Our Mission:
To produce well-researched, informative, and interesting bourbon and bourbon-related podcasts and articles.
To maintain clear distinctions between the facts and our opinions.
To give realistic, fair, and usable ratings of the bourbons we review.
We’re a couple of guys who have always loved bourbon, and we want to share that with you! We try to give you well-researched interesting content as frequently as we’re able. Our cast and page makes no money, and we never intend for it to, so you can rest assured our opinions are unbiased. Well, they’re biased, but only because we’re very opinionated. Join the Bourbon Crusaders, and give us a listen!
Cheers from Chris and Darren!
Chris is a professional vampire* and longtime bourbon lover from North Carolina who moved to the heart of bourbon country. He spends most of his time building eccentric things and taking care of his livestock and young son. His love of bourbon started with an impulse buy of Elijah Craig 18 year in college and has been going strong ever since. He thinks there’s nothing sadder than an unopened bottle of bourbon.
*Transfusion Medicine Pathologist
Darren is a forensic pathologist fighting crime by day and a rock star and bourbon drinker by any other time! He’s a proud Kentucky native who agrees: Kentucky Kicks Ass. He otherwise spends his time ballroom or swing dancing, playing bass and guitar, fencing, and constantly creating puns in his head virtually every moment of the day. His love of bourbon was born thanks to his father and several good friends.
Bottom of the Barrel: A Bourbon Podcast and Blog 
Hey Guys!
Just started to listen to your podcasts. They are excellent! Especially the newer podcasts. Keep up the good work! I definitely think there is a good sized market that wants to hear about bourbon. I’m sure your audience will keep growing.
Couple of topics that I would be interested in hearing you both discuss.
– “Dusty” bourbons
– How many bottles do you keep open? Do you use decanters?
– Any good rare bottle find stories? I love the hunt for a good bottle!
Thanks,
Ryan
Hi, Ryan! Glad you like the casts…and sorry it’s taken us so long to reply! We’re still working on the website and getting it a bit more organized, and this post just slipped through the cracks.
We’re super excited you left some questions/ideas we can talk about in the next cast, and I can already say we will touch on these topics for you. We’ll be recording it soon. In the meantime, visit our facebook page, as well. It’s pretty active, and there’s more real-time interaction there than at the website at this point, social media being what it is.
Again, thanks for listening, and we hope you’ll enjoy our future casts–which will be made soon!
Darren
Hey Darren. It’s Jon Rivera from the Solid State Gamer, the gamer guy who loves Marty Robbins music as much as you do! Been really busy with the site and decided to take a break and check your space out. This is some pretty solid stuff! Really enjoy the podcast too. If you hook me up with a small logo icon for your site I would be more to post it on the Solid State Gamer site side bar to promote your site and podcast. Just let me Know!
~Jon Rivera (Lead Reviewer/Writer, Solid State Gamer)
Glad you’re enjoying it! I sent you an email with some logos, that would be awesome if you could link us!
Absolutely!
Enjoying the podcast. Keep it up. Heard you mention the Heaven Hill fire and made me think of a song by The Galoots called “Heaven Hill is on Fire” that may be some good intro or exit music. Just thought I would pass that along since I can’t say as I know of very many bourbon themed songs. The Galoots – Heaven Hill’s On Fire: http://youtu.be/JAR9fsT4C5k.
Thanks again. You are inspiring me to step out of my comfort zone (Makers) and try some new things.
Umbershoot
That’s a great song! It was a sad day, indeed. Let us know what other bourbons you try and what you think of them!
Very recently discovered your podcast and am enjoying it very much. A light in the amber fog of American whiskey that is helping me buy wisely. I’m in Portland Oregon where we have an enthusiastic whiskey community with a few select establishments that stoke and educate us newbies. Contrary to what the rest of the country imagines, we don’t all carry umbershoots to keep the rain out of our liquor. Thanks again and keep up the great work!
Umbershoot!!!! AAHHH!!!
So glad to hear you are enjoying the podcast, and even better, are getting to try better ones–no need to waste money!
Cheers,
Darren
Just discovered your podcasts and really enjoy them. I enjoyed your jalopy ratings and have a few of my own. For me, all of the Pappy line. It takes too much effort and money to find a bottle. About twenty-five years ago I found a bottle of 23 for $75, I never heard of it but I like the label and bought it. I went back an hour later and bought the other three! Over the next month I came across four bottles of Old Rip 12 and two 20 year olds, I bought them all and over the two decades shared them with friends and on my own. I finished the last of the 23 a year ago and decided to buy some more. I have never been a bourbon hunter I bought what was around, tried it and if I liked it bought more so when I started looking and couldn’t it I went to the web and discovered all these sites devoted to finding Pappy or selling it to you for crazy prices! I finally found a liquor store near me with a 23, a 15 and a 12 for $2000, $1500 and $500!!!!!! You have to be F*&king kidding me. The craziest part, someone bought the 23 and 15! I am sorry, as good as it was-I had the original stuff, from Stitzel-Weller not Buffalo Trace, I cannot even justify $400 for any bottle of bourbon. I am sitting here enjoying some Stagg Jr., yesterday I was drinking Elijah Craig. Both were really enjoyable and I was not sitting there taking a sip and saying to myself, “That was $25”, everytime I put glass to lips.
My only regret, I should have save two bottles of the 23, I could have sold them and bough a used car!
Keep up the good works guys.
We’re right there with you. Some people will pay exorbitant prices for anything, bourbon included. We aren’t those people. Like you said, there’s plenty of very reasonable, even cheap, bottle of bourbon that are very good and enjoyable. No need to break the bank. Keep on listening! We’re recording another Around the Barrel podcast very soon with a Beam product line tasting.
Cheers!
The Pappy insanity continues! My local liquor store just received an allotment of Pappy 23 and 20 as well as Old Rip Special Reserve 12 year old and they are selling them for $2500, $1500 and $600!!!!! They also had George T Stagg for $400! As good as these bourbons are they are NOT worth these prices but sadly, people will buy them. In fact, in the the seven hours since I originally saw them show up on the stores website the Stagg is all gone and I give it a week before the Pappy disappears. When did the world go crazy?
Absolutely right. Those prices are literally insane. Like you said, though, someone will buy it. A fool and his money soon go separate ways.
Thanks for the comment, and hope you enjoy our podcast and blog.
Cheers!
Hey Chris and Darren,
We’d love to get your take on this whiskey infographic that we created!
http://www.barschool.com/whiskey-vs-bourbon/
Hello,
I love your website!
Knob Creek is my favorite bourbon, but I stopped drinking it when I found out it was made with GMO corn. Your review shows that due to the European market, it is made with GMO Free corn. I have spent quite a bit of time searching for confirmation of that fact and have come up empty. Please direct me to the source of your info, I would truly love to stock up on this delicious whiskey but cannot in good conscience, until I know for sure.
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!
Dave
Thanks for checking us out! As far as documentation, I don’t have anything written down. I can tell you that I’ve gotten confirmation from the master distiller Fred Noe himself about this, as well as multiple Beam brand ambassadors and marketing staff. I don’t know if they offer more information in the European market though. 4 Roses is also entirely non-GMO. I’ve spoken with Jim Rutledge about the specific farms their grains come from. All that said, nearly all the major bourbons use Kentucky and Indiana corn grown locally. Distillers have very long relationships with their farms to produce a consistent product. You might want to consider that from a sourcing perspective.
Thanks for your quick and detailed reply!