I've always been interested in "alternative" aging methods employed by different brands to achieve newer, faster, or alternative flavor profiles. When Bespoken Spirits reached out about their product line it was a no brainer to pick the brain of Martin Janousek and talk about the motivating factors behind creating a brand like this and what the identity happens to be. It's always interesting to hear from folks that were not born or steeped in the spirits(whiskey) tradition. Their perspectives can be refreshing in a culture that is often wary of new ideas and technologies.

I get the opportunity to talk with bestselling author of Drinking & Knowing Things, Michael Juergens. Not only is he an author he's a Certified Sommelier with the Guild of Master Sommeliers, a Certified Specialist of Wine, and a Master of Wine Candidate with the Institute of Masters of Wine. He is the founder of the Bhutan Wine Company, he owns the award-winning SoCal Rum company, is a professor at the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of CA, Irvine and has agreed to climb down to the dregs of social media and rub elbows with us cretins.

If you've been around the Whiskeygram for more than a few weeks you've probably seen Jake floating around pushing the wonders of his company Starward. I had the privilege months ago of being able to attend the first of many virtual Starward(and other spirits) tastings that Jake led and I can tell you it won me over to the Australian Single Malt market and solidified my core fandom of "Key in the Lake" one of his other ventures. Join me as we talk through his brand, podcast and any other thing that happens to come up.

I've been following Penelope as a brand for about as long as they have been a brand. They don't have a lineage or history with the spirits industry specifically, but their investment into this market is complete and whole. I've had occasion to meet Matt, Mike and Danny over the last year(even if they can't remember it) and really connected with the ethos behind the brand and the future vision of it. We'll talk through their inception, creation and launching of many different whiskey variations and whatever else happens to come up.

There have been a handful of highly anticipated releases in the last few months are there are more to come. If you aren't already following @comingwhiskey you probably should be and I know I use it to get myself hyped up for bottles that are on the horizon. Beyond that you should at least be on the mailing lists of all the distilleries you love. Thats how you get into the nitty gritty of the details. Tonight we talk about some things already released and some things to come.

Founding fathers had an interest in whiskey whether it be from a commerce or taxation perspective, and some brands carry the names today. I thought it fitting to talk about a few of these brands tonight considering I just returned from trips to Monticello, Mount Vernon and Washington DC.

I know almost zero things about Scotch. I've been a member of SMWS for over a year and that level of knowledge has grown tremendously. What they do with "demystifying" scotch is pretty amazing and those folks have agreed to join me for a chat tonight.

https://www.instagram.com/smwsamerica/

@smwsamerica

https://smwsa.com/

Writing a book is incredibly difficult. Writing a book on whisky while keeping an intact liver is probably even harder. Tonight's guest Shelley Sackier not only challenged the traditional boys club of whisky, but also the even more limited subset of whisk(e)y authors by publishing "Make it a Double". We'll talk about writing, whisky and whatever else comes up.

@shelleysackier

https://shelleysackier.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ShelleySackierBooks/

https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Make-it-a-Double/Shelley-Sackier/9781639361793

@pegasusbooks

9:30 PM CST LIVESTREAM - Last week I had the chance to attend the TIMBP Weekend in Lexington and ended up at Michter's doing a tour with David from Whiskey in my Wedding Ring podcast. I picked up some Fort Nelson Select rye and thought it would be a good chance to compare it against the Micther's Single Barrel Rye I already have. And since we are doing a this or that I tossed in a comparison of Jack Daniels 10 year to Coy Hill. That seems a little unfair but this particular Coy Hill was aged 9 years in the same location as the 10 year JD offering. For it to be a fair comparison I attempted to proof down the Coy Hill to the same as the 10 year to see if they are even remotely similar as well as if the 1 year difference matters.

Foundational blocks like Rye, Corn, Wheat and Barley grain are often discussed as the beginning of whiskey, but if you've followed this podcast for more than 10 minutes you know those crops begin as ideas, then get nurtured before they can ever be mashed, fermented and distilled. Considering we are in the middle of the corn planting season for the majority of the United States lets have a quick refresher of the crops we covet, their impact on history, any initiatives that I could find and whatever else comes up along the way. I'll also be opening some bottles that I've picked up over the last few weeks and probably talking about them too.