167. 12 Days of Barrel Picks - Castle & Key

Wilson features the first single barrel to launch in Illinois from Castle & Key. Wilson unknowing helped select this single barrel while visiting the distillery in late 2021. Wilson and Jake also reflection their professional relationship from their beginning days of working at KOVAL to the growth and current craze for single barrels across the industry. And, Wilson poses a giveaway for a bottle of the featured single barrel (41:48).

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166. 12 Days of Barrel Picks - Watershed Distillery

Steve Malloy of Malloy’s Finest sits down with us to share his Watershed Distillery Single Barrel. Steve talks to us about the history of the multi-generation family ran liquor store, and the legacy of his grandfather and father that he’s honoring of by perusing personal relationships with distilleries across the world to create an eclectic collection of spirits for his customers.

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165. 12 Days of Barrel Picks - Jeppson's Bourbon

I sit down with Tremaine Atkinson and Tyrus Yamagiwa of Jeppsons Bourbon. We explore how they began sourcing whiskey from George Dickel and MGP to begin their bourbon program with the infamous/legendary Jeppson’s Malort label front and center on the bottle. We also dive into their single barrel program that’s sweeping across Chicago retailers and focus on a pick from GNS Market.

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162. 12 Days of Barrel Picks - Maker's Mark

Live from Gold Eagle Wine and Spirits, I sit down with purveyor Jake Cigelnik and Dan from The Adventures Club to discus their double barrel pick from Maker’s Mark: Alien vs. Predator. Jake and Dan share their elaborate five hour experience of selecting their single barrels through Maker’s truly unique procedure for clubs/retailers to sample their way through a chosen private select.


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159. Woodinville Whiskey - Eric Rosentreter

“You try be something for everybody, or you try to be everything for somebody,” says Eric Rosentreter, Woodinville Whiskey’s Region Brand Ambassador, and this quote really shapes my conversation with Eric. We also discuss the history of Woodinville, their single barrel program and Eric’s path through the bar/whiskey industry, while focusing on ever-shifting momentum of the service industry and selling whiskey during the past two years. If you ever wanted a true look into the life of a whiskey ambassador, then take a listen.

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158. Bourbon Charity

Executive Director of Bourbon Charity, Chris Blatner shares how they’re building a community around whiskey and charity together with whiskey lovers to support amazing organizations like Children's Tumor Foundation and St. Jude, Boys & Girls Club of America.

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157. Wilson Works For Castle & Key

Wilson Works For Castle & Key. Yes. our very own Wilson Torres is the new market manager for Castle & Key. Wilson shares his fortuitous four-year relationship with the distillery, and how his conversations with the founders over the years lead him down his whiskey path. Wilson also shares how Castle & Key is revitalizing the Old Taylor Distillery by preserving the past and integrating it with modern distilling.

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155. Mythology Distillery - Andy Izeluk

Mythology Distillery’s. National Sales Director Andy Izeluk joins us to share how travel and adventure prompted three friends to build a distillery that embraces community, friendship and the next unknown is this adventure called life. Andy also shares how his work on the distributor side of industry prepared him to jump-ship to the brand side of the whiskey industry.

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153. Industry Round Table

Jake, Callum and Wilson are joined by old friends Chris Blatner and Matt Brown, along with a new friend of the business (Gio) Sean Giordano. Gio is a Longtime bartender and former bar manager, and brings a balanced perspective of how whiskey brands can build in bars and restaurants. We throw questions and situations at Gio to see how he’d help build brand loyalty for up and coming distilleries. We also have a few big announcements, including Gio’s new popup.

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152. Bespoke Beverage

Founders of Bespoke Beverage Bobby Gonzalez and Noah Tracht sit down with us to share their innovative story of creating cocktails to go through the hospitality industry. Bobby and Noah also share their insights on developing a business during the pandemic, that’s transformed into a disruptor in the alcohol industry.

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151. Callum and Jake Have A Night Out

Callum and Jake return from a night of account visits to share their stories and insights of being a whiskey brand ambassador in Chicago. The two also kill a bottle of Jim Beam 8-year-old Bourbon in a donkey decanter from 1988. (This is not a sober episode).

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