September 25, 2025 • 23 mins
This week on Bourbon Bytes, Clifton reviews the Frank August Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon — recently crowned World’s Best Bourbon at the 2025 IWSC. At 100 proof and $70 retail, does this sleek decanter hold a whiskey worthy of the title, or is transparency (or lack thereof) its biggest flaw? Tune in for a full breakdown, tasting notes, and final score.
Also in whiskey & gaming news: 🏎 Jim Beam teams up with Cadillac’s F1 Team for 2026 🍁 Canada drops retaliatory tariffs on Kentucky bourbon 🎮 Civilization 7 dev Firaxis hit by layoffs after launch 🎵 Daft Punk enters Fortnite with a 31-song experience
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Today on the Bourbon Bytes Podcast, Jim Beam partners with Cadillac's F1 team.
Canada drops retaliatory tariffs on bourbon. Daft Punk joins the Fortnite universe.
And I review the newly appointed world's best bourbon, Frank August Small Batch.
(00:28):
Hello everyone and welcome to the Bourbon Bytes Podcast. I'm your host Clifton and
this is the week of September 25th, 2025. It is officially fall season and that means it is the
perfect time to enjoy your favorite bourbon or whiskey. Not to say that you can't enjoy it in
the spring or summer. Some may prefer a pumpkin spice latte to celebrate the fall, but for me,
(00:50):
I want a nice spicy bourbon to celebrate the season. I'm actually going to be reviewing
one of those. It actually won best whiskey of the year according to a very, very popular
publication. We'll get to that in just a bit. We do have some news to cover before then, but
yeah, I'm glad we're here. I'm glad we're in the fall season. Now, I do live in Southern California,
(01:13):
so like fall is basically like, you know, low 70s, high 60s at the most. But you know what?
I'm here for it and I'm here to tell you about all the new things in the world of whiskey
and video game news for this week. All right. Well, like I said, there's been a new whiskey
named the world's best bourbon. We're going to get to that at the end when we do our Byte-Sized
(01:34):
review because I actually have a bottle, but we do have some other news in the world of whiskey.
One big story comes to us from Jim Beam. They're actually partnering with Cadillac's F1 team for
the first time ever. So Cadillac's actually debuting their team in 2026 to Formula One,
but they've signed a multi-year deal with Jim Beam to make them the official spirits partner
(01:57):
of this team. They're actually the 11th team to join Formula One. I'm not the biggest race fan,
but I do know that the F1 video games have been a hit across consoles. I know that the 2025 edition
came out back in May, so I would love to see this partnership shown in a video game sometime soon,
maybe the 2026 edition. Cadillac's have basically had a huge role in the history of Jim Beam.
(02:23):
Apparently, according to their spokesperson, Jim Beam himself used to carry his yeast strain
every day after work with him and his Cadillac. Yeah, it was a 1939 Cadillac, and he would
keep the yeast strain in a mason jar and bring it with him every day. I guess it's probably just
to make sure that they had that yeast strain in case something happened to the distillery or
(02:45):
I don't know if people were stealing yeast strains back then, but it is a cool story. The fact that
Jim Beam has kind of carried this legacy. Their current master distiller also drives a Cadillac,
so it's been a thing in the Jim Beam family for years, but very cool collaboration. Honestly,
I'm here for it. I love to see the word of bourbon get out at these various events, whether it's
sports, you know, cars, all the fun things. The more people that know about bourbon, the more
(03:09):
this industry can succeed. So shout out to Jim Beam and Cadillac. Now, we do have some good
international news coming to us from Canada in terms of tariffs on Kentucky bourbon. I reported
probably a few months back on how that's becoming so restrictive in the world of whiskey in other
countries outside of the US, just the current state of the economy and the government and all
(03:34):
stuff I don't really want to get into. But we do have a new update. Canada is dropping the
retaliatory tariffs on Kentucky bourbon, which is a win, I think, for everyone, honestly. If you
remember a few months ago, Canada pulled a lot of bottles of bourbon from the shelf. They replaced
a lot of American products with their own products to kind of do a bit of a boycott of
(03:56):
American goods. And, you know, I think that's a perfectly acceptable way to protest the tariffs
coming to your country. But I'm glad to see that bourbon is going to be back on the shelves,
at least in a lot of Canadian retailers. But to see these retaliatory tariffs kind of being
rolled back a bit is a win for Kentucky bourbon. I hope that more people in Canada and other places
(04:18):
across the world get to experience it now. I love Kentucky bourbon, and I think you should enjoy it
too. Interestingly enough, I noticed that a lot of the listeners to the podcast are international,
which is very, very cool. Glad you guys are listening in and you're interested in hearing
about bourbon news from a U.S. perspective. Hopefully you can get your hands on more bourbon
now. We'll see. But yeah, I'm always a big fan of like bourbon brings people together,
(04:43):
it brings communities together, and it's worth sharing. So well done to those that that made
that happen. I'm not going to credit any particular politician or party or anything that made that
happen. But I am glad to see that bourbon is going to be hopefully back on the shelves in
some of our Canadian retailers. I know some of you guys will be very, very happy to see that.
(05:03):
Now, we do have a couple pieces of video game news, some negative, some positive. I'll start
with the negative just so we get in a high note. The team behind Civilization 7, which is I think
they're called Firaxis, F-I-R-A-X-I-S, but they are under the 2K umbrella. They announced some layoffs,
unfortunately, this past couple of weeks, and it's really sad to see because I just downloaded
(05:25):
Civilization 7 a couple of weeks back and I've really been enjoying it. It is quite a different
gameplay than Civilization 6 and 5 and some of the games in the past. But me as a casual
gamer, I actually do love some of these new mechanics. So I'm really sad to see that they
did some layoffs after the release of this game. Now, they're also behind the game XCOM,
(05:46):
which I've talked about on the podcast before. But yeah, I know that there were some mixed
reviews about that game. Some articles are connecting it to the release of Hollow Knight
Silksong. I don't know if that has anything to do with it. It just happened to be around the time
that game was released. So people are saying that game did so well and on a much more limited staff,
(06:06):
maybe they're trying to cut back and see if they can do something similar. But I just do want to
show my support for those people that were laid off. If you are in the industry,
check out these folks. I'm sure they're incredibly talented people. If you have a position open,
please reach out to them. Or if you know them from a previous role, just show your support. I mean,
listen, I work in an industry that has layoffs all the time, unfortunately, and
(06:30):
it's a really tough time when big companies do things like this. And the best thing you can do
is just support those folks that you've worked with in the past or people you're connected with
and just, you know, just put in referrals or do anything you can to help support their career
journey moving forward. So I feel for those folks. I will continue to play Civilization 7. I think
the game is incredible. I think it is a bit of a deviation from some civilization mechanics that
(06:55):
some people are used to. But again, I'm a fan of them. And I just hope that these developers go
on to find new and better opportunities in the world of video games. All right. Lastly,
are there any Fortnite fans out there? Probably not. But maybe your kids are. Listen, I know.
I know a lot of you listen to this podcast are parents. Well, maybe you might be a little more
excited about Fortnite because Daft Punk, the band, is coming to the Fortnite universe. They're
(07:20):
actually going to bring 31 songs from their discography over to the game, which includes
some immersive club inspired rooms, costumes featuring the band's iconic helmets and more.
So they're saying that this is being billed as the game's biggest musical experience.
They're going to allow players to remix and create mashups of songs,
create Lego music videos featuring the band, and make their avatars dance at the Daft Club,
(07:45):
which features a supercut of footage from the band's Alive tour and Alive 2007 live album.
There is a new bundle that's going to be available in the Fortnite shop that will also include
Daft Punk's iconic TB3 and GMO8 helmets, outfits and accessories, plus instrument and a
Get Lucky jam track. So this isn't new to the world of Fortnite. They've actually had a lot
(08:08):
of artists come in and do Fortnite concerts, which I know if you're not a Fortnite person,
listen, I'm not really either. I've seen some people play it. I am way too bad at it to start
streaming it, but I get that there is a huge hype around Fortnite. But some artists, including The
Weeknd, Travis Scott, Ariana Grande, Eminem, Sabrina Carpenter, and many, many others have done
(08:29):
Fortnite concerts. So they know that there is some hype there. They know that there is an audience
there. And this seems like one of the biggest collaborations I've ever seen. I love that you
can get some outfits inspired by the band. 31 songs are being brought to the game. That's a
huge amount. You know, these artists that have done concerts, it's always been very limited.
You know, you get access to a few songs, but wow, that's pretty incredible. So I don't know
(08:52):
any more details beyond that. It is just announced it is going to go live on September 27th, which
is this Saturday at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. If you're into that, please let me know how it
goes. Please share some screenshots or some video recordings on our Discord server. I would love to
see how that goes. By the way, if you are not yet on our Discord server, I want to welcome you to
(09:14):
an amazing whiskey community. We are relatively small, but we have a great selection of channels
to post in, whether you're sharing your latest pickups from bottles that you've grabbed from
your local liquor store or you're sharing your latest restaurant order at your favorite local
pub. Just a really great place to share what you're up to lately and meet new friends. So if
(09:36):
you're not yet on our Discord server, please join us. You can go to bourbonbytes.com, which is my
home for everything on the Internet. There's a link to join the Discord there, but also links to
all of my content across the web, including this podcast. You can get access to the YouTube
channel, to all the videos that I've uploaded, all the live streams I do each week. And if you want
(09:56):
to support the channel, you can do it right there at bourbonbytes.com by becoming a Byte Club member.
For as little as $2 a month, you can support the channel, get access to some exclusive posts,
some polls, and of course, the higher tiers get you access to things like our movie night,
our after-party hangout, and our exclusive Byte Club tasting. So if you're curious, just check
it out, bourbonbytes.com. If you have any questions, shoot me a message over on Instagram, or you can
(10:20):
always email me, contact@bourbonbytes.com. I check that email every day as well as my Instagram
messages. So definitely reach out if you have questions. I would love to have you as part of
the Discord community and potentially a Byte Club member if you want to support the channel. So
thank you all so much for checking that out, and I think it is about
time for us to move on to our biggest news story of the day, as well as our Byte-Sized review.
(10:51):
All right, well, while researching topics to cover on this week's podcast, I came across
this new announcement from the IWSC, which is the International Whiskey and Spirits Competition,
that they've just announced their world's best bourbon for 2025. Now, I know a lot of us have
mixed feelings on these type of announcements. I mean, I know my biggest gripe with it was when
(11:14):
Henry McKenna 10 year, won a similar award and went all the way up to $60, $70 when I could get
that for $26. So I feel you there. But since this announcement was just made, I made sure to run to
my local liquor store and grab a bottle of the winner and see if it's worth the price now and
hope to God that it's not going to go up in price because of this win. Now, if you read the title
(11:37):
of this podcast, of course, we are talking about Frank August Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon,
and it won a 98 points and the bourbon trophy, beating out higher priced bottles from top
distilleries. I'll be honest, I've not had Frank August bourbon or rye before. I didn't know enough
about it, and it just wasn't enough to get me to pick it up. But now that I see that it's been
(11:58):
announced as the bourbon of the year, I had to go grab a bottle. So this one right here was about
$70 at my local Bevmo. Like I said, this is the small batch bourbon whiskey from Frank August.
It comes in at 100 proof. It is distilled and aged in Kentucky, bottled by Frank August in Bardstown,
Kentucky. Now, one of the reasons that I think I've kind of avoided this bottle for a while is
(12:22):
they're not very clear on what's inside the bottle. And even though it is a gorgeous bottle, I mean,
one of the best decanters I've seen on the market, especially at that price point, I really want to
know what's inside this straight bourbon whiskey. Now, according to this press release from the
International Wine and Spirits Competition, they are a non distilling producer and they source and
(12:43):
blend whiskeys from Kentucky distilleries. It's blended in small batches of 10 to 15 barrels
sourced from an undisclosed distillery or distilleries. So we don't know the match bill.
We don't know the age. It's pretty available here in Southern California. I don't know how it is
where you guys are, but yeah, I was able to find this bottle relatively easily right after this
(13:03):
announcement, which was pretty rare, because I remember when the Henry Kenna announcement came out,
it was so, so hard to find. Now, as you guys know, when I don't see any age information or where this
has been distilled, it does kind of give me a bit of a hesitancy when I'm reviewing a new whiskey.
You know, I love transparency and I think a lot of us that do review whiskeys love to see that.
(13:25):
And I get there are some contracts in place where we can't necessarily know where everything's from,
but I think hiding things like age statement and mash bill and just other things like that,
I don't know, just it kind of starts me off on the wrong foot, I'll say. So I'll try to avoid
that connotation that I've had in the past because I know that this whiskey is very highly regarded.
(13:46):
So I'm going to ignore that. I'm going to approach this from a blank mindset, but know that when I do
my review, I'm going to be including that into a factor of what score I give this whiskey,
because I think it's, you know, like I said, we all seek transparency. We all seek as much
honesty as we can in the industry. So yeah, I just want to put that disclaimer up front. Yes,
I'm a little turned off from this just based on the lack of transparency, but that doesn't mean
(14:11):
it can't be an incredible bourbon for the price. So let's go ahead and uncork this Frank August
small batch bourbon whiskey. By the way, I do have to give them a shout out. This cork is
incredible. It's a super solid metal piece on the top. It's got like a bit of a gold finish,
and it's just really, really hefty. Like I said, the decanter is beautiful. I mean,
I can see myself reusing this for another whiskey in the future because it's just really nice
(14:36):
looking. I give them that like even without trying the whiskey, it's just really pretty to look at.
So all right, I just poured my glass of it. Like I said, this is 100 proof. Let's go ahead and give
this Frank August a nose. All right, well, right off the bat, I can tell that this is a very
nicely aged bourbon. You know, they don't give us an age statement, but there's so much oak
backbone there that I think that we're not dealing with a barely, I don't want to say barely legal,
(15:01):
but we're not dealing with like a three year old bourbon, right? With it being a straight bourbon
whiskey, it has to be at least four years old. Based on the nose, I would guess maybe a bit
older than that. Not to say that the youngest bourbon in here isn't, you know, four years old,
but there's some older whiskey in here for sure based on that nose. There's quite a bit of
baking spice there as well. I mean, speaking of fall whiskeys, like I said at the top of the
(15:21):
podcast, this one noses like an incredible fall whiskey. Honestly, it's everything I want in a
bourbon nose, especially like a non-finished bourbon. I mean, it's caramel vanilla, the
traditional bourbon notes, but like I said, those baking spices, a little bit of nutmeg. This one
does have quite a bit of cinnamon influence, kind of tingles the tip of the nose a bit. That's
really, really nice on the nose. I'm not going to lie. That's pretty damn impressive.
(15:43):
All right. Well, now that I've nosed this, let's go ahead and give this a taste. Cheers.
Okay. Different. Yeah. Wow. It almost has some flavor notes that I would associate with more
with like a scotch whiskey. Honestly, there's some honey cereal grain notes there that I think are
pretty surprising on something like this. I think it's, you know, such a dark nose that when you go
(16:07):
to the palate and being a bit brighter and lighter, it does surprise me a bit. Yeah. There's
surprisingly like an orchard fruit note there. I mean, to me, it's immediately reading like peach.
It kind of reminds me of like a very, very ripe peach with that sweetness. But those baking spices
are there as well. But I don't want to go quite as far as saying like peach cobbler, because that's
one of my favorite desserts ever. It's like a ripe, fresh off a tree peach versus a stewed down
(16:32):
peach. So really, really good. I like that. Very different. Very not what I was expecting at all.
If I had to guess a distiller, I would be so lost in guessing where this is from.
When it comes to finish, I think this has a medium to long finish. Honestly, for 100 proof,
it is sticking around. Those spices are kind of tingling the tongue long after I finish a sip.
(16:53):
And again, it feels like in the fall territory. It feels like a nice, warm, seasonal bourbon.
Now, like I said, this is a small batch. This this particular one is 10 to 15 barrels.
There's no information on here in terms of which batch it is, which is a little disappointing,
especially something like this is one such a prestigious honor, according to the IWSC.
(17:14):
So it's a little disappointing to know if this is the batch that that won the award or not.
But I will say if it was, I can see why this was very, very well received. It's just a
really good bourbon. Now, when it comes to value, that's where things get a little tricky, right?
So like I said, retail on this is $70. I'll start with the fact that the decanter is beautiful.
(17:38):
Honestly, one of the most beautiful decanters I've seen in probably a year. I'll be honest,
probably years when it comes to like a standard shelf for bourbon.
It really looks nice. It looks reusable. It looks, you know, just just high quality.
The cork itself has some heft to it. So I got to give them credit for that.
It is a beautiful decanter, a beautiful cork. What I don't love about this is there's no
(18:02):
information about the whiskey. And again, like I said, I get contracts, right? You can't tell
us where it's sourced from. And that's fair, right? It's a disappointing fact, but it's fair.
What I don't support is not giving us an age statement. Like I know that likely means and
I don't want to say it, but it likely means you have some really young bourbon in here.
It doesn't mean it's all young bourbon, but it means there's probably some younger bourbon
(18:24):
in here, which is acceptable. But how about this? How about tell us like, OK,
yes, minimum age statement is four years old, but there is a 12 year old high rye bourbon in here.
There is a 15 year old wheat bourbon. I mean, I'm just making stuff off off the top of my head,
but like those are things you can disclose without revealing one, the distillery to the
(18:45):
mash bill. Those are things that I can't imagine they're limiting you on disclosing.
It almost feels like it's a self-fulfilling thing to not reveal that information, you know,
to be called a small batch Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey. Yes, you are fulfilling all
the requirements. 100 proof. I can't I can't condemn you with that. That's a great proof.
I appreciate it. But bourbon lovers like myself appreciate information. And when you're not
(19:06):
giving us anything, I mean, I'll be honest, the label literally just says Frank August on the
front, small batch, Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey on the back, the proof. And that's
about it. So I would love more transparency. I do know they have some special releases,
at least in my area. There's a few different limited edition single barrel bourbons,
some special release rise. I've not quite explored those yet. I wanted to start with this one one
(19:30):
because it was the one that won bourbon of the year. But two, you know, I wanted to set my
expectations with this one because this is a pricey bottle. Seventy dollars for this one.
I know the single barrel bourbon goes closer than $90 to $100. And then those special release rise
are in like the $120, $130 territory. So, I mean, based on this experience, I would definitely
consider giving them a try, but I'm going to have to give a rating to this one based on this
(19:55):
experience alone. So like I said earlier, I'm judging this based on the retail now with these
awards, you never know what's going to happen. But for this being a 70 dollar bottle, not super
transparent on what's going into it, but a gorgeous decanter and a really nice bourbon, I'm going to
have to give it a 7.5 out of 10, which is pretty fair. I mean, I think for a bourbon that we don't
(20:19):
know much about at the 70 dollar price point for me to give it that high of a score means that
there is something special about this release. And I think there is. It's just a fantastic bourbon.
The more I sip on it, the more I enjoy it. I just wish we could have a little bit more
information about it. I don't know if I would grab a second bottle of this particular small batch,
but I'm very curious to try some of the single barrel releases and even their rye,
(20:41):
because their rye gets high ratings too. Didn't win whiskey of the year, but it is very, very
well regarded in at least some of the reviews I've been seeing about it. So I'm gonna have to
give that one a try. This one, though, I think it's solid. I think it's a good bourbon. I really
enjoyed this pour. I'll be enjoying this bottle. So yeah, 7.5 out of 10 for this one. It would
(21:01):
maybe do a little bit better if I knew a little bit more about the, you know, age or things like
that. But in the world of bourbon and whiskey, $70 for a non aged shaded product is a bit
out of the ordinary and yeah, a bit of a gamble. But I think I played the cards well. I'll stick
with the gambling analogy here. I'm going to Vegas in a couple of weeks, so my mind's already
(21:25):
on that. So yeah, I enjoyed the pour. Looking forward to trying more. Do I think this is my
best bourbon of 2025? We'll have to see. If you know, I do a top 10 ranking at the end of the
year on my YouTube channel, youtube.com/bourbonbytes, where I rank my top picks for
bourbon as well as other whiskeys of the year. So check that out. I do it every year right around
(21:50):
New Year's Eve time. It's always a fun stream to do. So make sure to subscribe. Hit the bell button
to be notified every time I go live. And if you enjoy the podcast, make sure to follow me on
whatever platform you are listening on. Quick reminder before I go, you guys can call in and
leave a comment or a message for the channel. It's been a minute since we've had a call,
but I'm always sitting here anxiously awaiting your call. You can reach me at 916-64-BYTES,
(22:16):
that's bytes with a Y, or 916-642-9837. Leave a voicemail. Let me know what you want to talk
about or you want me to talk about on the next episode. Or just leave your feedback. Of course,
you can always leave your feedback on, like I said, your favorite podcast platform, whether it's
Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts. Your rating does mean a lot. I've noticed that there's some ratings
(22:38):
coming in and I just want to say thank you all so much. If you leave a review, I'm happy to mention
it on the podcast. I know a few people have just been rating it, which is, you know, amazing. Keep
doing that. But if you want your review randomly on the podcast, just let me know. All right, thank
you again for another amazing week of bourbon and whiskey news. Thank you all so much for listening.
(22:59):
This has been the Bourbon Bytes Podcast, a whiskey podcast with a gaming twist.
Cheers, and I'll talk to you guys next week.
Today on the Bourbon Bytes Podcast, Jim Beam partners with Cadillac's F1 team.
Canada drops retaliatory tariffs on bourbon. Daft Punk joins the Fortnite universe.
And I review the newly appointed world's best bourbon, Frank August Small Batch.
(00:28):
Hello everyone and welcome to the Bourbon Bytes Podcast. I'm your host Clifton and
this is the week of September 25th, 2025. It is officially fall season and that means it is the
perfect time to enjoy your favorite bourbon or whiskey. Not to say that you can't enjoy it in
the spring or summer. Some may prefer a pumpkin spice latte to celebrate the fall, but for me,
(00:50):
I want a nice spicy bourbon to celebrate the season. I'm actually going to be reviewing
one of those. It actually won best whiskey of the year according to a very, very popular
publication. We'll get to that in just a bit. We do have some news to cover before then, but
yeah, I'm glad we're here. I'm glad we're in the fall season. Now, I do live in Southern California,
(01:13):
so like fall is basically like, you know, low 70s, high 60s at the most. But you know what?
I'm here for it and I'm here to tell you about all the new things in the world of whiskey
and video game news for this week. All right. Well, like I said, there's been a new whiskey
named the world's best bourbon. We're going to get to that at the end when we do our Byte-Sized
(01:34):
review because I actually have a bottle, but we do have some other news in the world of whiskey.
One big story comes to us from Jim Beam. They're actually partnering with Cadillac's F1 team for
the first time ever. So Cadillac's actually debuting their team in 2026 to Formula One,
but they've signed a multi-year deal with Jim Beam to make them the official spirits partner
(01:57):
of this team. They're actually the 11th team to join Formula One. I'm not the biggest race fan,
but I do know that the F1 video games have been a hit across consoles. I know that the 2025 edition
came out back in May, so I would love to see this partnership shown in a video game sometime soon,
maybe the 2026 edition. Cadillac's have basically had a huge role in the history of Jim Beam.
(02:23):
Apparently, according to their spokesperson, Jim Beam himself used to carry his yeast strain
every day after work with him and his Cadillac. Yeah, it was a 1939 Cadillac, and he would
keep the yeast strain in a mason jar and bring it with him every day. I guess it's probably just
to make sure that they had that yeast strain in case something happened to the distillery or
(02:45):
I don't know if people were stealing yeast strains back then, but it is a cool story. The fact that
Jim Beam has kind of carried this legacy. Their current master distiller also drives a Cadillac,
so it's been a thing in the Jim Beam family for years, but very cool collaboration. Honestly,
I'm here for it. I love to see the word of bourbon get out at these various events, whether it's
sports, you know, cars, all the fun things. The more people that know about bourbon, the more
(03:09):
this industry can succeed. So shout out to Jim Beam and Cadillac. Now, we do have some good
international news coming to us from Canada in terms of tariffs on Kentucky bourbon. I reported
probably a few months back on how that's becoming so restrictive in the world of whiskey in other
countries outside of the US, just the current state of the economy and the government and all
(03:34):
stuff I don't really want to get into. But we do have a new update. Canada is dropping the
retaliatory tariffs on Kentucky bourbon, which is a win, I think, for everyone, honestly. If you
remember a few months ago, Canada pulled a lot of bottles of bourbon from the shelf. They replaced
a lot of American products with their own products to kind of do a bit of a boycott of
(03:56):
American goods. And, you know, I think that's a perfectly acceptable way to protest the tariffs
coming to your country. But I'm glad to see that bourbon is going to be back on the shelves,
at least in a lot of Canadian retailers. But to see these retaliatory tariffs kind of being
rolled back a bit is a win for Kentucky bourbon. I hope that more people in Canada and other places
(04:18):
across the world get to experience it now. I love Kentucky bourbon, and I think you should enjoy it
too. Interestingly enough, I noticed that a lot of the listeners to the podcast are international,
which is very, very cool. Glad you guys are listening in and you're interested in hearing
about bourbon news from a U.S. perspective. Hopefully you can get your hands on more bourbon
now. We'll see. But yeah, I'm always a big fan of like bourbon brings people together,
(04:43):
it brings communities together, and it's worth sharing. So well done to those that that made
that happen. I'm not going to credit any particular politician or party or anything that made that
happen. But I am glad to see that bourbon is going to be hopefully back on the shelves in
some of our Canadian retailers. I know some of you guys will be very, very happy to see that.
(05:03):
Now, we do have a couple pieces of video game news, some negative, some positive. I'll start
with the negative just so we get in a high note. The team behind Civilization 7, which is I think
they're called Firaxis, F-I-R-A-X-I-S, but they are under the 2K umbrella. They announced some layoffs,
unfortunately, this past couple of weeks, and it's really sad to see because I just downloaded
(05:25):
Civilization 7 a couple of weeks back and I've really been enjoying it. It is quite a different
gameplay than Civilization 6 and 5 and some of the games in the past. But me as a casual
gamer, I actually do love some of these new mechanics. So I'm really sad to see that they
did some layoffs after the release of this game. Now, they're also behind the game XCOM,
(05:46):
which I've talked about on the podcast before. But yeah, I know that there were some mixed
reviews about that game. Some articles are connecting it to the release of Hollow Knight
Silksong. I don't know if that has anything to do with it. It just happened to be around the time
that game was released. So people are saying that game did so well and on a much more limited staff,
(06:06):
maybe they're trying to cut back and see if they can do something similar. But I just do want to
show my support for those people that were laid off. If you are in the industry,
check out these folks. I'm sure they're incredibly talented people. If you have a position open,
please reach out to them. Or if you know them from a previous role, just show your support. I mean,
listen, I work in an industry that has layoffs all the time, unfortunately, and
(06:30):
it's a really tough time when big companies do things like this. And the best thing you can do
is just support those folks that you've worked with in the past or people you're connected with
and just, you know, just put in referrals or do anything you can to help support their career
journey moving forward. So I feel for those folks. I will continue to play Civilization 7. I think
the game is incredible. I think it is a bit of a deviation from some civilization mechanics that
(06:55):
some people are used to. But again, I'm a fan of them. And I just hope that these developers go
on to find new and better opportunities in the world of video games. All right. Lastly,
are there any Fortnite fans out there? Probably not. But maybe your kids are. Listen, I know.
I know a lot of you listen to this podcast are parents. Well, maybe you might be a little more
excited about Fortnite because Daft Punk, the band, is coming to the Fortnite universe. They're
(07:20):
actually going to bring 31 songs from their discography over to the game, which includes
some immersive club inspired rooms, costumes featuring the band's iconic helmets and more.
So they're saying that this is being billed as the game's biggest musical experience.
They're going to allow players to remix and create mashups of songs,
create Lego music videos featuring the band, and make their avatars dance at the Daft Club,
(07:45):
which features a supercut of footage from the band's Alive tour and Alive 2007 live album.
There is a new bundle that's going to be available in the Fortnite shop that will also include
Daft Punk's iconic TB3 and GMO8 helmets, outfits and accessories, plus instrument and a
Get Lucky jam track. So this isn't new to the world of Fortnite. They've actually had a lot
(08:08):
of artists come in and do Fortnite concerts, which I know if you're not a Fortnite person,
listen, I'm not really either. I've seen some people play it. I am way too bad at it to start
streaming it, but I get that there is a huge hype around Fortnite. But some artists, including The
Weeknd, Travis Scott, Ariana Grande, Eminem, Sabrina Carpenter, and many, many others have done
(08:29):
Fortnite concerts. So they know that there is some hype there. They know that there is an audience
there. And this seems like one of the biggest collaborations I've ever seen. I love that you
can get some outfits inspired by the band. 31 songs are being brought to the game. That's a
huge amount. You know, these artists that have done concerts, it's always been very limited.
You know, you get access to a few songs, but wow, that's pretty incredible. So I don't know
(08:52):
any more details beyond that. It is just announced it is going to go live on September 27th, which
is this Saturday at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. If you're into that, please let me know how it
goes. Please share some screenshots or some video recordings on our Discord server. I would love to
see how that goes. By the way, if you are not yet on our Discord server, I want to welcome you to
(09:14):
an amazing whiskey community. We are relatively small, but we have a great selection of channels
to post in, whether you're sharing your latest pickups from bottles that you've grabbed from
your local liquor store or you're sharing your latest restaurant order at your favorite local
pub. Just a really great place to share what you're up to lately and meet new friends. So if
(09:36):
you're not yet on our Discord server, please join us. You can go to bourbonbytes.com, which is my
home for everything on the Internet. There's a link to join the Discord there, but also links to
all of my content across the web, including this podcast. You can get access to the YouTube
channel, to all the videos that I've uploaded, all the live streams I do each week. And if you want
(09:56):
to support the channel, you can do it right there at bourbonbytes.com by becoming a Byte Club member.
For as little as $2 a month, you can support the channel, get access to some exclusive posts,
some polls, and of course, the higher tiers get you access to things like our movie night,
our after-party hangout, and our exclusive Byte Club tasting. So if you're curious, just check
it out, bourbonbytes.com. If you have any questions, shoot me a message over on Instagram, or you can
(10:20):
always email me, contact@bourbonbytes.com. I check that email every day as well as my Instagram
messages. So definitely reach out if you have questions. I would love to have you as part of
the Discord community and potentially a Byte Club member if you want to support the channel. So
thank you all so much for checking that out, and I think it is about
time for us to move on to our biggest news story of the day, as well as our Byte-Sized review.
(10:51):
All right, well, while researching topics to cover on this week's podcast, I came across
this new announcement from the IWSC, which is the International Whiskey and Spirits Competition,
that they've just announced their world's best bourbon for 2025. Now, I know a lot of us have
mixed feelings on these type of announcements. I mean, I know my biggest gripe with it was when
(11:14):
Henry McKenna 10 year, won a similar award and went all the way up to $60, $70 when I could get
that for $26. So I feel you there. But since this announcement was just made, I made sure to run to
my local liquor store and grab a bottle of the winner and see if it's worth the price now and
hope to God that it's not going to go up in price because of this win. Now, if you read the title
(11:37):
of this podcast, of course, we are talking about Frank August Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon,
and it won a 98 points and the bourbon trophy, beating out higher priced bottles from top
distilleries. I'll be honest, I've not had Frank August bourbon or rye before. I didn't know enough
about it, and it just wasn't enough to get me to pick it up. But now that I see that it's been
(11:58):
announced as the bourbon of the year, I had to go grab a bottle. So this one right here was about
$70 at my local Bevmo. Like I said, this is the small batch bourbon whiskey from Frank August.
It comes in at 100 proof. It is distilled and aged in Kentucky, bottled by Frank August in Bardstown,
Kentucky. Now, one of the reasons that I think I've kind of avoided this bottle for a while is
(12:22):
they're not very clear on what's inside the bottle. And even though it is a gorgeous bottle, I mean,
one of the best decanters I've seen on the market, especially at that price point, I really want to
know what's inside this straight bourbon whiskey. Now, according to this press release from the
International Wine and Spirits Competition, they are a non distilling producer and they source and
(12:43):
blend whiskeys from Kentucky distilleries. It's blended in small batches of 10 to 15 barrels
sourced from an undisclosed distillery or distilleries. So we don't know the match bill.
We don't know the age. It's pretty available here in Southern California. I don't know how it is
where you guys are, but yeah, I was able to find this bottle relatively easily right after this
(13:03):
announcement, which was pretty rare, because I remember when the Henry Kenna announcement came out,
it was so, so hard to find. Now, as you guys know, when I don't see any age information or where this
has been distilled, it does kind of give me a bit of a hesitancy when I'm reviewing a new whiskey.
You know, I love transparency and I think a lot of us that do review whiskeys love to see that.
(13:25):
And I get there are some contracts in place where we can't necessarily know where everything's from,
but I think hiding things like age statement and mash bill and just other things like that,
I don't know, just it kind of starts me off on the wrong foot, I'll say. So I'll try to avoid
that connotation that I've had in the past because I know that this whiskey is very highly regarded.
(13:46):
So I'm going to ignore that. I'm going to approach this from a blank mindset, but know that when I do
my review, I'm going to be including that into a factor of what score I give this whiskey,
because I think it's, you know, like I said, we all seek transparency. We all seek as much
honesty as we can in the industry. So yeah, I just want to put that disclaimer up front. Yes,
I'm a little turned off from this just based on the lack of transparency, but that doesn't mean
(14:11):
it can't be an incredible bourbon for the price. So let's go ahead and uncork this Frank August
small batch bourbon whiskey. By the way, I do have to give them a shout out. This cork is
incredible. It's a super solid metal piece on the top. It's got like a bit of a gold finish,
and it's just really, really hefty. Like I said, the decanter is beautiful. I mean,
I can see myself reusing this for another whiskey in the future because it's just really nice
(14:36):
looking. I give them that like even without trying the whiskey, it's just really pretty to look at.
So all right, I just poured my glass of it. Like I said, this is 100 proof. Let's go ahead and give
this Frank August a nose. All right, well, right off the bat, I can tell that this is a very
nicely aged bourbon. You know, they don't give us an age statement, but there's so much oak
backbone there that I think that we're not dealing with a barely, I don't want to say barely legal,
(15:01):
but we're not dealing with like a three year old bourbon, right? With it being a straight bourbon
whiskey, it has to be at least four years old. Based on the nose, I would guess maybe a bit
older than that. Not to say that the youngest bourbon in here isn't, you know, four years old,
but there's some older whiskey in here for sure based on that nose. There's quite a bit of
baking spice there as well. I mean, speaking of fall whiskeys, like I said at the top of the
(15:21):
podcast, this one noses like an incredible fall whiskey. Honestly, it's everything I want in a
bourbon nose, especially like a non-finished bourbon. I mean, it's caramel vanilla, the
traditional bourbon notes, but like I said, those baking spices, a little bit of nutmeg. This one
does have quite a bit of cinnamon influence, kind of tingles the tip of the nose a bit. That's
really, really nice on the nose. I'm not going to lie. That's pretty damn impressive.
(15:43):
All right. Well, now that I've nosed this, let's go ahead and give this a taste. Cheers.
Okay. Different. Yeah. Wow. It almost has some flavor notes that I would associate with more
with like a scotch whiskey. Honestly, there's some honey cereal grain notes there that I think are
pretty surprising on something like this. I think it's, you know, such a dark nose that when you go
(16:07):
to the palate and being a bit brighter and lighter, it does surprise me a bit. Yeah. There's
surprisingly like an orchard fruit note there. I mean, to me, it's immediately reading like peach.
It kind of reminds me of like a very, very ripe peach with that sweetness. But those baking spices
are there as well. But I don't want to go quite as far as saying like peach cobbler, because that's
one of my favorite desserts ever. It's like a ripe, fresh off a tree peach versus a stewed down
(16:32):
peach. So really, really good. I like that. Very different. Very not what I was expecting at all.
If I had to guess a distiller, I would be so lost in guessing where this is from.
When it comes to finish, I think this has a medium to long finish. Honestly, for 100 proof,
it is sticking around. Those spices are kind of tingling the tongue long after I finish a sip.
(16:53):
And again, it feels like in the fall territory. It feels like a nice, warm, seasonal bourbon.
Now, like I said, this is a small batch. This this particular one is 10 to 15 barrels.
There's no information on here in terms of which batch it is, which is a little disappointing,
especially something like this is one such a prestigious honor, according to the IWSC.
(17:14):
So it's a little disappointing to know if this is the batch that that won the award or not.
But I will say if it was, I can see why this was very, very well received. It's just a
really good bourbon. Now, when it comes to value, that's where things get a little tricky, right?
So like I said, retail on this is $70. I'll start with the fact that the decanter is beautiful.
(17:38):
Honestly, one of the most beautiful decanters I've seen in probably a year. I'll be honest,
probably years when it comes to like a standard shelf for bourbon.
It really looks nice. It looks reusable. It looks, you know, just just high quality.
The cork itself has some heft to it. So I got to give them credit for that.
It is a beautiful decanter, a beautiful cork. What I don't love about this is there's no
(18:02):
information about the whiskey. And again, like I said, I get contracts, right? You can't tell
us where it's sourced from. And that's fair, right? It's a disappointing fact, but it's fair.
What I don't support is not giving us an age statement. Like I know that likely means and
I don't want to say it, but it likely means you have some really young bourbon in here.
It doesn't mean it's all young bourbon, but it means there's probably some younger bourbon
(18:24):
in here, which is acceptable. But how about this? How about tell us like, OK,
yes, minimum age statement is four years old, but there is a 12 year old high rye bourbon in here.
There is a 15 year old wheat bourbon. I mean, I'm just making stuff off off the top of my head,
but like those are things you can disclose without revealing one, the distillery to the
(18:45):
mash bill. Those are things that I can't imagine they're limiting you on disclosing.
It almost feels like it's a self-fulfilling thing to not reveal that information, you know,
to be called a small batch Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey. Yes, you are fulfilling all
the requirements. 100 proof. I can't I can't condemn you with that. That's a great proof.
I appreciate it. But bourbon lovers like myself appreciate information. And when you're not
(19:06):
giving us anything, I mean, I'll be honest, the label literally just says Frank August on the
front, small batch, Kentucky straight bourbon whiskey on the back, the proof. And that's
about it. So I would love more transparency. I do know they have some special releases,
at least in my area. There's a few different limited edition single barrel bourbons,
some special release rise. I've not quite explored those yet. I wanted to start with this one one
(19:30):
because it was the one that won bourbon of the year. But two, you know, I wanted to set my
expectations with this one because this is a pricey bottle. Seventy dollars for this one.
I know the single barrel bourbon goes closer than $90 to $100. And then those special release rise
are in like the $120, $130 territory. So, I mean, based on this experience, I would definitely
consider giving them a try, but I'm going to have to give a rating to this one based on this
(19:55):
experience alone. So like I said earlier, I'm judging this based on the retail now with these
awards, you never know what's going to happen. But for this being a 70 dollar bottle, not super
transparent on what's going into it, but a gorgeous decanter and a really nice bourbon, I'm going to
have to give it a 7.5 out of 10, which is pretty fair. I mean, I think for a bourbon that we don't
(20:19):
know much about at the 70 dollar price point for me to give it that high of a score means that
there is something special about this release. And I think there is. It's just a fantastic bourbon.
The more I sip on it, the more I enjoy it. I just wish we could have a little bit more
information about it. I don't know if I would grab a second bottle of this particular small batch,
but I'm very curious to try some of the single barrel releases and even their rye,
(20:41):
because their rye gets high ratings too. Didn't win whiskey of the year, but it is very, very
well regarded in at least some of the reviews I've been seeing about it. So I'm gonna have to
give that one a try. This one, though, I think it's solid. I think it's a good bourbon. I really
enjoyed this pour. I'll be enjoying this bottle. So yeah, 7.5 out of 10 for this one. It would
(21:01):
maybe do a little bit better if I knew a little bit more about the, you know, age or things like
that. But in the world of bourbon and whiskey, $70 for a non aged shaded product is a bit
out of the ordinary and yeah, a bit of a gamble. But I think I played the cards well. I'll stick
with the gambling analogy here. I'm going to Vegas in a couple of weeks, so my mind's already
(21:25):
on that. So yeah, I enjoyed the pour. Looking forward to trying more. Do I think this is my
best bourbon of 2025? We'll have to see. If you know, I do a top 10 ranking at the end of the
year on my YouTube channel, youtube.com/bourbonbytes, where I rank my top picks for
bourbon as well as other whiskeys of the year. So check that out. I do it every year right around
(21:50):
New Year's Eve time. It's always a fun stream to do. So make sure to subscribe. Hit the bell button
to be notified every time I go live. And if you enjoy the podcast, make sure to follow me on
whatever platform you are listening on. Quick reminder before I go, you guys can call in and
leave a comment or a message for the channel. It's been a minute since we've had a call,
but I'm always sitting here anxiously awaiting your call. You can reach me at 916-64-BYTES,
(22:16):
that's bytes with a Y, or 916-642-9837. Leave a voicemail. Let me know what you want to talk
about or you want me to talk about on the next episode. Or just leave your feedback. Of course,
you can always leave your feedback on, like I said, your favorite podcast platform, whether it's
Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts. Your rating does mean a lot. I've noticed that there's some ratings
(22:38):
coming in and I just want to say thank you all so much. If you leave a review, I'm happy to mention
it on the podcast. I know a few people have just been rating it, which is, you know, amazing. Keep
doing that. But if you want your review randomly on the podcast, just let me know. All right, thank
you again for another amazing week of bourbon and whiskey news. Thank you all so much for listening.
(22:59):
This has been the Bourbon Bytes Podcast, a whiskey podcast with a gaming twist.
Cheers, and I'll talk to you guys next week.
Popular Podcasts
CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist
It’s 1996 in rural North Carolina, and an oddball crew makes history when they pull off America’s third largest cash heist. But it’s all downhill from there. Join host Johnny Knoxville as he unspools a wild and woolly tale about a group of regular ‘ol folks who risked it all for a chance at a better life. CrimeLess: Hillbilly Heist answers the question: what would you do with 17.3 million dollars? The answer includes diamond rings, mansions, velvet Elvis paintings, plus a run for the border, murder-for-hire-plots, and FBI busts.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.