1 00:00:06,800 --> 00:00:09,120 Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Savor. I'm any Reason and I'm 2 00:00:09,200 --> 00:00:12,000 Speaker 1: Loyen voc Obam and we have a bonus episode for 3 00:00:12,039 --> 00:00:16,160 Speaker 1: you today. Yes, it is an interview um, which we 4 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:18,360 Speaker 1: talked about and you've heard a little bit of in 5 00:00:18,400 --> 00:00:21,800 Speaker 1: our scotch episode. We got to go over to American 6 00:00:22,040 --> 00:00:25,040 Speaker 1: Spirit Works, a local Atlanta distillery, and talk to some 7 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:27,200 Speaker 1: of the team over there. Yeah, we talked to the 8 00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:32,400 Speaker 1: head distiller, just Minglets and mysterious person who works there. 9 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:35,680 Speaker 1: I think in marketing, Chad or often. He was never 10 00:00:35,800 --> 00:00:38,800 Speaker 1: quite up front, but I think it's marketing. Yeah, I 11 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:43,320 Speaker 1: think that's very fitting for someone in marketing. Oh hate mail. 12 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:46,280 Speaker 1: Oh no, please don't do that. I don't know, that 13 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:50,320 Speaker 1: would be very sad. No, I I enjoyed some scotch 14 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:53,760 Speaker 1: on on the New Year's Day. Yeah, I guess that's 15 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:57,440 Speaker 1: a new tradition I've adopted thanks to this show. So yeah, 16 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:01,840 Speaker 1: it's lovely. Yeah, I still haven't. No one's entered my 17 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:08,039 Speaker 1: apartment yet, Lawrence, Like, why are you talking. Supposedly, the 18 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:10,959 Speaker 1: first person that crosses your threshold of your door in 19 00:01:10,959 --> 00:01:14,640 Speaker 1: the New Year influences the rest of your year. Okay, 20 00:01:14,680 --> 00:01:17,399 Speaker 1: I think it was my cat does that count, what 21 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:21,000 Speaker 1: kind of what color fur? Which cat was it? Okay, 22 00:01:21,040 --> 00:01:25,280 Speaker 1: that's good. Apparently a redhead is the worst that could 23 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 1: happen here. But my best friend has red hair, so 24 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:35,680 Speaker 1: I know. Decisions, decisions. Anyway, it was. It was once 25 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:40,039 Speaker 1: again one of those lovely interviews. Oh yeah, sprawling and 26 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:45,000 Speaker 1: so fun and knowledgeable they were, I mean yeah, we 27 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:47,480 Speaker 1: we were. We were there and happy to be there. 28 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:51,520 Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, No one was sprawling during it. Um, the 29 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:55,920 Speaker 1: conversation was sprawling and they were knowledgeable. Yes, yes, And 30 00:01:56,000 --> 00:01:58,440 Speaker 1: we got to sample some of their fine product, tire Fire, 31 00:01:58,480 --> 00:02:01,400 Speaker 1: which again is a wonderful name. Oh yeah, for a 32 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:05,200 Speaker 1: Scotch style whiskey. So yeah, we hope that you enjoy 33 00:02:05,240 --> 00:02:07,800 Speaker 1: it as much as we did, and we'll get ready 34 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:13,440 Speaker 1: to it. I like to start interviews with the question, Hi, 35 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:18,320 Speaker 1: who are you. I'm justin Mangets, some of the head 36 00:02:18,320 --> 00:02:22,160 Speaker 1: distiller here at a s W distillery. This is Chad, 37 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:26,200 Speaker 1: and yes, I'm sorry, Yeah I can. I can actually 38 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 1: speak for myself. U Chad Ralston and I'm the token 39 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:33,440 Speaker 1: millennial here. Technically I'm also a millennial. I was born 40 00:02:35,240 --> 00:02:38,720 Speaker 1: I don't act like it. Apparently we're that in between 41 00:02:38,720 --> 00:02:41,920 Speaker 1: generation it's okay. Yeah, So what you guys were bottling 42 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:45,480 Speaker 1: today is a peated whiskey. Um, can we start with 43 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:48,280 Speaker 1: some basics like what is We know what whiskey is, 44 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 1: but what's like, like, well, what is pete? And what 45 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:54,480 Speaker 1: is malt? Absolutely, so really starting when malt is the 46 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:59,360 Speaker 1: easiest place to begin from. Some malt can be really 47 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:02,080 Speaker 1: any type of grain, but in this case, barley that 48 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:05,880 Speaker 1: has been germinated by soaking it in warm water and 49 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:07,960 Speaker 1: letting it sit so that it's sprouts, just like you 50 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:11,040 Speaker 1: would start a seed at home in your garden um. 51 00:03:11,200 --> 00:03:15,120 Speaker 1: And in that process, in the sprouting process, the complex 52 00:03:15,120 --> 00:03:18,880 Speaker 1: starches in the grain simplify and the bonds break and 53 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:23,880 Speaker 1: they become simple starches, And the process creates a diastatic 54 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:29,760 Speaker 1: enzymes in the grain which are capable of converting those 55 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:32,680 Speaker 1: starches into sugar if heated up to the right temperature 56 00:03:32,720 --> 00:03:36,880 Speaker 1: for the right amount of time. So, when you sprout 57 00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: that barley to malt it, or sprout anything to malt 58 00:03:39,280 --> 00:03:41,920 Speaker 1: it in order to make it shelf stable so that 59 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:44,200 Speaker 1: it can be stored for a period of time and 60 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:47,320 Speaker 1: used by brewery or distillery or whatever, you have to 61 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:51,400 Speaker 1: dry it out. Historically, that was obviously not done with 62 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:56,800 Speaker 1: natural gas. So in different places they use different things. 63 00:03:56,880 --> 00:04:03,119 Speaker 1: Would would have been very common um with lasers in Taiwan, 64 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:09,880 Speaker 1: that's what that's what makes cavalant different. Um So in 65 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:16,400 Speaker 1: Ireland where it was forested originally forested days would traditionally Scotland, 66 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:19,080 Speaker 1: even before the English cut down all the trees that 67 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:21,279 Speaker 1: were there, didn't have a lot of trees. They mainly 68 00:04:21,400 --> 00:04:26,400 Speaker 1: used pete, which is essentially petrified mud from a bog 69 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:30,920 Speaker 1: and when you burn that to create heat, obviously it's 70 00:04:30,960 --> 00:04:34,120 Speaker 1: also creating smoke, and that in the process of using 71 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:38,680 Speaker 1: the heat to dry the barley, that smoke infiltrates the 72 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:42,880 Speaker 1: husk material of the barley and gives it the peat 73 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:51,680 Speaker 1: smoky flavor. Historically, because most malt was kilned dried with 74 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:56,120 Speaker 1: would it was something that smoked, a lot of beers 75 00:04:56,440 --> 00:04:59,360 Speaker 1: four or five hundred thousand years ago would have been smoky. 76 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,159 Speaker 1: Whiskey didn't quite exist yet a thousand years ago, it 77 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:08,000 Speaker 1: was on the edge. So smoke was a very common 78 00:05:08,279 --> 00:05:13,919 Speaker 1: and I guess essential element of beverage alcohol for a 79 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:16,600 Speaker 1: lot of the history of beverage alcohol, especially grain based 80 00:05:16,600 --> 00:05:20,080 Speaker 1: beverage alcohol. Um. So that's basically where where the peak 81 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:24,600 Speaker 1: comes in. And and this that the different levels of 82 00:05:25,040 --> 00:05:29,960 Speaker 1: smokiness in the malt are governed by the amount of peat, 83 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:33,200 Speaker 1: the type of peat that are used to smoke the grain. 84 00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:36,279 Speaker 1: So what I'm using for the tire fire is a 85 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:44,000 Speaker 1: heavy peated malt which is PPM creosols. Creosols are basically 86 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:47,640 Speaker 1: the smoke molecule smoke element which is on the very 87 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:51,560 Speaker 1: high side of pete. So that would mimic say an 88 00:05:51,560 --> 00:05:55,440 Speaker 1: Isle whiskey like lafroy R, Lagafoola or ard Bag, which 89 00:05:55,480 --> 00:05:59,800 Speaker 1: is my favorite dil a whiskey the Highland and and 90 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:05,800 Speaker 1: whose whiskeys are traditionally made largely or completely from peated malt, 91 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:08,960 Speaker 1: whereas in the Highland region, into some degree, in Space 92 00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:16,159 Speaker 1: Side region of Scotland they're using either lower phenal, lower 93 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:22,120 Speaker 1: PPM malt, or just a mixture of peeded barley and 94 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:26,960 Speaker 1: unpeeded barley to have a somewhat more subtle smoke quality, 95 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:30,320 Speaker 1: which I also enjoyed largely. I think Chad does as well, 96 00:06:31,279 --> 00:06:35,120 Speaker 1: uh so much so that my wife and I spent 97 00:06:35,200 --> 00:06:39,760 Speaker 1: our honeymoon in Isla drinking cask strength loggable and cast 98 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:43,920 Speaker 1: strength l Freud cast strength ard vague am which really 99 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:48,440 Speaker 1: sets the tone for the day. But today, this very 100 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:51,480 Speaker 1: day that we were bottling tire Fire is our three 101 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:54,599 Speaker 1: year anniversary, so it's kind of kind of fitting. Will 102 00:06:54,640 --> 00:06:57,520 Speaker 1: be definitely opening and drinking a majority of that bottle tonight. 103 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:01,599 Speaker 1: Well we'll find out if it gives you a headache, 104 00:07:01,760 --> 00:07:05,200 Speaker 1: that's right, very quickly. Now. When we opened a s 105 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:09,000 Speaker 1: W distillery as as a whiskey maker, I'll do like 106 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:13,400 Speaker 1: to experiment and make different things. And both Chad or 107 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:16,280 Speaker 1: Chad and Jim and Charlie are all big fans of 108 00:07:16,400 --> 00:07:23,880 Speaker 1: Ilo whiskeys. UM with peat malt. I like the smoke creosols, 109 00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 1: I like the Pete creosols. I'm not a huge fan 110 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:32,280 Speaker 1: of the band aid and rubber creasols portions. UM. So 111 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:36,240 Speaker 1: when I started thinking about doing the tire Fire project, 112 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:39,320 Speaker 1: we were in a meeting and I said, if we 113 00:07:39,320 --> 00:07:42,440 Speaker 1: were talking about some new products, and I said, if 114 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:45,200 Speaker 1: I could make us a whiskey that tasted like straight 115 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:49,440 Speaker 1: up poison, should I do it? And the agreement was definitely, 116 00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:53,320 Speaker 1: should definitely do that, um, And they just kind of 117 00:07:53,400 --> 00:07:57,080 Speaker 1: ran with it and um, this this malt, like I 118 00:07:57,200 --> 00:08:00,400 Speaker 1: was saying, it's more or less specially brought in for me. 119 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:03,560 Speaker 1: Not many people are using the heavy peat and malt um. 120 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:06,160 Speaker 1: I do, however, cut it in a way when I 121 00:08:06,240 --> 00:08:09,960 Speaker 1: distill it too, pull out some of the most of 122 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:14,200 Speaker 1: the more rubbery compounds because I don't personally like them, 123 00:08:14,240 --> 00:08:16,760 Speaker 1: and some people love them. I don't care for them. 124 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:20,720 Speaker 1: So I'm able to remove those towards the beginning of 125 00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:26,760 Speaker 1: the run to get a very smoky, very peaty whiskey 126 00:08:26,880 --> 00:08:29,480 Speaker 1: that doesn't have some of the phenals that turn people off, 127 00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:32,520 Speaker 1: so hopefully make it, while super smoky, a little bit 128 00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:36,080 Speaker 1: more approachable to a wider array of people at the 129 00:08:36,080 --> 00:08:38,560 Speaker 1: same time. And the tire fire was just I have 130 00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:40,560 Speaker 1: to have something to write on the barrels when I 131 00:08:40,600 --> 00:08:42,560 Speaker 1: make these whiskey, so I know what they are. And 132 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:44,880 Speaker 1: I had started calling it tire fire, and so I 133 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:48,280 Speaker 1: started writing on the barrels, and eventually Chad was just like, 134 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:53,080 Speaker 1: let's call it dire vire bleep, it call it dire 135 00:08:53,160 --> 00:08:58,760 Speaker 1: vi uh and really and and Chad makes all the 136 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:01,160 Speaker 1: labels that we do in house for all these things. 137 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:04,679 Speaker 1: And that really has enabled me to do the experimentation, 138 00:09:04,720 --> 00:09:08,320 Speaker 1: because if we were paying twenty dollars to a you know, 139 00:09:08,440 --> 00:09:10,920 Speaker 1: designer and a brander to come up with these things. 140 00:09:11,559 --> 00:09:14,480 Speaker 1: We couldn't do that. So because he's willing, was willing 141 00:09:14,520 --> 00:09:16,600 Speaker 1: to do this more. He's running out of time now, 142 00:09:16,679 --> 00:09:20,600 Speaker 1: but that's really enabled us to have cool, interesting things 143 00:09:20,640 --> 00:09:24,240 Speaker 1: come out to kind of really um prove our mettle 144 00:09:24,360 --> 00:09:27,080 Speaker 1: and and hit a lot of different whiskey styles. Yeah, 145 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:32,880 Speaker 1: so whiskey whiskey is it's kind of strange. It's still 146 00:09:32,960 --> 00:09:35,600 Speaker 1: very segmented. Like there we still get people coming in 147 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:38,079 Speaker 1: that say, oh, I only like bourbon, and there are 148 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:40,320 Speaker 1: plenty of people that say I only drink I loved 149 00:09:40,679 --> 00:09:44,000 Speaker 1: heavy peated whiskeys, But nobody goes to a restaurant and 150 00:09:44,000 --> 00:09:47,880 Speaker 1: they're like, I only hamburgers. Bring me ribs. If you 151 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:50,160 Speaker 1: don't have ribs, I'm leaving only ribbs. This was the 152 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:52,199 Speaker 1: same way that it was with beer twenty years ago. 153 00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:54,920 Speaker 1: I only drink Miller life, you know. And we're still 154 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:58,680 Speaker 1: in that realm with a lot of spirits consumers in 155 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:01,920 Speaker 1: the whiskey world, and we are we want to be 156 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:05,400 Speaker 1: able to offer a wide array and also expand people's horizons, 157 00:10:05,480 --> 00:10:08,160 Speaker 1: just like the brewery the craft breweries were doing fifteen 158 00:10:08,240 --> 00:10:10,720 Speaker 1: years ago. Ten years ago. Well, we we want to 159 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:15,720 Speaker 1: try to lead people into expanding their horizons when it 160 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:18,680 Speaker 1: comes to spirits, and that's what our tasting room is for. Yeah. Um, 161 00:10:18,679 --> 00:10:21,400 Speaker 1: we're here right in the heart of Atlanta and one 162 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:23,880 Speaker 1: of the biggest convention markets in the country. We get 163 00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:26,960 Speaker 1: lots of tourists all throughout the year, and we have 164 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:30,560 Speaker 1: obviously a booming metro area of residents as well, and 165 00:10:30,640 --> 00:10:33,280 Speaker 1: so we just see hundreds of people coming through here 166 00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:36,880 Speaker 1: every week. And you'll have somebody who comes in saying, 167 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:39,920 Speaker 1: I really only drink Bourbon and they try, you know, 168 00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:43,400 Speaker 1: maybe Americanic, which is a very nice kind of bridge 169 00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:46,080 Speaker 1: into the single mate category because it's very bourbon esque 170 00:10:46,120 --> 00:10:48,040 Speaker 1: in that it was aged in a new charter oak barrels. 171 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:52,520 Speaker 1: It has some nice Vanillaan characteristics, and it's helping broaden 172 00:10:52,559 --> 00:10:57,280 Speaker 1: people's flavor profiles and her right taste or or duality, 173 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:00,920 Speaker 1: especially because it it's fifty smoke malt, but it's cherry. 174 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:04,760 Speaker 1: It's would smoked malt so which which manifests very differently 175 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:08,439 Speaker 1: than pete and it's more of a more subtle kind 176 00:11:08,440 --> 00:11:12,720 Speaker 1: of fruity cherry flavor. It's also a little bit more 177 00:11:12,800 --> 00:11:15,559 Speaker 1: barrel heavy, So that that has been I've had a 178 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:18,000 Speaker 1: lot of people say I mostly drink bourbon, but man 179 00:11:18,080 --> 00:11:20,880 Speaker 1: that duality, so I mean, and then their next step 180 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:24,960 Speaker 1: can be whatever it is, whether it's a rye or 181 00:11:25,480 --> 00:11:28,640 Speaker 1: tire fire. Maybe not quite there yet. We're working on 182 00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:32,920 Speaker 1: small steps. Yeah, where where do you guys get your malt? 183 00:11:32,960 --> 00:11:35,360 Speaker 1: And where did they get the pete to smoke it? 184 00:11:35,920 --> 00:11:40,679 Speaker 1: This was made by Bairds, which is a Scottish malting company. 185 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:42,480 Speaker 1: They do not tell you where they get the peat, 186 00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:48,400 Speaker 1: so yeah, Scotland, I would assume, yes, absolutely, it's a 187 00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:53,120 Speaker 1: Scottish company, Scottish grown grain, Scottish harvested pete. Just because 188 00:11:53,120 --> 00:11:55,559 Speaker 1: they're parsimonious with words where they won't tell you or 189 00:11:55,640 --> 00:11:59,400 Speaker 1: they probably don't want to waste the ink writing an email. 190 00:11:59,440 --> 00:12:02,840 Speaker 1: There's that's exactly. There's a little bit of a little 191 00:12:02,880 --> 00:12:05,840 Speaker 1: bit of lore around the whiskey with an e and 192 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:09,439 Speaker 1: whiskey without any spelling of whiskey. And the best explanation 193 00:12:09,440 --> 00:12:13,960 Speaker 1: I've heard is that the Scottish label printers dropped the 194 00:12:14,600 --> 00:12:17,200 Speaker 1: hundreds of years ago because it wasted ink, and so 195 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:23,560 Speaker 1: they were being fifty Yeah. Yeah, So this druid hill, 196 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:27,880 Speaker 1: the triple pots still, which mimics an Irish style puerpots 197 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:30,560 Speaker 1: still whiskey that I the malt I used for that, 198 00:12:30,600 --> 00:12:33,480 Speaker 1: I get from a very very small Irish family farm 199 00:12:33,520 --> 00:12:36,600 Speaker 1: in malt company called Lochrans and County Low and know 200 00:12:36,760 --> 00:12:39,560 Speaker 1: the guy James, and so there there are things we 201 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:42,200 Speaker 1: use more that we have a little bit more information on. 202 00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:46,760 Speaker 1: But with a heavy peat. They also make a superpeded malt, 203 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:50,400 Speaker 1: but it's got shipping issues because they don't like just 204 00:12:50,440 --> 00:12:53,480 Speaker 1: they won't ship it in a container with other unpeeded 205 00:12:53,559 --> 00:12:57,040 Speaker 1: malt because it makes everything reek of peep reek. So 206 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:00,079 Speaker 1: I'm still still pushing to do us a high or 207 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:05,480 Speaker 1: tire fire, but we'll see. Um yeah, yeah, no, make 208 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:10,200 Speaker 1: the tire fire bigger. I love that. In what were 209 00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:15,000 Speaker 1: you guys actually distilling today? We're doing duality today? Yeah yeah, 210 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:18,600 Speaker 1: So I generally make things in about four week blocks. Um. 211 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:21,560 Speaker 1: The duality is it's a double malt whiskey, which is 212 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:27,160 Speaker 1: just some some crap I made up. It's rye malt 213 00:13:26,800 --> 00:13:31,480 Speaker 1: and cherry smoked malt. In Scotland they only recognize because 214 00:13:31,480 --> 00:13:36,040 Speaker 1: they're kind of grumpy. They only recognized barley malt made 215 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:39,360 Speaker 1: from barley as being maltd but you can actually malt 216 00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:43,000 Speaker 1: almost any grains. In America, we consider rye malt to 217 00:13:43,040 --> 00:13:45,560 Speaker 1: be malt and we want to be malt um. So 218 00:13:45,600 --> 00:13:49,440 Speaker 1: in Scotland, a double malt is generally a single malt 219 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:54,640 Speaker 1: from two different distilleries married together. In some proportions Maltipar 220 00:13:54,880 --> 00:14:00,360 Speaker 1: made multi barley um. So my I basically just had 221 00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:06,640 Speaker 1: the idea to combine do exactly ryan mall barley malt 222 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:08,800 Speaker 1: based on the American definitions of malt, and call that 223 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:12,040 Speaker 1: a double malt um, which as far as I know, 224 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:13,680 Speaker 1: a sorry as we can tell, isn't It has not 225 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:17,000 Speaker 1: been done anywhere. Ferment and mash that all grain in 226 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:19,760 Speaker 1: and distill it grain in. So that's what we're doing today, 227 00:14:19,840 --> 00:14:22,160 Speaker 1: is the duality and its like I said, it's it's 228 00:14:22,240 --> 00:14:25,280 Speaker 1: cherry smoke malt and and ryme mal. And that was 229 00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:28,240 Speaker 1: actually George's first ever double gold whiskey double gold medal 230 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:30,479 Speaker 1: one this year. It won a double goal at San Francisco, 231 00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 1: which is the main spirits competition, the one that truly matters. 232 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:40,200 Speaker 1: So yeah, that was good. Congratulations. You were talking back 233 00:14:40,200 --> 00:14:44,240 Speaker 1: by the skills about the Scottish method of just using 234 00:14:44,560 --> 00:14:47,680 Speaker 1: the juice. I'm using very technical terms, um, the wash 235 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:51,480 Speaker 1: thank you, versus the bourbon method of having the mash 236 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:53,680 Speaker 1: in there versus your method. Could you talk about how 237 00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:57,920 Speaker 1: you arrived at that process. When Charlie and Jim, when 238 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:01,320 Speaker 1: I first started working with them, about three years before 239 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:05,200 Speaker 1: we opened the distillery, just to plan things out, they 240 00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:07,320 Speaker 1: were really into rye and they wanted to make a 241 00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:13,280 Speaker 1: rye whiskey, um, which is a difficult cooking and mashing 242 00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:16,440 Speaker 1: process because it's got a lot of gluten in it, 243 00:15:16,480 --> 00:15:21,880 Speaker 1: so it's very gummy and thick. So I said, hey, 244 00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:26,400 Speaker 1: how about we do a rye malt whiskey, which I 245 00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:29,080 Speaker 1: wasn't sure if it would have those same problems. UM. 246 00:15:29,240 --> 00:15:32,640 Speaker 1: I had mostly made a single malt from Barley's prior, 247 00:15:33,200 --> 00:15:36,000 Speaker 1: so I needed to test it and see if it 248 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:38,000 Speaker 1: would turn into a big gummy mess or if it 249 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:41,240 Speaker 1: would actually be pretty feasible to do and in the 250 00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:45,120 Speaker 1: and when I tested it, I used had one bag 251 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:47,560 Speaker 1: of rye malt and I had a part bag of 252 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:49,360 Speaker 1: Barley malt or something. So I ended up doing it 253 00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:55,520 Speaker 1: as sixty rye malt and Barley malt, which would would 254 00:15:55,520 --> 00:15:57,960 Speaker 1: be enough rye malt for me. To test what would 255 00:15:57,960 --> 00:16:00,240 Speaker 1: actually happen and taste it and know that the right 256 00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:03,239 Speaker 1: moment would be good. I had to build an agitator 257 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:04,840 Speaker 1: for because I was gonna do it grain in. I 258 00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:08,240 Speaker 1: wanted to test the grain in fermentation and distillation as well, 259 00:16:08,280 --> 00:16:11,360 Speaker 1: So I built an agitator from my wash still. So 260 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:13,680 Speaker 1: really after that and and and it worked great and 261 00:16:13,720 --> 00:16:17,240 Speaker 1: it tasted awesome. UM and I called that a double malt, 262 00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:18,600 Speaker 1: and I was like, well, why don't we just do 263 00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:21,680 Speaker 1: that in the facility when we get it open as well? 264 00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:24,280 Speaker 1: And Jim immediately so this was five years ago at 265 00:16:24,280 --> 00:16:26,800 Speaker 1: this point, he immediately said, oh, we'll call it duality. 266 00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:29,200 Speaker 1: So he came up with the name. It was, I 267 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:32,480 Speaker 1: guess the second product that we had a concept for 268 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:36,040 Speaker 1: UM and we hadn't necessarily planned to do it right away, 269 00:16:36,840 --> 00:16:39,760 Speaker 1: but at the same time, UM, I wanted to do 270 00:16:39,800 --> 00:16:44,920 Speaker 1: it right away, so we did. And that using the 271 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:47,480 Speaker 1: cherry smoke in it was an idea that came later 272 00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:51,520 Speaker 1: just as an interesting just I like smoky stuff, and 273 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:53,480 Speaker 1: you know, I think a lot of people like smoky stuff, 274 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:57,480 Speaker 1: and it's interesting. It's not the cheapest thing to do, 275 00:16:57,600 --> 00:16:59,960 Speaker 1: it's very it's actually that is actually the most expan 276 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:02,440 Speaker 1: some grain we use. It's about a dollar ten a 277 00:17:02,480 --> 00:17:07,200 Speaker 1: pound versus rise about fifty cents a pound, so it's 278 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:10,159 Speaker 1: more than twice as expensive as as rye. If we 279 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:12,040 Speaker 1: if we wanted to make stuff cheap, we'd make everything 280 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:16,159 Speaker 1: out of corn and then, you know whatever, that's not 281 00:17:16,200 --> 00:17:21,720 Speaker 1: what we do. So so the method Justin has devised 282 00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:26,360 Speaker 1: is basically combining the centuries old method of copper pots 283 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:30,280 Speaker 1: that single malt distillers have been using with traditional multiple 284 00:17:30,280 --> 00:17:32,880 Speaker 1: early single malts. So he combines that, but he wanted 285 00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:35,879 Speaker 1: to put the grains in there like bourbon distillers have 286 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:39,760 Speaker 1: been doing for however long now, where they leave the 287 00:17:39,760 --> 00:17:43,399 Speaker 1: grain solids in there from mashing through fermentation into the distillation. 288 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:48,120 Speaker 1: So it's kind of combining both of those centuries old 289 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:50,760 Speaker 1: methods to get the most most flavor we can out 290 00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:52,840 Speaker 1: of our system. And and what that requires is is 291 00:17:52,880 --> 00:17:55,840 Speaker 1: he mentioned an agitator earlier, UM, I don't know if 292 00:17:55,840 --> 00:17:58,600 Speaker 1: you touched on this. You did, okay, but you can 293 00:17:58,720 --> 00:18:00,639 Speaker 1: you can go on. You do a good job if 294 00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:04,880 Speaker 1: you're already discussing is I'm so yeah, I have Scottish ancestry, 295 00:18:04,880 --> 00:18:09,080 Speaker 1: so I'm kind of parsimonious at words. So so so 296 00:18:09,160 --> 00:18:11,320 Speaker 1: if I've gotten a Scottish, what what Chad's getting at it? 297 00:18:11,359 --> 00:18:13,640 Speaker 1: If if I've gotten a Scottish still, they build them 298 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:16,960 Speaker 1: with steam coles inside generally or cylinders, and that you 299 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:20,120 Speaker 1: can't put a mash in that because it'll scorch on that. 300 00:18:20,359 --> 00:18:22,800 Speaker 1: They also usually use a rummager instead of an agitator. 301 00:18:23,480 --> 00:18:27,160 Speaker 1: So although I love the foresyth stills, the Scottish steels 302 00:18:27,160 --> 00:18:31,040 Speaker 1: are beautiful, I needed kind of combined on equipment level. 303 00:18:31,720 --> 00:18:35,560 Speaker 1: I needed to kind of combine the Scottish and the 304 00:18:35,640 --> 00:18:39,240 Speaker 1: American pots still, so the Scottish. So if you look 305 00:18:39,280 --> 00:18:41,640 Speaker 1: at our stills, the top of them are like look 306 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:44,520 Speaker 1: just like a Scottish, the wash still looks like a 307 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:48,000 Speaker 1: Glenn Farkless head, and the spirit still looks like Glenn 308 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:53,439 Speaker 1: morenge hit. The bottom of them are vendome. Over the 309 00:18:53,520 --> 00:18:57,080 Speaker 1: years has developed stills that have a steam pan like 310 00:18:57,119 --> 00:18:59,280 Speaker 1: I was showing you all, with an agitator rather than 311 00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:02,040 Speaker 1: a full steam jacket. And as far as I know, 312 00:19:02,080 --> 00:19:03,720 Speaker 1: there's the only people that built them like that for 313 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:07,640 Speaker 1: many many years pot stills and so they kind of 314 00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:13,280 Speaker 1: combine those things based on my on my needs cool. Um, 315 00:19:13,480 --> 00:19:15,720 Speaker 1: what's your barrel process for the tire fire and does 316 00:19:15,760 --> 00:19:19,000 Speaker 1: it differ from what the traditional I was reading that 317 00:19:19,080 --> 00:19:21,359 Speaker 1: a lot of Scotch barreling is done in old like 318 00:19:21,400 --> 00:19:24,480 Speaker 1: a wine barrels, my Tierra barrels stuff? Right? That? Absolutely? Yeah, 319 00:19:24,480 --> 00:19:27,919 Speaker 1: so our barreling process is very different, partly based on 320 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:32,120 Speaker 1: laws in America. When they made the laws the regulations 321 00:19:32,560 --> 00:19:36,320 Speaker 1: UH for what what you could do with whiskey, the 322 00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:40,560 Speaker 1: Cooper's industry was very powerful and they wanted to make 323 00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:45,280 Speaker 1: sure nobody was reusing barrels. So generally in the US 324 00:19:45,359 --> 00:19:48,879 Speaker 1: were required to age things in new white oak barrels, 325 00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:51,040 Speaker 1: not in used barrels. Or if we want to use 326 00:19:51,080 --> 00:19:53,600 Speaker 1: to use barrels, we can't call it bourbon whiskey. We 327 00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:56,280 Speaker 1: have to call it whiskey distilled from bourbon mash, all 328 00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:59,360 Speaker 1: in the same size lettering, and it's not super feasible. 329 00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:03,200 Speaker 1: Sometimes there's some exceptions to that duality. For example, they 330 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:05,440 Speaker 1: approved of that to use both new and used barrels. 331 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:11,200 Speaker 1: A used barrel takes much longer to mature because it's 332 00:20:11,200 --> 00:20:14,560 Speaker 1: already been heavily extracted, so we we don't have ten 333 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:18,200 Speaker 1: to twelve years anyway, because we would not be here 334 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:21,440 Speaker 1: in ten twelve years. We need to sell whiskey, um, 335 00:20:21,480 --> 00:20:24,800 Speaker 1: so we're we're happy using new new barrels. So the 336 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:29,440 Speaker 1: tire fire mostly almost completely goes into new barrels. There's 337 00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:31,560 Speaker 1: a few us that I've employed, but for the most 338 00:20:31,560 --> 00:20:33,800 Speaker 1: part it goes into So that's very different than than 339 00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:38,960 Speaker 1: Scott's made uh peated whiskies, which are universally for the 340 00:20:38,960 --> 00:20:42,159 Speaker 1: most part going into either X bourbon barrels or X 341 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:46,720 Speaker 1: sherry sometimes port barrels. So what that allows me to 342 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:50,120 Speaker 1: do so Chad touched on the flavor drawl that I'm 343 00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:52,320 Speaker 1: that I'm getting by having the solids and through the 344 00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:56,639 Speaker 1: whole process. The historical reason to not do that was 345 00:20:56,680 --> 00:20:59,680 Speaker 1: that people thought that it would pull tenants into the 346 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:02,719 Speaker 1: spear from the grain. So that was part of what 347 00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:05,560 Speaker 1: my experiment was was to prove that that does not happen, 348 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:08,760 Speaker 1: that tennants do not distill over. I think I've adequately 349 00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:12,000 Speaker 1: proved that now I don't. Sometimes people just say things 350 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:16,040 Speaker 1: and it gets repeated and becomes, you know, the rule, 351 00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:19,120 Speaker 1: and it's just not necessarily you don't figure that out 352 00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:23,080 Speaker 1: unless you do it and try it. So by having 353 00:21:23,160 --> 00:21:26,920 Speaker 1: the grains through the through the entire process, I'm able 354 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:31,720 Speaker 1: to pull more malt flavor through the entire spirit run, 355 00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:36,320 Speaker 1: whereas generally your flavor concentrates more heavily at the beginning 356 00:21:36,320 --> 00:21:38,399 Speaker 1: and the end. And and part of the art of 357 00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:41,040 Speaker 1: distilling is in selecting how much of the heads the 358 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:44,200 Speaker 1: beginning and the tails the end of the second distillation 359 00:21:44,280 --> 00:21:47,240 Speaker 1: to keep to put into a barrel, and to put 360 00:21:47,240 --> 00:21:48,959 Speaker 1: in a barrel to and have it be good in 361 00:21:49,119 --> 00:21:52,240 Speaker 1: two years, you have to take a fairly narrow cut, 362 00:21:52,480 --> 00:21:55,520 Speaker 1: which is leaving out a lot of flavor. So what 363 00:21:55,640 --> 00:22:00,119 Speaker 1: my process does is have more flavor through the whole thing, 364 00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:03,399 Speaker 1: so I can take I don't take super narrow cuts, 365 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:06,000 Speaker 1: conservative cuts, especially with tire fire, because a lot of 366 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:09,479 Speaker 1: the smoke still comes out, especially in the tails. Um 367 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:15,000 Speaker 1: So but I can take slightly more discriminate portions of 368 00:22:15,040 --> 00:22:18,240 Speaker 1: the whiskey to put into a barrel, so that it 369 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:22,359 Speaker 1: doesn't really need five six years to just be pretty good. 370 00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:25,119 Speaker 1: It can be excellent in eighteen months or two years 371 00:22:25,320 --> 00:22:26,960 Speaker 1: in a new barrel. At least now in a used 372 00:22:26,960 --> 00:22:29,679 Speaker 1: barrel that would still be pushed out, you know, at 373 00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:32,000 Speaker 1: least a couple more years, just because there's not the 374 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:36,359 Speaker 1: extract of capability of the barrel anymore. That was a 375 00:22:36,359 --> 00:22:41,200 Speaker 1: long explanation to say that the tire fire aging process, 376 00:22:41,240 --> 00:22:46,320 Speaker 1: maturing maturation process is different both in the barrels that 377 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:49,439 Speaker 1: we're using and also in the amount of time that 378 00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:52,240 Speaker 1: it takes because of the my specific process in the 379 00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:56,119 Speaker 1: way that I make the whiskey cool. So we have 380 00:22:56,280 --> 00:22:58,840 Speaker 1: some more of this interview, but first we have a 381 00:22:58,880 --> 00:23:09,919 Speaker 1: quick break for which from sponsor and we're back. Thank you, spots. 382 00:23:10,240 --> 00:23:13,080 Speaker 1: Now let's get back into the interview. Annie, do you 383 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:15,880 Speaker 1: do you have anything over there? How did you get 384 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:21,440 Speaker 1: into this? Um? Well, I got interested in it, um 385 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:24,480 Speaker 1: as so my pot. I'm from Haroldson County, which is 386 00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:30,160 Speaker 1: about an hour northwest of Atlanta. And my pap all 387 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:33,000 Speaker 1: had been a whiskey maker to some degree and more 388 00:23:33,160 --> 00:23:36,320 Speaker 1: and also mainly, I think more a driver when he 389 00:23:36,359 --> 00:23:39,160 Speaker 1: was a young man. That was my pap, Paul Buck, 390 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:42,800 Speaker 1: and my granny Red made him quit um. She was Baptist, 391 00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:48,640 Speaker 1: and that you know. I didn't learn anything from him. 392 00:23:48,680 --> 00:23:51,960 Speaker 1: I just heard stories, mainly like from uncle's talking while 393 00:23:51,960 --> 00:23:54,399 Speaker 1: he was standing there, not talking because he didn't want 394 00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:59,760 Speaker 1: to get beat with something. Later a rolling pin um 395 00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:02,040 Speaker 1: and uh yeah, I mean so I was just I mean, 396 00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:04,600 Speaker 1: Granny re always kept a jar of of liquor in 397 00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:08,119 Speaker 1: the cupboard for coughs, so like me and my cousin 398 00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:12,720 Speaker 1: Josh would come in from hunting, like, oh, Granny, help 399 00:24:12,800 --> 00:24:17,879 Speaker 1: us out, get the jar out. Uh. So, I mean 400 00:24:17,920 --> 00:24:21,480 Speaker 1: I was interested in whiskey from a young age. She 401 00:24:21,640 --> 00:24:23,560 Speaker 1: never she never fell for that. I never saw her 402 00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:26,160 Speaker 1: drink it. She wouldn't even drink coke coola because it 403 00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:30,040 Speaker 1: burned her throat. She's gonna hunt me for saying that. 404 00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:34,199 Speaker 1: So yeah, so I kind of got interested in it 405 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:39,359 Speaker 1: just based on family history. And then right out of 406 00:24:39,440 --> 00:24:42,560 Speaker 1: high school, just decided to do it. And a friend's 407 00:24:42,640 --> 00:24:49,000 Speaker 1: dad let me use his barn to um, just experiment. 408 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:54,400 Speaker 1: Not extra legally, that doesn't mean very very legal. It 409 00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:57,119 Speaker 1: turns out I thought it was. I thought it was 410 00:24:57,320 --> 00:25:00,440 Speaker 1: very very legal to make whiskey at home. It turns 411 00:25:00,440 --> 00:25:08,600 Speaker 1: out extra legally means not legally. So uh, that was 412 00:25:08,680 --> 00:25:12,240 Speaker 1: not good. I wouldn't call it whiskey. Whatever I was 413 00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:15,560 Speaker 1: making was not very good, but it was okay enough 414 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:20,119 Speaker 1: to keep trying and experimenting. And I started so this 415 00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:22,680 Speaker 1: about two thousand and I started my dad started making 416 00:25:22,680 --> 00:25:25,920 Speaker 1: wine with his Italian neighbor. It was really bad wine, 417 00:25:26,000 --> 00:25:28,960 Speaker 1: so I was kind of started helping them and we 418 00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:31,359 Speaker 1: started getting grapes shipped in from California and I learned 419 00:25:31,359 --> 00:25:34,439 Speaker 1: a lot about it. And then I started making beer, 420 00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:38,080 Speaker 1: and then I opened homebrew shop. The old homebrew shop 421 00:25:38,119 --> 00:25:40,080 Speaker 1: that I worked out in Athens went out of business 422 00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:43,879 Speaker 1: my last semester at college, so then I opened my 423 00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:47,879 Speaker 1: own homebrew shop, which more or less was just a 424 00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:50,120 Speaker 1: way to be able to make as much i'll call 425 00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:51,760 Speaker 1: as I wanted, because it didn't, you know, it didn't 426 00:25:51,800 --> 00:25:55,120 Speaker 1: make a lot of money. Uh. And I was part 427 00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:57,199 Speaker 1: of the d I Y punk scene in Athens, so 428 00:25:57,240 --> 00:25:59,640 Speaker 1: that kind of went hand in hand. And then at 429 00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:04,440 Speaker 1: some point early maybe two thousand and four, two thousand three, 430 00:26:04,440 --> 00:26:07,600 Speaker 1: when I started making all grain beer not from extract, 431 00:26:08,040 --> 00:26:12,879 Speaker 1: I realized that I was making the basis of the 432 00:26:12,880 --> 00:26:14,679 Speaker 1: whiskey is that I like to drink, and at that 433 00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:19,360 Speaker 1: point I had come to like Scottish single malts. Around 434 00:26:19,359 --> 00:26:21,480 Speaker 1: then I started trying to make trying to up my 435 00:26:21,600 --> 00:26:25,840 Speaker 1: distilling game and figure out how to do it better. 436 00:26:26,320 --> 00:26:29,960 Speaker 1: There's not distilling is not like brewing, where there's a 437 00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:35,200 Speaker 1: codified and well known methodology. I kind of learned through 438 00:26:35,280 --> 00:26:39,200 Speaker 1: trial and error, poured out a lot of stuff and 439 00:26:39,359 --> 00:26:42,320 Speaker 1: just just figured it out as I went, which is 440 00:26:42,359 --> 00:26:44,760 Speaker 1: how you know, a lot of distillers figured out because 441 00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:46,639 Speaker 1: like I said, there's just there's not one way to 442 00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:48,800 Speaker 1: do it. Brewing has been the same for a hundred 443 00:26:48,840 --> 00:26:52,560 Speaker 1: years since the Industrial Revolution with very very few changes, 444 00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:57,520 Speaker 1: and distilling is still basically an individual pursuit. Bourbon maybe 445 00:26:57,560 --> 00:26:59,840 Speaker 1: all made the same way for the most part in Kentucky, 446 00:27:00,240 --> 00:27:02,439 Speaker 1: but it's it's very like if you learn how to 447 00:27:02,440 --> 00:27:05,719 Speaker 1: make bourbon in Kentucky, you cannot go make whiskey in 448 00:27:05,880 --> 00:27:10,920 Speaker 1: Scotland or Taiwan or Japan or at a sw distillery 449 00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:13,000 Speaker 1: because that's not how we make we don't. It's very 450 00:27:13,119 --> 00:27:17,440 Speaker 1: It's just a very different process, very different equipment. So 451 00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:20,679 Speaker 1: I basically taught myself how to how to do it, 452 00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:24,359 Speaker 1: how to make good stuff, and started buying five gallon 453 00:27:24,400 --> 00:27:27,119 Speaker 1: barrels and aging it. I never sold anything, or it 454 00:27:27,200 --> 00:27:29,920 Speaker 1: wasn't I wasn't that extra legal. I just was basically 455 00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:32,720 Speaker 1: making it to learn how to do it, and um 456 00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:36,679 Speaker 1: to drink it and share it. Um and the batches 457 00:27:36,720 --> 00:27:38,600 Speaker 1: that you poured out. Is that a up, Missim for 458 00:27:38,640 --> 00:27:41,520 Speaker 1: saying you gave them to punks? Punks poured it out 459 00:27:42,080 --> 00:27:47,520 Speaker 1: into punk's mouth and yeah. And then I sold the 460 00:27:47,560 --> 00:27:51,639 Speaker 1: Bruce Shop and a couple of years later started working 461 00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:55,280 Speaker 1: with Jim and Charlie too. Actually, I went to high 462 00:27:55,320 --> 00:27:58,920 Speaker 1: school with Jim's sister Joy. She's been a pretty good 463 00:27:58,920 --> 00:28:01,960 Speaker 1: friend of mine since middle school. I guess when my 464 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:05,200 Speaker 1: family moved to Athens and Jim went to school with 465 00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:07,360 Speaker 1: my high school with my sister, who's five years older 466 00:28:07,359 --> 00:28:10,320 Speaker 1: than me. His age and so Joey said, oh, you've 467 00:28:10,320 --> 00:28:13,320 Speaker 1: got it. When they started American Spirit whiskey and we're 468 00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:15,919 Speaker 1: talking about opening a distillery, she said, oh, you've got 469 00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:18,720 Speaker 1: to try my friend Justin's whiskey. It's really good. And 470 00:28:18,760 --> 00:28:22,120 Speaker 1: they're like, yeah, sure, Joy, your friend Justin makes really 471 00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:27,879 Speaker 1: good whiskey. I bet um. So we uh they asked 472 00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:29,600 Speaker 1: me to you know, we talked on the phone once 473 00:28:29,640 --> 00:28:31,560 Speaker 1: and then I drove to Atlanta for my first time 474 00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:35,280 Speaker 1: in Atlanta. Uh. Not a big city person. I get 475 00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:38,200 Speaker 1: confused by Rhodes and I don't like phones, so I 476 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:41,160 Speaker 1: don't have the maps and stuff on my phone. I 477 00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:44,840 Speaker 1: just I know how to get here. That's it, um, 478 00:28:44,960 --> 00:28:47,520 Speaker 1: And I can get through Atlanta to go to Harrelson County. 479 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:50,280 Speaker 1: I do like Atlanta, though, I just can't navigate it 480 00:28:50,440 --> 00:28:52,360 Speaker 1: because there's no creeks, Like, how do you know where 481 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:54,400 Speaker 1: you're at when you don't when you can't see a 482 00:28:54,440 --> 00:28:57,520 Speaker 1: creek or a river anywhere? Well, the sun is always 483 00:28:57,520 --> 00:29:01,120 Speaker 1: included by small It's very it's a very difficult place 484 00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:04,680 Speaker 1: to navigate anyway. Yeah, So I brought them a bottle 485 00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:07,120 Speaker 1: and they tasted it. It It was actually the Americanic basically 486 00:29:07,160 --> 00:29:10,960 Speaker 1: exactly what's in the Americanic bottle, uh, same mash bill. 487 00:29:11,360 --> 00:29:14,160 Speaker 1: They tasted it, and we went from there and it 488 00:29:14,240 --> 00:29:16,040 Speaker 1: took a long time, but we finally got this place 489 00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:18,880 Speaker 1: running and and then they let me just kind of 490 00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:24,040 Speaker 1: do what I want so far, yep, And that's does it? 491 00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:26,680 Speaker 1: How about to you? How did you get into all this? 492 00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:31,800 Speaker 1: I was working at a software company in Midtown and 493 00:29:31,960 --> 00:29:35,840 Speaker 1: love to drink so um. I was trying to build 494 00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:40,680 Speaker 1: sales software for craft breweries, and all the ones that 495 00:29:40,720 --> 00:29:44,480 Speaker 1: I talked to, not name any names, said they really 496 00:29:44,520 --> 00:29:46,080 Speaker 1: like the concept. They just didn't have any money to 497 00:29:46,120 --> 00:29:49,440 Speaker 1: pay for it, which, in hindsight, I think means they 498 00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:51,080 Speaker 1: didn't like the concept that much. They were just a 499 00:29:51,080 --> 00:29:54,120 Speaker 1: little too nice to say it. And so in trying 500 00:29:54,160 --> 00:29:58,360 Speaker 1: to find my first paying customer, I kept asking all 501 00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:02,360 Speaker 1: sorts of different folks, you know, cheesemakers and winemakers, and 502 00:30:02,560 --> 00:30:06,840 Speaker 1: Uh ended up emailing Jim different your life would be 503 00:30:07,080 --> 00:30:15,040 Speaker 1: if the cheesemakers had taken you up. And Jim was 504 00:30:15,680 --> 00:30:19,960 Speaker 1: intrigued enough by the concept to say, once you come, Uh, 505 00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:22,719 Speaker 1: sit down, sit down with me and we'll talk. And 506 00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:25,480 Speaker 1: so this building that we're sitting in at the time 507 00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:29,560 Speaker 1: was it's the old Mason Muror art gallery. But at 508 00:30:29,560 --> 00:30:32,239 Speaker 1: the time Mason Mirror all of their art installations had 509 00:30:32,280 --> 00:30:35,560 Speaker 1: been cleared out and this was just a concrete shell. 510 00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:38,680 Speaker 1: It was more or less like a bunker, right, And 511 00:30:38,760 --> 00:30:42,040 Speaker 1: so the one piece of furniture in the whole building 512 00:30:42,200 --> 00:30:45,920 Speaker 1: was there's a supply closet on the total opposite end 513 00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:47,719 Speaker 1: of the building. And so he and I sat in 514 00:30:47,760 --> 00:30:50,400 Speaker 1: there and had a good conversation for about an hour, 515 00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:54,600 Speaker 1: and they were about to raise money to afford this 516 00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:57,480 Speaker 1: whole thing. And when he told me about I assumed 517 00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:00,520 Speaker 1: that meant in the next six weeks, not six months later. Um, 518 00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:03,880 Speaker 1: But so I. I wouldn't say I was hoodwinked into 519 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:08,239 Speaker 1: joining for basically peanuts for the first six months, but 520 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:11,440 Speaker 1: it borders on that, I would say. And um, so 521 00:31:12,640 --> 00:31:15,000 Speaker 1: Justin had had joined, and so he and I met 522 00:31:15,080 --> 00:31:17,760 Speaker 1: for the first time at an event here. The first 523 00:31:17,760 --> 00:31:20,360 Speaker 1: time I came in this building, it was still the 524 00:31:20,440 --> 00:31:23,160 Speaker 1: art gallery and there was still pictures on the wall 525 00:31:23,320 --> 00:31:25,360 Speaker 1: and the Mason mirror was here. And he was like, 526 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:28,560 Speaker 1: who the for y'all? And we were like, oh, we're 527 00:31:28,920 --> 00:31:32,719 Speaker 1: stealing your facility. He was like, it was a very 528 00:31:32,720 --> 00:31:35,040 Speaker 1: big deal. We didn't. We didn't. We did not acquire 529 00:31:35,080 --> 00:31:39,120 Speaker 1: this by theft. Oh yeah, but you know, I'm sorry, 530 00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:50,320 Speaker 1: you can just do it was extraly very fairly. So 531 00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:53,720 Speaker 1: that's uh. And then and then joined the team. And 532 00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:57,360 Speaker 1: after the races ever since, it's been a race, that's 533 00:31:57,400 --> 00:32:02,360 Speaker 1: for sure. Sure. Has I'm winded. Do y'all do any 534 00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:06,720 Speaker 1: collaboration with with other makers of cool stuff around town? Yeah? 535 00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:11,080 Speaker 1: We have the Monday Night Whiskey. That was a mash 536 00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:16,280 Speaker 1: that that Peter and Adam made over were washed, they 537 00:32:16,280 --> 00:32:18,920 Speaker 1: made over there and fermented over there, then brought to 538 00:32:18,960 --> 00:32:22,000 Speaker 1: me and I distilled it. So we're on our second, 539 00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:25,440 Speaker 1: I think I made nine or ten barrels of that 540 00:32:25,680 --> 00:32:28,360 Speaker 1: the first year, and now we're on our second making 541 00:32:28,400 --> 00:32:31,240 Speaker 1: of that UM which I think we have maybe eighteen 542 00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:34,920 Speaker 1: or twenty barrels more So that's been a pretty big collaboration. 543 00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:38,480 Speaker 1: And then we one thing that we helps us stay 544 00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:42,920 Speaker 1: alive is that because of the boom and barrel use 545 00:32:43,040 --> 00:32:46,720 Speaker 1: by breweries, were able to actually sell our barrels for 546 00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:48,800 Speaker 1: not too much less than we pay for them. We're 547 00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:52,360 Speaker 1: actually adding value to them, whereas ten years ago you 548 00:32:52,520 --> 00:32:54,600 Speaker 1: just kind of like you got fifty bucks for when 549 00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:57,800 Speaker 1: you were lucky if you could, um, you can shake 550 00:32:57,840 --> 00:32:59,960 Speaker 1: them down and send them to Scotland and get about 551 00:33:00,040 --> 00:33:03,600 Speaker 1: that much. So now we're able to recoup a lot 552 00:33:03,640 --> 00:33:05,680 Speaker 1: of that, which is a huge expense for us that 553 00:33:05,840 --> 00:33:09,040 Speaker 1: just the barrels are about two hundred bucks apiece, So 554 00:33:09,080 --> 00:33:12,400 Speaker 1: we do a lot of collaborations on that front. We 555 00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:17,680 Speaker 1: have all the breweries are so pushed for volume right now, 556 00:33:17,680 --> 00:33:19,960 Speaker 1: they don't have the ferment or space or the person 557 00:33:20,040 --> 00:33:25,960 Speaker 1: power to really devote to more elaborate collaborations like we 558 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:28,520 Speaker 1: did with Monday Night. Although we we have tried to, 559 00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:30,960 Speaker 1: We want to, and lots of them want to it's 560 00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:34,600 Speaker 1: just figuring it out as it's Yeah, it's hard, but 561 00:33:34,640 --> 00:33:36,440 Speaker 1: the barrel programs have been good, and we we do 562 00:33:36,520 --> 00:33:39,040 Speaker 1: kind of um what do y'all call it? The dram 563 00:33:39,440 --> 00:33:44,280 Speaker 1: the draft and drama combo were kind of pair a 564 00:33:44,320 --> 00:33:47,800 Speaker 1: whiskey with a beer that mainly Chad Or and Josh 565 00:33:47,880 --> 00:33:50,840 Speaker 1: think would go well together. Um Orpheus has done one. 566 00:33:50,920 --> 00:33:53,360 Speaker 1: I think we're doing another somewhere. Yeah, we've got one 567 00:33:53,400 --> 00:33:56,720 Speaker 1: down in South Georgia, Praetoria Fields, which is an old 568 00:33:56,760 --> 00:34:01,280 Speaker 1: brewer from Russian River out in California. There's a pretty 569 00:34:01,320 --> 00:34:05,160 Speaker 1: what would you call it beer of lore called Plenty 570 00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:08,600 Speaker 1: of the Elder. Um, so that's Russian River. One of 571 00:34:08,640 --> 00:34:12,240 Speaker 1: their brewers has started a brewery in all Bandy, Georgia, 572 00:34:12,360 --> 00:34:15,000 Speaker 1: of all places. Um. And so we've we've got a 573 00:34:15,040 --> 00:34:17,880 Speaker 1: little draft and dram combo with them. They're there breweries 574 00:34:17,880 --> 00:34:21,240 Speaker 1: called Pratoria Fields. We compare it with our Fiddler Bourbon. 575 00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:25,480 Speaker 1: We call it Fiddland in the Fields as the combo. Yeah, 576 00:34:25,520 --> 00:34:28,399 Speaker 1: and and we have some other small projects and work, 577 00:34:28,920 --> 00:34:32,160 Speaker 1: but uh, for the most part, we're kind of hunkered down, 578 00:34:32,239 --> 00:34:34,680 Speaker 1: just trying to keep up with demand. So just we're 579 00:34:34,719 --> 00:34:37,920 Speaker 1: kind of in the same boat as the as the breweries. 580 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:40,759 Speaker 1: We've tried to work with a winery to try to 581 00:34:40,800 --> 00:34:44,200 Speaker 1: do some wine finished whiskeys, but haven't quite made that 582 00:34:44,239 --> 00:34:46,640 Speaker 1: happen yet. But yeah, we're looking looking to do some 583 00:34:46,640 --> 00:34:50,359 Speaker 1: more collaborations and and and Chad, like I said, his 584 00:34:50,440 --> 00:34:53,640 Speaker 1: job is not making labels. It was not part of 585 00:34:53,719 --> 00:34:58,480 Speaker 1: his actual purview. So we're all pretty pushed for what 586 00:34:58,520 --> 00:35:00,920 Speaker 1: we can get done. But we gotta do some more collaborations. 587 00:35:00,920 --> 00:35:03,560 Speaker 1: And we know that where did the wise for any listeners, 588 00:35:04,200 --> 00:35:06,239 Speaker 1: If you don't know how to make labels, don't try 589 00:35:06,239 --> 00:35:11,560 Speaker 1: to teach yourself. That's really really miserable. The payoff has 590 00:35:11,560 --> 00:35:14,640 Speaker 1: been pretty huge though takes hundreds of hours. Don't do 591 00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:19,160 Speaker 1: There is even more interview for you, but first there's 592 00:35:19,239 --> 00:35:21,160 Speaker 1: one more quick break for a word from our sponsor, 593 00:35:30,080 --> 00:35:32,960 Speaker 1: and we're back. Thank you sponsor, and back to the interview. 594 00:35:34,040 --> 00:35:35,680 Speaker 1: How much are you guys producing? How much did you 595 00:35:35,680 --> 00:35:40,120 Speaker 1: start producing? Versus? Uh? So we started production here, I 596 00:35:40,200 --> 00:35:43,400 Speaker 1: was making two matches a week in one day and 597 00:35:43,400 --> 00:35:46,400 Speaker 1: then distilling that in two days over the course of 598 00:35:46,400 --> 00:35:49,600 Speaker 1: two days. So we were making four barrels a week 599 00:35:49,800 --> 00:35:52,680 Speaker 1: for the first year, and then we doubled that. We 600 00:35:52,719 --> 00:35:55,560 Speaker 1: added some fermenters, and then and Drake, my friend who 601 00:35:55,640 --> 00:35:58,320 Speaker 1: started brewing at my brew shop that I had and 602 00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:01,040 Speaker 1: then went on to work at Stone out with and 603 00:36:01,120 --> 00:36:05,319 Speaker 1: awesome other breweries. He came on board in January so 604 00:36:05,400 --> 00:36:07,880 Speaker 1: that we could he can he makes four mashes a 605 00:36:07,880 --> 00:36:09,880 Speaker 1: week and I used distill four mashes a week. So 606 00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:11,680 Speaker 1: now we're up to eight barrels, which is about four 607 00:36:11,719 --> 00:36:15,200 Speaker 1: hundred barrels a year, and that is close to full production. 608 00:36:15,560 --> 00:36:17,120 Speaker 1: That might not sound like a lot, but there are 609 00:36:17,120 --> 00:36:21,480 Speaker 1: about three or so bottles per barrel, so that's yeah, 610 00:36:21,520 --> 00:36:24,840 Speaker 1: it's bottles. And we're the largest distillery in Georgia. But 611 00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:28,440 Speaker 1: you know, a big, a big factory in Kentucky is 612 00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:32,400 Speaker 1: making three hunter barrels in a week, so we're still 613 00:36:32,520 --> 00:36:37,799 Speaker 1: it's we're very small comparatively. Why did the distillery set 614 00:36:37,840 --> 00:36:43,200 Speaker 1: up in in Georgia and Atlanta specifically, Um, Well, Jim 615 00:36:43,239 --> 00:36:47,160 Speaker 1: and Charlie both live in Atlanta and love Atlanta. Atlanta 616 00:36:47,200 --> 00:36:52,840 Speaker 1: is awesome, has a great spirits culture, cocktail culture, uh 617 00:36:52,880 --> 00:36:56,239 Speaker 1: and and other parts of Georgia do as well. It 618 00:36:56,360 --> 00:37:00,160 Speaker 1: had it has not been served by a local key 619 00:37:00,200 --> 00:37:04,400 Speaker 1: distillery yet until us so I mean I think it 620 00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:09,919 Speaker 1: was more because they are Atlantans as his Chad than 621 00:37:10,600 --> 00:37:13,759 Speaker 1: anything else. I mean, it's just there. It's their town. Yeah, 622 00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:16,440 Speaker 1: and they love it, and I mean we all love it. 623 00:37:16,480 --> 00:37:19,000 Speaker 1: But it doesn't hurt that there was not someone else 624 00:37:19,040 --> 00:37:25,799 Speaker 1: doing it already. Uh yeah, like Nashville's got three two 625 00:37:25,880 --> 00:37:28,200 Speaker 1: or three and it's smaller than Atlanta, and there was 626 00:37:28,239 --> 00:37:31,080 Speaker 1: no whiskey distillery here, so someone was gonna do it. 627 00:37:32,040 --> 00:37:35,239 Speaker 1: We just did it and did it really well. One 628 00:37:35,239 --> 00:37:38,359 Speaker 1: more process question. How do you pick out your your 629 00:37:38,360 --> 00:37:40,480 Speaker 1: grains and your yeasts for the different things that you do, 630 00:37:40,560 --> 00:37:43,160 Speaker 1: to use the same yeast for everything or we use 631 00:37:43,200 --> 00:37:45,640 Speaker 1: a couple of different yeast. We use a I use 632 00:37:45,680 --> 00:37:48,200 Speaker 1: a distiller's active dry yeast, which is a very basic 633 00:37:48,280 --> 00:37:51,480 Speaker 1: yeast for some things. Um, and then I use a 634 00:37:51,560 --> 00:37:55,480 Speaker 1: whiskey yeast, which is basically bourbon yeast for some things 635 00:37:55,520 --> 00:37:58,080 Speaker 1: and some things have both duality and resurgence. Both actually 636 00:37:58,200 --> 00:38:01,319 Speaker 1: use both yeasts. Um. Just I found that that it 637 00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:06,160 Speaker 1: to be more complex. Um. We use a Salomnia blancieast 638 00:38:06,160 --> 00:38:08,360 Speaker 1: for the apple brandy, but that's basically. We don't do 639 00:38:08,400 --> 00:38:13,919 Speaker 1: a lot of yeast ferment for yeast experimentation, because it's 640 00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:17,240 Speaker 1: the way that yeast works is that the constituent flavors 641 00:38:17,239 --> 00:38:22,239 Speaker 1: that are produced in the distillate from the yeast breakdown 642 00:38:22,880 --> 00:38:25,480 Speaker 1: over time, and so I don't really know what that 643 00:38:25,600 --> 00:38:29,000 Speaker 1: the difference the yeast is gonna do. I might not 644 00:38:29,080 --> 00:38:32,440 Speaker 1: know that for three years, minimum two years, or you know, 645 00:38:32,719 --> 00:38:36,240 Speaker 1: three or four more likely. So if I if I 646 00:38:36,320 --> 00:38:38,360 Speaker 1: changed to a different yeast and I end up not 647 00:38:38,480 --> 00:38:41,160 Speaker 1: liking it, I have just used it for three years. 648 00:38:41,160 --> 00:38:45,640 Speaker 1: So with grain, I can do a lot of grain experimentation. UM, 649 00:38:45,680 --> 00:38:49,719 Speaker 1: And it's much more immediately evident what has happened, uh, 650 00:38:49,800 --> 00:38:52,439 Speaker 1: and how it's going to age, and I can tell 651 00:38:52,520 --> 00:38:55,160 Speaker 1: and you know this. This first batch of tire Fire 652 00:38:55,320 --> 00:38:57,879 Speaker 1: was basically a test batch, and I knew after three 653 00:38:57,920 --> 00:39:00,200 Speaker 1: months I could taste this is awesome. We're gonna do this, 654 00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:04,360 Speaker 1: put it into our regular product lineup. If I had 655 00:39:04,680 --> 00:39:07,719 Speaker 1: done it with a completely different yeast, then I may 656 00:39:07,760 --> 00:39:10,160 Speaker 1: still not know. UM. So we don't use a lot 657 00:39:10,239 --> 00:39:12,439 Speaker 1: of different yeasts. A lot of breweries don't now either. 658 00:39:12,480 --> 00:39:16,359 Speaker 1: When I when I was learning in the brewing world, 659 00:39:17,320 --> 00:39:19,240 Speaker 1: a lot of breweries did have a lot of different 660 00:39:19,239 --> 00:39:21,840 Speaker 1: strains they used. And now it's gone to more house 661 00:39:21,880 --> 00:39:24,520 Speaker 1: strains just for ease, and they may have a few 662 00:39:24,560 --> 00:39:27,279 Speaker 1: separate a few different things they use, and maybe a 663 00:39:27,320 --> 00:39:31,120 Speaker 1: sour program. But for the most part that's kind of 664 00:39:31,239 --> 00:39:34,680 Speaker 1: simplified through throughout the industry. And then with grains, as 665 00:39:34,680 --> 00:39:37,640 Speaker 1: far as choosing, I just I just kind of make 666 00:39:37,800 --> 00:39:39,880 Speaker 1: just kind of think about it and make it up, 667 00:39:41,920 --> 00:39:44,120 Speaker 1: you know. I just because I owned a homebrew shop, 668 00:39:44,200 --> 00:39:47,400 Speaker 1: I know all the grains that are out there. I 669 00:39:47,440 --> 00:39:48,920 Speaker 1: certainly don't know all the hops that are out there 670 00:39:48,960 --> 00:39:51,640 Speaker 1: now because they keep inventing new hops, keep breeding new 671 00:39:51,640 --> 00:39:55,760 Speaker 1: hops every two months. But for for grains that i've 672 00:39:56,040 --> 00:39:58,640 Speaker 1: I've spent fifteen years with them, and I know what 673 00:39:58,680 --> 00:40:01,799 Speaker 1: they all do in beer, whiskey, both, So you know, 674 00:40:01,800 --> 00:40:04,840 Speaker 1: I basically just figure out what I want to do 675 00:40:04,920 --> 00:40:08,120 Speaker 1: in my mind and then do it. Yeah, you know, 676 00:40:08,200 --> 00:40:10,040 Speaker 1: you still have to test it, and we do all 677 00:40:10,080 --> 00:40:13,359 Speaker 1: all our testing is unfull. The least I can make 678 00:40:13,400 --> 00:40:16,560 Speaker 1: is three barrels, so I just I have to kind 679 00:40:16,560 --> 00:40:18,440 Speaker 1: of be pretty sure it's gonna be good before I 680 00:40:18,480 --> 00:40:21,480 Speaker 1: do something. So far and messed up, except we did 681 00:40:21,520 --> 00:40:23,799 Speaker 1: put a barrel of the surgeons. We moved into a 682 00:40:23,880 --> 00:40:28,399 Speaker 1: Sharry barrel and that is not good. It's terrible. So 683 00:40:28,440 --> 00:40:31,279 Speaker 1: that will probably never be released. I keep putting it 684 00:40:31,320 --> 00:40:34,160 Speaker 1: on our projection projected bottling. He's like, oh, yeah, we'll 685 00:40:34,200 --> 00:40:37,160 Speaker 1: release that next year, and then we taste it and 686 00:40:37,200 --> 00:40:41,000 Speaker 1: we're like no, never. You know you're gonna have something 687 00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:48,279 Speaker 1: age twenty five years. I'm like right there that there 688 00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:55,800 Speaker 1: could be three bottles. Yeah, but the port, the resurgeons 689 00:40:55,840 --> 00:40:58,960 Speaker 1: Port finish came out great, so yeah, we'll probably do 690 00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:03,080 Speaker 1: that again. Anything you have on the horizon that you're 691 00:41:03,080 --> 00:41:06,680 Speaker 1: excited about, any new things projects. So we have the 692 00:41:06,880 --> 00:41:12,240 Speaker 1: Druid Hill, which is after many many attempts at naming 693 00:41:12,239 --> 00:41:16,040 Speaker 1: our Irish style our peer Pots Steal style whiskey, that 694 00:41:16,200 --> 00:41:18,359 Speaker 1: is what was not taken that we were not gonna 695 00:41:18,360 --> 00:41:21,920 Speaker 1: get sued for using. Uh and I love I love 696 00:41:21,960 --> 00:41:24,200 Speaker 1: the name anyway. But um so we got that coming 697 00:41:24,200 --> 00:41:26,080 Speaker 1: out in a couple of weeks and that will also 698 00:41:26,200 --> 00:41:30,000 Speaker 1: be a permanent addition to the product line, although not 699 00:41:30,160 --> 00:41:33,000 Speaker 1: for about ten months because that that was also a 700 00:41:33,040 --> 00:41:36,319 Speaker 1: test batch and that's made from unmolted barley in the 701 00:41:36,320 --> 00:41:39,080 Speaker 1: pure pots Steal style. So in Ireland, the English made 702 00:41:39,080 --> 00:41:42,520 Speaker 1: attacks two hundred years ago or so, on malt. So 703 00:41:42,560 --> 00:41:45,120 Speaker 1: the Irish were like, well, let's see how much unmalted 704 00:41:45,160 --> 00:41:47,160 Speaker 1: barley we can use and still make good whiskey. And 705 00:41:47,200 --> 00:41:51,080 Speaker 1: it turns out it's about um so I used. So 706 00:41:51,120 --> 00:41:52,920 Speaker 1: they started doing that and I started and so I 707 00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:56,600 Speaker 1: used thirty percent unmalted barley and then from the Lochran's 708 00:41:56,880 --> 00:42:00,640 Speaker 1: um small family farm and maltster I'll telling you about. 709 00:42:00,640 --> 00:42:03,520 Speaker 1: And James will actually be here at the release of 710 00:42:03,560 --> 00:42:06,160 Speaker 1: that here in a couple of weeks. And that's also 711 00:42:06,239 --> 00:42:11,360 Speaker 1: triple distilled, which is very cool and a lot of 712 00:42:11,400 --> 00:42:17,680 Speaker 1: extra work, but it says triple distilled on it. And 713 00:42:17,800 --> 00:42:20,279 Speaker 1: let's see what else we have another So Americanic is 714 00:42:20,320 --> 00:42:23,279 Speaker 1: a series of single malts, and we have another of 715 00:42:23,320 --> 00:42:27,600 Speaker 1: those coming out sometime probably November, and then that's I 716 00:42:27,640 --> 00:42:29,839 Speaker 1: think that's about it for this year, and then next 717 00:42:29,920 --> 00:42:32,919 Speaker 1: year we have our our pure pot Steel Bourbon coming 718 00:42:32,920 --> 00:42:37,520 Speaker 1: out in April or so, and probably some Mothers and 719 00:42:37,600 --> 00:42:41,200 Speaker 1: some other single malts as well. When you're calling these 720 00:42:41,200 --> 00:42:45,080 Speaker 1: places that do these specialty malts and grains and stuff, 721 00:42:45,120 --> 00:42:47,080 Speaker 1: have have you ever had anyone go like, yes, you'll 722 00:42:47,080 --> 00:42:51,600 Speaker 1: shut that to you what you're enjoying here and where? Yeah, 723 00:42:51,640 --> 00:42:57,080 Speaker 1: I think so I'm the probably not explicitly but imply, yeah, 724 00:42:57,200 --> 00:43:01,279 Speaker 1: we're I'm actually the largest distillery customer for Country Mall, 725 00:43:01,320 --> 00:43:04,520 Speaker 1: which is the main multi supplier east of the Mississippi, 726 00:43:04,560 --> 00:43:07,799 Speaker 1: because not very many places they are making some malt 727 00:43:07,800 --> 00:43:12,640 Speaker 1: whiskey is they're mostly east of the Mississippi making bourbons. 728 00:43:12,840 --> 00:43:15,839 Speaker 1: For the most part. Out on the West coast, that's 729 00:43:15,840 --> 00:43:18,799 Speaker 1: not the case California, Oregon, Washington have a lot of 730 00:43:18,840 --> 00:43:21,879 Speaker 1: in Texas as well has a couple of big malt 731 00:43:21,880 --> 00:43:27,319 Speaker 1: whiskey makers, and Colorado as well. So yeah, I think 732 00:43:27,360 --> 00:43:30,200 Speaker 1: some people are surprised we're doing this in Georgia. It's 733 00:43:30,239 --> 00:43:33,279 Speaker 1: kind of a big extreme step as far as going 734 00:43:33,360 --> 00:43:37,840 Speaker 1: from no distilleries in Georgia, no whiskey distilleries in Georgia, 735 00:43:37,880 --> 00:43:43,120 Speaker 1: essentially to a pretty extreme experiment. You know. Usually you'd 736 00:43:43,120 --> 00:43:46,680 Speaker 1: have some kind of intermediary where you'd have just a 737 00:43:46,680 --> 00:43:49,239 Speaker 1: basic bourbon distillery or something, and we, of course we 738 00:43:49,440 --> 00:43:52,399 Speaker 1: make bourbon, but we kinda and I think I kind 739 00:43:52,400 --> 00:43:54,960 Speaker 1: of pushed that, pushed us that way, as did Chad, 740 00:43:55,000 --> 00:43:58,280 Speaker 1: just to be more craft. Just everybody is so jaded 741 00:43:59,120 --> 00:44:03,440 Speaker 1: kind of by distilleries kind of doing the same thing 742 00:44:03,560 --> 00:44:07,520 Speaker 1: over and over, um that we wanted to really kind 743 00:44:07,520 --> 00:44:10,600 Speaker 1: of flex our craft so that we could, you know, 744 00:44:11,680 --> 00:44:14,440 Speaker 1: just show that we're real and doing real cool things, 745 00:44:14,719 --> 00:44:18,919 Speaker 1: get people interested, um and just interested in spirits, because 746 00:44:18,960 --> 00:44:20,840 Speaker 1: if you just make the same thing all the time, 747 00:44:22,320 --> 00:44:24,799 Speaker 1: then people are not. It's only so excited you can 748 00:44:24,800 --> 00:44:28,600 Speaker 1: get about a company that a craft distillery that crafts 749 00:44:29,239 --> 00:44:33,480 Speaker 1: maybe crafts one thing non and you know it's it's 750 00:44:33,480 --> 00:44:35,360 Speaker 1: just or maybe they put it in a different barrel 751 00:44:35,440 --> 00:44:39,520 Speaker 1: sometimes or something. But the reason that craft beer exploded 752 00:44:40,000 --> 00:44:44,160 Speaker 1: in America is not because they were making the same 753 00:44:44,200 --> 00:44:47,480 Speaker 1: thing all the time that that sold well, that was 754 00:44:48,239 --> 00:44:51,480 Speaker 1: just the regular run of the mill product. They did 755 00:44:51,800 --> 00:44:56,520 Speaker 1: cool interesting things or tapped into history to do historical things. 756 00:44:58,640 --> 00:45:02,080 Speaker 1: Uh So yeah, I think we do get a little 757 00:45:02,120 --> 00:45:05,160 Speaker 1: surprised sometimes that we're in Georgia. Certainly when we the 758 00:45:05,200 --> 00:45:09,239 Speaker 1: only other distillery that did it was kind of on 759 00:45:09,320 --> 00:45:12,480 Speaker 1: par with us in the San Francisco World Spirits competition 760 00:45:12,600 --> 00:45:18,560 Speaker 1: was Balcones in Texas. Chattanooga did pretty well as well, 761 00:45:18,600 --> 00:45:21,280 Speaker 1: but for the most part we were in the top, 762 00:45:21,560 --> 00:45:25,080 Speaker 1: at the very top. So I think probably people look 763 00:45:25,120 --> 00:45:28,319 Speaker 1: at that and say, what where you know, it's people 764 00:45:28,320 --> 00:45:31,160 Speaker 1: are used to that happening in San Francisco and Portland 765 00:45:31,239 --> 00:45:37,200 Speaker 1: and Seattle, New York and now in Atlanta. This brings 766 00:45:37,280 --> 00:45:41,239 Speaker 1: us to the end of this our interview. Um, it was, 767 00:45:41,880 --> 00:45:44,480 Speaker 1: I've since we started doing this show, I've just been 768 00:45:44,520 --> 00:45:48,719 Speaker 1: so halfily surprised and astounded by how giving everyone is. 769 00:45:49,000 --> 00:45:53,080 Speaker 1: Oh yeah, just amazing generosity from from folks. And I mean, 770 00:45:53,120 --> 00:45:54,880 Speaker 1: you know, like like they're they're trying to sell some 771 00:45:54,920 --> 00:45:58,359 Speaker 1: whiskey probably, but also oh man, just the fact that 772 00:45:58,760 --> 00:46:02,439 Speaker 1: people who make cool stuff are willing to sit down 773 00:46:02,600 --> 00:46:04,319 Speaker 1: and talk to us about it. I'm always just like 774 00:46:04,360 --> 00:46:07,680 Speaker 1: what me, Yeah, and they're so passionate about it. It's 775 00:46:07,680 --> 00:46:10,279 Speaker 1: just I love it because we're I mean, if you 776 00:46:10,320 --> 00:46:13,239 Speaker 1: didn't know, if you couldn't tell, we're a bit uh, 777 00:46:13,239 --> 00:46:17,680 Speaker 1: we're a little nerdy. We like some science and some history. 778 00:46:17,719 --> 00:46:20,160 Speaker 1: And I love that people we talked to you just 779 00:46:20,280 --> 00:46:21,960 Speaker 1: brought out with them like we don't want to borrow 780 00:46:22,000 --> 00:46:24,759 Speaker 1: You're like, no, please bore us, we won't be bored 781 00:46:24,800 --> 00:46:30,480 Speaker 1: at all. Go into every detail ever. Um, yeah, it was. 782 00:46:30,600 --> 00:46:34,440 Speaker 1: It was such a fun time. Um, and I'm really 783 00:46:34,440 --> 00:46:36,560 Speaker 1: glad that we got to do it and we got 784 00:46:36,640 --> 00:46:39,520 Speaker 1: to share it. With you. Yes, absolutely, We hope that 785 00:46:39,560 --> 00:46:41,839 Speaker 1: you enjoyed it as well. If you'd like to get 786 00:46:41,840 --> 00:46:43,920 Speaker 1: in touch with us, you can do that thing. There 787 00:46:43,960 --> 00:46:47,560 Speaker 1: are a number of ways. One is email. You can 788 00:46:47,600 --> 00:46:50,440 Speaker 1: email us at hello at saber pod dot com. You 789 00:46:50,480 --> 00:46:53,399 Speaker 1: can also reach out on social media. We are at 790 00:46:53,440 --> 00:46:57,000 Speaker 1: saber Pod on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. We do hope 791 00:46:57,000 --> 00:46:59,120 Speaker 1: to hear from you. Thank you as always to our 792 00:46:59,160 --> 00:47:01,880 Speaker 1: superproducers Yllen Vegan and Andrew Howard. Thank you to you 793 00:47:01,880 --> 00:47:03,600 Speaker 1: for listening, and we hope that lots more good things 794 00:47:03,600 --> 00:47:12,960 Speaker 1: are coming your way. H