um, or you have that opportunity while you're sitting here thinking about, Oh, I'm in there. I'll go ahead and grab another bottle. And for the shop owner, that's a bonus. Um, I'm sure Adam, you've been in there and like, Oh, I'm here. I might as well grab that. Right.

Oh, yeah, absolutely. Sometimes you go in, you know, hoping this roaming around town trying to find something you'd really like to pick up and try. And, you know, then they randomly have a different bottle that you haven't seen yet and you get to snag that and pick it up. And so, yeah, absolutely. Just knowing that some of the shops will carry or at least periodically will get into inventory. Some of these bottles that are a little bit harder to find that you're looking for definitely cause you to pick up an extra one. Um, you know, and sometimes they'll recommend stuff too. You know, it's never so bad when you go into a shop and, you know, somebody says, Hey, yeah, you know, we have this. Hey, have you noticed, you know, we have a yellow spot Irish whiskey over there too. You know, that's great because they pointed me towards something new that I get to try that I've never tried before and they just happen to have it. So I think it's a win-win for everybody in some cases, depending on how it all goes.

Now, Drew, you got that, uh, old Dominic release, right? How many people were in line for that?

It was about, I don't know, like 25, but they still, so they dropped it before work was over. I was, work's not listening. I hope I was, I was able to sneak away from work an hour early and get down there, but it was, it was gone, I'd say within 24 hours and you had to pick it up at the distillery. And, you know, you know, the distillery is right downtown near Beale Street. You know, it's a packed area. It's really busy. A lot of tourists. I mean, it's not the easiest to get to. So you got to make that effort to go down there.

Well, they call that the chicken district, right? Then you got Gus's world famous fried chicken across the street. And, you know, if you're in Memphis, Tennessee, that's something you need to try. Is there spicy chicken? It's a different take on a spicy chicken, right?

You know, it's not your saucy chicken. It's, you know, it's a straight up breading that's just, it really warms you up inside kind of like a bottle of bourbon.

It's like a fancy Popeyes chicken is what it is. That's what I would compare it to. except I don't know if they got, they got biscuits there.

No, they use a sliced white bread, not toasted. No, no butter, no nothing. Just slight swiped bread.

Y'all are making me hungry. I'm going to have to go to a maple biscuit after this.

Talking about maple biscuits and putting syrup just on a biscuit, right? We got a new sponsor out there. It seldom seen farms are good friends up there. Uh, Kevin, Holly, he is, uh, right now is maple season for him. The maple is coming out of the tree right now. That, that maple, uh, what would you call it? That's the sap, right? The sap is coming out of the tree. He's got 2000 buckets up there getting it sap right now. Then he's going to cook it down. So seldom seen farms out there. If you're looking for some barrel aged maple syrup for your pancakes or for your biscuit there, Adam, give them a try.

Yeah. I have to say Mike that, you know, maple syrup isn't just for breakfast anymore. Right? I mean, you can cook with it, right? You can put it on your, uh, your smoked meats. You can make your old fashioned with it.

Well, one of the things I like to do cause it is deer hunting season. We're talking about hunting, right? Um, I'm fixing to make some breakfast sausage. I got to grind it up. And what I'm going to do is pour some of that. barrel aged maple syrup in my sausage that will have me some maple sausage for breakfast with a little urban kick.

You guys know what I need to try with that is a maple latte. So Sarah's always in love when I make her a maple latte. Some of that would be marvelous in it.

Well, that would be good. I mean, I just think the idea they're taking this farm fresh maple syrup and they're putting in barrels and they're allowing them the bourbon sweetness and the maple sweetness to come together and sort of extract flavors from each other. What a great idea. What a, what a great thing for us, right? Because so many things we can use it for. I'm an old fashioned nut and I used to always use Demerara sugar. I make my own syrup from my old fashions, but I tell you what anymore, there's nothing like maple syrup in the old fact.

Well, some people want to know that there are several different companies out there. But for my money, the one that has that best bourbon flavor is seldom seen farms. I'm a fat guy, so I like maple syrup and especially if you got a little bourbon in there, but it has to have that kick. It's almost like bourbon cream. I want that. that bourbon taste with, I just don't want all cream. I want some bourbon with it, right? So with maple, I want a little bit of that bourbon with it. And that's the one that has the best flavor to it so far to me.

Yeah. So if you get a chance to check them out, you know, you can find their products at seldom seen maple.com and you can, you can pick up some for the holidays. You can use it to cook at Thanksgiving to serve to your friends at Christmas, make some old fashions, invite Jim over for some old fashions. That'd be good.

old fashions and breakfast sausage on a biscuit. Yeah, baby. Adam, your rest of your hair is falling out right now as we talk, man.

It is. I don't know whether to drink old fashions or eat biscuits and grapes.

Well, Jason, have you gotten anything this year besides that bottle?

Um, I did get the, uh, batch one release of the makers for, um, all service members from my local classics. So that was, that was really exciting. The fact that we actually got it and, uh, for Jackson's classics has really come a long way in the two years plus that I've started drinking bourbon. I mean, I've, I've been able to get, um, Toast, Elijah Craig, toasted barrel, barrel proof there, that Maker's Mark bottle. And now, pretty much every time we go, I can at least either snag a Buffalo Trace, sometimes an Eagle Rare, but now they make you sign up. So you put your name on a list and if they get it in, they'll call you and say, hey, do you want one? You say yes, they'll hold it until you can come pick it up.

Well, we've talked about classics before. Why don't you explain to the listeners what classics is, uh, um, and what we're talking about.

It is the military's version of a liquor store. It is the in supply channels. Class six was your alcohol.

So not essentials, right?

Yeah, there's a nine classes of classifications of supply. And class six was non-essentials, which was your alcohol and liquor.

I'm not so sure I agree with that though.

So, yeah, it's definitely essential. Now, Drew, you picked up, um, you were like one of the first people to get maker's mark, no doubt maker's mark, right? Whether you, um, the fail to, you were like one of the first guys to get some of that. And me and Jim were lucky enough to get a bottle to do a review because of you standing in line.

We let them ferries out.

Yeah, that was, that was a lot of fun. And the tour that came with it, getting to taste it, you know, during their, during their normal tasting, along with the standard, um, makers Mark Castring, the 46, and then of course the white dog and the standard issue makers. It was just, it was a really nice, uh, nice way to do things out there. They. They've got a great program, especially for the ambassador program once your barrel is done. They really treat you well even after your barrel is done. They give you a lifetime discount, lifetime free visits out there. Usually you get a Christmas gift every year. They really roll out the red carpet and the FAEO2 release was nothing different. I brought home as much as I could. kept a few back for myself, but kind of gave, you know, gave it to friends that probably wouldn't get it, you know, especially here in Memphis. We didn't even, we barely saw it hit the shelf.

Well, you did what roadies do, right? And let's share your whiskey.

Absolutely.

Well, Mike, I'm hoping that we're going to get back down to Maker's Mark again real soon. I mean, we had an opportunity, but things didn't quite work out. Hopefully it's going to work out again for us here, probably after the holidays.

Yeah, it's just a busy time of year for everybody. The distilleries are definitely busy right now. We're definitely busy with family. It is, you know, we're talking about bourbon hunting, but it is really hunting season. That's a big thing in my house. I've been very fortunate this year. but it's just a, it's a busy time of the year. Holidays are big. I'm not even missing, I'm going to miss Drew cause we're going to be down in Memphis and Drew's going to be in Buffalo. We thought it would work out where we could have dinner together, but we're going to be passing each other tonight, I guess.

You know, speaking of bourbon hunting season and Drew being somewhere else, I messaged, I texted him the other day and said, Hey, you know, we're, we're having a bourbon drop here on a certain weekend. And he texted me and said, Oh no, I'm going to be in Ohio. So Drew's missing out on things.

This is the land of Weller up there. You'll find something.

I think we've all put in a case order of Weller 107 with him.

I switched up what I'm drinking. And last year, a five gallon bucket showed up in my house in the mail. Not the regular mail, but the bourbon mail, we call it. And I'm drinking on this nine-year-old, old Fitzgerald right here. I still got a little bit left. That would be something somebody would go hunt right there. Fitz bottle and bond. What do you think, Jim?

Yeah, I think so. No, it's good. No, I tell you what, I love the old fits. It's got a, it's got a grand flavor. It's got, it's got a little bit of spice on it. It is soft upfront, but it is definitely got that little bit of spice on the back. And I like it.

Now, Adam, you were a wealth of knowledge on old Fitzgerald bottle and bond, right? How many more years of this bottle do we have left?

If any? Next year, so through the end of 2022. So the original statement from Heaven and Hill was that they were going to release the decanter series for five years. So if you, if you count the first year of that, which was that 11 year release, I think they released in like a spring of 2017 that would make fall of 2022, the very last release of the decanter series. So what I'm curious about is what are they going to do with old fits after the decanter series ends?

Well, they might need to make some money because they got their union contract signed. They had to give up some more money, but it's signed. So the doors are back open. They're back in business. So I would imagine I'm hoping it'll still keep going. It would only make sense, right?

Well, I'm certainly hoping that they put out some variations in the age of the old Fitzgerald. You know, people love to hunt those. They love to drink them. They love to collect them. So you got all kinds of people out there when it comes to that decanter series. But, you know, if their original statements right and people really want to try to get a hold of these to have and, you know, drink through them and have one of those. I mean, the decanters are gorgeous. So you empty them out and you can keep them and put other things in them. You know, people look for them, definitely look for them while they're on the shelves because there's the potential if the news was correct at the original release that these will be gone after next year.

Well, another way to look at it is like, you know, a lot can change in five years, right? So, who has that crystal ball five years ago in 2017 and knew exactly how long they were going to do this? You know, they may rethink it, right?

Yeah, they certainly might have. It's a moneymaker. At the same time, you got to think these distilleries are sitting on stocks that they have to plan far out in advance. So, You know, it's very likely they said, hey, here's what we can go through through these various age iterations. You know, you look at them, they released a 16-year Heaven Hill distillery only release. You know, how much of that older stock can they go through and keep out there from the 15, 16, 14, the various ages? So yeah, who knows? It's kind of a guessing game. But all I have to go on was that original news statement back in 2017.

Well, I'm going to hang on to the rest of this 15 somebody sent me. I think it was you, Adam.

It's good stuff, isn't it? Yeah.

I haven't opened it yet.

Yeah. I'll be honest with you. I'll be honest with you guys that the 15 was my absolute favorite. I mean, absolute without a doubt through all the iterations, you know, for, for bottles that you're looking for and that are hard to find that 15 year old Fitz was, was fantastic. And I think big chief might still have a little bit less than a bottle somewhere. Now he's drinking. So I've got, I've got, I've got.

I've got the samples of the 13 and the 15 here and I'm saving them for a special day.

I don't know. There's something about weeded bourbon in my house that for some reason it just disappears. Maybe it's those damn fairies that we let in here and they, they're just drinking it.

What do you think? Jumped out of that maker smart bottle. your whiskey.

You know, that's something you kind of mentioned in talking about old fits guys is, you know, what do you do with your with your allocated stuff or the your bourbon hunting season stuff? I don't know what you guys want to call it here. You know, there's not really a good word for it. And then the fact sometimes it's hard to find. Right. But You know, I love to share that stuff. And I've sent bottles of the old Fitzgerald's to a lot of people around the country, you know, some guys down in Texas and like that. Big Chief, I know you shared some, you know, you left your bottle of old Forrester birthday bourbon with the good folks at Leapers Fort Distillery and just left it there. So just kind of curious, you know, what do you guys do with all of your, you know, the bottles that you really kind of, you took some time to find and treasure and, you know, you're sharing them, saving them for family.

Yes, so at least with me, I have a group of about 10 to 15 friends that live within a mile of us. And every second Tuesday of the month, we get together and we bring one, two, three bottles to somebody's house. And, you know, we might finish off a bottle that we just cracked that night, or we might just taste around. You know, typically the wives tell us, you know, 7 to 10 p.m. It usually runs till about 12 31 o'clock in the morning. Luckily, we all live really close and we can get to ride home. But, you know, that's what we do here. We just we open and we share. Last year, Memphis had a crazy snowstorm. And I just took the bottle of bourbon out. I didn't have a snow shovel. My neighbor came over and helped me. He had a snow shovel, and I brought out the whiskey. And everybody that came over and around the house, we just started passing around the bottle.

That's what bourbon is all about, the sharing, meeting people. Yeah. And I think, Jason, you've kind of, you've picked up a few things that you've saved for special occasions, right? Whether you be your brother or I think, you know, your family, you've hosted some individuals and you saved some things to celebrate.

My brother-in-law who lives in St. Louis, he was here earlier this year and he stopped by just before his birthday and he loves bourbon. His go-to is Eagle Rare. And he said, I never had the birthday bourbon. Can I try it? Definitely. It's open. It's on the bar. Grab yourself a Glencairn and pour yourself a sip. A sip or a full pour, I don't care how much you pour, just try it. It's those moments that bring people together and make it all worth it.

I'm making notes here though. I'm just planning on being in Memphis on the second Tuesday every month.

You have a big chief, Jim. Right.

That's what everybody at Leapers Fork was shocked that we just left that bourbon there that night. And we were just like, uh, there was a guy there that he didn't even work there. His son worked there. Uh, his son is one of the mash cooks. And he was like, I've never had some of the stuff you guys have over the table. Would you mind if he's like, I hate to ask you, but would you mind if I tasted some of that stuff? I said, Hey man, how about it? Man, I don't care. Um, it's just really when it boils down to it, it's just whiskey. It's just bourbon. It's not more important in life. Um, and it's better shared with friends. And, um, no, I think Jamal knows that I've never met a stranger before. Um, and a good way to open those doors, right? Is to say, Hey, would you, would you like to share some bourbon? Would you like to break some bread? Um, let me open up the doors to, uh, to this new world, um, and to taste some really special bottles that are out there. Um, so I just think it's so neat right now that like Drew, you went to old Dominic and they're starting to do releases. These craft distilleries are getting into these releases. and people are starting to seek it out. I mean, like really, really seek it out. Like, because of Adam, I was luckily enough, because I left a bottle over at Jim's house and I don't even know if there's any of that left of the legends we did. You still got some of it left back there somewhere?

Look at that.

Not only did I keep it, but I knew exactly where it was.

Yeah. But I got a full bottle of it right here in front of me. Um, because of guys like Adam that share bourbon, um, you know, I just, I can't, I just can't tell you how blessed we are to be in this community. and how open-armed people are. And I think that's another thing, Adam, you were talking about, um, setting out there, the camaraderie at those events are just absolutely amazing.

Um, you know, it really is big chief and you stop and think, and some people, you know, I've seen plenty of stuff over social media were like, Oh, you know, look at those guys sitting outside. What a bunch of idiots. I can't believe they're wasting time, but you know, in, in the small local ones that I've sat in at, man, I meet some of the greatest people ever. And the fact that we all share these bourbons and oftentimes are ones that we've never been able to try or haven't tried before, it creates a bigger family in that way. So it's not just about sitting outside waiting on a release to happen. It's sitting outside trying things, sharing our experiences, our thoughts on bourbons and You know, we end up, of course, by the middle of the night, you know, you're talking about what's going on with your family and everything else. So I've got people in my phone that I've specifically met at Urban Drops, you know, sitting outside and waiting. And that kind of revolves, you know, it's the fact that, you know, we've shared and as you said, we broke bread together and everything else. But we also help each other. So, you know, when, when like, uh, you know, for my friend, Tommy knows that, Hey, I was looking for a, uh, Penelope toasted bottle. And the first thing he said to me was I'll be sure to look out for one in case I find one for you. So it makes the bourbon community stronger and better in some senses.

That's where it's supposed to be. I would say, you know, we just did bourbon on the banks and, uh, We knew Kevin was coming on as a sponsor, right? From, uh, seldom seen farms. We knew he was coming on the sponsor already, but he was there. We knew he was going to be, he stayed at the same hotel with us. I pretty much was eating breakfast with us. Right, Jim? That's right. Um, but he came down to the tent and he was like, Hey, could I try some of the bourbons you guys got on the table? Hell yes. Absolutely. You can open up any bottle you want over there. Um, that's what we brought it for. That's this is what bourbon is all about. You know, we thought we brought some pretty special bottles to that event for people to try. I didn't bring birthday bourbon, Jim.

You hadn't, you had enough there that people really wanted to come in and try them. So that worked out pretty good. And, and thanks to our, our, uh, moderators for sticking by us that day. I mean, we must've had a hundred to 200 new roadies sign up in one day. And, and, uh, you guys were approving it as fast as they got on there.

So I think Drew and Jason were all over that.

Yeah.

We even had some family members come in there, right? Cause Jen's brother was there. And what he had to report back to you, I'm sure he said something.

Oh, he had a great time. He absolutely thoroughly enjoyed the entire day. No complaints, no, just had a blast. He was really impressed with the whole setup, the way everything went. he was shocked that the bird room was as free flowing as it was. Don't get me wrong, he wasn't complaining because he thoroughly enjoyed everything that was there. Yeah, he loved it. And, and he's actually what made Jen and I talk about, cause I had mentioned to you guys before coming back in the spring, I think I would rather come back during that festival because there's more to do at that time of the year than in the spring. So we've already kind of got it in the back of our head that that's when we want to come back to Kentucky for our second trip is for specifically bourbon on the banks.

Cool. Well, Mike, I think we're up against our break. I think we should probably, uh, take a few minutes here and, uh, and refill our glasses and come back and we'll continue this conversation. What do you say?

Yeah, we'll see if anybody, uh, pours anything new in their glass. Cause I'm just pouring all kinds of stuff over here. Yeah.

All right.

All right, listeners, we are back. It's the Bourbon Road and we've got some roadies in the house. We're doing an episode on bourbon hunting and what's on your shelf and whatever else we want to talk about, right, Mike? Yeah, I mean, heck, why not?

Hey, fresh off the press, Jim, just sent to me. our good buddy up there at seldom seen farms. This next week, if you really wanted to get some of his, uh, bourbon barrel aged maple syrup, new riff up in Northern Kentucky, they're going to be getting a shipment of it and a bluegrass distillery in Lexington, Kentucky. We'll get a shipping of it. They'll be selling it in the distillery. Go up there and pick up a bottle. If you wouldn't mind pouring on your pancakes, pour it in your old fashions. Be like Big Chief and make some breakfast sauces with it. Do whatever you want to do with it. But go out there and buy a bottle of it. We'd appreciate it. Well, I had this good buddy. It was my birthday in October, Jim. You know how I roll in October, right? It's a festival, right? We try to do a festival. Adam was super gracious to me. I got all kinds of great birthday gifts from roadies across the country. I was quite shocked. Roadies, I really do appreciate it. I appreciate the love listeners out there sending birthday wishes. But Adam, out dead himself. I don't know if he's trying to, he just, the true, um, bourbon angel he is really. Um, but he sent me a bottle of Penelope Rose cast finish, um, straight bourbon whiskey finished in a Rose wine cask. This is actually a four grain and we, Jimmy know how much I love four grain bourbons too. Um, this is a 94 proofer. I haven't tried this yet. Um, I just cracked it tonight. I'm excited.

Oh wow. Yeah. I, you know, Mike, I had to remember that, uh, uh, Somebody at Leapers Fork had posted a bottle of that. Forrest Gump and Leapers Fork, the Forrest Gump of Bourbon, Matt had put up a fact that he is sipping on that rose cast that Penelope did, and I managed to run across the bottle. So I'm glad you finally get a chance to pop that open.

Ah, it's got a beautiful nose. It's got that four green nose. Something's going on there. That sticky sweetness with me and Jim are always talking about that four grains, um, usually have. So Drew, I see a Penelope bottle in the screen. What are you sipping on tonight?

This is the, uh, Penelope barrel strength toasted, um, 117 proof. This is the black label. Uh, man, If you ever had a, uh, a hankering for some s'mores and some bourbon, that's, that's all this is. It's like a really crispy marshmallow, a chocolatey, uh, graham cracker, the whole thing. Like that's, that's the epitome of this bottle.

Oh, I think that's a new t-shirt we're going to come out with right there. That's that is a Southern word if I've ever heard one where they're hankering.

So what about you, Jason?

I've got the, uh, iron root harbinger, uh, one 15 proof.

Very nice.

What about you, Jim?

I am sipping on a little George East tag in, uh, sad remembrance of the fact that there's not going to be any this year.

I know. How about that? The fact that there will be no 2021 George T stag for people to hunt. Talk about bourbon seizing kill, right?

Could there be a bourbon heist number two coming out?

That's the best conspiracy theory I've had yet. I've heard yet. We heard it here.

That's why they don't have any cause it all got stolen. Yeah.

You know, they don't want to confirm it. There's so much news coming out of there about, uh, what? No George T stag stag junior will lose the junior after this next release. Um, and I can't remember. I think there was another, another 13, right? And no Pappy 13, right? Right. So it was probably bourbon season and what people are going to be looking for his shrunk.

Well, is that a bad thing? Really? Um, does anybody really want to drink that fire water? I mean, cause that's what that George is.

I think the last time we talked to you, chief is, uh, you called George T stag gasoline. Yeah, it's a, I remember that conversation.

Every time I try to drink some, I'm like, cool, man, that's a big boy whiskey right there.

If I ever had any, there's a release every now and then that just is magical.

So in gym, which one are you drinking?

I don't know what year it is. Um, probably 2018, maybe 2017, 2018.

Yep. And that's where I would disagree with the chief on the fire, water, gasoline comment, because the 2018, which was, ah, shit, I can't even read the proof, but the bottle 67.25 I'm blind. Even with my glasses is a, that's the 2018 and it's fantastic.

Yeah.

But I could agree with him if I was drinking the 2019. Yeah. It tastes kind of like gasoline.

So this must be the 2017 cause this is 64.6 129.2 proof. Yep.

You know, the funny thing is, is I can drink stag junior and I'll like stag junior, but the George D stag, I just, I don't know. And watch Buffalo trace will be coming out and saying, you know, they were both the same. Uh, we just been double labeling it, um, just to let you everybody know. for people out there like Big Chief that said he don't like one, but he likes the other. They're the same thing, guys.

I don't know, but it definitely, it definitely takes a, it changes the dynamic as some of the people are hunting, right? The whole kind of point of the episode is hunting this year. It changes possibly what they're looking for.

Well, is there anything that people were, or you guys are hunting for right now that you're like, as I watched that blends being poured into a, into a, is that blends?

That is Rockhill Farms.

Rockhill Farms. I just saw that neck on it there. Rockhill Farms. Oh, look at both of you guys.

I decided to go with one, something that's hunted during this season, Rockhill Farms, and two, one of Drew's favorite bourbons ever.

Yes. Well, let's talk about one of Drew's favorite bourbons ever and my quest to have everything from Buffalo Trace, right? Um, or especially all the smaller bottles or the squat bottles, as I like to call them. Um, Drew actually, that was this year. You got me. What'd you get me for my birthday? You brought it up here.

Yep. I got you the, uh, the Hancock's presidential reserve. For the, for the low price of 43 99, but it's about an inch of dust sitting on top of it. The dust costed you extra.

Yep.

But what a bottle to get kind of finish out my, uh, I wouldn't call it collection cause they're all open. They all got drink from, um, You know, that was kind of my hunting thing is to get those and have them on my shelf and for people to come in and say, man, chief, you got, you got all these bottles, but they're all open. Can I, can I have some? And that's always my first thing. If it's open, have at it. I'm probably not going to crack. There's a couple of bottles sitting on the shelf that won't get opened up because they're just waiting for that special occasion. Um, and I've said it time and time again. Um, I'm grateful for that. I did learn something new about bourbon though, Jim. Um, I got another bottle of Henry McKenna tenure today. They had a Kroger just on the shelf. But my daughter-in-law asked me if I could get a bottle of Henry McKenna with a pour date on it. And I said, yeah, I probably could get that for our granddaughter that's coming in February. And her name is going to be McKenna because of that bourbon bottle.

Wow. Okay, cool.

Because they were looking at the bottle and they were like, man, her beautiful name McKenna to be a beautiful girl's name. But they wanted a poor date on her birthday. And I said, you know, I do know some people and I don't know if I can get it done, but I will try my hardest to do it. But I learned today that that is no such thing. They don't put that on the bottle. They only put the barrel date.

They put the barrel, they put the barrel numbers, right?

Yeah. Um, so the date is barreled, not the date that it was, um, or dumped date. So I don't know what I'm going to do for them. Um, I do know this, I got a girl at work that, uh, crochets and she is making a Henry McKenna colored, uh, little baby blanket for McKenna. Her name is going to be McKenna Rose. And we're very excited about her entering this world and joining our Bourbon family. So that's what I learned today as I was buying some Henry McKenna for my boy. Yeah. So why Jim's back there searching for some whiskey? He's, I think he's grabbing some Henry McKenna. Uh, I want to take a moment to thank all the roadies out there. Um, and our listeners, all my friends, uh, across the nation, Woodrow, the whiskey dog had a close call this past week. He pretty much ate up my, uh, bourbon money, I would call it. But he got really, really sick. We still don't know why, but he has, I'd call him fully recovered. He's over here groaning. He must know I'm talking about him, but I can't say thank you enough for giving prayers out there, well wishes for Woodrow. If you know me, you know how much that dog means to me and to Vivian. So we would say thank you. Jim knows, all you guys have been in my house, you know how much we love that dog and how much he means to this farm that we live on. So I really appreciate that.

Yeah, chief. We're glad to hear Roger is doing good, man. We know you and I think Vivian sat outside a good portion of the evening. Night, in fact, outside the animal hospital, right?

Yeah. You work a 13 hour shift and then Viv says, Hey, you need to come to the emergency vet. Um, and Louisville and I was like, okay. And then, uh, we get to the emergency vet and Vivian actually stayed there. I'd been up since three 30 in the morning. So I stayed there till midnight, got home, went to sleep and Viv stayed there till two in the morning. And then, uh, I got up the next morning and he was even sicker. So Viv got up, rushed him to our normal vet. And yeah, everything worked out and they still really don't know what was wrong with him. We think he just got into something. He didn't get any whiskey in or anything, if anybody's wondering out there. But that's a scary moment in somebody's life, especially when you love your animals that much. And I know each person here has probably been down that road and stuff. But the whiskey family...

You do live on a farm and there's farm stuff out there. So, you know, he could have gotten in just about anything I would imagine, right?

Yeah. I mean, you don't, you really don't know, you know, you go through your mind of what he eat and what does he drink and people that know us and Jim will tell you this, we only feed him dog food. He gets hog ears or pig ears. But our vet reassured us, the emergency vet said, hey, he's a dog. He eats that stuff. That's not affecting him. So, but he is good. He's back to being Woodrow. He's down here. Part of the episode right now growing. Just wanted to be petted really is what he's wanting. But I can't thank everybody enough. The prayers that went into that, I truly think that that's what helped Woodrow out. So I appreciate it. And now it's time for another pour. So what do you got there, Mike? This is something everybody searches for. This is a Elijah Craig barrel proof. This is straight from the barrel. This is the 135.2 proof. This is batch A119, meaning that it was the first batch in 2019. This was a pretty good bottle right here, actually. And I run across these quite often, especially in Louisiana. I'm shocked. They're just sitting all over the place.

So those Elijah Craig barrel proofs, you can't beat them for the price. When you can find them, you know, their price, it's a fantastic pour almost every time. With the exception of one that I tasted that was pretty hot, but they're marvelous. You just cannot beat them at all.

Yeah, every time I see them, especially we're about to go to Shreveport, Louisiana, and they're all over the shelves there. I really like that they do have one there. They're the regular price, so I'm not overpaying for it. If you were picking one of these up in Louisville at one of the stores in Louisville, this would go for about 150, I would say maybe 200 bucks.

Ooh.

Yeah.

So me seeing them for 79 to 90 is a good deal.

What do you say, Adam? Cause you're, you really know your bourbon prices.

You know, you know, I say at 79, it's, it's an absolute buy at 90. You know, if it's a family story or local and, and you've been buying other stuff from them. Absolutely. I mean, it's, it's barrel proof. It almost always has an excellent taste. Absolutely. Why not? Yeah, and I'd say this too is just wait the guys to the the single barrel start dropping the Elijah grade barrel proof. They're good. They're marvelous. They're absolutely fantastic.

So and well worth the buy See, here's my perspective on the whole bourbon hunting because of the state that I am in and the ridiculous prices that they charge for said allocated bourbons during the bourbon hunting seasons, not just this one, but the spring also. I do whatever I can to try and find comparable bottles at a reasonable price. You know, just as an example, and Drew and Adam, you know, I've said it a thousand times, When you go into a store and they have the EH Taylor 18 year and the price is $29.99. And somebody bought it. Somebody bought it. And you're like for a $70 bottle of bourbon. No, not going to do it. And I, I try to steer clear of that store unless I absolutely have to go into that store. Um, because it's one of the local box stores, if you want to call it a box store, it's not named brand across the United States, just in this state. So I found a guy across the street from me that got in Jen's favorite, the very old, very small batch, Jefferson's and sells it to me for 30 bucks a bottle. He got it the early times bottling and bond for me, just for me. I asked him to get it in. He got it in. Um, Every time I go in, he's, and this is what I got. This is what I got. And believe it or not, he's like the smallest store you could possibly think of. And he has every single skew of four roses. So the distributor rewarded him last week and gave him the limited release three bottles. And he said, you can have it 250. I said, a little too rich for me, but you know, he, he sells by and large for this region, the PD of South Carolina, he sells more for roses in his little store than every other store.

So they rewarded him. I think it's great that you can find it. You can find that for 79, 80 bucks there all day long. It's a buy. And the fact that you're creating that relationship is great too, because you're getting other things you enjoy, whether it's allocated releases or not. You know, it's about you getting what you would like and what you're willing to pay for it and enjoying that bourbon. And that's fantastic.

And I've missed a couple times. I guess last week he had a Parker's Heritage and earlier this summer he got an old Fitz. And I just missed it. It was all about timing. So I missed both of them.

You're going to make me cry in that partner's heritage.

Well, and to bounce off the old fits, I have another story of when I was in Adam's neck of the woods, I was in the mountains with my wife. We went hiking and I won't name the store because I want to I want to keep that to myself. But up in the mountains, it's a little store. They had blantons for one hundred and forty nine dollars and they had old bits for one of eight. And and I was like, hey, is that That's $108 and he said, he said, yep. It's like, okay, I'll take that. And I went and bought my wife a bottle of wine and a bottle of Tito's, you know, and I left and I sent a picture to Adam immediately. I was like, Hey, your city is providing for me this trip.

You know, you always got to love those stores that really don't know what they have on the shelves, right? But they're overpriced, maybe blanks. But then you got old fits sitting up there at that price. And, you know, when I was down in Louisiana, I saw a Crown Royal peach down there. And, uh, I want to say that bottle went for a hundred dollars down there.

Are you kidding?

I was like, what the heck is going on? What is, what's going on? Why is that so much? And the guy's like, can't keep that on the shelf here. And I was like, really? I was like, I got that.

You can keep it in whole case.

I mean, it does sell out here in South Carolina, like quick, like that it's gone.

Hey, I get it.

Never for more than $29. Yeah. Ours is like $27.99.

I need to go back in Kentucky, load my pickup up and come back down here and just, just go to town and just sit on the side like watermelons and just sell it.

And boiled peanuts.

Yeah, boiled peanuts.

Boiled peanuts in Crown Beach.

As far as stores not realizing what they have, we had a store open up earlier this year and he had Blanton's on the shelf for 200. but he had a baby Saz for 31. So obviously I left the store with the baby Saz for 31 because he didn't know what he had.

Well, you always got to wonder what people know what they have and they don't. Right. You know, you go to New Orleans and you see a bottle of Blanton's for a thousand dollars and it's just a regular bottle of Blanton's up on the top shelf. And I'm like, yeah, yeah, we can't even afford a sandwich in this place. I might as well walk out. Yep. But you know, you go to Shreveport and you see this Elijah Craig barrel proof setting on the floor, on the floor with dust all over it. It's $65. I said, I'm going to grab every bottle they have right there and take it back to Kentucky.

I do all right with that. You know, Mike called me one time he's on the road. He had already, he'd already left the place. He'd already, he'd already stopped at this place, seen what they hadn't left. And he called me as he was already an hour down the road and said, Hey, I just left a place that had the entire BTAC collection at two 50 a bottle. What should I have done?

The answer is bought it all.

I should have offered to sell me now drew. That's right down the road from your house is right down the road from your house in Memphis. Um, I think that goes through there. I was like, what? And I guess I just did French cause I was in a hurry and we're like kind of rushing around. Um, so kind of story of my life anyways.

Here's what I'm curious about guys. Jim, you know, let, let's say each of you, you know, we're out doing bourbon hunting, however you do it. What's, what's, what's something you're looking for this year? What are you curious about? What's got, what's piqued your interest for this quote bourbon hunting season?

You know, I'm a sad guy to ask because I get excited about. some new craft distillery bottle I've never had. I get really frigging excited about Casey Jones or something like that. But, um, I guess I'm not really hunting any particular bottle. What would I like to add to my bar? I think I'd like to add maybe a King of Kentucky, maybe. Oh, let's see. Four roses, small batch, limited edition. I'm not really after any of the Buffalo Trace stuff, even though it's great to get. I'm just, I've got a few and I'm okay with what I have. So that's kind of me. That's where I am. I just get real excited about a new craft distillery, a new bottle that I haven't had before somebody else. It's a doing something great. We've been blown away lately by some craft products and it just amazes me what they're able to do. And as, as these younger distilleries get more years behind them, some of their stuff is just turning into. candy wonder. I mean, it's just so good.

Big Chief, what about you? We know you have a magical wizard hiding somewhere.

Some stuff that I'm really looking for this year is I have still, my unicorn this year would be William LaRueller. That would be my bottle that I really, really want. Obviously a Pappy bottle. I've never owned a bottle myself. So just have a bottle and I will guarantee you this listeners. If you don't think this is true, that bottle won't get resold. It will get open and I will pour it for other people. I'm like Jim though, you know, some of these craft distilleries out there, I get really geeked out that we get whiskey in the mail and I get to open it and I get to taste it. And I'm like, damn, that's good. I mean, me and Jim will look at each other and say, Oh man, I can't wait to get this again. Um, we got some of the setting on our shelf up there, up upstairs right now. That I just it's taking everything I can take not to open it up and go ahead and taste it so. Those craft stories out there are rocking it. They're killing it. Um, you know, I'm going up to Pittsburgh this week and I'm super excited to go to a craft distillery going down to Memphis. Um, I'm going to stop in and see our good friend, Alex Castle, taste some whiskey down there on my trip back. Um, And I'll get to sit down in there and talk about those things with Jim and say, man, this stuff is really good. Jim will get we're getting the. uh, this distillery right here and give him my take on it and stuff. But I was really excited about today's review. You know, we, we reviewed a whiskey from our hometown, really our, our hometown distillery, and it was pretty damn good. Um, was it a hundred bucks? It was, but that bottle it was in was, um, pretty special bottle, I guess. And the bottle probably cost them a little bit of money. So I understood that, but you know, Jeff, the Creed distillery, they actually just released their high ride bourbon. It's a bottled bond and I can't wait to open it and try it and see what it tastes like. Yeah. Jim's holding up the Johnny fever right now. It's got a shotgun shell on top of it. Um, it's, it's a nice bottle dark too, right?

Yeah. Amazingly dark. Yeah.

And that's from right down the road. I mean, I could actually probably, I mean, I could throw a rock over there, but, um, the next road over from my road is woodlawn and they actually have their Rick houses on the property over on woodlawn and stuff. That's how far that whiskey is away from me.

Like, yeah, you totally, you totally could. I headed up to your house before and passed by jump the creed. And next thing I knew, I was heading down towards your right. So,

Woodlawn is not even at Jepta Creed. Jepta Creed is on the interstate, but they have a bunch of Rick houses. I think there's 10 there now, um, right across the creek, really from my house. Um, I think me and Jim figured out, let's say a mile from my house is where their real Rick houses are. They got other Rick houses at the distillery, but the big Rick houses are there. And that's where that contract is still whiskey sits at. So. It just kind of geeks me out, but that's what I'm looking for. Adam is I'm looking for that next craft. The story is going to blow me and Jim's mind. Um, you know, me and him, like he said, he will be in a bar together and he's like, Mike, let's try that right there. And I'm like, okay, let's, let's do it. Um, but then you'll taste it and you'll be like, that's pretty damn good. That's really good whiskey. Yeah.

You get, you get something like legends or you get something like, uh, broken barrel or, uh, you know, just, it just blows you away. These guys are really killing it.

I bought the broken barrel off your guys review. It's, it's solid.

Yeah, it is. It's really good.

It's not expensive at all. I'm curious. I'm curious about you and you and, uh, and Drew.

Well, from my perspective, it's not so much the big allocations. It's when is South Carolina going to get more into the state? New RIF, I absolutely love New RIF. Every time I've had it, it's been fantastic. The old Bardstown infusion series, I love that bottle that I got in Maryland. The Stellum bottle that I got in Maryland was amazing. The Blue Note nine-year that I got in Georgia was amazing. But I have to go to these other states just to get it because we can't get it. They haven't opened up distribution to South Carolina yet. Yeah. See, my brother-in-law got me one of those.

Jason, what do you guys think? Should we mail this to Jason?

And my brother-in-law is actually bringing me one from Maryland because there's one county in the entire state of Maryland, Montgomery County, that sells new riff. And him and his girlfriend went out of their way, driving back from here to go pick me up a bottle. But the Blue Note nine years, amazing. It's so good. And we just can't get them here. I just wish there was more distribution to the state so I could get more of those. That's the hardest thing about it is we just, we're very limited here in what we can and cannot get. Like I said, I have to drive an hour one way, you know, once to either north or to the east, east or west actually to get iron rig because it's only at two stores total wine. That's it. So it's, it's very, difficult to be going down this bourbon road in South Carolina, just because of what we can and cannot get.

Yeah, I love that perspective.

So with me, you know, I'm hunting pretty much two bottles and I honestly owe them both of the times I've tried them have been with Mike and Jim. So the first time I ever met Mike and Jim, uh, we met at third turn brewing in, uh, Louisville for the Kentucky Derby after COVID in September. And, uh, we all had a few drinks and, uh, Me, Jim, Big Chief and Jordan Riley, another roadie, went to the whiskey bar next door and, uh, let's try, um, split a midwinter night's dram with Jordan Riley and, oh man, it's, it's like, uh, uh, and I feel bad that I always forget about it, but I just, I've always wanted one. It was just such a solid bottle. And then. There you go. And then the other bottle, Big Chief introduced it to me at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. I don't know how he got it. We won't talk about that. But the Four Rows is limited edition. Man, it was, that was such a solid bottle. And yeah, those are the ones that I'm looking for this year. Those are Like I said, I owe both times I've tried those bottles to these two guys. And the first time I met Jim and Big G, they didn't know me from anybody. They just, they opened their group to us and we all got to hang out and get to try some things. And they've been like that to all the roadies I know, they just, they're They're the true giving culture of bourbon.

Well, I think that that's what it's about. Right. We've said that a thousand times. There's only one way to be. And me and Jim, as you can see in the screen right there, listeners, Jim's got his bar behind him. We both got super nice whiskey collections. There's not many bottles that we don't get to taste. and we like to share them. You know, it's just, you open up your arms or open up what you need to be giving as possible. That's just what it's about. I don't know any other way to be, you know, you see somebody that maybe not be able to afford what you can afford and say, Hey, you want to try something? And that's what it was about that four rows limited edition. Me and Jim had already tried it. Um, we'd already got tasted. I got to taste it two damn times and now I've got another full bottle of it. Listeners. It really is that good. We're not bragging or anything. I'm just saying it's a good whiskey. It's pretty damn good. No doubt. But in my mind, I want to share that with somebody else and I want them to experience what I got to experience, you know, and say, Hey, I want you to really open your eyes. It's like the C Y P B right here. Right. Um, I got to taste this before because of a roadie, because of Adam, Adam brought it to our house and Um, let us try it on the show. And I never had it before. I was super excited about it. And all the people that said it tastes like crap or it was overrated or it's no good. Um, man, I'm glad I didn't listen to those people.

Yeah, they were wrong.

Yeah, they are. I mean, is it worth $500 that worth $600? No, it's not.

Um, and you could say that, right? You can say it's not worth that, but to say you hate it because you don't like the secondary price on it. I mean, that's, that's a different story, right?

Yeah. And there's a difference, Jim. You know, I had several opportunities to buy that bottle. I just was going to spend $500 on it. I just kept waiting. I was like, it'll happen what happens. And if you're listening out there and you can stand in line or you can get in lottery or however you're going to get your bourbon, make that relationship with your store, just wait on it. Don't overpay for it. Wait on it. wait on that bourbon, let other people, there's people out there that just have unlimited means that'll buy anything.

And honestly, that's okay too. I mean, if that's you and you've been very fortunate in life and you've got a very thick wallet, you can afford to pay what you can pay. Good for you. Great. But not everybody can do that.

But sometimes to add to that, Jim, I think people that do that are what drive the secondary prices up so high.

You know, I mean, I know it's all subjective, but it kind of does, and it kind of doesn't.

You just have to take it in stride. I mean, here in South Carolina, yes, it's definitely that way. 100% wholeheartedly agree with that because the FAE01, the FAE02 are on the shelf at MSRP. But anything that has Buffalo Trace, in its lineage is at least a 200% markup.

And that O2 is as good as anything else up on that shelf.

Exactly. It is so delicious. But that's what I'm saying. Anything that has the Weller line in it or has made it Buffalo Trace instantly in this state gets a probably a 200% markup.

That's not just there. That's it. That's everywhere. Right. Right. But like you said more than anything, I'd, I'd put the maker's mark fail too. This is coming from me. I put it up almost against any weeded whiskey out there. Um, I do the same thing with 46 cast drank. It's pretty damn delicious. Um, you know, Is there a better weeded whiskey out there? We did bourbon, maybe. Um, there's some pretty good ones. That's all Fitzgerald right here. Good God. Oily complex. Everything I want out of a weeded bourbon, um, the well herb C Y P B. It gives me a different take on weeded whiskey or weeded bourbon. Right. So.

poem. I gotta find something else. You know that I sit around and we talk about what are you hunting? And I would give anything to have a bottle of this balcony's Texas weeded pot still. Because I'm as you can tell there's still some left but I'm savoring every drop of this because you get not only because you gave me this bottle but because it's absolutely delicious. And for the most part, even as proof, I take this over a lot of the allocated and bourbon hunting stuff and everything else. But what's really neat is to hear each of you talk is the fact that there's this huge dynamic, right? It's, yeah, maybe you can afford to purchase some of the high dollar bottles at the store listed at that, or you're just really looking to find the next great I don't know, craft distillery bottle. Like for me, that might be the balconies. Or you just have some on your wish list or you know, you maybe have drops and you're willing to sit outside or you created relationships. And I think regardless, the end point, right, is that we're all kind of looking for that one bourbon that maybe we want or that we haven't tried. And I think that's what part of makes bourbon so much fun, right?

So what are you, what are you looking for, Adam? You didn't say what you were looking for.

If I could have anything, I would probably be for hard to find. I would probably say the top of my list is the Parker's heritage. We did release for this, for the fall, which is the, we did. Um, I would love, absolutely love to try that. Um, past that, You know, if I find something that I really enjoy that I can share with friends, or maybe even I find something that one of my friends hasn't had and can't find, that's even better. You know, for me, and I think even part of, you know, the group that where Drew and all of us kind of come from, When I look at the roadies, part of it in something else we've all, we've all talked about is sharing. So sometimes for me, it's, it's not just, okay, if I can't find something I'm really interested in, I'm not just going to spend the money to spend it, but maybe I have the chance to get a bottle for somebody else. So I think that's pretty cool. You know, we, we have a roadie who recently, and I'm not going to name names or, or Tom, what I sent, but, um, was recently promoted at their job. So I sent them a bottle because I think it was really cool. You know, I think they needed to celebrate that. And so sometimes bourbon hunting season isn't just about ourselves. Maybe, you know, if you get a chance to pick up something for somebody else.

Well said.

Exactly. And, you know, to bounce off what you just said, you know, last year when I, when I was lucky enough, it was to find the rocket farms, it was because of another roadie, you know, that helps the bourbon road out, Jeremy Holloman in Nashville. told me where a bottle was at a good price. I get there and I had a long time friend and who's a roadie as well, Kelly McGinnis. He's a white water rafting guy at Ocoee. And we've been, you know, we've been friends for a long time and I knew his one unicorn was Albert T. Lee. You could buy one of each bottle and there was two bottles there. One was Rock Hill Farms, one was Albert T. Lee. And I could have taken it for myself because I've never had it. But, you know, that was one of those things I called him. I said, hey, this is the price. Do you want it? And he was like, oh, my God, absolutely. And, you know, to be able to give that to somebody else, not even just to help yourself, but to help others. Yeah, that's that's that's the culture. That's the culture that we all strive for.

Well, guys, it has been an awesome evening with you. I want to thank each one of you for coming on with us tonight, talking about the bourbon hunting season. We wish all the listeners out there the greatest luck of trying to get your bottle and stuff. Wouldn't you agree, Jim?

Absolutely. So this has been a great show. It's allowed me to hear the perspective of different people, you know, what they think about the bourbon hunting season, how everybody takes kind of their own take on it. You know, when everybody was listing their bottles, I was kind of surprised that, you know, it wasn't pappy, pappy, pappy, pappy, pappy, right? It was other things as well. And that's, and that's pretty cool. Love the idea of sharing whiskey. I love the idea of, uh, of exploring craft distilleries. I think that, um, There's so much out there now. The options are so much bigger than they were three or four years ago. As these younger distilleries start to blossom and their stocks begin to age further and further, what we're able to get is just amazing. It's great to get it and it's great to share it, particularly if you're regional. Jason, Jason, you're down in, uh, South Carolina. You've got some great things down there that other people can't get, you know, share it, share it. It's good stuff. Most definitely will.

Well, guys, let's give you each a chance. You're all on Instagram. Um, Adam, where can we find you at on Instagram?

Uh, you know, plain and simple a D Boothby, uh, on the Instagram and just Adam Boothby on, on Facebook. So nothing, nothing big and fancy there.

Drew.

Yeah.

I'm drew Alan 19 on Instagram and just drew Alan on Facebook. Pretty simple.

And the old mean drill Sergeant Jason from South Carolina. We're going to find you at man.

DVJ 74 on Instagram and Jason Waller on Facebook.

Well, listeners give these guys a follow on Instagram. Um, give them a shout out when you can. Uh, they do great things for our podcast. Great things from our bourbon group. Jim, where can you find us on social media?

Well, you can find us on all the social media is you can find us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, tick tock, YouTube. You're not going to find us on discord. Not going to find us on Twitch, but the rest of them were there.

The thing we talked about the most in here about our social media is the bourbon roadies. You want to become a member. You got to do three things. Are you 21? Do you like bourbon? Hell yes.

Everybody loves some damn bourbon.

Um, and do you agree to play nice? Cause we don't tolerate any rudeness, meaning we celebrate life. We celebrate, uh, promotions. We celebrate, um, bursts. We do all that. Um, your retirement. Come in and join our group. We don't do a couple of things in there. We don't talk about politics. We don't talk about religion. Um, and we don't talk about social issues. That's kind of that old grandpa at the bar rule, but we just don't do it. So, uh, come in there, join our group. We're almost 2,500 strong right now. Going every day. Great group of people. Um, these three guys, they're roadies. They're the moderators. Um, they'll make sure we don't have no rudeness in there. They ain't that right guys.

Yes, sir. Absolutely. When folks want to talk about the bourbon they enjoy, by God, talk about the bourbon you enjoy. No reason for people to put that down or anything else.

All right. Well, we do two shows a week. We do a long episode, not quite as long as this one, but we do a long episode every week. where we kind of do a deep dive on a subject we'll have a guest on or some guests or we'll have a couple of bottles and we'll explore for an hour or so. We'll get you to work and get you back. We also do a short episode every week where we review one expression where we take one bottle off the shelf and we tell you what we think about it and whether or not we think you ought to put it on your shelf. We'd love to have you listen to both shows every week. Mike, how can they be sure that they're not going to miss one of those shows?

So you want to scroll on up that app right there. You hit that plus sign, that check sign, that subscribe sign, whatever you got to do on that app. You're on Spotify, Apple, iTunes, Amazon. If you listen to Alexa, whatever you got to do, tell Alexa, subscribe to the Bourbon Road. We want to make sure you hear those two shows. Then we want you to scroll on down on that app. and we want you to go ahead and leave us a five-star review. You know what happens if you don't? The big bad booty daddy of bourbon is going to come over to your house. I'm going to bring a whole shit ton of allocated bourbon with me and we're going to drink it all night long. I'm going to bring these four guys with me. They're going to be laughing like they're laughing right now. So give us that five-star review that opens those doors for us, that gets those distilleries to send us that whiskey to review. That gets my nice deep voice going. It gets me happy. It keeps that big bad booty daddy of bourbon inside. So help us out.

All right, Barry White. So, you know, we'd love to hear what you have to think. Mike mentioned giving us a review. We also have a contact us form on our website. We also have emails. I'm jim at the bourbonroad.com. He's mike at the bourbonroad.com. We'd love to hear from you. We'd love to know what you think. If you've got a distillery in your hometown that you feel needs to be spotlighted, let us know about it. We'll take care of it.

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