GUEST: John Pawluk (Twisted Cow Distillery Founder and Distiller)

Some distillers master tradition. Others ask why the tradition exists in the first place. In this episode, Drew Hannush sits down with Twisted Cow founder and distiller John Pawluk, whose gift of curiosity has led him to challenge long-held assumptions about fermentation, copper, grain, barrel aging, and flavor development. There is plenty of discussion around one of John's favorite tools for stretching his abilities-the iStill. Enjoy this return to long-form discussions about why and how whiskey is made. It's a fascinating look inside the mind of a whiskey maker who refuses to accept "because that's how it's always been done."

In This Episode

• Why curiosity drives better whiskey
• Building flavor before the barrel
• Rethinking copper's role
• The science of fermentation
• Why grain origin matters
• Stone mills versus hammer mills
• Barrel proof and flavor evolution
• Learning from tradition, not following it
• Experimenting with blue corn and heirloom grains
• Creating a distillery built for discovery

TRANSCRIPTS: whiskeylore.org/interviews
JOIN THE SPEAKEASY: patreon.com/whiskeylore

Long before Bourbon became synonymous with Bardstown and Frankfort, Lawrenceburg was home to a network of distillers whose names helped shape the industry itself. Families like the Ripys, Hawkins, Bonds, McBrayers, and Dowlings built businesses, mentored one another, and left a legacy that still echoes across Kentucky whiskey today. In this episode, Drew Hannush talks with filmmaker Bo Cumberland and Stone Fences Tours co-founder Jerry Daniels about their new documentary, Spirits of Lawrenceburg: A Bourbon Legacy Forged Through Time, and why one of Bourbon's most influential communities deserves to be remembered.

• Why Lawrenceburg became one of the cradles of Bourbon
• The forgotten names behind familiar brands
• Old Joe Peyton and the rise of Old Joe Distillery
• How distilling families became intertwined
• Why the Ripys reached far beyond Wild Turkey
• Lost distilleries hidden beneath modern landscapes
• Oral tradition and the challenge of preserving history
• How a documentary brings vanished places back to life
• Why Lawrenceburg still matters to Bourbon today

Find show notes and transcripts at whiskeylore.org/interviews

Drew Hannush heads to Florida's Treasure Coast for a virtual visit to Indian River Distillery in Vero Beach. Founded by Ray Hooker and his family, the distillery combines Florida history with a passion for rum, bourbon, gin, and American single malt. Along the way, Ray shares stories of pirates, the infamous Ashley Gang, and the unique challenges of making whiskey in a subtropical climate.

• Visiting Indian River Distillery in Vero Beach, Florida
• The Treasure Coast Spirits Festival
• Building a family-owned distillery from the ground up
• Florida whiskey and tropical maturation
• Malted wheat bourbon and American single malt production
• The story of the Ashley Gang and Florida's outlaw history
• Pirates, treasure ships, and legends of the Treasure Coast
• Things to see and experience around Vero Beach

My three reasons to visit

📍 Indian River Distillery
Vero Beach, Florida

Travel maps, distillery information, and trip-planning tools for more than 1,000 whiskey destinations can be found at WhiskeyLore.org/flights.

When you talk about a roller-coaster history, Four Roses is the poster child brand. In today's episode, we'll relive the glory years of Four Roses in the post-World War II era, when Madison Avenue carved out a Four Roses lifestyle. Then, I'll dig into how Seagram's took the brand from straight Bourbon blend to "Premium Light Whiskey." Then, I'll be joined by Four Roses legendary Brand Ambassador Al Young, as we watch the grand return of the brand, with a few surprises along the way.

Enjoy this fascinating conclusion to this three-part series covering the history of Four Roses.

Southern Georgia isn't the first place most whiskey travelers think of, which makes 13th Colony Distillery one of those discoveries that feels like you've stumbled onto something special. In this episode, Drew Hannush heads to Americus, Georgia, to visit one of the state's oldest operating whiskey distilleries and sit down with president Maxwell Darby. Along the way, they explore how a hobby project turned into one of Georgia's most respected whiskey brands, why heat changes the aging process, and how a forgotten experiment led to one of the distillery's most sought-after releases.

• The unlikely beginnings of 13th Colony Distillery
• How a family hobby became one of Georgia's oldest whiskey distilleries
• Aging whiskey in the South and managing Georgia's climate
• The story behind the iconic 13th Colony bottle
• Double Oak bourbon and the accidental discovery that created it
• Why 13th Colony moves barrels around the warehouse
• In-house distillation and experimenting with barrel entry proof
• The Southern Rye and using French oak spirals
• The connection between 13th Colony and Georgia history
• Things to see around Americus, Plains, and Andersonville
• Plus, Drew shares his three reasons why 13th Colony deserves a spot on your Whiskey Lore Wish List

📍 13th Colony Distillery
Americus, Georgia

Travel maps, distillery information, and trip-planning tools for more than 1,000 whiskey destinations can be found at WhiskeyLore.org/flights.

🌟Enjoy a deep dive into the what the tree in 13th Colony's logo represents, how to taste their white whiskey, places to eat in Americus and more in this episode as a member of Whiskey Lore's Patreon (a 7-day free trial is available for new listeners).

When it comes to the stories of whiskey brands, the tale is often told of passionate distillers, willing markets, and a quick and easy rise built off of a quality product and reputation. But foundation stories are rarely that simple.

In the case of Four Roses, an American brand with some mythic qualities, a deeper investigation shows a brand that wasn't entirely embraced by the family that originated it. At times it was the odd man out. But eventually it became one of the most popular whiskies in America.

Join me as we travel through the years after the founders passed, to see how the next generation handled the family's legacy. Along the way, we'll hear of struggles with overproduction, a fist thrown when the company's integrity was challenged, the creative ways the brand survived Prohibition, and the company executive that may have set the table for the way whiskey was made for the next 80 years.

Enjoy this second episode in a series of three on the history of Four Roses.

For decades, the name Clyde May has been synonymous with Alabama whiskey, even though the brand hasn't had an Alabama home. In this episode, Drew Hannush travels to Troy, Alabama, to visit Conecuh Ridge Distillery and sit down with Clyde May's grandson, L.C. May. Together, they explore the story of a World War II veteran turned moonshiner, the family's decades-long journey to bring the brand back home, and what visitors can expect from one of the South's newest whiskey destinations.

• Meeting L.C. May, grandson of legendary moonshiner Clyde May
• Clyde May's service during World War II and his Purple Heart legacy
• Moonshining in rural Alabama and life on the run from revenuers
• The original still that survived and found its way back to the May family
• Growing up around a moonshine tradition that remained alive into the 21st century
• Why the brand spent decades producing whiskey outside Alabama
• Bringing Clyde May's legacy home to the new Conecuh Ridge Distillery
• The meaning behind the Conecuh name and the waters that shaped the region
• Things to do around Troy, Alabama, from golf and hunting to Southern cooking and Gulf Coast road trips
• Plus, Drew shares his three reasons why Conecuh Ridge Distillery deserves a spot on your Whiskey Lore Wish List

📍 Conecuh Ridge Distillery
Troy, Alabama

Travel maps, distillery information, and trip-planning tools for more than 1,000 whiskey destinations can be found at WhiskeyLore.org/flights.

🌟Enjoy an extended premium dive into the Alabama "style" of whiskey, how Clyde May's became the state spirit and more in this episode as a member of Whiskey Lore's Patreon (a 7-day free trial is available for new listeners) patreon.com/whiskeylore

In 1864, a family of Virginians found themselves in war torn Atlanta with a decision to make - head home or plant roots. This was the birth of what would become known as Paul Jones & Company.

Over the years, there have been several stories floating around about how the flagship whiskey they later established in Louisville got its name. Was it because of a dance and proposal to a Southern Belle? Was it lifted from an Atlanta competitor's name? Or was it simply a name that came from the imagination of Paul Jones?

Today, I'll look to answer that question while taking you beyond the Season One episode to the very origins of Four Roses Bourbon.