Do you like big Italian dramas? Do you enjoy Machiavelian style politics? How do you about the occasional eye gouging? Do you have any thoughts on vague, subtley applied mystical themes? How about generally forbidden love? What's that? You like all of it, you sick twisted puppy? Then we have the book for you! On this episode, we explore the deeply nuanced grimdark epic of "Navola" by Paolo Bacigalupi. Really, this one is rich and complex. So much so that we need an equally rich and complex bourbon to pair with it. For this book, we picked Emerald Giant Rye from Redwood Empire as the perfect bottle to go with this story.

Windupstories.com - Fiction by Paolo Bacigalupi

EMERALD GIANT - Craft Rye Whiskey - Redwood Empire Whiskey

This is one of those oopsisodes where it's not so much that we forgot, but rather that there's just too much to say. This week, we revisit The Life of Chuck by Stephen King. While we discuss the power of opportunities taken, we take the opportunity to revisit a previous expression. Basil Hayden Subtle Smoke.

Stephen King | The Life of Chuck

Subtle Smoke Bourbon | Basil Hayden®

Stephen King has a habit of putting his strongest messages into his shortest of works. Stand By Me (The Body), Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, and The Life of Chuck is no exception. First of all, read it. No. Really. READ IT. Then go and watch the movie. No no. Really. WATCH THE MOVIE.

The Life of Chuck is the affirmation of life that we need in the world we live in today. It doesn't assure us that all will be well, or even that everything will work out just the way we want or hope or think we deserve. No, but it does affirm to us all this. Each of us, every single one of us, are more than we suppose. Not just that, but additionally, who we are, what we experience, what we dream and hope and imagine, absolutely all of it, is important in some way and to some one.

Our pairing on this episode is Ryes of the Robots by Filmland Spirits. We felt it was appropriate. This is a fantastic rye whiskey, and we're looking forward to telling you all about it.

Stephen King | The Life of Chuck

Ryes of the Robots Small Batch Straight Rye Whiskey