"Susan Reigler Bourbon Authority and Author Award-winning writer Susan Reigler, author of Kentucky Bourbon Country: The Essential Travel Guide, The Complete Guide to Kentucky State Parks, More Kentucky Bourbon Cocktails, and co-author of The Kentucky Bourbon Cocktail Book, was born in Louisville the year Swaps won the Kentucky Derby. From 1992 to 2007, Reigler was a restaurant critic, beverage columnist and travel writer for the Louisville Courier-Journal. She is a Certified Executive Bourbon Steward by the Society of the Stave & Thief and a member of the Order of the Writ. Reigler served as the President of the Board of Directors of the Bourbon Women Association from 2015 to 2017. She has presented workshops at the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, Bourbon & Beyond (Louisville), and bourbon festivals in Chicago, New Orleans, Oxford, MS, Smithfield, VA and others. She has lead bourbon tastings from Seattle to Savannah as well tastings to benefit non-profit organizations including Locust Grove, The Falls of the Ohio Foundation, and Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill. She has been a judge for international spirits competitions and bourbon cocktail contests and has helped restaurants and retailers select barrels from Four Roses, Woodford Reserve, Knob Creek, and more, for private bourbon bottlings. Reigler currently writes for American Whiskey Magazine and Barleycorndrinks.com. She holds a bachelor's degree in music from Indiana University and a master's degree in zoology from the University of Oxford, which she attended as a Humphrey Scholar. " "Michael R. Veach Bourbon Historian and Author The Filson Historical Society Mike Veach is one of the foremost authorities on all things Bourbon. He spent over 15 years with The Filson Historical Society serving in the role of historian. Veach possesses an unsurpassed wealth of knowledge and perspective on an industry that has Kentucky at the forefront of the Bourbon Boom occurring across the United States and abroad. Veach is also a recognized author whose articles have been featured in publications such as The Bourbon Review and The Louisville Encyclopedia. He wrote the foreword for the release of Gerald Carson's Social History of Bourbon in 2010, and in 2013 published his own now-widely acclaimed book Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey: An American Heritage. Prior to his long tenure at The Filson, Veach spent 5 years as the North American Archivist for United Distillers. Since then, he has also provided research and consulting services for such institutions as the Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History, Brown-Forman, Buffalo Trace, Four Roses, and Heaven Hill Distillery. In 2006, Mike Veach was publicly recognized for his knowledge, activities, and accomplishments surrounding bourbon by being inducted into The Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame. In 2019 he was inducted into the Order of the Writ. He has provided pro-bono services to many major non-profit entities such as The Black Acre Foundation, The Farnsley-Kaufman House, The Farnsley-Moreman Landing, Boy Scouts of America, Girls. Inc in Owensboro and many other organizations including The Filson Historical Society. Veach holds a BA and MA in History from the University of Louisville. He travels across the country researching, lecturing, and hosting special seminars designed to spread the knowledge of Kentucky Whiskey products and enhance the appreciation of Bourbon. Mr. Veach resides in his hometown of Louisville, KY in the heart of Bourbon Country where he writes the blog bourbonveach.com."