Taking One for the Team – Bourbon & Banter Podcast #19

The 19^th episode of the Bourbon & Banter podcast – Taking One for the Team - is now available for your listening and drinking pleasure. Sit back, grab a pour, and join the biggest and MOST HONEST podcast in bourbon as we take our tastebuds to a place they’ve never been before…and won’t return to again!

We start the episode by recapping our 2021 Bourbon Heritage Month celebration, which saw more than 1.2 million entries into our giveaway contest, and almost 19 million social media impressions! Over 4,000 people participated in the #30DaysOfBourbon challenge, sharing their calendars across social media. Thank you everyone for showing up in droves to celebrate America’s native spirit.

The Bourbon & Banter Single Barrel Club just released our Rebel, Old Ezra, and 1792 Full Proof picks, and the response has been fantastic. If you’d like to have the opportunity to purchase those barrels, be sure to check out our Single Barrel Club page or sign-up via our Patreon page. We still have barrels coming from Old Forester and Old Pepper Rye coming this year.

Our new Slack community is up to around 350 members, all bourbon folks who are tired of crotch shots, gun shots, watch shots, and ridiculous photos of your unopened collections. The community thread of the month addresses the report that Peyton Manning is calling liquor stores to plead with them to put Sweeten’s Cove on the shelf. The article mention’s Marianne Eaves, which prompts the community to ask when is Pam Heilman from Michter’s going to get proper credit for being the first female master distiller in KY since prohibition? The quote from the group that resonated with us most is “I love that an article on Peyton Manning’s ridiculous, overpriced whiskey launches a conversation about giving credit to a truly deserving woman of whiskey!” If you want to join this group, be sure to check out our social media platforms for more information.

This month’s Whiskey News highlights the ridiculous decision to rename MGP to Ross & Squibb Distillery because it just rolls off the tongue. It’s only going to apply to the house brands distilled though, they’ll still keep MGP for contract distilling, because…well, we don’t know. The Scotch Whiskey Association puts the “ass” in association as they go after Canada’s Macaloney’s Calendonian Distillery for using the wrong words, but only after the distillery’s whiskeys began winning multiple awards. Tequila is starting to sound like it’s being taken over by late 19th-century whiskey rectifiers. The moral of that story is to be sure what you’re drinking is actually what you’re drinking.

Always looking out for the little guy, Buffalo Trace warns customers of potential online scams involving their brands that most of us never see on the shelf. Be care those of you who just bought Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel for $59, it might be a scam! We also share that a previous study stating there was “no safe level of drinking” was…well, bullshit. Bob revels in the news that the hard seltzer market is seeing significant downward trends, with a 100 million case shortfall projected for 2021. Whether you’re good at math or not, you know that’s a pretty stiff decline.

Our new release spotlight looks at Woodford’s recently announced Chocolate Malt Whisper bourbon, whatever the hell that is. We also discuss Tamworth Distilling's one-two punch of ridiculousness that involves graveyards, venison, and regret. We had to stop recording and restart at this point, as our bullshit meter crashed our recording setup.

We wrap the whiskey news with the most talked about story of the last month, Buffalo Trace’s decision to remove George T. Stagg from this year’s Antique Collection and not release it at all. Turns out that wasn’t the original plan, and in an odd reversal of fortune, the real reason involves Sazerac being sued by a Napa vineyard.

With so much happening in the news, and with a very special surprise in store for our listeners, we head straight to the epic analysis of all that makes the ridiculous look sane…BOURBON BULLSHIT!

Bourbon & Banter’s own Matt Self ruffled a few feathers with his recent article on the Top 5 Most Overrated Bourbons. So much so that we wanted to address his picks and the bullshit that comes along with overrated bourbon, so we break down the 5 picks, as well as Self’s recommendations for what to buy instead. We’re on board with everything our colleague had to say, and want to remind people, we’re not saying they’re bad whiskeys (although our previous tasting of Garrison Brothers does deliver that judgment), but that they’re overrated. If you haven’t read that piece, be sure to do so.

One Blanton’s collector, who doesn’t drink much of his collection and only procures it for the collectability, has amassed a $100,000 inventory of the product. Care to guess our thoughts on that one?

We then close out Bourbon Bullshit by not just taking one for the team but taking one for the industry. Last month we discussed professional jackass Coach Jason Brown, whose Slapdick Agave Whiskey sparked a barrage of ignorant commentary directed at a well-known and valued member of the bourbon community. It also brought out a reaction from the community that slapped down Brown, his brand, and his supporters, making sure they knew we would not stand for their ridiculous, misogynistic behavior.

Pops and Bob proceed to do a live tasting of the product that has sparked so much bullshit. They give an honest evaluation and as one might guess, it’s not flattering. You’ll have to listen for the full report, but trust us, you’ll want to hear this and be sure to share it with your friends and family.

As the most honest podcast in bourbon, we don't pull any punches and we tell it like we see it. If you've been searching for a bourbon podcast that provides honest commentary, to the point information, and doesn't take itself too seriously – welcome home!

Here's a complete breakdown of Episode 19 – Taking One for the Team:

• Whiskey News (15:08)
• Bourbon Bullshit (49:22)
• Slapdick Tasting (1:04:18)

Are you ready? Pour yourself a drink, get comfortable and listen to episode #19 using the player above or via your favorite podcast player.

Warning: If you're not comfortable with cussing and swearing, you might want to skip this one folks. It's recorded at barrel strength with full-throttle banter.

We sure hope you enjoyed episode #19 of the official Bourbon & Banter podcast and that you'll consider sharing it with your friends. We'd love to hear what you think in the comments below or by sending us an email via our podcast email address.

Have a great weekend and remember to stay safe while you're spreading the bourbon gospel and learning to #drinkcurious.

Hey, wait a minute. You have listened to all of our previous episodes, right? If not, head on over to our Bourbon & Banter Podcast page to get caught up.