Proof of Life: Hold My Barrels

Welcome to the inaugural edition of Proof of Life—my intentionally irregular dispatch from behind the scenes of Bourbon & Banter and DrinkCurious HQ for our Drinking Class members. (Social, Curious and Daily Drinkers)

Now, you might be wondering why I’m proudly leading with “irregular.” Simple: I’m busier than a liquor store clerk dodging tater questions about Blanton’s. DrinkCurious is growing fast, and it’s demanding a good chunk of my daylight hours—and plenty of travel. Brent and I are busting our butts building a steady stream of events, barrel picks, and cool stuff to keep you all entertained and coming back for more.

It’s still early days on some of those fronts, but things are looking good—and we’ve got no plans to ease up.

Of course, family comes first. Always. And when you add that in with everything else, well... let’s just say I want to do more—like this email—but I’m still figuring out how to do it consistently. That’s why “irregular” felt like the most honest way to set expectations.

That said, my aim is to land in your inbox weekly(ish). Sometimes it’ll be a deep pour, other times more of a quick sip. I’m also playing with the kind of content I’ll share here—expect a mix of bourbon updates, industry BS, weird finds, and maybe even a few thoughts on what drives me as a bald, bearded entrepreneur still bullish on Bourbon & Banter 14 years after launching it.

Most of all, I want this to be real and personal. If there’s something you want my take on, shoot me a note. We’re building this together—one pour at a time.

Cheers,

~ Pops 🥃💼🧔🏻‍♂️

DO YOU REALLY WANT MORE VIDEO CONTENT?

This is a serious question. With a face for radio, I've never been one to try to be in the video spotlight. That's why Bourbon & Banter has so much written content and few videos. Yet, I'm aware enough to know that the bourbon world has been invaded by video-first influencers willing to do just about anything to get views. I've talked with several team members about doing more content like that, but none of us really want to create "influencer-style" content. So what do we do?

This is where your feedback is critical. Should we even try to do more videos? And if we did, what would you like to see?

• Pops balancing bottles on his head?
• Brent reciting poems about finished whiskeys?
• Steve Coomes battle rapping with distillers?
• Erin offering whiskey dating advice?

Or do we be ourselves, without hype or attempts at staged humor, and focus on sharing our no-bullshit opinions and continue to build our community?

Please drop Pops an email and share your thoughts on video content for Bourbon & Banter. If you don't, things could get real ugly, real fast. Consider yourself warned.

In the meantime, enjoy a few of the videos we put together with the help of some of our team members and family friends.

📆 DATES TO REMEMBER

I suck at remembering dates. As such, I've developed a solid habit of putting things on my schedule as soon as I get the information. Let my lack of memory help you keep track of key dates related to booze.

Community Calendar Reminder

We launched a Community Calendar feature on the website about two months ago, where we post upcoming events, including monthly Group Therapy sessions, virtual tastings, barrel picks, and more. Check it out here, and make sure to bookmark it so you can check back regularly.

Group Therapy Reminder for March

Remember to join us on Tuesday, March 25th, at 8 p.m. CT for our monthly group therapy Zoom session. Grab a bottle, clear the couch, and lay down for another great therapeutic bourbon session.

Kentucky Bourbon Festival - Mark Your Calendars

Get ready to raise a glass at the 34th annual Kentucky Bourbon Festival, happening September 5-7, 2025, in Bardstown, KY—the Bourbon Capital of the World! Tickets go on sale on April 17, with exclusive early access for Bourbon Insiders on April 16. There will be six ticket options this year, including a brand-new Oris President's Club. VIP packages sold out in just 10 minutes last year, so mark your calendars and learn more about kybourbonfestival.com.

PS—Surprisingly, I wasn't put on a "do not let in" list after attending KBF last year, so I will be attending again this year and even doing some "work" thanks to Steve Coomes. I will potentially lead a vintage tasting, appear on a Bourbon 30 segment, and moderate some other discussions. That's a huge additional value to your ticket purchase, so I hope to see some friendly faces as I embarrass myself in public.

🥃 NEW RELEASES

Every day I receive multiple press releases announcing new "must try" products. In the past I've tried to post them to the website but there's just too many and it clogs up the site. Now I'm just going to add them into this newsletter so you can check them out all together. PS-Just because they're added here does not mean I'm recommending them. Drink safe!

Old Forester 117 Series: Bottled in Bond Rye

Its latest expression in the 117 Series: Bottled in Bond Rye - This release marks the first Bottled in Bond Rye Whisky handcrafted by Old Forester.

The 1897 Bottled in Bond Act required that each bottling be composed of barrels filled during a single distillation season. This small batch of Rye Whisky reflects the unique flavor of the unusually cool and wet Spring of 2015.

117 Series Bottled in Bond Rye is bottled at 100-proof in a 375 mL bottle. The suggested retail price for the 375 ml bottle is $64.99.

Cask Finish Series: P.X. Sherry

A blend of bourbon whiskeys from IN, KY, and TN, which range from 6-15 years old. Pedro Ximénez, often abbreviated as P.X., is a dessert wine from Spain, renowned for its rich, intense sweetness. The BCS team meticulously blended these straight bourbon whiskeys to enhance and complement the sumptuous flavor derived from the P.X. Barrels, delivering a rich, full-bodied bourbon with layers of toasted coffee, golden honey, and candied fruit.

With a derived mash bill of Corn (80%), Rye (16%), and Malted Barley (4%), the expression was bottled at 115.52 proof (57.76% ABV) and retails for $84.99. Only 9,000 bottles available online and throughout the U.S.

Maker's Mark Wood Finishing Series: The Keepers Release

This installment pays tribute to Maker’s Mark's unsung heroes: the warehouse team. Their tireless work, hand-rotating barrels through Kentucky’s frigid winters and humid summers, ensures the signature consistency and rich flavor Maker’s Mark is known for.

The Keepers Release delivers a bold, toasted oak profile that opens with notes of toasted sweetness, stone fruit, and cocoa on the nose. Rich flavors of brown sugar, maple, and warm spice follow, finishing smoothly with creamy dark chocolate.

Milam & Greene Gray Wolf Straight Bourbon (Coming soon!)

 Milam & Greene Whiskey is unleashing Gray Wolf Straight Bourbon, a blend of two six-year-old, cask-strength collector’s edition bourbon casks that is sure to sell out in minutes, just like each previous Wildlife Collection release. Gray Wolf is the first release in the Milam & Greene 2025 Wildlife Collection, which explores how climate impacts the final flavor of aging bourbon. Catch the Gray Wolf Straight Bourbon if you can. It will be available exclusively on the Milam & Greene Whiskey website and for the first time ever, available for online purchase to pick up at the distillery tasting room beginning at 3:00 p.m. (CDT) on Wednesday, March 26, 2025. 

Caleb's Crossing

Washington Lafayette and David Jennings, spirits author and founder of Rare Bird 101, are proud to announce the launch of Caleb’s Crossing. The inaugural release presents two meticulously crafted American whiskeys: a Dual Cask Finish Bourbon and a Straight Rye Whiskey finished in Pineau des Charentes. These unique expressions will be available in limited quantities in April 2025 at a suggested retail price of $149.99 each.

Single Barrel Decoder Ring Update

First, I appreciate everyone's patience on the single barrel front. Brent and I have been working to identify a few distilleries for a barrel pick that meets our Bourbon & Banter pick requirements. Those requirements are as follows:

• Not a distillery that offers so many barrel picks that they almost seem like a typical shelf offering. (Looking right at you Knob Creek and New Riff.) I know those are quality products but if everyone has a pick then it defeats the entire idea of having a group pick.
• The whiskey has to be something unique in some way, or just plan stellar. Four Roses is a prime example of a stellar bourbon. And even though there are many picks out there, they don't sit around like the ones mentioned above. As for unique, think about our KO pick from a few years ago. That pretty much sums it up for me.
• The distillery is willing to do a cool experience for the group. If our community is going to invest their time and money to travel to a distillery for a barrel pick, the experience needs to fit that investment. We want distilleries who value us as much as we value them.
• Value - Okay, this is a tough one. The $100+ range is becoming more and more common with single barrel picks if you want something with a decent age statement. Brent and I want to avoid, if possible, having every pick be expensive so that takes more time and effort to find pllaces with good whiskey and reasonable pricing. We see other groups do a lot of picks but we have to wonder if their groups really enjoy what's being picked.
• Taste - If we don't like it we won't pick it. We believe this makes all of our picks stand out amongst the crowded sea of barrel picks but it does have a downside of eliminating a ton of options from the mix that others settle for without thinking.

To distill this all down - we're picky. I can't say it more clearly than that, folks. Despite it all, we're jamming behind the scenes with a few distilleries to nail down some firm dates for 2025 picks. Those of you on Discord saw my cryptic message about which distilleries we were getting close to finalizing. Here's a copy of that original post:

A nobleman that picks up a fork in the road when down under is called a rascal.

There were a few close guesses, but no one got the details 100% correct. Let's put our decoder ring up to the screen and see what it means...

A nobleman = Nobletons Distilling House in Union, Mo. If you know, you know. Demetrius Cane spearheads one of the most unique operations I've ever visited. Plus, he'll cook us some Angus steaks to help us pick up our barrels.

A fork in the road = West Fork Whiskey in Indiana. There's a good chance, with the right timing, that we can pick from a selection of 8, 10, and 12-year-old barrels sourced from MGP.

Down under is called a rascal = Larrikin Bourbon Co. in Lawrenceburg, Ky. We met these folks at KBF last year and hung out with them at their after-party. A great group of folks sourcing barrels from numerous distillers in Kentucky (including folks just down the road.)

As a bonus, we secured another Four Roses pick on September 4, 2025. For those going to KBF, that's the day before it starts. We will offer the opportunity to join the pick soon, so make sure you're getting all of my emails and participating in Discord. (And yes, this pick and date is already on the Community Calendar.)

As for the 2024 Four Roses pick we selected in December, we know the barrel has been bottled. It's currently sitting in Kentucky, waiting for the distributor to issue a PO to take delivery of the barrels. After that happens the bottles will go to Neat.La, the whiskey bar owned by community member Wen Yeh. Wen volunteered his establishment to help serve as our retail partner and will ship bottles out to everyone. We will send out purchasing instructions to folks once Wen has confirmation that the bottles are in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, at this time, everything is out of our control, and the distributor "has the ball."

Well, folks, that's Proof of Life reading it, and you'll avoid canceling your membership as a result. If you enjoyed it, I'd appreciate you giving it a thumbs up in the email footer and maybe even dropping me a note letting me know your thoughts. I've seen a lot of things evolve and change in the past 14 years since launching Bourbon & Banter, and it's time to find a way to mix things up again. With a little luck, this dispatch series will be the ticket to developing the next great chapter of Bourbon & Banter.

Cheers,

~ Pops