e. 30, the Dirty Thirty. General X, Lumpy, and Big Red crack a Seelbach's Private Reserve 21 Year cask strength American light whiskey at 145.4 proof and run it through the TST scale. It's a 99% corn Indiana barrel that noses like dessert and drinks like dragon's breath. Overall verdict: Banger.

Our first-ever bonus episode, recorded live at the Old Dominick Florida release party at Forward Slash Distillery & Blending House in Winter Park, FL. Companion to Episode 29.

Stephen Lowery of Old Dominick sits down to talk Memphis's only distillery, the Huling Station story, what makes Tennessee whiskey its own category, Memphis's thirsty angels, and where to find Old Dom in Central Florida. Then we get into MGP putting its own name on the bottle, NDPs, and bourbon prices finally coming back down to earth.

Cass, brand ambassador at Forward Slash, pours the new Threshold bourbon and Convergence rye, blended from Frey Ranch, Oregon Spirits, Finger Lakes, J. Henry & Sons and Brooklyn, plus a sneak peek at the Mizunara-finished cryptid series. Our new friend Bones the skeleton supervised.

Old Dominick, Forward Slash, Tennessee whiskey, bourbon podcast, Winter Park, Orlando whiskey.

General X, Lumpy, and Big Red crack the 2026 Old Dominick 8 Year Reserve Bourbon. It went in the barrel at 110 and came out at 100 proof, with cream soda on the nose and a mouthfeel you have to chew. The guys hype their first ever live bonus episode at the official Florida launch party for Old Dominick, hosted by Forward Slash in Winter Park. Then they pick up where the last two episodes left off and get into what asking for help actually looks like, with two role played first sessions: one with a therapist and one with a veteran counselor. They close it out with an AITA about a guy who brought his mom on a first date.

What you'll hear:

- Tasting the Old Dominick 2026 8 Year Reserve: dark mahogany color, cream soda and icing on the nose, caramel and tobacco on the palate, and a long oak finish.

- The Old Dominick story, from Domenico Canale landing in Memphis in 1866 to the brand's revival in 2017.

- Who Forward Slash is, and why non distiller producers (NDPs) are making noise right now.

- What a first therapy session sounds like, what confidentiality covers, and why your therapist keeps asking the same safety question.

- Why losing structure and purpose hits veterans and first responders so hard after they get out.

Timestamps:

00:00 Cold open

04:38 Change of plans and the bonus episode tease

11:22 What's in our glass: Old Dominick 8 Year Reserve

19:17 The Old Dominick story

21:13 Forward Slash and the Florida launch party

36:00 Men's mental health: what getting help actually looks like

42:20 Role play: a first therapy session

50:19 Role play: a veteran counselor session

56:17 AITA: mom on the first date

1:11:08 Big Mike's Bourbon Rollin Reserve, October 17

1:12:04 Toast to the fragile ones

If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org, 24 hours a day. Veterans can press 1. The world is better with you in it.

Follow @talkingshittoday on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube, or email talkingshittoday@gmail.com. Like, follow, and share.

This episode includes discussion of suicide.

What you'll take away:

• Whiskey Warriors uses barrel picks to fund families in need, and the club now has a chaplain for members who want someone to talk to.

• Distribution markups explain much of the price of a bottle, and a competitive model can bring it down.

• The We Are the Fragile story from Freddie Johnson: crack the special bottle with the people who matter.

• You can be angry at what someone did and still love them.

Timestamps:

8:28 What's in the Glass

21:38 Bigg Mike joins the show

24:24 The three tier system and fair pricing

31:53 Whiskey Warriors and this year's sponsor child

33:49 Why Mike calls his whiskey room a library

41:20 Rolling Reserve Bourbon Fest, October 17

1:05:27 We Are the Fragile and opening the bottle

1:23:53 Men's mental health

1:25:16 Mike's story

1:33:03 The numbers

1:39:36 A chaplain for the club

1:42:28 Am I the Asshole

1:59:35 Closing toast

Find Mike:

Bigg Mike's Bourbon on Instagram and TikTok

Rolling Reserve Bourbon Fest on Facebook

Lost in the Rick House podcast on Spotify, Apple, Amazon, and YouTube

Whiskey Warriors Barrel Club on Facebook

If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. Help is there 24 hours a day. We need you here. You're not allowed to quit.

Follow Talking Shit Today wherever you find your podcasts, email talkingshittoday@gmail.com, or visit talkingshittoday.com.

We officially kick off year two of Talking Shit Today, and we're switching things up. No bourbon on the table this week. Instead, X, Lumpy, and Red welcome Josh Marcott of Grove and Grain Distillery out of Brooksville, FL, a gin and rum maker with a mission to put Florida spirits on the map.

One Year of Talking Shit 🥃 (feat. Whiskey Odin & Whiskey Witch)

We’re celebrating our one-year anniversary by bringing back our very first-ever guests, Whiskey Odin and Whiskey Witch from Valkyrie Mountain Farms. Full circle energy as we crack open the Russell’s Reserve 13 Year (45th Anniversary Edition), run it through our rating scale, and catch up on everything Odin’s got cooking: a new NDP, upcoming collab bottles, and his Valkyrie Mountain community. We also dig into an Am I the Asshole submission about splitting the family lunch bill, and we take our recurring men’s mental health segment seriously with a hard conversation about value, purpose, and why asking for help isn’t weakness.

In this episode:

• 🥃 Tasting the Russell’s Reserve 13 Year 45th Anniversary

• 📖 One-year anniversary trivia and stories from episode one

• ⚖️ Am I the Asshole: the family lunch bill split

• ❤️ Men’s mental health: why “I refuse to die” isn’t the same as living

• 🎉 Whiskey Odin’s new brand, NDP, and upcoming bottle collabs

If you or someone you know is struggling, the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available 24/7 by call, text, or chat.

Follow us everywhere @TalkingShitToday, or email us at talkingshittoday@gmail.com.

Episode 25 — one shy of the one-year mark — and X and Lumpy bring back Corey Allender (Cracked Skull Podcast) alongside first-timer Seth, aka OhioBourbonBro, for a barrel pick they're genuinely proud of: the Cracked Skull Rye, a 10-year MGP barrel proof stunner they picked together. The guys break down the pick, the friendship behind it, and why TikTok is great for connection but garbage for marketing.

Then it's Am I the Asshole: a dad asks his 19-year-old, self-described "child-free" daughter to help babysit her newly-orphaned 4-year-old cousin — or start paying rent. The room does not hold back.

Mental health check this week: "divorce core," the internet's new dad aesthetic, and what it actually means to normalize starting over.

In this episode:

• What's in the Glass: Cracked Skull Rye (10yr MGP, barrel proof, unfiltered) — unanimous Banger
• The story behind the pick and the friendship with Hanger 1 Distillery
• Corey & Seth on building community over competition in the bourbon space
• AITA: "Babysit or Pay Rent" — a genuinely split verdict
• Men's Mental Health: unpacking "divorce core" and normalizing the next chapter
• A giveaway tease and a toast to close it out

Connect with Cracked Skull Podcast and OhioBourbonBro on all socials.

If you or someone you know is struggling, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available by call, text, or chat at 988. You are needed here.

🥃 Follow Talking Shit Today on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and YouTube
📱 Instagram, TikTok, Facebook: @talkingshittoday
✉️ talkingshittoday@gmail.com