Whiskey Chasers

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We pour Lot 40 Canadian rye and find a dry, spicy, surprisingly complex profile that feels hotter than 90 proof in a good way. We smoke Warped Scarecrow alongside it and learn how the right pipe tobacco can turn Canadian whiskey into a true blank canvas for layered flavor. 
• First nosing and tasting notes on Lot 40, including rye spice, oak, malt, and chocolate 
• Why point scores and obscure awards do not decide what tastes good 
• What Warped Scarecrow is, how Cornell and Diehl fits in, and why it is a limited fall blend 

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We get nerdy about pipe tobacco storage, arguing how tins, mason jars, oxygen, and humidity change what you taste months later. Then we pivot into a Halloween hang with Sleepy Hollow tobacco, Found North Peregrine whiskey, spooky-season memories, and the movies that shaped our fall traditions. 
• mason jars as the practical move for preserving opened tobacco 
• vacuum sealing vs leaving oxygen for tobacco aging 
• moisture content checks and when tobacco becomes too dry to smoke 
• Sleepy Hollow as a pumpkin spice style aromatic with a standout room note 
• Found North Per...

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We pour Found North Hell Diver and end up rethinking what Canadian whiskey can taste like when it’s ultra-aged, cask strength, and sherry-finished. Along the way, we pair it with a Germain English flake and get into scarcity, secondary markets, and the nostalgia of lost tobacco legends. 
• deciding on Found North Hell diver and a Germain King Charles English flake 
• how Found North’s mailing list and lottery model works 
• what makes a 124-proof Canadian whisky feel surprisingly approachable 
• tasting notes: citrus on the nose, dark fruit, molasses, toasted nuts, dr...

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We light up Star Of The East Flake and pour a Westward PX sherry cask finished American single malt, then realise the smoke changes the whiskey more than any tasting note ever could. We also dig into whiskey club subscriptions, the cooling bourbon boom, and why value feels like it is finally returning as the secondary market deflates. 
• Star Of The East Flake components and why aged Latakia blends can feel more cohesive 
• Westward American single malt profile, PX sherry finish, proof, and why it reads more wine-like than expected 
• Regional...

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We crack open a limited J. Rieger Private Stock 10 Year and chase why it tastes like a classic old-school bourbon even at 110 proof. Along the way we pair it with a decade-aged Cajun Cake pipe tobacco and discover how age, tannins, sweetness and Perique pepper play together. 
• first impressions of the label, bottle design and “old whiskey” vibe 
• tasting notes on sweetness, dryness, proof, body and a tight lingering finish 
• what makes Kansas City whiskey distinct and why sherry shows up historically 
• the JM Rieger backstory from 1887 roots to mail-order whisk...

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We taste and review 30A bourbon and quickly realise the biggest story is not the beach branding but the sourcing chain, the young age, and the price-to-quality mismatch. We also zoom out into what makes a whiskey brand worth rooting for, and why some vacation markets are built for cocktails while bourbon needs a stronger reason to exist. 
• lighting up Cross-Eyed Cricket pipe tobacco and setting the table for a relaxed tasting 
• breaking down what 30A is, including MGP distillate, Louisiana aging, and Florida bottling 
• reacting to “rested” language and how labels ca...

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We pour Southern Star Paragon Bottled in Bond and discover a high-wheat North Carolina bourbon that stays light, sweet, and surprisingly nuanced at 100 proof. Along the way, we dig into Carolina spirits history, why distribution can hide great brands, and how a softer tobacco pairing can let a delicate wheater shine. 
• Southern Star Paragon overview and why it gets recommended 
• Statesville backstory and North Carolina’s early prohibition history 
• Farm to glass sourcing and what local grain can change 
• Bottled-in-bond basics and the Paragon lineup 
• Tasting notes focused on delicate sweet...

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We sit down with Nathan Kaiser of 2BAR Spirits to unpack how a Seattle distillery builds real bourbon from scratch while staying honest about process, pricing, and what it takes to last. We dig into a six-grain mash bill, bottled-in-bond flavour, and finishing choices that pull new drinkers into whiskey without turning the bottle into sugar.
• the 2BAR name and South Texas ranch heritage
• leaving tech behind and learning distilling and distribution fast
• bootstrapping versus big-money growth and why staying power wins
• why clear spirits feel like a race to the b...

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We pour Iron Vault Distiller Select Batch 1 and can’t stop talking about how a one-year, 120-proof whiskey lands with huge flavor and a finish that just keeps going. We also light up Cornell and Diehl Mississippi Mud and dial in why the pairing works while debating what the bottle should say and how the distillery should signal how special this release is. 
• the back-label copy problem and why it reads generic 
• Iron Vault’s Distiller Select concept and why Batch 1 stands out 
• Rob’s moonshine family yeast story and how it shapes t...

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We taste Iron Vault’s Stowel Evergreen white corn whiskey and try to decide if a tiny, hyper-local process can justify a young, limited release price. Along the way, we open a decade-old Savinelli tobacco tin, chase an online Sun Bear drop, and argue about mouthfeel, finish, and what “ready” really means for craft bourbon. 
• setting up our progressive bottle series with returning guest Ryan 
• scrambling to get a limited Sun Bear pipe tobacco release 
• cracking open a Savinelli 140th anniversary blend after long aging 
• unpacking Iron Vault’s local Stowel Evergre...

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We pour Liberty Pole’s Pentucky and end up in a deep tasting spiral about rye sweetness, blending shortcuts that somehow work, and why the same whiskey can taste different depending on the room. We also light up an aged English pipe tobacco and use it to explore craft distillery survival, honest pricing, and the way story and setting change what we notice in the glass. 
• Opening an 11-year-aged Lane Limited English blend and calling out Latakia and Nightcap vibes 
• Noting recent craft distillery bankruptcies and what overexpansion looks like in real num...

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We pour MB Roland’s Kentsylvania, a rare Kentucky bourbon and Pennsylvania rye collaboration, and figure out why it tastes like a completely new whiskey instead of a simple mash-up. Along the way we pair it with aged Briar Fox pipe tobacco, debate how smoke shifts the flavor, and unpack what makes MB Roland such an interesting grain-to-glass craft distillery. 
• how Kennsylvania is built from two single barrels and why that matters 
• what MB Roland does differently in western Kentucky, including white corn 
• the idea of honoring local history through bottles lik...

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We pour Redwood Empire Haystack Needle and get a high-proof bourbon that drinks surprisingly friendly while still delivering dense, layered flavour. Alongside the whiskey, we light up Cornell and Diehl King Cake and end up talking grains, sourcing, single barrels, and what makes a bottle truly worth the money. 
• Redwood Empire Haystack Needle overview, Indiana exclusive single barrel and grain to glass context 
• Tasting notes: burnt caramel, dark syrup, light molasses sweetness, balanced high proof density 
• Comparing older vs younger releases and how single barrel variation changes everything 
• The $119 question: re...

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We sit down with Blake, founder of Smokeye Hill, to talk about building a blue corn driven bourbon brand in Colorado and why their whiskey can reach serious proof without tasting like a stunt. We get into 30 gallon barrels, multi char blending, the reality of sourcing, and the slow rituals that make whiskey culture worth sticking around for. 
• Smokeye Hill availability and why growth depends on making more whiskey 
• Colorado aging conditions and why dry climate can drive higher barrel proof 
• Balancing a 93 proof daily drinker with 130 plus barrel proof releases ...

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We pour Metallica’s Blackened whiskey and test whether “born in cask forged by sound” is a real finishing technique or just a loud story. We also light up Black House pipe tobacco, swap notes on what we taste, and argue about what makes a celebrity bottle worth buying twice. 
• Dave Pickerell’s background and why his name adds credibility 
• How sonic finishing works with subwoofers, bass, and barrel vibration 
• What “black brandy barrels” likely means and why the finish dominates 
• Our tasting notes and why the whiskey feels sweet but thin to us 

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Traveler Full Proof takes everything we found “fine but forgettable” about the 90 proof bottle and turns it into a high proof pour with real punch and better structure. We debate what full proof really means, how Chris Stapleton may have shaped the blend, and why this one drinks hotter than its 120 proof suggests. 
• full proof vs cask strength and why barrel entry proof matters 
• Chris Stapleton’s path from bluegrass to Traveler and the Grammy talk 
• the rumor that Stapleton does not drink and why it persists 
• blend speculation including Canadian...

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We put Eric Church’s Jypsi Explorer under a serious tasting lens and end up surprised by how intentional it feels for a sourced celebrity whiskey. Along the way, the pour opens up into root beer, cream soda, wet forest wood notes, an English pipe tobacco pairing, and a debate about what good taste looks like in public spaces too.
• what Jypsi Explorer is and how Outsider Spirits frames the Explorer Series around wood finishes
• Eric Church’s involvement story and why this bottle feels less like a money grab
• French oak...

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We chase a California bottle that drinks like it has a wine-world edge, then use it to talk about blending, value, and where American whiskey might be headed. Lost Monarch Cask Strength turns into a bigger debate about sourcing versus distilling, how brands scale, and why we think some “hype” bottles are a bad deal.

• music festivals and why smaller venues beat stadium shows 
• Redwood Empire as a former “no-namer” that is gaining momentum 
• Lost Monarch, Pipe Dream, and Emerald Giant as real redwood tree names 
• the Lost Monarch tree locati...

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A Fourth of July pour turns into a bigger talk about what it means to live in a 250-year-old country that is still figuring itself out. We taste First West Small Batch, pair it with dark-fired Kentucky tobacco, and connect the flavor to history, technology, and the pace of change. 

• first impressions of the dark-fired Kentucky tobacco and the bottle’s creek-found blue-glass vibe 
• reflecting on America at 250 years and how “young country” changes perspective 
• how the internet changed learning, confidence, and misinformation 
• First West Small Batch background, 15 Stars connection...

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We crack open a J Rieger Co private stock single barrel bourbon and chase the story behind how it was picked, bottled, and shared. Along the way, we pull on threads from Kansas City whiskey rules to sweet mash fermentation, then land on whether the regular shelf bottle is an easy buy. 

• what a private select single barrel program looks like at the distillery 
• filling your own bottle on tour and signing the barrel guest book 
• the Rieger hospitality center and the adult sized slide 
• J Rieger Co origins in 1...

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We pour Elijah Craig’s first Barrel Proof Rye and get stuck on one detail that changes everything: 12 years old, “uncut,” and somehow only 108 proof. We chase the science, argue about hype versus reality, and land on why this bottle feels like an outlier even if it is technically what the label says.

• why Elijah Craig rye has a reputation as a “barely rye” pour 
• what makes A925 unusual as a 12-year “barrel proof” rye at 108 proof 
• how entry proof, warehouse placement, humidity, and time can proof down a barrel 
• tasting...

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We pour Cedar Ridge Double Barrel Rye Batch 2 and get honest about what we love, what feels thin, and why a short finish can hold a bottle back even when the flavor is good. We also crack an aged bag of pipe tobacco and end up in a surprisingly deep debate about what “finished” should mean in American whiskey. 
• the origin of the “Quintessential” name and why smart naming works 
• American single malt whiskey trends, pricing, and why big launches cooled off 
• opening an older vacuum-sealed tobacco bag and what aging does to moi...

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We finally get Steve back behind the mic, then crack open Watershed Rye Batch Three, and it immediately resets our idea of what Ohio rye can be. Between a 143.1 proof gut-punch of flavor and a long-awaited tin of Esoterica Plum Cake, we end up talking about scarcity, lotteries, and why some bottles demand patience. 

• Steve’s return after tax season and what we’re pouring 
• Watershed Rye Batch Three first impressions and why it tastes “vastly different.” 
• The shock of 143.1 proof and how the intensity shows up as flavor 
• Comparing Oh...

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We sit down with Mike Trott and Harold Underdown from Four Branches Bourbon to unpack how a loss in the field turned into a whiskey built for remembrance and real connection. We also get candid about quality, pricing, veteran mental health, and why their motto “sip to remember” is a line in the sand. 
• the origin story behind Four Branches and the friends they honour 
• why bourbon is a reflective spirit that triggers memory through the senses 
• partnering with Bardstown Bourbon Company while staying hands-on in blending 
• the four grain mash bill...

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We crack a Hugh Hamer cherry brandy barrel finished bourbon and end up with a shockingly sweet, creamy, cherry-forward pour that drinks lighter than its proof. The real surprise is how perfectly it pairs with Plum Pudding pipe tobacco and turns the whole night into a “Nirvana smoke” kind of memory. 

• Debating how to pronounce Hugh Hamer and why the name matters 
• First impressions on nose and palate, from vanilla cream to cherry soda vibes 
• Smoking Seattle Pipe Club Plum Pudding and talking Balkan vs English characteristics 
• West Fork Whiskey bac...

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