Bernie Lubbers
Whisky Professor

Bernie is a walking book on bourbon, and a talker.

This translates to him talking about bourbon an awful lot. A former comedian and star of his own one-man play, he is entertaining, and he can also tell you more about bourbon than you ever thought you could know.

Bernie's draw toward bourbon is natural, with his father working in a brewery for 45 years and his grandfather owning a saloon in Louisville . “Before you make whiskey, you've got to make beer,” Bernie says.

Taking his bourbon education to the next level, he spent several weeks at the Jim Beam distillery in Kentucky . There he learned the intricacies of the bourbon-making process – from milling, to cooking, mashing, distilling, barreling, even rolling some barrels in the rackhouse and uncorking and dumping the barrels. He saw it all firsthand.

Beyond being an expert for Knob Creek®, Bernie is also a master at reading bourbon labels. Reading labels? That's right. There are more to labels than a name. You can find out where a bourbon is from, its age, proof, quality and much more. By knowing this you can tell if a bourbon is good or bad, before even taking a sip.

Bourbon tastings and events keep Bernie busy during the day – and usually the night – but you can still find him doing the occasional comedy gig.