The limited-edition blend combines Shortbarrel’s maple-finished Sapsquatch Bourbon with Pursuit United Double Oak Rye and launches September 11 at the 2026 Kentucky Bourbon Festival.
The Kentucky Bourbon Festival is almost here, and one of the more unusual collaborations arriving in Bardstown this year comes from Pursuit Spirits and Shortbarrel.
The two brands have announced “Found Footage,” a limited-edition collaboration that brings together Shortbarrel’s maple-finished Sapsquatch Bourbon and Pursuit United Double Oak Rye in a barrel-proof blend.
The release is scheduled to debut Friday, September 11, 2026, at the Pursuit Spirits booth during the Kentucky Bourbon Festival. Bottles will be available beginning at 2 p.m., following the first Between Two Barrels session, while supplies last.
A Whiskey Collaboration Built Around a Story
The name “Found Footage” is more than a clever label.
According to the brands, the collaboration was inspired by the discovery of grainy camera footage documenting a supposed legendary creature guarding a maple-finished bourbon deep in the woods. Pursuit Spirits brought its Double Oak Rye into the story as bait, eventually leading to the blend that became Found Footage.
The resulting bottle combines the sweet, maple-driven character of Shortbarrel’s Sapsquatch Bourbon with the darker oak and spice profile of Pursuit United Double Oak Rye.
It is an intentionally unconventional pairing and one that fits the growing trend of whiskey producers using blending and finishing to create profiles that would be difficult to achieve from a single traditional whiskey recipe.
What’s in Found Footage?
Found Footage is bottled at 112.4 proof in a 700ml bottle with an MSRP of $99.99.
The published tasting notes point toward a distinctly dessert-forward profile. The nose brings brown sugar, Belgian waffles and ginger syrup, while the palate moves through brown sugar butter, chocolate cinnamon doughnuts and ginger beer.
The finish is described with cinnamon candy, anise cookies and a light soda-like fizz.
In other words, this isn’t being positioned as a traditional oak-and-vanilla bourbon. The maple-finished bourbon and double-oaked rye components appear designed to push the blend toward a sweeter, spicier and more confectionary profile.
That makes Found Footage particularly interesting as a blending exercise. Rather than simply releasing another bourbon with a different finishing barrel, Pursuit and Shortbarrel are combining two recognizable whiskey profiles and betting that the contrast creates something greater than either component alone.
Where to Find Found Footage
The first opportunity to purchase Found Footage will be at the Pursuit Spirits booth during the 2026 Kentucky Bourbon Festival on Friday, September 11.
The release begins at 2 p.m., following the first Between Two Barrels session.
The whiskey is expected to become available later through Seelbach’s and at Pursuit Spirits’ Whiskey Row location in Louisville.
The Kentucky Bourbon Festival runs September 10–13 in Bardstown, making this one of several limited releases and special experiences competing for attention during what is traditionally one of the busiest weekends on the bourbon calendar.
“Rather than simply releasing another bourbon with a different finishing barrel, Pursuit and Shortbarrel are combining two recognizable whiskey profiles and betting that the contrast creates something greater than either component alone.“
Why This Matters
There are a lot of bourbon collaborations announced every year. Most aren’t necessarily worth stopping to discuss.
Found Footage is interesting because it represents a slightly different kind of collaboration.
Both Pursuit Spirits and Shortbarrel are bringing established flavor identities to the table rather than simply putting two names on a bottle. Sapsquatch brings the maple-finished bourbon profile, while Pursuit United Double Oak Rye brings the oak and spice-driven side of the equation.
That gives consumers something more interesting to evaluate than the collaboration itself: does the blend actually make sense?
It is also another example of how modern American whiskey continues to move beyond the idea that a great release has to be defined by a single mash bill, distillery or traditional maturation path.
Blending, finishing and sourcing have become legitimate tools for whiskey makers looking to build specific flavor profiles. Found Footage is another experiment in that direction and because it launches at Kentucky Bourbon Festival, bourbon drinkers won’t have to wait long to decide whether the experiment worked.
Bourbon Bishop Bottom Line:
Found Footage sounds like the kind of bourbon collaboration that understands what makes collaborations interesting in the first place: putting two very different ideas together and seeing what happens.
Maple-finished bourbon and double-oaked rye isn’t an obvious combination, and that’s precisely why I’m interested. At $99.99 and 112.4 proof, the bottle also lands in a price and proof range where the whiskey will ultimately have to do more than tell a good story.
And that’s the part I’m most interested in.
The footage may be blurry, the Sapsquatch may or may not exist, and the story is deliberately ridiculous (personally I love it). But once the bottle is in the glass, the whiskey has to tell the story for itself.
I’ll be watching (and tasting) this one closely as Kentucky Bourbon Festival gets underway.
About Pursuit Spirits
Pursuit Spirits is a Louisville, Kentucky-based whiskey company founded by Ryan Cecil & Kenny Coleman, the team behind Bourbon Pursuit. Rather than operating exclusively around a traditional single-distillery model, Pursuit has built its portfolio around sourcing, blending and finishing American whiskey to create distinct flavor profiles.
Its flagship Pursuit United line combines whiskey from multiple sources, while the company also operates its Louisville Whiskey Row location and offers experiences centered around blending, barrel selections and American whiskey.
Pursuit’s approach makes it a particularly relevant participant in collaborations like Found Footage, where the goal is less about presenting a single distillery’s traditional house style and more about deliberately constructing a specific whiskey profile.
About Shortbarrel
Founded by friends Adam Dorfman, Clinton Dugan, and Patrick Lemmond, Shortbarrel began as a passion project among Atlanta bourbon enthusiasts. Between 2016 and 2020, the trio built a reputation by selecting more than 350 private barrels, developing a palate for identifying exceptional whiskey and learning firsthand what makes a memorable pour. What started as weekend barrel picks eventually evolved into a whiskey brand of their own after a chance meeting in Louisville inspired them to take the leap from enthusiasts to blenders.
Shortbarrel officially launched in 2021 with a focus on thoughtfully blended American whiskey that emphasizes flavor, texture, and drinkability. The company has grown rapidly from its Georgia roots, expanding distribution across multiple states while maintaining a philosophy built around transparency, quality sourcing, and creating whiskeys that keep drinkers coming back for another sip. The name itself comes from the rare “short barrel” phenomenon, where a barrel loses more than half its contents to evaporation, often concentrating flavor and creating remarkable depth.
Today, Shortbarrel’s influence extends beyond independent bottling. In 2023, the company acquired Atlanta’s historic Old Fourth Distillery, helping preserve one of Georgia’s most important modern whiskey brands while investing in the future of Southern spirits. Whether through innovative blends, single barrels, or revitalizing local distilling, Shortbarrel continues to build on the friendships, curiosity, and passion that inspired the company from the very beginning.
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