"WhiskeyAnd DotDotDot"

What can we learn about creating and maintaining a brand from an ice cream shop?  Well, namely, Conrad's Ice Cream Parlor been around for 90+ years and its under the stewardship of its third generation, JJ Kraktus.  JJ picked 2 particular Scotch single malts, a Glenmorangie and a Glen Garioch, and after a few drinks in the midst of "all the glens", we discuss adapting and changing to the modern zeitgeist; what stays and what goes; an off-the-cuff remark that leads to an innovation; how Quality never goes out of style; and importantly, why love of what you do is the real driver of good business.

Just in time for the election of a lifetime, my drinking companion Dan Eckman is a whiskey guy and...a life-long Republican!  Who knew?  Dan picked a superb bottle - the discontinued Compass Box Eleuthera Blended Malt (ripe fruits wrapped in bacon smoke) - and we got down to it: From Ayn Rand (and her stinker namesake Rand Paul), to Nixon, Reagan, Gingrich, Bush and all the way to....well, that guy that's there now.  

It gets lively as we both joust, parry, feint and weave over what the GOP is; what makes a good Republican (hint: they're nasty and like war); why Democrats can't find their way out of the tent (hint: they're confused and too open); why Reagan is burning in hell; and just what does Lewis Black and David Mamet have to do with it?  In between there's solipsism, begging the question, appeals to emotion and enough strawmen to surround the children of the corn.  That bottle got crushed in the meantime and Dan laid the trap for Part II...

You thought this was just about Marx and Lenin?  Maybe Bernie Sanders too?  No, after we killed the last of the Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt 21 yr with two thousand miles between us, my guest Stephen Mathis and I dragged in Amazon, Ricky Crawford, Serge Valentin, the post office, French unionism, medicare and junkies.  And we expose the American "boogeyman" of Socialism to be...oh, wait, we're already here.  And your kid is being educated as a result of it.

Tune in, its an election year and there's something you should know....

Mikayla couldn't make up her mind on a hot July day, so she chose 2 whiskies perfect for summer highballs: Meyer's Blend Superier from France and Nikka Coffey Grain from Japan.  She breaks down "queer coding" for the straight guy and how to watch movie trailers for cues; short hair and dinosaur earrings, what all the letters in LGBTQ stand for and what's their proper order, and why "Rent" is the "White Christmas" of gay culture.  But the seriousness of gay oppression is underneath the lightness of the conversation, the bravery it takes to become one's real self in a culture that sends the opposite cues; and that in the end, why its really all about love.  

Whiskey and.... is happy to welcome Effie Panagopoulos, creator of Kleos Mastiha, the first Greek spirit brought to market by a Greek woman.  This episode is about what it takes to become, and endure, as a solo entrepreneur, the day-to-day grind of product creation, sourcing, bottling, sales and marketing.   Think you got what it takes?  After a few rounds of Effie's whisky choice, the delicate and fruity Iwai Tradition from Japan, Effie rips open the realities of her vision quest.  You ready to stare down your Chinese manufacturer then go out and rustle up investors and angels; and then hit the road, visiting bars, retailers and dealing with the slug of the distribution channels and reluctant salespeople?  Yeah, she's done it.   Open a nice Japanese whisky and join us for a facinating look into the "glamorous" life of the liquor brand.

Stratos Mandalakis is my guest this episode, sub-deacon, choir director and lead chanter in the Antiochian Orthodox Church in New Jersey. Together, we plunge into the depths of faith, religion, the "NONEs" (people who profess no specific religious affiliation), Protestants and Catholics, the concept of "sin" and how it relates to archery; and the recognition that just about everything we say has a Greek origin!  Stratos is not the biggest whiskey drinker ("I like wine") but he picks an elegant and rare limited release of High West's Midwinter Night's Dram rye from my shelf and...I think we killed the bottle before the show was over.

Very happy to have Joshua Hatton as my guest.  Joshua is the co-owner of Single Cask Nation, an Independent Bottler of fine spirits; a member of the Keepers of the Quaich; and.... a Jew!  So that gives us an opportunity to talk about what that means in White Christian America: how anti-Semitism got its start (believe it or not, it started with the Semites) and why it still persists as the hidden evil that undermines cultures worldwide .  And also, he picks out a hidden beauty from my shelf...its Scotch, but not the kind you're thinking of.  Leave it to him...

Charles picks a bourbon and we sit down to talk about "the time of our lives" in regard to race and the relationships between the races; definitions of words we use to articulate our feelings; the consequences of elections and how we choose the paths going forward.

Charles Hardwick has over 30 years experience behind some of the most iconic bars in New York City, among them Pravda, The Odeon, Waldorf-Astoria, the Office and Aviary in New York.  He is currently the New York City Category Ambassador for Genever.

Robin Robinson is the author of "The Complete Whiskey Course" and runs a boutique consulting company for small, independent brands entering the marketplace.  His class, "Whiskey Smackdowns" at Astor Center in New York City is the longest running whiskey class in the US, now in its 11th year.

Whiskey and...The Court of Sommeliers and the word "master".   This is officially episode #1 and to start it off, I dug through the "thin" volumes on my shelf (sample bottles) and found an unmarked beauty to taste.  I've been rankled for most of my life over the idea of "excellence" and "mastery" in subjective pursuits that have to to do with individual tastes and I read an article on the Court of Sommeliers that really got me started off on a rant and a tear.

For more info on "The Complete Whiskey Course" follow this link.

For more about Robin Robinson, visit www.robinrobinsonllc.com

What is whiskey but the backdrop of our lives, what wine once was to another generation.  Its in our bars, stores, homes and on our phones.  But instead of another chat about the whiskey itself, here we're going to let whiskey sit in the passenger seat while we talk about the things in our lives that are front of mind - race, power, justice, equality?  Or maybe jobs, health, careers?  Or maybe dealing with our parents, or kids, our neighbors and co-workers.  Whiskey will be our lubricant, the key to what's really on our minds.  Tune in for Whiskey and....well, we'll see.