My Derby Day Guide To Bourbon... From 2010

I started writing for the Huffington Post in 2007. They were early adopters of the “we won’t pay you, but it’ll give you great exposure” gambit. In my case, however, it actually worked. I’d started out writing about the music business, but I soon got the jones to write about something else, anything else. They needed content, and were only too happy to let me write whatever the hell I wanted. I was a booze enthusiast with absolutely no credentials to allow me to write about the subject, but thanks to HuffPost I got to learn on the job, with an enormous potential audience to watch me learn, for better or worse.

This article got me on the front page of HuffPost and exposed me to millions of readers, not to mention everyone in the drinks industry. It really helped get my name out there and, more importantly, helped me start getting paid for my work. I’m amazed that this is still on HuffPost after a decade (minus the photos, alas). Have a read and enjoy the weirdest Derby Day of our lifetime, whatever you wind up drinking.