Iron Shoe Rye!

SPEAKER_01 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. And this is Ironshoe Distilling in Niles, Michigan. Where is Niles?

SPEAKER_00 0:34

Oh man. Uh so do you know where Notre Dame is? That's not that far from where we went to college.

SPEAKER_01 0:39

Yeah. Okay. So this is way over there, kind of near like Journeyman and a little bit. Oh, so it's it's actually closer.

SPEAKER_00 0:44

Well, actually, no, it's closer to where we went to college than what Journeyman is. Journeyman is still about maybe a 45-minute drive still north from where we went to school. Niles is like 10 to 15 minutes.

SPEAKER_02 0:58

Niles is a bigger area for that area. I feel like everything came to Niles, Michigan.

SPEAKER_00 1:04

And everyone came from Niles.

SPEAKER_02 1:06

Unlike the radio, if they were like, you know, okay, this thing was coming or this concert was coming or the the scare fest for Halloween. Like it all happened in Niles, Michigan. Do you do you remember that? Like commercials and stuff. It was always it must be a big, really like come here and do this stuff. It's not that big of a city. Not a big area, but like a big come here and do stuff.

SPEAKER_00 1:28

Yes. Well, because of where we went to school, because of where it's at. It was so close to it. So it was like, hey, we can we can converge on a common ground kind of thing and get a smaller city to go to a smaller city to form a bigger city. Kind of thing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:43

Okay, so it's a so it's a decent size.

SPEAKER_00 1:45

It's a decent size. I friends of mine that still old roommates that still live in that area, they actually found this distillery. Okay. And they have a kitchen attached to it, which is really good food and why we went. Trade winds? No. Iron tree. I'm just kidding. Trade winds, uh, they have another that's a whole other story. That's a whole other thing. But we went there and I saw they had I sent Steve pictures. I saw they had their bourbon, their rye. So this is where things get a little weird. They have a bourbon, rye, they had an American single. That's all they had at the moment. They had no other whiskey-related spirits. Not even like gin and vodka. Whiskey-related spirits.

SPEAKER_02 2:24

Yeah, but I'm just wondering.

SPEAKER_01 2:26

Did they have gin and vodka? They do a lot of lemon cello.

SPEAKER_02 2:28

I'd love to see distillery not do that stuff one of these days. Like just to be like, we're not gonna do it.

SPEAKER_00 2:34

Lemon cello, they had an orange cello, maybe a lime.

SPEAKER_02 2:38

Orange cello would be interesting.

SPEAKER_00 2:39

They also had Huckleberry cream. Ooh. And then they had now that sounds good. They had one that was like an espresso cream kind of thing, like a bourbon espresso cream, but incredibly small. Went there for food, fantastic.

unknown 2:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:53

The downside is they do a flight of five spirits, but they only have three. Whiskey. Whiskey. So that that was my thought. And I looked at Mary and said, What the hell are the other two gonna be? I'm not getting a flight of vodka. Even if you have flavored vodka. I'm not doing a flight with vodka.

SPEAKER_02 3:11

I guess give me two rye. Right. Yeah, and then give me the like double up on the bourbon. Right. And then I'll try one American fluid. We'll have fun with it.

SPEAKER_00 3:19

Yeah. So that was the interesting. They are incredibly tiny. Yeah, they're incredibly tiny. And I'm interested to see what you found. Research like that.

SPEAKER_01 3:28

They are they are making their own stuff. They have a very small operation. Tiny. It is it is in a muffler shop, an old muffler shop. An old muffler, muff shop. It was a muffler shop, then it was a Sinoco gas station. And then it was this.

SPEAKER_00 3:41

Oh, the Sunoko makes more sense now. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:44

Yeah. Did you see some Sinoco stuff around? It makes more sense, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Mufflers. Yeah. No, no muffs. No muffs. It says Lando Legs around here or nothing. We got more knees showing, okay.

SPEAKER_02 3:58

That's more than a knee showing. Yeah. That's what it started in 2019. So these guys are new. So they took over an old muffler shop that had become a Sinoco, which is kind of amazing in itself, and then became a distillery. Yep. Restaurantslash distillery. Restaurant. Imagine eating in an old Sinoco.

SPEAKER_00 4:15

So here's the weird part. So you think about how small that would be the muffler shop. The muffler shop houses their distillery and the restaurant. And their restaurant takes over the distillery. So it's weird.

SPEAKER_02 4:25

In my mind, a muffler shop would be bigger than a gas station. So it must have been really a big Sinoco, is what I'm thinking.

SPEAKER_00 4:32

Yes, but it's a tiny outfit for a distillery.

SPEAKER_02 4:37

At least four bays. They only have one bay, I think. And most gas stations pumps, but then they just have a little tiny stopping rock. You know what I mean? Like that's it.

SPEAKER_00 4:46

So where the muffler shop was, that bay, that's where their distillery is. So it's one big bay, is where their distillery is where the one bay now, but they might have knocked some walls out. But I'm saying their distillery is in that bay. Nice. So that's how small this is.

SPEAKER_02 5:00

It makes sense. Actually, it's probably the perfect setup for a distillery. Because you have a lot of access, big clean, clear. Big open on the inside, tons of height in there. Like it, like, yeah, it makes sense for a body shop and a distillery kind of go like as far as like DNA of a building. Right. Probably pretty hand in. And actually, maybe even more useful because a lot of those have like a floor that goes down. So you can work under the car. So you probably can utilize that for some extra stuff.

SPEAKER_01 5:26

Yeah, we're probably good. This was not their first go at distilling. So this is their secondary. So first attempt maybe failed. Well, no, they moved. Moved. Okay. They moved. Okay. So the the owners are Howard and Laura Tohill.

SPEAKER_02 5:43

Tohill.

SPEAKER_01 5:43

Tuthill. Tuthill? Tuthill Tithil? Tuthill. Tuthill. Yeah. T-U-T-H-I-L-L. T-U-T-H-I-L-L. Tuthill? Tuthill. Tuthill. Yep. The gentleman, Howard, is from Colorado. And so their first their first distillery was in Colorado. What was that? That was called Whistling Hair Distillery. Whistling Hair. Whistling Hair. Little bit bold on the name there, Ted. What's with these names?

SPEAKER_02 6:11

Ironshoe, whistling hair in Colorado, you probably have to compete on it.

SPEAKER_01 6:14

Whistling hair is a pretty good Colorado distillery name. Okay. And the distillery still exists. It's just it has changed names after it was sold. Okay. So it was sold to another company, and now they are called Turnbuckle Distilling. The thing was for their marketing for this company is uh they didn't have it. They just they they just didn't talk a whole lot about anything to do with them, uh with the couple. And uh I've I've watched a few interviews and a few uh videos and stuff.

SPEAKER_00 6:47

And this is going all the way back to the original distillery or this one. This one, okay. This one, okay.

SPEAKER_01 6:51

Yeah, unfortunately, the old one they didn't do a lot of marketing with that either. And they just come up with a big name and they're exhausted. It's all that history. They put so much into the name that they just can't do anything else with it. So iron shoe distilling is named after a horse. Uh no, uh St. Dunstan. So Saint Saint Dunstan is the it's a legend, it's the reason that you see horseshoes over doorways, and so you put a horseshoe over a doorway and you put it there to keep bad spirits out. Oh, well, I thought it was just lucky. Yeah, so it's it's uh luck of the Irish for the Irish side, but Saint this story goes with it. Saint Dunstan is the patron saint of blacksmiths. He did a deal with the devil, and he put red hot iron horseshoes on the butt on the devil's hooves. And on the devil's hooves and uh to hurt the devil, but the deal was that he'll remove the shoe if he will not cross it again. So, because of that, now you put horseshoes over doorways to keep the bad spirits out. Interesting.

SPEAKER_02 7:57

I was gonna ask you if that's where d like a dunce comes from.

SPEAKER_01 8:00

A dunce? Yeah, maybe. I don't know. I mean, a dunce is an idiot or like an M or whatever.

SPEAKER_02 8:07

Maybe this guy was kind of like flawed. Maybe there's two sides to this story where he did something that was a little bit like he's a he's a dumb saint, okay. Oh, but Peter's a saint too, and that dude, like yeah, he had his issues as well.

SPEAKER_01 8:21

I wouldn't call him the brainian, he tricked the devil and got this horseshoe on him, and then said, Hey, I'll take him off.

SPEAKER_02 8:27

Maybe that's what I mean. If you're being a dunce, like it's because you're the opposite, like the guy gotcha. Oh, I see. You get what I'm saying? Yeah, maybe they're yeah, you get what I'm saying? Okay, so he's not a dunce, the buttons. But what he does, they're the dunce, yeah, because he owns you, so you have his name. Maybe I don't know. Gotcha. Something to think about, man. Like you just got nicked, you know what I mean? Nicked like a razor. The knees are nice and shitty. That's it. From now on, you gotta start telling people that you got nicked.

SPEAKER_01 9:02

But yeah, that's the story of St. Uh St. Dunstan, and that's how and then these guys just took that story and said, All right, we're gonna be the iron shoot stealing.

SPEAKER_02 9:12

Let's do it. We have no ties to being Irish or or shoes, but we're also gonna put a horse right on the front.

SPEAKER_01 9:18

Exactly. It's all horseshoe really.

SPEAKER_02 9:20

It would have been hilarious if they had like an actual shoe with like a an iron shoe, like like like instead, yeah, like instead of the horse, like make it more like on the nose. More like a shoe shoe. Like a shoe shoe.

SPEAKER_00 9:30

Like an actual iron, like a clog, but iron.

SPEAKER_02 9:34

Monopoly shoe. It's iron, it's made out of iron, but it's a shoe. Monopoly. They got into lots of batteries. And then on the back, don't pass go, don't collect $200.

SPEAKER_01 9:43

Buy this bottle before it goes on sale on Boardwalk. So that previous distillery was a little bit more of a distillery.

SPEAKER_02 9:52

That one was the uh the whispering nuts or whistling hair. Whistling hair, that's what it was.

SPEAKER_01 9:57

This one is more of a restaurant. His wife runs the restaurant.

SPEAKER_02 10:01

So this is more her so it's a bar, it's a bar kitchen distillery type of like maybe they kind of rely on the food, and the food relies on the bourbon and the oh, I get that. Nothing wrong with that. No, no, especially if you're there because it's always better when you're eating and drinking good stuff at the same time. For sure.

SPEAKER_01 10:20

And they and they make all their own stuff, so they didn't source. They they're coming from Colorado. It's kind of a thing that you you want to have good food. Exactly. Yep, and so they're known for their burgers. It's a it's a it's a burger joint. Burger joint?

SPEAKER_00 10:31

The when we were there, they had a a burger of the month. They partnered with a local donut shop and did the donut as the bun. And then they had uh egg. You could decide if you want how you want the egg cooked. I think it was bacon, like a jalapeno chutney almost.

SPEAKER_02 10:47

Jalapeno chutney is very good.

SPEAKER_00 10:48

And then, like, the I guess the burgers, like they make their own burgers. All Ohio grown ground beef.

SPEAKER_02 10:54

What I want to know is do they have shoe string french fries? They do not. Well, that's a mess because of the shoe? Yeah, because of the shoe. I mean, that one's I mean, think about it.

SPEAKER_00 11:04

How many shoe strings do you have in an iron shoe?

SPEAKER_02 11:07

Just enough to keep to keep it on, I guess. I'd be jerky. But shoe shoe string french fries is kind of a thing you should have.

SPEAKER_00 11:15

If you know they they like their spice, by the way, Chris. So you would love this place. They did nachos eating there. Yeah, they had nachos with like jalapeno, like fresh jalapenos chopped on it. It's the only way to have those. Yeah. I mean, they they like their spice. A lot of their stuff is spice involved. Interesting. Well, this says spicy, and it's I'm not getting much spice. I Steve, have you been able to find any right?

SPEAKER_02 11:39

He's still he's poor Steve's trying to get through everything he's got, and we're just uh I didn't know you guys poured like two hours ago.

SPEAKER_01 11:46

Oh, we've poured.

SPEAKER_02 11:47

I'm on my third one. So were you able to find anything on the mash bill? On the nose, it's very spicy. Yes, on the taste, it's just uh not, but it's not not good, it's just not spicy.

SPEAKER_01 12:00

I do know they do make a hundred percent rye, or at one point they made, uh, which was 75% rye, 25% malted rye. And so I don't know if this is the same thing or not. I think they would probably advertise 100%.

SPEAKER_00 12:14

No, and this is where things get very tricky with them is there's a few things missing on this. There's no mash bill, there's no age statement, it is a single barrel. All of their stuff, they're so small that all of their stuff is single barrels in small bats. They don't do blended, it's all when the barrel is ready, we kind of like that out iron vault. Yes, but they're so experimental, like they they have so many random things that it's like, oh, is this the straight, is this all rye or is this something else? But it's a single barrel kind of deal.

SPEAKER_02 12:45

You know what's interesting to get serious for a minute is you do bring up a good point that the one thing I wouldn't call this is like a very small batch craft distillery type of taste. I don't get that. But based on what you just said and kind of reading the bottle and then knowing a little bit about it that I do, I would expect more of that.

SPEAKER_00 13:04

So here's here's what I get. Here's I think I finally put together why I appreciated this bottle enough to say, hey, this is the one we have to have out of the three that they had to offer that day. When we were at Iron Vault, he talked about how they do not like Ohio rye. They don't use Ohio rye because it's kind of muted. It's oh no, not because it's too spicy, it's too much, it's too intense. Oh, that's right, that's right. These guys are getting everything they put probably like 10 miles away from their distillery. So we're talking Michigan grown rye. That's a drastic difference from any other rye that we've had. But have we had Michigan rye? I'm sure we have. I would venture out to say that Journeyman does Michigan rye. Journeyman's rye is more potent than this. They do it with the weeded. So that that's the weird part is like maybe this is less rye than what we're thinking. Like, maybe it's sure it's probably 50%, you know, but like this is a rye though. It's not a high-ry bourbon.

SPEAKER_02 14:06

This is a rye.

SPEAKER_01 14:06

It's a rye, so it's at least 51% rye.

SPEAKER_00 14:08

Right, it's a rye. But then this reminds me slightly of journeyman's rye, not at cast strength. See, I disagree. I don't think they can deprove.

SPEAKER_02 14:18

I don't think the cast strength may the I don't think the proof changes. Journeyman's rye is very formidable.

SPEAKER_00 14:25

But it but it's also very friendly. Micah doesn't like rye. He loves our journeyman pack.

SPEAKER_01 14:30

Yeah, but it's it's it's a friendly, but it's pretty straightforward rye. It is a rye, it has rye spice. It is, you know, it's a rye. It might be a good rye, and it might be a rye that uh this is not that, right? Yeah, this is not that. I don't get rye off of this. This so what I get this is incredible.

SPEAKER_02 14:50

Full disclosure, I had three glasses of this earlier, and I just couldn't like I was like, I really like it, but I would if you had not told me this was a rye, I would have been shocked. The nose has rye. It's very easy to drink. The nose is very rye, but it's something that you can drink very quickly because it's just good, but it's not it's not taxing. Not saying it's a no-thinker, but it is something that I think we could finish this very quickly. And maybe that's a good thing, you know what I mean? Like it's it's very good, but it's not um, it's not packing a wallop. You get what I'm saying? And I almost I'm surprised it's a rye. I'm surprised it's 90 proof, to be honest. It's because it's a spicy and smooth, they got the smooth down. I hate that word, it's like moist. I cringe when I hear smooth, like like women don't like that word moist. What it is, I just don't like it. But I guess if you were to call something smooth, this is a that.

SPEAKER_00 15:51

It's not spicy. No, I don't get any spice. But if we're dealing with they have a restaurant tied with this, and if they aren't I I don't I don't know where she lies in the chef world, but if she's not a chef, this goes very well with any kind of food. If I'm making food at home, this will pair with that.

SPEAKER_02 16:12

That is actually a good point. You know, that uh uh a rye actually doesn't go well with most foods, certain ones, sure, but like it's a little too much and it could give you kind of heartburn, kind of a thing. This actually would be really good to eat and drink with. You're right. Because but because it is kind of like easygoing exactly, it's very yeah, it's it's kind of a blank canvas. I don't mean it's like easy going and like it's lacks flavor, like an MGP kind of lacks flavor. This has flavor, it's just really easy going, and it's really easy to drink. It's kind of like a bag of chips that like you can't stop eating it until it's you're gonna eat the bag. Yeah, you're gonna eat the whole thing.

SPEAKER_01 16:50

I'm drinking it to find flavors. I do not like this. Okay, um, flavor, like just the flavor, it's not the flavor is not for me because there is not a lot of it, it's incredibly thin.

SPEAKER_02 17:04

What did I say before Steve came over? Do you remember the word I used? And not in a bad way. I said it was nondescript, but not in a bad way, and again, like not like an everyday drinker, no thinker, but in a like a if we wanted to just drink and like say we were more intent on the conversation or the smoke or or we were eating, and we were really like say we really had something, say we were gonna really hammer something out and like we really needed to think and talk, but we wanted to drink while we did it. If we open this, it would be gone very quickly, and you would enjoy the experience, but you wouldn't have to think about it in a good way. Like there are some where you can drink and like you're not thinking about it. This is like one that it's kind of like that bag of chips, like I said. You're gonna you don't exactly love the flavor, but you like it enough that you don't realize you keep eating it. And you have to you ever said, like, take this bag, I'm gonna keep eating it. Like, have you ever said that? Like, like I just keep eating it, like I'm getting full. That would be this bottle. For some reason, you keep dipping back into it, even though like it's not the best thing, but it's not the worst thing. But like, if it's in front of you, you're gonna finish it. That's how I feel about this.

SPEAKER_00 18:12

If we're going off of food and the idea that their food is normally spicier than the kitchen, that might play into this. This would pair with a lot of good food.

SPEAKER_02 18:23

But that but that might increase the spice on this, you know what I mean. Like pickles in this would be fantastic. Yes, but you're right, maybe it would bring out some more flavor. There are flavors here. I don't think you would agree with that, Steve. There are flavors here, but they're muted. You're not they're not enough to where you're actually seeking them out, and they're not enough to where they're overpowering your thoughts.

SPEAKER_00 18:42

Okay, so let's think about this way. This is just kind of like what it is 2019? Yeah, 2019. So seven years old, seven years, second run of trying a distillery.

SPEAKER_01 18:55

And really, and really, really only four years because you had COVID.

SPEAKER_02 18:59

This is better than bullet.

SPEAKER_01 19:01

Right. I really don't like it, but and I shouldn't say that. We should we should pull up a bullet rye. I uh I don't have bullet rye like a bullet, but I know I'm drinking a rye when I'm drinking a bullet rye.

SPEAKER_02 19:14

Yeah, that's a good point. That is a good point. That's a fair point. Like it's a good thing. I don't like well, and this is again a conversation we had earlier. I don't like that it says rye. I I don't think this is a rye. It doesn't drink like a rye. Don't think about it being a rye. Think about it being a whiskey. Yeah, don't think about it being bourbon. Think about it being a whiskey. Yeah, it's something that you would drink in the way that you would drink Jack Daniels. Not like mixed, but like I find myself, maybe you guys don't. I find myself, I don't have to think about Jack because I know the, I know what it tastes like.

unknown 19:42

Right.

SPEAKER_02 19:42

Not saying the flavors are the same, but I don't need to think about it because I already know, I already have Jack figured out. So if I want to drink Jack, I could drink one glass or I could drink the whole bottle of Jack. I'm not gonna have to think, I'm not gonna have to use my brain. I am going to enjoy it on a the same level that I would enjoy a McDonald's sandwich. It's not the best thing in the world, but it is gonna get the job done. I am gonna enjoy it somewhat. You get what I'm saying? You know what you're getting. You're not gonna be thrown through for a loop, but still kind of satiating. That's Jack Daniels. That's this. That's something like I'm not gonna have to think about it. The like bullet rye, it's like more than that without it being good. Like, exactly. You get what I'm saying? You have to actually think about it a little bit, and you the more you think about it, you're like, I really don't like it because I'm thinking about it, and I've had better. I'm not comparing this to anything because it's just good the way it is, it's not great, but it's not terrible.

SPEAKER_00 20:40

This very much reminds me of the first year club where anything we have that year is good, but there's potential from better. Because if you think about it, the first year's club, we've had several bottles from those same distilleries, but plus that they've shown enough right, uh, they they've shown enough potential that we've we've sought out the potential. We've found the potential, and we had those bottles and we went, damn. Yeah, like if only that was their base, their foundation. But if that was their foundation, would they have reached this? Yeah, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 21:16

Now I will say I think that, like you said, they they're all single barrels and they they do a lot of different things. So I don't think that they've found their flavoring yet. No, I don't think they have. But uh, I will say I'm very excited to try my American single malt of this.

SPEAKER_00 21:30

Oh, after this, okay.

SPEAKER_01 21:31

After this, okay, yeah. I I am very excited.

SPEAKER_02 21:34

That's kind of promising if it takes kind of has the same kind of flavor. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 21:37

I think I think you're right, because it'll have more oomph. Yeah, I think it'll have a little more oomph, but also uh you're not looking for spice in an American single malt. Like that's not the thing you're going for. I think that it's just nondescript. It is, but not in a bad way. But I'm trying to figure out what the flavor is. I'm I'm tasting it's it's incredibly it's almost water, it's very watery. It's it's whiskey, it's it's it's water, it's water down. It's more Canadian to me. It is almost Canadian. It's very sweet.

SPEAKER_02 22:04

And that's maybe why I like I don't have to think I like it because it's I don't have to think about it. Like, and that's what I like about Canadian. It's just it and that's rye too.

unknown 22:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:13

And I but it's sweeter, it's not super flavorful, it's not overly proofed. But they don't advertise as a rye. They don't, but Canadian is rye whiskey. It is, it's rye whiskey. It's a soft rye. And you get it on more on the nose than you do on the flavor. This is very Canadian-esque, I think. And I like it. And you know what? And I've always said Canadian whiskey is good to drink while you eat something.

SPEAKER_01 22:39

So I just think that's where it shines the best. I just think like a big gulp of this.

SPEAKER_02 22:43

And you can finally get all of a sudden he snorts it and he's like, No, I'm good. There it is. I just didn't enemo with this stuff.

SPEAKER_03 22:56

Now I know the flavors.

SPEAKER_00 22:58

I feel it in my brain.

SPEAKER_01 23:01

I just remembered when I was looking back through some of the videos and stuff I watched of this distillery. Uh they have in the past used chocolate malt in some stuff. And I kind of got some chocolatey notes on the code. Chocolatey. Chocolatey.

SPEAKER_02 23:16

I could say it's more chalky. The chalky, the chalky kind of chalk, chocolate. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:20

I got a card for their master distiller. I don't think he's the owner. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 23:25

Which would well no the most of the time the owner's not the master. The guy is the main distiller.

SPEAKER_00 23:30

Okay, so maybe it is. So maybe it wasn't. Yeah. Because what that's not the norm. It's not the norm. But what I find intriguing is the fact that you guys both have related this is a single barrel, this may not be the same next time. They they may not have found their flavor. This one feels very nondescript. How many other distilleries have we seen do that? I mean, even Iron Vault. They have a mentality of this is the flavor and this is what we want.

SPEAKER_02 23:58

This is what I'm trying to convey. And I, you know, and I'm the flavor guy, but I do think it's a lot harder to have a good drinking whiskey that is nondescript than it sounds. Because there is plenty of whiskeys out there that are ho-hum and they're just also not good. This is like kind of nondescript, but in a good way. Like I like it for the fact that I would drink this whole bottle and not be upset. What's the price of it? Because if this is like around that $40, like under $50 mark, yeah. This would be really good to like just open and drink. Like, and you're not thinking maybe outside on the patio while you're grilling and you're kind of just drinking to drink, but you still want something better than in my opinion. Like, I like this better than bullet because maybe it is even more nondescript. I don't think about all the fact that I'm I'm I don't like this flavor, I don't like that flavor, or it's bitey here, or it's unaged here. It's this is kind of like I hate to say it, but like it's smooth, like it says, it's not spicy, but it is an all-around decent drinking whiskey that is not over the top, but it's not under promising either.

SPEAKER_00 25:16

So uh let me put it this way their their single malt was a specialty bottle, the most expensive, and that was $64.99 before.

SPEAKER_02 25:25

So this is probably really, really great priced. And a single barrel, they probably aren't doing very big barrels. Like it's like you don't get the youngness of like say like it's not like uh and I hate to now I'm thinking of like like Canadian whiskeys, but you get what I'm saying? Like there's some Canadian whiskey, like like Crown Royal, for instance. It's a very easy-going whiskey. But I guarantee if you tried it side by side with this, Crown Royal would taste thinner and bitier and younger, and less God help me, I keep saying this, but less smooth with the air cool. Less rounded out. Less this is more rounded, yeah. This is more uh mature, not saying it's aged, it's matured. It's it this is this is like it's like it's it's to itself, like it's figured itself out. It's not lacking, but it also isn't the biggest, baddest, badass in the room. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 26:18

I will say I don't get any bite off of this. Like I don't get youngness or bitiness from it. Um I get very it's very thin and it's very watery, but it's not bitey. And so, which is really good. Uh and so I think that I can definitely give it that.

SPEAKER_00 26:36

I think what excites me about this and why I was like, let's do this is the potential. Yeah, yeah. Because they definitely could have potential. Like this distillery has potential.

SPEAKER_01 26:47

Yeah, yeah. And I'd be curious, I would be curious to try some of their other stuff to see uh to see what the rest of us try. Like I said, I do want to try the American single malts because I do think that just the flavors I'm getting off of this would do well with like a barley and like plenty with it.

SPEAKER_02 27:07

That would be great. Three days under water missing the staleness. This is missing its gross staleness.

SPEAKER_00 27:16

Absolutely. That's the one thing we're missing.

SPEAKER_02 27:19

Although half of my bottle from Iron Vault is gone.

SPEAKER_03 27:24

Have you noticed that that zingy single?

SPEAKER_01 27:28

Oh, no, it's a great zing. Like have drank like half of it. I do think I think that if we would have had maybe a more potent tobacco with it, also, I think that would have helped.

SPEAKER_02 27:39

This is not the tobacco for this this bottle. You know what this bottle needs is like a powerhouse.

SPEAKER_01 27:45

Yeah, yeah. Because what we're drinking, what we're smoking here is Sherlock Holmes. Peter says Sherlock Holmes. This was my very first tobacco way back when. This is the very first tobacco I ever bought at any point.

SPEAKER_02 27:56

Is this well and I love Sherlock Holmes except for the my one critique of this blend. And if I were to ever like blend my own, I should try this. But it does lack any sort of serious tobacco.

unknown 28:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 28:08

Like there's no any, like what it needs is dark fired, in my opinion. This thing needs like, and I wouldn't even say latiquia. I think dark fired with this blend of like bright virginia's in the topping, it has would be like it's like all bar, like all bark and no bite. Yeah this tobacco. It's great, but it's not good with this. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 28:28

Yep. Yeah, I need I need something. I need something with some oomph.

SPEAKER_02 28:31

We need some oomph.

SPEAKER_01 28:32

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Either, either build on spice with some parik or something. Yeah, parik would be good too. Or just something.

SPEAKER_02 28:39

Like a little dark fired and maybe maybe some parik on top of it. Yeah, why not? But uh, but I do like the overall flavors of it. It's just not deep, dark, exact dark enough. Yes. I would be interested to see what it would look like to age Sherlock Holmes for like 20 years. Maybe.

SPEAKER_00 28:54

Do you think it would change?

SPEAKER_02 28:56

Yeah, because it's Virginia, it would change. It would absolutely change.

SPEAKER_01 29:00

I I think that's a good idea, though, is to throw some dark fired in with this and just just blend it and see what happens.

SPEAKER_02 29:08

We've talked about this and we ought to do some videos or something. We ought to try to blend our own stuff. We ought to, yeah. Just a little bit. Right. Just just a little. Just try it out. So just a little dab will do us. But yeah, a little dab. But I I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 29:20

Yeah, I don't think the the combo is necessarily the best for this. This isn't the right combo.

SPEAKER_02 29:24

But it is, I do like I find myself drinking a lot of it. Like if we were to stay here all night, that thing would last. I don't think it would last an hour. Because it's already halfway. Like when I got here, it was full. I mean, I just poured like halfway pretty hefty. It's very easy to drink, and you can't really bitch about it because like you are drinking it, you know?

SPEAKER_01 29:44

Like trying to figure it out, which is the reason I poured so much.

SPEAKER_02 29:48

But also because you're doing it like before you got here, Nick was like, you know, go up there and just hang out. So let's think you know, like he came up and I was like on my third glass, and I was like, you know, this this stuff's nondescript. And he's like, You're on your third glass. I'm like, I am. I gotta keep drinking it. It's like literally like the bag of sour cream and onion chips that you're like, I don't need anymore. You like roll them up, you know, you put them aside, you're watching TV. The next thing you know, you're like eating them again. You're like, how did that happen? You like you will eat until there's there's nothing left.

SPEAKER_00 30:19

Maybe the enticing thing about this, what enticed me about the bottle, was yes, the potential, but you keep going back because you're going, there's gotta be something more. Maybe I'm missing something because there's gotta be something else. And you keep drinking, keep drinking, you're like, oh crap, I'm done with the bottle. I don't, I still don't know. Maybe that's it.

SPEAKER_02 30:39

But there's nothing wrong with always searching. No, no, no. Because if you're if you're and honestly, if you're a business, like a consumer business, you want to always have that little element of wanting more, right? That's why they put so much salt in snacks and things like that. Because they want you to eat more and drink more and do all that. And I I think to have that element down, especially if you offer really good kitchen, is probably not a bad idea. So like this would go really well with a great kitchen.

SPEAKER_00 31:07

So I had the the the taster, right? So I I ended up doing their lemon cello, which you would like their lemon cello. I like lemon cello. We both like lemon cello. Mary did not like it.

SPEAKER_01 31:17

Do you like lemon cello, Steve? I don't. I'm not, but I'm not a big lemon guy. But I love lemon. But but orange cello. Like lemonade. I really like orange cello. I'm a lemonade fanatic. I do like lemonade, uh, but I think that's because I like sugar more than lemons. Oh, but I make mine. Mine's more lemon forward.

SPEAKER_02 31:36

Yeah. It's less, it's more semi-sweet.

SPEAKER_00 31:38

I think I also tried their huckleberry, which was good.

SPEAKER_02 31:41

I love huckleberry anything.

SPEAKER_00 31:43

But the rye was the thing I got another glass of. I think I got like two more of those. Yes. Because this with food is great. It's it's it's it fits. I just don't like that it's called a rye. I I don't think of this as a rye. Okay. So with that in mind, you don't think of this as a rye. We don't know the mash bill.

unknown 32:02

Right.

SPEAKER_00 32:02

What would you guys think? Canadian.

SPEAKER_02 32:05

Which I don't also don't think of as an a as a rye.

SPEAKER_00 32:07

What would you think the mash bill is for this?

SPEAKER_02 32:10

We don't know what it is, but if you had to guess what I'm saying is there's a lot of Canadian whiskeys that are 100% rye. I wouldn't be surprised if this isn't 100% rye. It's soft. It's black and Michigan rye is that soft? Dude, I maybe. I don't know. Maybe. Maybe it has something to do with the environment, the cold environment.

SPEAKER_00 32:30

I don't know. And this sounds weird. Is Michigan that far off from Ohio when it comes to climate to produce a soft rye versus Michigan and Canada are pretty close. Yeah, they are. But this is closer to Indiana.

SPEAKER_01 32:44

Michigan's surrounded by water. So it's kind of like Cleveland. And like effect. And lake effect. So it's it's Cleveland. And Amish people is the same as Michigan. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 32:55

Okay. So and Wolverine's right again. Like is that's a team, right?

SPEAKER_01 33:00

Yeah, it's Michigan. It's Michigan State. Yep. Good job. Yay sports ball. That's a yay sports ball.

SPEAKER_02 33:06

You and that fooze ball. We've had a lot of balls. Bobby. That foo's ball.

SPEAKER_00 33:13

Vicky Valentine. We've had a lot of whiskey. We've tasted a lot of different things.

SPEAKER_02 33:20

Over the years or tonight?

SPEAKER_00 33:22

Over the years. I mean, all. Whatever. What would you guys say is them? Don't just say Canadian. I won't say Canadian. What would you say the mash bill is based off of what we've had prior?

SPEAKER_02 33:33

I wouldn't be surprised. But just done in a in a way similar to that of Crown Royal. Like you, like or most like Canadians. I hate to say that, but I I do think if I were to pour a blind at this point with some Canadian whiskey, I don't know if you guys could pick this out.

unknown 33:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 33:52

And I can say that because I've had a lot of it.

SPEAKER_01 33:54

Yeah. I I think you're probably right that this would compare to a and a lot of them are 100% rye. Yeah. I don't know if it's 100% rye or not. I'd be surprised if it's the feel that it's gotta be up because I get I get a decent amount of creaminess in it that would maybe tell me that there's some wheat. I'm thinking wheat too. I gotta think that, but but I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 34:15

The smell, even like everything is just that that I've we've had that too with Canadians that are super creamy. And I'm just like, where is this coming from? And maybe I don't understand how they're doing it. And again, they they weren't like 100% rye, but they were mostly rye, not the rye that we talk about when we talk about rye, not spicy, sweet, creamy, almost wheedy, like wheat, but not rye, the way that we consider rye. But they're rye whiskies in Canada. It's weird. And I don't know what they're doing up there that makes them so sweet. We're always like, ah, it's sweet, but it's like they're not adding sugar to that. They're not adding maple syrup. They're not for the most part, they're not doing that stuff. So, how are they getting these soft, sweet ryes? That I don't know. And do I even like it? I don't know. What's funny is you always ask me, like, why do you like Canadians? It's kind of like not, but I do like them. Just not all the time. I don't know. I think it's because it's a departure.

SPEAKER_00 35:18

Yeah, it's a nondescriptive.

SPEAKER_02 35:19

You like them in the way that you might not eat sweet, certain sweets all the time, but when you have a hankring, you go after them. I mean, because how often do you see me actually drinking Canadian whiskey? Not that often. Not not that often. It's probably like every 10 time, every tenth time I drink, which is really not that much. No, it's not that much. It's probably like once a month, to be honest.

SPEAKER_00 35:43

If that, yeah. It's not very often.

SPEAKER_02 35:46

It's not very often for somebody who likes it that much.

SPEAKER_00 35:48

You used to drink it a lot more than you do now.

SPEAKER_02 35:51

I well, I used to go after it. Also, a factor for anybody thinking, like it a lot of times it is a lot cheaper, and it's good. Something to think about. If you're ever over like in a quality, like quality over quantity or quantity over quality, definitely a lot more quantity over quantity on some of the Canadian stuff. But there is some really, really, really good Canadian stuff, and like they're they're high-end crown royal, again, mostly rye, very wheat forward, like what you're saying, very creamy, yeah, very sweet, like this. Interesting. I don't know, but that's what I think of when I drink this without any of the youngness or the bite. Like this, this bites way less than uh crowned royal.

SPEAKER_01 36:38

Like I said, it doesn't bite at all. It doesn't have a youngness to it. Now, the only thing it's kind of full filled out. Yeah. So they like I said they opened in 2019. They were able to, because of Michigan's laws around liquor licenses and stuff, um, they were able to start distilling about six months before they opened. Hmm. And so they were able to. Usually it's the opposite. Right. Uh I learned a little bit about Michigan distilling. Maybe Michigan has a right, yeah. Interesting. Because also their their liquor license allows them to have six locations.

unknown 37:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:13

Michigan might be the Michigan's land weirdly, please. Michigan's some weird things, but for the whiskey, they might be kind of like so.

SPEAKER_00 37:23

The six locations for one license? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:26

Yeah. Interesting. And I don't know, I don't know any kind of details around that. If it like if they have to be in the same town, if they have to be like, you know, it that's the one.

SPEAKER_02 37:33

I talked to people that it really got the run around before they even opened up and distilled.

unknown 37:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:37

Like they had to already have the like the like everything, equipment and the everything before they could even like start distilling.

SPEAKER_03 37:44

Go ahead. Yeah.

unknown 37:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 37:46

So it's like buying the wheels before you build the car. Sounds like Michigan is a little bit looser when it comes to that kind of stuff, which I mean, they are in a lot of the vices. They are. So I mean, nothing wrong with being a little loose now and then. And so I mean their cannabis industry is the same kind of way. So it's it's you know, it's a different kind of thing.

SPEAKER_02 38:03

The gambling, yeah. The gambling, yeah. They're they're loosey-goosey. Yeah. So wishy-washy. Yeah. Except for wait, do they still do those blue? Did they ever do those? Or is that Indiana?

unknown 38:14

What?

SPEAKER_01 38:15

Where you couldn't buy alcohol on Sundays? That's an Indiana thing.

SPEAKER_00 38:18

I'm sure Michigan has a lot of people. I bet Michigan did a little bit. Maybe close to Indiana. They're like, ah, we'll conform.

SPEAKER_02 38:24

But terrible drivers. And their roads. And their roads are truly crappy. But other than that, and the football and the I'm not a big like football guy, but the fans are a little hardcore. Their fans are hardcore. Other than that. But only Michigan fans. It's not Michigan State.

SPEAKER_00 38:46

Michigan State's different from Michigan.

SPEAKER_02 38:48

Well, because you know, I went the I I roomed with we had Ohio State, Notre Dame. I was the Notre Dame guy for the most part. And then we had Ohio State, Michigan, and Michigan State all in one room.

SPEAKER_00 39:01

So Michigan and Ohio State were probably at each other's throats and terrible. Michigan State and you, fine.

SPEAKER_02 39:08

Yeah. We we can we can fit in. Yeah, Michigan State was fine. Michigan, but Michigan, like the Wolverine. They take offense to everything. Dude, he had bed spread. His sheets were Michigan. If they lost, I mean, watch out. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:22

It's like, dude, this is ruining your troll. True state fans are the same way. Yeah. Which is why I one more Notre Dame.

unknown 39:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 39:29

However, I'm bipartisan.

SPEAKER_00 39:32

What I'm saying is this.

SPEAKER_02 39:33

I think Michigan fans are kind of like Yankees fans. Oh. A little hardcore. A little hardcore. That's all I'm saying.

SPEAKER_00 39:42

A little cheating involved?

SPEAKER_02 39:43

No, we're not so not so much that.

SPEAKER_00 39:46

There was, actually.

SPEAKER_03 39:48

I was hoping someone got it.

SPEAKER_02 39:49

Probably Michigan fans are probably less fair weather as because like New York, like they they love you and then they hate you. So maybe you don't get that with Michigan, but they're a little bit hardcore. Michigan is just football.

SPEAKER_00 40:00

Yeah, the the hate is always for the other team that beat them. And we're gonna hate them.

SPEAKER_02 40:05

You could get beat like 100 to zero and they'd be like, you haven't talked. It's like, dude, you lost like 100 to zero. You didn't try. You didn't show up. But all I that's all I'm saying. Bad roads, bad fans. They have some nice decent whiskey, though. Because we've also had uh Detroit, dude. Yeah, two James, two James, which I like. If I were to get like a tattoo of distilleries, they wouldn't be my first choice, but they would be one of the ones I'd put on my body. You know what? I do love two James.

SPEAKER_00 40:35

That does make this interesting. We are dealing with Niles, Michigan, like 10-15 minutes outside of South Bend, Indiana. Indiana, we're not drinkers. Blue ribbon. Well, like we we didn't. If you drink, it's in a closet. There we go. So this bottle for Indiana drinkers makes sense. Oh my, this is this is hardcore.

SPEAKER_02 40:56

Dude, this is perfect.

SPEAKER_00 40:57

Dude, this is like, oh, I had a rot through this is hefty.

SPEAKER_02 41:01

Yeah, it's hefty for them. This is hefty. Yeah, I mean, yeah, absolutely. Also interesting is I've had stuff from Two James, also Michigan. Yeah, when they say rye, it is rye. It's rye. I mean, George, it's rye. That's why I'm that's why I keep harping on this. Like further nondescript. Yeah. So it's not just that ingredients or what there's something. There's something. And it's not like so.

SPEAKER_00 41:24

Maybe they're playing to their audience. Maybe maybe they're doing a really good job playing to their audience. But how are they making a soft rye?

SPEAKER_01 41:30

I think you're definitely on to something with the fact that they're restaurant first and that this goes really well with food. It does go well with food. I think I think you're really onto something there.

SPEAKER_00 41:39

Now, do I think that Prince would appreciate this for food? No.

SPEAKER_02 41:44

I think he would appreciate it more than most because it's not super offensive. It would probably pair with a lot of lot of things.

SPEAKER_01 41:50

I I think I think if if Prince was trying to create a meal or a recipe, no, yeah, then yes. But if he's trying to be a if he's trying to be trying to be a chef, exactly.

SPEAKER_02 42:02

If he's trying to make a masterpiece, forget about it. But if he's trying to make a dish that people are gonna eat, kind of again, like quality over quantity and quantity over quality. I think if he was trying to make like a decent dish that he could pump out, this would be it. But yeah, if he's trying to make a Mona Lisa smile, not so much. This is like more like Mona Lisa frown with that. But this is great with like this is like your biscuits and gravy kind of a beverage. You know what I mean? This is just I could have this at breakfast and lunch and dinner. Right. I can I can have this with some eggs, biscuits and gravy. Yeah. This is this is hard, it's hardy enough. It goes with food. Whether you're gonna have a bologna sandwich or biscuits and gravy, this would pair with it.

SPEAKER_01 42:45

Actually, you know what? You saying that made me think. I think this does kind of remind me a little bit of Indiana Whiskey Company.

SPEAKER_00 42:51

Yeah, okay, yep. I mean, they're not too far apart. I mean, they fit that vibe. Which was also very sweet on the sweeter side. They they fit that vibe. The Indiana, like Indiana drinker, uh Indiana people do not drink. Right. We do beer, we do beer, whiskey, spirits, hardcore spirits. No, you better be easy going.

SPEAKER_02 43:09

Yeah, and in a lot of ways, this is even easier. This is more polished than like a Jack Daniels, which is already easy going as it is, but it's more polished.

SPEAKER_00 43:16

So maybe it fits with that.

SPEAKER_02 43:18

I think they have potential to do more. If we kept talking, it would be gone. Look at it, it's almost that was a brand new bottle. It's more than halfway gone. And we literally just opened it. We barely dipped into it.

SPEAKER_01 43:33

Yeah, uh like you definitely are onto something with the fact that it goes down as smooth as smoothly as it does, and I could drink it while discussing something. Oh, without it, just because, like you said, I don't have to think about it at all. I'm excited to try the American single malt. Yeah, and so I will I will try that this week. I'm curious on what you think see how that is.

SPEAKER_00 43:52

I'm curious on if you think Chris will like that.

SPEAKER_01 43:55

Yeah. I'll give it a try and then I'll and then I'll drink some of my iron vault with it. To see all right, are these comparable or not?

SPEAKER_02 44:02

Yeah, I'm trying to save a little bit of that if we ever want to do it. But uh I love that you're trying to save it. I am actually getting like I'm drinking it. I'm drinking, I'm really drinking it. We you might have turned it.

SPEAKER_01 44:14

I might, yeah, at least on that one.

SPEAKER_02 44:16

But that one is different. Yes. And he even said so. Fair, fair, fair. Uh, you give me more stuff like that. Sure, yeah. Or maybe if I drink enough of that, next thing you know.

SPEAKER_01 44:26

Right, yeah. Maybe I'll turn it off. American single gateway.

SPEAKER_02 44:29

I started off on this and now I'm on heroin. I mean, not heroin, but you know, American single single mall.

SPEAKER_00 44:36

This is brand new. This bottle, this distillery. We've never heard of it. Brand new. Yes, I have been to it, but you guys, this is new. How do you feel about it? Do you think it's worth it to go after?

SPEAKER_02 44:49

You know, it has been a while since we've done that on the podcast. We haven't said that in a while. Yeah. Would you get it? Would you not get it? Is it worth it? How much is it? All that stuff. We haven't factored that in in a while. We used to do that.

SPEAKER_00 45:01

This is something that Chris just tried today.

SPEAKER_02 45:03

You just tried today. I've had this before, but what's the price on it? That's usually my question. It's it's let's say 50. 45.50. Yeah. Okay. So maybe you're under 50 bucks. Yeah. I think it's good. I think it's good in the way that uh I like uh a not an easy non-thinker drinker. Not a daily drinker, non-thinker. I want to distinguish between the two. This is more than that, I think.

SPEAKER_00 45:28

I've had so this is a nondescript.

SPEAKER_02 45:30

Because also, usually a daily drinker, non-thinker is cheaper, too.

unknown 45:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 45:34

But this is nondescript, but in a good way. It's easy going in a good way. Is it a shelfer for me? Probably not. Is it a buy when I see it and feel like it's planning to drink the whole bottle with somebody or a group of people? Yeah. Yeah. This wouldn't last on the shelf. It's not gonna last on your shelf. It's gonna be gone. This is one of those things like if I got home from work tonight, it's my Friday, and I had that much in the bottle, I guarantee you before I went to bed, that'd be gone. And I wouldn't even feel a thing about it. I wouldn't be like, I drank a whole lot. It would just be it would go down very easy. I'd probably have like uh, you know, you know, dinner and dessert or something, and next thing you know, it would be gone. That's but it wouldn't last. But that's a good thing, right? It means you're using that bottle, you enjoyed it. Whether you think like this is the most amazing bottle, sometimes the most amazing bottle sits on the shelf, and that's not always a good thing, right? This is getting consumed. That is gonna get consumed. So, in my opinion, that kind of a bottle with that kind of an experience for under $50, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 46:37

Yeah, I think it's good. See, for me, I'm not as interested in that experience. I think you're right, but I just wouldn't buy a bottle for that. I need to try this with some food to see if it this would go with food uh the way we kind of think it will. If it does go with food, then I can see buying it for that. But outside of this, I'm I'm never gonna drink that again unless I like I said, unless it's with like some food or something. Oh, for sure. Like, I'm not gonna turn it down. Yeah, don't even like I still like hate it. That's why I don't think it's it's not a shelter. I might not go seek it out. No, but I wouldn't buy it for anything in particular. Like, there's no reason that I can think of for me to buy it. The experience that Chris is talking about is not something I normally do with alcohol. Like, that's not like something I generally do without when I'm drinking it. So, because of that, I wouldn't buy it for that for like for those reasons.

SPEAKER_02 47:33

But if you were having a party and you were looking for something to eat something, drink with nachos, but say, I mean, say it was right up there with like say it was this was your option, and then you had like, I don't know, give me some examples, Nick.

SPEAKER_00 47:48

What are you looking for?

SPEAKER_02 47:49

Well, around the around this price point, like like I want to say that I mean bullets at this point, bullets at this point. You could get a lot of stuff for 50 bucks.

SPEAKER_01 47:56

Yeah, you'd probably like like 50 bucks. But would you pretty much?

SPEAKER_02 47:59

I don't know, maybe I'm maybe more of a spender. But if I went to this store and there was a shelf and they had only had bullet for 20 and this for 45, and I had got you, I had you guys coming over and we were gonna have nachos, and I wanted to drink and eat. I get like I said, I would get this, I'd splurge. I'd splurge.

SPEAKER_01 48:15

Like I said, if I'm gonna do it for food, yeah, then yes, then that's the thing. I like like then I would buy it. Uh that that is that's my caveat with this bottle. I think, huh? What's watershed run? Uh it's 40 bucks for uh for a regular burr run. Okay, so we're throwing 10 bucks more. Yeah, what would you go for? Watershed. I like but I because I like the flavor of watershed. Okay, all right. Water shed or new watershed. Yeah, that's current, current, current, regular. You're you're a chain. Old watershed, old watershed, sign me up, dude. I love that stuff. But like I can sit and drink water. I don't want to sit and drink this. Right. Like, if I didn't have food with it, I don't know that I want it. We're about to go eat something. I'm gonna have I'm gonna pour me a little bottle, a glass of it, to see how it does with the food.

SPEAKER_02 49:03

It's interesting that you know we are drinking it.

SPEAKER_00 49:06

Like this is his third glass. Like, and he wants to make it. It's about to taste it. It's the sour cream and onion chicken. I'm gonna have a third glass.

SPEAKER_02 49:12

Dude, it's the popcorn at the movie theater.

SPEAKER_01 49:15

You don't want it, but you eat all of it and you get a refill. But I do want that. Yeah. So like I like I'm I'm drinking a lot of it because I'm still trying to figure it out. If it wasn't tonight, I wouldn't have it again. Like, like our next club meeting that we have. I think it is hard to buy. I'm not gonna pick this up. I think it's hard to buy for the price, especially. I wouldn't agree. Exactly. But like I said, I I want to try, I think what it's really made for is to be consumed with food. And so if that's the case, then I want to experience it in that way. And then I can say, yeah, I'll buy this because it's gonna go well with my spicy foods. Yeah, and I think it could. I think it could, I think I think it would. Uh egg rolls, too. What egg rolls? Yeah, Asian, Asian food.

SPEAKER_02 49:59

Like Asian food is a little bit more uh flavorful.

unknown 50:02

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 50:03

This would be a good kind of a baseline. Like sake is. Yeah, you get what I'm saying? It's kind of like not over, it's not gonna overpower it, but it's not gonna underpower it.

SPEAKER_01 50:12

Yeah, I think this would be great with Asian food, I think. Noodles, egg rolls? I would have this instead of wine with my dinner. Yeah, absolutely. So there you go. This would always be better than wine.

SPEAKER_02 50:24

Nick, what do you think? What do you say?

SPEAKER_00 50:26

I uh maybe I'm an optimist. Yes, I see the potential of this.

SPEAKER_02 50:31

I do too. In a in a but in maybe in a different way.

SPEAKER_01 50:35

We're not talking, I'm not talking about potential for the distillery. I wanted to try more things for the distillery, but this particular bottle.

SPEAKER_00 50:40

Oh, but I see, I see potential for the bottle.

unknown 50:43

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 50:44

If we're talking 2019 to 2026, you had two years out for COVID, and it's a single barrel, they're all single barrel.

SPEAKER_02 50:53

And it's a single barrel. You might get a gym. You could potentially get a gym.

SPEAKER_00 50:57

We we hit we uh Which would keep it coming. We might have had a miss for a single barrel idea between COVID and when they started until now. But even that miss, for me, I go, huh. Maybe this is better than Sazarak Rye.

SPEAKER_01 51:20

Is this always for sale there, though? I was gonna say that like they change up their mash bill all the time. So that's the thing. Like, I can't say that this bottle I'm gonna get this bottle again because every if I go there again, they're not gonna have a rye.

SPEAKER_00 51:35

They're gonna have something else. Well, so they may have the a rye, but not the same mash bill. Yeah, exactly. It'll be something completely different.

SPEAKER_02 51:41

They may have something different, but they're rye, like I hate to beat a dead horse too. I wonder how much more like how how different we would feel about this if it didn't say rye on it. I I I think that does make a big difference. I do think it does it's putting your mind into a box, and then you're kind of confined into that box. I don't think it should say rye on it, and I don't think it should say smooth and spicy. Yeah, smooth and spicy. I just think if you if I said try this whiskey and let me know what you think, I think you would already give it like 10 more points higher than what you are now because you're I mean, I'm can this is not like rye, the way that I think of it, but it is a good whiskey. I do appreciate it for what it is, and also I think this would be very well finished. Yeah, very well finished.

SPEAKER_01 52:25

Like, one one thing I can definitely put on this bottle is it's pretty rare on this podcast where you're you, Chris, are the champion of the bottle.

SPEAKER_02 52:35

That is true. I'm I'm like trying, I'm trying to convince Steve. It's pretty rare that I'm the naysayer. That's true. You're the naysayer. That is that is a good point. But imagine, I will say, imagine this with a really hardcore finish.

SPEAKER_01 52:49

I think that might be I think I think it and that's the thing. I think it's missing a lot. It would lend itself to that. Yeah, which again, we're kind of talking about pairing it with shoe to finish or something. It needs something to go with it. It does. It does. That's my thing with it.

SPEAKER_00 53:03

And so I guess the bottle doesn't have the potential, the company in my mind has the potential. Well, I think Steve, I think Steve agreed with that. I do agree with you there.

SPEAKER_01 53:13

I do agree the company has potential. You want to try the single bear the single malt? I want to try the single malt because I think that the the flavors that I'm tasting in this in an American single malt, I think would would go well.

SPEAKER_02 53:24

Well, I'm afraid to try the bourbon, I will say. Yeah. Because at this point, so sweet. If there's anything less than, it's gonna not be good. I will say that. Like this is a good thing. I think I if we were at the bourbon, I'd be like, this is shit. I think at this point I'd be like, this, and then Steve would be pulling me back from the ring. I'm like, look, this stuff is truly not good. This actually, I like it, but I I don't know about the bourbon, but I have a feeling yeah, it might be a limp wrist, if you get what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_00 53:55

I I would keep buying it for the potential. I I make it I do think you might get a job. Maybe it's the gamble.

SPEAKER_02 54:01

Give me a give me uh something on a higher age, maybe more age. It's a gamble I can still drink. They need to start finishing this stuff. Yeah, that would be interesting. I think that would be interesting. This lends itself to it's lacking a component. And whether that's food or finish, either one would fill in that. I will say that it is it's not lacking, it's it's all it's waiting, it's waiting for. It's waiting for because it's fine without, but it is waiting for something more, whether that's food to accompany it or a finish. I do think that it it could benefit from an added uh layer.

SPEAKER_00 54:40

Yes, whether that's pipe tobacco, cigars, or food. I I would agree. There's nothing. There's not doing it. We had a a scotch that was similar where it was like it it missed a step and then all of a sudden boom. But it the tobacco filled in that.

SPEAKER_02 54:55

It like took a it like there was like three steps that disappeared. Yeah, it was like a flutter. It's like, wait a minute.

SPEAKER_00 55:02

Maybe this needs that it needs food or something to fill in the gap, and then oh, there's something. It's ready to go. Yeah, yeah. Priming the engine, getting ready to stroke.

SPEAKER_02 55:14

All that to be said, before you stroke out. Yeah. All that to be said, uh, I do think if we were to keep talking, this would be gone.

SPEAKER_01 55:22

A thousand percent. I do agree with that because uh today which is not a bad marketing kind of like it's you there's something to be said for that.

SPEAKER_00 55:32

Now, once I finish this bottle, do I hang it above my my door? Does it do the same thing for the iron shoe?

SPEAKER_01 55:39

Upside down though, because it has to be that's gonna get the horseshoe has to be the the ends have to be facing up so the good luck doesn't leak out of it.

SPEAKER_02 55:46

Yeah, we won't hit on the pretentiousness of that. The this company. I won't even I I have I've not I've stayed away from that. We won't get into that. Right. I have been very good about not talking about how pretentious I do believe this company to be. We won't we won't talk about that. But other than that, so far so good. I'd like to explore a little bit more. I do want to try more of their stuff to see.

SPEAKER_01 56:09

If they're listening, yeah, send us your stuff. Yeah, we're interviewable. There's there's no craft distillery that I want one bottle of. No, I want at least two or three to really give them a fighting chance. And I do think that this because you try this. If you're craft, you're shooting, you're swinging for the fences. So you're trying new things, and sometimes it hits, sometimes it doesn't. So that doesn't mean that even though I'm not a big fan of this bottle, I'm not a fan of the distillery. It's just this bottle is not my bottle.

SPEAKER_02 56:36

Yeah. One. And I I try every American single model I can get.

SPEAKER_01 56:40

And uh mostly don't like them, but I will try Asian.

SPEAKER_00 56:44

Yeah, I will try them. So, anyway. Well, till next time. Till next time, we'll try this with some food. Yeah. For now.

SPEAKER_01 56:57

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, whiskeychasterspomba.com, with any ideas for the show. Thanks again.