Was that your crotch? No. Wow. What? Wow, we're
getting started early. Did you put your knee
all the way over here? Or is that your foot?
Wow. Jeff's playing footsie. You can always tell
the second half of the podcast. Welcome to the
second half. Lord. I got to tell you something.
It gives me no joy to say this. Oh, boy. That's
not a good lead in. The Dallas Cowboys suck a
big, fat nutsack. They do. Yes, they do. Dude,
I don't want to hear it. What is going on? I'm
a Tennessee Titans fan. I don't want to hear
it. Well, they always suck. Well, yeah. They're
1 -8. That's to be expected. What are we on?
1 -7? 1 -8? What week are we on? 8? Well, here
it is. Obviously, our guests aren't saying a
damn thing, so I guess you're not huge Dallas
Cowboy fans? We're not. No, not at all. I grew
up a Pittsburgh Cena fan. Oh. Oh, here you go.
How does that work? He's a Dallas Cowboy fan,
Titans. I'm a Cincinnati Bengal fan. Football
fan over here in the corner? I do. I love contact
sport. I do like it. I would say, because I'm
obviously married to a Steelers fan, that I have
adopted the Steelers, but I love baseball. Okay.
I love the Red Sox. Boston Red Sox. Hold on,
hold on. What's your tie to the Red Sox? There
he goes. How did that happen? It was. She likes
red. It was. No, look, I didn't really grow up.
In my household, we didn't really grow up with
sports. Dad and my mom, they were just like,
go to school, read. We weren't allowed to listen
to certain type of music. We grew up on rock
and roll. We weren't allowed to listen to anything
else but that. And so sports wasn't a huge deal
until I met Noe. And then, of course, he's just
like, I love the Steelers. I love the Red Sox.
You didn't really have a basketball team. But
I started to like the Dallas Mavericks. So you
really like basketball? Anything but football
right now. I mean, I don't mind it. I'm not obsessed
with it. I love just competition, so I like watching
it. But the one sport that I kept and the team
that I kept gravitating to was the Red Sox. There's
nothing like going to a baseball game. Just a
beer, a hot dog, popcorn. I just love the whole
experience. I love it. Yeah, it's one of my best.
I can explain all of this. It's the best day
of my life. Oh, here we go. The real explanation
is coming. No, it's because my dad. He was not
a major sports fan. Okay. So he liked sports,
but he didn't really care. So he said, pick the
team you want. Yeah, take it or leave it. I don't
care what you want. So when I was growing up,
I saw College Game Day, Chief Asiola, Florida
State, going in, putting the spear. And you're
like, I like that. That's cool. I'm Florida State
fan. And I've never changed. Nice. My uncle helped
raise me. And all he would watch is the Steelers.
So from a very three or four years old. The steel
curtain. Fuck the Cowboys. Go Steelers. Is how
I was raised. The Steelers were my first go -to
fan, too. I'm a homer. So, you know, I grew up
in Jersey. And so the Steelers were my favorite
team. Yeah. And when I moved here, I just, you
know, you got to. Eat where you... I am an A
&M fan. Don't eat where you shit. I don't know
where I was going with that. I will always root
for the Aggies. Two of my sisters and my brother
-in -law, they graduated from there. And so I
grew up almost in College Station every summer.
So I was like... grew up learning to not like
UT, like the Longhorns at all. So that will always
be ingrained in me, is always being Aggie over
UT. I think Noe took me to a game and I'm like,
I mean, it was cool, but I was like, they're
just not my team. I can't root for them. So I'm
an Aggie, Chuck's an Aggie, and you have fathers
of Aggies right here. There you go. Isn't that
crazy? That's wild. That's crazy. There was some
division in our house for a while because my
son played, from age, I don't know, however young
you start, 10 through middle school. Well, the
team he was on was the Longhorns. Oh, that must
have been tough. Oh, it was. To give my wife
credit, she did wear the Longhorn jersey during
the games, but it came off right away as soon
as she got home. And once he was off the Longhorns,
it's like, yeah, that's not coming back to my
house. Nice. That's great. It is. It's funny.
Let's do a cap off here. It's the second half
of the Dudes Like Us podcast. It's November 4th.
Dudes Like Us, check us out on Facebook. Check
us out on Instagram, dudeslikeus -podcast. And
we also have a dudeslikeus -woodcraft. If you
guys are interested in some of the swag that
we produce downstairs in Jeff's garage, we've
got a CNC machine that's got a laser and an engraver.
If you want some magnets, I think you guys can
leave with a magnet. I think I got keychains.
God bless it. I don't know where the hell those
are at. Chuck, staying on top of shit all the
time, our producer. Dudes Like Us, I'm Sean.
I'm Paul. And I'm Jeff. I'm Victoria. And I'm
Noe. And yes, you guys are our esteemed second
half guests as well. They stuck around. They
did. I can't believe it. God bless it. You guys
got the sample of the infinity. What's up with
that? What do you guys think? It's my first.
Full of flavor. I loved it. And it just had a
lot going on. And it just felt like it worked.
I don't know. It felt right. It felt right. Yeah.
It changes every time you add something. Obviously,
it changes some. And sometimes you go and you're
like, hmm. That's not quite right or as good
as it was. But I tell you, I'm doing something
different serving it that I've never done before
the last two times, and that's simply give it
a whirl. Now I'm convinced that with all the
different layers that are good. The viscosities
and oils. Yeah, I'm thinking it's starting to
layer. Minute as it may be. So now I'm kind of
swishing it up a little bit and giving it a little
rub down. I don't know. I'm relieved. I thought
you said you were going to spit in it. I got
to get it ready for my palate. You didn't. Okay.
That did not happen. It's never happened. Good
Lord. How are the Steelers doing, by the way?
I know that they're probably doing better than
the Cowboys. Unfortunately, I think they're doing
okay. Well, I guarantee the Cowboys won three.
Guarantee the first place in their division.
No, they're fourth. No, that's another division.
I guarantee the Cowboys won't lose this weekend.
Guaranteed. Oh, they're on a bye week? They have
a bye. Well, look at that. They are leading the
division. So disliked. So how Aaron Rodgers is
playing ball, huh? You're in a shit division,
though. The Ravens? I think AFC Norris is the
best division. I need another bottle of bourbon.
What is going on with the Ravens? That's crazy.
Although they're coming back. Lamar got hurt.
He was out. Lamar is out. Everything based on
him. So he's back. He is back. Shit. But still,
I think they were 1 -4, even with Lamar. Yeah,
they were struggling. They were struggling. Now
they won two in a row. So Pittsburgh just beat
the Colts, the alleged best team. I will say
this. I think my Cincinnati Bengals, if they
had a defense, they would be a contender. But
their defense is worse than the Cowboys. Did
you watch that game? Yes, they scored 42 points
and lost. It was crazy how that game went back
and forth in the final minute. They brought in
Flacco, right? Yeah, they have Flacco. This is
his third or fourth game, and he's figuring it
out. Their offense is tight. Yeah, he's good.
But the defense is so bad that 42 points still
doesn't give you a win. Did they just lose a
player to the Cowboys? Logan Wilson, yeah. He's
a good linebacker. But it was crazy. So the Bengals
drove all the way down. Flacco basically won
it for them until they didn't because they left
like 24 seconds on the clock. Oh, shit. And the
other team came back and won. 58 -yard bomb.
I know. It wasn't even a bomb. It was just like
a tight end curl route that they missed the tackles
on. I know. Two guys fell down and the tight
end just keep rumbling forward. And that was
it, man. It was painful. Typical. I got to be
honest. With the Cowboys. And tethered in with
my fantasy football team, it is a – you beat
me, by the way. Congratulations. I did, yeah.
It's really not that hard, actually. It isn't.
It isn't. My team, I'm very disappointed. My
team has potential, but it just – God bless.
You had a good week last week. Yeah, Paul beat
me last week. It's such a beatdown because you
never know. I mean, I don't know if those folks
out there – do you play fantasy? No. Have you
ever? One year. You guys probably don't have
a lot of time to do this kind of stuff. I stopped
watching games about two years ago. Watching
games completely? Completely. Do you listen to
them on the radio at least on your drives? You
want to go watch Pittsburgh? I watch highlights.
When the game's over, I go to ESPN or YouTube
and I watch a complete game recap and I avoid
the ups, downs, everything. It's too stressful?
Yeah, I don't. It ruins my day. But it's also
a time thing. I mean, you guys are just busy.
Busy on the go. And I sound like a horrible fan,
but there's just more important things I could
be doing than two or three hours for me. It's
definitely not constructive. Right. But it's
also, you know, it actually can be constructive.
I mean, from a mental health point. I mean, if
they're winning, of course. But, I mean, I enjoyed.
Just the spirit of watching the game. It's a
Sunday thing. It's a fall thing. It's the ambiance.
Sometimes you get the guys over for the playoffs.
That's a fun thing. Yeah, it's relaxing. I mean,
it's something that you're looking forward to.
I love to sit there for three hours and just
curse. Do you get very upset if your team loses?
Does it ruin your day? Does it ruin your week?
It ruins that moment. But I get over it pretty
quick because I've dealt with the Bengals my
entire life, so I know what I've dealt with.
It's just frustrating. Frustration sets in. You're
like, whatever, and then I move on, then I'm
fine. Right. I don't give a shit at all. I get
more upset about the college losses. I'm a big
Ohio State fan and the Aggies. And when they
lose, that impacts me more than the Cincinnati
Bengals. Well, you haven't had to worry about
that this year, have you? No, really. Seriously.
No losses between the two of those, so that's
been good. I generally don't talk to my family
for about six days. And then Sunday rolls around
again. I'm like, hey, guys, you guys want to
watch football? And they're like, oh, my God.
Actually, you know what? It's all about expectations.
I know we're going to win one game this year.
We've already won it by luck. And so I have zero
emotion about. You're just numb. After the game.
Yeah, after the game. Now, during the game, I
get pissed off and they should have done this,
they should have done that. I do a lot of cursing.
Now, are you drinking like whiskey and coke or
is it just the straight whiskey? Because remember,
we were working on that. I actually don't drink
during the games now at all. Oh, man. My son
might bring me a beer. If I drink at all, I drink
beer. But I do not drink any whiskey during the
game. Yeah, because I'd be like, yeah, fuck.
What the hell, man? Son of a bitch. Yeah, so,
I mean, again, it's all about expectations. I
know we suck, so it's not a big deal, right?
But I tell you, in the years where they're supposed
to win the division and they're supposed to go
deep in the playoffs and they lose, like in the
championship game, I'm kind of sore. I'm sore
for a couple days. To the Bengals, right? No,
I don't know what you're talking about. I still
have that picture. No, you don't. There's no
picture. I'll send it. No, there's nothing. There's
nothing about the Bengals in there. Anyway, it
sucked. Derrick Henry's face. Tannehill threw
a pick in the first play of the game. Okay, I
don't want to talk about it. All right, we got
to move on. Anyway. All right, so I was going
to ask you guys about Rollertown. Do you do any
local establishments? Well, first of all, what
is Rollertown? Well, I was going to see if you
found out, if you knew what it was. It's a roller
rink. No, it is not. Oh, you don't do roller
rinks? So it's a brand new, pretty hyped new
bar and grill. It's a brewery. Oh, brewery. They
relocated. So they were originally located north,
right? In Salina? Yeah, I think it's Salina.
So in this area, there's like new stuff happening
all the time. You guys know that, right? Are
you plugged into any of that? It's kind of hard.
It's difficult. based on, because we don't live
here, we don't see everything that's going on.
Exactly. Not exactly tied in, but we get recommendations
or we'll get referrals or things like this. Like
this, we'll follow up with and go in and check
it out and make some notes and try to get there.
But also, it's, you know, going into a, you'll
have a brand, you'll have everybody like, oh,
I want to be in there. Let's be in there. It's
not as easy just to get in there. No. You have
to build a relationship, you know, and some,
depending on the account, They're looking for
certain things or they already have the paid
sponsorships from brands. I was going to say,
they usually already have a contact, right? Yeah,
but it just depends. But it's something like,
you know, Noe and I are never, we're not afraid
of a challenge, but it's something that we have
to build a relationship, find the right contact
to get in there. It's not as simple as like,
oh, I have this. Can you pick it up? It's not,
you know, it doesn't work like that. You know,
remember we were looking at the bar and they
had just vodka, a bottle of vodka. Right? Yes.
To make mixed drinks with. Are you saying vodka?
Vodka. V -O -K -A. Whatever. Vodka. Vodka. Vodka.
Vodka. Vodka. Vodka. That's their own. Well,
it's V -O -D -K -A. It's fine. Phonetically.
Can I get through that? Okay. Moving on. What
did you say, Chuck? Go. That's their own. That's
Duck Creek Vodka. Vodka. Vodka. Okay. So they
make their own. I didn't know that. I did not
know that. I didn't know that either. I just
looked it up on their own. On their website.
Interesting. It's probably not as good as...
It definitely probably would not be. Also, too,
it depends on our brands. If we take a brand
that we know that's really not going to sell
there, we can't put a brand everywhere because
it might not be the right fit for the clientele
that's going to move. Well, Live Oak Texas Vodka
doesn't fit anywhere. It does. It fits everywhere.
Yeah, it does fit everywhere. But if I'm going
to like a speakeasy who's very bourbon heavy
or whiskey heavy, like they're like, oh, we have
like, they'll might, they pick it up, but it's
like, it's not going to move as fast as everything
else that we're making with. Live Oak, Texas
vodka. Is that a good martini mix? I mean. Live
Oak is the people's vodka. I would say that.
They're for the people. They're for the community.
It's made in a small town called Beeville, Texas,
which is north of Corpus Christi. I think the
population's like a little over 13 ,000. So it's
really small. It's really small. They build a
distillery. These people aren't from way out.
They were born and bred there. God damn. They're
bred there. I have no idea. It's a strange community
where they breed people there. They come from
good stock. They make very good vodka, so it's
okay. No, they built the distillery there to
bring economy there because there used to be
a naval base. It closed down. And with that,
obviously the families. Wow. Well, he shut down
all the bases. Probably. Yeah. And so obviously
the families moved and, you know, they're trying
just to build a economy there. So they built.
the distillery there. And, you know, they hire
people, the locals, to come and bottle and help
out. And, you know, they give back very much
to that town. They're probably super proud of
all of that. Very much so. That's really neat.
Kenneth Bethune. Bethune. Good Lord. That is,
what is going on over here? I don't know what's
happening with you out there. Great guy, a lawyer
by trade. He's a serial entrepreneur. So he has
several stuff that other businesses, but he opens
it in small towns. Again, he believes that even
though small towns are part of our economy, no
matter how small they are. And they're drying
up. And they're drying up. So we have to protect
some of that. So he's basically kind of trying
to bring, like you said, economy back to small
town America. I love that. Absolutely. Robert,
he's the GM. We have the distiller, Craig. But
just because it's a small town, there's nothing
small about these guys. They have so much fight.
They just became one of the proud sponsors of
the San Antonio Spurs. Wow, that's huge. Very
nice. It's very huge. So they signed an extensive
contract with that. They have their own Live
Oak bar in the arena. So they're doing well.
They're fighting. They're taking the slots of
some big brand names. And again, they're the
people's vodka. Anybody who's partnered with
Live Oak. And by the way, we partner with the
people who want to partner with us. And one thing
that they constantly say is that you guys give
back. You guys care. You guys listen. Whatever
we need to succeed, you guys are there for us.
You're not just about the money. Well, they're
the type of brand too. It's the first time I've
ever seen it where we had an account. And Live
Oak was not even in there, but they had a charity
going on. They said, this is what we want to
give them. Here you go. It doesn't matter if
they pick up a bottle. This is a good cause.
And of course, now that account is one of our
best Live Oak accounts. Of course, they're picking
it up and they're serving it everywhere. But
those are the type of guys they are. They will
give before they receive anything. And that's
why we merge very well with them. Our core values
are their core values. And they were our first
client. Nice. Yep. So that made me think of a
question. When you go into a place that you know
is bourbon heavy, like a speakeasy, blah, blah,
blah, how often are you doing a tandem of your
products? Every time. I was going to say, that's
a no -brainer. Right. So as soon as they trust
you about the bourbon, they're going to trust
you about the vodka. They're going to trust you
about every product or what you're selling as
a package. Yep. That's huge, I'm sure. It is.
It is because they can find a way to leverage
each other. And often Live Oak will lead the
charge and then bourbon and then the whiskeys
will come in. But recently the bourbons have
been leading the charge. Oh, Swift is here. And
you know they carry vodka. So it kind of all
works. So we find a way to leverage all of them
to each other's benefit. Yeah. That's a no -brainer.
I find that interesting. You know they have to
have everything. Right. You know what I mean?
In every case, if you're trying to sell the vodka,
you know there's an opportunity for the bourbon
and vice versa. I never thought of myself as
a vodka person, but I am. I do like vodkas. Maybe
I'm just an alcoholic. Yeah, you like it all.
Well, I do. I enjoy doing gins, and I definitely
love tequilas. I love whiskeys. And vodkas, I'm
starting to get kind of accustomed to. I mean,
there was a time, and I was kind of like, ooh,
it has to be potato vodka. Actually, grain vodka
is just as good. I mean, potato has a tendency
to be a little bit sweeter, but plus, I'm a huge
fan of supporting Texas brands. Yes. Yes. We
are too. Period. Yeah, and Live Oak is one of
those brands that it stands behind something,
so every time you buy a bottle, it's going to
make... We always say it's an economy builder
because everything that he does, he tries to
give back as much as he can. He reinvests. And
they give back a lot and they sponsor a lot of
any type of mentorship or coaching programs for
the youth. Does he sponsor podcasts? Depends.
Depends if you start drinking vodka during it.
Dude, we'll drink the shit out of some vodka
if he can sponsor some freaking cameras. I'll
drink it morning till night. I mean, what kind
of commitment are you looking for here? So I
saw the map up there. It looks like it's a South
Texas, South Central Texas thing now. Is it slowly
moving up north? Is that what you're trying to
get to at this point? Yeah, so just north of
Corpus Christi. And then San Antonio is the number
one market at the moment. But Dallas is actually
quickly coming up as number two. Houston is number
three. And then Austin is at number four. El
Paso is coming up too. El Paso is quickly on
the rise. And the Rio Grande Valley is not far
behind as well. So what we've done in our key
thing is finding these partners in markets everywhere
and then finding the people to work with and
being able to do phone call or Zoom relationships,
but still see them once or twice a year. But
they trust us. They know us because they've met
us in person. They know we're the real deal.
And it's pretty impressive to see what San Antonio
has done because they're really getting behind,
not only with Live Oak being very close by, but
just getting... They love their Spurs, so that's
a really big deal for everyone involved. But
in Houston, we're now the official partner with
Rice University. And so at all Rice Athletics
and banquets and anything going on with Rice,
Live Oak is the only thing being poured on the
vodka side. Live Oak, Texas vodka, I mean, vodka's
period. I mean, we talked about... in the prior
podcast how some of the alcohol, people are not
drinking as much. And if they are drinking it,
they're going to be drinking vodka because it's
got less calories, from what I understand. And,
you know, that's a huge thing. So, I mean, I
can just imagine how their sales are probably
surpassing some of the whiskeys. Well, and it's
also one of the most competitive markets. I mean,
tequilas are always going to be competitive,
but we all know the category leader in vodkas.
And then you have about 500 in there. And what
Live Oak has been able to do since we've been
a part of the last couple of years is just start
to get more name recognition and really get out
there. I brought you that bottle, and I said
the middle -in -case brand. I wasn't joking.
This is going to be a very big deal, and it's
going to happen. So to see it grow like that
is pretty special. So I have some ignorance about
vodka. My understanding, not understanding, but
when I think vodka, I think... The standard is
vodka cranberry. So obviously there are people
that drink it neat. Like martinis out of it.
Huh? Like martinis out of it. Martinis. Okay,
but is it primarily martinis? No. Give me the
general spectrum of why vodka is so popular.
It's a base drink. I mean, you can have a Collins,
Coke. It doesn't have a lot of tonic. But it's
always cocktails. It's always cocktails. 90 %
cocktail. You can drink it up. Cold, frozen.
There's not a lot of flavor to them. It's not
like a whiskey, right? Unless you're an alcoholic,
then you really enjoy some of those flavors.
Okay, so it's a mixer. It is for the most part.
By legal definition, vodka is an odorless, tasteless,
clear spirit. And so it can be made from any
- Unless you get pulled over. Correct. But the
number one drink is soda, vodka soda. Vodka soda.
Yes. Or do they - Vodka tonic. So this might
seem like a dumb question. Vodka spritzer. But
if vodka is odorless and tasteless, what difference
does it make what vodka you put in with soda?
What difference does it make? And that's the
best part. And you just said it. That is the
biggest challenge. Why Live Oak? Why would you
pick Live Oak? I mean, you could substitute it
for 60 other ones. I do taste the difference.
100%. I think tasteless is a misnomer because
vodkas do. Some are really harsh. Some are really
smooth. Like a Fleischmann's vodka is horrible.
Some will have some sweetness to it. There is
some flavor to vodka. And I've had some really
bad vodkas where you're just like, that's disgusting.
Yeah. And I've had some good ones. Tart or something.
Just caustic. It's very caustic. All right, so
how do you guys battle that? Brand. Getting behind
the story. When people see Live Oak on the retail
shelf, they're like, oh, they're for a good cause.
They help out the community. They're all about
the industry. They just care. So they'll pick
up instead of what their go -to, like, no, I'm
going to go and support them. Because I'm familiar
with them. So that's why branding is so important.
Right. Because you're right. I mean, there's
so many in the same category. And it is a good
vodka. The leading category is Mr. T ends with
O, and he leads the category, and that's okay.
But when we taste it side by side, people are
like, oh, I can get down with that. Plus, they're
getting behind the story. They're like, easy
switch. And the price point is actually Live
Oak is a little bit less. Six bucks less, yeah.
Yeah. So they're like all day, every day. And
it just takes those little switches. And people
knowing, but it's the story that people want
to get behind. Remember, people always want to
be part of something. Yes. And it's not always
about the facts of what you're telling them.
It's how you're making them feel. Right. And
if they feel, oh. I'm a live oak guy. Yeah. This
is it. Just like you're a rum drinker. I'm a
Captain Morgan guy. The way you were about 1845.
You guys are very passionate because you know
the people. I'm a blah, blah, blah. Exactly.
And when you get that belief behind something,
you just have to do it over and over and over.
It took the category leader, it took him 10 years
to get recognized. Everyone thinks it was an
overnight thing, but the guy, everyone told him
he was nuts. bringing a vodka to Texas and doing
that in Texas. There's no way nobody's going
to buy Texas vodka. Vodka was Russian. It was
a Russian thing. European. Ukrainian. All of
a sudden, Texas? They have a corner on that market.
I won't go down the rabbit hole of the market
leader. What about the number of times distilled?
They always talk about that. Oh, this has been
distilled 10 times, 8 times. You know, if you
have to filter it so many times and you should
think about what you're just saying, like live
oak is eight times distilled. Okay. But I've
heard people like, well, I'm 32. Right. Why do
you have to distill it 32 times? Because you
really want it to be odorless and tasteless.
I mean, so it just, you know, a lot of people
use that and I'm not bashing anyone. I'm just,
you know, at the end of the day, everyone, it's
pretty hard to make a bad product. these days.
I mean, most people are making decent products,
so that's why everything else is so important.
The marketing, the story, the branding. Yeah,
just set yourself apart. We have some bad bourbons
out there. Without naming names, what makes them
bad? I just let that go. Their aging process,
they had some technical thing where it says,
we've aged this, we've aged it two weeks. They
try to flash it. So it's some scientific process,
and it didn't work. At all. Do you guys see light
whiskeys being a thing? What do you mean light
whiskey? So we recently did a festival down in
South Texas, and I saw three booths that each
had light whiskeys. And I think they were basically
two -year. We're not a huge fan of that. Well,
two years could be a straight bourbon if it's
bourbon, right? You're basically taking out of
the barrel, you're dripping it on some oak stakes
and then right into the bottle. No, I'm not.
Yeah. Go ahead. We like more of a rich flavor.
We've gravitated towards more of the barrel mixes,
stuff that's been in there a long time. We don't
want ours mixed at all. But you know what? I
mean, yeah, light whiskeys are light, right?
So they're not as flavorful as what we're having
here. But there's a time and place for everything.
I mean, I can mix like a light whiskey perhaps
with maybe some iced tea. You know, I mean, no,
I mean, I'm not being sarcastic, you know, because
that is kind of nice. It's lighter. You're not
because you're not looking for. I would call
those whiskeys more of a mixer. You know, I would
mix them with a soda, you know, or pop or whatever
you want to, you know, Coke or Sprite soda. But
I wouldn't like I wouldn't like desecrate a fantastic
whiskey or bourbon by mixing with anything, not
even an ice cube. I think I think the next up
and coming. at least in the whiskey realm, are
the single malts because the American single
malt was just officially made of the next line.
Its own category. Its own category, right? So
I think that, because we've got some really good
single malts out there that we really enjoy,
and we're starting to branch out and get more
of those, right? And those are generally lighter
because they don't age them as long, right? Right.
The single malts. Some of them do. Some. Well,
single malt, I mean, that's a scotch, right?
Yeah. But the American single malts, I think,
are a little different. I like them better than
a scotch, personally. Interesting. I don't like
the peat, for one thing. Yeah, the smoked peat's
kind of a no -go for me. Not all scotch is peated,
but I'm really... We've got some rare characters
out there. I think Balcones makes a single malt
that's... So I picked up... I was... traveling
and I met a guy. We did a little trade with whiskey
and I picked up a Balcones Scheinerbach single
malt. And you can't find it. I don't know if
you can pull that up, Mr. Producer. Scheinerbach
single malt Balcones. But it's terrific. I'm
enjoying the hell out of it. And we had that
bottle Wolves that's made in California. You
hear California like, well, I'm not drinking
any shit. But that stuff was good. It was fantastic.
Highly desirable. Man, if you guys don't mind,
After we look up the Schaderbach, I want to change
gears a little bit and kind of dive in. It's
got a Schaderbach, that right there. God bless.
That is terrific. That is terrific. Interesting.
Yeah. Is it aged in Schaderbach barrels? I don't
think Schoenberg comes in. I don't know. That's
a great question. I didn't really dive into the
history of it. I just sampled it on Halloween
night, which is kind of where I'm going with
this next question. I mean, what did you guys
do for Halloween? Did you celebrate? Did you
get dressed up? Did you have any parties? I know.
You look like the break dancing kind of guy.
You whipped out some cardboard and started doing
some dancing, right? Right, right. Sparkly clothes.
Yeah. A little red leather pants zip up. I'm
the most boring person for Halloween. Oh, wow.
We worked and then we went home and smoked cigars
and drank whiskey. Well, no. Halloween, we weren't
even together. Oh, shit. That's right. You were
here in Dallas and I was in Houston. That was
the day after. That was November. I was accepting
the game ball for the Rice -Miffiss football
game. Oh, fun. Wow, that's quite the testimony.
That is cool. Yeah, I got on the field and they
gave me the game ball and coach signed it and
everything like that. And you had a costume of
Catwoman? No, no costume. Just had a live -up
hat on and jeans and a shirt. It was pretty simple.
You could have lied. You could have lied. Yeah.
I'm not that type of gal. All right, so what
holiday do you celebrate? What's your favorite
holiday? I would think Thanksgiving is always
the best. Okay. Just because we get to get together,
and Victoria and I will always pick something
fun to do. We love our families. We love them,
but this is our family. So whether it's going
to a really fancy hotel that we can't afford
and doing that or traveling to a beach town and
doing something completely off the cuff. And
then every now and then we'll alternate her family
and my family. But for the most part, we try
to spend it together and doing our own little
thing. That's cool. That's a little different
than what people normally do for Thanksgiving.
Yeah. So we kind of go by our own path and just
kind of. We work in our families. Like I said,
we love them both, but ultimately we pick something
unique and different to do. My sister did that
with her family. They would go on vacation every
Thanksgiving. She would never cook Thanksgiving.
Right. And she would visit us. They'd visit us
every now and then, but they'd go on vacations
to the beach typically and spend the week at
a beach. She goes, it's not crowded. Prices are
better, and I want to cook. Prices are really
good. And I'm with my family. That's actually
a good idea, because my wife, she laments about
it. I'm like, well, we need to get together and
have our own Thanksgiving. She's like, how is
that different than any other day? You know what
I mean? I'd love to be able to do that. And I
get that. I was like, okay, well, you know. We
don't eat turkey every day. Right, well, she
won't eat turkey, so I do a brisket or I do a
pork shoulder, right? Sorry, what? I do a brisket
or a pork shoulder. She doesn't like turkey?
She doesn't like turkey. Not like Thanksgiving
turkey. She'll buy turkey lunch meat, but that's
different. Out of a Lunchable? I don't know.
Maybe it's a different type of turkey. I'm not
sure why her... Like a big smoked turkey leg.
Yeah, she just won't do a turkey. That's all
right. Different strokes for different folks.
That's right. For Halloween, we usually have...
I was happy you came out. We had a good time
for Halloween. Yeah, we did. We usually have
a shindig at my house. We set up like... sound
equipment, and we do karaoke and DJing, and we've
got some people that show up. We've got lots
of food, and we dress up. It's a little celebration.
Sometimes there's some guards that come out,
but a lot of it, you know, I'm going to use the
word faggishly, but I don't mean that in a sexual
way. I just mean that we're walking around with
Glencairn glasses, just a bunch of us, like,
and I'm like, why don't you step into my office?
And I got my office. It all looks like a cave,
you know, or I'm sorry, a cabin, and we just
kind of a sample. He'll pull down some special
bottle and blow dust off of it and we'll all
be like, oh, that's fantastic. Roar. I'll have
some of that. Roar. How about a drum? And the
next morning I wake up, it's like, I opened what?
Right. Holy shit, it's gone. Fucking Jeff, I
knew it. I wasn't even there this time. Yeah,
you weren't. I can't blame it on you. But that's
something we enjoy. That's something my family
does. As much as I would love to get away with
my wife and do something fantastic like, which
I think is a a great idea. Kudos to you. I'm
kind of dug in with my wife's side of the family.
They just got this routine where they have multi
-generational get -togethers. We have Thanksgiving.
God bless. It's a jamboree. I think this year,
Julie and I are going to be going down to Fredericksburg.
Because both the boys and their fiancés, we're
getting into that stage of, okay, now their families
are coming into this. We're doing ours actually
on Friday. So on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
we'll drive back Thursday. I think we're going
to go down and get a cabin down at Fredericksburg.
It's wineries. Maybe Garrison Brothers down there
if they're open. There you go. You could join
the line that does the waxing and get all blown
up. Yeah, that's true. I hear you get a free
sandwich. You know what I'm talking about? You
guys know what I'm talking about? The Garrison
Brothers? Yeah, yeah. You can be part of the
volunteer crew. I knew about that part, yeah.
Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Where you
do the waxing and they give you free brews the
whole time. I've never done it, but it looks
super fun. Well, there's a lighting of... They
have that little... We've done... Thanksgiving
in Fredericksburg and they have the lighting
of the town square. That's another thing. What's
going on in there on Thanksgiving? Are they even
open and stuff like that? The whole downtown
is all lit up. They've got an ice rink, I think.
Dude, that's so cool. You guys are giving me
ideas for this whole destination thing. I think
you should always change it up, especially in
a marriage. in a partnership, you got to change
it up and get a little something different. It
kind of sparks things up and, and you see if
you like it or not and be like, Oh, you know,
this was really nice. And, you know, decompress
because holidays are pretty stressful anyway,
but yeah, try something different. Yeah. Like
sparkly, sparkly pajamas. I'm working on that.
Okay. Yes. When you say sparkly, is it like bling?
Sparkly pajamas. Like sequins? I'm just saying
spice it up. Spice it up. Yeah. We don't have
to get into details. I'm just saying. I'm just
saying. That's not going to do it for me. Hey,
Chuck, you mind passing over those Swifties?
I want to take a closer look at those. I brought
up some extra Glencairns. We're going to do some
samples because we've got... Okay, yes. Let's
talk about this. NVU. Grab one of these guys.
These do look light, by the way. Well, you said
they're not toasted barrels, right? Yeah. So
she does, Amanda starts with three ingredients.
Let's do this one first. Barley, water, and yeast.
And here's the best part about everything. Like
I mentioned earlier, she used registered distillery
number 12 in the state of Texas. And from day
one, it has been husband and wife. And how long
ago was that? 13 years. 13 years. Okay. So she
has been in the whiskey business for 13 years.
Nice. And her and her husband came up with the
idea. They traveled the world. They've met some
of the best distillers in the world. And they've
kind of given them their opinion on how to do
this. And they came back and started making this,
like I said, 15 years ago and then released it
13 years. And it's just a great story. And she
was way ahead of the single malt category. and
they basically wanted to make whiskey that they
enjoyed. Okay. Amanda is, what, 5 '2", 120 pounds,
and she is just a kick -ass woman who doesn't
put up with shit, does her and her husband do
everything themselves. Do you guys want some
of these? Yeah. Y 'all first. You've got like
a gallon of drinks in front of you. I know. Which
one's this? You're not driving, though. This
is the Swift. Single malt Texas whiskey, yeah.
Yeah, so this one's going to be their original.
So this is their Oloroso. So this one will spend
one year in a once -used bourbon cask. And they're
not specific. Sometimes it is Heaven Hill. Sometimes
it's Bartstown, Old Fitzgerald. It can be a matter
of things that they have. So this particular
is the one year in bourbon and then one year
in the Spanish Oloroso sherry cask. I smell butter.
Yeah. Yeah, I noticed that for sure. Paul, you
may not like that. I do smell butter, but it's
not overwhelming. That's kind of an indication
that it's fray or whatever it was. But it is
an indication of some heavy wheat. I don't smell
any wheat. Which one is this? Oloroso. What is
it, though? Barley. Just barley and what? That's
it. You know what's crazy? I get some tequila.
Like a tequila smell. Sherry casks. Yeah. What
the hell is it? Oloroso. Oloroso. God bless it.
You know, it pains me. I'm going to have to accept
it. I need fucking glasses. You said this for
like three years. I know. And it's painful. And
three years ago you said, I'm going to have to
accept this. Pull up the podcast. Yes, it's on
record. Yeah, it's on record. Yeah, I had to
get glasses at age 40. And here's what I love,
and I think Victoria can talk more about this,
but she is kind of really bridging that gap from
the... People who are very interested in whiskey,
but then also have fun with it. Yeah. Just have
fun with it. Because it's different. Exactly.
It's something people wouldn't normally be exposed
to. Right. So this one is, I gotta tell you,
it's very inviting because it's easy to run into
the palate. I can immediately dive in and take
another pull off it. I think the proof is some
of that for you. I mean, you're used to the higher
proofs. Oh, yeah. Dude, I could stick a straw
on this and go to town. That's kind of problematic.
How sad is that? I think that's the point. When
you're used to the higher proofs, when you get
an 86, I don't think there's anything wrong with
that. It's just easy to drink. It's extremely
easy to drink when you're used to the higher
proof. And this is tasty. Oh, wow. And this kind
of mimics scotch, so it's kind of like the same
flavor experience that you get when you have
a real mild scotch. It's got a very floral, perfume
-esque kind of, what is the, smell, taste, whatever.
There's your favorite note up there, anise. Anise?
I was thinking stone fruit. I cannot believe
that's actually in there. You and your anise.
Hey, man, it does have that black licorice anise
kind of a slam on it. I'm trying to dig. What
does pollen smell like? Yes, it does. Kind of
like honey, kind of like flowery. It's a floral
kind of descent, you know? Just smell your car
when it's covered. No. No, when it's covered
on top of the car, you know, the pollen's all
over. Just do a line off the hood. I also get
the honey out of this as well. Yeah. You know
what's interesting? So it starts to drink. Very
short, starts to drink like a scotch. But scotch
to me has like an obnoxious fullness. It fills
your whole mouth, your whole tongue. And if you
don't love scotch, it can be like, ugh. Off -putting.
It's everywhere. I can tell you, I like this.
But this. is nowhere near, it's like light, like
you were saying. It has no fullness but the taste.
I could get shit -faced on this. Like you said,
you guys, you drink a lot of higher proof, but
for the people like me or anybody coming into
the brown spirits category is like, where do
I want to start? This is a good introductory
of starting. It goes beyond that a little bit.
I think it is a good introductory, but I think
that even, look, I'm enjoying it right now, so
I would say even up to me, this is a single malt.
And being what the American Single Mall is introduced,
what a great representation. Oh, beautiful. I'm
glad you joined us. It really is. Plus, Texas,
God bless. That's right. And again, NVU, we partner
with... really good hearted people. And that's
what she is. And she's not pretentious. They're
not, they're like, she comes up with some of
the best stuff to, to mix it with. The other
day we had the Whoppers, you know, those chocolate
malt balls. And if you snack on that while you're
sipping that, it just makes the whiskey so creamy.
We did an event and. Women who don't like whiskey
were like, I'm buying a bottle of this and I'm
getting some candy and I'm going to sit there
and snack. I'm like, it's beautiful. And that's
the point of enjoying something that you're proud
of. It's like anybody can enjoy it whether you're...
I'm kind of curious where they came up with the
concept of developing a single malt. I mean,
were they people that... I mean, who else does
that in Texas? Balcones? And who else does a
single malt in Texas? I think Balcones was kind
of the original, but they... They love scotch.
So for them, they wanted to create something
that was unique and something that they would
enjoy. Yeah, well, they hit a home run. I mean,
I would encourage them to try to see what they
could do to beef up the proof on it. But outside
of that. It's coming. It's coming. God bless.
There you go. This is so smooth, though. I think
the word you said, creamy, even without the balls.
I can't think of the damn. Malt balls. Malt balls,
yeah. Oh, I was like, okay. The creamy balls.
I mean, what are you getting at there, buddy?
Those aren't moth balls. Those aren't sweaty
balls. Jesus. But it coats your tongue, and when
you said cream, I was like, yes, I can get that
if you're drinking a nice milk or a nice heavy
cream drink or something like that. Yeah, but
it's not obnoxious. It's such a light coating
on the tongue. I don't know how to explain that
because I'm not a huge scotch fan, but there
is something. lighter about this. Good. So this
is excellent. Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Yeah. She's been around for a while and then
she's kind of like relaunching and reintroducing
it back into the market. So we're going to get
a lot of new single malt American whiskey drinkers
or Texas drinkers. And even the ones that you
got, like you guys are experienced, you're still
enjoying it. So I think we have two types of
clientele here. Well, and, On paper, she's our
biggest client. She was in every total in the
country. And she had a really good deal with
them. She's kind of like Victoria said, she's
reinventing herself. But it's just relaunching
it, reimagining it, kind of giving it another
kickstart. And Swift is their last name. So it's
Nick and Amanda Swift. Yes. Nice. So it reminds
me, I went to this. andalusia whiskey company
in blanco oh yeah and they're real small and
you just go up and do do samples and it reminds
me of what i sampled there right so they're in
the same market i guess yeah uh but they're they're
really tasty too and they have different i like
andalusia yeah they do a good job yeah uh i think
we did that last year as we went up and down
281 to get to all the distilleries up and down
there so uh so this one's gonna be that so here's
Chuck's like, I said, Chuck, you want a load
of this? He's like, oh. So you know how in your
collection to have something for every friend
that you have, right? You've got your whiskey
drinker. You've got your tequila. I usually don't
buy any scotch whatsoever because I'm not a scotch
fan. But knowing that I have scotch friends and
something that I would drink with them, this
would be fantastic. This would be what I would
do. So they would love the single malt Texas
whiskey. I think they would. What's the price
point on this? You're probably looking at high
40s. I know it on here. That's very doable. Somewhere
it's at $41 .99. The kind of total's got it for
$45, $48. We're working on that right now to
kind of find that sweet spot, but we're going
to probably be $48 .99. All right. That's kind
of the goal. Yeah. Okay. All right. So we have
a second pour now. We do. So she does this the
exact same way on the three ingredients, one
year next bourbon cask, except the finish here
is a year in French sautern, wine sautern cask.
What is this sautern cask? It's a white wine.
White wine. Okay. So I have not tasted it yet.
I'm kind of curious. I think that's going to
go. It's going to pair very well with a Chardonnay.
Is that what you just said? Well, it's a white
wine. It's a white wine. So it's a sweeter white
wine. Okay. So are we expecting a huge difference
between these two? I'm curious. I'm curious on
what you think. I have my favorite, and I want
to see what your palate says. I think that the
nose is definitely different. I don't pick up
the butter like I do on the other one. It's a
lighter nose. Oh, I could smell. I could totally
smell Pinot Grigio or Chardonnay or something
like that. It's much lighter and smoother and
easier to drink. Right. Crushable, as we like
to say. It's actually stronger. Do you think?
Oh, hey, now. It didn't jump. It's not that stronger.
But it's like one or two percent proof stronger
than the prior one. Correct. So this one actually
has a richer finish than the first one. I agree.
I actually prefer this one. I agree. I think
the finish lasts a little bit longer. Yes. On
this one? Yes. Yeah, the first one is a little
bit sweeter. I think the malt balls is a great
tie -in because it kind of, Makes it kind of
a dessert. This one, I agree. This one's good.
I like this one better. So, okay. She always
says, are you a sweeter or salty type of person?
So, I love, obviously, the sherry one. I love
drinking that one. But we actually did the candy
one with the salt turn. We did. Because it's
a little bit hot, you know. For people, it's
like, oh, maybe it's a little bit too harsh or
whatever, and then you put that in and it just
melts all together. But I've done it with both,
and I think they're great with both, but it really
pairs very well with actually the salt turn.
Correct. All right, so what's the service where
they go get food and bring it back? Can they
bring some malt balls for us? We're going to
have to get some Whoppers. But we were at an
event. We also made a pumpkin old -fashioned
with the sherry, and it was just a hit, too,
as well. That sounds wonderful. And Amanda, her
cocktail deck that she has created for us to
use is 80 cocktails that she makes herself. She
loves baking, cocktails, whiskey, and desserts.
Yeah, go look them up on Instagram, Swift. She
does some funny videos. So what exactly is on
Instagram? Is it Swift Single Bowl? Swift. Distillery,
I think. Let me check. Holy shit. Mom Donnie
wins the fucking New York City. We knew that.
He was polling double digits for weeks. God bless
it. I was hoping not. You know what? They get
what they vote for. Yep. We'll see what happens.
You know what they're predicting? A massive exodus.
Yes. Well, that's what they want. Massive. They
want new folk to come in. Wink, wink. It's a
shame. I really love New York. I really used
to. I hadn't been there forever. We'll go now
before it. So it's Swift Distillery. So check
out on Instagram. It's Swift Distillery. There
we go. Oh, I've seen some videos that you guys
popped up of her. Okay. Oh, yeah. She's a young
little whippersnapper. She is. And we get along
just fine. Everything about her, I love it. Again,
she doesn't take herself too seriously. I love
when she goes, oh, yeah. Does she buy herself
doing this? Well, no. Her husband, Nick, it's
just them two making it. That's it. And we've
been to the distillery. And I'm like, how in
the world are you guys? They're operating the
cranes. They're doing all this. I think they're
like, oh, I think we should hire one person to
help her. I'm like. Yeah, this is it. That's
their employee. Yeah. So. That's the husband.
That's Nick, right? That's Nick, yeah. So you
have Nick, Amanda, and the forklift. And that's
what helps lift the barrels. Well, what's the
name of the forklift? Not sure. And then here's
the bottling. So here they have, they're writing
the... Yeah, those are neighbors, I think, or
family or neighbors. They're hand labeling. Yeah,
1845 is the same way. They're hand labeling.
And that's their biggest struggle, is the labeling
in their process. It's so consuming and they
don't have the bottling and the labeling. Oh,
yes. Right. And I wonder if that's what they're
struggling with because that's very time consuming.
It's one of those like wonderful struggles. I
mean, to be able to produce your product like
that. Yeah. They do have a great product. I endorse
it. I mean, dudes like us approved. Really? Absolutely.
I mean, I would not. I mean, this doesn't even
get kicked out of the house, let alone the bed,
you know? This is fantastic. I love that. What
a compliment. Because I heard on one of y 'all's
podcasts that you try not to rate while a guest
is here, at least. Well, it depends on what they're
bringing to the table. I mean, you guys are a
little bit different because you're not an actual
distiller. So, you know, you're bringing in some
different products. And you're right. We don't
because I think it's rude. But this is different.
Yes. I love it. We don't. If we had Cooperstown
here, Sean would have been like, that's a seven.
I think this is a nine -nine. We've never had
anything like this. This shit sucks. I threw
it on the ground. We don't have a lot of single
malts that we've tried. The rare characters,
which are... extremely well they're 13 we have
a 13 year out there beautiful stuff i don't know
if you guys heard a rare character have you not
yet so look if you want a home run i thought
they're blends if you no they're not both well
they may have a blend but the majority of them
are so these these rare character the brand they
basically procure barrels uh they go around the
country and they find something they want at
these rare distilleries rare barrels right that
and they're like one or two i want that batch
and they buy a batch And then they sell it. And
because it is absolutely... Look at these. These
guys are terrific. And they're between 150...
Actually, I picked up a bottle for 105, that
one that we have at the house. We haven't tried
it yet here, but you've tried it at my house.
Rare character is highly desirable. And a lot
of those are single malts. Fan -frackentastic.
Fan -frackentastic. There's a couple out there.
Yeah, smart. It's... They're very clever. If
we post something on Instagram, they immediately
repost it. That's big. If I tag a rare character,
because we do our setup on every single post
that we do, and they always repost it, and they
always send something nice, a little comment.
I think that's super good. But the product itself
is terrific. Right. Like this, Swift, single
malt. This is terrific. It really is. Have you
ever had Delbach? Del... I think it's Delbec,
Santa Fe, or New Mexico. I've not had that one
yet. So they have one that I had at Liquor Library,
and they have a good single malt. Where's this
Liquor Library? Fort Worth. Beautiful selection.
And for a bourbon or a mezcal fan? Delbec, yeah.
Because no one has told us about this. That's
why we don't know about it. So here's my boy.
Yeah, he's such a good guy, and he does barrel
picks, but he handpicks everything, and it's...
He's got a great selection, especially browns
and agaves. Oh, and gins, though. He turned us
on to some beautiful gins. I love gin. By the
way, if there's any gin brands out there, we
are looking for gin. Yes. Like a traditional
bee feeders? I mean, do they even make? gin in
texas do they have a texas juniper berry uh farm
well i take that back we do have a gin uh coastal
bend distilling who makes live oak also makes
lucky star gin but the main focus is live oak
but um it's always good to have a different style
of gin yeah lucky star is really good gin for
the non -drinker style What are you talking about?
It's for the non -gin drinker. Do you guys drink
gin? Is that like flavored vodka? No. Is that
what you're getting at? No, I'm not a fan of
gin. I've had different ones. The juniper kind
of gets me. It depends on what they're steeping
it, what botanicals they're making. That's the
word I was looking for. Botanicals, yeah. I tried
so hard to think of that word. There's some beautiful
Spanish gins, Mexican gins, and I absolutely
love them. A good gin, stop it. There's the one
gin that I do like. in Hawaii last December.
And there's, you know, the Oceans Vodka? Yeah.
We were on their, it was almost like a big plantation
or farm where their distillery was. And they
make a gin. And that was, I like that one. That
was really, really, really, really good. Yeah.
I tried gin once 35 years ago when I went to
a party. It did not go well. It was a gin and
tonic. I had just eaten Whataburger. And they
were like, hey, welcome to the party here. And
they handed me a gin and tonic. And I was like,
what is this? And I was like, oh, what the hell?
I drank it. And then I lost my water bottle.
That was horrible. I lost my $7. Give gin another
chance. It was 35 years ago. I love gin. I could
drink gin straight. And I'll tell you, this is
weird. And you're going to laugh at me. But you
all are going to laugh at me. When we went to
Colorado. Yes. Sitting all cozy in your cabin.
Jeff had, we had to take Jeff home. He couldn't
make it. He couldn't stay. And so it's you and
I. And what am I drinking? Tea. I'm drinking
hot tea and bourbon. All right. And he's like,
oh my God, this is the best drink ever. I love
gin and hot water. Gross. Lemon, lime, anything?
No. Oh. Yeah. That's a new one. He's our special
friend. I am. I'll tell you, there is nothing.
That's not a hot toddy, is it? What's a hot toddy?
No. Well, I mean, I don't know. I guess they
mix it with a couple other things, but I love
gin when it's served hot. It just opens up some
notes that I'm not normally abreast to. I mean,
it's just, is that the right word? But it opens
it up more. And I like it because the gin does
something to the throat, and I normally would
do that when I have a sore throat or I've got
something going on upstairs in the congestion
area that I need to correct. It's easy, and plus
it makes you feel good. All right, so if I were
to try gin again? I wouldn't recommend the hot
water. That was kind of a no -brainer for me.
You said, oh, you tried a gin. That was amazing.
I want you to go. If you're in Fort Worth, go
to Liquor Library and have Daniel. take you through
his gin selection because he introduced us to
some gins and I'm just like, first of all, gin
bottles are so beautiful. I'm with you on that.
We're thinking like the Tangeray, the Beefeater,
that's a dry London style gin. I'm talking about
there's some gins that are just citrus forward.
That's what I was trying to pull out of you.
It's very, I don't know, they're just... Is there
just like a fruit element to it? It depends on
the gin. Is there like an orange -based gin?
It depends. And they could be with any type of
flower petals. They can be with fruits. They
can be with all sorts of things. And, you know,
the juniper is a component, but there's a lot
that are not juniper -heavy, and they're different.
Yeah, it's the juniper -heavy ones that I think
I've had. They turn a lot of people off. That's
not my palate at all, the juniper. It's the dryness
that killed me. on the one time I had the gin.
I'm curious of what you had. Or you could have
had some... I think you probably had Beefeater.
Probably. It was so dry. Was this with Mark?
No, no, no. This was back in high school. Oh,
no. You were probably having Taka or something.
Taka gin. Probably. It was so dry. It sucked
all the moisture out of my mouth and the Whataburger
went with it. But, I mean, so... Okay, so there's
floral ones. There's... Yeah, so... Obviously.
Fruity. Fruity. I could do a fruity gin. I would
say citrus forward. I want to say they're fruity.
Great. Thanks. You agreed with Sean. Oh, Paul
likes the fruity gin. We'll have to bring. We'll
have to bring. On our next appearance, we'll
bring you guys. Some gins. Okay. Some gins. That'd
be fun. You know what? It's fun. It really is.
That is way out of my radar. So that would be
awesome. Mexican gins are really popular right
now as well. Hold on. Oh, the Spanish gins are
beautiful. They make. Gin in Mexico? They make
a lot of gins in Mexico. They're making wine,
whiskey. Whiskies are coming. So I understand
they're not making tequila in Mexico. There's
a little bit. I mean, probably 10 % of the tequilas
that come out of Mexico aren't actually tequila.
Is that what I'm understanding? Only the popular
brands. Well, tequila really has to be made in
Jalisco, right? Or Jalisco? There's seven different
states it can actually officially be made from.
But yeah, as long as it's 100 % agave. So that's
the thing. It's not 100 % agave. He's got our
little liquor Cliff Clavin. I think Mezcal is...
It's like five things I know. Isn't it called
Mezcal if it doesn't match those? Criteria? No,
so mezcal comes from another seven, eight, excuse
me, eight different regions, and it has to be
made from a different species of agave. Tequila
can only be made from blue webber. Right. No
kidding. Now, is most mezcal smoky, smoked? It
is because of the process. The process has to
be cooked underground. Yeah, that's why, because
when I was at the corporate, I had a team in
Mexico City, and I go to Mexico City a lot, and
we go out to dinner. to the little Mexican cafes,
and they'd all get mezcal. Yeah. Right? They'd
all get mezcal. And I was like, do you want one?
I was like, let me taste yours. And I don't like
that smoke. Right. So I was like, I passed, and
I didn't like it. I didn't know if all mezcal
was like that. There's a balance of smoke, and
that's a key thing is that when introduced, there
was a green bottle that was kind of the first
mezcal in the U .S., and that was so heavily
smoky. So either you love it or you hate it.
But now people are making them more approachable,
more fruit forward, more kind of. I remember
in college, I thought it was mezcal. It was the
bottle with the worm in the bottle. It was a
novelty thing. What was that called? Mezcal.
I just dug up an earthworm and shoved it in there.
I was like, if you eat the worm, you're just
going to see hallucinations. Did you eat the
worm? No, I never had any of it. It was a great
marketing. I wasn't a fan of it back then. Eat
the worm, man. Jeff, he's downing it. God bless
him. He's like, I'm scared. I'm scared. Mezcal
is one of those things, too. You have to try
different ones and you're like, oh, it's not
that bad. I was anti -mezcal. You would have
to. I hated mezcal. One of our second that we
brought on was a mezcal, and he was like, hey,
we're going to say yes. I'm like, no, we're not,
because I don't want to sell a mezcal. So they
sent us samples, and I was like, oh, it's actually
not that bad. It's really good. And then you
start to like - Why wouldn't you want to sell
a mezcal? Because I thought that it was the green
bottle that everybody starts with. I can't get
behind that. With that burnt tire, very smoky.
Yeah, you had emotional reality. Like my gin
thing. And then I never wanted to drink a mezcal,
and then I started to drink it. and taste different
ones, and it's like it's over. I actually prefer
mezcal over tequila now. I'll have to open myself
up to some mezcals because, like I said, the
ones they had down there, I didn't care for.
But it may have been the heavily smoked ones.
Yeah, you're not a big heavy smoke thing of any
style, by the way. That's okay. People have their
own preference. I wonder if that goes back to
because my mother smoked my entire life in the
house. It could be it. Seems to be ultra -sensitive
now if I smell someone smoking. It's a hard time
for me. I wonder if that has anything to do with
it. You know, my mom and dad used to fart around
the house all the time. Maybe that's why I'm
so sensitive every time you do it around me.
I think that's why you fart a lot is where you
were going with that. Are we going to have time
to do the Russell? Oh, way to give it away. They
know what it is now. It doesn't matter. Look,
I propose we just kind of pass out. Let's just
kick that down. We'll do the Russell on the next
one. And people will forget that we said it.
Let's focus on the Swift Single Malt Texas Whiskey.
I thought we did. On to the rustles. Welcome
to the party, Sean. What is the gin? Do you already
have that account? Or the fruity one you're talking
about? Is that in the pipe coming down? It's
on the pipe yet. We're still looking. We're looking
to partner with a brand that's kind of unique
and different like that. Or make our own. Or
make our own. There we go. Is that like in a
little barrel like you'd infuse it? The next
evolution. So can we talk about how, what is
gin? So gin is just a neutral grain spirits and
then you basically are going to, it's technically
the first flavored vodka. So it's neutral grain
spirits and then they infuse. the different botanicals
and obviously juniper being heavy you have cinnamon
there's almond there's lemon peel orange peel
there's i mean there's probably 50 different
botanicals you're saying it is infused vodka
they put like a big at the end of the day big
tea bag just throw it in there that's what it
is it is infused vodka my grandmother my dad's
i was a huge gin fan i mean she drank london's
gin and she drank that And then within that,
you have the categories. You have different London
dry gin, and you have navy strength gin. You
have different styles of gin. No kidding. So
how is that different than infused vodka versus
infused gin? Because they're adding actual probably
sugars or other outside components that are not
natural. Because the steeping process takes time.
Vodkas don't want time. They want fast. Get your
stuff out. Yeah, it's like tea. It's got to sit
there. That's 100 % right. It's a great reference.
Interesting. I am willing to try. I'm a proponent
for gin. I'm on board with it. A fruity gin.
I already know the gin. First is the one we're
going to start with. We'll go with there. We
have a few options. We've got to get you guys
back here into the Dallas region. Or at least
let us know. If you're willing. I had a great
time so far. I love it. All right. Well, we'll
get you on the calendar. But even if you guys
are, regardless whether we do the podcast or
not, next time you guys are in town, I mean,
I don't know if you guys are here ever on a Friday.
I mean, really, that's kind of our day that we
can actually get out and go do stuff. The wives
let us go out. And we can meet you in Fort Worth.
Yes. Wouldn't that be fun? Yeah. Yeah, we're
here once a month. Regardless, two to three days.
We're here at least once a month. We just got
into, there's a Hilton right next to the Cowboy
Stadium. Okay. And they're a new NVU signature
account, so they have all of our products. Oh.
And so we'll be doing some stuff with them, and
there's some other things happening. Like I said,
we're trying to create those all throughout the
Dallas. Well, if you need an entourage, that's
going to be an immediate party starter. Just
invite us. We'll show up. We're excellent singers,
excellent dancers. I heard the karaoke skills
are pretty big in this room. They're killer.
A little journey going, Paul will go off. Yeah,
if you want to shut the party down, turn the
mics on, game on. We have a good time. We really
do. Actually, we really do have a good time whenever
we do the karaoke stuff. Surprisingly, shockingly,
we're actually not horrible. Well. Not horrible.
Well, you recorded this that one time. You're
like, yeah. That was 2 .30 in the morning, all
right? That's right. That does not count. Yes.
Until 1 .30, we sound pretty good. Yes. All right.
We'll do this on the record. The Swift single
malt, we're going to rate this. This is tough
for me because I don't know how many we have
gone. I would try to gauge you with other ones
that are similar, but I don't have. But it's
similar. It's 85 proof, so that's going to put
it in the category. Yeah, I would not put this
against rare characters. Rare characters is like
130 -something proof. So it's a whole different
animal. It's a different animal. I'm going to
go with general enjoyment. I'm going to shoot
right up to a 7 .2. Actually, I'll do a 7 .2
for the sweeter one. And for the sherry cast
and for the Chardonnay cast, I'll jump up to
a 7 .5. Sauternes cast. Sauternes cast. Now,
that means white wine. So it is a white wine.
Okay. Just like Chardonnay? Yeah, that's what
I'm trying to break it down. I mean, white wine.
What is specifically a white wine? Is it a specific
grape? So that's the variety. Yeah. Okay. So
it's just white wine grape? It's different from
Chardonnay grape? Yes. It's a different grape.
Just like wheat, corn, barley, rye. I never knew
that. Yep. I thought that Chardonnay was a white
grape. It is. It is. But it's just one specific
and then you have different varietals. Salt Tarn
is just another varietal. I am not that. We did
have a sommelier, Miss Heather Liner, that was
on. We did. That was like that podcast went off
the rails because she introduced a lot. We lost
Sean for about 15 minutes at the end. We did.
It got tough. She introduced some really good
stuff. Wine's fun. He was speaking in tongues.
He was. God bless. All right. Well, look, I'm
really glad. Hold on. We got a couple minutes
to talk about. What do we want to talk about?
What do we got coming up? Any events? Let's see.
Christmas? No. Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving. Now
I have to go to the beach for Thanksgiving. That's
right. So I have to tell my wife, sorry. Get
a bikini. Do something different. I'm sorry.
What about are you guys fans of going on cruises?
I'm wearing the bikini. We've never been on a
cruise. Really? I haven't either. I don't really
have a desire. I think there's other things that
I'd rather pick than a cruise, but I'm not opposed
to it. If somebody invited us or whatever, but
it's not one of those things that's on the list
of like, let's make it something. I think I'd
rather do like a Mediterranean or a European
river or an Alaska cruise. The river cruises?
Yeah. I don't know if I really want to do the
Caribbean ones. I'd rather do the Caribbean.
Caribbean? Caribbean. Caribbean. It depends on
where you come from. Yeah. Does it? If you live
in the U .S., if you go over to Thailand. I'm
fucking with you. Those are too, you know what?
Honestly, they're too party. They're too much
noise, too much kids, too much junk. I think
that's why. Alaska's amazing. Alaska is amazing.
I have a couple of friends that I work with,
and they swear by going on this cruise. I have
a neighbor that they go on cruises all the time.
They absolutely love them. And if you're not
a huge loser, I mean, to get the drink package
is one thing. I say if you're not a huge loser
regarding the drinking, if you can handle like
10 drinks a day. I mean, there's some people
that are like, what do you mean I can't have
another drink? I was like, dude, that's on your
fucking 10th, all right? You've been here an
hour, you know? But my point is that, in fact,
you can buy them, but drinks are so expensive
on these cruises. They are, very. But if that's
not your bag, but... I don't know. You got to
smuggle it in. I'm trying to figure that out
before I go. Wow. I'm not going to keister it.
A bladder? What the hell, dude? Well, I mean,
so these cruises, they got several. They've got,
you know, the ones that take you out to the Caribbean.
The Alaska one is kind of cool. The Alaska one
is amazing. Highly recommend it. Highly recommend
it. You've been on it? Yes. Celebrity cruises.
Do you have any photos to prove it? That's really
a sore topic. Oh, did you lose your key? No,
the IT guy, my laptop froze up, and I was like,
listen, I've got really important pictures on
this laptop. Oh, that's right. I need you to
do whatever you can to rescue that hard drive.
He's like, oh, man, I got you, I got you. Don't
worry about it. He walks down the hall. He comes
back. I could have sworn it was less than four
minutes later. Hey, man, sorry. I had to clean
the hard drive off. I was like, brother, you
put no effort into this. Dude, we had pictures
of nesting bald eagles that just happened to
be in a tree above the dock when we were going
to go look at whales on a little whale boat thing.
They were literally doing their whole mating
call thing where they were looking at each other
and feeding each other shit. It was incredible.
That's why we need video. We're not doing video
because I don't do the bald eagle thing very
well. I'm just saying we lost so many amazing
pictures. That is tough. A lot of these phones
go straight to the cloud when you take these
pictures. I got to tell you, I'm about to make
the jump. This phone's going to go. The Android,
I should say. I'm going to switch over probably
to the Apple iPhone. Welcome to the club. You
heard it first right here on the podcast. That
is a momentous, monumental... It is. It's a big
deal. Everyone in my family has... iPhone and
I got my iPad. I think that's what turned you.
It did because I really enjoy having FaceTime.
Nobody likes the green messages. You can't send
you anything Android. Our texts all get screwed
up. You get it screwed up if you're all iPhone
and one Android. It does. That's exactly right.
Because when we do text messages, it's like I
have two text threads. And I'm like, I have no
idea why we have two text threads. It's like,
well, I don't care. Welcome to the club. Welcome
to the cool kids club. That's right. It was a
pleasure having you guys. Your story is such
a cool story. Thank you so much. And we would
love to have you back. We would love to be back.
Cool. Thank you. We wrapped this up pretty good.
And we're happy for the single malt Texas. Shout
out to those guys, Swift. And where are they?
You can find them at Moe's Soda Wines. Driftwood.
Which is close to San Antonio. Austin. I met
Austin. Do they have a tasting room or anything
like that? She does not. But we can arrange one
if you need. I think we're going to need one.
Challenge accepted. We can do that. All right,
guys. Look, it's the second half of the Dudes
Like Us podcast. It's November 4th. We appreciate
our guests coming out here. We've had a great
time. You guys look like you're about ready to
go to bed. Chuck. Yes. God bless it. Thank you
for staying on top of shit. Dudes Like Us Facebook.
And Instagram. God bless. And I'm Sean. I'm Paul.
I'm Jeff. I'm Victoria with NVU Brands. Go follow
us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn. And I'm
JustNoey. JustNoey. That's it. JustNoey. Is that
your hashtag? JustNoey. JustNoey. Awesome. Thanks,
guys. Good night. Thanks.