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Noodles, Apple Sauce, and Whiskey · Sips, Suds, & Smokes

• 0:00
  > Announcer>On the next episode of sips, suds and smokes.
• 0:03
  > Brent>All right, well, there's a stretch of whiskey history that runs straight through the heart of America, from the farmlands of Pennsylvania to the urban grit of Louisville. And if you trace that line carefully, you'll find one name that's been there longer than almost any other. And that's Michter's. This is a whiskey show today. And this is basically an all michter show. So these are all either michter's branded or ones that are produced by michters. So we have the Michter's US One Barrel Strength Rye, the Michter's US One Toasted Sour Mash, the Michter's U.S. one Toasted Barrel Rye. We have the Bomb Burgers Decoration 2026, the Bomb Burgers Precision Fine Grain 2025. We have the Schenk's Homestead 2026 release. And we have the Michter's Ten Year Rye. Uh, 2026 release.
• 0:53
  > Announcer>We'll be right back. Brought to you almost live from the dude in the basement studios. Why?
• 1:22
  > Announcer>Because that's where the good stuff is. It sips suds and smokes with your smoke and host the good old boys. And now it's sipping.
• 1:59
  > Bob>Hey.
• 1:59
  > Brent>Yes. It's sipping time again. Welcome to this sips episode where everything good in life is worth discussing. As always, we are the best thing on at 2am or 3 or whatever.
• 2:09
  > Justin>Positively yes.
• 2:10
  > Brent>Well, this is made mad Bob. Joining me today are made man Brent.
• 2:14
  > Justin>You know, when this says almost live, is that implying that some of us are not alive?
• 2:19
  > Brent>I'm not so sure about harm today,
• 2:20
  > Harm>but you know, well, we, we have a, uh, big lunch between the before show and I'm getting this blood sugar spike makes him. I'm getting the, uh, I'm getting the. The.
• 2:31
  > Brent>To be fair, he does have diabetes and we force feed him sugar just to watch his eyes roll back in his head.
• 2:36
  > Harm>Yeah, I'm getting a diabetic coma and
• 2:39
  > Bob>then whiskey to bring it down.
• 2:40
  > Brent>And good old boy harm is joining us today.
• 2:43
  > Harm>Are we? Where are we? What's going on?
• 2:45
  > Brent>Yeah, almost live and good old boy Justin.
• 2:50
  > Bob>Uh, it's a pleasure to be here.
• 2:52
  > Brent>Our segments are all about, uh, wine, distilled spirits, tea, coffee, and anything else you can sip. And this is a whiskey and this is basically an all michter show. So these are all either michter's branded or ones that are produced by michters. So we have the Michter's US One Barrel Strength Rye. The Michter's US One Toasted Sour Mash. The Michter's U.S. one Toasted Barrel Rye.
• 3:16
  > Brent>We have the Bomb Burgers Decoration. 2026. The Bomb Burgers Precision Fine Grain. 2025. We have the Shanks Homestead. 2026 release. And we have the Michter's Ten Year Rye. 2026 release.
• 3:32
  > Justin>So today's gonna suck, isn't it?
• 3:34
  > Brent>Yeah, it's gonna be horrible. You know, I mean, it's.
• 3:38
  > Bob>Well, the fat man made a funny.
• 3:40
  > Brent>Yes, he did. So Justin is gonna give us a pick one of our five ratings out and. And do one for us.
• 3:50
  > Bob>Four sips. Huah. Uh, let's keep this secret to ourselves and pour me another.
• 3:56
  > Brent>He's Duffman. I think that's classified.
• 4:00
  > Harm>Does Duffman really say who are?
• 4:03
  > Brent>Yeah, kinda.
• 4:04
  > Bob>Al Pacino does, but I really butchered that Al Pacino.
• 4:07
  > Harm>That was not Al Pacino.
• 4:08
  > Bob>No, I know.
• 4:08
  > Brent>I agree.
• 4:09
  > Harm>Closer to Duffman.
• 4:10
  > Brent>Yeah, that was definitely. That was definitely Duffman. Hey, I'm Duffman. Yeah.
• 4:15
  > Harm>All right.
• 4:16
  > Brent>Well, there's a stretch of whiskey history that runs straight through the heart of America, from the farmlands of Pennsylvania to the urban grit of Louisville. And if you trace that line carefully, you'll find one name that's been there longer than almost any other, and that's Michter's. It's a name that survived revolutions, prohibition, bankruptcy, and resurrection. A distillery that claims roots going back to 1753, making it, by some accounts, the oldest whiskey making operation in the U.S. and it's a brand that nearly vanished and was brought back from the dead by a major player in the business. So the story begins in 1753, when a Swiss Mennonite farmer, John Schenck, founded a rye whiskey distillery in Shaferstown, Pennsylvania. This early operation, often called Shanks, became one of America's first whiskey producers. And the local OR holds that its whiskey was supplied to George Washington's troops during the Revolutionary War. No food, no shoes, no ammo, but they got booze.
• 5:09
  > Justin>Well, thank God for that.
• 5:11
  > Brent>In the mid-1800s, the distillery is purchased by Abraham Bomberger, and it became known as Bomberger's Distillery. Uh, continuing along tradition of Pennsylvania rye whiskey, the distillery survived major disruptions, including Prohibition, but faced repeated ownership changes and financial struggles afterward. In the 1950s, owner Lou Foreman rebranded the operation as Michter's, combining the names of his two sons, Michael and Peter. Despite the historic status, it became a victim of the bourbon downturn going into the 1980s, and they filed for bankruptcy in 1989, closing the Pennsylvania distillery literally walked away, dropped the keys on the doorstep and that was it. Uh, weaving thousands of barrels of magnificent Pennsylvania rye there. Um, most of those ended up going to an Indiana re distiller and got turned into fuel for IndyCars. Isn't that a shame? So Michter's name was revived in the 1990s by Joe Maliokum, uh, who acquired the trademark and relaunched the brand, but this time in Kentucky, in the heart of the Marbury modern bourbon production area. Initially sourcing whiskey and getting contract distilled whiskey.
• 6:21
  > Brent>The company gradually returned to distilling its own spirits and established new facilities in Louisville, including the Shively distillery and the Fort Nelson distillery on Whiskey Row.
• 6:30
  > Brent>Beautiful place. Great bar upstairs. Really good bar.
• 6:33
  > Harm>Yeah, I love that place. But Fort Nelson doesn't actually produce enough for anything. It's just.
• 6:39
  > Brent>Well, the cool thing about Fort Nelson is that little pot still that you see. Well, little. I mean it's the size of Volkswagen, but that pot still you see is the actual pot still from the, the actual Mictters distillery in Pennsylvania.
• 6:50
  > Harm>That's cool.
• 6:51
  > Brent>Somebody rescued it and it's. I, uh, forget who.
• 6:53
  > Brent>They told me who, but it's sat in a barn for decades and that's. It's back home. Same thing for the fermenters. Those are the original fermenters.
• 7:02
  > Harm>No, no, it's a great experience if you, if you're in Louisville, you definitely need to go there.
• 7:06
  > Brent>So our first whiskey is going to be the Mictris US One Barrel Strength Rye. It's 55.1% ABV, 110.2 proof non age statement. Um, each barrel of the barrel strength rise bottled at its particular alcohol level, a bottling. So on the nose, caramel, butterscotch,
• 7:28
  > Announcer>a
• 7:28
  > Brent>little bit of fruit, some cherry,
• 7:33
  > Harm>a
• 7:33
  > Brent>little bit of plum, and on the palate. Some toffee, dark fruit, a little bit of vanilla, kind of burnt toffee. Um, it's got a nice spice level to it as well. What'd you think, Brett?
• 7:49
  > Justin>Yeah, I think the spice level on it is, was the thing that impressed me the most about it. You know, I like that, that, that spice and that, that cherry combination that really kind of hits it for me.
• 8:00
  > Harm>So for so much black pepper here.
• 8:03
  > Brent>Yeah, Very spicy.
• 8:05
  > Harm>Yeah.
• 8:05
  > Bob>Justin, in addition to Bob's notes, I got white pepper and Jagermeister.
• 8:10
  > Justin>Jagermeister, yeah.
• 8:12
  > Bob>On the nose.
• 8:16
  > Brent>Yeah.
• 8:16
  > Bob>Palette was it? Mr. Madison, what you just said is
• 8:23
  > Brent>one of the most insanely idiotic things
• 8:25
  > Bob>I have ever heard.
• 8:27
  > Harm>Yeah.
• 8:27
  > Bob>Okay, glad to overachieve.
• 8:29
  > Harm>The. The. The white pepper is there on the nose.
• 8:31
  > Harm>Yes.
• 8:31
  > Justin>Yeah. Jaeger meister. I know.
• 8:34
  > Harm>No, no, not there.
• 8:36
  > Bob>When was the last time you had it?
• 8:37
  > Brent>Uh, looking at him last night, I think.
• 8:40
  > Bob>Yeah.
• 8:41
  > Brent>I mean, take a look at him.
• 8:43
  > Justin>Yeah, yeah.
• 8:43
  > Brent>With his froot loops.
• 8:44
  > Harm>Yeah.
• 8:47
  > Brent>What'd you think, Art?
• 8:49
  > Harm>I mean, it's an enjoyable whiskey. It's intensely spicy. Um, the dark fruit works really well with this. I feel like it could use a little water. In fact, I'm going to try it anyway. Let's see. It's only 110 proof. Let's see how it goes.
• 9:03
  > Brent>Yeah, I'm with you.
• 9:03
  > Harm>I'm gonna put one. Oh, let's get down to like 106 or something like that. Now. Um, I feel like the water brought a little bit more fruit. Tone down that white pepper. Um, and the black pepper. I, uh, mean, I actually like this better with a little bit of water. It's, it's that, that, that spice is less intense, a little less overwhelming.
• 9:29
  > Bob>Even more Jaeger with water, it's more integrated.
• 9:32
  > Harm>I enjoy it.
• 9:34
  > Brent>Yeah, I'm with you. Honestly, I think just a touch, just a drop or two, knock it down two or three points and it definitely, it definitely reels that pepper in. I mean there's still a lot of spice.
• 9:45
  > Harm>I mean there's, there's not what it was before.
• 9:47
  > Harm>There's 30 mils in my glass. I put, you know, less than a milliliter in there.
• 9:53
  > Brent>M. But yeah, lovely. We're going to be giving the Michter's US one barrel strength rye, uh, three sips.
• 10:02
  > Bob>Interesting.
• 10:04
  > Brent>That's going to take us to our next whiskey and we'll have Justin tell us about that hopefully before we go into commercial.
• 10:11
  > Bob>Victor's US 1 toasted sour mash 43 alcohol by volume or 86 proof. Victors takes its sour mash whiskey and finishes it for an additional period.
• 10:23
  > Bob>And second, custom barrel assembled 18 months from air dried wood which was toasted their specifications. It is a classic, um, whiskey. You got some nice sugar vanilla. The palette is um, pleasant, getting like some caramel on it. And the finish, just a light touch of oak.
• 10:49
  > Brent>Well, what I can tell you is all their barrels are at least 18 months air dried.
• 10:53
  > Bob>Nice.
• 10:54
  > Brent>And we'll be back.
• 11:00
  > Justin>Hey.
• 11:00
  > Brent>And we're back. And Justin was just finishing up his thoughts on that toasted sour mash.
• 11:06
  > Bob>Yeah, I mean it's, it's pretty much your standard nice high end baseline whiskey.
• 11:15
  > Harm>It's like high ended baseline are opposites.
• 11:19
  > Bob>No, it's the high end of the baseline.
• 11:21
  > Brent>Okay, There you go. He got you on that one.
• 11:23
  > Justin>Yeah, that's the thing.
• 11:24
  > Brent>We're right around you, man. Outsmarted. Way to go. Good for you.
• 11:28
  > Bob>So what did you think?
• 11:29
  > Brent>Finds an acorn once in a while.
• 11:31
  > Harm>Yeah.
• 11:32
  > Brent>Well, Harm was asking what it. What the sour mash is. The sour mash is not a bourbon. It is not a rye because there is no majority grain. It's corn, rye, and malted barley, but Nothing is over 50%.
• 11:47
  > Brent>And they have bourbon and they have rye, and they have one called American Whiskey. So you need a name. What are you going to call it? Well, we'll call it Sour Mash. Duh.
• 11:56
  > Justin>So something's probably around 40% and 30%.
• 12:00
  > Bob>So it wasn't a sweet mash.
• 12:02
  > Justin>Nope.
• 12:02
  > Bob>So it was a sour mash.
• 12:04
  > Justin>Yeah.
• 12:04
  > Bob>As almost everything is.
• 12:06
  > Justin>I like the subtleness of this. I like that. You know, that toasted barrel finish always kind of brings it just. Just kind of brings us like, just a softness to it.
• 12:17
  > Harm>And I feel like it's too soft, Brant.
• 12:19
  > Justin>You think it was too soft?
• 12:21
  > Harm>I mean, you. You think it's subtle?
• 12:24
  > Justin>No, uh, it's. It's subtler than.
• 12:27
  > Harm>I know. I agree with you. It's subtle. I think it's. It's more than subtle. I think it's innocuous. Uh, there's nothing here for me.
• 12:34
  > Bob>It's good with Pepsi Max.
• 12:36
  > Harm>Yeah. If you're gonna mix it. Yeah, this whiskey's okay.
• 12:43
  > Justin>This is an all day drinker. Sipping.
• 12:45
  > Harm>No, it's. No, it's not. I think we're. Yeah, yeah, whatever. I, I, uh, I wouldn't go out of my way for this one.
• 12:57
  > Brent>Well, if it makes you feel better, it wouldn't go out of its way for you either. So.
• 13:00
  > Justin>You know, it's a really nice. It's a really nice whiskey. You know, I would drink it over and over.
• 13:09
  > Harm>I would. Again, I would use it as a mixer.
• 13:12
  > Brent>I have been to enough whiskey events where they were pouring, and you will see three groups of people at the makers table. There's the ones drinking the bourbon, the ones drinking the rye, and the ones drinking the sour mash. And they, they pick their favorite and they stick with it.
• 13:27
  > Brent>So, um, you know, nice, really nice toasted, toasted, uh, vanilla, a little bit of sugar, some nice creamy caramel on it.
• 13:36
  > Harm>You know, there's a lot of cereal notes as well, but again, uh, I just feel like it doesn't stand out.
• 13:42
  > Brent>Well, we're going to be giving the michter's US one toasted sour mash. Three sips. Interesting. So Brent, why don't you tell us about our next one.
• 13:52
  > Justin>Thanks Bob. So the next one is the Michter's US one toasted barrel rye. So this one does have a significance of it. So it's 55% ABV110 proof non age stated for this expression. Michter takes its Kentucky straight rye at barrel strength and then ages it for an additional period in a second custom barrel assembled from 24 month air dried wood and then toasted to their specifications. So this is their rye that they have and then they toast it. Um, got a nice, nice copper color to it on the nose. You get that orange citrus peel. You get a little bit of clove. You get um, some cinnamon pops on this as well. Uh, on the palate that, that spice really comes out again and stuff.
• 14:42
  > Justin>But I do like the toasted feature on this one better than I liked it on the uh, on the toasted finish. I, you know it's, I mean on
• 14:51
  > Harm>the toasted sour mash.
• 14:51
  > Justin>Yeah, and the sour mash. Yeah. You know, because, because you do notice a difference from the rye and to this right, right away.
• 15:00
  > Harm>So uh, yeah, I think this one has an identity I can get behind. I, I really enjoy the rye here. I think this is, I mean it's
• 15:08
  > Justin>got, you know, it's got all those, you know, it's got that uh, that spice to it which is good and then it's got a smoothness to it, you know.
• 15:16
  > Harm>And when we talk about wines being varietally correct, I feel this is varietally correct for a rye. You know, this is the way you should. Rye should taste.
• 15:22
  > Brent>Well, uh, the thing I like about the ryes from Michters is because they do use good barrels. You know, air dried, minimum 18 months up to 60 months as opposed to 90% of the rye out there that is killing dried, dried for about 10 minutes and age for about 15. Um, when people come up to me and say I don't like rye. And I say no, you don't like not good rye. Try this rye. And every time they'll go wow, that's different. I go yeah, this is what happens when you make rye. Well, it's, it's a completely different drink.
• 15:54
  > Justin>This toasted rye should be in, in, you know, on everybody's bar. You know, look. Yeah, everybody's bar. This is, this is a uh, this is one that everyone's going to like. You know, when you give it to somebody, they're not going to be offended by it. They're going to be like, yeah, I enjoy this. And you can use it as a mixer. You can use it over.
• 16:12
  > Harm>This makes a great cocktail rye. You know, this is one fantastic.
• 16:15
  > Justin>Yeah.
• 16:15
  > Harm>And it's, it's got good flavor. It's got your varietally correct rye notes. You've got your orange peel and your, and your, your uh, clove and cinnamon. You've got your, the herbal notes. It's, it's just beautiful and it makes a great cocktail.
• 16:31
  > Harm>And m. I mean you could drink
• 16:32
  > Justin>it neat too at 110 right over ice. Drinking neat with as a mixer, uh, it's going to go all the way.
• 16:38
  > Justin>This is a very versatile whiskey.
• 16:42
  > Harm>Just what do you think?
• 16:44
  > Bob>So rye is tricky to work with, but Michter has been a master of working with rye and making it shine and this is no exception. Um, it reminds me the smell of like barbecue wood after I'm going to or before I'm gonna smoke a really nice pork butt on it. And the rye is just a tremendous pumpernickel rye. And I drank some like five minutes ago and I'm still getting this rye bread finish. So I'm very happy with it. So I have to say on that.
• 17:19
  > Harm>Still such a fine line between stupid and clever.
• 17:23
  > Brent>Yeah, yeah. Okay. I, I enjoy the heck out of this one. I like their baseline regular rye, but the toasted definitely gives you a different flavor profile than you normally get with their regular US one rye. Um, it's got a nice nose to it. M on the palate. The caramels there, it's just slightly sweet, which you don't usually get with cheap ryes or ryes that are 11 minutes old. Um, yeah, exactly. And it's got a decent finish to it, which you also don't get with 90% of the rye out there because it's 11 minutes old. Um, when you put rye whiskey, when you make it well, you put it into good barrels made with air dried proper wood and you let it sit there for a while. This is what rye is supposed to be, you know. And I think it's a throwback to the fact that they came from Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania rye was in the day was legendary. So I think, I think they try harder on their. Than just about anybody because it's, you know, it's, it's a throwback to where they came from. And I think they do a very good job on their rye. I have always enjoyed the rye. This one, this one in particular is
• 18:36
  > Bob>very nice they make it with pride.
• 18:40
  > Brent>Mhm. Yeah. This one's, this one's really good. So we're going to be giving the mictress us one toasted barrel rye, um, three sips.
• 18:51
  > Harm>I think it deserves higher. You guys are all fools.
• 18:57
  > Justin>How much higher flows arm.
• 18:59
  > Harm>Oh, thanks, Bob.
• 19:00
  > Brent>Yeah, thanks for joining. Thanks for joining the conversation. Uh, aside from you all being somebody wake Harm up.
• 19:08
  > Harm>So the, the uh, the Bomb Burgers Declaration 2020
• 19:11
  6: 54 ABV 108 proof is our next whiskey. This is the 2026 release of Bombers Declaration Kentucky Straight Bourbon. And it continues the flavorful tradition of using bourbon aged in chickapin oak with the addition of Hungarian oak. Uh, for this year's release, the barrels were naturally, uh, air dried and seasoned for different periods of time before undergring Ms. Mict's custom toast and sharp specifications. The spectrum of barrels used have been seasoned for 18 months, three years, four years, five years. And we're going to commercial. Mhm.
• 19:50
  > Justin>Hey.
• 19:50
  > Brent>And we're back. And Harm was trying to squeeze in the last couple of lines.
• 19:54
  > Harm>I missed it by like half a sentence.
• 19:56
  > Brent>Missed it by that much.
• 19:57
  > Harm>Uh, so the oak barrels have been used. Sorry, these, the wood has been seasoned for 18 months, 3 years, 4 years, 5 years. Thus changing the chemistry of the oak's contribution during aging.
• 20:08
  > Harm>That was what I missed. Thus.
• 20:09
  > Brent>And again, who, who else is doing that? Who else is getting air dried wood that is is 60 months old? They're the only guys I know.
• 20:17
  > Harm>And um, let me tell you, the color on this is absolutely stunning. It's gorgeous. It's deep and rich, inviting. This is a, uh, it's brown. Drink it down. Uh, but on the nose. Gorgeous. Um, uh, it's, it's cherry, it's apple, it's nuts, it's toffee. It's um, this cake, it's. And it smells rich. It just smells layered and rich. And on the palette it follows right through. It. Oily texture coats your palette. Rich layers of cake and chocolate and cherry. There's um, ah, there's nuttiness coming through. There's. There's a butteriness on the palate. It's just gorgeous and silky. The finish goes on and on. Um, there's. The spice is not like over the top like their rise.
• 21:22
  > Harm>This just very balanced. Justin, what do you think?
• 21:25
  > Bob>I uh, declare this is excellent whiskey. I would say it's.
• 21:29
  > Brent>Is that your Bomb Burgers declaration?
• 21:31
  > Bob>It is. Oh, and it's nice and dry. So if you like that style of whiskey, you're gonna Love this.
• 21:40
  > Harm>Yeah, it's, it's, it's not super sweet.
• 21:43
  > Justin>Okay.
• 21:43
  > Brent>He's done.
• 21:44
  > Harm>But like some, like we've had, we've had other bourbons, uh, and just done. It's just over the top maple syrup, uh, you know, just sugary. This is just dry and gorgeous. Still. Layers, layers of flavor and the best palate.
• 22:02
  > Bob>Um, dry wine, but it's a whiskey. Yeah, it's a dry whiskey.
• 22:07
  > Brent>Yeah.
• 22:07
  > Justin>Ah, this, when you're drinking this, this covers your entire mouth. The whole, that mouthfeel is, is there. Just, it brings it on there. The, the flavors, the, the finishes last. I mean, once you're done with it, you could just kick back because you got that cherry that looks kind of like a little chocolate in there and a little nuttiness and it just lingers for you and you can just sit there and enjoy it. Uh, it's, there's nothing.
• 22:34
  > Harm>This is a whiskey you could just savor over a good half hour to an hour.
• 22:40
  > Justin>Yes.
• 22:40
  > Harm>Just enjoy it.
• 22:41
  > Justin>You just kick back, relax. Look at the fire.
• 22:44
  > Harm>I would, I would pair this with a cigar.
• 22:47
  > Bob>That or a nice dry Atlantic salmon
• 22:49
  > Justin>or a steak or everything goes with
• 22:52
  > Brent>a steak or a glass.
• 22:53
  > Harm>Yeah. Just put it with ice. Glass, no ice. Just, um, let's see. I, I, I, I don't think you're wrong with the salmon. And I want you to be wrong. I really want you to be wrong, but you're not.
• 23:04
  > Bob>I know.
• 23:05
  > Brent>We, we pounded the salmon on our Scottish trip.
• 23:08
  > Brent>Oh, yeah.
• 23:10
  > Bob>In memory. So I was like, yeah, this would really pair well with the Atlantic.
• 23:14
  > Brent>We got Eileen to eat salmon.
• 23:16
  > Harm>There you go.
• 23:18
  > Bob>She took one for the team.
• 23:19
  > Brent>Yeah. She definitely, she doesn't like, she hates fish. Yeah. So.
• 23:23
  > Bob>But John would have been sad and there's no way she would have had.
• 23:27
  > Brent>She wasn't going to disappoint them. So.
• 23:29
  > Bob>Yeah.
• 23:29
  > Brent>Yeah. This is, this is a really special whiskey.
• 23:32
  > Brent>And, and again, this, this is, this shows. Okay.
• 23:35
  > Brent>You take really good new make and put it in wood.
• 23:38
  > Brent>You're going to make whiskey.
• 23:39
  > Harm>Yeah.
• 23:40
  > Brent>You paint really good new make and you put it into quality wood that's been properly air dried.
• 23:44
  > Brent>You're going to make good whiskey. And it shows when that wood sits outside for all that time. And it sits through a summer and it sits through a fall, and it sits through a winter. That rain, that snow, the dirt, the bugs. If you go out into a rickyard behind a barrel factory in a rainstorm.
• 24:01
  > Brent>If you go, um, independent stave in Kentucky, it's all white back there. Rock where it's all, when it rains, all the puddles look like the whiskey, they look like tea. It's all that tannin leaching out of the wood. And when you get cheap wood that's not been properly prepared, you get whiskey that is very tannic and very bitter. And if you let it sit there and age, this is the result. You know, it's, it's, it's not rocket science to, to a certain degree, but it's, it's dedication and you've gotta, you've gotta go, you know, if it costs a little bit more, let's do it. Let's make good whiskey. And that's one of the nice things about Michters because it's family owned, they don't have to answer to shareholders.
• 24:42
  > Bob>So I gotta give credit to Joseph Magliocco.
• 24:45
  > Harm>Yep.
• 24:46
  > Bob>He demands quality and he gets it in every expression he makes. And he was nice enough to email me back when I thanked him at the bourbon affair when I got to drink with his master distiller and said, I really loved your event. And he emailed me back and said, I'm glad you liked it.
• 25:04
  > Justin>Very nice.
• 25:05
  > Brent>Yeah, very nice. Yeah. Joe's great guy. And Andrea, who's director of maturation, she's, she's awesome. So.
• 25:11
  > Justin>And if you guys, and if you've ever toured the distillery there, the actual distillery, uh.
• 25:14
  > Brent>Oh my gosh, it's like one of
• 25:16
  > Justin>the clean, One of the cleanest, one of the cleanest I've ever been in ever.
• 25:19
  > Bob>I mean, he gave me a hat and a beard net to make sure that it stayed clean.
• 25:24
  > Brent>But did you notice again, we gave it to you.
• 25:26
  > Brent>Everybody else was fine?
• 25:27
  > Bob>Well, yes.
• 25:28
  > Harm>Yeah.
• 25:29
  > Bob>Still, he was smart.
• 25:30
  > Brent>Look in the mirror but you know, smart. We're gonna give the bomb burgers. Declaration 2026 release. A well deserved four sips. That's classified. So that's going to take us to our next one from Bomburgers. And that's the Bomburgers precision fine grain or PFG. This is the 2025 release. We don't have 26 yet. 50.1%, 100.2 proof.
• 25:54
  > Brent>This is made by First Aging Kentucky Straight Bourbon in a new toasted and charred American oak barrel. After full maturation, the Kentucky straight bourbon is removed from the first barrel and placed into a second new custom French fine grain oak barrel. The wood for these were sourced from the Trunque, Alliers, Nevers and Vosges forests. The wood was air dried outdoors for a minimum. Again 40 months in France near the Charente river and the barrels were toasted in a tightly defined temperature range for a precise period of time before they receive a slight charring. The whiskey is matured in these second barrels before being dumped into small batches and bottled. So beautiful. Dark, dark, dark color. A little bit of a orangish red tinge on the rim. M.
• 26:44
  > Brent>The beautiful oak just shines through. You can smell that. That French oak just jumps out.
• 26:51
  > Brent>There's a nice vanilla note to it. There's a little bit of spice. Tip of the nose. It's. Yeah, it's creme brulee. And on the palate, let's see.
• 27:02
  > Brent>Mhm. This is beautiful. Caramel, a little bit of milk chocolate, a little bit of stewed fruit, maybe some plum, maybe some pear, maybe like slightly overripe apple. And it lasts. The. The finish just stays with you. Yeah, this is really, really pretty. What'd you think, Jess?
• 27:27
  > Bob>So another lovely dry whiskey. You know, I love that they made it 100.2 proof. They probably tried this at every tenth and said, yeah, I'm not gonna get a bottle and bond product because it needs a little more oomph. This really is a precision beautiful whiskey. And I'm drinking it now and I'm loving it.
• 27:55
  > Brent>Yeah, this, this is. This is a really good one.
• 27:58
  > Brent>I'm totally digging this one. What you think, Brett?
• 28:02
  > Justin>This is, to me, it's a. It's like a cherry.
• 28:06
  > Justin>That's. That you have like your normal cherry and then you have your, you know, your cocktail cherries that, you know, this is that step up of that cocktail kind of cherry. It's just so the difference between the
• 28:18
  > Brent>junkie when you at the grocery store and the ones you get from Lizardo as well. What you're saying that's the difference?
• 28:22
  > Justin>Yeah, yeah, exactly.
• 28:24
  > Harm>More intense, more silky.
• 28:26
  > Justin>Right.
• 28:27
  > Harm>There is a sweetness here that doesn't. It's not overpowering. It's really well balanced.
• 28:32
  > Justin>The wood that they used on this, um, definitely made a difference. It's. Yeah, like you said, they, they, you know, they had to choose it at the right time and stuff. But it just goes to show you
• 28:43
  > Harm>that, you know, American oak is the bottle proof they. They thought about.
• 28:48
  > Justin>Right, Exactly. You know, accident. No. And they did. It wasn't an. It was a. And if it was an accident, it was a really good one.
• 28:57
  > Bob>Correct.
• 28:57
  > Announcer>True, true. Yeah.
• 28:58
  > Brent>I wish I could screw up that well. Yeah, that would be awesome, wouldn't it? Never seems to work out for me.
• 29:04
  > Justin>My accidents don't happen like that.
• 29:07
  > Brent>Now we've seen your accidents and they usually require a second pair of pants, so.
• 29:13
  > Justin>Oh, for sure.
• 29:14
  > Brent>Yeah. Or a first pair and a hose, but yeah.
• 29:18
  > Justin>Yeah. Well, nothing wrong with a few hoes around.
• 29:20
  > Brent>Absolutely delicious.
• 29:22
  > Harm>I. I knew you set him up as soon as you said that.
• 29:26
  > Brent>Well, we're going to be giving the Bomb Burgers Precision Fine grain a, uh, well deserved. Four sips. That's classified and we'll be back.
• 29:41
  > Bob>Hey.
• 29:41
  > Brent>And we're back. We just finished talking about the Bomb Burgers Precision fine grade 25 release. Well deserved. Four sips on that one. Justin is going to tell about our next one.
• 29:50
  > Bob>So we're going to talk About Shanks Homestead 2026. 45.6% alcohol by volume or 91.2 proof shanks. Homestead 2026 is part of the Michter's legacy series honoring one of the earliest names tied to American whiskey production. Dating back to the 1700s. This annual release is known for highlighting unique wood and maturation techniques, often incorporating distinctive barrel styles to create a softer, more nuanced whiskey.
• 30:24
  > Bob>Kentucky Sour Mash Whiskey. Like previous releases, this 2026 Shanks Homestead Sour Mash whiskey is an expression made with a good amount of rye. This year's recipe also includes caramel and malted barley.
• 30:40
  > Brent>Ooh, caramel, malted barley.
• 30:42
  > Bob>That and donut. Okay, what he said. Which offers a caramel bread pudding note.
• 30:47
  > Brent>Uh.
• 30:47
  > Bob>Oh yeah. Some of the fully matured whiskey was finished in toasted only French oak barrels that were not charred. This wood was sourced from the Vosges. Yeah. Region of France way before being naturally air dried and seasoned for 24 months and being toasted to our exacting specifications. This cooperage also includes a 60 month air dried American oak which imparts a special character to this release. I'm gonna try some now because I cannot remember what this tastes like.
• 31:25
  > Justin>Well, I can tell you it's gonna
• 31:26
  > Bob>be number six caramel.
• 31:28
  > Justin>A caramel bread pudding. Uh, that's what it's gonna be like.
• 31:33
  > Bob>Definitely. The bread pudding I did not order last night because I had enough sugar coming. What'd you think, Brent?
• 31:40
  > Justin>Oh, I love this one. This is that graham cracker notes down the nose. And you know, just, you know, it's hard to say that there's a softness to a whiskey, but this is a finesse with softness. Just like, you know when you want to drink it down.
• 31:55
  > Justin>It's uh, and it's good. It's got, it's got those spices but they're. But they're not, they don't not punch you in the face. Spices, they're, they're refined spices. They've got that, uh, the cherries, the fruit and stuff on it. But it's like, it's not like a fresh cherry. It's like a, like a, like, you know, like a cooked cherry kind of thing. You know, just, just, uh, mellow it out a little bit and a little bit of, um, you know, that, that bread pudding note that they say is in there, that's definitely in this. So I enjoyed it.
• 32:28
  > Justin>I enjoyed everything about this. Harm.
• 32:30
  > Harm>I don't have anything to add. You guys hit it. I mean, the graham cracker.
• 32:34
  > Brent>Okay, moving on.
• 32:36
  > Harm>All right, well, Bob, let's just turn
• 32:38
  > Brent>his mic off then.
• 32:40
  > Harm>This is such a great job.
• 32:42
  > Brent>They've already hit everything. It's. And, And I'm with Brent. This, you know, whereas the bomb burgers are more. A little more in your face. Not like they were in your face. In your face. This is definitely more laid back. Well, it's a lower proof, but it's also the flavors.
• 32:56
  > Justin>This is not a mixer. This is not one of those.
• 32:58
  > Brent>The flavors are there sneaking up on you. Yeah, this is something, I mean, over a period of time and it's going to change on you.
• 33:05
  > Justin>Early on we had some that were, you know, you could, you could drink them and mix them and do things you don't want. This is one you really don't want to mix. I think you would lose the.
• 33:13
  > Brent>You would.
• 33:13
  > Justin>You would lose your flavor in it if you mixed it.
• 33:16
  > Harm>Yeah.
• 33:16
  > Brent>Well, we're going to be the only
• 33:17
  > Harm>one talking about mixing it.
• 33:18
  > Brent>Yeah.
• 33:19
  > Harm>Why are you talking about mixing it? Don't do that.
• 33:20
  > Brent>He wants a cocktail.
• 33:21
  > Bob>Speaking as the guy who's never mixed a drink in his home, his life.
• 33:24
  > Brent>Oh, he mixes them all the time. He pours it down his stomach and he walks around.
• 33:28
  > Bob>Yeah, there's the infinity barrel.
• 33:29
  > Brent>We're going to be giving The Shanks Homestead 2026 release a well deserved four sips. And that takes us to our last one. And we're gonna have Brent tell us about that one.
• 33:39
  > Justin>Thanks, Bob. The last one here we have is the Michter's 10 year 2026 release. It's 46.4% ABV, 92.8 proof. So while this is a 92.8 proof, it gives you that punch, it's still. It has that punch to it. You know, on the nose you get those dark cherries, the vanilla. Uh, I could sniff this all day. I mean, this. You don't even need to drink it. You could just, uh, nose it all day.
• 34:08
  > Harm>Okay.
• 34:09
  > Brent>You just smell it and then I'll drink.
• 34:10
  > Justin>Oh, okay. Well I'll have, I'll drink it.
• 34:12
  > Harm>Okay.
• 34:13
  > Justin>On the palate you get those dark cherries, that baking spice, the vanilla, the caramel, the tobacco leaves. On the finish you get that cherry.
• 34:22
  > Justin>It's like a cherry vanilla finish to it. It's just beautiful. It's for a rye. You just think that it's going to be more like come at you. This is so, so much an approachable rye.
• 34:32
  > Harm>This is a bourbon drinkers rye.
• 34:34
  > Justin>Yeah, a very much, a very approachable rye. You can't get enough of it, Justin.
• 34:40
  > Bob>You can't get enough of it.
• 34:43
  > Justin>I tried, I tried one day.
• 34:45
  > Bob>You did, you did a really good effort. I mean this is pretty much the standard for which modern age drives based on got your really stronger proof ones, you got your exotic ones, but this is like the Highest Baseline Premium 10 Year Rye you can get.
• 35:07
  > Harm>I mean there are people out there who are going to want the higher proof. But you don't need it here.
• 35:11
  > Brent>No.
• 35:11
  > Justin>Oh no. This is, this is well done. I mean I don't know why you would want a higher proof when you have something like this.
• 35:18
  > Harm>This is. I know why you want higher proof because people like you demand it. You see 46.4% ABV. I think it's under a hundred. I'm not drinking it.
• 35:26
  > Harm>If you didn't know anything about it and you're a proof hound, you're gonna put your nose up in the air because you're a fool unless you stop doing that. This is amazing.
• 35:34
  > Bob>SpaceX IPO. Just drink this straight.
• 35:37
  > Brent>Well uh, the thing about the ten year ride, just like their ten year bourbon, I still think in Kentucky this is pretty much the best value, the best bang for your buck whiskey. You can get the Michter's 10 years and you can still find them. I mean you're not finding any of the real high end stuff from any of the other distilleries. But on occasion you might get lucky and walk in and find one of these. It won't break the bank and it drinks just as good as stuff that's hundreds and hundreds of dollars more. Bob's luckier than I am, you know, so also it's always a great.
• 36:09
  > Harm>If you walk into my store and you're rude to me, I'll make you break the bank on it.
• 36:12
  > Bob>Yeah, well that's any problem.
• 36:15
  > Brent>Even if you're nice to him. Ah, even if you're not nice to him. He'll still break I got a one
• 36:19
  > Harm>star review yesterday on Google from a damn kid I had to throw out for not having id.
• 36:24
  > Brent>It's what you give.
• 36:25
  > Bob>He wasn't happy.
• 36:26
  > Justin>Can't believe he didn't serve, man.
• 36:27
  > Bob>What's wrong?
• 36:28
  > Harm>What? You know, you're upset I didn't serve you.
• 36:31
  > Brent>And here's, here's the best thing about the 10 year Rye is a few years ago at the KBF they had this in the media tent and so we were there and it's, you know, they just keep pouring it for you.
• 36:42
  > Brent>And that was a mistake because Brent was there and over the course of about three hours, he just kept getting up and going back about every 10 minutes and he got to the point where the bartender just said, it's on the bar, go help yourself.
• 36:53
  > Bob>That's where the air conditioning works though.
• 36:55
  > Brent>So I'm conditioning. So.
• 36:57
  > Justin>Yeah.
• 36:58
  > Bob>So yeah, drinking that bottle.
• 36:59
  > Brent>He drank, he drank, he drank about 80% of that bottle in about two hours. Yeah.
• 37:04
  > Bob>He's my hero.
• 37:06
  > Harm>Is that good proof you can do it?
• 37:07
  > Justin>I fell short. Uh, what can I say?
• 37:09
  > Brent>Yeah, well, we did leave early so we could go get dinner. I'm sorry, it was my fault.
• 37:14
  > Bob>So he probably did eat.
• 37:16
  > Brent>Yeah, yeah. It's just. Yeah, it was, that was, that was an interesting, that was an interesting trip there.
• 37:22
  > Bob>80% of a bottle. This is good. Amused boosh to dinner.
• 37:25
  > Brent>And then the next day we went back and there was no more. And we were just like, what, What? How about 10 year bourbon? And he pulls out 10 year bourbon. I'm like, yes, okay, you're my guy. So we're going to be giving the, the Michter's 10 year ride. Uh, 2026 release. A well deserved five sips.
• 37:44
  > Harm>Oh my goodness. Absolutely correct. Yeah, yeah.
• 37:49
  > Brent>It deserves it on flavor. It deserves it on knows and it deserves it on value. So you're again for the money that that costs, you're not getting a better bottle. All right, well guys, pretty good show. I want to thank everybody for joining us.
• 38:02
  > Brent>Thank you Brent, for coming down and wearing pants. Most importantly.
• 38:06
  > Justin>Too bad you're going to miss that bottle.
• 38:07
  > Harm>Um, of 10 year old, 12 hours to join us today.
• 38:10
  > Harm>He's moved out of state. So thank you for driving down.
• 38:14
  > Bob>The 10 year bottle disappears like your
• 38:16
  > Brent>little sister took your last Oreo. And not a traditional Oreo.
• 38:20
  > Harm>No, a limited edition Oreo.
• 38:22
  > Brent>Yeah.
• 38:22
  > Bob>You know, if you want more, you gotta drink it.
• 38:24
  > Bob>Mississippi.
• 38:25
  > Justin>Uh, thank you. That's all I'm saying. If you want more.
• 38:29
  > Brent>Thanks Bob.
• 38:29
  > Harm>I enjoyed the show today. And I, uh, hate having to go to work, but I have to go to work now.
• 38:34
  > Brent>Well, somebody's got to work.
• 38:35
  > Justin>Yeah, you gotta sleep somewhere.
• 38:36
  > Brent>And thank you, Justin.
• 38:38
  > Bob>Oh, uh, thank you for having me. Uh, very lucky.
• 38:41
  > Brent>Well, for Sip, Suds and Smokes, this is Made Man Bob. Thanks for joining us. And remember, life is too short to drink bad whiskey. And if you're here with us today, that wasn't an issue.
• 38:52
  > Justin>It wasn't any.
• 38:55
  > Announcer>We hope you enjoyed this episode. If you're listening to us online, do yourself a favor and tap. Just tap it in the subscribe button.
• 39:03
  > Harm>Give it a little tappy, tap, tap, taparoo.
• 39:07
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• 39:32
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• 39:34
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• 39:39
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• 39:49
  > Announcer>Come back, join us for another episode and keep on sipping.
• 40:05
  > Announcer>This has been a one tan hand production of Sips, Suds and Smokes, a program devoted to the appreciation of some of the finer slices of life.
• 40:14
  > Announcer>From the dude in the basement studios, your host, the good old boys. We'll see you all next time.