Bourbon & Banter Podcast #37 – Taylor Takes A Drink

The 37^th episode of the Bourbon & Banter podcast – Taylor Takes A Drink – is now available for your listening and drinking pleasure. Your bourbon cupids are here to brighten up your Valentine’s season with their trademark, no-holds-barred approach.

The Bourbon & Banter Community continues to roll strong on Discord. This month’s conversations were plenty, and we were particularly interested in one concerning barrel picks and their pricing. Several members have been seeing an upcharge on barrels that used to be reasonably priced, which brings the question: at what price is it not worth it?

We’re looking at 2024 to have a renewed focus for our Bourbon & Banter Single Barrel Group, which recently selected excellent barrels while at Four Roses and Green River Distilleries. Our Green River Single Barrel has hit the group, and everyone is thoroughly enjoying this one right now. If you’re not a part of the group or the community, you’re missing out!

The WHISKEY NEWS starts with the news of New Riff’s recent naming of Brian Sprance as master distiller. Sprance has been with the distillery since its launch, and the promotion has us looking forward to more good things from New Riff.

Atlanta-based premium spirits company Staghorn announced the opening of its first distillery, Garrard County Distilling Co., which has officially begun production in Lancaster, KY. With its towering, dual 45-foot tall 36” Vendome Copper and Brass Works column stills, Garrard County Distilling Co. is the largest all-new independent distillery in Kentucky. Also breaking ground is Central Indiana-based whiskey distillery West Fork Whiskey Co..

In a move that has us all saying “hmmmm…”, Bardstown Bourbon Company has announced the House of Bardstown, an immersive cocktail and culinary pop-up experience coming to select cities this spring. Just be sure folks know where you are if you take part because we can’t figure out what the hell is actually happening here.

We close the news with a new report from the Craft Spirits Data Project that looks at the more than 2,700 craft distilleries in the United States.

The NEW RELEASES spotlight starts with exciting news from Owensboro, KY, and our friends at Green River. They’ve just hit the market with their new rye whiskey, and let’s just say you don’t want to miss this one, folks. Priced at $34.99, this one is easy on the wallet and delicious in the glass.

Heaven Hill has announced its 2024 Heritage Collection release, and Chicken Cock drops a new double-oaked release, both of which are priced at a super-premium. Chatanooga Whiskey announced their latest Batch 036: Herbal Infused, which takes the company’s trademarked Tennessee High Malt Whiskey – which in this case contained a variety of German specialty malts, including pale wheat malt and chocolate malt – and infuses it with 100% real botanical ingredients.

We then bring forth the BIGGEST STORY WE’VE EVER SCOOPED! We won’t write about it here; you just have to listen to it. But the episode’s name should give you an idea of who this involves.

We close the episode with the most honest segment in all of bourbon podcasting…BOURBON BULLSHIT. Somebody is smoking something over at WhistlePig, and now they’re ALMOST putting it in a bottle. The “get off our lawn” portion of the podcast then goes in on a long-standing irritant: incorrect whiskey lists in restaurants, poorly informed wait staff, and irresponsible drink recipes.

As the most honest podcast in bourbon, we don’t pull any punches, and we tell it as we see it. If you’ve been searching for a bourbon podcast that provides honest commentary and to-the-point information and doesn’t take itself too seriously, welcome home!

Here’s the breakdown for Episode #37 – Taylor Takes A Drink:

• 17:36          Whiskey News
• 34:19          New Releases
• 56:21          Bourbon Bullshit

Are you ready? Pour yourself a drink, get comfortable, and listen to Episode 37 using the player above or via your favorite podcast player.

Warning: If you’re not comfortable with unapologetic, independent thinking, plus a healthy dose of swearing, you might want to skip this one folks. It’s recorded at barrel strength with full-throttle banter.

We sure hope you enjoyed Episode 37 of the official Bourbon & Banter podcast and that you’ll consider sharing it with your friends. We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below or by emailing us.

Have a great weekend, and remember to stay safe while you’re spreading the bourbon gospel and learning to #drinkcurious.

Hey, wait a minute. You have listened to all our previous episodes, right? If not, head on over to our Bourbon & Banter Podcast page to get caught up.