Cheers from Bourbon Country

A visit to Kentucky + some weekly music and style picks

Folks, as I promised in my Sunday dispatch (or as you might have seen on my menswear, music and craft beer Instagram), well, I’m on the road today and coming to you live from — as I like to call it — Bourbon Country. I’m in lovely Somerset, Kentucky checking out a groundbreaking for a beautiful new distillery from Horse Soldier Bourbon, a veteran-founded distillery in the process of expanding its operations in a huge way (to the tune of $200 million, with plans for both lodging and dining). There’s plenty of some of the best bourbon to go around, there’s plenty of beautiful scenery and I’ve got plenty of potential story ideas for Maxim and beyond (to check out my full body of work). As for yourself, well, you can get bourbon from Horse Soldier delivered to your door via Drizly with just a few clicks.

The operation already has a beautiful tasting room in Florid and award-winning bourbon close at hand in Kentucky and elsewhere, and things are only getting better. Stay tuned for more soon, but consider me very impressed so far with both the product and the operation.

Now, to business, if briefly! My last newsletter dove briefly into some quick music and menswear picks (spoiler: Go listen to New York’s Wild Pink and shop some sale deals at Entireworld!), and I’m keeping it brief today, namely because I’ve got some bourbon to taste and a distillery to tour. Here are a few picks for your Tuesday reading and shopping enjoyment.

• To shop this week: If you read my daily style blog, you know that I’m a huge fan of the remarkable craftsmanship that goes into Shinola watches and leather goods (it doesn’t hurt that the company manufactures its stylish wares in Detroit). With that being said, my recommendation is simple: Get yourself a beautiful Shinola watch before holiday dressing season ramps up.

• To listen this week: In my special Sunday newsletter, I talked about, as mentioned, Wild Pink — the band behind one of my favorite albums of the year. Yet again, I’m recommending you check out the soul-stirring “A Billion Little Lights” — it’s a perfectly tranquil soundtrack for fall nights under the stars.

• One last pick: I’ve been writing for men’s lifestyle and style site The Manual for about five years now, and I’ve loved growing with the site along the way. In the spirit of style and personal growth, head to the Portland-based Web site to get yourself some of the best high-top sneakers for fall via my seasonal picks.

Hopefully, these picks are enough to get you through the week with style and easy listening in mind. If you get a chance to pick up some Horse Soldier Bourbon, I’d say you should certainly hop right on that — I know I’m already a fan!