There are moments in the turning of the year when we pause, look back at the ground we’ve crossed, and truly feel the weight of the footsteps behind us. As 2025 draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on a path that has been both triumphant and turbulent. It’s been an odyssey worthy of the Whiskey Network’s spirit.
This year, our publication soared. We celebrated remarkable whiskey personalities, storytellers, and enthusiasts from across the world of entertainment. We raised glasses with giants, shared tales with kindred spirits, and continued to champion the culture we love. But every ascent comes with its shadows, and ours was no exception.
In November of 2024, I received a diagnosis that struck like a bolt from a clear sky. Cancer. It was caught early but already stirring with intent. What followed was a rapid march toward life‑saving surgery in February of 2025. The physical, mental, spiritual, and financial toll of such a battle is immense. It shakes the foundations. It tests the soul.
Most of you know that I love heavy music, and “Throes of Joy in the Jaws of Defeatism” by Napalm Death has been a worthy soundtrack to my battle. In fact, here is where the story bends toward hope. My recovery has been swift and complete. Though echoes of the ordeal remain, I stand today living a life that is, in so many ways, blessedly normal. That alone is a victory worth celebrating.
But the deeper truth is that this has been the greatest challenge I have ever faced. The aftermath left my creative engine sputtering, my professional rhythm fractured. By October, I found myself wandering through a dark and insidious depression. It was a quiet, heavy battle, and one fought in the unseen corners of the mind.
I reached out. I asked for help. And with the steadfast support of friends, family, and my medical team, I began the long walk back toward the light. The journey continues, but each step forward is a triumph.
Whiskey Network, in turn, weathered the turbulence of my personal storm. We missed the mark in places. We stumbled. But we did not fall. And now, now we rise.
Because 2026 stands before us like a new frontier. We enter it with purpose, with a sharpened agenda, and with extraordinary new content on the horizon. The year ahead will demand execution, discipline, and heart—but those are the very qualities that define this team.
To the Whiskey Network crew: your dedication is the engine, the fire, the soul of this endeavor. Without your creativity, there is no story to tell. I am endlessly grateful.
And to our readers: prepare to meet new voices, new perspectives, and new energy in the coming year. I cannot wait to share what we’ve been building.
As we close this chapter and open the next, I offer one reminder: be kind. The whiskey community is small, vibrant, and filled with good people. But every person you meet may be carrying a battle you cannot see.
So let us move into 2026 with courage, compassion, and the unshakable belief that we rise higher when we rise together.
Be kind, always.
Cheers!
This quickly became my most played song of 2025. It’s dark, gritty, and full of hostile vigor. We don’t own the rights, but are merely linking it to my own personal journey. Nothing more, nothing less.
