Dr. Pat Heist of Wilderness Trail Distillery and Ferm Solutions joins Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson to discuss fermentation, particularly grain vs sugar ferms, osmotic stress and more. Pat shares some perspectives from his consulting work for distillers exploring yeast strains and ways to manipulate your batches to produce diverse results using the same strain. We discuss the buzz about the bourbon industry and speculation about the market, as well as how the approaches taken by Wilderness Trail that have supported their growth and maintained the brand's strong presence during the market softening. We also chat about opportunities with rye whiskey and Pat's experimentation with "casket strength" whiskey.
Jesse Tate and Grant Patterson from Vista Gin in Florida join Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson to delve into their unique pot still gins. We discuss building flavor through production techniques and Grant's culinary background, as well as working with koji in making their whiskey.
Jolee Kasprzak of Old Homestead Distilling Co and Patoka Lake Winery joins Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson this week. Jolee and Alan update on the progress so far at Old Homestead. We also talk about Sunshine, a line of sunflower moonshine spirits already being run at the distillery, as well peach brandy. Alan and Jolee discuss the distillery's terroir-focused approach to spirits and the homage to the region including trapping local yeast and growing a strain of wheat originally grown in the area.
Irish whiskey historian and author Fionnán O'Connor returns to Distillers Talk with Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson to discuss his upcoming new book, Créatúr. Fionnán speaks about his adventures and travels digging into the history of poitín and Irish pot still whiskey, and his journey to bring back (and even be a part of the distillation of) lost Irish mash bills with the help of others along the way. We also get into the temperance movement, past and present.
Erik Wolfe of Stoll & Wolfe Distillery joins Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson to talk about his latest distilling adventures with Alan on the road at both Stoll & Wolfe and George Washington's Mount Vernon. We also catch up on another collaborative effort, the Historic Trades Workshop. There's several colorful stories along the way, including "dough balls of anger".
Al Laws of Laws Whiskey House in Colorado joins Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson on all things grain and terroir. Al guides us through a tasting of their Four Grain Straight Bourbon Whiskey, San Luis Valley Straight Rye Whiskey, Centennial Straight Wheat Whiskey and Henry Road Straight Malt Whiskey. We also discuss production and their upcoming new tasting room.
Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson take on some controversial topics in the spirits industry right now and discuss the future of the market, as well as tips for brands and ancillary partners.
Seth Benheim and Nick Roady of Broken Barrel Whiskey Company join Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson and discuss the importance of packaging and standing out in a market as a craft producer in a developed market. We also get into responsible distribution strategies and working with foreign markets while satisfying your home accounts, as well as upcoming plans and unique collaborative releases.
Ian Verno of Ten-030 Barrels joins Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson to discuss his hybrid barrels
Distillers Talk goes to Yunnan Province, China this week! Evan Villarrubia of MB Distillery joins Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson to discuss his start in the distilling industry in China, as well as the production of some of his products including sugar cane rum and rice based spirits. We’re also going to get into China’s multi-tier system and Chinese distilling culture. Check out our Facebook and Instagram on Monday, February 12th to weigh in on our poll with questions for Evan's next episode with us!
David McIntyre of West Fork Whiskey in Indianapolis joins Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson this week. We discuss West Fork's beginnings under a small budget and the evolution of its production setup and product line, as well as struggles encountered along the way. This is a great episode for those looking to start up a distillery with a small investment!
Thomas Thacker in North Carolina joins Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson to talk more about his process and operations at Southern Grace Distilleries making Conviction Bourbon and White Dog. Tune in also to learn about their whiskey prison and paranormal tour stories!
Author and host of the Whiskey Lore podcasts, Drew Hannush joins Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson to discuss his new book, The Lost History of Tennessee Whiskey. Order it now through Amazon here.
Andrew Lohfeld of Roulaison Distilling Co in Louisiana joins Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson to discuss some hot topics in rum right now. We get into single estate varietals and Louisiana grown sugarcane, a Louisiana rum designation, rum nomenclature and changes to Louisiana state law for self distribution.
Bobby Demars, Christian Riddout and Christopher Sebastian from Blind Barrels join Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson to discuss their unique whiskey service, helping connect their subscribers with American craft distilleries.
Jeff Rasmussen of StillDragon joins Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson to share his more unique experiences helping their clients design more efficient and innovative systems. We also chat about his journey into the industry and some surprises coming up with DragonStill.
Alexis Casimiri of La Mauvaise Graine Distillerie in Lyon, France joins Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson to talk about his introduction to distilling and the industry. We learn more about his spirits and process, particularly his Louise Gin, a tribute to his grandmother and the people of Lyon. Alexis talks about his botanical sourcing from the local area and partnering with wild harvesters.
Christian Kahle of Lucky Sign Spirits joins Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson to chat about his unique spirits, including finocchietto, raki, limoncello and more. We get into standards of identity and communication amongst distillers, as well as the merits of a two chamber still. Christian discusses his corn stalk agricole project and lemonade burrito is our new favorite tasting note.
Christopher Conrad of BadMotivator Legacy Barrels joins Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson with updates on the company and their innovative barrels, as well as a sampling of some of Christopher's experiments using BadMotivator barrels.
Jeff Wuslich of Cardinal Spirits in Bloomington, Indiana joins Alan Bishop and Christi Atkinson to talk about the distillery and its spirits, getting into copackaging, considerations for new brands and so much more.