Spirits & Distilling Podcast

There aren’t many problems in whiskey that Sherrie Moore hasn’t tackled and solved. Over her 30+ years at Tennessee’s renowned Jack Daniel’s distillery, she’s worked in just about every role imaginab…

Olivier Ward got his start in gin in the mid-oughts, working on projects for Hendricks, and the he hasn’t been able to shake the gin world since. The people, places, and processes captivate him, and …

Whiskey Del Bac in Tucson, Arizona, has pursued a taste of place in its spirits since opening in 2011, using local mesquite wood instead of peat to smoke-dry malt for its single-malts. Head distiller…

Jackie Zykan of Hidden Barn and Oduoak can tell you what aromas and flavors she detects when she smells and tastes whiskey, but she’d rather not put it in terms that you can connect with. After all, …

Adam Spiegel is taking an approach akin to alchemy and applying it to distilling, turning something relatively worthless—excess capacity in the distillery—into gold. The result isn’t just contract di…

Chicago's Maplewood has made quite a name for themselves over the years in both the brewing and the distilling worlds. Four Great American Beer Festival medals, a couple of 99 ratings and one perfect…

As blender and manager of blending operations for the blend-focused brand Barrell Craft Spirits, Nic Christiansen’s job is to understand flavors, how they develop, and how they interact with each oth…

New York City’s Widow Jane Distillery may be one of the better known craft-spirits brands, with a relatively wide distribution footprint earned through the incredible reputation built by former disti…

Brewer-turned-distiller Christian Krogstad launched House Spirits in the mid-‘00s with a focus on artisanal gin, but he had no idea the botanical spirit they pursued with passion would become one of …

The modes that distillers operate in can vary wildly based on the goals of the business and the avenues for sales. While at the helm of Ghost Coast in Savannah, Georgia, Ken Klehm did it all—a law ch…

The last decade and a half have been a whirlwind for Andy Nelson, as the discovery of a family distilling legacy led his brother Charlie and him to pursue and launch the Nelson's Green Brier Distille…

Nicole Austin has spent time in distilleries around the world, but if there’s one thing she’s learned from producing at distilleries both tiny and very large, it’s that no single blending strategy wo…

Fourteen years into her career at Clear Creek in Hood River, Oregon, Caitlin Bartlemay recently become master distiller at the respected craft producer. There, she continues to lead a small, hands-on…

While Sydney Jones’ last turn in the host chair was an exit interview of sorts, this episode is her entrance interview with new boss, Heaven Hill Master Distiller Conor O’Driscoll, as she settles int…

In Andy Garrison’s mind, fruit brandies have historically been necessary byproducts of excess—fruit trees produce more food that could be consumed by their owners, so what better way to preserve thei…

It may seem like everything that can be done, has been done, but for FEW Spirits operations director Riley Henderson, novel fermentations offer new opportunities for flavor in familiar spirits such a…

Are distillers really just “dirty” brewers? How do you stabilize ingredients and flavors in canned RTDs? How can water chemistry at the municipal level cause potentially expensive issues with arreste…

Master distiller Lisa Wicker may have taken an unconventional path through her career, shifting from wine to distilled spirits, but that’s hardly the only decision she’s made that some might deem unu…

Ale Ochoa is an expert sensory scientist and master blender with years of experience building sensory teams both large and small. In this episode, she outlines key parameters for sensory programs and…

Welcome to Episode 1 of the Craft Spirits & Distilling Podcast, featuring hosts Sydney Jones, head distiller for FEW Spirits in Chicago, and Molly Troupe, master distiller for Freeland Spirits in Por…