Built in Mansfield.
Built around bourbon.
It started with one bottle.
The Bourbon Poor was founded in Mansfield, Texas in 2026 with a simple idea: bring people together over great bourbon, build real relationships with the brands behind the bottle, tell the truth about what we pour and give back where we can.
South DFW is home. The hunting happens here, the friendships happen here, and the stories we bring back from Kentucky, from Texas distilleries and from every rickhouse in between get told here.
Josh. Army veteran. Collector. Host.
Mansfield roots, a shelf that got out of hand and a lot of miles between distilleries. This is how The Bourbon Poor came to be, in his words.
Enthusiast and collector
My bourbon journey started pretty simply. Around 2020, while living in California, I started getting more interested in bourbon. At first it was the familiar bottles like Woodford Reserve and Bulleit. Then I started trying different brands, hunting harder-to-find bottles and learning more about what was actually in the glass. When I moved to Texas, the movers wouldn’t take my bourbon, so I came here with one bottle: Mellow Corn. I still have it. A few years later, one bottle has turned into a collection of more than 600. Some are hard to find, some aren’t. Most importantly, they’re meant to be opened, enjoyed and shared.
Army veteran
Before bourbon, before the corporate career and long before The Bourbon Poor, I served in the United States Army Infantry. My time in the Army took me overseas and gave me experiences and relationships that have stayed with me long after I took the uniform off. It taught me the value of showing up, doing what you say you’re going to do and taking care of the people around you. I’m proud that The Bourbon Poor is veteran-founded, but I don’t want that to simply be a label we put on the website. I want it reflected in how we operate, the relationships we build and the veteran-owned businesses and organizations we support along the way. It’s part of who I am, and naturally, it’s part of The Bourbon Poor.
Mansfield, Texas
Eventually Texas became home, and Mansfield is where bourbon turned into something bigger than collecting bottles for me. South DFW has become my hunting ground. I’ve spent a lot of Saturdays bouncing between liquor stores, talking bourbon with people behind the counter, chasing a bottle I probably didn’t need and meeting people who eventually became friends. That’s what I love about bourbon. Finding the bottle is fun. But some of the best parts happen while you’re looking for it. That’s also a big reason I created The Hunt. If somebody sees a bottle another person has been looking for, why not help them find it? There will always be another bottle. The relationships you build along the way are worth a lot more.
On the road
The deeper I got into bourbon, the more I wanted to understand what happens before the bottle ever reaches a shelf. That has taken me inside distilleries, through rickhouses, into barrel selections and across Kentucky and beyond. I’ve tasted whiskey straight from barrels and spent time with distillers, brand teams, ambassadors, retailers and plenty of other bourbon people who know a hell of a lot more about whiskey than I do. And that’s something I’m completely comfortable admitting. I’m not a master distiller. I’m not a professional whiskey critic. Half the time I’m not going to tell you I taste seventeen different things in a glass. I’m a bourbon drinker. I know what I like. I know what I’d pour again. And I’m interested in the people, places and stories behind what’s in the bottle. That’s what you’ll get here.
Why I started The Bourbon Poor
The Bourbon Poor didn’t start with a business plan. It started as a Facebook group. I wanted a place where people could talk bourbon, share what they were finding and enjoy the hobby without taking it too seriously. As the group started growing, I realized there was an opportunity to build something bigger around it. Not just another bourbon page, but something that could actually be useful. A place where someone buying their first bottle feels just as welcome as someone with hundreds. Where we help each other find bottles through The Hunt, introduce people to great distilleries and local stores, share honest opinions, and create experiences that bring people together. That’s when The Bourbon Poor started becoming more than a Facebook group. The website, The Hunt, brand relationships, tastings and events are all extensions of the same idea that started the group in the first place. Good Bourbon. Good People. Better Community.
Beyond Bourbon
Bourbon is a big part of my life, but it isn’t the whole story. I’m a dad, an Army veteran and a longtime corporate leader. My career has given me the opportunity to work with people and businesses across the country, travel quite a bit and build relationships with people from all kinds of backgrounds. Outside of work and bourbon, I’m a motorcycle guy, a cigar guy and someone who genuinely enjoys bringing people together. Give me a good pour, a cigar and a few good people around a table and I’m pretty happy. A lot of those parts of my life have found their way into The Bourbon Poor. The travel, the relationships, the experiences and especially the people. Because for me, bourbon has never really been just about what’s in the bottle.
What The Bourbon Poor stands for
I want The Bourbon Poor to grow, but never at the expense of what made this fun in the first place. If I recommend a bottle, it’s because I enjoyed it. If I’m working with a brand, you’ll know it. A partnership isn’t going to buy a good review, and I’m never going to tell somebody they need an expensive or allocated bottle to enjoy bourbon. I want to support good distilleries, good retailers, veterans, local businesses and the bourbon communities already doing great things. We’re not here to replace those communities. We’re here to contribute to them. Help somebody find a bottle. Introduce them to a brand they’ve never tried. Share a pour. Make a new friend. That’s what I want The Bourbon Poor to be.
Our mission
Knowledgeable
without pretension.
Premium
without elitism.
Fun
without immaturity.
Honest
reviews, always. Nobody buys a verdict.
Local
first. Mansfield is home.
Community
before everything.
Because bourbon has a funny way of turning disposable income into bottles.
One bottle becomes two. Two becomes a shelf. The shelf becomes a cabinet.
Then someone tells you about an allocated release.
You know the rest.
Allocated
and broke.