Our Story
BoozeMakers started the way most good things do — with a few friends sitting around a table, passing a bottle, and arguing about whether the juice inside was worth what they paid for it.
We are Rob, John, and Paul. We live in Huntsville, Alabama, and we share overlapping obsessions: bourbon, whiskey, cigars, homebrewing, and the craft behind all of it. We started writing because we couldn't find reviews that matched our own experience. Too many sites read like press releases. Too many scores felt disconnected from what was actually in the glass.
So we built BoozeMakers — a place where every review comes from a real tasting, every guide comes from personal experience, and every opinion is genuinely ours. We buy our own bottles (mostly). We visit distilleries in person. We brew our own beer. And we write like we're talking to friends, because that's exactly what we are.
We are not pretending to be a magazine. We are three guys who take spirits seriously without taking ourselves too seriously. If that sounds like your kind of thing, pull up a chair.
Meet the Team
The real people behind every review, guide, and tasting note.
Rob B.
Master Distiller & Founder
Rob started BoozeMakers after years of collecting bourbon, visiting distilleries across Kentucky, and realizing he had opinions too strong to keep to himself. He leads our tasting methodology, writes the majority of our spirit reviews, and oversees the editorial direction of the site. When he is not nosing a glass of barrel-proof bourbon, he is probably smoking a cigar on his back porch in Huntsville.
Expertise
John J.
Bourbon Trail Expert
John has driven the Kentucky Bourbon Trail more times than he can count — and still finds new stops. He is our go-to for distillery coverage, bourbon history, and anything that involves getting in a car and heading toward Bardstown. His reviews focus on the story behind the bottle: who made it, why it matters, and whether it is worth your shelf space.
Expertise
Paul D.
Master Homebrewer
Paul brings the DIY spirit to BoozeMakers. A homebrewer for over a decade, he has progressed from extract kits on the kitchen stove to full all-grain setups in a dedicated brew shed. He writes our homebrewing guides, tests our brewing calculators, and occasionally convinces Rob and John that beer deserves a seat at the table alongside bourbon.
Expertise
What We Stand For
- Honesty first. We buy most of our own bottles and always disclose when we don't. Our scores reflect what we actually taste, not what a brand wants to hear.
- Experience over credentials. We don't have sommelier certifications or fancy titles. We have years of tasting, traveling, brewing, and paying attention. That counts for something.
- Craft appreciation. We care about the people who make the things we drink and smoke. Interviews and distillery visits are not filler — they are the heart of what we do.
- No pretension. Good spirits should be approachable. If you cannot explain why a bourbon is worth trying without using the word "terroir," you are doing it wrong.