NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Since Frank Sinatra swigged Jack Daniel’s on stage, whiskey and music have been tied to the guitar string. Now, the world’s leading American whiskey critic brings the two together in a podcast—The Fred Minnick Show, which debuts January 17 across iHeartApple Podcast, Spotify,, Google Play and other podcast platforms.

Country music sensation, Lindsay Ell, joins The Fred Minnick Show as the first guest to sit down with Minnick for a conversation about personal career details over a glass of whiskey. Minnick pairs whiskey to each musician’s palate by digging into their favorite flavors, foods and what makes them want to barf. 

When Minnick, who mapped bourbon’s flavors in his bestselling book Bourbon Curious, asked for Ell’s favorite flavors, bananas quickly surfaced and he paired a limited edition $300 bourbon layered in bananas. After tasting, Ell noted, “I totally get bananas. It’s like banana bread coming out of the oven.” Ell was one of the first 18 guests booked for the show.

“I had such a great time sitting down with Fred talking about life, music and bourbon. He’s such a great and unique interviewer, it honestly felt like we were friends catching up! His knowledge about bourbon is truly fascinating that no matter if you are a seasoned connoisseur or you’ve never had a sip in your life, you will enjoy listening to him,” shared Ell.

The weekly podcast’s debut installment features additional musical guests including LIVE’s lead singer Ed Kowalczyk, Flaming Lips’ front man Wayne Coyne and Southern rapper Jelly Roll, who nearly kissed Minnick on the air. The first 18 episodes were recorded at Trifesta, the three Danny Wimmer Presents festivals in Louisville: Hometown Rising, Bourbon & Beyond and Louder Than Life, where Minnick curates the whiskey. 

“I want to paint a picture for the audience,” Jelly Roll interrupted at one point. “This guy has an airstream filled with bourbon. You walk in here and feel like at any minute Fred and I are going to do psychedelics together and it’s going to shift from a bourbon thing to us on acid talking about our childhoods.”
 
The Fred Minnick Show is the first show on the new KMG Utopia Studios. Longtime radio executive and president of KMG Gary Krantz noted Minnick’s unique fashion style—an ascot—brings a little extra flare to the party. 
 
“A Fred Minnick interview is like discovering a cool, dark lounge off a hot busy street. He meets them ‘where they are,’ with booze and his quirky retro-hip style and musical intelligence, takes us through a shared cultural experiences with bourbon and music,” Krantz said. “Listening to his show is like we’ve found the coolest spot on the planet “

Follow Fred Minnick on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and visit fredminnick.com for more information.

ABOUT FRED MINNICK:
American whiskey critic Fred Minnick has appeared on Bravo’s Top Chef, Discovery’s Moonshiners, CNBC, CBS This Morning, NPR, Fox News and many more, just to discuss the state of whiskey. Minnick’s opinion sways the market, with his top picks quickly going on allocation. In addition, the Wall Street Journal-bestselling author wrote seven books, including Whiskey Women, Rum Curious, Bourbon Curious, MEAD, and Bourbon: The Rise, Fall & Rebirth of An American Whiskey. He has written for the New York Times, Scientific American, Parade Magazine, Forbes Magazine and is the editor-in-chief of Bourbon_ Magazine. Minnick is a co-founder to Bourbon & Beyond and curates both B&B and the Hometown Rising Festivals. But most importantly, he wears ascots. 

FRED MINNICK MEDIA CONTACT:
Jessica Ann: [email protected]

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