A Complete Unknown, James Gunn's 'Superman', and Barrell Craft Spirits

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Today on the Film and Whiskey
podcast, we are looking at the

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new film A Complete Unknown, the
Bob Dylan biopic starring

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Timothy Chalamet.
Is it worth your time this

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Christmas?
Then after that, we're talking

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with the team at Barrel Craft
Spirits.

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You guys know how much we love
barrel around these parts.

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Join us for all that on Film and
Whiskey.

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Welcome into the Film and
Whiskey podcast.

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I'm Bob Book and I am flying
solo, at least for this part of

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the podcast, because I'm going
to be talking about a new movie

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today, folks.
As you know, I am an official

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question mark, a member of the
media here in Greater Cleveland,

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OH.
I get to go see some of these

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movies when they have press
screenings.

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Not important enough yet to get
screeners sent to me in the mail

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or digitally, but I make the
trek to a theater to watch a

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free movie every now and then.
And I, I do it for you, you

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know.
So I recently went to see the

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new movie from director James
Mangold, A Complete Unknown.

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This is the Bob Dylan biopic
coming out this Christmas.

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It is being hyped up as one of
the big Oscar movies of the

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year.
And I need somebody to talk to

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you about it.
So I've brought along a new

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guest on our show.
It's Mike Went.

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He is the production coordinator
for the Greater Cleveland Film

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Commission.
He is a frequent person across

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the aisle from me in these
screenings.

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This is the first time on the
podcast.

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Mike, it's so good to talk to
you.

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Thanks for joining us.
Thank you so much for having me,

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you know, been a fan of your, of
your podcast and also, you know,

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like as you're right, I mean,
we, we see each other in passing

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all the time and, and we've been
following each other on social

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media for a while, but it's good
to finally do this in person.

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100% First of all, are you a
whiskey drinker?

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You know, I'm on like a certain
medication where I, I can't

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really drink as much currently,
but you know, hopefully I get

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the thumbs up and I can get
back.

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Well, I was going to say, I
don't know how lenient they are

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in our screenings, but I need to
just start bringing you small

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bottles of stuff to drink while
we're watching these movies.

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I mean, some of them to get
through them, you know, we 100%

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man that little boost
unfortunately or fortunately

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not, not for this one I would
say, but.

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So Mike, tell me a little bit
about about Greater Cleveland

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Film Commission, because we have
some spicy breaking news to

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report on the film Commission,
but I wanted to get a little bit

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of a sense for what you guys do.
Yeah.

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So the Greater Cleveland Film
Commission, we're a non profit

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and our main goal is to help
attract film and television

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projects come to come to
Cleveland and hopefully get

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people who work in the industry
locally jobs on those on those

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projects.
We also really emphasize the

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educational aspect because there
are a lot of people you know,

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who probably just don't realize
that there are these

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opportunities.
So we are often doing free

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things in the area.
You know, we have mixers.

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We also have, we're going to be
having a free production

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assistant workshop that's taking
place January 11th.

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It's going to be taught by a man
named Kokai Empa.

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And he is, he's worked with so
many different big name

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directors in the locations
department.

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His first film was The Color
Purple with Steven Spielberg,

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but he's also worked with Spike
Lee and various others.

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But he's, he was the location
manager and production manager

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for The Shawshank Redemption.
So we're, we're very excited

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about that because, you know,
the film just celebrated its

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30th anniversary.
So when myself and, and Bill,

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the president of the Commission,
went down to the celebration for

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that movie, we, we chatted with
Kokai and who is like I said, I

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mean, because Bill and I come
from the locations background.

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He is a legend in the locations
world.

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Kokai, that is.
And you know, we were just

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grateful that he was willing to,
to talk with us.

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And, and when we offered him
this idea to, to fly him in to,

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to help teach perspective
production assistants, he, he

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said yes.
And we were like, all right,

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amazing.
That's.

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Awesome, man, I was going to
say, I think you're even

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downplaying a little bit of what
you do because anyone from the

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Cleveland area, we like to talk
about Cleveland a lot.

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We talk about our beer, we talk
about our sports teams.

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And if you've been around us for
the last decade, we like to

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point out all of the times that
Cleveland has been featured in

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the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
We will point to specific

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buildings in the skyline or
things that are pretend to blown

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up and we'll say that was our
building that was pretend to

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blown up.
And Mike, you're, I mean, you're

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kind of the point of contact for
all of these production

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companies that are looking for
locations to to film in.

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And the most recent one, the
spicy breaking news that I've

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alluded to is James Gunn
Superman, which just came out

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with its teaser trailer today as
we're recording this.

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And I have already seen Twitter
threads of Clevelanders circling

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buildings and locations in a
Progressive Field is featured

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pretty prominently.
The arcade is featured pretty

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prominently.
Tell us a little bit about that

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experience of, of just doing
scouting and what ended up

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being, as I recall, a much
longer shoot in Cleveland than

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they had originally intended
because they found so many

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places to film.
Absolutely.

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Yeah.
The so yeah, a big part of my

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job is to to scout for
productions or be one of the

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first lines of communication
when when a film is thinking

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about shooting here.
And Superman was it was a almost

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a little over a year's worth of
work before they even started

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rolling cameras.
You know, we got an inkling that

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they were interested.
So we we provided some initial

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photos just of our downtown and
a big ace in the hole for that

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movie.
The the one of the executive

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producers was the assistant
director on Avengers and Captain

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America, The Winter Soldier.
So he very familiar with

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Cleveland.
His name's Lars Winter, and he

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was kind of, you know, letting
Mr. Gunn know what what

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Cleveland can offer.
And yes, there I don't know

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about Ndas, like what I can say
or what I can't say.

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But there were times where it
looked like, OK, it's going to

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be here for a couple days.
And then it then it ballooned to

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like, much longer.
And then, you know, it

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eventually became, you know,
they were here for about

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5:00-ish weeks of filming, you
know, and also like lots of prep

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before that.
So whenever we can have a film

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like that that can really
showcase what Cleveland can do

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is like, you know, we're so
excited about it.

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But also just the fact that
Superman was created here, you

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know, by two Clevelanders and
you know, the fact that the none

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of the other films ever shot
here, you know, this is it.

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It almost makes me well up
thinking about it.

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But it and actually just having
watched the trailer now probably

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like four or five times today,
boy, it it's like, you know,

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hopefully this will this will be
the catalyst to hopefully bring

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more things to Cleveland because
maybe people will see that and

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be like, wow, we want to shoot
there. 100% we had to get our

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mandatory Cleveland plugs in
here.

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So now that we've now that we've
shown love to the land, let's

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get to the topic at hand today.
So you're here to help me review

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a movie and that movie is James
Mangold's new film A Complete

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Unknown.
This is the biopic of Bob Dylan

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in his younger years when he
first arrives in Greenwich

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Village, all the way through to
the semi disastrous performance

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at Newport in I believe 1965,
where Dylan went electric.

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Now this this screenplay is
written by Jay Cox, frequent

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collaborator with Martin
Scorsese, based on a book called

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Dylan Goes Electric.
And it is one of the most

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anticipated films of award
season.

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So let me I'll just turn it
right over to you, Mike.

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What did you think of this 141
minute film?

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You know, I there's a lot that I
I did like about the film and I

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think it is perfect.
You know, it's the perfect kind

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of movie that come to come out
for Christmas because I, I don't

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know how you feel about it, but
I feel like for, for some of us

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who are of a certain age, you
know, like Thanksgiving, it was

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like almost exclusively to
Wicked and Moana.

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And you know, I'm like always
like looking for that kind of

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like juicy indie or something,
you know, that I can go see.

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That's the antidote to those
movies.

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And there's a lot of family
movies coming up.

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Not that there's anything wrong
with that.

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Like, and even coming up now,
it's like you got Mufasa, you

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got Sonic and it's a lot of
stuff that's like, you know, if

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you don't have kids, like like
my, my wife and I don't have

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kids, you know, it's like we're
looking for something a little

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bit to to sink our teeth into.
So we went in with this with

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pretty high expectations.
I do feel that Timothy

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Chalamet's performance was was
quite outstanding and there

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there are a couple of nitpicks I
do have with it, which I think

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it it's just some in how some of
the female characters are

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portrayed in this film.
I feel like even though they

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both give good performances, so
like Monica Barbaro as Joan Baez

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and also Oh my gosh, why am I
blinking?

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Out Elle Fanning.
Elle Fanning, Yes, yeah, yeah.

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You know, there.
Now.

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Joan Baez, I think, is giving a
little bit more of a meteor

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role.
And she could, I mean, and also

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Monica Barbaro can can really
sing those songs well.

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But I feel like sometimes they
are a little bit stilted, like

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they're almost archetypes of
women, you know, and they just

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kind of have to, they're there,
you know, as something to maybe

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move the plot forward or just
make sure that we have female

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representation.
But I will say when it's the

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musical scenes, I, I really
think this movie cooks.

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And I also thought Edward
Norton's performance as Pete

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Seeger was was quite
entertaining.

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Chef's kiss, Man.
Yes, we'll get into talking

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about all this.
I'm trying to think of the way

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to frame the conversation
because I'm a little bit cooler

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on the movie than you.
I think this is a solid movie

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that I that had some pretty
major flaws to me and I'm trying

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to decide, do I want to set it
up by comparing it to other

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similar movies, or do I want to
talk about how the movies really

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bifurcated?
Like it's it's it's 2 movies in

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one.
There's a there's 1/2 and then a

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fade out and then the
second-half.

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Maybe let's go that that
direction.

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Which half did you?
Prefer, I think I, I preferred

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the the first half of the film I
did too Yeah.

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And I, you know, just, you know,
him meeting Pete Seeger and then

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you know what?
Willie Guthrie.

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Am I saying Woody Guthrie?
Woody Guthrie yes, I should have

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something up here for for Cliff
notes.

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So I'm going off my memory here.
But like I really and actually,

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I thought, you know, the the
performances, you know, once

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again by Edward Norton, but also
Scoop Mcnairy, I thought was

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great and almost like wordless
performance there.

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And so I was really kind of
pulled into the world and I

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think mangled and Feldman Pepa
Michael, who is his I think is

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often DP really captured New
York well.

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And you know, so I I I like
that.

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Then when we get, you know, for
in that second-half, yeah, it

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didn't catch me as much.
And I also felt and I I I almost

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hate using this criticism, but
it's just a little bit too long,

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like 100% be a little bit
tighter.

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And I was I don't it's like when
and I'm sure my wife had read

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the book.
I think that it that it's based

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on and, you know, Dylan
admittedly is kind of a jerk,

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but it's like almost like he
kind of treats a lot of people

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like like crap.
And you know, and it's like it's

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so it's like almost hard to root
for this guy, even though

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obviously he's right.
He's writing this amazing music,

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but but yeah, he is.
He's a bit of an asshole.

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So here's here's my issue with
the movie is that I also

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preferred the first half of the
movie.

223
00:13:06,560 --> 00:13:10,400
And so the first half is Bob
Dylan as ingenue, right?

224
00:13:10,400 --> 00:13:11,800
Like, he's showing up in
Greenwich Village.

225
00:13:11,800 --> 00:13:13,120
He's kind of getting his feet
wet.

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00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:16,000
He's finding his first love in
New York City.

227
00:13:16,160 --> 00:13:19,040
He's getting taken under the
wing of Pete Seeger, even though

228
00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:22,720
he idolizes Woody Guthrie and
he's making his bones in

229
00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:24,920
Greenwich Village.
And then there's a fade out.

230
00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:27,400
And it's only a period of like,
I don't know, three to six

231
00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:31,840
months, but Dylan has exploded
to international superstardom.

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00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:36,000
And so it fades back up on 1965.
And now you've got sunglasses

233
00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:38,000
Dylan.
And it's, you know, he's there's

234
00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:40,520
a great shot right when that
second-half starts where he's

235
00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:43,200
just walking down the street
past all the locations you've

236
00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:44,920
seen in the first part of the
movie.

237
00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:48,000
And they've all been filled with
Dylan copycats.

238
00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:51,000
And he's he's super jaded.
He doesn't want to be there

239
00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:54,480
anymore.
My issue with the movie is that

240
00:13:55,600 --> 00:13:59,880
the Dylan goes electric
storyline is what this is based

241
00:13:59,880 --> 00:14:02,880
on, but that's only the
second-half of the movie.

242
00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:06,800
And so the first half of the
movie really doesn't have a

243
00:14:06,800 --> 00:14:09,760
story.
It like it only exists to serve

244
00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:12,360
setting up some of these
relationships that are going to

245
00:14:12,360 --> 00:14:14,240
be in tension in the second part
of the movie.

246
00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:16,760
And yet I preferred that that
part of the movie.

247
00:14:16,760 --> 00:14:19,000
I preferred the plotless part of
the movie to the part that

248
00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:22,360
actually had a plot.
And I think that that's kind of

249
00:14:22,360 --> 00:14:25,280
a fatal flaw with this movie a
little bit is like, I, I just

250
00:14:25,280 --> 00:14:27,360
like hanging out with this guy
in Greenwich Village.

251
00:14:27,680 --> 00:14:32,800
And now you're kind of forcing
this other story upon us as an

252
00:14:32,800 --> 00:14:36,360
audience that is just kind of
inherently less compelling or

253
00:14:36,360 --> 00:14:38,960
less interesting to me.
Even though there's meteor

254
00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:42,480
drama, I've had a hard time kind
of trying to disentangle why I

255
00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:45,640
feel this way because usually if
a part of the movie doesn't have

256
00:14:45,640 --> 00:14:48,240
a story, I'm like checked out.
But that that part caught me

257
00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:52,240
more than the second-half did.
No, I, you know, I, I tend to

258
00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:55,040
agree here and and I don't my
wife and I had a long

259
00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:58,760
conversation on the the ride
home from it was like that.

260
00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:02,920
We, you know, there was some, we
just felt there was something

261
00:15:02,920 --> 00:15:07,920
missing to make it like feel
great about it, you know, like,

262
00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:11,680
like, because I was ready to go
and say like this is the Ms.

263
00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:13,040
movie of the year or something
like that.

264
00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:15,680
You know, like, and that's, I
think that's what I mean, I

265
00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:19,120
always hope for towards the end
of the year is seeing that one

266
00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:22,600
movie that really blows you away
and that's the one that's like,

267
00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:27,440
that's the definitive.
So yeah, there there were, yeah,

268
00:15:27,520 --> 00:15:31,080
I, I think there was kind of
just it made who knows?

269
00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:36,400
Like I'm, I'm curious like how
the process was with Jaycox and,

270
00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:39,920
and mangled.
Like was it Jaycox had like a, a

271
00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:42,920
full version or did they
actually collaborate on it?

272
00:15:42,960 --> 00:15:45,080
You know, 'cause, you know,
sometimes writing credits can

273
00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:48,960
be, can be misleading or
interesting sometimes.

274
00:15:50,240 --> 00:15:53,440
But I will say one of the one of
the aspects, one of the parts

275
00:15:53,440 --> 00:15:58,280
that I really did like is when
he, you know, gets the kind of

276
00:15:58,280 --> 00:16:01,280
pen pal relationship with Johnny
Cash.

277
00:16:01,320 --> 00:16:06,000
Like and, and I feel like Hoyd
Helbrook, I think is his name

278
00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:11,040
like portrays or Boyd.
Is it Boyd?

279
00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:12,080
Boyd.
OK.

280
00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:12,800
Yeah.
Yes, yes.

281
00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:15,960
We'll, we'll get there, man.
It's all right.

282
00:16:17,120 --> 00:16:19,240
You just have to edit my whole
segment out, no?

283
00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:22,320
Yeah, you're fine.
But but no, I like I and I

284
00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:24,840
thought that was a lot of fun.
You know, getting those

285
00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:27,040
insights, I think was was
interesting.

286
00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:31,720
I mean, I mean, you know, I gave
it on my, you know, letterbox.

287
00:16:31,720 --> 00:16:33,520
I think I gave it 3 1/2 out of
five.

288
00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:38,480
But I, I wanted, I wish you
could give a three-point 1/4 or

289
00:16:38,560 --> 00:16:40,400
something, you know, I mean,
because like, that's, that's

290
00:16:40,400 --> 00:16:42,840
kind of where I was at.
But that's exactly where I'm at,

291
00:16:42,840 --> 00:16:46,840
a 6.5 out of 10 on this movie.
And I think going back to the

292
00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:49,240
Mangold thing, maybe this is a
good place to talk about the

293
00:16:49,240 --> 00:16:52,200
movies that I think are going to
be obvious points of comparison.

294
00:16:52,600 --> 00:16:54,520
The first one being walk the
line, right?

295
00:16:54,520 --> 00:16:58,160
So mangled makes walk the line
almost exactly 20 years ago.

296
00:16:58,160 --> 00:17:02,560
It comes out in 2005.
And I think that I I kind of

297
00:17:02,560 --> 00:17:07,240
wonder if the fact that walk the
lines story structure has been

298
00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:12,880
so parodied by movies like walk
hard, if that is causing mangled

299
00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:15,280
to try to do something different
with the structure of this

300
00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:17,119
movie.
And I feel like he almost swung

301
00:17:17,119 --> 00:17:20,000
it too far in the other
direction because for my money,

302
00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:22,440
I I really do think Walk the
Line is about as perfect as a

303
00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:25,200
music biopic can get.
Oh, absolutely.

304
00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:27,880
It tells a really self-contained
story and it has a narrative

305
00:17:27,880 --> 00:17:30,560
thrust all the way through,
which is like Johnny Cash's

306
00:17:30,560 --> 00:17:32,720
addiction narrative and how he
overcame it.

307
00:17:33,280 --> 00:17:37,360
And this movie just doesn't
really seem to have a story to

308
00:17:37,360 --> 00:17:42,840
it until this what seems like a
manufactured kind of conflict in

309
00:17:42,840 --> 00:17:45,320
the second-half, which is like,
will he go electric?

310
00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:48,280
Will he not?
And they try to present this

311
00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:53,520
narrative that's, hey, I'm Bob
Dylan and I am pushing back on

312
00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:57,320
on this idea of being anointed
the savior of folk music, 'cause

313
00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:01,320
I don't want that put on me.
But nothing in the first half of

314
00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:03,840
the movie indicated that they
were doing that to him.

315
00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:08,280
And it's not until he on his own
decides like, I want to play non

316
00:18:08,280 --> 00:18:10,840
folk at this Folk Festival.
And then they're like, please,

317
00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:13,800
please don't do that.
And he's like, you guys are

318
00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:17,840
putting all these rules on me.
It, it, it felt like I didn't

319
00:18:17,840 --> 00:18:22,440
know who to not just to root for
in the second-half, but I, I'm

320
00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:25,040
rambling at this point because
I'm still trying to figure this

321
00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:26,560
out.
And, and Mike, I saw an

322
00:18:26,560 --> 00:18:31,400
interview with Mangold where he
said that he intended this movie

323
00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:35,040
to be thought of like Amadeus
And I see.

324
00:18:35,640 --> 00:18:38,920
And he said like he wanted Pete
Seeger to be the Solieri

325
00:18:38,920 --> 00:18:41,200
character.
And I'm like, my guy, if that

326
00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:45,080
was your intention, then I I
think this is you didn't get it

327
00:18:45,080 --> 00:18:48,320
for like it's not successful
because throughout the film,

328
00:18:48,520 --> 00:18:52,440
Edward Norton, to your point as
Pete Seeger, I think might be

329
00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:53,800
the best performance in the
film.

330
00:18:54,160 --> 00:18:57,400
And he is probably the only real
sympathetic character.

331
00:18:57,400 --> 00:19:00,920
Like we sympathize with him
throughout the movie, even as

332
00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:03,320
he's trying to talk Dylan down
off the ledge at the end of the

333
00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:05,640
film.
And so I I can't see him as a

334
00:19:05,640 --> 00:19:09,320
villain and Dylan as a hero when
it seems like Dylan brought all

335
00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:12,800
this upon himself.
No, I I was feeling the same

336
00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:19,040
thing where I I felt so bad for
the Pete Seeger character and

337
00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:20,840
it's kind of the I don't know
it.

338
00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:24,000
Did you see The Apprentice the
the movie about?

339
00:19:24,800 --> 00:19:27,160
About Trump with Sebastian Stan.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

340
00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:30,520
It it's this, there's some
similarities in that movie

341
00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:35,040
where, you know, the Roy Cohn
character in that movie is, you

342
00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:39,600
know, he's established as kind
of like not a very good person,

343
00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:43,640
but then you feel very
sympathetic towards him because

344
00:19:44,080 --> 00:19:48,080
the, the young person that
latched on to him is now

345
00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:51,240
treating him like garbage.
And I, and that's kind of like,

346
00:19:51,720 --> 00:19:55,240
I almost felt like Bob treated
Pete Seeger like garbage.

347
00:19:55,240 --> 00:20:00,080
Now, I mean, obvious, not to
spoil anything for any music

348
00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:02,680
fans out there who who's going
to see the movie, but you know,

349
00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:05,520
you kind of learned that like
they made amends.

350
00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:08,280
And they ended up like, you
know, performing with each

351
00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:10,280
other.
But it's like, yeah, I, I, I

352
00:20:10,280 --> 00:20:13,360
felt this thing.
And I'm not sure, like, was that

353
00:20:13,360 --> 00:20:17,960
Mangle's intention to make you
feel like Bob Dylan is is a

354
00:20:17,960 --> 00:20:20,080
Dick?
Yeah, well, I mean, people tell

355
00:20:20,080 --> 00:20:23,160
him that all through the movie.
It's very like Aaron Sorkin

356
00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:25,760
Social Network, like, hey, Bob
Dylan, you're you're an asshole.

357
00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:29,600
And I think what they're really
trying to go for, and I'm

358
00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:31,920
curious to hear if you think
this is successful or not.

359
00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:35,600
They want to present Dylan as
the enigma.

360
00:20:35,680 --> 00:20:39,160
You know, people have never been
able to disentangle.

361
00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:41,960
Like, what is Bob Dylan because
he's gone through so many

362
00:20:41,960 --> 00:20:43,520
phases.
He went through his evangelical

363
00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:45,480
Christian phase, and then he
rejected that for a while.

364
00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:48,760
And and I think that they want
to present him as this kind of

365
00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:53,120
unknowable person.
But because of that, you are

366
00:20:53,120 --> 00:20:56,480
just like everyone else in the
film where you don't know what

367
00:20:56,480 --> 00:21:00,080
his motivation is other than
just, I don't want to be boxed

368
00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:02,480
in.
And I feel like at a certain

369
00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:06,120
point that stops being kind of a
compelling reason because

370
00:21:06,120 --> 00:21:09,200
everybody else is such AI don't
want to call him a simplistic

371
00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:11,320
character, but like, you know
what everybody else's

372
00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:13,080
motivations are.
And so they're, they're much

373
00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:16,800
more sympathetic than Dylan is
because even as an audience

374
00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:20,280
member, I can't get on his side
because I don't really know what

375
00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:21,880
he thinks or feels about
anything.

376
00:21:22,840 --> 00:21:24,960
You're right.
I I mean, there there are times

377
00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:29,240
where it's, and maybe that's the
point in but like that you're

378
00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:32,280
not supposed to know exactly
what Dylan's thinking all the

379
00:21:32,280 --> 00:21:36,880
time, but that I think that's
one of the things that, you

380
00:21:36,880 --> 00:21:40,720
know, even the the what the the
Todd Haynes movie that came out.

381
00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:42,240
I'm not there.
The the one where.

382
00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:45,440
Yeah, yeah, yeah, You know, a
lot of people play.

383
00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:49,200
I think even Cate Blanchett
plays Bob Dylan at one point and

384
00:21:49,200 --> 00:21:51,800
you still don't really have a
sense of this guy is maybe that

385
00:21:51,800 --> 00:21:53,560
is the point.
Maybe that's the point that

386
00:21:53,560 --> 00:21:57,200
Mangold's like trying to hammer
home like like almost everybody

387
00:21:57,200 --> 00:22:00,960
else did, but I don't know, at
at risk of sounding like a

388
00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:04,840
broken, you know, it's like, I
kind of it's like, I wish it did

389
00:22:04,840 --> 00:22:07,680
go a little deeper.
It's it's just kind of surface

390
00:22:07,680 --> 00:22:09,680
level.
I think with some of the

391
00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:12,480
characters.
That being said, it's you know,

392
00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:16,240
I still I still I'm going to
recommend people go see it.

393
00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:21,160
I think I think at least for the
music and I think for just like

394
00:22:21,160 --> 00:22:25,160
when Walk the Line came out, I
think I was, yeah, I was a

395
00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:29,640
junior or senior in college and
that that kind of reignited a

396
00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:33,000
love of Johnny Cash music.
I'm sure for some people they

397
00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:36,680
will hear the, the Chalamet
versions of these Bob Dylan

398
00:22:36,680 --> 00:22:38,480
songs.
And, you know, maybe that will,

399
00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:42,280
that will spark a bunch of
Spotify playlists or, you know,

400
00:22:42,280 --> 00:22:44,920
because I, I remember
immediately, I think the day

401
00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:47,560
after walk watching Walk the
Line, I bought the, the

402
00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:49,960
soundtrack CD.
You know, it, it was just like,

403
00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:53,160
yeah, I I wish this was walk the
line and it's not.

404
00:22:54,320 --> 00:22:55,640
Maybe that's what I'm trying to
say.

405
00:22:56,440 --> 00:22:58,000
I'll end on a couple high notes
here.

406
00:22:58,120 --> 00:23:00,480
You know, I said that I think
this is like a 6 1/2 out of 10.

407
00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:04,640
It's a 6 1/2 because I think
Mangold directs the hell out of

408
00:23:04,640 --> 00:23:05,800
it.
I think it's Oh yeah.

409
00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:09,400
Like, it's like a 5 1/2 movie
that is elevated by a really

410
00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:11,880
great director.
And there were even, you know,

411
00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:15,760
Mangold is not like the world's
greatest user of the camera,

412
00:23:15,840 --> 00:23:18,320
especially like you see a movie
like Indiana Jones, The Dial of

413
00:23:18,320 --> 00:23:21,200
Destiny, and it's like he's
really good, but he's not spiel,

414
00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:25,080
you know, but there's even just
really simplistic camera setups

415
00:23:25,080 --> 00:23:27,360
in this movie.
There's a moment where Dylan

416
00:23:27,360 --> 00:23:32,360
basically crashes in Joan Baez's
hotel room and they're filming

417
00:23:32,360 --> 00:23:35,840
him from behind and you see the
little vanity mirror sitting on

418
00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:37,280
the desk and she's reflected in
that.

419
00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:40,080
And it's just like he'll do
interesting visual things every

420
00:23:40,080 --> 00:23:42,040
now and then.
And I thought that the way they

421
00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:44,880
lit the movie, it actually
looked like a movie.

422
00:23:45,120 --> 00:23:47,440
You know, there's, there's just
certain things where if they

423
00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:50,200
hired some other journeyman
director, if this was a straight

424
00:23:50,200 --> 00:23:53,440
to Netflix movie, it wouldn't
look as good as it does.

425
00:23:53,440 --> 00:23:55,160
It wouldn't flow as well as it
does.

426
00:23:55,360 --> 00:23:58,560
To your point about the music,
he knows enough from his walk

427
00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:02,120
the line days to put a song
every 45 seconds in this movie.

428
00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:04,920
And he's like, he knows that
where the strengths lie.

429
00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:06,400
And I really appreciate him for
that.

430
00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:10,800
No, I, I agree.
I think, you know, mangled.

431
00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:15,280
I've been a fan of his ever
since I saw Copland, you know,

432
00:24:15,320 --> 00:24:22,280
probably too young, but but no,
I, I do think that he is that

433
00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:26,440
dependable director.
You know, he, I mean, I, I

434
00:24:26,440 --> 00:24:30,520
really did love Ford V Ferrari,
the Indiana Jones movie.

435
00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:35,120
I was kind of like the same with
with the score where it's like I

436
00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:39,920
I admired some of it, but I it,
it was just way too long.

437
00:24:40,720 --> 00:24:45,080
So many slow spots.
But but no, I, I really do think

438
00:24:45,080 --> 00:24:48,400
you're right, though, like he
does help elevate some of his

439
00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:51,720
material.
May perhaps you know, another

440
00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:56,800
pass of the script maybe was
neat, but but I do know that he

441
00:24:56,800 --> 00:25:01,600
had spent quite a bit of time
developing this and at one point

442
00:25:01,760 --> 00:25:04,960
I will this is a little nugget
that I've never really shared,

443
00:25:04,960 --> 00:25:09,320
but you know, at one point they
were they did reach out to us to

444
00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:13,600
to pull some files because they
thought perhaps maybe parts of

445
00:25:13,600 --> 00:25:16,120
Cleveland could passes the East
Village.

446
00:25:16,760 --> 00:25:21,600
But but you know, coming down to
it, unfortunately, I mean, I

447
00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:26,080
gave them everything that we
had, you know, but I just where

448
00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:28,600
they found, you know, on a
location standpoint.

449
00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:31,720
I, I think because it looks like
they film mostly in New Jersey,

450
00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:34,960
it looks pretty great.
I I will say like they picked

451
00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:39,280
some great locations that we
just can't unfortunately capture

452
00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:40,520
yet.
Sure, but.

453
00:25:41,400 --> 00:25:42,720
We'll we'll get there, man.
Yeah.

454
00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:45,560
All right, Mike, last exercise I
want to go through real quick.

455
00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:50,160
Sure, you're an Oscar voter and
this is not how the Oscars work,

456
00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:53,880
but let's just say you control
all the Oscar nominations and

457
00:25:53,880 --> 00:25:56,440
you get to decide what this
movie gets nominated for.

458
00:25:56,920 --> 00:25:59,840
What are you specifically
putting this movie up for?

459
00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:04,360
I would, I would.
Chalamet, I think deserves a

460
00:26:04,360 --> 00:26:08,640
nomination, I think.
I also do think that Edward

461
00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:13,880
Norton deserves a supporting
actor nomination, even though

462
00:26:13,880 --> 00:26:17,960
like Scoop Mcnairy, I mean, I
don't know if it's too slight of

463
00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:21,080
a role, but like the work that
he's doing there is pretty

464
00:26:21,080 --> 00:26:26,000
awesome.
Without saying much, I I don't

465
00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:28,120
know.
I mean, there's got to be other

466
00:26:28,120 --> 00:26:31,320
things that are better, but this
was kind of a weird year for

467
00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:37,520
movies overall.
So I would possibly give it

468
00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:43,680
sound or, or all right, I'm
going to say actor supporting

469
00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:47,440
actor sound, cinematography.
Nice, yeah I would go actor,

470
00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:50,200
even though I think Chalamet is
actually better in Dune 2.

471
00:26:50,320 --> 00:26:51,680
And I will.
I will die on that hill.

472
00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:54,640
I'd go supporting actor forever
Norton.

473
00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:57,800
I would also put Monica Barbaro
in the mix for supporting

474
00:26:57,800 --> 00:26:59,640
actress.
I think she just absolutely

475
00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:03,120
knocks it out of the park in
this movie production design.

476
00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:08,080
Like to your point, the sets
look amazing costuming for sure

477
00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:11,600
and and sound like they don't
break sound into editing and

478
00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:14,880
mixing anymore.
But the mix on these songs is

479
00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:18,120
just freaking pristine, man.
Just really, really great job.

480
00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:21,160
So all right, well, there you
have it folks.

481
00:27:21,160 --> 00:27:23,920
That is a complete unknown.
It gets what seems to be a

482
00:27:23,920 --> 00:27:26,320
tentative thumbs up from both of
us.

483
00:27:27,120 --> 00:27:27,880
Would you?
I mean like.

484
00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:31,320
I guess, you know, I was, I
don't know, you're probably the

485
00:27:31,320 --> 00:27:34,960
same.
But like I used to worship like

486
00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:39,000
Roger Ebert's reviews when they
would come out on Friday and I

487
00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:43,920
would use his metric of like, I
think a three or a, you know, a

488
00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:46,840
three and up was always a thumbs
up from him.

489
00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:51,280
So I would give this if I had to
rank it out of a four, I would

490
00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:55,200
give it a three out of four, but
a low three out of four if.

491
00:27:55,320 --> 00:27:56,200
That's it.
Yeah.

492
00:27:56,200 --> 00:27:59,320
This for me, this is like a
perfect 2 1/2 star movie, but

493
00:27:59,320 --> 00:28:03,040
like the the craft behind it is
so good that it's you're gonna

494
00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:05,160
have a good time at the movies
if you go see it so.

495
00:28:05,240 --> 00:28:07,640
Yeah.
And and I think once again, like

496
00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:11,600
it, it's an option for, you
know, adults, like if you, you

497
00:28:11,600 --> 00:28:15,240
know, for the holidays, if like
you have some family and there's

498
00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:18,040
not a lot of like younger kids,
I think, you know, this is the

499
00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:22,000
one to maybe take grandma or
grandpa or mom and dad, you

500
00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:25,640
know, one of those, you know,
it's just at least something

501
00:28:25,640 --> 00:28:30,120
that's not, you know, aimed at
at 5 year olds.

502
00:28:31,480 --> 00:28:33,040
Well, Mike, where can we find
you?

503
00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:35,600
I haven't even had a chance to
plug your podcast yet, so tell

504
00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:37,720
us a little bit about that and
where we can find you on social

505
00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:39,040
media.
Absolutely.

506
00:28:39,280 --> 00:28:44,360
So yeah, I do, I Co host a
podcast with my pal Aaron

507
00:28:44,360 --> 00:28:46,280
Spears.
It's called Watch Challenge.

508
00:28:46,280 --> 00:28:51,640
So basically the, the format of
that is like we will pick a a

509
00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:56,400
specific genre or, or something
and then we'll watch 3 movies

510
00:28:57,360 --> 00:29:01,120
and we won't reveal anything to
each other until we record it.

511
00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:05,720
So, you know, for one of the
episodes that's coming up is the

512
00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:10,800
the hidden gems of 2024.
So we, we selected 3 films that

513
00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:14,880
we think were underappreciated.
But then we also sometimes we'll

514
00:29:14,880 --> 00:29:18,280
just pick a year and you know,
we'll, we'll watch a couple

515
00:29:18,280 --> 00:29:22,600
movies from that year.
So but you can also find me on

516
00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:30,640
Instagram at E end Mike ENDMIKE.
I made a a documentary several

517
00:29:30,640 --> 00:29:34,360
years ago about the old radio
station 107.9 the end.

518
00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:39,080
So a lot of my social medias
will always have end in the in

519
00:29:39,080 --> 00:29:43,000
the in the handles.
Oh, in Cleveland film.com.

520
00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:45,680
If you ever have any questions
about film making in Cleveland.

521
00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:48,440
Yeah, you know, thank you so
much for having me.

522
00:29:48,440 --> 00:29:50,720
This is this has been great.
All right, we'll be back after

523
00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:53,960
the break talking with the team
behind Barrel Craft Spirits.

524
00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:55,240
Join us then.
Thanks again, Mike.

525
00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:04,480
All right, everybody, it is the
moment that we have been waiting

526
00:30:04,480 --> 00:30:08,320
for on this podcast for gosh,
Brad, 3-4 years now.

527
00:30:08,720 --> 00:30:12,560
This is the pinnacle, Bob.
It's a momentous occasion

528
00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:16,760
because really talking with two
people that they don't even know

529
00:30:16,760 --> 00:30:19,640
this about themselves yet, two
of our favorite people in the

530
00:30:19,640 --> 00:30:22,440
whiskey industry, and it's
literally the first time we've

531
00:30:22,440 --> 00:30:25,200
talked to either one of them.
Yeah.

532
00:30:25,560 --> 00:30:30,080
Barrel craft Spirits, guys, if
you've been listening to the

533
00:30:30,080 --> 00:30:34,680
podcast for long enough, you
know that we geek out over their

534
00:30:34,680 --> 00:30:39,040
products consistently.
I like, I don't think there's

535
00:30:39,120 --> 00:30:42,720
anything we've drank from them
that we haven't at the very

536
00:30:42,720 --> 00:30:46,920
least been like, this is so far
above average that you have to

537
00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:50,160
buy a bottle all the way to
barrel.

538
00:30:50,160 --> 00:30:53,200
Seagrass is a perfect whiskey
that cannot be improved upon.

539
00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:56,360
Yeah.
So like this is it, Bob?

540
00:30:56,920 --> 00:30:59,680
Brad, we literally have been
talking about how in this this

541
00:30:59,680 --> 00:31:02,440
trove of samples that we've
inherited from a good friend of

542
00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:06,880
ours, we have a $40,000 sample
of the Dalmore waiting for us.

543
00:31:07,760 --> 00:31:12,680
And at its very best, that
whiskey can only match the score

544
00:31:12,680 --> 00:31:15,360
that you gave Beryl Seagrass a
couple seasons ago.

545
00:31:15,800 --> 00:31:17,520
That is an accurate statement,
Bob.

546
00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:19,680
Well, we won't.
We won't make them wait any

547
00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:21,120
longer.
We won't bury the lead here.

548
00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:24,800
We're sitting down with Joe,
Beatrice and Tripp Stimpson from

549
00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:27,280
Barrel Craft Spirits.
Guys, how are you today?

550
00:31:28,560 --> 00:31:29,400
Great.
Good morning.

551
00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:29,960
Great.
Good morning.

552
00:31:29,960 --> 00:31:31,000
Thanks for having us.
Yeah.

553
00:31:31,040 --> 00:31:33,560
Absolutely.
That that's that is quite the

554
00:31:33,760 --> 00:31:37,400
introduction and we really
appreciate it and we're really

555
00:31:38,040 --> 00:31:41,560
honored that you feel that way.
Guys, we have so many questions

556
00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:44,280
we've been wanting to ask you
for for so long, but I think the

557
00:31:44,280 --> 00:31:47,920
only place to start Brad,
because I know that Joe has a

558
00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:51,400
marketing background and so he
had to sign off on this at some

559
00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:54,520
point.
Who is the genius behind the

560
00:31:54,520 --> 00:31:57,920
barrel Slushy at the Kentucky
Bourbon Festival every year?

561
00:31:58,000 --> 00:31:59,760
It's the most important question
we have.

562
00:32:02,360 --> 00:32:03,240
It's Nick.
It's Nick.

563
00:32:03,280 --> 00:32:05,520
It's Nick Christensen.
Oh man, it's not.

564
00:32:05,520 --> 00:32:09,360
She's wonderful.
She's amazing, she nailed that

565
00:32:09,360 --> 00:32:12,760
thing and every year it is just
the crowd favorite.

566
00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:15,320
I, I won't drink anything else
at the festival.

567
00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:19,080
I I know we're there to like
experience whiskey, but the the

568
00:32:19,080 --> 00:32:22,520
barrel slushy is where it's at.
You put the flutter on it?

569
00:32:22,520 --> 00:32:24,680
Or do you have it as is?
Yeah, OK.

570
00:32:25,560 --> 00:32:29,200
Oh yeah, Brad just walks up to
people and tells him like I'm 17

571
00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:33,040
slushies deep at this point.
You know, like we measure time

572
00:32:33,040 --> 00:32:34,560
in slushies throughout that
weekend it.

573
00:32:34,920 --> 00:32:38,720
It's I'm sorry, it's so hard
because you just like when we

574
00:32:38,720 --> 00:32:41,640
get there, I want to have one
and then I want to have another,

575
00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:46,160
but we have to, we're working.
Oh, yeah, we, I've, I've seen

576
00:32:46,160 --> 00:32:48,080
you at the festival.
You're working hard, you're

577
00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:50,680
signing bottles, you're
schmoozing, you're doing all the

578
00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:52,560
things.
It's pretty impressive.

579
00:32:53,600 --> 00:32:57,120
It's hard, so it's hard to be
it's I'm jealous you can have 17

580
00:32:57,120 --> 00:32:59,840
because we can't.
Well, we definitely can't, and I

581
00:32:59,840 --> 00:33:02,760
didn't mean to go this deep on
the slushy, but I have to say

582
00:33:02,960 --> 00:33:05,560
part of what I respect about it
so much is that you guys are

583
00:33:05,560 --> 00:33:08,080
obviously mixing in your own
whiskeys.

584
00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:11,560
And I think that the lowest
proof whiskey that you offer is

585
00:33:11,560 --> 00:33:14,640
100 proof.
So it's not as if you guys are

586
00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:17,040
skimping on the product that
you're putting in the slushy

587
00:33:17,040 --> 00:33:19,280
either.
It's like, I think it's a

588
00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:24,400
microcosm, Brad, of the level of
dedication and craft and not

589
00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:26,560
cutting corners that we see from
barrel.

590
00:33:26,920 --> 00:33:30,040
And so thank you Barrel Slushy
for providing us the perfect

591
00:33:30,040 --> 00:33:32,520
entry point into this
conversation today.

592
00:33:33,360 --> 00:33:37,520
Guys, I, I'm curious if you can
give us just the briefest or the

593
00:33:37,520 --> 00:33:42,400
most 30,000 foot overview of the
history, the establishment of

594
00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:44,040
the brand.
Because when we first started

595
00:33:44,040 --> 00:33:47,280
trying you, you know, you're
still considered kind of a, a

596
00:33:47,280 --> 00:33:50,160
new player in the game, but
you'd already accumulated

597
00:33:50,160 --> 00:33:53,960
probably five years of accolades
and recognition and respect in

598
00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:57,240
the industry.
And so it felt to us like,

599
00:33:57,640 --> 00:34:01,080
here's a brand that has really
quickly carved out its own niche

600
00:34:01,080 --> 00:34:04,120
that feels like it's punching
above its weight a little bit in

601
00:34:04,120 --> 00:34:06,880
the industry.
And we've always been so curious

602
00:34:06,880 --> 00:34:11,719
about how are you able to so
rapidly make that ascent?

603
00:34:12,440 --> 00:34:18,400
I'll start then you can pick up
OK, well, the the inception of

604
00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:21,520
the company and we talk about it
is is really is all true.

605
00:34:21,960 --> 00:34:25,440
It started out I was my wife and
I, my wife Janet and I were up

606
00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:32,320
at a, at a distillery and I, I
had had some experience in

607
00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:35,239
spirits marketing and
advertising for, for many years.

608
00:34:36,400 --> 00:34:41,480
And, and I was thinking about
new things to do and had this

609
00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:45,000
moment of revelation when it was
like, why don't we build a

610
00:34:45,000 --> 00:34:47,880
distillery where we were up at
Hudson, We're at Hudson.

611
00:34:47,880 --> 00:34:50,719
And it was, it was a beautiful
spot and it was really cool and

612
00:34:50,719 --> 00:34:52,280
it was fun.
And I was like I said, they're

613
00:34:52,280 --> 00:34:54,280
like, why don't we do this?
We can do this.

614
00:34:54,280 --> 00:34:59,560
We can make a product and and so
I, I knew I wanted to do

615
00:34:59,560 --> 00:35:04,160
something in so so wanted to say
in the spirits business and it

616
00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:06,760
it took me exactly one week of
going home.

617
00:35:06,840 --> 00:35:09,360
So first I got the OK, I got the
knot from Home Office.

618
00:35:09,360 --> 00:35:11,240
We're OK, we're doing it OK,
this is good.

619
00:35:11,560 --> 00:35:14,240
It took me one week to figure
out that I did not want to build

620
00:35:14,240 --> 00:35:17,760
a distillery.
And it was, it was for all the

621
00:35:17,760 --> 00:35:20,040
reasons that we talk about and
the people know.

622
00:35:20,720 --> 00:35:24,800
And so then we so then it was
what can we do?

623
00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:27,680
So it was focus on the what's in
the bottle of the product,

624
00:35:28,040 --> 00:35:31,600
create a product that is
differentiated and let the

625
00:35:31,680 --> 00:35:35,520
market, let people let the
experts validate what we're

626
00:35:35,520 --> 00:35:40,280
doing and, and, and if they like
it, we will keep doing and do

627
00:35:40,280 --> 00:35:42,520
more.
So it was one year later, I

628
00:35:42,520 --> 00:35:47,840
bottled, everything was done.
We bottled in Bardstown and one

629
00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:52,360
year and one month after that
day, I put 5 cases in the trunk

630
00:35:52,360 --> 00:35:55,480
of my car, went into New York
City, went to the top five

631
00:35:55,480 --> 00:35:57,560
accounts, different most
difficult accounts I could think

632
00:35:57,560 --> 00:36:00,840
of and walked in and tried doing
hand selling.

633
00:36:01,560 --> 00:36:04,640
And the first account I went
into his Park Ave. one in

634
00:36:04,640 --> 00:36:07,080
spirits, which is they're like
right next to Grand Central.

635
00:36:07,080 --> 00:36:10,640
It's it is like really well
known, like high end store and

636
00:36:10,640 --> 00:36:12,880
they bought 5 cases and I'm
like, well how hard can this

637
00:36:12,880 --> 00:36:16,920
thing be?
Yeah, little did I know.

638
00:36:17,120 --> 00:36:18,720
So it was all downhill from
there.

639
00:36:18,760 --> 00:36:21,760
But anyway, anyway, so that was
really the beginning of the

640
00:36:21,760 --> 00:36:26,280
company and and then I opened
the 1st 100 accounts and and

641
00:36:26,280 --> 00:36:31,440
then was all of our operations
were always in Kentucky.

642
00:36:31,440 --> 00:36:34,800
So I did the first one on my own
and then I met Trip like right

643
00:36:34,800 --> 00:36:38,960
after that and you pick it up
from there.

644
00:36:39,200 --> 00:36:43,840
So when I when I met Joe, I was
actually, I was a consultant at

645
00:36:43,840 --> 00:36:48,240
the time and I was working
helping people.

646
00:36:48,240 --> 00:36:51,760
You know, it's sort of big
picture, understand the industry

647
00:36:52,120 --> 00:36:57,240
that the real world reality of
building, owning and operating a

648
00:36:57,240 --> 00:37:00,520
distillery because it is not
the, you know, the bowl of

649
00:37:00,520 --> 00:37:03,600
cherries that so many people
think or thought that it was.

650
00:37:04,160 --> 00:37:08,120
And so actually spent a lot of
my time talking people out of

651
00:37:08,120 --> 00:37:12,840
building distilleries and trying
to convince them that building

652
00:37:12,840 --> 00:37:16,680
the brand is the way to start.
It's less capital intensive.

653
00:37:16,680 --> 00:37:20,440
And if the brand is successful,
then that success can help

654
00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:24,720
generate the funds needed to
build whatever support facility

655
00:37:24,720 --> 00:37:28,040
that you, you would need to
continue growth of your brand.

656
00:37:28,040 --> 00:37:30,400
And a lot of people listen to a
lot of people didn't.

657
00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:34,240
And you know, either way, it was
an enjoyable Rd.

658
00:37:34,240 --> 00:37:37,280
But that was sort of the, the,
the clinching moment for Joe and

659
00:37:37,280 --> 00:37:41,080
me is that as, as we, when we
first met, Joe had already

660
00:37:41,080 --> 00:37:43,600
decided that the distillery
really wasn't something that he

661
00:37:43,600 --> 00:37:46,600
wanted hands like, OK, well,
that's, that's a pretty

662
00:37:46,600 --> 00:37:48,840
interesting take because
everybody else I talked to is

663
00:37:49,160 --> 00:37:51,880
where, where do I start when I
went to build this distillery

664
00:37:51,880 --> 00:37:53,360
that I need to be in this
business.

665
00:37:53,920 --> 00:37:58,720
And so we, we had already sort
of unknowingly aligned on the

666
00:37:58,720 --> 00:38:02,960
way the, the, the way that we
saw the industry and, and the

667
00:38:02,960 --> 00:38:07,120
path forward.
And you know, instead of doing

668
00:38:07,480 --> 00:38:10,000
to the distillery to create all
of the different types of

669
00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:13,600
whiskeys that we wanted to, we
decided to leverage whiskeys

670
00:38:13,600 --> 00:38:17,880
that were already available in
the different markets and find

671
00:38:17,880 --> 00:38:20,480
ways to build unique
complexities and finished

672
00:38:20,480 --> 00:38:22,640
products and you know offer
those through the brand.

673
00:38:23,080 --> 00:38:27,160
And I, I think that's the most
fascinating element of barrel

674
00:38:27,360 --> 00:38:32,000
cause Trippet seems like you had
this idea percolating for years

675
00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:34,160
of like, you know, you don't
need to build your own

676
00:38:34,160 --> 00:38:37,360
distillery.
It feels like barrel has become

677
00:38:37,440 --> 00:38:42,880
the, the platonic ideal of what
you had been thinking about all

678
00:38:42,880 --> 00:38:45,840
those years ago.
And part of that process of

679
00:38:45,840 --> 00:38:50,280
barrel becoming such a huge name
in the industry has been the

680
00:38:50,280 --> 00:38:55,840
redemption of the idea of
sourcing and blending whiskeys.

681
00:38:56,240 --> 00:38:59,760
And so I'm like really curious
to hear your guys's perspective

682
00:38:59,760 --> 00:39:04,600
on how those two terms went from
like somewhat of a four letter

683
00:39:04,600 --> 00:39:11,120
word into like I, I would say
it's almost some of the premier

684
00:39:11,120 --> 00:39:14,400
of the industry now is people
who know how to blend and source

685
00:39:14,400 --> 00:39:17,280
good whiskeys.
Yeah, you know that it's such a

686
00:39:17,280 --> 00:39:18,560
I'll start and then trick and
jump in.

687
00:39:18,840 --> 00:39:22,920
One of the funniest things to me
is when I, when we, when I

688
00:39:22,920 --> 00:39:27,960
started the brand and, and you
look around and this is, this is

689
00:39:27,960 --> 00:39:31,840
not accurate, but you know, like
6 distilleries making 100 and

690
00:39:31,880 --> 00:39:36,480
100 brands.
And so the, the notion that that

691
00:39:36,520 --> 00:39:40,240
everything was absolutely
dedicated was just not true.

692
00:39:41,560 --> 00:39:46,760
And, and it was, it's, it was
there's really 2 sides of this

693
00:39:46,760 --> 00:39:48,760
business.
There's the production and

694
00:39:48,760 --> 00:39:50,440
product side and there's the
marketing side.

695
00:39:51,120 --> 00:39:55,120
And, and the the marketing side,
you know, weaves a story or

696
00:39:55,120 --> 00:39:57,560
creates a story and makes up the
story of whatever.

697
00:39:58,600 --> 00:40:01,440
And no, marketing doesn't do
that, Joe and.

698
00:40:02,680 --> 00:40:07,400
This is the production side that
is, that is, it is one of the

699
00:40:07,400 --> 00:40:11,400
most, it was one of the, one of
the nicest experience I ever had

700
00:40:11,400 --> 00:40:15,000
in my life because it, it's a
group of people that are there

701
00:40:15,000 --> 00:40:16,520
to help each other work
together.

702
00:40:16,520 --> 00:40:19,520
And, and you know, when we first
started, we could, we could

703
00:40:19,560 --> 00:40:22,720
basically walk into any place
and have a conversation with

704
00:40:22,880 --> 00:40:25,120
people, right?
And, and it was really, it was

705
00:40:25,120 --> 00:40:27,160
really a different, it was a
different environment.

706
00:40:27,960 --> 00:40:31,200
And so it was a very felt like a
very natural thing and, and it

707
00:40:31,200 --> 00:40:37,960
was almost eye opening to me
with the resistance that that

708
00:40:37,960 --> 00:40:40,240
that was in the market.
I, I'll tell you one and one

709
00:40:40,240 --> 00:40:45,240
story was I was in a, I was in
a, a really nice hotel in

710
00:40:45,240 --> 00:40:52,120
Brooklyn, NY and I met with the
buyer and it was, we tasted the

711
00:40:52,120 --> 00:40:55,880
product and it was he, he was
like, I did the thing you're not

712
00:40:55,880 --> 00:40:57,800
supposed to do because I didn't
know you're not supposed to do

713
00:40:57,800 --> 00:41:00,160
this.
I said, well, what do you think?

714
00:41:02,320 --> 00:41:04,640
He looked at me and he goes,
this is amazing.

715
00:41:04,640 --> 00:41:06,080
It's really great.
I love it.

716
00:41:06,520 --> 00:41:08,480
I was like, OK, so we're going
to get it.

717
00:41:08,480 --> 00:41:11,040
We're going to put an order in.
He goes, Oh, no, absolutely not.

718
00:41:12,800 --> 00:41:17,720
I said, OK, why?
And he said, well, because this

719
00:41:17,720 --> 00:41:21,920
is an industrial product, then I
need to have, I need to know

720
00:41:21,920 --> 00:41:25,720
what the distiller's intent was.
OK, it took everything for me

721
00:41:25,720 --> 00:41:29,280
not to say the distiller's
intent was to make money, but

722
00:41:29,440 --> 00:41:32,400
OK, we can say that we paid it
straight.

723
00:41:32,920 --> 00:41:36,520
And, and so it was, it was an
interesting, again, another one

724
00:41:36,520 --> 00:41:37,960
of those eye opening
experiences.

725
00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:41,720
And, and so then, then, then we
had then it became a series of

726
00:41:41,720 --> 00:41:45,720
different things that we
discovered and fill in some of

727
00:41:45,720 --> 00:41:48,160
these stories because, because
this was this was just

728
00:41:48,160 --> 00:41:50,360
incredible to us, some of the
things that we heard.

729
00:41:50,720 --> 00:41:54,360
I think from looking at this
through a different lens a

730
00:41:54,360 --> 00:41:57,760
little bit, if you go back to
when we started, the world was a

731
00:41:57,760 --> 00:42:01,840
little bit different and looking
at the bourbon industry from a

732
00:42:01,840 --> 00:42:06,080
consumer perspective, blending
was not really the thing, right.

733
00:42:06,080 --> 00:42:08,680
Like Joe was saying, most of the
the whiskeys were made by a

734
00:42:08,680 --> 00:42:12,960
handful of distillers and the,
the majority of consumers didn't

735
00:42:12,960 --> 00:42:16,520
quite understand the business as
it as it was at the time.

736
00:42:17,040 --> 00:42:19,480
And so if you said that I have
this product, but this other

737
00:42:19,480 --> 00:42:23,320
distillery makes it for me, the
majority of people didn't even

738
00:42:23,320 --> 00:42:24,720
understand that that was a
thing.

739
00:42:24,720 --> 00:42:27,520
And the ones who did just kind
of wrote it off is that's just

740
00:42:27,520 --> 00:42:29,960
the way they run their business.
They get somebody else to do it.

741
00:42:30,240 --> 00:42:35,480
And it really wasn't a big deal.
And so when we started putting

742
00:42:35,480 --> 00:42:38,960
blends together and owning the
fact that we were blending and

743
00:42:38,960 --> 00:42:42,800
we didn't have a distillery and
we weren't going to build one in

744
00:42:42,800 --> 00:42:48,040
the near future, we, we would go
to some of these whiskey shows

745
00:42:48,040 --> 00:42:50,760
and we, we'd be talking about
our products and pouring

746
00:42:50,760 --> 00:42:54,800
samples.
And one of the, the, the, the

747
00:42:54,800 --> 00:42:58,560
best responses I like to talk
about is had this person come to

748
00:42:58,560 --> 00:43:02,760
the table and try this, this
with the, the batch that we,

749
00:43:02,880 --> 00:43:05,200
that we currently had.
And they were talking about how

750
00:43:05,200 --> 00:43:07,040
amazing this was.
And they were saying, where's

751
00:43:07,040 --> 00:43:08,680
your distillery?
Where do you make this stuff?

752
00:43:08,680 --> 00:43:11,440
And we were telling them that we
don't have a distillery and that

753
00:43:11,440 --> 00:43:13,040
we source bourbon.
They're like, what?

754
00:43:13,200 --> 00:43:15,720
This isn't your bourbon?
And so we have to go through

755
00:43:15,720 --> 00:43:19,400
this whole explanation about how
there's a commodities market for

756
00:43:19,400 --> 00:43:21,240
bourbon and how we actually buy
this.

757
00:43:21,240 --> 00:43:24,240
And we we focus on flavors and
putting blends together.

758
00:43:24,240 --> 00:43:26,160
And she says, well, that's
illegal.

759
00:43:26,440 --> 00:43:30,160
You can't do that.
And I and I said, you know,

760
00:43:30,160 --> 00:43:32,880
ma'am, I can.
Try and go Oh no, I didn't know.

761
00:43:34,960 --> 00:43:36,880
Thanks for cluing me in here.
We'll, we'll do something.

762
00:43:37,360 --> 00:43:41,000
Now.
No, but it, it just goes to show

763
00:43:41,000 --> 00:43:44,880
that that there was, it was not
clear to the industry, it was

764
00:43:44,880 --> 00:43:48,320
not clear to the consumer that
all of these things were

765
00:43:48,320 --> 00:43:52,360
possibilities.
And So what Joe and I decided

766
00:43:52,360 --> 00:43:55,480
early on is that we want to be
as honest and transparent about

767
00:43:55,480 --> 00:44:00,560
everything that we're doing and
try to shed some light on this

768
00:44:00,560 --> 00:44:02,600
process that that we're going
through.

769
00:44:03,200 --> 00:44:07,600
In addition to that, if we are
not going to have a distillery,

770
00:44:07,760 --> 00:44:11,080
there's only a handful of ways
that we can go about finding and

771
00:44:11,080 --> 00:44:13,160
utilizing different flavors,
right?

772
00:44:13,480 --> 00:44:15,840
And so as we're focusing on
these products that we're

773
00:44:15,840 --> 00:44:19,120
creating and putting in the
bottle, we have to be very

774
00:44:19,320 --> 00:44:23,160
specific with the the qualities
of whiskeys that we're looking

775
00:44:23,160 --> 00:44:26,800
for, the types of barrels that
we're using, the types of

776
00:44:26,800 --> 00:44:29,480
finishing cast that we're using.
And then how all of those things

777
00:44:29,480 --> 00:44:33,560
sort of play together in the
same pond, if you will.

778
00:44:34,520 --> 00:44:39,880
And and so we, we have been, we
worked very hard to be as open

779
00:44:39,880 --> 00:44:43,520
and honest about what that looks
like and what that process is

780
00:44:43,520 --> 00:44:46,240
for us.
And so that transparency has

781
00:44:46,240 --> 00:44:49,640
always been important to us.
Even, I mean, even our bottle is

782
00:44:49,640 --> 00:44:52,800
a metaphor for transparency.
When you look at it, what we

783
00:44:52,800 --> 00:44:55,800
want to do is show off and
highlight the what was in the

784
00:44:55,800 --> 00:44:58,400
bottle.
And, and so we've always been as

785
00:44:58,400 --> 00:45:01,080
transparent as possible.
And, and even most recently,

786
00:45:01,080 --> 00:45:04,960
we're now we're creating what we
call derived mash bills because

787
00:45:04,960 --> 00:45:06,720
people ask what's the mash bill?
What's the mash bill?

788
00:45:06,720 --> 00:45:09,600
And it was like it there.
This is made-up of many, many

789
00:45:09,600 --> 00:45:11,680
different ones.
So we decided if we just do the

790
00:45:11,680 --> 00:45:14,480
arithmetic, we can come up with
what the mash bill is by all the

791
00:45:14,480 --> 00:45:16,000
things we put in there and, and
do it.

792
00:45:16,360 --> 00:45:19,320
But the other thing I think I
think that really is important

793
00:45:19,320 --> 00:45:25,320
to note is it is if you jump
back in time, the sophistication

794
00:45:25,400 --> 00:45:29,560
of the consumer, of the whiskey
consumer, it it in 10 years is,

795
00:45:29,720 --> 00:45:32,760
is geometrically advanced.
Skyrocketed.

796
00:45:32,760 --> 00:45:34,760
Yeah.
When we, I mean the, the thing

797
00:45:34,760 --> 00:45:37,880
that we, the question we would
be answering at the beginning

798
00:45:37,880 --> 00:45:39,800
was what's the char level of the
barrel like?

799
00:45:40,520 --> 00:45:44,040
OK, all right.
And that was again that was sort

800
00:45:44,040 --> 00:45:46,840
of a marketing term because it's
an easy thing to talk about like

801
00:45:46,840 --> 00:45:50,240
it's up jar 3, jar 4.
And now what we're talking about

802
00:45:50,240 --> 00:45:54,320
is this particular barrel that
we are using that we are using

803
00:45:54,320 --> 00:46:00,400
for a further maturation product
project is compared to this one.

804
00:46:00,680 --> 00:46:04,880
And one of the differences, this
one was a three-year old air

805
00:46:04,880 --> 00:46:09,000
dried stave and this was a one
year old kiln dried stave.

806
00:46:09,240 --> 00:46:12,200
And there are differences that
that is the subtlety that we're

807
00:46:12,200 --> 00:46:13,720
dealing with at this point.
That's how.

808
00:46:13,760 --> 00:46:16,520
That's how much more
sophisticated the market is.

809
00:46:17,280 --> 00:46:19,480
Well, if I could kind of go off
of that and zoom out a little

810
00:46:19,480 --> 00:46:21,200
bit.
So my, my day job is in

811
00:46:21,200 --> 00:46:22,760
marketing.
So I always like to look at

812
00:46:22,760 --> 00:46:26,120
brands like yours from try to
get my mind around what's the

813
00:46:26,120 --> 00:46:29,280
marketing angle here.
And I think you guys definitely

814
00:46:29,280 --> 00:46:32,440
had an uphill battle both with
what you've been describing as

815
00:46:32,440 --> 00:46:35,680
pushback within the industry,
but also because you know, when

816
00:46:35,680 --> 00:46:37,920
you're, when you're marketing a
brand, you're thinking about

817
00:46:37,920 --> 00:46:40,280
products versus services.
Do we sell a product?

818
00:46:40,280 --> 00:46:42,760
Do we sell a service?
And I think you guys kind of had

819
00:46:42,760 --> 00:46:45,400
to thread the needle between
both of those things because the

820
00:46:45,400 --> 00:46:49,400
brand that you're trying to sell
to people is you can trust our

821
00:46:49,400 --> 00:46:53,200
product, but it's because we've
built your trust in our ability

822
00:46:53,200 --> 00:46:55,760
to blend these things.
And so you're kind of selling

823
00:46:55,760 --> 00:46:58,960
yourself as a service as well.
And I think that, you know, you

824
00:46:58,960 --> 00:47:02,320
make your bones based on how
good those initial few products

825
00:47:02,320 --> 00:47:06,920
are, but it becomes every time I
see a bottle of barrel on the

826
00:47:06,920 --> 00:47:09,920
shelf, I'm looking at it and I'm
saying, well, I, I trust these

827
00:47:09,920 --> 00:47:11,080
guys.
I've never heard of some of

828
00:47:11,080 --> 00:47:13,160
these things that they're
blending it or that, you know,

829
00:47:13,160 --> 00:47:16,280
that they're finishing in.
I've never tried Martinique rum

830
00:47:16,280 --> 00:47:19,760
but I I trust them at this point
because I know that they've

831
00:47:19,760 --> 00:47:21,400
knocked it out of the park in
the past.

832
00:47:22,160 --> 00:47:23,640
OK, good.
There's like 9 questions in

833
00:47:23,640 --> 00:47:25,120
there.
So let me let me go back.

834
00:47:25,640 --> 00:47:31,040
Let me start with the first one.
The the marketing of it from my

835
00:47:31,040 --> 00:47:34,680
perspective is the question
becomes what need are we

836
00:47:34,680 --> 00:47:37,720
fulfilling that, that and that
that's the starting point.

837
00:47:38,120 --> 00:47:44,400
And, and for us it was, it was,
we are, we are dedicated to

838
00:47:44,400 --> 00:47:47,800
putting the best possible
product we can in that bottle

839
00:47:47,800 --> 00:47:51,040
based on whatever and you know,
ingredients, whatever we call

840
00:47:51,040 --> 00:47:52,520
them ingredients, people go
like, well, what are your

841
00:47:52,520 --> 00:47:54,520
additives?
We an ingredient to us is a

842
00:47:54,520 --> 00:47:57,280
barrel, like what, what barrels
are we are we using?

843
00:47:57,880 --> 00:48:04,680
And, and that was and, and part
of that goal, the objective at

844
00:48:04,680 --> 00:48:09,280
standard for me was you have one
chance.

845
00:48:09,280 --> 00:48:12,440
We're asking people to make a
big commitment when they, when

846
00:48:12,440 --> 00:48:15,760
they buy our product and you
have one chance to do it right.

847
00:48:15,840 --> 00:48:19,640
And, and I look, we're all
consumers and I'm cheap.

848
00:48:19,640 --> 00:48:21,680
Like we taste everything.
And I go out there and when I

849
00:48:21,680 --> 00:48:25,560
buy something and, and you know,
and pick a number, I don't care

850
00:48:25,560 --> 00:48:30,760
if it's $30.00 or $100.
And it is not good or

851
00:48:30,760 --> 00:48:35,120
disappointing or, and OK,
granted, we're, I'm the most

852
00:48:35,120 --> 00:48:37,400
critical person on the planet.
So I mean, I can find fault with

853
00:48:37,400 --> 00:48:39,440
anything.
So I'm the wrong one.

854
00:48:39,440 --> 00:48:43,560
But but when it's so far off
that it's not drinkable, you've

855
00:48:43,560 --> 00:48:48,680
lost me as a customer forever.
And so that, that, that

856
00:48:50,200 --> 00:48:53,840
determination in our product is
something that drives us.

857
00:48:54,080 --> 00:48:57,960
We will not put something in the
bottle that that that we don't

858
00:48:57,960 --> 00:49:00,080
think is excellent.
You may like one over another,

859
00:49:00,320 --> 00:49:02,880
but we're not going to put
something in there because we

860
00:49:02,880 --> 00:49:05,040
had to make an upper.
We're not doing that, you know,

861
00:49:05,320 --> 00:49:08,320
and, and, and then the next
question becomes somebody always

862
00:49:08,320 --> 00:49:11,920
asks us what happens with waste.
And the fact is, there is no

863
00:49:11,920 --> 00:49:14,960
waste if something is not going
the way we want it, it's an

864
00:49:14,960 --> 00:49:19,360
ingredient for something else.
Can we can we can blend away or

865
00:49:19,480 --> 00:49:21,720
not blend away.
We can use it as a modifier to a

866
00:49:21,720 --> 00:49:23,400
different blend that we need.
May have something.

867
00:49:24,600 --> 00:49:28,880
And I'm kind of wondering, you
know, when you guys are for not

868
00:49:28,880 --> 00:49:32,440
even just formulating blends,
but thinking about your own

869
00:49:32,440 --> 00:49:35,920
individual kind of product
differentiation, right.

870
00:49:35,920 --> 00:49:38,640
So you've got your your
different blends of the bourbon

871
00:49:38,640 --> 00:49:42,040
where we tried batch 36 and prep
for this interview.

872
00:49:42,320 --> 00:49:44,800
But then you've also got your
cask finish series.

873
00:49:44,800 --> 00:49:47,960
You've got your like seagrass
where you have the entry level

874
00:49:47,960 --> 00:49:50,440
seagrass and then the gold and
the silver.

875
00:49:50,440 --> 00:49:55,680
And how do you try to make sure
that there's kind of

876
00:49:55,880 --> 00:49:58,760
cohesiveness throughout all
those different verticals and

877
00:49:58,760 --> 00:50:03,800
skews, but to provide enough
differentiation between them as

878
00:50:03,800 --> 00:50:05,720
well that people feel like
they're getting a good variety

879
00:50:05,720 --> 00:50:08,080
of things?
A lot of it we just kind of

880
00:50:08,080 --> 00:50:12,520
find, so we, we do lots of
experimentation and we're always

881
00:50:12,520 --> 00:50:14,840
very flavour focused.
Like everybody says, well, how

882
00:50:14,840 --> 00:50:17,880
do you know which flavour
profile file you're going for or

883
00:50:18,120 --> 00:50:19,680
you know what, what's the
target?

884
00:50:19,680 --> 00:50:23,720
And in a lot of ways there's,
there's not really a hard and

885
00:50:23,720 --> 00:50:27,000
fast target.
And So what, what we've, what

886
00:50:27,000 --> 00:50:32,240
we've learned over the years is
to sort of be, be comfortable in

887
00:50:32,240 --> 00:50:35,040
the chaos.
As I'll say, there is this

888
00:50:35,040 --> 00:50:38,680
unknown of the direction that
we're going to go with a lot of

889
00:50:38,680 --> 00:50:42,080
these things.
So we let we really let the

890
00:50:42,080 --> 00:50:45,240
whiskey sort of dictate to us
what's missing.

891
00:50:45,600 --> 00:50:47,760
And so when we, when we taste
some of these things or we

892
00:50:47,760 --> 00:50:50,280
create some of these, these
products or these experiments,

893
00:50:50,520 --> 00:50:52,120
we'll taste and go, man, this is
good.

894
00:50:52,120 --> 00:50:54,680
But what you know, it would be
better if it had XY or Z.

895
00:50:55,080 --> 00:50:57,480
And so then the next step is go
find XY and Z and put it in

896
00:50:57,480 --> 00:50:58,880
there and see if it answers the
question.

897
00:50:59,240 --> 00:51:02,960
And so we, we go through this
process and really the, the

898
00:51:02,960 --> 00:51:05,440
whiskey's, you know, the
different grain bills, the

899
00:51:05,440 --> 00:51:08,800
different ages, the different
types of Coopers that are used,

900
00:51:09,040 --> 00:51:12,760
those really build in the
differentiation within

901
00:51:12,760 --> 00:51:15,280
themselves.
And so the whiskey sort of pull

902
00:51:15,280 --> 00:51:19,160
themselves in certain directions
that really earmark what those

903
00:51:19,160 --> 00:51:23,600
differentiators are and those
tend to be the products that we

904
00:51:23,600 --> 00:51:26,400
release.
Trip, I want to ask you this as

905
00:51:26,400 --> 00:51:30,440
chief whiskey scientist.
So a couple years ago, we had

906
00:51:30,600 --> 00:51:33,320
Jackie Zykan on the show when
she was still with Brown Forman.

907
00:51:33,320 --> 00:51:35,360
I don't know if you ever
overlapped with her, but in your

908
00:51:35,360 --> 00:51:39,960
days of Brown Forman, but she
was doing the old Forrester 150

909
00:51:39,960 --> 00:51:41,120
blend.
At that time.

910
00:51:41,120 --> 00:51:43,720
It was was super premium.
They only did, I think 3 batches

911
00:51:43,720 --> 00:51:46,240
of it.
And she told us that she

912
00:51:46,400 --> 00:51:50,760
physically made that blend on
her kitchen counter in a bucket

913
00:51:51,320 --> 00:51:53,440
and which is just incredible to
hear.

914
00:51:53,760 --> 00:51:56,000
And I'm wondering just what
does, what does the

915
00:51:56,000 --> 00:51:59,760
experimentation process look
like at barrel Craft Spirits?

916
00:51:59,760 --> 00:52:02,920
And are you guys also using
bucket blending technology?

917
00:52:03,560 --> 00:52:08,680
Well, so I, I, I will say that
we don't currently use bucket

918
00:52:08,680 --> 00:52:13,960
blending technology, but when
it, when it does, when it comes

919
00:52:13,960 --> 00:52:18,080
to experimentation, we tend to
live outside of the proverbial

920
00:52:18,080 --> 00:52:22,760
box, let's say.
And so we'll take things that

921
00:52:23,360 --> 00:52:28,000
traditionally might not sound
like they should go together and

922
00:52:28,000 --> 00:52:31,600
just answer the question.
And so when we when we talk

923
00:52:31,600 --> 00:52:36,880
about doing experiments, it can
be hours in the lab taking just

924
00:52:36,880 --> 00:52:40,960
different types of whiskeys that
are available, just very raw,

925
00:52:40,960 --> 00:52:44,120
you know, a 5 or 10 year old
product from a certain

926
00:52:44,120 --> 00:52:47,200
distillery, analyzing that
whiskey for what it is and

927
00:52:47,200 --> 00:52:49,080
trying to figure out what else
we can do to it.

928
00:52:49,320 --> 00:52:52,120
And just spending the day
tasting different whiskeys and

929
00:52:52,120 --> 00:52:56,200
really building what becomes
the, the base layer for what can

930
00:52:56,200 --> 00:53:02,240
be a blend can be a finished
project, you know, or, or maybe

931
00:53:02,640 --> 00:53:07,600
we found a, a barrel that is
very unique in and of itself.

932
00:53:07,600 --> 00:53:11,160
And that one gets set aside for
something special in the future

933
00:53:11,160 --> 00:53:14,160
too.
So there's, there's this huge

934
00:53:14,160 --> 00:53:19,040
process that we go through that
we, that we, we fill in holes.

935
00:53:19,040 --> 00:53:22,040
I mean, that's, that's the best
way I can explain it is that

936
00:53:22,040 --> 00:53:25,800
there are there are the peaks
and valleys in the flavor

937
00:53:25,800 --> 00:53:28,080
profile.
And we want to find all the

938
00:53:28,080 --> 00:53:31,120
different flavors that we can to
put within that flavor spectrum

939
00:53:31,360 --> 00:53:34,360
so that we can get as much
complexity as we can.

940
00:53:34,560 --> 00:53:37,120
But we do it in a stepwise
fashion so that we don't

941
00:53:37,120 --> 00:53:41,600
overstep certain things.
I think also let me just, let me

942
00:53:41,600 --> 00:53:44,240
just this, this might help sort
of dimensionalize it a little

943
00:53:44,240 --> 00:53:48,520
bit because, because it's it,
when you talk about flavour and

944
00:53:48,520 --> 00:53:50,280
blending it, it's, it's
abstract.

945
00:53:50,280 --> 00:53:53,120
So we, when you visit us, we
have whiteboards all over the

946
00:53:53,120 --> 00:53:54,240
place.
And we're, you know, we have two

947
00:53:54,240 --> 00:53:59,640
different labs and we're, so we,
we will whiteboard a concept and

948
00:53:59,680 --> 00:54:02,920
then we begin thinking about
what we're, what we're trying to

949
00:54:02,920 --> 00:54:05,800
achieve in terms of a flavour
profile or how we want to

950
00:54:05,800 --> 00:54:07,760
differentiate it.
You know, when you think, when

951
00:54:07,760 --> 00:54:11,320
you a good, a tangible example
is when you look at our batches,

952
00:54:11,600 --> 00:54:14,800
they're all different and
they're intentionally blended

953
00:54:14,800 --> 00:54:18,160
differently.
And we back test, we blind, we

954
00:54:18,280 --> 00:54:20,640
everything we do is blind
tasting, but we back test to

955
00:54:20,640 --> 00:54:22,400
make sure that there's a
differentiation.

956
00:54:23,000 --> 00:54:25,760
So when we're developing
something, we may in the lab, we

957
00:54:25,760 --> 00:54:29,600
call them the lab lens, we might
do 100 different combinations.

958
00:54:30,040 --> 00:54:33,520
And that is everything from,
from making micro blends of two

959
00:54:33,520 --> 00:54:37,520
or three different whiskeys or
barrels or types of or different

960
00:54:37,520 --> 00:54:42,280
mash bills and coming up with
three or four core sort of

961
00:54:42,280 --> 00:54:44,840
ingredients that we then play
around with in different

962
00:54:44,840 --> 00:54:48,200
percentages.
So it's a for us, it's a, it is,

963
00:54:48,720 --> 00:54:51,640
you know, it, it's a very
complex process that we do in

964
00:54:51,640 --> 00:54:55,000
the lab and it's time consuming.
And so we spend and, and every

965
00:54:55,280 --> 00:54:58,120
product we put out, every batch
we put out is a new product.

966
00:54:58,400 --> 00:55:02,480
So it, it is this process we
apply to everything that we do.

967
00:55:02,800 --> 00:55:05,040
So we so we do that, we develop
it.

968
00:55:05,080 --> 00:55:08,400
And then we have we, we create
what we call the lab blend,

969
00:55:08,640 --> 00:55:12,400
which then is we need to scale
it.

970
00:55:12,400 --> 00:55:16,480
So, you know, we can, we can
make something taste incredible

971
00:55:16,480 --> 00:55:19,680
all day by filling up different
test tubes, but then you got to

972
00:55:19,680 --> 00:55:22,280
take it and make 5 or 10,000
gallons of it.

973
00:55:22,360 --> 00:55:26,480
And that's where the art, the
art science sort of moves into

974
00:55:26,480 --> 00:55:29,560
production.
And so now we bring in the

975
00:55:29,560 --> 00:55:32,080
barrels that we need, we put
them, we start dumping them and

976
00:55:32,080 --> 00:55:34,160
we put them into those component
pieces.

977
00:55:34,560 --> 00:55:37,000
We then start blending and we
blend.

978
00:55:37,000 --> 00:55:40,880
We, we do a step wise fashion
blending because there's still

979
00:55:40,880 --> 00:55:43,440
variance in everything that
we're doing and we have and to

980
00:55:43,440 --> 00:55:46,760
get to that ideal, we have to
take our time and blend those

981
00:55:46,760 --> 00:55:49,200
things.
So it's a very long, complicated

982
00:55:49,200 --> 00:55:52,240
process that we do and, and it's
it.

983
00:55:52,440 --> 00:55:56,480
And this is, this is where this
is what we do when we spend time

984
00:55:56,480 --> 00:55:59,720
blending.
And it's it, it is, it's not ten

985
00:55:59,760 --> 00:56:04,200
or five different tasting.
This is hundreds of different

986
00:56:04,440 --> 00:56:07,800
points of tasting.
Yeah, the, the fascinating thing

987
00:56:07,800 --> 00:56:11,120
for me about when Bob and I
started this podcast is I don't

988
00:56:11,120 --> 00:56:14,760
think either of us, Bob probably
more so than me, I don't think

989
00:56:14,760 --> 00:56:18,360
either of us had an appreciation
for how similar the world of

990
00:56:18,360 --> 00:56:21,520
movie making and whiskey making
is.

991
00:56:21,520 --> 00:56:26,440
Just as far as the art process
and the amount of like the

992
00:56:26,440 --> 00:56:30,520
marriage of science and
technology with just art and

993
00:56:30,520 --> 00:56:34,920
vision and like gut feelings on
what's going to go well together

994
00:56:34,920 --> 00:56:36,600
and what's going to work well
together.

995
00:56:37,120 --> 00:56:40,320
I say all that to just say I'm
curious about your guys's

996
00:56:40,320 --> 00:56:43,440
favorite movies.
Where are you guys at in the

997
00:56:43,440 --> 00:56:46,440
world of cinema?
We've had people on here who

998
00:56:46,440 --> 00:56:48,280
have talked about Kurosawa
films.

999
00:56:48,520 --> 00:56:51,800
We've had people on here who
talk about Friday with Ice Cube.

1000
00:56:52,160 --> 00:56:54,520
So, so where are you guys at on
the spectrum?

1001
00:56:54,520 --> 00:56:58,160
What's a a favorite movie or two
that you guys just always want

1002
00:56:58,160 --> 00:57:05,680
to come back to?
OK, you know, I, I love movies.

1003
00:57:05,720 --> 00:57:08,960
I've worked in the business a
little bit and, and I, and so

1004
00:57:09,000 --> 00:57:13,320
I've seen virtually, well, not
everything now, but everything

1005
00:57:13,320 --> 00:57:16,040
that I think was significant
from over the course of film

1006
00:57:16,040 --> 00:57:20,000
history and I and so my taste is
really eclectic.

1007
00:57:20,480 --> 00:57:23,400
You know, you mentioned Corsa, I
I could watch Hidden Fortress

1008
00:57:23,400 --> 00:57:24,520
every day.
Oh yeah.

1009
00:57:25,200 --> 00:57:28,160
Yeah, but I have to pick 2, so
this is OK.

1010
00:57:28,680 --> 00:57:33,680
I'll give you 2 for me that
maybe sum up my my world.

1011
00:57:34,240 --> 00:57:36,720
I like that.
Hobbs and Shaw.

1012
00:57:39,680 --> 00:57:44,440
All right, because you take I am
I am so in on the fast and five

1013
00:57:44,440 --> 00:57:47,480
year The Fast and Furious.
Yeah, that's it.

1014
00:57:47,640 --> 00:57:49,360
I'm sorry.
Fast and Furious 5 is the name

1015
00:57:49,360 --> 00:57:52,800
of our family group chat.
So that's why and that's why.

1016
00:57:53,160 --> 00:57:57,760
But so that's the Fast and
furious movies and make them and

1017
00:57:57,760 --> 00:58:00,640
it elevates it up to a whole
other level.

1018
00:58:00,920 --> 00:58:06,320
And with the Samoans fighting
the bad guys over the world.

1019
00:58:06,680 --> 00:58:09,520
It's just an there isn't any
better to me than that movie.

1020
00:58:11,200 --> 00:58:14,640
That movie is everything.
We watch it a lot to the other

1021
00:58:14,640 --> 00:58:17,880
extreme is to me.
I can watch Lost in Translation

1022
00:58:17,880 --> 00:58:22,120
once a year because the
existential dimension, the angst

1023
00:58:22,120 --> 00:58:26,360
in that movie, The the, the
cultural differences, the just

1024
00:58:26,440 --> 00:58:30,040
everything about it with Bill
Murray, who should have won the

1025
00:58:30,040 --> 00:58:34,240
Academy Award that year for that
movie, and and so a couple

1026
00:58:34,240 --> 00:58:36,280
should have won the award for
best director.

1027
00:58:36,280 --> 00:58:38,400
That was one of the greatest
films ever produced.

1028
00:58:39,040 --> 00:58:41,600
Yeah, we literally were just
talking about it last night.

1029
00:58:42,040 --> 00:58:45,120
Like, like Bob and I, Bob and I
were discussing.

1030
00:58:46,040 --> 00:58:49,160
Yeah, we we were talking about.
We were wondering if they've

1031
00:58:49,160 --> 00:58:52,520
actually copyrighted the for
relaxing times.

1032
00:58:52,520 --> 00:58:56,400
Make it Suntory time, you know,
and because we we need to start

1033
00:58:56,400 --> 00:59:00,120
inserting that with every single
brand we review if it's not

1034
00:59:00,120 --> 00:59:03,040
copyrighted.
So just be prepared for us to

1035
00:59:03,040 --> 00:59:05,080
put barrel in that sentence if
you need us.

1036
00:59:05,080 --> 00:59:09,960
To make it barrel.
Barrel spirit times.

1037
00:59:11,280 --> 00:59:13,920
Joe it's so funny that those are
the two films that that you

1038
00:59:13,920 --> 00:59:17,480
brought up though, because we we
always try to psychoanalyze our

1039
00:59:17,480 --> 00:59:20,400
guest based on whatever movie
they've picked and tie it to

1040
00:59:20,400 --> 00:59:21,640
their lives.
But I think you've already

1041
00:59:21,640 --> 00:59:23,640
you're.
Not supposed to tell them that

1042
00:59:23,640 --> 00:59:25,400
pop.
Well, they're on our they're on

1043
00:59:25,400 --> 00:59:27,040
our couch.
Now you know we're it's time to

1044
00:59:27,040 --> 00:59:29,600
dive in Freddy style.
I'm pretty much what you see

1045
00:59:29,600 --> 00:59:31,600
here.
Yeah, man, you, you said it's

1046
00:59:31,600 --> 00:59:34,120
it's eclectic and I think that's
the perfect word for it.

1047
00:59:34,160 --> 00:59:39,360
We just recorded a review last
night of Mad Max Fury Rd., a

1048
00:59:39,360 --> 00:59:42,720
film that I was very concerned
that Brad would not like because

1049
00:59:42,720 --> 00:59:46,440
it is such so strong in its
aesthetic that you're either

1050
00:59:46,440 --> 00:59:48,800
going to be all the way on board
or all the way out on that

1051
00:59:48,800 --> 00:59:51,480
movie.
And I think where we landed was

1052
00:59:51,800 --> 00:59:56,840
this is like the perfect
marriage of my 9 year old boy

1053
00:59:56,960 --> 01:00:01,920
brain thinking stuff looks cool.
Coupled with true artistic

1054
01:00:01,920 --> 01:00:04,920
merit, and I think you've kind
of hit on that here with Hobbs

1055
01:00:04,920 --> 01:00:07,360
and Shaw and Lost in
Translation, you've you've

1056
01:00:07,600 --> 01:00:11,720
achieved that alchemy here.
Yeah, I think, I think my

1057
01:00:11,720 --> 01:00:16,400
favorite joke from Lost in
Translation is the is the one

1058
01:00:16,400 --> 01:00:20,800
that they use from The Great
Dictator, where, where the the

1059
01:00:20,800 --> 01:00:25,320
director gives him like 2
minutes of instruction and then

1060
01:00:25,320 --> 01:00:27,640
the translator gives him like 3
words.

1061
01:00:28,480 --> 01:00:34,240
It's, it's still to this day, I
think one of the one of the best

1062
01:00:34,240 --> 01:00:37,000
jokes that's ever been written
for a movie, whether it's

1063
01:00:37,680 --> 01:00:42,560
Chaplin playing Hitler back in
the 30s or Bill Murray in, what

1064
01:00:42,560 --> 01:00:44,360
was it, 2005?
I think 4.

1065
01:00:44,480 --> 01:00:46,120
Yeah, somewhere in there.
I think it was O3.

1066
01:00:46,240 --> 01:00:48,320
But yeah, I mean, it's it's a
perfect joke.

1067
01:00:48,640 --> 01:00:51,080
Murray is so good in that movie.
Said more than that.

1068
01:00:51,200 --> 01:00:53,280
I'm pretty sure he said more
than that, yeah.

1069
01:00:54,640 --> 01:00:58,560
I'm pretty sure.
All right, Trip, you've got a

1070
01:00:58,560 --> 01:01:01,040
tough act to follow here.
What would you nominate?

1071
01:01:02,640 --> 01:01:07,320
So I'll give you 2, but the
first one just given the season

1072
01:01:07,320 --> 01:01:11,600
that it is, even though it
doesn't have to be this season

1073
01:01:11,600 --> 01:01:15,280
to watch this particular film,
National Lampoon's Christmas

1074
01:01:15,280 --> 01:01:18,880
Vacation have to be one of my
all time favorite movies.

1075
01:01:19,000 --> 01:01:22,960
And I will watch July, August, I
don't care.

1076
01:01:23,080 --> 01:01:27,560
I think it is great.
Yeah, it, it is.

1077
01:01:28,280 --> 01:01:29,760
Yeah.
I think, I think we can all sort

1078
01:01:29,760 --> 01:01:32,440
of relate to bits and pieces of
this thing, getting our families

1079
01:01:32,440 --> 01:01:35,800
together, Dogs always in the
middle of something.

1080
01:01:35,800 --> 01:01:36,920
I don't know if you guys are dog
people.

1081
01:01:36,920 --> 01:01:41,040
Joe and I are both dog people.
And so many of those scenes are,

1082
01:01:41,360 --> 01:01:44,080
you know, you, you can, you can
tie that to your life in some

1083
01:01:44,080 --> 01:01:45,960
way.
It's just, it's hysterical.

1084
01:01:45,960 --> 01:01:49,120
It's just hysterical.
All right, I'm curious guys.

1085
01:01:49,960 --> 01:01:53,320
Power rank the vacation movies
with me here for a minute,

1086
01:01:53,320 --> 01:01:57,240
because I think most of us can
agree that European vacation is

1087
01:01:57,240 --> 01:02:01,560
definitely on the on the bottom.
I know, I know Vegas Vacation

1088
01:02:01,560 --> 01:02:05,280
has its, its lovers, but I
personally, that's like #3 for

1089
01:02:05,280 --> 01:02:07,200
me.
And then I really do go back and

1090
01:02:07,200 --> 01:02:11,560
forth on the original Wally
World versus Christmas vacation

1091
01:02:11,560 --> 01:02:14,600
because there's, I mean, I
quote, you know, from the

1092
01:02:14,600 --> 01:02:18,920
original when when he and Rusty
are sharing the beer on on the

1093
01:02:18,920 --> 01:02:20,920
hood of the car.
And then he just looks at him

1094
01:02:20,920 --> 01:02:24,400
and goes good talk, son, and
walks away because he doesn't

1095
01:02:24,400 --> 01:02:28,040
want to talk to his dad.
I say good talk all the time.

1096
01:02:28,120 --> 01:02:31,000
And I think that movie is a
comedy masterpiece.

1097
01:02:31,000 --> 01:02:33,640
But they both, they both have
their merits for sure.

1098
01:02:34,320 --> 01:02:38,680
You know, it's so funny you say
that because I just watched that

1099
01:02:38,680 --> 01:02:40,840
movie.
It was on Sunday a few weeks

1100
01:02:40,840 --> 01:02:43,600
ago, and I couldn't stop.
I was doing some stuff and I

1101
01:02:43,600 --> 01:02:45,000
just, I can't.
I got to watch this.

1102
01:02:45,000 --> 01:02:47,760
I just sat down and watch it.
It's so good.

1103
01:02:48,560 --> 01:02:52,440
Everything in that movie is so.
It's so perfect with the Stacy

1104
01:02:52,440 --> 01:02:54,880
Keith scene with the dog.
Oh yeah.

1105
01:02:55,360 --> 01:02:57,400
The little fellow was running to
keep up.

1106
01:02:59,680 --> 01:03:02,600
I was just thinking the other
day about, you know, when he and

1107
01:03:02,920 --> 01:03:05,200
Christie Brinkley are going back
and forth flirting and he's

1108
01:03:05,200 --> 01:03:08,280
slapping himself in the mouth
with the sandwich and then

1109
01:03:08,280 --> 01:03:11,640
Beverly d'angelo's like, Oh no,
the dog peed all over the

1110
01:03:11,680 --> 01:03:18,480
sandwiches.
Joe, you just gave the perfect

1111
01:03:18,880 --> 01:03:21,800
example.
One metric that we will often

1112
01:03:21,800 --> 01:03:26,920
apply to movies is like, is this
a Sunday afternoon like cable

1113
01:03:26,920 --> 01:03:31,040
dad movie that like any dad in
America sees it on cable.

1114
01:03:31,040 --> 01:03:33,960
And they're like, I could watch
a few, I could watch a few

1115
01:03:33,960 --> 01:03:36,320
minutes of it, and then like an
hour and a half later, the

1116
01:03:36,320 --> 01:03:39,120
movie, The credits are rolling.
I couldn't get up.

1117
01:03:39,120 --> 01:03:40,800
I could not leave.
I was in the middle.

1118
01:03:41,240 --> 01:03:44,280
It's Sunday, you know, I mean,
you got like 10 minutes to do

1119
01:03:44,280 --> 01:03:45,960
everything.
I couldn't.

1120
01:03:46,200 --> 01:03:48,000
I couldn't leave the movie.
I just couldn't.

1121
01:03:48,640 --> 01:03:51,640
That was I, because I hadn't
seen it in a year or two and I'd

1122
01:03:51,640 --> 01:03:53,040
forgotten some of this stuff
else.

1123
01:03:54,400 --> 01:03:55,520
I'm going to ask trip real
quick.

1124
01:03:55,520 --> 01:03:58,920
Number one favorite scene in
Christmas vacation.

1125
01:03:58,920 --> 01:04:00,080
What?
What do you if you had to pick

1126
01:04:00,080 --> 01:04:01,720
one?
What I'm saying, I know exactly

1127
01:04:01,720 --> 01:04:05,200
what he's going to say.
It's it's always when he comes

1128
01:04:05,200 --> 01:04:08,680
home with the Christmas tree and
the neighbor says, hey,

1129
01:04:08,680 --> 01:04:10,560
Griswold, where are you going to
put a tree that size?

1130
01:04:10,560 --> 01:04:17,080
You know it is never get I laugh
out loud every single time

1131
01:04:21,480 --> 01:04:26,440
wasn't talking to you.
Well, guys, let's talk really

1132
01:04:26,440 --> 01:04:29,760
quickly about what's in store
for barrel in the coming months

1133
01:04:29,760 --> 01:04:33,280
and years for you guys, because
you know, normally I would try

1134
01:04:33,280 --> 01:04:37,240
to to push your barrel New Year
release, which is my my favorite

1135
01:04:37,240 --> 01:04:39,840
time of the year is when we get
a sample of barrel New Year in

1136
01:04:39,920 --> 01:04:43,200
in the mail.
But you guys are so constantly

1137
01:04:43,200 --> 01:04:46,400
pushing out new product and you
know this, this year you, I, I,

1138
01:04:46,400 --> 01:04:49,240
there was a 20 year release,
there was a 33 year release.

1139
01:04:49,600 --> 01:04:52,760
There's so many things that you
guys, you have so many irons in

1140
01:04:52,760 --> 01:04:54,720
the fire.
I'm just going to throw it over

1141
01:04:54,720 --> 01:04:56,600
to you.
Let's let's plug it because I

1142
01:04:56,600 --> 01:04:58,840
see you holding up a bottle and
I'm immediately enticed.

1143
01:04:59,200 --> 01:05:03,280
They're really too.
So we're a a company that has a

1144
01:05:03,320 --> 01:05:04,760
little bit there's a dichotomy
here.

1145
01:05:04,760 --> 01:05:10,640
So we have the, the, really the
innovative lines things that,

1146
01:05:10,640 --> 01:05:14,080
the things that we, that we do
in smaller releases of that are

1147
01:05:14,080 --> 01:05:16,600
that are ongoing.
I mean, this was one that we

1148
01:05:16,600 --> 01:05:21,800
just did.
This is A and I don't want to

1149
01:05:21,800 --> 01:05:24,640
spend a lot of time on this one
because unfortunately there's,

1150
01:05:24,640 --> 01:05:27,360
there's no way to get it.
It's a single barrel.

1151
01:05:27,560 --> 01:05:32,200
And this barrel was, we reserved
a dozen or so barrels from the

1152
01:05:32,440 --> 01:05:35,880
first Gray label bourbon that we
did 1.

1153
01:05:36,360 --> 01:05:39,760
You know, Fred Meg picked this
whiskey of the year and we put

1154
01:05:39,760 --> 01:05:42,440
it in toasted barrel.
So, you know, toast.

1155
01:05:42,440 --> 01:05:47,720
We rebar, we rebarrelled it put
it into a toasted barrel and

1156
01:05:48,080 --> 01:05:49,520
we're releasing one of these a
year.

1157
01:05:49,560 --> 01:05:54,360
I mean this, this sold out in
literally 10 seconds online, but

1158
01:05:54,360 --> 01:05:56,720
that's so we're doing more of
those things and more

1159
01:05:56,720 --> 01:05:58,400
interesting things like the
toasted seagrass.

1160
01:05:58,760 --> 01:06:03,440
But the place this year our
focus is, is, you know, the

1161
01:06:03,440 --> 01:06:06,600
changing whiskey market.
In addition to doing all those

1162
01:06:06,600 --> 01:06:09,560
sort of interesting innovative
releases, we released the

1163
01:06:09,560 --> 01:06:12,600
product called barrel foundation
last year, which was it's the

1164
01:06:12,600 --> 01:06:15,200
first time we ever did 100 proof
whiskey.

1165
01:06:16,720 --> 01:06:20,040
It's the only there's a whole
story about the only we did.

1166
01:06:20,040 --> 01:06:22,280
We didn't have any water in this
place other than drinking water.

1167
01:06:22,280 --> 01:06:26,040
We had like we had a put in an
RO system to produce water for

1168
01:06:26,040 --> 01:06:30,840
this and real quickly when we
did the first batch of this, we

1169
01:06:30,840 --> 01:06:34,240
didn't the RO system of course
was because there's, you know,

1170
01:06:34,240 --> 01:06:37,760
we're building during COVID
didn't have the part was

1171
01:06:37,760 --> 01:06:40,600
missing.
So we had to buy water from our

1172
01:06:40,600 --> 01:06:43,720
local water supplier that gives
us drinking water.

1173
01:06:44,320 --> 01:06:47,840
We took all that water, put it
into a steel tote, sent it up to

1174
01:06:47,840 --> 01:06:51,720
Cincinnati to be to have A to
have the reverse osmosis process

1175
01:06:51,720 --> 01:06:54,520
put in, brought it back down
here and used that water.

1176
01:06:54,760 --> 01:06:58,440
It was that water was more
expensive per gallon than the

1177
01:06:58,440 --> 01:06:59,080
whiskey.
That.

1178
01:06:59,280 --> 01:07:02,280
We.
Used that we used so that's

1179
01:07:02,280 --> 01:07:06,680
barrel barrel foundation.
And then this year we decided

1180
01:07:06,960 --> 01:07:11,040
and this so it's and one of the
things about that we really set

1181
01:07:11,040 --> 01:07:15,480
up to accomplish with this is,
is to have it have all of our

1182
01:07:16,440 --> 01:07:18,600
trademark characteristics.
So there's layered.

1183
01:07:19,320 --> 01:07:22,240
There's a lot of different
things going on here at 100

1184
01:07:22,240 --> 01:07:26,160
proof and it's a slightly lower
price point because because you

1185
01:07:26,160 --> 01:07:28,280
know, we're conscious of what's
going on in the economy, what

1186
01:07:28,280 --> 01:07:30,520
people want.
And so this is there, this is it

1187
01:07:30,800 --> 01:07:33,960
satisfies that need.
And so this year where we took

1188
01:07:34,000 --> 01:07:37,360
that concept and are going to
release or or just we're just

1189
01:07:37,360 --> 01:07:41,040
starting to release a double
barrel version of Foundation

1190
01:07:41,560 --> 01:07:44,640
that was further matured.
You know what, Yeah, you talk

1191
01:07:44,640 --> 01:07:46,520
about this product, you, this is
you.

1192
01:07:46,560 --> 01:07:48,200
You tell them what's in that
bottle.

1193
01:07:48,640 --> 01:07:53,200
So, you know, there's, there's a
lot of a buzz right now about

1194
01:07:54,360 --> 01:08:00,080
toasted or double barrel or, you
know, secondary maturation.

1195
01:08:00,080 --> 01:08:04,360
So that that process is big in
the market right now.

1196
01:08:04,640 --> 01:08:08,800
And you know one thing that
that's one of the the places

1197
01:08:08,800 --> 01:08:12,480
where we can go to get
additional flavor in our

1198
01:08:12,480 --> 01:08:16,800
products that we release.
And so one of the things that we

1199
01:08:16,800 --> 01:08:21,880
like to do is have custom
secondary maturation barrels

1200
01:08:22,080 --> 01:08:24,920
actually made to our
specification.

1201
01:08:25,200 --> 01:08:29,680
And so we'll actually pick the
type of wood, we'll pick the,

1202
01:08:31,120 --> 01:08:36,000
the duration of the air drying
process for the staves prior to

1203
01:08:36,000 --> 01:08:39,920
raising the barrel.
And then we'll also do either

1204
01:08:40,640 --> 01:08:45,479
custom char levels and times or
toast levels and times and

1205
01:08:45,479 --> 01:08:49,439
sometimes a, a combination of
each of those depending on what

1206
01:08:49,439 --> 01:08:53,359
we're trying to get out of that
particular barrel.

1207
01:08:53,720 --> 01:09:00,040
And so with double barrel
foundation, the the, the cast

1208
01:09:00,040 --> 01:09:07,479
that we had made, we had
American custom dried American

1209
01:09:07,479 --> 01:09:13,720
oak stays custom toasted for a
certain amount of time

1210
01:09:13,760 --> 01:09:17,560
specifically for this product in
order to get some of the

1211
01:09:17,560 --> 01:09:22,319
underlying vanilla flavors out
of the barrel and less of the

1212
01:09:22,319 --> 01:09:25,120
char to complement the specific
whiskies that we were using.

1213
01:09:25,399 --> 01:09:29,600
So long way around the answer is
we took the foundation blend,

1214
01:09:29,600 --> 01:09:34,319
put that into these specific
barrels that we had made to get

1215
01:09:34,319 --> 01:09:38,960
to this double barrel product.
Guys, thank you so much for

1216
01:09:38,960 --> 01:09:42,240
coming on.
I mean, Joe Trip, you guys have

1217
01:09:42,240 --> 01:09:46,319
been putting out some of the
absolute best whiskey in the

1218
01:09:46,319 --> 01:09:50,600
market 1st for a long time now.
So thank you for doing that.

1219
01:09:51,200 --> 01:09:52,800
Thank you for coming on the
podcast.

1220
01:09:52,800 --> 01:09:57,120
Like earlier you guys, when you
were talking about the process

1221
01:09:57,120 --> 01:10:00,560
with which you build your
whiskies, I just kept thinking

1222
01:10:00,560 --> 01:10:04,600
to myself and sorry, and the
resistance that it initially

1223
01:10:04,600 --> 01:10:09,880
had, I just kept thinking to
myself, do we just, do we care

1224
01:10:09,880 --> 01:10:12,480
about all the marketing story or
do we care what's in the bottle?

1225
01:10:12,600 --> 01:10:17,160
Because as far as what comes out
of the bottle, you guys are

1226
01:10:17,160 --> 01:10:19,280
punching at the heaviest weight
class.

1227
01:10:19,280 --> 01:10:23,600
And I as a whiskey consumer and
reviewer, I like to drink good

1228
01:10:23,600 --> 01:10:25,680
whiskey.
And so I'm thankful that Barrel

1229
01:10:25,680 --> 01:10:28,000
Craft Spirit exists.
Thank you.

1230
01:10:28,000 --> 01:10:30,400
Well, thank you.
You're welcome and thank you

1231
01:10:30,400 --> 01:10:32,400
very much for helping.
We really appreciate.

1232
01:10:32,400 --> 01:10:36,240
It yeah, thanks for saying that
because it really is where we

1233
01:10:36,240 --> 01:10:39,080
put all of our focus.
That's that's the way we started

1234
01:10:39,080 --> 01:10:43,680
the company and that's what we
continue to do now 100% on what

1235
01:10:43,680 --> 01:10:45,680
we put in in the product and
what we put in the bottle.

1236
01:10:46,280 --> 01:10:49,640
Guys, this has been Joe Beatrice
and Tripp Stimson from Barrel

1237
01:10:49,640 --> 01:10:52,160
Craft Spirits.
Gentlemen, thank you for joining

1238
01:10:52,160 --> 01:10:54,360
us today.
I hope you have a happy holiday

1239
01:10:54,760 --> 01:10:56,640
folks.
We will be back next week with

1240
01:10:56,640 --> 01:11:00,000
some regularly scheduled
programming, but until then, I'm

1241
01:11:00,000 --> 01:11:01,800
Bob Book.
I'm Brad G.

1242
01:11:02,240 --> 01:11:03,400
And we'll see you next time.