About Chasing The Unicorn Podcast
Chasing the Unicorn Podcast is a daily American whiskey intelligence operation and a long-form conversation show — built for the bourbon enthusiast who wants to know what is actually happening in the industry, not the marketing version of it.
Every weekday, host John Schuster publishes the American Whiskey Industry Brief — a research-grade intelligence report covering corporate moves, new releases, TTB filings, secondary market pricing, community debates, and active lottery windows. The Cut delivers the headline stories in 90 seconds. The full AWIB goes deep for the serious enthusiast on Patreon.
When the weekly show launches, John and co-host Shauna Hann bring that same rigor into long-form conversation — with distillers, educators, and the people doing interesting work in American whiskey.
The Cut
A 90-second daily briefing published every weekday. Three stories, a Hunt standout, and a direct path to the full brief. Free on Spotify, YouTube, and everywhere you listen.
The Cut Daily
The free written companion to The Cut. The same three stories expanded with full context, sources, and consumer action. Published every weekday at chasingtheunicornpodcast.com.
The AWIB
The full daily intelligence report. Every section — Rickhouse Report, Regional coverage, Label Room, Bar Talk, and the secondary market — published daily for subscribers on Patreon.
Why “Chasing the Unicorn”?
In bourbon culture a unicorn is usually described as the rare bottle — the one that’s impossible to find and harder to experience. That’s part of it.
But the real unicorn is the pour that speaks to you. Not the one everyone else is chasing. Yours. The bottle that matches your palate, your moment, and your story.
This show exists to help you find it — by understanding what’s actually moving in the industry, what’s worth your time and money, and what the people making the best American whiskey are actually doing.
The pursuit is the point. The unicorn is always out there.
The Hosts
John Schuster John is the Curator of the Chase and the daily voice of The Cut. A retired U.S. Army Major, Executive Bourbon Steward, and graduate of the Darla Moore School of Business, John brings the analytical discipline of a military educator and the enthusiasm of someone his wife calls Bourbon Gump. He has visited more than twenty distilleries, completed coursework at Moonshine University, and runs the American Whiskey Industry Brief every weekday.
His approach is simple — do the research, know the data, tell you what matters and why.
Shauna Hann Shauna is the co-host of the long-form conversation show and brings historical depth, structural rigor, and a background in viticulture to every discussion. A former professor at West Point and Executive Bourbon Steward, Shauna grounds conversation in how craft, tradition, and culture evolve over time. Her approach makes complex subjects approachable without losing the substance that makes them worth understanding.
What this show is for
American whiskey is one of the most interesting industries in the world right now — consolidating, contracting, experimenting, and debating its own identity all at once. Most of what gets published about it is marketing. We publish intelligence.
The Cut and the AWIB exist because bourbon enthusiasts deserve accurate, sourced, daily coverage of the industry they love — without hype, without noise, and without someone trying to sell them something.
The long-form show exists because some conversations take longer than 90 seconds. The people making, studying, and championing American whiskey have stories worth the time.
This is that show.
Find The Cut Free on Spotify, YouTube, and wherever you listen.
Read The Cut Daily Free written companion published every weekday. chasingtheunicornpodcast.com/episodes
Get the Full AWIB Daily intelligence brief for serious enthusiasts. https://www.patreon.com/c/ChasingTheUnicornPodcast
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