We slow it down, so the next pour gives you more.
Educators in the room, not promoters. Honest about what’s in the glass and why it matters.
Looking for the class catalog? The five-class Find Your Unicorn series sits at the bottom of this page.
Jump to the seriesEducators first.
A bourbon class run by an educator and a bourbon class run by a brand rep are two different rooms. Both can be fun. Only one of them leaves you with something you keep.
Drunken Unicorn is run by two career educators who happen to be Executive Bourbon Stewards — not the other way around. The pedagogy comes first. The bourbon comes second. That order is the whole game.
Four habits we never break.
We meet you where you are.
A first-time taster, a curious enthusiast, a brand team that needs to talk about their own product with confidence — the room sets the level. We don’t run the same script twice.
Sensory before vocabulary.
You taste it before we tell you what it is. The senses lead, the words follow. That’s the order that makes the words actually stick.
Honest over heroic.
We don’t pretend a bottle is good if it isn’t. We don’t dress up marketing as fact. The respect goes both ways — we trust you to handle the real story, and you trust us to tell it.
Built to leave with you.
If you finish the night and can’t use what you learned the next time you pour, we wasted your evening. Every class is designed around what you’ll actually do with it after.
Adult education, applied to bourbon.
Between us we’ve spent more than two decades teaching adults under demanding conditions — West Point, the Command and General Staff College, the Army Sustainment University, the Department of History. Course direction. Lesson authorship. Faculty development. Senior leader executive education.
The frameworks don’t change because the subject is whiskey. Read once, apply immediately, reflect later. Make the cognitive load reasonable. Earn trust before you ask for attention. Leave the learner with something they can use without you.
That’s the spine. The bourbon — the proof, the mash bill, the barrel program, the tasting notes — all of it sits on top of that spine. Take the spine away and you’re just selling drinks.
Same principles, different rooms.
The work shows up in three places, and the rules don’t change between them:
The Experience
Pop-ups, private tastings, distillery activations — the consumer-facing side. You leave knowing what you reach for and why.
For Brands
Staff training, ambassador work, customer education events. Your team leaves the room able to talk about your bottles like they understand them — because they do.
Find Your Unicorn.
Five classes for knowing what you’re pouring — and why.
A five-class series, shared in small groups by Certified Executive Bourbon Stewards John and Shauna. Each class focuses on one variable — the senses, the mash bill, the barrel, the proof, the label — so you leave with a clearer sense of what fits your palate, and why.
The Sensory Bridge
“Get more from every pour.”
The first class in the series, and the foundation every other class builds on. Whether you’re new to bourbon or have been drinking it for years, this class isn’t about a bigger shelf — it’s about getting more out of what’s already on yours. You’ll walk out appreciating what’s in your glass and able to say why you like what you like.
Decoding the DNA
“The recipe is on the label. Now read it.”
The second class in the series. If you’ve ever taken a bottle home and been disappointed, this is the class that ends that. You’ll walk out able to predict whether a bourbon will fit your palate — before you spend a dollar — by reading the recipe on the back label.
The Controlled Burn
“Older isn’t better. Mature is.”
The third class in the series. If you’ve been buying older bourbons because the age on the label said you should, this is the class that explains why that’s not the whole story — and shows you how to find $40 craft bottles that hold their own against $80 age statements.
The Hunter’s Toolkit
“Open the top shelf. Without the burn.”
The fourth class in the series. If you’ve been avoiding barrel-strength bourbons because they “burn,” this is the class that opens the top shelf. The toolkit is simpler than the stigma suggests — and once you have it, the most flavorful bourbons on the shelf become accessible.
Behind the Label
“Buy the bourbon, not the bottle.”
The graduating class of the series. If you’ve ever paid more for a bottle because of its label or its scarcity than what was actually inside, this is the class that ends that pattern. You’ll walk out reading past the marketing and finding the bottles that earn their place on flavor alone.
Want to see this in person?
The teaching shows up at every event we run. The road list keeps growing.
See The Experience →Want it built for your team?
Brand teams, retail staff, private clubs. The frameworks travel.
For Brands & Partners →So when’s the next class?
Find Your Unicorn dates — or get on the list for when they’re scheduled.