It's the MOST wonderful time of the year!  The Black & Spirited Crew is here to share secrets to great holiday cocktails--whether you're hosting at home, or gifting to others--whether you're shooting for classic or bougie!  As always, we've got your back for Christmas and New Year's celebrations this season for building lovely cocktails for all comers.

Check your library card expiration date because on this episode, the Black & Spirited Crew dives into building a true spirits library at home for your drinking pleasure!  First, what IS a spirits library, and where do you to start?  Don't worry, we'll take care of you--whether you've already got a home bar, or maybe some collectable bottles already on the shelf--there's a difference.  Ready?  Let's go!!!

September is Bourbon Heritage Month, and the Black & Spirited Crew is taking the 30-day Bourbon Challenge.  We're sharing the rules and our ideas for how YOU can survive drinking a different bourbon every day in the month!  We'll help you map out your neat pours and/or cocktails to keep you in the game the smart way.  But the Challenge is not only about spirits--but also wellness--and we've got a workout challenge, too.  Let's get it in!  For our tasting this episode, we're breaking down Maker's 101.

How did we go from a Boilermaker--a shot in a glass of beer--to today's evolution of drinking craft beers with fine (and not so fine) whiskies?  All whiskey starts off as a beer, so this should be a natural pairing, right?  The Black & Spirited Crew talks through some excellent methods of choosing your brewed beverage with your distilled spirit.  And which one do you choose first?  Let's have some fun!

We're sipping Tennessee bourbon with innovator and entrepreneur Mike Frazier of Reverence Bourbon.  This Memphis native gives the Black & Spirited Crew the insiders' look into his journey from startup to selling out of a premier bourbon brand all over the country.  So join us as we dive into what is truly a blender's delight and hear a great story from the man himself along the way.  And check out www.ReverenceEnterprises.com

Have you ever thought about what it would take for you to get in on the production side of your favorite spirit?  The Black & Spirited Crew shares current trends around what's going on in the spirits industry, and how you can jumpstart your career in the distilling, marketing, and administrative game.  What does a site like ABVJobs.com bring to the table?  Tune in to find out!

We went GLAMPING ya'll!!!  The Black & Spirited Crew lets you in on our little vacation deep in East Texas woods.  A bit of rain didn't hold us back to start off the trip, and it definitely didn't keep the grills from firing up or the pours from flowing!  We'll dive into the variety of spirits that we "imported" to the campgrounds and the cocktails we mixed up along the way.  Nature's calling!

Rye whiskey keeps coming up in the podcast and our "The Finish" tastings, and it's about time it got its own episode!  The Black & Spirited Crew gives you a little history of rye, how you can transition from bourbon and other spirits to rye, and some great rye cocktails for you to try.  We'll also share our great bottom shelf bottles you can start off with for your home bar, or if you're out and about on the town.  Tap in!

Are you "sober curious" or looking for some reason to go dry or low-proof with your spirits?  Then THIS is the episode for you.  The Black & Spirited Crew shares our "why's", talk about the  benefits & pitfalls of going the non-alcoholic route, and some reasonable alternatives to help you bridge the gap between the Spirited & UNspirited realms.  Buckle up, this is gonna be a good one, ya'll!

You might think the story of our guest starts with a 110-year old whiskey bottle found in the attic of his new Washington, D.C, Mount Pleasant neighborhood home that kicked off not only a rejuvenated whiskey brand, but also a tremendous book on the history of distilling in DC.  Troy Hughes talks about his research for "Whiskey Makers in Washington, D.C. - A Pre-Prohibition History" (available at all outlets), and the whiskey, vodka & AGAVE releases steadily pouring out under the Mount Pleasant Club brand.  www.reboot-bev.com