Ok guys, I've shared some easy recipes here in the past and there's something to be said for a cocktail recipe that can be shared in 3-4 lines. However, sometimes it's good to try something a little more advanced and that's what I have to share with you today from our friends at Basil Hayden's, part of the Beam Small Batch Collection.

With the Kentucky Derby almost upon us, it's time to break out our julep cups, crush some ice and mix up some awesome cocktails so we forget how silly those women look wearing their derby hats!

Shopping for our wives and mothers is tough and if you are like me, it is often super easy to transpose what "you want" with what "she wants". 

This evening, the air is cold and blowing a through a sky broken by large clouds. Inside, my fireplace and kitchen stove churn with heat enough to warm my home, but I’m left wanting warmth that only comfort food can provide – and well, a comforting drink too.

Last week I had the privilege of joining Wild Turkey for a "Behind the Barrel" experience touring not just their distillery, but some of their partners including Vendome Copper & Brass Works and Independent Stave Company. During this tour, my eyes were opened wide to how complex the science and art of making great whiskey can be. While I knew that the mash bill and number of years aging in the barrel had a big say in how whiskey tastes, there's a whole lot more than that!

It’s been 50 years since Jockey Diane Crump became the first female to ride in The Kentucky Derby® -- and this year’s Woodford Reserve $1,000 Mint Julep Cup program celebrates that milestone. 

Occasionally you get the chance to try a spirit so impressive that you realize just how great the industry is right now. It's not just refinement of a single style but innovation that makes the whiskey world so exciting. We got a chance to try a review sample of Angel's Envy Cask Strength 2020 - bourbon finished in port barrels. Here are our thoughts...

Bourbon is one of my favorite spirits. This is in large part because of the personalities behind the barrel and how genuine the industry is at the very core. While certainly, the spirits industry as a whole is extremely generous in supporting causes and people, Wild Turkey as a brand has always impressed me with how authentic they are. This includes efforts ranging from simply handing out turkeys to folks so they could have a great holiday meal to larger efforts like this one honoring local legends in Austin, Chicago, Dallas, and New Orleans.

There are times when celebrities just slap their name on a bottle or buy a distillery and there are others when it is obvious that the celebrity is actually a partner with the distillery to create something new and unique. That's the case with Matthew McConaughey and Wild Turkey Bourbon. 

Wolf Spirit distillery based in Eugene, Oregon is quickly becoming one of my favorite spirits producers due to their innovative assortment of fine spirits brands that connect deeply with a sense of heritage, history, and culture that allow them to integrate easily into any man's collection. For me anyhow, there are spirits I have and need to blend different drinks... and then there are ones like Puncher's Chance Bourbon and indeed Bosscal Mezcal (also by Wolf Spirits) that exist to create conversations around and will be featured on the shelf of my bar for people to see, while others will be stored in my liquor cabinet hidden from sight.

Bourbon's historical home is the wooded hills and hollers of backwoods Kentucky. The cool mountain streams and springs matched with the fertile cornfields and Scots-Irish immigrants looking to do something with their extra corn beyond just another round of cornbread and Johnny Cakes. However, they weren't the only farmers that enjoyed the smooth, slightly sweet tasting corn liquor we know today as bourbon. As settlers expanded westward, they brought whiskey with them and the most ingenious of them brought stills and set up production wherever they landed on the western frontier.

As a connoisseur of spirits, I'm thrilled to introduce you to the Woodford Reserve's Sonoma Triple Finish, a remarkable fusion of California and Kentucky's finest. This limited-edition bourbon is my latest discovery, one that truly pushes the envelope of fine whiskeys. Its uniqueness lies in the distinct influence of three casks - Pinot Noir wine, brandy, and bourbon.