Bourbon Pursuit

It's This Week in Bourbon for September 11th 2026. The KY ABC is going to be auctioning off rare bottles of confiscated bourbon, The New Era Whiskey Distillery and Social Club has opened in Lexington KY, and Heaven Hill announces 20th Edition Parker’s Heritage Collection.Show Notes:
A Thanksgiving raffle win turns into an intense family debate when a collector snags a $100 Pappy Van Winkle instead of her brother-in-law.

Team Kentucky opens virtual bidding on 70 seized collectible bottles to support campus alcohol responsibility programs.

Downtown Lexington welcomes its first combination distillery, tasting room, and private social club founded by Zane Brammell.

Elijah Craig and Evan Williams secure official bourbon partnerships and naming rights across UK Athletics venues.

Silverbelly Whiskey announces a new flagship craft distillery, museum, and venue coming to Nashville.

Brown-Forman resurrects the "Kentucky Boy" label to celebrate Master Distiller Emeritus Chris Morris's 50-year legacy.

New limited fall releases debut from Woodford Reserve, Remus, Penelope, Four Roses, Proof and Wood, Chicken Cock, and Heaven Hill.

Bourbon with Heart partners with Give 270 to raffle custom hand-painted barrel heads paired with Elijah Craig 21-Year Single Barrel.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

From there, take questions from our fans in the audience about transparency in labeling, dissecting "bottled by" statements, straight bourbon requirements, and whether the average consumer actually cares about production details versus price, story, and flavor. Plus, we address the big question on everyone's mind: has the bourbon boom peaked, or is there still room for category growth?
Show Notes:
Palooza Origins: How having too many podcast guests and leftover whiskey barrels spawned Pursuit Palooza.

Labeling & Transparency: Breakdown of "bottled by" statements, legal requirements, and what consumers actually value on the shelf.

Pursuit Archive & Revivals: The story behind Sherry River Rye, keeping an archive of past releases, and future P-Club plans.

State of the Bourbon Industry: Addressing market shifts, changing distribution habits, international growth, and the end of truck-chasing.

Hard Lessons in Craft Distilling: What we underestimated about packaging, marketing, and navigating the three-tier system when starting Pursuit Spirits.

Underrated Distillates: Ryan and Kenny highlight hidden-gem producers like Tennessee Distilling Group, Woodinville, Still Austin, and Southern Distilling.

The Reality of Organic Bourbon: Why large-scale organic grain production faces massive hurdles with pests, weeds, and high costs.

Palooza War Stories & Blending Dreams: Recalling wild Palooza mishaps, dream blending-room collaborators, and the ultimate death row food and pour pairings.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Maker’s Mark Star Hill Farm 2026 brings big ice cream shop vibes with cherry cordial, vanilla custard, waffle cone, and a gooey cherry syrup finish. This wheat whiskey had us seriously impressed.DISCLAIMER: The whiskey in this review was provided to us at no cost courtesy of the spirit producer. We were not compensated by the spirit producer for this review. This is our honest opinion based on what we tasted. Please drink responsibly.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's This Week in Bourbon for September 4th 2026. Kentucky Bourbon Boys has officially launched KBB Reserve, the American Whiskey Scholars program, and Starlight has 2 brand new releases.Show Notes:
Kentucky Bourbon Boys launches KBB Reserve three-tier travel concierge service

American Whiskey Scholars debuts three-level self-paced online certification program

Buffalo Trace Distillery On Tour returns with four-city complimentary roadshow

BBQ, Bourbon & Burlesque event set for October 24 in Evansville, Indiana

Old Forester unveils 2026 Birthday Bourbon and Alpha Industries jacket collab

Oak & Grist Distilling debuts nine-year American Single Malt Whiskey Barrel #09

Shortbarrel launches fifth-year limited-edition Cigar Batch #4 with Sherry finish

Sagamore Spirit debuts nationwide eight-year Bottled in Bond Straight Rye

Baker’s Bourbon returns 13-year Single Barrel release for Baker Beam’s 90th birthday

Chattanooga Whiskey introduces Bottled in Bond Vintage: Fall 2018 four-grain bourbon

Town Branch Distillery debuts IMPERIUM MMXXVI cask-strength wheated bourbon blend

Starlight Distillery announces 5th Annual Pink Bottle Release for breast cancer support

Starlight Distillery launches rare 10-Year Mizunara Reserve via lottery and distillery sale

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's a time when whiskey enthusiasm takes it to the next level. I've lived through it. I was a stone cold hobbyist, and I still am, but then I started a podcast and now Ryan and I have Pursuit Spirits. We don't know how to stop taking a hobby too far. And our guest today is no different. Mike Hinds is co-founder of Nashville Barrel Company, Mike takes us back five or six years to NBC's humble beginnings, starting with local charity picks for cancer research, hunting down Jack Daniel’s, Weller 12, and Willett single barrels, and making frequent runs to Bardstown to learn the ropes. When he decided to start Nashville Barrel Company there were plenty of operational headaches like sourcing whiskey and dealing with shady brokers but a few mismatched samples unexpectedly got them a hit they kept on playing with Kelvin barrels. Since then they have been expanding into downtown Music City, and have now opened a new spot in NuLu called the Louisville Rickhouse Company. Instead of chasing cheap inventory or relying on marketing gimmicks, Mike shares how their focus cask-strength single barrels built consumer trust and whiskey clubs kept their growth soaring. We also talk about Stella, the official company dog, their VIP club, and how Mike has been one of the few lucky people in history to pick a single barrel of Pappy Van Winkle 15.
Show Notes:
How a passion for bottle shares, charity picks, and barrel hunting birthed Nashville Barrel Company.

Early sourcing realities: broker blunders, mismatched samples, and launching with rye instead of bourbon.

Pivoting during COVID from third-party co-packers to brick-and-mortar locations in Nashville and Louisville.

The strategy behind building a brand on cask-strength single barrels and authentic community trust over gimmicks.

Inside NBC's special releases, including a Pappy 15 single barrel, "The Compromise" blend, and their VIP club.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices