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The Best of the Bourbon
and Spirits LifestyleOur pages bring the bottle to life and pour out
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story after story of the sacrifice, determination, and
passion that go into each charred oak barrel. -
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We tell stories from the heart of bourbon—the farmers who grow the grain, the distillers who labor over the process, the mixologists who concoct liquid perfection, and the people who raise their glasses to celebrate it all. Our pages bring the bottle to life and pour out story after story of the sacrifice, determination, and passion that go into each charred oak barrel and sweeten the experiences that flow from them.
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Stories, Legends, Myths
Bourbon Up, a production of Bourbon+ Films, is a digital short form interview series with bourbon personalities, master distillers, executive chefs, musicians, and artists. Minnick sits with prominent people and drinks bourbon with them, asking fun and entertaining questions about their life. Season 2 includes big names such as James Bond and Westworld Actor Jeffrey Wright, country music sensations LoCash, Taylor Port’s David Guimaraens, cork mogul Antonio Amorim, and many more. These characters’ stories will now come to life through film. The show is about the people; the people who have invested their lives in spirits, and who make this world tick.
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Contributors
Reed Sampley
Reed Sampley is a lifestyle photographer and bourbon and cigar enthusiast based in the heart of Kentucky’s Bourbon Trail. He’s an international traveler and a crucial piece to Sampley Brothers Production’s team. With a camera in hand, there’s no telling where you might find this young man. Hunter S. Thomson said it best when he said. “Anything that gets your blood racing is probably worth doing.” Photography does just that for Reed Sampley.
Anna May
Anna May is an international portrait photographer based out of Louisville, Kentucky. She has spent the better part of the past decade honing her eye and refining her craft. Anna revels in the opportunity to help subjects bring to life a version of themselves that is both true and aspirational. Her client list includes projects for Jim Beam, Audi, and Porsche, as well as NFL players, Los Angeles celebrities, the Louisville Ballet, and more.
Jesse Sampley
Jesse Sampley is a Film Director & Producer. He’s the Co-owner of Sampley Brothers Productions and makes brand content for corporations like Sazerac, Brown-Forman, and Heaven Hill to name a few. Fred Minnick, Editor-in-Chief of Bourbon+ Magazine, says “Jesse is filled with creds. From the No. 1 Spirits Network show to a Tribeca film cred, Jesse Sampley, as young and vibrant as he may, lives life, not through his lens, which appears on ET, National Geographic, NBC, and Duck Dynasty, shows up on time, delivers, dominates a set and allows no misunderstanding that creative should be untold.”
Steve Coomes
At 15, Steve Coomes started bussing tables in a fine-dining restaurant and got hooked on the business. He’s written about restaurants for nearly three decades, while adding spirits, travel, and ghostwriting to the mix. Clients include Nation’s Restaurant News, Restaurant Hospitality, Edible Louisville,American Whiskey, Whiskey, Delta Sky, and Winston Industries.
Aaron Goldfarb
Aaron Goldfarb is a novelist and the author of Hacking Whiskey: Smoking, Blending, Fat Washing, and Other Whiskey Experiments. He writes for Esquire, PUNCH, VinePair, and WhiskyAdvocate. His upcoming book is Gather Around Cocktails: Drinks to Celebrate Usual and Unusual Holidays. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife, daughter, and Maine Coon cat.
Terry Allen
Terry Allen brings 30 years of experience to his photo shoots. In the 1980s, Allen managed rock band Dreams So Real and did photographic work for almost every major record label and music magazine, including Columbia, Arista, Electra, and Warner Brothers, Spin, and RollingStone. The Athens, Georgia-based advertising and travel photographer has been featured in Double Gun Journal, Sporting Classics, Covey Rise magazine, and more.
Clay Risen
Clay Risen is an editor at The New York Times, where he covers spirits and the spirits industry. He is the author of the best-selling American Whiskey, Bourbon and Rye: A Guide to the Nation’s Favorite Spirit and the forthcoming Single Malt: A Guide to the Whiskies of Scotland.
Stephen DeVries
Stephen is a freelance food photographer and director based in Birmingham, Alabama. Stephen got his start in editorial photography and now does a variety of work ranging from editorial to commercial to directing. When he’s not shooting, you can find Stephen sipping on one of his favorite bourbons from his vast collection or out hunting for more to add to it.
Gary Gillman
Gary Gillman, based in Toronto, Ontario, established his blog, beeretseq.com, in 2015. He writes on beer, whiskey, and food, with a special focus on their history. Gary has traveled extensively in Kentucky and elsewhere to develop his knowledge, and also has a vast knowledge of Canadian whisky and its history. Gary also judges annually in beer and spirits for the UK-based World Drinks Awards.
Kevin Gibson
Kevin Gibson is a free-lance writer who writes for numerous publications, including Thrillist and Alcohol Professor. He also is author of Louisville Beer, Secret Louisville, and several other books. In his three decades as a professional writer, he has won numerous awards but doesn’t know where most of them are now (they’re probably in the basement). He lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with his dog, Atticus.
David Mahoney
David Mahoney has more than 30 years of experience editing and writing for a variety of magazines. He was a travel writer and senior editor at Sunset and the editor of Minnesota Monthly, and he was also the founding editor of Drinks and Real Food. He has served as a judge for the San Francisco World Spirits Competition since 2008, and is currently a member of the editorial board of the upcoming Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails.
Jake Emen
The man behind ManTalkFood.com. Freelance food, drink ,and travel writer who’s been published in Whisky Advocate, Eater, Tales of the Cocktail, The Whiskey Wash, Distiller and more.
Chuck Cowdery
Internationally renowned curmudgeon and whiskey writer, specializing in American whiskey. Member of the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame. Author of Bourbon, Strange: Surprising Stories of American Whiskey, Bourbon, Straight: The Uncut and Unfiltered Story of American Whiskey, The Chuck Cowdery Blog and The Bourbon Country Reader.
G. Clay Whittaker
Culture and lifestyle writer who has written for Esquire, Maxim, Men’s Journal, Southern Living, and more. Assistant editor and tasting coordinator at Cigar Aficionado until 2014.
Molly Wellmann
Queen of the Queen City cocktail scene. Renowned mixologist, face of Wellmann’s Brands LLC—Famous Neons Unplugged, Japp’s Since 1879, Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar, and Myrtle’s Punch House. Author of Handcrafted Cocktails: The Mixologist’s Guide to Classic Drinks for Morning, Noon & Night.
Dan Dunn
Author and media personality whose award-winning writing has appeared in Robb Report, GQ, and the Los Angeles Times. His latest book, American Wino: A Tale of Reds, Whites and One Man’s Blues (HarperCollins) is being developed for television. Dan also hosts the popular podcast, Drinky Fun Time.
Andy Hyslop
Andy Hyslop began taking pictures with the camera his parents gave him at age 14. While that particular camera may have been retired to the shelf, Andy never stopped shooting. Clients include: Ashbourne Farms, The Atlantic, The Brown-Forman Corporation, edible, Ford Motor Company, Garden & Gun, imbibe, The James Beard Foundation, Men’s Journal, and USA Today.
Susan Reigler
Susan has been writing about bourbon since the 1990s, when she was restaurant critic and drinks columnist for the Louisville Courier-Journal. She now contributes to Food & Dining, among others. Her books include Kentucky Bourbon Country: The Essential Travel Guide and The Bourbon Tasting Notebook, now in its second edition. From 2015 to 2017, she was president of the Bourbon Women Association.
Matt Pietrek
Seattle-based Matt Pietrek once donned a Hawaiian shirt and made a proper 1944 Mai Tai. That moment led to him becoming one of the world’s leading spirits authorities. He was a finalist for the 2018 Spirited Awards’ Best Cocktail & Spirits Writer, as well as Saveur magazine’s Best Drinks Blog for his blog Cocktail Wonk. He also drinks a lot of bourbon.
Lew Bryson
Lew has been writing full-time about spirits and beer since 1995. Author of Tasting Whiskey; former managing editor of Whisky Advocate; regular contributor to The Daily Beast, The Whiskey Wash, and more. He’s the best laugh in the business.
Brad Japhe
Brad Japhe is a freelance journalist specializing in food, beverage, and travel. He moonlights as a beer and spirits consultant, hosting monthly craft pairings/educational dinners in both Los Angeles and New York, and curating drink menus for festivals and restaurants. He prefers Scotch to bourbon, IPAs before lagers, and a pub burger over a prime ribeye. His favorite breed of dog is unequivocally the Siberian Husky and he suffers from an irrational, unrequited love for the New York Knicks.
Instagram: @Journeys_with_Japhe
