Former radiologist turns bourbon passion into second career
After more than a decade in academic radiology, Ed Escott, MD, has traded brain scans for bourbon reviews.
Escott, who recently retired from the University of Kentucky—where he was a professor of radiology, chief of neuroradiology and vice chair for faculty mentoring, development and wellness—is now devoting his time to Bourbon Obsessed, a Kentucky-based media business he founded in 2019.
The endeavor began as a retirement project built around Escott's longstanding interest in bourbon and American whiskey. Rather than taking another traditional job after retirement, he wanted to create something that would keep him engaged, while allowing him to pursue an interest outside medicine. That side project has now grown into a substantial media operation. Escott spoke about the details with Radiology Business in the above video.
"I got involved with this just like you would any other hobby, to be doing something different than work," Escott explained. "And bourbon is very social. You get involved in the different clubs and you go to events, so you meet an awful lot of people. So, those are two very good components, and they are the opposite of spending your time in the hospital and just doing all clinical work."
Bourbon Obsessed now includes more than 600 whiskey reviews and over 50 in-depth distillery profiles. Escott's Instagram account has about 10,600 followers, while his weekly newsletter reaches approximately 15,000 readers.
The business expanded significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Escott had more time to develop its online presence. What started primarily as a website covering distillery visits eventually expanded into social media, a newsletter, a podcast and a YouTube channel.
Escott said his background in medicine and scientific writing has shaped the way he approaches bourbon.
“I taste everything a couple times on multiple occasions so that I get a consistent result,” he said, describing an approach that reflects his scientific and editorial background.
His interest extends beyond tasting notes. Escott examines the science and production variables behind whiskey, including grain varieties, water sources, still designs, distillation proof, barrel proof, types of oak, and aging conditions. He sees parallels between whiskey production and medicine, where multiple variables can affect the final outcome.
The growth of Bourbon Obsessed also has created a new workload. While still practicing medicine, Escott said he was working roughly 60 to 70 hours a week in his medical job, while spending another 20 hours or more on the bourbon business. Retirement has not necessarily reduced his working hours, instead, it has allowed him to devote those hours entirely to the new venture.
The difference, he said, is the stakes.
"Obviously this had very different stakes," Escott said. "If I give a bad review that's incorrect or not so great, well, so be it. Obviously, if you make mistakes in medicine, the repercussions are much greater and you don't want anything bad to happen to other people. So, it's very different. While it's still lots of hours, it's obviously a completely different stress level."
Escott said he did not launch Bourbon Obsessed primarily to make money. Instead, the goal was to develop an engaging activity for retirement and continue producing information, much as he had throughout his academic career.
His advice to other physicians considering a side business is straightforward: pursue something you are genuinely interested in and avoid recreating the pressures of a traditional career. He said try to avoid things with lots of deadlines, which is something he realized once he had to begin producing regular content each week, including newsletters, podcasts and videos. However, he said it is still much less stressful than when he handled clinical work.
“Choose something with a different stress level,” Escott said.
Dave Fornell has covered healthcare for more than 17 years, with a focus in cardiology and radiology. Fornell is a 5-time winner of a Jesse H. Neal Award, the most prestigious editorial honors in the field of specialized journalism. The wins included best technical content, best use of social media and best COVID-19 coverage. Fornell was also a three-time Neal finalist for best range of work by a single author. He produces more than 100 editorial videos each year, most of them interviews with key opinion leaders in medicine. He also writes technical articles, covers key trends, conducts video hospital site visits, and is very involved with social media. E-mail: [email protected]