Whiskey Chasers

Send us Fan Mail We light up Star Of The East Flake and pour a Westward PX sherry cask finished American single malt, then realise the smoke changes the whiskey more than any tasting note ever could. We also dig into whiskey club subscriptions, the cooling bourbon boom, and why value feels like it is finally returning as the secondary market deflates.  • Star Of The East Flake components and why a...

Send us Fan Mail We crack open a limited J. Rieger Private Stock 10 Year and chase why it tastes like a classic old-school bourbon even at 110 proof. Along the way we pair it with a decade-aged Cajun Cake pipe tobacco and discover how age, tannins, sweetness and Perique pepper play together.  • first impressions of the label, bottle design and “old whiskey” vibe  • tasting notes on sweetness, dryn...

Send us Fan Mail We taste and review 30A bourbon and quickly realise the biggest story is not the beach branding but the sourcing chain, the young age, and the price-to-quality mismatch. We also zoom out into what makes a whiskey brand worth rooting for, and why some vacation markets are built for cocktails while bourbon needs a stronger reason to exist.  • lighting up Cross-Eyed Cricket pipe toba...

Send us Fan Mail We pour Southern Star Paragon Bottled in Bond and discover a high-wheat North Carolina bourbon that stays light, sweet, and surprisingly nuanced at 100 proof. Along the way, we dig into Carolina spirits history, why distribution can hide great brands, and how a softer tobacco pairing can let a delicate wheater shine.  • Southern Star Paragon overview and why it gets recommended  •...

Send us Fan Mail We sit down with Nathan Kaiser of 2BAR Spirits to unpack how a Seattle distillery builds real bourbon from scratch while staying honest about process, pricing, and what it takes to last. We dig into a six-grain mash bill, bottled-in-bond flavour, and finishing choices that pull new drinkers into whiskey without turning the bottle into sugar. • the 2BAR name and South Texas ranch h...

Send us Fan Mail We pour Iron Vault Distiller Select Batch 1 and can’t stop talking about how a one-year, 120-proof whiskey lands with huge flavor and a finish that just keeps going. We also light up Cornell and Diehl Mississippi Mud and dial in why the pairing works while debating what the bottle should say and how the distillery should signal how special this release is.  • the back-label copy p...

Send us Fan Mail We taste Iron Vault’s Stowel Evergreen white corn whiskey and try to decide if a tiny, hyper-local process can justify a young, limited release price. Along the way, we open a decade-old Savinelli tobacco tin, chase an online Sun Bear drop, and argue about mouthfeel, finish, and what “ready” really means for craft bourbon.  • setting up our progressive bottle series with returning...

Send us Fan Mail We pour Liberty Pole’s Pentucky and end up in a deep tasting spiral about rye sweetness, blending shortcuts that somehow work, and why the same whiskey can taste different depending on the room. We also light up an aged English pipe tobacco and use it to explore craft distillery survival, honest pricing, and the way story and setting change what we notice in the glass.  • Opening...

Send us Fan Mail We pour MB Roland’s Kentsylvania, a rare Kentucky bourbon and Pennsylvania rye collaboration, and figure out why it tastes like a completely new whiskey instead of a simple mash-up. Along the way we pair it with aged Briar Fox pipe tobacco, debate how smoke shifts the flavor, and unpack what makes MB Roland such an interesting grain-to-glass craft distillery.  • how Kennsylvania i...

Send us Fan Mail We pour Redwood Empire Haystack Needle and get a high-proof bourbon that drinks surprisingly friendly while still delivering dense, layered flavour. Alongside the whiskey, we light up Cornell and Diehl King Cake and end up talking grains, sourcing, single barrels, and what makes a bottle truly worth the money.  • Redwood Empire Haystack Needle overview, Indiana exclusive single ba...

Send us Fan Mail We sit down with Blake, founder of Smokeye Hill, to talk about building a blue corn driven bourbon brand in Colorado and why their whiskey can reach serious proof without tasting like a stunt. We get into 30 gallon barrels, multi char blending, the reality of sourcing, and the slow rituals that make whiskey culture worth sticking around for.  • Smokeye Hill availability and why gr...

Send us Fan Mail We pour Metallica’s Blackened whiskey and test whether “born in cask forged by sound” is a real finishing technique or just a loud story. We also light up Black House pipe tobacco, swap notes on what we taste, and argue about what makes a celebrity bottle worth buying twice.  • Dave Pickerell’s background and why his name adds credibility  • How sonic finishing works with subwoofe...

Send us Fan Mail Traveler Full Proof takes everything we found “fine but forgettable” about the 90 proof bottle and turns it into a high proof pour with real punch and better structure. We debate what full proof really means, how Chris Stapleton may have shaped the blend, and why this one drinks hotter than its 120 proof suggests.  • full proof vs cask strength and why barrel entry proof matters ...

Send us Fan Mail We put Eric Church’s Jypsi Explorer under a serious tasting lens and end up surprised by how intentional it feels for a sourced celebrity whiskey. Along the way, the pour opens up into root beer, cream soda, wet forest wood notes, an English pipe tobacco pairing, and a debate about what good taste looks like in public spaces too. • what Jypsi Explorer is and how Outsider Spirits f...

Send us Fan Mail We chase a California bottle that drinks like it has a wine-world edge, then use it to talk about blending, value, and where American whiskey might be headed. Lost Monarch Cask Strength turns into a bigger debate about sourcing versus distilling, how brands scale, and why we think some “hype” bottles are a bad deal. • music festivals and why smaller venues beat stadium shows  • Re...

Send us Fan Mail A Fourth of July pour turns into a bigger talk about what it means to live in a 250-year-old country that is still figuring itself out. We taste First West Small Batch, pair it with dark-fired Kentucky tobacco, and connect the flavor to history, technology, and the pace of change.  • first impressions of the dark-fired Kentucky tobacco and the bottle’s creek-found blue-glass vibe ...

Send us Fan Mail We crack open a J Rieger Co private stock single barrel bourbon and chase the story behind how it was picked, bottled, and shared. Along the way, we pull on threads from Kansas City whiskey rules to sweet mash fermentation, then land on whether the regular shelf bottle is an easy buy.  • what a private select single barrel program looks like at the distillery  • filling your own b...

Send us Fan Mail We pour Elijah Craig’s first Barrel Proof Rye and get stuck on one detail that changes everything: 12 years old, “uncut,” and somehow only 108 proof. We chase the science, argue about hype versus reality, and land on why this bottle feels like an outlier even if it is technically what the label says. • why Elijah Craig rye has a reputation as a “barely rye” pour  • what makes A925...

Send us Fan Mail We pour Cedar Ridge Double Barrel Rye Batch 2 and get honest about what we love, what feels thin, and why a short finish can hold a bottle back even when the flavor is good. We also crack an aged bag of pipe tobacco and end up in a surprisingly deep debate about what “finished” should mean in American whiskey.  • the origin of the “Quintessential” name and why smart naming works ...

Send us Fan Mail We finally get Steve back behind the mic, then crack open Watershed Rye Batch Three, and it immediately resets our idea of what Ohio rye can be. Between a 143.1 proof gut-punch of flavor and a long-awaited tin of Esoterica Plum Cake, we end up talking about scarcity, lotteries, and why some bottles demand patience.  • Steve’s return after tax season and what we’re pouring  • Water...

Send us Fan Mail We sit down with Mike Trott and Harold Underdown from Four Branches Bourbon to unpack how a loss in the field turned into a whiskey built for remembrance and real connection. We also get candid about quality, pricing, veteran mental health, and why their motto “sip to remember” is a line in the sand.  • the origin story behind Four Branches and the friends they honour  • why bourb...

Send us Fan Mail We crack a Hugh Hamer cherry brandy barrel finished bourbon and end up with a shockingly sweet, creamy, cherry-forward pour that drinks lighter than its proof. The real surprise is how perfectly it pairs with Plum Pudding pipe tobacco and turns the whole night into a “Nirvana smoke” kind of memory.  • Debating how to pronounce Hugh Hamer and why the name matters  • First impressio...

Send us Fan Mail Interesting things about the distillery: First NEW distillery to open in Indiana after 2 years of fighting to change the laws.  Bear Wallow has a history dating back to the prohibition Bootleggers used to hide from the law in Bear Wallow because of how many bears were present at that time, and people did not want to normally take the risk with the bears  Out of Brown County All gr...

Send us Fan Mail Interesting things about the distillery: This is an MGP product, but not their normal mashbill or mashbills  Key MGP Mashbills: Rye Whiskey: 95% Rye, 5% Malted Barley. High Rye Bourbon: 60% Corn, 36% Rye, 4% Malted Barley. Low Rye Bourbon: 75% Corn, 21% Rye, 4% Malted Barley. Wheated Bourbon: 51% Corn, 45% Wheat, 4% Malted Barley. Light Whiskey: 99% Corn, 1% Malted Barley This was...

Send us Fan Mail Interesting things about the distillery:  Became one of the first 200 Craft distilleries in the US Utilizes traditional Cognac and Scottish pot stills alongside pre-industrial American whiskey, cognac, and Scottish methods Started with beer, then wine, and then grappa before whiskey Double pot still Utilize locally sourced grains The owner came from a finance background and, after...