Spirits & Distilling Podcast
Make and drink great spirits.
Displaying Episode 1 - 10 of 12 in total of Spirits & Distilling Podcast with the tag “bourbon”.
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32: Aged Whiskeys and Citrus-Flavored Spirits Heat up for St. Augustine Distillery and City Gate Spirits
May 13th, 2025 | 1 hr 2 mins
bourbon, distilling, florida, macerated spirits, moonshine, whiskey
Distilling in Florida’s hot and humid environment, and producing spirits specifically tuned for cocktails in a tourism-driven locale—those are the major guideposts for the creative direction of these sibling distilleries, as well as for their methods of barrel aging and adding flavor.
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27: Ashley Barnes of The Blending House Uses Data to Drive Better Blends
March 4th, 2025 | 52 mins 2 secs
blending, blending whiskey, bourbon, spirits blending, spirits sensory, whiskey, whiskey blending
As a chemist with a background in pharmaceutical quality, Ashley Barnes developed scientific discipline and a data-driven approach. Now as master blender at the Blending House, she applies that same rigor to the subject of aging and blending spirits.
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17: Blender Jackie Zykan of Hidden Barn and Oduoak Debunks Lazy Assumptions about Whiskey Flavors, Blending, and Sensory
October 15th, 2024 | 1 hr 12 mins
bourbon, bourbon blending, colorado whiskey, distilling, kentucky bourbon, perfume, whiskey, whiskey blending
Zykan, former master taster for Old Forester, current master blender for Hidden Barn and perfumer for Oduoak, joins host Sydney Jones for a rollicking episode of intentionality and shared experience.
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16: Adam Spiegel of Corning & Company and Sonoma Distilling Takes a Reactive and Responsive Approach to an Evolving Spirits Market
October 1st, 2024 | 58 mins 36 secs
black truffle whiskey, bourbon, distilling, espresso martini, rye, smoked malt, smoked whiskey, whiskey
The president of Corning & Company reimagined and reconfigured Sonoma Distilling into a house of brands—some are owned, others are partnerships—but quality and experimentation are still top of mind for this award-winning master distiller.
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14: Nic Christiansen of Barrell Craft Spirits Pieces Together the Blended Whiskey Puzzle
September 3rd, 2024 | 53 mins 43 secs
bourbon, sourced bourbon, whiskey, whiskey blending
As blender and manager of blending operations for Barrell, a brand committed to sourcing and blending rather than distilling, Christiansen finds creative ways to marry distinct flavors in whiskey without muddling their individual characters.
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13: Widow Jane Head Distiller and Blender Sienna Jevremov Directs the Delicate Dance of Urban Distilling and Blending
August 20th, 2024 | 1 hr 4 mins
blending, bourbon, cask finished, distilling, stave finished, urban distillery, urban distilling, whiskey
Producing smaller volumes of craft spirits typically means a location closer to potential customers, but distilling in high-density urban environments is both work-intensive and expensive. Brooklyn’s Widow Jane has found an artful way to create distinct spirits despite—or maybe because of—the challenges they face distilling, aging, and blending in New York City.
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10: Andy Nelson, Cofounder of Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery and Belle Meade Bourbon, on the Life Cycle of a Modern Distillery
July 9th, 2024 | 59 mins 43 secs
bourbon, distillery business, distilling, tennessee, tennessee whiskey, whiskey, whiskey blending
Launching a whiskey distillery is a not for the faint of heart, and balancing the timing, financing, logistics, brand building, quality, creative expression, distillery construction, and legacy has left Andy Nelson feeling as much like a jack-of-all-trades as he feels like a head distiller.
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9: Nicole Austin of George Dickel Takes a Thoughtful and Contextual Approach to Blending Beautiful Whiskies
June 25th, 2024 | 59 mins 15 secs
blending, bourbon, bourbon whiskey, distilling, rye whiskey, tennessee whiskey, whiskey, whiskey blending
There’s no one best way to blend whiskey—but for this award-winning distiller and blender, the key is taking an approach that fits the intended goal.
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7: Heaven Hill Master Distiller Conor O'Driscoll is Tackling New Product and Process Challenges in the Biggest Way Possible: Building a New Distillery
May 28th, 2024 | 1 hr 6 mins
american whiskey, bourbon, corn whiskey, rick house, whiskey, whiskey distillate, whiskey fermentation
The seventh master distiller in the history of the storied distillery got his start as a chemical engineer, before finding his way into whiskey. Now, he’s leading the next chapter, as they build and commission the new Heaven Hill Springs distillery, and tackle new processes for making beloved brands.
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5: Riley Henderson of FEW Spirits Explores Whiskey’s “Last Frontier”—Fermentation
May 1st, 2024 | 1 hr 5 mins
alternative fermentation, bourbon, distilling, koji, rye whiskey, whiskey
What’s left to do in the world of whiskey? Plenty, if you ask FEW Spirits director of operations Riley Henderson. For him, the secret lies in embracing slower, more flavorful fermentations.