541 - Alchemy and Blunts with Macaulay Minton of Dark Arts Whiskey House

Bourbon Pursuit

Hobbies, Food, Arts, Leisure

4.9 • 866 Ratings

🗓️ 20 November 2025

⏱️ 67 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The bourbon world has a lot of tradition, but what happens when someone throws out the rulebook and decides to treat whiskey making like a scientific pursuit and a creative endeavor? That’s what our guest is doing today. We're sitting down with Macaulay Minton, the self-proclaimed Chief Alchemist of Dark Arts Whiskey House. This is Macauley's second time on the show and if you don't remember here's a bit about him. He was studying law but realized it wasn't his ultimate career path and became the Barrel Program Manager at Wilderness Trail. After Campari acquired Wildernes Trail he left and started his own brand and today he shares the creative vision behind Dark Arts. Macaulay gets candid about the major challenges of launching a brand right in the middle of a pandemic, from securing financing to maintaining a positive mindset. We walk through some of Dark Arts' most innovative—and sometimes controversial—aspects, including their use of unique wood finishes and their famous "Blunt Blend." This is a brand committed to pushing boundaries in a seriously crowded market. Plus, we get the inside scoop on the symbolic meanings behind their distinct labels and their newly opened venue in Lexington. Show Notes: Macaulay Minton's transition from law to whiskey-making The journey from Wilderness Trail to founding Dark Arts Whiskey House Creativity and positivity in the face of entrepreneurial challenges Discussion of alchemical principles in whiskey production Unique offerings of Dark Arts, including wood finishes and experimental blends Symbolism of Dark Arts labels and storytelling through whiskey Insight into the creation of the "Blunt Blend" Vision for the immersive experience at Dark Arts Whiskey House Importance of community engagement in whiskey appreciation Support this podcast on Patreon Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I've always been a person that tries to start out the day with beginner's mind.
0:04.5	There's no reason to just take over the muck from day after day that happens and just let it bog you down and weigh you down.
0:12.1	So you can't, that's what stifles your creativity. That's what stifles your passion. This is Bourbon Pursuit, the official podcast of Bourbon, bringing to you the best in news, reviews, and interviews with people making the bourbon whiskey industry happen,
0:38.4	and I'm one of your hosts, Kenny Coleman.
0:40.6	The bourbon world has a lot of tradition, but what happens when someone throws out the
0:44.8	rulebook and decides to treat whiskey making like it's a scientific pursuit and with some
0:50.0	little creative endeavors?
0:51.4	And that's what our guest is doing today. And we're sitting down with
0:54.4	McCauley Minton. He is the self-proclaimed chief alchemist of Dark Arts Whiskey House. And this is McCauley's second time on the show. And if you don't remember, here's a little bit about him. He was studying law, but realized that really wasn't the path that he wanted to go down. And he got a role as the barrel program manager
1:11.1	over at the famous wilderness
1:13.1	trail, which we've had a lot of people wasn't the path that he wanted to go down, and he got a role as the barrel program manager
1:11.1	over at the famous Wilderness Trail, which we've had a lot of people from that particular
1:15.8	distillery on, of course, Shane and Pat. But after Campari acquired Wilderness Trail, he left
1:21.5	and he started his own brand. And today, he shares that creative vision behind Dark Arts.
1:27.8	McCauley gets candid about the major challenges of launching his brand right in the middle of pandemic,
1:33.0	everything from securing financing to then also trying to just maintain a positive mindset they're going through there.
1:38.4	We walk through some of the Dark Arts most innovative and I guess maybe you could call it controversial aspects
1:44.0	because they
1:45.0	use unique wood finishes, and he also has the famous blunt blend. Now, this is a brand committed
1:50.1	to pushing those boundaries in that seriously crowded market that we see every single day. So
1:55.2	get ready to get more of an inside scoop on even some of those symbolic meanings behind the
1:59.8	distinct labels, and you also
	...

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