Beards, Books, and Bourbon Podcast

Green towns, volcanos, and Sasquatch, OH MY!  In tonight's episode, we look at "Devolution" by Max Brooks.  It's a wild ride, made all the more terrifying by the hauntingly plausible documentary style of the book.  To keep their heads, the boys will sample some George Dickel bourbon.

Oh my.  Author, Zee Lacson, sticks around after the initial recording to do the oopsisode with Stephen and Mark.  How many bourbons can one author take?  All of them.  Especially when we're talking about allies.  Spend another 12 minutes with Zee Lacson and the boys as they talk about allies in the book "Twice Removed."   Zee Lacson has had practice in different professions. Engineer. Teacher.  Ph...

On this episode, Stephen and Mark interview YA author, Zee Lacson.  She and her husband have stopped by to talk about her new book, "Twice Removed".  For the bourbon tonight, the four of them will try out Lux Row, a complex and delightful bourbon to match the book and the company!  For more about Zee, see below.   Zee Lacson has had practice in different professions. Engineer. Teacher.  Photograph...

WELCOME TO THE ANNUAL RONALD MALFI LOVE FEST. Seriously, it's kind of sick how much we love this guy's writing.  We have a problem.  We need counseling, or perhaps we just need some Copper & Cask Bourbon to pair with writing.

On today's episode, we take a look at five novellas from one of our favorite authors, Ronald Malfi, in his new book, "They Lurk".  Malfi's writing is always complex and thought provoking while it mercilessly scares the ever living poop out of you. Tonight we are pairing the book with Belfour Texas Pecan Wood Finished Bourbon Whiskey.  It's another deep and complex offering, and we can't wait to te...

As we often do, there's the thing we want to talk about in the book that we didn't get to talk about before.  And then, we spend some time on this particular bourbon, but oooooh my, it's delicious.

It's been a minute since we did a time travel story, and so we're heading back in time, and forward, and back again in this smart, funny, lovely, and tragic tale by Kalianne Bradley.  How would it feel if you were suddenly plucked out of your own time and sent 200, 300, or even 5 hundred years into the future? Would you be able to fit in, or would you slowly slide back to where you started one pie...

On tonight's episode, we have the special privilege of interviewing Author, Thomas J. Miller about his book, "An Oktoberfest Death".  To pair with this book about murder and beer, we're going to be sampling three styles of Dragon Milk Bourbon Barrel Aged beers from New Holland Brewing. Please follow Thomas at these links, and support our authors and their work! Thomas J. Miller Website Shop. I am...

Wait?  We forgot something about quantum loop gravity and the nature of energy as information? Naaaaah!  Good thing we're returning to our good friend, Glynnevan Maple Whisky.

Hello all you loyal listeners!  We had a minor technical catastrophe when our recording platform became sentient, attemtpted to take over the world, and corrupted several episodes of the show in the process. We have a new recording platform, for our inaugural voyage, we are returning to our favorite popular scientist, Carlo Rovelli to talk about what's on the other end of a black hole.  For our sa...

We couldn't say enough about the Cartographers by Peng Shepherd.  Well, if you think about it, we really had too much to say.  After all, here we are with more to say!  Tonight the boys are also going to check in with their specially ordered bottle of Oak & Eden customized with 4 grain bourbon whiskey, a French oak stave, and orange essence.

In this week's episode, Stephen and Mark dive into a story about familes.  The families you are born into, the familes you make, and the worlds you create together.  Come explore with them as they find brave new worlds in Peng Shepherd's masterful novel, "The Cartographers".  It's a long road, and the path is unclear, and so they will pair the book with Five Trail Whiskey.

How does a story drive forward?  How do the connections between the characters, the setting, the author, and the reader all work in concert to weave a tale that people want to read or tell or listen?  We're waxing philosophical on tonight's episode, and appropriately enough, we're sampling some West Cork Irish Whiskey to put us in the right mood.

It's another 15 minute dumpster fire, brought to you by Stephen and Mark and Starward Two Fold.

Stephen and Mark spend some time stranded on Mars with "The Martian" by Andy Weir.  Surviving on a planet that is literally trying to kill you at every moment of the day can be stressful.  Good thing they have their custom made bottle of Oak & Eden to help take off the edge.

As Stephen and Mark lose their minds over whales, they will spend some time sipping on St. George Absinte and Basil Hayden Toast!

What if you could live 10,000 lifetimes, and the only requirement would be to find perfection before using them all up.  Do you think you could do it?  Stephen and Mark are pretty sure they wouldn't make it, getting distracted by loud thoughts, like Stephen's gout toe, or France.  This is the simple premise of a deceptively complex book about life, love, the self, and reaching for something perfec...

Tonight as the guys talk about what they forgot from All Systems Red by Martha Wells, they return to a previous bottle, Legent.  This time they try it as a cocktail with an experimental mixer purchased for a magical place called the internet.

On this episode, the guys discuss the starting tale of a Scifi series with an interesting twist and viewpoint.  Speaking of interesting twists, they will be sampling Jack Daniels Triple Mash.

Join us for another 15 minutes...or less...of the boys talking about what they forgot to talk about in Valley of Shadows by Rudy Ruiz.

This week, "Valley of Shadows" by Rudy Ruiz. The guys explore a new twist (for them) on an old genre.  A Western from a different perspective, both culturally and geographically.  This haunting and action packed western tale takes them on a journey through a world that seems both familiar and unexplored.  Bad guys.  A lone sheriff. A serial killing cult.  Magic, curses, and a sense of justice that...

Nothing's more terrifying than unionized dolphins.  Come listen and find out why.

Villainy is not what it once was, or maybe it's just never been what we thought.  Stephen and Mark explore the state of villainy in Starter Villain by John Scalzi.  As they learn the dark nature of subscription services, they will fortify themselves with something equally as dark.  Jim Beam Black Extra Aged.

Just who was that old man, anyway, and how old was he when he died??  There's weird stuff in A House with Good Bones, but Copper & Cask will keep them save with its depth of flavor and spice.

The boys are back with another T. Kingfisher novel.  This one is Southern Gothic meets Lovecraftian Horror.  To try to keep things nice and normal, they will be sampling Jefferson's Bourbon Whiskey.