This Tiki Time with Jeff episode was recorded in April 2025 -- months before our Tiki Time with Jeff Primer was recorded (see episode 84).

—

On this voyage, Jeff speaks with Russell Thoede. In 2014, he and his wife, Elizabeth, co-founded Lei Low in Houston. Russell is not just the owner of what is now one of Jeff’s favorite tiki bars; he’s the maker of Jeff’s new favorite tiki drink, The Pearl Diver, and a walking, talking, living, breathing tiki wiki - a fount of tiki history and lore.

In this captivating conversation, Jeff and Russell cover:

- the Lei Low origin story,

- the pride and passion that underlie every “real” tiki bar

- Russell’s fervent belief that the craft cocktail movement actually began with tiki

- how tiki, for all its exoticism, is a truly American creation

- how, in just under 100 years, Don the Beachcomber’s fully concocted fantasy has become something very real, with its own sense of authenticity

All of that, plus Russell’s very good advice to all entrepreneurs.

Enjoy and cheers!

——

This episode of Tiki Time with Jeff was recorded on location at Lei Low in Houston, TX. Follow them on Instagram and Facebook @leilowhtx

Thanks for listening to Tiki Time with Jeff! Much aloha to all!

--

Learn more about CU's Deming Center for Entrepreneurship: https://deming.colorado.edu

Comments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note at [email protected].

Thanks for listening.

-
An Analog Digital Arts Production for the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship
Produced, recorded and edited by Joel Davis

"Whiskey Before Breakfast" [Traditional] performed by Jeffrey York and Brad Werner. Recorded, mixed and mastered by George Figgs

___

CREATIVE DISTILLATION

University of Colorado-Boulder professors Jeff York and Brad Werner distill entrepreneurship research into actionable insights.

Jeff York | Associate Professor | Research Director
[email protected]

Brad Werner | Instructor | Teaching Director
[email protected]

Deming Center for Entrepreneurship | CU Leeds School of Business
303.492.9018 | [email protected]

For this last, lingering, “holidayesque” episode of the season, we return to Dry Land Distillers in Longmont, Colorado, where Brad and Jeff continue their discussion with CU’s Ethan Poskanzer and Isabel Schoeberl, a visiting doctoral candidate from the Technical University of Munich.

As if the handcrafted libations shaken and stirred by Dry Land aren’t enough, Jeff smuggles in a bottle of his homemade “tiki nog” to keep the party going. Between sips of this surprisingly delectable tropical yuletide concoction, Jeff and Brad give their guests the floor to talk about their recent and/or current research.

One of Ethan’s recently-published papers explores partisan moral flexibility in American politics. Are voters willing to accept less-than-factual assertions from their respective political sides, as long as they align with a deeply-held political, quote-unquote, “truth?” Betcha can’t guess the answer to that one!

And then Isabel talks about two papers she’s working on — one qualitative the other quantitative — which focus on the impact of public-private partnerships on climate tech startups. Preliminary results suggest these collaborations lead to greater emission reduction potential — you just need to find the right collaborators (that’s the tricky part).

And with that, the holiday season at Creative Distillation comes to a merciful and well overdue conclusion.

Enjoy and cheers!

—

This episode of Creative Distillation was recorded at Dry Land Distillers in Longmont, Colorado. Follow them on Instagram @drylanddistillers, and get more info at drylanddistillers.com

Learn more about Ethan Poskanzer on his faculty page at CU’s Leeds School of Business website: https://www.colorado.edu/business/leeds-directory/faculty/ethan-poskanzer

Read Ethan Poskanzer’s paper, “When truth trumps facts: Studies on partisan moral flexibility in American politics,” in the July 2024 edition of the American Journal of Sociology. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/730763

Learn more about Isabel Schoeberl on her LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/isabelschoeberl/

--

Learn more about CU's Deming Center for Entrepreneurship: https://deming.colorado.edu

Comments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note at [email protected].

Thanks for listening.

-
An Analog Digital Arts Production for the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship
Produced, recorded and edited by Joel Davis

"Whiskey Before Breakfast" [Traditional] performed by Jeffrey York and Brad Werner. Recorded, mixed and mastered by George Figgs

___

CREATIVE DISTILLATION

University of Colorado-Boulder professors Jeff York and Brad Werner distill entrepreneurship research into actionable insights.

Jeff York | Associate Professor | Research Director
[email protected]

Brad Werner | Instructor | Teaching Director
[email protected]

Deming Center for Entrepreneurship | CU Leeds School of Business
303.492.9018 | [email protected]

91: Nan Jia (USC): Nora's Craft Cocktails and AI's Effects on Employee Creativity by Creative Distillation

In what’s quickly becoming an annual holiday tradition at Creative Distillation, we return to one of our favorite research locations: Dry Land Distillers in Longmont, Colorado. It’s our third on-location recording (plus one on Zoom during Covid), making Dry Land our most-visited venue, and puts its founder, Nels Wroe, in contention for most frequent Creative Distillation guest. Further adding to the holiday vibes, we’re joined by another favorite fall guest, CU’s Ethan Poskanzer.

As he guides us through three of Dry Land’s featured offerings, Nels catches us up on the state of the Front Range hospitality scene. The takeaway is that local businesses are what makes our community a community, times are tough for them, and it’s incumbent upon us to support them, especially during the holiday season.

We get a chance to try a contender from Dry Land’s annual Nog Off, and then Jeff breaks out his own bottle of homemade eggnog with a tiki twist. One was distinctly better than the other, but Jeff’s was quite good too.

All of that, plus some final thoughts for 2025 and holiday wishes, and Jeff reminds us of some of the ghosts of podcasts past.

Enjoy and cheers!

—

This episode of Creative Distillation was recorded at Dry Land Distillers in Longmont, Colorado. Follow them on Instagram @drylanddistillers, and get more info at drylanddistillers.com

After the holidays, we’ll return to Dry Land for a fuller conversation around Ethan’s latest research on truth and moral flexibility in American politics.

Until then, Happy Holidays and New Year from all of us at Creative Distillation. We hope you enjoy listening to this podcast as much as we enjoy making it. Thanks, as always, for tuning in.

--

Learn more about CU's Deming Center for Entrepreneurship: https://deming.colorado.edu

Comments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note at [email protected].

Thanks for listening.

-
An Analog Digital Arts Production for the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship
Produced, recorded and edited by Joel Davis

"Whiskey Before Breakfast" [Traditional] performed by Jeffrey York and Brad Werner. Recorded, mixed and mastered by George Figgs

___

CREATIVE DISTILLATION

University of Colorado-Boulder professors Jeff York and Brad Werner distill entrepreneurship research into actionable insights.

Jeff York | Associate Professor | Research Director
[email protected]

Brad Werner | Instructor | Teaching Director
[email protected]

Deming Center for Entrepreneurship | CU Leeds School of Business
303.492.9018 | [email protected]

It seems like forever since we’ve had Jeff AND Brad on the same episode, hunkered down in a dimly lit bar, discussing entrepreneurship research over cocktails. As such, we’re delighted to have them reunited at long last at Nora’s, an honest-to-goodness speakeasy located a couple flights of stairs beneath downtown Louisville, CO.

Joined by guest academic researcher Nan Jia, Brad and Jeff speak with Jordan Leggett, Bar Lead and Mad Scientist at Nora’s. Jordan walks us through a trio of her innovative concoctions as she explains her creative approach to bartending.

These libations, including a scotch cocktail with pumpkin puree and a tequila-based old-fashioned, are some of the most inventive and delicious creations we’ve encountered on Creative Distillation — and that’s saying something.

The conversation also features a Tiki Time check-in with Jeff, touches on testing new recipes, and asks whether ChatGPT is a good bartender (spoiler: it’s not). Thanks to Jordan at Nora’s for an illuminating — and perfectly dimly lit — discussion.

Enjoy and cheers!

***

This episode of Creative Distillation was recorded at Nora’s in Louisville, Colorado. Follow them on Instagram @norasplacelouisville, and learn more at noras.place.

We’ll return from the holidays, still at Nora’s, for a deep dive with Nan Jia into her recent research on AI and productivity.

Stay tuned for our next episode, the last of 2025, where we return to Dry Land Distillers to enjoy some holiday cheer with our favorite fall guest, CU’s Ethan Poskanzer.

--

Learn more about CU's Deming Center for Entrepreneurship: https://deming.colorado.edu

Comments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note at [email protected].

Thanks for listening.

-
An Analog Digital Arts Production for the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship
Produced, recorded and edited by Joel Davis

"Whiskey Before Breakfast" [Traditional] performed by Jeffrey York and Brad Werner. Recorded, mixed and mastered by George Figgs

___

CREATIVE DISTILLATION

University of Colorado-Boulder professors Jeff York and Brad Werner distill entrepreneurship research into actionable insights.

Jeff York | Associate Professor | Research Director
[email protected]

Brad Werner | Instructor | Teaching Director
[email protected]

Deming Center for Entrepreneurship | CU Leeds School of Business
303.492.9018 | [email protected]

This week we revisit an episode that revisits several previous episodes; call it a Creative Distillation Rewind.

Originally recorded at the Rayback Collective as Episode #66, Jeff and Brad take a look back at their Top 5 episodes to date. Whiskey washing away the research; Producer Joel being attacked by rats; and lots of pumpkin beer — those greatest hits are all included here, plus vivid recaps of just some of the amazing research that’s been presented on Creative Distillation.

So pop in your earbuds, pour yourself a drink, sit back, relax and rewind to this special episode of Creative Distillation. Enjoy and cheers!

—

This episode of Creative Distillation was recorded on location at the Rayback Collective in Boulder, Colorado. For more info visit therayback.com.

--

Learn more about CU's Deming Center for Entrepreneurship: https://deming.colorado.edu

Comments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note at [email protected].

Thanks for listening.

-
An Analog Digital Arts Production for the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship
Produced, recorded and edited by Joel Davis

"Whiskey Before Breakfast" [Traditional] performed by Jeffrey York and Brad Werner. Recorded, mixed and mastered by George Figgs

___

CREATIVE DISTILLATION

University of Colorado-Boulder professors Jeff York and Brad Werner distill entrepreneurship research into actionable insights.

Jeff York | Associate Professor | Research Director
[email protected]

Brad Werner | Instructor | Teaching Director
[email protected]

Deming Center for Entrepreneurship | CU Leeds School of Business
303.492.9018 | [email protected]

This episode finds us once again talking to LSU Professor of Entrepreneurship and Information Sciences, Ted Waldron, over tiki drinks at the magnificent Lotus Lounge in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Jeff visited the site to conduct further field research for Creative Distillation’s recurring Season 7 podcast-within-a-podcast, Tiki Time With Jeff.

While talk of tiki is never far away, the bulk of this conversation relates to one of Ted’s most recent published papers: More than money: The complex dynamics of capital and power in entrepreneur–investor relationships. Though Brad’s not with us for this episode, we’re quite sure he’d strongly approve of that title, as it actually clearly describes what the paper is about — a rare occurrence in academic publishing.

Ted and his co-authors aim to illustrate through their research that financial capital is not the only source of power in the entrepreneur-investor dynamic. They investigate and identify seven different types of capital that can provide the bearer as much say-so and influence as money. Knowledge and reputation are two examples.

It’s a fun episode, and how could it not be with the engaging rapport between Jeff and “Tiki Ted”, the additional voice of LSU PhD student Sonya Strano — who valiantly fills in for Brad — and another round of tiki drinks for all.

Enjoy and cheers!

—

This episode of Creative Distillation was recorded at Lotus Lounge in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Follow them on Instagram and Facebook @drink.lotus

Learn more about Ted Waldron on his faculty page at Louisiana State University’s Ourso School of Business https://lsu.edu/business/directory/employee-profiles/waldron-ted-sdeis.php

Read Ted’s paper, More than money: The complex dynamics of capital and power in entrepreneur–investor relationships, in the May 2025 issue of Academy of Management Perspectives. https://journals.aom.org/doi/abs/10.5465/amp.2023.0223)

Learn more about Sonia Strano on her page at Ourso School of Business website. https://www.lsu.edu/business/directory/employee-profiles/strano-sonia.php

--

Learn more about CU's Deming Center for Entrepreneurship: https://deming.colorado.edu

Comments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note at [email protected].

Thanks for listening.

-
An Analog Digital Arts Production for the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship
Produced, recorded and edited by Joel Davis

"Whiskey Before Breakfast" [Traditional] performed by Jeffrey York and Brad Werner. Recorded, mixed and mastered by George Figgs

___

CREATIVE DISTILLATION

University of Colorado-Boulder professors Jeff York and Brad Werner distill entrepreneurship research into actionable insights.

Jeff York | Associate Professor | Research Director
[email protected]

Brad Werner | Instructor | Teaching Director
[email protected]

Deming Center for Entrepreneurship | CU Leeds School of Business
303.492.9018 | [email protected]

This is our first true Tiki Time with Jeff episode, recorded earlier in 2025 -- and months before our Tiki Time with Jeff Primer was recorded (see episode 84).

—

This one was recorded on location at the Lotus Lounge in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Jeff and his special guests, LSU professor “Tiki” Ted Waldron and PhD student Sonya Strano, speak with CC Pike, the Beverage Director at Lotus Lounge. She walks them through the Lotus Lounge’s fascinating history — and samples of several of their signature drinks, including:

Mai Tai

Lychee on the Beachee

Missionary’s Downfall

The conversation touches upon the origins of the Tiki tradition and a rich description of the Lotus Lounge’s interior decor, as well as the community aspect of tiki bars, and the social environment they create.

It’s another fun — though sadly, Bradless episode — of Tiki Time with Jeff.

Enjoy and cheers!

—

You’ve been listening to Tiki Time with Jeff, a special, semi-occurring production of Creative Distillation. This episode was recorded on location at Lotus Lounge in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Follow them on Instagram and Facebook @drink.lotus.

Check the show notes to learn more about and order the Smugglers Cover book. That’s also where you’ll find the recipes for some of this episode’s featured cocktails

Our annual fall special is up next in the Creative Distillation lineup. We’ll be back at the Lotus Lounge after that for a fuller, slightly more tiki-ed discussion with Ted Waldron about his latest research.

Until then, thanks for listening to Tiki Time with Jeff! Much aloha to all!

Learn more about Ted Waldron on his faculty page at Louisiana State University’s Ourso School of Business (DON’T READ: https://lsu.edu/business/directory/employee-profiles/waldron-ted-sdeis.php)

Ultimate Mai Tai by Kevin Crossman 

1 oz Lime Juice

½ oz Orgeat (Latitude 29)

¼ oz Demerara Syrup (BG Reynolds or Liber)

½ oz Orange Curacao (Ferrand Dry Curacao or Clement Créole Shrubb)

½ oz Appleton 12 Rum

½ oz Smith & Cross Rum

½ oz Planteray (Plantation) OFTD Rum

½ oz Planteray (Plantation) Xaymaca Rum

Garnish with Mint Sprig and spent Lime shell

Missionary's Downfall (from the Total Tiki App)

Makes 2 cocktails

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz peach brandy

1 oz honey mix (honey simple syrup)

1 oz light rum [I used White 'Stach]

2 oz (1/4 cup) diced fresh pineapple

2 oz (1/4 cup) fresh mint leaves, tightly packed [I did it by weight]

6 oz (3/4 cup) crushed ice

Blend in a blender until smooth - about 20 seconds on high. Pour into a chilled coupe.

--

Learn more about CU's Deming Center for Entrepreneurship: https://deming.colorado.edu

Comments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note at [email protected].

Thanks for listening.

-
An Analog Digital Arts Production for the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship
Produced, recorded and edited by Joel Davis

"Whiskey Before Breakfast" [Traditional] performed by Jeffrey York and Brad Werner. Recorded, mixed and mastered by George Figgs

___

CREATIVE DISTILLATION

University of Colorado-Boulder professors Jeff York and Brad Werner distill entrepreneurship research into actionable insights.

Jeff York | Associate Professor | Research Director
[email protected]

Brad Werner | Instructor | Teaching Director
[email protected]

Deming Center for Entrepreneurship | CU Leeds School of Business
303.492.9018 | [email protected]

For this episode we convene at Jungle, a Boulder rum bar and burger shack inspired by the Tiki tradition. Jeff, as you learned in our Season 7 premiere, is an avid tiki afficionado, and here he lets his passion for big fruity drinks and the culture and lore behind them stand out like the loudest aloha shirt.

Sadly, Brad was unable to join us at Jungle, but we’re fortunate to have Jeff’s good friend and colleague, Andrew Nelson, Professor of Management at the University of Oregon’s Lundquist School of Business, where he’s also the Academic Director of Lundquist’s Center for Entrepreneurship. This “battle of entrepreneurship center directors” begins with Jeff and Andrew breaking down the flavor profile of Jungle’s signature (and rather strong) Mai Tai.

Jeff brings up the importance of studying all aspects of entrepreneurship, not just the headline-grabbing, venture-funded endeavors. They agree that the bigger story of entrepreneurship is how one can turn their passion into a business, and use entrepreneurship as a tool for having a good life.

This segues into a discussion about Andrew’s latest published paper, which traces the competition between Hammond and Everett (maker of the Orgatron) to bring an electric organ to market back in 1935. While the Orgatron mimicked the pipe organ remarkably well, it was too close to the real thing, leaving little space for innovation, whereas the organ-like Hammond could be used to create innovative sounds. It eventually evolved into the Hammond B3, an instrument still ubiquitous to any keyboardist’s arsenal.

Funny how the Orgatron never really caught on…

Enjoy and cheers!


—

This episode of Creative Distillation was recorded at Jungle in downtown Boulder. Learn more at jungletiki.com.

Learn more about Andrew J. Nelson on his faculty page at the University of Oregon’s Lundquist School of Business. https://business.uoregon.edu/directory/faculty-staff/all/ajnelson)

Read Andrew’s paper, “Even Better Than the Real Thing: Electronic Organs and the Dilemma of Product Mimicry” in the June 2025 issue of Strategic Management Journal. https://sms.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/smj.3704)

--

Learn more about CU's Deming Center for Entrepreneurship: https://deming.colorado.edu

Comments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note at [email protected].

Thanks for listening.

-
An Analog Digital Arts Production for the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship
Produced, recorded and edited by Joel Davis

"Whiskey Before Breakfast" [Traditional] performed by Jeffrey York and Brad Werner. Recorded, mixed and mastered by George Figgs

___

CREATIVE DISTILLATION

University of Colorado-Boulder professors Jeff York and Brad Werner distill entrepreneurship research into actionable insights.

Jeff York | Associate Professor | Research Director
[email protected]

Brad Werner | Instructor | Teaching Director
[email protected]

Deming Center for Entrepreneurship | CU Leeds School of Business
303.492.9018 | [email protected]

Season 7 of Creative Distillation opens with a special dispatch from the palm trees: it’s Tiki Time with Jeff, an exploration of the history, legends, entrepreneurial exploits and — of course, the cocktails, yes, the cocktails — of the tiki tradition.

—

On today’s episode, we gather at the seriously secret Tiki Dungeon, where Jeff mixes up a round of Mai Tais and then fills us in on the roots of tiki — a tradition that has endured for nearly a century. He also describes his inspiration behind launching the Tiki Time with Jeff segment, and explains to Brad his vision for an undertaking that ends with Brad publishing his first paper. There are many steps along the way, each of which will be illuminating for anyone curious about — or preparing to begin — the process of writing a paper.

The episode concludes with a round of Zombies.

Check the show notes of each Tiki Time segment for info on the featured establishments, characters and cocktails discussed.

We hope this added element to the Creative Distillation universe brings something useful to your life as well. Enjoy and cheers!

—

This episode of Tiki Time with Jeff, a special, semi-occurring production of Creative Distillation, was recorded at Jeff’s secluded Tiki Dungeon.

Scroll down for the recipes for this episode's featured cocktails. We strongly encourage you to try these at home.

Learn more about and order "Smugglers Cover: Exotic Cocktails, Rum and the Cult of Tiki," by Martin and Rebecca Cate, through our Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4mmOHPK

Thanks for listening to this inaugural episode of Tiki Time With Jeff. We'd love to hear what you think. Stay tuned to Creative Distillation for more actionable insights and tropical-themed fun.

Mai Tai

1 oz. Holmes Cay Réunion Island Rum Traditionnel (https://www.holmescay.com/reunion-island-rum-traditionnel/)

1 oz. Low ester Jamaican Rum

1 oz. Fresh squeezed lime juice

½ oz. Orange Curacao (dry style)

¼ oz. Orgeat ¼ oz. Rock Candy Syrup or Rich Simple Syrup*

Fresh mint for garnish

*Double the Orgeat if omitting Rock Candy Syrup

Shake all of the ingredients with 2 scoops of crushed ice for around 10 seconds.

Pour unstrained into a double Old Fashioned glass. Sink the spent lime shell in the glass, then slap a bunch of mint gently before garnishing to release its oils.

Zombie

Serving: 1

3/4 ounce lime juice

1/4 ounce grapefruit juice

1/4 ounce Smuggler's Cove cinnamon syrup

1 teaspoon Smuggler's Cove grenadine

1/2 ounce velvet falernum, preferably John D. Taylor's

1 1/2 ounces blended aged rum

1 1/2 ounces column still aged rum

1 ounce black blended overproof rum

2 dashes Herbstura

12 ounces crushed ice

Garnish: mint sprig

DIRECTIONS

1    Combine all ingredients in a drink mixer tin with 4 to 6 standard "agitator" ice cubes.

2    Pulse for three to four seconds to aerate, dilute and chill the drink while leaving much of the ice intact.

3    Pour into Zombie or highball glass allowing most of the contents into the glass before using a gated finish to ensure the entire drink fits in the serving glass.

4    Garnish with a mint sprig.

--

Learn more about CU's Deming Center for Entrepreneurship: https://deming.colorado.edu

Comments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note at [email protected].

Thanks for listening.

-
An Analog Digital Arts Production for the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship
Produced, recorded and edited by Joel Davis

"Whiskey Before Breakfast" [Traditional] performed by Jeffrey York and Brad Werner. Recorded, mixed and mastered by George Figgs

___

CREATIVE DISTILLATION

University of Colorado-Boulder professors Jeff York and Brad Werner distill entrepreneurship research into actionable insights.

Jeff York | Associate Professor | Research Director
[email protected]

Brad Werner | Instructor | Teaching Director
[email protected]

Deming Center for Entrepreneurship | CU Leeds School of Business
303.492.9018 | [email protected]