Aug. 18, 2023

My Favorite Movie with Graham McTavish, McTavish Spirits

My Favorite Movie with Graham McTavish, McTavish Spirits
My Favorite Movie with Graham McTavish, McTavish Spirits
Film & Whiskey
My Favorite Movie with Graham McTavish, McTavish Spirits

In a special episode of Film & Whiskey, hosts Bob and Brad are joined by esteemed character actor Graham McTavish, known for his standout roles in the Hobbit films, The Witcher, Preacher, Outlander, and House of the Dragon. But before diving into the depths of his illustrious acting career, our hosts sample and review the actor's own whiskey brand, McTavish Spirits. The episode promises a blend of cinematic insights and spirited discussions.

(0:00) McTavish Spirits Review

(13:40) Graham McTavish Interview

The world of film and television is replete with character actors who add depth and gravitas to every role they undertake. Graham McTavish, with his vast array of roles in drama, fantasy, and beyond, stands tall among them. In this exclusive episode of Film & Whiskey, Bob and Brad explore the actor's journey, delving into the nuances of his characters, from the rugged terrains of the Hobbit films to the magical realms of The Witcher and the historical tapestries of Outlander.

But acting isn't the only realm where McTavish exhibits his passion. The episode kicks off with a whiskey review, as our hosts sample McTavish Spirits. The 7-year bourbon, with its intricate flavor profile and character, mirrors the depth and complexity McTavish brings to his roles. Listeners are treated to a comprehensive review, shedding light on the whiskey's notes, its place among celebrity whiskey brands, and how it fares against other renowned spirits.

The interview with McTavish offers fans a unique perspective into his craft. Discussions range from the intricacies of his roles in television series to his experiences on the big screen. As the conversation flows, listeners gain insights into the world of a character actor, the preparation that goes into each role, and the challenges and rewards of embodying diverse characters.

Whether you're a film enthusiast, a whiskey connoisseur, or both, this episode promises a captivating experience. Dive deep into the world of film, explore the art of acting, and savor the taste of a unique whiskey, all in one podcast.

Film & Whiskey Podcast. New episodes every Tuesday.

Theme music: "New Shoes" by Blue Wednesday

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Hey everyone.
Before we get into today's

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episode, I just want to remind
you that we have a ton of extra

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content over on our Patreon.
We do movie watch parties,

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special Patreon bonus episodes,
and all other sorts of wacky

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stuff that you can access
easily.

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00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:20,040
If you head on over to
patreon.com/film Whiskey on

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00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:23,920
today's episode, we will be
doing our very first interview

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00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:29,460
with a real live actor.
Yeah, and not only any actor,

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Brad, but Graham Mctavish, A
beloved character actor who has

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00:00:33,100 --> 00:00:35,420
a new line out called Mctavish
Spirits.

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We'll also be trying that right
now and telling you what we

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think of this seven-year bottled
and Bond bourbon this is.

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00:00:42,900 --> 00:01:04,700
The Film and Whiskey podcast.
Hey everybody, Welcome into the

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00:01:04,700 --> 00:01:07,420
Film and Whiskey Podcast.
I'm Bob Book.

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00:01:07,900 --> 00:01:10,500
I'm Brad G.
And we're coming at you with a

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very special bonus episode,
bonus episode.

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00:01:15,980 --> 00:01:18,980
Couple weeks ago we were
contacted by my friend Connor

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from over at the Bourbon with
Friends podcast and he says.

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We've been working on a secret
project.

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00:01:24,910 --> 00:01:27,830
It's a celebrity whiskey, and I
can tell you more about it if

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you sign an NDA.
And I said, I'm sorry, what now?

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00:01:32,430 --> 00:01:34,910
And then what?
Was this your first NDA?

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In the whiskey world, it was,
yeah.

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Oh, you signed them outside the
whiskey?

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World I I have, yeah.
But I can't disclose.

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No, That's what it's for, man.
Come on.

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But can you talk about like the
industry or like, like I want to

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hear something?
About it was just for work.

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Like it wasn't anything, you
know, exciting.

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Dang it, Bob.
I'm trying to get you sued.

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Work with me here.
I know, right?

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Well, maybe I should divulge
some more industry secrets about

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bourbon and we'll get ourselves
there, Brad.

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But anyway, all this to say,
signed an NDA, learned about

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this project that our friends
over there at Bourbon With

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Friends have been working on
with the actor Graham Mctavish.

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Now you may know Graham Mctavish
if you have watched the show

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Outlander.
Or if you have watched the show

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Preacher.
Or if you watched The Hobbit

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films.
This guy has been in so many

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things.
I called my dad the other day

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and I was like, hey, did you
watch Outlander?

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He was like, yeah.
And I told him about

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interviewing Graham Mctavish and
he's like this guy's big time,

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man.
What'd you guys do to get this?

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So first thing I have to say is
thank you so much to bourbon

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with friends for kind of setting
this all up for us.

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But what they did was they and
Graham.

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Basically launched this new
brand called Mctavish Spirits

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that Graham is very passionate
about and they've just come out

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with their first release under
the Mctavish Spirits line.

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It is a seven-year bottled and
bond bourbon that they

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handpicked.
We they sent us samples of it

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and they also set up an
interview with Graham and you

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will hear that interview at the
back half of this episode.

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But Brad, I have been rambling
for far too long, and I want to

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know what your thoughts are
before we dive into this

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whiskey.
I think it's kind of ridiculous

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that you didn't mention probably
one of his most famous shows,

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the wildly popular Netflix, The
Witcher, The.

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Witcher The man fought Henry
Cavill.

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OK, yes, that's that's I'm
saying the man who reloads his

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fists like they're guns.
Oh man, I really can't wait for

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you guys to hear this interview
with Graham.

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Brad was unable to join us for
that interview.

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So you will hear me ramble on
and on even longer in the back

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half of this episode.
So let's get as much Brad in

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here as we can while we've got
him.

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Brad, we've got this whiskey in
front of us.

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I know that you have not tried
it yet.

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I had a chance to sample it when
I was talking with Graham.

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I want to hear your initial
impressions as we're just

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getting into the nose here.
Yeah, I was going to say I have

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only smelt it thus far and this
is a really beautiful whiskey

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bomb.
Like, I feel like 6 to 9 years

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is such an incredible range for
bourbon because you have all of

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the depth and flavor that you
need from the barrel and you

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don't.
It's not overly out right?

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00:04:21,829 --> 00:04:25,800
Like in general for for people
who are new to whiskey, a lot of

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the flavor, pretty much all of
the flavor of whiskey comes from

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the process of the the whiskey
interacting with the chemicals

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of the the wood itself.
And when you when you make

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bourbon, it has to be a new oak
barrels and because of that if

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you leave it in for too long, it
gets really oaky.

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And I think that what I'm
smelling here from from a boy,

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Graham Mctavish, smells like
it's the perfect age statement.

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Yeah, it's seven years old.
The mash bill is 75% corn, 21%

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rye, and 4% malted barley.
So there's no wheat in this.

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00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:05,760
And I will say on the nose, I
don't know that you could trick

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me into thinking this was a
weeded bourbon, but it has the

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00:05:09,520 --> 00:05:13,000
sort of gentleness on the nose
that I've come to associate with

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weeded bourbon, Matt.
I by that I don't mean that it

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is lacking in aroma at all.
But with weeded bourbon, Brad,

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you and I kind of get this
effervescence sometimes that

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reminds us of drinking like a
cocacola.

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We usually get cherry, so I
think a lot of times we talk

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about Cherry Coke when we're
nosing these.

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I don't know that I quite get
cherry, but I get the sort of

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gentle brightness that I
normally get on a weeded

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bourbon.
And this is high rye and the rye

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is not smacking you in the face
it it has a little bit of like.

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I don't know citrusy fruit
character to me, but it's not

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aggressive at all.
I'm so impressed with the kind

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of really nice delicate floral
notes that the oak is bringing

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out here.
I would never have pegged this

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as being a high rye bourbon.
Yeah, I I think it gets a little

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bit minty for me.
And that's like the little hint

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that it's rye.
But usually with something 20%

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00:06:08,240 --> 00:06:10,360
or higher on rye, you're you're
getting some of those

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specifically rye notes here,
it's just gets a little bit

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minty.
I think that it has like a

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caramel drizzle nose that you
just got a hint of caramel.

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And yeah, it's it's floral, it's
bright, there's almost like a

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marmalade, jam type of smell to
it.

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I I'm a big fan, Bob, and I
can't wait to drink it.

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Well, let's get into it, man.
Let's take a sip.

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Oh yeah, dude, That is like
vanilla and butterscotch.

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And then it moves into a little
bit of a black pepper.

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The rye comes through just a
little bit at the end.

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I'd almost call it more of a
finish, but man, there is

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complexity here.
The oakiness holds off for long

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enough to get to allow you to
experience the complexity, and

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then it hits you right at the
end with those rye spices with a

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little bit of that, that
pepperiness.

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Bob, this is a delicious
whiskey.

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So you guys will hear this in my
interview with Graham here in a

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couple minutes.
But I kind of asked him to

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answer the obvious question,
which is why is a Scotsman

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picking bourbon?
Why are you not releasing a

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Scotch?
Right?

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And he talked about his
introduction to bourbon about 20

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years ago, and that the second
he took a sip, he realized he

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preferred bourbon to Scotch.
And it's because of the

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sweetness of bourbon.
And as soon as I heard him say

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that, I was like, You guys are
like best friends.

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I'm in good hands now and I
hadn't tried the product yet.

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It has that sort of not quite
syrupy sweetness, but vanilla is

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a good a good note on this Brad,
I know vanilla is an obvious one

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for bourbon, but there's a
creaminess to this that you

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don't normally get, especially
on high rye bourbons.

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Those ones tend to be not
necessarily harsh, but I think a

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word that I use a lot is
prickly.

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Like the rye definitely makes
itself known, and here it's

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almost like a vanilla custard or
something that I'm getting.

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And it's underscored by that
mintiness that you were talking

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about.
But it hangs out in that almost

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weeded bourbon like playing
field that I love so much.

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It is an incredibly easy sipper
at 100 Proof, and I think that

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what I'm most impressed about is
like how cohesive this whole

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thing is.
You know what I mean?

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Like there's not there's not a
ton of tasting notes that are

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popping out to me.
Throughout the experience

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because it just tastes like from
nose to taste to finish, it's

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all of a piece.
Yeah, no, 100%, man.

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This is like a decently complex,
beautiful, sweet experience with

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just enough spiciness to make
you go, man, I like, I want to

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experience more of this.
And if they're, you know, if

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they're picking barrels and
they're always this good, Bob,

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the Mctavish line is going to be
incredible for years to come.

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All right, Brad, you know what?
Let's put our money where our

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mouth is here.
Sometimes we get sent samples of

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stuff and we're like, yeah, it's
good.

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But especially on bonus
episodes, we don't usually put

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it through our rigorous scoring
technique.

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I think we should score this one
because I I like this enough

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that I'm not only going to
recommend it, but I want you to

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hear the score that I would give
this.

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I think I would give that.
Well, let me pull a boat

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calculator.
Yeah.

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00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:29,460
While you're doing that, Bob, I
think that I would say the nose

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is beautiful, but doesn't fully
represent what you're about to

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get into.
I'd probably give it like a 7

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1/2 out of 10 on the nose.
Where where are you at?

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00:09:40,380 --> 00:09:41,660
I'm going to give it an 8 on the
nose.

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I'm with you.
I think that of the three big

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things that we're going to score
here, nose, taste, finish, the

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nose is the one that it hints at
like, oh, this is going to be

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nice.
It's it's kind of playfully

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sweet.
There's not a ton going on

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complexity wise.
And I wasn't prepared for how

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decadent and delicious it was
going to be on the pallet.

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00:10:01,150 --> 00:10:02,310
Yeah.
Yeah.

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00:10:02,310 --> 00:10:03,710
And that's.
And that's where, you know, I'll

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go to the pallet next.
I'll give it an 8 1/2 there,

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00:10:05,950 --> 00:10:08,550
man.
Like, this is just a really,

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00:10:09,070 --> 00:10:12,350
really nice, easy to drink
bourbon.

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That whether you're new to the
world of bourbon or you are an

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00:10:16,590 --> 00:10:21,230
accomplished drinker like you
and I are, Bob, this has a lot

189
00:10:21,230 --> 00:10:23,760
to offer, man.
Yeah, I'm going to give it a

190
00:10:23,760 --> 00:10:25,520
nine on the taste.
I'm also going to give it a nine

191
00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:29,680
on the finish.
I and I will say upfront, this

192
00:10:29,680 --> 00:10:32,240
is right up my alley.
Like this whiskey could have

193
00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:34,880
been branded.
Graham Mctavish is Bob Book

194
00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:37,280
Whiskey and I I would have
signed off on it.

195
00:10:37,600 --> 00:10:39,800
I would have bought every bottle
and I would have been happy

196
00:10:39,800 --> 00:10:41,720
about it.
But from the taste to the

197
00:10:41,720 --> 00:10:45,760
finish, it is just exactly what
I want out of 100 proof whiskey.

198
00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:47,640
And that means that I'm
balanced, Brad.

199
00:10:47,640 --> 00:10:48,920
I think that I'm going to give
it.

200
00:10:49,620 --> 00:10:51,220
I'll give it an 8 1/2 on
balance.

201
00:10:51,220 --> 00:10:55,500
I kind of want to give it a nine
there too, but the nose is just

202
00:10:55,500 --> 00:10:58,740
a hair under the taste and
finish for me.

203
00:10:58,820 --> 00:11:02,420
So I'll give it an 8.5 there.
Yeah, I'll, I'll give it an 8

204
00:11:02,420 --> 00:11:05,740
out of 10 on balance.
And I I'm curious about value,

205
00:11:05,740 --> 00:11:07,420
Bob, how much is this going to
be sold for?

206
00:11:07,420 --> 00:11:09,100
So this is kind of a premium
bottle.

207
00:11:09,100 --> 00:11:11,740
It looks like it's selling on
the website for $75.00.

208
00:11:12,180 --> 00:11:15,580
Now I will say it is There's one
run of this.

209
00:11:16,170 --> 00:11:18,930
And then it's going to be, you
know, it's it's it's batched,

210
00:11:18,930 --> 00:11:20,890
right.
So it's not like you're going to

211
00:11:20,890 --> 00:11:24,050
have Mctavish Spirits this
particular release forever like

212
00:11:24,330 --> 00:11:26,130
they're going to sell out of it
and they're going to do the next

213
00:11:26,130 --> 00:11:30,010
release to my knowledge.
And I think $75 is right in that

214
00:11:30,010 --> 00:11:33,090
perfect price point where it's
not quite as expensive as

215
00:11:33,090 --> 00:11:36,290
something like Bardstown Bourbon
Company or Barrel, which we

216
00:11:36,290 --> 00:11:41,010
always endorse on here, but it's
a rare whiskey.

217
00:11:41,390 --> 00:11:45,030
That has a name attached to it
that, like if you have a fan of

218
00:11:45,030 --> 00:11:48,270
The Witcher or Outlander or The
Hobbit in your life, this is

219
00:11:48,270 --> 00:11:50,790
like, this screams Christmas
present, right?

220
00:11:51,510 --> 00:11:55,550
Yeah, 100%.
And you also have not said the

221
00:11:55,550 --> 00:11:59,710
name of this whiskey, Bob.
It's called the War Chief.

222
00:12:01,910 --> 00:12:03,710
You know what?
I just it's my nickname.

223
00:12:03,710 --> 00:12:05,270
And so I just glossed right past
it.

224
00:12:05,270 --> 00:12:09,670
I just gotcha, gotcha.
It's like the War Chief book,

225
00:12:10,510 --> 00:12:13,550
like you're an 80s basketball
superstar.

226
00:12:13,550 --> 00:12:16,430
Like, I'm like one of the guys
in the original Predator.

227
00:12:16,430 --> 00:12:19,390
That doesn't make it to the end
like me and Jesse Ventura.

228
00:12:20,550 --> 00:12:23,710
Oh man.
All right, listen, so I am going

229
00:12:23,710 --> 00:12:26,710
to give it an 8 out of 10 on
value.

230
00:12:26,710 --> 00:12:29,860
I think it is like.
If it didn't have Graham

231
00:12:29,860 --> 00:12:32,780
Mctavish attached to it, I would
still say this is like a $65

232
00:12:32,780 --> 00:12:36,020
bottle of whiskey.
The fact that it is in limited

233
00:12:36,020 --> 00:12:39,380
supply and you have the
endorsement of Graham Mctavish

234
00:12:39,380 --> 00:12:43,860
behind it, I think $75 is not at
all overpriced for this.

235
00:12:44,420 --> 00:12:46,740
Yeah, I I think that's a decent
value.

236
00:12:47,180 --> 00:12:49,700
I'm with you.
I think this is about a $60.00

237
00:12:49,700 --> 00:12:53,060
bottle of whiskey, but I'll give
it a 7 out of 10 on value here,

238
00:12:53,540 --> 00:12:56,900
Bob.
That is bringing me out to a 39

239
00:12:56,900 --> 00:13:01,090
out of 50.
Brad, I'm at a 42.5 out of 50.

240
00:13:01,090 --> 00:13:04,450
This is well above that 40 mark
where we start calling a

241
00:13:04,450 --> 00:13:05,730
whiskey.
Great for me.

242
00:13:06,130 --> 00:13:09,370
Like, listen man, we get a lot
of stuff sent to us to try on

243
00:13:09,370 --> 00:13:12,250
bonus episodes.
This is one of the best things

244
00:13:12,250 --> 00:13:13,930
I've been sent in, like at least
a year.

245
00:13:13,970 --> 00:13:17,690
It's really, really good.
No 100%, man.

246
00:13:17,690 --> 00:13:22,450
This is a phenomenal whiskey
that I honestly can't say you

247
00:13:22,890 --> 00:13:25,730
get many of these by famous
people.

248
00:13:25,730 --> 00:13:30,880
We we've tried a few, you know,
endorsed by famous folk brands

249
00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:34,120
that have not been great and
this is not one of them.

250
00:13:34,160 --> 00:13:37,600
This is absolutely amazing, Bob.
All right, well, let's get to

251
00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:38,960
this interview with Graham
Mctavish.

252
00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:41,200
Brad, I'm so excited for you to
hear what we talked about.

253
00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:45,080
He was really familiar with you
and he particularly said, I hate

254
00:13:45,080 --> 00:13:47,360
that guy and all his movie
opinions.

255
00:13:47,480 --> 00:14:02,120
So yeah, well, let's get to it.
All right, everyone.

256
00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:05,600
I am joined by the man himself,
Graham Mctavish.

257
00:14:05,800 --> 00:14:08,160
Graham, thanks so much for
joining us on film and whiskey

258
00:14:08,160 --> 00:14:09,640
today.
Absolute pleasure.

259
00:14:09,640 --> 00:14:12,760
Delighted to be here, yeah.
Now listen, I have a lot of

260
00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:15,920
questions for you, so I hope
you're ready to get inundated

261
00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:17,720
here.
I'm ready with my answers.

262
00:14:18,720 --> 00:14:22,520
I don't know if we've ever had a
guest who is so well versed in

263
00:14:22,520 --> 00:14:26,430
both film and whiskey.
You, you're the resident expert.

264
00:14:26,510 --> 00:14:29,630
Just by virtue of being here,
you've already taken the crown.

265
00:14:29,870 --> 00:14:35,030
Well, that's right.
I just stormed the castle and

266
00:14:35,030 --> 00:14:36,470
I'm in occupation.
Yes.

267
00:14:36,470 --> 00:14:38,990
No, I I'm well, I'm glad to hear
it.

268
00:14:38,990 --> 00:14:40,190
I'm glad to hear it.
Thank you.

269
00:14:41,150 --> 00:14:43,870
I was reading an article today,
you know, kind of going over

270
00:14:43,870 --> 00:14:47,270
your filmography and it went all
the way back to I guess what we

271
00:14:47,270 --> 00:14:50,790
could call your big break which
was a play that you Co wrote a 2

272
00:14:50,790 --> 00:14:54,070
hander about Vincent van Gogh
and.

273
00:14:54,630 --> 00:14:59,190
And I really love the article
placed an emphasis on just how

274
00:14:59,190 --> 00:15:03,230
much promotion you had to do to
kind of get your name out there

275
00:15:03,230 --> 00:15:08,030
with that play.
And I have seen a pattern

276
00:15:08,310 --> 00:15:11,790
throughout your career that you
are just such a generous guy

277
00:15:11,790 --> 00:15:15,470
with your time in terms of being
willing to give interviews,

278
00:15:15,470 --> 00:15:19,510
being willing to go on podcasts.
And there's a lot of actors that

279
00:15:19,590 --> 00:15:22,590
really value their personal time
and don't like giving

280
00:15:22,590 --> 00:15:26,600
interviews.
Where do you find the energy to

281
00:15:26,600 --> 00:15:31,800
be out here doing this so much?
Well, I mean there's there's two

282
00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:36,320
parts to my answer.
I would say the first one is

283
00:15:36,320 --> 00:15:42,040
just, you know, when it comes to
projects that I've been in like

284
00:15:42,040 --> 00:15:46,160
you know, films or TV, you know,
recently with anything that I've

285
00:15:46,160 --> 00:15:48,360
been in, you know, when I was in
Outlander.

286
00:15:49,770 --> 00:15:51,810
When I did The Hobbit, all of
those things, you have a

287
00:15:51,810 --> 00:15:56,850
professional obligation to
promote the things that you're

288
00:15:56,850 --> 00:15:59,050
in and be sure that's part of
your job.

289
00:15:59,570 --> 00:16:05,890
And I take that I I very much
come from a generation who takes

290
00:16:05,890 --> 00:16:08,690
that seriously.
You know that you're you.

291
00:16:08,690 --> 00:16:11,410
You have a professional
obligation to people that are

292
00:16:11,410 --> 00:16:13,890
relying on you to fulfill a
role.

293
00:16:14,400 --> 00:16:18,520
And and also that the the people
that are going to see those

294
00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:21,320
films or television or whatever
it is, that you have an

295
00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:24,480
obligation to them.
I feel a responsibility,

296
00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:28,920
particularly the kind of things
that I've done recently, which

297
00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:33,400
all weirdly seem to be somehow
connected with existing books.

298
00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:39,760
So, Outlander, The Hobbit, The
Witcher, House of the Dragon.

299
00:16:41,340 --> 00:16:43,060
Preacher.
Yeah, I mean, there's there's

300
00:16:43,300 --> 00:16:48,540
just been so many that have had
this kind of literary background

301
00:16:48,820 --> 00:16:52,100
with an existing fan base.
And when you have a huge fan

302
00:16:52,100 --> 00:16:57,420
base for things, you you have an
obligation to to treat those

303
00:16:57,420 --> 00:17:01,260
people seriously and absolutely
actually talk about, talk about

304
00:17:01,260 --> 00:17:03,060
it in a somewhat intelligible
way.

305
00:17:03,500 --> 00:17:06,290
But then there's the stuff that.
You know, not to say that I

306
00:17:06,290 --> 00:17:09,490
didn't believe in those projects
because I did and I was very,

307
00:17:09,730 --> 00:17:12,410
very much enjoyed doing them.
But then there are things that

308
00:17:12,410 --> 00:17:15,329
you have a real passionate
involvement in, a personal

309
00:17:15,329 --> 00:17:19,810
passionate involvement in.
So that would go back to the Van

310
00:17:19,810 --> 00:17:22,450
Gogh show or Van Gogh as you
say.

311
00:17:22,770 --> 00:17:23,369
Yeah.
Thank you.

312
00:17:23,810 --> 00:17:27,369
No, no, Ben Hoch, as they say in
Holland.

313
00:17:28,770 --> 00:17:32,730
But yeah, you know, so going
right back to that.

314
00:17:33,190 --> 00:17:36,190
I produced that.
I wrote it, Co wrote it with my

315
00:17:36,190 --> 00:17:40,830
friend Nick Pace and we told
that all over the world actually

316
00:17:42,150 --> 00:17:48,390
when I did, when I did Clan
Lands with Sam, that was

317
00:17:48,390 --> 00:17:51,150
something I really really,
really believed in and and and

318
00:17:51,150 --> 00:17:54,910
really wanted to promote.
Same with when when I've done

319
00:17:54,910 --> 00:17:59,150
Men in Kilts, I've really wanted
to push myself into.

320
00:18:00,130 --> 00:18:03,370
Talking about them and the same
with this, these are things that

321
00:18:03,770 --> 00:18:07,250
I I it's not like I've done
loads of this sort of stuff in

322
00:18:07,250 --> 00:18:11,130
my career.
You know, I I work hard when I'm

323
00:18:11,130 --> 00:18:14,210
doing the job that I'm doing.
I take it seriously and I put

324
00:18:14,210 --> 00:18:16,970
everything into it.
But then there are the things

325
00:18:16,970 --> 00:18:22,290
that have sort of dotted my
career, which are they've sort

326
00:18:22,290 --> 00:18:26,690
of sometimes come by accident.
The Van Gogh show being a

327
00:18:26,690 --> 00:18:31,250
perfect example, actually.
We were looking for a two man

328
00:18:31,250 --> 00:18:34,210
show we'd done Edward Albee's
The Zoo Story.

329
00:18:34,210 --> 00:18:36,010
We'd done it at the Edinburgh
Fringe Festival.

330
00:18:36,770 --> 00:18:39,210
It had gone well.
We liked working with each other

331
00:18:39,490 --> 00:18:41,250
and we were looking for another
two man show.

332
00:18:41,690 --> 00:18:44,930
We couldn't find one.
We really tried hard.

333
00:18:45,010 --> 00:18:48,490
We couldn't find one and it
needed to be around an Hourish

334
00:18:48,610 --> 00:18:52,610
longish hour and a half and we
couldn't find one and we bumped

335
00:18:52,610 --> 00:18:54,610
into a lady.
My friend worked at the National

336
00:18:54,610 --> 00:18:57,250
Gallery in London.
Nick worked there.

337
00:18:57,990 --> 00:19:00,950
We bumped into a lady in Covent
Garden Market and she said, oh,

338
00:19:00,950 --> 00:19:03,910
where are you going?
And you know, ask asking what we

339
00:19:03,910 --> 00:19:05,310
were doing.
And I said we're trying to find

340
00:19:05,750 --> 00:19:07,110
a play.
And she said, oh, well, I saw a

341
00:19:07,110 --> 00:19:10,670
play by a Dutch actor 10 years
ago, which would have then been

342
00:19:10,670 --> 00:19:14,870
in the 70s, a one man show about
Vincent van Gogh and the letters

343
00:19:14,870 --> 00:19:16,070
that he wrote to his brother
Thea.

344
00:19:17,190 --> 00:19:19,990
That was amazing.
And and this is the this is the

345
00:19:19,990 --> 00:19:22,110
strange thing.
And I, and I think this has been

346
00:19:22,110 --> 00:19:25,510
a feature of many of the things
that I would call forks in the

347
00:19:25,510 --> 00:19:29,470
road in my life.
On any other day, I can assure

348
00:19:29,470 --> 00:19:32,790
you that Nick and I would have
just gone to the pub and gone.

349
00:19:33,270 --> 00:19:36,390
That's really interesting.
And then just had five pints and

350
00:19:36,390 --> 00:19:39,430
forgotten all about it, all
resolved, said, Oh yeah, we'll

351
00:19:39,430 --> 00:19:42,230
do something about that.
But instead we went straight to

352
00:19:42,270 --> 00:19:44,310
a bookshop.
It was like I was sort of

353
00:19:44,310 --> 00:19:48,350
compelled and I went straight to
the bookshop and immediately

354
00:19:48,350 --> 00:19:50,870
found the book.
It was like it was waiting, the

355
00:19:50,870 --> 00:19:53,670
letters of Vincent van Gogh and
I picked it, picked it up on the

356
00:19:53,670 --> 00:19:55,750
bookshelf, bought it, took it
home.

357
00:19:56,140 --> 00:20:00,580
Read it from cover to cover and
immediately, because I knew only

358
00:20:00,580 --> 00:20:02,580
the basics of that.
Back off at that point.

359
00:20:03,100 --> 00:20:06,460
And I immediately thought, this
is an amazing story, this

360
00:20:06,460 --> 00:20:07,940
relationship we have with this
brother.

361
00:20:08,260 --> 00:20:13,020
So I wrote the play, Nick helped
me shape it into a a form that

362
00:20:13,020 --> 00:20:14,860
we could actually take to the
National Gallery.

363
00:20:15,220 --> 00:20:17,740
And then on it, on it went.
And we did.

364
00:20:17,740 --> 00:20:20,940
We we really threw ourselves
into publicity because we really

365
00:20:20,940 --> 00:20:22,340
believed in it and it was the
same.

366
00:20:23,500 --> 00:20:26,020
So what I did Long Day's Journey
into tonight which was a Eugene

367
00:20:26,020 --> 00:20:28,580
O'Neill play that I helped
produce in Scotland.

368
00:20:29,620 --> 00:20:32,820
Same with clan land same with
many kilts And now with this.

369
00:20:32,820 --> 00:20:38,820
So I I yes, it's a bit of a
compulsion.

370
00:20:39,460 --> 00:20:41,860
Strange thing.
It's it's almost something I

371
00:20:41,860 --> 00:20:46,780
don't really have control over
that if I was doing this, for

372
00:20:46,780 --> 00:20:51,760
instance, if I was, if I was
promoting a a whiskey brand that

373
00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:55,240
someone had paid me to endorse
or things like that, it just

374
00:20:55,240 --> 00:20:59,320
wouldn't be the same.
Yeah, I wouldn't feel that that

375
00:20:59,360 --> 00:21:04,840
that urge, that desire to talk
and that's something I really,

376
00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:07,440
really believed in.
But but it's different with this

377
00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:10,880
because there's been a there's
been a journey that's brought me

378
00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:15,120
to this point and and that's
something I want to to share.

379
00:21:15,470 --> 00:21:20,310
But also to to see this as the
not the beginning of a journey

380
00:21:20,310 --> 00:21:22,510
exactly.
But this is the early stages of

381
00:21:22,510 --> 00:21:26,270
something that I'm really
committed to long term.

382
00:21:26,750 --> 00:21:28,870
Absolutely.
So I don't want this to be for

383
00:21:28,870 --> 00:21:33,630
instance, the only the only
whiskey that I bring out.

384
00:21:33,630 --> 00:21:37,620
You know we have plans for the
future with with bourbons and

385
00:21:37,860 --> 00:21:41,940
it's something that I've just
got really into and and and want

386
00:21:41,980 --> 00:21:45,540
to you know these I feel like
I'm in the foothills that the

387
00:21:45,540 --> 00:21:50,020
the the small foothills of
something and I think people

388
00:21:50,020 --> 00:21:53,460
I've spoken to about bourbon,
you know bourbon is a mountain

389
00:21:53,460 --> 00:21:58,940
that you can never get to the
top of it's it's just just when

390
00:21:58,940 --> 00:22:01,380
you think you're at the top that
is.

391
00:22:01,380 --> 00:22:04,920
For sure there's a massive peak
in front of me, so.

392
00:22:04,920 --> 00:22:08,560
I will say take it take it from
a guy who's reviewed about 500

393
00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:11,920
bourbons on this this podcast
already there is there is no

394
00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:15,480
peak it is very much pushing the
rock up the hill and never

395
00:22:15,480 --> 00:22:19,160
getting to the top kind of a
thing exactly.

396
00:22:19,760 --> 00:22:22,920
So you know, I I hear again I
hear a pattern emerging here

397
00:22:22,920 --> 00:22:27,040
which is you really truly have
the actors spirit about how you

398
00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:29,040
approach everything that you
work on and.

399
00:22:29,590 --> 00:22:32,990
You know, I was listening to a
great interview with Tom Hanks

400
00:22:32,990 --> 00:22:35,750
and someone had asked him to
name his three favorite of his

401
00:22:35,750 --> 00:22:40,990
own films, and his answer was
essentially, I can't tell you

402
00:22:41,070 --> 00:22:42,910
the three best movies I worked
on.

403
00:22:43,230 --> 00:22:46,550
I can only tell you the three
best experiences I had on set,

404
00:22:46,630 --> 00:22:51,150
because as an actor it is so
hard to divorce the actual

405
00:22:51,150 --> 00:22:54,150
process of the work from the
final product.

406
00:22:54,510 --> 00:22:55,870
Very true.
And I'm just wondering if you

407
00:22:55,870 --> 00:22:57,550
can, Yeah, Can you comment on
that a little bit?

408
00:22:57,550 --> 00:23:01,430
When you go to a premiere and
you just see the film, are you

409
00:23:01,430 --> 00:23:04,910
able to watch it in a vacuum, or
is it impossible to divorce from

410
00:23:04,910 --> 00:23:06,990
the work you put in?
No, it's impossible.

411
00:23:07,190 --> 00:23:09,510
In fact, it's one of the reasons
that a lot of actors, myself

412
00:23:09,510 --> 00:23:12,070
included, don't watch the things
that they've been in.

413
00:23:12,870 --> 00:23:15,910
The reason?
Because I mean, not that I have

414
00:23:15,950 --> 00:23:18,390
it.
I've look for Outlander, for

415
00:23:18,390 --> 00:23:20,450
instance.
I mean, this is a terrible

416
00:23:20,450 --> 00:23:23,690
confession that Outlander fans
will be shocked by, but I've

417
00:23:23,690 --> 00:23:27,890
only seen two episodes of
Outlander of the Premier that I

418
00:23:27,890 --> 00:23:33,170
went to in San Diego, because
same with The Hobbit.

419
00:23:33,210 --> 00:23:36,010
I've seen the premiers of The
Hobbit, I watched The Hobbit

420
00:23:36,010 --> 00:23:40,210
with my kids.
Same with, you know, everything,

421
00:23:40,210 --> 00:23:43,250
Preacher, The Witcher,
everything.

422
00:23:43,810 --> 00:23:49,610
I the exception would be men in
kilts because I'm an executive

423
00:23:49,610 --> 00:23:51,770
producer on that and it's
something we created.

424
00:23:52,450 --> 00:23:57,090
So we've seen everything.
We have to watch everything but

425
00:23:57,090 --> 00:24:00,490
everything else.
It's a combination of crippling

426
00:24:00,490 --> 00:24:05,970
embarrassment because you, you
know, I think people, people

427
00:24:05,970 --> 00:24:09,370
sort of have a misconception
about actors or certainly some

428
00:24:09,370 --> 00:24:13,250
actors that they're just like
big show offs, you know, that

429
00:24:13,250 --> 00:24:18,330
they just love, you know, just
having people looking at them

430
00:24:18,330 --> 00:24:21,210
and all the rest of it.
And there's something that may

431
00:24:21,210 --> 00:24:24,090
be partly true, I'm not entirely
sure, but there's something else

432
00:24:24,090 --> 00:24:28,650
going on with with acting.
But what I can tell you is you

433
00:24:29,170 --> 00:24:33,770
you don't like watching yourself
doing it because the stage, of

434
00:24:33,770 --> 00:24:36,970
course it's perfect because on
stage these moments are gone

435
00:24:36,970 --> 00:24:39,010
forever.
You, you know, nobody's

436
00:24:39,010 --> 00:24:40,730
recording them well.
Sure, sure.

437
00:24:41,050 --> 00:24:44,650
It shouldn't be.
And you know when you when you

438
00:24:44,650 --> 00:24:47,290
do stage work, you're you're
just there in that in that

439
00:24:47,290 --> 00:24:49,290
moment.
And I think what Tom Hanks is

440
00:24:49,290 --> 00:24:52,730
talking about is, is sort of a
bit like that, that when you're

441
00:24:52,730 --> 00:24:58,850
doing it, what you remember
about these projects is the

442
00:24:58,850 --> 00:25:02,490
experience of doing it, not
necessarily the end result.

443
00:25:02,690 --> 00:25:05,650
And partly because you, you have
no control over the end result

444
00:25:05,690 --> 00:25:08,730
in film and television, really,
you're part of something much

445
00:25:08,770 --> 00:25:12,790
bigger.
And so you take the moment that

446
00:25:12,790 --> 00:25:16,870
you have on set and then you
kind of have to forget about it.

447
00:25:17,110 --> 00:25:20,310
Yeah.
But yeah, I think he's right.

448
00:25:20,590 --> 00:25:25,270
You know, my experiences, I
mean, certainly, I mean I can

449
00:25:25,270 --> 00:25:30,310
think of obviously Outlander The
Hobbit was definitely one.

450
00:25:30,750 --> 00:25:34,350
You know, the the, the moment.
I think, I mean there were still

451
00:25:34,350 --> 00:25:37,590
were hundreds and hundreds and
hundreds of moments on The

452
00:25:37,590 --> 00:25:44,280
Hobbit trilogy.
But the first moment when I oh,

453
00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:48,560
it's a helicopter, The first
moment when I was the first wolf

454
00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:53,680
to arrive at Bag End, right.
And when you stood in front of

455
00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:57,640
the set of Bag End there it was
fully constructed, It was this

456
00:25:57,640 --> 00:26:02,400
existing building and there was
the green door and I was in

457
00:26:02,400 --> 00:26:04,680
costume.
They came and they did all the

458
00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:06,960
the final checks.
They made sure I looked good.

459
00:26:06,960 --> 00:26:10,190
And all the rest of it.
I knew what I was doing and I

460
00:26:10,190 --> 00:26:12,670
just had to on action.
I just had to knock on the door

461
00:26:13,790 --> 00:26:20,270
and and then the door opened and
that was this sort of signifying

462
00:26:20,270 --> 00:26:23,110
moment for me at the beginning
of something that I have no idea

463
00:26:23,110 --> 00:26:25,110
what it was going to be like, so
I've never forgotten it.

464
00:26:26,470 --> 00:26:30,070
Same with Rambo.
When I did Rambo with Stallone

465
00:26:31,310 --> 00:26:37,460
being on set with him, that his
sort of really open approach to

466
00:26:37,500 --> 00:26:40,220
improvisation, which I was
really surprised by.

467
00:26:40,660 --> 00:26:43,780
And just being when you're doing
improvisation, you really have

468
00:26:43,780 --> 00:26:47,580
to be super aware of what's
going on around you.

469
00:26:47,700 --> 00:26:51,740
Yeah, listening to what people
are saying, because bad

470
00:26:51,740 --> 00:26:53,740
improvisation is when people
don't listen.

471
00:26:55,300 --> 00:26:57,540
It's it's like bad conversation,
you know?

472
00:26:57,860 --> 00:26:59,620
It's like, I don't care what
you're going to say, I'm just

473
00:26:59,620 --> 00:27:04,110
going to say what I want anyway.
You know, part of the problem

474
00:27:04,110 --> 00:27:07,070
that we have in the world at the
moment, people don't listen.

475
00:27:08,030 --> 00:27:13,710
But but yeah, on on Rambo there
were moments, like out of body

476
00:27:13,710 --> 00:27:17,150
experiences where I became
suddenly aware.

477
00:27:17,150 --> 00:27:20,790
It was like a third eye was
watching me saying you are

478
00:27:20,790 --> 00:27:26,590
talking to Rambo, right?
And and I my, my brain couldn't

479
00:27:26,590 --> 00:27:29,550
quite process it.
It was as if I'd stepped inside

480
00:27:29,550 --> 00:27:32,760
the screen, like in, you know,
the last action hero when he

481
00:27:32,760 --> 00:27:34,840
comes out.
Yeah, yeah, right.

482
00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:38,800
It's it's like, what?
What?

483
00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:41,960
And he's talking to me, right?
He's talking back.

484
00:27:42,120 --> 00:27:44,960
You, you become aware of your
own fandom in a sense, right?

485
00:27:45,120 --> 00:27:48,320
Yeah.
Well, yes, it's you bring with

486
00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:53,320
you your history as a as a film
fan.

487
00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:56,760
Yeah, you know, a fan.
I mean my case a fan of Brando.

488
00:27:56,760 --> 00:27:58,440
You know a fan of Still Best to
Stallone.

489
00:27:58,440 --> 00:28:03,360
I grew up watching those films
and you know it's the same when

490
00:28:03,360 --> 00:28:07,920
you you meet anybody, certainly
in my career that you know when

491
00:28:07,920 --> 00:28:12,160
I met Christopher Lee and people
like that, you go, well, it's

492
00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:14,320
almost too much to.
Take in absolutely.

493
00:28:14,960 --> 00:28:17,960
Well, you you've mentioned a few
names here and and going through

494
00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:21,160
your filmography you have
enjoyed the opportunity to work

495
00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:25,040
with some major sort of a list
Hollywood stars and also some

496
00:28:25,200 --> 00:28:28,200
some very major, I guess we
could call them a list directors

497
00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:30,670
as well.
And I'm wondering like from a a

498
00:28:30,870 --> 00:28:34,230
set perspective being on there
on the day, is there a

499
00:28:34,230 --> 00:28:37,990
difference between working on a
project that is very star driven

500
00:28:38,350 --> 00:28:41,470
versus working on a project
where the director is sort of

501
00:28:41,470 --> 00:28:46,390
the star of the project?
Interesting, Good question.

502
00:28:49,150 --> 00:28:54,750
You know I've been I've
definitely been very lucky that

503
00:28:55,110 --> 00:28:59,640
the the sort of starry names
that I've worked with I've I've

504
00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:04,720
all been actually very generous
people you know generous with

505
00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:11,400
their time not not ego driven in
perhaps the way you might expect

506
00:29:13,120 --> 00:29:16,440
actually interested in
collaboration and so that has

507
00:29:16,440 --> 00:29:20,920
been a real feature for me.
I mean there's always

508
00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:23,600
exceptions.
You know when you when you do

509
00:29:23,720 --> 00:29:26,800
things and that there might be
somebody who's well known and

510
00:29:27,370 --> 00:29:32,290
you, you realize very quickly
that okay, they're going to be a

511
00:29:32,290 --> 00:29:35,770
bit tricky, tricky and you know
they're going to have them on

512
00:29:35,770 --> 00:29:38,650
stage as well.
But but the thing I've learned

513
00:29:38,730 --> 00:29:43,730
about those people is they tend
not to last.

514
00:29:44,930 --> 00:29:49,370
They can be, you know, they can
do well up to a point.

515
00:29:49,850 --> 00:29:53,050
But then there always comes a
point where actually the, the,

516
00:29:53,770 --> 00:29:57,050
the, the reality, the truth
about them as well.

517
00:29:57,250 --> 00:30:02,370
Artists I suppose emerges.
And and real artists, people

518
00:30:02,370 --> 00:30:06,970
that are interested in creating
things together, whether it's on

519
00:30:06,970 --> 00:30:10,010
film or television or with
whiskey or with a book or

520
00:30:10,210 --> 00:30:16,190
whatever, they're they're not.
I mean ego is involved because

521
00:30:16,190 --> 00:30:19,110
you'd have to have some kind of
an ego to even put these things

522
00:30:19,110 --> 00:30:20,310
out, right.
But right.

523
00:30:20,430 --> 00:30:22,230
I'm not.
I'm not that modest.

524
00:30:22,710 --> 00:30:26,910
But they're that isn't the
primary driver.

525
00:30:27,310 --> 00:30:30,590
It's actually the enjoyment of
the experience of making it.

526
00:30:30,910 --> 00:30:34,110
You know, like Sylvester
Stallone is a very good example.

527
00:30:35,710 --> 00:30:39,140
One thing that a lot of these
people, the best people that

528
00:30:39,140 --> 00:30:40,820
I've worked with, the kind of
people that you're talking

529
00:30:40,820 --> 00:30:43,940
about, that what they all have
in common is that they have a

530
00:30:43,940 --> 00:30:47,060
genuine childlike enthusiasm for
what they're doing.

531
00:30:48,060 --> 00:30:51,860
They are children.
Peter Jackson, I mean, Sylvester

532
00:30:51,860 --> 00:30:54,140
Stallone, I mean he's he's a
very scary child.

533
00:30:54,420 --> 00:31:01,140
But he's he's you know, and I'm
a child too in that sense.

534
00:31:01,420 --> 00:31:04,740
And you have to be in touch with
that part of yourself.

535
00:31:06,140 --> 00:31:11,530
The the the children have
enormous enthusiasm for things.

536
00:31:11,810 --> 00:31:14,010
The things that adults don't
really understand.

537
00:31:14,490 --> 00:31:18,010
You know, you can you watch a
child get involved in something

538
00:31:18,250 --> 00:31:21,130
and you're sort of like, what
are they saying there?

539
00:31:21,130 --> 00:31:25,010
I don't get it for the child.
It's everything.

540
00:31:25,410 --> 00:31:29,410
And and that's the thing that
that artists or people involved

541
00:31:29,410 --> 00:31:32,890
in this sort of industry or
whatever creation that they want

542
00:31:32,890 --> 00:31:35,330
to be involved in that they have
that in common.

543
00:31:36,010 --> 00:31:40,010
How much of that willingness to
collaborate comes from

544
00:31:40,010 --> 00:31:42,050
experience, though?
You know, I I look at your

545
00:31:42,050 --> 00:31:44,770
filmography and especially like
your most recent projects.

546
00:31:44,770 --> 00:31:47,250
Like to your point, they've all
been based on books, but they're

547
00:31:47,250 --> 00:31:50,410
all also sort of in the fantasy
genre in in some ways.

548
00:31:50,810 --> 00:31:54,370
And I wonder, like as a young
actor, would you have felt more

549
00:31:54,370 --> 00:31:57,650
insecure or maybe felt like
you're pigeonholing yourself

550
00:31:57,650 --> 00:32:00,050
more than you do now?
I I think there there seems to

551
00:32:00,050 --> 00:32:02,600
be.
With these established actors

552
00:32:02,600 --> 00:32:05,800
and directors the ego sort of
falls away after a while and you

553
00:32:05,800 --> 00:32:10,000
become more comfortable, you
know, with that collaborative

554
00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:14,360
nature and and less concerned
with the you know the sort of

555
00:32:14,360 --> 00:32:17,480
insecure how you're perceived as
you go along.

556
00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:20,640
Yeah, it's, I don't know, it's
interesting.

557
00:32:20,640 --> 00:32:23,760
I I think there's a little bit
of, you know, the law of mutual

558
00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:30,300
attraction going on that stuff.
Because something that I learned

559
00:32:30,300 --> 00:32:36,580
about myself and I've accepted
is that my love and my real

560
00:32:36,580 --> 00:32:41,180
passion when it came to acting
wasn't necessarily Shakespeare,

561
00:32:41,180 --> 00:32:44,820
although I've done a lot of it
over the years in theater.

562
00:32:46,340 --> 00:32:51,060
It it was always this this
little little sort of thing on

563
00:32:51,060 --> 00:32:53,580
my shoulder that was that was
saying, yeah, but what about

564
00:32:53,980 --> 00:32:55,940
what about film?
What about TV?

565
00:32:55,940 --> 00:32:59,010
What about what about action?
What about fighting?

566
00:32:59,170 --> 00:33:01,730
What about all the things that
you what about swords?

567
00:33:02,010 --> 00:33:07,170
You know what don't we do a bit
more of that And so I don't

568
00:33:07,170 --> 00:33:11,370
think you know if if if people
are destined to take certain

569
00:33:11,370 --> 00:33:15,450
paths or be open to them anyway.
I I don't think my path was

570
00:33:15,450 --> 00:33:21,730
destined to be a lawyer in a TV
show or you know a doctor at a

571
00:33:21,730 --> 00:33:26,330
hospital or you know the the the
the the psychiatrist or you know

572
00:33:26,610 --> 00:33:29,450
the things that I I mean I'm not
saying I wouldn't want to do

573
00:33:29,450 --> 00:33:38,410
those things but I I love the
genre the the fantasy and I have

574
00:33:38,410 --> 00:33:41,130
sort of found myself getting
more involved in that.

575
00:33:41,730 --> 00:33:49,250
I I wanted to be a a Roman and I
did 2 Roman series back-to-back.

576
00:33:51,220 --> 00:33:54,940
I wanted to be in a kind of
Monty Python movie and I was in

577
00:33:54,940 --> 00:33:57,700
Eric the Viking with Terry Jones
and John Cleese.

578
00:33:58,860 --> 00:34:02,620
There was that I wanted to be a
cowboy and I got to do that in

579
00:34:02,620 --> 00:34:05,620
Preacher.
So there are things that I've

580
00:34:05,620 --> 00:34:11,139
always really, really, really
wanted to do, and perhaps that

581
00:34:11,139 --> 00:34:15,540
that level of desire just gives
you that edge when you are, when

582
00:34:15,540 --> 00:34:17,219
you're really going after it,
you know?

583
00:34:17,300 --> 00:34:21,630
And I've always wanted to be in
an action movie like Randa, So

584
00:34:21,750 --> 00:34:25,070
yeah.
In looking through your TV

585
00:34:25,070 --> 00:34:29,750
credits, I think that you have,
I don't know if it's unwittingly

586
00:34:29,750 --> 00:34:31,710
or or with full knowledge.
You've been involved in some

587
00:34:31,710 --> 00:34:35,150
really groundbreaking television
shows, and now in particular,

588
00:34:35,230 --> 00:34:38,550
you know you did at least a
couple episodes, I think of the

589
00:34:38,670 --> 00:34:41,389
Ali G show when that first came
out.

590
00:34:41,909 --> 00:34:45,710
And you were also involved in
24, which is a show especially

591
00:34:45,710 --> 00:34:47,929
in America.
You know, I think we give a lot

592
00:34:47,929 --> 00:34:51,730
of credit to the sort of the
Bourne Identity movies for

593
00:34:51,730 --> 00:34:55,409
introducing the sort of real
grounded, the Paul Greengrass

594
00:34:55,409 --> 00:34:58,570
shaky Cam kind of thing.
I think 24 actually may have

595
00:34:58,570 --> 00:35:00,650
even preceded the first Bourne
movie.

596
00:35:01,410 --> 00:35:04,050
And and it's just, it's really
interesting to me.

597
00:35:04,050 --> 00:35:07,050
Are you aware when you're
working on these sort of

598
00:35:07,050 --> 00:35:11,170
groundbreaking projects, whether
it's in comedy or action, do you

599
00:35:11,170 --> 00:35:14,330
know that they're brewing
something that hasn't been seen

600
00:35:14,330 --> 00:35:20,350
before?
Not entirely.

601
00:35:21,230 --> 00:35:27,590
I mean with with 24, I was a
huge fan and and that's actually

602
00:35:27,590 --> 00:35:30,210
been another feature of things
that I've been involved in.

603
00:35:30,210 --> 00:35:33,370
You know, I was a fan of Lord of
the Rings and I got to be in The

604
00:35:33,370 --> 00:35:35,490
Hobbit.
I was a fan of 24.

605
00:35:35,490 --> 00:35:39,250
I was a fan of Prison Break.
I was a fan of the Preacher

606
00:35:39,250 --> 00:35:42,330
graphic novels.
And so I was a fan of Monty

607
00:35:42,330 --> 00:35:45,850
Python.
So the being invited to be part

608
00:35:45,850 --> 00:35:48,770
of those things was just so
exciting.

609
00:35:50,130 --> 00:35:52,130
Yeah, I was a fan of Rambo.
Yeah.

610
00:35:52,170 --> 00:35:56,050
You know so I I but 24 I mean
very groundbreaking.

611
00:35:56,350 --> 00:36:00,190
I mean the split screen
absolutely real time stuff.

612
00:36:00,190 --> 00:36:03,950
I mean I never, I'll never
forget the first pilot episode

613
00:36:04,070 --> 00:36:07,950
of the first season of 24 and at
the end you know, you watch you

614
00:36:07,950 --> 00:36:10,790
know and that they're Hostess
and that thing and the guy, you

615
00:36:10,870 --> 00:36:12,710
know blowing up the plane,
jumping out and you're just.

616
00:36:12,710 --> 00:36:14,950
Right, right.
What?

617
00:36:15,150 --> 00:36:19,310
Yeah.
And and and it really, I think,

618
00:36:19,310 --> 00:36:22,830
marked truly addictive
television.

619
00:36:24,350 --> 00:36:26,820
You know, you you have to keep
watching.

620
00:36:27,180 --> 00:36:31,220
You have to keep, you know, and
I mean, there were, there's

621
00:36:31,220 --> 00:36:35,180
always been popular shows, but
the television has come through

622
00:36:35,180 --> 00:36:39,100
many iterations over the years.
You know, it's gone away from

623
00:36:39,620 --> 00:36:42,860
the everybody watching the same
show on a Friday night, you

624
00:36:42,860 --> 00:36:46,260
know, 10s of millions of people
tuning in because there's only

625
00:36:46,260 --> 00:36:51,180
like 4 channels or whatever to
multiple choices.

626
00:36:51,850 --> 00:36:55,330
And those shows having to having
to hold on to you.

627
00:36:55,850 --> 00:36:59,730
You know, you want you want to
see the the season finale of

628
00:36:59,730 --> 00:37:01,890
Succession.
You know you want to, you want

629
00:37:01,890 --> 00:37:05,210
to see what happens after
they've cut Sean Bean's head off

630
00:37:05,210 --> 00:37:07,690
at the beginning of the season.
One of the greater Thrones,

631
00:37:08,570 --> 00:37:13,490
those moments where you go,
bloody hell, I wasn't expecting

632
00:37:14,050 --> 00:37:17,290
to happen.
So, yeah, yeah, I mean, I'm a

633
00:37:17,290 --> 00:37:20,300
fan of all of that stuff.
And so when I'm in it, when I'm,

634
00:37:20,300 --> 00:37:27,420
when I, when I'm a part of it, I
mean I I I love, I mean, you

635
00:37:27,420 --> 00:37:30,060
know, well, I can't talk about
that, that particular one.

636
00:37:30,060 --> 00:37:34,340
But there are things that I've,
I've done where I've as I've

637
00:37:34,340 --> 00:37:38,300
been doing them, looking forward
to what people will think of it.

638
00:37:39,100 --> 00:37:41,820
This is going to be.
They're going to love this.

639
00:37:42,620 --> 00:37:45,180
All right, before we get off of
movies, we are titling this

640
00:37:45,180 --> 00:37:46,700
episode.
It's part of our series that we

641
00:37:46,700 --> 00:37:50,270
call my favorite Movie.
And so you know it is.

642
00:37:50,350 --> 00:37:52,350
It is such an obvious question
to ask you.

643
00:37:52,350 --> 00:37:56,550
But if you had to pinpoint one
film that you just, you could

644
00:37:56,550 --> 00:38:01,710
never get rid of, if if forced
to at gunpoint, what what would

645
00:38:01,710 --> 00:38:03,950
you consider your favorite film?
OK.

646
00:38:04,150 --> 00:38:08,550
It's it's not perhaps, I'm not
sure how many Americans have

647
00:38:08,550 --> 00:38:11,470
seen it because it pertains very
much to a particular point in

648
00:38:11,470 --> 00:38:16,430
British history.
And it also marks, I think one

649
00:38:16,430 --> 00:38:22,690
of the last great epic British
war films, I suppose you call

650
00:38:22,690 --> 00:38:27,290
it, which is Zulu.
Oh yeah, which I have seen at

651
00:38:27,290 --> 00:38:32,730
least 10 times.
And it's it's just a perfect

652
00:38:32,730 --> 00:38:37,730
film and and also the story
behind the making of it that

653
00:38:38,050 --> 00:38:41,570
that there's a perfect, I mean
Stanley Baker who who was one of

654
00:38:41,570 --> 00:38:43,690
the stars in it, Michael Caine's
first movie.

655
00:38:45,340 --> 00:38:47,740
Stanley Baker, it was his
passion project.

656
00:38:48,060 --> 00:38:52,140
So I really identify with that
as well that he he moved heaven

657
00:38:52,140 --> 00:38:54,900
and earth to get that film made.
You know, and I'm trying to do

658
00:38:54,900 --> 00:38:57,540
the same with a couple of movies
myself that I'm trying to

659
00:38:57,540 --> 00:39:01,740
produce and and work on and you
know, the sense of achievement

660
00:39:01,740 --> 00:39:06,220
he must have had doing that and
and the fantastic end result

661
00:39:06,740 --> 00:39:11,900
it's it's it's just such an
incredible story of mutual

662
00:39:11,900 --> 00:39:18,550
heroism both from the Zulus and
from the 24th Regiment afoot at

663
00:39:18,550 --> 00:39:21,950
Rocks Drift.
It's it's an incredible true

664
00:39:21,950 --> 00:39:25,950
story and it's filmed
brilliantly and yeah, music,

665
00:39:26,110 --> 00:39:27,750
everything about it.
I just love Zulu.

666
00:39:28,350 --> 00:39:29,670
I think you're absolutely right
though.

667
00:39:29,670 --> 00:39:35,430
There's almost a sub genre of
sort of late 60s, early 70s epic

668
00:39:35,430 --> 00:39:37,590
films, especially in Britain
that I feel like.

669
00:39:38,000 --> 00:39:40,640
Really got passed over by the
general public or or, you know,

670
00:39:40,640 --> 00:39:43,600
I think about John Houston's The
Man Who Would Be King.

671
00:39:43,960 --> 00:39:47,360
I think about some of the later
David Lean films.

672
00:39:47,600 --> 00:39:50,360
It's just really interesting
that tastes had changed, I

673
00:39:50,360 --> 00:39:52,200
guess.
But when you go back and

674
00:39:52,200 --> 00:39:54,600
rediscover some of these movies,
it's not like they were

675
00:39:54,600 --> 00:39:56,840
forgotten because they lacked
quality.

676
00:39:57,000 --> 00:39:59,560
In fact that, you know, they're
the scale of these.

677
00:39:59,560 --> 00:40:02,280
You're absolutely right.
They just don't do it like that

678
00:40:02,280 --> 00:40:03,440
anymore.
No.

679
00:40:03,600 --> 00:40:07,920
And and what's interesting about
a film like Zulu is that

680
00:40:08,040 --> 00:40:11,760
although it opens in the
aftermath of Islana, the big

681
00:40:11,840 --> 00:40:15,280
massacre of the British troops,
you don't see the battle.

682
00:40:15,320 --> 00:40:18,480
You know, you see some people
walking around, you know some

683
00:40:18,480 --> 00:40:21,680
dead bodies and stuff like that.
And you have Richard Burton's

684
00:40:22,400 --> 00:40:28,920
voice over coming in.
But if that film was made now,

685
00:40:29,560 --> 00:40:31,560
it would have to have a big
battle at the beginning.

686
00:40:31,880 --> 00:40:34,040
They would have to have real
action right from the get go.

687
00:40:34,040 --> 00:40:36,280
There would have to be something
to catch the audience.

688
00:40:36,520 --> 00:40:40,360
Whereas this begins in this
really gentle way.

689
00:40:40,880 --> 00:40:43,320
You know men in a river building
a bridge.

690
00:40:43,600 --> 00:40:48,960
You know a bit of comedy bit of
this going on and and the slow

691
00:40:48,960 --> 00:40:52,880
build, the inexorable.
You know that something's

692
00:40:52,880 --> 00:40:57,480
coming, something not great is
coming and they're going to find

693
00:40:57,480 --> 00:40:59,520
out, but you're going to find
out with them.

694
00:41:00,080 --> 00:41:03,040
And so that the audience are
together with the characters.

695
00:41:03,360 --> 00:41:07,960
The the audience haven't got a
they haven't got an advantage or

696
00:41:07,960 --> 00:41:11,400
they haven't got a they haven't
been previewed with something.

697
00:41:11,400 --> 00:41:14,120
They they are with them.
And that's something that I

698
00:41:14,120 --> 00:41:21,600
think film to some degree has
lost that that the need to grab

699
00:41:21,600 --> 00:41:24,400
people's attention.
Now the short The shortness of

700
00:41:24,400 --> 00:41:29,120
people's attention span won't
allow them to let films unfold

701
00:41:29,120 --> 00:41:31,280
in the way that perhaps
something like Zulu did.

702
00:41:31,800 --> 00:41:35,480
Sure.
Are there any films or actors in

703
00:41:35,480 --> 00:41:38,400
particular now now that you've
been in the business as long as

704
00:41:38,400 --> 00:41:42,240
you have, that you've developed
an appreciation for that you may

705
00:41:42,240 --> 00:41:44,600
not have had before you got into
the business?

706
00:41:45,920 --> 00:41:48,760
Oh gosh, yeah.
That's a great question.

707
00:41:49,440 --> 00:41:52,720
I was just talking with somebody
that this week about Matt Damon

708
00:41:52,760 --> 00:41:57,920
as an A list star and how Damon.
Is is such a subtle actor, but

709
00:41:57,920 --> 00:42:03,160
he is, he's so uninterested it
seems in big showy performances

710
00:42:03,240 --> 00:42:06,000
and he's he anchors every I mean
he's great.

711
00:42:06,000 --> 00:42:09,320
And Oppenheimer, he just, you
know he's not trying to upstage

712
00:42:09,320 --> 00:42:12,480
anyone in that film.
And so I feel like there's once

713
00:42:12,480 --> 00:42:15,280
you, once you know what you're
looking for and you know what to

714
00:42:15,280 --> 00:42:18,640
see from everyone who's
supporting, you know, whoever

715
00:42:18,920 --> 00:42:22,400
the star of the scene is, quote,
UN quote, I just feel like

716
00:42:22,400 --> 00:42:24,560
there's so many actors that go
unsung.

717
00:42:25,090 --> 00:42:28,090
Because they're not trying to
steal the spotlight, you know?

718
00:42:28,450 --> 00:42:29,210
Yeah.
Yeah.

719
00:42:29,210 --> 00:42:34,050
No, I agree.
I mean, you know, I have a great

720
00:42:34,050 --> 00:42:37,690
appreciation of of some of that.
I like Leonardo DiCaprio as an

721
00:42:37,690 --> 00:42:41,370
actor because his range is so
great.

722
00:42:41,970 --> 00:42:46,610
You know, he really does have,
you know, I would.

723
00:42:47,010 --> 00:42:51,050
I mean it's not competition, but
you know I would place him.

724
00:42:52,250 --> 00:42:56,770
I mean Tom Hanks is is great,
but I think his real strength is

725
00:42:56,770 --> 00:43:00,530
playing that every man character
that identified with, which is a

726
00:43:00,530 --> 00:43:02,370
great skill.
It's not different.

727
00:43:02,490 --> 00:43:08,610
It's not easy to do that, but
but Leo manages to really cover

728
00:43:08,610 --> 00:43:12,970
so much, so much, you know,
comedy, action, you know, just

729
00:43:12,970 --> 00:43:15,210
just he's done all of that sort
of stuff.

730
00:43:23,610 --> 00:43:17,170
Enjoyed so much as an actor.
And and I think the other person

731
00:43:17,170 --> 00:43:21,330
that I would from the past that
I would compare that to someone

732
00:43:21,330 --> 00:43:27,650
like Gene Hackman who I really.
You never saw a film with Gene

733
00:43:27,650 --> 00:43:29,810
Hackman in it where Gene Hackman
did a bad job.

734
00:43:30,130 --> 00:43:32,930
Yeah, he he he's done that.
And he is exactly that kind of

735
00:43:32,930 --> 00:43:35,850
person who is all about making
the film great.

736
00:43:36,050 --> 00:43:38,390
Yep.
The story telling the story.

737
00:43:38,590 --> 00:43:43,670
So when you see him in something
like Unforgiven, he's he's great

738
00:43:43,750 --> 00:43:47,470
in that film that he is a
supporting character to Clint

739
00:43:47,470 --> 00:43:53,910
Eastwood and and and he plays
it, you know to perfection and

740
00:43:53,990 --> 00:43:58,590
and those are always the actors
that I've wanted to emulate if I

741
00:43:58,590 --> 00:44:01,590
can.
You know that I've I've always

742
00:44:01,590 --> 00:44:07,120
wanted to just be true to the
story and play my role.

743
00:44:07,440 --> 00:44:11,240
So you know, when when I, when I
did the first season of House of

744
00:44:11,240 --> 00:44:15,320
the Dragon, it was a real
departure for me in a lot of

745
00:44:15,320 --> 00:44:18,480
ways because although I was
carrying a bloody great sword

746
00:44:18,480 --> 00:44:22,000
and there were Dragons and all
the rest of it going on, I was a

747
00:44:22,000 --> 00:44:26,720
very, very morally upright
correct individual.

748
00:44:27,440 --> 00:44:32,000
I didn't have loads to say, but
my role wasn't my.

749
00:44:32,840 --> 00:44:36,480
My role meant that he wouldn't
be talking all the time.

750
00:44:36,480 --> 00:44:41,640
That's not what he would do.
He listens, He absorbs, he takes

751
00:44:41,640 --> 00:44:42,880
in.
He has his own personal

752
00:44:42,880 --> 00:44:45,960
opinions, and those are
expressed in the end.

753
00:44:45,960 --> 00:44:50,720
You see how he feels about these
people in the end, But it's his.

754
00:44:51,240 --> 00:44:56,000
It's his silence, his lack of
expression that actually speaks

755
00:44:56,000 --> 00:44:59,320
volumes about his character.
Same with Preacher.

756
00:44:59,640 --> 00:45:06,350
When I did Preacher, which was a
sort of echo somewhat of Clint

757
00:45:06,350 --> 00:45:09,390
Eastwood's characters in some of
the Westerns that he's done.

758
00:45:09,390 --> 00:45:13,070
And it was actually written by
Garth Dennis as that, as a Clint

759
00:45:13,070 --> 00:45:18,550
Eastwood sort of character.
Again, he barely speaks, but

760
00:45:18,550 --> 00:45:23,310
he's all about that brooding,
terrifying silence.

761
00:45:23,510 --> 00:45:26,470
Absolutely.
And I think that's, you know,

762
00:45:26,470 --> 00:45:31,840
I've learned that along the way
that, you know, it's as somebody

763
00:45:31,840 --> 00:45:34,480
said, it's not that you don't
have anything to say, it's you

764
00:45:34,480 --> 00:45:37,760
choose not to say it.
That's the life lesson from

765
00:45:37,760 --> 00:45:40,080
today.
Always shoot for brooding,

766
00:45:40,120 --> 00:45:42,560
terrifying silence.
That's my take away.

767
00:45:43,960 --> 00:45:46,600
It's carried me through my life.
You know, when I go and get a

768
00:45:46,880 --> 00:45:49,120
coffee, I don't tell them all I
want.

769
00:45:49,600 --> 00:45:53,520
I let them guess from.
That's it.

770
00:45:53,560 --> 00:45:55,280
That's it.
I bet you get a lot of free

771
00:45:55,280 --> 00:45:57,160
coffee out of that as well.
That's right.

772
00:45:57,160 --> 00:45:59,720
It works every time.
Yeah, it just want me out of the

773
00:45:59,720 --> 00:46:01,720
storm.
Graham, before we let you go

774
00:46:01,720 --> 00:46:03,400
today, I do want to talk about
the whiskey.

775
00:46:03,400 --> 00:46:05,840
Let's let's dive into this
whiskey now, as I said, I've

776
00:46:05,840 --> 00:46:08,440
tasted it already.
It is absolutely delicious.

777
00:46:08,640 --> 00:46:11,720
I think the obvious question
that that Americans in

778
00:46:11,720 --> 00:46:14,920
particular are going to ask
about This is why bourbon?

779
00:46:15,000 --> 00:46:17,720
Like why not Scotch?
You know, we we would have

780
00:46:17,720 --> 00:46:20,510
anticipated that from you.
What was it about bourbon that

781
00:46:20,510 --> 00:46:22,390
made you want to put your stamp
on that?

782
00:46:22,910 --> 00:46:29,270
Well, I my experience at bourbon
began, gosh, nearly 20 years

783
00:46:29,270 --> 00:46:33,710
ago, actually, with an American
friend of mine when I moved to

784
00:46:33,710 --> 00:46:38,590
America, an actor called Nolan
North who's a wonderful voice

785
00:46:38,710 --> 00:46:42,750
actor, primarily fabulous,
wonderful guy, and he introduced

786
00:46:42,750 --> 00:46:46,710
me to bourbon.
And the thing about it is that

787
00:46:47,390 --> 00:46:52,550
obviously being Scottish, my
father you know regularly used

788
00:46:52,550 --> 00:46:55,230
to bring Scotch out.
We toasted the table.

789
00:46:56,030 --> 00:46:59,430
He's deeply rooted in you as as
somebody from Scotland, from

790
00:46:59,590 --> 00:47:02,550
from the UK, that you know
that's that's our drink.

791
00:47:02,750 --> 00:47:05,910
That's our drink.
And and when I tried bourbon,

792
00:47:06,590 --> 00:47:09,430
the thing that I noticed almost
immediately, well, immediately

793
00:47:09,430 --> 00:47:17,160
in fact, was I preferred it and
and and it it, it actually pains

794
00:47:17,160 --> 00:47:20,640
me to say it a little bit.
Because it does feel a little

795
00:47:20,640 --> 00:47:25,840
bit like heresy, and that's a
disrespect towards Scotch.

796
00:47:25,840 --> 00:47:28,760
Because I do like Scotch.
There's loads of whiskeys.

797
00:47:28,760 --> 00:47:31,080
I love, you know, petey
whiskeys.

798
00:47:31,080 --> 00:47:33,320
Not so petey, you know Highland
Park.

799
00:47:33,320 --> 00:47:35,720
Loads of different, different
iterations of whiskey that I've

800
00:47:35,720 --> 00:47:39,000
really enjoyed.
But that first taste that I had

801
00:47:39,000 --> 00:47:43,570
with Nolan and I think a lot of
people who no Scotch but don't

802
00:47:43,570 --> 00:47:47,010
know bourbon kind of just think
it's just the kind of an

803
00:47:47,010 --> 00:47:51,890
American substitute for Scotch
without realizing that it is its

804
00:47:51,930 --> 00:47:55,170
own unique spirit.
Absolutely.

805
00:47:55,570 --> 00:47:59,730
When I took that first sip, I
thought, Oh yeah no, this is

806
00:47:59,890 --> 00:48:02,370
this is different.
This is not Scotch.

807
00:48:02,370 --> 00:48:07,850
This is something else.
And I loved I I I loved the the

808
00:48:07,850 --> 00:48:10,290
sweetness to it.
I have to be the you know that

809
00:48:10,610 --> 00:48:15,790
the slight the the syrupy
quality you know as it as it

810
00:48:15,790 --> 00:48:20,030
went down your your across your
palate and that was was

811
00:48:20,030 --> 00:48:24,310
beautiful and but also with the
Scotland American thing it's a

812
00:48:24,310 --> 00:48:28,750
little bit like my acting career
there was a part of me that felt

813
00:48:28,750 --> 00:48:31,470
that well I should have been I
should be doing Shakespeare.

814
00:48:31,470 --> 00:48:35,470
I should be doing this but my
love lay elsewhere.

815
00:48:35,470 --> 00:48:41,600
My love lay in American movies,
TV, action, you know, all of

816
00:48:41,600 --> 00:48:46,120
those things, you know, that I
was describing earlier and and I

817
00:48:46,120 --> 00:48:51,480
consciously made that move as an
actor nearly 20 years ago to, to

818
00:48:51,480 --> 00:48:56,360
be honest and go, no, this is
who I am, you know, this is what

819
00:48:56,360 --> 00:48:59,400
I want to be doing.
Yeah, I went and I booked rando

820
00:48:59,400 --> 00:49:04,120
when I arrived and and that set
the pattern for for the career

821
00:49:04,120 --> 00:49:10,100
that I've had since then really.
And this, this is the same I I

822
00:49:10,100 --> 00:49:14,180
knew that I liked bourbon, that
I preferred it.

823
00:49:14,260 --> 00:49:18,060
I didn't ever mention that.
And when I finally got together

824
00:49:18,060 --> 00:49:24,420
with Connor and and Paul, the
people that really started my

825
00:49:24,420 --> 00:49:27,820
proper journey with with
Bourbon, I understood that this

826
00:49:27,820 --> 00:49:30,060
was something, this was
something else I wanted to do,

827
00:49:30,060 --> 00:49:32,260
that I wanted to devote passion
into.

828
00:49:32,900 --> 00:49:36,380
And that Scotland, the Scottish
connection with America.

829
00:49:37,490 --> 00:49:41,650
What what really started to
spark my imagination was the the

830
00:49:41,650 --> 00:49:46,570
history the the the fact that
the Scots and the Irish and the

831
00:49:46,570 --> 00:49:49,170
English, let's not forget the
English.

832
00:49:50,010 --> 00:49:53,170
They came over and they settled
in that particular part of the

833
00:49:53,170 --> 00:49:58,370
Eastern United States and and
brought with them a love of

834
00:49:58,370 --> 00:50:02,280
distilling spirit grain.
You know they wanted to do they

835
00:50:02,280 --> 00:50:03,960
want.
They they they knew how to do

836
00:50:03,960 --> 00:50:07,800
it.
And and the fact that it's tax

837
00:50:07,880 --> 00:50:12,840
really Washington is what he did
by trying to tax these people

838
00:50:12,840 --> 00:50:16,560
that forced them W that made
them discover these great

839
00:50:16,560 --> 00:50:21,000
limestone you know, iron free
waters and all the rest of it

840
00:50:21,000 --> 00:50:23,880
that was so perfect for making
this particular spirit.

841
00:50:24,080 --> 00:50:29,910
This wonderful accident happened
and I love the the history of

842
00:50:29,910 --> 00:50:34,310
accidents in that sense.
And and I suppose you know, once

843
00:50:34,550 --> 00:50:40,430
I I blended that with my my
already growing love of bourbon,

844
00:50:40,750 --> 00:50:45,310
my own sort of private
confession that I actually

845
00:50:45,310 --> 00:50:48,950
preferred it with my love of
history, there was only one

846
00:50:48,950 --> 00:50:51,350
thing that I could do and that
would be to make my own bourbon

847
00:50:51,350 --> 00:50:53,910
brand and not make Scotch.
Absolutely.

848
00:50:54,230 --> 00:50:57,070
It actually meant that that that
couldn't be something I could do

849
00:50:57,070 --> 00:51:00,370
because it wouldn't be honest.
Well, I cannot speak highly

850
00:51:00,370 --> 00:51:03,610
enough of the whiskey itself.
I, you know, I'm looking forward

851
00:51:03,610 --> 00:51:07,730
to all the future releases.
But if this were to be the only

852
00:51:07,730 --> 00:51:11,690
one, I would still say, you
know, stamp of approval and Gold

853
00:51:11,690 --> 00:51:14,850
Star, because this is just a
phenomenal whiskey that you've

854
00:51:14,850 --> 00:51:17,570
chosen.
Thank you so much.

855
00:51:17,570 --> 00:51:22,250
That's that's really love me.
I'm so glad that you feel that.

856
00:51:22,330 --> 00:51:23,610
Yeah.
Means a lot.

857
00:51:23,650 --> 00:51:29,600
It really does, because I hate
the term sort of celebrity

858
00:51:29,920 --> 00:51:32,360
brands.
It actually makes me physically

859
00:51:32,360 --> 00:51:36,840
wince.
But if if if I can, if I can

860
00:51:36,840 --> 00:51:42,840
introduce my love of not just
bourbon but my belief in this to

861
00:51:42,840 --> 00:51:45,360
a wider audience, then that that
would be worth it.

862
00:51:45,360 --> 00:51:49,440
Having that tied to it, But I I
definitely want to emphasize

863
00:51:49,440 --> 00:51:53,640
that I'm not here to be the face
of something.

864
00:51:54,090 --> 00:51:56,130
I'm here to be in it for the
long haul.

865
00:51:56,490 --> 00:51:58,930
And this is something that I
really believe in and I want to,

866
00:51:59,330 --> 00:52:05,130
I want to grow and and I want to
learn as well in the process of

867
00:52:05,130 --> 00:52:07,410
creating it.
Well, with our last few minutes

868
00:52:07,410 --> 00:52:09,930
here in the interview, I've
always found that the best way

869
00:52:09,930 --> 00:52:13,610
to endear yourself to your guest
is to completely blindside them

870
00:52:13,610 --> 00:52:15,570
with the segment that they did
not prepare for.

871
00:52:15,690 --> 00:52:19,620
So in the spirit.
In the spirit of that, I'm

872
00:52:19,620 --> 00:52:22,300
actually very excited for this.
We've done this before with

873
00:52:22,660 --> 00:52:25,060
brand ambassadors and master
distillers.

874
00:52:25,300 --> 00:52:29,300
We took a questionnaire that was
popularized in America on the

875
00:52:29,300 --> 00:52:32,340
show inside the Actors Studio
with James Lipton.

876
00:52:32,980 --> 00:52:35,660
He asked a very famous
questionnaire in the latter half

877
00:52:35,660 --> 00:52:39,580
of each episode and we modified
it to call it inside the whiskey

878
00:52:39,580 --> 00:52:43,020
studio.
This is the first time that I

879
00:52:43,020 --> 00:52:45,660
will get to give the
questionnaire to.

880
00:52:46,110 --> 00:52:50,430
A Hollywood actor I have.
I have to I have to warn you,

881
00:52:50,790 --> 00:52:53,070
this is going to be.
I'm putting you on the spot

882
00:52:53,070 --> 00:52:54,310
here.
Rapid fire.

883
00:52:54,950 --> 00:52:57,350
Are you ready for the film and
Whiskey questionnaire?

884
00:52:57,870 --> 00:52:59,430
OK, right.
Yes.

885
00:53:00,510 --> 00:53:08,950
What is your favorite word?
Subtle.

886
00:53:09,630 --> 00:53:14,310
What is your least favorite word
control?

887
00:53:15,490 --> 00:53:24,610
What sound or noise do you love?
Well, this probably the sound of

888
00:53:24,610 --> 00:53:27,970
my children's voices.
What sound or noise do you hate?

889
00:53:31,250 --> 00:53:32,850
So many?
The sound?

890
00:53:35,010 --> 00:53:39,730
The sound of people talking on
their phone with the the.

891
00:53:40,210 --> 00:53:42,370
Oh yeah, the speaker on in
public.

892
00:53:43,910 --> 00:53:46,390
What's a profession other than
your own that you would like to

893
00:53:46,390 --> 00:53:51,190
attempt?
Oh, I don't think I'd

894
00:53:51,190 --> 00:53:55,990
necessarily be any good at it,
but something with my hands, so

895
00:53:55,990 --> 00:54:00,590
something like carpentry.
Who are your favorite fictional

896
00:54:00,590 --> 00:54:05,910
heroes?
My favorite fictional heroes?

897
00:54:08,190 --> 00:54:09,990
Oh, let me think.
Hold on.

898
00:54:10,710 --> 00:54:18,510
Well, yeah, probably.
Probably a rat mole and badger

899
00:54:18,550 --> 00:54:20,670
in the Wind of the Willows.
There you go.

900
00:54:21,470 --> 00:54:24,950
Who's your favorite musician?
Led Zeppelin.

901
00:54:25,430 --> 00:54:26,910
Oh, nice.
Yeah.

902
00:54:27,590 --> 00:54:31,870
What is a natural gift or talent
that you do not possess that you

903
00:54:31,870 --> 00:54:36,950
wish you did the ability to play
a musical instrument and 100%?

904
00:54:37,470 --> 00:54:39,910
What's your what's your desire
there?

905
00:54:39,910 --> 00:54:40,790
Drums.
Bass.

906
00:54:40,830 --> 00:54:44,520
Guitar.
Probably, Yeah, probably guitar,

907
00:54:44,680 --> 00:54:47,400
yeah.
I mean, I'm a Led Zeppelin fan,

908
00:54:47,400 --> 00:54:49,680
you know.
All right, not to get too morbid

909
00:54:49,680 --> 00:54:51,280
here, but these are always great
answers.

910
00:54:51,280 --> 00:54:56,120
If you had a say in how you
died, how would you prefer to go

911
00:54:56,120 --> 00:55:10,800
out?
Oh, I think probably, suddenly,

912
00:55:11,040 --> 00:55:12,980
yeah.
Yeah, I've always preferred the

913
00:55:13,020 --> 00:55:15,940
old, like Looney Tunes having a
piano dropped on me.

914
00:55:15,940 --> 00:55:20,380
Kind of feeling exactly all
right.

915
00:55:20,380 --> 00:55:23,020
And finally, this one requires a
bit of context.

916
00:55:23,260 --> 00:55:26,180
We've had a lot of people
suggest pairing their whiskeys

917
00:55:26,180 --> 00:55:30,540
with very expensive meats and
charcuterie, and that did not

918
00:55:30,540 --> 00:55:32,980
necessarily appeal to our ideal
listener.

919
00:55:32,980 --> 00:55:37,780
And so we always ask this if you
had to pair Mctavish spirits

920
00:55:38,220 --> 00:55:44,620
with a fast food item.
What would it be really

921
00:55:44,620 --> 00:55:50,660
difficult A fast food item?
I mean, you look like a guy that

922
00:55:50,660 --> 00:55:53,500
consumes, you know, copious
amounts of fast food.

923
00:55:53,940 --> 00:55:55,380
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
No, no.

924
00:55:55,420 --> 00:56:02,420
Well, I mean, I'm happy.
Sure, a fast food item.

925
00:56:02,420 --> 00:56:05,420
Now when you say a fast food
item, not a branded item, but

926
00:56:05,420 --> 00:56:08,420
just to kind of.
It could be if it's very

927
00:56:08,420 --> 00:56:17,970
particular to A to a brand,
that's OK Okay, let me think.

928
00:56:19,650 --> 00:56:23,690
It's I'm trying to remember
because I lived in New Orleans

929
00:56:23,730 --> 00:56:25,890
for two years when I was a
preacher.

930
00:56:26,650 --> 00:56:33,210
And yeah, they that that that
unique sandwich that they have

931
00:56:33,210 --> 00:56:34,570
down there.
What is it?

932
00:56:34,610 --> 00:56:36,970
Oh, a po boy.
Yes.

933
00:56:37,010 --> 00:56:40,100
Yeah, Okay.
That's what I would choose.

934
00:56:40,100 --> 00:56:42,660
Man, that sounds amazing right
now.

935
00:56:42,660 --> 00:56:47,140
I'm sipping the whiskey right
now and a shrimp po boy sounds

936
00:56:47,420 --> 00:56:49,220
pretty incredible.
A shrimp PO.

937
00:56:49,820 --> 00:56:52,500
Yes, that's the one.
Well done.

938
00:56:52,500 --> 00:56:54,180
We got there in the end.
Yeah, we did.

939
00:56:54,680 --> 00:56:57,520
Graham, I cannot thank you
enough for joining us today.

940
00:56:57,520 --> 00:56:59,000
Thank you for rolling with the
punches.

941
00:56:59,000 --> 00:57:00,760
Thank you for completing the
questionnaire.

942
00:57:00,840 --> 00:57:02,920
And most of all, thank you for
this whiskey.

943
00:57:03,960 --> 00:57:05,440
Oh, my pleasure.
Thank you.

944
00:57:05,440 --> 00:57:07,040
I'm.
I'm delighted that you like it.

945
00:57:07,120 --> 00:57:08,200
Thanks for having.
Me.

946
00:57:08,200 --> 00:57:11,320
Absolutely, folks.
We will be back on Tuesday with

947
00:57:11,320 --> 00:57:14,760
another regularly scheduled
episode, but until then, I Am

948
00:57:14,760 --> 00:57:16,920
Bob book and we will see you
next time.