Big Game Canadian Rye Finished In Belgian Ale Casks with an english

Welcome And What We’re Pouring

SPEAKER_02 0:09

Welcome to the Whiskey Chasers, where we talk about our passion for whiskey and its history, either amongst ourselves or while interviewing distilleries. All while enjoying a glass. I'm Steve. I'm Nick, and I'm Chris. Please enjoy responsibly while enjoying this week's episode of The Whiskey Chasers.

First Impressions Of The Moose Label

SPEAKER_03 0:28

We got uh big game with a huge moose on it. Big old moose.

SPEAKER_01 0:35

Six years old. Yeah, six years old.

SPEAKER_03 0:39

Do you see the the color on that six-year-old?

SPEAKER_01 0:42

What does this remind me of? This label, something to do with Colorado, or maybe it's just REI.

SPEAKER_02 0:49

Yeah, it could be REI. I was thinking like National Parks logos or uh Boys' Life magazine.

SPEAKER_01 0:55

Yeah, Boys' Life. It's that color, it's like the 1950s, or it made to look like the 1950s. Well, that's light.

SPEAKER_03 1:03

It is very, very light. And a hefty pour, ladies and gentlemen. Well, I might have to go after the other one. Went down so easily. It did.

SPEAKER_00 1:10

It went quick.

SPEAKER_03 1:11

Bottled by the whiskey ring in Bloomington, Indiana, distilled in Canada. This is lighter than most scotches.

SPEAKER_02 1:19

Big red liquors are the people that make this.

SPEAKER_03 1:22

Big red liquors. Exclusive to them. Which they bought out gaze, which makes sense why I found this at Gaze, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:29

Okay, and they're making it.

SPEAKER_03 1:31

They're not making it. They're producing it. It's exclusively made for them. Well, I don't know if it was made for them.

SPEAKER_02 1:39

Sourcing is from all over the place. Yeah. Oh, no. So it's not one like over there. No. All right. So this is sourced from all over Canada. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:45

I think they exclusively took it into their stores. I don't know if it was made by anyone related to Big Red.

SPEAKER_02 1:53

It's imported, aged and finished, and bottled in the U.S. distribution. All in Bloomington, Indiana.

SPEAKER_01 1:58

All right. 100-proof, six years old with a giant ass moose on it. I think it's big. It takes up most of the label.

SPEAKER_00 2:06

Big, big moose.

SPEAKER_01 2:08

But that's big game, I guess. Yeah, big game. I would feel bad shooting something like that. A big moose like that? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:15

Why would you feel bad about that?

SPEAKER_01 2:17

I would feel more bad about shooting one of those than like a deer. Oh, for sure. Just looks more like Regal.

SPEAKER_02 2:22

It feels it's it's more majestic. Also. Like you better be going to the hunting party.

unknown 2:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:27

Because you're not gonna be able to haul that all out. Oh, yeah. No way.

SPEAKER_01 2:31

And is the meat even good?

SPEAKER_00 2:32

Is it like deer meat? I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 2:34

I've never

What Counts As A Moose

SPEAKER_03 2:35

had moose.

SPEAKER_02 2:35

I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 2:36

Moose?

SPEAKER_02 2:36

Moose elk? I've heard good things.

SPEAKER_03 2:38

Who I don't I now that you mentioned moose, I don't know that anyone like who who may who uses moose meat.

SPEAKER_02 2:45

No, I mean you hear about elk.

SPEAKER_01 2:47

I hear about elk, but you don't hear moose, and they're different.

SPEAKER_02 2:50

They're very yes, they're different. Um, I watch that's definitely a moose, right? Do you not hunt moose? You can. Uh usually it's lottery. Like, usually there's not a lot. Okay, I don't think you can like there's not like a moose season that any anyone can go out and hunt in. Alaska has has a hunting season for moose, but again, it's lottery. Is that the plural name?

SPEAKER_03 3:09

Yeah, I was gonna say is it moose's moose moose?

SPEAKER_01 3:11

Moose, yeah. Yeah, moose is a singular and plural. Both both moose and moose. But that's like deer, right? Deer and deer. Yeah, right. You have a deer and you have a group of deer. You have multiple deers. So it's the same. Yeah, okay. Yep. No, same with elk, right? You have one. We have elks. Elks, those are those are there's five elks over there. Yeah, you wouldn't say there's five mooses. You have six deers over there. Good point. But you wouldn't say you have five mooses. No, you just say moose. You just have moose. That's weird. That is strange. It's different. It is different. But I don't think you'd say five elk. Maybe you would say five elks. I would say elk. I could go either way with the elk. You would say there's five elk over there or five elks. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 3:52

Could you do the same with deer then? Five deer over there? Or there's five deers? You could do the same with the deer.

SPEAKER_02 3:57

There's a herd of deer over there.

SPEAKER_01 3:58

But you still couldn't add the S to moose's. No. So it's still different. Moose is different. Moose is different.

SPEAKER_00 4:05

I'm glad we got that figured out. Clear as that. How dare us not not know that beforehand.

SPEAKER_03 4:12

I was really curious about it.

SPEAKER_00 4:13

But we're not smoking anything to do with moose. We're not. Or moose.

Lighting Up Bow Legged Bear

SPEAKER_02 4:18

There's a moose-free tobacco blend.

SPEAKER_00 4:19

This is about bears. This is a bear blend.

SPEAKER_01 4:22

Bow-legged bear by Cornell and Deal. Part of their vintage blends. And it's she's pregnant. They still make bow-legged bear? Yeah, yeah, they do. Yeah. This is one of the old labels. Now they look different. This one was from uh June of 2017. So um, yeah, it's got some age on it. And it's ready to pop. It's an English, English blend, bow-legged bear, uh Virginia's Turkish Latikia burlies and parik stove, pressed, and sliced into old-fashioned crumble cakes. So let's find out if this is gonna go well power big game.

SPEAKER_02 4:58

That was a good hiss.

SPEAKER_03 4:59

Every time it's like a soda can. It is it gets me excited for some soda, but it's not soda. Have you tried yours yet?

SPEAKER_02 5:06

I smelled it.

SPEAKER_03 5:07

I haven't had any either.

SPEAKER_02 5:09

It's interesting. I haven't even smelled it.

Belgian Double Ale Finish Explained

SPEAKER_02 5:11

This is finished. It's finished in what kind of barrels? Belgium style ales. Belgium, there's another name on there though, too. Isn't there like a Ness and N word? Um the N word, but A N word.

SPEAKER_03 5:24

Sorry. Belgium style double ale. Oh, double ale, okay. From the Tax Man Brewing Company out of Indiana as well. Taxman brewing. So I believe that where they're located, this the big game, uh not big game, but the whiskey ring. Yeah, they're either associated with or local to Taxman Brewing. So they they worked with partnered with them to do a finishing. Okay, which I don't know that I've seen any other whiskey company use a Belgium style double ale.

SPEAKER_02 6:03

No, we've definitely had other other beer barrel finishes. Not a lot, but not there's not a ton of them out there, but there are a handful. Holland Brewing does a lot of them or New Holland spirits.

SPEAKER_01 6:15

I'm trying to think of a popular Belgian ale brand. Same here, there's beer wise.

SPEAKER_02 6:21

There's only one. Blue Moon. Blue Moon is a little bit. That's a Belgian ale. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:25

That is, you're right.

SPEAKER_02 6:26

Yeah, but it's kind of like a Hefefeisen, a little bit. Yeah. Have you used it? You tried this now? I just tried it.

SPEAKER_03 6:32

This is interesting. It is very interesting. Well, that's exciting.

SPEAKER_02 6:35

Let me know there's some, there's a lot of flavor.

SPEAKER_03 6:38

There's lots going on.

SPEAKER_01 6:39

Very, very sweet. Pack my pipe. Oh, that should go good with an English.

SPEAKER_03 6:43

So the Belgium style double ale is supposed to be a rich, multi, medium to dark ale that normally is about six to eight percent alcohol. Okay. Typically, like dark fruits, like raisins, prunes, dates, toffee, caramel.

SPEAKER_01 7:00

All right, that all sounds good. Well, okay. Well, so hmm, where is Belgium in relation to like Germany? Isn't it in next door to each other? They're like right next door, right? But it's like Austria, Belgium, Germany, they're all right there. Yeah, right. Okay. Because I just thought about that for the first time. I was like, man, I know it's very German, but like, how close is it? Yeah, I'm pretty sure they're right next door to each other. Yeah. I want yeah. I don't know where in relation, but they're all like they're all like like touch and toes, right?

SPEAKER_03 7:29

You're gonna want to try this before you smoke. Oh, yeah, for sure. Because I have some more information. I don't know if Steve has this information or not, but it's not misinformation. I know I've got some information that'll that'll explain the full flavor complexity going on with this guy.

SPEAKER_02 7:45

Okay, well let me try to. West, okay. Um, it is between Germany is on the w is on the east, Netherlands to the north, France to the south, and London to the west. Or England to the west. But it's not far from London.

SPEAKER_01 8:05

Okay, and Austria is like to the north of Germany. Um, Austria is not its own country anymore. It's not uh no, Austria is not its own country anymore.

SPEAKER_02 8:18

No, that that during World War II they got combined.

SPEAKER_01 8:21

Well, it's just Germany, you know?

SPEAKER_02 8:23

No, that's a lie. I was gonna say, I'm pretty sure Austria is south of Germany. South of Germany.

SPEAKER_01 8:28

Yeah, but it is but it is not its own country. It is their own country.

SPEAKER_00 8:31

It is my bad. That's I was like, what happened? Yeah, they did get taken over during the water.

SPEAKER_02 8:36

I wasn't born there, I know some things. I just don't know where Belgium's at. They did get taken, they did get over the war, but they separated out again.

SPEAKER_01 8:43

Yeah, they yeah, yeah, right. It's all I mean, it's always been very it's Austria, Germany, it's pretty damn close. Bulgaria and all that, Belgium, but the belt Belgiums are I I don't know cultural culturally, or how close are they to Germany? I don't I don't know. Uh I mean it's where Brussels is. Brussels is Belgium.

SPEAKER_02 9:01

Okay, yeah. Um, so I I think Czech's around that area too. It is, yeah. Yeah, Czech is just uh where'd it go? Chechnia is uh east of Germany, so it's on the other side. Okay, but Egypt Europe is so small though. Like it's like you don't it's it's on the whole other side of the country, but it's probably like the difference from here to California. Yeah, a little less than that. This is like real, even less wow. Oh, yeah. Like I don't know exactly how far it is, but I would say like here to uh Lake Missouri. Like yeah, like not far at all. Yes, you forget how small it is over there. I can't get over how light this is. It's a nine hour drive to go completely through Germany into another country.

SPEAKER_01 9:48

Yeah, how about that? Wow, this is different, yeah. It's a very different drink. God, I love that aftertaste. Yeah, boy, I love that aftertaste.

SPEAKER_02 9:57

This is really good for what it is.

SPEAKER_01 9:59

Delicate. Yeah, this is a very oh, and then there's smoke comes in.

SPEAKER_02 10:03

Yeah, there's a lot of crap is going on. Yeah, we have not lit up yet, so we have not tried it, but yeah, it is.

SPEAKER_01 10:09

It's so light, and then it's got that really kind of called in that way. I don't want to call it creamy, but it's like this weird vanilla-y, and I don't mean like that in a bourbon way, in like a like baking vanilla type of way, like vanilla paste, like yeah, and it's sweet, but it's not like overly sweet, and then that smoke comes in out of kind of nowhere. You're like, what the f but it's a delicate it is, it's very light and bold,

Tasting Notes Sweet Light Smoky

SPEAKER_01 10:39

yeah. Yeah, it's um like the it's delicate in a way like a really high-end, like lapseng sushong, like a tea, like a oolong tea or a green tea or a a fancy tea, you know, uh, would be delicate. Where it's gotta be brewed at the right temperature for the right amount of time, or else it's gonna be ruined. That's kind of what I get with this. Like, you gotta be careful with it. Yeah, but it's boy, is it unique?

SPEAKER_02 11:07

Yeah, it's very unique.

SPEAKER_01 11:08

And we're we're calling this Canadian. It is Canadian. They're saying it's a what the air here's where things get really interesting.

The Three Year Finish Accident

SPEAKER_01 11:16

I would never call this Canadian.

SPEAKER_03 11:17

Yeah, this originated as a three-year-old Canadian whiskey that they were uh planning on aging or finishing in these barrels for three months. They say due to scheduling, they forgot about it, but I think they just forgot about it. And three years later.

SPEAKER_02 11:35

Oh, so it's been finishing for three years.

SPEAKER_03 11:39

And it's still that light. It's been sitting in these double ale casks for three years, bringing it to a total and no longer finished, it's but it was aging in there for three years.

SPEAKER_01 11:49

So six-year-old Canadian that three years was I like spoiler alert. I love this. Like, we I know we're just getting started, but damn, I love this. This is really good. So, does this change or is this like what like this is a standard? This is done. This is like this is a one and done.

SPEAKER_03 12:10

I found out this is a one and done.

SPEAKER_01 12:11

I did not know that originally. Son of a biscuit. Are you serious? They did it one time. Those sons of bitches.

SPEAKER_00 12:19

Yeah, they better try to get it.

SPEAKER_01 12:20

Oh, dude, where can we get this? I know we're rushing ahead. We are totally rushing

Limited Release Where To Find It

SPEAKER_01 12:26

ahead.

SPEAKER_03 12:26

So this was a limited one-off experimental release. So what once it's gone, it's gone. No, there's no exact total bottle counts, but it was limited to a small batch barrel, like a single batch size of a barrel. Let's put a pin in this real quick. Where can you get another bottle of this? I probably can. So this was on the shelf for under 30 bucks, 25 to 30 bucks at gaze. Bottom shelf, no one was looking at it. I was like, well, this sounds interesting. Let's do this. So, what was it?

SPEAKER_01 12:56

Gaze, okay.

SPEAKER_03 12:57

Yeah, well, gaze was bought up by Big Red.

SPEAKER_01 12:59

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, wow. Darn, we need to get some more of this. Yeah, I know where.

SPEAKER_02 13:03

Where did this come out? Does it it doesn't have like I'm looking and it's not mine, does not say it on the front, does it mean?

SPEAKER_03 13:10

So this was released mid 2024 to 2025.

SPEAKER_01 13:13

It's still around. I'm wondering if people are looking at it. I will say it, I like the way it looks, but it almost looks a little touristy. Dukes. That's what this reminds me of, kind of those those Dukes, what cologne or whatever the hell that is. The the packaging, the style of their advertisements is very similar to that, which is that trying to remake something from the 1950s. Yeah, uh trying to make something from the 1950s scouting or or adventuring or whatever, you know, camping, whatever the hell. That's what that reminds me of. And I think you could look at that and go gimmicky. Or you could look at that and be like, I like it. And then it's dude, for me, it's like what it's I don't know. There maybe it's multiple things, but maybe it's just the fact that it was aged in that Belgium ale. But something about this is quite extraordinary.

SPEAKER_02 14:04

I mean, it has to be that three years of age in in those Belgian barrels that does this because this is not like you said, this isn't Canadian. I mean, it's very sweetly Canadian, but that's kind of where it ends.

SPEAKER_01 14:17

Yeah, this is but where the hell is that smoke coming from at the end, at the back end? I like it, yeah, but I would to me, this is closer to scotch than it is to Canadian.

SPEAKER_02 14:28

It does remind me of like a sprayside scotch.

SPEAKER_01 14:31

It only but only at the end, not right away. Right away, it's not at all. But it's it's not Canadian right away either. No, it does not scream Canadian at the end, it screams scotch a little bit, but it's a light whiskey. This is a light, very light, but for all that, still fulfilling, like still like I'm not wanting more for it being so light. And the fact that it's a hundred-proof, it doesn't drink like a it's a hundred.

SPEAKER_03 14:58

No, no, no, this is.

SPEAKER_02 15:01

This is a compliment. I would have guessed it was 90 or 80, 80, even.

SPEAKER_01 15:05

Yeah, but not in a not again, not in a lacking type of way. It's enough, but I wouldn't have thought this was that high a proof. It's just so light and airy and delicate and a little sweet, and then smoky at the end. It's just really good. It's really it's done really well.

SPEAKER_03 15:23

It really is. So supposedly it's a rye, Canadian rye whiskey that they then finished in the well, all Canadian is right.

SPEAKER_01 15:30

So if it's Canadian, that makes sense. Yeah. I'm not getting a lot of rye in it, though.

SPEAKER_03 15:35

They all I can say is that it's featuring a prominent component of Canadian rye grain, along with other cereal grains. So it's probably a high rye.

SPEAKER_01 15:44

High rye. I'm wondering if maybe that's part of it, is whatever they originally aged it in was not a heavy char of any kind. Yeah, because it's so light in color.

unknown 15:55

Right.

SPEAKER_01 15:55

I'm wondering if it was three years old. So I mean this is Crown Royal. Crown Royal is dark way darker in this. So I is it? Oh yeah. Oh hell yeah. This this is lighter than most. This is lighter than Space Ideed Scotch's, dude. Not this is light. This is the color of apple juice. Actually, it's lighter than apple juice. Lighter than apple juice, yeah. Yeah, it's I mean, this it's almost champagne looking in the glass. It's cognac. It reminds me of cognac. Cognac's way darker. It's like syrup. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:25

Yeah, dark it's dark. It's dark. It's like wine almost. Yeah, like a red wine.

SPEAKER_01 16:30

This is like corn whiskey, uh corn syrup almost, but a little bit darker. It's like like maybe it's the light right now, but that to me looks like freaking beer, actually.

SPEAKER_02 16:41

Yeah, it kind of looks like a beer. Yeah, it does look like a pilsner.

SPEAKER_01 16:46

Yeah, that's what it looks like. That's what it looks like, like a light beer. Uh color-wise. Boy, I'm loving it. I don't know if you can tell. This is this might not leave the basement.

SPEAKER_03 16:58

So, what's funny is I bought this, and I was like, well, we'll see what Chris thinks. Because Chris, you again, we go back to the beginning of the year. You want to see Canadian whiskey done well. And you don't have to finish in a uh maybe Canadian plus, right? For what we're we we kind of know or anticipate so far. And I saw this and I was like, Well, this is bottom shelf, it is on the bottom shelf.

SPEAKER_01 17:20

What? And we're and we're raving about it.

SPEAKER_03 17:22

It looks like it looks like a bottom shelf bottle, like a gimmicky kind of bottle.

SPEAKER_01 17:25

Kind of does, but I like it.

SPEAKER_03 17:27

It's coming from Bloomington, Indiana. Canadian whiskey coming out of Bloomington, Indiana. Yeah, no, Bloomington, no, it screams gimmicky. Okay, yeah, and then you see that it's a Belgium-style double ale, and you're like, okay, every single part of this just screams, this is probably gonna be a dud. But let's see, let's see what happens.

SPEAKER_01 17:46

Again, I think I paid like 25 bucks for this. I can't the price is going down every time, it's freaking me out. I'll be next to my face of this. I think it's because people don't know. I I agree. Well, again, you look at it and you're like, maybe it's worked for everybody. I love it. I love how different and unique and I keep saying delicate, but it's it's a fragile whiskey. Like, don't bruise it. You know, that's what it feels like. You know, it's just it could be in a fancier bottle, way fancier.

SPEAKER_02 18:14

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:15

Yeah, it could be. This could be served in like a champagne flute almost. Like it's just very and I you know what? And I'd love to get her to try it. I wonder if Laura would like this. I wonder if some like women that aren't huge into whiskey would like this because it is a light, friendly, but it's got that the smoke comes in at the end. You're already committed at that point, and I think you've already been like enjoying it. So by the time it comes in, you might be it's kind of like people that don't like spicy food. The spice hits later on, they're okay with it because they've gone through the experience. You know what I mean? That's what this would be like. I think by the time that smoke hits, they would appreciate it. I I wonder how

Mixing Ideas And Bubbles Debate

SPEAKER_01 18:55

the girls would like this, and again, it's 100-proof.

SPEAKER_03 18:57

I know. I think they would in small quantities, I think they would enjoy it. Oh, yeah. I'm thinking like a sip or two. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, they wouldn't want a glass, but I could see this in a cocktail, they would probably really enjoy.

SPEAKER_02 19:08

I it might be ruined in a cocktail. This would probably be a killer cocktail bottle. You think so? Yeah, I mean what would you make? I mean, it's great on its own, but ginger ale?

SPEAKER_01 19:17

No, no, I'm just afraid. Uh, you'd have to use other liquor, like uh Lilette, like a lilette.

SPEAKER_03 19:21

I was gonna say it would go well with like elderflower, like a little, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:25

Yeah, lilette is a lemon, like a very light lemon liqueur. Very light. A vermouth, kind of a vermouth type of uh chilled sort of. I think I would kind of be interested to almost a weird whiskey martine paint in this, kind of like do one of those type of cocktails where it's like bubbly, like a bubbly cocktail with this. I because you don't want to ru you don't want to take away from the flavor, and if you add anything with flavor, go do it with like just pop.

SPEAKER_02 19:51

Like I don't know that you could do like this and coke. No, or this maybe a sprice, maybe uh maybe a mineral water. Maybe, yeah. Maybe, yeah, this and water, or this and mineral water.

SPEAKER_01 20:01

Sparkling water, mineral water, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:02

Maybe I'd almost be afraid to do water. I feel like it'd water it down too much.

SPEAKER_01 20:07

It might, but again, it's 100 proof. Maybe it would be all right. We'd have to find out at that price. You could find out and not feel bad about it, other than the fact that it's swung and done good on its own. It's one that's limited. Like it's not like there's an unlimited supply of it. So you'd almost have to buy a bunch. But yeah, I don't know. It'd be interesting to try that in a cocktail. I don't know. It might lose everything because it's just for me, it's just a very um, if you're not careful with it, you're gonna, and I think if you're not careful drinking it, you'd maybe miss miss it. I mean, we're really kind of exploring it, you know what I mean? But I think you could get a little rough with it, not realize that, like, hey, it's this is actually special, you know. If you weren't paying attention, just trying to knock it back or whatever, you'd be like, oh, it's fine, you know, whatever. You take your time with it and you kind of slow dance it a little bit. I think you're gonna appreciate all its curves.

SPEAKER_02 20:55

I said no to pop, but I think a ginger ale would maybe do a ginger ale. A ginger ale ginger ale ginger would go good with it. Yeah, like ginger beer almost.

SPEAKER_03 21:03

Yeah, I was gonna say like a mule kind of thing.

SPEAKER_01 21:06

Like a Verners, you're thinking?

SPEAKER_03 21:07

Or no, more. I would think more like uh like an actual ginger beer.

SPEAKER_01 21:11

I'm just afraid ginger beers. Sometimes those things could get a little bit.

SPEAKER_03 21:14

Well I'm not gonna I'm not gonna they're pretty spicy. I'm not gonna do the whole thing, but like almost like a mule with almost like a topper.

SPEAKER_01 21:19

Okay, so again, kind of like what I was saying, that'll be a bit of a bubbly cocktail. Okay, I do think bubbles would uh help this, yeah. Well, or it wouldn't hurt it.

SPEAKER_02 21:28

This is one I'd like to maybe put in like a soda stream or something and just try to just add some carbonation, just just bubbles, bubbles, yeah, yeah, that'd be interesting. Yeah, yeah, because that might be good, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:40

Um maybe just pour some damn beer in it.

SPEAKER_03 21:42

Just pour some big beer in it, yeah. Some Belgium ale, I guess. But speaking of beer, when's the last time you saw a Canadian whiskey utilize beer for finishings of any kind of region?

SPEAKER_01 21:53

Not even like a Canadian beer.

SPEAKER_02 21:54

I mean, yeah, any like hardly anything uses beer the way I think it should. I mean, we do a lot of the

SPEAKER_03 22:00

The Kentucky Ale or Stouts, yeah, like darker stuff.

SPEAKER_02 22:04

Yeah, usually it's I feel like it's stouts more than anything else. Stouts are the ones that people use because they're so flavorful.

SPEAKER_01 22:09

Yeah.

Beer Preferences And Canned Drinks

SPEAKER_01 22:10

Yeah. But I mean, I when it comes to beer, I like light beer. I'm a light beer kind of guy. I like Pilsners. I beer ales, lagers, sure. But and I and there's times I like Guinness and things like that. But if you were to like like what like what would your go-to beer be, which is hilarious, but it is like Bush Light. Yeah. Totally is. Yeah, I just love it. I love how light it is. I like the way it tastes. For me, that tastes like it could probably because that's like what my dad would drink, not that exact brand, but something like it. So I grew up like that is what beer tastes like. And when I get beer that's like, you know, real hobby, like hoppy or something like that, or a hefey fight, or you know, something fancy, I'm like, oh, this is good, but it's not beer. You know what I mean? When I think beer, I think like a lager or a pilsner. That's what I think of.

SPEAKER_02 22:55

Yeah. Beer, I think for most people, this used to be true, and I think it's becoming true again. Whatever your first beer was just kind of became your beer for a long time. So, like, mine is coors. Coors, yeah. Uh, because my first beer was out in Colorado. Coors banquet. Yeah, banquet banquets game. See, I like heavy.

SPEAKER_01 23:15

Yeah, that is a heavy beer, but I do like course banquet.

SPEAKER_02 23:18

I like coors banquet, I like but heavy. I don't want but I like butt heavy. I I want uh milk, whatever it is, I want the heavy version. Yeah, I get it. I usually like that more than the light version, the light version, yeah. But you fill up so fast on those so damn case.

SPEAKER_01 23:34

I love banquet, but you can't have more than five or six.

SPEAKER_02 23:36

Yeah, you have a six pack and you're done. And I mean, and like beer is one of those things, like you can have 120 a day or whatever, and it's okay. You could, yeah. We're not endorsing that.

SPEAKER_01 23:47

I'm not endorsing it, but like have I drank 24 cans of pushlight before in one day?

SPEAKER_02 23:51

Yes, yes, I we're not saying it's a great thing, we're saying it's a possible thing. Beer gets you to a point of of drunkenness and you kind of just float. You just stay there, and you just stay there, and it's usually a very happy, very just enjoying it. Whiskey and stuff, but you go too heavy on the whiskey and stuff, you can pass that line and it becomes a little bit worse.

SPEAKER_01 24:09

Don't call me crazy, but I feel like for me, beer's kind of hydrating. Like, I'm usually like you know, after a whole lot of it, I feel like hydrated, like I'm not like I'm not dehydrated, you know what I mean. I don't wake up like dehydrated, you know. I usually am like, hey, but I feel pretty good. Yeah, again, it could be genetics, I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 24:28

But yeah, I mean but well, I think it's anything in a can. So I'm not a beer guy, beer does I would I I'm might experience meant with beer after doing pipes, yeah, because I do love beer, just never after a while didn't sit well with me. Yeah, but this past weekend watching the Notre Dame game, I was like, Well, I I don't want to buy a bottle of liquor and go through that. I'm I'm not gonna go through it in a day, shouldn't go through it in a day by myself. So I went with uh Jim Beam, does a premixed Jim Beam and Cola. So there was four of those, and I was like, Well, I may go through more than four. So Jack has a Jack and Coke, zero, so let's try that. I went through, oh gosh, I drank through six of those, and I was like, nah, I'm full, but now what?

SPEAKER_02 25:15

Like, there's nothing how were those by the way?

SPEAKER_03 25:17

The Jim Beam and Cola, I had highly, highly recommend. I was gonna say the other one's not so much, probably. Tennessee one, not so good. If you if you like Jack Daniels for the sweetness, that's perfect. If you like more Jack Daniels than Coke and your Jack and Coke, don't go for that. But the Jim Beam definitely held that Jim Beam flavor.

SPEAKER_01 25:36

I like Jack and Coke when they're in separate glasses, and I don't know if that sounds super weird, but I have had just a coke shot, a glass of Coca-Cola with ice, because that's the best way to have it, in my opinion. And then I've had like neat Jack Daniels, and I'll take a sip, and then maybe I'll do like a piggyback kind of a thing, but most of the time it's like a sip of this, wait a little bit, and then a sip of that kind of a thing. And I've enjoyed that, but when I mix them together, I don't like it. I do not like the two mixed together, they're just not good.

SPEAKER_03 26:02

I like it, but I have to have more jack than I do coke. Jack is so sweet to begin with. You'd have to do a splash of it. I do it's Coke Zero with Jack. Okay, yeah. That's what I have to go with because I don't like I it's already sweet to begin with. I don't want more sweet from the Coke. I I prefer just a little bit of flavoring from the Coke and more of the Jack.

SPEAKER_01 26:22

Yeah, but I take like a Jack with like a Coke back or something. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, and that'd be fine.

SPEAKER_02 26:25

I'm more of a sprite guy. I I prefer like a seven and seven style. Seven and seven's good. So like I prefer a whiskey and seven.

SPEAKER_01 26:33

I will say though, the lighter the whiskey, the more I will mix it with like a like a lighter soda or something. I would agree with that. Yeah, like when it comes to gins, vodkas, or light whiskies, uh, I would mix with you like seven seven. I've had that before. That's good, but that's a lighter whiskey. Typically, you're using, you know, so it's it's yeah, Seagram 7. It's Canadian, I think. It's Canadian, yeah. And it's a light Canadian at that. It's like a not this light. No, no, but but yeah, I'm I'm I'm good with that.

SPEAKER_03 27:02

Thinking of beer, the ones that we've had that we really, really like. I'm I'm just thinking off the top of my head of the ones all the ales or stout finish stuff that we've had. It's always been the craft, the quote unquote craft stuff that we really like. New Holland, Liberty Pole. Um, I think of Did Still 630 do one that was uh a beer finish?

SPEAKER_02 27:25

I can't remember if they did one that was a beer finish, but uh, if not, would they be at least done it on their on their experimental minds, right?

SPEAKER_03 27:32

So and then he does so much experimental stuff, and then Wiggle did their stout stuff, like but then you get into all these other ones that do stout finishings, like the big name ones or the ones that are bigger, and you're like, they're okay.

SPEAKER_02 27:46

What is a big one that does it? Kentucky Ale? Kentucky Ale. But that's that's a beer finish in bourbon, bro.

SPEAKER_03 27:53

Yeah, it's the other way around. But then they also have uh why am I spacing on their name? Bardstown has done stout finish before.

SPEAKER_02 28:00

Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 28:01

Um, it's not bourbon, but uh Westworld did their stout, but it's almost like they lose sight of what they want, like they don't want to lose sight of their bourbon flavor, so they age it less or finish it less in the stout or in the barrel, and it becomes okay.

SPEAKER_01 28:20

Jameson's done it as well.

SPEAKER_03 28:22

You do it, you do it for six or you do it for three years, and it's like, okay, I I lost nothing of the whiskey, but this just added more. We're talking Canadian whiskey, folks.

SPEAKER_01 28:33

I actually three three months, it probably would have done nothing exactly. Three years was perfect, but like I bet anything less than would have been like we wouldn't be talking about it. We'd be like, whatever, you know. This is great, this is just great. Like, I love this. This would be for me if I if it was of like something you could just go get. This is a shelfer, 100%. Oh, this is one that I would get a lot because I I just feel like this is it's so light and and and fun and friendly that I think I would just go through it. I'd go through it as quick as as quickly as I go through like uh long branch because it's just I'd prefer this over long branch. Yeah, this it's just very um almost refreshing in a way. Does that make sense? Like almost hydrating in a way.

SPEAKER_03 29:16

It's it's hydrating but complex at the same time.

SPEAKER_01 29:19

But complex is good more.

SPEAKER_03 29:22

But long branch you're drinking, like it's a sweet. Like I can tell it's whiskey, but it's it's it's really sweet. I mean, this is great.

Pipe Pairing Notes And Perique Talk

SPEAKER_03 29:30

This is a great spring bottle, or even a hot summer day bottle.

SPEAKER_01 29:33

Like this still this fits a lot of big things. What I feel like a cold, like not cold, but like a chewy wet spring day. This is like perfect, dude. Like trying to get fly fishing going like for the first time of the year, kind of a deal. Dews on the grass, take a nip of this. That's it, man. This is a great camping bottle.

SPEAKER_03 29:54

I'm having a hard time keeping mine lit, but that might just be me. That might just be you because this is burning really well. That might just be you.

SPEAKER_02 30:00

Fine white ash. Yeah, I did just try switching pipes back to what we did before with the uh warped. We made the right call. This worked out really well. Yeah, the warped. I but I honestly wasn't expecting this to the colour. Neither one does anything to the other, just not helping each other out. Yeah, they're just kind of doing their own things, probably trying to pull away from each other, to be honest.

SPEAKER_03 30:21

Yeah, I honestly wasn't expecting this bottle to pack this kind of flavor or this kind of punch. I don't think you expected us to like it the way the way you're describing it.

SPEAKER_02 30:30

I I thought this was gonna be thought it might be a dud. Yeah, yeah. And man, those are the best bottles when you're like, you know, I don't even know if I'm gonna like this or not, but it's 20 bucks, why not? I'll be give it a try. Yeah, 30 bucks, let me give it a try. And it turns out to be this amazing amazing bottle.

SPEAKER_03 30:47

Yeah, I don't want it to leave the basement. I love it. Good luck. You can come over to my house and enjoy it.

SPEAKER_02 30:53

This is coming from a guy that does not like Canadians and what what uh who those those liquor stores uh where all are they all over Indiana? Are they in other states?

SPEAKER_03 31:07

Big red liquors is Fort Wayne down to Indy. How many do they have? A crab tongue. They bought all the gays.

unknown 31:17

All the gays.

SPEAKER_03 31:18

All the gays. Uh yeah, they they bought all of them. There was a good amount of gays.

SPEAKER_01 31:23

There was a fair amount of gays.

SPEAKER_03 31:24

A fair amount of gays in that area. Yeah. Yep. And they you know, they're worth a price, they're worth a price tag. So they're willing to sell.

SPEAKER_02 31:34

That's not that far. I can maybe take a weekend trip and pick up a bottle or two.

SPEAKER_03 31:40

This is probably 20 minutes 30 at most from Tipsy's.

SPEAKER_01 31:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 31:46

So like it's not terribly far from from them.

SPEAKER_01 31:49

It's just one, and you don't know, right? You don't know. But I I would now, if I ever like, I want some of this, you know what I mean? Like, so and it sounds like it's just get it while you can. Yeah, I hate that we do this to the people listening. Well, I had uh no idea, like I just figured it was you at least you guys got the experience with us. Uh, this is really something, and we try a lot on this podcast, but I'm really enjoying this.

SPEAKER_03 32:14

It's really good. How does this compare to Found North?

SPEAKER_01 32:18

You can't compare it. This is the most unique. I will go on a limb here. This is probably the most unique Canadian whiskey I've ever had.

SPEAKER_02 32:26

It's very unique, and that's like and that's a plus and minus. Like, I have nothing to compare it to. So not only can you not get this, I can't tell you another one to get that similar.

SPEAKER_01 32:35

That's what I mean. Yeah, I'm not saying this is the best. I'm not saying this is like other ones I've had. This is the most unique because I've had even some of the best Canadians I've had are still Canadian whiskey, right? This is different. This is so unique. And and I but it is Canadian, and that's what I'm I'm like, my brain's kind of like freaking out. But this is still a Canadian minus versus Canadian plus in a good way, but yeah, yeah, like it's less Canadian.

SPEAKER_03 33:02

Do you think that the tobacco, as good as it is and as well as it pairs with this, do you think it's taken away from this bottle? Or uh adding adding just enough to where you're like, oh, this is Canadian minus.

SPEAKER_02 33:14

No, no, when I say Canadian minus, I mean it's just not Canadian, it's very, very good, but it's not Canadian. Hard to believe it's Canadian. Yeah, yeah. So I definitely like I'm they're almost like different camps. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 33:25

So when I first tried it, like, yes, I feel like it was Canadian. Now with a pipe, I feel like it's more oddly enough, like berry stone fruit kind of feel.

unknown 33:35

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 33:36

Which is not Canadian at all. No, no, no.

SPEAKER_01 33:38

But I I will say that I drank some before smoking, and I still was like, this is not Canadian.

SPEAKER_04 33:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 33:44

Just look at the color of it. Like, I mean, there's just no, I don't think you can even have something taste Canadian with that color. I don't know. Like, it's just not it.

SPEAKER_02 33:54

Yeah, it's when I say Canadian minus, I mean just it's minus the Canadian. It's not, it's it's very, very good. In a good way, it's just it's a different type of spirit altogether. It's just uh the finishing obviously took over this bottle in the best way possible. Um, so like the the the whiskey itself is it's a six-year-old Canadian whiskey, and that doesn't matter at all because the finish is what took it over.

SPEAKER_01 34:22

All the finishing just killed it, didn't it? The whiskey itself stayed, I don't want to say mellow, it stayed very easy going, yeah, and it allowed the finishing to take pro precedence. Uh, and then somehow, some way, some weird magic thing where this smoke comes in, and it's not super strong, but there's wisps of this smoke at in the back end. That's like, what the where the hell did that come from? And that's what reminds me of a space eye, yeah, which is weird because it's a light smoke, and God, it's good. Without it, I don't think it'd be as good. It's just really, really enjoy. And then the um feeling in your mouth afterwards, you're left with the same kind of quality of mouthfeel that you would get from drinking beer. I think it's that aftertaste, that that beer aftertaste, like sitting in a bar, you know, right at the bar, in you know, an old school bar and drinking like just some some plain Jane beer. You know what I mean? That's and that's the aftertaste that I get. Dude, I'm enjoying the hell out of this. This is a great experience. And I think it is working well with this English, which isn't it isn't a heavy English. Um, it's not a light English, but it's not heavy. It's just really, and I think with the age, it's kind of a mellow, it's kind of mellowed out, maybe refined, matured. It's not super dark, but it's a good English.

SPEAKER_02 35:43

It is a good English. And um, what what is in this? Well, I think you let it you read it before. There's got all the stuff.

SPEAKER_01 35:50

There's Turkish, Preek, uh, Latiquia, Virginia. I think the the the Preek is an interesting addition for an English. I don't know how much is in there, but it's it's in there. I could taste a little bit of it, but it's and it could be that it aged the right amount of time. For me, I've had bow-legged bear before, it was never this good. So I'm wondering if it's one of those blends that really does, and it's part of their vintage line. So I'm wondering if it's one of those blends that does really lend itself to aging because I feel like this might be peak for smokeability. Yeah, it's the moisture's right and it tastes right. It's not harsh or bitter at any at any point, it's not overpowered with latachia. It's good, it's just a good strong. I wouldn't say maybe not strong is the word, but it's a good um, it's like a good bite of steak. Like it's just a good amount of English.

SPEAKER_03 36:45

I think I have found that I'm a big, big fan of Parik. Parekia. And I don't know how much I've had of Latiya. I think most of it's been Parek, but I that peppery, that like black pepper, white pepper mix. I know you you you talk about too much pepper, and it's kind of how do you explain it? It's it's too much for you. You don't like too much pepper. I can't have enough pepper.

SPEAKER_01 37:08

Yeah, I love pepper. I like the right amount, I but you can overdo it. That being said, I love Preek.

SPEAKER_03 37:15

I love, I love the the mixture. Anything that has Preek, I think I'm a big fan of. And it's smoking great.

SPEAKER_02 37:21

It is, it is smoking really nicely, and yeah, I think it's adding to this. It's well, it's not adding, it's not really doing much of anything to the whiskey.

SPEAKER_01 37:30

You don't think so? I don't think it's doing anything to the whiskey, but I think it's it's just it's like beer nuts at a bar. It's a it's a good addition to have. It's it's going along with, it's not taking away or adding to, but I'm enjoying both as separate entities, not even as a pairing. Like they're good, they're pairing, but I I could go with one or the other, but I would prefer the whiskey, even to the pipe.

SPEAKER_03 37:55

Pipe's good though. So this kind of being our last Canadian bottle for short Canadian kind of Canadian-esque Canadian plus series,

Canadian Plus Series Value Comparison

SPEAKER_03 38:07

we've gone through Found North, which American company sourcing down finishing raffle off for 150, 200 plus after you get it to lot 40. Standard Canadian. Standing, I mean it's standard Canadian Rusty, but it it has some backbone to it for being Canadian-ish, in my opinion. Cheaper, 35-55 bucks. Not overly sweet, not uh, but it's not overly priced to this guy that is underpriced, in my opinion, also sourced, but done in an American way. Which one would you go for? Which one would you find yourself gravitating towards and why?

SPEAKER_02 38:53

I think the the fountain north was good. I enjoyed it. But when you start adding in price, these two beat it. I would say both of them, even LED 40 was fine. I enjoyed it for what it was, but that was a standard Canadian. What made that bottle good was our pipe hearing, I think. Yeah, no, yeah, a thousand percent. Uh this bottle is fantastic on its own. It's unique in a way that I've never had anything else like it. And it's 30 bucks, 25 bucks, whatever it was. That is that is top-tier praise for Canadian for me. The the price makes this the number one for me.

SPEAKER_01 39:35

So for me, I don't know, I really liked Found North flavor-wise, probably the best. No, it is the best. But like with what Steve said, one of the factors for being a Canadian guy specifically, is part of that is the price. I like that I can get a certain profile, flavor profile, at a certain price point. I know that I can get more bang from my buck in a Canadian bottle than I can a bourbon bottle, right? So that is a factor. And that one of the factors of why, if you were to ask me why do you like Canadian so much, it's one of the factors. It's not the factor, but it is does play a pivotal role. So price does come into it quite a lot more than even than I would say, even like a bourbon or a rye or a scotch or whatever, because it's part of the deciding factor, along with the flavor and everything else. So that being said, also looking at this bottle, I don't want to even lump this together. This is not for me Canadian. I love this. This is the most exciting thing I've tried in a while. Not as an a not as a Canadian, just as a expression. Yeah. So I really don't really want to put this with those two. I don't. And I won't. I think I love this. Um, but it's not Canadian. If you were to ask me what's the best Canadian we've had, it's not this. Yeah, this is not Canadian. This is just not. So I think, I mean, I hate and I hate to say it, but between the three that you mentioned, it's gonna have to be lot 40 because of the price, along with the fact that it's a good one. It's a Canadian, yeah, it's a good Canadian, uh taste-wise, um, found north totally. But uh that's it, that's a lot more, it was a lot more money, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_03 41:19

It was, but that also begs the question of should there be a category within whiskey that allows for you to source in and crit it within your your country's

Can Finishing Change A Whiskey’s Country

SPEAKER_03 41:34

standards? So we bring in Canadian whiskey, but we finish it in a way that America does. Can we just consider that American whiskey? Should we? Because it's not Canadian at that point, right? Like the Found North was good, but it was was it Canadian?

SPEAKER_01 41:49

Well, let me ask you this if can you make a scotch in America? Can you make an Irish in America? You can't, but uh Can you make a Scotch in India? Has that been done? We it has, right?

SPEAKER_03 42:00

The the question isn't so much can you make these things? It's what does it turn into? Because if I'm taking Canadian whiskey and I'm bringing it down and I'm finishing it and and and creating it in this American or creating it in an American version, does it become an American? Should it become an American whiskey? Because I'm no longer carrying the attributes of Canadian whiskey. I'm changing it.

SPEAKER_01 42:29

I get what you're saying, but as long as you stick true to what it is, America's a melting pot.

SPEAKER_02 42:33

Yeah, right. Also, I don't think this has been Americanized. You don't think this one has we're not, we're not we don't finish in a particular way that's different than what Canada finished. Oh, we're talking about this.

SPEAKER_01 42:45

Uh the specific bottle is not Americanized. If that yeah, no, I would agree. And I think the result would have been very similar. This this goes in a in my mind, this goes into a category that I have set aside for just random unique models. Okay, Yippie Kaye is in that category. That's not something you get anywhere else. It's this is going into a select in my brain is going into a select list of random, unique, interesting bottles. They're not Canadian, they're not American, they're not bourbon, they're they're unique random bottles in my mind. So this goes off the shelf from Canadian in my brain and goes into that list already. So, but I think to answer your point of view, what what's interesting in my opinion is I think different types of whiskey can be made in America and and still be that whiskey. Scotch, Canadian, Irish, whatever. I don't know if the same thing could be said for other countries. Like if you make a bourbon in India, is it an American whiskey? I don't know. I I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm not in India, I don't know. But I do think that if you make scotch in India, it's still Scotch. If you make Scotch in America, it's still Scotch. Because it's very much as long as it's got the Scotch identity. So I do think you could make Canadian whiskey in America. And I think you could make Irish whiskey in America. I don't know if you could make American whiskey in Ireland. I'm not sure. Maybe you could.

SPEAKER_02 44:14

I'm curious if any country follows the rules of bourbon. But because it's not made in America, it has to call it whiskey. But a bottle that's out there in Ireland, in Canada, wherever. But that's interesting. That might follow the rules of bourbon. It's bourbon, but it's made in made in their country. And I'd be curious to try something like that. And what do they consider? What would that taste like? Do they call it American style American whiskey or American style whiskey? I'm not sure which, although American whiskey has to be made in America, probably. So probably an American style whiskey is probably what they would call it. But I'm curious if anybody does that. Because if they do, I want to try it. Because I'm really I would be really curious to see how much place matters when it comes to that. So if you're following the rules of it, but you don't have our climate, uh, what does that do to it?

SPEAKER_01 45:11

I will say the the pure the purist in me would say I would give more credence to a Canadian whiskey that was made in Canada versus one that was made in America. I would I will say that, even though I don't think I could tell the difference if you were to give me two different ones, but I think I would appreciate the can actual Canadian one made in Canada over uh the you know extremely North American version.

unknown 45:35

Right.

SPEAKER_03 45:35

So would you say that the idea of Canadian Plus at this point, after wanting it, and we we've gone through a Canadian bottle and then Canadian Plus, do you still want a Canadian Plus? Yes, give me more. Give me more version of Canadian Plus. Is is this bottle a Canadian Plus?

SPEAKER_01 46:01

Technically, it's can it's Canadian and it's like wow, you know what I mean? But again, I this is so not Canadian. So I mean really it's not scratching that itch for me. I I want can I want lot 40 made in a very unique way, I want lot 40 finished in a very unique way. I want it to be crazy. Yeah, I I I want lot 40 plus, you know what I mean? That's that's what I'm getting at. Uh this is just I I'm really loving this, but I don't get the Canadian I'm not getting that.

SPEAKER_02 46:31

I'm curious if for Canadian particularly, because it is such a kind of one-noted category, if by adding finishing you take away from the fact that it is Canadian, like finishes take away that itch because it because it's such a blank slate.

SPEAKER_01 46:51

Could be that if you add a finish, but you've got all the things that you've got a lot of flavored Canadian whiskey out there that's still very much Canadian whiskey, and it's very hardcore flavors. I mean, I don't like Crown Royal peach, okay? You get what I'm saying? Yeah, it's still very much Canadian whiskey with with a shitload of artificial flavoring, yeah. Um, however, I love uh some of Crown Royal's other you know offerings. I love the XO, I love the the winter wheat. I there's there's a lot of and I think they could do more of that, more finish, but still keep it very much Canadian whiskey, right? But with the plus, you know, with with the finishing or with a with a this or with a that or with the hell make Canadian whiskey is blended and blend that shit, you know, blends make some in unique blends. I don't care. Throw some weird stuff in there, get get nasty with it. I don't know, you know. I I just think that there's a lot that can be done with Canadian whiskey because it is a very unique, well, not just unique, it's a very distinct flavor. That's what I meant to say. Very distinct flavor, though, in the way that Irish whiskey is very distinct. Irish whiskey is not, you would never mistake Irish whiskey for Scotch or bourbon, right? It's very much Irish whiskey.

SPEAKER_03 48:07

I know what it is.

SPEAKER_01 48:08

Canadian whiskey is the same. Uh there are Canadian whiskeys out there that, because they're rye, you know, and and they're not super Canadian tasting, that you could go, okay, well, you know, is this a rye or what, you know, what is this? They're not gonna be obviously Canadian whiskey, but most of Canadian whiskey is like, and uh, if you don't like it, it's a turnout. That's why most people don't like Canadian whiskey because it's very prominent flavors, it's very distinct, its own. So you take something that has a very distinct flavor, you can do a lot with that because you're not gonna lose, or it should be harder to lose the essence of what it is. You can play around with a little bit more without it's not so fragile. Whereas this is fragile. This uh this big game is like don't play with it. Like be careful, you could bruise it. I love it, I love how delicate this is, and uh it's just something I I don't think I've had something this interesting in a while, uh, in at least a couple weeks.

SPEAKER_03 49:03

You know what's interesting? Your idea of this being delicate. I think I might understand your pairings of pipe tobacco to whiskey because this is delicate, the pipe is not delicate. The last one we had was not delicate whiskey-wise, but it was very delicate pipe-wise. There you go. So I might I might I might catch up. I might be catching on here. Yeah, pulling the curtain back a little bit. I might I might be understanding

Pairing Rules And Where AI Fails

SPEAKER_03 49:27

this. This is this is helpful. Don't pair delicate with delicate, you'll be disappointed. I think that's what I've I've learned. But I'm not disappointed. I honestly want more from this company.

SPEAKER_02 49:37

If they can do this, I will say, I was gonna say, I think this is I want to reach out to them now and see what else they have. Right. Because I mean, this may have been a fluke, this may have been a uh we forgot about this for three years.

SPEAKER_01 49:52

And and let's get our name out there on a bottle, then that's it.

SPEAKER_02 49:56

But if they make a bunch of other stuff and it's just like you know, you're just kind of normal blends, yeah, kind of thing. I'm just curious how well their their actual blending is because like I said, this one the finishing took over, so I don't know how good their blending was. So I'd be curious to try something.

SPEAKER_03 50:12

It was uh blending was spot on, finishing was spot on.

SPEAKER_01 50:16

I don't think this can be a this bottle could not be improved in any way. I think if you were to change anything about this, I don't think I would appreciate it as much. Yeah, I like this turned out perfect, and I don't say that all the time. Like I will say that usually there's room for improvement. Not on this, no, I don't get a 10 out of 10 bottle, especially not for 30 bucks. Not racist, right?

SPEAKER_02 50:37

I might have to have more, Chris.

SPEAKER_01 50:39

It's just I know you're you're kind of hoarding.

SPEAKER_03 50:42

I've already I've already poured seconds if any if anybody's wondering. So, okay, growing up in Indiana, we have beer companies in Bloomington because it's a college town. You don't do whiskey in Bloomington, you don't do much of anything. This coming out of Bloomington, like I'm kind of I'm kind of proud about this.

SPEAKER_02 50:58

It's kind of like saying bowling green a little bit, like I know one thing that happens in in Bloomington, Illinois. Is it IU? Uh Indiana? Yeah, and actually I might be wrong, it might be Bloomington, Illinois. See, but no, that's bigger, though, isn't it? Bloomington, Illinois, is that a bigger thing? There's also one in Missouri. There is. I I remember a Jeff Foxworthy joke on a cassette that my dad had. Wow. Wait, was Jeff even that old? Like, was this popular back when you had old? Jeff was dirty in his early days. He was a dirty. I guess I didn't think of he was around that long and a lot of a lot of dirty jokes in his start. And then he cleaned himself up. This is what Steve grew up with. A lot of dirty, a lot of things. Jeff Fox would have been. But uh, he had a whole bit about going through Bloomington, Indiana and their big buck contest. And he thought they said big butt contest. There's a whole joke about it, but big buck contest.

SPEAKER_03 51:52

You know what? If if it's Bloomington, Indiana, that makes more sense for the big game bottle. Well, like if we're talking big buck, I was gonna say, is that a big hunting?

SPEAKER_01 52:02

I guess I never thought it's it's a city. I didn't think it was a big hunting. I mean, it's not is that considered southern Indiana? It's not, it's it's okay.

SPEAKER_03 52:09

So it's it's IU.

SPEAKER_01 52:10

Yeah, IU.

SPEAKER_03 52:11

Hoosers, yeah, and basketball is big for Hoosiers.

SPEAKER_01 52:15

I mean, you talk about like the history of basketball, everyone's like, oh, Hoosers are not there's not big game rolling through there, but it's it's hoot deer.

SPEAKER_03 52:23

It's Hoosiers, it's farming, it is it used to be big down to the earth, salt of the people, salt of the world. Salt of the earth kind of thing. Salt of the earth, that's it.

SPEAKER_01 52:33

Now it's a big there's no big freaking mooses. Not anymore. It's a big party. I'm gonna always call them mooses now.

SPEAKER_03 52:40

They're mooses, yeah. Big mooses. There's not a big uh moose, big big uh herd of mooses out there. Yeah, no, not in but if you're thinking big game, right? If you're hunting deer, your big thing is what?

SPEAKER_00 52:55

The big rack.

SPEAKER_03 52:55

A big rack.

SPEAKER_01 52:57

You know, right appreciated.

SPEAKER_03 52:59

So if we're talking big game here, I mean that that moose moosey right there has a big rack.

SPEAKER_01 53:04

But even the it is, it fills up the whole bottle. But right, I will say the behind it, it's more it looks Canadian. It does, it does, it screams Canadian. I think just because they're from Indiana doesn't mean it's like they're leaning into Canada and they're like yeah, they're not saying like Bloomington, big game. I think they're just saying like Canadian whiskey, big game. Come to it's kind of like the the Tim Allen, Michigan commercials, like come here for the lakes, kind of a deal. They're like, hey, go go go, yeah, go to Canada and maybe shoot some big game.

SPEAKER_02 53:34

But they could be hunters knowing that that is big game.

SPEAKER_01 53:38

Thinking about hunters, it's it's hunters from that area going to Canada to drink the whiskey and to shoot the the mooses.

SPEAKER_03 53:46

Mini much mooses.

SPEAKER_01 53:47

Shoot the mini much mooses, yeah. Lots of mooses.

SPEAKER_03 53:51

I imagine the bottle coming out of Bucky Ross, Besires, I guess. And if it came out of Be Cyrus and you grew up in Ohio, you'd be like, what the heck is going on?

SPEAKER_02 54:02

Then I would be looking for some moose browst.

SPEAKER_01 54:04

You know what I just thought of. Have you ever did has anybody seen the movie Deer Hunter? I don't know what you're talking about. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 54:12

It's like an action movie, isn't it? Kind of.

SPEAKER_01 54:14

Yeah. It's so I will say this without getting too much into a whole other topic. But the movie called, I'm pretty sure it's called The Deer Hunter. It's one of the most unique, crazy, and and must-watch movies of all time. It's probably on the on a list of like like top, it might even be like a top 50 must-watch movies. And it's it's star-studded, but it is weird and unique, and and it's like hunters, and I'm not sure where it's set. I know it's up north. I don't think it's Canadian Canada, uh, but it might be Canadian. I'm not sure. But I think it's more like Pittsburgh, honestly, or something like that. But it's called like the D the Deer Hunter, I think. It's very interesting. You should watch everybody should watch that movie. It's a very weird, interesting movie. Just a little side note. But that did remind me of this. And I think that they were all hunters. And I think of like 70s flannel and like the hats and this, and like Jim Beam, I don't know, things like that. And and and Milwaukee's best and and factory workers and pickup trucks and deer hunting. I don't know. That whole vibe, you get what I'm saying? Like the urban cowboy vibe. Interesting movie. You should we should watch it. We should watch it and talk about it on the podcast sometime.

SPEAKER_03 55:31

You know what's very interesting? Talking about sorry, pairings now. Talking about moving pairings, cigar, pipe tobacco. Each time that you've paired something with the bottles that we've had that I've looked up, it's been opposite of what AI says.

SPEAKER_01 55:46

But really, that's interesting. AI doesn't know everything, does it?

SPEAKER_03 55:49

But what's funny is for a cigar, they always go the full-bodied. So for this, they go full-bodied for a cigar. Pipe tobacco, they recommend aromatic.

SPEAKER_01 56:00

That would be terrible with

Cigars Light Versus Dark Strength

SPEAKER_01 56:01

this.

SPEAKER_02 56:01

See, I went back and tried their aromatic with this. And there's for me, aromatics is gonna be much sweeter and more even keeled. And I think that the two of these are gonna compete for each other's for the sweetness, compete for the the the delicateness. Whereas this one, because it's in English, it's adding maybe a little bit of oomph to this.

SPEAKER_01 56:28

Yes. In the way that a grill would add some oomph to meat versus a skillet.

SPEAKER_03 56:34

I wonder if light whiskey to dark tobacco works better than dark tobacco to dark whiskey. I think it is case dependent because we've done the opposite as well.

SPEAKER_00 56:44

Dark to dark, I think, is okay. Light to light is a bit of a problem.

SPEAKER_01 56:49

Can be a can be a problem.

SPEAKER_00 56:50

Yeah, can be a problem.

SPEAKER_01 56:51

So sometimes I have we've done a light whiskey with like say a Carter Hall, and it's been fine. So it depends. Yeah, it is case dependent.

SPEAKER_02 57:01

I would say a light to an aromatic is generally not a great pairing.

SPEAKER_03 57:07

See, this one recommends Captain Black. Ooh, that would be terrible.

SPEAKER_00 57:11

That would be so terrible. I don't know much about Captain Black.

SPEAKER_01 57:14

That's a quintessential aromatic. That's why it's AI. They don't know what the hell they're talking about.

SPEAKER_02 57:19

Yeah, we've found the main area that AI fails in. It's it's whiskey and pipe tobacco pairings.

SPEAKER_03 57:24

You can do well with cigars.

SPEAKER_01 57:26

I mean, why wouldn't you pair dark with this? I what's interesting is I wonder if AI would never probably never recommend a light cigar. Why? Because most people don't actually nobody walks into a cigar shop and says, I want a light cigar.

SPEAKER_02 57:41

Everybody's always like, Oh, I want Connecticut.

SPEAKER_01 57:43

Yeah. I I I agree, but I will say that, and I've spent my fair share of time in a cigar shop with, and I've taken people there that weren't cigar smokers. But it's like, it's almost like, and we're talking men, right? Because women don't really smoke cigars, but it's almost like they're afraid to have to say, I want a light cigar. Men are like, oh, it's got to be strong, right? I need to be a man. So uh you ask most people that don't even smoke cigars, well, do you like a light cigar or a dark cigar? You want a strong, full-bodied cigar or a light cigar? They're gonna go, oh no, no, I like full-bodied. No, you don't. I can tell you right now you don't. You know what I mean? But like, why are you saying you do? Like, you're gonna get the hiccups and you're gonna be sick off of this. You know what I mean? Like, and and what's interesting, and I've told people this and they don't believe it, but it's true if you look, it's scientifically true if you look it up. Lighter cigars are actually stronger than darker cigars, not flavor-wise, but like impact-wise, totally like nicotine-wise, nicotine-wise, yeah. Like, as far as like if you want to be a man, probably if you were like, Oh, I'm smoking to be a man, then you might want to probably smoke a light cigar, you know. Like, I personally like a dark cigar, but there are times that I it depends on the day, the time of day. There's time, and maybe that's because I'm a big smoker, I don't know, but like uh I will move progressively move through different, you know, very, you know, styles of cigar as the day goes on. You know, I might smoke a yeah, you know, a Connecticut and then move to a medium to full, and then like a full body. I'm I I've had three, four, or five cigars a day for sure. So, you know, it depends. I'm and I'm still okay smoking a light cigar. There's times I walk in there and say, give me something light, man. I want a good Connecticut, creamy, light, nothing too strong. It's okay to say these things. And if I walk in with a cappuccino, I want a light cigar because I want to taste that cappuccino, and I'm fine with having a cappuccino.

SPEAKER_02 59:39

I'm not a big cigar guy, and partly because I just don't know anything yet. I've never I've never delved into cigars. But if I go to a cigar shop or something and just hang out, I usually go for a Connecticut.

SPEAKER_01 59:51

That's just it's you're not afraid of the way you look. You want the flavor and the experience.

SPEAKER_02 59:56

Most people that don't know I've tried darker ones too, and I'm okay with them. I like them. But if I'm just if I don't know what I want, or if I don't know anything, if I'm not with anybody that has recommendations, I'm gonna grab a Connecticut.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:09

You can't go wrong.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:10

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:10

It's gonna be unless it's unless it's late night and you're having, you know, I will say that a Connecticut you know, way late in the evening, not as good. Just not, you know, a medium, even a medium-bodied cigar is better. But uh and the opposite's gonna be true. I do not want a freaking full-bodied Maduro at 7 a.m. I just don't. I just don't. I've had one. I and I like strong coffee, and I think that that's just too damn much 7 a.m. Like, you know, which is why early morning pipe makes sense. It's a lighter English, and nightcap is a darker English. It's just it's just the way it goes. It's the way it goes. Well, I also do the same thing with drinking. I like tea in the morning and coffee at night, which is wild, I know, but that's how I grew up, and that's just the way I like

Final Thoughts And How To Support

SPEAKER_01 1:00:52

it. Anyway, I enjoyed the hell out of this.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:54

We had a great uh tobacco, uh, fantastic bottle.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:59

And uh I'm glad you guys got to join in on this. Till next time I guess.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:09

Thank you for listening to the podcast. If you want more great content and other perks, be sure to support the show by clicking the link in the show notes. We can be reached on our website, whiskey tasterspumba.com, with any ideas for the show. Thanks again.