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This is Whiskey Wanderlust.

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And we're on an expedition to discover how Colorado is elevating craft spirits from

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grain to glass.

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We bring whiskey explorers like you an inside look at the distilled stories, colorful characters,

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and rich flavors that make Colorado a true whiskey frontier.

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So pour yourself a drink and join us on an unforgettable journey.

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On this episode, Bear Creek Distillery.

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Welcome to Whiskey Wanderlust.

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We are your hosts, Ryan, Corey.

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Welcome.

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Happy New Year to you and your family.

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Hope you all had a great holiday season.

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You might be joining us in dry January or like rye January.

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Yeah.

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So we're sorry, we are not particularly partaking in that.

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But yeah, we're here.

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We've got a podcast to keep pushing with, right?

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So we got to keep on trying new stuff and keep it keep it flowing.

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So but we hope you guys had a wonderful holiday season.

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Brian and I certainly did.

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We in fact, we had an opportunity to attend a couple of really cool events in the early

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part of December, which are really cool.

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Bear Creek was one right there.

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10 year anniversary.

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And they had a special release, which you've gotten your hands on here.

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Yes.

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Debo and the team, Jade team down there.

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Let us know that they're releasing that.

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So we got in on that, which is quite a good expression.

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So if you had if you got lucky enough to get your hands on one of these, we'd like to hear

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your feedback and how much you're enjoying that as well.

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But I know I know the bottles went quickly.

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So yeah, and it was a cool event.

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We covered it on our social media.

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Go check it out on Instagram and Facebook.

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And yeah, super cool vibe.

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They had the we went up on their competition.

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Yeah, cocktail competition.

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Yeah.

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And they were they were slinging drinks left and right.

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It was busy.

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And man, that place for and we'll get into in the episode of their steampunk ski lodge.

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It's a super cool vibe in there.

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That place was packed and they were certainly having a lot of fun.

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Again, was busy as ever behind behind the bar there.

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And yeah, super fun to watch.

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Yeah.

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The other event we attended was the opening of Law's the Whiskey Sanctuary, the tasting

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room, which I wouldn't call a tasting room.

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It's more of a what's all it's it's a lounge.

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Their tours kick off from there.

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I mean, they do have the taste that kind of speakeasy tasting bar there, too.

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Yeah.

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And a sanctuary they got.

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You see all this was covered on social media as well.

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So go and check out that video.

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Yeah.

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And we'll be bringing you some special coverage on that at a later date, too.

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So yeah, we're able to get a we got a full on full on interview with our laws with.

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Yeah.

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So we'll we'll be dropping that at some point.

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He obliged us with some extra time that night, which was which was fantastic.

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Yeah.

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And he was busy shaking hands.

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So he gave us some extra time.

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So it was really cool.

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And quick shout out to Casey and Sam, the team there.

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They did an awesome job putting that event on.

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And I know that was a an ordeal getting there, getting to the occupancy.

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But they got there and it's it's a very exciting space.

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Yeah, it was a beautiful space.

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And so if you want to see that, there's a little bit of it.

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We put a video together on our social media.

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If you're not subscribed, please subscribe and rate us.

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It really helps us out.

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And then you won't miss out on any of this stuff that we're we're putting out there.

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And who knows, we might be running a competition for these new swag shirts.

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If you didn't notice or if you're listening, go check out the video.

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But we've got brand new shirts designed by Corey doing everything in house here.

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And you'll start seeing these on a few of the episodes.

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Drop us a rating and we we might send some gifts in the mail here in the next in the

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next month or so.

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Yeah.

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And if you're interested in the shirts, let us know.

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Send us a line on social or email or whatever.

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Yeah, message.

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Maybe we'll start putting some of these out there.

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So we dropped our first episode two months ago.

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This is now our third episode.

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And before we move on any further, I do want to thank our early supporters that we've already

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gotten.

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You guys have been great.

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I mean, you guys have been helping us get our name out there on socials, like and share

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and stuff.

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It's been great.

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We really appreciate that.

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And we're just we're just blessed that you guys are helping us out with this project.

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So yeah, it's been a real labor of love.

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It's pretty much a second job almost.

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Well, all the effort we're putting behind it.

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And for those of you who might not know, Ryan does media production for a living and he

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does all the video recording for us.

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And so and if you're listening, go check us out on YouTube and you'll be able to see a

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lot of his handiwork throughout the episodes.

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But he does this for a living and the editing is no is no small feat.

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So he does now.

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And all the web presence and social media and stuff, which is my forte.

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Yeah, that's my side of the house.

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And it's that's been no small feat either.

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So it's but it's been a ton of fun.

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We're certainly not complaining.

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We're enjoying it.

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It's but it's been a lot of a lot of a labor of love, like he expressed.

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So yeah.

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But that brings us to today, which is episode three, which is Bear Creek up in Denver, where

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we interviewed J. Johnson and Ryan Stoltzfuss up there.

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They're brand ambassador sales manager, right?

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Also cocktail extraordinaire, too, because he slings drinks behind the bar.

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In-house doctor and tour guide and astronaut cowboy.

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Even all even has an alter ego that you'll get just to hear.

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So and if you're listening to this, you'll you'll hear it in the episode.

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But you got to go check it out on the on the video side of things, because it's hilarious.

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Well, that I mean, even even following the Bear Creek socials, right?

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He pops up in there, too.

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So we're not going to divulge too much, but just want to tease that in there, because

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that's a really fun part of the interview.

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So right. What what stuck out to you with this interview?

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I think one of the things that really stuck out with me was Ryan Stoltzfuss.

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His just he's a wealth of knowledge, both like on the granular level where he's talking

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about grain.

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You know, he's talking about just I mean, he's a certified bourbon steward, professional

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Scotch.

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Or is it he's a certified Scotch professional?

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Yeah, there you go.

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And just like he's, you know, just, you know, really getting into the nerdy side of things.

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And he's got he's got a background in in baking, which we cover, too.

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And he dropped some cool science on us to let us know why whiskey is technically gluten

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free.

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Yeah.

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And so it's really cool.

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Like, it's a lot of stuff that I had no knowledge of.

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And yeah, it was just really neat.

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Well, in his background, too, in the coffee world, right?

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Yeah.

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And baking, he really leans well and leans heavy into the tasting and the flavors of the

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products, which is, yeah, I mean, a huge asset for Bear Creek.

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Right.

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And then the other guy on the other hand is obviously one of the founders, you know, came

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from a pest control background.

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And we joke that it was it was poison of both both worlds, just different types.

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Right.

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But, you know, his background and founding the distillery with some friends, they sought

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they, you know, old skater friends, you know, skate rats, I think, as they call themselves.

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Right.

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They wanted to go into business together and they just started looking for ideas.

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And one of them had recently done a distilling class.

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And so they ended up settling in on on doing distillery together, which I think of all

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the folks we've interviewed so far, I don't think anybody's been like, oh, we didn't really

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care what we were getting into.

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Just as long as we were doing it together.

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As long as we were doing it.

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Yeah.

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That was kind of what they, you know, that was kind of their approach.

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And yeah, which is kind of cool.

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So most of them have set out specifically to and maybe they had like a different journey

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to get there, but they set out to start a distillery in the beginning.

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So this one did not.

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So and then their aspect community, I thought was really cool with their collaboration.

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The Colorado Whiskey Club that they did with the Tender Stories, right.

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Them and Laws went in to help donate to a urban peak homelessness or anti homelessness

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program there.

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And it's right in their neighborhood.

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There's a really cool building helping on-house teens.

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And just that's super cool.

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So dive in and find out about that too.

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So yeah, this is a really fun episode.

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I think it comes through in the episode.

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We just had a ton of fun and I think the energy of Bear Creek is just always great.

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I mean, Jay and Ryan and even, you know, meeting Debo later, you know, they're just a bunch

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of fun guys.

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Yeah.

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They just enjoy having fun.

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So it was, this was a real treat for us.

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Yeah.

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So enjoy this episode.

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The art interview with Jay Johnson and Ryan Stoltzfuss with Bear Creek Distillery.

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Welcome to Whiskey Wanderlust.

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We're here at Bear Creek Distillery with Jay and Ryan.

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Thanks for having us down here.

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Excited to have a conversation.

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Check out your beautiful place here.

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But yeah, we were just joking offline about a few things.

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So we're already got some smiles on our faces.

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But Jay, tell me, how do you go from being a pest control into distilling whiskey?

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A lot of it's dumb luck.

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Dumb luck?

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Yeah.

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I've managed to stumble upwards in life, which is a pretty good skill to have.

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This whole project's born out of lifelong relationships that I've had with my business

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partners.

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Ran into one of my business partners.

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He has a boatload of kids.

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I have a boatload of kids.

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Sort of rekindled our friendship.

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And that turned into sort of a what if scenario between that business partner and Jeff, who

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is our head distiller.

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Started out as, hey, man, we should really get together and do something.

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We weren't sure what space we were going to do said something in.

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But it wasn't going to be pest control.

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Wasn't going to be pest control.

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We knew it was going to be poison of some sort, but not deadly poison.

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Well, I guess that's true.

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Too far.

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Yeah.

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Jeff was fresh off a trip to Peach Street.

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He was in Palisade.

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And that's the distillery out in Palisade.

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And they're OGs.

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They're one of the first two.

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Yeah, they're great folks.

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Yeah.

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We're actually really good with type of those guys.

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But yeah, he went down there and his sort of offering was like, hey, let's look at

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old distillery thing that's going on.

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This is back in 2012.

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At that time, you had Stray Hands.

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You had Peach Street, of course.

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Leopold?

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Leopold Brothers.

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Dancing Pines, which has morphed into Family Jones.

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OK.

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So Family Jones bought their facility up there as well as the one they have up here.

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But it was Dancing Pines at that time.

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So it was a pretty small sample.

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291 was just barely starting up.

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Yeah, we had no idea who 291 was at that point.

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But I know that we all kind of there was a group of us that all kind of started right

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around the same time.

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291 and us as well and even Vapor.

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Although they're a little bit older than we are because they were roundhouse at one point.

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So at that time was very new.

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We were sort of at the forefront of what was going on in Denver.

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Even at that time, though, Denver and Colorado was being recognized as putting out some pretty

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good product, right?

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Right.

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So we sort of decided that that's something that we wanted to pursue.

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We had weekly meetings.

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Excuse me.

249
00:11:46,040 --> 00:11:49,760
We had quarterly meetings that turned into monthly meetings, that turned into weekly

250
00:11:49,760 --> 00:11:52,800
meetings, that turned into buying this building.

251
00:11:52,800 --> 00:11:58,120
And I had always maintained, you know, we don't have to fall into trappings of what

252
00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:01,560
people think of Colorado whiskey, miners, cowboys.

253
00:12:01,560 --> 00:12:05,280
We looked at this building and obviously can't see it from here, but we bought a saloon.

254
00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:09,240
So that was fucking the trends.

255
00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:10,240
Yeah.

256
00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:13,360
So we were really, really.

257
00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:14,360
So yeah, we.

258
00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:17,280
Billy Bob walks in here every now and again.

259
00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:21,520
So it started from there.

260
00:12:21,520 --> 00:12:22,520
You know, we didn't really have.

261
00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:29,280
I mean, I worked in the hospitality industry for years as well as Devo, my business partner,

262
00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:31,640
other business partner.

263
00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:36,560
So we had limited knowledge, so it was on us to basically teach ourselves the industry.

264
00:12:36,560 --> 00:12:41,320
And in that first couple of years, it took us to build this out because we bought this

265
00:12:41,320 --> 00:12:42,320
in 2012.

266
00:12:42,320 --> 00:12:43,800
We didn't open it public to 2014.

267
00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:47,840
OK, so we had some time during the build out.

268
00:12:47,840 --> 00:12:52,600
So we really focused on visiting the existing distilleries in Colorado.

269
00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:54,920
And then we traveled out of state as well.

270
00:12:54,920 --> 00:12:55,920
Right.

271
00:12:55,920 --> 00:13:00,120
Jeff went to journeymen and he did some training at Kovol.

272
00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:02,880
And that's how we have this beautiful still.

273
00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:07,080
Kovol is Cota's stateside representation.

274
00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:10,640
Jeff trained there on this still and decided this is the one we needed.

275
00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:12,880
So they actually have a training facility or something.

276
00:13:12,880 --> 00:13:17,200
No, I mean, just, you know, you can go and shadow and things like that.

277
00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:21,480
So there are programs like even down slope here in town.

278
00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:23,280
They have a distiller's class.

279
00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:25,480
OK, it's pretty basic stuff.

280
00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:29,320
But I mean, for someone that doesn't have any baseline knowledge, it was helpful.

281
00:13:29,320 --> 00:13:34,160
Yes, we got the big old still call hot Donna.

282
00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:35,160
Instructions came in German.

283
00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:36,840
None of us speak German.

284
00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:37,840
No.

285
00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:38,840
So Google translate.

286
00:13:38,840 --> 00:13:39,840
Yeah.

287
00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:40,840
Yeah.

288
00:13:40,840 --> 00:13:41,840
A lot of Google.

289
00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:42,840
This looks like this goes together.

290
00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:45,840
So basically, we built this place around.

291
00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:47,840
I mean, you're a typical guy.

292
00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:48,840
You didn't follow the instructions, right?

293
00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:49,840
Oh, no, we just started putting it together.

294
00:13:49,840 --> 00:13:50,840
Why?

295
00:13:50,840 --> 00:13:51,840
Why even send them in German?

296
00:13:51,840 --> 00:13:52,840
Because yeah, right.

297
00:13:52,840 --> 00:13:53,840
It's like duct tape, whatever doesn't fit together.

298
00:13:53,840 --> 00:13:54,840
Right.

299
00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:55,840
Yeah.

300
00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:56,840
So we.

301
00:13:56,840 --> 00:14:00,960
It's a beautiful piece of equipment.

302
00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:01,960
Thank you.

303
00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:02,960
Yeah, I mean, it's great.

304
00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:05,240
You know, the Germans, if they've done anything, well, it's engineering things.

305
00:14:05,240 --> 00:14:07,440
So but we can do anything.

306
00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:08,920
We can make any spirit on the still here.

307
00:14:08,920 --> 00:14:11,080
One of the things we don't make is gin.

308
00:14:11,080 --> 00:14:16,360
A lot of times if distilleries make gin on the same still, they make all the other products

309
00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:17,800
and tastes like gin.

310
00:14:17,800 --> 00:14:18,800
Yeah.

311
00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:19,800
So never say never.

312
00:14:19,800 --> 00:14:21,840
But right now we're not producing gin.

313
00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:29,360
But that sort of walkabout, if you will, allowed us to sort of poach or pick and choose, I

314
00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:34,960
guess, pick and choose the better choice of words of what we thought were components of

315
00:14:34,960 --> 00:14:36,920
successful stories that we like.

316
00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:37,920
Sure.

317
00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:44,200
Quickly became obvious to us that sometimes tasting rooms and depending on what the regulations

318
00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:45,200
are in your state, right?

319
00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:46,200
Right.

320
00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:48,600
Sometimes you're not really allowed to have cocktail bars or whatever.

321
00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:50,520
But luckily we are here.

322
00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:52,120
We chose to...

323
00:14:52,120 --> 00:14:53,840
You can only use your products, right?

324
00:14:53,840 --> 00:14:54,840
Right.

325
00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:55,840
Yeah.

326
00:14:55,840 --> 00:15:01,280
So we chose to really go after that front to back motto of having our tasting room be

327
00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:02,840
something impressive.

328
00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:08,960
I feel like we were kind of at the forefront of that in Colorado of really elevating that

329
00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:11,960
tasting room experience.

330
00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:12,960
So that's where we started.

331
00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:19,720
And then from there, you know, we made vodka and rum and we waited two years before we

332
00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:21,920
released any of our whiskey.

333
00:15:21,920 --> 00:15:23,800
And now it's 10 years.

334
00:15:23,800 --> 00:15:24,800
That's awesome.

335
00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:29,760
And for our audience, we're sitting just inside their distillery and just behind the cameras

336
00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:32,720
is their beautiful tasting room that they have.

337
00:15:32,720 --> 00:15:36,520
And hopefully you guys will get a shot of that during our tasting, our tour.

338
00:15:36,520 --> 00:15:40,520
But I mean, in terms of tasting rooms that I've been to in the state, I've been to a

339
00:15:40,520 --> 00:15:41,680
lot of them.

340
00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:43,280
This is one of the coolest, in my opinion.

341
00:15:43,280 --> 00:15:45,380
It's got a really cool vibe and it looks really good.

342
00:15:45,380 --> 00:15:47,400
So tell us a little bit about your tasting room.

343
00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:48,400
Like what were the...

344
00:15:48,400 --> 00:15:49,400
What was the thought that went?

345
00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:57,240
So we had a pretty forward thinking general contractor who also did a lot of the design

346
00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:02,440
for us, but there was a lot of lumber involved.

347
00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:06,260
And then we were like, all right, this is getting too ski lodgy.

348
00:16:06,260 --> 00:16:09,320
So we threw some metal finishes in there.

349
00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:13,760
I like to call it like a theme punk ski lodge.

350
00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:17,000
Yeah, I like that.

351
00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:22,440
And there's like, a lot of the things are high-end finishes, like the tile that we use,

352
00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:26,440
a backsplash behind the bar, Spanish scale tile.

353
00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:28,920
We didn't want just a regular old beer.

354
00:16:28,920 --> 00:16:29,920
So we did that.

355
00:16:29,920 --> 00:16:35,280
So well, in your diversity and spirits lets you guys kind of cater to the audience a lot.

356
00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:38,000
So it's not just a whiskey tasting bar, right?

357
00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:40,280
Which those have a very different vibe here.

358
00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:44,240
I mean, I'm pretty sure you served my wife and I when we came out and I'm thinking about

359
00:16:44,240 --> 00:16:45,240
it.

360
00:16:45,240 --> 00:16:47,640
You know, we came in here, there was lively bunch.

361
00:16:47,640 --> 00:16:51,140
There was, you know, very large mix of crowd stuff there.

362
00:16:51,140 --> 00:16:52,140
It was a really cool vibe.

363
00:16:52,140 --> 00:16:55,040
You guys regularly have a DJ in here, like a standing?

364
00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:56,040
Yep.

365
00:16:56,040 --> 00:16:58,360
It's Saturday nights are big DJ.

366
00:16:58,360 --> 00:16:59,920
Every Sunday we have DJs.

367
00:16:59,920 --> 00:17:00,920
Okay.

368
00:17:00,920 --> 00:17:03,240
Certain Fridays we have DJs.

369
00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:05,320
And you've had some big names come through too, right?

370
00:17:05,320 --> 00:17:07,120
We do.

371
00:17:07,120 --> 00:17:10,600
There's some traveling guys that have come through and we have a couple of our own standalone

372
00:17:10,600 --> 00:17:12,960
events during the year, the adult lemonade stand.

373
00:17:12,960 --> 00:17:19,200
We also do wax and whiskey, but the adult lemonade stand is focused on like famous touring

374
00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:21,440
DJs we've had coming up.

375
00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:23,080
We have cut chemists coming.

376
00:17:23,080 --> 00:17:24,440
We've had scratch basted.

377
00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:26,920
We've had DJ new Mark.

378
00:17:26,920 --> 00:17:28,400
So it's a lot of fun.

379
00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:29,400
Yeah.

380
00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:33,080
Well, and the biggest, biggest touring name that comes through here is your business partner,

381
00:17:33,080 --> 00:17:34,080
right?

382
00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:35,080
Yeah.

383
00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:36,080
He, he, he absolutely.

384
00:17:36,080 --> 00:17:37,080
Yeah.

385
00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:38,080
Yep.

386
00:17:38,080 --> 00:17:41,080
He's the best one out of all of them.

387
00:17:41,080 --> 00:17:48,160
So he, he and his buddy have a DJ crew, I guess would be the proper term and it's party

388
00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:49,160
shark music.

389
00:17:49,160 --> 00:17:50,160
Okay.

390
00:17:50,160 --> 00:17:51,160
So it's just Debo.

391
00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:52,160
Okay.

392
00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:53,160
Yeah.

393
00:17:53,160 --> 00:17:54,160
So he, he puts on a good show.

394
00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:59,920
Well, so the Ryan's, I mean, your, your journey here, as I understand you came from a different

395
00:17:59,920 --> 00:18:00,920
beverage.

396
00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:01,920
I did.

397
00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:02,920
Yeah.

398
00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:03,920
Brewed.

399
00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:04,920
Still brewed.

400
00:18:04,920 --> 00:18:05,920
Coffee.

401
00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:06,920
Yeah, absolutely.

402
00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:07,920
So, okay.

403
00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:11,000
Tell us how you connect coffee into, into whiskey.

404
00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:13,280
I can do that.

405
00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:14,280
Thank you for asking.

406
00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:15,280
Wonderful question.

407
00:18:15,280 --> 00:18:19,320
I might take it back a little bit further if I may.

408
00:18:19,320 --> 00:18:21,320
As far back as you want.

409
00:18:21,320 --> 00:18:23,880
Well 1987, great year.

410
00:18:23,880 --> 00:18:24,880
Oh man.

411
00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:25,880
Yeah.

412
00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:26,880
Popped out in this one.

413
00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:27,880
No, he's a product of 80s.

414
00:18:27,880 --> 00:18:28,880
It's already a great start.

415
00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:29,880
Yeah.

416
00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:34,400
I don't know what that means anymore.

417
00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:40,560
So I'm from Kentucky and growing up there, they actually produce a little whiskey.

418
00:18:40,560 --> 00:18:44,080
I don't know if anyone familiar with that or not, but I've heard of it.

419
00:18:44,080 --> 00:18:45,080
Yeah.

420
00:18:45,080 --> 00:18:49,320
But I, to be honest, it meant nothing to me growing up there.

421
00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:50,320
I didn't drink.

422
00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:53,320
It was just something your parents did when you were an infant?

423
00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:54,680
No, my parents didn't drink.

424
00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:56,920
I actually come from a dry home.

425
00:18:56,920 --> 00:18:57,920
Oh, okay.

426
00:18:57,920 --> 00:18:58,920
In a great way.

427
00:18:58,920 --> 00:19:00,400
Like I, I love that.

428
00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:03,120
Like it was such a good upbringing and so, but it was around.

429
00:19:03,120 --> 00:19:10,480
Like I, I knew that it was, you know, a big part of tourism and it was just around, right?

430
00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:19,600
But I started working at bakeries after college because I got a degree in recreation because

431
00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:20,600
the outdoors are cool.

432
00:19:20,600 --> 00:19:21,600
So you go into baking.

433
00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:24,600
So then I went to baking.

434
00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:25,600
Obviously recreational.

435
00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:26,600
Yeah, obviously.

436
00:19:26,600 --> 00:19:32,920
But I've always enjoyed baking when I was a kid, it was either going to be astronaut,

437
00:19:32,920 --> 00:19:34,200
cowboy or baker.

438
00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:35,200
Those were my options.

439
00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:40,000
So two of three, two of three, you know, actually recently been able to check that, that cowboy

440
00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:41,000
box for sure.

441
00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:42,000
Oh, I thought you were going to say astronaut.

442
00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:48,040
I was like, wow, this is a good company.

443
00:19:48,040 --> 00:19:49,640
People do say I'm out of this world.

444
00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:50,640
That's true.

445
00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:51,640
Oh my goodness.

446
00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:54,640
That joke was too.

447
00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:57,960
I digress.

448
00:19:57,960 --> 00:20:00,480
So baking is something that I've always enjoyed.

449
00:20:00,480 --> 00:20:03,840
I did it with my grandmother, with my mom.

450
00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:09,280
And so I just, I, I started dabbling a little bit into the bread world and then got a job

451
00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:10,440
working at bakeries.

452
00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:18,120
So I say that to say grain was something I got really into just all the different varieties

453
00:20:18,120 --> 00:20:23,280
and how they acted and tasted and how to use them and manipulate them.

454
00:20:23,280 --> 00:20:24,280
It was great.

455
00:20:24,280 --> 00:20:25,280
Interesting.

456
00:20:25,280 --> 00:20:32,520
And so when I moved out here in 2014, got a job at a bakery and then kind of that's

457
00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:35,840
when I transitioned into the coffee world from that.

458
00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:39,880
So I kind of had that grain background and that was always something that I enjoyed moving

459
00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:40,880
into coffee.

460
00:20:40,880 --> 00:20:46,600
Another kind of, it's another crop, another agricultural product, which I love from a

461
00:20:46,600 --> 00:20:47,600
farming town.

462
00:20:47,600 --> 00:20:50,360
And it's a dad was an ag teacher for 30 years.

463
00:20:50,360 --> 00:20:53,560
Like that's a, that's a big part of who I am as well.

464
00:20:53,560 --> 00:20:59,560
And so coffee was great because you get to celebrate, you know, variety and flavors and

465
00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:01,360
it was Corvus coffee roasters.

466
00:21:01,360 --> 00:21:06,080
So we were roasting and sourcing like all these interesting coffees from all over the

467
00:21:06,080 --> 00:21:07,080
world.

468
00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:11,480
And it was kind of my time to really develop a palette more than anything else because

469
00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:17,480
it was very sensory driven because we were doing QC all the time and we were trying to

470
00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:23,400
sell this great product in the best way we could to our consumers, our customers.

471
00:21:23,400 --> 00:21:27,280
And so being able to talk about it and recommend things was really important.

472
00:21:27,280 --> 00:21:33,080
So I was over there for about seven years, but while I was doing that Bear Creek opened

473
00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:35,400
up Corvus is just across the street.

474
00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:39,160
And so I would walk here after work and drink some whiskey.

475
00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:44,200
And when I was closing, you know, usually not after opening, but not first thing in

476
00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:45,960
the morning, putting the coffee on.

477
00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:46,960
Yeah.

478
00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:47,960
But it was great.

479
00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:52,160
He's a fan of Irish coffee.

480
00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:53,160
I don't know.

481
00:21:53,160 --> 00:21:58,000
I really got to know people and I really liked being here.

482
00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:03,200
I think we all need places where we feel comfortable to go out to.

483
00:22:03,200 --> 00:22:06,440
You want to walk in somewhere and be like, this is kind of my spot.

484
00:22:06,440 --> 00:22:10,000
You know, I know a person or two, like they know my face.

485
00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:11,800
They might know my name.

486
00:22:11,800 --> 00:22:12,800
I love that.

487
00:22:12,800 --> 00:22:13,800
And I still need that.

488
00:22:13,800 --> 00:22:14,800
I think we all do.

489
00:22:14,800 --> 00:22:15,800
I go to the Inglewood Grand a lot.

490
00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:20,480
Shout out for that very reason of that is my spot.

491
00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:22,800
That is where I just go to relax.

492
00:22:22,800 --> 00:22:27,040
And so Fair Creek was absolutely that for me at that time.

493
00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:33,560
And so kind of just weaseled my way in and started just bar backing a day or two a week

494
00:22:33,560 --> 00:22:35,920
and did that for a little while.

495
00:22:35,920 --> 00:22:37,480
That's kind of how I got my foot in the door.

496
00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:39,960
Well, then you've hired you on.

497
00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:43,760
And then I understand you weren't originally a part of the sales team like you are now.

498
00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:44,760
You were doing other things.

499
00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:45,760
Correct.

500
00:22:45,760 --> 00:22:48,200
So what did you how did you how did you tell us a bit more about the journey here?

501
00:22:48,200 --> 00:22:49,880
Yeah, I mean, journey.

502
00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:52,760
It is that I think again, starting as a bar back.

503
00:22:52,760 --> 00:22:57,360
And just part time and doing that up until Covid.

504
00:22:57,360 --> 00:23:03,040
And then I guess it during that time, I was still working at Corvus.

505
00:23:03,040 --> 00:23:06,680
We opened a bakery actually, which is really great because I kind of get back into that

506
00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:07,680
world.

507
00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:14,720
And then in 2021, I came on full time here and I got to do a little bit of everything.

508
00:23:14,720 --> 00:23:17,320
I was right time to help him make hand sanitizer.

509
00:23:17,320 --> 00:23:19,320
Yeah, we never did.

510
00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:21,480
No, good on.

511
00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:23,080
We made those.

512
00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:26,160
There's plenty of that needed, too.

513
00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:27,160
Absolutely.

514
00:23:27,160 --> 00:23:28,160
Absolutely.

515
00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:33,840
Yeah, I understand that you've held many titles here, including Doctor.

516
00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:35,600
And I told them we call you Doctor.

517
00:23:35,600 --> 00:23:39,880
Yeah, I, you know, I am a doctor of whiskey, you might say.

518
00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:44,920
No, my so my first name is Daniel and my middle name is Ryan.

519
00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:45,920
I go by Ryan.

520
00:23:45,920 --> 00:23:47,440
So DR, my initials.

521
00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:48,720
It's just like me.

522
00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:49,720
Great name, by the way.

523
00:23:49,720 --> 00:23:50,720
Yeah.

524
00:23:50,720 --> 00:23:51,720
Yeah.

525
00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:54,720
They mean a lot of great Ryan's make a right.

526
00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:55,720
Yeah.

527
00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:58,720
So just say on that.

528
00:23:58,720 --> 00:23:59,720
Yeah.

529
00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:02,280
And that's what I love about small business.

530
00:24:02,280 --> 00:24:04,000
You do get to wear a lot of different hats.

531
00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:08,040
And so working in production with Jeff bartending.

532
00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:10,440
And that's that's just what I got to do.

533
00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:14,120
Megan is our bar manager and has been doing it for a very long time.

534
00:24:14,120 --> 00:24:16,280
And she's such a wonderful person to work with.

535
00:24:16,280 --> 00:24:17,280
She's the best.

536
00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:18,280
Yeah, she truly is.

537
00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:22,360
And so being able to bartend for a few years was great.

538
00:24:22,360 --> 00:24:28,560
And then kind of a sales position opened up and just kind of your skate right over tour

539
00:24:28,560 --> 00:24:29,560
guy.

540
00:24:29,560 --> 00:24:30,560
Well, yeah, and tour guide.

541
00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:31,560
Yeah, do that as well.

542
00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:32,560
Yeah, yeah.

543
00:24:32,560 --> 00:24:33,560
Yeah.

544
00:24:33,560 --> 00:24:38,520
No, that was actually really fun to step into while I was bartending because I think that's

545
00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:39,520
important, right?

546
00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:43,320
You have to be able to offer experiences and because there's a lot of excitement around

547
00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:47,520
this industry and people want to hear about what you're doing and fully aware that a lot

548
00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:51,560
of folks have been on many tours and so try to keep it a little interesting at the end

549
00:24:51,560 --> 00:24:52,560
of the day.

550
00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:53,560
Like we're all doing the same thing.

551
00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:56,400
And so you're going to hear things that are the same.

552
00:24:56,400 --> 00:25:01,640
But I mean, we're our own selves, like we're our own business and we are a little bit different.

553
00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:05,360
And I love being able to tell that story, give some history and get people excited about

554
00:25:05,360 --> 00:25:06,360
what we're doing.

555
00:25:06,360 --> 00:25:10,160
So I understand your newest title is certified bourbon steward.

556
00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:11,160
Correct?

557
00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:12,160
Yeah.

558
00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:13,160
That's about that process.

559
00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:15,840
What it took to get that.

560
00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:21,240
No, not going to lie, it's just you pay money, take a test and get a certification.

561
00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:22,240
Pay to play.

562
00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:26,720
Yeah, no, that's a certification through the Stave and Thief Society.

563
00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:29,560
They're definitely kind of the go to for a lot of folks in the industry.

564
00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:34,960
They just have two levels and it's a really good way to just make sure you have your base

565
00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:36,740
knowledge dialed in.

566
00:25:36,740 --> 00:25:38,120
You can kind of prove that.

567
00:25:38,120 --> 00:25:43,720
And so it just involves like studying a lot and tasting a lot.

568
00:25:43,720 --> 00:25:46,360
And I have a I mean, it's not a brag, it's just a fact.

569
00:25:46,360 --> 00:25:48,560
I am a certified Scotch professional as well.

570
00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:50,240
Just saying.

571
00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:55,560
But but that was and I got that just because I wanted to have more of a holistic approach

572
00:25:55,560 --> 00:25:56,560
to this.

573
00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:57,560
Sure.

574
00:25:57,560 --> 00:25:59,000
Because I enjoy the category as a whole.

575
00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:03,120
And it's just I love learning.

576
00:26:03,120 --> 00:26:05,720
And that gave me an outlet for that.

577
00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:10,320
Getting those certifications and they don't necessarily mean anything at the end of the

578
00:26:10,320 --> 00:26:11,320
day.

579
00:26:11,320 --> 00:26:12,320
I mean, they do and they don't.

580
00:26:12,320 --> 00:26:13,320
Right.

581
00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:14,320
I mean, I'm not going to execute.

582
00:26:14,320 --> 00:26:17,640
I still have to be able to do my job.

583
00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:21,800
But those certifications have helped me a lot because again, it's all about learning

584
00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:24,040
and education for myself.

585
00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:27,560
And I love being able to educate others through tours and working in the tasting industry.

586
00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:29,800
I want to circle back to something you said earlier.

587
00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:33,960
I mean, and you being the proud new owner of a plant that makes a small family, guys.

588
00:26:33,960 --> 00:26:34,960
Right.

589
00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:37,480
But you talked about community and stuff.

590
00:26:37,480 --> 00:26:41,320
And that, Jay, that was one thing we talked about a lot before, too, is the importance

591
00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:44,160
of family and community and stuff to you.

592
00:26:44,160 --> 00:26:49,120
But tell us a little bit, kind of circle back to pre-Bear Creek, right?

593
00:26:49,120 --> 00:26:52,280
And talk a little bit more about your family history, too.

594
00:26:52,280 --> 00:26:55,360
Because as I understand your business partners, you guys went to junior high together?

595
00:26:55,360 --> 00:26:56,360
Junior high and high school.

596
00:26:56,360 --> 00:26:59,000
Yeah, we went to Bear Creek High School, Lake Colorado.

597
00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:01,200
And your wife was suspect of you getting a business with them.

598
00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:02,200
Correct?

599
00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:03,200
She knows all these guys.

600
00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:04,200
She grew up with the same guys I did.

601
00:27:04,200 --> 00:27:05,200
So yeah.

602
00:27:05,200 --> 00:27:07,200
And these are your gutter trash skate for you friends.

603
00:27:07,200 --> 00:27:09,400
Is that what you called yourselves earlier?

604
00:27:09,400 --> 00:27:11,920
We were all skate rats, for sure.

605
00:27:11,920 --> 00:27:18,200
And then hockey has played a major common arc in my life.

606
00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:21,640
And one of my business partners, we grew up playing hockey together.

607
00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:23,240
We still play hockey together.

608
00:27:23,240 --> 00:27:29,160
You know, that's sort of how the whole ball got rolling, if you will.

609
00:27:29,160 --> 00:27:33,480
But yeah, she's like, you're going into business with those guys.

610
00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:35,600
You have kids that are almost old enough to go to college.

611
00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:38,480
Yeah, she's like, not a great idea.

612
00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:41,840
But you know, we did it.

613
00:27:41,840 --> 00:27:46,280
I'll start a second chapter on a down note, right?

614
00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:50,480
So yeah, I mean, grew up in Lakewood.

615
00:27:50,480 --> 00:27:56,560
I've lived in Colorado since 77, originally from New Orleans.

616
00:27:56,560 --> 00:28:02,480
We actually, as a team, took a trip to New Orleans for the American Craft Spirits Association

617
00:28:02,480 --> 00:28:03,480
last summer.

618
00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:06,840
Won a gold medal for our six year.

619
00:28:06,840 --> 00:28:07,840
Awesome.

620
00:28:07,840 --> 00:28:08,840
Six years straight.

621
00:28:08,840 --> 00:28:12,800
And that that award, I don't want to digress too far, but that award is significant to you

622
00:28:12,800 --> 00:28:13,800
guys, right?

623
00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:14,800
Yeah.

624
00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:15,880
I mean, it's nice to be recognized.

625
00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:21,360
I think even more the thing, the satisfaction I get every day, not every day, because it

626
00:28:21,360 --> 00:28:24,000
doesn't happen every day, but I wish you did.

627
00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:27,320
When someone sees my hat, they're like, oh, you've got great whiskey.

628
00:28:27,320 --> 00:28:30,400
That means more to me than a medal.

629
00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:37,120
But I mean, as far as your contemporaries, you know, that's sort of them giving you a

630
00:28:37,120 --> 00:28:39,080
little more validation, if you will.

631
00:28:39,080 --> 00:28:40,080
Right.

632
00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:45,320
But I get personally, I get more satisfaction out of the everyday compliment as opposed

633
00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:47,240
to a trophy, if you will.

634
00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:48,240
Right.

635
00:28:48,240 --> 00:28:51,720
So you were starting to come back to New Orleans and I think you were connected.

636
00:28:51,720 --> 00:28:52,720
Oh, yeah.

637
00:28:52,720 --> 00:28:57,880
I was just saying that we were all we all went and it was a long four days, but we won

638
00:28:57,880 --> 00:28:58,880
our medal.

639
00:28:58,880 --> 00:28:59,880
Yeah.

640
00:28:59,880 --> 00:29:02,640
So how did you receive that medal?

641
00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:03,640
Shirtless.

642
00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:04,640
Interesting.

643
00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:06,640
Is there a video of that?

644
00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:11,280
There's some pictures.

645
00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:16,800
We have some good friends who have a distillery in St. Louis.

646
00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:18,600
And I was like, I'm going to Bert Kreischer this thing.

647
00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:23,040
I don't know if you're familiar with Bert Kreischer, but he always, he's built a little

648
00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:26,640
bit like me, you know, athletic, but probably can put in a few more hours.

649
00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:27,640
In the Jack Black way?

650
00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:28,640
Yeah.

651
00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:29,640
Yeah.

652
00:29:29,640 --> 00:29:30,640
Yeah.

653
00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:31,640
And Bert's always taking a shirt off.

654
00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:32,640
I'm going to Bert Kreischer this.

655
00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:34,960
He's like, I bet you won't.

656
00:29:34,960 --> 00:29:37,680
And that was a magic word.

657
00:29:37,680 --> 00:29:38,680
Yes.

658
00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:42,840
So I didn't technically receive your honor is on the line now.

659
00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:44,160
I'm a gentleman, right?

660
00:29:44,160 --> 00:29:45,640
I'm like landed gentry.

661
00:29:45,640 --> 00:29:47,840
So this is beyond awards.

662
00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:48,840
Yeah.

663
00:29:48,840 --> 00:29:50,840
This is real life stuff.

664
00:29:50,840 --> 00:29:56,720
So I didn't technically receive the award with as the Canadians say, tarps off.

665
00:29:56,720 --> 00:30:04,480
But after I went and got the award, I went tarps off in like a five star, like ceremony

666
00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:07,000
where people, you know, yeah.

667
00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:08,000
Welcome to Bert Kreischer.

668
00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:09,000
Fred Minick was there.

669
00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:10,000
Was Fred Minick in attendance?

670
00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:11,000
He was there.

671
00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:12,000
Oh yeah.

672
00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:13,000
Yeah.

673
00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:14,000
Yeah.

674
00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:15,000
It was.

675
00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:16,000
So you've been shirtless in front of Fred Minick.

676
00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:17,000
That's.

677
00:30:17,000 --> 00:30:20,000
I've been shirtless in front of a lot of people.

678
00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:22,800
Maybe we'll be treated here shortly.

679
00:30:22,800 --> 00:30:23,800
Yeah.

680
00:30:23,800 --> 00:30:28,320
Well, now is this the award you received while also cartwheeling?

681
00:30:28,320 --> 00:30:30,240
Cause I had your world-class cartwheeler.

682
00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:31,240
Yeah.

683
00:30:31,240 --> 00:30:32,240
I'm working on that.

684
00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:34,520
The last couple of attempts didn't go well.

685
00:30:34,520 --> 00:30:35,520
So shirtless.

686
00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:41,560
Plus if you cartwheel with a metal on, I think that's going to be like really sort of dangerous

687
00:30:41,560 --> 00:30:43,640
as you go topsy turvy.

688
00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:45,240
But not for a pro like you.

689
00:30:45,240 --> 00:30:46,240
Yeah.

690
00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:51,040
I mean, I think I regained my amateur status, but you know, I guess if we practice makes

691
00:30:51,040 --> 00:30:52,040
perfect.

692
00:30:52,040 --> 00:30:53,040
Yes.

693
00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:54,040
Absolutely.

694
00:30:54,040 --> 00:30:56,000
Well, so while we're on the topic of receiving awards, I understand that you received an

695
00:30:56,000 --> 00:30:57,440
award from Fred Minick as well.

696
00:30:57,440 --> 00:30:58,440
Yeah.

697
00:30:58,440 --> 00:30:59,440
We're going to ask how to work.

698
00:30:59,440 --> 00:31:02,720
I think he came through recently.

699
00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:11,640
So the very first gold medal we ever received was for our Kask Strength Rum.

700
00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:12,640
Super cool product.

701
00:31:12,640 --> 00:31:20,960
We actually just sold out for the year this last week, but before we got our burdens,

702
00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:26,160
we would take our silver rum and put it into used bourbon barrels.

703
00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:29,400
And it was always kind of a guest barrel program.

704
00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:33,200
Like back there now we have a Blanton's barrel laid down.

705
00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:35,800
It's been Austin Nichols, wild turkey barrels.

706
00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:37,760
We've had old buster barrels.

707
00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:40,320
Breckenridge, Laws, you know, they're right down the street.

708
00:31:40,320 --> 00:31:43,480
They just rolled down big juicy barrels for us to use.

709
00:31:43,480 --> 00:31:44,480
Peach Street.

710
00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:45,480
Yeah.

711
00:31:45,480 --> 00:31:46,960
We had what, like an eight year old peach tree barrel?

712
00:31:46,960 --> 00:31:47,960
Seven or eight.

713
00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:48,960
Yeah.

714
00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:49,960
It's getting up there.

715
00:31:49,960 --> 00:31:52,640
But first gold medal we ever received was for that particular product.

716
00:31:52,640 --> 00:31:55,080
It was one that was in a wild turkey barrel.

717
00:31:55,080 --> 00:32:01,880
And got our medal and I was like, who is that man sitting at our table with that ascot?

718
00:32:01,880 --> 00:32:05,440
And turns out I met Fred Minnick that day.

719
00:32:05,440 --> 00:32:06,440
Yeah.

720
00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:07,440
Great.

721
00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:08,440
I didn't know that.

722
00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:09,440
Cool.

723
00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:10,440
Yeah.

724
00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:11,440
Oh yeah.

725
00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:12,440
Lots of fun stuff.

726
00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:13,440
Yeah.

727
00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:16,040
So Fred Minnick, Ascot, we still haven't actually gotten back.

728
00:32:16,040 --> 00:32:19,000
We're going to go try to distill this a third time, right?

729
00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:23,840
But you mentioned this on the, on like, family is really important.

730
00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:28,760
So tell us more about like how those, how those influences really helped you like with

731
00:32:28,760 --> 00:32:30,680
your value stuff for Bear Creek.

732
00:32:30,680 --> 00:32:35,480
And obviously the doctor here is a recipient to that community and like, he feels it, right?

733
00:32:35,480 --> 00:32:38,480
So talk to us more about like the meaning of that and your distillery.

734
00:32:38,480 --> 00:32:44,400
I've always maintained that you're only strong as not, and I always yell, you know, talk

735
00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:48,480
to my head, my inner dialogues, like don't sound like a football coach.

736
00:32:48,480 --> 00:32:50,720
You're only strong as, as your weakest link, right?

737
00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:57,480
So it's important to hire smarter and better people than people that have skill sets that

738
00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:00,000
you may not have.

739
00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:05,640
You know, and coming from a strong family background, I mean, you know, I had a two

740
00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:08,040
parent home all the way growing up.

741
00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:10,560
My mom just died a few years ago, but I'm sorry.

742
00:33:10,560 --> 00:33:16,040
Yeah, no, it sucked, but you know, it's all good.

743
00:33:16,040 --> 00:33:20,080
So we had, I had a good base, you know, we, we weren't rich.

744
00:33:20,080 --> 00:33:22,240
We weren't, you know, we had each other.

745
00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:29,240
So that's just sort of the way we've, we've raised our business, you know, we're raising

746
00:33:29,240 --> 00:33:30,240
ourselves too.

747
00:33:30,240 --> 00:33:38,120
I mean, we started this, I was in my early forties, late thirties, now I'm 52.

748
00:33:38,120 --> 00:33:43,520
So we've grown up, I mean, almost as like men, I don't feel like you grow up as a man

749
00:33:43,520 --> 00:33:47,520
until you're in your forties, at least for me.

750
00:33:47,520 --> 00:33:51,920
So it was like, you know, you have guys that you carry about, care about, that you start

751
00:33:51,920 --> 00:33:52,920
the business with.

752
00:33:52,920 --> 00:33:59,520
And then, you know, we've developed these amazing relationships with our employees.

753
00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:05,040
You know, it's anybody in our organization is allowed to come up, is allowed to bring

754
00:34:05,040 --> 00:34:07,400
an idea to it.

755
00:34:07,400 --> 00:34:15,600
And we've, I think that's important for people to feel like they can bring things to the

756
00:34:15,600 --> 00:34:21,720
table in a creative way and make an impact because if they can't, why have them part

757
00:34:21,720 --> 00:34:23,360
of the team?

758
00:34:23,360 --> 00:34:32,720
So I don't know if that relates directly to my upbringing, but I have three daughters

759
00:34:32,720 --> 00:34:34,840
and I had three sisters growing up.

760
00:34:34,840 --> 00:34:38,320
So I had to learn quickly to adapt just for survival.

761
00:34:38,320 --> 00:34:40,520
I'm with you.

762
00:34:40,520 --> 00:34:41,520
Three sisters.

763
00:34:41,520 --> 00:34:42,520
I get that.

764
00:34:42,520 --> 00:34:47,280
So I think that's sort of correlated into being able to roll with the punches.

765
00:34:47,280 --> 00:34:54,320
And anytime you start a new business, I don't care what industry you're in, you know, it's

766
00:34:54,320 --> 00:34:55,800
you have to be adaptable.

767
00:34:55,800 --> 00:35:00,840
And especially these last three years has been crazy.

768
00:35:00,840 --> 00:35:05,180
You know, turned the liquor world on its head.

769
00:35:05,180 --> 00:35:08,020
Our outside sales went like that.

770
00:35:08,020 --> 00:35:11,760
And then because everybody was just sitting at home, you know, but then the tasting room

771
00:35:11,760 --> 00:35:12,760
closed.

772
00:35:12,760 --> 00:35:18,880
And now with the uncertain times in the world and people kind of clutching their purse strings,

773
00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:25,320
if you will, people aren't buying a lot of expensive products in the marketplace, but

774
00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:26,640
the tasting room is doing great.

775
00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:32,000
So thank God we've had the counterbalance for both.

776
00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:33,000
But it's been a challenge.

777
00:35:33,000 --> 00:35:38,840
And, you know, without the right teammates, it would have been difficult.

778
00:35:38,840 --> 00:35:40,360
But we've weathered the storm.

779
00:35:40,360 --> 00:35:41,360
Perseverance.

780
00:35:41,360 --> 00:35:44,680
So what are some moments and some stories along the way that are like notable for you

781
00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:49,720
that, you know, really kind of have helped you get to where you're at today?

782
00:35:49,720 --> 00:35:56,680
So Jeff's assistant, Matt, figured upon himself that he wanted to start art shows.

783
00:35:56,680 --> 00:36:00,680
So we do a first Friday art show every month.

784
00:36:00,680 --> 00:36:02,440
And it's that is that the one with the food trucks?

785
00:36:02,440 --> 00:36:03,440
Yep.

786
00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:04,440
Okay.

787
00:36:04,440 --> 00:36:05,440
Yep.

788
00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:06,440
We have the food truck out of Blue Pan Pizza.

789
00:36:06,440 --> 00:36:07,440
I don't know.

790
00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:08,440
I don't know.

791
00:36:08,440 --> 00:36:09,760
It's a Detroit style pizza.

792
00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:13,800
But they're kind of the darlings of the pizza world up here.

793
00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:15,800
We'll get them every Friday night.

794
00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:20,320
They sell more pizza around the neighborhoods than people that are actually at the distillery.

795
00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:22,600
People know they're here and they'll place their orders.

796
00:36:22,600 --> 00:36:23,600
That's pretty cool.

797
00:36:23,600 --> 00:36:27,640
You know, and we've turned sort of that art show dynamic into a new release that we're

798
00:36:27,640 --> 00:36:31,680
releasing Father's Day.

799
00:36:31,680 --> 00:36:35,560
It's a total departure from our normal branding.

800
00:36:35,560 --> 00:36:39,040
And we allowed an artist to create an image.

801
00:36:39,040 --> 00:36:42,480
And it's it's those are going to be finished whiskeys.

802
00:36:42,480 --> 00:36:50,760
This particular rye whiskey was aged in a breakfast breakfast stout from off Berkeley

803
00:36:50,760 --> 00:36:51,760
Brewing.

804
00:36:51,760 --> 00:36:52,760
Berkeley Alley.

805
00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:53,760
Berkeley Alley.

806
00:36:53,760 --> 00:36:54,760
Really screwed that up.

807
00:36:54,760 --> 00:36:55,760
I got you.

808
00:36:55,760 --> 00:36:56,760
Thank you.

809
00:36:56,760 --> 00:36:57,760
So the doctor shared help.

810
00:36:57,760 --> 00:36:58,760
The doc is in.

811
00:36:58,760 --> 00:37:00,600
Yeah, we've done some cool stuff.

812
00:37:00,600 --> 00:37:06,760
We were able to we had a whiskey called Yeti Whiskey for a little while.

813
00:37:06,760 --> 00:37:09,960
We partnered with Great Divide and they gave us Imperial Stout Barrels.

814
00:37:09,960 --> 00:37:10,960
Oh, cool.

815
00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:16,400
And we put rye whiskey in it and we called it Yeti Whiskey.

816
00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:18,400
And it was a hit.

817
00:37:18,400 --> 00:37:22,760
So Great Divide has a cask meets program, Jamison.

818
00:37:22,760 --> 00:37:25,880
So Jamison has lots of money.

819
00:37:25,880 --> 00:37:30,560
So they told them that they can do that with us.

820
00:37:30,560 --> 00:37:33,560
So they chatted with them.

821
00:37:33,560 --> 00:37:37,320
And they're like, look, it's just like a local, local release.

822
00:37:37,320 --> 00:37:39,360
It's only a certain amount of bottles.

823
00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:40,680
Not a big deal.

824
00:37:40,680 --> 00:37:42,400
So we co-branded a label.

825
00:37:42,400 --> 00:37:43,400
It's super cool.

826
00:37:43,400 --> 00:37:45,040
It's got Yeti.

827
00:37:45,040 --> 00:37:46,360
And just it was real clean.

828
00:37:46,360 --> 00:37:48,760
It was a great looking bottle.

829
00:37:48,760 --> 00:37:52,080
That came out and caught fire.

830
00:37:52,080 --> 00:37:57,000
And like it got written up in some magazines, whiskey publication.

831
00:37:57,000 --> 00:37:58,000
So they squashed that.

832
00:37:58,000 --> 00:38:00,200
Yeah, but that was cool.

833
00:38:00,200 --> 00:38:07,920
I mean, just we try to do some specialty finishes, that stuff, the parties we throw, the music.

834
00:38:07,920 --> 00:38:13,480
Like you said, you enjoy the vibe, that sort of thing I'm super proud of.

835
00:38:13,480 --> 00:38:14,840
We do a lot of events.

836
00:38:14,840 --> 00:38:19,800
That's kind of where I spend my summertime is out on the streets, getting liquor to lips,

837
00:38:19,800 --> 00:38:21,280
as we like to say.

838
00:38:21,280 --> 00:38:23,640
Whiskey Church, where I met you guys, stuff like that.

839
00:38:23,640 --> 00:38:24,640
Whiskey Church.

840
00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:25,640
Yep.

841
00:38:25,640 --> 00:38:26,640
Yep.

842
00:38:26,640 --> 00:38:27,640
And Ryan was there.

843
00:38:27,640 --> 00:38:29,160
So we sort of engage on all fronts, right?

844
00:38:29,160 --> 00:38:31,960
We've got this, we've got our professional sales team.

845
00:38:31,960 --> 00:38:34,880
We'll loosely use that.

846
00:38:34,880 --> 00:38:37,480
Yeah, I don't know if we want to slap that word on.

847
00:38:37,480 --> 00:38:38,480
And then Festival.

848
00:38:38,480 --> 00:38:42,640
So, you know, kind of we're always like to be out in the public.

849
00:38:42,640 --> 00:38:45,560
I don't think I answered any part of the question you asked me, but.

850
00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:46,560
No, you did.

851
00:38:46,560 --> 00:38:47,560
No, you're well.

852
00:38:47,560 --> 00:38:48,560
Yeah.

853
00:38:48,560 --> 00:38:49,560
All right.

854
00:38:49,560 --> 00:38:50,560
For sure.

855
00:38:50,560 --> 00:38:53,800
And then Ryan, so being a part of this family, close knit business, what does it mean for

856
00:38:53,800 --> 00:38:55,360
you to be a part of this?

857
00:38:55,360 --> 00:38:57,440
I mean, it's everything.

858
00:38:57,440 --> 00:39:04,360
You know, I think family is a it's a word we throw around a lot when it comes to like

859
00:39:04,360 --> 00:39:07,360
a small business and in a good way, I think.

860
00:39:07,360 --> 00:39:11,440
But sometimes it gets a little overused, perhaps.

861
00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:19,440
But this truly has been a weird, mostly functional home for me, a little dysfunctional.

862
00:39:19,440 --> 00:39:20,440
But it has.

863
00:39:20,440 --> 00:39:26,160
I've spent a lot of time here, as we all do over the years as a customer and now as an

864
00:39:26,160 --> 00:39:27,720
employee.

865
00:39:27,720 --> 00:39:31,280
And I feel valued.

866
00:39:31,280 --> 00:39:33,720
Like we feel taken care of here.

867
00:39:33,720 --> 00:39:39,000
And one of the things that I love most about this place is the tenure that people have.

868
00:39:39,000 --> 00:39:41,040
Folks tend to stick around a little bit.

869
00:39:41,040 --> 00:39:42,600
And that goes a long way for me.

870
00:39:42,600 --> 00:39:43,600
What is the average tenure here?

871
00:39:43,600 --> 00:39:44,600
I don't know.

872
00:39:44,600 --> 00:39:50,680
I mean, I think the median median is probably at what, five years?

873
00:39:50,680 --> 00:39:51,680
That's good.

874
00:39:51,680 --> 00:39:52,680
Maybe a little less.

875
00:39:52,680 --> 00:39:54,480
Probably about four and three quarters.

876
00:39:54,480 --> 00:39:55,480
Yeah.

877
00:39:55,480 --> 00:39:56,480
Four and seventy.

878
00:39:56,480 --> 00:39:57,480
Yeah, who's counting?

879
00:39:57,480 --> 00:39:58,480
Right under.

880
00:39:58,480 --> 00:39:59,480
But it's a hundred and forty one days, right?

881
00:39:59,480 --> 00:40:02,480
For being in the service industry, I think it's phenomenal.

882
00:40:02,480 --> 00:40:03,480
Yeah.

883
00:40:03,480 --> 00:40:06,480
And it allows us to grow closer together.

884
00:40:06,480 --> 00:40:09,480
Like, I trust everyone I work with.

885
00:40:09,480 --> 00:40:11,480
I know that we have each other's back.

886
00:40:11,480 --> 00:40:15,480
I love spending time with them outside of work genuinely.

887
00:40:15,480 --> 00:40:17,480
And that means a lot to me.

888
00:40:17,480 --> 00:40:21,480
So and again, it gives me an outlet for kind of the things that I was talking about.

889
00:40:21,480 --> 00:40:26,480
Like, I do spend a lot of time reading.

890
00:40:26,480 --> 00:40:31,480
I do spend a lot of time tasting and working on certifications for myself.

891
00:40:31,480 --> 00:40:34,480
And this helps me justify it, to be honest.

892
00:40:34,480 --> 00:40:35,480
Yeah.

893
00:40:35,480 --> 00:40:36,480
And that's why I love tours.

894
00:40:36,480 --> 00:40:38,480
I'm just like, I want to talk about this stuff.

895
00:40:38,480 --> 00:40:40,480
Well, Jay needs to do that, right?

896
00:40:40,480 --> 00:40:42,480
It's part of building the brand, right?

897
00:40:42,480 --> 00:40:43,480
So he's like, yeah.

898
00:40:43,480 --> 00:40:46,480
So it really is like a weird family.

899
00:40:46,480 --> 00:40:48,480
Tell them about Fight Club.

900
00:40:48,480 --> 00:40:49,480
Do we talk about Fight Club?

901
00:40:49,480 --> 00:40:50,480
We can talk.

902
00:40:50,480 --> 00:40:52,480
In that first rule?

903
00:40:52,480 --> 00:40:55,480
Well, we're already breaking it up.

904
00:40:55,480 --> 00:40:58,480
I'm just trying to demonstrate how dynamic that Brian is.

905
00:40:58,480 --> 00:41:06,480
I mean, he's not only tour guide, internet celebrity, salesman.

906
00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:08,480
And he works on Sundays.

907
00:41:08,480 --> 00:41:09,480
He actually works a bar shift.

908
00:41:09,480 --> 00:41:11,480
So I mean, I don't want to.

909
00:41:11,480 --> 00:41:14,480
I don't know how you do it all on top of being a doctor and astronaut.

910
00:41:14,480 --> 00:41:16,480
I mean, yeah, yeah, yeah.

911
00:41:16,480 --> 00:41:17,480
You know, it starts off the line.

912
00:41:17,480 --> 00:41:20,480
I'm going to keep using these things.

913
00:41:20,480 --> 00:41:24,480
No, Whiskey Fight Club is something I started doing a couple of years ago,

914
00:41:24,480 --> 00:41:25,480
I guess.

915
00:41:25,480 --> 00:41:30,480
And I changed it as I do have my rule because you got to have rules of Fight Club, right?

916
00:41:30,480 --> 00:41:31,480
It's important.

917
00:41:31,480 --> 00:41:34,480
But my first two rules are you don't talk to your distributor about Fight Club.

918
00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:36,480
You don't talk to Westward about Fight Club.

919
00:41:36,480 --> 00:41:38,480
Sorry.

920
00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:40,480
But I guess here we are.

921
00:41:40,480 --> 00:41:42,480
Let's not talk about Fight Club.

922
00:41:42,480 --> 00:41:43,480
Sorry.

923
00:41:43,480 --> 00:41:49,480
At the end of the day, it's just my effort to build community within our industry.

924
00:41:49,480 --> 00:41:54,480
Since we're not going to talk about it, what exactly is Fight Club?

925
00:41:54,480 --> 00:41:55,480
It really is.

926
00:41:55,480 --> 00:41:59,480
So it's I've been trying to do it twice a year.

927
00:41:59,480 --> 00:42:09,480
I skipped this past winter, but essentially it's a tasting competition, blind tasting competition.

928
00:42:09,480 --> 00:42:17,480
Emphasis is more on party, less on the competition, but it's just, you know, distilleries show up and compete, you know, as a team.

929
00:42:17,480 --> 00:42:25,480
And it's been really cool to see getting, you know, 10 to 15 different distilleries in the same room just hanging out and we get to know each other.

930
00:42:25,480 --> 00:42:31,480
I've had three or four now and people come back.

931
00:42:31,480 --> 00:42:36,480
And so it's nice to see that because sometimes that's the only opportunity you get to see some of these folks.

932
00:42:36,480 --> 00:42:42,480
Yeah, everybody you've done podcasts with, they're there.

933
00:42:42,480 --> 00:42:44,480
Yeah.

934
00:42:44,480 --> 00:42:47,480
It's the who's who, if you will.

935
00:42:47,480 --> 00:42:50,480
I just appreciate people giving it a shot, honestly.

936
00:42:50,480 --> 00:42:54,480
And now, like, I have to give credit where credit is due.

937
00:42:54,480 --> 00:43:00,480
Barstown Bourbon Company put on a tasting competition, and that was kind of my inspiration for that.

938
00:43:00,480 --> 00:43:03,480
Because I got to be a part of that and kind of see what it was all about.

939
00:43:03,480 --> 00:43:09,480
And that there just aren't any and because no one's really asking for it, to be honest.

940
00:43:09,480 --> 00:43:14,480
We need more whiskey tasting competitions, but maybe we do because it's really fun.

941
00:43:14,480 --> 00:43:18,480
So that's that's kind of my I've not been to one, but it's on my list.

942
00:43:18,480 --> 00:43:21,480
I'll tell you that. I'll let you know when the next one's happening. So it's open to the public. Absolutely.

943
00:43:21,480 --> 00:43:23,480
And that's why. So I want it to be.

944
00:43:23,480 --> 00:43:29,480
I just say that I ask that you work at a distillery if you're going to compete.

945
00:43:29,480 --> 00:43:33,480
But anyone can come and I want the community to be involved as much as possible.

946
00:43:33,480 --> 00:43:38,480
I get a beer sponsor from a brewery that's a different distillery host each time.

947
00:43:38,480 --> 00:43:42,480
And so we find a brewery that's close by that they have a relationship with.

948
00:43:42,480 --> 00:43:48,480
We get beer sponsors, get food sponsors and so try to like get other businesses to be a part of it as well.

949
00:43:48,480 --> 00:43:51,480
And so we can all kind of be a part of it.

950
00:43:51,480 --> 00:43:54,480
We'll just edit all this out. If there were such a thing as like a whiskey fight club.

951
00:43:54,480 --> 00:43:56,480
That's kind of what it was. It sounds great.

952
00:43:56,480 --> 00:44:01,480
Allegedly. Yes. Yeah, it's a it's a lot of fun.

953
00:44:01,480 --> 00:44:03,480
It's a really good industry and community out here.

954
00:44:03,480 --> 00:44:06,480
And it really has given me a place.

955
00:44:06,480 --> 00:44:09,480
And I feel like I can do this for a long time.

956
00:44:09,480 --> 00:44:14,480
Tell us the origin story of Billy Bob Bourbon. Right.

957
00:44:14,480 --> 00:44:19,480
And for those of you who don't know, Billy Bob Bourbon is a little bit of a caricature that they've developed.

958
00:44:19,480 --> 00:44:23,480
And we're checking out on their Instagram. Well, insert a clip here.

959
00:44:23,480 --> 00:44:27,480
Billy. Big hat bourbon here.

960
00:44:27,480 --> 00:44:30,480
Well, friends, why don't you come on down?

961
00:44:30,480 --> 00:44:34,480
Even if you got your kids. We got some little board games.

962
00:44:34,480 --> 00:44:39,480
We can even break out that little iPad so they can play a little angry sparrow, angry bird, crows.

963
00:44:39,480 --> 00:44:42,480
If you angry crows, that's what they're playing these days.

964
00:44:42,480 --> 00:44:49,480
If you're on a second date, you're trying to figure out who are they the one or are they just going to sit there and talk about their crypto,

965
00:44:49,480 --> 00:44:53,480
and how you need to invest in their oddly shaped scheme.

966
00:44:53,480 --> 00:44:57,480
You can figure that out, too. You want an invitation? Here it is.

967
00:44:57,480 --> 00:45:02,480
Why don't you get your own behind down here, sit down in one of my stools and see what happens.

968
00:45:08,480 --> 00:45:11,480
Perfect. That was hilarious. Oh, my God.

969
00:45:11,480 --> 00:45:21,480
Yeah. You know, honestly, that was just my friend Logan that works here as well as a bartender.

970
00:45:21,480 --> 00:45:25,480
We just got engaged. He's got a lot of congratulations.

971
00:45:25,480 --> 00:45:34,480
Logan said, yeah, he's done a lot of filming and film editing and he's done a lot of stand up.

972
00:45:34,480 --> 00:45:39,480
And so he's just he's he's a whole he's a whole thing as well.

973
00:45:39,480 --> 00:45:41,480
Oh, OK. Yeah. Oh, absolutely.

974
00:45:41,480 --> 00:45:43,480
It's too cold or else I would have had a white shirt on. Yeah.

975
00:45:43,480 --> 00:45:45,480
You got to get the Hawaiian flannel out there.

976
00:45:45,480 --> 00:45:47,480
I'm going to have to find one.

977
00:45:47,480 --> 00:45:52,480
So he was just like, hey, we should do like a used car salesman thing with whiskey.

978
00:45:52,480 --> 00:45:57,480
Just set up a kind of a fuzzy green screen and do this thing.

979
00:45:57,480 --> 00:46:00,480
I guess I'm kind of here for it.

980
00:46:00,480 --> 00:46:05,480
So, yeah, we just he obviously had like a cowboy hat that I could wear.

981
00:46:05,480 --> 00:46:14,480
I don't know where it came from, but yeah, and we just we were upstairs in our prep area and we just filmed for a while.

982
00:46:14,480 --> 00:46:21,480
And I just. Talked about nothing and it was a good time.

983
00:46:21,480 --> 00:46:25,480
So and it's become a little bit bigger than it probably needed to be.

984
00:46:25,480 --> 00:46:28,480
So what were some of the inspirations behind the character?

985
00:46:28,480 --> 00:46:37,480
Probably drawing on my upbringing a little bit, OK, kind of getting into a little bit more of the south bit.

986
00:46:37,480 --> 00:46:43,480
So this is a neighbor. Well, maybe a little bit, maybe a little bit.

987
00:46:43,480 --> 00:46:46,480
And I know your neighbors are not close in Kentucky.

988
00:46:46,480 --> 00:46:50,480
So yeah, Robbie, you're great. You were not like that.

989
00:46:50,480 --> 00:46:59,480
No, yeah, I think it was mostly that and there was a period of time where I talked about horses for a while for no reason at all.

990
00:46:59,480 --> 00:47:03,480
But there's a lot of horses in Kentucky as well, turns out.

991
00:47:03,480 --> 00:47:07,480
And they have a small race there, right? Yeah, it's pretty small.

992
00:47:07,480 --> 00:47:11,480
So, yeah, I mean, Billy Bob Bourbon just kind of became its own thing.

993
00:47:11,480 --> 00:47:16,480
And I don't know if all of the clips came from that one filming session.

994
00:47:16,480 --> 00:47:21,480
So I don't really know. You got a season's worth of about seven or so.

995
00:47:21,480 --> 00:47:24,480
So Logan's keeping these things under wraps and unveiling them.

996
00:47:24,480 --> 00:47:27,480
Yeah, blackmailing you.

997
00:47:27,480 --> 00:47:32,480
I mean, I mean, as a marketing guy myself, I have to applaud your social media presence.

998
00:47:32,480 --> 00:47:36,480
It's among the better ones, especially in the spirits world.

999
00:47:36,480 --> 00:47:41,480
I mean, and it's some of the stuff you guys have put out there is really funny, but it's clever.

1000
00:47:41,480 --> 00:47:46,480
And it's, you know, it's it's not over the top like a really dry, boring guy.

1001
00:47:46,480 --> 00:47:49,480
So I'm sure you've been able to. Yes.

1002
00:47:49,480 --> 00:47:51,480
Yeah, Jake does a really good job.

1003
00:47:51,480 --> 00:47:56,480
Shout out to Jake working that social media and it just keeps it going.

1004
00:47:56,480 --> 00:47:57,480
Yeah, that's great. I agree.

1005
00:47:57,480 --> 00:48:02,480
Like, I think it's important to have a little bit of a presence and they've done a really good job.

1006
00:48:02,480 --> 00:48:11,480
I mean, you know, just on the whole, I think traditional advertising and marketing aren't really what's driving things.

1007
00:48:11,480 --> 00:48:15,480
You have to be current and contemporary.

1008
00:48:15,480 --> 00:48:17,480
That's where a lot of people go for their contents.

1009
00:48:17,480 --> 00:48:23,480
You have to if you're if you're going to have a good product, you got to have good promotion.

1010
00:48:23,480 --> 00:48:26,480
Right. Yeah. And you guys mean you guys highly regulated industry.

1011
00:48:26,480 --> 00:48:29,480
There's a little bit of a you know, you guys can't sell directly through Instagram.

1012
00:48:29,480 --> 00:48:33,480
So there's like, you know, there's a little bit of a it's more brand building and stuff.

1013
00:48:33,480 --> 00:48:38,480
But the cool thing is people are attaching those things to you guys and they're finding you guys humorous.

1014
00:48:38,480 --> 00:48:43,480
I'm sure if they're from out of town, you know, you're going to be high on their list to come check out.

1015
00:48:43,480 --> 00:48:46,480
They come down and get Billy Bob Bourbon's autograph.

1016
00:48:46,480 --> 00:48:49,480
So it's it's fun. You guys are doing a good job on that. So thank you.

1017
00:48:49,480 --> 00:48:53,480
Yeah. He's here every Sunday. Well, Ryan's here every Sunday.

1018
00:48:53,480 --> 00:48:56,480
A couple of weeks ago, I put the hat on. Did you? Yeah.

1019
00:48:56,480 --> 00:48:59,480
The crowd went wild. A little bit. The mustache, too.

1020
00:48:59,480 --> 00:49:05,480
No, it was half on like the whole time.

1021
00:49:05,480 --> 00:49:09,480
It was hilarious. One day I'll be able to grow facial hair.

1022
00:49:09,480 --> 00:49:12,480
Probably not. So it's fine. It's a lot to deal with.

1023
00:49:12,480 --> 00:49:18,480
I only have my insecure about it. So well, when you have like a triple chin like I have,

1024
00:49:18,480 --> 00:49:23,480
you have to put something else. Yeah, I guess I get it.

1025
00:49:23,480 --> 00:49:28,480
Put something on the porch. I wear these big horn room glasses to hide the bags that are always under my eyes.

1026
00:49:28,480 --> 00:49:32,480
It's all it's all kind of fat. It's a natural filter.

1027
00:49:32,480 --> 00:49:36,480
Well, you have those bags because you spend so much time developing your cool new products. Right.

1028
00:49:36,480 --> 00:49:40,480
Yes. So tell us a little bit more about like what goes into your product.

1029
00:49:40,480 --> 00:49:42,480
I mean, you guys have some really good stuff.

1030
00:49:42,480 --> 00:49:46,480
I'm a big fan of your five and six year bourbons you guys produced.

1031
00:49:46,480 --> 00:49:49,480
I also really like your rise, but you have some interesting products.

1032
00:49:49,480 --> 00:49:54,480
You've got some right base vodka's. So tell us the ideation process.

1033
00:49:54,480 --> 00:50:00,480
What goes into developing your products and how do you guys go about bracing that and talk to them about the right.

1034
00:50:00,480 --> 00:50:04,480
Our goal from the very beginning was to make approachable spirits.

1035
00:50:04,480 --> 00:50:14,480
So with that being said, we didn't want anything too spicy or anything too pronounced in any of our spirits.

1036
00:50:14,480 --> 00:50:18,480
And a lot of people do distill their spirits that way. And that's what they're going for.

1037
00:50:18,480 --> 00:50:24,480
And I happen to enjoy some of those, too. But for us, we wanted to make approachable spirits.

1038
00:50:24,480 --> 00:50:31,480
Our goal is to become Colorado's go to craft brand across all spirit types.

1039
00:50:31,480 --> 00:50:38,480
So the right vodka in particular, which we'll be tasting here in a minute.

1040
00:50:38,480 --> 00:50:51,480
Vodka, by definition, is supposed to be odorless. It's supposed to be neutral. That rye imparts a bit of spice that even carries through the distillation on vodka.

1041
00:50:51,480 --> 00:50:58,480
A lot of people, if they're vodka purists, if you will, are a little bit not turned off.

1042
00:50:58,480 --> 00:51:05,480
But at first they're like, oh, what's going on there? Because most mass produced vodkas are odorless and tasteless.

1043
00:51:05,480 --> 00:51:09,480
So we have a rye vodka. We have a corn vodka. We have a wheat vodka.

1044
00:51:09,480 --> 00:51:17,480
And sort of to mirror that, we've got our three styles. Actually, yes, three styles of our whiskey.

1045
00:51:17,480 --> 00:51:23,480
We have a rye whiskey, a wheat whiskey, and then bourbon. Bourbon is majority corn.

1046
00:51:23,480 --> 00:51:29,480
So those three kind of mirror each other on either side.

1047
00:51:29,480 --> 00:51:37,480
And we actually distill individual grains as well in those vodkas. So that's a little bit interesting.

1048
00:51:37,480 --> 00:51:40,480
I mean, you can even taste the flavor variations.

1049
00:51:40,480 --> 00:51:49,480
We did develop the corn vodka within the last couple of years to really offer that sort of most neutral flavor profile.

1050
00:51:49,480 --> 00:51:56,480
All things distilled, unless something's done post production, are gluten free.

1051
00:51:56,480 --> 00:52:07,480
But I found that that argument is almost not worth having because unless it's got that gluten free distinction on it, people will argue with you.

1052
00:52:07,480 --> 00:52:11,480
But that was our product. OK, we understand there's a need.

1053
00:52:11,480 --> 00:52:18,480
So we're going to go ahead and create Colorado's version of corn vodka that is gluten free, even though the other ones are.

1054
00:52:18,480 --> 00:52:21,480
So we kind of we kind of just put that out there.

1055
00:52:21,480 --> 00:52:31,480
Go ahead. I just as a baker, it is important for me to like kind of define that a little bit of why it is gluten free,

1056
00:52:31,480 --> 00:52:41,480
because that's a it is a good conversation to have. It does feel like it doesn't matter what you say, but I'm going to say, essentially, gluten is a protein.

1057
00:52:41,480 --> 00:52:48,480
Right. And protein is essentially not volatile, so it can't break down into steam.

1058
00:52:48,480 --> 00:52:55,480
And so the only thing that will get through your still to the end is going to be steam that is condensed back into a liquid.

1059
00:52:55,480 --> 00:53:02,480
And so you physically cannot get gluten through your system into that finished product.

1060
00:53:02,480 --> 00:53:10,480
There's just no way that's going to happen because it has to be steam that will then again condense back into a liquid and protein will not break down.

1061
00:53:10,480 --> 00:53:14,480
Right. So that's kind of why. Yeah. OK. I didn't know that. That's one to grow on.

1062
00:53:14,480 --> 00:53:22,480
Yeah, we had a conversation with Eric on a two ninety one. He he he can't drink or he can't do gluten. Right.

1063
00:53:22,480 --> 00:53:27,480
And to be sitting there sipping whiskey, you tell me I'm like, wait, wait, what does this work?

1064
00:53:27,480 --> 00:53:31,480
And he got to do it. So I mean, that's got it. You know, had to still have to do one.

1065
00:53:31,480 --> 00:53:34,480
And he's you know, he's a testament to it because he actually lives that daily.

1066
00:53:34,480 --> 00:53:38,480
So yeah, that's that's really fascinating. That's cool.

1067
00:53:38,480 --> 00:53:45,480
A little bit of a, you know, your perspective and then you as a doctor. Yeah, that was more than astronauts.

1068
00:53:45,480 --> 00:53:49,480
He's an explanation. Really. He's a whiskey nerd. He knows all that stuff.

1069
00:53:49,480 --> 00:53:54,480
So so go back, cycle back in. So, you know, we weren't beholden to a style, right?

1070
00:53:54,480 --> 00:54:00,480
We weren't, hey, we're only going to do American signal malts or we're only going to do bourbon.

1071
00:54:00,480 --> 00:54:08,480
We're only going to as sort of circle back to part of our conversation earlier in our tasting room.

1072
00:54:08,480 --> 00:54:13,480
We can make whatever cocktail we want, but we only can use the spirits that we produce.

1073
00:54:13,480 --> 00:54:19,480
So that was sort of the driving force behind some of the decisions we made.

1074
00:54:19,480 --> 00:54:26,480
You know, we want people to be able to come in and. Yes, try our cocktails, our own creations,

1075
00:54:26,480 --> 00:54:31,480
but then have stuff that's on the menu that they might be familiar with as well. Right.

1076
00:54:31,480 --> 00:54:38,480
To really create that cocktail experience. Yeah. And as a green to glass distillery, we didn't source any whiskey.

1077
00:54:38,480 --> 00:54:42,480
We didn't source anything. So the very beginning, all we had was vodka and rum. Right.

1078
00:54:42,480 --> 00:54:48,480
You know, so it was it made sense to go vodka and rum at the beginning.

1079
00:54:48,480 --> 00:54:52,480
You know, we've had we've always set out to make whiskey. Right.

1080
00:54:52,480 --> 00:54:56,480
We've always set out to make this product product right there for straight bourbon.

1081
00:54:56,480 --> 00:55:01,480
But we've had conversations like, you know. If that corn vodka becomes.

1082
00:55:01,480 --> 00:55:07,480
The one thing that makes us. Then we're a corn.

1083
00:55:07,480 --> 00:55:14,480
I say that tongue in cheek, but you know, so that that sort of gave us the freedom to do some different things.

1084
00:55:14,480 --> 00:55:19,480
We were one of the first distilleries in Colorado that released 100 percent wheat.

1085
00:55:19,480 --> 00:55:25,480
And even the people that do, it's not.

1086
00:55:25,480 --> 00:55:31,480
That's an inline constant product for us. Like people have wheat whiskey releases. Right.

1087
00:55:31,480 --> 00:55:34,480
For instance, a little bit of a segue here.

1088
00:55:34,480 --> 00:55:40,480
We had a Colorado distillers collaboration that we released last summer.

1089
00:55:40,480 --> 00:55:46,480
And seven distilleries that all made a wheat whiskey. We let it rest down at Bosch Whiskey House.

1090
00:55:46,480 --> 00:55:53,480
It was two ninety one us old elk woods, high mountain distillery, state 38 laws.

1091
00:55:53,480 --> 00:55:57,480
That's seven yet. I forget anybody. I'm really sorry. You guys.

1092
00:55:57,480 --> 00:56:02,480
If you have any concerns, email Jay.

1093
00:56:02,480 --> 00:56:09,480
So it was two fifty three gallon barrels.

1094
00:56:09,480 --> 00:56:16,480
And we all were able to take our portion after it aged down at laws.

1095
00:56:16,480 --> 00:56:20,480
And sell it for charity. So.

1096
00:56:20,480 --> 00:56:28,480
Urban Peak is constructing a new dorm and high school for unhoused teams.

1097
00:56:28,480 --> 00:56:32,480
And it sits directly halfway between laws and us.

1098
00:56:32,480 --> 00:56:40,480
So we both decided as entities to make that rather than just the eight thousand dollars.

1099
00:56:40,480 --> 00:56:45,480
It became seventy five fifteen hundred dollars. Fifteen thousand dollars.

1100
00:56:45,480 --> 00:56:48,480
Boy, my math is really off this morning.

1101
00:56:48,480 --> 00:56:52,480
We felt like we could make a greater impact that way.

1102
00:56:52,480 --> 00:56:57,480
So we've also got a.

1103
00:56:57,480 --> 00:57:02,480
We have a right whiskey that's up at Woody Creek that's going on six years.

1104
00:57:02,480 --> 00:57:05,480
But we just haven't gotten coordinated enough to get that one released.

1105
00:57:05,480 --> 00:57:11,480
But what I'm doing here is circling back around talking about community.

1106
00:57:11,480 --> 00:57:16,480
As much as we are competitors, we're all you know, we all want great whiskey in Colorado.

1107
00:57:16,480 --> 00:57:26,480
Right. You don't want someone to come here or spend seventy five dollars on a boutique bottle of a bourbon from someone from Colorado and not like it.

1108
00:57:26,480 --> 00:57:29,480
Right. Because you know what? They're not going to drink.

1109
00:57:29,480 --> 00:57:33,480
So it behooves all of us to to look out for each other.

1110
00:57:33,480 --> 00:57:42,480
For sure. And you know, off camera, we've talked about all the people that we know in common, you know, and it really is a close community.

1111
00:57:42,480 --> 00:57:49,480
And I would even, you know, the word family is probably overused, but I'm going to say it.

1112
00:57:49,480 --> 00:57:52,480
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Kind of like family. Yeah. Yeah.

1113
00:57:52,480 --> 00:58:03,480
That, ladies and gentlemen, is your Angel Share segment. Yeah. You know, and just to highlight real quick, because we always talk about every episode is but Ryan and I met foster parents.

1114
00:58:03,480 --> 00:58:08,480
And so and we're large. We're largely involved in our faith based communities in Colorado Springs.

1115
00:58:08,480 --> 00:58:11,480
And so that community element is important to us.

1116
00:58:11,480 --> 00:58:16,480
And so that's one thing we always like to highlight for you guys is the things that you're doing for the community.

1117
00:58:16,480 --> 00:58:21,480
And obviously, you talk about a lot of whiskey, but the opportunity had to do with the school here.

1118
00:58:21,480 --> 00:58:24,480
That sounds fantastic. And give that back. I mean, that's that's a huge thing.

1119
00:58:24,480 --> 00:58:30,480
And as I understand that that construction project isn't even done yet. No, they're getting close. They're getting close. I really feel like, too.

1120
00:58:30,480 --> 00:58:38,480
It sort of was a twofold. It's not why we did it, but I feel like we've always been supportive of those kids.

1121
00:58:38,480 --> 00:58:41,480
And tell us a little more about the school. Like, what do they what do they do?

1122
00:58:41,480 --> 00:58:52,480
So before it was just a day school and they had a few beds. But, you know, as the trajectory of our society in general, a lot more people are on house.

1123
00:58:52,480 --> 00:59:02,480
So they had more need, if you will. So they increase their living quarters by exponential numbers. I think they have something.

1124
00:59:02,480 --> 00:59:11,480
I don't want to say it's somewhere between, let's say, one and one hundred beds. I'm not sure. But it's a it's a it's really a jump up from what they had available.

1125
00:59:11,480 --> 00:59:18,480
Sure. So it's giving those those teams a place to feel comfortable and learn.

1126
00:59:18,480 --> 00:59:27,480
Sure. You know, I mean, have the opportunity to better themselves. Right. But, you know, I sort of circling back a little bit, you know, knock on wood.

1127
00:59:27,480 --> 00:59:33,480
We've never been tagged. You know, I kind of feel like they watch out for us as much as we watch out for them.

1128
00:59:33,480 --> 00:59:42,480
And so it's a positive for both of us. And so I understand that when you bought this building 12 years ago, we bought it in 2012 2012.

1129
00:59:42,480 --> 00:59:49,480
OK. Yeah. But you've seen this community change and you guys have kind of been a staple in it throughout that change.

1130
00:59:49,480 --> 00:59:58,480
And so, you know, how how have you seen that evolve? So it was we were definitely off the beaten path when we first opened.

1131
00:59:58,480 --> 01:00:09,480
People are like, you're where? And like, you know, you take this nondescript turn off Broadway and it was all mixed use industrial at the time.

1132
01:00:09,480 --> 01:00:18,480
And it was a little off putting. I mean, you know, people are like, wow, this is great. Once you get inside, you know, as all miners and cowboys.

1133
01:00:18,480 --> 01:00:25,480
Hey, it's a ski lodge on skid row. It's got steampunk vibe.

1134
01:00:25,480 --> 01:00:34,480
But it's you know, I joke, we used to take trash out at night using the buddy system.

1135
01:00:34,480 --> 01:00:39,480
There was always filming back. And now it's yoga pants, baby strollers.

1136
01:00:39,480 --> 01:00:48,480
And, you know, there's a I kind of miss the grungier element of the neighborhood, to be honest, because it was cool and edgy.

1137
01:00:48,480 --> 01:00:52,480
But they've definitely I mean, we're surrounded by condos now.

1138
01:00:52,480 --> 01:00:56,480
And yeah, this big project. Yeah. And that was not here last time.

1139
01:00:56,480 --> 01:01:01,480
I was like, wow, that's just throw them up. Yeah. It's been super convenient with all the construction stuff.

1140
01:01:01,480 --> 01:01:06,480
You know, in and out. It's been great. Ryan's Ryan's looking for a new home for his burgeoning family with his plants.

1141
01:01:06,480 --> 01:01:09,480
So it's a time we need some space. Yeah. Yeah.

1142
01:01:09,480 --> 01:01:15,480
So I kind of feel like as whiskey matures, our neighborhood is sort of matured.

1143
01:01:15,480 --> 01:01:20,480
But it's nice. Yeah. Yeah. Very nice.

1144
01:01:20,480 --> 01:01:30,480
So it's been fun to be a part of that. You know, we've got ratio has a tap house and a beer garden right around the corner.

1145
01:01:30,480 --> 01:01:38,480
Trash Hawk Tavern. That's usually our after work dive bar. It's probably the best new dive bar in town.

1146
01:01:38,480 --> 01:01:46,480
We've got the brutal poodle, which is a death metal bar right over here.

1147
01:01:46,480 --> 01:01:49,480
That's hilarious. Like a five star kitchen. It's hilarious.

1148
01:01:49,480 --> 01:01:56,480
Like everybody sitting at the bar, you know, a bunch of ruffians like, you know, but in the dining room, it's all like families.

1149
01:01:56,480 --> 01:02:02,480
You're in Platt Park, skinny puppies play in or it's great.

1150
01:02:02,480 --> 01:02:15,480
So it's an eclectic mix, you know, and a lot of times you'll see folks that took the tour at Laws and laws is building out their cocktail bar as well.

1151
01:02:15,480 --> 01:02:20,480
But they'll walk in and be like, oh, yeah, the tour guide down at Laws said to come get a cocktail from you guys.

1152
01:02:20,480 --> 01:02:28,480
And we send people down there. So it's been a fun experience watching this kind of go up around us.

1153
01:02:28,480 --> 01:02:33,480
Love to cycle back to the Colorado State because as a podcast, we're focused on Colorado, right.

1154
01:02:33,480 --> 01:02:38,480
And we love state and we love a lot of the craft. Just what you guys are doing here.

1155
01:02:38,480 --> 01:02:45,480
But we've kind of bounced around from the history of you. You guys kind of came up at that little bit of a boom.

1156
01:02:45,480 --> 01:02:52,480
Right. And you kind of cycle back a little bit later. But you guys have seen COVID, right.

1157
01:02:52,480 --> 01:02:59,480
You've seen the shift distilleries shifting to to hand sanitizer to put everybody's by whiskey at home.

1158
01:02:59,480 --> 01:03:02,480
Now they're come back to the car. A lot of things going on.

1159
01:03:02,480 --> 01:03:05,480
You're winning awards and national competitions.

1160
01:03:05,480 --> 01:03:12,480
Tell us what do you see as the future of Colorado distilling specifically and like your guys role in that?

1161
01:03:12,480 --> 01:03:15,480
I certainly think that Colorado in general is at the forefront.

1162
01:03:15,480 --> 01:03:21,480
I mean, you have your pockets of like real hotbed activity, Pennsylvania being one.

1163
01:03:21,480 --> 01:03:27,480
There's some great stories coming out of Pennsylvania, Colorado, of course, California.

1164
01:03:27,480 --> 01:03:32,480
Aren't you a big fan of Redwood Empire? Yeah, California.

1165
01:03:32,480 --> 01:03:40,480
So I definitely see, you know, with some miles on the tires, if you will, all of our products are just getting better.

1166
01:03:40,480 --> 01:03:45,480
And I'm not the collective all, you know, everybody in Colorado.

1167
01:03:45,480 --> 01:03:53,480
And I think as sort of the polish wears off on craft distilling, you know, a lot of people like, I've got this neighbor.

1168
01:03:53,480 --> 01:03:57,480
You're really going to have to hang your hat on product, craft or your macro distilled.

1169
01:03:57,480 --> 01:04:00,480
You know, you got to have a good product.

1170
01:04:00,480 --> 01:04:11,480
And I think at Bear Creek, we're there, you know, and I think there's some super sustainable brands in Colorado.

1171
01:04:11,480 --> 01:04:21,480
And we have the luxury of following Leopold Brothers, Stranahan, true trailblazer, right?

1172
01:04:21,480 --> 01:04:29,480
So we got the easy part of the sledding and those guys did a lot of the heavy lifting.

1173
01:04:29,480 --> 01:04:38,480
So I sort of see Colorado as almost like the Sonoma of distilled spirits.

1174
01:04:38,480 --> 01:04:44,480
You know, you don't tell Kentucky. Yeah, they're going for Napa.

1175
01:04:44,480 --> 01:04:49,480
But what what other state can you have urban experiences?

1176
01:04:49,480 --> 01:04:54,480
You have some great stories in the mountains. You've got distilleries in small towns.

1177
01:04:54,480 --> 01:04:59,480
You know, you've got super mega corporate distilleries. I mean, it's just.

1178
01:04:59,480 --> 01:05:04,480
As a state, I think we're sitting pretty. Yeah, we're doing what we're going to be OK.

1179
01:05:04,480 --> 01:05:07,480
But you got to have that. You got to get that good, good juice. Yeah.

1180
01:05:07,480 --> 01:05:17,480
And I think we have it. So. So you traveling around to these different competitions and understand you want a tasting competition recently or?

1181
01:05:17,480 --> 01:05:24,480
Not necessarily. Yeah. So we have to talk about it.

1182
01:05:24,480 --> 01:05:28,480
That was a world stop whiskey tasters put on by Barstown Bourbon Company.

1183
01:05:28,480 --> 01:05:34,480
They did it two years in 2020 and 2021. And they got to be a part of the one in 2021.

1184
01:05:34,480 --> 01:05:43,480
It was really cool. And that really helped me like develop a little bit more of a whiskey palate because I.

1185
01:05:43,480 --> 01:05:51,480
It's pretty hard to be honest. And training means trying a lot of different whiskey and trying to figure out

1186
01:05:51,480 --> 01:05:57,480
how to guess these things. And essentially when you're doing blind tasting, all you can really ask is like measurable things.

1187
01:05:57,480 --> 01:06:05,480
Right. Like that's what you're getting tests on, like proof age, Nashville producer.

1188
01:06:05,480 --> 01:06:13,480
So I did not win. My excuse there is I didn't know at the time, but I had covid.

1189
01:06:13,480 --> 01:06:18,480
Oh, that'll mess with your palate. It smells like covid.

1190
01:06:18,480 --> 01:06:24,480
It was outside. It was competition was outside. I let as many people know as I could once I found out.

1191
01:06:24,480 --> 01:06:28,480
But I turned into a super spreader.

1192
01:06:28,480 --> 01:06:35,480
I'm sure I'm sure the alcohol kill. Absolutely.

1193
01:06:35,480 --> 01:06:40,480
But yeah, I I did not have my full senses by far.

1194
01:06:40,480 --> 01:06:45,480
And it was really frustrating, to be honest. And I don't know if I ever get over that because I was ready.

1195
01:06:45,480 --> 01:06:52,480
But my name is Mike.

1196
01:06:52,480 --> 01:06:58,480
Sorry, your last name, Alcott, Alcott. He has a podcast, All Things Whiskey.

1197
01:06:58,480 --> 01:07:00,480
He won. Oh, wow. So which is kind of cool.

1198
01:07:00,480 --> 01:07:07,480
Actually, the two winners from both years, both lit out here. Yeah, I was going to say that I was based out here in Denver.

1199
01:07:07,480 --> 01:07:12,480
Mike is yeah. Yeah. Mass out on the Western. OK.

1200
01:07:12,480 --> 01:07:19,480
So yeah, that's kind of again, that's where my inspiration for Whiskey Fight Club came from, was based off of that.

1201
01:07:19,480 --> 01:07:24,480
That's cool. So I have a question as the expert. I'm terrible at pulling notes and nosing whiskey.

1202
01:07:24,480 --> 01:07:29,480
I just know what I like and taste. Yeah. Tastes like alcohol.

1203
01:07:29,480 --> 01:07:36,480
So if someone like me or someone who's who's listening or watching to this wants to help develop their palette, what would you recommend?

1204
01:07:36,480 --> 01:07:40,480
Sure. I mean, at the end of the day, it's just repetition, to be honest.

1205
01:07:40,480 --> 01:07:45,480
And there's no there's not really many tricks.

1206
01:07:45,480 --> 01:07:55,480
It's just you kind of have to do it a lot. It's always really helpful to taste with people because that can it's hard to say what you're thinking, right?

1207
01:07:55,480 --> 01:07:59,480
Or what you're tasting. Like it reminds you of something, but you can't quite put them together.

1208
01:07:59,480 --> 01:08:04,480
Right. It helps if you're doing it as a group because someone will throw something out and it'll insect you a little bit.

1209
01:08:04,480 --> 01:08:08,480
Be like, that's right. Yeah, that's kind of what that is.

1210
01:08:08,480 --> 01:08:15,480
Flavor wheels are really helpful tools, especially like this. It's a wheel and it has a bunch of flavors on it.

1211
01:08:15,480 --> 01:08:18,480
And that it's again, just kind of like jogging your memory a little bit.

1212
01:08:18,480 --> 01:08:26,480
Be like, what? It's something like that. It is actually strawberry. It is actually banana, whatever it is.

1213
01:08:26,480 --> 01:08:31,480
So again, I mentioned it like coffee was a big thing for me.

1214
01:08:31,480 --> 01:08:39,480
Like we really, really pushed for palate development there. And so and that's just my point to say, like it takes time.

1215
01:08:39,480 --> 01:08:47,480
I did that for seven years and then started doing it with whiskey and just keep drinking.

1216
01:08:47,480 --> 01:08:53,480
At the end of the day. Responsibly. Yeah, responsibly. 21 over, obviously.

1217
01:08:53,480 --> 01:09:03,480
But I mean, it's it's like if you really want to like get the most out of your whiskey, you have to lean into it.

1218
01:09:03,480 --> 01:09:12,480
It's easy for me to just kind of make fun of myself for it sometimes because I I definitely am not always just like grabbing a bunch of Glendcairons and like technically trying to taste everything.

1219
01:09:12,480 --> 01:09:17,480
I love just a glass of whiskey, like poured over a bunch of ice and drink it and enjoy it.

1220
01:09:17,480 --> 01:09:22,480
You can enjoy in so many different ways. It's just another aspect of that. Right.

1221
01:09:22,480 --> 01:09:29,480
Right. And it's and do it for fun. Like, don't do it because you are feeling peer pressure from other people.

1222
01:09:29,480 --> 01:09:33,480
It doesn't matter. It's all made up. Right. Like none of these things are actually added into whiskey.

1223
01:09:33,480 --> 01:09:42,480
If we're doing that subjective style of tasting, if you are trying to do more of a blind thing and be like, all right, how do you figure out proof?

1224
01:09:42,480 --> 01:09:47,480
How do you figure out age? Again, it's just going to be repetition, but focusing on different. Right.

1225
01:09:47,480 --> 01:09:52,480
Well, as Ryan Negley puts it right, the only thing he likes to tell people, they should be tasting his whiskey.

1226
01:09:52,480 --> 01:09:56,480
You're fantastic and awesome. So yeah. Yeah. I was like, that's good.

1227
01:09:56,480 --> 01:10:08,480
Like, you know, because I mean, there are people, you know, some Instagram folks out there that, you know, put out a lot of content stuff, you know, they seem to always taste like dessert notes, like creme brulee and all these other things, you know.

1228
01:10:08,480 --> 01:10:14,480
And it's just like, but then someone else is like, no, it's tastes like, you know, oatmeal or whatever. I don't know if I've ever tried creme brulee.

1229
01:10:14,480 --> 01:10:21,480
So I wouldn't have a reference point. There's this great, first of all, get on that. Yes.

1230
01:10:21,480 --> 01:10:25,480
That's almost off putting.

1231
01:10:25,480 --> 01:10:28,480
I'll whip some up. Okay. I mean, we'll set it up here.

1232
01:10:28,480 --> 01:10:31,480
So a few minutes, we'll try creme brulee and some of the offerings.

1233
01:10:31,480 --> 01:10:35,480
Creme brulee, bourbon, bourbon brothers and Colorado Springs. Hit it up.

1234
01:10:35,480 --> 01:10:37,480
Boom. Yeah. There you go.

1235
01:10:37,480 --> 01:10:44,480
I personally don't tell people when they ask, like, what am I going to be tasting here? Right.

1236
01:10:44,480 --> 01:10:49,480
I'm like, I don't know what your taste was, how they work. So I don't want to influence your palate. Right.

1237
01:10:49,480 --> 01:10:54,480
My favorite thing is that events and people are like, what should I try? Like any of those be good.

1238
01:10:54,480 --> 01:10:56,480
I like them all.

1239
01:10:56,480 --> 01:10:57,480
Then we'll move on.

1240
01:10:57,480 --> 01:10:58,480
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

1241
01:10:58,480 --> 01:11:00,480
Tasting it. It's, it is a weird thing.

1242
01:11:00,480 --> 01:11:08,480
And at the end of the day, like we are just trying to put our best foot forward with product and we just want people to enjoy it however they want.

1243
01:11:08,480 --> 01:11:11,480
And I think that's so important to be approachable.

1244
01:11:11,480 --> 01:11:23,480
And, and yeah, it's fun to dip your toe a little bit further in sometimes with tasting, but it's I mean, yeah, Ryan says, I mean, Ryan's just kind of tend to know everything.

1245
01:11:23,480 --> 01:11:24,480
Whoa. Yeah.

1246
01:11:24,480 --> 01:11:29,480
Ryan's are on the floor. I know a lot about a little bit.

1247
01:11:29,480 --> 01:11:31,480
No, no, I like that.

1248
01:11:31,480 --> 01:11:33,480
I'm changing my name to Ryan. I'm a Ryan.

1249
01:11:33,480 --> 01:11:35,480
Ryan Johnson.

1250
01:11:35,480 --> 01:11:36,480
Ryan Johnson.

1251
01:11:36,480 --> 01:11:37,480
Perfect.

1252
01:11:37,480 --> 01:11:39,480
We just, we just want you to like it.

1253
01:11:39,480 --> 01:11:45,480
And then if somebody wants to pick up a bottle, what does your distribution look like here in Colorado?

1254
01:11:45,480 --> 01:11:46,480
We're statewide.

1255
01:11:46,480 --> 01:11:47,480
Okay.

1256
01:11:47,480 --> 01:11:51,480
Yeah. We pretty much have coverage throughout the state.

1257
01:11:51,480 --> 01:11:56,480
Most major retailers, boutique bottle shops, bars, restaurants, golf courses.

1258
01:11:56,480 --> 01:11:59,480
And of course stepping in here and buying a bottle here.

1259
01:11:59,480 --> 01:12:05,480
Yeah, look, we'll be developing a direct consumer here soon-ish.

1260
01:12:05,480 --> 01:12:11,480
So you can even go online and liquor stores, depending, will can ship.

1261
01:12:11,480 --> 01:12:16,480
Like if you're in an area of Colorado, you know, some of the bigger ones will actually ship.

1262
01:12:16,480 --> 01:12:17,480
Oh, cool.

1263
01:12:17,480 --> 01:12:23,480
So we like to pretend we have an audience beyond the state of Colorado, you know, maybe four people.

1264
01:12:23,480 --> 01:12:24,480
Yeah.

1265
01:12:24,480 --> 01:12:29,480
Absolutely. If for the out of state folks, what's your recommendation for them?

1266
01:12:29,480 --> 01:12:34,480
So as an entity, we are not allowed to ship.

1267
01:12:34,480 --> 01:12:43,480
So we're looking for some parity with the wine industry because the wine industry, that's where they make a good chunk of the changes.

1268
01:12:43,480 --> 01:12:44,480
Sure.

1269
01:12:44,480 --> 01:12:47,480
Shipping wine. We're not allowed to do that.

1270
01:12:47,480 --> 01:12:53,480
But just like the other larger liquor stores can ship as well.

1271
01:12:53,480 --> 01:12:59,480
But there's I think out of the 50 states, 30 something you can ship to.

1272
01:12:59,480 --> 01:13:02,480
We're not allowed to ship to Texas, I know.

1273
01:13:02,480 --> 01:13:08,480
A couple spots in New England, just because their laws don't allow it.

1274
01:13:08,480 --> 01:13:10,480
Unfortunately, we're a little bit limited right now.

1275
01:13:10,480 --> 01:13:16,480
We've sent some booths up to Wyoming and Montana, primarily for now.

1276
01:13:16,480 --> 01:13:23,480
So if you're hearing this, grab a plane ticket, come out and visit the beautiful city of Denver, beautiful Colorado.

1277
01:13:23,480 --> 01:13:26,480
If you want to visit in the spring, expect both 70 degrees and snow.

1278
01:13:26,480 --> 01:13:29,480
So yeah, it's great for the out.

1279
01:13:29,480 --> 01:13:36,480
But come down and check out Meet Jay and Ryan, Billy Bob Bourbon maybe if he's out and about.

1280
01:13:36,480 --> 01:13:39,480
But thank you guys so much for coming on.

1281
01:13:39,480 --> 01:13:41,480
Really appreciate you guys hosting us.

1282
01:13:41,480 --> 01:13:43,480
This has been a lot of fun to get to know you guys.

1283
01:13:43,480 --> 01:13:49,480
And yeah, cheers. Cheers. Thank you very much.

1284
01:13:49,480 --> 01:13:52,480
We're going to be doing a tasting here at Bear Creek Distillery in Denver.

1285
01:13:52,480 --> 01:13:57,480
Ryan Stolfus is our guide today. He's got us a tour and he's going to be guiding us through.

1286
01:13:57,480 --> 01:14:00,480
What are we drinking today? So we got a couple of rye products.

1287
01:14:00,480 --> 01:14:04,480
Rye is it's got a lot to offer. There's a lot of flavor there.

1288
01:14:04,480 --> 01:14:09,480
It can be kind of a polarizing thing, especially when it comes to our whiskey, which I kind of love.

1289
01:14:09,480 --> 01:14:13,480
I think it's important to have preferences. We got to have our favorites when it comes to things.

1290
01:14:13,480 --> 01:14:18,480
But I do like that rye is just is what it really stands up in the glass.

1291
01:14:18,480 --> 01:14:25,480
But for us, we like to celebrate that in a couple of different ways with vodka.

1292
01:14:25,480 --> 01:14:30,480
Well, so we're going to try both of these and see if we can find a little bit of continuity.

1293
01:14:30,480 --> 01:14:36,480
Obviously, there's going to be some big differences there. I would hope so. Sure.

1294
01:14:36,480 --> 01:14:39,480
But it's kind of like we talked about when we were doing a tour.

1295
01:14:39,480 --> 01:14:44,480
It comes down to like the amount of distillation that is separating these categories

1296
01:14:44,480 --> 01:14:47,480
because these two products are starting out the exact same way.

1297
01:14:47,480 --> 01:14:50,480
They're only becoming different when we throw it in our still.

1298
01:14:50,480 --> 01:14:53,480
Obviously, the whiskey is going into a barrel and the vodka is not.

1299
01:14:53,480 --> 01:14:59,480
But they start as pretty much the same thing. So they're both 100 percent rye and grain.

1300
01:14:59,480 --> 01:15:03,480
How many distillations is the vodka gone?

1301
01:15:03,480 --> 01:15:07,480
So we kind of say that we do five times distilled vodka.

1302
01:15:07,480 --> 01:15:13,480
And that is, again, just to get that proof point up to 190 proof.

1303
01:15:13,480 --> 01:15:20,480
And that's why we celebrate that with vodka or put that on our labels is we are doing it a bunch of times,

1304
01:15:20,480 --> 01:15:24,480
got to get up to 190 proof so we can legally now call it vodka.

1305
01:15:24,480 --> 01:15:32,480
But we are still allowing the soul of that grain to come through because our rye vodka is going to have a little bit of that

1306
01:15:32,480 --> 01:15:36,480
sort of spicy, oily, almost briny character.

1307
01:15:36,480 --> 01:15:39,480
And we love that because we do a lot of cocktails here.

1308
01:15:39,480 --> 01:15:48,480
Right. And turns out that works very well in a heavier cocktail like a Bloody Mary, perhaps where you have those big, rich flavors.

1309
01:15:48,480 --> 01:15:51,480
The vodka actually comes through.

1310
01:15:51,480 --> 01:15:56,480
It kind of helps to balance things out a little bit. And we love it in that regard.

1311
01:15:56,480 --> 01:15:59,480
You know, it's it's kind of its own thing.

1312
01:15:59,480 --> 01:16:02,480
I mean, I never expect everyone to like everything we make.

1313
01:16:02,480 --> 01:16:05,480
That's insane. You should.

1314
01:16:05,480 --> 01:16:08,480
But we love it.

1315
01:16:08,480 --> 01:16:12,480
For sure. And I do as well. Not a biased opinion at all.

1316
01:16:12,480 --> 01:16:18,480
But I think, you know, as Jay mentioned a while ago in our interview,

1317
01:16:18,480 --> 01:16:23,480
if you're a vodka purist looking for something that is completely neutral, this is not really that.

1318
01:16:23,480 --> 01:16:27,480
And that's OK. We're just trying to craft something that's a little bit different.

1319
01:16:27,480 --> 01:16:34,480
Again, this is an organic dark northern rye that we're getting from Heartland Mills.

1320
01:16:34,480 --> 01:16:36,480
Rye is a fickle grain.

1321
01:16:36,480 --> 01:16:39,480
You know, it is a very starchy product.

1322
01:16:39,480 --> 01:16:42,480
I've talked about baking maybe too much, but I can't help it.

1323
01:16:42,480 --> 01:16:46,480
You know, rye bread is a tough, tough thing to handle.

1324
01:16:46,480 --> 01:16:48,480
But the flavor is incredible. Yes, absolutely.

1325
01:16:48,480 --> 01:16:51,480
And it is the same way when you're when you're mashing.

1326
01:16:51,480 --> 01:16:55,480
You know, it's a sticky grain. It is sticking to everything.

1327
01:16:55,480 --> 01:17:00,480
We have this big, looks like a metal paddle that sometimes left like chip away at things

1328
01:17:00,480 --> 01:17:09,480
or break up these basketball sized chunks of rye flour because it's just like that starch is bringing it together in like glue.

1329
01:17:09,480 --> 01:17:12,480
So it's not an easy thing to work with.

1330
01:17:12,480 --> 01:17:15,480
But man, the flavor is something.

1331
01:17:15,480 --> 01:17:20,480
Well, and, you know, I can never say I would like to nose a vodka.

1332
01:17:20,480 --> 01:17:26,480
But this actually, there's no there's not that rubbing alcohol medicinal note on it at all.

1333
01:17:26,480 --> 01:17:31,480
It smells organic and earthy with, you know, it's got a heavier almost smells sweet.

1334
01:17:31,480 --> 01:17:33,480
It does. I was going to say it smells really sweet today.

1335
01:17:33,480 --> 01:17:38,480
I think you get something different out of it most times, but it's sweet, maybe even like a splash of vanilla.

1336
01:17:38,480 --> 01:17:42,480
You know, yeah. Yeah. Which, again, you said it well.

1337
01:17:42,480 --> 01:17:45,480
Like I don't this is weird for me to be like, oh, vodka.

1338
01:17:45,480 --> 01:17:50,480
Wow. I mean, it's usually it's really dark, you know, just stick your nose in it.

1339
01:17:50,480 --> 01:17:54,480
But here it's not. Yeah. As a I mean, I'm a big fan of the whiskey category,

1340
01:17:54,480 --> 01:17:59,480
but I love coming back to our vodkas and just remembering like they have so much to offer for sure.

1341
01:17:59,480 --> 01:18:03,480
Yeah. So well, yeah. Cheers. Let's give the whole face. Yeah.

1342
01:18:03,480 --> 01:18:08,480
That's interesting. And it's not it's not like tasting.

1343
01:18:08,480 --> 01:18:12,480
It doesn't have that heavy liquor taste you get with vodka. Right.

1344
01:18:12,480 --> 01:18:18,480
It's it's kind of got almost a sort of fruit like.

1345
01:18:18,480 --> 01:18:24,480
I'm going like if we're going through, I'd go like a dried fruit of some sort, almost like a little raisiny.

1346
01:18:24,480 --> 01:18:32,000
I mean, it's like a little bit of a

1347
01:18:32,000 --> 01:18:40,880
little raisiny or like a prune or a darker sort of Japanese white fruit.

1348
01:18:40,880 --> 01:18:44,920
I don't know. Oh, man. Yeah.

1349
01:18:44,920 --> 01:18:47,920
Hey, the kiwi once it was crazy.

1350
01:18:47,920 --> 01:18:52,720
It's like lychee. That's what that's I'm getting a lychee taste.

1351
01:18:52,720 --> 01:18:56,800
It's almost got a lychee call out. Yeah, I like that.

1352
01:18:56,800 --> 01:18:58,280
Little getting a little appley.

1353
01:18:58,280 --> 01:19:05,000
I'm sorry if I totally misregioned that fruit, but that's on you.

1354
01:19:05,000 --> 01:19:08,000
No, it's it's it's really good.

1355
01:19:08,000 --> 01:19:12,280
And you can you could sip that without.

1356
01:19:12,280 --> 01:19:21,160
Yeah, yeah. So I will say Laws Whiskey House, the owner, Al Laws, whenever he comes in here, this is his drink.

1357
01:19:21,160 --> 01:19:24,760
He gets just a straight vodka, a double rye vodka over rice.

1358
01:19:24,760 --> 01:19:28,520
Interesting. Straight to the dome. Yeah.

1359
01:19:28,520 --> 01:19:35,920
On the finish, on the finish, I almost got some like that herbal herbal taste, almost like a gin.

1360
01:19:35,920 --> 01:19:38,120
But without without the heavy gin. Yeah.

1361
01:19:38,120 --> 01:19:43,880
As soon as you said that, I feel like I did get more of that like sweeter, more herby sort of.

1362
01:19:43,880 --> 01:19:46,200
Yeah. Finish on it.

1363
01:19:46,200 --> 01:19:48,560
That's really good. Finish on a vodka. What a thought.

1364
01:19:48,560 --> 01:19:51,640
I can imagine what this tastes like in a Moscow mule or something.

1365
01:19:51,640 --> 01:19:53,000
It's pretty awesome. Yeah.

1366
01:19:53,000 --> 01:19:57,400
It's actually pretty awesome because again, like we're it's still a vodka cocktail,

1367
01:19:57,400 --> 01:20:01,280
but we're actually able to layer on some flavor just from that.

1368
01:20:01,280 --> 01:20:05,280
It's really fun. I would I'd rename it to Denver Mule for sure.

1369
01:20:05,280 --> 01:20:07,760
There you go. We what do we call ours?

1370
01:20:07,760 --> 01:20:09,960
The Denver Donkey. Denver Donkey. There you go.

1371
01:20:09,960 --> 01:20:13,320
Yeah, there you go. That's also the name of your football team, right?

1372
01:20:13,320 --> 01:20:17,720
Absolutely. Get them donkeys. Come on.

1373
01:20:17,720 --> 01:20:20,320
This is our year. So what do we got here?

1374
01:20:20,320 --> 01:20:26,520
All right. So moving on to a slightly different looking liquid, it's going to be our rye whiskey.

1375
01:20:26,520 --> 01:20:30,320
Both of these, again, are made out of 100 percent rye grain.

1376
01:20:30,320 --> 01:20:40,320
So really just changing our distillation techniques a little bit and then taking a few years longer to produce it because we're aging it that barrel.

1377
01:20:40,320 --> 01:20:44,480
So again, we're using those 30 gallon barrels for this product.

1378
01:20:44,480 --> 01:20:50,240
So a little bit of a smaller barrel. So we're always going to be aged two and two and a half years on this.

1379
01:20:50,240 --> 01:20:53,600
I really like our rye whiskey for its sweetness.

1380
01:20:53,600 --> 01:20:57,160
It's really fun to share with people and you tell them, like, this is 100 percent rye grain.

1381
01:20:57,160 --> 01:21:01,720
And that's a little intimidating if you're not necessarily a big rye fan.

1382
01:21:01,720 --> 01:21:07,480
Like, because I mean, I'm a big fan of, like, a big, rich, spicy rye.

1383
01:21:07,480 --> 01:21:13,480
Old overholder, something like that, where it's just like, oh, yeah, it was definitely.

1384
01:21:13,480 --> 01:21:19,400
That's really cool. But this shows kind of the opposite side of that, where you do get some sweetness.

1385
01:21:19,400 --> 01:21:22,800
You do get a little bit more fruit. Obviously, we're going to have some spice.

1386
01:21:22,800 --> 01:21:25,600
I want some spice. I'm telling you, it's a rye whiskey.

1387
01:21:25,600 --> 01:21:28,880
But I do believe that it's a bit more approachable in that regard.

1388
01:21:28,880 --> 01:21:34,520
Yeah. It smells off the nose like bourbon drinkers with rye because it's.

1389
01:21:34,520 --> 01:21:36,960
Yeah. You can smell the sweetness.

1390
01:21:36,960 --> 01:21:40,560
Yeah. Which, again, I love that it's 100 percent rye.

1391
01:21:40,560 --> 01:21:45,680
And like being from Kentucky and I always laugh when I say it.

1392
01:21:45,680 --> 01:21:48,520
I feel like my coworkers are so tired of me saying that.

1393
01:21:48,520 --> 01:21:50,800
It's like it's like my point of credibility.

1394
01:21:50,800 --> 01:21:56,400
Yeah. So it's like when you're vegan and you just gotta let everybody know, right?

1395
01:21:56,400 --> 01:21:58,920
So that's the bottom end now.

1396
01:21:58,920 --> 01:22:04,760
Cool. But a lot of ryes coming out of there have a pretty substantial amount of corn

1397
01:22:04,760 --> 01:22:07,840
because we like sweet things there.

1398
01:22:07,840 --> 01:22:11,040
Like, it's just that's what it is because bourbon is sweet.

1399
01:22:11,040 --> 01:22:13,720
So rye to compete is usually that.

1400
01:22:13,720 --> 01:22:18,120
But it is just rye. And still, like, I love what Jeff is doing with it.

1401
01:22:18,120 --> 01:22:21,760
I appreciate the fact that it's an organic grain.

1402
01:22:21,760 --> 01:22:23,840
We don't list that anywhere on our bottle.

1403
01:22:23,840 --> 01:22:29,600
I just appreciate the owners wanting to support that sustainability.

1404
01:22:29,600 --> 01:22:31,200
Doesn't make it good, right?

1405
01:22:31,200 --> 01:22:32,920
You can still mess it up.

1406
01:22:32,920 --> 01:22:34,480
I appreciate that choice.

1407
01:22:34,480 --> 01:22:36,560
I mean, off the nose, you know, this is not messed up.

1408
01:22:36,560 --> 01:22:38,280
This is for sure. Yeah.

1409
01:22:38,280 --> 01:22:39,560
Still get a little bit of that fruit.

1410
01:22:39,560 --> 01:22:43,800
I think it's got some good darker, richer fruits to it.

1411
01:22:43,800 --> 01:22:48,440
I'm getting obviously the strong caramel vanilla notes.

1412
01:22:48,440 --> 01:22:50,160
I mean, kind of common, right?

1413
01:22:50,160 --> 01:22:52,840
Little spice. It's still one of their like, absolutely.

1414
01:22:52,840 --> 01:22:54,200
It is like I hope those.

1415
01:22:54,200 --> 01:22:55,800
That's one of my favorite things about ryes.

1416
01:22:55,800 --> 01:22:57,160
It's got that like I love vanilla.

1417
01:22:57,160 --> 01:23:01,320
So like the heavier vanilla notes and stuff that comes through with a little bit like

1418
01:23:01,320 --> 01:23:03,120
baking Christmas spices, my favorite thing to do.

1419
01:23:03,120 --> 01:23:05,760
Right. So like that's where absolutely.

1420
01:23:05,760 --> 01:23:09,040
Yeah. Well, here's yours.

1421
01:23:09,040 --> 01:23:10,280
And I almost forget that.

1422
01:23:10,280 --> 01:23:12,560
I didn't know.

1423
01:23:12,560 --> 01:23:15,360
I'm a cheerleading guy.

1424
01:23:15,360 --> 01:23:18,280
Or guess if I want the edits on that one.

1425
01:23:19,920 --> 01:23:21,720
That's really good. It's really smooth.

1426
01:23:21,720 --> 01:23:23,840
Yeah. You get.

1427
01:23:26,240 --> 01:23:28,640
I think another taste. Yeah.

1428
01:23:28,960 --> 01:23:30,080
It's just I don't know.

1429
01:23:30,080 --> 01:23:32,160
It's great. It gets very Christmasy.

1430
01:23:32,840 --> 01:23:34,240
I like that.

1431
01:23:34,240 --> 01:23:37,520
You said that we like to talk about how rye is spicy.

1432
01:23:37,520 --> 01:23:41,800
And I think when we say that, we're referencing a lot of like the sensation.

1433
01:23:41,800 --> 01:23:44,400
Yeah. Like that sort of tingly sort of feel.

1434
01:23:44,400 --> 01:23:46,120
And you do get a little bit of that.

1435
01:23:46,120 --> 01:23:48,360
Yeah. It's not overpowering.

1436
01:23:48,360 --> 01:23:50,680
Yeah. It's it's just nice.

1437
01:23:50,680 --> 01:23:53,360
And those like clean baking spices come through.

1438
01:23:53,360 --> 01:23:56,320
Yeah. Kind of backed up by a little bit of that sort of darker.

1439
01:23:56,880 --> 01:23:59,720
Yeah. I think that that's like the allspice pepper.

1440
01:24:00,240 --> 01:24:03,040
Yeah, I'm getting that little bit of dark like stone fruit.

1441
01:24:03,320 --> 01:24:06,440
You get that like baked bread flavor coming off the finish there, too.

1442
01:24:06,440 --> 01:24:08,920
Absolutely. Well, I think.

1443
01:24:08,920 --> 01:24:10,080
Yeah, that's good.

1444
01:24:10,080 --> 01:24:11,880
Hmm. Yeah, that's nice.

1445
01:24:11,880 --> 01:24:14,600
I mean, you can it's it's very dynamic.

1446
01:24:14,600 --> 01:24:16,240
I feel like a lot of our spirits.

1447
01:24:16,240 --> 01:24:17,320
I mean, that's how drinking is, right?

1448
01:24:17,320 --> 01:24:21,760
Like things can change depending on like what you've had to eat today.

1449
01:24:21,760 --> 01:24:24,240
Your food, whether like your health, like.

1450
01:24:24,720 --> 01:24:26,640
And that's kind of fun, kind of annoying.

1451
01:24:26,640 --> 01:24:29,480
If you taste something, it's just like, this is the best thing I've ever had.

1452
01:24:29,480 --> 01:24:31,040
And then you just can't replicate it.

1453
01:24:31,040 --> 01:24:31,760
That's a little annoying.

1454
01:24:31,760 --> 01:24:35,840
But like, I like how it's dynamic and today is just tasting so good.

1455
01:24:35,840 --> 01:24:37,640
The spices are so clean and clear.

1456
01:24:37,640 --> 01:24:42,040
Well, it's we've got a cool kind of a a wintry spring day.

1457
01:24:42,040 --> 01:24:44,120
That's that helps. Yeah.

1458
01:24:44,120 --> 01:24:46,600
Well, it's really interesting, too, because comparing it

1459
01:24:46,600 --> 01:24:50,120
just immediately after the rye vodka, you can just really taste the

1460
01:24:50,400 --> 01:24:53,040
the the rye notes that are still existent.

1461
01:24:53,040 --> 01:24:54,560
It's pretty cool, right?

1462
01:24:54,560 --> 01:24:55,320
I love that.

1463
01:24:55,320 --> 01:24:58,600
I appreciate the call on vanilla like when you're looking for rye whiskeys.

1464
01:24:58,600 --> 01:25:01,200
I do think that comes out a little bit in the vodka as well.

1465
01:25:01,200 --> 01:25:03,240
Yeah, which is kind of fun.

1466
01:25:03,240 --> 01:25:04,160
And then.

1467
01:25:04,160 --> 01:25:07,960
You know, the the thing that some especially young rye

1468
01:25:07,960 --> 01:25:13,960
and two year old rye often they have like a have a kind of musty oak flavor

1469
01:25:13,960 --> 01:25:15,320
that can come with it.

1470
01:25:15,320 --> 01:25:17,760
This doesn't like I don't taste any oak in here at all.

1471
01:25:17,760 --> 01:25:20,560
Yeah, it's it's got everything else you want.

1472
01:25:20,560 --> 01:25:23,760
I feel like you get a little bit of it on the nose, but on the palate doesn't really.

1473
01:25:23,760 --> 01:25:24,560
Yeah, yeah.

1474
01:25:24,560 --> 01:25:27,160
And even even the finish, right, where you are that

1475
01:25:27,640 --> 01:25:31,160
that heavy oak flavor can kind of linger is kind of that nasty kind of cardboard taste.

1476
01:25:31,160 --> 01:25:32,800
You know, sure. But yeah, it's

1477
01:25:32,800 --> 01:25:35,000
yeah, it's like we're talking about on the tour.

1478
01:25:35,000 --> 01:25:37,360
It's pros and cons to barrel sizes, right?

1479
01:25:37,360 --> 01:25:41,800
Like, yeah, just this will never taste like something that's aged in a 53 gallon barrel

1480
01:25:41,800 --> 01:25:42,920
and vice versa.

1481
01:25:42,920 --> 01:25:44,600
And there's I think that there's.

1482
01:25:45,800 --> 01:25:47,360
Good enough pros and cons to both.

1483
01:25:47,360 --> 01:25:49,960
Right. I think that you put your best foot forward,

1484
01:25:49,960 --> 01:25:55,400
follow best practices on your distillation process comes to aging in a barrel.

1485
01:25:55,400 --> 01:25:56,760
Absolutely. Yeah.

1486
01:25:56,760 --> 01:25:58,200
Well, Ryan, thank you so much.

1487
01:25:58,200 --> 01:25:59,400
This has been fantastic.

1488
01:25:59,400 --> 01:26:01,960
Yeah, and you guys are awesome.

1489
01:26:01,960 --> 01:26:05,760
And if you guys are in the area in Denver, please stop by their tasting room.

1490
01:26:05,760 --> 01:26:07,960
Ask for a Denver donkey with that.

1491
01:26:07,960 --> 01:26:09,360
Ask for a Denver donkey.

1492
01:26:09,360 --> 01:26:10,760
And I'm not talking about the football team either.

1493
01:26:10,760 --> 01:26:13,360
I'm talking about their their right down here.

1494
01:26:13,360 --> 01:26:14,560
No one gets what you're saying.

1495
01:26:14,560 --> 01:26:16,160
All the Niner fans.

1496
01:26:16,160 --> 01:26:18,360
Well, I promise it's going to be in there.

1497
01:26:19,760 --> 01:26:20,960
So, Ryan, thank you very much.

1498
01:26:20,960 --> 01:26:22,960
Appreciate it. And guys, come check it out.

1499
01:26:22,960 --> 01:26:40,360
Thanks.