Bit by a Fox Podcast

While it is often customary in many cultures to have wine and beer with the Christmas meal, people have been mixing up boozy cups of cheer for centuries. For this shot-sized, end of the year episode, Prairie picks a sampling of traditional holiday drinks from around the world.

This week's episode is local. I focused on a bartender, a drinks program, and a restaurant that has made an incredible impression on LA in recent years. Bartender, Tobin Shea, my guest for this week’s episode, heads one of the most inventive bar programs in Los Angeles. As Bar Director of Redbird restaurant, an architectural gem in downtown LA owned by celebrated chef Neal Fraser and wife, Amy Knoll Fraser, Tobin has helped to create one of the most exciting cocktail menus in the city.

Continuing our Scotch whisky streak, I interview Scotsman, Callum O’Donnell, the brand new, fresh faced global brand ambassador for Aberlour, the beloved Single Malt Scotch produced in the heart of Speyside, and known for their sherry cask aging. We talked about his time in the Dominican Republic getting his brand ambassador legs, the small town of Aberlour’s magical Druid history, and the new Aberlour release, Casg Annamh. Be sure to listen for a surprise cameo from one of downtown LA's grea

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society is an international community of whisky lovers, where members have access to some of the finest rare and limited edition whiskies in the world. My guest this week is Paul Skipworth, former CEO of Ardbeg and Glenmorangie, and now Chairman of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society. Based in Edinburgh, Scotland, I caught up with Paul last month while he was in town briefly to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of the Society at the British Consul General's Residence in LA.

This week's guest is Dr. Rachel Barrie, Master Blender for historic single malt scotch brands BenRiach, The GlenDronach and Glenglassaugh. I caught up with Rachel while she was in Los Angeles celebrating the release of The GlenDronach 15 Year Old Revival. We sipped through this new release as well as two other expressions, while we discussed her journey over the last three decades to become Scotch Whisky’s First Lady.

Aquavit is a Scandinavian spirit that has been produced since the 15th century and yet we’re still getting familiar with it in the states. For this week’s episode I interview Malina Bickford veteran bartender, writer and US Brand Manager for Åhus Akvavit. Redbird LA Drinks director Tobin Shea joins us later into the episode, shares the Åhus Akvavit cocktail featured on the menu for Aquavit Week and helps to explain how he likes to incorporate aquavit into cocktails. 

Our guest this week is Gabi Porter, New York-based documentary photographer and barfly, whose work is featured in nearly every boozy publication the world over. Gabi specializes in taking photos at bars and restaurants, and has made a name for herself as one of THE go-to cocktail photogs in the industry. From creating headshots for NASA scientists to documenting rock stars with a point and shoot, and then moving on to the stars of the cocktail world, Gabi has had an important perspective behind the lens.

We’re now in the final episode of our three part Cognac series. In this week’s episode I again sit down with two Cognac houses, both with a rich heritage and British DNA but, again, very different from one another. My first interview is with 5th generation Cognac producer, the incredibly dynamic doyenne leading the Cognac industry, Bénédicte Hardy of Cognac Hardy. My second interview is with Per Even Allaire, head of worldwide sales for Hine Cognac, the only Cognac house servicing the Queen of E

In continuation of our Cognac series, I sit down with two very different Cognac houses. One house is rooted in tradition in the heart of the Grand Champagne region, and the other is a young brand that is shaking up the category with some modern techniques. My guests are Patrice Piveteau, deputy general manager and cellar master at Cognac Frapin, and winemaker, distiller and Bourgoin Cognac family member, Frédéric Bourgoin.

I went to Cognac last month and I came back with VERY heavy luggage full of beautiful bottles, an entirely new appreciation for brandy, and an epic series of episodes! This week we kick off our Cognac series.  First up is David Boileau, a Cognac educator and ambassador since 2006 for the BNIC - the professional organization behind Cognac. I also spoke with Jacques Blanc who is the house historian and tour guide of Maison Ferrand of Pierre Ferrand Cognac.

This week’s guest is veteran bartender Jeff Bell from legendary drinking den PDT in New York City. Jeff is the consulting master blender of an exciting new American born brandy called BERTOUX Brandy. It recently launched in New York and here in California where I caught up with Jeff at their recent launch party. Coming off of my visit to Cognac, I thought this was a great opportunity to introduce listeners to all things brandy and prep for our Cognac series coming up soon.

This week's guest is New York based spirits and cocktail writer, Kara Newman. Kara is the Spirits Editor for Wine Enthusiast and is the author of multiple cocktail books including the forthcoming little gem: Nightcap: More than 40 Cocktails to Close Out Any Evening - available October 16th. What defines a nightcap cocktail and what makes for an especially good one? Find out why these might be the sexiest drinks of all. 

Pisco. What exactly is this South American spirit that has been all abuzz in the cocktail world in recent years? Its history goes back to the 16th century, but it's still largely undiscovered by the average American consumer. This week’s guest, pisco expert Romina Scheufele, helps us to understand why this spirit is so special. Her family has been in the pisco making business for 5 generations, over 100 years. She is President & CEO at Capurro Pisco, her family’s artisan pisco from Peru.

With its iconic square bottle dipped in red wax and that consistently familiar flavor profile, Maker's Mark is recognized and beloved the world over. I recently caught up with Rob Samuels, grandson of the founders and now President and COO of Maker's Mark, at the recent BevCon conference here in LA. He gave us the super insiders take to all things Maker’s Mark, the Samuels Family and Kentucky bourbon.

Amaro, the Italian bitter liqueur that has been used as a digestive in Italy and produced for hundreds of years, has had a relatively recent resurgence due to the craft cocktail revival. And yet, outside of Italy and this niche-y industry, the Amaro category is still fairly unknown, and often misunderstood. James Beard award winning author and spirits & bitters expert Brad Thomas Parsons is our expert guest this week to help guide our deep dive into all things Amaro.