Drinks and a Movie

For this special Valentines episode I have my friend Valerie join the show to discuss Michel Gondry's "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". Written by Charlie Kaufman. Valerie shares some non alcoholic spirits with me in the form of Three Spirit and a gin, spiced rum, and tequila from Ritual. Happy Valentines y'all.

This week Matt and I discuss "The DIrty Dozen" from 1967. I'm honestly little ashamed that I didn't see this movie sooner but either way, glad I caught it when I did because it's great. Definitely on the list of my favorite films. Before we take on the movie we try out the 2022 release in Makers Mark Wood Finishing Series, The BRT-01 and BRT-02. The name stands for hand barrel rotation and the Brt-01 is aged in the top of the rickhouse where the temperature is hotter whereas the BRT-02 is aged on the bottom floor where it's cooler. The juice inside is exactly the same but the flavor profiles are quite different. It's a great lesson in how impactful the location of a barrel can be on flavor.

This week Matt and I discuss "The DIrty Dozen" from 1967. I'm honestly little ashamed that I didn't see this movie sooner but either way, glad I caught it when I did because it's great. Definitely on the list of my favorite films. Before we take on the movie we try out the 2022 release in Makers Mark Wood Finishing Series, The BRT-01 and BRT-02. The name stands for hand barrel rotation and the Brt-01 is aged in the top of the rickhouse where the temperature is hotter whereas the BRT-02 is aged on the bottom floor where it's cooler. The juice inside is exactly the same but the flavor profiles are quite different. It's a great lesson in how impactful the location of a barrel can be on flavor.

This week Matt and I discuss the legendary $7,000 independent action film "El Mariachi". Written and directed by Robert Rodriguez as a practice film to sell to the spanish video market it has become an icon in the low budget independent cinema world. It's been an inspiration to many people including Matt and myself and of course launched the carreer of Robert Rodriguez who would go on to direct Sin CIty, From Dusk Til Dawn, and much more, including turning the story of the Mariachi into a trilogy. If you haven't seen it we highly recommend. It's an amazing achievment considering the technical/financial disadvantages as well as working as a one man crew with non actors. For this one we try out the Sagamore Spirit Tequila Finished Rye whiskey as well as Sagamores flagship rye whiskey for comparison. It's a delicious whiskey that unfortunately isn't around anymore at this point but maybe they'll release it again some day. I recommend anything from sagamore spirit, it's ahrd to go wrong with their product. Cheers and than for listening.

Watch this episode on the YouTube channel https://youtu.be/NeBQp25JuNs
This is a continuation of my conversation with Cinematographer Eliot Rockett (Pearl, X, The Innkeepers, Snowfall, Perry Mason, Grimm, The House of the Devil). We had ended the episode but just kept chatting about the film industry and his experiences. Thankfully my camera operator (thanks Adam) kept one camera running so we have all of the conversation. You'll hear a significant decrease in audio quality for the first half of this episode as I had the recorder turned off since we had originally ended the episode. Once I realized how great the discussion was I turned it back on part way through our chat.

What if when you die, you're given 3 days to choose one memory to carry with you through eternity? That's the question given in this great film by Hirokazu Kore-eda. Carissa and I discuss this film over the always dependable Willet Family Estate 4 year old Rye.

This week Carissa joins me to discuss the 2019 Jayro Bustamante film "La Llorona". This film is more drama than horror but still has a great eerie atmosphere the whole time. it's an important movie that gives some insight into the brutal history of Guatemala. It follows the family of "an aging paranoid war criminal who, protected by his faithful wife, faces death while being haunted by the ghosts of his past." the drink of choice for this episode is the Sagamore SPirit Double Oaked Rye. One of the best available rye whiskeys on the market. I'm a big fan of just about everything sagamore spirit does. If you like rye whiskey then give this one a try.

This week Matt and I discuss Robert M. Young's 1977 film "Alambrista!". The story follows Roberto, a man who migrates from Mexico to the US to find work to support is newborn daughter. Young captures the immigrant experience in a very raw, authentic, non judgemental way, and it's a movie that everyone should see at least once. Before we chat about the movie we break the seal on two new limited releases from Jim Beam distilling. The Hardin's Creek Colonel James B. Beam 2 year old bourbon and the Hardin's Creek 184 month (15-16 year old blend) Jacob's Well bourbon. Both are delicious with the Jacobs Well being very exceptional. I wish I had another one.

In this first episode of th New Year 2023, Daniel Villareal calls in from New Mexico to discuss Robert Bressons 1966 film "Au Hasard Balthazar" and the 2022 Jerzy Skolimowski film "EO". You cn't help but compare the two so I really wantd to bring Daniel back to chat about them since he first introduced to Balthazar over a year ago. I have a perfect winters night pour of the great Wilderness Trail barrel proof rye. This has become a favorite nightly sipper of mine lately and I high recommend it to all rye fans out there.
You can check out a copule of the other episodes I've done with Daniel on the YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDKg5WahKHk

Watch this episode on YouTube https://youtu.be/8VSgh6Ksqy4
This week I'm joined by Spirits Specialist of High West Distillery Becky Smith. She educates us on the High West distillery and discusses the highly sought after annual release of "A Midwinter Night's Dram". We do a tasting of last years Act 9, this years Act 10, and a surprise pour of this years distillery only release "The Encore".