Our forthcoming book, Whiskey Rule‑Breakers, pulls back the curtain on the unconventional, innovative, rule-breaking personalities reshaping how we enjoy and understand American whiskey.

Each chapter spotlights the distillers, founders, marketers, influencers, and enthusiasts in American whiskey who depart from standard practice or tradition, break rules and conventions, and have different ideas and approaches. The book’s central message is to give readers a better understanding of how American whiskey is influenced by those who do things differently.

To give you an early taste, we’re including an excerpt from the chapter “A Green Beret Walks into a Distillery,” the Horse Soldier Bourbon origin story featuring co‑founder Scott Neil.

A GREEN BERET WALKS INTO A DISTILLERY

The first time I heard Scott Neil of Horse Soldier Bourbon talk about “chasing the elusive sunshine,” I knew his story would not sound like a typical bourbon origin tale. Snow in Kentucky, rain in Florida, and rain in Scotland. It felt like the weather kept pushing him forward.

That energy shows up in everything the Horse Soldier team does. Scott is a retired Green Beret and cofounder of Horse Soldier Bourbon with his business partners, retired Green Beret leaders John Koko, Bob Pennington, and Mark Nutsch. John’s wife, Elizabeth Pritchard-Koko, a consumer marketing and branding expert, is also a partner.

Scott told me their whiskey story does not begin at a polished visitor center. It begins like a Quentin Tarantino film. “The origin story of Horse Soldier starts in the middle,” Scott said. “The team served together as Green Berets and loved bourbon enough to start asking questions about how it is really made. We were military friends on a post‑retirement road trip.” They were not a group of investors in a conference room.

In 2015, after leaving the Army, Scott and several retired military buddies drove to Yellowstone to figure out what came next. They drove on from Wyoming with new questions rattling around the truck. The friends started talking mash bills instead of missions, wondering how they could make their new passion into a real business.

They walked into a small craft distillery in Driggs, Idaho, named Grand Teton Distillery.

The person behind the counter poured them vodka made from potato flakes. “He taught us about the ingredients behind what they make,” Scott explained. “That started our discovery.” When the distiller invited them into the back, they saw copper, steam, gauges, and the rhythm of real production. “My buddies realized for the first time there is a lot behind the bottle,” Scott said.

That simple tour shifted their path, and turned curiosity into a mission.