The Noble Dram

What happens when great whiskey, passionate people, and a shared love for the pour come together? You get something much bigger than a whiskey festival. Welcome to the 11th Annual Houston Whiskey Social: https://www.houstonwhiskeysocial.com/ WHEN:  Saturday, November 14, 2026 WHERE: The Citadel — Houston, Texas TICKETS: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/11th-annual-whiskey-social-tickets-1988079490273?...

Two monsters. Two bottles. One gloriously weird night. This Halloween, The Noble Dram is embracing the beautiful chaos of Moonlight Monster! We're cracking open Filmland Spirits Moonlight Mayhem! Extended Cut and Compass Box The Peat Monster for a double feature that brings together cinematic mayhem and smoky Scotch whisky. We're talking Halloween movie hot takes, horror movie legends, u...

Giddy up, Dram Fam! The smoke is rising, the pits are firing, and The Noble Dram is taking the show on the road for the 2026 Coursey Annual BBQ Cookoff! On a chilly Houston morning, Aaron and Gavin hit the stage to explore all things smoke from the art of BBQ cookoffs to the bold flavors that bring smoke from the pit to the glass. We're talking BBQ traditions, pitmaster pride, whiskey pairing...

We made it! The Noble Dram is officially turned ONE, and we're celebrating the only way we know how: with great whiskey, good company, plenty of laughs, and a little cake and ice cream. For our birthday bash, we're raising a glass with Old Forester Birthday Bourbon, indulging in Glenmorangie A Tale of Ice Cream, and cutting into some delicious Whiskey Cake from BENDT Distilling Co. Becau...

Is Duty Free really the best place to buy whisky…or does everything just look like a good deal when you’re killing time before a flight? This week on The Noble Dram, Aaron is joined by a special guest - his dad, Tom - for a conversation every traveling whisky drinker has probably had while wandering through an airport: Should I buy that bottle now, or can I find it cheaper when I get home? Duty Fr...

Season 3 is officially underway and Aaron is sitting this one out. Gavin is joined by Chad Taters, a bourbon hunter, collector, reseller, and unapologetic “Bourbon Tater” who has built his world around buying, selling, and chasing allocated whiskey. We get into the real business behind the secondary bourbon market, why certain bottles command crazy prices, what drives demand, how the game works, a...

Great Scott! We’ve got $88, two bottles, and a bourbon time machine. This week on The Noble Dram, we’re hitting 88 miles per hour and heading Back to the Future with two Kentucky bourbons that connect the past, present, and future of whiskey. 🥃 Early Times Bottled-in-Bond 🥃 Old Hoffman Brand Straight Kentucky Bourbon We’re talking revived brands, forgotten labels, bourbon nostalgia, value, and w...

The Noble Dram Boys go off the rails and head to the pub for a little something different. Whether you’re a John Lee Hooker fan or you prefer your blues with a little George Thorogood, this episode is all about good pours, good stories, and plenty of pub-style banter. We kick things off with New Holland Dragon’s Milk: Tales of Gold, a barrel-aged beer that immediately blurs the line between the be...

What happens when Oklahoma pride, Oklahoma State Cowboys, and Oklahoma whiskey come together? We head to Hochatown Distilling Co. for a conversation with Tommy "Blue" McDaniel about what it means to make whiskey in The GREAT State of Oklahoma and why it may be one of American whiskey's next great stories. Gavin grew up in Perkins, Oklahoma, so this episode is personal. From Oklahoma...

What bottles deserve a spot on your whiskey shelf? In this episode of The Noble Dram, Gavin takes the lead and builds his ultimate Collection Selection, 12+ whiskies he believes every whiskey enthusiast should consider when starting or building their collection. But this isn't about chasing unicorn bottles, hunting down impossible allocations, or spending a fortune. It's about choosing b...

What happens when you stop trying to make whiskey the way everyone else does and decide to make it your way? In this episode of The Noble Dram, Aaron and Gavin sit down with Ryan & Natasha DeHart, the owners behind BENDT Distilling Co., for a conversation that goes far beyond what's in the bottle. From the heart of North Texas, BENDT has built a reputation around doing things differently—...

What happens when one of Scotland's youngest distilleries decides the best way forward is to look back? In this episode of The Noble Dram, Gavin and Aaron head to Islay to explore the remarkable story of Kilchoman Distillery, the island's first new distillery in more than 120 years and one of the few true farm distilleries in Scotland. From barley fields surrounding the distillery to tra...

🥃 Can you taste tradition? That's the question we're exploring as we step inside one of Scotland's most iconic distilleries, The Balvenie. After touring the distillery firsthand, we're sharing what makes The Balvenie unlike almost any other Scotch producer. From the legendary Five Rare Crafts to the people who have preserved traditional whisky making for more than 130 years, t...

Every whisky lover remembers the bottle that started it all. But if you were building a starter shelf today...which bottles truly deserve a spot? In this episode of The Noble Dram, Aaron takes on the challenge of creating the ultimate whiskey starter collection. The original goal? Choose just 12 bottles. Easy enough...until Aaron decided that one list wasn't enough. Instead, he built TWO. 🥃...

Every whiskey lover has been there. You're standing in the liquor store when a bottle catches your eye. You've never seen it before. No reviews. No recommendations. No awards on the label. Just a bottle... asking you to take a chance. So what do you do? In this episode of The Noble Dram, Gavin and Aaron dive into the psychology of buying whiskey when you don't know what's insid...

What exactly is peat, and why does it make some Scotch whiskies taste like a campfire by the sea? In this episode of Scotch for Starters, Gavin and Aaron tackle one of the most misunderstood and most polarizing topics in Scotch whisky. Whether you're peat-curious or a lifelong smoke lover, we'll explain what peat is, how it's used during whisky production, why it creates such unique...

America is turning 250 years old, and we're raising a glass to celebrate the only way we know how, with great whisky and even better company. In this special America 250 episode of The Noble Dram, Aaron and Gavin go head-to-head as Team America and Team England, celebrating two nations forever connected by history... and now by exceptional single malts. On the table:  🥃 Westland Garryana – A...

When you think about Scotch whisky, you probably think about the distillery, the ingredients, or maybe even the age statement. But what if we told you the barrel might be the most important part of the entire process?    In this episode of Scotch for Starters, Aaron and Gavin dive into the world of whisky barrels and explore how wood transforms raw spirit into the Scotch we know and love. From the...

This Father's Day, we're raising a glass to the dads who help shape the next generation. Aaron and Gavin sit down with Clifford Walsh, founder of Girl Dad Bourbon, to discuss the inspiration behind a brand dedicated to celebrating fathers raising strong, confident women. From the story behind the iconic Unicorn Rider label to the lessons learned through fatherhood, Clifford shares how be...

What's the big deral about Single Malt Scotch? What exactly is malt anyway and why is it so important to Scotch whisky? In this episode of The Noble Dram, Aaron and Gavin break down one of the most fundamental building blocks of Scotch: malted barley. From the malting process and flavor development to the legal rules that define Scotch whisky, we're making one of whisky's most misun...

What happens when Aaron heads back to his roots? In this special Aaron's alma mater episode, we're traveling to Dodge City, Kansas to visit one of the most unique soil-to-sip distilleries in America: Boot Hill Distillery. Joining us are Boot Hill owner and Master Distiller Hayes Kelman and Distiller Lee Griffith for a conversation that goes far beyond whiskey. We dive deep into the Kansa...

This week on The Noble Dram, we're trading Islay peat for Texas heat as we celebrate Noble Ardbeg Day 2026. We're joined by special guest, David Blackmore the Global Brand Ambassador for Ardbeg. We're pouring  Ardbeg 10 and the highly anticipated Ardbeg Dolce for an unforgettable conversation covering David's journey through whisky, life with Ardbeg, stories from Islay, Fèis Ìl...

This week on The Noble Dram, we’re cracking open some serious Heaven Hill goodness. Aaron brings out the elegant Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond 7 Year, while Gavin comes in swinging with Heaven Hill Grain to Glass 2025. From rich history and legendary bottles to hot takes and whiskey chaos, we're exploring the distillery that quietly built a bourbon empire. One pour brings polished decanter c...

Part 2 of our crossover conversation with Big Chief from The Whiskey Trip is here—and this one goes deep into the heart of whiskey, storytelling, and the rise of Texas whiskey. After kicking things off in Part 1 over on The Whiskey Trip, Aaron and Gavin welcome Big Chief back to The Noble Dram table to continue the conversation around whiskey culture, community, and the pours that leave a lasting...

This Mother’s Day, we’re letting fate decide the pours. In this special Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe Blind Tasting, Aaron and Gavin put their palates to the test with a lineup of bold and mystery pours—no labels, no clues, just chaos. But this isn’t just about the whiskey. Along the way, we’re diving into the classic advice our moms gave us growing up… the advice we probably should’ve listened to. 🥃 Ha...