The Scotchy Bourbon Boys

Send us Fan Mail We chase the real meaning of bang for your buck bourbon, comparing the internet’s top five value bottles with Tiny’s personal lineup and the bottles he actually repurchases. We also draw a hard line between flavour and hype, arguing that most expensive bourbon is not proportionally better than great shelfers. • using AI and reviewer chatter to build an internet top five  • Evan Wi...

Send us Fan Mail We put Blade and Bow head to head with Blade and Bow 12-Year Solera Reserve and score them on our barrel breakdown scale to see what actually changes in the glass. We also dig into the Five Keys Club, the Solera aging method, and the ongoing tug of war between collecting bourbon and drinking it with friends. • Why Blade and Bow is tied to Stitzel-Weller history and the five bourbo...

Send us Fan Mail A bourbon festival can feel like a giant sales floor, or it can feel like a neighborhood party where the whiskey just happens to be world class. We went live from Bourbon On The Banks in Frankfort, Kentucky and caught up with distiller Greg Keeley from Larrikin Bourbon Company, right on the river with the crowds, the volunteers, and that perfect early-October weather. We talk abou...

Send us Fan Mail We’re live at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival with Ross Cornelissen, Master Distiller at Barton 1792, talking about how a working distillery builds better flavor without losing consistency. We dig into rye, barrels, yeast, and what “quality” really means when you’re making whiskey for a huge audience.  • Ross’s background and why Bardstown feels like home  • From cereal engineering...

Send us Fan Mail We turn our Bourbon On The Banks weekend into a full Kentucky bourbon playbook, from the Thursday kickoff to the Saturday festival and the late night bottle shares in Frankfort. We break down the stops that matter, the bars that overdeliver, and the Whiskey Thief “Emery’s Pick” bottle that earns a huge score on our barrel breakdown scale.  • why Bourbon On The Banks feels bigger t...

Send us Fan Mail We sit down with Steve Smith of Uncle Boogie’s Distilling Company to taste barrel strength whiskey while he lays out a jaw-dropping Kentucky bourbon history that runs from 1700s settlement to Prohibition scale bootlegging. We talk recipes pulled from old ledgers, why certain barrels taste “like history,” and how he keeps the brand small by letting people bottle straight from the b...

Send us Fan Mail We catch up with Stephen Fontaine live at Bourbon on the Banks and dig into what makes Yellowstone’s limited releases feel intentional instead of gimmicky. The talk goes from port-cask finishing and proof choices to cigars, conservation, dusty bottles, and how bourbon history is being written right now. • tasting notes and intent behind Yellowstone Limited Edition 2026 with Ruby a...

Send us Fan Mail We sit down with Royce Neeley to talk legacy, craft bourbon grit, and why Neeley Family Distillery bets on pot still character instead of sourced whiskey. We taste Pappaw’s Legacy Reserve, dig into moonshine and barrel-aged experiments, and hear how Rebecca helps turn big ideas into a real business.  • the Papaw persona and why festival stories matter  • how our relationship with...

Send us Fan Mail We map out our Bourbon On The Banks weekend in Frankfurt, Kentucky, and share what makes this festival feel different from the bigger Kentucky Bourbon Festival scene. We also run detailed barrel bottle breakdowns of Old Elk Cigar Cut Punch Cut and an OHLQ Armagnac finish, then talk pairing bourbon with cigars without letting either one take over.  • our latest Kentucky run and wha...

Send us Fan Mail We crack open a Baker’s 13 Kentucky Bourbon Festival pick reportedly selected by Baker Beam at 90 years old, then put it head-to-head with another Baker’s 13 to see how much single barrel bourbon can vary. Along the way, we dig into Baker Beam’s real distillery story, why 107 proof works so well, and what makes this particular barrel taste like straight-up caramel-cherry magic.  •...

Send us Fan Mail We chase the real origin story of Russell’s Reserve, comparing Wild Turkey’s official timeline with Greg Schneider’s account of how an inventory problem may have forced a new premium bourbon brand into existence. Then we pour Russell’s Reserve 13 (45th anniversary) at barrel proof, score it with our barrel breakdown, and talk about what age, proof, and non-chill filtration do to t...

Send us Fan Mail We taste and rate Brown-Forman’s Kentucky Boy, a resurrected historic label released to honor Chris Morris’s 50-year legacy, and we push past the hype to see if the pour earns the story. We also unpack what’s known and unknown about the blend, why the Kentucky Bourbon Festival was the perfect debut stage, and what bourbon fans should demand from “commemorative” bottles.  • Kentuck...

Send us Fan Mail We retrace our 11-day run through Kentucky leading up to the Kentucky Bourbon Festival and tell the real story behind the bottles, the bus tour, the volunteer work, and the people who make Bardstown feel like a second home. We share what went right, what surprised us, and why the best pours often happen outside the official tasting lines.  • kicking off Season 8 and setting the fe...

Send us Fan Mail We put our “whiskey without borders” promise to the test by tasting King Car Taiwanese single malt finished in bourbon barrels and arguing over the wildest notes we find. We score it nose, body, taste, and finish, then stack it up against bottles like Highland Park 12 and Johnnie Walker Green before we shift into Kentucky Bourbon Festival plans.  • Why international whiskey belong...

Send us Fan Mail We get ready for the Kentucky Bourbon Festival and relive how a bourbon trip becomes a mix of friends, schedules, and chasing the next great pour. Then we dig into why Michter’s keeps winning us over and argue about whether festival bottle lines count as real bourbon hunting. • Kentucky Bourbon Festival plans with the full crew, house schedule, and bus tour energy  • Bourbon balls...

Send us Fan Mail We sit down with Ansey and Renee to map out Bourbon On The Banks and why a Kentucky River setting, capped tickets, and smart logistics make it feel more like a great hang than a crowded scramble. We share how to plan your pours, find the best single barrel picks, and build a full Frankfort weekend that still gives back big to local charities.  • riverfront park layout in downtown...

Send us Fan Mail We go head to head on Knob Creek 12 Year 2026 at 100 proof versus the rare 121.2 proof cask strength release, asking whether proof actually equals better flavor. The 100 proof impresses with balance and peanut brittle notes, then the cask strength lands a rich butterscotch finish that blows past our scoring scale.  • upcoming Bourbon on the Banks and Kentucky Bourbon Festival plan...

Send us Fan Mail We catch up with Rebecca Neely on what’s new at Neely Family Distillery, from a hidden speakeasy room to a rare three-chamber still that’s finally running. We also get deep on blending, finishing, and festival releases, plus the behind-the-scenes chaos of a surprise New Orleans wedding.  • the speakeasy room and how guests stumble into it  • what a three-chamber still is and why i...

Send us Fan Mail We taste Buffalo Trace’s three CRC certified kosher whiskeys and dig into the real reason they exist: Passover rules turn barrel aging into an ownership puzzle that has to be solved years in advance. Along the way, we compare profiles, argue about whether 94 proof is the sweet spot, and decide which bottle is genuinely worth the hunt.  • overview of the Buffalo Trace kosher lineup...

Send us Fan Mail We sit down with Randy Prasse president of the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, to talk about how the event sold out at warp speed and why the real reason people return is the friendships and the shared pours. We also dig into what’s new on the grounds this year, how distilleries are using the festival for launches, and what it takes to keep lines, gates, and expectations under control....

Send us Fan Mail We sit down with the founders of KO Distilling to trace how a Ravens game conversation turned into a Virginia craft distillery with serious bourbon and cask strength rye. We get candid about equipment upgrades, control-state distribution, barrel strategy, and why barrel picks with a cigar club can become a real community engine.  • the origin story from Merchant Marine Academy to...

Send us Fan Mail We turn the Four Roses 10 Recipe Tasting Kit into a hands-on bourbon class, testing how two mash bills and five yeast strains can reshape flavor in the glass. We rank our favorites, compare the kit to an OBSK single barrel, then build a custom blend to chase the perfect balance of sweet, fruit, and spice.  • quick sponsor shout and housekeeping plus where to watch and listen  • wh...

Send us Fan Mail We put Maker’s Mark Star Hill Farm American Wheat Whiskey 2025 and 2026 in the ring and score them side by side to see what changed and which one drinks better. Along the way, we get into why wheat needs oxygen, why Maker’s Mark is treating this as a vintage-style annual release, and how regenerative agriculture connects to flavor.  • why Star Hill Farm exists and why it is not bo...

Send us Fan Mail One great bourbon story can change your whole drinking life, and Ed Blake’s starts with a bottle he avoided for years. After a bad early run-in with bourbon, he returns to it later through a Pappy Van Winkle 15 and suddenly the rabbit hole opens. From there, we follow the real path from enthusiast to trusted palate: learning how to taste, learning how to talk about flavour, and le...

Send us Fan Mail We sit down with Bill McBrayer to trace how a forgotten Kentucky bourbon legacy turns into a living brand, starting with a family story, a trademark deadline, and a mash bill hidden in the historical record. We talk through the hard parts of building a whiskey company the right way, plus the joy of watching family history become something you can taste and share.  • the moment a t...