Proudly returning after successfully Emceeing the 2018 Art of Bourbon, Fred Minnick will be the Emcee of the 2019 Event! Fred displays his passion for each incredible auction lot and will give you an expert's advice on each item up for bid. 

"I am addicted to writing books." - Fred Minnick

Wall Street Journal bestselling author Fred Minnick loves his bourbon so much that he's written three books on the subject: Whiskey Women, Bourbon Curious and The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of an American Whiskey, which Smithsonian Magazine recognized as one of the best food books of 2016. That's right, bourbon is a food! 

Magazines 

Minnick is an "American Spirit" columnist and critic for Whisky Advocate. Since 2010, Minnick has written nearly 500 stories and reviews for the magazine, including his acclaimed feature on Leak Hunters, inside look at America's most-secret distillery, the story of Bottled-in-Bond, the legends of bourbon and many more. 

Spirits Competitions

Do you know those medals you see on a bottle? Well, there's a chance Fred blind tasted that spirit and contributed to its award. He serves as a judge on the most prestigious competitions: the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, World Whiskies AWards, and Whisky Advocate's Blind Taste Off for Best Whisky. 

Media

Due to his unique expertise, Minnick is frequently interviewed by the international media. He appeared on the BBC, The Atlantic, CBS News, CBS This Morning, NPR, The New York Times, NBC, Fox news, and many more!

How Fred Became a Spirits Writer...

"When the Oklahoma County News published my first story, I was 15 and will never forget seeing my name in print, I was hooked."

"Over the years, my writing style and subject matter have changed, but I've always written something, I went from the Daily Oklahoman sports desk in 2001 to Bader-Rutter's technical forensic writing team. In 2004, I wrote U.S. military stories and captured combat with a Nikon D1X. That's when I became a real photographer, in the heat of battle! After Iraq, I penned Camera Boy and worked for Networld Alliance as a restaurant editor until 2006. That's when I took a giant leap to go out on my own."

"When you're a freelance writer just starting out, you write about anything and everything. One of the first things I did as a new writer was write a list of categories I could write about. Bourbon was on that list." 

"My first bourbon story was posted shortly after and I never looked back..."