Sports and Spirits

Exciting show this week as we kick off our Tales of the Cocktail coverage for 2024. We start by visiting with Master Distiller and Founder of Kilinga Bacanora Rodrigo Bojorquez. Bacanora is a spirit made from agave but is different from Tequila. This interview really breaks down the genre and the characteristics of Bacanora. Plus we get the backstory of Kilinga and taste a couple of the expressions. For more information on Kilinga you can visit their website at https://kilingabacanora.com/

As always thanks for listening! 

We back! Sort of. Hank is flying solo this week with Matt still on the mend from his recent trip to the Pacific Northwest. Details on that next week. In the meantime, it's early June. Plenty to talk about in the sports world with college baseball, MLB, and the NBA Finals underway. 

For our spirits content this week we check in with Jeff Naples of Reyka Vodka. We caught up with him last summer at Tales of the Cocktail. This was a fun interview, and Jeff is the perfect blend of sports and spirits. 

We are back with a full show next week. As always thanks for listening, and you can check out more on Reyka Vodka and Tales of the Cocktail at the following links. 

Jeffrey Naples: https://www.instagram.com/thebeardbehindthebar/?hl=en

Reyka Vodka: https://reyka.com/

Tales of the Cocktail: https://talesofthecocktail.org/

College football is back! We take a look at the opening weekend of games and discuss the early polls. The usual suspects are in the top 5 but will those teams be there in the end? And what did the polls get wrong. Matt and Hank take an early look at the season. 

Then at 24:00 we sit down with David Allardice at Tales of the Cocktail. Really fun chat with him about Glenfiddich and the latest they have going on. We could have talked for a while he is so much fun so we will be trying to catch up with him down the road. 

As always thanks for taking the time to listen, and if you're looking for a great scotch check out Glenfiddich! We always highly recommend their expressions. 

You can find out more at https://www.glenfiddich.com/

Back with a big show this week! Matt and Hank get caught up on the latest in Major League Baseball and their thoughts on the standings. Are the Braves the team to beat? Plus college football is right around the corner. Our thoughts on the state of the game with conference realignment in full swing.

After that we are honored to be joined on the show by Lynn House with Heaven Hill brands and Elijah Craig Old Fashioned Week. Catch that at 30:00. We talk about Old Fashioned Week and their partnership with the Southern Smoke Foundation. It's a great event that helps to raise money in support of those in the hospitality industry. Hank talks with Lynn at Tales of the Cocktail and we get in to all kinds of different topics. It's a great time!

As always thanks for listening. 

For more info on Southern Smoke: https://southernsmoke.org/

To find out more about Old Fashioned Week: https://oldfashionedweek.com/

Follow Lynn on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/liquidladylynn/

Super fun show this week and something that epitomizes the meaning of Sports and Spirits. We sit down with John Cubelic, co-founder of Dread River Distillery in Birmingham, AL. This is a great conversation about how he got to the point of wanting to start a distillery and what that process was like. 

For the first time ever Dread River Distilling will be partnering with Big Machine Music City Grand Prix IndyCar August 4 - 6, 2023. This will be their introduction into the Tennessee market. We talk with John about their partnership with Indy in Alabama the last few years and why this makes sense to break into the Tennessee market. Really a fun conversation. Check it out and as always thanks for listening!

Find more about Dread River at https://dreadriver.com/

Big show this week! Settle in for a great show 'live' from Tales of the Cocktail. Hank and Nathan site down with Lead Blender Amanda Beckwith and Head of Advocacy Jenny Wren to learn all about Virginia Distillery and their Courage and Conviction Whisky. We recorded it in person during Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans. 

This show is packed with information about the distillery, their single malts, and this history of the people working their. Plus we go through a tasting of each expression to talk about what you will find in the bottle. 

You can learn more at https://vadistillery.com/

Find Amanda on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/wanderlustandwhisky/?hl=en and on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-l-beckwith/

Jenny is available on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thejenniferwren/?hl=en

A great show this week as we are joined by Neal Bodenheimer. Tales of the Cocktail is right around the corner so we get his take on what this festival means for the service industry and why New Orleans is the perfect place for it. 

Plus we learn about his book "Cure: New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix 'Em" along with some of his other projects. It's a quick but insightful interview to get you ready for Tales! 

We're back! As we head towards Father's Day weekend we are giving you a great gift idea for the grill dad in your life. We talk with Casa M Spices to learn about their line of low sodium seasonings and rubs. These are all really good, and such a great option for anybody looking to avoid the normal high sodium options. Check that out at 24:30. 

Before that we give our thoughts on the recent NBA championship by the Denver Nuggets, and talk some MLB. 

Thanks for joining us!

You can find more about Casa M on their website: https://casamspice.com/

Another huge show this week! We talk with Brendan Raulerson of Glen Moray. He takes us through some samples and lets us know what makes Glen Moray unique. We taste four different expressions, all unique and really good. Plus some sports talk on baseball playoffs and a big weekend in college football. Thanks for listening! 

Back this week with a fantastic interview! We really hope you stick around for all of this one. Hank sits down with Shochu expert and founder of Honkaku Spirits Christopher Pellegrini at 13:30. He has a fanstastic story to tell about how he got into Shochu and moved to Japan. If you're not familiar with this spirit it is a really interesting genre. Shochu is the national spirit of Japan and Christopher will break down what makes it so unique. 

Plus Hank samples 3 different Shochus with Christopher and a Japanese whiskey as well. And the story behind the whiskey is also amazing! We talk a little baseball early but most of the show is built around Shochu. Hope you enjoy it! 

You can learn more at https://honkakuspirits.com/