Come on. Given a choice, who wouldn’t pick making bourbon over dealing with mergers and acquisitions? When McCauley Williams had the choice, he took the whiskey trail.

On this week’s Sound Bites, Williams tells how his road led to the creation of B.R. Distilling, the local producers of Blue Note bourbon. It’s only been four years he’s been at it, but the company has grown and now the products are distributed in 15 states.

Blue Note Crossroads is the latest release and we don’t just talk about it; we actually taste it. This is a first for Sound Bites: An on-air whiskey tasting. It went better than expected, so you can look for further tastings in future episodes.

Cheers for Beers: If there’s a bear on a bike, you’re at Hampline Brewing Co.

Williams’ company first hit the market with Blue Note 9-year-old, gone unless you’re lucky enough to happen on a bottle somewhere. Riverset Rye, its second product, is widely available, as is Juke Joint.

Crossroads Bourbon is just now hitting local stores, restaurants and bars, and tastes much older than its 4+ years. Williams explains how it was finished to give it such toasty and rich flavor.

Have a listen. Word of warning: We taste the Blue Note 17-year Bourbon and it’s not available, so boo. Sorry, but hearing Williams talk about how much can happen in a barrel in 17 years is interesting.