We've been hearing that Armagnac is the "next big thing" but we didn't believe it. That is, we didn't believe it until Nicolas Palazzi of PM Spirits poured us the most incredible 30 year single cask we've ever tasted. Armagnac is incredibly diverse becase in addition to the different distilling and aging techniques, there's a vast difference in grape varietals. Nicolas has discovered some true gems in Armagnac production. These are tiny family operations that produce only a few casks per year. The 1988 Chateau de Leberon was placed in a "black oak" cask made from local timber straight out of the small traditional column still with no water or additives. It aged beautifully for 30 years and was bottled unfilitered, at cask strength. It's totally undiluted, pure, straight from the cask spirit, and was one of the most stunning drams we've ever tasted!

Under the pretense of tasting some rare whiskey, the gang quickly decends into a referendum on the appropriation of the word "damp" into a Hip-Hop phraseology, Amanda's penchant for mass murder podcasts, Jake's dubious use of bottom-shelf bourbon as mouthwash, and a contest for the worst old-timy 1950's television accent.

On the table:
Smooth Ambler Very Old Scout 14 Year
Old Fitzgerald 11-Year
Heaven Hill Select Stock
Willett Family Estate Single Barrel
Wild Turkey Original Decanter

Tasting through five different casks of various ages, the Beast Masters choose their next private barrel and learn about Heaven Hill's whiskey-making methods. Is older whiskey necessarily better? The boys taste casks from 8-12 years old. FInd out which one makes the cut.

John Little has been putting out some of our favorite whiskey for years now. When we got the chance to buy a private barrel of his Old Scout American Whiskey for the club, we didn't think twice! Steve and Ben catch up with Ben right before our live Beast Masters barrel picking session. John catches us up on all the success at Smooth Ambler, and breaks down the American Whiskey product. The barrel came out awesome, as did the cast! Check it out.

The grisly grey-haired beast is getting even older. For his birthday Beast Master Ben, Josh "Captain Coop" Feldman, and Jake "Whiskey Warrior" Cahill assemble to sample our favorite of the Beast Masters Club private barrels. The warrior brings a surprise - a National Distillers Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond bourbon distilled in 1961! The boys talk whiskey, turn-ons, turn-offs, and just to spice things up, Jake dons an atrocious Scottish accent and deep-throats a Glencairn glass. You don't wanna miss this one. Unless you're Jake's, mom, in which case we're sorry.

There are supposedly some "smoky" American whiskies.

But there's only ONE "Slap-Your-Ass-and-Call-You-Sally" smoky American whiskey.

That one is made in Waco, Texas.

In this episode of Beast Masters Club Podcast, Winston Edwards from Balcones Distillery sits down with The Beasts to celebrate Balcones' 10th Anniversary.

Beast Masters Club is back with another edition of "Beastly Treats" where we invite one lucky club member for the whiskey tasting of a lifetime. This time our guest is stand-up comedian David Kinney @davidkinney. Jake The Whiskey Warrior Cahill and Mrs. SmokyBeast join the party to sample amazing whiskeys while we broach subjects from stand up comedy to Shrek to full-body Spanx. The whiskey at hand is "Big Brother" - a tasting of three of our favorite malts next to super-aged versions of their "big brothers".

The lineup:
Talisker Storm vs. Talisker 30-Year Cask Strength
Lagavulin Distiller's Edition vs. Lagavulin Feis Ile 2015 24-Year Cask Strength
Caol Ila Feis Ile 2015 Cask Strength vs. Caol Ila 30-Year Malts of Scotland Cask Strength Sherry Hogshead