Viewer Sent Us 4 Mystery Bourbons – And We Had to Guess EVERYTHING

Jun 9

Every now and then, a Tortured Bourbon episode rolls in that completely catches us off guard—in the best possible way. This week’s episode was one of those rare gems, and it all started with a box from a fan.

Enter Tyler.

Tyler’s a loyal viewer, one of our Patreon supporters, and a bourbon lover with a little streak of chaos in him. He sent us four mystery samples with one message:

“One of these I love. One I hate. One you missed. One you can’t get.”

No names. No hints. Just vibes.

And we were hooked.

The Setup: Chaos in a Glass

This wasn’t your typical flight. No pre-show research. No elegant bottle displays. No scripts. In fact, the only person who had any clue what was happening was Katie—and even she wasn’t allowed to tell us a thing until the end.

We each sat down with four pours labeled 1 through 4. Somewhere in that lineup was:

A bottle Tyler absolutely loves
A bourbon he can’t stand
One we should’ve reviewed in a previous episode but didn’t
And a unicorn we can’t even get our hands on locally

It was pure chaos. Delicious, surprising chaos.

The Tasting: We Thought We Knew Bourbon

Let’s just say… we were confidently wrong more than once.

Each pour sparked debate, confusion, a few “Wait, what IS that?” moments, and one very confident guess that aged like milk. We tried to use everything we knew—tasting notes, mouthfeel, finish, even memories from previous episodes. And still, we were flying blind.

Heather summed it up best:

“It was fun, surprising, different… and I want to do more.”

B agreed:

“Unscripted and fun. Tyler really came through.”

This was one of the most genuine bourbon moments we’ve had on the show in a while. No frills. Just instinct, reactions, and a little friendly competition as we tried to match each pour to its secret role in the lineup.

The Reveal: Katie Drops the Hammer

At the end of the episode, Katie—officially our Blind Tasting Dungeon Master—revealed the actual bottles. We won’t spoil the surprises here (you’ll have to watch the episode), but let’s just say we didn’t all agree with Tyler’s taste… and at least one of us is still reeling from which bourbon he hates.

It was the kind of reveal that made us want to go back, rewatch, and see just how wrong we were in real time.

Why We Want to Do More Like This

There was something electric about this episode. It reminded us why we started Tortured Bourbon in the first place—not to be experts or bourbon snobs, but to have fun, learn a little, and get surprised once in a while.

This was a bourbon tasting with stakes, mystery, and heart. And it came from a fan.

So Tyler—thank you. You nailed it.

And if you’re reading this thinking, “I could send them a blind flight too…”

Yes. Yes, you absolutely can.

Visit torturedbourbon.com and reach out. We’d love to do more of these fan-sent blind tastings, and this episode proved we’ll have a blast doing it.