EmbellishPod

When I listened to @bourbonlens interview I knew I had to absolutely copy them. Today we will talk with the brains behind BRAND MYSTICISM, from the marketing mastermind behind mega-viral whiskies made with crab, venison, and beaver castoreum, as well as countless iconic booze labels, comes an irreverent and wide-ranging treatise on building and maintaining a standout brand in business and life: BRAND MYSTICISM, is penned by spirits maverick Steven Grasse(@stevengrasse) in collaboration with celebrated writer Aaron Goldfarb(@aarongoldfarb). Through his work in advertising and marketing on brands like Hendrick's Gin, Sailor Jerry Rum, Narragansett, Guinness, Miller High Life, and more, Grasse is an authority on building an authentic, enduring, and deeply beloved (viral) brands.

MB Roland Distillery has been around for more than a dozen years and has made a plethora of products both whiskey and non-whiskey based. I had an opportunity to visit them on a number of occasions and this little distillery is really growing on me. There's a portion of the Bourbon trail that is not actually part of the bourbon trail but certainly deserves to. We'll talk through this distillery and maybe a couple more that can put us through the paces for an off the beaten path bourbon weekend.

When I think of Tennessee Whiskey and I’m not immediately singing Chris Stapleton I get one of two thoughts. Moonshine distilleries in the jewel of kitsch tourism in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge TN or Jack Daniels. But if you pay attention there’s a ton of TN commodity whiskey going into blends of some of the largest and most sought after brands. It’s also become a whiskey geek trope to poke fun at Dickel whiskey. In the early 2000’s there were so few distilleries in the state that you could count them two hands. Now…there’s a trail. Is Tennessee whiskey bourbon? It could be. Lets leave it there. https://www.tnwhiskeytrail.com/https://leipersforkdistillery.com/https://www.georgedickel.com/https://chattanoogawhiskey.com/https://www.wheelersraiddistillery.com/https://companydistilling.com/

Bourbon festivals aren't necessarily a new thing in the marketplace, but there are a handful of events that are doing unique things. I'm glad to have the folks from @bourbononthebanks join me for a conversation about their event, it's inception and it's future.

A little over a year ago I did a quick review of the 2021 Kentucky Bourbon Festival. 21 was the first year for the new in person format but still had a few COVID protocols in place. I largely enjoyed it but had a few notes for event organizers(I'm aware they likely did not watch or listen to me at all) and I wanted to revisit that list, compare to this year as well as talk about the event. We'll pop open the Creek pick from the event, maybe even drink some of the Wilderness Trail batch that was sold at the event as well. If you feel inclined go listen to last years episode in preparation. https://youtu.be/9du7pKyl3rU @kybourbonfest @Wilderness Trail Distillery @ Creek

I met Eric at a whiskey event and we had some pretty fun conversations around whiskey and farming. Him from his personal background and mine from my current profession. I knew I needed to have him on so I could talk through a few farm distilleries and get educated from some folks that are in his backyard.

This week we'll have Lost Lantern joining us and talking about what it takes to be an independent bottler, how they came up with the idea for the business and maybe even some of their products from their most recent launch. @lostlanternwhiskey

A curator and purveyor of Single Barrels for Peerless Distilling , an entrepreneur in the Coffee Industry and a Kentucky Colonel all walk into a bar. Thats John. If you've been around bourbon for 10 minutes you know exactly who he is. I was a huge fan of Peerless and in the first wave of orders for Stave and Bean. I'm super excited for this conversation...lets see what happens.@kentuckypeerless@bourbon_colonel86

RD1 as a brand may not be as recognizable to you today as it will be in three months, but if I mentioned the brand William Tarr you probably know exactly what I'm talking about. I've been interested in what this brand has going on since the KBF in 2021 so I'm more than excited to have Chris join me to tell me about what they have going on, and any potential future plans they might have.

If you believe what's popping up on the 24 hour news cycle we are on the precipice of another recession. Beyond that we've had some folks on the show recently that have indicated that the believe we are in the pre-stages of a bourbon decline. With either of these possible outcomes on the horizon how can you decide what safe and accessible pour you should follow? We'll talk about recession pours, AfroFusion, Whiskey Community and more as I ramble my way into the upcoming Kentucky Bourbon Festival event and so much more.