In continuation of National Bourbon Heritage Month, this week’s guest on the Bit by a Fox Podcast is Trey Zoeller, founder of Jefferson’s Bourbon, a collection of small batch bourbons founded in 1997, before there was much of a ‘craft’ spirits industry to speak of.
Trey and I discussed his family’s deep connection to Kentucky bourbon, Jefferson’s early days before the bourbon boom when he could barely give the stuff away, and his experimental approach to aging whiskey on a shark tagging vessel.
This week’s featured “cocktail” is how Trey prefers to drink Jefferson’s Small Batch. We’re calling it Trey’s Favorite.
Trey’s Favorite is Jefferson’s Very Small Batch bourbon poured over a large rock, with a few dashes of spiced cherry bitters, garnished with a twist.
September is National Bourbon Heritage Month and The Bit by a Fox Podcast will have a new bourbon focused episode every Friday. This week our guest is Nicole Austin, the charming head distiller at Cascade Hollow Distilling Co. better known as the George Dickel distillery.
Nicole has proven herself to be a gifted distiller, helping to bring home multiple awards in her first few years of working for this storied Tennessee whisky brand established in the 1870s. But she’s also been a huge advocate for the distilling industry in general, and is widely respected for her groundbreaking work in all aspects of the business.
We got to touch on all of that, and talk about the newest Dickel expression the fantastic Bottled in Bond.
This week we are kicking off the festivities with an interview with MGP’s David Whitmer, the master blender behind the distillery’s award-winning brands, including the coveted Remus Repeal Reserve.
With the September 1st launch of the Series IV expression, we discuss the consumer excitement behind this fourth release, why the launch was chosen to be before the traditional Repeal Day this year, and the legendary story of lawyer, bootlegger, and bon vivant, George Remus – the inspiration behind the brand, and possibly, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s character, Jay Gatsby!
Remus Sazerac 2 oz Remus Repeal Reserve bar spoon Absinthe 4 dashes Bitters 1/4 oz maple syrup Garnish: Lemon Peel
Add absinthe to a rocks glass, swirl it around to coat the glass and dump out remaining liquid, then set aside. Add the rest of the ingredients with ice. Stir until chilled. Strain into a rocks glass with large ice cube. Twist lemon oils into drink. Discard or add to the glass.
This week’s Bit by a Fox Podcast features award-winning bartender and industry veteran H. Joseph Ehrmann.
H. chats about his 30+ journey in the food and beverage industry, his legendary San Francisco bar Elixir, and his new line of cold pressed cocktail mixers, Fresh Victor.
Aaaaaaand, I’m BACK from a self-imposed summer hiatus with a fun, aspirational, Italiano episode on the Bit by a Fox Podcast!
This week we have return guest food stylist, producer, author, and spirit guide to all things la dolce vita, Annette Joseph who’s just written her third book, a memoir, Italy Is My Boyfriend.
Annette’s book is a love letter to Italy, an informative guide to future ex-pats, and a hilarious account of falling madly in love with a place, and living there half the year despite its many challenges. Come for the aperitivi, and stay for the chiacchierare (chit chat!)
This week’s featured cocktail is Annette Joseph’s Limoncello Margarita. To make your own limoncello get my recipe HERE!
Limoncello Margarita 2 oz tequila 1/2 oz limoncello 1 oz fresh lemon juice 1/2 oz orange liqueur lemon slice for garnish
Fill a glass with ice, then add the tequila, limoncello, lemon juice, and orange liqueur. Stir to chill and serve with a lemon slice garnish.
St. George Spirits, founded in 1982, is one of the OG craft distilleries in the country. Located in Alameda, California and founded by German born distilling pioneer Jörg Rupf, St. George Spirits helped to kick off the modern American distillation movement as we know it.
photo: Andria Lo
This week’s Bit by a Fox Podcast guests are the very entertaining distillers of St. George Spirits: Master Distiller Lance Winters and Head Distiller Dave Smith.
photo: Ben Krantz
President of St. George Spirits, Lance has been at the distillery for 24 years, and is the imaginative force behind St. George’s industry pushing spirits lineup. Since joining the distillery in 1996, Lance has led the craft distilling movement in America, and propelled the St. George portfolio to icon status. He has been recognized by the James Beard Awards for the last five years straight.
photo: Ben Krantz
Head Distiller Dave Smith came to St. George in 2005 after spending time in the wine world. Dave helps to lead the distillery’s innovative single malt whiskey program, and is the creator behind cult favorite, St. George NOLA Coffee Liqueur.
photo: Andria Lo
This week’s featured cocktail is St. George Spirits’ take on Dick Bradsell’s classic Bramble.
Raspberry Bramble 2 oz St. George Terroir Gin 1/2 oz St. George Raspberry Liqueur 1 oz fresh lemon juice 1/2 oz simple syrup
Shake gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup with ice, then strain into a tall glass filled with crushed ice. Drizzle raspberry liqueur over the top and garnish with lemon.
There’s no question climate change is affecting so much of our world’s agriculture. The wine industry has been on the front lines of this for decades. Fighting climate change and adapting to our warming planet has been a priority for the growers and producers in Champagne, France for the last 20 years. Their high level of quality and distinct style depends on them staying ahead of the curve.
The Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC) – the organization that represents Champagne production – has been leading the way in sustainability efforts for much of the world.
Osmany Tavares/CIVC
For this week’s Bit by a Fox Podcast, Thibaut Le Mailloux, the CIVC’s Communications Director, sat down with my from his home in France, to discuss life during quarantine, how wine growers are adapting to climate change, and the aggressive sustainability plans in place for the Champagne region.
The Coronavirus continues to keep many of us quarantined, and without the luxury of going out to bars and restaurants, there’s a LOT of home bartending going on. We’re here to help.
For this week’s Bit by a Fox Podcast episode I sat down with Los Angeles bartender, Ramsey Musk – Bar Director of acclaimed Filipino restaurant, Ma’am Sir, and head camp counselor at CampOUT – a monthly jamboree and charity event for queer bar industry and friends.
We talk about the basics you need to set up your home bar, and Ramsey’s favorites and special go-tos during this time of quarantine.
This week’s featured cocktail is Ramsey’s favorite new quarantine cocktail…
Boy From Ipanema 1 oz cachaca (Ramsey uses Avua Amburana Cachaca) .5 oz pineapple liqueur (He uses Giffard) .5 oz pineapple juice .25 oz coconut liqueur (Mahina, but others will do) 1 oz ginger beer Top with prosecco or the like!
In a shaker tin add cachaca, pineapple juice and liqueurs with ice. Shake until chilled. Strain into an ice-filled highball glass. Add Ginger beer and top with prosecco.
Last week’s live ChefsFeed class – 3 Classic Whiskey Cocktails Everyone Should Know – was the virtual cocktail party I didn’t know I needed. I enjoyed it so much, I’ve decided to jump back in with another class. But this time I’m upping the game…
We’ll be exploring three more whiskey cocktails, building on the simple classics we discussed in the first class, and diving into a little more complex flavors and recipes.
The Boulevardier will be our boozy, stirred cocktail; The Penicillin, a variation on a whiskey sour, is a modern classic that calls for a blended and a single malt scotch; and like the Sazerac from last week, the Vieux Carre is an historic New Orleans original.
So many, especially in the hospitality industry, are out of work and struggling and trying to make ends meet. The USBG Foundation is trying to soften the blow but has been getting blow back from those having trouble actually getting the funds they apply for. Kim is here to answer all the questions, break down how the foundation works, and to give tips on how to successfully apply for grant money from the foundation.
