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Wendy Peveich Explains How Archer Eland Makes Rye Taste Luxurious · The Scotchy Bourbon Boys

• 0:59
  SPEAKER_08: Middlewest Spirits was founded in 2008, focusing on elevating the distinct flavors of the Ohio River Valley.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_08: Their spirits honor their roots and reflect their originality as makers, their integrity as producers, and their passion for crafting spirits from grain to glass.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_08: Their Michelone reserve line reflects their story from the start from the bottle to your glass with unique wheat and rye bourbons.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_08: I'm not even allowed to also rye and wheat whiskey.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_08: Oh, we just said no.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_08: The Michelone grain.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_08: But I like to think of it as a cut and running out of the way.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_06: Open it eventually.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_06: I'm just not going to do it without her here.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_01: I don't have bond money.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: Don't do that.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_06: No, I don't I don't want to cause those issues.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: Dude, I listen.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: Open it at your own risk.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: Because that's Rachel's bottle.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_01: Didn't you buy your own?
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_01: Because that's Rachel's bottle.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: I signed it on.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_07: I bought it for her, that bottle.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_06: It's okay.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_06: It's okay.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_07: Listen, she opens all my stuff all the time.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_07: We're we'll we're equal opportunity openers.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_01: I'm out of that one.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: That's on you.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_08: All right.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_08: So welcome to the Scotchy Bourbon Boys.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_08: We're here tonight with Wendy Pivich.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_08: She is joining us.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_08: And from Archer Eland, she has her new rye whiskey line brand of, you know, the her brand of rye whiskey.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_08: And we're so excited to have her here tonight.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_08: We also got CT.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_08: Welcome, CT.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_07: Hey everybody.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_08: And yeah.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_08: And she we said that, but we're fresh off Wendy and myself were both in New Orleans.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_08: And we were talking a little bit on the pre-cast, but Wendy, just talk about the experience in New Orleans and how cool that that whole experience was.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_08: And you've also said you've been on the road pushing the brand, but you know, I really felt between everything that was going on there that you were, you know, there there was just everybody just kept coming up.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_08: And I think there's such it's such a unique brand, top to bottom.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_08: I I mean you've got the the rise and the four different rides that I that you sent me as samples, and then you've got the coolest bottle on the market.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_08: So talk a little bit, you know, right off the bat about how the presentation and everything went in New Orleans.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it was amazing.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: I actually tried to me getting to New Orleans, I was in Virginia as a judge.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes I'm called or invited rather to judge certain spirits in certain competitions, which I'm always honored to do.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I always meet such amazing people.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: And this time around, I had the honor of being around the likes of Lou Bryson and Paul Litko, Tracy Franklin, Maggie Kimball, Maggie Campbell, Caitlin Bodlamy.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_01: So many amazing human beings, and we just had an amazing time because what Virginia is doing is amazing.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_01: What they're doing is bringing in unbiased opinion to judge the spirits that are within Virginia, whether it's a rye, rock, you know, whatever it is across those boards, that's what we're doing.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_01: And Vicki Harris and her husband were there as football, which is pretty awesome.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: But from there, I came to New Orleans and I was presented with the opportunity of coming in to kind of do a finger on the pulse to see kind of how you know Archie Eland will be received.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_01: And it was beautiful for me because I haven't seen some of my industry friends in about two years because I kind of went underground a little bit and went quiet because I was working on a huge task.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's a behemoth, if you will.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: So it was great.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: I was able to showcase Archie Eland, uh, showcase Ohio grain and what we're doing out here, and actually finally stand in there as myself.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a brand owner now.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a blender now.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: I don't call myself a master blender.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_01: You have to kind of put your dues and pay your dues for a long time before you are ordained as a master, master blender, which is something I'm speaking for to doing.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_01: So making brains and showcasing my products was absolutely phenomenal and it was received very, very well.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_07: It's it's unique because you a special thing with your brand that it is 100% rye.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_07: And I I like the fact that you're breaking down that wall that not not everybody has, but there are people who opinionate your eyes and other things, and it's it's kind of neat to see you tackle that head on.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, I mean, I have people that went before me and literally think about a wall, right?
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_01: And someone takes a sledgehammer to it and they hit it, and you get a fractured crap, right?
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_01: So for me, I think of people like Becky Harris, who is the owner of Catochtin Creek out in Virginia, and then I think of Todd Leopold, who is the master behind the three chamber rye and rye rusky.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: And so those are the people that did that.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: They hit that crack, they hit that wall.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: My job is blasted open, and that's what I'm doing right now.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm doing it through the perspective of showcasing the world, what Ohio Green actually does and looks like through my blending technique and showcasing what I have to offer for the state of Ohio to everybody.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: So it's quite the honor, honestly.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_08: Well, it what's what go ahead, Chris.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_08: Go ahead, Jeff.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_08: Go ahead.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_08: Okay.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_08: So you name the names that you are naming are people throughout the whole industry.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_08: And one of the things, like you said, you're you're what's really cool, you come, you know, your where your background is from, we'll get a little bit into that.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_08: But then working at Middle West Spirits in Ohio and through the your brand, through the Middle West brand.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_08: But you were talking about people who are, you know, right about Kentucky and all that kind of stuff.
• 7:08
  SPEAKER_08: So you're so intertwined into that culture and you're so aware of all the other people.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_08: I really think that's a strong point, you know.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_08: And but the one thing, how did you get into it all?
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_08: I mean, your background, like you what you were talking about, was was, you know, so diverse of the people that you were talking about, but all of them are at festivals and different places and doing doing some amazing things.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_08: You know, Maggie Krimbrill, she writes for, I believe, Whiskey Advocate.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_08: And she, you know, there's so many different things.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_08: So, how did it start?
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_08: How did you get from where you were before to want to start to get into the industry?
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: So, prior to this, my nine to five was I'm actually a cardiovascular nurse practitioner.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_01: So, my specialization is in general cardiovascular medicine.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: I dabbled in heart failure, but I know this sounds absolutely morbid, but I love heart attacks just because I just kind of love the way they present.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: They never are the same.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: One heart attack is not the same.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_01: But anyway, I worked for 13 years, 13 to 15 years as a as a nurse, and then NP for a cup of coffee.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: And during COVID, I was one of the nurses taken from my floor, put into the ER.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_01: So I was kind of one of the first people to kind of see what was going on in the front lines.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_01: And it was a lot, it was taxing.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: And so I needed an outlet, you know, a creative outlet, not necessarily a scientific and you know, that type of thing, but I just needed a creative outlet for me to disassociate.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_01: And so Ohio is very how bent on mainstream, you know, Buffalo Trace products.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: I always was intrigued.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, man, I really want to try a Buffalo Trace product, never had it before.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_01: And so I remember many years ago, my husband's uncle gifted me a blankets, and I was like, oh, it's all right, it's not bad.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I wanted to delve into it further, but I couldn't get it.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't realize that it was allocated, and I was like, you know what, eff it.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: I decided to, with my at the time I was putting myself through grad school, and I was like, you know what, for a$50 budget, what can I find in the store that's easily accessible, that's just as good as these mainstream products, and that's where my story began.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_01: And I started taking, you know, pictures on it on Instagram.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not an influencer, never was, and never will be.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: Sorry, don't ever tell me that I'm an influencer.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's something I just do not own.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_01: And so with that being said, I did that.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: And by 2020, 2021, I took a leap of faith with the money that I had saved.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: I reached out to someone else, like, I want to learn how to I want to learn what is involved in a barrel pick.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_01: I don't call them barrel picks, I call them curations just because there's a lot that goes into it now that I know what I know and where I'm at right now.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_01: And I went to Colorado and I ended up doing a barrel pick at 291.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: And 291 and Colorado have a special place in my heart because every time I went to Colorado after that, a massive tectonic shift happened in my life where everything changed.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: Thereafter, I ended up getting ambushed by a guy named Mike Paladini.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: He is one of the co-founders of Penelope Bourbon, and I helped them open up the market, the business market, not necessarily the social media side of it, but the business market of Penelope Bourbon and ended up becoming one of the hottest brands in the state of Ohio as I opened it up.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I ended up becoming the face of Penelope Bourbon for the United States of America, and I covered that for a while.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: And uh yeah, that's where it was.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: And then maybe two years ago, 2024, 2025, I decided to venture out on my own.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: I didn't know if I wanted to pour the same amount of effort and energy into someone else, and you know, things aligned the way that they did, and I took a leap of faith and I ended up founding Archer Eland.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I never wanted to do bourbon after that just because I felt like I'd done everything that I could as far as bourbon goes.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_01: I just don't feel like I have anything monumental to contribute to that genre because you have so much that's out there, and uh it's a very difficult, saturated market, and you kind of have to read the room, and it's it's completely different on my end of the world as opposed to like social media and the consumer.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_01: And so throughout my travels, I kind of noticed a lot of things, and I was like, you know what?
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: That's not where I want to go.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_01: And I knew I always wanted to do rye, and things lined up, and I was able to found my own company, my own brand, and I was able to kind of maneuver my way into blending, and here I am.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_01: I am the blender founder behind Archie.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, first the synopsis of it, real quick.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_08: Perfect.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_07: It's it's an incredible journey because I mean, we we uh we got to to be around you a lot when you were with Penelope from being up at Canton to the Marysville, the Marysville night that we had.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_07: That was an incredible experience.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_07: And and you know what's sad is that is closed now.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: I know, they're gone now.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_07: And and it was, you know, it's like you remember these moments, and we talk about this in the suburban world, whiskey world, about moments and and the the way that all this comes together.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_07: And and it's like when you told me at the the pub that night at at what's it called?
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_07: When we did, you were like, This is my last event.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_07: And I'm like, what?
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_07: I remember that night.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_07: As scared as you were that you were going out, I'm like, wait a wait a second, this is windy.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_07: You can't you can't leave.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_07: Like we we we had such a good thing, so now seeing you back in it in this manner is is awesome.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_08: And but she didn't leave.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_08: Actually, no, she left for a little while, but but actually she lands in in Ohio, and then but then but then it's kind of like now before she was she was the oh the the Ohio base for Penelope, but they were using her as the face of the whole brand, and half the time they were sending her everywhere, right?
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_08: If I'm not mistaken.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, right.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_08: So now she's in Ohio, she still has to cover the entire country to sell her own thing, but her home, but your home is here, correct?
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah, so you know, we love that fact, you know, and then I would say just one to what you had said leading up and and going into rise, I will tell you, if you can, if you did went back into bourbon, not saying you're gonna, but if you did and you came up with a uniqueness of bourbon, like what you did with these ries, you that would be the same kind of thing.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_08: I understand the market of bourbon is so big and it's so diverse, but and this is something where you can do that, but people might want to demand that from you to come up with very unique bourbons.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_08: Like this is this is even more unique than the Penelope brand of everything that they have and all the things, different things they do.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_08: So, I mean, you know, don't ever say never.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: Never.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_01: I'm dead serious, never.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: All right.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I'll tell you right now, never.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_01: Number one, number two, you know, rye is very difficult to distill, right?
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: We all know that.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: We know the process.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_01: For consumers, by the way, the reason why I say this is because the structure of rye is it's going to have a certain amount of proteins and starch in it.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_01: And so, with that being said, once it's like milled and then you you cook it and then you get it through, it becomes very gloppy and very thick.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: And you have to be very careful how it moves through your stills and fermenters and so on.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_01: And so, with that being said, I took on the challenge of wanting to understand that whole nuance.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, a lot of people, it's either you like rye or you don't.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's polarizing, right?
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_01: Because most of the times, and even in my travels, I've heard people say I hate rye because it's too spicy, it's too peppery, it's too green.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_01: Green meaning it's spearmint, minty, cedar pine, oaky, you name it.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, bet, let's go.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_01: And so for me, I always loved challenges.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, this very first collection is very near and dear to me.
• 15:31
  SPEAKER_01: It's very special because there's a lot of things that are very symbolic within it.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: And so when I set out to blend this, I create versatility, curiosity, so much so that if you tried it and you go back into the store that hard-earned 50, 60, 80 dollars, you know that when you pull an archie eland, you're getting quality.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what I did.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_01: Everybody can do bourbon.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's it's fair, it's it's reasonably simple.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, because those those nuances come up pretty well.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_01: But it depends on the grain varietal that you're gonna use on rye.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_01: How did you make it?
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_01: Is it column, hybrid, pot, triple, double, or single?
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_01: And you have to be very careful of that.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_01: And if it's you know, cut, meaning that you had your your heads, your hearts, and your tails, or are you just being able to pull, you know, the hearts alone?
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_01: There's so many nuances, and I chose that challenge because when you go in the market and you go into the store, you're only seeing like one or two products of life, one or two products of life.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_01: But here you have four in completely different nuances, and it's something that's never not necessarily done that often.
• 16:37
  SPEAKER_01: And I took that challenge on and I thank the Lord that it's worked out very well.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_07: Well, I mean you made a point right there that was pretty interesting because the price point.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_07: Yeah, when you go into the store here in Columbus and you you your stuff is now to where there's not much of it left because everybody's picked it up.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_07: Because I know where there's one store that I go in and they still have a few bottles of Aurora and Solstice, but but your price point isn't is 50 or 60.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_07: It's not 49, 99, which is the common, you know, when you go into a liquor store, it's always that way.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_07: So it's really odd when you see yours.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_07: It's not odd, that's not the word.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_07: It's different, unique, that you've you've hit that price point at an even number.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_01: I wanted to appeal to, and and I mean no malice behind this, but I wanted to appeal to both blue and white collar, yeah.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, we're in an economy right now where it's so volatile, and I wanted to ensure that whoever that person was and they took that$60 and they're pulling solstice salt for 65 of Aurora or 80 for the girls, they're pulling something that is of quality.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_01: My job and your job, gents, all of us, right?
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_01: The three of us is we spend the money, right, to ensure the things that we taste are they good, are they bad?
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_01: Are they worth the consumer understanding and saying, you know what?
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_01: Jeff said this is good, I should go get it, right?
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_01: Because they trust our palates, correct?
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_06: Right.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_01: And so I took it upon myself to say, you know what?
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_01: I owe to the person that's coming with that 50, 65, you know,$80 because I've been there, done that, spent thousands of dollars on a lot of product.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_01: I've tasted thousands of products over my five years so that I would understand the nuance behind it.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_01: And I never wanted a consumer to be out of money.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I've had those moments where you buy a bottle and it's like a hundred bucks.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_01: And I've had them in the higher, and I was like, whoof, this is rough.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_01: I never wanted that for that person, and that's why I took it on.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_07: That that's great.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_07: Bottles are and your bottles are very distinguishable.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_07: If you walk into a store and you see this bottle, and the camera won't do it justice because the texture and feel, even of the small flasks that we have, they have that same feel that the bottle does.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_07: But I think it definitely stands out.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_07: And people, I I've seen people in liquor stores walk by and look, and they're like, oh, and then they, you know, whatever.
• 19:06
  SPEAKER_07: But great packaging.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_07: The the and it's very it's transparent right up front, tells exactly what's going on.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_07: They love the names.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_07: We'll let you talk about that in a minute when we try them.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_07: But you nailed it on the packaging, and and you can tell this was a detail-oriented thing, it's not just something that just gonna put it in a bottle, and I got this person designing a sticker, and blah, blah, blah.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_07: You you you put some time into this thing.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: Lots of time.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: Took me a long time.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_08: So, the other aspect of what you were saying just right before is I really feel so, Wendy, you're very unique in the industry.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_08: And I'm gonna say, uh I'll make this statement after doing this all along.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_08: I would say if I was really to put a price point between the the the not just, I'm not talking about Jim Beams or whatever, but from small batch to high-end thousands of dollars of you know, things that caught that Buffalo Trace sells for$6,500, okay?
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_08: And then you have a small batch sitting at$39.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_08: If I was to actually put a price point on taste difference between those two levels, it's$20.
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_08: I mean, realistically, to me, now how rare stuff is has everything to do with the right to be able to taste this because there's not that much.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_08: But what I really feel is what makes something of value that when you walk into the liquor store and you choose a brand and you're aware of a brand, is your your you put in high quality and then you go talk about it with people.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_08: It's it's there's a lot of brands at the even the New Orleans Bourbon Festival where the people who were responsible for it aren't there.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_08: And so you're there.
• 21:13
  SPEAKER_08: You're there.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_08: You're you were there.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_08: I mean, Greg Keeley from Larry, you he was there by himself.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_08: He set up that, he came in, set that whole booth up.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: He was like he needed the help though.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I love Greg, he's amazing.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: And that was my first time meeting him in person.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_01: Uh yeah, I love Lieutenant Colonel, he's amazing.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: Lariken, if you guys ever go out to Kentucky, please go visit Laricen.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um, he made one of the most phenomenal, delicate, very I think it was very difficult to make.
• 21:44
  SPEAKER_01: He has a rose petal whiskey.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah, rose water, yes.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_01: His rose petal is my favorite, and uh, he's a he's a such a sweetheart and such a phenomenal human being, and I'm very honored to know him.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_01: So, yeah.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah, but I mean, great man.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_08: You're right there pouring for people.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_08: They and then I'm gonna tell you out of every single person I've ever met, you describe whiskey unlike anybody else.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_08: So you're able to get across your point in extremely intelligent and technical, but then with the most beautiful accent that I've ever heard in my life.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_08: When I I it's like listening to a symphony.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_08: So the fact that your face and your talking about your whiskey is everything to the brand.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_08: And so people will try it.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_08: And then once they try it, you have the uniqueness, and that puts us to well, I just the the last question before we go to the to the the whiskey is at middle, how did you hook how did the hookup with Middle West happen?
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_08: To to have your brand and then also be a part of them at the same time.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_08: You know, talk about what happened with that.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_08: How did that meet up happen?
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um I've known Ryan and Middle West since 2008.
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_01: My earliest memory, I I don't know if you guys have the short squats.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_01: They called O Y O.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_05: Yep.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_01: My my my my earliest memory of Middle West Spirits is I got very sick around 2007, 2008.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_01: It was 2008, 2009.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_01: I got the flu.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_01: And um I was like, you know what sod it this is when Middlewest Spirits was a salmon color, it was the color of Chris's room on the outside was terracotta, and you could walk up and you could, you know, get you know, get your your your bottles.
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_01: So I've known Middleworth Spirits since it was a short squat, it's an OIO and it has a clear sticker.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_01: And I bought their white dog because I was sick.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_01: I drank that uh proper normal.
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_01: Do you know there's only two brands out there that have cleared my sickness was that OIO short squats, they no longer make them, unfortunately.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you can't get those.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_01: And 291.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_01: Michael Meyer stuff will clear me out just fine.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_01: And so I've known the program at the time, you know, when I used to do my travels and in my previous, you know, chapter of life.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I have friends there, I've known them for many years, and it was such an honor to always see Ohio and places I thought I'd never ever see.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_01: So I've seen Middle West as far as California, Corpus Christi, Florida, all the way up to Vermont.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_01: And I always reach out to my friends and go, hey guys, I miss you.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_01: I'm in business, I'm I'm, you know, I'm in market, but guess what I found?
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I always take pictures so that they could see where they were.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_01: You know, Missouri, you name it.
• 25:31
  SPEAKER_01: Anywhere I went, I always, and when I came home, I would always find some time to spend an hour at service bar and just sit down and talk with my friends and say, Yeah, life is great, you know, it's it's all good, blah, blah, blah.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_01: And I've always known Ryan.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_01: He's now my mentor.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_01: He helped me structure Archer Ewan.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_01: He's my mentor now.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_08: Good guy for that.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_08: Oh, yeah.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: I love yeah, he's awesome.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, when time came, you know, I was at a bifurcation and choice of life, and I was like, where do I go from here?
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I reached out to him and I was like, this is the bifurcation I'm facing.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, Oh, that's on you.
• 26:08
  SPEAKER_01: You gotta figure it out.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_01: Like, do you go this route or do you need to go that route?
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_01: You're going to have to figure out what you want.
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_01: And I had to take some time and reflect and figure out what was what I was going to do.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, obviously I prayed about it.
• 26:23
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, you know, my faith now is much stronger than it was many, many years ago.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, a very scary thing happened in 2023 where I was shown the vision as to what happened, but I didn't really think about it up until it happened.
• 26:37
  SPEAKER_01: And when everything was solidified, and I was like, oh crap, this is what it means.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, I was like, okay, I'm ready to go.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like, all right, let's go.
• 26:46
  SPEAKER_01: And so he's helped me structure Archer.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_01: He, like I said, he's a mentor to me and helps me guide because I have a vision as to how Archer even is structured, how it's going to look, how long it's going to be around, how it's going to be, because the beacon and the mainstay of my brand is in Ohio.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_01: I want to be that for our state.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_01: I want it to be a situation where, you know, again, it's not to be supercilious, but if you can go to Kentucky and see all these mainstays, why can't you do that here?
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_01: So that's what we're doing, you know, with Archie Eland.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_01: And obviously, Middle West is doing their thing and it's amazing.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, Ryan is building a con, you know, he's building an empire.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_01: I'm in the process of building a conglomerate to get to an empire.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_01: And so with that being said, I was like, you know what?
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_01: If you're traveling so much, I'll just be in the background and I'll help you blend.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_01: And it's an honor because he's very much involved in the blending and processing and stuff like that.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_01: For him to relinquish that is a big, big deal.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I've done a couple projects for them that you all would never know that I did, and you'll see them in the market, and I've done them, and it's kind of how it came to be.
• 27:54
  SPEAKER_01: And so I've had a I have a phenomenal team, I have a phenomenal finance team, I have a phenomenal production team.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_01: It's insane.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_01: I never thought I could ever have something like this.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_01: And the days that pinch myself going, God, I don't deserve this.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, I I I I welcome it with humility and and gratitude because it's something I never thought I could have done or have in my way.
• 28:19
  SPEAKER_08: You deserve it because you figured it, you figure you figured it out.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_08: That's why you deserve it.
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_08: I mean, I I've met Ryan many times now.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_08: And when you're in Ryan's presence, you understand what kind of a person he is, but also what kind of a person who knows exactly what and how to do this and what he it what he's doing in the state of people don't know.
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_08: He owns construction companies that build all his rick houses.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_08: He's producing a massive amount of whiskey on all fronts, and it's kind of going on behind the scenes.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's not like there's a lot of things that, you know, we obviously, and and that's the thing I love about partnering with Middle West as a partnership, is we are very in line.
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_01: I am not a boisterous, hey, look at me type of person.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_01: I love being in the dark behind the scenes, moving in silence.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_01: You our work speaks for itself, our craftsmanship speaks for itself.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_01: How we maneuver, how we move, it speaks for itself.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_01: I don't have to come out and go, hey, look at me.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_01: And like I said, you know, the fact that he trusts me with his family legacy name.
• 29:31
  SPEAKER_01: I blended his family legacy name.
• 29:33
  SPEAKER_01: I did.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_01: It's out there.
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_01: There's a couple more projects that are out there that I blended on his behalf because he's traveling so much and he just doesn't have the time to do it.
• 29:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm happy to do it while I build my business.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_01: We're just not those type of people.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_01: We just want to make sure people love what we do and the quality that we provide because we want to show a different avenue to whiskey, whether it's bourbon rye, white rye, wheat whiskey, you name it.
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_01: That's what we're doing right now.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm very honored to be able to go blend for him.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_08: The Ohio part is the only thing that you guys that that he promotes the terroir, the grain, the the barrel.
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_08: I mean, it's all of it's he pushes Ohio.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_08: That's what when you're talking to him, it's Ohio.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_08: It's not me.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_08: He's not saying me.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_08: Same thing with you.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_08: You're pushing this out, and you've all you want to do it for Ohio because it's not something that anybody thinks, but you know, where Columbus is, what an hour from Kentucky.
• 30:31
  SPEAKER_08: It's not like, but but the flavors of Ohio are in this whiskey, and that's an amazing thing.
• 30:37
  SPEAKER_08: It's not, it's not Kentucky, it's not Indiana, it's in Ohio, and that's not easy to do, and he's doing it, and you're doing it.
• 30:45
  SPEAKER_08: So let's go right into let's get into this because I know you got to get off in a couple minutes.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_08: So what do you you know what?
• 30:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I know I said a hard 9 30, but you know, I I honor you guys.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_01: I'll stay on longer.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_01: How do we need to get going?
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_01: We'll we'll do it.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_01: I said 9 30 to Chris.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, you know, it's fine.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_01: I got it, Chris.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_01: It's fine.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_01: We'll we'll keep going as long as we need to.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_01: So sorry.
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_07: I I was just so you know, I clarified that before we started.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_08: And I was being very specific.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_08: I would we would have honored you at that 100%, but we'll go.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_01: No, I I want to do I want to do the the podcast and you gents justice, and I had a hard 9 30, but it's okay.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_01: I'm I'm used to do this.
• 31:24
  SPEAKER_01: I can maneuver and I can pivot, so it's fine.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_07: So, Wendy, why don't you walk us through these four expressions, tell us, and then we will we will drink them and give our own two seconds.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_07: Yeah, whatever.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_01: Chris, you and I are gonna see Jeff's reaction and see what he's gonna say, right?
• 31:42
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna give him a hard.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_07: He's probably been practicing.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly, right?
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_08: He's gonna be well in in in it you you you'll be relieved that after I've I've I've you've given me this kit for a while, so I've really dove deep into what I can taste, and there's no formaldehyde or bad tastes in them.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_08: Like I get now, you have to understand, Wendy.
• 32:10
  SPEAKER_00: Fordehyde.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_08: I with you have to understand it's it's my palate.
• 32:15
  SPEAKER_08: I will pick up some of the most rancid tastes in rye whiskey, but I've worked around you know you shouldn't be drinking it.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_00: You shouldn't be drinking it in that.
• 32:29
  SPEAKER_08: Wait, I do drink the one, I find the ones I like.
• 32:32
  SPEAKER_08: If I taste that, I don't drink that, okay?
• 32:35
  SPEAKER_08: But I mean, I there's nothing I can get around it.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_08: I we've I've done podcasts with other people, and they think it's the best rye they ever tasted.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_08: And I just get, but that's kind of how sometimes people's palates work.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_08: And that's what from the start.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_01: Biological variability.
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_08: I mean, from the start.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_01: So may I ask you before we start, what is your favorite rye?
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_01: Don't say dark rabbinic, it's fine, but what's your favorite rye?
• 33:00
  SPEAKER_08: Favorite rye would be it was a Mickter's toast, it was a Mickter's toasted barrel calf strength.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_08: It was that rye, and then also whiskey thief for whatever they're doing with their ryes.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_08: They had 10 barrels out at the one day, and I got it mixed up, and I thought, and it was by far out of all the bourbons, it's the first Mickters beat the bourbons that were on the pot, and that one beat the all the bourbons.
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_08: So I mean, and I'm I'm a bourbon lover, so there are ries that I absolutely love.
• 33:38
  SPEAKER_08: Now, as far as what you're what we're doing tonight, I will tell you what level they are to me, and we could go from there.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_01: And that's fine, and I'll tell you why I made them the way that they are.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, and that's the beauty of conversation, right?
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_01: That's the beauty of having three different palettes.
• 33:56
  SPEAKER_01: We have biological, cultural variability, and that's the lovely thing about it is that and and the other thing is, and I want consumers to understand this when I create these products, I'm not thinking about myself and white as blenders.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_01: We step outside of our self-awareness, we have to put our egos aside when we're blending.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_01: And for me, I can speak for myself when I say this is when I blend, I have to block myself out.
• 34:20
  SPEAKER_01: And if you see my office, Ryan's wife laughs at me and she, I was like, I need my office to be white, stuck, like the walls behind me.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_01: This is my home office.
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_01: My home office is stock white because I have to have sensory deprivation and I have noise canceling earphones, and everybody knows not to disturb me.
• 34:37
  SPEAKER_01: But this conversation is gonna be amazing because we're going to have biological and cultural variance.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_01: Number one.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_01: Number two, it's an educational moment where we're able to impart that to the consumer that way.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_01: They kind of have the information that they need in order for them to kind of figure out what they want.
• 34:53
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm so excited about that.
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's not always something that's always gonna be the same thing.
• 34:58
  SPEAKER_08: Well, when you think about you put out four ryes and you and I like one, you've done your job, right?
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_08: Thank you.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_08: I mean, how many people, you know, some people love rice and they might buy them all, but most people aren't gonna buy all, they're gonna find one that they like.
• 35:15
  SPEAKER_08: But if you find one that somebody likes and is willing to buy the bottle over and and be a part of it, I mean, that's what the ultimate goal is, right?
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_01: You're right, yeah, absolutely.
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_08: All right, so what are we lucky?
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just lucky that you're drinking it.
• 35:31
  SPEAKER_01: But I will say this, just so you guys know, the you know, the gifts.
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_01: I don't like calling it PR kids.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_01: I hate that word.
• 35:38
  SPEAKER_01: When I started this out so consumers can understand the intentionality behind my breath is anybody that got that box that you all see and the the flasks that you all see, those were gifts.
• 35:52
  SPEAKER_01: They were gifts sent to people that have supported me throughout the years, in my previous chapter into now.
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_01: It was my way was very it was very, very important when I started Archie Eland that I sent these gifts out to everybody that meant something to me to say thank you for supporting me.
• 36:10
  SPEAKER_01: Whether you like it or you don't like it, I just wanted to say thank you.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_01: The other thing is that these particular flasks that you see in front of you, they actually double up as a flask.
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_01: So Jeff, you can empty them out, and you can put your favorite cocktail, your favorite paw, and if you're going to golf, concerts, movies, or whatever, you've got a pocket, a pocket core, a pocket flask.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_01: Or I could make them the way that I did.
• 36:36
  SPEAKER_01: Everyone with my brand is very intentional behind it, but this was my way of saying thank you to everybody.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_01: You two gents included Jeff and Chris to say you've watched me over the years evolve and grow, and it was important for me to come back home and show love to the people from home that loved me and say thank you.
• 36:57
  SPEAKER_01: So that was the person.
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_07: Thank you, we have appreciated it very much.
• 37:01
  SPEAKER_07: A lot.
• 37:09
  SPEAKER_07: But the card inside probably means as much as anything.
• 37:12
  SPEAKER_07: The fact you took the time to handwrite a card everybody that you sent that package to says a lot of the person that you are and why we love you.
• 37:23
  SPEAKER_01: So 17-hour days by myself in uh in the sleep by myself.
• 37:28
  SPEAKER_01: I was kind of scared, but you know, I it meant a lot to me.
• 37:31
  SPEAKER_01: I'll never I met Jeff, my first OHL Q pick with Penelope, and then you know, we've just stayed in touch ever since.
• 37:39
  SPEAKER_01: I know obviously I got busier or whatever, but whenever I ran into him, I was so happy to see him and his wife, and obviously you, Chris.
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_01: Same thing.
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_01: When I see you and Rachel, absolutely loved it.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_01: And so it was very important for me, very, very important for me to start with you two first.
• 37:55
  SPEAKER_01: And you'll see that there's very, I think I sent very few people in Ohio gifts, but it was important for me to send it to you all, say thank you so much.
• 38:03
  SPEAKER_01: You've you've rocked with me for so long.
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_01: I know it's Rye, it's not Jeff's favorite.
• 38:10
  SPEAKER_08: I I will I will say also when you do it, you you talk as well as you write.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_08: I mean, look at how beautiful her handwriting is.
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_08: I mean, it's just it's just like it's the whole package.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_07: It's like how how and you know it's gonna and the other thing you know, you know somebody else didn't write it because they're all her handwriting.
• 38:32
  SPEAKER_07: It's not like helping her.
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_01: I did all 500 bottles by myself.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, 500, 550 bottles by myself.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_01: But as you guys are nosing it and tasting it, so Archard Eland is an amalgamation name.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_01: Archid is me.
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_01: I'm a Sagittarius, I was born in November.
• 38:46
  SPEAKER_01: And Eland is my mother, she's the Eland.
• 38:49
  SPEAKER_01: My mother's Zimbabwean.
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_01: And in her language, when you approach her and you honor her, just kind of like Native Americans have spirit animal tribes.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_01: It's the same thing with my mother's culture.
• 38:58
  SPEAKER_01: And when you translate that, it's the giant Eland.
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_01: My mother is still alive, but I wanted to create a living legacy love letter to my mother and say thank you for everything you've done for me.
• 39:08
  SPEAKER_01: I wouldn't be able to sit here and have a conversation with a gents without her.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_01: And that's where it came from.
• 39:13
  SPEAKER_01: And what you're tasting right now is solstice.
• 39:16
  SPEAKER_01: Solstice is the introductory ri I created.
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_01: It is at the time I'm transitioning from leaving one chapter into another.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_01: I was reaching for hope and warmth.
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_01: It's a blend of four and seven-year-old barrels.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_01: My barrels are great.
• 39:31
  SPEAKER_01: I just wanted to create layers of complexity.
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_01: And I proved solstice down to 104 proof.
• 39:37
  SPEAKER_01: Now, when you go into the store, you typically see 80s, 90s.
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_01: I wanted to push the envelope a little bit, get you out of your comfort zone.
• 39:43
  SPEAKER_01: And that's why he created it.
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_01: Cheers to you, Jennings.
• 39:46
  SPEAKER_06: Thank you.
• 39:47
  SPEAKER_08: Cheers.
• 39:48
  SPEAKER_08: So, yes, cheers.
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_08: Now, Stacy Stearns says she poured some solstice, and that was the most unique rye whiskey she's had in a long time.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_08: And it's such a bargain.
• 40:00
  SPEAKER_07: Thank you so much.
• 40:01
  SPEAKER_07: Thanks for joining, Stacy.
• 40:03
  SPEAKER_08: Randy Prass, he says hi.
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_00: Randy?
• 40:10
  SPEAKER_00: Randy, where have you been?
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_00: I've been looking.
• 40:12
  SPEAKER_00: How's it going?
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_08: Randy Ford, who you saw at the festival, he said it was good to see you, and thanks for making it a good weekend.
• 40:25
  SPEAKER_01: Randy Frost, did you make it home okay?
• 40:28
  SPEAKER_08: And then Martin Nash, he says, he gives you super Nash on the podcast.
• 40:34
  SPEAKER_08: He's he just says he's a cool for us.
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_01: Hi Martin, how are you?
• 40:38
  SPEAKER_01: I hope you're doing great.
• 40:39
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah, tonight he's got a lot.
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_08: He's working, he's working his butt off.
• 40:44
  SPEAKER_08: So hi Martin.
• 40:45
  SPEAKER_08: So there you go.
• 40:46
  SPEAKER_08: I covered that.
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_08: All right, so solstice, okay?
• 40:49
  SPEAKER_08: So one, what's really cool is I I always do a chat GPT outline, and I'm sure that they've got they the chat GPT always already knows it's a quote from you.
• 41:02
  SPEAKER_08: Is this is my entry point to the brand.
• 41:05
  SPEAKER_08: That's what it's so I mean, so it's kind of cool.
• 41:09
  SPEAKER_08: And here we go.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_00: Watch the face, Chris.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_00: Watch the face.
• 41:16
  SPEAKER_08: No, not a bad.
• 41:17
  SPEAKER_08: You were talking about green, okay?
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_08: So earthy green is the part I can't t stand.
• 41:25
  SPEAKER_08: But if you get mint, spearmint, I'm I'm I'm okay with that.
• 41:32
  SPEAKER_08: And this has like a citrusy, minty kind of fresh taste to it.
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_08: So uh this brand was uh it was not off-putting to me at all.
• 41:43
  SPEAKER_08: It drinks at the 104 proof, I think, out of all of them, it drinks the most, what would you say, drink drinkable, like light, you know, light.
• 41:54
  SPEAKER_08: So yeah.
• 41:55
  SPEAKER_07: There's also a nice, like on the nose and the palate, it transitions too, is there's a there's a floral note for me that that moves with it.
• 42:02
  SPEAKER_07: And I like that because it's it's different.
• 42:06
  SPEAKER_07: It's uh as you said, I'm not a huge fan of dill pickle in my rye, but I like dill pickles, I just don't like them in my rye.
• 42:16
  SPEAKER_07: But this this is just light, it's there's still those other flavors.
• 42:21
  SPEAKER_07: I mean, you could go on and on.
• 42:22
  SPEAKER_07: I'm sure there's a thousand and some flavor profiles that go into this, but for the most part, I think Jeff said it right there.
• 42:30
  SPEAKER_07: There's a little bit of honey sweetness too, or like rice.
• 42:34
  SPEAKER_08: Convectionary sugar sweetness almost, you know?
• 42:36
  SPEAKER_07: Because I think yeah, very good.
• 42:41
  SPEAKER_07: Again, price point on this, Wendy, what is it in Ohio?
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_01: In the state of Ohio is$60.
• 42:46
  SPEAKER_01: If you're on e-commerce, it's a little bit higher at$65.
• 42:49
  SPEAKER_07: Okay.
• 42:50
  SPEAKER_07: So in this bottle, which is I don't have the big bottle of it, but that bottle is still available.
• 42:59
  SPEAKER_01: Solstice is available.
• 43:00
  SPEAKER_01: So Solstice is designed to be the volume puller in our world, right?
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_01: Meaning it's the everyday zipper.
• 43:06
  SPEAKER_01: When you walk into the store, you don't have to think about it.
• 43:09
  SPEAKER_01: It's the very one that you're gonna pull off.
• 43:10
  SPEAKER_01: That's how I designed it.
• 43:12
  SPEAKER_01: Introductory, great entry point on proof, beautiful blend, right?
• 43:17
  SPEAKER_01: And then on top of that, it's the price point as well.
• 43:20
  SPEAKER_01: So I was always looking at my competitors because they I understand that I've been placed in the premium.
• 43:26
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not ultra-premium, I'm premium.
• 43:28
  SPEAKER_01: And so that's where I'm at.
• 43:29
  SPEAKER_01: And I just thought that was a really good price point for people that they could afford it in order for them to kind of get something spine.
• 43:34
  SPEAKER_01: Could they fuck?
• 43:35
  SPEAKER_01: Don't have to go to the bar, grab that, and we'll be good.
• 43:38
  SPEAKER_07: And so bourbon, for the bourbon people that are out there, because you get a lot of the proof type people, you know, that's been the big bunch of two years.
• 43:47
  SPEAKER_07: It's uh, it's not hazmat, I don't want to break it.
• 43:49
  SPEAKER_07: Yeah, but I I have found myself regressing back into lower proofs, trying to look for more flavors.
• 43:57
  SPEAKER_07: And that this has a really nice finish.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_07: The the it's not overwhelmingly pepper.
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_07: It's not that.
• 44:05
  SPEAKER_07: It just has a nice warmingness to it that just I don't know, works well.
• 44:10
  SPEAKER_07: It's got a good balance.
• 44:12
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, whiskey should never catch you in your throat like Hoffman.
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_01: That's not good.
• 44:15
  SPEAKER_01: That's not good quality in whiskey that I've learned.
• 44:19
  SPEAKER_01: It should come down, hit you in your chest, and then warm you all the way through, is what you should do.
• 44:24
  SPEAKER_01: And what's fun in New Orleans is I had a seminar, and this one lady's like, I love marguerines, but I hate tequila.
• 44:30
  SPEAKER_01: Like we all sat and they were like, oh, really?
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_01: And she goes, What she does, and she stole the idea from, I guess, bourbon pursuit gents, like rye and sisile.
• 44:37
  SPEAKER_01: And she said, You make your marguerine traditional, but instead of putting tequila, you put rye whiskey.
• 44:42
  SPEAKER_01: More like we all looked at them like, well, what are we doing tonight?
• 44:46
  SPEAKER_01: So Saturday at New Orleans, I ran around and I spoke with the organizer.
• 44:52
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, Can someone give me these components?
• 44:54
  SPEAKER_01: I had a legendary McSollan just making cocktails behind me with Aurora, and we took solstice and we made a rye rita.
• 45:02
  SPEAKER_01: So we made a traditional rye, and she says she liked tart cherry juice, but we couldn't find it.
• 45:07
  SPEAKER_01: So we ended up using strawberry puree and it was fire.
• 45:11
  SPEAKER_01: It went off pace.
• 45:13
  SPEAKER_01: So if anyone's interested, if you want a margarita, you can substitute to keel if you don't like it, use solstice at 104-proof, and you're gonna have a great time with it.
• 45:22
  SPEAKER_01: If you are into spring summer, use lavender, blueberries, that sort of thing, because you have lemon peel, orange marmelade coming through it, the citrus notes.
• 45:32
  SPEAKER_01: You can make something uh lovely slushy and have a great day with it.
• 45:35
  unknown: Yeah.
• 45:36
  SPEAKER_07: Yeah.
• 45:37
  SPEAKER_07: Yeah, that's uh that one is gonna be fun.
• 45:39
  SPEAKER_07: I can't wait to do more with it throughout the summer, summer.
• 45:42
  SPEAKER_08: So that sounds like A scotchy bourbon boys uh a solstice margarita as in your next drink special CT.
• 45:53
  SPEAKER_07: You know what's funny is and I like tequila, everybody knows I I have a pretty good tequila collection.
• 45:58
  SPEAKER_07: I like tequila a lot, good tequilas, but I make my margarita with bourbon.
• 46:04
  SPEAKER_07: I have not used solstice to do it yet, but I will be.
• 46:07
  SPEAKER_07: So I know what you think.
• 46:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it was great when she told us how to make it when it got the components.
• 46:12
  SPEAKER_01: We made it for New Orleans Bourbon Festival, it was flying off, and I'm thinking it was great, it was a great hit.
• 46:17
  unknown: Yeah.
• 46:18
  SPEAKER_07: Well, let's move on to Aurora.
• 46:23
  SPEAKER_07: The one thing I did want to ask to finish on each of these when we get done.
• 46:26
  SPEAKER_07: What how did the name come about for that one?
• 46:30
  SPEAKER_01: And like I said, you know, this very particular collection is very near and dear to me because it actually tells a story of me transitioning from a national brand ambassador into a business owner, brand owner, and a blender.
• 46:41
  SPEAKER_01: So Solstice at the time, I just wanted to reach for hope and warmth, and that's where it came from.
• 46:46
  unknown: Okay.
• 46:46
  SPEAKER_01: And that's how Solstice came about.
• 46:48
  SPEAKER_01: So going forward, I am not doing batches, I do vintages.
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_01: So what you guys are tasting is the 2025 vintage of Solstice.
• 46:57
  SPEAKER_01: And then once it's done, whatever year we land in, we'll do that vintage of 2026, 2027, and so on and so on.
• 47:04
  unknown: Yeah.
• 47:05
  unknown: Okay.
• 47:06
  unknown: Yeah.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_07: All right.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_07: Tell us about what we're starting on now.
• 47:10
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and that's what I'm drinking right now, is my problem child Aurora.
• 47:13
  SPEAKER_08: Is your problem child, huh?
• 47:15
  SPEAKER_08: Problem child.
• 47:16
  SPEAKER_01: Who's the most difficult to blend?
• 47:18
  SPEAKER_01: The most difficult to blend.
• 47:21
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, Aurora and Solstice are both four-year and seven-year blends, but what I play around with, and what I love about this, is I tell you the story about warehouse maturation.
• 47:33
  SPEAKER_01: I tell you the story about how different year age statements marry and work with each other.
• 47:38
  SPEAKER_01: The four-year is going to give you sweetness and youth.
• 47:41
  SPEAKER_01: The seven year comes in with complexity and different types of difficult flavors that you get.
• 47:46
  SPEAKER_01: When you put them together, they actually do a beautiful, a beautiful enhancement.
• 47:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I'll liken it to this.
• 47:53
  SPEAKER_01: If you've ever had watermelon, you put a bit of salt in a little basil.
• 47:57
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely lovely.
• 47:58
  SPEAKER_01: You get these beautiful nuances that you get.
• 48:00
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what happened with solstice and aurora.
• 48:02
  SPEAKER_01: Now, when I blend, I tend to blend, and sometimes I can see in colors.
• 48:06
  SPEAKER_01: There's some blenders that see music notes and so on and so on and memories or whatever.
• 48:10
  SPEAKER_01: But for me, it's colors.
• 48:11
  SPEAKER_01: And when I blended Aurora, this is the time where I'm kind of coming to a very difficult conundrum where the human experience is you're lying to yourself, you cannot start a brand, and all these conflicting things that were fighting within me.
• 48:27
  SPEAKER_01: And Aurora at the time when I was done with her, I saw green, blue, purple, and brown.
• 48:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, oh my gosh, I don't know what to do.
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_01: So I sat in at the distillery, and our controller Kathy came around.
• 48:38
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, I just don't know what to name her.
• 48:41
  SPEAKER_01: And I was telling her, I can see these colors.
• 48:44
  SPEAKER_01: That's easy.
• 48:44
  SPEAKER_01: Name it Aurora, the Northern Lights.
• 48:47
  SPEAKER_01: And that's how we came about with it.
• 48:49
  SPEAKER_01: This is designed for the quintessential rye drinker.
• 48:53
  SPEAKER_01: It's rye flavors throughout through.
• 48:56
  SPEAKER_01: But with Aurora, you get, like I mentioned, those spudge brownies.
• 49:01
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you get peppercorn in it, but in not an abrasive way.
• 49:05
  SPEAKER_01: And you get caramel that comes through, cinnamon, apple, and these subtle nutty finishes that are so fun because they just pop everywhere.
• 49:12
  SPEAKER_01: Almost effort.
• 49:14
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what I made with this one.
• 49:16
  SPEAKER_01: So enjoy.
• 49:17
  SPEAKER_01: It's at 110 fruit again, four and seven euro bros.
• 49:21
  SPEAKER_08: So you said the quintessential.
• 49:26
  SPEAKER_08: All right.
• 49:26
  SPEAKER_08: I taste the rye spice, okay?
• 49:29
  SPEAKER_08: Which is classic.
• 49:31
  SPEAKER_08: But there's nothing like rye after that.
• 49:35
  SPEAKER_08: You've got the chocolate, and then you've got the sweetness, a little bit of caramel, so it's almost like a milk dud.
• 49:45
  SPEAKER_08: But but what I'm saying is that the bullet rye drinker has no idea, has never even came close.
• 49:55
  SPEAKER_08: Well, it's 95-5, and it's it's the that that rye drinker is gonna the the only thing that that he'll notice on this is there's some rye spice.
• 50:06
  SPEAKER_08: I mean, this is this is an elegant.
• 50:12
  SPEAKER_08: I mean, there's it's not so straightforward at all, except you get a little bit of spice across the middle, but you know, the classic rye is that rye spice just blows everything out of the and you can't taste it.
• 50:27
  SPEAKER_08: Right, right.
• 50:28
  SPEAKER_07: So there's a there's a nice spearment note towards the end, and uh that's a nice, nice, welcoming thing.
• 50:35
  SPEAKER_07: It's not up front and not powerful, it's just kind of hidden back in there.
• 50:39
  SPEAKER_01: That's nice, and and I try to kind of intricate that, and and and and Jeff, you brought up a great point.
• 50:46
  SPEAKER_01: My rye is 100% rye, they're not 95.5 because the majority of consumers think 95.5 is MGP.
• 50:53
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not, never will be.
• 50:55
  SPEAKER_01: I'm 95 rye, 5% malted rye.
• 50:58
  SPEAKER_01: And uh towards the end, I'm if you're okay with it, I'll I'll I'll tell you what I'm working on, which is pretty cool.
• 51:04
  SPEAKER_01: But I wanted to create the intricacy, right?
• 51:06
  SPEAKER_01: That's why you got the four and the seven.
• 51:08
  SPEAKER_01: But remember, Solstice and Aurora are four and seven, but you see the differences between them completely different at 104, 110.
• 51:17
  SPEAKER_01: I'm getting someone completely different in those nuances.
• 51:21
  SPEAKER_07: This is this is great.
• 51:23
  SPEAKER_07: I haven't I haven't drank this since the when I started drinking the box originally.
• 51:30
  SPEAKER_07: Because I've been because I can't quit drinking the cashmere in the the so, but this is a nice revisit.
• 51:39
  unknown: Yeah.
• 51:40
  SPEAKER_08: Question technical from a standpoint of breaking down, like people will, you know, add n enzymes when you don't have the malt.
• 51:52
  SPEAKER_08: It's you usually the malted barley's there, not so much for taste or whatever, but you use the malted rye.
• 51:59
  SPEAKER_08: Does that do the exact same thing that the barley does as far as you know, as far as the distilling process?
• 52:07
  SPEAKER_08: Does malted barley and malted rye cut is it the malting process that allows the enzymes in in the in the malted thing that break down the sugar so that it's that the distillation for the yeast is working?
• 52:23
  SPEAKER_01: To a certain degree.
• 52:24
  SPEAKER_01: To a certain degree, yes.
• 52:26
  SPEAKER_01: And then obviously you're gonna have to introduce additional ones in order for you to convert the 95% side of it, right?
• 52:33
  SPEAKER_01: Because you're gonna have a certain uh amount of availability from the malted variety in order for you to do those conversions.
• 52:38
  SPEAKER_01: But to a certain degree, we then will, you know, introduce that.
• 52:42
  SPEAKER_01: What's cool at this juncture is that the collection that you all are trying right now, this is and you know, thank you for saying this, Jeff.
• 52:50
  SPEAKER_01: Is this the level of transparency that we'll have when I say my collection right now, this first one that you guys are all trying, it's sourced, meaning it's already done, it's already taken care of.
• 53:02
  SPEAKER_01: God willing, knock on wood, towards the end of the year, I'll be actually creating my own new make, my own stuff.
• 53:09
  SPEAKER_01: So we'll be able to kind of see how that's gonna work out.
• 53:11
  SPEAKER_01: But right now, yes, the multiplier will give you a certain amount of availability, and then you may need to add additional um because of the 95 side in order for it to kind of come through and complete that uh fermentation conversion.
• 53:23
  SPEAKER_01: So when I do it, please forgive me if I remember.
• 53:26
  SPEAKER_01: I'll be like, hey guys, I'm just sling.
• 53:29
  SPEAKER_01: The first run, I'm gonna do it privately.
• 53:31
  SPEAKER_01: It's because it's there's certain people I want there when I do the historic, but when we do the second run, I'm like, are you guys wanting to come down, see how it's done, see what I've done, stuff like that.
• 53:40
  SPEAKER_08: I I want to anytime I can come down, like I've been begging Ryan.
• 53:44
  SPEAKER_08: He's traveling so much, and he's and it's funny because I'll I text him and I and I it's okay.
• 53:52
  SPEAKER_08: It it's it's fine.
• 53:53
  SPEAKER_08: And then when he finally talks to me, he's like, he makes you just feel like I feel like I'm bugging him, and he's like, You aren't bugging me.
• 54:00
  SPEAKER_08: He goes, just just we'll just work it out.
• 54:03
  SPEAKER_08: And and just like, so that's that's fine, but that's just me.
• 54:06
  SPEAKER_01: Just to give you an idea, Ryan and myself are moving a million miles a minute, a million miles a minute.
• 54:12
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I'm moving a million miles a minute, he's moving five million miles a minute, right?
• 54:17
  SPEAKER_01: You're never bugging him, but he remember when I said he's building a conglomerate, I'm building an empire.
• 54:23
  SPEAKER_05: Yep.
• 54:25
  SPEAKER_01: Like Chris contacted me earlier this morning, but I was able to contact him together, you know, in the morning and then in the afternoon and then in the evening.
• 54:34
  SPEAKER_01: I promise you're not bothering him.
• 54:36
  SPEAKER_01: It's just he's moving five million miles a minute.
• 54:39
  SPEAKER_01: I'm moving at a million miles a minute.
• 54:41
  SPEAKER_01: I promise it's just we're going in so many speeds in different directions because we're we have so much that we kind of have to kind of absorb and deal with.
• 54:49
  SPEAKER_01: But I promise you, I know he's traveling a lot lately.
• 54:52
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of projects that he's working on that are massive and amazing, likewise with me.
• 54:58
  SPEAKER_01: But I promise he's he's he's around.
• 55:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's just he's just unfortunately traveling a lot.
• 55:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's the only way you can get him.
• 55:06
  SPEAKER_08: You sometimes, you sometimes catch him.
• 55:09
  SPEAKER_01: So catch him, but it's just unfortunate right now.
• 55:14
  SPEAKER_01: Bear with him.
• 55:14
  SPEAKER_01: He's he's he's not around, he's he's ripping and running, and I'm starting to rip and run, so yeah.
• 55:21
  SPEAKER_08: All right, so we're gonna go.
• 55:22
  SPEAKER_08: What are we going to?
• 55:23
  SPEAKER_08: Are we going to cashmere?
• 55:25
  unknown: Yeah.
• 55:26
  SPEAKER_01: Go to cashmere first, and then we'll finish with suede.
• 55:29
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm gonna continue to drink Aurora because tonight I'm in the mood for Aurora just because I came off of an inspirational trip in Virginia and New Orleans.
• 55:37
  SPEAKER_01: Aurora is very complicated to make, and that's one thing I didn't say is she was very difficult to blend.
• 55:43
  SPEAKER_01: I had to work with my blending team.
• 55:45
  SPEAKER_01: Shout out to Lane, Griffin, Victor, amazing guys at Middle West Spurs.
• 55:50
  SPEAKER_01: Those are my guys, and love them, dearly and James.
• 55:55
  SPEAKER_01: When we created Aurora, we had to do the calculations three times over.
• 55:59
  SPEAKER_01: That's not something that's common per se.
• 56:02
  SPEAKER_01: But by the time we're done, we loved her.
• 56:05
  SPEAKER_01: So I love my team and shout out to them.
• 56:08
  SPEAKER_01: I wouldn't be able to put this product off we roll without them.
• 56:11
  SPEAKER_01: So the next one I recommend is you start trying cashmere.
• 56:15
  SPEAKER_01: That's where we go next.
• 56:17
  SPEAKER_07: So my smear on the nose, if I'm not mistaken, holy cow smells very bourbon-esque.
• 56:25
  SPEAKER_07: Like it just has this, like, if I was sitting down, that's sweet, the vanilla, you know, the honey, the caramel, all that kind of comes out of this glass.
• 56:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 56:37
  SPEAKER_08: Why does cashmere for me depend?
• 56:45
  SPEAKER_08: It tastes different to me all the time.
• 56:49
  SPEAKER_08: Every time I sip it, it's like it's not the same.
• 56:52
  SPEAKER_08: For instance, I asked for cashmere, I believe, at the festival.
• 57:00
  SPEAKER_08: And I remember what it tasted like, and I knew that, and I tasted it off uh initially, but tonight when I tasted it, it was it did not taste anything like the festival.
• 57:11
  SPEAKER_08: Like it was like, what is going on?
• 57:13
  SPEAKER_08: So now I'm interested to see what it tastes like now, after two before going into it.
• 57:20
  SPEAKER_01: I'm excited to see what you say.
• 57:22
  SPEAKER_01: I won't say anything until you try it.
• 57:24
  SPEAKER_07: I get a very, very um, I had that same experience with cashmere.
• 57:30
  SPEAKER_07: I had drank it one night, just drinking a little bit, trying it, getting trying to pick flavors, and then the next two, three days later, I tried it again, and it was just different.
• 57:39
  SPEAKER_01: Wait, Rachel, what does Rachel have sueto cashmere?
• 57:42
  SPEAKER_01: I can't remember what you're doing.
• 57:46
  SPEAKER_07: Well, she used to.
• 57:47
  SPEAKER_08: What she used to I can't.
• 57:54
  SPEAKER_00: I cannot bail me out of jail, Chris.
• 57:58
  SPEAKER_07: You did yeah, you you don't have to bail me out of jail, you have to dig me out of the ground.
• 58:05
  SPEAKER_07: Listen, when she has a bottle signed, especially by you, saying Chris, don't don't what does it say?
• 58:11
  SPEAKER_07: Don't open it or don't touch it.
• 58:12
  SPEAKER_07: I can't remember if I have it something really.
• 58:14
  SPEAKER_07: It says Rachel's bottle, do not touch Chris.
• 58:19
  SPEAKER_07: I'm I'm literally probably in trouble just for setting it in here.
• 58:23
  SPEAKER_01: Even touching it, because it's in your room, right?
• 58:25
  SPEAKER_01: It's in your bourbon room.
• 58:26
  SPEAKER_07: No, he's in the living room.
• 58:28
  SPEAKER_07: I'm in the bourbon record room.
• 58:30
  SPEAKER_07: Um she doesn't know it's in here.
• 58:33
  SPEAKER_08: His house, you gotta understand, Wendy.
• 58:36
  SPEAKER_08: His house, his whole dinette has been turned into like you walk out of the kitchen where there should be like a dine dining table and everything, it's completely bourbon shelved wall on all four except for the windows, right?
• 58:51
  SPEAKER_08: But then you walk into like not his TV room, but more of like the library of the house, and that's where he's now, and that's all bourbon, plus there's a barrel sitting right in front of you, if I'm not mistaken.
• 59:04
  SPEAKER_08: Is yeah, it's it's still sitting there, yeah.
• 59:06
  SPEAKER_08: There's a barrel in that room.
• 59:09
  SPEAKER_01: He had a specific bourbon room.
• 59:12
  SPEAKER_01: Remember when we did the launch at Service Park?
• 59:14
  SPEAKER_01: The specific bourbon room.
• 59:16
  SPEAKER_01: Rachel's like, I don't go in there, so this is going into where I usually go.
• 59:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, Oh, bet, fine, I'll sign it.
• 59:23
  SPEAKER_01: He now moves it into wherever this place is, and now I'm like, I don't have bond money, I'm building a business.
• 59:28
  SPEAKER_01: You want me to bail you out?
• 59:30
  SPEAKER_01: Not gonna dig you out of the grave?
• 59:32
  SPEAKER_01: That's on you, bro.
• 59:33
  SPEAKER_01: I'll bring it flowers at your grave.
• 59:36
  SPEAKER_07: I'm not I'm not touching that bottle, I'm not opening it.
• 59:39
  SPEAKER_07: I'm gonna just eat, I'm gonna enjoy the rest of the sample, the class.
• 59:45
  SPEAKER_07: So that's what I have for.
• 59:47
  SPEAKER_01: No, I got you.
• 59:48
  SPEAKER_01: I'll take care of you.
• 59:49
  SPEAKER_01: I and a few in my my personal collection, so I'll take care of you.
• 59:53
  SPEAKER_07: I love the nose of cashmere.
• 59:55
  SPEAKER_07: Every time I go back to it, it so I'm not saying it's not a rye, because it does have rice spice kind of thing going, but man, it's good.
• 1:00:06
  SPEAKER_08: But you named it cashmere and suede, which is like a 1970s thing, and it's like it tastes, uh it's like it has such a unique flavor that, like I said, every time I taste it, I can't nail this.
• 1:00:23
  SPEAKER_08: Does it still doesn't taste like anything that night that when you poured it for me, it was very bourbon-esque.
• 1:00:31
  SPEAKER_08: But tonight it's not bourbon.
• 1:00:33
  SPEAKER_08: There's not, and I can't put my my but my I can't put my finger on the actual taste.
• 1:00:42
  SPEAKER_08: What is the main note?
• 1:00:43
  SPEAKER_08: What would you say it was?
• 1:00:46
  SPEAKER_01: I'm I get it.
• 1:00:49
  SPEAKER_01: The minute they taste cashmere, everybody does the whole, wait a minute, what the fuck is happening?
• 1:00:54
  SPEAKER_01: Caught my French.
• 1:00:55
  SPEAKER_01: Or the doodle nod.
• 1:00:57
  SPEAKER_01: I have a doodle, so it's like the knot.
• 1:00:59
  SPEAKER_01: Cashmere is designed when I made cashmere, right?
• 1:01:03
  SPEAKER_01: And I told you guys I was at an intrinsic conflict with myself.
• 1:01:07
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what am I doing?
• 1:01:08
  SPEAKER_01: Am I built to be a blender?
• 1:01:10
  SPEAKER_01: Am I built to be a business owner?
• 1:01:11
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of things that were going on in my head.
• 1:01:13
  SPEAKER_01: By the time I create cashmere, fun fact is cashmere and suede are supposed to be one product, a blend of nine barrels total.
• 1:01:22
  SPEAKER_01: But cashmere ends up being four barrels put together.
• 1:01:25
  SPEAKER_01: And at that point in time, I was like, oh my goodness, I've never tasted such sweetness and thickness and robust mouthfeel and luxury in a rye.
• 1:01:34
  SPEAKER_01: Because typically, like you guys said, dill and all these other green things.
• 1:01:38
  SPEAKER_01: And so when cashmere comes around, I'm tricking the bourbon drinker into saying, hey, this is a rye.
• 1:01:44
  SPEAKER_01: It's 100%, there's no other grain.
• 1:01:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I had one of my predecessors, Sam Schwatzer, who's the master blender for a former master blender of MGP, going, Did you finish this in a second, third course?
• 1:01:54
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, no, I just blended it, like how you told me.
• 1:01:58
  SPEAKER_01: And so with that being said, cashmere is the first time you taste a riot kusk strength with no finishing cosk, but pure at its best.
• 1:02:10
  SPEAKER_01: That's how it comes out.
• 1:02:12
  SPEAKER_01: And so it tricks people in the bourbon world to think that they're drinking a bourbon.
• 1:02:16
  SPEAKER_01: You're drinking a rye.
• 1:02:18
  SPEAKER_08: It it no, I I'm it's so different.
• 1:02:21
  SPEAKER_08: Put it this way: here's here's it in a nutshell.
• 1:02:25
  SPEAKER_08: It wants to go dill, but it doesn't.
• 1:02:27
  SPEAKER_08: It wants to go formaldehyde, but it doesn't.
• 1:02:30
  SPEAKER_08: Then it wants to go Cocoa Krispies, but it doesn't.
• 1:02:35
  SPEAKER_08: And then you're going, what is it going?
• 1:02:38
  SPEAKER_08: And you can't, it's like, where are we going?
• 1:02:41
  SPEAKER_08: There is a sweetness to it.
• 1:02:44
  SPEAKER_08: I I you want to know what it almost confuses me.
• 1:02:48
  SPEAKER_08: I don't know.
• 1:02:48
  SPEAKER_08: It's it's so conf it's confusing.
• 1:02:52
  SPEAKER_07: The sweetness for me is more of a honey type note, and I feel like there's there's the that underlying fruit of like it's not just like uh an apricot or whatever, but it's darker, it's like darker than that.
• 1:03:09
  SPEAKER_08: Like it's burnt.
• 1:03:11
  SPEAKER_07: Yeah, a burnt apricot.
• 1:03:13
  SPEAKER_07: Some kind of like caramel, a caramelized apricot, if that exists.
• 1:03:17
  SPEAKER_01: It does.
• 1:03:18
  SPEAKER_01: And and you know, Chris, I think this is your favorite one.
• 1:03:21
  SPEAKER_01: Is that right, Chris?
• 1:03:23
  SPEAKER_07: It's well, because of its it, I'm gonna call this bipolar.
• 1:03:28
  SPEAKER_07: Can I we change it?
• 1:03:29
  SPEAKER_07: That's fine, it's right to bipolar because this is the one that always drives me nuts because I go to Suede and Suede I like the best.
• 1:03:37
  SPEAKER_07: Then I go back and I drink, and one day to the next, it changes.
• 1:03:41
  SPEAKER_01: So cashmere is my fastest selling one, and just to give you an idea how insane it's been it's I launched November 8th, 2025, four months ago.
• 1:03:54
  SPEAKER_01: I came out, I think, with about 11 to 1200 bottles of cashmere.
• 1:03:59
  SPEAKER_01: I'm down to 36 bottles in four months.
• 1:04:02
  SPEAKER_01: That's nice.
• 1:04:04
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah, it's I could I can I could you know what this doesn't this makes you think you're drinking some sort of luxurious other alcohol.
• 1:04:17
  SPEAKER_07: There put it it's complex enough, but it's got a lot going on.
• 1:04:23
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah, I would say.
• 1:04:25
  SPEAKER_08: I like that.
• 1:04:27
  SPEAKER_01: Cashmere is if you're a bourbon drinker and you're scared of solstice and aurora, go to cashmere.
• 1:04:34
  SPEAKER_01: And and the dangerous thing about cashmere suite, the 126 proof, but I don't drink 126 proof.
• 1:04:42
  SPEAKER_07: All right, we better move on to the last one before the evening gets away from us here.
• 1:04:47
  SPEAKER_02: Let's go.
• 1:04:50
  SPEAKER_07: So bottle number four, and if I'm not mistaken, a one-off.
• 1:04:59
  SPEAKER_01: My happy accident, yes.
• 1:05:00
  SPEAKER_07: One-off never to be re never to be repeated.
• 1:05:05
  SPEAKER_01: No, sir.
• 1:05:06
  SPEAKER_07: Rachel is never gonna let me open that bottle.
• 1:05:08
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah, I told you I told you that, and that's that is out of all, I mean, the sweetness on it.
• 1:05:17
  SPEAKER_07: This is a it's every you know this one goes more in your lane for sure, Jeff.
• 1:05:23
  SPEAKER_07: I could have told you that before we drank it.
• 1:05:25
  SPEAKER_08: There, this is where I taste the honey.
• 1:05:31
  SPEAKER_08: I almost drank it.
• 1:05:33
  SPEAKER_08: Honey, mint, very sweet, spicy.
• 1:05:39
  SPEAKER_08: I mean, it's got the the the spiciness of the rye, but not the actual rye grain taste.
• 1:05:49
  SPEAKER_08: You know what I'm saying?
• 1:05:51
  SPEAKER_08: Like, like it's there, like the sting, then you get that with the rye, you usually get the sting with the rye grain aspect of it.
• 1:06:00
  SPEAKER_08: And there's no rye grain aspect, but the sting's there.
• 1:06:03
  SPEAKER_08: So it's peppery, but doesn't taste peppery.
• 1:06:08
  SPEAKER_08: It feels peppery on your throat.
• 1:06:10
  SPEAKER_00: But it's not the taste, right?
• 1:06:12
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 1:06:13
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah, and this one, this one is the one warming sensation.
• 1:06:17
  SPEAKER_08: Oh, yeah, it's got a hug, unlike the others.
• 1:06:20
  SPEAKER_08: There, the the other ones have one, but this one is this one is a hug of warmth.
• 1:06:26
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah.
• 1:06:27
  SPEAKER_01: Cheese might be accident.
• 1:06:28
  SPEAKER_01: It's something that I honor and I can never recreate.
• 1:06:32
  SPEAKER_01: And as a blender, my integrity is the fact that I've created something that's so phenomenal and amazing.
• 1:06:37
  SPEAKER_01: I'm not gonna try and recreate that.
• 1:06:39
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, what you have is what you have.
• 1:06:40
  SPEAKER_01: Once it's gone, it's gone.
• 1:06:42
  SPEAKER_01: You know what I mean?
• 1:06:42
  SPEAKER_01: And becomes an artist or consumes collect collecting entity, right?
• 1:06:48
  SPEAKER_01: And so suede, like I said, casually suede was supposed to be one product, but unfortunately, it was terrible.
• 1:06:55
  SPEAKER_01: And I saw all over again casually full-barrel blend, suede is five, and suede reminds me of that sweet pipe tobacco, that leather, you know, cocoa nutmeg, and this like coffee, brown sugar, but you get that spice of a white pepper, that's what happens with it.
• 1:07:15
  SPEAKER_01: But it's 126 proof at seven years of age, typically rye, you get to your sweet spots at around six to eight years of age, depending on depending on the the the grain varietal barrels that you use.
• 1:07:28
  SPEAKER_01: And so throughout this particular collection, again, I'm not using a secondary cask.
• 1:07:33
  SPEAKER_01: All I'm doing is messing around with charm, barrel, maturation, meaning what part of the warehouse are they in, because that also does play an intricate component.
• 1:07:43
  SPEAKER_01: And you are pulling your barrels.
• 1:07:46
  SPEAKER_01: And that's all I'm doing with my barreling, with my blending technique.
• 1:07:49
  SPEAKER_01: And that's what I did.
• 1:07:50
  SPEAKER_01: And fun fact about cashmere and suede is I let them get last year.
• 1:07:55
  SPEAKER_01: I'm very thankful we had a really, really, really great hot summer.
• 1:07:58
  SPEAKER_01: It was really hot.
• 1:07:59
  SPEAKER_01: In the whiskey world, that's what we want, right?
• 1:08:01
  SPEAKER_01: Because as it expands, the whiskey pushes it to the barrel and then it comes back and wins cold.
• 1:08:06
  SPEAKER_01: And last year it was really hot.
• 1:08:09
  SPEAKER_01: The birth dates where the new make was put into the barrels in 9-11.
• 1:08:14
  SPEAKER_01: So I waited until 9-11 until the girls turned seven.
• 1:08:18
  SPEAKER_01: After that, I harvested them.
• 1:08:20
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm a first line, you know, first responder, whatever.
• 1:08:24
  SPEAKER_01: But military, air force, and all that, Navy is near dear to me.
• 1:08:28
  SPEAKER_01: So for those that have 9-11 survivors, you know, people in the military, navy, and you name it, I created a gift.
• 1:08:34
  SPEAKER_01: So if you ever have people that are like that, you casually have suede to gift them.
• 1:08:40
  SPEAKER_01: So their birthdays are 9-11.
• 1:08:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:08:42
  SPEAKER_08: So what's your favorite?
• 1:08:45
  SPEAKER_01: They're all my favorite.
• 1:08:46
  SPEAKER_01: They represent a different part of my life.
• 1:08:49
  SPEAKER_07: And and I think, like you said, like tonight, Aurora is kind of your your Aurora's my thing tonight.
• 1:08:54
  SPEAKER_07: It's your it's your feel tonight.
• 1:08:56
  SPEAKER_07: But yeah, and I think that's probably why for me I battle back and forth between them is one night, depending on what you've ate for the day, depending on your mood, one hits a little different than the other.
• 1:09:09
  SPEAKER_07: So absolutely.
• 1:09:10
  SPEAKER_01: And when I created these, I created them, I tried them when I had a neutralized palette.
• 1:09:16
  SPEAKER_01: I created them in the afternoon.
• 1:09:18
  SPEAKER_01: I created them when I had a bad mood.
• 1:09:20
  SPEAKER_01: I created them when I ate something.
• 1:09:22
  SPEAKER_01: I even ate pizza to see how they would do because I needed to create a whiskey that was versatile, regardless of what you're thinking or feeling or going through.
• 1:09:32
  SPEAKER_01: My brand is about experience.
• 1:09:34
  SPEAKER_01: My brand is about human human emotion and experience.
• 1:09:38
  SPEAKER_01: My brand is about relatability.
• 1:09:41
  SPEAKER_01: That's what this is about.
• 1:09:43
  SPEAKER_01: But I'm coming from Ohio, and I know I'm I'm taking on a behemoth in you know status quo of Kentucky's everything, but no, I'm taking on the fact that I want to show a story, a chapter out of Ohio that's never been experienced before.
• 1:09:59
  SPEAKER_01: And so I that's why I created four SKUs.
• 1:10:01
  SPEAKER_01: And yes, Sway is going away.
• 1:10:03
  SPEAKER_01: I just signed off today on an LTO, meaning a limited time offering.
• 1:10:08
  SPEAKER_01: We have a LTO coming out in May called 14X1B.
• 1:10:13
  SPEAKER_01: It's coming in at cost strength.
• 1:10:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's 123.03.
• 1:10:16
  SPEAKER_01: I'm now showcasing what happens at Rise six years of age.
• 1:10:20
  SPEAKER_01: May is my mother's birthday month.
• 1:10:24
  SPEAKER_01: So May will always have a cost strength product coming out.
• 1:10:27
  SPEAKER_01: November is my birthday.
• 1:10:28
  SPEAKER_01: So you'll have a product coming above 100 proof, but it's innovation.
• 1:10:33
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm actually working on the blend right now, and it's gonna be freaking phenomenal.
• 1:10:37
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, it's kind of how I came about that.
• 1:10:40
  SPEAKER_07: Love it, love it, love it.
• 1:10:42
  SPEAKER_07: Yeah.
• 1:10:42
  SPEAKER_07: Thank you.
• 1:10:44
  SPEAKER_07: Well, it's it's like we always talk about it in the bourbon industry.
• 1:10:48
  SPEAKER_07: People connect with people in different ways.
• 1:10:51
  SPEAKER_07: And I think when you see brands on the shelf, like you walk over, and there's so many today.
• 1:10:57
  SPEAKER_07: Holy crap, you go into a giant Columbus, and I mean, I I I see people all the time that walk in, they're like, Well, what is this?
• 1:11:06
  SPEAKER_07: And they're talking to the people that work.
• 1:11:08
  SPEAKER_07: But I think that when people understand, just like you, Wendy, that they understand the path that you're on, they understand what you're putting into it, they want to be involved in it and they want to share that journey, so to speak, with you.
• 1:11:25
  SPEAKER_07: And that's the thing you've given us.
• 1:11:27
  SPEAKER_07: These four, it's a journey because as much as I like the suede, it is not as complex as some of the other ones.
• 1:11:37
  SPEAKER_07: Even the the the the solstice has a very different graph, if you will.
• 1:11:44
  SPEAKER_07: It just sort of breaks down, it has so many different nuances to it.
• 1:11:48
  SPEAKER_07: It's not the same.
• 1:11:49
  SPEAKER_07: This to me, yeah.
• 1:11:51
  SPEAKER_07: I like sitting down and drinking this.
• 1:11:52
  SPEAKER_07: It's kind of just that dark.
• 1:11:54
  SPEAKER_07: If I was drinking, or if I was having a cigar right now, I think this would be fantastic with a cigar.
• 1:12:01
  SPEAKER_01: But I know the most fun at New Orleans is I had cigar drinkers, uh cigar smokers, I had people that didn't like rye, I had people that were bourbon drinkers.
• 1:12:10
  SPEAKER_01: It was fun because I was able to see how am I nailing that person?
• 1:12:15
  SPEAKER_01: My proof of concept worked that I forced use.
• 1:12:20
  SPEAKER_01: I may not get everybody at the same one, but I'm getting someone at one.
• 1:12:24
  SPEAKER_01: That was fun.
• 1:12:26
  SPEAKER_08: Did you find yourself when people would come up to you and tell you what they like?
• 1:12:33
  SPEAKER_08: You said cigar smokers and I don't like rye or whatever.
• 1:12:36
  SPEAKER_08: Did you find yourself picking which one you wanted to give them just to see what they would how they would react?
• 1:12:42
  SPEAKER_08: Like you were trying to you were 100% reading the room.
• 1:12:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, you know, and it's very important for people to understand that you have to be very important to read the room.
• 1:12:52
  SPEAKER_01: I found this one gentleman, I'll never forget him, and I and I thanked him and I honored him.
• 1:12:55
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, Thank you for letting me use your palate.
• 1:12:57
  SPEAKER_01: Because he just walked up in the air cigar and I was like, So, what are you drinking?
• 1:13:00
  SPEAKER_01: Or smoking?
• 1:13:01
  SPEAKER_01: He's like, This is what I'm smoking.
• 1:13:03
  SPEAKER_01: I pulled Cashmere's suede, and he he was hooked on cashmere.
• 1:13:08
  SPEAKER_01: I had a lady came by and she drank Kapsov, and I was like, And I gave us Aurora, and she brought her friend who owned a wine shop, and so on and so forth.
• 1:13:21
  SPEAKER_01: And those are the things that we have to think about when you're on this side of the industry is you need to learn how to read the room, step outside of your ego, step outside of your self-awareness, read the consumer, what do they like?
• 1:13:33
  SPEAKER_01: Take what they like versus what you have on your brand and match them to that.
• 1:13:38
  SPEAKER_01: And the fact that I have versatility in four skews, I'm able to nail and match people in different nuances.
• 1:13:43
  SPEAKER_01: That was a lot of fun.
• 1:13:44
  SPEAKER_07: I had so much fun with it.
• 1:13:46
  SPEAKER_07: And when do you have four different skews that are not finished?
• 1:13:50
  SPEAKER_07: I mean, let's be real that most people with four, if you if if you told most people in the industry today, hey, you gotta make a rye, and here's what you got to work with.
• 1:14:00
  SPEAKER_07: We don't care what you use as far as cask, and you gotta make four expressions, they're finishing probably two of them, just because that's the industry.
• 1:14:08
  SPEAKER_07: It's just well, yeah.
• 1:14:11
  SPEAKER_08: I think it's the industry for anybody, but but the most of the industry is put out a rye, either cast strength or or cat either cast strength or just you know, regular rye, and then consistently make it because people that's what people want.
• 1:14:27
  SPEAKER_08: They want consistency in rye.
• 1:14:28
  SPEAKER_08: Where you've where you're now finishing, I mean right now, but can you see yourself finishing some ryes?
• 1:14:39
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so next year actually next year May.
• 1:14:44
  SPEAKER_01: So you know I have 14 coming out.
• 1:14:47
  SPEAKER_01: It's a quintessential one, it's six years old, it's not finished, but it's at 123.03 proof.
• 1:14:53
  SPEAKER_01: Next year, it's a finished rye.
• 1:14:56
  unknown: Okay.
• 1:14:56
  SPEAKER_01: Next year's a finished rye.
• 1:14:57
  SPEAKER_01: And so I'm already working on next year's finished rye.
• 1:15:00
  SPEAKER_01: I'm already working on next, so uh Archie Elins is gonna have pure rye, it's gonna have finished rye, which is innovation, and I have another portfolio that I'm building right now.
• 1:15:11
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm very excited to see what everybody's gonna think about it next year.
• 1:15:15
  SPEAKER_00: So you're just gonna it's just pure.
• 1:15:18
  SPEAKER_08: But what you're doing is you're taking an industry that is very focused on consistency, and you're adding all the different things that it can be, and it's not about consistency, it's about what the rye can be.
• 1:15:38
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like letting this whiskey speak for itself.
• 1:15:41
  SPEAKER_01: So you know, it's not like, well, why is it that it's not this?
• 1:15:44
  SPEAKER_01: It's like nobody at six years old at 123 fruit one 123.03.
• 1:15:49
  SPEAKER_01: I can never recreate the way that it is.
• 1:15:51
  SPEAKER_01: I let the whiskey tell me when I blend, that's why it takes me a long time to create products.
• 1:15:57
  SPEAKER_01: When I blend, I'm letting the whiskey and distillate speak perfect myself.
• 1:16:03
  SPEAKER_01: I'm just a conduit.
• 1:16:04
  SPEAKER_01: And so when I do that, that's how I'm doing it.
• 1:16:07
  SPEAKER_01: A little bit don't really not understand it.
• 1:16:10
  SPEAKER_01: But you know, like I said, 14 is coming out.
• 1:16:13
  SPEAKER_01: I'm very excited about it.
• 1:16:14
  SPEAKER_01: It's got like French vanilla, orange blossoms, then the rye comes through.
• 1:16:19
  SPEAKER_01: But you get like flowers, right?
• 1:16:21
  SPEAKER_01: You get the floor fragrance, you're Mother's Day flowers.
• 1:16:25
  SPEAKER_01: That's what the interpretation I get through from it.
• 1:16:28
  SPEAKER_01: And so my job as a conduit is to be able to, you know, exude what the dislike is saying and showcase that.
• 1:16:35
  SPEAKER_01: That's my job.
• 1:16:37
  SPEAKER_01: That's my job, is to showcase what we're doing in not only in a home state, but what is that whiskey saying?
• 1:16:43
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah.
• 1:16:44
  SPEAKER_08: All right, so go ahead, go ahead, Chris.
• 1:16:47
  SPEAKER_07: Real quick on the four on the 14, Wendy, will it be first dropped at the reserve bar or will it be OHLQ at the distributed throughout Columbus and whatnot?
• 1:16:58
  SPEAKER_01: I'm changing it.
• 1:16:59
  SPEAKER_01: So we're gonna have drop at service, drop a in all some select OHLQ stores, and we'll go e-commerce.
• 1:17:08
  SPEAKER_01: And it sells out, it sells out, and we're done.
• 1:17:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's a collective.
• 1:17:11
  SPEAKER_01: So just so people know, I'm not gonna make a lot.
• 1:17:15
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry.
• 1:17:16
  SPEAKER_01: It's just the industry right now doesn't dictate for that, but I I'm trying to be very purposeful and intentful with what I'm doing.
• 1:17:24
  SPEAKER_01: So when I drop stuff, get it, it's done.
• 1:17:27
  SPEAKER_01: Once it's done, it's gone.
• 1:17:28
  SPEAKER_01: And so 14, we're only making a limited amount.
• 1:17:32
  SPEAKER_01: Very, very limited LTO, right?
• 1:17:35
  SPEAKER_01: Limited time offering.
• 1:17:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:17:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um people that I just changed my mind today.
• 1:17:39
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, no, no, no, no, we're gonna have to do service and stores.
• 1:17:43
  SPEAKER_07: So people that don't know, reserve bar is the original location for Middle West that is downtown.
• 1:17:52
  SPEAKER_07: That if if you go in and you're gonna go to dinner, that's the place that you go to.
• 1:17:57
  SPEAKER_07: They have a great bar, but they also have the gift shop and bottle shop there.
• 1:18:01
  SPEAKER_07: So that's that's if somebody listening doesn't know that's what we're talking about.
• 1:18:05
  SPEAKER_08: So, question when you distill, are you gonna distill at the original location, or are you gonna distill at the new location?
• 1:18:17
  SPEAKER_00: That's for you to know and find out.
• 1:18:20
  SPEAKER_08: Because because it obviously the new location's only been doing this for two years, so the whiskey that you're blending.
• 1:18:29
  SPEAKER_08: I think it was March March 24th is when he opened of 2024.
• 1:18:35
  SPEAKER_08: Pretty sure I know the answer to that question.
• 1:18:37
  SPEAKER_00: What's 2023?
• 1:18:38
  SPEAKER_01: I have brick girls in a 2023.
• 1:18:42
  SPEAKER_08: Okay.
• 1:18:46
  SPEAKER_08: Okay, so March, yeah, Mar, it's March already.
• 1:18:49
  SPEAKER_08: So this year was the third year.
• 1:18:51
  SPEAKER_08: Okay.
• 1:18:53
  SPEAKER_01: So when I start, um, once I nail everybody nailed company I'm gonna work with, I've got to nail one more.
• 1:19:01
  SPEAKER_01: I'm working with a historian that's very well known about Rye research.
• 1:19:04
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm working with a doctor in Rye, and then I'm gonna work with a particular company that specializes in bombing them.
• 1:19:10
  SPEAKER_01: So everything's gonna be so amazing.
• 1:19:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's a lot of fun, it's a lot of intent behind it.
• 1:19:15
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm very excited.
• 1:19:17
  SPEAKER_01: I'm very, very excited.
• 1:19:18
  SPEAKER_01: And um Ryan and I will be the ones distilling it.
• 1:19:21
  SPEAKER_08: Uh it's so important.
• 1:19:22
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah, oh, definitely.
• 1:19:24
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah, I would that would be the that would make total sense to me.
• 1:19:29
  SPEAKER_08: Yes, I mean, you know, he's got it down no matter where you distill it.
• 1:19:35
  SPEAKER_08: All right, yeah.
• 1:19:36
  SPEAKER_01: I I I want everything to be in Ohio, honestly.
• 1:19:39
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, it works out perfect that way.
• 1:19:41
  SPEAKER_08: And that's what he does, Ohio.
• 1:19:43
  SPEAKER_08: I mean, and it's yeah, I it it go ahead, Chris.
• 1:19:48
  SPEAKER_07: Oh, I thought you said oh, and I said IO.
• 1:19:50
  SPEAKER_07: Oh, yes, sir.
• 1:19:51
  SPEAKER_08: Let's go.
• 1:19:53
  SPEAKER_08: That happened a lot in New Orleans, didn't it?
• 1:19:56
  SPEAKER_07: Hey, it happens everywhere.
• 1:19:59
  SPEAKER_07: I it's I went to a basketball game at UD for the play-in games, and after the game, people, you know, Miami wins and Miami, Ohio being in the tournament was great, but people in the hallway walking out are going, oh win.
• 1:20:13
  SPEAKER_07: I'm like, holy crap, guys.
• 1:20:16
  SPEAKER_07: Let Miami have their time.
• 1:20:19
  SPEAKER_01: Did anyone in the consumer panel have any questions for me or comments or anything that you just want me to answer?
• 1:20:27
  SPEAKER_07: Jeff, are you you're monitoring?
• 1:20:29
  SPEAKER_08: I've been monitoring.
• 1:20:30
  SPEAKER_08: They were mostly statements.
• 1:20:31
  SPEAKER_08: Um, Walker says cheers to you.
• 1:20:34
  SPEAKER_08: I think he's met you throughout the festivals.
• 1:20:36
  SPEAKER_08: And then Barn just said he really loves the brand statement that you just gave him.
• 1:20:43
  SPEAKER_08: It's a testament to the future of whiskey, bourbon, and rye.
• 1:20:47
  SPEAKER_08: And let's see, Matt, Matt says cheers.
• 1:20:51
  SPEAKER_08: That's who I was with when we were down at the festival.
• 1:20:56
  SPEAKER_01: He even tried.
• 1:20:57
  SPEAKER_08: What?
• 1:20:58
  SPEAKER_08: I don't remember.
• 1:20:59
  SPEAKER_01: Matt, did you try anything when you were here in New Orleans?
• 1:21:02
  SPEAKER_08: I think I think he trade tried with me when we we both did the I wanna say, I want to say we both did suede.
• 1:21:10
  SPEAKER_08: I walked up and yes, because suede's by far my favorite.
• 1:21:15
  SPEAKER_08: And I will say tonight, then it comes to solstice.
• 1:21:19
  SPEAKER_08: But I will say cashmere, like I said, sometimes it's good and sometimes it's different.
• 1:21:26
  SPEAKER_08: You know, that's that's kind of the one that was, you know.
• 1:21:30
  SPEAKER_08: And I would say that the on Aurora, like you said, the the chocolate comes through.
• 1:21:37
  SPEAKER_08: And I and you know, the I guess the last question, as the barrels are aging and you're tasting and you're doing what you're doing, the one thing I had taught Hunter Coffee was the distiller at Whiskey Thief when I was talking to him, and I asked him about ryes one time, and he said, the ryes are just the weirdest thing when they're aging in the barrel and they get to be six, seven years.
• 1:21:59
  SPEAKER_08: He goes, You'll take you'll go in and you'll taste it in August, and it'll have this spearminty or chocolate kind of thing, and then you'll go back in like October and it'll be earthy.
• 1:22:13
  SPEAKER_08: So then you'll let it go another two more months and taste it in January, and it's back to being spearminty.
• 1:22:20
  SPEAKER_08: He says like they just change back and forth, and it was always he said it was always a trick there because they do thieving from the barrel.
• 1:22:28
  SPEAKER_08: And he says sometimes it'll change from Monday to Friday.
• 1:22:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, it does.
• 1:22:36
  SPEAKER_01: It does.
• 1:22:37
  SPEAKER_01: And again, it it boils down to how was it made?
• 1:22:40
  SPEAKER_01: Pot still, column, hybrid, depends on the barrel that you use, char level, right?
• 1:22:45
  SPEAKER_01: And then we have to wonder about cookers.
• 1:22:47
  SPEAKER_01: We have to also wonder: is it American oak?
• 1:22:49
  SPEAKER_01: Is it French oak?
• 1:22:50
  SPEAKER_01: Is it some type of different type of Kirkus species?
• 1:22:53
  SPEAKER_01: Because the wood grain structure tends to change, right?
• 1:22:57
  SPEAKER_01: So then we're then having to worry about what type of phenols are going to be dominant, it's like electritanians, lactones, uh eugenol, and stuff like that.
• 1:23:05
  SPEAKER_01: I remember hearing some content creator going, oh yeah, the majority of ripe flavor comes from the barrel.
• 1:23:12
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, oh my God, that's incorrect.
• 1:23:14
  SPEAKER_01: But you have to take those things into consideration.
• 1:23:18
  SPEAKER_01: And at that point in time, it's up to the warehouse manager, the blender, and the stiller sometimes, depending on where you are.
• 1:23:25
  SPEAKER_01: If you you find that you taste something and that's the flavor profile that you want, you stop maturation right then and there and go, oh, we're casting.
• 1:23:34
  SPEAKER_01: But those are the things and the nuances that kind of kind of come into play.
• 1:23:38
  SPEAKER_01: And that's the beauty about rye.
• 1:23:39
  SPEAKER_01: It's so volatile and versatile.
• 1:23:41
  SPEAKER_01: Once you nail the flavor profile you want, that's where you go.
• 1:23:44
  SPEAKER_01: That's where you stop.
• 1:23:45
  SPEAKER_08: So when you dump it into stainless, right?
• 1:23:49
  SPEAKER_08: So that stops the maturation.
• 1:23:52
  SPEAKER_08: Do you ever do you ever find that it changes still once it's dumped?
• 1:23:58
  SPEAKER_08: Because I'm just asking a question because that part of it is always unique to me.
• 1:24:04
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, through homogenization.
• 1:24:06
  SPEAKER_01: So, yes, once you dump it into a stainless steel container, because an oak container will continue to change and mutate and so on.
• 1:24:14
  SPEAKER_01: But once you put it into stainless steel, it becomes inert, meaning that it no longer takes on maturation.
• 1:24:20
  SPEAKER_01: There's no other chemical reactions that are going to happen, right?
• 1:24:23
  SPEAKER_01: You've got steel and then you've got your whiskey.
• 1:24:25
  SPEAKER_01: Nothing's gonna happen, right?
• 1:24:27
  SPEAKER_01: But if you're in a barrel, right?
• 1:24:29
  SPEAKER_01: Depending on whatever you're using, you always have chemical reactions.
• 1:24:32
  SPEAKER_01: But the minute you go into stainless steel, it's inert, it's done.
• 1:24:36
  SPEAKER_01: Maturation is done.
• 1:24:37
  SPEAKER_01: So that's why it's important that the minute that you taste your barrels, the minute you taste your blend, and that's where you're happy, that's what you want.
• 1:24:44
  SPEAKER_01: You stop it right there, and then you take it out of the barrel and you do what you need to.
• 1:24:48
  SPEAKER_05: Okay.
• 1:24:49
  SPEAKER_01: So vessels like stainless steel, plastic, glass, they don't offer any further chemical reactions.
• 1:24:56
  SPEAKER_01: They are inert, meaning that it doesn't do anything.
• 1:24:59
  unknown: Yeah.
• 1:25:00
  SPEAKER_08: Now, air does a little bit, oxidation, a little, right?
• 1:25:04
  SPEAKER_00: But it's not going to change your blend out, right?
• 1:25:06
  SPEAKER_00: Not at that wildly.
• 1:25:08
  SPEAKER_08: Not at that level of how much you have.
• 1:25:11
  SPEAKER_08: Now, on a bottle level, if you have a bottle and there's this much left in the bottle, the air might affect it to some what in sometimes I find it affects it in a nicer, in a nice way.
• 1:25:22
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of times it can it depends on what it is, and if it's a finish, depends on the finish, depends on how long it's been.
• 1:25:30
  SPEAKER_01: And that's the beauty of my bottles is that they are opaque, meaning that I did that on purpose because I wanted to ensure that I had the longevity in the whiskey product.
• 1:25:38
  SPEAKER_01: You continue to have the consistency of flavor with my bottles.
• 1:25:42
  SPEAKER_01: They are completely shrouded.
• 1:25:43
  SPEAKER_01: So we I added that additional text, protection, and layer.
• 1:25:46
  SPEAKER_01: So you continue to have that same flavor profile.
• 1:25:51
  SPEAKER_08: All right, perfect.
• 1:25:53
  SPEAKER_08: You have anything else, Chris?
• 1:25:56
  SPEAKER_07: I maybe, but I'm not gonna go there.
• 1:25:58
  SPEAKER_07: We've got we've we've kept Wendy way too long.
• 1:26:02
  SPEAKER_07: And I and I'm so thankful that she came on today and has told ever told the world about this amazing brand and and people that probably are are that won't necessarily watch it tonight, but the thing is, is this lives on, you know, past all of us.
• 1:26:19
  SPEAKER_07: And somebody's gonna watch this and be like, I remember her, and they're gonna remember you from something at Penelope or whatever, and that's that's great.
• 1:26:30
  SPEAKER_07: So I think you're gonna see this continued success because you're putting absolutely 100% heart and soul into this, and that's 100% of the reason I want to support the heck out of you.
• 1:26:42
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you so much.
• 1:26:44
  SPEAKER_01: I just want to showcase what Ohio is doing.
• 1:26:46
  SPEAKER_01: We're doing phenomenal things in our state, home state, and I hope and pray that people have an open mind and approach it from a perspective of being open to new things and try what we have to offer.
• 1:26:58
  SPEAKER_01: There's so many great things coming out of here.
• 1:27:00
  SPEAKER_01: So RTM is one of them, Middle West is one of them.
• 1:27:03
  SPEAKER_01: There's a couple of projects I've done on Middle West, so go and get it while it's there.
• 1:27:08
  SPEAKER_01: Try it and let me know what you think.
• 1:27:10
  SPEAKER_01: And I thank you all so much for loving and supporting us.
• 1:27:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 1:27:13
  SPEAKER_01: And thank you, Jens, for having me on your amazing show.
• 1:27:16
  SPEAKER_08: Yes, thanks for coming on.
• 1:27:18
  SPEAKER_08: We're we'll do the finishing, but you can.
• 1:27:20
  SPEAKER_08: I know you got stuff to do, so feel free.
• 1:27:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I'm 16 hour ahead.
• 1:27:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, 16 hour day ahead of me.
• 1:27:26
  SPEAKER_01: So all right.
• 1:27:27
  SPEAKER_08: So good night and cheers, thank you.
• 1:27:32
  SPEAKER_01: Cheers to you, Jens.
• 1:27:33
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for having me.
• 1:27:34
  SPEAKER_01: Have a wonderful evening.
• 1:27:36
  SPEAKER_01: Good night to everybody.
• 1:27:37
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for tuning in.
• 1:27:38
  SPEAKER_08: All right, good night.
• 1:27:40
  SPEAKER_01: Night.
• 1:27:47
  SPEAKER_08: Perfect.
• 1:27:48
  SPEAKER_08: Wow, that was great.
• 1:27:50
  SPEAKER_08: I'm gonna quick finish up.
• 1:27:53
  SPEAKER_08: I'll do my thing, whatever, and then I'll I'm sure Walker or a couple people want to come on and talk a little bit.
• 1:27:59
  SPEAKER_08: So are you in it for a couple minutes, Chris, or is it late for you?
• 1:28:04
  SPEAKER_07: It's a couple minutes, but yeah, I'm gonna have to get moving.
• 1:28:06
  SPEAKER_08: Yeah, because everybody wants to say hi.
• 1:28:08
  SPEAKER_08: And I will tell everybody out there before I end it.
• 1:28:11
  SPEAKER_08: CT is gonna be on.
• 1:28:13
  SPEAKER_08: He is in his off season of life, his his life off season.
• 1:28:18
  SPEAKER_08: The summer will pick up again where he'll have a lot of um graduation parties and stuff like that, and whatever, but this is this is his time.
• 1:28:28
  SPEAKER_08: Basketball's over, all sports are over, and you've got like this month and a half.
• 1:28:33
  SPEAKER_08: And you you really stepped up.
• 1:28:36
  SPEAKER_08: I will tell you, we've put down a lot of guests for podcasts, and we've been nailing it down, so it's gonna be exciting next next month and a half.
• 1:28:46
  SPEAKER_07: And and if people haven't paid attention, follow the the Scotchy Bourbon Boys page because we have on Facebook posted a fantastic guest that we have coming on Thursday with Steve from Leather and Oak.
• 1:29:01
  SPEAKER_07: I was there today.
• 1:29:02
  SPEAKER_07: I'm gonna tell you, you talk about a craft small distillery, and I think Leather and Oak, and I said it in one of the things that I posted, might be the sleeper bottle that people don't know about, that might be one of the best things you've drank in a while.
• 1:29:21
  SPEAKER_07: Today I went there to pick up samples that I sent to you, and they were bottling the lemoncello.
• 1:29:29
  SPEAKER_07: They only bottle it three times a year.
• 1:29:33
  SPEAKER_07: And I happen to go in on the day they're bottling it.
• 1:29:36
  SPEAKER_08: So, so where are they?
• 1:29:39
  SPEAKER_07: They're in Hilliard, which is right in Columbus, not far from where we're Wendy's at.
• 1:29:44
  SPEAKER_07: So I'm the crazy thing is, I have drove by the place.
• 1:29:49
  SPEAKER_07: I can't tell you how many times.
• 1:29:51
  SPEAKER_07: I meet my kids for dinner down the street from where it's at.
• 1:29:55
  SPEAKER_07: I've never been there until today.
• 1:29:57
  SPEAKER_07: So I'm excited to have Steve on Thursday.
• 1:30:00
  SPEAKER_07: We've got, oh my gosh, we got some bangers.
• 1:30:02
  SPEAKER_07: As we're doing this podcast, Danny is texting me from Penelope telling me what we're gonna be doing on that podcast.
• 1:30:11
  SPEAKER_07: And I'm just gonna tell you, it's some new stuff.
• 1:30:17
  SPEAKER_07: Okay.
• 1:30:18
  SPEAKER_07: Let me let me let me refer to it.
• 1:30:21
  SPEAKER_07: The estate collection, our new Copper Series release, Madagascar.
• 1:30:27
  SPEAKER_07: Yeah, so we're gonna, we're gonna, we got some fun stuff coming.
• 1:30:32
  SPEAKER_08: So what?
• 1:30:35
  SPEAKER_08: I had to bring it out.
• 1:30:37
  SPEAKER_08: So we're in we were in we were in New Orleans and and Oh the Matt, Matt's like, I whatever, and I'm like, so my our giant eagle had one, so I sent Rachel over to buy it for him.
• 1:30:56
  SPEAKER_08: So he's got it.
• 1:30:57
  SPEAKER_08: I'm just showing Matt his the Rio.
• 1:31:00
  SPEAKER_08: Now I've never had a Rio, and he's got one in another one, but the way that guy drinks Rio, I I picked it up for him.
• 1:31:08
  SPEAKER_07: I I gave him my last bottle of it because no, I'm good.
• 1:31:13
  SPEAKER_08: I know you are.
• 1:31:14
  SPEAKER_07: Hey, you know what I got forced to do the other day?
• 1:31:17
  SPEAKER_07: I got forced to drink Ambirana, Am Ambirana from High Bank because they did their release of the basketball March Madness event.
• 1:31:28
  SPEAKER_07: And it was the most subtle one that I've had yet.
• 1:31:32
  SPEAKER_08: So Macaulay did had three Amberana ries entered in this year.
• 1:31:40
  SPEAKER_08: And he won the category of best finished rye with, but there was one that was like, it tasted like French toast.
• 1:31:51
  SPEAKER_08: Perfect.
• 1:31:52
  SPEAKER_08: Two, there was one where it tasted like Ambirana.
• 1:31:56
  SPEAKER_08: It was just a little, and then there was one that he for I think he forgot about it, and it was in there for nine months or something crazy.
• 1:32:06
  SPEAKER_08: And it was just like drinking ambirana.
• 1:32:12
  SPEAKER_08: It definitely that one was too much for me, even.
• 1:32:17
  SPEAKER_08: But, anyways, all right.
• 1:32:18
  SPEAKER_08: So I I'm gonna I'll let's do the finish up, everybody.
• 1:32:23
  SPEAKER_08: Thanks for joining us.
• 1:32:24
  SPEAKER_08: www.scotchyburbidboys.com, Glenn Karen's t-shirts, or contact me direct.
• 1:32:31
  SPEAKER_08: Also, also, real quick, we're getting close to figuring out how to get this maker's mark barrel.
• 1:32:38
  SPEAKER_08: I should be getting a case of stuff to give bottles so that you guys can let people taste.
• 1:32:46
  SPEAKER_08: And then we're gonna determine the liquor store where when it comes, you tell everybody to go buy it.
• 1:32:54
  SPEAKER_08: So we're gonna have one in the Dayton Springfield area, we're gonna have one in the Columbus area, we're gonna have one in the Canton area, and we're gonna have one in the Cleveland area.
• 1:33:05
  SPEAKER_08: So that's where we're at.
• 1:33:07
  SPEAKER_08: But I'm gonna be able to get a case first to get you guys bottles so you can tell everybody where to go get them.
• 1:33:14
  SPEAKER_08: As far as everybody else, we will have you covered as far as the whatever we were doing before.
• 1:33:20
  SPEAKER_08: So, and then I'll I'll pick up a bunch so that we can have them as far as you know, giveaway kind of stuff and things that we do just for the people who support the Scotchy Bourbon Boys.
• 1:33:33
  SPEAKER_08: So we're really close on the makersmark private select.
• 1:33:37
  SPEAKER_08: I was talking to Ann and I said we need to get this done.
• 1:33:40
  SPEAKER_08: So hopefully, once everybody gets to taste it, everybody's gonna wanna want it.
• 1:33:45
  SPEAKER_08: So I'm excited to pick up the case and then get it to you guys, and maybe we'll have a get together, right?
• 1:33:52
  SPEAKER_08: Who knows?
• 1:33:54
  SPEAKER_08: That April 10th, we could get together down at Black Diamond.
• 1:34:00
  SPEAKER_07: Drink it in a rail car.
• 1:34:01
  SPEAKER_07: That's coming.
• 1:34:02
  SPEAKER_08: That's coming.
• 1:34:03
  SPEAKER_08: That's crazy.
• 1:34:05
  SPEAKER_08: So that's what we're shooting for.
• 1:34:07
  SPEAKER_08: So, anyways, all right.
• 1:34:09
  SPEAKER_08: Then Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X.
• 1:34:14
  SPEAKER_08: Maybe I'm not kicked off.
• 1:34:16
  SPEAKER_08: They kicked me off TikTok because there's no alcohol, but now I'm being told people got kicked off and then they were let back in.
• 1:34:22
  SPEAKER_08: It's like somehow that was a thing.
• 1:34:24
  SPEAKER_08: And then also Apple, iHeart, and Spotify.
• 1:34:28
  SPEAKER_08: No matter what, make sure that whether you watch us or listen to us, make sure you leave us good feedback.
• 1:34:33
  SPEAKER_08: That's always important.
• 1:34:35
  SPEAKER_08: Podcast is exploding, views are going up immensely.
• 1:34:39
  SPEAKER_08: The industry, you know, we do I, you know, it's just been great.
• 1:34:44
  SPEAKER_08: So remember, good bourbon and rye equals good times and good friends.
• 1:34:51
  SPEAKER_08: Make sure that you drink responsibly, don't drink and lie, don't drink and drive.
• 1:34:59
  SPEAKER_08: Don't drink and make sure you stay alive.
• 1:35:03
  SPEAKER_08: And then make sure you live your life uncut and unfiltered.
• 1:35:10
  SPEAKER_08: And we will have our favorite, you know, if it's there somewhere.
• 1:35:16
  SPEAKER_07: Thanks again, Wendy, for joining us tonight.
• 1:35:18
  SPEAKER_07: If you didn't get a chance to watch it, it's gonna be posted anytime now.
• 1:35:23
  SPEAKER_07: So go back and that woman has some serious knowledge that everyone should listen to.
• 1:35:32
  SPEAKER_08: Alright, I'm trying to find the theme song buried in all this stuff.
• 1:35:37
  SPEAKER_08: Alright, let's see if I can get it done.
• 1:35:39
  SPEAKER_07: Maybe I could sing a theme song.
• 1:35:41
  SPEAKER_07: It won't be the one you're trying to play, though.
• 1:35:46
  SPEAKER_08: Oh my god.
• 1:35:47
  SPEAKER_08: Alright, maybe let's see.
• 1:35:51
  SPEAKER_08: I gotta see the it's been so long.
• 1:35:55
  SPEAKER_08: There's the quick facts.
• 1:35:58
  SPEAKER_08: There was I I was impressed on the it's got mail.
• 1:36:08
  SPEAKER_08: Isn't sinking?
• 1:36:09
  SPEAKER_08: That's just crazy.
• 1:36:12
  SPEAKER_08: So I just should go for it.
• 1:36:14
  SPEAKER_08: Let's see if I can just go over here on the Facebook.
• 1:36:19
  SPEAKER_08: Let's go on this one.
• 1:36:22
  SPEAKER_08: Facebook plus history.
• 1:36:34
  SPEAKER_08: That is crazy.
• 1:36:35
  SPEAKER_08: It should be right here.
• 1:36:38
  SPEAKER_08: There it is.
• 1:36:39
  SPEAKER_08: I found it.
• 1:36:44
  SPEAKER_08: All right, everybody.
• 1:36:46
  SPEAKER_08: Good night.
• 1:36:49
  SPEAKER_08: And we're gonna be able to do it.