556 - Hot Takes and Grievances of the Bourbon Market with Matt Kusek

Bourbon Pursuit

Hobbies, Food, Leisure, Arts

4.8 • 926 Ratings

🗓️ 5 March 2026

⏱️ 69 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Is the bourbon market hitting a breaking point, or are we just drowning in a sea of average whiskey? Or maybe we're just trying to pick at things because that's what we do! Today's show didn't have a theme other than airing some grievances we see across the bourbon landscape. And the guy who has all the hot takes is Matt "The Colonel" Kusek. Matt never pulls his punches, and today we'll talk about the non-stop barrage of Limited Time Offerings (LTOs) and if NDPs are more exciting now than traditional heritage distilleries. We kick things off with a candid look at the struggle of creating fresh content in a saturated market and ask the tough question, has the rush to release more bottles caused a massive dip in quality? We've seen it in secondary markets because if every release is special then nothing is special. We also dive into the psychology of the "hunt" and why consumer demands are shifting. Matt poses a challenge to the big brands, questioning if they're falling behind while smaller, more nimble players to innovate. And we debate the future of "trophy" bottles like Pappy Van Winkle and whether collectability can survive. If you’ve ever looked at a shelf of $100 bottles and wondered if any are actually worth it, maybe this episode will tell you it's all psychology. Show Notes: The challenges of producing engaging content in the bourbon industry The current state and originality of limited-time offerings Consumer behavior and the perception of high-status brands like Pappy Van Winkle The impact of non-distiller producers on quality and collectible options Humorous tales from personal barrel picks and bourbon adventures Predictions for the future of collectible and innovative whiskeys Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	For those of us that have been around for 15 years in this game, I say I've been around for 15 years and you guys were like right ahead of me. So you guys might be longer. Yeah, we've seen NDPs come and go. They last two to three years. They get a big batch of stuff. But I feel like there's more NDPs now, especially regional ones that are relevant and they have good ties where they can replicate the success. Of course, we don't know like what happens when the glut, you know, like when they stop
0:24.4	production and then that means they're going to hold on to stuff and age it and the big
0:27.4	boys don't want to let it out.
0:28.6	Yeah.
0:29.6	That's the question.
0:30.6	Will the NDPs dry up? This is Bourbon Pursuit, the official podcast of Bourbon, bringing to you the best in news, reviews, and in reviews, with people making the bourbon whiskey industry happen.
0:53.8	And I'm one of your hosts,
0:54.8	Kenny Coleman. Do you think the bourbon market is hitting a breaking point, or are we just
0:59.5	drowning in a sea of just average and mediocre whiskey? Or maybe we're just trying to picket things
1:05.1	because that's what we do. In today's show, it really didn't have a theme other than airing some
1:09.9	grievances that we see across the bourbon landscape.
1:12.8	And the guy that has all the hot takes that you've seen him on roundtables is Matt newly appointed the Colonel Cusick.
1:20.3	Matt never pulls his punches, and today we'll talk about the nonstop barrage that we see of limited time offerings offerings you'll hear us say like LTOs.
1:28.8	And Matt also thinks that NDPs might be more exciting now than your traditional heritage
1:34.2	distilleries that we've seen for years.
1:36.4	So we kick things off with a candid look at the struggle of creating fresh content in a saturated
1:41.1	market and ask a tough question.
1:43.8	Has the rush to release more bottles
1:45.4	cause a massive dip in the quality? But we've already seen it kind of in the secondary
1:49.7	markets because if every release is special, then nothing is special. We also dive into
1:55.0	the psychology of the hunt and why consumer demands are beginning to shift, and Matt poses
2:00.0	a challenge to the big brands,
	...

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