This is our 23rd episode of the Brain Brew Whisk(e)y Academy. We will the wonder of failure - the craft whisk(e) cocktail is the Vermont Toddy. This podcast episode features Whiskey Maker - Doug Hall and Whiskey Drinker - Tripp Babbitt.

Show Notes

[00:00:04] The Brain Brew Whisk(e)y Academy

[00:00:25] Episode - The Wonder of Failure

[00:00:39] The Distilling Institute Conference

[00:01:54] Promotion of iStill

[00:03:15] iStill - Smaller Batches to Test Your Concept

[00:04:01] Talking About Failure - A Story

[00:05:02] Need to Laugh at the Failures

[00:06:06] A North Pole Lesson

[00:08:45] Some People Can't Stand to Fail

[00:09:34] Craft Cocktail Recipe - The Vermont Toddy

[00:09:49] The Making of a Toddy

[00:10:56] Step 1

[00:11:01] Step 2

[00:11:04] Step 3

[00:11:08] Step 4

 

 

Transcript

Tripp: [00:00:04] This is the Brain Brew Whisk(e)y Academy podcast where we're going to take you behind the scenes on what it takes to build a whisk(e)y distillery business.

 

Tripp: [00:00:15] The Eureka! Ranch team led by Doug Hall are creating a craft whisk(e)y Company like has never been done before.

 

Tripp: [00:00:25] Okay. Well let's move to our Brain Brew Whisk(e)y Academy. The wonder of failure. So you've attended a mirror can Distilling Institute conference in Denver. Tell me about that experience.

 

Doug: [00:00:39] Well I was running about 2000 people about 90 percent of which are not in the spirits business or whisk(e)y business. They're trying to decide if they want to get into it. So a lot of newbies that are there but there were a few people who had done it and I got to spend some time maybe having a wee dram with some of those folks distilling conference I'm sure and maybe a little bit.

 

Doug: [00:01:06] And it was interesting because you got the newbies who are sitting there nervous scribbling down every single piece you know trying to get every little detail. So in case you're going to miss something and not realizing it's not you know you just got to get in and you know just keep swimming as the movie says hey you got to get into the game you know you sitting on the sidelines you can't figure out what it's like to get into it.

 

Doug: [00:01:35] And and that's frankly I'll tell you one of the challenges that I'm going to make a plug I'm going to make a big plug here for somebody. One of the great challenges people have is you know brewers have been able to do you know homebrew and learn their way to get ready to get going.

 

Doug: [00:01:54] And distillers have had a very hard time with that because to really do distilling I mean unless you do it. Moon shining and the time it takes to age et cetera et cetera. I mean it's just you mean you have to get in before you learn much. There's a company called iStill. And anybody listening to it I'm going to give you my strongest strongest recommendation and that includes here in the U.S.. Also one of the most respected whisk(e)y makers in Scotland a top top notch person from the very top companies told me the only still to buy is an iStill it's a computer controlled system.

 

Doug: [00:02:30] But what's most impressive is they have an iStill mini that's only like four leaders or something like that a little tiny thing that actually fits in a roller board that you can check kind of on a plane like or it's a little tiny thing.

 

Doug: [00:02:47] And so you can do. You can do your batches you can find your cut points and you can work with it. But iStill is the only way to go only way and they have amazing courses that you can take if you're thinking of getting into the spirits business to make your gin and vodka. I would use and iStill make whisk(e)y work with brain brew. I mean we'll help you with the whisk(e)y part but to to get there going that way because that's where you're gonna really do something amazing.

 

Tripp: [00:03:15] Okay so you but you didn't buy you didn't have one of these. Yes I do. Oh you do. So yes I answered. And so I'm still grasping the concept of it that I still does things in smaller batches.

 

Doug: [00:03:29] It does very small fast runs. OK so that means you can run a lot. You know we talk about fail fast fail cheap. It's a system fulfill fast fail cheap like we can make whisk(e)y in our time machines in in 40 minutes. So too can you make batches of in batches and run some experiments much faster with this. So they're awesome. They're absolutely awesome owners incredible rep team. It's just awesome. And it's the only way to go. iStill iStill. Yeah.

 

Doug: [00:04:01] So when I was at the conference I got to talk to a bunch of these people and you know a couple of grams as you go along. You start talking about failures and things that didn't work. And you know one of these distillers is telling me the story about how he had a he kind of messed up some stuff he was doing and he had a small fire in the is still her she's a disaster disaster the bite about a small explosion just a small one.

 

Doug: [00:04:30] But they cleaned it up and he discovers like he's three to five bottles just a very tiny amount of liquid was in one of the vessels there and he tasted it. Damn that's pretty good.

 

Doug: [00:04:44] So he bottles it up. He submits it direct competition and wins Stop. Oh no. Really. Mm hmm. Awkward. I haven't of that that just the three I said Yeah.

 

Tripp: [00:05:00] How do you recreate that.

 

Doug: [00:05:02] So that is like how do I make it a game without you. That's fine. But the thing is is that he was laughing about it you know and other people started telling stories of epic failures Ed and there were some newbies around looking at are as you know they're worried about that they're gonna mess up and we're just talking about our screw ups all the time. And and and it's I don't know if if you're not comfortable with failing don't bother to start a distillery just don't start it don't tell me that you know everything because you're an executive or buy food for what.

 

Doug: [00:05:42] Just get over yourself. This is a live and dynamic process okay. When you eat when you're making whisk(e)y. Consumers are fickle. You have a 95 percent failure rate. Everything fails. That's not the question. It will all fail. The question is do you pivot. Do you change. You learn from that do you make it right. And and it's interesting because I was thinking of Paul Shirky when I went to the North Pole.

 

Doug: [00:06:06] He's one of the greatest. He spent more nights sleeping below zero than anybody else. They say I don't know how you figure out rule I got but. So he's gone to the pole a whole bunch of times by dogs Lipski the Admiral Perry way. And I asked him I said Why do you go to the North Pole. This is as we're getting ready for the trip but he says this is because it feels so good when you stop now. As I'm getting ready to go to the Pole with him I'm thinking what can a nut case. But he was right you know and it's the same with the distillery.

 

Doug: [00:06:38] You go through the ups the downs the failures and you but you survive you survive. Sometimes you make the Poles sometimes you don't. But whether you make it or not you sit down and man it's like Damn it. You know I pushed myself. I did it.

 

Doug: [00:06:56] I did something I did something I put myself out there versus those people that sit on the couch and go whose looks pretty tough to me you know not gonna do anything. Get up get out. Get going. It's.

 

Tripp: [00:07:12] So Doug. One of the things that I have curious just from your experience as you talk about whisk(e)y and you talk about going to the North Pole type of thing are businesses. I mean they all should be failing right. I mean isn't that. Or do you see different scales associated a bank versus a whisk(e)y company. In other words that that you should be feeling more because of the nature of the business.

 

Doug: [00:07:38] No it's not humans humans life. Everybody everybody if perfection is highly overrated you need it. If if it's obvious and you can get it then you haven't done anything worth doing. Stretch yourself push the edges push the edges you know you know whenever anybody says they're okay with fear I know they're not.

 

Doug: [00:08:04] You know I mean it's just how it happens. It's how learning happens. Demi said theory of knowledge. It's how it happens failure is part of the system. You when you have people that own you know we're not really good with was failure here.

 

Doug: [00:08:24] Well and then you're stupid and you're gonna die. Because you know the plants as the seeds are spread on on the air a whole lot of them hit pavement then work hard to grow on pavement. But some make it.

 

Doug: [00:08:45] And the natural selection and the evolution of the genes happens that's just how it happens. I mean it's just the way it is. And and I have zero sympathy for people so I think I can't feel what if I say well and then you know it's like one day I said to myself feel fast real cheap. Like I really can't say that I trust you so could we say learn fast learn cheap.

 

Doug: [00:09:08] I said no fail. I can't say that. I said you have psychological problems that I can. I mean you surely have psychological problems. And I'm sorry that's beyond the scope of my knowledge base. You should get professional help.

 

Doug: [00:09:25] I'm serious. I mean this is not just there's not a joke it's not just a fun slogan fail faster and you will get there quicker.

 

Tripp: [00:09:34] Ok. Well I think that's the strongest we can get that message out. Tell me about the Vermont Toddy.

 

Doug: [00:09:42] Our craft cocktail recipe is that. Is this a an original or is this one that's been around.

 

Doug: [00:09:49] Yeah this is an original. OK. So I've always wanted to go through this winter and I figured it may as well get this out before spring gets too much further in here. Got to get this hot drink out. You know for the winter should have done it earlier.

 

Doug: [00:10:02] But I've always wanted to have a toddy. There was a good toddy and I've tried and tried and tried it and I've done complicated ones. And usually they're pretty thin. Chef Phil works for the distillery came up with the recipe using tea. That was good. It was good but I didn't like the caffeine in it. You know in the non caffeinated tea didn't work and then I kept playing with it and then I made just a simple switch.

 

Doug: [00:10:28] He's classically used honey or sugar a sugar cube sugar cube. Common Honey's common. And and you'll use all kinds of different flavors and you'll put different things in and you'll put in spices. And I went to spice rack with all kinds of spices and then I had some friends from Vermont here and I started joking about we'll make a Vermont Toddy. And so we took it it's in the show notes but.

 

Doug: [00:10:56] Three quarters of an ounce of maple syrup you know good Vermont maple syrup.

 

Doug: [00:11:01] And three quarters of an ounce of lemon juice.

 

Doug: [00:11:04] Ounce And a half. In this case of our keel boat whisk(e)y.

 

Doug: [00:11:08] And then three ounces of boiling water.

 

Doug: [00:11:11] And so if you add that up it's about a 50 percent water 50 percent of the stuff and suddenly in spit in place of all of the spices not the kind of stuff that good quality maple syrup the real stuff. Now the real stuff really gave me the backbone that I was looking for in it. And finally after dozens and dozens of tries I got a toddy that I really enjoy on a cold winter's night.

 

Tripp: [00:11:41] Okay. And to see you don't get in trouble is there a Canadian Toddy.

 

Doug: [00:11:47] Well you could do the session there but these are like my rights I'm going to keep it there for them.

 

Tripp: [00:11:51] Okay. All right.

 

Doug: [00:11:54] Lois Lois this one's for you the Vermont Toddy. So in your memory and Sue Hogan to so.

 

Tripp: [00:12:02] Okay. All right. So feeling fearlessly with the brain brew whisk(e)y academy it was. It's this whole theme of failing and being able to laugh about it and have fun with it.

 

Doug: [00:12:16] Until we talk about it again and again and again and again because it is the root issue for most people. I'd love to do it but I'm just scared. Well let's do something.

 

Tripp: [00:12:35] Brain Brew whisk(e)y is looking for pioneers like existing distillers or entrepreneurs interested in our custom whisk(e)y and craft cocktail experiences. These experiences provide consumers bartenders corporations nonprofits and celebrities the ability to craft whisk(e)y to their tastes and preferences. Our system also enables the creation of limited edition prestige whiskeys for weddings birthdays or other celebratory events. If you'd like to learn more go to brain brew whisk(e)y dot com and share with us what you are interested in. In the forum provided.