Bourbon Showdown Podcast

This week we welcome Aaron Goldfarb, author of "Dusty Booze", and we sit down and talk dusty’s! He has written this book, which I am completely enamored with about the whiskey loving publics fascination with spirits from yester-year and how there is an entire community of whiskey hunters tracking down whiskey’s from the past. It is a phenomenal read and it was a pleasure talking to him a...

This week we welcome 1792 Master Distiller, Ross Cornelissen to the show! Ross walks us through the history of 1792 and his journey to the coveted title of Master Distiller all while we sip through some amazing bottles of 1792 12 Year, Full Proof and Thomas S. Moore. We cover everything from cereal, to mushrooms to whiskey and back again all on this weeks episode of The Bourbon Showdown Podcast! 

This week we welcome Lost Lantern Whiskey back to the show! Nora Ganley-Roper and Adam Polonski join us to talk about their new Spring 2024 Midwest Collection ! We go into how every region has its own whiskey personality and how they scoured the midwest for the best whiskies possible to make up this new Sprint 2024 Collection . It’s a great conversation and I can’t thank Nora and Adam enough for c...

This week we celebrate EPISODE 100 of the Bourbon Showdown Podcast! It’s a big milestone for the Bourbon Showdown and HOW do we CELEBRATE ? By having Harlen Wheatley from Buffalo Trace Distillery on the show! That’s right, the Master Distiller from Buffalo Trace Distillery joins us on the program for a great conversation about whiskey, the bourbon boom, Buffalo Trace Distillery and where he sees t...

This week we welcome Old Elk's, Melinda Maddox to talk CASK Finishing! It's a great conversation as Mel and Jesse drink through some Old Elk Port Cask Finish, some Cigar Cut and then she invites him to be a part of the tasting panel for the NEW Old Elk Wheat Whiskey Cognac Finish ! It's a great episode as we get closer to Episode 100! It's Episode 99 of The Bourbon Showdown Podcast...

This week we welcome Majure Markow from Cathead Distillery and Old Soul back to the show! We sit down and we talk Tin Type 2, Tin Type 1, Old Soul Barrel picks and then we do what we do when we have someone at The Showdown Hotel, we DRINK the whiskey we're talking about! We talk concerts, whiskey and the blues, everything you need to make it a damn good episode for this weeks Bourbon Showdown...

This week we welcome Graham McTavish from McTavish Spirits onto the show! You might know him from The Hobbit, Game of Thrones, Outlander, Men in Kilts, his list of TV and film credits go on and on and now he adds McTavish Spirits to his long list of accomplishments! He is a modern day raconteur and we can't thank him enough for coming onto the show! It's a great conversation this week as w...

This week we welcome A. Smith Bowmans Master Distiller, David Bock to the show! A wealth of knowledge on all things whiskey, David and Jesse go through the A. Smith Bowman history, the whiskey and David's own whiskey journey to Master Distiller. All while sipping on some delicious A. Smith Bowman whiskey! It's a great conversation on this weeks Bourbon Showdown Podcast!

This week we welcome Kevin Heffernan and Steve Lemme from Tacoma FD to the show! You may know them best as Farva and Mac from ‘Super Troopers’ or Landfill and Fink from ‘Beerfest’, they stop by to talk whiskey, comedy and Tacoma FD! Tacoma FD is a hilarious show that follows the hijinks of Kevin and Steve as Firefighters in Tacoma WA and just had all 4 seasons added to Netflix so you can go on and...

This week we welcome UFC Legend Bruce Buffer, the voice of mixed martial arts and Umberto Luchini the founder and proprietor of Wolf Spirit Distillery to talk Puncher’s Chance whiskey! It’s a great conversation where we talk Puncher’s Chance, MMA, Comedy and Whiskey Production! We also drink a lot of good whiskey and I can’t thank Bruce and Umberto enough for taking time out of their busy schedule...

This week we welcome Ari Sussman and Whiskey JYPSI to the show. We talk about the new expression from Eric Church and how this new premium whiskey came to be. We also talk about how Ari got started in the whiskey business and what's next for him and Whiskey JYPSI. It's a great conversation about Whiskey, Whiskey-making and Rock and Roll, this week on The Bourbon Showdown Podcast!

This week we welcome Founder and Distiller from FEW Spirits Paul Hletko to the show! Jesse and Paul sit down and crack a few bottles of FEW whiskey and talk about everything from prohibition to FEW being at the forefront of the current whiskey boom. They also talk about FEW's collaboration with Alice In Chains and how that collab led to the "ALL SECRETS KNOWN" expression that saw FEW...

This week we welcome Amir Peay and Cody Giles back to the show! Amir is of course the man responsible for brining James E. Pepper back to life and Cody, the head distiller is putting down some delicious whiskey for the brand! We sit down and talk about their history, how the whiskey gets made and what went into their new Barrel Proof, James E. Pepper offering, this week on The Bourbon Showdown Pod...

his week we welcome Lindsay Gulics and Barrell Craft Spirits back to the show for another episode of good whiskey and good conversation! Lindsay is the Regional Manager of the NorthEast for Barrell and her and I pour up a couple delicious drams and talk all things Barrell Craft Spirits! We talk about how Joe Beatrice started the brand and how far they’ve come since the company began, we talk about...

This week I welcome Caryn Wells from Green River to the show! Caryn is the National Brand Ambassador for Green River and her and I got to sit down for a pour of some delicious Green River whiskey. We talk about how she got into this wonderful world of whiskey and the history behind the Green River brand. Then as always after we talk about the whiskey… we drink the whiskey! It’s a fun conversation...

This week I welcome Celina Perez from Great Jones Distilling Co. to the program for a great conversation about all things New York City and New York City Whiskey. We go through how she got started in whiskey as well as what it took for her and the team at Great Jones to get a distillery off the ground in the middle of a pandemic. It’s a great conversation and I thoroughly enjoyed having Celina on...

This week we welcome Victoria Horn and Brandi Bowles, the founders of Boss Molly Bourbon onto the show and we talk about everything under the bourbon sun. We talk about what it takes to start a bourbon brand, the sleepless nights spent making sure you get your recipe 100% perfect, the endless hours spent introducing your brand to new consumers and how it is all totally worth it when you see someon...

This week we welcome Liz Rhoades and WhistlePig back to the Bourbon Showdown and we talk BOSS HOG X! That’s right, Liz is back and we do a deep dive into Boss Hog X and Robbie’s Blend, two distinct whiskey’s that properly represent why WhistlePig is and has always been at the forefront of pushing boundaries in the whiskey world! So sit back, pour a big dram of WhistlePig rye and get ready for Jess...

This week we welcome Lori Fetrick, better know as ICE from the American Gladiators to the Bourbon Showdown Podcast! Thats right Ice herself is on the show today to talk all things whiskey and American Gladiators. We talk about the new Docuseries on Netflix "Muscles & Mayhem" which acts as an unauthorized deep dive into the the American gladiator story, we talk about how she got start...

This week we welcome Bruce Russell back to the show and talk about the new Wild Turkey Generations expression! The first time in the history of Wild Turkey that there are three generations of Russell's collaborating on one bottle. We talk about how this expression came to be and what it felt like to get his name on the bottle alongside his Grandfather Jimmy Russell and his father Eddie Russell...

This week we welcome High West Distillery back to the show! Tara Lindley and Holly Booth join us and take us on a sensory and cocktail journey through everything High West! We talk about how the brand got started, what led both of them to whiskey and then we drink some whiskey! Tara takes me through the sensory process of identifying whats in the glass and Holly teaches me how to make a High West...

This week we welcome back long time friends of the show, Michael and Danny from Penelope. We sit down and discuss everything from the success of Rio to the recent acquisition by MGP. It's a great conversation that covers the full scope of Penelopes rise in whiskey and a comprehensive look at what they have in store for whiskey lovers in the future. Its a deep dive into Penelope Bourbon on this...

While we were at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival last week, we were fortunate enough to be a part of Kentucky Owl’s unveiling of their new Maighster edition, limited release, Bourbon Whiskey. This comes on the heels of Kentucky Owl naming Maureen Robinson as their new Master Blender! We were able to sit down with this Scotch Whisky Hall of Famer and talk about everything from her very brief retireme...

This week we welcome Old Forester Master Taster, Melissa Rift to the show! We talk about what brought her to Old Forester and her whiskey journey, all while sipping on some delicious 117 Series, Bottled in Bond whiskey! She tells us about what goes into the creation of each 117 Series offering, the role she plays in its production and what she has in store for us in the future. It’s a great conver...

This week we welcome Peter Nevenglosky from Rare Character onto the show. Pete and Jesse talk about Fortuna and everything it takes to bring a classic brand back from the whiskey beyond as well as Petes origin story into the whiskey world. They go everywhere from the pandemic in NYC to drinking with Mr. Belding in Las Vegas. This episode has something for everyone! So grab a tall pour of Fortuna,...