Jim Gaffigan turned his new interest into a comedy special.
The 59-year-old comedian’s latest comedy set, “Live from Old Forester: The Bourbon Set,” features 40 minutes of jokes about whiskey culture and how he formed his own obsession with bourbon during the pandemic.
In his set, Gaffigan explains how during the pandemic he “got really into gardening and bourbon,” and that while he isn’t an expert on bourbon, he’s “annoying in other ways.” His love of the all-American drink led him to write a comedy set specifically for other lovers of bourbon.
“I had the romantic notion, what if I just did a whole show on bourbon?” Gaffigan told The Wall Street Journal. “My agent and manager were like, ‘That’s interesting. You’re probably drunk. And we don’t want you to destroy your career.’”
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He joked in his set that he isn’t necessarily “concerned about the amount of bourbon” he drinks and more so concerned about how many bottles he owns.
The pandemic also led him to collect bourbon, telling The Wall Street Journal he collects bottles from every state. When it comes to where he keeps his bourbon collection, Gaffigan admitted it’s stored in a decommissioned Catholic confessional, defending the choice by saying, “To be fair, it was my wife’s idea.”
“Stand up is all self-assignment,” Gaffigan told Deadline. “With ‘Live from Old Forester: The Bourbon Set’ I let my love of bourbon lead the way. At this point I’m not sure if bourbon is a passion or a mid-life crisis but I love it. Since this was such a niche endeavor, I didn’t even go to a big streamer. I just wanted to get this material out there for the other bourbon geeks.”
Gaffigan released the set on YouTube, and it quickly found its audience. The video received more than 3.6 million views on the platform in just two weeks. Known for being a clean comedian, having been dubbed the “King of Clean” by the Wall Street Journal in 2013, Gaffigan’s comedy often doesn’t include much profanity, and therefore is accessible to a wide range of audiences.
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In addition to releasing a comedy set all about bourbon, Gaffigan created his own brand of alcohol, called Fathertime Bourbon, in 2024.
“Genius. Don’t have to pay $15 for a streaming service to watch. Just spent $150 on Jim’s new bourbon. He got me. Cheers! I’m not an alcoholic,” one fan wrote in the comments section of the video.
Another added, “Gaffigan is back in top form. That was a gem,” and a third wrote “An excuse to drink bourbon AND Laugh! Sign me up mr Gaffigan.’
He discussed his obsession with bourbon and the creation of Fathertime in an appearance on the “Today Show” in November, joking he chose that name because he thinks “fathers are underappreciated.”
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Gaffigan said his love of bourbon also has to do with the community he has found through his new passion, explaining, “it allows men to get together, and men need that.”
“It allows men to get together and talk about a shared passion where it covers – you never discuss your occupation or your socioeconomic — anything going on in your life,” he said. “There’s no family stuff. It’s just, you can nerd out on it, and I just love the whole thing about it.”
