Bourbon Lens

A big thank you this week to Bill Straub for inviting us into his home to share his whiskey with the The Bourbon Lens.  We sat down with Bill Straub and Bob D'Antoni, co-founders of Four Gate Whiskey, and explored the history of their brand as well as their unique take on whiskey. Four Gate is known for its collaborations with Kelvin Cooperage, a craft barrel maker in Louisville Kentucky. Four Gat...

On this week's episode, we sit down with the co-founder of Angel's Envy, Wes Henderson, as we discuss the inspiration of the brand and the Angel's Envy product line. Wes is the son of bourbon hall of famer, Lincoln Henderson. Wes and Lincoln had a vision to start their own independent distillery and make unique products by barrel finishing their hand-crafted whiskey. On this episode, we discuss ev...

Michael enjoyed some whiskey from Christine Riggleman (aka Hooch Mama) and Lauren Riggleman Weller (Baby Hooch). Thanks to one of our fans, PCWhiskey on Instagram, we were introduced to this Mother-Daughter distilling duo from Silverback Distillery. Learn more about the Silverback team and their lineup of whiskey in this week's episode. Christine and Lauren make a great team and provide a great pe...

Wheater Madness and Weller Bourbon! It has been exactly one year since we released our first podcast and this week's episode is a bit of free-for-all. And what better bourbon to discuss than Weller, "The Original Wheated Bourbon". We discuss voting for The Rock for President, old school pro wrestling, the bourbon secondary market, Conor McGregor fandom, and the wild world of Weller Bourbon.  Liste...

Today's episode features the limited release Double Barrel Maple Bourbon from Taconic Distillery.  Michael and Scott also dive into the world of Whiskey Instagram and how we see things changing  on the platform.  The Double Barrel Maple Bourbon is the 115 proof release and it was barreled in Catskill Mountain Sugarhouse maple syrup barrels.  We also compared it to Taconic's Mizunara finished bourb...

The three of us are back together again and we have 3 barrel proof bourbons ready to go.  This time, we taste a flight of the 2019 offerings of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof. Heaven Hill released three high proof, 12 year old bourbons in 2019, as they do every year of their popular Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon.  The Batches are as follows: RELEASE DATE         BATCH NO.           PROOF January 201...

On this week's episode, while Scott is out for the birth of his new son, Jake and Michael take time to reflect back on The Bourbon Lens' first year and highlights for us in 2019, and oh yeah, put some rye whiskies to the test. We put eight rye whiskies through the rye flight challenge. Comparing the match-ups by proof, we sipped some really fine rye whiskey, and one that was a real letdown, who wi...

On this week's episode Michael sits down with glassmaker Denver Cramer, co-owner of Denver & Liely. Denver & Liely is a company founded by two engineers in Melbourne, Australia with a passion for designing spirits glasses that enhance the drinker's connection with the spirit they are consuming.  This episode takes a trip down memory lane as we discuss Denver's passions and life journeys th...

The Bourbon Lens version of a Christmas Gift Guide.  Gift guides can be found everywhere on the internet, but this podcast episode is a fresh spin on that idea. We take several "Whiskey Friend" stereotypes and suggest bottles of whiskey for each. Some of these gifts might be serious, most are sarcastic, but you're sure to find the perfect whiskey bottle to gift your friends.   Here's the listing o...

On this week's episode we sit down with Broken Barrel Whiskey Founder and CEO, Seth Benhaim. Seth started the Infuse Spirits Company in 2012 when he was 25 years old. The Infuse Spirits line focuses on naturally infusing and blending spirits with natural fruits and spices. Seth's passion for infusing spirits led him to become the youngest brand owner to ever win Best-in-Show and Double-Gold at the...

From Buffalo Trace to The Big Apple.  Brandon Collins, Head Distiller for Taconic Distillery, joins us for this week's episode of The Bourbon Lens.  Brandon moved on from his role at one of the most recognizable distilleries in world to take on craft distilling in New York state. Taconic Distillery is located 90 miles north of New York City and is gaining ground by their willingness to experiment...

We sat down with Distiller Alan Bishop and Jolee Kasprzak from The Spirits of French Lick Distillery in West Baden Springs, Indiana. We recorded this episode on location in the Spirits of French Lick Barrel Chai (Warehouse) while enjoying some of their Lee W. Sinclair 4 Grain Bourbon.  This is a distillery that truly embraces it motto, "Respect the Grain."  Find out why Alan Bishop dislikes being...

Stephen Gould, Owner of Golden Moon Distillery & Gun Fighter Whiskey, joins The Bourbon Lens Podcast . Stephen has close to 30 years of distilling experience. Golden Moon and Gun Fighter are Stephen's brands and he is looking to grow in the industry. Stephen has also collaborated with many others including the Legend, Dave Pickerell. His expertise is not limited to whiskey; Stephen enjoys crea...

What is it like to run a small business in the Kentucky Bourbon industry? We sat down with the Owner and leather craftsman behind the BourbonWare brand.  BourbonWare is the brainchild and nearly lifelong passion of Micah Sierp. Micah has been involved in the leather crafting trade for over 20 years and is proud to follow in his father's trade.  BourbonWare's flagship product, the Lexington Rocks G...

It may not be Avengers: Infinity Wars, but we had a battle this week. We found out how difficult it is to blend whiskey. Each of us tried our hands at blending our own whiskey (blend recipes listed below) and we lined them up in a blind tasting.  Find out who wins this week's challenge and who might need some more practice.  Also, during the episode you'll learn how you can get your hands on these...

  We dive into a set of samples sent to us by Bourbon Charity. This is a blind tasting to find the best bourbon under $30. Bourbon Charity is an organization which is utilizing bourbon to benefit several non-profit and charitable organizations. "Drink for A Change" is one of their mottos and this latest effort will benefit the Prostate Cancer Foundation, Children's Tumor Foundation, Fisher House F...

There is no "smoke and mirrors" when it comes to Bardstown Bourbon Company. This episode features an interview with Dan Callaway from Bardstown Bourbon Company. Dan is the Assistant Vice President of Customer Relations for Bardstown Bourbon and handles the customer facing side of the business as well as product development. We enjoyed several excellent whiskies from Bardstown Bourbon Company as we...

We line up 3 single barrel bourbons from Jake's whiskey collection this week. The newcomer, Kentucky Peerless Bourbon, takes on the ever-popular EH Taylor Single Barrel from Buffalo Trace and the ultra-aged 18 year old Elijah Craig from Heaven Hill.  We also discuss the benefits of small batch and blending vs. single barrel bourbons. Find out how each ranked in our blind tasting episode of single...

A Chicago whiskey enthusiast is gaining popularity on Instagram. We sat down with Chris aka UrbanBourbonist on Instagram and discuss bourbon tourism in Louisville, Instagram as a social media platform, and how Chris is utilizing the platform with his live stream interviews of those in the whiskey industry. Chris is also an Executive Bourbon Steward and discusses his experience with the training th...

We paid a visit to The Four Roses Bourbon Distillery in Lawrenceburg Kentucky. Four Roses Quality Manager, Marcus Niemann, sat down with us in the sensory lab and we sipped some very rare bourbon while learning more about the people and the bourbons behind the brand. Be sure to check out Four Roses the next time you are in Kentucky.  More information can be found at FourRosesBourbon.com.   We woul...

We sat down with some whiskey and had a great discussion with Matthew Evans. Matthew is the founder/owner of Whiskey Consensus.  He has devoted a lot of time and effort to growing an Instagram account into a brand. Whiskey Consensus is a website dedicated to easy-to read and honest bourbon and whiskey reviews and high quality photography. We encourage you to check out WhiskeyConsensus.com to find...

Two bourbon podcasts collide. The result is some great conversation and a lineup of 5 cask strength rye whiskies. We sat down with Jim and Mike (aka Big Chief) from The Bourbon Road Podcast for this week's collaboration episode. In an effort to mix things up, we decided to kick back with bourbon's rival, rye whiskey.   If you enjoyed today's episode, be sure to subscribe to The Bourbon Lens for fu...

A blind tasting of some of the most widely available bourbon whiskey from Jim Beam, Four Roses, Evan Williams, and Buffalo Trace. In honor of Bourbon Heritage Month, we explore the flagship whiskey of some of Kentucky's biggest bourbon makers.   Bourbons Tasted include: A.  Jim Beam "White Label" 80 proof Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey No age statement - approximately 4 years old or greater B. ...

We sit down with some fine bourbon and have a conversation with whiskey maker Caleb Kilburn. Caleb Kilburn is the Master Distiller at Kentucky Peerless Distilling Company. We would appreciate you giving us a 5 star rating on your podcast app of choice and please leave us a written review.  This helps others discover our podcast and will help us expand our reach. Also, be sure to follow us @Bourbon...

A battle of ten year old bourbon whiskey.  An Elijah Craig store pick goes head-to-head against Henry McKenna Bottled In Bond.  How did it fair?  Find out as Scott and Michael compare the two bourbons from Heaven Hill.  Michael also tested Scott with a blind tasting of Early Times Bottled-in-Bond.  Does it hold up for Scott?   We would appreciate you giving us a 5 star rating on whichever podcast...