On location at Gold Eagle Wine & Spirits, Jake and Wilson sit down with purveyor Jake Cigelnik to discuss the evolution of Gold Eagle and the whiskey industry. The store began in downtown Chicago immediately following Prohibition, and is now recognized as one of the best whiskey selections in Chicagoland.
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Journeyman Distillery founder Bill Welter and Glencairn US Representative Marty Duffy join Jake for a conversation on the current state of the craft whiskey industry. After nearly of year of distilleries pivoting one month to the next, Bill explains how Journeyman has survived during the covid.
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On last day of The 12 Days of Barrel Picks, we stop by Leo's Liquor Mayfair to chat with store owner Kush about his first two barrel picks of 2020: Woodinville Stright Kentucky Bourbon. We also discuss the importance of barrel picks to craft brands, and how to build a store accessible for smaller distilleries to grow their brands.
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On Day 11, we feature one of our one. Jake, a Starward Whisky Brand Ambassador, is joined by Kelli Nakagama, Women Who Whiskey Chicago Chapter President, and Bob Zacharias to discuss WWW’s inaugural barrel pick. This Australian single malt is available at Fountainhead Market.
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A preview of our conversation with Journeyman Distillery founder Bill Welter and Glencairn representative Marty Duffy on the state of the craft distilling industry. The full episode will be available on Monday, January 11.
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Harrison Pious of MGP joins us to discuss Remus Single Barrel Bourbon and how the conglomerate distillery selects and crafts their small batch whiskeys. We also sing the praises of private whiskey groups and how they've tremendously helped brands grow through 2020.
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On Day 8 of The 12 Days of Barrel Picks, we sit down in The Stockroom at GNS Market to highlight a 13-year-old American Whiskey from Bull Run. This Portland based whiskey is finished in Balboa Winery Cabernet casks for an additional 5 months.
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On Day 7 of The 12 Days of Barrel Picks, Smooth Ambler's Old Scout single barrel from Liquor Barn is featured, as we have a detailed conversation about craft distilling.
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On day 6 of the 12 Days of Barrel Picks, our very own Wilson Torres helps us highlight Union Horse Distilling Co.’s Chicago Sting Rye Whiskey. Wilson brought this barrel selection to various retailers in Illinois with the attempt to spread the great word that is Union Horse across the state. Chris Blatner, @UrbanBourbonist, joins to talk about this great Rye selection.
Read MoreOn day 5 of the 12 Days of Barrel Picks, Jamie Duffy of The Collective by Thoroughbred joins us to discuss Sonoma Distilling Co. launching their barrel program across the States,
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On day 4 of the 12 Days of Barrel Picks, Brett Bauer of Sagamore Spirit joins Jake to have a conversation about their latest barrel pick from GNS Market in Chicago, IL.
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On day 3 of the 12 Days of Barrel Picks, Bob Zacharias highlights Fountainhead's 12-year-old vatted single malt from the historic Glenfarclas Distillery.
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On day 2 of the 12 Days of Barrel Picks, Chris Blatner -@UrbanBourbonist, chats with us about a Pinhook single cask that he chose with Leo's Liquor Mayfair. This A+ Bourbon is a part of the Bourbon War series from Pinhook.
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On day 1 of the 12 Days of Barrel Picks, Matthew Brown of Blaum Bros. Distilling Co. drops by to chat about their Knotter Rye single cask picked by Cork 'N Bottle in 2018.
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The 12 Days of Barrel Picks. A new podcast series coming on Christmas Day. We’re featuring 12 different barrel picks by 12 different distilleries during the 12 Days of Christmas. During each episode were chatting with a representative of the distillery/the person who helped pick the barrel to highlight the process of selecting the barrel, its flavors and the unique characteristics surrounding their single barrel program.
On this episode, we enter mid-conversation with Noah Tracht of Pernod Ricard and Chris Blatner - The Urban Bourbonist about the on-trade’s dissipating relevance in the whiskey industry, and how the online-premise is supplanting bars. This spirited discussion centers on the importance of the emerging virtual space and if whiskey distilleries will recalibrate their energy towards online and off-premise when building a brand. We also create a hypothetical distillery and develop how we’d approach building a brand in 2020. Lastly, we debate the importance of brands not abandoning the connections they’ve made during 2020, and how they should only expand on those relationships.
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Jake and Callum sit to down discuss upcoming projects, including; the podcast series The 12 Days of Barrel Picks and a Key In The Lake partnership with Sunday Night Fights. Over the Christmas season, we’ll be releasing 12 episodes, dedicated to an individual barrel pick. The first release episode will premier on Christmas Day. On Dec. 20, Aberlour 12 and Starward Nova will square off on Sunday Night Fights with @urbanbourbonist and @bourbonandryeclub. The guys also discuss a few of their favorite bars across the world while killing a bottle of Weller Special Resave and refining their tastebuds with Glenfarclas 12.
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Live from the Fountainhead Roof Deck Garden, Jake and special cohost Jamie Duffy record A Series of Last Calls - Private Barrels. Five private barrel selects from across the world filled the Glencairn glasses of 20 attendees, and Jake and Jamie drink, comment and chat with whiskey luminaries on the special collection of whiskeys that Fountainhead has accumulated. In the last half hour, Jake sits down with brothers Aaron and Bob Zacharias to discuss Fountainhead’s impact on the whiskey community and the nostalgia found in-between each of their whiskeys.
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Live from the Fountainhead Roof Deck Garden, Jake and Callum record A Series of Last Calls - Scotch. Six Scotches from across the great country that harbors their whisky in Bourbon’s tears, present themselves in six individual Glencairn glasses. Jake and Callum, along with Bob Zacharias and Marty Duffy drink, socialize and wistfully comment on the fantastic selections presented to the event’s attendees.
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This past Saturday night, Nov. 14, Fountainhead Chicago closed their doors. Over the last decade, Fountainhead became a Chicago institution by providing a cozy neighborhood experience with an award-winning selection of beer, spirits and locally-sourced food. Wilson and Jake sit down with Beverage Director/Manager Bob Zacharias and Glunz Beer Key Account manager Samu Rahn to celebrate everything Fountainhead.
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