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Best-selling author Fred Minnick is well known in the spirits industry as someone with a well-trained palate and opinion that can sway markets. A positive review from Minnick can change the trajectory for your bourbon helping it fly off shelves as the bourbon curious seeks out the latest unicorn bottle, often making it near impossible to find, and even if you can find it the price has now soared. On the other hand, a weak or tepid review can wreak havoc on a brand and send some distillers back to the drawing board.
Minnick’s newly published book, Bottom Shelf – How a Forgotten Brand of Bourbon Saved One Man’s Life, his eighth published book is unlike his previous works. This new book is part history with the story of Dr. James C. Crow, part memoir as he discusses his time in combat in Iraq, and part therapy as he talks about how bourbon helped to save his life as he was dealing with the invisible wounds of war.
A Therapist Introduced Minnick to a Potato Chip and ‘Taste Mindfulness’
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“This book is very different than my other books that I’ve done,” explained Spirits Author Fred Minnick. “This is my eighth one, other books are guides or really boring histories for the most part unless you’re really into whiskey, but this book is a memoir. It’s basically the story of how I got into bourbon over the last 20 years and how I jumped into this world of being a bourbon taster, and one day learning how to taste in therapy. When I came home from the war I had a lot of problems recovering. Wherever I went, I would see a sniper. I would feel like there would be a car bomb near and I got in therapy at the Louisville Veterans Administration and it absolutely saved my life.
“One of the things that it did was in a session. My therapist taught me a technique called taste mindfulness, where I put a barbecue potato chip on my tongue, and she told me to think about the salts and the sugars and how they separate on my tongue and close my eyes and just have that moment kind of be with me. The whole point was to connect my brain to my palate.
“I remember sitting in that chair thinking this is so weird. I’m in here trying not to think about car bombs and I’m over here eating a chip. But something happened and it completely resonated. I felt the salts and the sugars separated, the granular level of the chip just completely changed. And I felt it while I was thinking about it. And so naturally I went home and drank bourbon after that. And no therapists in the world would tell you to do that by the way. But as an up-and-coming bourbon writer I was like, ‘I want to see if I can apply this to tasting bourbon.’ And I did, and it completely changed how I tasted.
“It’s how I’ve been able to build what I do today and as a taster. And so that’s what this book is in part and the other part is I found a brand called Old Crow, I fell in love with it, right down the street at Bourbons Bistro, and it absolutely, completely changed how I view bourbon. And then I came out of there to find out that Old Crow is a bottom shelf, shelf turd, nobody drinks it anymore, nobody likes it.
“And so I spent the next decade, trying to find out what happened to Old Crow and who was James C. Crow to begin with. And this book entails all of that, but it’s also my personal journey and some of the bumps in the road that I’ve had and I reveal a lot.”
Fred Minnick Reads Chapter 8 – A Tribute to Master Distiller Dave Pickerell
Watch the video and hear Fred read Chapter 8 aloud. From this chapter you’ll get a glimpse of the true affection he has for Dave and the impact this James Crow of modern distillers had not only the distilling industry but the life of Fred Minnick.
Minnick kicked off his book tour at Carmichael’s Bookstore, a locally owned independent bookstore founded in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1978. Starting his book tours at Carmichael’s is a tradition he started with his first book and continues on with today. Minnick believes in supporting independent bookstores. As this inaugural launch for Bottom Shelf – How a Forgotten Brand of Bourbon Saved One Man’s Life Minnick chose to read the story about his good friend Master Distiller Dave Pickerell.
Dave Pickerell (August 14, 1956 ~ November 1, 2018) is a whiskey industry legend. Dave earned a chemistry degree from the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. He went on to serve as the Master Distiller at Maker’s Mark Distillery for 14 years. After leaving Maker’s Pickerell went on to start his own distilling consultancy company Oak View Spirits. For more than a decade, Pickerell designed equipment, systems and processes for more than 100 distilleries worldwide. Pickerell was also critical in restoring George Washington’s Distillery at Mount Vernon. Reviving this historically accurate distillery is one of his crowning achievements. If you have not had the pleasure of visiting this distillery, do yourself a favor and put it on your bucket list, you will thank us later.
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— Bourbon Industry Pioneer, Legend and Master Distiller Dave Pickerell Has Died, Nov 2018
— Fred Minnick Talks about How Therapy and Bourbon Saved One Soldier’s Life. Plus Outtakes on Ascots, Farts & Vodka Sucks, Feb 2026
Dave’s son Micah sums up his father’s life in his obituary with these words.
“Dave began his career in the alcoholic beverage industry, for which he was best known,” said Micah Pickerell. “While consulting for Maker’s Mark on behalf of an engineering consulting firm, he was hired on full time to be the master distiller. During his time as master distiller at Maker’s Mark, Dave made an indelible mark on the whiskey industry and established himself as one of the leading experts in the industry. After 14 years with Maker’s Mark, Dave decided it was time to pursue some of his more eccentric ideas on his own with like-minded business partners.
“Dave founded his consulting company, Oak View Spirits, with the aim of innovating the alcoholic beverage industry. During his 10 years of work with Oak View Spirits, he had many noteworthy and successful projects including Whistlepig and Hillrock Estate. Dave will be remembered for his passion for his craft and his love for teaching and helping others. He was loved by everyone who had the great fortune of meeting him. Dave’s personality was larger than life and he always managed to find himself as the center of attention.”
“Dave Pickerell had a knack for stirring the pot. One time when he was starting a moonshine called Popcorn Sutton, named after the famous moonshiner, he told me they had no marketing budget… Dave had this idea of copying the Jack Daniel’s label. Not a little but, like the whole thing, the font, size of the label, color, bottle size, everything… He completely ripped off Jack Daniel’s… The Jack Daniel’s lawyers wrote him to cut it out. Dave didn’t stop and Jack Daniel’s straight up sued Dave and his partners of Popcorn Sutton. The lawsuit made all the newspapers. And Dave said, “That’s how we launched the brand. That’s how we did our marketing. We pulled the bottle which we always intended to do once they sued us. But you just can’t buy that kind of publicity. So the moral of the story here Julian (reading to Fred’s young son), never bet against Dave. Damn, I’m going to miss him.”
Here are a few reviews from Fred Minnick’s new book ‘Bottom Shelf – How a Forgotten Brand of Bourbon Saved One Man’s Life’
“While setting the record straight about a legendary whiskey brand and the Scotsman behind it, Minnick goes beyond bourbon to weave a true love story with his powerful and unforgettable journey after finding himself on the bottom shelf. It’s a story of resiliency and the power of hope, fueled by focus and love. And like the finish of a vintage Old Crow, you’ll remember this ride long after you turn the final page.” — Brian Haara, author of Bourbon Justice: How Whiskey Law Shaped America
“A brutally honest, engaging, and fascinating account from our most foremost bourbon critic. I was hooked from page one and touched by this tale of heartbreak and ultimate triumph. This is a book about bourbon, but it is also a book about resilience and redemption and what drives a person to succeed.” — Edward Lee, chef and author of Bourbon Land
“Fred Minnick’s masterpiece comes at the right time for the bourbon world. We need his personal, spiritual journey to remind us why we fell in love with bourbon in the first place.” — Chuck Cowdery, author of Bourbon, Straight
You can purchase your own copy of Fred Minnick’s book ‘Bottom Shelf – How a Forgotten Brand of Bourbon Saved One Man’s Life’ here.
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