In today's episode, Stephen and Mark talk about two short stories from author Alix E. Harrow. They have reviewed her work before when they discussed her novels "The Ten Thousand Doors of January" and "Starling House".

Tonight's bourbon is Old Orleans from The Beautiful & The Damned Distillery. Some of you might notice that the name of the distillery also happens to be the title of an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. Don't know who good old F. Scott is? Well, first, crawl out of the caves, you loveable morlock! Second, he wrote The Great Gatsby and Tender Is The Night. The label on the bottle is a depiction of Moby Dick, and the name Old Orleans is a reference to the influence New Orleans had on the evolution of bourbon in America. See that? Culture with just a glance!

Home :: The Beautiful and the Damned Whiskey

Author | Alix E. Harrow

Honestly, this book was so good we probably could have just done an entire second episode about it. As we take a second look at Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones, we also revisit one of our favorite picks so far in 2025, Moonlight Mayhem from Filmland Spirits.

Stephen Graham Jones | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster

Filmland Spirits

In this episode, Stephen and Mark explore the layered, intelligent, and gut wrenching horror novel, "Buffalo Hunter Hunter" by Stephen Graham Jones. A Native American revenge story with a supernatural twist, Buffalo Hunter Hunter is as deep and thought provoking as it is horrific, disgusting, and occasionally hilarious in the most awkward ways.

A thought provoking story needs a thought provoking whiskey. To pair with Buffalo Hunter Hunter, Stephen and Mark will be sampling In Lieu of Flowers whiskey by Dancing Goat Distillery.

Stephen Graham Jones | Official Publisher Page | Simon & Schuster

Dancing Goat Distillery

It's the final chapter of our deep dive into the Kingdom of Blunder with the oopsiside for Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig, where we talk about what we forgot to talk about. To go along with this episide, we're re-sampling Elijah Craig Rye. We don't sample nearly enough rye.

Rachel Gillig, Author

Elijah Craig | Home Page

Stephen and Mark dive back into the Kingdom of Blunder for the second installment of the Shepherd King duology by Rachel Gillig. In this installment, all stories will be concluded. The mystery of the poem revealed, and a world will be changed for good or ill.

We loved this series, and it's only appropriate that we try a bottle from a label we have nothing but love for as well. In this episode we sample The Kiawah Blend from 2XO by Dixon Dedman.

Rachel Gillig, Author

Limited Edition Whiskey Blends | 2XO Whiskey

Tonight it's all about gothic poetry, horrific encounters, and the genius of Australian whiskey.

USA | Starward Australian Whisky

Rachel Gillig, Author

Tonight's episode brings us back to fantasy of the gothic kind. Blunder is a cursed kingdom, surrounded by a mist that snatches people into the wood, never to be seen again. All the families of the kingdom are named after trees, and the currency of power comes in the form of a deck of magical playing cards. These cards were made by a long dead king at the price of destroying himself to do it one piece at a time. Tonight we discuss ONE DARK WINDOW by Rachel Gillig.

So, that's not morbid or anything. A dark and supernatural take requires a bourbon whiskey just as dark and mythical to pair with it. Tonight's bourbon is MOONLIGHT MAYHEM.

Oh, right. It's a dystopian YA novel involving students and probably organized by either Jigsaw or the guy from Seven. Tell the kids what they've won, Bob! They've won DEATH! We're going to need a stiff drink, and we get one with Barmen 1873.