Hops & Spirits: Bar Conversations

Outlaw Country musician Creed Fisher talks about his latest album, how he got into music, how life pushed him to this career, why he took the less typical route, what's in store for 2022 and more. Plus, Kevin Patterson joins us for Tasting Notes to talk about holiday and winter beers.

Best selling author and bourbon taster and curator Fred Minnick talks about how he become the bourbon man he is today, his love of history and writing, his favorite interviews over the years, creating and putting on events, his favorite bourbons, the Repeal Day Expo 2021 and more. Plus, Chad Watson joins us for Tasting Notes to talk about the dos and don'ts for buying bourbon/whiskey as gifts.

Hall of Fame boxer and certified badass Christy Salters-Martin talks about how she got into boxing, her career, making the cover of Sports Illustrated, working with Don King, surviving a near-death domestic violence assault, sharing her story on Netflix's Untold: Deal with the Devil, becoming a boxing promoter and more. Plus, Jake Sulek joins us for Tasting Notes to talk about food and drink pairings for the holiday season.

It's a bourbon Flight Night as we enjoy a four different pours from Bespoken Spirits — Special Batch, American Light Whiskey, Straight Bourbon and Rye — with co-founders Stu Aaron and Martin Janousek. The crew for flight night includes: Arielle, or influensky on Instagram; and Chris, or @Jefftherabb1t on Instagram. In addition to the pours, we talk how Bespoken works to age in hours/days what others take years to do, how their disrupting the industry, the challenges they face and how much science goes into their process.

Bridgette Taylor, founder of Harridan Vodka, joins us to talk about creating a unique vodka, going the higher proof route, getting creative with bottle/label designs, their paranormal reserve limited edition release, Halloween cocktails and more.

As we inch closer to Halloween, author Kierra Sondereker talks about her new book "Mixology and Murder" which features cocktails inspired by true crime stories. Kierra talks about the book, what it was like researching both the stories and cocktails, what she learned during her research, her favorite cocktails, coming up with new spins on some classic cocktails, how the book has changed her and more.

It's time for the Craft Beer Roundtable as GoodBeerHunting.com's Bryan Roth and BeerCrunchers.com founder Doug Veliky join us. We hit on a variety of topics, including how craft breweries are diversifying and should small/local craft brewers do the same, brand extensions and refreshers, unique partnerships happening more often and how breweries can better engage through social media.

Whiskey Weeks 2021 closes out with Laura Hagan, co-owner/founder of KY Bourbon Boys Tours, and long-time drivers Anthony and Roger. We talk about bourbon, how customizable tours are, tips for the tours, dos & don'ts on the tours, memorable groups, how much they've had to learn about Kentucky and bourbon to give the tours and more.

Whiskey Weeks 2021 continues with Guy Rehorst, founder of Great Lakes Distillery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Guy joins us to talk about bourbon, sustainability, creating a bottled-in-bond gin, importance of sourcing locally/regionally, creating cocktails and how they've changed over the years, what's next for him, what's next for the distillery and more.

It's a bourbon Flight Night as we enjoy a three different pours — Stellum Bourbon, Stellum Rye and Barrell Seagrass — with Will Schragis. The crew for flight night includes: Arielle, or influensky on Instagram; and Chris, or @Jefftherabb1t on Instagram. In addition to the pours, we talk the launch of Stellum, the goal with Stellum, consistently blending these unique expressions and more.