Meet Our Team. 

Austin Render

FOUNDER / co-director of the burn  

A native of Louisville, KY, by the age of 30, Austin Render had stamps from thirty-five countries in his passport and has worked as an accountant, a fisheries biologist and a professional cycling guide. After leaving a career in accounting in 2010, he took to the road, often times by bike, to explore much of Asia, South America and the U.S. Eventually, this passion for travel by bike would land him a job as a professional bicycle guide in Vietnam, Cambodia, Panama, the Czech Republic, Austria and various U.S. National Parks for Backroads, the world’s top active travel company.

Now, back home in Kentucky, Austin brings his experience of delivering high-quality bike excursions to the Bourbon Burn, where he is responsible for the logistics of the cycling portion of the event as well as planning the safest and most scenic routes throughout the back roads of the Bluegrass.

Mollie Hanrahan 

FOUNDER / Co-director of the burn

A native of Louisville, KY, Mollie Hanrahan considers herself a world traveler, a whiskey advocate, and a Kentucky enthusiast. From pedaling over 3,300 km throughout a three-month independent bicycle tour in Patagonia, to working as a tour guide in the jungles of Ecuador, to having spent time on numerous road and mountain biking trails throughout the country, it is safe to say she left her career in public education as a high school history teacher, for a career of passion in bike tourism.

With her varied professional background of co-founding and operating a successful city bike touring business in Louisville, to working in sales, media marketing, and the ever-growing bourbon industry, Mollie brings her knowledge of event planning and marketing brand development to the success of the  Bourbon Country® Burn.  

Mollie handles all marketing and communications for the Bourbon Burn, and she is responsible for the happenings in our Bourbon Base Camp each year. Mollie is extremely proud of the reach the Bourbon Burn has had in less than four short years with participation from all fifty states, in addition to Canada & Europe.

Tara Render

volunteer & support stop manager

Also a Kentucky girl, Tara serves as the Volunteer Coordinator and Support Stop Manager for the Bourbon Burn. As a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), Tara dedicates her management skills to supporting not only the event, its participants, and volunteers, but especially her husband, The Burn co-founder (and incessant dreamer), Austin. (They were wed June 9, 2018.)

A recent cycling convert, Tara has found her own passion for pedaling two wheels. Whether it’s casually rolling through the hills of Kentucky, participating in other multi-day bike events or commuting to and from her job Tara loves to ride her bike, and she plans to someday bike across Europe!

Tara possesses a true knack for welcoming the Burn participants to her home state in a genuinely hospitable way — with open arms, a glass of bourbon and by providing an unforgettable experience on two wheels!

Nic Christiansen

Bourbon base CAmp Manager

Bartender, mixologist, and bourbon expert Nic Christiansen serves as our Bourbon Base Camp Manager at The Burn each year. A former aspiring chef, Nic moved behind the bar years ago after falling in love with bourbon. As the past Beverage Director at Louisville’s Butchertown Grocery, Nic built an extensive bar program showcasing creative cocktails, bourbon tasting menus, and more than 25 hand-selected single barrels from around the country. She’s an Executive Bourbon Steward, a Level 1 Sommelier, a former U.S. Bartenders Guild board member, and has appeared on Top Chef to educate judges and contestants about cocktails.

Nic joined the team at Barrell Craft Spirits in September of 2019 and serves as Blender and Manager of Blending Operations. She works closely with her BCS colleagues to blend batches and special releases, she oversees the logistics of their Single Barrel Program and much more. We are proud to have had Nic as part of the Bourbon Burn team since 2017, as she puts her skills to work in helping us facilitate our Bourbon Base Camp each year.

Nic is also the partner of Bourbon Burn Co-Founder, Mollie Hanrahan and they recently welcomed their first child into the world back in December of 2022.