546 - From Reddit to Reveries with Jay West

Bourbon Pursuit

Food, Leisure, Arts, Hobbies

4.9 • 866 Ratings

🗓️ 25 December 2025

⏱️ 69 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We’ve seen plenty of people try to make the jump from enthusiast to industry pro, but nobody has done it quite like Jay West. It’s been a few years since he was last on the show, and we’re thrilled to welcome back the mastermind behind the massive r/bourbon barrel program on Reddit and the Principal Whiskey Maker at Reveries. This is Jay's second time on the show and this time without the cload and veil. He went from a quiet contributor and guy behind the scenes on a subreddit to one of the most respected voices and blenders in the game. We dive into the staggering growth of the Reddit whiskey community—now 300,000 members strong—and why keeping that culture supportive and nontoxic is so important to the overall whiskey community. We also geek out on the barrel-picking process and how he’s managed to scale up to hundreds of barrels a year to meet the insane demand for unique bottles people are searching for. Of course, we also had to talk about Jay’s brand, Reveries, and his unique philosophy on acquiring great barrels, blending and storytelling. Show Notes: Jay West’s evolution from anonymity to industry leader Current growth of the r/whiskey community Insights into the expanding barrel-picking process The role of moderation and community engagement Reveries brand philosophy and blending techniques Highlights of standout whiskey blends from Reveries The interplay of creativity, storytelling, and community feedback Ways to support Reveries and engage with r/bourbon on Reddit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	I was a corporate guy who created a whiskey blog, who sold the whiskey blog, and now gets to travel around and buy whiskey basically is a job. Like, I have some other stuff to do. But like, if that's not the dream of every person who gets into whiskey, I don't know what it is. So it's a reminder to myself that like this is the actual dream, right? Like, I go around and I buy whiskey and I get to sell to people and I get to be genuine and I get to say no to whiskey I don't like and buy whiskey I do like.
0:24.6	And enough people click with that that like this whole label can come about.
0:28.6	This 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.
0:51.1	And I'm one of your host, Kenny Coleman.
0:53.3	We've seen plenty of people
0:55.0	try to make the jump from enthusiasts to pseudo industry expert or pro, but nobody's done it
1:01.6	like our guest today, Jay West. It's been a few years since he was last on the show, and we're
1:06.8	thrilled to welcome him back because he is the mastermind behind the massive our bourbon
1:11.8	barrel program on Reddit and he's also the principal whiskey maker over his new brand,
1:17.3	The Reveries. Now this is Jay's second time on the show and this time he's without the cloak
1:22.1	in the veil because he went from a quiet contributor kind of behind the seams, doing a small bit of barrels here
1:28.7	and there.
1:29.7	And now that subreddit is one of the largest barrel programs in existence.
1:35.5	And he's also grown himself into being one of the most respected voices and blenders
1:39.4	in the game.
1:40.3	And he's judging competitions all over the place.
1:42.8	So we dive into the staggering growth of where the Reddit whiskey community is now grown
1:46.7	to over 300,000 member strong just in the R-slash-Burban subreddit.
1:51.5	And why keeping that culture is supportive and why keeping it non-toxic is so important
1:57.0	just to the overall whiskey community.
1:59.3	We also geek out on the barrel picking process because he's managed to scale this up to
2:03.7	hundreds of barrels a year, way more than we could have ever imagined to meet the insane
	...

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