About

Drunken Unicorn

Two veterans. Two educators. Two Executive Bourbon Stewards.

The Founders

The People Beyond the Pour.

Shauna and John are husband and wife, co-founders of Drunken Unicorn Productions, LLC, and two practitioners whose careers ran on parallel tracks long before they sat down to build something together. They came up through Army logistics. They earned their Executive Bourbon Steward credentials in the same Stave & Thief Society class. They’ve spent their working lives in adult-education classrooms — Shauna as Assistant Professor at the Command and General Staff College, where she was named 2025 Department Educator of the Year, and John as a credentialed Adult Education Curriculum Developer at the Army Logistics University. Now they sit at the same microphone on Beyond the Pour, the weekly co-hosted segment of the Chasing the Unicorn podcast.

What you get when you book the two of them: a guided sensory experience of American bourbon — from the pour to the nose, across the palate, into the finish — paired with the cultural, analytical, and historical context that makes the experience stick. Shauna brings the historian’s lens and the experienced working palate of a sensory practitioner with viticulture roots. John brings the analytical, systems-thinking lens and the experienced working palate of an Executive Bourbon Steward. Two practitioners at the same microphone, covering the territory more completely than either of them could alone.

Shauna
Co-Founder & Educator

Shauna N. Hann

Co-Founder · Educator-in-Chief · Historian

Shauna is co-founder of Drunken Unicorn Productions, LLC and the historian, educator, and sensory-practitioner half of the partnership. 12 years on the faculty of three institutions — West Point’s Department of History, the Army Sustainment University, and currently the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, where she was named 2025 Department Educator of the Year. M.A. in History from The Ohio State University, ABD with PhD in progress. Published historian on early American tavern culture and dueling. An experienced working palate rooted in a viticulture minor from UC Davis, built out through Executive Bourbon Steward credentialing at Stave & Thief Society (same class as John) and a 2026 Bourbon Women SIP Fellowship. Lead instructor and curriculum architect of the Find Your Unicorn class series. Accomplished Army Lieutenant Colonel.

Executive Bourbon Steward M.A. History · Ohio State 2025 Educator of the Year Senior Officer
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Shauna Hann is co-founder of Drunken Unicorn Productions, LLC and the historian, educator, and sensory-practitioner half of a two-practitioner partnership with her husband John Schuster. She brings the experienced working palate of a sensory practitioner with viticulture roots, the historian’s attention to where a practice came from, the chemist’s grasp of what’s happening molecule by molecule, and the professional educator’s discipline around how complex material actually lands with adult learners.

A career adult educator first and a credentialed bourbon practitioner second. 12 years on the faculty of three institutions — the United States Military Academy’s Department of History at West Point (2013–2016) as Instructor and Course Director for History of U.S. Foreign Relations, History of the Cold War, and the cadet core U.S. history sequence; the Army Sustainment University at Fort Lee (2020–2023) as Course Director, Curriculum Developer, and Chair of the Applied Logistics Studies Committee; and currently Assistant Professor at the Command and General Staff College’s Department of Sustainment and Force Management at Fort Leavenworth, where she was named Department Educator of the Year, 2025. Faculty Development Program Level 1 and Level 3 credentialed — qualified to train other faculty, not just lead classrooms.

The historian’s depth: M.A. in History from The Ohio State University, ABD with PhD in progress. Published academic work on early American tavern culture, the social culture of dueling, and the Spanish-American War — a working historian’s depth of practice, not a hobbyist’s reading list.

The sensory practice has a foundation that predates the bourbon work — an undergraduate minor in viticulture (wine-making) from UC Davis, the formal training that built her palate before bourbon credentialing ever entered the picture. That foundation grew into Executive Bourbon Steward credentialing at Stave & Thief Society (same class as John) and a 2026 Bourbon Women SIP Fellowship. Co-host with John on Beyond the Pour, the weekly co-hosted segment on the Chasing the Unicorn podcast. Lead instructor and curriculum architect of the Find Your Unicorn class series.

U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel. 22 years across the Chemical and Logistics branches, with multiple combat tours and assignments across the globe. The chemistry training behind her bourbon work traces back to her time as a Chemical Officer. The service itself is part of the story, not the headline.

Asst. Professor · CGSC Former West Point Professor Army Sustainment U · Faculty 12+ Years Graduate Teaching ABD/PhD · Ohio State Meritorious Service Medal (4×) Joint Service Commendation Medal 23+ Years Military
John
Founder & Lead Educator

John F. Schuster

Co-Founder · Curator of the Chase · Voice of the Brand

John is co-founder of Drunken Unicorn Productions, LLC and the other educator half of a two-practitioner partnership with his wife Shauna Hann. Multiple years as a credentialed Adult Education Curriculum Developer at the Army Logistics University. MBA in Marketing with a graduate Business Analytics certificate from the Darla Moore School of Business. A deep passion for bourbon and the work of exploring its full sensory range. An experienced working palate built through Executive Bourbon Steward credentialing at Stave & Thief Society, same class as Shauna. Host of the Chasing the Unicorn podcast, producer of the daily American Whiskey Industry Brief, and founder of The Perfect Pour bourbon-discovery app currently in development. Co-host of every class in the Find Your Unicorn series. Decorated Army Major (Retired).

Executive Bourbon Steward Moonshine University Educator Retired U.S. Army Major
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John Schuster is co-founder of Drunken Unicorn Productions, LLC and the other educator half of a two-practitioner partnership with his wife Shauna Hann. He brings a logistician’s instinct for systems, a data analyst’s eye for what gets measured, an Executive Bourbon Steward’s experienced working palate, and the educator’s craft of turning complex concepts into simple, applicable techniques.

A career adult educator. John served as a credentialed Adult Education Curriculum Developer at the Army Logistics University, using Adult Learning Methodology and building data analytics into the courses he designed. He came to that work with formal training: an MBA in Marketing from the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina with a graduate Business Analytics certificate. Advanced logistics training through UNC Kenan-Flagler’s LOGTECH program. Graduate of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.

With a deep passion for bourbon — and for the work of exploring its full sensory range — John earned his credentials as an Executive Bourbon Steward through Stave & Thief Society, the bourbon industry’s sommelier-equivalent credential, same class as Shauna. Advanced industry coursework from Moonshine University at the Distilled Spirits Epicenter — Whiskey Around the World and Barrel Aging. Host and Curator of the Chasing the Unicorn podcast and Beyond the Pour, the weekly co-hosted segment with Shauna. Co-host of every class in the Find Your Unicorn series. Producer of the daily American Whiskey Industry Brief. Founder and product designer of The Perfect Pour bourbon-discovery app, currently in development for a 2026 release.

The logistician’s discipline that runs through his bourbon work traces back to his Logistics officer career. Retired U.S. Army Major and Bronze Star recipient. 26+ years in uniform across two branches, ending in 2023. Two combat tours in Afghanistan and a tour with U.S. Forces Korea along the way. The service itself is part of the story, not the headline.

Whiskey Around the World Barrel Aging Darla Moore School · MBA Bronze Star Medal Meritorious Service Medal (4×) Adult Education & Training 26+ Years Military
The Brand

Why “Drunken 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.

Drunken Unicorn exists to help you find it — by teaching you how to actually taste, what to look for in the glass, and what the people making the best American whiskey are actually doing. The pursuit is the point. The unicorn is always out there.

The Quest

Where the work meets the road.

The Quest is the living journey behind Drunken Unicorn. Distillery floors, tasting rooms, road miles between destinations — the experiences that give every class its context and every brand activation its texture.

Some stops are planned. Others happen by chance. Each one adds context — about process, place, and the quiet moments that influence what ends up in the glass. The unicorn isn’t always found at the end of the journey. Often it shows up along the way — in a conversation, a shared tasting, or a place that leaves a lasting impression.

Want to attend an event?

Pop-ups, private tastings, brand activations. The classroom is wherever the bourbon is.

See The Experience →

Want to hire us?

Distillery, brand, retailer, or venue — we travel for that. Educators in the room, not promoters.

For Brands & Partners →