Still Magic

Episode 20 - Guardianship and Legacy

Welcome to the Still Magic podcast, your one-click audio stop for all things gin. Be it gin making, gin producing, gin distilling, gin manufacturing, gin commercialising, gin tasting, gin drinking, gin steeping, and everything else in between.

We continue our journey with Tom Anderson, co-founder of Pinckney Bend Distillery, located in New Haven Missouri, the home of premium spirits by passionate people.

https://www.pinckneybend.com

In Part 2 we consider:

·        a little more about cask aged gin, an indelible part of the gin narrative;

·        the role that water plays in all distilled spirits;

·        the role different barrel types have upon different products;

·        the solvent properties that water and alcohol play and the effect their balance can have on cocktail making (louching).

·        a classic cocktail where the gin does the talking, and

·        an unusual – but seriously delicious – cocktail called a Horse Feather; a name that readily epitomises Kansas City in the 1920s.

·        Meerschaum clay, the traditional material for pipe-making and how the resourceful people of Missouri ‘made do’ by using a byproduct for whisky making, to manufacture pipes

Tom also recalls the early days getting started, the paper trail and the bureaucracy that went with it. It’s an encouraging story as Tom describes how sticking to your guns with a craft-scale operation has advantages that go with their size.

Tom rounds out the podcast with his Top 5 tips for any up and coming distiller, and the mind-shift required to consider your passion as a business.

So, grab a glass of your favourite tipple, sit back and enjoy this episode of The Distillers’ Voice.

Be bold. Enjoy yourself. Let’s create a new gin narrative.

Still Magic paperback, digital and audio copies available from your favourite online stores

https://www.amazon.com/Still-Magic-distillers-guide-beginners-ebook/dp/B07QZ4VFRV/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=still+magic&qid=1596545333&sr=8-1

Host: Marcel Thompson @stillmagicway

Guest contributor: Tom Anderson https://pinckneybend.com

Voiceovers: @antipodeanharpie

Editor: @alexiepigot, [email protected]

Distilled spirits expert: Dr Gary Spedding https://bdastesting.com/,

Distillery construction expert: Jamie Baxter: http://www.craftdistillingservices.com/

Episode 19 - Heritage

Welcome to the Still Magic podcast, your one-click audio stop for all things gin. Be it gin making, gin producing, gin distilling, gin manufacturing, gin commercialising, gin tasting, gin drinking, gin steeping, and everything else in between.

My guest today is Tom Anderson, co-founder of Pinckney Bend Distillery, located in New Haven Missouri, the home of premium spirits by passionate people.

https://www.pinckneybend.com

In this two-part series we’ll learn how Tom pivoted away from the family printing business, to become one of the first craft distilling licence holders in the United States. His unbridled passion for history and heritage provide the keys to expressing those interest in his craft. In many ways, this makes Tom a modern-day version of the original Missouri pioneers.

We’ll learn how the state of Missouri provides and nurtures the finest white oak – the quercus alba – to produce the best staves, ends and barrels on the planet, for ageing distilled spirits.

·        How did alcohol end up in barrels ?

·        Why did people burn the interior of the barrels?

The answers to these questions are enmeshed in a strong sense frugality, practicality and a modern-day concept that we would call recycling. 

Little did producers know 200+ years ago, that these very same principles would kick-start an industry that now produces some of the most popular and finest distilled beverages we see today.

In this episode, you’ll learn about

·        the importance of water to distilled spirits

·        Bob, and how Bob holds the key for Tom’s favourite cocktail;

·There’s some tech-talk too as both Tom and I channel Dr Gary Spedding and the notion of the “catalytic engine” that creates wonderful flavours inside every charred or toasted barrel.

So, grab a glass of your favourite tipple, sit back and enjoy this episode of The Distillers’ Voice.

Be bold. Enjoy yourself. Let’s create a new gin narrative.

Still Magic paperback, digital and audio copies available from your favourite online stores

https://www.amazon.com/Still-Magic-distillers-guide-beginners-ebook/dp/B07QZ4VFRV/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=still+magic&qid=1596545333&sr=8-1

Host: Marcel Thompson @stillmagicway

Guest contributor: Tom Anderson https://pinckneybend.com

Voiceovers: @antipodeanharpie

Editor: @alexiepigot, [email protected]

Distilled spirits expert: Dr Gary Spedding https://bdastesting.com/,

Distillery construction expert: Jamie Baxter: http://www.craftdistillingservices.com/

Episode 18

Welcome to the Still Magic Podcast, your one-click audio stop for all things gin be it gin making, gin production, gin distilling, gin manufacturing, gin commercialising, gin tasting, gin drinking, gin steeping and everything else in between.

Hailing from Australian state of Victoria, this gin reflects that hip urban vibe that seems to punctuate Melbourne life.

Arts, cuisine, weather for all occasions on any given day, Melbourne is arguably best known as the sporting capital of Australia.

Various Victorian governments have taken this mantle so seriously that there are now public holidays to commemorate 2 sporting events; the Melbourne Cup horse race on the first Tuesday in November, and the Friday before the Australian Football League’s championship decider.

Suffice to say, Victoria also has a welter of committed gin makers, who like their sporting colleagues, rarely take their eyes off the prize.

https://www.patientwolfgin.com/

Patient Wolf is a Melbourne Dry Gin with the classics. Juniper, coriander, orris root and angelica root, cardamom, cubeb pepper, and an unorthodox botanical that I encounter for the first time.

Made by Hand. Made with Purpose. Made in Australia

Join my co-contributor – affectionately known as Nisholay – and I, as we take on Patient Wolf.

Be bold. Enjoy yourself. Let’s create a new gin narrative

The Still Magic paperback, digital and audio books are available from your favourite online stores

https://www.amazon.com/Still-Magic-distillers-guide-beginners-ebook/dp/B07QZ4VFRV/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=still+magic&qid=1596545333&sr=8-1

Narrator: Marcel Thompson @stillmagicway

Narrator: @nisholay

Editor: @alexiepigot

[email protected]

All rights reserved

Broken Heart Spirits

Episode 17

Welcome to the Still Magic podcast, your one-click audio stop for all things gin be it gin making, gin production, gin distilling, gin manufacturing, gin commercialising, gin tasting, gin drinking, gin steeping and everything else in between.

Distilled in the Pure South of New Zealand for the moments in-between, Broken Heart Gin is a two-time IWSC medallist. It is the product of a 3-year commitment by Joerg Henkenhaf and the late Berndt Schnabel to create a gin that neither had tried before.

Broken Heart is the flagship in a broad suite of products from the home of Broken Heart Spirits, located in Queenstown, New Zealand.

https://www.brokenheartspirits.com/

Joerg’s product making philosophy is steeped in a passion for organic and fresh, forged as youngster growing up with his sister and parents in Grünwettersbach, Karlshruhe.

Broken Heart's botanical line up takes in elements of the New Zealand’s South Island; heather, lemon peel, orange blossom and water from the southern alps. The gin classics are there too with juniper, coriander and angelica. Interestingly, the gin also uses malt and hops, giving its contemporary style a connection to Genever, widely regarded as the forefather to modern gin.

A mouth-watering line-up like that is hard to beat.

Join me and my co-contributor - affectionately known as the Antipodean Harpie, as we put Broken Heart through its paces in 4 formats; neat, with tonic, as a Martini and as a Southside.

Be bold. Enjoy yourself. Let’s create a new gin narrative

To learn more about Joerg and Berndt, check out the 2-part Broken Heart story on the Still Magic podcast here.

https://pod.co/still-magic/the-distillers-voice-broken-heart-spirits-part-1

https://pod.co/still-magic/the-distillers-voice-broken-heart-spirits-part-2

The Still Magic paperback, digital and audio books are available from your favourite online stores

https://www.amazon.com/Still-Magic-distillers-guide-beginners-ebook/dp/B07QZ4VFRV/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=still+magic&qid=1596545333&sr=8-1

Narrator: Marcel Thompson

Narrator: @antipodeanharpie

Editor: @alexiepigot

[email protected]

All rights reserved

Episode 16 - Guardianship

Welcome to the Still Magic podcast your one-click audio stop for all things gin. Be it gin making, gin producing, gin distilling, gin manufacturing, gin commercialising, gin tasting, gin drinking, gin steeping, and everything else in between.

Today we get to take a trip to the United States of America to meet one of the country's up and coming young distillers. 

In 2019 I was invited to join a team of industry leading gin instructors convened by Dr Gary Spedding of Brewing and Distilling Analytical Services (BDAS) in Lexington Kentucky.

https://bdastesting.com/

The Gin team comprises Molly Troupe of Freeland Spirits, Tom Anderson of Pinckney Bend, Jamie Baxter of Craft Distilling Services and Tony Aiken of BDAS. 

https://bdastesting.com/classes/

Collectively this group delivers the finest 5-day gin course in the US; a career highlight for me on every measure.

One of the distillers at the 2019 edition of the course is today’s podcast guest, Clara Robbins.

Clara is a deep-thinking distiller with a thirst for knowledge. I remember my first conversation with Clara being about the dark lord of all gin, and indeed in all spirits-making; water.

Water is one product component that many people would take for granted.

There's water for operations, distillation purposes, and water for quality control.

I found Clara’s interest in water quality as a clear sign of understanding the impact it can have on distillation and packaging processes. In some ways, it was like connecting with a kindred spirit albeit from different parts of the world, given my own fervent interest in water from managing packaging operations “down under”

At that time in 2019 Clara had a distilling role with a craft operation in Frankfort KY, called Castle and Key. Though considered as ‘craft’ in the US, it is a largish distillery by Australasian standards. Clara speaks fondly of her role at Castle and Key, of her mentor Marianne Eaves and how that working experience uncovered an interest in gin and a desire to grow with it.

Clara shares insights from her journey on many levels; the importance of her family, the pursuit for excellence, forging an authentic future on one’s own terms, her love of music and an unbridled passion for all things gin!

Clara now has a distilling and new product development (NPD) role with the team at St Petersburg Craft Distillery in Florida. Their product range is diverse, vibrant, and exciting. With rum, tropical gin, sweet whiskey, artisanal vodka and orange liqueur already in the ranks, a renewed focus on gin is an exciting next step for both Clara and “St Petes”.

https://stpetersburgdistillery.com/

@stpetedistillery

The gin legacy needs guardianship to guide it through future chapters in its centuries-long narrative; it always has, and it always will.

Clara Robbins and the next generation of distillers will do so in style.

Watch this space.

Be bold. Enjoy yourself. Let’s create a new gin narrative.

Still Magic paperback, digital and audio copies available from your favourite online stores

https://www.amazon.com/Still-Magic-distillers-guide-beginners-ebook/dp/B07QZ4VFRV/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=still+magic&qid=1596545333&sr=8-1

Narrator:@stillmagicway

Guest: @clararobbins

Voiceover: @antipodeanharpie

Editor: @alexiepigot

Episode 15

Welcome to the Still Magic Podcast, your one-click audio stop for all things gin be it gin making, gin production, gin distilling, gin manufacturing, gin commercialising, gin tasting, gin drinking, gin steeping and everything else in between.

Today's gin adventure will take us on a journey to southeastern Australia, and the New South Wales Victoria border to a region known as the Sapphire coast.

In early 2020, the people of the Sapphire coast were confronted by challenging weather events.

Extreme hot and dry weather conditions were common throughout the country at the time, resulting in significant, large scale bushfires.

No doubt many of you would have seen the extent of this plight and the courage of those charged with containing the fires.

A number of fire-affected businesses in the area sought to rebuild. One of the great initiatives to assist with these efforts was a campaign called "Buy from the Bush"

And it was via this campaign that I purchased a gin that is now the subject of today's podcast.

The Classic is an award-winning 'heavenly gin'. It is the progeny of farm-to-bottle distillers Gavin Hughes and Karen Touchie, produced in limited quantities at their Stony Creek Farm property. The property is located on arguably the longest road in the county - at number 13, 594 Princes Highway; you can't miss it!

https://www.stonycreekfarm.com.au/

The gin itself is not only a classic by name, it is a classic by nature. The botanical listing includes blood orange, grapefruit, lemon, and limes and the classics of course; juniper and coriander. The citrus combines beautifully to reinforce coriander's limonene character.

The ethos of the gin pays homage to a time when resourcefulness - using what was available - was the key to success.

Join myself and my co-contributor @antipodeanharpie as we put The Classic through its paces in today's episode.

Still Magic paperback, digital and audio copies available from your favourite online stores

https://www.amazon.com/Still-Magic-distillers-guide-beginners-ebook/dp/B07QZ4VFRV/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=still+magic&qid=1596545333&sr=8-1

Narrator: @stillmagicway

Editor:@alexiepigot

Contributions from: @antipodeanharpie

Episode 14 - Legacy

Welcome to the Still Magic podcast your one-click audio stop for all things gin. Be it gin making, gin producing, gin distilling, gin manufacturing, gin commercialising, gin tasting, gin drinking, gin steeping, and everything else in between.

Many distilling journeys are the product of reflection, when people consider where they were, where they are and where they would like to be.

The Time Traveller narrative is a case in point. 

Partners in the game of life, Mike and Champika have taken the bold decision to forge a new legacy, and create a new-life chapter that is an expression of themselves. 

They’re working on something that they can both put their heart and soul into, and which they can rightly call their own.

You’ll learn how Mike and Champika’s complementary skillsets help them strike that crucial balance between art and science. Coupled with a thirst for learning and innate curiosity, it suffices to say that the Time Traveller journey is moving from strength to strength in a considered fashion.

A commitment to local produce, a passion for the culinary arts and an unbridled tenacity for quality are clear for all to see. Their collective Top 5 insights are simple to follow and easy to understand:

Read. Sample. Start. Stay safe. Have fun.

It’s rare to capture the thoughts and views of a partnership that is at the start of a gin making journey. Time Traveller’s finest demonstrateone of the core principles in the Still Magic way; inexperience is no barrier to success. The future looks very bright indeed.

Be bold. Enjoy yourself. Let's create a new gin narrative.

Contact:

[email protected]

Still Magic paperback, digital and audio copies available from your favourite online stores

https://www.amazon.com/Still-Magic-distillers-guide-beginners-ebook/dp/B07QZ4VFRV/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=still+magic&qid=1596545333&sr=8-1

Narrator: Marcel Thompson

@stillmagicway

Editor: @alexiepigot

Episode 13

Welcome to the Still Magic Podcast, your one-click audio stop for all things gin be it gin making, gin production, gin distilling, gin manufacturing, gin commercialising, gin tasting, gin drinking, gin steeping and everything else in between.

Today one of the Still Magic podcast's regular contributors -- affectionately known as the Antipodean Harpie - will join me as we check out two outstanding Australian gins

Both are from the same state of Victoria, Australia, separated by about 100 kilometres as a crow would fly. 

Each producer has taken two distinctly different journeys to reach where they are today and share an interesting piece of common ground.

One as a fine chef and successful restaurateur, the other following years of experience and proven success in the wine industry.

Neither producer though, started out as a gin distiller. This is a classic case of different people reaching a junction point and taking a career path in a whole different direction.

First up, we explore what makes a great gin, by considering Remedy Australian gin from Reed and Co Distillery, Bright, Victoria; the gateway to the Alpine region

https://www.reedandcodistillery.com/

This is a product creation from partners in the game of life - Hamish Nugent and Rachel Reed, born of curiosity and determination to create a truly local taste.

Reed and Co have crafted something they love; that captures the qualities of Bright to experience and share with friends. 

Remedy is as much about the spirit of the landscape for which it is derived, as it is the experience of the finished spirit itself.

Next up, from Four Pillars, the powerhouse of Australian craft gin, located at Healesville, we put their signature Rare Dry Gin through its paces

https://www.fourpillarsgin.com/

Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin is crafted to deliver the best of all worlds, a classic gin, but also something to intrigue and delight even the most hardened gin fanatic. That sounds like people on the Still Magic podcast.

Be it neat, with tonic, in a martini or in a Southside, this episode showcases the outstanding quality of the gins, their ability to shine in different settings, which reflects the care and attention that goes into every serving.

Still Magic paperback, digital and audio copies available from your favourite online stores

https://www.amazon.com/Still-Magic-distillers-guide-beginners-ebook/dp/B07QZ4VFRV/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=still+magic&qid=1596545333&sr=8-1

Narrator: @stillmagicway

Editor: @alexiepigot

Guest contributor: @antipodeanharpie

Episode 12 - Guradianship and Legacy

Welcome to the Still Magic Podcast, your one-click audio stop for all things gin be it gin making, gin production, gin distilling, gin manufacturing, gin commercialising, gin tasting, gin drinking, gin steeping and everything else in between.

In part 2 of this 2-part series, we learn more about Joerg’s journey and the establishment of Broken Heart Spirits

https://www.brokenheartspirits.com/

We learn how his passion for fresh produce and commitment to this ethos, led to literal heartbreak when his first export order landed in Europe. However, it was a cloud with a silver lining for some, albeit painful at the time.

We also learn more about the 3-year journey Joerg undertook with an engineer named Berndt Schnabel – that “crazy German’ from Kelvin Heights – to produce a gin for sale like no other; Broken Heart. It was a contrast in work styles, with each of Germany’s finest playing to their strengths in ways that complemented their respective talents. Marketing was not one of Berndt’s strengths, and Joerg had no issues in pointing this out! The gin was superb and over time a moving story of an enduring friendship began to develop.

The Broken Heart product portfolio is wide-ranging, with new products on the way to complement vodka, rum, spiced whisky, and a wide array of gin offerings

The local community are both enthusiastic consumers and great at providing feedback, ensuring that the Broken Heart commitment to quality endures.

The podcast wraps up with a Joerg relating a remarkable story concerning his home village of Grünwettersbach, Karlsruhe and 3 different gin brands.

This story is proof positive that heritage, guardianship and legacy present themselves in the most unlikely places in remarkable ways.

Still Magic paperback, digital and audio copies available from your favourite online stores

https://www.amazon.com/Still-Magic-distillers-guide-beginners-ebook/dp/B07QZ4VFRV/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=still+magic&qid=1596545333&sr=8-1

Narrator: Marcel Thompson

@stillmagicway

Editor: @alexiepigot

Voiceover: @antipodeanharpie

Episode 11 - Heritage & Guardianship

Welcome to the Still Magic Podcast, your one-click audio stop for all things gin be it gin making, gin production, gin distilling, gin manufacturing, gin commercialising, gin tasting, gin drinking, gin steeping and everything else in between.

In part 1 of this 2-part series, we meet Joerg Henkenhaf, electrical engineer, commercial airline pilot, and founder of Broken Heart Spirits located in Queenstown. New Zealand.

https://www.brokenheartspirits.com/

In 1999, Joerg spent a layover from his flying commitments, touring New Zealand. At the behest of many people, he headed south from Auckland to the South Island, and found a winery in the Gibson Valley.

Joerg bought the winery in 2000, thus fulfilling a long-held ambition and closing out a search that had stretched though Europe, South America, and South Africa.

He prompted alot curiosity from his grape growing neighbours, by introducing the local community to grappa, a traditional drink made from grape skins. This led to partnerships in brandy production and producing that quintessentially German tipple, schnapps.

Joerg speaks about his passion for fresh produce, the three main flavour transporters, the effect of sugar on distilled beverages, quinces – the ‘forgotten fruit’, and the impact of COVID-19 upon business, the community and its potential upside for domestic tourism.

Sit back relax and enjoy the podcast

This is Joerg Henkenhaf’s story

Still Magic paperback, digital and audio copies available from your favourite online stores

https://www.amazon.com/Still-Magic-distillers-guide-beginners-ebook/dp/B07QZ4VFRV/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=still+magic&qid=1596545333&sr=8-1

Narrator: @stillmagicway

Editor: @alexiepigot

Voiceover: @antipodeanharpie