Noble Cut Dark Cherry!

SPEAKER_03 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. Hello 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.

SPEAKER_01 0:28

Alright, we got our last flavored whiskey, still no Chris. I think we've come to the conclusion, Chris, uh, that you would have had a fit.

SPEAKER_03 0:38

We're pretty sure if Chris, if you were on these episodes, I don't think we would have been able to air them.

unknown 0:42

No.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

You you might have thrown some chairs and tables over in your house. You might have just tossed them across the room had we done this there.

SPEAKER_03 0:51

Now, one thing that we haven't talked at all about on any of these podcasts is we've been smoking during all of these, and we've switched tobaccos with each of them. I'm curious on how that's all going. And uh so far, nothing. We haven't commented on it because we had nothing to add. They were they they didn't compliment each other, they didn't help each other. Did they work against each other? They didn't help, they didn't hurt, they didn't do anything. It was like it wasn't there.

SPEAKER_02 1:16

Yeah. I so I'm not as uh knowledgeable or experienced as Chris is when it comes to types of tobacco, brand names, etc. Um, so I brought uh a few different things. We had the black Cavendish with the Old Smoky, um, and we've had a couple of other uh more neutral tobaccos with the bird dog and the Indiana uh whiskey company.

SPEAKER_01 1:49

There was one you're excited to have with the blackberry, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_03 1:52

Yes, the cherry. Oh well. I'll take that back. Yes. The the Caribbean Caribbean blue is what we had with the black cherry or blackberry, blackberry, uh, and that was unimpressive.

SPEAKER_02 2:05

Yeah, it didn't really do anything.

SPEAKER_03 2:07

But this is this is this is showing some hope, yeah. So, yeah, what what is this? What is the actual brand on it?

SPEAKER_02 2:15

It's uh this is a bulk tobacco called very cherry, it's a cherry cavendish. Um, I got it at Pipes and Pleasure.

SPEAKER_01 2:21

Now, did they have the name listed, or did you have to ask? Okay, yeah, this is not okay, okay, good, good, good.

SPEAKER_02 2:27

Um so uh this one would be an enhancement. That's the idea. Since we're drinking a what is it? Black cherry flavored whiskey. Now we're gonna go with very cherry to hopefully kind of enhance the cherry.

unknown 2:44

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 2:44

We'll see if that goes over the top or not.

SPEAKER_03 2:47

Yeah. And you you really like this idea of entry level stuff. Like that's a topic that you really enjoy. Cherry tobacco is most people's entry level, I feel like. For me, it was because I started smoking a pipe because I found my grandpa's pipe in the attic, and I could still smell the cherry inside of it. Like cherry tobacco was the thing at a certain age, and I think it was just because they could smoke it inside, and you know, their wives didn't care as much, whatever it was. But like cherry pipe tobacco, if you talk about your grandpa's pipe, he probably smoked cherry tobacco, or a lot of them did.

SPEAKER_02 3:26

My first one was uh paladin black cherry, and that was a goopy one for for sure, but I didn't mind. I also like hookah, and that and that's a really goopy tobacco. But yeah, so bat paladin black cherry, that was a pouch, but that's where I started off. So I've kind of always liked that, and uh, it's not the only thing I smoke, but I try to keep a little on hand, put in the rotation.

SPEAKER_03 3:55

So and this is one of those where like you can certainly smell the cherry in the room note. You can smell, you can taste the cherry and the tobacco. But it's not like uh like a marchino, like red jar cherry, no, like a fresh cherry, Michigan cherry or whatever, minus whatever tartness.

SPEAKER_01 4:13

Yeah, it's more of the the sweet cherry kind of flavor, but not like the artificial cherry weird red dye. Right, no, like the cocktail cherry, like the ice cream, yeah, like the ice cream cherry Sunday can cherry, yeah. But uh speaking of dark cherry, we've got a uh a local to Columbus. They're actually in Gehana, just down the road from Mary and I. Uh, not that far actually, but they are a newer distillery. And Steve and I actually got to talk with uh uh um rep some guys there.

SPEAKER_03 4:50

I don't know who it was.

SPEAKER_01 4:51

Yeah, I don't know if it was this Tony the founder, or if you're I don't remember who it was that we got to talk to, but we we got to talk to them a little bit about their whiskey and flavored whiskey and got to try some uh I think it was Apple, maybe salted caramel or something like that, we tried. And they are embracing the flavored whiskey, and they are leaning more towards that than just normal whiskey anymore.

SPEAKER_03 5:13

So this bottle, the black, the dark cherry, was their very first release. So this was before anything else. Usually, when you think about a startup craft distillery, they're gonna come out with a vodka or a gin or something because it's easy and you can get it out quick. For him, he was a uh a home distiller. He he did a lot of that kind of stuff, and what he was really known for though was his lemon cello. He really he made he made a made a homemade lemon cello, and it was very good and people really liked it. Well, when he started out, lemon cello has to age a little bit. There's some there's a process to that that takes a little bit longer. They bootstrapped it, so he didn't have this big bank loan.

SPEAKER_01 5:53

Sorry, what is the bootstrapped it?

SPEAKER_03 5:55

Paid for it out of pocket, okay. And so he is that is that like a common term, yeah. You you yeah, up by your bootstraps, okay. Yeah, you're you're you're taking things in charge for yourself. So he didn't have a big bank loan or anything, so because of that, he could sit for a minute, he didn't have to come out with a vodka right away in order just to have something. He did use, and it was funny. I was listening to something to like research this, and it was about five years ago, and I'm not sure when Cleveland whiskey started really taking off and talking about stuff. But in this thing, he said that they used some creative aging to get the whiskey done faster. But he made a point to say it was not pressurizing, it was natural aging. So I'm assuming that means he probably used small barrels and and you know, maybe moved them around a little bit or something to get to get that aging done faster. Could be staves, but the dark cherry was the very first product they released, and then shortly after that was another one, and then the Lemoncello.

SPEAKER_01 6:55

So I first met Noble Cut, I think I met the owner even Tony, uh, when I was managing at the bogey, the bogey inn over in Dublin when they were still Which is real fancy all of a sudden. Yeah, because it's no longer the bogey. Uh that that that that's a sad story, but they're no longer the bogey. But I remember he came, he stopped by with a few different bottles and had us try to try to bring it in. And I remember trying the flavored whiskey and going, this is kind of impressive for for the time period that it was impressive. This would have been 20. This would have been 2018. Around 2018 is when uh when I was over there. So he was trying to branch out outside of Gehana and really get into other cities, other local cities. And I remember trying thinking, this isn't this isn't terrible. We also had them come out when I was at Bristol. They came out and did their flavored stuff too there. But at that point, we're talking two years after, roughly, they were doing more of lemon cello, they were focusing on their cello. So they're lemon cello, they have an orange cello, I think they have a lime cello, maybe. So they were really focusing on those, which was impressive. Those are really, really good. I love lemon cello. Yeah, yeah, and they do a great job with it. Like for a local, not Italian, like that's that's an Italian drink.

SPEAKER_02 8:17

Yeah, I had it for the first time this past March when I went to Italy. Yeah, for the first time. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:23

Did you have grappa at all when you're over there? Ah, I want to I want to try authentic grappa. I've heard I've heard very interesting things about it.

SPEAKER_02 8:32

That's a whole nother uh but but uh but I had I had some lemoncello uh as a digestif after every dinner. Man, it was good. So we've decided it's gonna be a staple in our house. Like we're always gonna have a bottle in the freezer of lemoncello.

SPEAKER_01 8:50

Now I will say the the like more local you can get for lemoncello, the better it is. Like the less like artificial sweet it it tastes.

SPEAKER_02 8:59

So if you I've just been getting a couple of Italian brands. There you go. Yeah, but I'm super interested in trying Noble Cut.

SPEAKER_03 9:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:07

Do they have it like everywhere? Yeah. Noble cut is like, yep. Oh man, okay. Well, I'm looking for that.

SPEAKER_03 9:14

Take a look at it, yeah. It's a weird flow for them because they just came out with a vodka for the first time, which is so strange. Yeah, it's it's weird to have a company starting in 2014, like now coming. Yeah, just a just a vodka, unflavored vodka. Just the one flavored vodka. Yeah, it's very weird. Okay. Okay, all right. Interesting. Okay. Yeah, it seems like a weird place to go in after after being in business for 10 years to now have a vodka. But they do. And they also have a second location up in Putin Bay.

SPEAKER_01 9:48

I've never been to Putin Bay. No, you're not missing much.

SPEAKER_03 9:53

Go to Gallenberg. I take it from both of you guys.

SPEAKER_02 9:59

Not that great. I'll go somewhere else. Uh Putin Bay's good. I I mean, I I liked Putin Bay fine when I was there, but um, but it's not it's not like wild and crazy. It's it's kind of mild. I I suppose if they're like it's a college party place. If there's some spring breakers up there, it could get kind of wild, I suppose. But it's yeah, it's it's a place you could just kind of mosey around. Kind of like my mosey around like the ferry over is everybody's got a golf cart. Okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:31

So I I can't walk around, I have to open a golf cart.

SPEAKER_02 10:34

Okay, all right, all right, all right. And not as tacky as not as tacky as uh Gatlinburg.

unknown 10:39

Okay, all right.

SPEAKER_02 10:40

There's a monument there, so no as tacky, yeah. Yeah, like we don't have like buffaloes or anything. Yep, there's a lighthouse there. Okay, anyway, but put in bay, huh?

SPEAKER_03 10:49

Yep. So second location up there. So I'm excited to see how this is gonna go with the cherry tobacco.

SPEAKER_01 10:54

Ryan already took a sip, and I I was looking at his face to see what the reaction was, and I didn't see much of a reaction. Like I was looking for like a like a no negative shocking reaction.

SPEAKER_03 11:05

It doesn't, it doesn't uh in this particular series a no a no face is a is a win. Right.

SPEAKER_02 11:12

So this is my this is my favorite one in the series for sure.

SPEAKER_00 11:17

This gives me hope.

SPEAKER_02 11:18

Yeah, the the cherry is uh it is a dark cherry, it's like uh there's like a little bit of tartness to it, so it doesn't feel as like high fructose corn syrup cherry.

SPEAKER_01 11:33

It reminds me of the Luxardo cherries, like the really fancy cocktail, like bar cocktail cherries.

SPEAKER_02 11:40

Okay, yeah. Yeah, I can see that. They're a very nice dark cherry. The whiskey underneath is like good.

unknown 11:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:49

There there might be a little bit of uh uh of uh cough syrup-y kind of aspect to it, but it's not like it's just sort of hanging out. It's not the aftertaste, yeah, yeah, it's not off-putting to me.

SPEAKER_01 12:03

This ain't no night quill bird dog kind of situation.

SPEAKER_03 12:06

No, and to and to me, this one, this one has that medicinal kind of taste to it, but it has that because of the whiskey and it's appropriate for the drink. Okay, whereas the bird dog one, I felt like that was because of the flavor, and it was just a cough syrup kind of thing. Whereas this one, it's the combination of the cherry and the alcohol that's creating that that medicinal kind of flavor. But it's sort of what you want in this.

SPEAKER_02 12:36

You know, it kind of strikes me like every time I take a sip, there's like a moment, like just a couple of seconds in where it feels like it sort of pops. It's almost like a gusher, like a one of those fruit snacks with a little bit of liquid in the middle, where there's just like this uh couple seconds in, just like this bright flavor, uh if I could describe it that way, that just kind of pops for a second and then it's gone. And then afterward, there's like sort of like a very light flavor that remains in the in the aftertaste for me. It's not decoding like the bird dog blackberry, it was like clinging and there and like it just didn't go away. But this is like the ghost, the ghost is just sort of hovering there, and and it's not off-putting to me at all.

SPEAKER_01 13:36

I know it's interesting. Uh as you described it, I was like, you know, it tastes way more natural than the bird dog, even more natural than the salty watermelon, which is odd to say because that seems very natural. The ones that we've liked out of the series that we preferred have been natural, they don't use any artificial flavoring in their stuff. They don't this no, this is not artificial, it's all like cherry juice. It's all natural, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:01

I believe it. Yeah, that's that's gotta be the key, right?

SPEAKER_01 14:04

Because Indiana whiskey was natural, like the maple syrup, like the natural maple syrup to it. It's that's gotta be it.

SPEAKER_03 14:10

Like I think the naturals make takes it goes a long way because the artificial one, it overpowers, right? Uh, and two, it's it's too sweet. It's it's artificial, it's fake, it's candy versus this that is fruit.

SPEAKER_01 14:26

Could you see yourself drinking this on a beach or uh by a pool or like during a hot day with some ice? Yes.

SPEAKER_03 14:34

A little bit more than a little bit. Over over the other stuff, yeah. Yeah, for sure. Over the other stuff. Yeah, good. Um still not a beach for me, but if but if if we were yeah, if we're just hanging out outside or whatever during the day, I could go with this.

SPEAKER_02 14:49

I think I could do this at the beach because I would feel okay about putting ice in there. And I could pour a taller one with all the ice too. Okay, but um, it wouldn't be just like a finger, but um the ice would naturally dilute it just a little enough to make it like not too much at one time, I would say. Man, this would be good on the beach or at the pool.

SPEAKER_01 15:14

They also do a peach flavored one, which I was very interested in and trying, but we've had a peach before. And uh, and so I was like, I don't want to, I don't want to get peach and go peach and peach. We've had those. We haven't had a dark cherry. I want to know what that's like. After having this, I want to go find the peach. Yeah, I would like to laugh. Like I could I could sit and sip on this. Like it's it's very it's welcoming for whiskey drinkers. It's very welcoming for whiskey drinkers, but it's uh it's also not too flavored where it deters whiskey drinkers, and it's not too whiskey forward where it deters non-wiske drinkers, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_03 15:58

Yeah, this is the only one of the three that I would want to like sit and drink straight. The maple one, I I don't think I'd want to drink that straight. I want to put it into into something or put it onto something. The blackberry, I could only put into something. The watermelon, I just don't know what to do with. That's the one that I just don't know what to do with it. Maybe some sprite or something, I don't know, but it's kind of it. This one I you could definitely put sprite with this, and it would still be very good. Uh, or you know, or something like that, or club soda, you know, that kind of thing.

SPEAKER_02 16:35

Or going back to the OJ.

SPEAKER_03 16:37

Oh, oh yeah. Oh yeah, yeah. Make a little OJ. I guess it wouldn't be a screwdriver, but yeah, something similar to that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:45

That would I would that would just be good. And a juice. And for 33 bucks. Not terrible. No. I mean, I'm paying at that point I'm I I'm paying craft whiskey kind of prices, but still not not terrible for a foolproof flavor. I'll take it.

SPEAKER_02 17:06

It's worth that.

SPEAKER_00 17:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 17:09

And yeah, and you wouldn't at that price you wouldn't feel bad. No, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:16

So does this uh it's I I kind of had uh a slight uh knowledge, slash expectation of this because I've I've been able to try their Apple one. But do you think this bottle changes your perception for the rest of the series or the uh the idea of flavored whiskey?

SPEAKER_03 17:39

I it uh for me it it lets me see the better side of it, like the less flavored. Like you're the the cherry is still very strong in this. Like this is still very clearly a flavored whiskey. There's no cherry wood here, you know. This is this is legitimate cherry, added cherry juice flavor to this. Um and like you know that when you're drinking it. Like that's very clear, but it doesn't overpower and pass the whiskey itself, they kind of complement each other. I feel like finishings complement but kind of build on top of. They're they're they're builded on. So it's a very good bourbon with this extra finishing, this extra this port that's kind of mixed in with it, and it's part of it. Whereas this is whiskey and juice, like they are separate things that are built on top of each other, um, but are still but are working. It's it's it's working. Uh the rest of these are just flavorings. I didn't taste any whiskey, other than maybe the maple one. So this gives me hope that there is a way to flavor something and have it still let the whiskey be a part of it.

SPEAKER_02 19:09

Yeah, it kind of uh makes me think a little bit of like watersheds old-fashioned mix. You know, you can just buy it in a bottle, they've got all the whatever it is mixed in there, so you just it's just like a pour over ice, old fashioned, ready to go. And uh I would say that's kind of what this is. It's a whiskey, but it's got something else mixed in there. It's like a cocktail ready to go.

SPEAKER_01 19:38

It gives you guys hope. Uh fair to say it gives you guys hope for flavored whiskey. But do you guys uh see a need or desire for that as a whiskey drinker?

SPEAKER_03 19:56

I think I think Ryan, you hit it there in terms of just having a cocktail ready to drink, it's it's a good thing to just be able to throw this in the freezer and have it ready to go. And and you can just come home, pour yourself a glass, and you're good to go. If you're looking for a cocktail. Um, and I do think there's a place for cocktails. So, like, you know, mixing stuff is okay, and it's gonna, and I I think there's a place for that. And this is in that realm. It's more in a cocktail realm than a whiskey realm.

SPEAKER_01 20:29

You guys smoke pipes on here, right? And we I enjoy the smell of the pipe. I don't know nothing about the pipe, um, pipe tobacco specifically. I mean, correct me if I'm wrong. I feel like there's a room in your guys' uh tobacco world, uh tobacco collection, I guess you could say, of things you smoke that you have sometimes aromatics involved, right? You may go for like a a more flavored, uh not a flavored aromatic, but more of a a nicer smelling aromatic for those around. Do you think after trying all of these flavored whiskies, do you think that fits the the idea of a flavored whiskey fits that idea more of the idea of the aromatic or less of that?

SPEAKER_02 21:20

I I don't know what Steve would say, but like when it comes to like pipe tobacco, I would say no, like the the cherry Cavendish and black Cavendish that I uh smoke is still like leaps and bounds higher quality than bird bird dog blackberry. But maybe uh if we're thinking like cheap flavored cigars, okay like uh there's a like there's a brand called White Owl. You know, White Owl? Um they're flavored cigars, but they're not real high quality. and the and the flavoring is pretty artificial. I would say maybe those those are definitely bottom shelfers. I would say those are maybe more comparable to the the flavored whiskies that we've had and didn't like. Maybe this one, the Noble Cut, would might be more like a a cherry Cavendish. And for me, smoking the cherry Cavendish with this, it actually I think it's going well together. And I think for me the cherry Cavendish doesn't come off as sweet with this. It it feels a little more burlyish when I put these two together, which I never would have expected. But I think that that burly-ish aspect is maybe complementing the sweetness of the whiskey more. It's more like uh it actually might go better with the whiskey aspect of the noble cut than the cherry aspect of the noble cut. I think it's like pairing I think it's reinforcing the whiskey part, not the cherry part so much.

unknown 23:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:19

I think I would agree with that. I think they do kind of tone it tones down the cherry and the cherry cavendish. And I think that that works well with it. For the pipe tobacco world versus flavored whiskey world for me most aromatics the flavor doesn't really come through. The the the benefit to the aromatic is really the room note and so I I think that there is a lot with pipe tobacco that is for others than it is necessarily for you when it comes to aromatics in particular. Like I don't know that you're gonna taste that much different in it with an aromatic but the people around you are going to be much happier that you're smoking that versus a heavy English. So that's kind of where a lot of pipe tobacco kind of falls apart is the the smell and the flavor don't necessarily match. And so uh you you do a lot the room note's incredibly important simply because of society. You just you have to make sure that your your wife or girlfriend will let you smoke around them and that kind of thing. So it just doesn't have the same the same need isn't there for that the type of tobacco I think matters more than the type of whiskey. And so we say type like quality Burley's Virginia's English's whatever it is I feel like most pipe tobacco people kind of have one of those that they like a lot and then they might play around with other ones but they're they're gonna be happy kind of in a spot whereas whiskey work we're kind of everywhere. We like rise we like we like American whiskey we like Irish whiskey or try it if it's brown I'll try it.

SPEAKER_01 25:20

So this is the first folks this is the first time tonight during this recording that Ryan has poured a second glass.

SPEAKER_03 25:26

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 25:27

I think that says something about this one that that shows it for a little bit more.

SPEAKER_03 25:32

Yeah. See I don't know if the comparison is there for flavored whiskey versus whiskey and aromatic tobacco versus other tobacco but I could see a world where I would want to have something like a noble cut on my bar okay and have it available for yourself or for others.

SPEAKER_01 25:55

Either okay so the reason I keep bringing up the aromatics is again I don't smoke. I keep bringing that up so I don't know what they taste like but I know what they smell like the room note right so in my head not a single one of these bottles for flavored whiskey or any kind of flavored whiskey I would have in my collection would be for me. I'm past that right it would be for the room note it would be for those that may not enjoy the the tobacco or the whiskey but they would enjoy the sweetness of a flavored. They may enjoy something a little bit more friendly or palatable right so that's why I keep asking about the the aromatics is I don't smoke. I don't know what it tastes like but I know the room note smells really good. I drink whiskey and this doesn't these don't scratch any of my itch but as far as like a quote unquote room note for others I feel like these flavored whiskies would scratch an itch for that crowd which is interesting to me because I don't know that there's many other vices quote unquote vices out there that have that uh that have a something you're doing for others. Yes that that provide an opportunity to do for others that that kind of bring them along with something you enjoy without forcing them to actually do it too do it too yeah they get to kind of enjoy what you're doing along the way without being like I feel forced to have to smell this you know I like a good Burley I like a good Virginia I like the smell of those it's not for everyone yeah you know aromatics are like we can fit the need of everyone else around us flavored whiskey is like we can fit the need of those around us and that need the people that want those and need those they don't really care what it tastes like as much as those that really drink whiskey. Those that really drink whiskey and be like holy crap what you fall on your head like what do what are you doing? Whereas those that don't really drink whiskey are gonna be like this is really really good. Yeah I think that's why people like the old smoky because they're like man tastes nothing like whiskey. This is fantastic.

SPEAKER_02 28:13

It says whiskey I can say I drink whiskey because it's on there okay all right yeah I I guess I I guess I can I could I can nicely agree with that I don't know it does say whiskey on the bottle yeah I mean I can argue with that speaking of room note can you smell the cherry cavendish?

SPEAKER_01 28:36

Yes does it seem to enhance the experience of the noble cut for you I would say yes but for me it's it uh isn't the cherry that it enhances it is more of the hardiness of the whiskey I think I've got so much cherry smell going on with the the noble cut that the smell that I get off of that is more of that the hardy tobacco which I like and it kind of improves that maybe it's just all in my head but it almost improves that whiskey flavor.

unknown 29:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:10

So Ryan why did you go after a second glass this is the only one that you've gone after too well I didn't know how much more conversation we had and I went it was thirsty.

SPEAKER_02 29:21

I wanted to keep drinking no this is really nice there's just there's more going on here than there was with the others oh I would I don't want to I mean I I I would guess I would lump in the Indiana whiskey too um but um but yeah I mean this is definitely something I'd I'd put on like a good summer drink you know um to put on the rocks or whatever and uh or drink neat the quality level is definitely there and it and it's they're not trying to cover up anything they're having fun with with a quality product I don't think that they distill their own whiskey who's that noble cut do they distill their own okay I didn't I couldn't remember if they distilled their own or not yeah this is not a scam and we didn't talk about the label but this label is classy it is classy it's des class A. Yeah yeah I mean just the uh I mean they've got some like gold leaf logo on there and and some of the lettering is gold leaf and just the way sort of the uh minimalist label with the yeah I mean it it just and I guess the word noble on you know kind of kind kind of kind of makes it feel noble thinking that way but this is uh but yeah it's a it's a classy label unlike bird dog I think this lives up to its label and the marketing fits like this is good this is a quality so we've had two that are underproofed in the series and two that are foolproof Steve would you stick with the the theory that the the fuller the proof or the higher the proof the more the better it is or okay why not my original theory was that the higher proof would help the whiskey stand out against the flavoring that is not what happened with Bird Dog.

SPEAKER_03 31:25

So for for us and I think all of us here agree on our top two being Noble cut and the maple from Indiana Whiskey Co. And both of those and the Indiana one is underproofed and the noble cut is foolproofed. Well we agreed on was it's we think it's the natural flavors that is is maybe what's doing it there. Now the the Indiana one I'm I'm not gonna drink that straight like that's not one that I'm gonna be able to sit on and have on ice uh like I said for that one I almost I I want to cook with it I want to do stuff with it that I think will really enhance it and make it taste really good. And the noble cut that one I can drink it straight I can mix it minimally so I can I can do something like some sort of an old fashioned or a Manhattan or something like that. Yeah like a great manhattan and so something like that you can do where the whiskey still shines through with bird dog and old smoky I'm adding pop to those I want to cover up the flavor. I want to add it to something else it needs to be diluted yeah and it has to have something else with it.

SPEAKER_02 32:38

So with those do you go are you just drinking the drink at that point not necessarily drinking to enjoy uh if you're drinking it straight yeah I from for me anyway there there were one when I was in high school we had a uh uh a foreign exchange student from Russia and um of course we were in high school so he wasn't allowed to drink here and uh so uh apparently he like started drinking like mouthwash in Nyquil because it had alcohol content to me that's what I would say is like drinking salt salted watermelon meat like if you're if you're just drinking that straight like you're you're like one step away from just true alcoholism yeah now like it's like we said though the bird dog one I think that that could really enhance some other things yeah if you it just gonna take a little bit of it you're not gonna want a full shot of that in a cocktail you're gonna want a half a shot or a quarter just a little bit of it is gonna really enhance some other things there's other things that can accomplish that same goal but this can do it also the salted watermelon that really is that flavor doesn't just lend itself to a lot of things so maybe if there was other flavors of it then maybe we it would have some places to go but do the old smoky peanut butter and and the bird dog raspberry rasbataz rasbataz and then you know there you go you got them both now the two that we've enjoyed have been craft yeah have you no I don't know if you guys caught on to that or noticed that I did and I was trying to decide at first I was like I wonder if this is just bias just like us liking craft stuff better but I don't think it is I think I think that it's I'm I'm more thinking it's the natural flavoring and the and maybe having some sort of a backbone to the whiskey whereas the mass produced popular ones are known only for flavorings and they don't have a very good backbone and it's all artificial.

SPEAKER_01 34:56

I think it's ironic that you say backbone because I don't think backbone for whiskey I think the craft distilleries have a backbone for caring about what they put in it. The people have they they have the people have a backbone of like this is my my my product like I I want to put out a flavored whiskey because I may enjoy it like like Tony like you know I enjoy flavored whiskey I enjoy lemon cello I enjoy the flavor stuff but I have a backbone to say it needs there's a quality that needs to exist within this flavored whiskey world it ain't bird dog. It ain't old smoky it's gotta be something else while this may be a little bit more price tag than those two the quality speaks for itself like it's just hands hands down like way better than than those things.

SPEAKER_02 35:51

Like mind blowing how much better it is yeah I mean you want somebody the person who's going to be able to supply the whiskey that whiskey drinkers want to drink is somebody who actually cares about whiskey themselves. And it's abundantly clear screaming loud right in your face clear that old smokey is not made by somebody who really cares about whiskey.

SPEAKER_03 36:17

I mean we don't even know who makes it who came up with it. It's a marketer yeah just some marketer although like why I don't Old Smokey they make the James Ownby reserve so some somebody over there is doing something but like why that reminds me a little bit of there's there are some uh in in country music right now it's very not right now a few years back 2010 ish country music was it was bro country is what it was called it was just the real poppy country it was it was all it was all backwards hats and pickup trucks like that was what it was you just a bear in the field you know that kind of nonsense they just had a truck and a dog and it was all like really super plain lyrics it was really poppy it was just really trash music but there were a few artists like Old Town Road yeah just like that Luke Bryan is an example of this Luke Bryan on his radio stuff is nonsense it's it's just your it's your junk it's your junk country bro country stuff but on some of his earlier albums if you listen to his albums he had really good stuff there and so what it was is that country radio and and the country music world was looking for this particular sound and thing but if you got his albums you got to hear Luke Bryan and what he wanted so he mixed in some of this good stuff that he wanted to record and wanted to do but then he also had all this popular pop nonsense that he had to do in order to be be relevant. And I think that maybe old Smokey's a little bit like that if they have this other stuff that's really good quality and is out there but they have to make their mass market nonsense in order to stay relevant.

SPEAKER_02 38:19

Yeah but this is like I mean this is like an album of like nine songs that are like superficial throwaway songs and one song is like a real song.

SPEAKER_01 38:33

And that's that's what I struggle with is you've got Indiana whiskey and you've got noble cut that's embracing the suck so to speak. And it's not not a in a bad way they they are embracing who they are their noble cut is embracing we may not be able to sell our bourbon like we can our flavored stuff. So we're gonna lean into what we know is good and we can really thrive at and we're gonna do more flavored stuff. We're gonna embrace the suck of we are flavored whiskey. People may not want our normal bourbon stuff that's fine because we do what we do very well and we don't have to we don't have to maintain a relevancy to to be popular for people to want to buy us. Indian whiskey they they do a bourbon they do a they do they do a bourbon and they do a white corn you know just a clear corn whiskey right but they've embraced the fact that their flavored stuff they do well and people love it. They do that well these other companies are like it's bird dog it might as well be bird shot like we're we're just trying to hit the masses at this point. Like we're just we we can't do one thing well so let's just try to hit everything and do it mediocre enough for people to be like 20 bucks I can mix you you know what I mean like that's really what it feels like and I I hate that like I I wish that more people would want to care about what they're putting out versus how much they could put out because what they can put out is good. How much they can put out is okay.

SPEAKER_03 40:09

I mean they're selling a lot of it so like obviously people are buying it but having something that's easy to consume and do it doesn't mean it's a good product. It just means it's cheap and easy. It's available everywhere it's the Walmart brand it's you know it's just whatever. And like it has a place for that you can I can I can go anywhere in the country and get bird dog. I can't go anywhere in country and get noble cut and that's you know that's part of it. And if I could if well that's if I could go anywhere in the country and get noble cut I bet it wouldn't be as good because I don't think they could accomplish that same level of quality with that amount of quantity that's just a matter of facility size though right or do you think it's more than that? Do you think you lose quality more than that I think I think if you get too many people involved you're now a big company and like anytime something becomes mass marketed it it tends to not be as good anymore.

SPEAKER_01 41:10

It almost loses its charm.

SPEAKER_03 41:11

It does yeah like everyone has an opinion there's too many cooks in the kitchen and it loses that charm of of small craft supporting the little guy kind of thing and it's it's one of those things where it becomes if I can go to California and get everything I can get here you know or or wherever anywhere in the 50 states if I can go there and get it and they say on the bottle it's a small badge I don't believe you it's small badge okay yeah so like that's no longer real and even if it is real I don't believe you you've lost the trust because there's no way that it can be you've lost credibility at that point. Yeah and so like it's just not possible right to me to for for that to be a real thing.

SPEAKER_01 42:04

Well where's the line because Jim Beam is everywhere knob creek is everywhere it is you know but and they're they maintain the high quality well so here's the thing I so I recently found little book chapter nine yeah and it was one of the last two bottles and I asked to buy a second one I had to argue with the kid why I wanted a second bottle and he scanned up the price and he looks at me and goes damn for that price I bet I hope it's good and I had to explain to him like it is and he was like well I know that bookers and this are the same and I was like no no no no no no these are not the same like he's like well they come from the same company and and like they're both allocated. I said yes he goes so what makes this different and so explaining to him of like why little book was so different from bookers just explaining the hands-on involvement that's that goes into little book and the thought process and uh the creativity that goes into each one and each one is different his eyes lit up and he goes I bet that is worth the price tag then so I think you got big companies that take the time to go I want to be involved versus take the time to go how much will this cell phone how much quantity can we get out it's about money.

SPEAKER_03 43:20

Yeah and also though Jim Beam has white label that is maybe not the best quality but they can sell the crap out of it and because of that they have the money to be able to play around and do some fun things like Littlebook.

SPEAKER_01 43:36

So littlebook is not mass produced little made JTS Brown and JW Dant so sought after before Heaven Hill bought them out they were like Kentucky only.

unknown 43:59

Yeah

SPEAKER_01 44:00

Because that's they were made just for Kentuckians. It was one of those that it was almost like the Jim Beam White label for those specific distilleries. And then they were bought out. And it didn't change. Recipe didn't change. Quality didn't change. But it became more available and people went after it even more. You want to know why they sold? Because the companies that originally owned them said we can't make enough money off of this. We're going to get rid of it. And they were just going to drop it. They were never going to bring it back. And Heaven Hill was like, no, no, no, no. Let's let us buy it out. Like we want to buy this out because we think this deserves the light of day. It's that good. If we can keep the quality, if we can keep people caring about it, it deserves to be somewhere. I think that's what makes the difference. Like you said, it makes the difference within companies. Large conglomerates, large companies are the ones that say, that has a place. It may be 10 bucks. That's fine. We'll sell it for 10. We'll sell it for 15. We may not make a ton of money off of it. It's not about the money aspect at this point. It's about what that bottle stands for. It's the history that that bottle involves. We want to care about that. And I think that's what makes these two the ones that we enjoyed for flavored whiskies. I think that's what makes the difference. As they said, we care about what we're putting into this. We care about the time that it took. We care about who we're putting it out to. The other ones were like, we got another flavor. It's shit. Literally dog shit. But hey, you know what? We're gonna put it out. People will buy it. You'll be too drunk to notice. Right, exactly. Like you you'll have no idea what we actually put in here. You know, we're we're gonna call it chocolate, but just be just be looking on the label exactly what it is we put in there. And they won't tell you. Exactly. Exactly. All right, well, there's our world of flavorings. There's flavorings. Would we do this again, gents? Would you be up for doing more flavored? I'll be on the podcast again.

SPEAKER_03 45:58

I don't know if I'll yeah.

SPEAKER_02 46:00

I mean, if if we could be more intentional about aiming for the noble cut type flavorings, okay. I'd like to try some more.

unknown 46:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 46:10

Um, I think that would be fun.

unknown 46:12

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 46:13

Uh, but we'd have to be selective just just showing up and being like, here are four bottles on the shelf that are flavored. I don't know. I I'd be I'd hesitate to to throw the net that far.

SPEAKER_03 46:26

I think it'd be interesting to maybe do a uh side by side of the same flavor. So do like four of the same flavor, but of different companies, different proofs, different styles, and just kind of see see how that lands. Because I do think that old Smokey got a raw deal on this one because that particular flavor is just not very mixable. Now, I'm not saying that any other one wouldn't be also bad, but I'm saying that that one just didn't work. It's it's not mixable in a lot of things, so because of that, it's really bad, and I don't have a lot of uses for it. Can you make jello shots out of that? Well, no, I've never really tried jello shots, but I'll bet you could. Well, it's it's underproof, so I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 47:12

Oh I don't think I'd want it.

SPEAKER_03 47:16

Yeah, you don't want that? No, I I want something. I want I need something else to go with it to tone down that raw watermelon flavor. I want to amplify that thing. Well, just in that case, just rip it open and stick it right into a watermelon. You know how they do that? There we go. There we go. Just fill a watermelon with it.

SPEAKER_01 47:35

Uh club cookout idea right there. Yeah. Yeah. You sit right beside the smoker. Anytime you guys want to fill up, just go for it. There you go. Yes. Well, gents, uh, it's been fun. Um, don't know that I need more flavored whiskey in my life. I don't think so. I don't think so. I think I'm set with these four.

SPEAKER_03 47:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 47:52

Sadly.

SPEAKER_03 47:53

So these are our uh Easter's summer drinks. Yes. And uh, yeah, we'll see what we get into next. We'll see what happens next. All right. Cheers. 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, whiskeytasterspapa.com, with any ideas for the show. Thanks again.