For the first time ever, the shit show has a guest IN the studio. Mike Ciacciarelli of Castle & Key — the unicorn listener the boys found at Whiskey Riot — rolls in with six bottles and the full story of the distillery Colonel E.H. Taylor built in the 1880s, left to ruin, and one entrepreneur bought off a Google search for under a million bucks. The birthplace of bourbon tourism, rebuilt from rubble.

X, Big Red, and Lumpy taste through the whole lineup: the 6-Year Small Batch Bourbon (101 proof, 73% heirloom white corn), the Small Batch Wheated that finally converted Lumpy, the Restoration Rye, the Cask Strength Wheated, and two Experimental Series cask-strength rye finishes — Vino de Naranja and 15-year Haitian rum barrels (yes, there’s banana, and no, it’s not on the nose).

Then the guys get into why you don’t have to be right to be happy — layoffs, dance dad reflections, ego vs. peace at home — before an AITA that split the table: is Gary’s “secret family recipe” cocktail just a Manhattan, and who’s the asshole for saying it out loud at Thanksgiving? Leave a comment with your verdict — we’re reading them next episode.

In this episode:

​ (00:44) Meet Mike: Jersey Shore hospitality, $40 Pappy pours, and the road to Castle & Key

​ (05:40) What actually makes an American single malt

​ (09:24) The Castle & Key story: Col. E.H. Taylor and the birthplace of bourbon tourism

​ (20:15) What’s in the Glass: all six pours, white corn magic, and confectioner’s-sugar finishes

​ (48:28) Experimental Series: VDN and Haitian rum-finished ryes at cask strength

​ (1:21:52) You don’t have to be right to be happy

​ (1:35:49) AITA: The Founder’s Pour is just a Manhattan

​ (1:43:34) A toast to things rebuilt from ruin

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