Send us Fan Mail We sit down with Steve Smith of Uncle Boogie’s Distilling Company to taste barrel strength whiskey while he lays out a jaw-dropping Kentucky bourbon history that runs from 1700s settlement to Prohibition scale bootlegging. We talk recipes pulled from old ledgers, why certain barrels taste “like history,” and how he keeps the brand small by letting people bottle straight from the barrel in Louisville. • Steve’s origin story, family research, and discovering a long bootlegging tradition • Uncle Bougie and the Howardstown gang, Prohibition economics, and what the money looked like • Rye at 131 proof, tasting notes, and why we never tell people what to taste • 1779 land grants, corn, rivers, and why the Rolling Fork River Valley mattered • Civil War era whiskey taxation, dry counties, and how enforcement shaped the underground trade • The Sealbach Hotel, Louisville connections, and the claim tying the story to The Great Gatsby • Double oaked bourbon discussion, char choices, oxidation, and evolving glass notes • A pre Civil War “unicorn” mash bill found in a store ledger and what it tastes like • Uncle Bougie’s direct-to-consumer model, bottle-your-own experience, and staying off shelves • Secondary market and bottle flippers, mixed feelings, and long-term sustainability www.scotchybourbonboys.com. Make sure that you follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube X, and also listen to us on Apple iHeart and Spotify. No matter whether you're watching us or listening to us in your car, make sure that you support us, leave good feedback always on Apple. Those five-star reviews are great. Make sure that you join our memberships. We have memberships on Patreon, we have it on YouTube, and we have it on Facebook. Remember, good bourbon equals good times and good friends. Make sure that you drink responsibly, don't drink and drive, and live your life uncut and unfiltered. A tiny Kentucky town shipping hundreds of gallons of illegal whiskey a day sounds like legend until the numbers start lining up. We hang out with Steve Smith, founder of Uncle Bougie’s Distilling Company in Louisville, and he brings receipts, family lore, and a deep Kentucky bourbon history that stretches from Scotch-Irish settlement to Prohibition-era distribution routes into the Midwest. Along the way, we talk about how whiskey moved by river to New Orleans, why corn and limestone water mattered, and how risk and survival shaped the earliest whiskey economy in the Rolling Fork River Valley. Then we do what we do best: taste whiskey and tell the truth. Steve pours us through a barrel strength rye at 131 proof that somehow stays balanced, plus a complex double oaked bourbon that keeps changing in the glass. We get into tasting notes without the usual scripted “you must taste this” nonsense, why proof can change your whole relationship with rye, and how oxidation can mellow a bottle after it opens. If you love barrel proof bourbon, double oaked bourbon, or serious rye, you’ll want to follow the trail here. The wildest thread is the “history in a bottle” angle: a pre Civil War recipe found in an old store ledger that Steve calls a unicorn mash bill, plus a bigger story tying Louisville’s Sealbach Hotel, politics, and bootlegging money to American culture. We also dig into Uncle Bougie’s direct-to-consumer approach, where you taste from the barrel and bottle your own so every bottle is truly one of one, and why staying small can be the smartest move in modern craft distilling. If you enjoy whiskey with real context, hit subscribe, share this with a bourbon friend, and leave us a five-star review so more people can find the show. What note do you chase first in a barrel strength pour: caramel, spice, oak, or something totally unexpected? voice over Whiskey Thief If You Have Gohsts Support the show https://www.scotchybourbonboys.com The Scotchy bourbon Boys are #3 in Feedspots Top 60 whiskey podcasts in the world https://podcast.feedspot.com/whiskey_podcasts/
