Bourbon Lore® started as one of the largest rare American whiskey collections in the world. Now, it’s a community to travel and share our whiskey with the world. We hope you’ll join us.
Meet the Founders
Mason Walker
Mason Walker is a fourth-generation Arizonan with a lifelong passion for collecting and storytelling. The son of an antique dealer and expert in the history and culture of the American Southwest, Walker spent the last decade building one of the country’s most extensive collections of American whiskey, which became the basis for launching Bourbon Lore®.
Walker is an avid outdoorsman with an affinity for national parks. Together with his college sweetheart and four children, he spent 15 months on the road exploring our greatest national treasure, and being captivated by the raw and majestic beauty of the American West.
Clay Risen
The descendant of Kentucky farmers and Scottish bricklayers, Clay Risen had little choice but to take up bourbon in his mid-20s. He soon became one of the country’s leading writers on American whiskey, helping guide thousands of curious palates through their first sips of bourbon and rye. He is the author of five books about whiskey, including “American Whiskey, Bourbon and Rye: A Guide to the Nation’s Favorite Spirit,” which has sold more than 120,000 copies over two editions.
Risen has spent 14 years as an editor and reporter at The New York Times, where he regularly writes about whiskey and other spirits. He is also the author of several books about American history, including, most recently, a New York Times notable book of 2019 and a finalist for the Gilder-Lehrman Prize in Military History.
As Seen In
