Welcome back to another episode, this one is a great time. let me know if you like the new intros

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When you hear “Texas” and “whiskey” together, what comes to mind? Do the words conjure an image of John Wayne sauntering into a West Texas frontier saloon? Or maybe you think of one of the many country songs about whiskey recorded by Texans, like Kris Kristofferson’s “Whiskey, Whiskey” or Willie Nelson’s “Whiskey River.” Given how closely tied whiskey and Texas are in the public imagination, it might surprise you to know that twenty years ago, there were no whiskey distilleries at all in the Lone Star State.

The history of whiskey in Texas is one of long gaps, pervasive struggles, and underground bootleggers. During the 19th century, there were a number of distilleries in Texas, some legal and others . . . less so. But that all changed with Prohibition, when the state’s distilling traditions were almost stamped out for good. Distilling became legal in Texas again in 1935, but the state’s whiskey distilleries quite simply never recovered from the Volstead Act. Not until recently, that is.

It’s remarkable how things can change in a couple of decades.

When Texas decides to do something, there are no half-measures—and whiskey distilling is no exception. Since the founding of Texas’s first two distilleries in Central Texas in the late aughts, Texas bourbons, ryes and single malts have exploded onto the world stage.

As a matter of fact, it took only a handful of years after those first distilleries were founded before Texas distilleries began to win major awards alongside stalwarts from Kentucky and Scotland and Ireland—and these days the Lone Star State is now being spoken of as a major world center for top-shelf craft whiskey. In 2012, a Balcones Single Malt won first prize at London’s prestigious “Best in Glass” competition, beating out rivals from storied Scottish houses like The Macallan and Glenmorangie. In the years since that historic upset, Texas distilleries have continued their string of upsets. In 2020, Ironroot Republic’s Harbinger Bourbon Whiskey was named the “World’s Best Bourbon,” and in 2022, Acre Distilling’s Longhair Jim Bourbon took home gold at the US Open Whiskey and Spirits Competition.

Am I just grumpy, or is it something else?

The stereotype of the grumpy old man could have its roots in a condition known as irritable male syndrome. It’s clinically referred to as andropause, or male menopause. Like female menopause, andropause includes physical and emotional changes that also seem dependent on changes in hormone levels.

Irritable male syndrome can have a big impact on your relationships. To know whether you’re experiencing irritable male syndrome, and how you might treat it and improve your relationships, it’s important to recognize some of the more obvious symptoms.