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Henry Preiss President and CEO of Preiss Imports and has become exposed to many of the mixology greats.  He’s been in the business for 35-years and we were lucky enough to give him a call and learn everything we could from the spirit, cocktail and mixology industry. If you’re a cocktail enthusiast, this is a must listen interview. If you’re an everyday drinker, there is knowledge ahead to entertain and enhance your mind. It’s still a must listen interview! Once you hear this interview you’ll never use sour mix again.

As of September 19th, a significant yearly event has started: Oktoberfest. We couldn’t be a proper drinking podcast if we didn’t take the time out of our busy schedules to sit down with a few seasonal brews and talk about it. We’re primarily drinking Märzen style beers but we expand beyond the boarders of Germany and kick back with some US styles as well. Beers in this episode include: Flying Dog Dogtoberfest Märzen, Leinenkugel Oktoberfest, New Belgium Hoptober Golden Ale, Millstream Brewing Co. Oktoberfest Lager, Victory Festbier Oktoberfest Seasonal, Mendocino Fall Seasonal Autumn Lager (Märzen Style), Samuel Adams Oktoberfest Seasonal, Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale, Paulaner Oktoberfest Märzen, Spaten Oktoberfest – Ur-Märzen and Bluemoon’s fall seasonal. Is that enough? Yeah, that’s good. For more on styles of beer and in-depth reviews checkout The Beer Genome Project.

Keith Law is a master blender at Diageo and has been in the industry since 1979. Keith was happy to sit down with us for almost an hour telling us about Scotch, the industry and a few of the great qualities of a fine scotch. What makes a single malt and what makes a blend? Find out all the details in the interview! Read on for his full biography. Master blender Keith Law began his career in the Scotch whisky industry in 1979 when he joined the Quality Control Laboratory at Caledonian Distillery in Edinburgh. Keith’s career began not in malt whisky but in grain whisky, where he worked closely alongside his father at this renowned grain distillery. A sensory specialist in the whisky industry, Keith spent 12 years as part of the management team at Carsebridge Technical Centre, responsible for quality for all grain distilling and specialised areas of malt distilling. The primary focus of this role was around optimisation of distillery yields, flavour profiles and distillery performance; A large part of this role involved the nosing of new make spirit. In 2007, with the formation of Diageo’s European Technical Centre, Diageo’s Master Blenders have joined together to become one team. Keith’s role within the technical centre as a Master Blender is varied. He is heavily involved in the development of new whisky products with end to end responsibility from cask selection through to overseeing production of pre-market launch bottlings. Since joining Diageo, Keith has worked at each of Diageo’s 27 malt distilleries and 2 grain distilleries. His roles have been heavily focused on all aspects of sensory analysis allowing Keith to develop significant insights into flavour creation, blending and a deep understanding of the effects of oak on maturation, cask structure and wood physiology. After nearly 30 years in the “land of whisky flavour”, Keith is often asked to use his experience by providing Spirit Mastery support to various mentoring programmes within Diageo and is an intrinsic part of a team of the most respected whisky blenders in the world. Keith originally hails from Edinburgh in Scotland but now lives in the central region near Stirling. In his spare time he enjoys playing rugby, scuba diving and walking through the beautiful scenery of Scotland with his wife and two young daughters.

It’s that time again folks and we’re wishing summer just wouldn’t end, talking about the history of the BBQ and bringing up our own favorite BBQ cocktails. Beer, champagne, cocktails and more, we’re giving it all a go this week. Lion Stout Imported (from Sri Lanka), Cristalino Meodo Tradicional BRUT, Blue Moon, Sam Adams Lager, a Dark N Stormy and the Tequila Sour. This is gonna be a good time. Special thanks to guest Mike from Beergeno.me for helping us out with the BBQ cocktails and the SNICKER SALAD

If you’re curious about ice wines this is the interview to stimulate your ear drums. We’re talking with Kevin Karl who breaks down the concepts of ice wine from history to regulations and reputations. What makes a good ice wine, what is the VQA and what regions are famous for ice wines. Kevin Karl can be found representing Inniskillin and Jackson-Triggs ice wines. What makes an ice wine so rare and costly? Listen on to know it all.

This week we’ve been blessed with an opportunity to talk with Dan Tullio, the Brand Ambassador of Canadian Club whiskey. If you’re looking to truly educate yourself on the whiskey, the process, what water does to a whiskey and how to best prepare your palate for a tasting, this is a must listen episode. Damn right your dad drank it, Canadian Club has a rich history at a good price point with a willingness to sit down with us and teach us the ways of whiskey.

We’re leaving scotch to the history books and moving on to Whiskey from other areas of the world. We’re hitting Ireland, Canada and the United States with some tasty brands including: Brave Spirits First In Whiskey, Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Michael Collins Blended, Michael Collins Single Malt, Canadian Club Classic 12, Canadian Club 10 Year, Maker’s Mark, Wild Turkey, Jamison and others. Yeah, we’re hitting the whiskey hard but we’re learning a lot in the process; hopefully everyone can take something away from the episode and, if nothing else, a little bit of laughter.

Brave Spirits is a US based producer of Gin, Whiskey, Rum and Vodka. This Pennsylvania start up donates $2.00 on every sale to the men and women of uniform from policy, firefighter to military. You can visit their homepage at bravespirits.com, friend them on twitter @bravespirits and/or fan them on FaceBook. Hope you enjoy the interview with Brave Spirits!

Pilsner beer or “Pils,” a refreshing and approachable beer style. There are a few unique styles of Pilsner and we hit a wide variety of the pils style including: Blue Paddle by New Belgium, Brooklyn Pilsner, Miller, Warsteiner and the original pilsner Pilsner Urquell. We’ve got a great number of guests on this episode, one of which shows up a bit “tipsy.” However there is a great balance between knowledge and unabashed comedy. If you’re confused on some of the references in the episode, it’s all revealed in the 17+ minutes of outtakes! Also checkout Mike’s “Luke’s Roomate” podcast at http://beergeno.me/

The Tequila industry is growing at a rapid pace and we’re seeing new brands entering the market every week. What can a brand do to separate itself from the other premium tequilas and how can they build momentum with the cluttered shelf space at retail stores? Stand tall, be unique and build relationships with individuals one person at a time. Riazul is one such company and Inaki Orozco and his team are showing us how a modestly priced tequila can compete against those with $100+ price tags. To learn more about Riazul checkout MixDrinkipedia.com, Riazul’s website and join their Facebook Fan Page. By the end of this episode you’ll know all there is to know about the heavenly Agave, what classificaties a tequila and some great tasting properties of Añejo and Silver Riazul Tequila. Hopefully you enjoy this special interview episode and stay tuned for our next podcast later this week covering Pilsner beers.

This week Doug and I tackle this podcast on Memorial Day weekend. We covered a few gin brands in the show including: Bombay Sapphire, Tanqueray, Seagram’s Extra Dry Gin, G’Vine Flourason, Tanqueray, New Amsterdam, Brave Spirits Standing Guard Gin and G’Vine Nouaison. The show covers the sights, smells and sounds of the aromatic gin product and we discover sometimes price doesn’t equal quality.

It’s spring here in the United States, leading us to summer we figured we’d open up with a good Mojito episode. We’re exploring different styles of rum, new brands and muddling up a storm of chaos. If you’re looking to make some classic Mojito’s, this is the episode for you. Oh, and we talk a bit about Pirates too! We learn a bit about Doug and his love for the Mojito.

Welcome to the latest edition of the Everyday Drinkers Podcast, episode 25 in which we cover Scotch Whisky. Two of us are whisky drinkers, the other two.. not so much. We’re diving head first into Dalwhinnie Single Highland Malt, Chiva’s Regal Premium Blended, The Glenlivet Single Malt, Dewar’s White Label, Dalmore, Glenfiddich Special Reserve, Johnnie Walker Red Label and Black and Cragganmore. We’re trying to hit up the entire island! That’s what you do in a drinking podcast I guess.

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!! This episode is special, it’s the first episode where we stick with a light theme of finding something in your fridge to drink and talk about it. While we intended to handle Scotch one of our co-hosts was sick so we found an alternative plan: drink beers. With the economy in the toilet, hopefully we’re going to bring a silly spark to your day and make you laugh for a few minutes. Enjoy! Content from the episode includes: This episode is special, it’s the first episode where we stick with a light theme of finding something in your fridge to drink and talk about it. While we intended to handle Scotch one of our co-hosts was sick so we found an alternative plan: drink beers.

This episode we’re going to put aside the wine snobbery and give boxed wine a try. We cover a great selection of box wine and tetra-pak’s while keeping it real. There is a time and a place for all styles of wine in all types of containers. We’re here to give you some examples, explain a little about the history of boxed wine and give our opinions on the higher end and lower end of box wine. From Franzia to French Rabbit and Central Coast to Vendange, Hardy’s and more