The Whiskey Trip - Season 3, Episode 14 - Rick Franco, Mike Trott, & Harold Underdown, Co-Founders - Four Branches Broubon

The Bourbon Life

This week on The Whiskey Trip, Big Chief proudly introduces Four Branches Bourbon—a powerful expression of patriotism, forged by warriors and rooted in sacrifice. He’s joined by three of the four founders—Rick Franco, Mike Trott, and Harold Underdown—veterans who’ve worn the uniform and now honor their brothers and sisters through bourbon.

The story begins with Rick Franco, a Marine and CIA contractor who made it home—but carries the memory of those who didn’t. Their names aren’t on a bottle, but on the sacred wall at CIA headquarters, marked by stars and remembered in every sip.

The team opens with the Founders Blend—a four-grain bourbon bottled at 96 proof to honor the 96-hour liberty pass cherished by every service member. With notes of burnt orange peel, caramel, and warm cinnamon, it’s a bold reminder of time earned and sacrifice made.

In the second half, they raise a glass of Black OPS—a 9-year-old bourbon finished in Caribbean dark rum casks. Created in honor of CIA legend Ric Prado and all elite Black Ops warriors, it’s as deep and complex as the missions they never speak of. And yes—it awakens the dirty old sailor in Big Chief.

Four Branches Bourbon isn’t just whiskey. It’s a tribute to the fallen. A legacy for the living. And a reminder that freedom is paid for in blood, not words.

So pour a glass, stand tall, and join us in a toast to courage, sacrifice, and the unbreakable spirit of the American warrior.

This is The Whiskey Trip.

Cheers, y’all.