About a year ago, we impulse-bought a Cedar Ridge QuintEssential release, and it turned out to be one of the best whiskeys we’ve evaluated on the podcast. So, this year, when the new version came out, we jumped at the chance to, once again, taste something truly spectacular. So, will we (along with Superfan Jason from Maryland) love the new expression as much as the previous one? Or will it suffer under the weight of our unreasonable expectations? Press play to find out!

Music Credits: Freedom courtesy of Choc Mic McNeil at https://open.spotify.com/artist/5Vb55i9ubwPnxUnY6OG3nH • Pulse by Kevin MacLeod from https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html • Enough courtesy of Jason Mitchell at https://open.spotify.com/artist/5u8d0dWVi4HyOnsNQXKFYo

Round 1 – Halekulani: High-proof Bourbon • Lemon juice • Lime juice • Pineapple juice • Demerara syrup • Grenadine • Angostura bitters

Round 2 – Mai Tai v. “Rye Tai”: Rum v. Rye • Orange liqueur v. Pineapple juice • Lime juice v. Lemon juice • Simple syrup v. Angostura bitters • Orgeat

Round 3 – Painkiller v. “Grainkiller”: High-proof Rum v. Four-Grain Bourbon • Pineapple juice • Orange juice • Cream of Coconut

Final Round – Zombie v. “Zombey”: Rum, Aged Rum, and High-proof Rum v. Rye, Four-grain Bourbon, and High-proof Bourbon • Falernum • Grenadine • Pernod • Lime Juice • Don’s Mix • Angostura bitters

Tangents: Alleah and Anders join us for a trip to the South Pacific! (Or maybe the Caribbean! Or both!) • Scott and Ed are Timon and Pumbaa • Tiki History! • Anders has a dragon tattoo around his “dragon” • Lady Gaga’s back! • What the f**k is grenadine? • Tiki Quiskey! • Only Alleah knows Gilligan’s first name • What the f**k is orgeat? • Anders really know how to set a scene • Radio, pop-pop? • Scott’s the manager, Karen • Trademarked cocktails • #bananafunk • Ed’s a mood killer • The Painkiller is Rob Halford’s favorite Tiki • Paula is the adult in the room (and an angel) • Anders tells the world to stop drinking shitty rum • The Wrestling Tangent Podcast • What the f**k is falernum? • The Zombie, the Zombey, and the Zombee are completely different drinks • How they figured out how to make old Tiki drinks • Scott’s gonna punch Ed in the throat • Ed and Alleah were in 2nd grade in the 1800s • Anders’s newest gig: @doho.restaurant!

Music Credits: Whiskey on the Mississippi, Secret of Tiki Island, Island Meet and Greet, Bassa Island Game Loop by Kevin MacLeod from https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

New News: WhistlePig Names New CEO • Bourbon Hall of Fame Announces First Female Inductee • Green River Opens Whiskey Row Tasting Room • MLB Names First Official Whiskey • Japanese Whisky Ramps Up Rules Compliance • Belle Meade Brothers Take Their Whiskey Back • Whiskey Takes Aim at U.S. Shipping Laws

New Whiskeys: Blue Note Single Barrel Rye • Cedar Ridge The QuintEssential Special Release: Number Five American Single Malt • Eagle Rare 12 Year • Jefferson’s Straight Rye Blend • Old Fitzgerald 7 Year Bottled-in-Bond Rye • Old Forester President’s Choice Single Barrel Bourbon and Rye • Penelope Cigar Sessions Chapter 1 American Whiskey • Redemption 18 Year • Stitzel Reserve 24 Year • WhistlePig GraveStock Wheat Whiskey • Widow Jane Borough Blend

New Music Credits: Retro News at Nine (Stinger 1) by Steve Oxen from https://www.fesliyanstudios.com • Just Breaking (Softer) by David Fesliyan from https://www.fesliyanstudios.com • News Sting and Beauty Flow by Kevin MacLeod from https://incompetech.filmmusic.io

So, Scott’s mom went to Florida and brought him back a whiskey from a very popular craft distillery that was founded in an old factory in an historic neighborhood in America’s oldest city with assistance from a legendary master blender. With that kind of pedigree, the whiskey just HAS to be good, right? RIGHT?! Well, you know what to do to find out!

Music Credits: Freedom courtesy of Choc Mic McNeil at https://soundcloud.com/chocmic/freedom • Porch Blues and Fireflies by Kevin MacLeod from https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

Whiskeys: Little Book Chapter 3 “The Road Home” • Little Book Chapter 4 “Lessons Honored” • Little Book Chapter 5 “The Invitation” • Little Book Chapter 6 “To The Finish” • Little Book The Infinite: Edition 1

Tangents: 8th-generation Beam Master Distiller Freddie Noe joins us on a retrospective of his personal line of whiskeys! • The Little Book history • Somebody bought the last Chapters 7 & 8 before Ed got to the store • Apparently “cherry vanilla phosphate” is a tasting note now • Freddie probably has a flask of Chapter 3 in his pocket at all times • Ed doesn’t remember drinking Chapter 4 before (but he totally did) • Freddie is the titular 6th “Little Book” • Scott channels Linda Richman • Ed hates Scott so much (and the feeling is mutual) • Chapter 6 is one of the most unique whiskeys ever • Ed’s gonna go broke looking for more of these bottles • Shout out to Super Fan Jason who bought us The Infinite • Ed doesn’t get the peanu(t)s • The Freddie Interview! • Zoom and Teams get jealous of each other • Freddie’s one simple trick for making friends and influencing people • How he (and the whiskey) got the nickname “Little Book” • Will his kids be 9th-generation master distillers? • Roast pork sandwiches are Philly’s best kept secret (and we trade Gabe’s recipe for whiskey!)

Music Credits: Whiskey on the Mississippi, Fireflies, and Boogie Party by Kevin MacLeod from https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

New News: Update on Buffalo Trace Flooding • Middle West buys Old Elk • Westward Files for Bankruptcy • Online Auction Startup Turns Whiskey into Windfall • Denver International Spirits Competition Results (with Christoper Davies of the Global Whiskey Challenge) • San Francisco World Spirits Competition Results • Drunk Driver Crashes Car, Goes Nuts • Police Officer Accused of Shooting Fellow Hunter • Missouri Trucking Company Owner Receives 9-Year Prison Sentence

New Whiskeys: Angel’s Envy Cellar Collection Vol. 5 • Calumet Farm Centennial Collection • Chicken Cock 10 Year Double Oak Bourbon & Rye-teous Blonde • Dewar's Double Double Magma Stone Scotch • Hatozaki Triple Cask Reserve World Whisky • Knob Creek Cask Strength Single Barrel Bourbon & Rye • New Riff American Single Malt • Proper No. 12 13-Year • Rye Curious • Sagamore Spirit Cask Strength Rye • Romulan Stellum Cask Strength Bourbon & Rye

New Music Credits: Retro News at Nine (Stinger 1) by Steve Oxen from https://www.fesliyanstudios.com • Just Breaking (Softer) by David Fesliyan from https://www.fesliyanstudios.com • News Sting and Beauty Flow by Kevin MacLeod from https://incompetech.filmmusic.io

Every year we put out a follow-up to the Whiskey Madness tournament that somehow ties in to those episodes. Except last year, when we just forgot. But this year, we thought why not take all of the whiskeys in the tournament and combine them together, and just see what happens? So, did it come out ok? Or was it a terrible Frankenstein monster ready to rip off everyone's head? Tune in and find out!

Music Credits: Freedom courtesy of Choc Mic McNeil | Link: https://soundcloud.com/chocmic/freedom • Fight Back courtesy of Neffex | Link: https://www.youtube.com/user/neffexmusic • Sports News (acoustic version) by Sascha Ende | Link: https://filmmusic.io/song/351-sports-news-acoustic-version

Whiskeys: Peerless Toasted Small Batch Bourbon • Peerless Rum Barrel Finished Bourbon • Peerless Double Oak “No. 2” Single Barrel Bourbon • Peerless “Fruit Cocktail” Single Barrel Rye

Tangents: Gabe and Jeff join us for a six-months-in-the-making episode about our favorite distillery from our Kentucky trip! • The basically ancient history of Peerless • Prohibition again! SMH • The Peerless mashbill recipes are protected by ninjas • Sorry Jeff, Scott will be singing the Honeycomb cereal song • Gabe smells his own leather corset • Apparently “brûléed bananas” and “foil-wrapped corn” are tasting notes now • Interview with Head Taster John Wadell • The Eagles ruined the Bears by stealing Buddy Ryan • John’s Mom cooks for everybody at the distillery • The difference between sweet mash and sour mash • The reason Peerless doesn’t reveal their ages and mashbills • Buy John’s barrel aged coffee at www.staveandbean.com! • Apparently “Philly soft pretzel” is a tasting note now (but it’s not urine-y) • Ed’s part of the LBSKG community • Our first distillery cat! • Quince (Quint’s?) is NOT a tasting note! • #thegrapesaresuss • Gabe and his brother mud wrestle for half a cherry • This is an ex-parent! • Ed considers committing a Class B felony to steal everyone’s Peerless whiskey • We’re huge in Singapore

Music Credits: Whiskey on the Mississippi, Fireflies, and Boogie Party by Kevin MacLeod from https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html

If you’ve listened to us for a while, you’ll know that we love tasting whiskey blind, because it challenges your palate and knowledge in ways you never thought possible. However, it can be a pain to set up, and you still know the set of whiskeys you’re tasting, even if you don’t know the order. But that’s where CEO Bobby DeMars and his company’s tasting kits come in. They’ve done all the hard work for you, and they invite you to not only decide if you like the whiskeys but also guess what the whiskeys are: mash bill, proof, age, etc. Then, via QR code, you can find out well how you did, and even buy a discounted bottle of what you liked. So, will our vast whiskey experience allow us to predict the four whiskeys we’ll be tasting? Or will we fail in predictably spectacular fashion? Press play and find out!

Blind Barrels Discount Code: WHISKEY10

Music Credits: Freedom by Choc Mic McNeil at https://soundcloud.com/chocmic/freedom • Funky Life by WinnieTheMoog at https://tunereel.com/royalty-free-music/funky-life

Whiskeys: Finger Lakes Distilling’s Pommeau Cask Rye • New York Distilling’s Apple Brandy Rye • Starlight’s Honey Cask Bourbon • Watershed’s Nocino Cask Bourbon • Andalusia Whiskey Co.’s Tequila Cask Peated Single Malt

Tangents: Nobody joins us for another delicious episode of free whiskey from Lost Lantern (thanks Adam, Nora, and Amy!) • #boomerjoke • Apparently, “licking the outside of an apple” is a tasting note now • The Apple Pie Cocktail • Starlight has been making alcohol since before the Civil War • Apparently, “honey on chicken nuggets when I was 10” is a tasting note now • Cereal Tangent • Ed eats a lot of walnuts • The Black Walnut Manhattan • We get calls from our lawyers • #blackleatherlicorice • Apparently, “Froot Loops set on fire” is a tasting note now • The Andalusia (distaff Paloma) cocktail • Did we just become best friends with peated single malt? • Possibly the most unique collection of whiskeys we’ve ever had

Music Credits: Whiskey on the Mississippi by Kevin MacLeod from https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/music.html • Total Happy Up And Sunny and Electric Soul by Sascha Ende from https://filmmusic.io/ • Starting the Day with Energy by MusiclFiles from https://filmmusic.io/