Key In The Lake Whiskey Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

Kojin Tashiro, founder of Mugen Spirit, shares his Japanese heritage and American identity in the form of whiskey. Kojin was burnin in Japan but moved to America as a child. He blends both worlds together by sourcing Bourbon and using Japanese history, folklore, and art to tell a story of both countries inside and outside of the bottle.

Guest: Kojin Tashiro

Host: Jake Hukee and John Chesney

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Co-Founder at Clonakilty Distillery, Sean Scully joins us to share his family’s story of transforming their family farm to an Irish Whiskey Distillery. Sean also highlights the vast history of Irish whiskey, and pays homage to the large Irish brands that have established themselves across the world, paving the road for the smaller distilleries that are emerging.

Guest: Sean Scully

Host: Jake Hukee, John Chesney & Brett Bauer

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Last week, we hosted a charity bottle raffle to donate money to Another Round Another Rally for their aid to the LA bars/restaurants affected by the LA fires. Brands from around the world donated bottles to be raffled at our live event with 50 guests at Slightly Toasted in Chicago. We interviewed master distillers, brand reps, retailers and whiskey clubs who donated products to raise more than $3,000.

Guests: Hannah Thomas, Steve Malloy, Zalman Goldbloom, Eric Rosentreter, Kimio Yonezawa and Brett Bauer

Hosts: Jake Hukee, Chris Blatner and Matthew Brown

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Live from New Orleans at Tales of The Cocktail, a special guest, Mickey Pinstripe aka The Bourbon and Rye Club, joins the show. Sagamore Spirit’s Brett Bauer cohosts with me to chat with Mikey about his journey through whiskey, and his landing on his love for rye whiskey. We also discuss the events of Tales and the good times we experienced during the 20th anniversary of the coveted spirits event.

Guest: Mickey Pinstripe

Hosts: Jake Hukee & Brett Bauer

Read The Bourbon and Rye blob HERE

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Jake shares the details of his recent trip to Kentucky and The Bourbon Trail, which included a long anticipated visit to Castle & Key. He also shares his thoughts on the value the online space still holds in the whiskey industry.

Hosts: Jake Hukee

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Kyle Smith is a man that can’t rest. For the past eight years, Kyle has relentlessly ran around Chicago’s hospitality industry. He’s directed bar programs at Michelin awarded restaurants, worked for various whiskey distilleries, established multiple pop-up bars/events in every type of venue possible, and is currently working with Camp Yoshi. Camp Yoshi is Kyle’s respite from the city as he runs he spirits program for the outdoor company that combines adventure to reconnect with nature and a gourmet experience of food and beverage.

Guest: Kyle Smith

Hosts: Jake Hukee & Callum O’Donnell

Visit Dabney & Bullock HERE

Explore Camp Yoshi HERE

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Eric Rosentreter of Woodinville Whiskey Co. and I sit down to discuss the rise and importance of single barrels and whiskey clubs. We run through the pros of selling single barrels across the country to grow a brand, and the potential downfall of attaching yourself to the wrong club—that can’t commit to the promises that they make. We run through it all.

Guest: Eric Rosentreter

Host: Jake Hukee

Chris Blatner joins me and provides three delicious single barrel samples from Pinhook. Chris and I sit down at Wolf Point Distilling to select the next Pinhook Bourbon single barrel for Leo’s Mayfair. Chris guides us through the history of Pinhook’s vertical single barrel program as we taste through and choose a 7-year-old bourbon for Leo’s.

Hosts: Jake Hukee & Chris Blatner

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Jefferson’s founder Trey Zoeller joins the show to share how he’s “Pushing the boundaries of what bourbon can be, and the defintions without bastardizing it.” We also share a dram of Jefferson’s newest release Ocean Rye. Trey explains the origins of the Ocean series, and how he’s honoring tradition, history and adventure to create a whiskey apart from the rest of American distilleries.

Guests: Trey Zoeller

Hosts: Jake Hukee, Callum O’Donnell & Chris Blatner

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On World Whisky Day, we interviewed five different representatives from six different distilleries from across the world for our Live Tasting Event. On Part 2, we interview Kotryna Gesait,Starward East Coast Ambassador. Dave Smith, St. George Head Distiller. Nick Brady Maas, founder of Dancing Goat.

(00:25 - 32:42) - Kotryna shares how her personal travels across the world collided with the Starward story: a new world whisky distillery on the path to make a pure Australian experience in a bottle. She also explains how Starward challenges the palate by using a rare technique of fully maturing single malts inside of fresh Australian red wine barrels. The brand stretches the imagination of what whisky can be.

(32:48 -:58:54) - Dave shares how the collaboration between whiskey distilling and art combine to produce beautiful spirits that are meant to be shared during even more beautiful moments. St. George is the oldest small American distillery since prohibition, and Dave shares how the distillery grabbed inspiration from whisky across the world to build and continue 40 years of spirits distillation.

(59:20) Our spiritual guru through the vast world of whiskey, Nick Brady Maas celebrates how agriculture is the divine component that allows us all to enjoy the great invention of whiskey. He leads an inspiring conversation on the principles of Dancing Goat, and why is love for rye and how the inspiration of his family drives hmi to build the next great American distillery.

Guests: Kortyna Gecait, Dave Smith & Nick Maas

Hosts: Jake Hukee, Wilson Torres & Chris Blatner

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