Imagine this: you’re scrolling your phone, and bam—an email alert notifies you that the allocated bottle you’ve been after has been spotted at a store near you.
Dan’s newsletter is your insider guide to knowing what bottles are dropping, where, and when. Whether you’re looking for a solid everyday sipper or hunting for that unicorn bottle, he’s got the scoop on where it was found at a good price.
Sign up for Dan’s free newsletter HERE and start hunting bourbon like a pro.
The Real-Time Edge You Need
Imagine this: you’re scrolling your phone and bam—an email alert notifies you that the allocated bottle you’ve been after has been spotted at a store near you. This dream becomes a reality with Dan’s Real Time Allocated Bourbon Finder System. Get real-time notifications for allocated bottles (at MSRP or close to it) near you. Talk about a bourbon hunter's dream, right?
Learn more about the system HERE and don’t let those bottles slip through your fingers anymore!
Perfect Timing—Bourbon Heritage Month & 30 Days of Bourbon
If there was ever a time to get your bourbon-hunting skills in shape, Bourbon Heritage Month is it! And with Bourbon & Banter's 30 Days of Bourbon Challenge already underway, this is the perfect time to check out Dan’s system and sharpen your bourbon game. You’ll be sipping and savoring with the best of them in no time.
Don’t forget to follow Dan on social media for even more bourbon updates and tips:
As your dedicated and fearless Cocktail Editor, I sacrificed my tastebuds and gastrointestinal peace to test how bad this drink is.
We love our friends at Total Wine & More for the wine. But sometimes the “& More” leaves much to be desired. Recently, a photo of a recipe pinned to a shelf in a TW&M made the rounds in bourbon groups. The proportions seemed…off. We all couldn’t help but wonder how this recipe could see the light of day.
Who would do such a thing to your wonderful customer base? A clueless marketer working on the Traveller account? An accountant doing double duty as store mixologist? A dyslexic associate after a long shift? Someone perhaps trying to make a Trinidad Sour x Old Fashioned crossover happen? Regardless of who is to blame, we knew one thing: this cocktail looked BAD. #cocktailfail
As your dedicated and fearless Cocktail Editor, I sacrificed my tastebuds and gastrointestinal peace to test how bad this drink is. Watch below to find out.
Do you have a terrible cocktail recipe you’d like us to test? Please send us an email at erin.petrey@bourbonbanter.com.
Countless whiskey fans—me included—are enjoying Jack Daniel’s growing lineup of higher-proof and longer-aged releases. I’m not the first to say that Jack is becoming its best self in these new releases.
Old-school whiskey made on a mega-scale
Depending on the day, the distillery or the tour leader, a whiskey plant may be the largest maker of American brown liquor. Noted whiskey writer Chuck Cowdery once referred to the rectifying column at Buffalo Trace as “the biggest still in all Christendom,” and for good reason. Its capacity is about 1,500 barrels a day, and its twin sister still, which steamed to life about a year ago, has the same capacity. For now, each runs on alternating shifts as the distillery adds capacity in other areas (such as cookers) and catches up. When all of it is online, Buffalo Trace reps say it will produce about 2,500 barrels daily.
At its Bernheim Distillery, Heaven Hill Distillery produces 1,500 barrels daily, and it has a new distillery under construction in Bardstown, KY. After it opens in 2024 and the team spends a few years bringing all three new stills online, an additional 1,500 casks a day will be filled. Making 3,000 barrels a day will certainly prolong HH’s rickhouse building boom.
Asked often about which bottle in the Jack Daniel’s line would be closest to the original whiskey he distilled, Eddy points to the Bottled-in-Bond Tennessee whiskey, “because the age (4 years) would be correct for that time.” Back then, whiskey wasn’t commonly aged much longer, he added.
A fun compendium of facts about Jack Daniel and his famous Tennessee whiskey
Until last March, I counted myself among what surely are millions of drinkers who think they know Jack Daniel’s … the legend behind the name … the world’s second-largest American whiskey brand … and the common-man’s whiskey that’s finally becoming the best version of itself in higher-proof, longer-aged releases.
Even non-drinkers recognize its flagship Old No. 7 brand, but few know the smallish role that Daniel—a smallish man himself—played in the company’s global growth. Its penetration into more than 170 countries happened long after his untimely and unsettling death, and often with the help of people never even employed by Jack Daniel’s. It’s a terrific story about a mega-distillery in a mini-town in a dry Tennessee county.
If you’ve never visited Jack Daniel Distillery, do it. If you’re a fan of distilleries in general, you’ll not regret it. Perhaps some of what I learned on my recent visit there will entice you to make the trip.
I’ve been to dozens of bourbon distilleries, and I can confidently say that Wilderness Trail is truly built differently. Everything they do is underpinned by expertise and near fanaticism for science.
I’m often asked, “What’s a bourbon you’re really excited about right now?” or “What distillery should I be watching?” I love this question because it implies a true curiosity and a desire to try something new and potentially off the beaten path. When Bill Thomas, owner of the world-famous Jack Rose whiskey bar in Washington, DC, first introduced me to Wilderness Trail in 2020, the distillery became my go-to response to this question. It has also remained a stalwart favorite for my home bar.
I’ve been to dozens of bourbon distilleries, and I can confidently say that Wilderness Trail is truly built differently. Everything they do is underpinned by expertise and near fanaticism for science. And it’s all due to the man behind the magic: Dr. Pat Heist. This funky-bearded, Slayer-loving, yeast-obsessed, country-talking dude is easily the smartest man I’ve ever met in my over ten years writing about bourbon. With a PhD in Plant Pathology and a degree in Microbiology, Dr. Pat knows his stuff and wants to ensure you learn about it, too.
Wilderness Trail is the brainchild of Dr. Pat, band buddy, and fellow scientist Shane. The two started out with their yeast business - Ferm Solutions - to become the best and most respected dudes in yeast. They’ve been to hundreds of distilleries - both commercial (like fuel alcohol) and consumer-focused (like booze) - helping them expertly solve any challenges related to the unsung hero (and much-maligned villain when things go wrong) of the distillation process: yeast. So, being two guys who really knew their stuff and just so happened to be “bourbon fans first and foremost," they decided, “Why not?” and opened a distillery. The goal? “Make the best whiskey the world has ever seen.” And readers, they are very well on their way.
Everything at Wilderness Trail is excellent. I’ve never had a bad pour from a bottle of theirs, including the thieved taste I recently was honored to try of the first barrel of distillate they laid down on October 31, 2013. It’s truly expertly crafted with the utmost attention to how yeast and the fermentation process impact the flavor of the final product. Science informs every step here. But beyond the science of distillation, what I may love even more about Wilderness Trail is the unfaltering dedication to constant innovation. The consistency in the quality of the whiskey is a testament to this commitment.
A key part of innovation at Wilderness Trail is how to operate in a more environmentally friendly way. As someone who works full-time in the renewables and climate space (gotta pay the bills, and I love working for a good cause), I was particularly intrigued by the sustainability efforts of the distillery. Many distilleries tout climate-friendly efforts, such as focusing on sourcing grain from as close to the facility as possible, which supports local agriculture and reduces emissions from trucking. Though Wilderness Trail also tries to stay local, these science-minded folks are making even greater strides towards sustainable operations, particularly water and energy use.
Ultra Filtration
Water is a huge part of the distillation process. It doesn’t take much in terms of basic inputs to make a whiskey: you mainly need grain, water, and yeast, with grain and water (stillage) as the main byproducts of the process. Many distilleries send off this grain waste to nearby farmers as livestock feed, as it is nutritious and cheap. But this wasn’t good enough for Dr. Pat.
Each day, Wilderness Trail churns out 100K gallons of stillage. And a lot of this is water: water that can be cleaned and reused in the whiskey-making process. Instead of sending off this waste to farmers as is, the byproduct is routed through an Ultra Filtration (UF) system that separates the water from the solids, resulting in a much dryer grain product that allows farmers to transport more calorific content further due to its enhanced stability. The dryer it is, the longer it can last without spoiling. This way, the love can be spread further and wider and there is no risk of over-saturating (and potentially generating waste) the surrounding areas with a glut of feed.
And all that water? It’s run through a reverse osmosis process and reused for fermenter water. This innovation conserves water, reduces their water spend, and makes their stillage byproduct more desirable. In short, it's good for the environment, the bottom line, and farmers. A model other distilleries should seek to replicate.
Optimized Mash Cook Temperature
The second way the distillery reduces its carbon footprint is by lowering the heat of the mash cooking process. Cooking grain mash seeks to gelatinize the corn starch; you need a lot of heat to achieve that. However, in examining exactly how much heat was needed to achieve the desired result, they learned it's less than most distilleries default to. Wilderness Trail cooks their mash to 185 degrees, thus saving energy, again good for the planet and the P&L.
So, if you haven’t tried Wilderness Trail yet, I highly recommend it. My favorite product is the Rye Whiskey, which boasts a gorgeous spearmint taste. Their Wheated Bourbon, which imparts a pleasant flavor of Juicy Fruit, is also much more readily available (and IMO, better) than some of the other more sought-after wheated expressions on the market.
After dinner, more guests arrived for an extensive bottle-share party that lasted into the early morning. The weather cleared up, so we took the party outside, continuing the conversation with more cigars.
What’s better than drinking bourbon? Drinking bourbon with friends, of course!
Two weeks ago, we hosted a small meetup in St. Louis, MO, bringing together about 30 folks for distillery visits, fantastic food, and a bottle-share party featuring nearly 100 bottles. It was, in a word, unforgettable.
We kicked things off with a group dinner at The Tavern Kitchen & Bar, followed by drinks at community member Jason Fiehler’s home. Jason and his wife, Katie, generously shared their impressive collection of bourbon, tequila, and rum. The weather was perfect, so we spent most of the evening outside, enjoying pours and cigars until 2:30 in the morning.
The next morning came way too early, but we rallied and headed to Switchgrass Spirits for a guided tour and generous samples of their products, including some surprising bottled cocktails. Their distillery has one of the coolest ceilings I’ve seen!
Afterward, we took an hour-long drive to Union, MO, to visit Nobletons Distilling House for their unique Distillers Tour. Led by founder Demetrius Cain, we toured the facility and enjoyed samples straight from the barrel. Nobletons easily ranks in my top 5 distillery tours, with its rich history and hands-on sampling. Whiskey geeks, you’ll love it!
Back in St. Louis, our Sr. Contributor and Barrel Program Manager Brent Joseph donned his Mercenary BBQ hat and treated us to a BBQ feast. The spread included brisket, ribs, mac and cheese, roasted pepper queso, chips, and coleslaw. No one went hungry that night.
After dinner, more guests arrived for an extensive bottle-share party that lasted into the early morning. The weather cleared up, so we took the party outside, continuing the conversation with more cigars.
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A big thank you to everyone who attended! It was wonderful catching up and forging new friendships within our Bourbon & Banter community. I’m looking forward to our next St. Louis gathering and to planning meetups in other cities. If you’re interested in helping us plan an event in your city, drop me a line in the comments below. Cheers!
Thank you to everyone who purchased a raffle ticket for this year’s Bourbon Lovers Raffle. I’m excited to share that this year’s winner is Robert Hobbs. Robert has chosen The Four Roses Lovers Collection as his prize. We will get his bottles shipped out
Thank you to everyone who purchased a raffle ticket for this year's Bourbon Lovers Raffle. I'm excited to share that this year's winner is Robert Hobbs. Robert has chosen The Four Roses Lovers Collection as his prize. We will get his bottles shipped out safely soon. Congratulations, Robert!
If you didn't win this year, don't worry. We'll host this raffle again next year and share news of similar raffles featuring bourbon prizes from other sources.
When it comes to tasting whiskey – and any spirit, for that matter – there is a wide array of shapes to choose from, each promising to be “the best.” This guide overviews the most common glassware types for drinking whiskey.
When it comes to tasting whiskey - and any spirit, for that matter - there is a wide array of shapes to choose from, each promising to be “the best.” This guide overviews the most common glassware types for drinking whiskey.
Glassware is a great way to enhance the whiskey-tasting experience, as well as add functional decor to your home bar. I am an unapologetic glassware nerd. Anytime I go to a restaurant or bar, I can be seen tipping my glass and squinting at the bottom, searching for the etching denoting the maker. I am also frequently asked, "what is the best way to drink whiskey?" So let's start with the basics and review the best - and the worst - glassware options to maximize your bourbon liquor quaffing experiences.
GLENCAIRN GLASS
Shape: This quintessential glass features a stubby base, slightly ballooned bowl, and tapered chimney top.
Price: $7.99
Volume: 6 oz
Brand Notes: The unique and stylish shape has been crafted with eminent care to enhance the enjoyment of single malts and aged blends. The tapered mouth allows and ease of drinking not associated with traditional nosing glasses. While capturing that all-important bouquet. The wide bowl allows the fullest appreciation of the whisky’s colour and the solid base is designed to be easy on the hand.
Rating: 5/5 - The Glencairn Glass was developed specifically for drinking neatly Scotch Whisky. For me, this glass is my favorite, the GOAT. 5/5 - I will always have Glencairns in my home, ask for them at a bar when drinking whiskey, use them at tastings, and buy them as gifts for friends. Incredibly affordable, immensely useful. It comes in the traditional, crystal cut, and opaque colored varieties. The best on the market and the most affordable.
Honorable Mention: The Wee Glencairn - a shrunk down version often seen at whiskey festivals - is the cutest glass I’ve ever seen. It’s a little more difficult to drink from, as the opening is smaller and makes it harder to nose. However, the benefit of the overall shape is still in tact.
Shape: Snifter-style glass with a stubby base, wide bellied bowl, and slightly flared lip.
Price: $9.95
Volume: 8 oz
Brand Notes: The wide bowl and narrow neck of our bourbon sipping glasses draws the aroma to the rim - these American made whiskey sipping glasses offer you a luxurious restaurant experience at home.
Rating: 4/5 - Though the name is a mouthful, this glass is the official tasting glass of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail for a reason. It is similar in shape to the original Glencairn glass but expand the belly of the vessel and allows more oxygenation. However, the lack of a chimney doesn’t yield as much concentration of the nose. This is my second favorite whiskey glass.
Shape: Similar to a small white wine glass, the Copita features a small tulip shaped bowl, a short stem, and a flat base.
Price: $14.95
Volume: 5.75 oz
Brand Notes: The tulip shape of the bowl allows the spirit to be swirled sufficiently opening the alcohol vapours. Permitting the aroma to intertwine with the oxygen and develop the flavour/smell of chosen your spirit
Rating: 4/5 - This is a classic spirits tasting glass also made by Glencairn. It is ideal for sipping agave spirits (tequila, mezcal) and lighter whiskies. The stem is perfect to avoid imparting too much warm from the hand into the spirit and it provides amble space for the spirit to mingle with oxygen yet preserve flavor. The Copita is an excellent versatile glass for any Curious Drinker to have in their collection to enjoy whiskey or any other spirit. Extra marks for its versatility.
Shape: This is a double walled glass with an interior that mimics a Glencairn and an exterior that mimics a stemless wine glass.
Price: $14.95
Volume: 5.9 oz
Brand Notes: Meet the original double-walled whisky glass. Developed to elevate your favorite whisky (or whiskey)—whether Scotch, Bourbon, Rye, Canadian, Japanese, you name it—the Norlan Whisky Glass has been designed to capture whisky's unique flavors and aromatics and deliver them to the senses like never before. A distinctive result of the double-walled construction is the intensity of color added to spirits in the bowl, which is further carried up into the rim of the glass.
Rating: 3/5 - The double walling prevents heat transfer from the hand, and the interior shape allows for ample mingling of spirit and air as well as concentration of the nose. I’d love to see a bit more tapering in the chimney but overall a solid glass. Point docked for steep price. You can read Pop's review of the glass here.
Shape: Sturdy, rounded base with cylindrical vessel with tall walls.
Price: Varies
Volume: 6-8 oz for a traditional Old Fashioned glass; 10-15 oz for a rocks or Double Old Fashioned glass
Brand Notes: From Riedel (one of my favorite glassware makers) - This glass has been specifically designed with small proportions for neat drinks or spirit-focused cocktails. It is designed to be cradled by the hand of the imbiber for ultimate comfort.
Rating: 2/5 - This glass goes by many names. I love a rocks glass for a cocktail or whiskey on the rocks but when it comes to trying spirits neat, the rocks glass falls short. There’s too much surface area and the shape is so wide that it doesn’t allow the nose to concentrate enough. It's tougher to get the full flavor experience from the glass. The variety in sizing also makes it challenging for tasting spirits neat. It will do in a pinch, but it’s definitely not ideal.
Shape: This glass has a short, squat bowl with a flared, angled lip.
Price: $9.99
Volume: 6.8 oz
Brand Notes: NEAT spirits glass displays all aromas for easy detection removing nose-numbing ethanol exposing true spirits quality. Collecting or enjoying spirits, NEAT enhances your experience to savor all aromas that define your favorite scotch whisky, bourbon whiskey, rum, tequila, gin, cognac, vodka, port, sherry, and liqueurs. Neat spirits glass began with science basics, not in the styling studio. Glass swirling promotes aroma. Swirling in a tulip glass forces concentrated alcohol up you nose hiding aromas and destroying your sense of smell - NOT in the Neat glass.
Rating: 1/5 - I’ve never been able to successfully drink out of this glass without spilling whiskey all over myself. The engineering is just weird. The lip of the glass leads the liquid to spread too far, though it does allow for a nice nose. It also requires the drinker to fully handle the glass, which warms the drink more than I like. The shape is 100% fun but 0% functional.
Snifter Glass: This is your traditional goblet designed for drinking brandy. It will work for whiskey but you will definitely look a bit dramatic. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Viski Glasses: Viski makes a variety of cool looking whiskey glasses that mimic aspects of the styles noted above. They also make one that rolls around on the table, which is a sure-fire way for me to break them.
We recently wrapped our first annual Bourbon & Banter Community Summit held in Louisville, Kentucky. We were thrilled to be able to mix and mingle with our community members from across the country IRL. If you’re curious what it’s like to be a member of our community, here are a few highlights.
At Bourbon & Banter, we are proud of the honest and unfiltered content we provide to our readers. But more than that, we are even prouder to build and foster an incredible community for whiskey lovers. Our community is unique in that we welcome people from all walks of their whiskey journey and more importantly, provide a platform and outlet for open and frank conversation. It isn’t a place to outdo one another on how many allocated bottles are stowed away in your whiskey bunker, but a place to learn from industry experts and insiders what is really going on in the world of whiskey.
We recently wrapped our first annual Bourbon & Banter Community Summit held in Louisville, Kentucky. We were thrilled to be able to mix and mingle with our community members from across the country IRL. If you’re curious what it’s like to be a member of our community, here are a few highlights and reflections from the weekend:
Barrel pick at Four Roses Cox’s Creek
Barrel pick, distillery tour, and flavor education at Green River Distilling
Rye tasting, distillery tour, and cocktails at Michter’s Fort Nelson
Barrel Magic class, bourbon tasting, and cocktails at Buzzard’s Roost
Craft Shoot live and interactive tasting
Multiple swag giveaways that included branded merch from over a dozen distilleries, high end items like Columbia jackets and ice sphere presses
Private dinner and bottle share catered by Mercenary BBQ (our resident vegetarian’s favorite purveyor of meat)
Epic bottle shares with 100+ different labels with whiskeys from four continents and attended by community members and whiskey industry insiders
Private dinner and cocktails at Watch Hill Proper
Complimentary custom cigars
Trip to Art Eatables complete with whiskey and chocolate pairings
I was thrilled to participate in this inaugural event. Throughout the weekend, I was struck by the generosity, geniality, and genuine connections shared by all. It was wonderful reconnecting with friends I’d known for years, putting a face to the tiny profile photo I interact with on social media, and meeting brand new folks, all over a shared dram. Whiskey is delicious but what makes it special is the community it brings together. At Bourbon & Banter, we lean in hard to the community and I am so thankful and honored to be a mainstay of that group.
Here’s what other Bourbon & Banter contributors had to say about the event:
This past weekend was amazing. As we were sitting around the fire pit late Saturday night, Pops and I were discussing the past few days as we finished our cigars. We were talking about how well the first-ever Bourbon & Banter Community Summit went and how much fun everyone seemed to have. Pops and I are usually the last people standing after these events and this night was no different. After three jam-packed days of bourbon events, we finally had time to download and look back on the past 72 hours.
Erin hit the highlights and we did pick two great barrels for our members but that was not the best part for us. As Pops and I were talking, we realized that we had accomplished exactly what we set out to do when we decided to focus on our members beyond just blog content. We were able to provide unique, fun, and exclusive experiences for our community members. Of course, barrel picks are bucket list highlights for everyone and it is always one of my favorite events, but the people are what makes it special.
Like taking your kid to Disney, I get that same feeling when we bring a Community Member to take part in their first barrel pick. These weekends are all about shared experiences and I really enjoy watching a barrel pick rookie get to thief from a barrel for the first time, fill their sample glasses, and watch them process all that is a private pick. Whether it is thieving directly from different barrels on the floor of a rickhouse or staring down at a tasting mat full of ten Glencairns while trying to figure out just what they have gotten themselves into, I just like being able to share it with others. I enjoy the sometimes-heated discussions during private picks about what barrel is best and then still being able to discuss it hours later over more pours of bourbon.
Speaking of sampling different pours, we also hosted two different bottle shares over the weekend. The first one on Friday night was attended by more than 25 people and the second one had about 16 attendees. As I was talking with Pops around the fire, I realized that not only was it a great time, but that I was able to personally talk to every single person there. Obviously, some discussions were much longer than others, but I was grateful that everyone took time out of their busy lives to come hang out and revel in the Bourbon & Banter experience. I am sure the 100+ different bottles to choose from helped as well. Again, I keep coming back to the people. This weekend was all about our Members and being able to provide them with experiences and true value for their membership. The swag giveaways were a nice bonus, too.
Now we need to figure out how to make our next Community Member Summit even better. We are open to suggestions. Let us know.
– Brent Joseph, Single Barrel Program Coordinator & Senior Contributor
Make new friends, taste new whiskeys, experience new stuff—a Bourbon & Banter Summit
Despite my living in Louisville, schedule conflicts this year saw me experience a Summette, as in a slice of the Summit. And that’s a drag. Few things make for a better event than these annual get-togethers because there are always new friends to be made and old ones to revisit.
I caught up with the gang on Friday night for our bottle share and Mercenary BBQ chowdown. (If you don’t already know, bourbon and barbecue is one of the best food and whiskey pairings, period.) I may have known half of the 25-ish people there, but I got to meet all of them before the night was over. Several of the guys brought their wives, which needs to happen more often. (If you’re reading this, Leslie Coomes, you’re coming next year!) Ladies don’t just class up the joint, they have great perspectives on food, whiskey, work and life. Fact is, we don’t talk whiskey to death at these events, we do a great job of getting to know each other—between bites of Mercenary BBQ, of course.
Wish I could have stayed later, but we had a morning rye tasting at The Bar at Fort Nelson, a slice of New York on the second floor of Michter’s Distillery’s tourist center and distillery. Unlike the previous night’s more gregarious bottle share, we all had some sit-down face time at tables while nosing and sipping Michter’s terrific rye line. I like bouncing around a loud room and meeting new people as much as anyone, but getting to know more about people over drinks at a classy bar … that’s hard to beat. As were the cocktails: as good as any anywhere.
Trust me, you don’t want to miss this Summit next year, and I’ll be sure to block out my schedule better and avoid another Summette.
If this sounds like an incredible time to you, be sure to sign up for the Bourbon & Banter community today. Membership includes access to our single barrel club, which will be releasing our picks from Four Roses and Green River just in time for the holidays. And did we mention a membership also makes a fantastic holiday gift?
Enter to win two V.I.P. tickets to Whiskey in the Winter and join us in sampling from over 400 whiskeys.
Bourbon & Banter has been a proud sponsor of Whiskey in the Winter for ten years, and to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the festival, we're giving away some V.I.P. tickets. If you'd like to attend with us, tell us why you want to join us in the comments. We'll pick a winner from the comments on this post and our social media posts about the giveaway.
The event will be held in St. Louis on December 9th. If you're not local to St. Louis, you'll be responsible for getting here, but the tickets (valued at $360) are free. It's not a bad deal for a night of sampling from over 400 whiskeys, gourmet meals and great educational seminars from industry experts.
And who knows, we might have a few surprises in store for anyone joining us at the event.