Stephen and Mark dive into one of their favorite bourbons from 2024, the unforgettable 2XO American Oak as they take a few minutes to talk about one of the most unforgettable characters from The Living Dead. Join them, as they talk and laugh about The Face.

Everything old is new again in the Season 5 opening episode! This episode, Stephen and Mark explore a novel by the late, great George A. Romero and Daniel Krause. A new and expanded version of the story Mr. Romero set into motion decades ago. Keeping in theme with the story, Stephen and Mark will revisit an old friend with a new twist, Four Roses Bourbon. This time, they will be exploring the depths and complexities of the Single Barrel offering of the iconic label.

In the final FINAL episode of Season 4, Stephen and Mark become so enamored with 2XO Bourbon from the last episode, they decide to make Old Fashioneds with it and completely forget to talk about what they forgot to talk about in "The Halloween Tree" by Ray Bradbury. Witness the chaos as the boys fall down the cocktail rabbit hole as they decide to try to invent their own cocktails. Maybe they're just tired. Maybe it's been a long season. Maybe the 2XO is just that good.

For the Season Four Finale, Stephen and Mark turn to a classic tale from a hometown author close to their hearts, The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury. Listen as Mark loses his mind a little and goes on about the sinister side of the story. Meanwhile, Stephen will won't do a darned thing to keep Mark from spiraling. Thanks, Stephen! Good thing they have a fantastic new beverage to sample and distract everyone from the Halloween hysterics.

For such a short book, there's just a whole lot to cover in the deceptively complex tale by Becky Chambers. Equally deep and complex is the Five Trail Bourbon.

In the countdown to the season finale, Stephen and Mark stray from the path of horror into a subtle and delighfully complex scifi story about a monk, a robot, and the questions perhaps everyone should be asking of themselves and each other.

A subtle and complex tale deserves a subtle and complex bourbon paired with it, and this episode is no exception as our co-hosts sample Blade & Bow for the first time.

NOTE: In this episode, Stephen and Mark both struggle with pronoun usage for the characters. We decided to leave this in rather than edit and re-record. We felt the struggle to get it right and failing (multiple times) without giving up was all too appropriate for the messages and themes of the story. No one can ever be perfect, but the pursuit of being better and kinder to each other and ourselves is worth the awkwardness of the journey.

At the end of Season 2, Stephen and Mark talked about the theme of horror, and what it meant to them. Well, they're back on the topic, two years wiser (allegedly), and ready to dive into new directions. On this journey, they will take with them the ever reliable torch in the darkness of Basil Hayden, this time trying out their Subtle Smoke expression.

In tonight's oopsisode, Stephen and Mark talk about the role of the military in Stephen King's "The Mist". They will also revisit Chattanooga Whiskey, first sampled from the "STOMP STOMP BOOM" episode which dropped on April 15, 2022.