Latest / The Scotchy Bourbon Boys / From Barn Stills To Nationwide: How Whiskey Thief Grows Without Losing Its Soul with Walter Zausch And Lisa Roper Wicker

Transcript

From Barn Stills To Nationwide: How Whiskey Thief Grows Without Losing Its Soul with Walter Zausch And Lisa Roper Wicker · The Scotchy Bourbon Boys

0:59
SPEAKER_02: Middlewest Spirits was founded in 2008, focusing on elevating the distinct flavors of the Ohio River Valley.
1:07
SPEAKER_02: 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_02: Their Michelin reserve line reflects their story from the start to the bottle to your glass.
1:23
SPEAKER_02: With unique wheated it and rye bourbons and also rye and wheat whiskies, the Michelin brand is easy to sip.
1:31
SPEAKER_02: It might be a grain to glass experience, but I like to think of it as uncut and unfiltered from their family to yours.
2:54
SPEAKER_02: Walter.
2:54
SPEAKER_02: So just so that I make sure everything happens right, you can introduce everybody.
2:59
SPEAKER_02: We got Walter Zos, owner and operator of Whiskey Thief, and then team all the debt and stuff like that.
3:06
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, there you go.
3:07
SPEAKER_01: This is Amy Fox.
3:09
SPEAKER_01: Amy is our head of experiences at Whiskey Thief, so she oversees everything that happens at the farm.
3:14
SPEAKER_01: As well as the uh little location.
3:16
SPEAKER_01: She's been with us for the last couple of years and does an incredible job.
3:19
SPEAKER_01: And the fantasy football draft.
3:21
SPEAKER_01: And the fantasy football draft.
3:23
SPEAKER_01: And down there at that end of the table is the world-famous Lisa Wicker, our distiller director of distilling for Whiskey Thieves.
3:29
SPEAKER_01: She's been here going on a year with us and has done this incredible job of bringing everything, making everything better, making my day better most of the time.
3:39
SPEAKER_01: Making just everything's better when Lisa's around.
3:42
SPEAKER_01: I can see that.
3:42
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I can see that.
3:43
SPEAKER_01: And then I got a special friend I met, I met him just earlier today, and said we need somebody else on this podcast.
3:50
SPEAKER_01: No, I'm kidding.
3:50
SPEAKER_01: A good friend of mine, Phil Faversham.
3:52
SPEAKER_01: He's a very interesting company that I'm he's gonna hopefully talk about called Kentucky Bourbon Direct.
3:57
SPEAKER_01: And I think everybody, all the Scotchy Bourbon boys are gonna want to know about Kentucky Bourbon Direct.
4:02
SPEAKER_01: He's been a great partner to us, and he's working with tons of his fillers, and he's got a great story.
4:06
SPEAKER_02: So that's that's what we're doing.
4:08
SPEAKER_02: That's the that's the intro.
4:09
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and just remember www.scotchybourbonboys.com for everything Scotchyburbon Boys, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X, and TikTok now, along with join Patreon and then also Apple, iHeart, and Spotify.Anywhere you listen or you watch us, make sure you listen like wow.
4:31
SPEAKER_02: I just that I do that so many times.
4:33
SPEAKER_02: Listen, like, leave good feedback and subscribe.
4:37
SPEAKER_02: So there you go.
4:38
SPEAKER_02: Cool.
4:38
SPEAKER_02: All right, so we got all that out of the way.
4:40
SPEAKER_02: We are here.
4:41
SPEAKER_02: It's I I feel like I'm finally back, you know, and it's just like we're at the the the new tasting room, and you can just tell every single time that you come down here, it just becomes a little bit more cozy.
4:57
SPEAKER_02: So, you know, at first you see different things.
5:00
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you're you have the guitars on the wall, you got the barrels and everything, but you see different changes and upgrades and everything, and it just feels more and more like home.
5:09
SPEAKER_02: I mean, talk you know, talk about that, you know, now that you're here and at the farm and kind of how this has really evolved, you know, by you know, overall what you've been doing.
5:21
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so you know a long time ago when I first transitioned to the owner of the whiskey thief, some you know, people who are already fans when it was three boys, et cetera, always said, like, what are you gonna do?
5:34
SPEAKER_01: How are you gonna?
5:34
SPEAKER_01: I said, Well, the goal is to grow without and stay the same.
5:38
SPEAKER_01: How do we grow and stay the same?
5:40
SPEAKER_01: And so when we opened this place, we really wanted to try to bring a little bit of the Franklin County vibe here, even though it's in the town, it's you know, it's in the city, it's a little more of an urban version of it.
5:51
SPEAKER_01: But yeah, it just you know, people come, they hang out.
5:54
SPEAKER_01: You'll see you tonight watching music, people stay and just have a great time, and it's got a little bit of that same vibe.
6:00
SPEAKER_01: I don't know what how to put my finger on exactly, except it just feels like whiskey thief and uh looks like whiskey thief and tastes like whiskey thief for sure.
6:07
SPEAKER_02: Most importantly, well, one thing I can say in the winter it's a hell of a lot warmer.
6:12
SPEAKER_02: There's that, and we have nice bathrooms.
6:14
SPEAKER_02: Oh, there's definitely, definitely, there's always that.
6:18
SPEAKER_02: Because yeah, because but but at the same time, the farm, you know, uh in Frankfurt, it's just that is the farm experience.
6:27
SPEAKER_02: You know, it's just kind of like your your the distilleries right there in a barn, the your your aging whiskey in a barn.
6:35
SPEAKER_02: That's what everything's kind of like it definitely you don't go away from the farm experience.
6:40
SPEAKER_02: So when you have to go to the bathroom there, you have to go at a farm.
6:45
SPEAKER_02: That's that's just the way it is, right?
6:47
SPEAKER_02: Right?
6:48
SPEAKER_02: That's right.
6:48
SPEAKER_02: So so we got Amy here, and she so now you are you you're mainly at the farm or you go back and forth from both places?
6:56
SPEAKER_03: I'm splitting my time from both places right now, but mostly in Woolhole because it's where everything's happening at the moment, but we're like Walter said, ramping up out there March 17th, St.
7:08
SPEAKER_03: Patrick's Day weekend, and I expect that I'll be out there.
7:11
SPEAKER_02: Quite a bit more coming up, so well, that's smart to be in uh during the winter, especially this winter.
7:17
SPEAKER_02: I mean, yes, I mean I'm sure there's a couple days where there was too much snow here in the middle.
7:24
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, right, right.
7:25
SPEAKER_02: Whereas in the past, maybe a day or two, right?
7:28
SPEAKER_02: It's like but this but that's how this works in the winter time.
7:31
SPEAKER_02: That's what what happens.
7:32
SPEAKER_02: Now, when it was snowing, were you out by the farm distilling?
7:36
SPEAKER_02: Or was it completely?
7:37
SPEAKER_06: We were still on site, and then I left the country for a couple weeks.
7:41
SPEAKER_02: She just got the worst part of it.
7:43
SPEAKER_06: So so we were 100%.
7:45
SPEAKER_06: When the equipment was cooperating, when the water lines were cooperating, we were still pushing to it.
7:59
SPEAKER_02: Um she's been many different ways, many different places.
8:02
SPEAKER_02: We we if you've watched the podcast, she's been on the podcast at many different ways, but this is where you're at at right now.
8:10
SPEAKER_02: It just feels like kind of a really, really good, good fit.
8:15
SPEAKER_06: It's a fantastic fit.
8:17
SPEAKER_06: For me personally, as long as I don't drive everybody here crazy.
8:20
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, it's uh it feels like it's getting at the risk of sounding ridiculous.
8:26
SPEAKER_06: When I drive on the property in the morning and my type truck truck tires hit the gravel, it's like it's like I cannot believe I'm so fortunate to be here.
8:35
SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
8:36
SPEAKER_06: Our team is fantastic, the people are everybody supports each other.
8:39
SPEAKER_06: It's it's pretty magical.
8:41
SPEAKER_02: I mean, you if if you weren't making everybody crazy, then you wouldn't be doing your job.
8:47
SPEAKER_02: I mean, it's like I mean, as a as this with the dis with the distilling process and it being pot distilled, right?
8:55
SPEAKER_02: You're running pot a pot distilled, that is a whole different thing than running some of the you know, a column distill, running 24-7 with shifts and everything.
9:04
SPEAKER_02: You know, you're talking all different, and you really have to be on top of your game about what you're doing because you know, you have the gin, the you've got two pot stills there, right?
9:15
SPEAKER_02: Or is it three?
9:16
SPEAKER_02: Three, right.
9:17
SPEAKER_02: So, I mean, and so making you know, making gin, you're making bourbon, uh fermenting and everything going.
9:23
SPEAKER_02: And if you go come out to the farm, you can see it all right there, right?
9:27
SPEAKER_02: I mean, it's just right there for the price of admission.
9:30
SPEAKER_02: You get a tour, you can see the fermenting, sometimes you can see the distilling, and then you get to get to the barrels.
9:37
SPEAKER_02: But I mean, so what's your favorite thing now?
9:41
SPEAKER_02: I mean, yeah, you hit the but what's your favorite thing about running a distillery because you've been at all different places and different ways of doing it.
9:49
SPEAKER_02: But what what's your what's your favorite thing about doing this now at this point, you know, compared to the other places?
9:56
SPEAKER_06: They're having three standalone distillers, the distilling team.
9:59
SPEAKER_06: Um, I spend a lot less time teaching and a lot more time collaborating.
10:04
SPEAKER_06: The fact that I can give instructions and I don't have to teach the instructions ahead of time.
10:09
SPEAKER_06: They're all three of them are have they're so talented, right?
10:13
SPEAKER_06: We know Kelly's expertise is in gin.
10:15
SPEAKER_06: She's also a fantastic whiskey distiller.
10:18
SPEAKER_06: The fact that I have to teach where to make cuts right off the pot still, these guys, their palettes are fantastic.
10:24
SPEAKER_06: You know, Brandon, our mysterious overnight distiller, right?
10:28
SPEAKER_06: We can we can charge the gin still, and Kelly trusts him to run the gin still because she knows that the flavor profile is going to be what she wants, right?
10:37
SPEAKER_06: So she can charge the gin still and walk away from it.
10:39
SPEAKER_06: Brandon can do the overnight distillation on it.
10:41
SPEAKER_06: Um, same with Ben, you know, Ben needs fan.
10:45
SPEAKER_06: Anyway, we've got some we've made peach brandy when I first started there, and we had some, it was like the first week.
10:51
SPEAKER_06: Ben and I are brand new.
10:52
SPEAKER_06: It's the first week we're making peach brandy, and we had all of this had so much to bring to the table.
10:56
SPEAKER_06: It's like, okay, this is what's gonna happen, this is how we're gonna have to handle this.
11:00
SPEAKER_06: Okay, first round didn't like.
11:02
SPEAKER_06: I mean, we were happy, but we were like, okay, we can make this better the second round, right?
11:05
SPEAKER_06: We can make it even better the third round, and that's how we're approaching everything.
11:08
SPEAKER_06: So we've already doubled yields in you know a few months, and uh qualities, in my opinion, you know, get given a little bit better.
11:17
SPEAKER_02: So, so being in a position of management myself, and then what the way so you've got this team, and that I understand exactly what you're saying.
11:27
SPEAKER_02: For one, it's rare that you can find a talented overnight person who's not being supervised to do their job, not go on not go on the computer on the internet, say he distilled, but there was nothing in the in the still, and then all of a sudden you find his uh search profile, he was looking at the wrong stuff on the internet.
11:51
SPEAKER_02: I mean, that's kind of the stuff I've dealt with, even in the art field or whatever.
11:54
SPEAKER_02: So having a talented person, right, for overnight, and that's and I can really respect what you say, but Walter, that comes back to you.
12:03
SPEAKER_02: I mean, honestly, hiring the people and the people you attract.
12:08
SPEAKER_02: I mean, from the moment when I walked in and I it was our old distiller.
12:15
SPEAKER_02: I know why am I clocked thank you.
12:20
SPEAKER_02: Hunter and talking to Hunter, and then he told me how much I had to meet you, and then and then we did the podcast changing the name, but meeting Hannah, and Hannah's now head of the barrel thing, and just going she's hanging out with goats, she's doing all kinds of things.
12:37
SPEAKER_02: I mean, she's she's she's up, it's just yeah, but then knowing Hannah, and then every time I come down, there's different people on your team, but the people are fantastic.
12:47
SPEAKER_02: Even you were talking about the distillers, but just the people that are thieving, yeah, and whatever.
12:52
SPEAKER_02: You you attract quality individuals.
12:55
SPEAKER_02: I mean, just when I and then you also have the site to maybe it's not the right time, but you see it, so you do it.
13:02
SPEAKER_01: Right.
13:04
SPEAKER_01: Well, we we mostly give them free whiskey and pay them the whiskey, and that that helps.
13:09
SPEAKER_01: The binny, the binnies are really good.
13:11
SPEAKER_01: The the pay is okay, but the benefits.
13:13
SPEAKER_02: No, I will tell you, you're probably not paying your nephews in free whiskey.
13:17
SPEAKER_02: That's probably not happening.
13:18
SPEAKER_02: Well, no, we do card people every now and then, especially if they work for us.
13:23
SPEAKER_02: But even even his brother, your brother works there, yes, and then your his his his boys, his boys are awesome.
13:30
SPEAKER_02: I mean, I just Caleb, right?
13:32
SPEAKER_06: Is it no no not Emory and Emory and Willem?
13:36
SPEAKER_02: Willem Willem Willem, thank you.
13:38
SPEAKER_02: I've heard of him.
13:38
SPEAKER_02: I'm I've never met them actually, but well, I was so impressed with Emory the one time.
13:43
SPEAKER_02: I I came down and you weren't feeling remember when you said take whatever, and I'm just kind of sitting hanging out.
13:49
SPEAKER_02: Emery comes up to me, he's like, I got you.
13:51
SPEAKER_02: He just says so.
13:53
SPEAKER_02: I mean, people that are bright right on their feet, and then that's part of your job, right?
13:58
SPEAKER_03: To to run so is it as easy as it seems, or is it I mean, do you have here's the thing is there still that bottom layer where you're always rotating to find the good people, but some people just don't, they just kind of you know it's really just about creating a culture of of fun and you know, place where people want to be, and I think that we do that well, Walter does that well, and the team feels that and they know and they're happy to be there and having a good time every day.
15:15
SPEAKER_02: Amy, you do it way better than well.
15:18
SPEAKER_02: It's just like all I can say is me, CT, uh you know, uh initially I think uh I don't Super Nash came down a long time ago, and I think he was talking to Hunter, and they said, You need to come, and we didn't come, okay?
15:33
SPEAKER_02: It was I think it might have been either right when you first started or right, whatever.
15:38
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I remember.
15:38
SPEAKER_02: And and I and then the next year, all of a sudden we were there, and we it's like once you're here, it's like a family reunion, and everybody you get all these people, people from Florida, people from New York, and everybody says, and all of a sudden there's just that special thing that happens, right?
15:54
SPEAKER_02: It's a s on a Saturday afternoon, you're sitting there, everybody just seems to be relaxing and having a good time because that atmosphere is there.
16:02
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, thank you.
16:04
SPEAKER_01: That's very nice.
16:04
SPEAKER_01: And I yeah, we I mean, you know, it was like I think we just said, you know, I mean, where would we want to go?
16:10
SPEAKER_01: Right?
16:10
SPEAKER_01: So when we think about it's like how do we make the decision?
16:13
SPEAKER_01: Well, would we want to go there and do that and hang out and see that and eat that and drink that and do that have that experience?
16:19
SPEAKER_02: And if the answer is yes, then it's probably it's probably right.
16:22
SPEAKER_02: Well, I think that really key that yes, you're right, but then people want to come back.
16:27
SPEAKER_02: And then now you have this distilling, this amazing, even this distilling team that can handle the production push because you're the popularity.
16:38
SPEAKER_02: I mean, at first it was it was just Hunter, right?
16:42
SPEAKER_02: And then and then now you have a distilling team to keep you going as much as you go.
16:47
SPEAKER_02: It's so that's so exciting, and to meet the demand that status that's been your biggest problem, right?
16:54
SPEAKER_02: Talking about that.
16:54
SPEAKER_01: Oh, for sure.
16:55
SPEAKER_01: And and you know, distilling is hard.
16:58
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if people know this, or your audience knows this, but distilling is hard, and so it's always a constant, like it's always trying to figure out how you improve and how you get better, and and what worked, what didn't, learning from hopefully not major mistakes, but some mistakes, or or just you know, being self-aware enough to kind of understand, hey, we did that, and maybe we'll do it this way, and and evolving and growing, and and but you gotta have some experience.
17:23
SPEAKER_01: And honestly, the experience Lisa was the missing piece of the puzzle.
17:28
SPEAKER_01: The that experience level that we just didn't necessarily always have has been has been tremendous.
17:34
SPEAKER_01: For we're we're taking it.
17:36
SPEAKER_01: I'll just tell you, I can't tell you what we're doing because we got surprises in store, but there's a lot coming that's gonna be awesome.
17:42
SPEAKER_02: Well, when it does, you gotta let me know.
17:44
SPEAKER_02: Okay, yeah.
17:45
SPEAKER_02: And then and then you won't miss it.
17:47
SPEAKER_02: So also, not only is distilling not easy, but maturation when you're doing it for the first cycle of barrels, and how old is your oldest bear oldest barrel right now?
18:02
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
18:02
SPEAKER_01: We've well, I mean they weren't distilling, you know, 13, 12, 13 years ago.
18:08
SPEAKER_01: So I don't know, 12 years.
18:10
SPEAKER_01: Some of that stuff, some of that stuff is very it's nice to have from a nostalgia standpoint.
18:16
SPEAKER_01: It might not be great from a drinking standpoint, but it's nice, it's just like that's where you hired her, you hired her, yeah, she'll figure it out.
18:26
SPEAKER_01: But she can't go back in time.
18:27
SPEAKER_01: No, no, she cannot.
18:29
SPEAKER_02: But yeah, but but but what I'm saying is is like on the farm, you're only that far deep into maturation.
18:37
SPEAKER_02: Whereas you take a place like Jim Bean, and they've been they've had those those for over a hundred uh years, those warehouses, and they know the sweet spots, you're just starting to get that's just starting.
18:48
SPEAKER_02: Just imagine when you know what what the where that is and everything right now, but but I think out of all the places I've ever been, you've had the most pleasant surprises I've ever seen.
19:00
SPEAKER_02: Like you're like you're rise, you're just like we were just saw and started tasting this, and it's like, holy crap, you know what I mean, kind of thing.
19:09
SPEAKER_02: And so that's that that means you've done the distilling process.
19:12
SPEAKER_02: Whoever everybody who's been before this distilled properly, but also where where it's aged and what it's going in that pot still is well the surprises are a big part of what we do.
19:22
SPEAKER_01: Hopefully, you come there and you're surprised, and you don't expect the whiskey to be as good as it is, you don't expect the food to be as good as it is, and in that regard, we're exactly like Jim Bean.
19:32
SPEAKER_01: So thank you for that.
19:33
SPEAKER_01: I appreciate that compliment.
19:35
SPEAKER_02: But well, I will say the surprise for me was ryes.
19:38
SPEAKER_02: I mean, I the fact that one day, because I'm me, I got to sample all ten, just a little bit of each one, and I thought that what I sampled was a bourbon.
19:51
SPEAKER_02: That I thought that was this, and then when I realized that order, and my favorite one, it was a rye, and that rarely happens with me.
19:59
SPEAKER_02: But the ryes that you guys produce are fantastic, and those hazmat ryes that you put out last year were pretty special, yeah.
20:11
SPEAKER_01: Well, we don't take compliments all that well, so I'm gonna, you know, but thank you.
20:14
SPEAKER_01: That's very nice.
20:15
SPEAKER_01: But I want you to talk to Philip because this is right here.
20:18
SPEAKER_01: Well, Malcolm talking to here.
20:20
SPEAKER_02: No, you're fine, you're talking right in there and right over there, and everything's coming through.
20:26
SPEAKER_00: I used to be tiny, and I I I'll shut up.
20:29
SPEAKER_01: It's all what you do.
20:30
SPEAKER_00: Oh, I'm fellow and uh own a company called Kentucky Urban Direct, and we are local, we work with a lot of distillers and brands helping them in brand building, selling in the 46 states.
20:49
SPEAKER_00: We were actually just ranked number one in direct to consumer by the DTC Institute of Rankings, which was uh exciting.
20:57
SPEAKER_00: And we've been working in Walter for a while, and uh nutshell.
21:02
SPEAKER_00: We've been doing this for a long time.
21:04
SPEAKER_00: We've worked with the Ducky Bird Festival, buy and chip, and we just see everything going on in the industry kind of going in the direction that we're working in, which is direct to consumer shipping within 23 hours.
21:19
SPEAKER_00: Our sales in 25 went up 1700 percent from 24, and we just have enjoy working with Walter and a multiple other uh so yeah.
21:32
SPEAKER_01: If I could just jump in.
21:33
SPEAKER_01: So Philip and I met maybe I don't know, 18 months ago or something like that, probably.
21:38
SPEAKER_01: Three years ago.
21:38
SPEAKER_01: Has it really been three?
21:39
SPEAKER_01: Three wow, and that's double-six.
21:43
SPEAKER_00: You used to remember those dates.
21:44
SPEAKER_01: Oh knowing you, Philip has been so awesome, time has just flown.
21:52
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, just like HTML.
21:54
SPEAKER_01: In any case, the point is when we first when when Philip and I first met, he they were, you know, he was kind of putting this company together and figuring it out.
22:01
SPEAKER_01: And I told he said, Well, what do you think about DTC?
22:04
SPEAKER_01: And I said, Listen, DTC is no question, direct to consumer, if you don't know what DTC is, direct to consumer for spirits is the is the future.
22:11
SPEAKER_02: You're talking about shipping on the internet.
22:13
SPEAKER_01: For shipping, yes.
22:14
SPEAKER_01: And we what we do is painful for distillers like myself.
22:18
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, the the whole thing is it doesn't matter how many states they unlock, working with those states are is painful.
22:24
SPEAKER_01: The the the licensing part is painful, the reporting part is painful, all of it is painful, and unless and even the big even the big heritage brands, it's it's painful for them too.
22:36
SPEAKER_01: And so, and so what Phillips company has done is made taken the pain away.
22:42
SPEAKER_01: It's made it's made things simple and help us get to market, and and you know, there's big changes happening, which is why I I thought it'd be awesome for Philip to be here.
22:51
SPEAKER_01: There's big changes happening.
22:53
SPEAKER_01: What states just opened up?
22:57
SPEAKER_01: And and then meanwhile, like California's opening up, New York has opened up yes, yeah, straight out of TikTok.
23:03
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we shipped to 46 states.
23:05
SPEAKER_00: And when you said talking about selling on the internet, thought that Walter would be able to sell on his website.
23:11
SPEAKER_02: Right directly, and then to California and they order it, and then it gets shipped.
23:15
SPEAKER_02: And then you take care of the actual.
23:18
SPEAKER_00: We make sure it's legal, compliant, we collect the taxes, pay the taxes.
23:21
SPEAKER_02: Now, who does the actual physical shipping?
23:23
SPEAKER_02: Walter?
23:24
SPEAKER_02: We do you do.
23:25
SPEAKER_02: Okay, so he doesn't do he creates.
23:27
SPEAKER_02: I don't do a lot at all.
23:29
SPEAKER_00: He focuses on making good juice.
23:31
SPEAKER_02: That's that's no, okay.
23:32
SPEAKER_02: So if okay, let's see.
23:38
SPEAKER_02: So let let's just I'm I'm not going there.
23:42
SPEAKER_02: Are you gonna are you looking At Ohio at all?
23:45
SPEAKER_02: We're in 46 states.
23:47
SPEAKER_00: So you're in Ohio?
23:48
SPEAKER_00: We're in Ohio.
23:49
SPEAKER_00: We're not in Utah, Tennessee, are you working?
23:53
SPEAKER_02: Michigan.
23:53
SPEAKER_02: Are you just this is just a it's a yes or no question?
23:56
SPEAKER_02: Are you working with Ohio right now directly?
24:00
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
24:00
SPEAKER_02: That's awesome.
24:02
SPEAKER_02: So I understand.
24:02
SPEAKER_01: I have a Ohio Bourbon Direct.com.
24:06
SPEAKER_02: Right, because the state of Ohio is the customer, not the not as much as the distilleries in a lot of cases.
24:13
SPEAKER_02: Because they buy it before it gets there.
24:15
SPEAKER_00: Right.
24:16
SPEAKER_00: Walter ships coast to coast now.
24:18
SPEAKER_00: Really?
24:18
SPEAKER_00: Using Kentucky Bourbon Direct.
24:21
SPEAKER_02: Okay, so I could buy it in Ohio or no?
24:23
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
24:25
SPEAKER_02: On one.
24:28
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
24:28
SPEAKER_01: That's why this is a big news.
24:30
SPEAKER_01: This is a big news.
24:30
SPEAKER_01: Well, it's huge.
24:31
SPEAKER_01: And because since Whiskey Thief does not distribute, he has enabled us to get our products out to our fans in ways that we haven't been able to do.
24:40
SPEAKER_01: So when you come to the farm, and this has happened for as long as I've known, you come to Whiskey Thief, you have a great time, and you go, you know, I love it.
24:47
SPEAKER_01: This is awesome.
24:48
SPEAKER_01: You guys make great products, but I can't buy it at home.
24:51
SPEAKER_01: I can't get it at the liquor store.
24:53
SPEAKER_01: I can't buy it at home.
24:53
SPEAKER_01: Well, this is even better.
24:55
SPEAKER_01: He's building the bridge.
24:57
SPEAKER_02: Yes, that's a phenomenal.
24:58
SPEAKER_01: It's a work in progress, but I'm telling you, this is just the beginning for the entire thing.
25:03
SPEAKER_02: I think you're gonna see you're solving problems for the people because that is a hard problem to solve.
25:10
SPEAKER_02: But as you guys being the one to solve that problem, it becomes immensely easier for the people, not you.
25:19
SPEAKER_02: It's it's we make the whiskey and it's bottled and everything, and you make sure it gets to where once someone buys it, yes.
25:28
SPEAKER_02: There you go.
25:28
SPEAKER_02: No, fantastic.
25:30
SPEAKER_00: And we provide a lot of data for them.
25:33
SPEAKER_00: Uh their return on as fan through us can be anywhere from five, six, eight.
25:38
SPEAKER_00: We've had one twenty-seven percent times.
25:41
SPEAKER_00: So we do a lot of the brand building for them as well.
25:43
SPEAKER_01: And it's so we we did a lot of research, and and all the craft guys, and they'll tell you this, everybody's done the research, and there's different companies threading this needle a little differently, right?
25:56
SPEAKER_01: And figuring out the figuring out the uh the ins and outs and their their kind of approach to it.
26:01
SPEAKER_01: So you really have to get kind of under the hood.
26:03
SPEAKER_01: But I'll tell you from my perspective, working with them, seeing how they did it, seeing the the level of interaction that they've had with the states has been something that the rest of that for me, the rest of that cohort isn't doing at the same level, in my opinion.
26:21
SPEAKER_01: So, and and because you know, for if you're in my seat and you're wanting to do this, there's risk.
26:27
SPEAKER_01: I mean, there's risk in everything we do with distilling, and so you have to like look at it, mitigate the risk, figure out what works.
26:34
SPEAKER_01: And so right now for us, these guys are the ones doing it, and and what I really like is the fact they're here, they're in Kentucky, they're keeping jobs in Kentucky, they're promoting uh you know not only America's signature product, but for but for sure Kentucky's signature product, and not to be all Kentucky, Kentucky, Kentucky, but but they're they they've started focused on Kentucky bourbon, first and foremost.
26:57
SPEAKER_02: All I can say is there's some problems that I know can be solved, but when I think about it, because I know how it works through through the internet and everything, and what you're trying, what you're accomplishing, at one point when some when you actually think about that problem after when like if you know a little bit about it, but you don't know, there's a lot of things that just in your head lock up.
27:22
SPEAKER_02: Like, how can this happen?
27:23
SPEAKER_02: And you guys obviously have solved those problems so that it that that there is no lockup, and you because every most states do things differently, right?
27:36
SPEAKER_02: And there's lots of different rules.
27:38
SPEAKER_00: We push each state separately to make sure what we're doing, first of all, was compliant and legal.
27:43
SPEAKER_00: We only had 42 states until about three weeks ago.
27:46
SPEAKER_00: We reapproached some others now.
27:48
SPEAKER_00: We could sell so we're in 46 states, and we're because we're in Kentucky and deal closely with the brands that we work with, we're able to identify the problems before they become problems and solve.
28:01
SPEAKER_02: And eventually you'll be able to take this everywhere.
28:05
SPEAKER_02: Right now you're isolated in Kentucky, but you would be able to do that like with other distilleries in other states.
28:12
SPEAKER_02: But right now you're working.
28:20
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
28:21
SPEAKER_00: And I could some other good juice out there that there may be some synergy in working with.
28:25
SPEAKER_00: So we're trying to develop a friends of Kentucky section where you know we really like this.
28:31
SPEAKER_00: Try it.
28:32
SPEAKER_00: We just we just tried some from Netherlands.
28:34
SPEAKER_00: The Netherlands uh yesterday.
28:35
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, tried it for the Netherlands.
28:37
SPEAKER_00: So whiskey is a whiskey, yes.
28:39
SPEAKER_00: It's fun, it was very good.
28:41
SPEAKER_00: People want that.
28:42
SPEAKER_00: And so it's this is the we're not gonna undermine what we do with Kentucky by doing that because we can answer.
28:47
SPEAKER_01: No, roughly how many distillers are you working with or talking to you?
28:51
SPEAKER_01: And I mean, I mean, this is confidentially used stuff, but just a lot.
28:55
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we work with a lot, yeah, a lot.
28:58
SPEAKER_02: I mean, we've just figured it's a it's a problem that all distilleries have to figure out, and there's different ways to do it.
29:04
SPEAKER_02: I mean, I under I know kind of how like whatever, but what you're doing is definitely, you know, now I understand.
29:11
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
29:11
SPEAKER_02: The first time I met you, I kind of understood, but I didn't, but now I completely understand because like I said, uh you're working with the state of Ohio, that's all I have to know.
29:19
SPEAKER_01: Well, if I can't at the moment, one of the other things that I've I've really challenged, Philip, and we've known each other for 18 months.
29:27
SPEAKER_01: 36.
29:28
SPEAKER_01: Plus three years, man.
29:29
SPEAKER_01: Plus three years.
29:30
SPEAKER_01: No, but uh since the very beginning, I've kind of I was the I was probably your biggest skeptic when I day one.
29:34
SPEAKER_01: You kicked the tires harder than anybody else, and I've challenged him all along the way because this this landscape literally changes real time all the time.
29:44
SPEAKER_01: So, and and what I can tell you is that his team and the people that are working on it are staying on the cusp of it.
29:50
SPEAKER_01: We've met with other companies and they're kind of like, this is our business model, and and we're sticking to it, and that.
29:56
SPEAKER_01: But these guys are really evolving real time as the whole landscape changes, and all you gotta do is watch the news on DTC and how it's changing very quickly.
30:04
SPEAKER_01: And so I well there's gonna be a lot of promise, but for bourbon fans, this is like the best thing that could happen, right?
30:10
SPEAKER_02: Especially at this time, yes, but all the things that are changing, although some I don't still don't to this know till this day how people in the in like bourbon podcasters and people who write and critique bourbon all are like, oh, this bourbon's slow, this is somehow the industry's slowing up, and it's how is that how is having enough to the consumer a bad thing where you're gonna get where all of a sudden people who are blending they can buy more barrels at a cheaper price and then supply good shelves to the to they can supply it so that what you couldn't get, you can start to get some of because there's enough being made and then at a cheaper price.
30:54
SPEAKER_02: I'm like, you guys, it's not over.
30:57
SPEAKER_02: You're just gonna be able to get it'll the prices will go back down.
31:00
SPEAKER_00: I mean it's not over, and all the problems are happening in the industry are are good for the for the smart ones that are embracing direct tickets labor because you eliminate all these problems, and your margins are better, and so that's why, like I said earlier, that our sales increased uh 79% in 25.
31:19
SPEAKER_01: Well, and that's why you see a lot of change happening in certain states.
31:22
SPEAKER_01: I mean, let's let's be honest, and you you've done your history.
31:26
SPEAKER_01: I remember the show you did on that kind of history of related to taxation and all of that, and talking about how personal income tax was created to offset.
31:37
SPEAKER_01: See, I paid attention to to offset the loss of the loss of spirits revenues during the leading up to prohibition because the government knew prohibition was gonna was gonna happen, so the interest is tax, whatever.
31:50
SPEAKER_01: This country has gotten itself out of a lot of trouble with excise using excise taxes, the vehicle as a vehicle to solve it.
31:59
SPEAKER_01: So if there's you know markets are shrinking because of tariffs, although today there's lots of news about tariffs, whatever, but markets are shrinking, this and that, the the market has changed.
32:08
SPEAKER_01: The reality is is this the excise tax revenue stream is a good one for everybody, everybody, the states, the federal government, the local uh counties, and they're gonna they're gonna find a way to make the market bigger.
32:22
SPEAKER_01: And the b and the and the most exciting way for me, and you can tell I'm pretty excited about it, is this DTC stuff.
32:28
SPEAKER_01: So the margins are great.
32:31
SPEAKER_01: It's just making the market bigger.
32:32
SPEAKER_01: The marketplace is got is getting so much bigger, and that's exciting.
32:35
SPEAKER_01: For anybody who likes bourbon, this is a win.
32:38
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I mean, the when you're talking about American American market, the tariffs are the best thing that could happen to the American market.
32:48
SPEAKER_02: The only the where where it hurts the bourbon industry is in the international market because they have to sell their stuff for more.
32:55
SPEAKER_02: But the Scotch industry what happened?
32:59
SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah, Supreme Court uh ruled the tariffs were unconstitutional.
33:03
SPEAKER_01: The way he did the tariffs were unconstitutional.
33:05
SPEAKER_01: So we're back in business.
33:06
SPEAKER_01: So we're back in business.
33:07
SPEAKER_01: So so he has to give all the money back?
33:10
SPEAKER_01: Well, that's a good question.
33:11
SPEAKER_01: And there's plenty of 24-7 news channels, right?
33:17
SPEAKER_02: 4,000, yeah.
33:18
SPEAKER_02: What I did not hear that.
33:19
SPEAKER_02: I was here.
33:20
SPEAKER_01: Don't turn off the YouTube, stay here.
33:21
SPEAKER_01: No, I'm no.
33:23
SPEAKER_02: I'm I'm I'm not gonna even, I'm just not even gonna go.
33:26
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, okay.
33:27
SPEAKER_02: Whatever.
33:28
SPEAKER_02: We like to complicate our country, right?
33:31
SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
33:31
SPEAKER_02: But at the same, but but but there's an aspect.
33:34
SPEAKER_02: I mean, I you know, I pay attention to everything and whatever, but it's uh I watched, you know, crowns crowns a big huge seller in America, and those tariffs went on crown, and I watch the price, it's the same price right now as it was back then.
33:51
SPEAKER_02: It's just that if you want to sell your stuff here, you can't you had to eat up the the place.
33:56
SPEAKER_02: They make enough money in Canada that they can keep their price the same.
34:00
SPEAKER_02: I mean, it just comes down to you know, there's some things that works and some things that don't, right?
34:04
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, but at the same time, now you don't you're in the states, right?
34:07
SPEAKER_02: So it's not just we work, you don't you're not over there, you're not trying to sell stuff over on the internet.
34:14
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we looked together during the terrorists.
34:15
SPEAKER_02: Oh, Jesus.
34:16
SPEAKER_00: There's there's that was Jesus market here.
34:19
SPEAKER_02: Well, there's huge market, plus the just the shipping over.
34:22
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's not doesn't sound fun to me.
34:25
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah, well.
34:26
SPEAKER_00: We've done it, we can do it, but it's not part of our business.
34:28
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, not not a viable market to do make money.
34:33
SPEAKER_00: Like, we do single bottle sales, whatever, but also we allow Walter to do barrel picks and a lot of unique things too that we can also handle for.
34:42
SPEAKER_02: Well, that's even better because uh yeah, if you're handing if you handle that for the state of Ohio, that'll be awesome.
34:48
SPEAKER_02: I'll give you my card before.
34:51
SPEAKER_02: So, all right, so we're here having a blast.
34:55
SPEAKER_02: I mean, there's gotta be as far as what's so we're just in the coming out of the winter, right?
35:04
SPEAKER_02: So what's gonna be fun at the farm this year?
35:07
SPEAKER_02: You got I mean, last year you had a whole farm there.
35:11
SPEAKER_02: You had goats, like you had a whole corral of goats and everything.
35:14
SPEAKER_02: Well, you got what's got anything exciting for everybody to plan more concerts out there, more more uh, you know, no crap yeah, oh absolutely.
35:23
SPEAKER_02: I mean 26 is gonna be huge.
35:25
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
35:26
SPEAKER_01: 25 is huge.
35:27
SPEAKER_01: We and we had a great year and we grew and we our team expanded and our our this place opened.
35:34
SPEAKER_01: We saw, believe it or not, we see more people in Louisville, total people, than we do out at the farm.
35:40
SPEAKER_01: Well, why?
35:41
SPEAKER_01: Because they're open more hours.
35:43
SPEAKER_01: We've got a kind of elevated cocktail experience, we've got live music three, four nights a week.
35:47
SPEAKER_02: And so from that perspective, and on and and all the the tours, the tour companies, the tour places, I think they're within, they actually wouldn't even need to rent a bus.
36:00
SPEAKER_02: Right.
36:00
SPEAKER_02: I mean, I think mean julep, you could just walk the people.
36:04
SPEAKER_02: We gotta have to.
36:04
SPEAKER_02: I mean, so you yeah, you and and honestly, this the what I would say that Louisville has exploded on the whiskey scene.
36:15
SPEAKER_02: I mean, you have all these other different distilleries and everything, they all have tasting rooms, you guys have tasting rooms, but nobody's in an axe throwing place, right?
36:25
SPEAKER_01: Did they throw axes here?
36:27
SPEAKER_01: I guess they did.
36:27
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
36:28
SPEAKER_01: That's you could see it's still on the wall.
36:30
SPEAKER_01: So when we when we opened here, truthfully, this is how quickly things have changed, right?
36:34
SPEAKER_01: When we opened here, we're essentially halfway halfway between rabbit hole and angels envy.
36:42
SPEAKER_01: But those were really the only two things that were in this part of Louisville.
36:45
SPEAKER_01: Whiskey Rose developing down by Barstown Bourbon Company in 21C was developing, but in this area, we were the only ones open, right?
36:55
SPEAKER_01: Uh-huh.
36:55
SPEAKER_01: Now, just to the north of us, we've got um the uh Bob Dillon Heaven's Door, the last refuge uh place there, and they're what they're doing is it's a huge, they've got the I mean the biggest bourbon bar you've ever seen.
37:09
SPEAKER_01: That's amazing.
37:10
SPEAKER_01: You gotta go.
37:11
SPEAKER_01: If you haven't been there, you gotta go check it out.
37:12
SPEAKER_01: They're doing really interesting stuff.
37:14
SPEAKER_01: You'll have to take me there sometime.
37:16
SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah, we can do it.
37:16
SPEAKER_01: It's right there.
37:17
SPEAKER_02: It's like I know, I know it's insane.
37:19
SPEAKER_02: I was I agreed, yeah.
37:20
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, you can hit it with a baseball at the front door.
37:23
SPEAKER_01: So they're they're they're there.
37:25
SPEAKER_01: Chicken cock has opened up on markets.
37:29
SPEAKER_01: We've got whistle pig is also that way.
37:32
SPEAKER_01: Bender stash is on the horizon, they're doing some things.
37:37
SPEAKER_01: And who else?
37:38
SPEAKER_01: Am I forgetting?
37:40
SPEAKER_03: There's one more, and I can't.
37:42
SPEAKER_01: National Barrel Company is uh moving on to market.
37:45
SPEAKER_01: So suddenly there's this like little kind of epicenter of whiskey going on here as well, which is pretty exciting.
37:52
SPEAKER_01: So, and that doesn't hurt you.
37:54
SPEAKER_01: No, it hurts just the rising tide.
37:56
SPEAKER_01: And you you have talked about this before.
37:58
SPEAKER_02: I'm a fan of all those guys, so I'm excited they're here.
38:00
SPEAKER_02: Well, if anybody hasn't met Walter, and you can meet him because he's either here or there most of the time or at some event, for sure, some whiskey event.
38:10
SPEAKER_02: But Walter is truly not like when you're talking with him, he he whiskey thief is a thing, but he is a fan of bourbon.
38:19
SPEAKER_02: I mean, you did you did many barrel picks of uh people before you were the owner of Whiskey Thief.
38:26
SPEAKER_02: And then I'd like to do more, by the way.
38:27
SPEAKER_02: If anybody wants to include me on more, I'm always available for as many as I can do.
38:32
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
38:33
SPEAKER_02: So I mean, honestly, that that definitely it's like if anybody's been in his um office at the farm, he's got a lot of stuff in there that's very unique.
38:43
SPEAKER_05: And he's never let me in there.
38:45
SPEAKER_02: Stop.
38:45
SPEAKER_02: You're I don't know why you'd want to go in there right now.
38:48
SPEAKER_01: It's kind of a mess, but yeah.
38:51
SPEAKER_01: That's she's lying, right?
38:52
SPEAKER_01: No, I'm not sure.
38:53
SPEAKER_01: No, she hasn't been in there.
38:54
SPEAKER_04: You're an officer.
38:55
SPEAKER_02: Oh my god.
38:58
SPEAKER_02: I'm sorry.
38:58
SPEAKER_01: I really am sorry for 18 months.
39:00
SPEAKER_05: So yeah.
39:02
SPEAKER_05: I'm waiting.
39:03
SPEAKER_05: No, but I am a fan.
39:04
SPEAKER_01: The point is, I'm a fan first, so I'm a fan of what they're doing, and so this has become really interesting.
39:08
SPEAKER_01: And Louisville's really growing.
39:09
SPEAKER_01: The other thing that's been great for us is so many people come to Louisville and they stay in Louisville, but they don't and if they go to Bargetown and they don't go east, they have a chance of getting whiskey thief what during their stay if they're not traveling east on the trail.
39:23
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, Burbsville is kind of a triangle, right?
39:25
SPEAKER_02: Right.
39:26
SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah.
39:26
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
39:29
SPEAKER_02: And then and then if you're talking about Frankfurt Lexington is part of the triangle.
39:33
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yes.
39:34
SPEAKER_02: It's just like anybody.
39:35
SPEAKER_02: I mean, sometimes I just, you know, uh, people are like, well, that's not that that's not in that part.
39:41
SPEAKER_02: I'm like, are you crazy?
39:42
SPEAKER_02: It's they're 30 minutes apart.
39:44
SPEAKER_02: It's just that, yeah.
39:45
SPEAKER_02: So, anyways, the greatest thing is about the what I love to say is that if you're a fan of Buffalo Trace, you're 20 minutes away.
39:53
SPEAKER_02: It's like it's go to Buffalo Trace and finish up there because you're not going to be able to get the experience at Buffalo Trace that you get there.
40:00
SPEAKER_02: There's no way you're getting in barrels there or anything like that.
40:02
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, the tasting, you get out, you buy some, and you just show up at whiskey thief.
40:06
SPEAKER_01: And I'm watching that.
40:08
SPEAKER_01: What what are they selling at Buffalo Trace today Facebook group just as much as anybody?
40:12
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, anyways, it's but that's not, you know, what you guys do has nothing to do with what they do.
40:19
SPEAKER_02: It's a whole different thing.
40:21
SPEAKER_02: It's still bourbon, and it's part of it, but you know, I the the what how you I like we would have never if the the atmosphere and the people that that you've hired, and it just keeps going and it amazes me.
40:36
SPEAKER_02: Well, thank you.
40:37
SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
40:37
SPEAKER_02: So it's just keep keep doing what you're doing, it's the right thing.
40:41
SPEAKER_02: And so what what do we got in our glass to finish up?
40:43
SPEAKER_02: Because we're right there.
40:44
SPEAKER_03: I want to hear what you think about this right here.
40:49
SPEAKER_02: And I don't even know what it is, right?
40:50
SPEAKER_03: You're just gonna tell yes.
40:52
SPEAKER_03: Maybe you know what it is?
40:53
SPEAKER_03: I do know what it is.
40:54
SPEAKER_03: Yes, I requested it.
41:06
SPEAKER_02: You tell them what it isn't?
41:08
SPEAKER_03: No.
41:08
SPEAKER_02: Tell me it's not a rye.
41:11
SPEAKER_02: It's a rye.
41:14
SPEAKER_03: It is a rye.
41:15
SPEAKER_03: No, I can tell.
41:16
SPEAKER_03: We just popped this one today.
41:17
SPEAKER_02: And and there's so it's bizarre because it's a minty vanilla rye.
41:24
SPEAKER_02: It there's a lot more vanilla and it's the most vanilla I ever tasted.
41:29
SPEAKER_02: I mean I've never had a minty vin vanilla anything, but it's unique.
41:37
SPEAKER_03: Do you get vanilla?
41:39
unknown: Yeah.
41:39
SPEAKER_03: I don't get I don't go out there.
41:41
SPEAKER_03: Caramel.
41:42
SPEAKER_02: I don't I'm not getting maybe it might have been caramel.
41:45
SPEAKER_02: That with the lime that's the same thing it goes.
41:48
SPEAKER_03: I get the mint.
41:49
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
41:50
SPEAKER_00: Philip, what are you tasting?
41:52
SPEAKER_00: No, they're just watching the four people pour out of the photo.
41:55
SPEAKER_00: Photo booth.
41:56
SPEAKER_00: Very nice.
41:56
SPEAKER_06: And you go, you're like thinking.
41:58
SPEAKER_06: He's finished strapping.
41:59
SPEAKER_02: Did they really, really all get I was like, holy man.
42:04
SPEAKER_01: Like a clown car.
42:05
SPEAKER_01: Like a clown card.
42:06
SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's it's yeah, but if you see.
42:08
SPEAKER_01: Lisa, what what notes do you get on the 100% caramel?
42:11
SPEAKER_06: And mint the mint, yeah.
42:13
SPEAKER_02: Maybe the mint is make I I I normally love caramel.
42:18
SPEAKER_02: But how many times do you either get the mint or the caramel?
42:22
SPEAKER_02: Or the mint, and I'm getting them both.
42:24
SPEAKER_06: Maybe the mint is well the mint is a little more like menthol than it is.
42:28
SPEAKER_02: It reminds me of like what you get when you have chocolate like Andy's Andes or peppermint.
42:37
SPEAKER_02: Or that.
42:38
SPEAKER_02: But then that is for me pulling.
42:41
SPEAKER_02: That's why it pulls it vanilla for me because I'm not getting the car.
42:44
SPEAKER_06: Yeah, and there's certainly some like dry cocoa powder going on in the almost like uh less cocoa powder.
42:54
SPEAKER_03: What do you think the proof is?
42:55
SPEAKER_03: You had to guess.
42:56
SPEAKER_02: Um I know what the proof is.
42:58
SPEAKER_02: Um 139.4.
43:00
SPEAKER_03: No.
43:01
SPEAKER_03: Uh round 121.
43:03
SPEAKER_03: 121?
43:04
SPEAKER_03: Okay.
43:04
SPEAKER_02: I was thinking, uh I mean, I did the main day, right?
43:07
SPEAKER_02: What's the age?
43:08
SPEAKER_03: It's nine years old.
43:10
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
43:10
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, so we have a few different nine-year-old barrels out right now.
43:13
SPEAKER_03: Um tastic.
43:15
SPEAKER_03: This one, like I said, just opened today.
43:16
SPEAKER_01: So if you're at home, get in the car, get come on down.
43:20
SPEAKER_01: There's music till 11.
43:22
SPEAKER_01: There's plenty of time.
43:23
SPEAKER_00: Right?
43:23
SPEAKER_00: Right here.
43:24
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
43:24
SPEAKER_00: Come on.
43:24
SPEAKER_00: Or go to the website and order it online.
43:27
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you can watch the movie.
43:28
SPEAKER_00: So I want the mint caramel one.
43:31
SPEAKER_06: Walter's wife Dana did the barrel warehouse, right?
43:35
SPEAKER_06: And something about you know, I'm too new to know what's happening out there, but the fries come in with those caramel notes over and over and over again.
43:43
SPEAKER_02: You're too new to know what's happening out there.
43:46
SPEAKER_02: So here's the question based off that statement, I was gonna ask you this anyways.
43:51
SPEAKER_02: So you know you've been around this long enough.
43:54
SPEAKER_02: So there's a point where initially the distillate is the hero, and the barrel starts to affect it and compliment it.
44:06
SPEAKER_02: But then when you get into, we all know when you get into eight, nine, ten, now the barrel starts to be the hero with the distillate complimenting it.
44:17
SPEAKER_02: So what do you prefer?
44:19
SPEAKER_02: Do you like it, or is do you or do you like them both?
44:22
SPEAKER_06: Like I'm gonna tell you what I told Walter two nights ago when we're maybe drinking a little whiskey.
44:27
SPEAKER_06: I love whiskey.
44:28
SPEAKER_01: So same here.
44:29
SPEAKER_06: So I'm gonna shut up.
44:31
SPEAKER_01: She also says can you shut up, please?
44:32
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, stop talking.
44:34
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I will.
44:34
SPEAKER_01: Was that before you said stop talking?
44:37
SPEAKER_02: I don't know.
44:38
SPEAKER_02: I can't remember.
44:38
SPEAKER_02: She asked you to stop talking?
44:40
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
44:40
SPEAKER_02: So you just asked me to stop talking.
44:42
SPEAKER_02: Can you please stop?
44:42
SPEAKER_02: I love you.
44:43
SPEAKER_02: Okay, go.
44:43
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I wasn't using you.
44:45
SPEAKER_06: I mean, you've you've got the distal in the barrel, but also I'm a you know, I'm a big believer in Tuar, right?
44:52
SPEAKER_06: There's no way that like where it's stored isn't influencing it, you know, how it's stored isn't influencing it.
44:59
SPEAKER_06: I was talking to a couple guys yesterday, they've been in the industry a long time, and and they in the past have stored some stuff for me, right?
45:07
SPEAKER_06: And I wanted some stuff in either cradles, right?
45:10
SPEAKER_06: Because they had an open warehouse and they kept insisting on putting it on pallets.
45:13
SPEAKER_06: So I'm like, well, I don't want it on pallets, I want it, you know, so there's the so side by side, barrels in a completely, completely controlled environment, but coming out completely differently because they're either palletized or wrecked, right?
45:28
SPEAKER_06: And so it it 100% what you're saying is accurate, but there's just so many other ways to influence it too.
45:35
SPEAKER_06: We've had I mean, like this year alone, I've been with Whiskey Thieves since June.
45:39
SPEAKER_06: Oh my gosh, the temperature swings have been insane.
45:41
SPEAKER_06: This year.
45:42
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, they've been insane, right?
45:44
SPEAKER_02: I think this is the first unstable year for a winter in Kentucky in probably 1516.
45:52
SPEAKER_02: It's always been kind of this mild, and I really I I the the here I've I contend I've been tasting this year's Buffalo Trace.
46:00
SPEAKER_02: Just the regular Buffalo Trace.
46:02
SPEAKER_02: It's it's I've I've even done it.
46:05
SPEAKER_02: I've got one from five years ago and I got one from now.
46:08
SPEAKER_02: The caramel is blowing.
46:10
SPEAKER_02: It's just like it's it's like it matters what what the weather is.
46:17
SPEAKER_02: And it's like the bottom shelf stuff isn't even good right now because Kentucky has had such this long run.
46:22
SPEAKER_02: I don't know what this winter is gonna do because this winter was this was a rough one.
46:27
SPEAKER_02: It not only was it moist and it was snowing, and then we were in a refrigerator with below zero temperatures one day after another, and that hasn't happened for a while.
46:36
SPEAKER_02: So it'll be really interesting in six, seven years from now to see what how that influenced what the taste is.
46:43
SPEAKER_02: But I mean, I just think we've been on a roll, you know, it's people I'm not saying anything good or bad, but the climate of Kentucky, of how it's what it's been, has been even better for aging.
46:56
SPEAKER_06: Oh, the craziness always makes it better, right?
46:58
SPEAKER_06: You know, the extremes make it better.
47:00
SPEAKER_01: You know, well, and if you you spend time drinking Texas whiskey, which I'm a fan of also, you know though that bourbon needs winter as much as it needs summer.
47:09
SPEAKER_02: I mean, and it's yeah, but but how big of a winter is the question.
47:14
SPEAKER_02: This was a big winter.
47:16
SPEAKER_02: This was this could have stopped it all, you know what I mean?
47:19
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we would have and and I'm a fan of Texas whiskey, but that I like I mean, I just get these notes that have nothing to do.
47:29
SPEAKER_02: Well, I'm like you said, fan of whiskey.
47:31
SPEAKER_02: There's very few whiskeys that I'm not uh I mean I I like the Jap, I like Japanese whiskey, the lightness, the fruitiness.
47:39
SPEAKER_02: There's so much, you know, and there's certain scotches that you know they they use.
47:44
SPEAKER_02: I used to hate peat, but if you use the peat properly, and you can balance something perfectly, you know what I mean?
47:51
SPEAKER_02: It's just when you overdo it, but some people have no taste buds and they want it overdone.
47:55
SPEAKER_02: So you gotta make whiskey for everybody, right?
47:58
SPEAKER_02: This is very good.
48:00
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, this is it's a good ride.
48:01
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
48:02
SPEAKER_02: Um do you have enough?
48:08
SPEAKER_03: There's not very much of it.
48:10
SPEAKER_03: I just asked that question.
48:10
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so so how do you do that?
48:13
SPEAKER_02: I mean, Walter, I know Walter and in the in your bait building the building blocks at the moment, but Walter is even his his supply.
48:24
SPEAKER_02: How how are you meeting the supply?
48:27
SPEAKER_00: Okay, I'm sorry, go ahead.
48:29
SPEAKER_01: But you guys.
48:30
SPEAKER_01: We only give him really the bad stuff to sell.
48:32
SPEAKER_01: Uh so um but uh the stuff that's what the fuck like this is.
48:38
SPEAKER_00: You know, it's not room we sell it.
48:40
SPEAKER_01: So so you call them call them shelf warmers?
48:43
SPEAKER_01: So you call you called him off his couch with the in his bare feet down here to just tell him and give him the shit whiskey.
48:54
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we do, we do.
48:55
SPEAKER_02: No, I don't know.
48:56
SPEAKER_02: It doesn't matter as long as he has good stuff, it doesn't matter what's in the US, right?
49:00
SPEAKER_01: All jokes aside, there are things we like, we go you know, so the question that keeps me awake at night as we start to go into this DTT land is like so if if if if I get sell, if I give this bottle to Philip to sell, and nobody's ever had ever tasted whiskey thief and experienced whiskey thief before, but they watch Scotchy Burber Boys and they go online and they buy this bottle and they get it and they don't like it, then what do I like?
49:26
SPEAKER_01: That's this is my this is my entry into their lives of like their experience, and they're like, Well, I don't know about that whiskey thief thing.
49:33
SPEAKER_01: Like, and so we get so the stuff we still don't want's gotta be really great, it's gotta be as good as the stuff you can get if you come here.
49:40
SPEAKER_01: And that's a good challenge, though.
49:42
SPEAKER_01: It's a tough challenge.
49:43
SPEAKER_01: So I know that doesn't sound like a big deal, but to me, it's a big deal.
49:46
SPEAKER_02: This is a huge deal, and I'm my brain right now, I understand what Lisa does, and I understand what you do, and what Lisa part of what Lisa does is what you didn't do.
49:56
SPEAKER_02: But what he's trying to do and what Lisa does makes a ton of freaking sense.
50:02
SPEAKER_02: And are we going that way?
50:06
SPEAKER_02: Are you gonna do that?
50:07
SPEAKER_02: Are you going to make like if you're trying to get a can the product to be really good, barrel by barrel, is tough.
50:16
SPEAKER_02: Well, it would be, but if you do what she does, you can supply more, and it's good.
50:25
SPEAKER_02: Like blending?
50:26
SPEAKER_02: Is that just is that the word you're doing?
50:27
SPEAKER_02: I didn't want to say it.
50:28
SPEAKER_02: I wasn't trying to make it in make you into buttons.
50:31
SPEAKER_02: But it it's not a bad word, but it's not what you do at the moment.
50:34
SPEAKER_02: Are this are you?
50:37
SPEAKER_02: Are you fucking gonna you're gonna start blending?
50:39
SPEAKER_02: Okay, there you go.
50:41
SPEAKER_02: We're over eight minutes into this body.
50:44
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'd say you're gonna see some uh whiskey thief products that are you've never seen before.
50:49
SPEAKER_01: He's smart, right?
50:50
SPEAKER_02: He did she she led you in the right direction.
50:54
SPEAKER_06: I didn't like him at all.
50:55
SPEAKER_06: I told him whatever he wants.
50:56
SPEAKER_02: I know, but I'm not I'm not gonna hire you.
51:01
SPEAKER_02: I'm not gonna hire you and not make you let you do what you do.
51:05
SPEAKER_02: She's fucking amazing at it.
51:06
SPEAKER_02: I mean, you've probably got one of the best people.
51:08
SPEAKER_02: I mean, my God, she did it in New York.
51:11
SPEAKER_02: You know how hard it is to do what she did in New York?
51:14
SPEAKER_02: I do.
51:15
SPEAKER_02: I mean, still, she left New York, and now how many I I want to know, besides what she did there, how many people know about New York?
51:22
SPEAKER_02: I it's not a big If you can make it there, you can make it there.
51:25
SPEAKER_02: Well, she made it there, but nobody else can.
51:28
SPEAKER_02: Anywhere.
51:29
SPEAKER_02: I mean, I don't do a lot of New York podcasts.
51:31
SPEAKER_02: I got uh some person from New York, Rhode Island, there's a Rhode Island Island distillery that content.
51:36
SPEAKER_06: Rhode Island and New York are not the same.
51:38
SPEAKER_02: I know, but let's just talk.
51:40
SPEAKER_01: We're just we're off the mirror now, right?
51:42
SPEAKER_01: No, we're on.
51:44
SPEAKER_01: We're off right now.
51:44
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we're off.
51:45
SPEAKER_01: We're just okay, we're off the air, sure.
51:47
SPEAKER_01: So what would you think?
51:48
SPEAKER_01: Let me ask your opinion while we got your attention.
51:51
SPEAKER_01: What would you think?
51:52
SPEAKER_01: So, you know, when you come to taste at our place, what do you got?
51:54
SPEAKER_01: You got what's the thing you see?
51:57
SPEAKER_01: Barrel.
51:57
SPEAKER_01: Five barrels.
51:58
SPEAKER_01: Right?
51:58
SPEAKER_01: Five barrels is kind of our jam.
52:00
SPEAKER_01: That's like our sweet spot.
52:01
SPEAKER_01: Like it's better than four, right?
52:04
SPEAKER_01: Six is too many, five is about the right deal, right?
52:08
SPEAKER_02: I feel like I'm in what is it?
52:09
SPEAKER_02: Was it sleepless in Seattle?
52:12
SPEAKER_02: And then they're picking out their wedding thing, and they're like, Yeah, well, how many did the place I think?
52:16
SPEAKER_02: Ten, it's like twelve is too many, eight is right.
52:20
SPEAKER_02: So five feels about right.
52:21
SPEAKER_01: So what if we blended five barrels?
52:24
SPEAKER_01: What if we kept our blends so?
52:26
SPEAKER_06: Think on this tiny, think of this, think on this, think on this.
52:31
SPEAKER_01: Wouldn't that be cool?
52:32
SPEAKER_02: What would be really cool is no, it would.
52:34
SPEAKER_02: I mean, you could do so much.
52:36
SPEAKER_02: You could then she could take half the barrel of each of those five, make the blend, and then you could still do half the barrel here without a thing, and then they could buy the mix together.
52:48
SPEAKER_06: Well, and it's a now there is it's a lovely life coincidence because Walter's like, how do you how comfortable are you with like five barrels?
52:55
SPEAKER_06: I said, I've done a thousand badges.
52:58
SPEAKER_06: Yes, you you have so I've done a thousand five-barrel blends.
53:02
SPEAKER_02: So how many uh how many yeah, I'm okay.
53:05
SPEAKER_02: What's the biggest blend you've done?
53:07
SPEAKER_06: Barrel-wise?
53:08
SPEAKER_06: I've never done over 21.
53:10
SPEAKER_06: I'm a control freak.
53:12
SPEAKER_06: So I'll build them seven barrels, five to seven barrels.
53:15
SPEAKER_02: I mean, it's not like 21 is like small bad.
53:19
SPEAKER_06: It's still compared to the big guys, it's just but wait.
53:23
SPEAKER_02: Who he's got a pot still in a barn?
53:25
SPEAKER_02: He's never gonna be you're not gonna be a big guy.
53:29
SPEAKER_02: You're not gonna be Jim Beam producing 24-7.
53:33
SPEAKER_02: Why it's not what you wait.
53:35
SPEAKER_02: The what I've always said to, especially to people who produce pots though, why in God's name would you ever want to compete with the big guys when they already do it, they do that great.
53:48
SPEAKER_02: You do what you do, which is completely different.
53:54
SPEAKER_02: No, it's completely different.
53:55
SPEAKER_02: That's why I'm here.
53:56
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I'm here for I you can't go you can go use.
54:00
SPEAKER_06: You can always use baking analogy because like you can have the really amazing little boutique bakery, which that's what we are, but we still like some of the stuff that comes from the big bakeries, too, right?
54:12
SPEAKER_02: You know, it's just it's like a cream, a cream horn isn't bad, but you make that special French pastry kind of thing, but yeah, so it doesn't.
54:20
SPEAKER_02: But I will say that even the kitchen table at Jim Beam, which is a nice experience, whatever, it doesn't feel like what you get at Whiskey Thief.
54:30
SPEAKER_02: When I from a chef that you basically fry in the winter in the heat cooking out of a out of a food truck, making this this amazing food comes out, and I'm just like going.
54:43
SPEAKER_02: It's like holy crap, and then you're like, he really goes in there and makes this food.
54:49
SPEAKER_02: You know, you could you could you could probably build him a kind of a uh uh actual structure that's a little bit bigger than that?
54:59
SPEAKER_01: Can we edit this part out, please?
55:01
SPEAKER_01: Can we add this part out of the little uh yeah?
55:04
SPEAKER_02: He uh I'm sorry, he paid me for that.
55:06
SPEAKER_02: We make things the hard way is the point.
55:08
SPEAKER_01: We make we make our whiskey the hard way, we make our food the hard way.
55:12
SPEAKER_01: It's you know, there's what to do.
55:14
SPEAKER_02: Alright, so there we go.
55:16
SPEAKER_02: Anyone else have anything?
55:18
SPEAKER_02: Well, we're getting some drinks right now.
55:20
SPEAKER_02: There's music starting, so they can hear that.
55:22
SPEAKER_01: Can they hear the music starting?
55:23
SPEAKER_02: They kind of can, I'm sure.
55:25
SPEAKER_02: Okay, good.
55:25
SPEAKER_02: And then when we leave, I'll just leave with the music and then we'll end it.
55:30
SPEAKER_02: So anybody have anything else to say?
55:36
SPEAKER_03: Um no, I think.
55:37
SPEAKER_02: What do you love about working here?
55:40
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
55:41
SPEAKER_03: What do I love about working here?
55:43
SPEAKER_03: Oh man.
55:44
SPEAKER_03: I mean, we we're just having so much fun every day.
55:47
SPEAKER_03: There's no doubt about that.
55:49
SPEAKER_02: You can tell.
55:49
SPEAKER_03: I just wake up every morning excited to get here and have more fun because that's what we're doing.
55:56
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
55:57
SPEAKER_02: I can't wait to retire to do podcasting full time.
56:01
SPEAKER_02: It's a lot of podcasting.
56:03
SPEAKER_02: There's so much I could more I could do.
56:05
SPEAKER_02: I go to work and I'm just like, I wish I could do that.
56:12
SPEAKER_02: But anyway.
56:12
SPEAKER_00: All six of us in the booth.
56:18
SPEAKER_02: Well that's good.
56:19
SPEAKER_02: Well, we two four or five.
56:21
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, six.
56:22
SPEAKER_02: You but we we all fit in the photo booth.
56:25
SPEAKER_02: If that's four, so Roxy.
56:27
SPEAKER_03: Oh, we can do it.
56:28
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
56:29
SPEAKER_02: So so just take that around so take I said Roxy.
56:34
SPEAKER_02: Take that around and just pick that up.
56:36
SPEAKER_02: They can still just show everybody the barrels and everything.
56:40
SPEAKER_02: Just yeah, grab that and just walk around.
56:47
SPEAKER_02: Oh, is it off the camera?
56:52
SPEAKER_02: There you go.
56:52
SPEAKER_03: Oh, is she gonna follow us on the photo brew?
56:54
SPEAKER_02: And we're gonna, as you do that, once you're over there, we'll we'll finish this baby up and then we'll end it.
57:00
SPEAKER_02: And then we'll all get in that photo bruiser that's supposed to fit two people.
57:04
SPEAKER_02: You can put this on social media.
57:06
SPEAKER_02: Oh my god.
57:10
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, she's showing it.
57:11
SPEAKER_02: She can hear us.
57:13
SPEAKER_02: And that one's over there still going.
57:15
SPEAKER_02: You know, and you know what?
57:17
SPEAKER_02: What happened, I don't know, but that's kind of cool.
57:19
SPEAKER_02: Is it really yeah, they're starting?
57:22
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, but this is Yeah, they can grab the show.
57:26
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, she's just showing everybody.
57:28
SPEAKER_02: What is the what's the drink?
57:30
SPEAKER_03: Burbit.
57:32
SPEAKER_02: Another one of the first one?
57:35
SPEAKER_03: She's not a bit.
57:36
SPEAKER_02: I love Burbaby.
57:37
SPEAKER_02: It's too much.
57:38
SPEAKER_02: You know what I mean?
57:39
SPEAKER_02: You call it a high ball?
57:41
SPEAKER_02: A high ball.
57:42
SPEAKER_02: And that's just club soda.
57:44
SPEAKER_05: It really can be anything.
57:45
SPEAKER_05: It's like it's like anything like bubbly.
57:48
SPEAKER_05: It could be ALA, it can be grey.
57:51
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
57:55
SPEAKER_02: Alright, I do have to ask you a couple questions once we're off.
57:59
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
58:00
SPEAKER_02: That's how I'm going to be able to do it.
58:01
SPEAKER_04: Lisa.
58:02
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, we're we're she's finishing up, but she comes back all in there.
58:07
SPEAKER_01: All right.
58:12
SPEAKER_01: No! No, I know, but uh pre-sale the next show.
58:16
SPEAKER_01: It'll be uh uh April.
58:20
SPEAKER_02: I probably can get down sometime in April.
58:23
SPEAKER_02: I mean, I'm trying to always get down here as much as I possibly can.
58:28
SPEAKER_02: Um, thanks for coming on.
58:34
SPEAKER_02: We're live from Whiskey Thief, and uh what's the website for Whiskey Thief to go get some?
58:41
SPEAKER_02: Whiskeythief.com.
58:42
SPEAKER_02: www.wiskythief.k.
58:46
SPEAKER_02: Alright, there you go.
58:48
SPEAKER_02: Yep.
58:49
SPEAKER_02: Alright.
58:50
SPEAKER_02: Alright, good night, everybody.