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We sit down with Doug McLaughlin of M&O Spirits to hear how a film-and-production background turned into a grain-to-glass distillery south of Columbus. We taste through Ta-Da, Pumpkin Spice, Black, Smoke, and a cask strength pour while Doug breaks down the process choices that make his whiskey stand out.

• Doug and Mike’s path from basement R&D to a fully licensed Ohio craft distillery
• Why M&O sticks to 55-gallon barrels and waits for real maturity
• The double oaking method using custom toasted and charred staves
• Long fermentation for fruit esters and a cleaner, drinkable distillate
• Ta-Da white whiskey: wheat-heavy recipe, multi-run pot distillation, quick oak touch for whiskey designation
• Pumpkin puree in the mash and spice satchels in the barrel for a balanced holiday finish
• Black vs Smoke: same mash bill, different distillation count, different flavor profiles
• Cask strength tasting notes and how proof can mean concentrated flavour
• Where to buy, distillery hours, and why some cask strength bottles are distillery-only
• Our July 25 tasting event plug and why “try before you buy” matters

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A lot of craft bourbon talk is hype. Doug McLaughlin from M&O Spirits shows what it looks like when the hype is backed by process, patience, and a distiller who can explain every decision from mash to bottle. We’re joined by Doug (calling in from Asheville, Ohio) and we taste through the lineup while he lays out how M&O went from an off-the-books R&D basement setup to a fully legal, award-winning grain-to-glass distillery.

We dig into the techniques that shape the flavor: a long 20-day fermentation designed to build fruit esters, pot still runs that change the entire personality of the same mash bill, and a double oaking approach that uses custom white oak staves toasted, charred, and smothered to lock smoke into the wood. You’ll hear why Black (triple distilled) lands smoother and more “classic bourbon,” while Smoke (double distilled) keeps a bigger mouthfeel with brighter fruit and built-in campfire notes that shine in an Old Fashioned.

Then we get into the fun bottles: Ta-Da, a wheat-forward white whiskey that surprises people who expect “gasoline,” and a pumpkin spice spirit made with real pumpkin puree in the cook and spice satchels aging in the barrel for years so the finish feels like dessert, not a candle. We also talk cask strength, non-chill filtering, careful cuts, and how small allocations impact where you can actually buy the rare stuff.

If you’re near Columbus, Doug shares how to visit, tour, and taste at the distillery, plus how to catch him at the July 25 event at Mother Stewart’s. Subscribe, share this with your bourbon group, and leave a review so more people can find the show and the makers behind the bottles.

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We sit down with Drew Thorn of Silverthorn Reserve to trace his path from brewing and engineering into building whiskey brands, then we taste through his new lineup with a blender’s eye for detail. Along the way, we get a rare look at how older sourced barrels become small-batch, cask strength releases through careful selection, marrying time, and controlled finishing.

• Drew’s journey from craft beer to distilling leadership
• Why Silverthorn stays independent while still working with Sagamore for storage and processing
• What it means to source whiskey as an NDP and why 10 to 14 year barrels are still competitive
• Blue label bourbon blend breakdown and how “build a base then flavor it” works
• Returning blends to casks to let flavors marry before bottling
• Port-finished rye process and the CO2 pressurised mist-conditioning method
• Rye blend designed to welcome bourbon drinkers without losing rye character
• Single barrel selection philosophy and logging a sensory library
• Core portfolio plans, limited drops, and slow growth to protect quality
• Where to buy, which states can ship, and how to try bottles locally

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A lot of brands talk about “blending” like it’s just mixing. We wanted the real thing, so we brought on Drew Thorn from Silverthorn Reserve to explain what actually happens when you build whiskey on purpose, barrel by barrel, with nothing to hide. Drew’s background spans brewing, engineering, and leading a major rye operation, and he’s now back in startup mode crafting small batch, cask strength whiskey with a tight focus on older barrels and precision finishing.

We dig into how Silverthorn works as an independent, sourced-whiskey producer while still using Sagamore’s aging barns for maturation and blending support, and why today’s whiskey market is shifting in a way that matters if you care about 10 to 14 year bourbon and rye. Drew breaks down his “build a base then flavor it” approach, how he selects barrels for specific roles in a blend, and why he often returns a finished blend back into the same casks to let it marry before bottling. If you’ve ever wondered why some blends taste stitched together while others feel seamless, this is the missing piece.

Then we taste. You’ll hear the full story behind the blue label bourbon blend, a port-finished rye that uses a custom barrel-conditioning method, and a rye blend designed to keep the classic rye identity while dialing back harsh pepper notes. We also talk single barrel picks, sensory logging, and how a small producer can scale without breaking the quality promise that got people excited in the first place.

If you like deep nerdy whiskey talk with practical takeaways you can taste, hit subscribe, share this with your whiskey group, and leave us a review where you listen. What’s your favorite finish or rye note right now?

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We raise a sip to remember, then dig into how Four Branches turns military roots into real whiskey quality and real giveback. We taste Liberty Reserve, break down the blending and double-oak choices behind it, and talk honestly about what it takes to grow a craft bourbon brand without losing the mission.
• a toast for fallen service members and friends we have lost
• why Founders Reserve becomes the flagship and what double gold means
• the Founders Blend to Founders Reserve evolution and the four grain mash bill
• how the giveback model works including charity auctions and ongoing proceeds
• the Liberty Reserve concept with 1,776 bottles and 250th anniversary meaning
• the Liberty Reserve recipe with 10-year and 6.5-year components at 100 proof
• why toasted barrels change flavor without overpowering the bourbon
• tasting notes that move from caramel and honey to toffee and char nuance
• media moments and momentum from Fox Business and other features
• expansion challenges, capital needs and future festival plans
Everybody can find us online at www.forebranches.com. Remember, whether you watch us or you listen to us, make sure that you leave us good feedback, become members, leave super chats.
A 250th anniversary bourbon sounds like marketing until you hear what’s actually in the glass. We sit down with Rick Franco and master blender Greg Schneider from Four Branches and start with a “sip to remember” for those we’ve lost, because for this brand bourbon is tied to service, memory and gratitude as much as it is to flavor. Then we get into the whiskey details that serious bourbon fans care about: what makes a release stand out, what it takes to win, and how you keep quality consistent as demand grows.

We break down Four Branches Founders Reserve and why it’s become the flagship, including the four grain mash bill and the thinking behind building a sustainable inventory. Greg walks us through blending choices, proof decisions, and what it means to earn a Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. We also talk about the mission that sits behind the bottle: giving back through charity auctions and ongoing support, including a dedicated Folds of Honor bottle that helps fund scholarships for Gold Star families and first responders.

Then we taste Liberty Reserve, the limited 250th anniversary release capped at 1,776 bottles. You’ll hear the exact blend approach, the 100 proof target, and the finishing step that makes it different: double oaking with deeply toasted new barrels to pull more caramel and vanilla without smothering the original bourbon character. We trade tasting notes in real time and zoom out to the bigger bourbon market trends, media visibility, and what’s next for Four Branches as they push toward wider distribution. If you care about veteran-owned bourbon, double oaked bourbon, four grain whiskey, and purpose-driven American craft spirits, this conversation is for you. Subscribe, share this with a fellow bourbon fan, and leave a review with your favorite Liberty Reserve tasting note.

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We lose our planned guest and turn the night into a live cocktail lab, tasting Fresh Victor mixers straight and then building drinks with bourbon, rum, tequila, vodka, and gin. The surprises are how intense the mixers are on their own, how fast “equal parts” gets you to a great pour, and how easy it is to make solid mocktails too.
• Why concentrated cocktail mixers beat weak juice blends
• What “taste it straight first” reveals about balance and bite
• Lemon Sour builds plus coconut cream as an egg white swap
• Cucumber and Lime with barrel-aged gin and why it works
• Strawberry and Lemon pairings with vodka and Amburana rum
• Grapefruit and Sea Salt with blanco tequila for clean agave lift
• Pineapple and Ginger Root with coconut or pineapple rum for a beach-style drink
• Party hosting idea: set out bottles and let friends build their own “equal parts” cocktails
• Quick notes on shipping cold, refrigeration, and bottle longevity
• Upcoming Bourbon and Cigars event planning, Ohio distilleries, and charity tie-in
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Your guest cancels at the last second, you’re live, and the bottles are already on the table. So we do what we always do: we pour, we taste, and we figure it out in real time. Tonight turns into a hands-on cocktail tasting where we put Fresh Victor all-natural cocktail mixers through their paces and build fast, repeatable drinks with bourbon, rye, rum, tequila, vodka, and gin. If you’ve ever wanted bar-quality flavour at home without hauling out three juices, simple syrup, and a cutting board, this one’s for you.

We talk honestly about what makes these mixers different: they’re intense on their own, designed to be diluted, and they’re versatile enough for both cocktails and mocktails. You’ll hear what happens when we try Cucumber and Lime with a barrel-aged gin, why Grapefruit and Sea Salt loves a clean blanco tequila, and how Strawberry and Lemon plays surprisingly well with an Amburana-finished rum. We also riff on Lemon Sour for whiskey sour builds, including a creamy twist when you want that egg-white texture without the egg.

Then we take it to “party mode” with Pineapple and Ginger Root, rum, and a splash of cream for a beachy pour that tastes way harder to make than it is. Along the way we share practical tips on equal-parts testing, big ice vs small ice, shaking for froth, easy garnish upgrades, and how shipping and refrigeration affects freshness. We also preview upcoming community fun, including our Bourbon and Cigars event plans and a wild Maker’s Mark night featuring Eddie George.

If you enjoy bourbon cocktails, tequila margaritas, at-home mixology, and cleaner ingredient lists, hit subscribe, share this with a friend who hosts, and leave us a review so more people can find the show.

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We taste through Rolling Fork’s most interesting bottles with Turner Wathan and unpack how a rum-first company ends up leading with Armagnac, Calvados, and a revived Kentucky bourbon label. Along the way, we get the real story behind Fortuitous Union, the Bourbon Deluxe comeback, and what the current whiskey market means for drinkers who want value without hype.
• Fortuitous Union build and why rum plus rye works
• Weller-barrel finishing, proof choices, and non chill filtered texture
• Fred Minnick book story, mental health honesty, and mentorship moments
• Wayward Cask approach to Armagnac and Calvados, buying containers and telling producer stories
• Why French oak and no char changes long aging, including a 42-year Armagnac
• Amburana finishes, what got overused, and when it still tastes great
• Whiskey market downturn, overproduction, DSP closures, and how to stay solvent
• Bourbon Deluxe trademark gamble, sourcing Kentucky straight bourbon, and Green River ties
• Contract production, mash bills, and a legendary 41-day rum fermentation
• Where to buy, what states can ship, and what releases to watch for
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A rum and rye blend that drinks like a serious rye, a 42-year cask-strength Armagnac that somehow stays silky, and a bourbon brand resurrected because a trademark clock was ticking. We sit down with Turner Wathan of Rolling Fork Spirits to taste, laugh, and get unusually honest about how bottles actually get made, found, and sold when they don’t fit tidy categories.

We dig into Fortuitous Union and why the “distilled spirit specialty” label can hide some of the best liquid on the shelf: foursquare rum, MGP rye, careful proofing, and a Weller barrel finish that pulls vanilla into the blend without muting spice. Turner shares how bartenders react, why tastings are the real marketing engine, and what he looks for when he’s building something meant to be opened with friends.

Then we go deep on Armagnac and Calvados through the Wayward Cask lens: container-sized buys, Gascony farmers, traveling stills, French oak that isn’t charred, and the kind of terroir detail that makes brandy feel like a “final boss” spirit. We also talk Bourbon Deluxe, the Wathen family whiskey history, why Green River Distillery became the right partner, and what the current whiskey market slowdown means if you care about value, age statements, and authenticity.

If you like independent bottlers, barrel finishing, Kentucky bourbon history, rum in bourbon barrels, and rare French brandy, this one is packed. Subscribe, share this with a spirits friend, and leave us a review so more people can find the show.

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A barrel can be magic, or it can be ruined before it ever touches whiskey. We sit down with Macaulay Mitten (Dark Arts Whiskey House, aka The Bourbon Swami) to get painfully specific about what separates a memorable finish from a disaster: producer selection, barrel handling, shipping heat, and the kind of quality control most drinkers never see.

We also crack open the America 250 release: an almost 11.5-year blend bottled at a hefty 128.28 proof. We talk about why blending at cask strength leaves nowhere to hide, how custom char and toast profiles can lift the flavors you want without dragging in bitterness, and what “bold” can taste like when it’s built with intention. Expect notes and frameworks you can use the next time you’re evaluating barrel proof bourbon, sherry cask finishing, or why proofing can change a brand’s consistency.

Then the conversation expands into what’s next at the Whiskey House: patio upgrades, cigars and pairing strategy, a caviar and whiskey event, and the launch of Noble Arts for botanical spirits. Macaulay teases a navy strength gin designed for big oils and louche, absinthe experiments that could lead to absinthe-finished rye, and more one-off drops headed toward Kentucky Bourbon Festival, including a 19-year Mizunara-aged bourbon and other serious “eat lunch first” pours.

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We catch up with Macaulay Mitten and talk through how Dark Arts turns sourced barrels into distinctive, high-impact blends with real control over finishing and flavor. We taste and break down the America 250 release, then zoom out into barrel quality, honey finishes, and the next wave of botanical spirits coming from Noble Arts.
• America 250 limited five-barrel run details, presale hiccups, Tuesday online allocation
• What Oloroso sherry finishing adds, why producer and sweetness level matter
• Barrel sourcing realities, shipping heat, spoilage risks, rejecting bad casks
• Blending at cask strength vs proofing down, consistency and complexity trade-offs
• Custom toast and char profiles per barrel to preserve and elevate core notes
• Tasting notes and why high proof does not have to drink hot
• Rye and Scotch palate talk, peat as a palate wrecker, mezcal appreciation
• Whiskey House updates, patio build-out, cigar plans and pairing strategy
• Caviar and whiskey event tease and what makes a pairing work
• Noble Arts roadmap, botanical library, navy strength gin, absinthe experiments, vodka base
• Honey barrel finish process, waiting list demand, filtration choices and haze
• Sweet and sour mash blend concept and trademark approach
• Old whiskey sourcing, 19-year Mizunara tease, avoiding tannic over-oaked barrels
• Philosophy on intent and energy in blending, why “bad whiskey” is often just preference
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We hang out with Greg Keeley from Larican Bourbon Company and trace how a military career, a Kentucky road trip and a string of coincidences turn into a real bourbon distillery with a loyal following. We taste and talk through what sells, what the maker actually likes, and how new releases get built from the barrel up.
• Greg’s path from the Royal Australian Navy and US Navy to Kentucky distilling
• Finding the farm and distillery building by pure coincidence
• Being steps from Wild Turkey and earning visitor referrals
• Building a destination experience with staff hospitality, cigar lounge and bar
• Australian identity in the brand, merch and food truck menu
• Amburana finishing and why cigar blends keep selling out
• Bottled-in-bond blending with heavy tasting and minimal note taking
• New nine-year rye details, proof preferences and how rye changes with age
• Breaking news on Deep Purple, a bottling robot and barrel-aged Manuka honey
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A distillery a quarter mile from Wild Turkey sounds like a master plan, but Greg Keeley tells us it was closer to dumb luck and a willingness to say “yes” before everything was figured out. We sit down with the Larican Bourbon Company founder to unpack how a career that spans the Royal Australian Navy and the US Navy turns into Kentucky craft distilling, and how a farm search on a random Sunday leads to the place he now calls home. Along the way, we talk about what “grain to glass” really signals to drinkers, and why “uncut and unfiltered” is more than a slogan when you’re the one making the calls.

Then we get into the fun arguments bourbon fans actually have: finishing, flavor and what the market rewards. We debate Amburana, cigar blends and the line between finished bourbon and the flavored whiskey crowd, plus why some releases sell out even when the maker personally wouldn’t reach for them first. We also hit the visitor experience side of Kentucky bourbon tourism, from being so close to Wild Turkey that guests get sent over daily, to building a welcoming space with a cigar lounge, a standout humidor and a team that earns name-checks in reviews.

If you love process, the bottled-in-bond segment delivers. Greg explains blending by tasting through dozens of barrels, trusting a simple “yes or no” palate, and refining batches without turning it into a lab experiment. We close with real-time distillery updates: a new nine-year rye coming as picks, a rare Deep Purple drop, plans for a bottling robot, and barrel-aged Manuka honey that sets up a future honey-finished bourbon with an Australian twist. Subscribe, share this with a whiskey friend, and leave us a five-star review if you want more conversations like this.

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We trace how honey moved from ancient mead to American whiskey culture, then taste modern honey expressions to see what the hype gets right. We also get honest about the messy line between “finished” and “flavored” and why labels and proof matter as much as sweetness.

• honey as one of the earliest sweeteners in alcohol and why it pairs naturally with bourbon flavours like vanilla and caramel
• the hot toddy as an 1800s remedy and how prohibition kept honey whiskey relevant
• why local honey sources and honey styles can change aroma and mouthfeel
• Dark Arts honey cask finish and what “finishing” is supposed to mean
• Green River’s real honey approach and the debate over what counts as finished versus flavored
• Starlight’s honey-barrel concept and how barrel character shows up in taste and finish
• Jim Beam Honey as a honey liqueur style product and where it fits best
• our Barrel Bottle Breakdown scoring for nose, body, taste, and finish plus the final winner

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Honey in bourbon sounds like an easy win, until you taste a few side by side and realize you’re not always drinking the same “category” of whiskey. Tonight we dig into the history that made honey a natural whiskey partner long before modern cocktails, from ancient mead traditions to the 1800s hot toddy that families still treat like medicine. Along the way, we talk about why honey works so well with bourbon’s built-in notes of vanilla, caramel, brown sugar, toasted oak, and baking spice.

Then we get practical and pour three very different bottles, including a honey-cask finished blend that leans into “liquid gold” depth, a bottle that literally involves pouring real honey into bourbon, and a craft approach that uses honey-aged barrels to layer sweetness on top of serious barrel character. You’ll hear what shows up on the nose, where the honey actually lands on the palate, and how proof changes the entire experience from rich and integrated to straight-up dessert.

We also tackle the question bourbon fans keep arguing about: where does finishing end and flavoring begin, especially when honey’s viscosity makes barrels hard to truly “empty”? If you care about transparency, labeling, and whether “a hint of sweetness” is honest, you’ll want this one.

Subscribe for more bourbon deep-dives, share this with a friend who loves honey whiskey, and leave us a review with your take: is honey-finished bourbon a gateway pour or its own lane?

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