Botanical Trails

Wake the kids, call the neighbors - in episode 8, my best friend for the last 46 years Jim joins me.  He calls San Francisco home, so we try a couple of gins from that area.  But we end up having so much fun that we sneak in a third drink for the Off the Beaten segment.  Prior to that, we talk about visiting one of the distilleries from this episode, our idea for a butcher shop, a controversial Halloween costume that we wore nearly 20 years ago, and how Jim once left me as collateral at an auto repair shop.

Come for the gin, but stick around for Jim cracking a joke and causing me to nearly choke on a peanut, and a bunch of other laughs.  This might be the best hour of your week. 

My thanks to Darin VanderMolen for helping to produce this podcast.

For questions, comments, or to suggest a new gin to try, feel free to send us a message on our Instagram account: @thebotanicaltrails

In episode 7, my fake son Dave  joins me to try a couple of gins with a Scandinavian influence.  And as we sample these spirits, we discuss my favorite class at Michigan State, what might be the ideal way to taste a new gin, and both take a musical trail when we go Off The Beaten Path.

Come for the gin, but stick around to see how he became my fake son, and why he should start a beer podcast.

My thanks to Darin VanderMolen for helping to produce this podcast.

For questions, comments, or to suggest a new gin to try, feel free to send us a message on our Instagram account: @thebotanicaltrails

In episode 6, my guest Drew convinced me to concoct a couple of gin cocktails, as opposed to the usual gin & tonics that I serve.  And as we imbibe those, we discuss the Old Tom style of gin, discover how Drew came upon the cocktail that he made, find out the gin for my cocktail is at a distillery only about 30 miles from our neighborhood, and potentially figure out why there is a cat on the label of the bottle of Old Tom Gin we enjoyed in this episode.  Come for the gin, but stay for the stories in this episode.

My thanks to Darin VanderMolen for helping to produce this podcast.

For questions, comments, or to suggest a new gin to try, feel free to send us a message on our Instagram account: @thebotanicaltrails

In episode 5, my guest Kelly and I explore two similar styles of gin - the classic London Dry style, and their New World or American Dry cousins.  And along the way we chat about Downton Abbey, morning game shows and soap operas and mix in a bit of cilantro, and that's before we even get to Off The Beaten Path.  Kelly also takes great enjoyment in my constant struggle to pronounce things correctly.  Come for the gin, but stay for the interesting paths this episode takes.

My thanks to Darin VanderMolen for helping to produce this podcast.

For questions, comments, or to suggest a new gin to try, feel free to send us a message on our Instagram account: @thebotanicaltrails

In episode 4, we encounter a dilemma - my guest Molly is not a fan of gin.  So I break out two of my favorites to try and answer the age old question - is a hater going to hate?  One is Empress 1908 Indigo Gin, and the other is Alkkemist Gin (which has an interesting relationship with the full moon).  And as usual, we get in a couple of rounds of trivia and blaze a few new trails on "Off the Beaten Path".  Come for the gin - but stay the laughs.  

My thanks to Darin VanderMolen for helping to produce this podcast.

For questions, comments, or to suggest a new gin to try, feel free to send us a message on our Instagram account: @thebotanicaltrails

In episode 3, my guest Brian and I decide to ring in St. Patrick's Day a little early and explore a couple of Irish gins.  One is Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin and the other is Dingle Gin.  In addition to the two rounds of trivia, Brian also tries to go down multiple paths when we go "Off the Beaten Path".

My thanks to Darin VanderMolen for helping to produce this podcast.

For questions, comments, or to suggest a new gin to try, feel free to send us a message on our Instagram account: @thebotanicaltrails

In episode 2, my guest Sean and I explore a couple of gins from Italy.  One is Malfy Limone, and the other is Piedmonte gin.  We also get in two rounds of trivia, and Sean has an interesting selection for "Off the Beaten Path".

My thanks to Darin VanderMolen for helping to produce this podcast.

For questions, comments, or to suggest a new gin to try, feel free to send us a message on our Instagram account: @thebotanicaltrails

In the first episode, Jerry and I try Monkey 47 and the Nautical version of Sherlock & Sons gin.  We also go through two rounds of gin trivia and go "Off the Beaten Path".

My thanks to Darin VanderMolen for helping to produce this podcast.

For questions, comments, or to suggest a new gin to try, feel free to send us a message on our Instagram account: @thebotanicaltrails