The Cocktail Guru Show: Coming to you from Access Live Denver 2025 (TCGS S4 E5)

# Swell AI Transcript: S4 E5 Transript (Please excuse any typos)

Announcer:
Jonathan Pogash is the cocktail guru, a mixologist and hospitality expert. Ah, see? You know big words. Dude, I'm the cocktail guru. Cheers. Jeffrey's his dad, a wine and spirits author, historian, and consultant.

Jeffrey:
So, I do my homework.

Announcer:
With decades of experience, they're always looking for the next big thing. Join this father and son duo for a few laughs as they explore the hottest trends in hospitality with the service industry's leading trailblazers and tastemakers. Welcome to the Cocktail Guru Show.

Jonathan:
So Jonathan Pogash here with dad, Jeffrey Pogash. Hello, Jonathan. And we're, this is a very special episode. We're live, recording live. We're not actually live. Well, by the time you see it out there, it will not be live. Right. But right now it is. That's right. We're at the WSWA Access Live Convention, which happens every year. We did some interviews last year when we were in Las Vegas, which was so much fun. And now we are in Denver, Colorado, the Mile High City.

Jeffrey:
And I love Denver. But we're quickly going to move to Tennessee from Denver, Nashville in particular.

Morgan:
You should.

Jeffrey:
We want to. But first, let's speak with you, Morgan.

Jonathan:
Morgan, Can you please introduce yourself to our lovely guests at home and what you do with Jackson Morgan?

Morgan:
Sure. So my name is Morgan Weinstock, and I work with Jackson Morgan Southern Cream. I'm one of the founding members, and I handle all the marketing side for Jackson Morgan. And if you're not familiar, Jackson Morgan is a Tennessee whiskey cream, so similar to other cream liqueurs. you may have seen on the market, but made with Tennessee whiskey. And then also the flavors are inspired by Southern hospitality.

Jeffrey:
We love Southern hospitality, don't we? And two of my favorite ingredients, whiskey and cream.

Morgan:
There you go.

Jeffrey:
Wow. It's part of your food groups. It is definitely part of my food groups.

Jonathan:
Cream, whiskey, hot dogs, and hamburgers. And foie gras.

Jeffrey:
Dad's five food groups.

Morgan:
I can't complain with that.

Jeffrey:
We shouldn't, but let's talk about what goes on at Jackson Morgan down in Nashville.

Jonathan:
But there's quite a history. I wanna talk about the history. I was reading that there was a moonshine recipe that your great-grandfather, or did you call him great-granddaddy? I don't know. Or Pappy. Or Pappy, that dated back to 1921, a moonshine recipe, is that correct?

Morgan:
So my great-grandfather, back during the 1920s, he ran a moonshine operation in eastern North Carolina, where my family's originally from, and he then later decided to become a preacher. Whoa. So he left the alcohol business behind. And then like over 100 years later, we're picking up where he left off. So we don't necessarily have his original recipe per se, but I guess you could say it's in our blood.

Jonathan:
Yeah. And we're, you know, we work together as a family as well. Yes, we do. And you saw a little bit of the family dynamic.

Morgan:
I loved it.

Jonathan:
You loved it. It kind of reminds me, reminds you of home a little bit.

Morgan:
Yes, so I also work with my dad and my brother Jackson, which is where the name Jackson Morgan comes from. Jackson Morgan. And I do need to say he's my younger brother. Okay. So we let him be first, you know.

Jeffrey:
Wow, that was a big deal. He's your younger brother, but you're even younger than he is.

Morgan:
Oh, I mean, sure. Wink, wink. And Jackson handles our operations side of the business. He's more of that math and supply chain brain, whereas I'm more of the creative brain behind it. And then our dad is the CEO. And then we also have several family friends who work with us who we've known our entire lives. So it definitely can bring some interesting dynamics about. But there's nobody you can really trust more than your family.

Jeffrey:
And you're still in the preaching business because you're preaching the gospel of whiskey and cream.

SPEAKER_08:
I don't know about that.

Jeffrey:
Yeah, I mean, here we are. I'll start preaching. You're gonna crack one open? Yeah. So what flavor do you have right there, Dad? That's a good question.

Morgan:
So this is our banana pudding cream. So you can't have a Southern-influenced whiskey cream without banana pudding cream.

Jonathan:
Did you all hear that audible gasp backstage there? Carrie, our producer, audibly gasped.

Morgan:
And then you have salted caramel, which is our bestseller. That's my favorite ice cream. Dad is about to pass out. So you mentioned hot dogs and hamburgers. So in the summer, I think our whipped orange cream blended with some vanilla ice cream in a blender makes a really good like creamsicle milkshake.

Jonathan:
Oh, nice pairing. You could actually dip your hamburger in it.

Morgan:
Oh, I don't know about that, but you can definitely try it. Let me know how it is.

Jeffrey:
Well, you can make it for us when we're in Nashville.

Morgan:
There you go.

Jeffrey:
We'll make a special trip just to try these gourmet delights.

Morgan:
And actually our hometown is Fayetteville, Tennessee, which is nothing close to Nashville. It's much smaller, kind of more like a Hallmark looking town.

Jeffrey:
It's very cute. Which one should we start with?

Morgan:
I think you should start with the salted caramel because it's our best seller. And I should also note, these are our mini bottles. So normally our bottles are much larger, but due to some packing constraints, we had to only bring the minis.

Jeffrey:
Of course, of course.

Morgan:
And this one, I think in coffee or hot chocolate is also delicious, but people, you know, drink it over ice or... A lovely sweet toffee caramel nose.

SPEAKER_08:
Oh my.

Jeffrey:
Yeah, I'm gonna stop buying. salted caramel ice cream, I'm gonna be drinking Jackson Morgan.

Morgan:
We're buying the ice cream and pour this over the ice cream.

Jeffrey:
Yeah, you could do that. Oh my gosh, I haven't eaten anything today, but this is a meal. That's gilding the lily. It's my meal.

Morgan:
Breakfast of champions.

Jeffrey:
Pouring salted caramel southern cream from Jackson Morgan onto salted caramel ice cream.

Morgan:
There you go.

Jeffrey:
That would be gilding the lily, as we say.

Morgan:
I think it sounds perfect.

Jeffrey:
I don't know about that. It does, sounds great.

Jonathan:
Should we try the banana?

Morgan:
I think you should do banana and end on the orange. And we also have like a peppermint mocha flavor for the holidays. That's really yummy. We have brown sugar and cinnamon. I love to like bake with that. So you can put it in like French toast. You can put it in.

Jeffrey:
I bake, I make French toast with sourdough bread.

Morgan:
I'm in the sourdough journey as well.

Jeffrey:
I've been on one for quite a while now and I love it. And what do you do when you cook with it? Do you soak the bread in that?

Morgan:
You can, like that and heavy cream. We have a couple of recipes on our website at sipjacksonmorgan.com. You can also make like martinis with it, milkshakes.

Jonathan:
It's like fresh ripe banana in the nose.

Morgan:
And now, I don't know if you are familiar with banana pudding, but it is like the southern hallmark of desserts.

Jeffrey:
And bananas foster.

Morgan:
And it happens to be my mother's favorite dessert.

Jonathan:
Bananas Foster or banana pudding?

Morgan:
Banana pudding. So we had to have a banana pudding. And this actually won best in show and double gold at WSWA, I believe in 2018, when we debuted it.

Jonathan:
I probably tasted it, but everything was blind, so you didn't know what you were tasting. Yes, tasting was on the tasting panel. Okay, well thank you for your vote. I mean, I can't reveal what I voted, but I don't know for sure.

Jeffrey:
But we love Jackson Morgan Southern Cream. We know that we love it. Delights, now.

Morgan:
I do have to say, we have two more that are coming. We just introduced to market last week. We have a lemon icebox flavor that is to die for for summer over ice.

Jonathan:
So there's a lemon icebox cake, right? Is that where that comes from? Yes, yes.

Morgan:
Okay, and it's again, another Southern tradition. And then we've actually brought back to market our peaches and cream. We revamped it and brought it back. And truly, it is a really good one for summer.

Jeffrey:
And I'm dying. I want this. I want this in my home. Where can we buy these wonderful southern creams?

Morgan:
So we're available in most states. So you can request for your favorite liquor store to carry Jackson Morgan if they're not already. And then we're also available online for shipping to most states from Reserve Bar.

Jeffrey:
Oh, yes, Reserve Bar. Oh, okay. And you'll even ship to my home state of New Jersey.

Morgan:
I believe we will, but I'll have to double check.

Jeffrey:
Let's taste the mango. Ooh, mango?

Morgan:
The orange.

Jonathan:
I'm sorry, not orange. Whipped orange cream. Orange cream. It just has a mango color, like a creamsicle color. But this is like an orange. It's an orange creamsicle.

Morgan:
It is, I guess. So this will probably remind you of like a nostalgic childhood treat, obviously the adult version of that.

Jeffrey:
Very adult.

Morgan:
It is. Oh yeah.

Jeffrey:
That's delicious.

Jonathan:
It's very good. These are delicious products. And Morgan, we're thankful for you to have come and be our first guest here live in Denver at the Access Live convention. Best of luck.

Morgan:
Thank you. And thank you so much for having me. And I just so enjoyed meeting y'all. seeing that another family business is a little bit dysfunctional like ours.

Jeffrey:
We are indeed. He is the dysfunctional. He's buttoned up. I'm dysfunctional. That's pretty much true. But Morgan, it's such a delight to meet you and to speak with you. And we do want to come and visit you.

Morgan:
Yes, please.

Jeffrey:
Fayetteville.

Morgan:
Yeah, we're in Middle Tennessee. So you just let me know next time you're in Nashville and we'll get together and it's not too far from our hometown.

Jeffrey:
We'll call you.

Morgan:
Okay.

Jonathan:
All right. Cheers. Thank you.

Morgan:
Cheers.

Jonathan:
Thanks. As always, dad, you never know who you're going to run into when you're in Denver at Access Live.

Jeffrey:
You know, John, this is not one of our normal podcast interviews. This is a very special interview. As you can see, we have to look up to the people who are being interviewed. Dad, I look up to you all the time. Well, thank you very much. That's very sweet.

Jonathan:
But in this case, we are literally looking up. So we were introduced to a brand called Tempters at one of these events here at Access Live. They're a very, very interesting company that is really making headway in the cannabis industry. And we have Saf here from the brand, we have Al, and this has been an interesting partnership between the two of them. But first, I want to bring it over to Saf to kind of talk a little bit about the brand side of things. And, you know, what is Tempters? Can you just kind of give us a little bit of a baseline?

SPEAKER_02:
Absolutely. And thanks for having us on the Cocktail Guru podcast. Tempters really was founded from a group that really excelled at the beverage space. Over 30 plus years in the beverage background, founders came together and really understood that there was a need for an extension of wellness in the cannabis sector on the beverage side. And so, you know, we initially kind of got into it with great formulation, great taste, and just really excelled at branding. That's kind of our mission and what we do best. And so, Went to market with this product about a year and a half ago, really just seen phenomenal feedback and growth across the market. We're really tapping into a segment that's aware of what a beverage can be that's infused with cannabis, but also what the alcohol alternatives that are out there, what they look like. So we're excited about being here. This is our second event now, and the presence of what we're doing here is growing, but also us as a brand and platform and what we're being able to showcase.

Jonathan:
And part of your strategy, I think, is kind of blending your brand with artists, musical artists, athletes, and we have one such all-star athlete right here with us, Al Harrington, who played for multiple NBA leagues, in the NBA, multiple teams in the league.

Jeffrey:
Including the Indiana Pacers, the New York Knicks, and the Atlanta Hawks.

Jonathan:
That's right. This is incredible. So, Al, what's your involvement and sort of how did this partnership come about with, well, you know, it's like the blend between the hemp industry and the cannabis industry and also the store that you have in St. Louis, which you just celebrated an anniversary for. Give us a little bit of background.

Al:
Yeah, so I started the Viola brand in 2011, and actually here in Denver, which is unique that we are in the place where we started it all. And the inspiration behind our brand was, at the time, my 79-year-old grandmother, who she had came to see me play here. And when I got her to my house, she had me bring a pill bag back up, and she started taking all this medication. So we're sitting at the table, and I'm like, Grandma, why are you taking so much medication? And she said, I got everything. She said, I got high blood pressure. I got diabetes. I got glaucoma. And when she said glaucoma, I said, grandma, you won't believe. I was just reading a newspaper about the benefits of cannabis for glaucoma patients. And we started talking a little bit more. And then she finally said to me, what, what is cannabis? And I said, marijuana weed. And she said, reefer. She said, boy, you out your mind. You trying to get me to smoke reefer for my eyes? And I said, grandma, I'm telling you, doctor's recommended, blah, blah, blah, blah. She told me no. So the next day I come home from shoot around and she's in the kitchen and she's complaining about that she can barely see. And I said, well, look, why don't you give it a try? I said, this will be our secret. I won't tell nobody. And she said, okay. And, you know, a little bit background on my grandmother, you know, she was very spiritual. You know, she was the backbone of our family, the matriarch, as you would say. She was the reason why, you know, 80% of all my family members are, you know, baptized in Christ. And, you know, for her to be open-minded enough to try cannabis was something that, you know, just didn't make sense, especially because in my family, you know, we've struggled with addiction on the drug side and the alcohol side. But, you know, she tried it. I went to go check on her an hour and a half later, and I knocked on the door, and I didn't hear anything. So I knocked again, and I just opened the door, and she was sitting at the edge of the bed, but her back was up to her, and she was looking down. And I said, grandma, how are you feeling? And she turned around and she was crying tears. And she said, I'm healed. She said, you know, I haven't been able to read the words in my Bible in over three and a half years. And at that point, it inspired me to learn more about cannabis, especially from the medicinal side. And, you know, that's when we started our journey, you know, in this space. And to the point of, like, you know, what inspired me to work with Tempters, you know, one of the co-founders is a good friend of mine that I met about maybe five years ago. And, you know, he was already working on some beverage projects and stuff like that. And then when he got Tempters going, he called me and would say, you know, I got something that's going on in the cannabis space you should take a look at. And, you know, for me, you know, in order for me to work with Pete, I had to feel, you know, comfortable and kind of have some form of relationship. And Henry was the perfect guy. And, you know, we started talking about, you know, how we could eventually roll out a partnership, which is the first one now is, you know, is attempt is collab, you know, where we provide, you know, the terpenes for the product. And then now, you know, after that, we're going to roll out the Viola product, which would be a straight Viola brand and blend. And that's what some of the other celebrities that are part of our company. And we're just really excited So, you know, create, make Tempters and Viola House of Brands, you know, for, you know, for the beverage industry, you know, with TAC. And was Viola your grandmother? Viola was my grandmother. Yeah. So that was the name and that was the inspiration. Yeah. So she passed on in 2022, but I can't say that, you know, until, you know, until she passed, she was using cannabis on a day-to-day basis that just made her quality of life better. So I'm excited about that. Amazing story.

Jonathan:
And that's great. I love the family connection, you know, because this is my dad, obviously. But I think we've come so far in the industry itself, you know, it was taboo to talk about it and it's really not anymore. And I think that your grandmother originally was like, why are we talking about this? Right. It's kind of not something to talk about, not something to do. But now, you know, I think what you all are probably trying to do is make it open and make everybody aware of the benefits, you know, the medicinal benefits and all of that. So I think it's a really great

Al:
I mean, honestly, I mean, that's what has happened. You know, I will be honest, like even when my grandmother went out, you know, when she first went back home, I was sending her, you know, joints or whatever for her to smoke. And, you know, she still was very involved in church. So she was just like, she stopped using it for a while because she felt like when people were coming over, they were kind of looking because it was a funny smell in the house. So I had to learn of different ways to, you know, that I can medicate her without everybody knowing. I wish I had a beverage at that time. You know what I'm saying? What I did was I chose to figure out how to infuse cereal because she loved Honey Nut Cheerios. So she would eat it through, you know, through an edible. But, you know, with these beverages, you know, we've seen and we've knocked down barriers with, you know, all kind of new customer base because that now we can provide them with a beverage that they can get the buzz, it feel good, not smell like it, you know what I'm saying? And it's actually not breaking any laws, you know what I'm saying, by, you know, being able to have access to it. So it's been amazing.

Jonathan:
Yeah, I know that you guys have probably overcome so much with the industry, but are there still some challenges? And then how do you see things moving forward, Saf?

SPEAKER_02:
Yeah, absolutely. I think what we're seeing right now is kind of the convergence of the alcohol industry and the traditional three-tier system of what we see on the distribution side with understanding a cannabis product and what's going to be needed on a long-term regulation. long-term regulation of things and so we're kind of seeing how that comes together state by state but also on a federal level and so we're in it for the long term obviously we understand and are hopeful that they make an industry that can be widely accepted and embraced from national players that would want to you know get into this category of beverage where we are we're seeing phenomenal growth right we're seeing that the awareness is going up the education behind it is excelling and folks that are trying it for the first time are continuing to buy into it because it's a product that they're very suitable towards.

Jonathan:
And I think there are probably a lot of people who are in the same boat as your grandmother was and a lot of people out there who've never tried anything like this before. Do you have any recommendations for people who've never had anything like this before and how best to potentially consume it and how to drink things that have cannabis and edibles moderately in a responsible way?

Al:
Yeah, first of all, go buy tempters, you know, seek it out, because we definitely put a lot of thought into the product. You know, with the product being at 10 milligrams, you know, in some instances, you can consider that being micro dose. But you know, I would say with people, when you first try it, start off small, start off with small amounts, you know, maybe drink a quarter of the can first, see how you feel, give it an hour or two, and you may work your way to half the can on your way up. You know, that's the beauty of, I think, of the cannabis industry is you got to kind of find your tolerance level, you know. And, you know, some people have had bad experiences because they'll just eat the whole brownie or whatever, not knowing what's actually in it. Right. But if you can, like, you know, work your way and start small and work your way up, you know, you can find what's good for you and you'll know how to actually medicate yourself.

Jonathan:
Cool. What do you think, Dad? So, Dad is new to the whole cannabis thing.

Al:
Dad, are you consuming?

Jeffrey:
The answer is no. Okay, so I'm going to get you a package. Off the top. But here's my experience. I had one joint in 1969 when I was a freshman in college. And at that time, it really didn't do much for me. Because it probably wasn't no good. And you didn't inhale.

Al:
No, I did. I did try to inhale.

Jeffrey:
I didn't really know how to inhale, but I tried. And I decided after that that it just wasn't worth it. But now we have a whole new series of categories, including cannabis, and I might give it a try again. That's what I'm talking about.

Al:
I want you guys, can you guys do us a favor? Anything for you. Can you guys drink it on your show and then give everybody the immediate feedback?

Jonathan:
I will see if I will see if we can. I don't know.

Al:
Yeah, yeah, we can do that. We'll take his dad's gonna get real funny and all kind of stuff.

Jeffrey:
I'll be very fun to be with. Unlike my normal person.

Jonathan:
You're okay to be with. I mean, yeah, you're fun sometimes.

Jeffrey:
But sometimes I'm a little tense.

Jonathan:
So this will probably loosen me up a bit. We'll see you guys again for sure. So you guys at home, you're going to see dad a little loose, potentially, coming up. So I want to thank you guys. I know your time is worth a lot. So I appreciate it, Saf. Thank you so much, Al. You guys have been awesome. And I think this brand is great and good luck with it all.

Jeffrey:
Thank you guys. But I also want to say how special this is because Al Harrington, is from Orange, New Jersey. Yes, sir. And I live in West Orange, New Jersey, and my son, Jonathan, was born and raised in West Orange, New Jersey. Right. So this is very special for us. We're Orangians. We're Orangians, yes. Orangians. I've never used that term before, but I... Bring it at home. We are. We are. And it's a great pleasure to meet you. Thank you, guys. Thanks. Thank you, guys.

Jonathan:
We're at the hub, which is this sort of central area at the Access Live show.

Jeffrey:
This is the hub. This is the area where one can come to relax and also enjoy cocktails. A canned cocktail sounds nice right about now. It does, but I hope you're in tip-top shape to do this. I am in tip-top proper shape. Very good. That gives our audience a bit of a hint as to what we're going to be doing today.

Jonathan:
Yes, I want to introduce Neil who's the founder, owner? Co-founder and chief brand officer. Co-founder, chief brand officer of Tip Top Proper Cocktails. Welcome to the Cocktail Guru Show. Thank you. Now this is really interesting because so this is considered an RTD, which is like we... It's ready to drink. ready to drink. For those who might not know the term. Yes. And the category itself is extremely hot. It's on fire. You guys started before, somewhat before the trend and the saturation of RTDs and really the good ones, the not so great ones get weeded out and then the better ones, the really good ones stand the test of time, and yours is of that caliber. So, we want to know what was the journey of Tip Top Proper Cocktails?

Neal:
Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you for having me, and thank you for the question. Myself and my co-founder Yoni have been friends since elementary school. We were rabid music fans, and we You know went to a ton of concerts and decided we wanted to be in the music festival business So he started the governor's ball music festival in New York. He's one of the co-founders of that That's a massive music festival in New York City. It is and I went to work for a company called Superfly producers of Bonnaroo and Outsideland some other massive music festivals and I was in marketing there and so I And in that space, as lovers of culinary and cocktails, we felt like there was a missing, you know, a big white space when it came to being able to serve good drinks. Typically, there's domestic beer, maybe a vodka lemonade, and in speaking with the concessionaires, They started doing batch cocktails and kegs, but the consistency wasn't there, the control wasn't there, a lot of loss happening, and so they really encouraged a single-serve product. So when Yoni exited with Governor's Ball, he was really hell-bent on solving this problem of not being able to get a good cocktail at a music venue or a festival. And he got in my ear about it. And we started after it in 2018. We got a guy in Atlanta by the name of Miles McQuarrie. There's a bar called the Kimball House in Decatur. It's about a mile from my house. And it's been, James Beard recognized, Michelin Guide recognized for their bar program. And he signed on to be the recipe developer. So, in September 2019, we launched with our first three cocktails. Very deliberate to send the signal that we weren't just any other canned cocktail. We were the canned cocktail that would give you your old-fashioned Manhattan and Negroni. being from New York, you've probably spent some time at Amore Amargo. That's the trifecta of bitter stirred cocktails that Souther has on the wall there. And so what we want to do is really ensure that this more serious cocktail consumer knew that there was now a brand that would speak their language and service the taste profile that they really wanted to get at, versus a lot of the canned cocktails that, quite frankly, sucked. Very sugary, you know, low quality, give you an instant headache. And so that's where we started.

Jonathan:
Yeah, I mean, in a field that was cluttered, that is still cluttered with, like, spiked seltzer, because that's all that we knew before as a canned RTD. Not even, wouldn't even say it's a cocktail.

Jeffrey:
But I bet most people don't realize how many years the RTD has been in existence.

Jonathan:
You and I are thinking the same thing, because I was just thinking that that would be something to bring up, because there have been sort of more original canned or bottled cocktails. Right, Dad?

Jeffrey:
I've been writing about this subject for years, because the first company to ever produce a bottled cocktail was Hubline and Company. in Connecticut, Hartford, Connecticut. And now we've come a long way since those days.

Jonathan:
Was that a Moscow Mule?

Jeffrey:
What kind of cocktail was that? Do you remember? No, it was not a Moscow Mule. No, no, Moscow Mule came much later. This was in the 1880s. Yeah, we're talking about.

Neal:
Yes, the 1880s. I've also heard like the Sazerac being attributed to as one of the early bottled cocktails as well.

Jeffrey:
Yes. But I'm trying to remember which cocktail, I don't remember which one Qtline created for the first time, but I do have it in my articles.

Neal:
We thought about it, it's kind of like, we're Atlanta guys, and we were like, it's kind of like if Coca-Cola had never decided to bottle what they were serving at Soda Jerk at the pharmacy, you know? People ask, did we do a lot of market research to know what cocktails to do, or that this was going to work? And when you have 200 years of cocktail culture to draw from, and you know these are the flavor profiles that people have loved for all these years, it doesn't take a lot of science or research to know this is going to work, as long as you do it right. And that's what's key to this can size. The technology around this can is such that it's you know, roughly three and a half ounces. So if you go back to the original recipes for any of these cocktails, these are proportionally correct. Whereas if you try to put it in an eight ounce or a 12 ounce, you're going to end up filling it with a bunch of filler that's going to be too sweet and taste kind of crappy.

Jeffrey:
I think the earliest RTDs, but they weren't called RTDs, of course, they were called bottled cocktails. You know, Professor Jerry Thomas, has a category of bottled cocktails in his book. That's 1863.

None:
1862.

Jeffrey:
That's right. That's right. So, yeah, the concept existed before Hublin came out with their commercial product.

Jonathan:
The first bottled cocktails, I think, were either Old Fashions or Manhattan. I'd like to taste a couple of these because I've tried several of them But there are two here that are really catching my eye now because they're considered to be kind of like modern Classics I would say so the naked and famous and the jungle bird Can you tell us a little bit about? I'm gonna while I crack open the jungle bird a little bit about the process of innovating an innovation of these products.

Neal:
Yeah as I mentioned before Yeah. As I mentioned before, we've got Miles McQuarrie at the Kimbell House in Atlanta as our recipe developer. And what we do when we go to produce any cocktail, we start off with him coming up with the gold standard of what he believes this cocktail ought to taste like. And he likes to fine tune classics. It's not always exactly the original proportions. And then we work with beverage companies that do scale these recipes and they analyze that original cocktail and send us back tastes of them and Miles is able to really understand the acid sugar balance, bringing out various botanical flavors and be able to articulate that properly to the beverage companies in order to really fine-tune them and get them right. This is a beautifully balanced drink. It really is. Thank you. Thank you.

Jonathan:
So that's delicious. Thank you. And it tastes just like a Jungle Bird, which I've had many of.

Jeffrey:
So this consists of rum, lime, pineapple, and red bitters. Wow. Very good.

Jonathan:
So aromatic bitters, yes? Or are they more like a... More like a capari. Oh, I see, like an aperitif. Yeah, yeah. And so while I open the Naked and Famous, can you briefly tell us about what happened from 2019 until now? I mean, how did the brand grow and what did you see going on in the market?

Neal:
Certainly we all know that between 2019 and now we had the pandemic and a lot of people changing the way that they drink. And I think what we gave people during that time was a taste of being at the bars that they loved. But people also became more educated in making classic cocktails at home when things slowed down. So as they began to come back to their busy lives, they now knew the classic cocktails that they loved and it really opened up the market for a lot of what we do. We also saw, in 2019, when we entered the market, a lot of people saying, you're going to do these high-proof cocktails? Don't you know seltzer is what's up right now? And we were like, that's not going to be for us. That's trend. That's not tradition. And so I think in holding to that, we had this hypothesis that it was going to go from malt seltzer to spirit-based seltzer. We already saw that happening. And once the audience was trained that spirit-based was the way to go, they would begin to explore traditional spirit use with classic cocktails. And with us now having 16 cocktails that we've put out, it's a really great welcome mat for anyone to understand the flavor profiles for each of these cocktails. Of course, we encourage people to go out and learn how to make these, but to understand where kind of the bar is set for what you're trying to achieve, I think we're a really great welcome mat for that.

Jeffrey:
And dad, can you tell us what's in the Naked and Famous? Yes, I was about to do that. I'm reading the label. It's mezcal, lime, alpine liqueur, and aperitivo bitters.

Jonathan:
Delicious. And what is driving the most revenue for you guys at this point?

Neal:
Yeah, I mean, just like any bar around the country, if you ask, old fashioned, margarita, espresso, martini. Those are our top three sellers. And out of the 16 that we have, like we've really identified six or seven as our core. And then the others are the more right. So we're going out, we're ensuring that the chains and you know, any... Retailer around the country has that core before we really tried to introduce the the more which is really where I think we Earn some of the credibility and something like the naked of famous isn't going to be our bestseller but it's going to ensure that our positioning as the leader and quality and the Brand that's most in touch with cocktail culture out there Is is maintained?

Jonathan:
And as we wrap up, I wanted to mention that we were talking about before is hotels and resorts and having those grab-and-go areas that you see off of the lobby. And having these there, I mean, that's a big part of your business.

Neal:
Yeah. And you talk about, imagine being at a Disney park with your kids all day and getting back to the hotel and knowing that you don't have a babysitter. You're about to lock yourself in the room with the kids. And here you are at the grab-and-go at the hotel lobby. Thank you. Armloads. Armloads of cocktails is what we're talking about.

Jeffrey:
And these are indeed tip-top cocktails, Neil. Thank you, Jack. Absolutely delicious. Oh, Jack. The Naked and Famous is beautifully balanced.

Jonathan:
It's very good. Well, thank you so much, Neil, for joining us. We really appreciate it. These are delicious. I look forward to getting some at home so that we can go through the whole line.

Neal:
How many did you say there were? We've done 16, but I've probably got about 12 or 13, I can get to you. Amazing. We'll take it.

Jonathan:
Thank you so much. Thank you. Cheers. We are now live on the floor of Access Live, WSWA in Denver. Are you sure we're in Denver and not in Mexico, Mexico? Might as well be in Mexico because we have a lovely producer of fine tequila, Mariano. Welcome. Can you tell, can you introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your lovely tequila brand? She's so enthusiastic, she gave us a clap. Thank you. No, thank you. Okay.

Mariana:
Hi my name is Mariana and I'm here introducing Malas Lenguas. It's a brand new brand we just started about a year ago and yeah I want you guys to taste it. I am dying to Yeah, this is a project that my family and I started. It's a female-owned tequila and we're very proud of it. And yeah, we just want the whole world to taste it, love it and hopefully, yeah, support us.

Jeffrey:
And Jonathan, do you know how I feel about tequila?

Jonathan:
Yes. You're a critic of fine tequila. I mean, you are a great indicator of tequila that is at this level versus tequila that is kind of down a little bit lower. Luxury tequila. Or super luxury tequila. Let's go ahead and taste Malas Lenguas tequila, shall we? Yes. Okay, would you mind pouring us? Should we start with the Blanco? Yes. I'm going to start with the Blanco. Okay, so the Blanco tequila. Mariana is pouring us tiny little samples.

Jeffrey:
Blanco is unaged tequila. Yes. For those who might not know that. Terrific. Thank you. Thank you, Marinda.

Jonathan:
Thank you. Nice crisp agave nose. Nice crisp nose. Yes. We're going to have a little sip now.

Jeffrey:
That's got really nice agave character. Nice intensity of character. I really like that.

Jonathan:
Yes, and is there, what are some characteristics of Malas Lenguas that kind of sets it apart from other tequila brands? Because we were just noticing here and in general, there are a lot of tequila brands. The category itself is skyrocketing and you have so many new brands coming into the market. What sort of sets this brand apart from the others?

Mariana:
I think if you look at the bottle, even without knowing what it is, whether it's a tequila, a whiskey, any spirit, I think when you look at it, it just grabs your attention. We are very happy with our Blanco. We just want the gold medal. It's very, you know, that's very exciting for us. And something that does set us apart, I think, other than the brand, it is the female-owned tequila. We do work closely with our distillery and, you know, with everybody around, like, to make sure that everything's done the way that we would like it to be done. Wonderful.

Jeffrey:
And you have a Reposado as well.

Mariana:
So yeah, we have four. We have the Blanco, we have a Reposado, we have a Cristalino Reposado. Oh, you have a Cristalino. Yes. Oh, Cristalino Reposado. Cristalino Reposado, yes. Wow. And we also have an Añejo, so it doesn't matter what you like, whether you like something smooth or you like something a little bit stronger, we have it all.

Jonathan:
Well, that's wonderful. Mariano, we really appreciate speaking with you, and thank you for introducing us to Malas Leguas. Thank you. Thank you very much, Mariano. Cheers.

Jeffrey:
Tipple Time is brought to you by Mad River Distillers.

Jonathan:
So this is a very special episode of Tipple Time because not only am I going to show you a very easy, basically three ingredient cocktail, we are also coming to you from Denver, Colorado, the Mile High City. Dad and I are here to record some episodes, some interviews. And I'm using a very special product, something that's near and dear to my heart because I've been working with them pretty much ever since they first started making this delicious juice. And it's Mad River Rye Whiskey. They also make a rum, they also make a bourbon, they also make an apple brandy. and it is absolutely delicious. All of their products are absolutely delicious in cocktails. They're great on their own as well. That's what I think makes Mad River the whole distillery. It's from Warren, Vermont, by the way. Warren, Vermont. I was kind of mixing those two words together. You can have their products neat on their own and also mixed in cocktails. And I'm gonna show you this very simple cocktail. This is my apple rye, apple of my rye. Oh my God, guys, I think I just made that up. No, that does exist. I've seen that cocktail before, but just for the sake of continuity, we're gonna call it apple of my rye, okay? So first of all, we're gonna add this Mad River Revolution rye to my mixing tin. I am doing an ounce and a half. And now this is a mixture that I made actually. Cocktail Guru team member Pamela Wisnitzer and I and dad, we did a pop-up, a little educational thing at a great cocktail bar in downtown Denver called Run for the Roses. And we made this drink that had Calvados, which is a French apple brandy, and fresh green apple juice. So we took some apples, chopped them up, threw them in a juicer, strained out the solids, added a little bit of citric acid and simple syrup to kind of balance it out. If you don't have citric acid at home, that's okay. You can just add a little bit of lime juice. And that's what I have here. This is fresh green apple juice with some citric acid and simple syrup. And I'm going to add one ounce to my mixing tin. Oh, that smells really nice. And then I want this drink, I wanted this drink to have a nice foam on top. And how do you get a nice foam on top of cocktails? You could use egg white, which is great. You could use a foamer. Sometimes there are some brands that actually make a foamer where you can add a couple of dashes and it'll kind of froth up your drink. I'm using aquafaba, which you've probably seen me use it before, but it's been a little while. This is chickpea water or the liquid that's in a can of garbanzo beans. So you can eat the beans, save the liquid, use it as like a vegan frother, a vegan version of egg white. And I'm going to add three quarters of an ounce into my mixing tin. I've got ice in here. I'm going to give it a really nice vigorous shake. And of course, the longer you shake, the more frothy or foamy it gets. But this already, I don't know if you can see that at home, maybe. Can you see that? Back a little bit, tilt it down. Okay. That's a frothy cocktail in there. And I'm just going to strain that out into my cocktail coupe glass. And you know, as this drink, starts to settle, you'll really see the difference between the liquid and the foam. And just to add a little bit of spice essence, herbal essence, I have this basil leaf, or a basil leaf as they say in the UK. I'm gonna give it a little slap to release those oils and just lay it right on top. Ooh, that is a pretty looking cocktail. Shall I take a little sip? Yep, so you get that, well, you get some rye at first, and then a little bit of basil, a little bit of that herbaceous note. Ooh, that is like a really nice brunch-style cocktail. It doesn't have too much, it's got an ounce and a half of the rye whiskey. It's not like a full two ounces. It's not the same amount of alcohol as in like a martini or a Negroni even. A little lower in proof, but that apple and the citrus and the sweet and the aquafaba. Aquafaba doesn't add any flavor, just so you know. It's really just for the texture. But that is my apple of my rye. You at home are the apple of my rye. Actually, no, my family is the apple. Dad, dad, you're the apple of my rye. Okay, thanks. Cheers, everyone.

Jeffrey:
Tipple Time has been brought to you by Mad River Distillers.

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