Transcript
Jez: What's up guys, Jez here from non-chill filtered. I have the beautiful Scott Christie with me tonight. Good evening, sir.
Scott: Hello, mate. How are you
Jez: I am good. Now we yeah surpassed all those technical difficulties and we are firing. I'm looking at these audio bars. They are looking crisp.
Scott: Very crisp.
Jez: I know, I'm feeling it. It's a vibe tonight. um But sir we're going to kick off.
Scott: For sure.
Jez: Do you have anything interesting in your glass? I'm just about to pour some fun, Jack.
Scott: So I actually um today caught up with a former colleague who
Jez: Ooh.
Scott: by the name of, I call her Master of Carmen, and she gave me a little sample of the ah Keepers release from Maker's Mark, which is this year's release in the Wood Finishing Series, which she just brought back from the distillery.
Jez: oh
Jez: Oh, stop it. Because I saw that drop. um Just to give them a little plug, I guess, the um Drink Society were dropped dropping it for like 350, which isn't a bad time.
Jez: But if you're rolling with makers, I still have my beam shelf up because I'm in the middle of moving at the moment. So I like stripped down all the whiskey.
Scott: Ah, fun.
Jez: It's like 400 bottles of whiskey in boxes. There's probably 150 bottles left on the shelf. And it is slowly killing my life.
Scott: Yeah.
Jez: It's like two weeks to go until the move, but it's just like everything is getting jammed. um
Scott: Are you trusting someone with moving all that or are you moving it yourself?
Jez: Bit of column A, bit of column B. um All the bougie stuff behind me will get done.
Scott: Yeah.
Jez: um But then there's like all the open bottles are pretty much worthless in our world. So it's just like, ba give it to the movers.
Scott: Yeah.
Jez: They'll yeet it into the back of a truck and let's...
Scott: Yeah. no
Jez: Got our fingers crossed that um it'll make it there.
Scott: That they will.
Jez: um
Jez: I might go the yeah Sydney pick. um
Scott: Nice.
Jez: Feels a little off-brand, but your previous background kind of lands us there. Scott, give us your comic book 01 origin story.
Scott: Well, um Mate, I kicked off in the liquor industry in 1998. I was working for Liquorland down in Sydney, um and down at Hurstville, of all places. Shout out to Westfields.
Scott: um I was down there and then I –
Jez: pretty much around the corner.
Scott: sorry Right.
Jez: I said that's pretty much around the corner from me, old Hurstville.
Scott: ah Yeah. And then, yeah, from there, I moved up to Queensland, was working for Lickoland still. And, yeah, spent 10 years with them before I found the wonderful world of independence. And, yeah, worked for quite a few over the years. And, mate, from there, um you know, back in 2020, that little weird thing happened called COVID. And then I found my way onto the supplier side of things, you know, dealing with the premium spirits at Coke, who were, you know, losing all of those very shortly.
Scott: Suntory take it back. And, um yeah, I went back. Obviously, you know, yeah, I was at Sense of Taste working for Star for quite a while. And, yeah, went back to run all the Sense Taste outlets. And then, um yeah, an opportunity came up with Brown Forman and then, yeah,
Scott: That's where I am now. I'm servicing Ipswich, Toowoomba and beyond.
Jez: That is quite a resume. Hell, let's let's start from the top. Break down, like, what were you doing for these independents, essentially? Like, you started at Liquorland, and were you doing the same thing, essentially?
Jez: Were you more involved in, like, the buying side, or were you, like, more or less just slinging booze to...
Scott: no Liquorland. i was just a... Yeah, yeah, like ah down in Sydney I was um at Hurstville, was just a, you know, retail attendant and then sort of assistant manager position came up at the lovely Rockdale and then, yeah, then I moved um moved to Queensland and started working at the stores on the Gold Coast.
Jez: Mmm. Fucking arf.
Scott: Back then there was only three Lickoland stores on the Gold Coast. um So it wasn't you know it wasn't like I slot straight in here and go do this.
Jez: Mmm.
Scott: I sort of had to go there as a casual, do something else, and then, yeah again, sort of just waited for positions to come up and and started running stores. And then I ah found the freedom of working for independence.
Scott: um I guess withve with companies that are big like you know Woolies and Coles, you're sort of restricted in how much you can do. and how much autonomy you have. Whereas with the independence, you can, you can have a good crack and sort of boost things along and have a bit of fun along the way.
Jez: And they allowed you to have that flexibility just working for those independents, like, you know, essentially doing what you ended up doing on the backend.
Scott: Yeah, mate, a lot of them, mate, a lot of them give you the freedom to, you know, sort of go, all right, well, I want to focus on, you know, selling some whiskey and doing this and,
Scott: sort of drawing that crowd in, you have to have the yeah the autonomy and the freedom to do that where, you know, it's a bit it's a bit harder in some of those massive companies to sort of do something on a smaller scale because they want everything to be uniform.
Jez: No, absolutely.
Scott: So, but, yeah, obviously, yeah you know, found um when when Sense of Taste was originally set up um yeah we're having a lot of fun getting in some snazzy wines and and whiskeys and crazy beers and all the fun stuff so yeah it's uh i guess that's sort of you know getting into that world um i was already very heavily into bourbon then i um i was lucky in my early years uh the first liquor land store i was at there was a
Scott: shop around the corner, they used to make us go and do competitor checks. And I had to go to the Theo's around the corner and get prices. And those guys hated you doing it. And they, you know, what's that guy doing? There was one guy that worked there, Frank, and he used to cover for me every time. He'd be like, oh, you know, he's got his sister's 21st coming up. He's just getting prices.
Scott: um And he started, you know, I was i was getting into bourbon and he's like, oh, you know, he he sold me my first bottle of Booker's.
Jez: oh
Scott: uh, back in 1998 and, um, you know, gave it to me quite cheap. Thanks. Shout out to Frank. Um, and yeah, it's sort of, yeah, you know, it it showed me that there was, um, there was a lot more out there.
Jez: Cheers, Frank.
Scott: Like I was, um, I guess I mainly started on, on Jim Beam White. Like a lot of people did back in those days. Um, I worked with ah
Jez: Shout out Jim Beam White. thats Yo, Jay.
Scott: um, You know, and then i had mates who were Jack Daniels drinkers and then I got into JD and then, you know, through people like Frank and and just talking to customers in store that were buying things like Makers back then and just trying to, I guess, understand what they were all about and trying the different brands. And it was, you know, it was nothing like it is today.
Jez: No, it's next level. it's It's kind of like you kind of led me exactly where I need you to lead me because like how was your bourbon journey then? Because, you know, you've been in it for so long.
Jez: um And you said like acquiring those early bookers. um Did you just continue to buy those, I'd say, more upmarket releases? Or was it like you just kind of hammering in on all these new brands that were just emerging or
Scott: I was, i was sort of trying a bit of everything, you know, this, the whole small batch collection was there and, um, was getting, you know, into a bit of, um, Basil Hayden's and, and Baker's, um, and the old bottle of Knob Creek. And then I remember, um, I would have been 19 and I saw this, um, i was 18 or 19 and, um walked into a bottle shop and they had this Jack Daniels 1905 gold medal sitting on the shelf. And I'm like, Ooh, look at that. That's pretty fancy.
Scott: So, you know, started getting into some of those releases. Once, once I moved up to Queensland in, um, in 2000, I ah had a ah pretty broad selection of what was available in the country and and sort of got to a point where I had most of the American whiskeys you could go and buy.
Scott: Um, and that's when,
Jez: Thank you.
Scott: You know, I started reaching out to people in the US and and getting a hold of other things. um So I was lucky that, you know, um you know um I just turned 45.
Scott: I guess I was lucky. And that was was the prime of bourbon, you know. Like um I was buying, when I was in Sydney, I was i was buying bottles of Jim Beam Gold label. And they were 50 bucks, mate, you know.
Jez: i
Scott: And 50 bucks was a lot of money for a bottle of bourbon back then. But that stuff, I was ah was drinking it like it was, you know, Basil Hayden or like jack and Jack Daniels.
Jez: Yeah, that's...
Scott: It was just, it was there. It was $50. It's like, this is a pretty good value. Yeah. um
Jez: Exactly where it needed to be in the market, because I guess you've seen the shift as well, like seeing where... so ah I guess the B-Tax and the the Pappies and everything else, how that price has kind of gone up over the last, say, 10 years even.
Scott: yeah
Jez: um Hell, and then some.
Scott: And, matt yeah, I um ah moved down to Ballina.
Jez: Like,
Scott: um i was I was still working for Liquorland at that stage. And um it's like Ballina's pretty laid back and I didn't live too far from the store. And um I was spending a bit more time online and discovered straightburden.com, which is where I met a lot of my U.S. contacts.
Scott: um You know, these guys were in this chat room and they were just talking about bourbon and I'm like, these are my people. And, you know, there was a few Aussies um in those chats back in the days, like my mate Cam, um let another mate Tim, you know, Stephen was in there.
Scott: um So it was like yeah you were starting to find this, um community of of people who appreciated really good bourbon that had found this website.
Scott: And it's like, hey, guys, you know, and it's like, mate, people like Cam, it's like, mate, we just, we met over a a love of American whiskey and like, mate, our wives get on like a house on fire.
Scott: our kids growing up together. It's just, it's really, really cool, man. It's, um you know, ah just brings people together.
Jez: It's great to see what like a bottle of booze, yeah, can just bring people together. um
Scott: Yeah.
Jez: and There's nothing more special than just opening a cool bottle in front of people and you're just like, all right, let's we're going to share this now. And you're just going to create a moment in time where people get to enjoy that forever, essentially.
Scott: Exactly. It's, um, you know, it's one of those things where it's like, ah I've been to plenty of things where people are like, you're really going to open that? It's like, yeah, I am. Um, I think, uh, one of the the biggest events where I did something like that was when, um,
Scott: when Jimmy and Eddie Russell were out here ah to release the Wild Turkey Masters Keeps 17-year-old, the first one in the series. They did a little event down in Sydney to release that at the Rocks.
Scott: and um And I said to Toma, who was he was the Wild Turkey brand manager at the time, and I said, Toma, so what are the chances? I said, when this event finishes, I said, I've got some pretty good bottles in my bag. What are the chances that we can, you know,
Scott: you know, a dozen of us can sit down with Jimmy and Eddie and crack them. And he said, mate, we'll make it happen. And a lot of the guys were coming up to me and they said, like I can't believe we can open these bottles. And I said, if I can't open them with Jimmy and Eddie Russell and a bunch of people who will appreciate what they are, then when the fuck am I going open them?
Jez: It's spot on. Like it's...
Scott: You know, and, and And I think that that sentiment is something that I always live by. It's like there's there's nothing that's off limits. It's just there'll be a right moment to open that bottle um and the right people to share it with. And, you know, it's like I get joy out of ah sharing whiskey with people and it's like I've had people that go, oh, you know, like – um
Scott: I'll go like, oh, finish the bottle. And they're like, are you sure? It's like, yeah, I've tried it. I want to see as many people try it as possible. you know what I mean? it's It's there to be shared.
Jez: Do you find those bottle share, like I'd say bottle share events work up in Queensland or like in groups, say? Like, um because, you know, you're asking everyone to bring a bottle of of something cool.
Jez: Do you think everyone's going to live up to the standard of something they really appreciate are they just going to grab their bottle of, their favorite bottle of Jim Beam White label they've got kicking around from the nineteen forty s
Scott: No, look, I think the i think so people that I do that with on occasion, um it is a case of, and it doesn't matter, like you say, oh, a bottle of gin being white from the 40s, if someone's got that and and that means something to them, then great.
Jez: Crack it.
Scott: You know, if that tells a story, um you know, and and you get to try something from yesteryear, it's cool.
Jez: ae
Scott: it It adds to the experience, but In general, it's yes it's the people you're sitting with them you know enjoying it with.
Jez: Especially when there's like, I guess, good food there. The yeah the bourbon is top notch. it's i The story is always important as well because essentially the story is what brings people into bourbon as well.
Jez: Like sitting down, having a glass of something, like it literally could be anything, but you're just taking the time to enjoy it, have a moment together.
Scott: yeah
Jez: It's like music, right?
Scott: yeah
Jez: was going to ask you as well, your the part of your life where you're involved at sense of taste, how was that pretty much building this brand, this essential powerhouse where you were the forefront of all their content?
Scott: Look
Jez: That was all I was seeing in my feed from sense of taste. It was just your beautiful head is popping up when literally anything and everything, how are you going like pushing that brand out there and involved in all those barrel picks as many barrel picks they did.
Scott: at
Scott: look um A lot of the barrel picks that were done at Sense of Taste were probably ah when I was at Coke, to be honest. um
Jez: Ooh, okay.
Scott: Yeah, so a lot of that was Justin Shirell um choosing those.
Jez: Hmm.
Scott: He went over to Kentucky and chose a lot of them, and others were done in Australia. um But, so yeah, I think, um you know, it's really cool that we're at a place now where – um you know, that's a thing in Australia and people understand it and and want to grasp it because it's it's something i was fighting for years when I was first there going to people like Turkey and Beam and, you know, and anyone that I could saying, hey, I want to buy a barrel.
Scott: And it's just, you know, even when the likes of vintage sellers were doing the Turkey releases and they're like, oh no, we've committed to, you know, these guys.
Jez: Thank you.
Scott: And it's like, well, okay, I get that. But Why can't everyone have a piece of the pie? You know, we want something unique. And I think, yeah, more than ever now they – and I think, you know, Brock and Whiskey Young Australia have ah have a lot to um ah be thankful for in that piece. They've they've really driven that and and made um the market understand that there's there's buyers out here for these things and we can make American whiskey –
Scott: um a little bit more niche and special.
Jez: Great again. oh
Scott: Yeah, yeah.
Jez: yeah. Yeah.
Scott: Some say it's the greatest whiskey. okay
Scott: But, um yeah, it's, you know, it's ah you're starting to see a ah lot of brands that people have never heard of. You know, they they sort of – I know when I was at Sense Taste and people would walk in a store and see something like Willard or Old Louisville and go, oh, what's this? You know, it's like – um they're things that people just don't know but want understand a bit more and there's obviously the crowds that that do know them and and love them and um you know i mean american whiskey's hot right so there's more and more people getting into it and enjoying it and and trying to understand it which is um pretty cool but it's yeah as you touched on earlier that also helps um drive demand and and and therefore pricing up so
Jez: Oh, pricing's cooked. it Honestly, it does my head in when I'm like looking at pricing and I'm like, how is this going for this much?
Scott: Yeah.
Jez: Like we could, Beam could flood the market with the old granddad and I'd be happy. Just like roll it out for like, I don't know, 150 bucks.
Scott: Yeah.
Jez: And that is all I drink forever. Old granddad 114, just
Scott: Yeah.
Jez: I'm done. But like, for some reason they don't want to, they just want to keep it all. And I'm like, how about you just send the rest of it over here? Cause Canada clearly doesn't want it. So it's like, it's, it's gotta go somewhere.
Scott: Yeah, that's for sure.
Jez: I'll just, yeah, ship it directly to my place. That's all I'm happy to drink forever.
Scott: Yeah, and i I think that's the thing, you know, it's like a lot of these, um you know, i've I've worked for, like I understand that piece from from the side of the company. It's like they they people go, we want this, and it's like, yeah, they might have brought it out once, and it was, you know, half of 1%.
Scott: and it's not even a blip on the radar for them. So it literally means nothing, um you know, and, and often those sort of moves just don't make sense to them to, to, a you know, ah bean counter or something.
Scott: They'd go, well, why would we do this?
Jez: yeah
Scott: um Yeah. But, you know, there are people out there that,
Jez: As opposed to shipping ah as opposed to shipping like but is it plastic containers of Canadian Club, just stainless steel containers over to Australia, just chock full, and it's like, yep, flood the market.
Scott: Yeah, it's, yeah.
Jez: like That's what the Australians want, clearly. they yeah They cannot get enough of their CCN dry.
Scott: and And that's it, you know, when they see something that when there's two brands that take up, you know, 80% of the sales and all the other little brands are, um they are just little, you know,
Scott: notches on the wall, it's like, well, why would we bring out a limited expression with that brand? Because it's only this much of our sales and it's it doesn't make sense to us. They they don't understand the but passion, I guess.
Jez: Is it just because they haven't actually released it in the current market or are they just too busy servicing other markets to kind of just relinquish that like quarter of a percent to send to as Australia? Because obviously they'd have room in those big shipping containers they're sending all the booze over in.
Scott: Yeah, I think it's it's a combination of things really. it's One is, yeah, they don't have enough to service their own market, so they go, well, why would we send it anywhere else? And then I think it's like a case of a lot of the time, well,
Scott: um we can fill the container 100% full of this and we know we're going to sell all that like this and why make it hard?
Jez: Yeah.
Scott: um Because, again, like they can't see the play and You know, obviously with Suntory setting up in Australia, we'll, you know, I think some of those handcuffs will come off where we will start to see barrel picks um from those guys, which is great.
Scott: um But, so yeah, it's, you know, it is a, I know even now, like it's, you know, we're still doing some Woodford and and Jack Daniels picks and it's,
Scott: It's a hard process from start to finish to do a, you know, a singular pick for someone and then isolate that stock and get it to here and, you know.
Jez: ah
Scott: um So it does, it creates more hassle for them um that
Scott: isn't a necessity, if that makes sense.
Jez: yeah Yeah, I guess why release like a single barrel for like one particular market when you can just, I guess, cut it to 45% and then just ship it out to Australia anyway and then like single barrel it that way, if that makes sense.
Scott: Yeah.
Scott: Yeah.
Jez: Or like go
Scott: Yeah.
Jez: the um what is it the Jack Daniels like blending method for their selections and they're just like, all right, that's what we're going to do.
Scott: and And I, yeah, and I always think, like, with, and it doesn't matter what brand it is, like, if you were to go a more, a wider approach where you go, all right, we're going to do ah a WA release, a New South Wales release, ah like one in every state.
Scott: People will be chasing every state. You know what people are like?
Jez: um
Scott: You'd have every one of them behind you on the back, you know?
Jez: Yeah.
Scott: it's um
Jez: Yeah, we would.
Scott: It's just something that, yeah, you know, it's like, oh, yeah, I'll find a spare shelf.
Jez: Yeah.
Scott: That's fine. um It's like the thrill of the hunt, you know? um So, yeah, look, it's – I think we've we've come a long way, but there's still plenty of movement that we could have in that space.
Scott: And I know, you know, there's a barrel, there's actually a Woodford barrel for Sensor Taste, which ah is, it's in country and we've just got to get it to them.
Scott: So that will be that will be hitting very shortly,
Jez: yeah
Scott: um which, are yeah, I'm pretty excited about that.
Jez: how's it How does it feel to be on like either side of the table then? Because obviously being at Sense of Taste and then like doing a stuff with, say, even like CCA or ah even with Brown Foreman,
Jez: um Do you see where like each side kind of falls over and there's no like real communication there to like get stuff happening or even like if there's um like something cool, you can kind of get them, but obviously you don't want to burn the brand.
Jez: If that kind of makes sense.
Scott: Um, yeah, look, I guess from a Brown Foreman perspective, like I, I guess I can't really speak on that. I've, I've worked for them for, you know, six weeks. Um, so, you know, I certainly don't understand their process behind things like that, but it's like, um, yeah, I know that, um, you know, obviously last year, ah they were out in the, in the market, um, selling barrels and, um,
Jez: Hmm. Hmm.
Scott: I think it was a few picks done, so we should see some sort of slotting in and starting to um to pop up. um But, yeah, i I don't know how much of a focus that process is um and how much of that, you know, there will be going forward. I think, um you know, they're normally the things that um obviously, yeah, the e-comm team and and the ambassador team were – were very um on top of and and switched on with it. I'm i'm not sure.
Scott: Yeah, I'm not too sure on the, I guess, the brand plans for those sort of things going forward. Hopefully we'll see a lot more of it. But, yeah, i I'm not too sure on.
Jez: We're just patiently waiting.
Scott: Yeah, yeah, absolutely, man. It's, ah you know, I saw Whiskey Hunt's latest Old Forrester pick. just came out and sold out instantly. It's like, yeah, people um people are certainly there for it.
Jez: Yeah, absolutely. Considering like how limited we are with our old forest selection in Australia. like
Scott: Yeah. Yeah.
Jez: it's like all you're doing is getting 80 proof and then people are like, what's above 80? um Or are you things that he seeing that side of it?
Scott: Yeah. It's like even I know when I was at,
Jez: Like even when working in the store, yeah?
Scott: Yeah. And I know, um, you know, when was at sense of taste and, uh, I, I was dealing lot with, um, with drew and, um, and yeah, he'd like go, Oh mate, we've got a bunch of statesman. It's like, cool. I'll take as much as I can get. It's like, um, cause they had releases like that.
Scott: It's like people, people see them and go, oh shit. I haven't had statesman for a while or, um, I haven't, I haven't seen it anywhere. I'll jump on it. You know, it's, um, It's cool when releases like that, even if they're something that are getting allocated once or twice a year, it's um people are always happy to see them and buy them.
Jez: yeah just see it pop up like i haven't seen statesman in ages like i've had heap on my back bar like maybe six bottles just so i'm going for like 50 bucks a unit i'm like oh yeah they're perfect for um well it's like yeah cheap i'm sure it's much cheaper than whatever you know you guys were slinging them for um like on the purchasing side but um
Scott: Wow.
Scott: Yeah, I think we were yeah we're about $90 when we last had them, sense of taste, $90, $95.
Jez: yeah the
Scott: But I really think – I always used to say to people, I reckon Old Forrester Statesman's like best bang for your buck under $100 these days. like it's It's just such a solid whiskey.
Jez: Oh, yeah, absolutely.
Scott: um It would be cool to see, yeah, more of the brand.
Jez: It's...
Scott: um But, ah again, know, Like i say, this is this is pure speculation, but it's like, you know, Old Forrester, this is what it does in Australia compared to Jack or Woodford or, you know, Herodura or any of our brands.
Scott: um If it's not doing a lot, then, you know, how many times do you sit and try before you go, well, you know, this isn't doing enough for it to make a difference to us having it in that market.
Jez: Yeah.
Scott: Yeah, so I don't know.
Jez: Or is it they're just not bringing in enough stock?
Scott: Go buy more Old Forrester.
Scott: Yeah, mate, I'm not sure.
Jez: Yeah, that's...
Scott: And, yeah, you know, is it um then?
Jez: Yeah.
Jez: Because there's no variety in there.
Scott: And, I mean, you brought up an interesting point before about um Canada and it's like, well, you know, is that going to work to Australia's advantage where we are seeing um some more releases that Canada are going, well, we don't want it.
Scott: ah You know, how long is all that going to last for?
Jez: Hmm.
Scott: And, um you know, I guess there's an opportunity for Australia to benefit out of that. But whether or not, um you know, the parent company of of any of those brands want to do that or just put it back into their own market, it's, yeah, it'll be interesting to see.
Jez: Yeah, we can only hope that, I guess, some of the overflow kind of just trickles its way down into Australia. um
Scott: Yeah.
Jez: But it would be nice. I did see um on I think it was like a back end of Brock's email, he said, this is going to be the last odd forest to pick that happens because they're just not doing any more. um Which is very interesting because it's like, are they actually limiting that brand exposure in Australia? Because then we're only seeing like, I guess the 80 proof and the, ah what do we got?
Jez: um Just the Statesman on occasion. um Whereas like, you've got the full whiskey row series plus any limiteds and anything else that kind of happens there.
Scott: Yeah,
Jez: It's like, you know, are the consumers like really missing out here or they just don't know. So they don't really care. um It's only really your whiskey nerds that are like, oh.
Scott: yeah I don't know. It's...
Scott: Yeah, and i I think, you know, with things like Whiskey Row, it's like there's certainly a market for those here.
Jez: Yeah.
Scott: But, yeah, again, ah do they have enough for their own market? Yeah. And, you know, do they do they use it to get other things um it on shelves in in the, yeah, you know, all brands do it.
Jez: Use it as a bit of leverage. Yeah.
Scott: So, um you know, is it something where they go, right.
Jez: Did someone say fireball?
Scott: No comment.
Jez: Yeah, well, yeah, that's that's why I said it.
Scott: ah so no but No, but it's, you know,
Jez: You didn't. It's fine. It's fine.
Scott: All brands do that to a degree, I would say.
Jez: Of course.
Scott: um Yeah. um and And some do it in in very different ways. um But, you know, I guess we all want all of our brands on the shelf. But, um yeah, it can't always go that way.
Jez: So unless like Old Forrester releases like ah Old Forrester and Coke, we're not going to see anything new really. Yeah, yeah pretty much.
Scott: Well, I don't know, hopefully. But, yeah, i I don't know whether they'll go down the Old Forester and Coke path.
Jez: yeah I feel like it's too prestige of a brand. Like, you know, you can throw as many, I guess, Jack and Cokes to Bogans and we'll, we'll drink that shit up. I'm all about it.
Jez: Like number one Bogan at heart. I'm, I'm here for it.
Scott: like ah I mean, Jack and Coke's like capers and cream cheese, man. It's just like... you know have you ever heard someone sort of say i'll have a jack and pepsi it's like you know jack daniels and and coca-cola has just been uh one of those relationships that's been going on for years and um it just goes right um it works um
Jez: Yeah, it slaps. And I'm very excited to actually have the proper Coke version in Australia. So...
Scott: yeah look and and that's something that um I'd say is being worked on, but again, that's not something I've far seen um dates or anything on, but yeah, it's obviously a ah global push that they're doing that.
Scott: um But me we're we're very lucky, like a brand like Jack Daniels, that you don't have to do a lot to sell Jack. It's, it's a powerhouse, you know?
Jez: No, you do not.
Scott: um And it's a, It's a really fun brand to to sell and drink.
Jez: ah especially like just the just the events itself. Like I get to hang out with Andy for the Super Bowl ah super bowl collabs that they do with um like different bars in Sydney.
Scott: Yep.
Jez: And it's like, it's a great day out. Like are we doing is drinking Jack and Cokes all day and playing cornhole, like watching Super Bowl.
Scott: Yep. Yeah. It can't get much better than that, right?
Jez: It's a...
Jez: It rarely does. It rarely does.
Scott: Yeah.
Jez: um With the...
Scott: But it's it's really – sorry.
Jez: na no, you're right. You're right.
Scott: No, just going to say with like – with the Jack brand, it's like we had, you know, the American Whiskey Show up here recently and Linus came up for that one from Vic. You probably met Linus before, yeah?
Scott: He's our Victorian brand ambassador. You might have seen him at Whiskey Live or something.
Jez: Yes, yes, I spend a lot of time with, absolutely.
Scott: Yeah, Linus came up and did that.
Scott: And, um, man, it's just, it's really cool. Like with, uh, you know, they did the sound of bonded and now it's like about the triple mash and it's, it's bringing more refined whiskey drinkers into Jack Daniels because, you know, you look at like Jack Daniels, old number seven or gentleman Jack, um, they're not whiskeys that appeal to, you know, purists.
Scott: Um, whereas some of the, some of these other releases, um, will draw people in there, you know, a bit bolder or, yeah you know, the triple mash with, ah um you know, the blend of the three different whiskeys. It's like it gets people interested and um it's really cool doing sessions like that. Like um we probably did about 25 at the American Whiskey Show and just um seeing people's reactions to that and and breaking the whiskey down, it's it's a really cool part of it and just having people um understand it.
Scott: Yeah. but also rather than just coming up to a stand and us pouring whiskey where we're almost telling them a story and I guess get, it is a lot more engaging.
Jez: It's a lot more engaging doing it that way.
Scott: And so many people came up to us and they're like, look, this was the most fun i've had today. Like I drank a lot of great whiskey, but yeah, I enjoyed this the most. And that's, that's really cool to, um, be able to be an event like that.
Scott: And, um, Yeah, have that storytelling piece because, you know, stories are what sell brands and stories are what make brands.
Jez: especially now like the, you see these non-distiller producers pumping out whiskey. They're just sourcing it all from say MGP, Midwest grain products, and they're bottling it under their own label and going, oh, look, this is my grandpappy's recipe.
Scott: Yep. Yep.
Jez: We dug it up from under the house, moved his body out of the way. And we go, look, it's our recipe.
Scott: yeah
Jez: um And they go, now we've bottled it and whatever else it's 15 years old, but look, we've only been doing it for two days. I go, all right. your story has to be good, but also don't lie to consumers about what you're doing here.
Scott: yep
Jez: Like it's important to go, Hey, look, we're, we're trying something new here. We want to do something fun. Let's finish it in something else. Or let's ah do this um like a different way, essentially mix up the mash bill, find something, I don't source, weird barrels like Amber honor.
Jez: um And like really just, drive home meley ah the message, where I was kind of headed with that. Have you seen any brands that are like doing it really well where they're taking a good story and going, let's kind of spin this and release a product from there?
Scott: um I don't know. It's it's funny. like There's a lot of brands that that have some great history and great stories behind them, but then you know there's also brands where you you read the back of the bottle and you go, yeah, bullshit.
Scott: um you know So it's like anyone can tell a story, but it's it's about having that story. um This thing flying around is annoying the hell out me.
Scott: like a moth.
Jez: I only just noticed it then. was like, what is it doing?
Scott: Yeah. na It's trying to attack me. I've got a neon light on over there and I think it's, um it's brought it out.
Jez: It's obsessed with that.
Scott: But yeah. um But yeah, I think like you said, it's, um you know, if you don't have a great story, it's not about creating one. It's about making that story um and build, building that, um building that heritage up and,
Scott: and just, I guess, being true about where you came from and why.
Jez: Yeah, I get that.
Scott: Um, yeah.
Jez: What?
Scott: And I think it's, you know, but we're seeing so many more brands out here now and it's, it's really cool. Like, um, I remember when, um, like High West, uh, brought out the prisoner's share and, uh, they like, oh yeah, we've got this coming out, blah, blah, blah. And then they, the company came around with, um,
Scott: the Prisoner's Share wine, which is, know, it's like, no, the actual, because the Prisoner's Share is aged in um ah Californian red wine barrels from a, it's a particular blend called the Prisoner's Share.
Jez: Like a real prisoner.
Jez: yeah
Scott: Is it the Prisoner's Share?
Jez: The prisoners, I think I've seen them. um It's not the...
Scott: But it's, you know, you brought the wine around, like, oh, yeah, cool, this is gimmicky.
Jez: Yeah, yeah,
Scott: I had it, went, oh, shit. Yeah, send us some that. Like, you know, it's ah it's an $80, I think it's 75% or 80% Zinfandel and it's it was just gorgeous.
Jez: yeah, we'll take some.
Jez: Yeah. I know how you like your Zinfandels.
Scott: And it but it I mean, it sorry.
Jez: I know how you like your Zinfandels.
Scott: do love my Zinfandels, man. do love my Zinfandels.
Jez: I think I need to have you back on so we can chat wine for an hour.
Scott: um
Jez: That's what I'm feeling.
Scott: But, you know, like I remember, um you know, years ago, I think I've I've actually got a
Scott: this is a Buffalo Trace.
Jez: Was that the turkey finished? Oh, Buffalo Trace finished in.
Scott: No, this is a Zinfandel finish.
Jez: Yes, because I remember you sent me some um that I shared with Denver, actually, when I had him over for the podcast.
Scott: Oh,
Scott: ah yeah.
Jez: Yeah, and he was like, what is that?
Scott: Yeah, this is six years, three months. Hang on. Yeah, bourbon's aged.
Jez: Do you find yourself gravitating more towards finished stuff now or do you find yourself more of a purist?
Scott: Yeah, it's been – no, i um just I just like variety. okay
Jez: Yeah.
Scott: oh You know, a lot of times people ask me, what's your favourite whiskey? And it's like I cannot answer that question. um That would be like, you know, picking a favourite child. like it's And, you know, what what hits the mark
Jez: Mum would say none but me.
Scott: one day doesn't hit it in the another day, you know. um
Jez: Spot on.
Scott: So many things influence it. So, um yeah.
Jez: Yeah, mood day the week, days off over time, who knows?
Scott: is
Jez: I'm...
Scott: You know, like obviously, yeah, now I'm with Brown Forman. Someone said to the other day, oh, what's your favorite product in your portfolio? And I'm like, yeah, that's an easy Woodford double oak for me.
Jez: Oh, I'm...
Scott: Like I love that stuff.
Jez: ah i'm
Scott: it's It's a solid whiskey by itself. It makes a beautiful old-fashioned. You can do anything with it, and it and it stands up. um But i yeah I do love that whiskey.
Jez: I am also with you on that one. Like all day Woodford double oak, like there's something about that chocolatey marshmallow-y kind of note. You kind of beat me out to one of my questions here, but now going really hone in, hone in on this one thing.
Jez: What is your Woodford double oaked old fashioned recipe?
Scott: um See, i i normally would make...
Scott: Hello?
Jez: Hello. I said you don't use it.
Scott: Oh, what did you say?
Jez: Yeah. No, I said, oh, you don't use it.
Scott: Well, no, it's like it depends on whether I'm making them for myself or someone else because I like a sweet old-fashioned.
Jez: Ah. Mm-hmm.
Scott: um So, you know, it's like...
Jez: Same. I'm with you.
Scott: rather than 50 mils of Woodford and 10 mils of sugar syrup, it's like I'm someone else. I might put five mils of sugar syrup in, you know, I might use, uh, orange bitters.
Jez: Yep.
Scott: I might use some barrel age bitters. I might, you know, so like the other day was, um, I was driving home and I was, uh, on the phone to, uh, Stephen Asher, shout out to Stephen Asher.
Scott: He, uh,
Jez: let
Scott: Mate, just talking about like, you know, marachino cherries. And I said, I almost almost want to go home, make an old fashioned and instead of using sugar syrup, use Luxato syrup, like straight out of the cherry jar, you know, and then use some chocolate bitters.
Jez: Oh, yes.
Jez: all
Jez: yes
Scott: um So I guess, again, it's it's not how do I make it? It's what type of old fashioned do I want to make? You know, um I think you can you can play around with so many different flavors with those classic cocktails that it doesn't need to be, this is how I make it.
Scott: It's, well, this is what I want on this particular day. But um like I say, you know, throw throw that Luxardo cherry syrup in there and use chocolate bitters and you got yourself a cherry ripe old-fashioned, you know.
Jez: Okay.
Jez: Oh, stop it.
Scott: it's So there's there's so much to play with.
Jez: Get hot.
Scott: I actually got it last night and then we started talking about barbecuing um And last night I got some i got a pork tenderloin and I was basting it in luxato cherry syrup.
Jez: Oh.
Scott: So it had this beautiful tacky sweetness on the outside. um
Jez: Oh, yum.
Scott: And i'd I'd already marinated it in, you know, a bit of soy, garlic and some brown sugar and a bit of honey.
Jez: I'm sweating thinking about
Scott: And it it went pretty good.
Jez: it.
Jez: I didn't think this podcast was going to get erotic, but here we are. I am sweating thinking about that. So how did it come out though?
Scott: but uh
Jez: like Because it sounds incredible. Yeah.
Scott: the pork it came out really well um yeah i used all of the syrup i had in the jar so but i i also put some of my marinade which the marinade was too strong for it so i should have just saved it all for the glaze um but you know it's it's things like that it's it's playing around with different flavors and just finding something that works and
Jez: Yeah. yeah
Jez: Yeah.
Jez: yeah
Scott: It might not. Like even I love a mint julep and like sometimes i'll um I'll use chocolate mint and chocolate bitters and just really like throw some of that in there to sort of cut through the sweetness.
Jez: Yeah.
Scott: And um I guess, yeah, playing on any of those classics um and just making it ah how you feel like it at the time.
Scott: Yeah.
Jez: Yeah, I like that. I like it's not just cookie cutter because like I'm like how I like my Woodford double oaked old fashions. Like it's pretty much the same way every time only because I like super sweet cocktails like Australian palates.
Scott: Yep.
Jez: Sweet. Hence why we smash Jack and Cokes.
Scott: Yeah.
Jez: Makes sense. so
Scott: Yep.
Jez: um Hence why bourbon is number three um in what?
Scott: Yep.
Jez: Sorry, bourbon. was Sorry, Australia is number three in the world for bourbon consumption from memory. um But like, you know, we we love Sweet. That's why we double down on Sweet.
Jez: um I was going to ask you though, can you take us through the the Sound of Bonded?
Scott: Yep.
Jez: um You were mentioning it just in case people don't know. um Because ah like Sound of Bonded has been around for a hot minute since the first Bonded release. ah Then we saw Triple MASH and now The Rise coming.
Scott: Yeah.
Jez: I'm fucking pumped. But are you guys doing anything different ah with the triple mash or it's pretty much the same process and it's just...
Scott: No, it's it's it's a similar process. um Basically, ah we engaged... um got some musicians to play some bluegrass on separate tracks and it was about engaging the tastes that you get when certain sounds are played, which is really quite crazy when you think about it.
Jez: Oh.
Scott: um But the the professor behind it, he, I was talking to Andy about this the other day and he said they sent him a a bottle of triple mash and he was legit like out in the, um, in the Colombian jungle.
Scott: And he's like, well, i I don't have an address for you to send it to. And like they had to send it to the nearest town and he had to go and pick it up.
Jez: ah
Scott: But he sort of got those flavors and they obviously, you know, the triple mash is a, it's a blend that's 20% of the American single malt, 20% the bonded,
Scott: and 60% of the bonded rye. So it's it's about going on that journey and extracting those flavours of the different whiskeys that make up that new whiskey.
Scott: um And I think too, it's like like I said before, you know releases like that come out and they entice a different crowd to, you know, regular Jack or Gentleman Jack.
Scott: um They're the sort of things that, yeah, it's people.
Jez: Les Bogan's more upper class.
Scott: And yeah and you might like our American single malt is a global duty free release only. um But that single malt, it spends four years in in American Oak and then a couple of years in Sherry Car. So it's like even that,
Scott: That whiskey being 20% of the triple mash, it's like all of a sudden there's that sort of influence of those dried fruit notes that people associate with ah a sherry whiskey. And all of a sudden, there's this little element in the whiskey that will appeal to a Scotch drinker that goes, oh, you know, I hate Jack Daniels or, you know, the the people that are...
Scott: of any brand that, um, have had a bad experience on it when they were younger or drank too much of it, or you know, oh it's too sweet. It's, it's bringing a different crowd in.
Scott: Um, and it's, it's a more experienced whiskey, you know? um but the, um, yeah, three, three different musicians.
Scott: Um, and, uh, those, those sounds, like I say, they're, uh, they just They're made to bring out different aspects and have you tasting different things. But it's it's a really fun exercise to do with people because, um I don't know, I guess ah at ah
Scott: it's almost a little bit romantic. You know what I mean? ah It romanticises the whiskey and i guess if they understand the whiskey a little bit more, um they feel a connection to it.
Jez: Yeah.
Jez: I think it circles back to our ah main point of the episode. It's just like creating a moment with other people with the whiskey, therefore creating that lifetime memory that you like.
Scott: yeah
Jez: I was actually sitting with Scott and we're listening to this music and I was drinking this whiskey and it was making me taste these things. And it's like a essentially like a poem in your mouth.
Jez: It's just like layered so eloquently and ah creating all these different nodes. The
Scott: it's it's funny at the um at the last session um but Sorry, not the last session, but the yeah the second session of the American Whiskey Show.
Jez: second session, yeah.
Scott: there was There was a guy that um I knew that came up and he's like, oh, Scott, we're goingnna we're going to sit on on one of the sessions that you guys do next. I'm like, cool. And he goes, oh, this is my mate.
Scott: He said he's a muso and he goes, he reckons it's a bunch of bullshit. And I said, oh, okay, no, that's cool. I said, I'd be keen to, you know, that that's that's fine. Everyone's entitled to to their opinions.
Scott: um but uh yeah i'd be keen to talk to you afterwards and um i mean after they did this at the session he was just like holy shit he said that that was absolutely crazy he said that that was so cool but there's you know there's there's science behind it um and uh yeah professor charles who um is this this dude that was out in the Colombian jungle when when we're trying to get this done. And he's like, all right, well, yeah, we'll get some musicians. We'll get this recorded, that recorded. And he knew, you know, what type of notes to drive taste to certain areas of the mouth and, you know, whether it hit your sweet receptors or, you know, um get out there and be a bit spicy. So, no, it's really, really interesting.
Jez: crazy
Scott: And it's it's crazy to think that there's people out there that, like, that's that's what they do, man. Yeah.
Jez: yeah that's what this university is paying them to like research I feel like I need to be smarter to like kind of hone in on what happens with Bogans when we drink too much whiskey that's I like ill I need to study I need Jack sponsorship that's what I feel like I'm doing here I just good use of university's time that's all I'm saying
Scott: Yeah.
Scott: Yeah, for sure.
Jez: All right, i I'll try and sell it.
Scott: Yeah. um
Jez: But ah look, I've hit the 50-minute mark. I am super grateful for your time. I can't believe how quick it's gone. Time has flown.
Scott: It has, yeah. It's gone real quick.
Jez: I'm going to hit you with a couple of questions, okay? um And then we'll be able to round this puppy out.
Scott: like Okay.
Jez: ah What is one of the weirdest whiskeys you've ever tried?
Scott: um
Jez: You're a ah man of many whiskeys.
Scott: Weirdest.
Jez: You've been in the game for forever, well before I was born.
Jez: I'm only 12 this year.
Scott: um
Scott: Yeah, weird, weird, weird. think one ah one of the weirdest things I've drunk is, you know, some stuff that Stephen made to trick Big Del with a bunch of chili in it.
Scott: That's that's something I never want to experience again. But, I mean, we'll probably get Fidel another three or four times on it because, you know, not the sharpest tool in the shed.
Jez: i
Jez: ah That was one of my favorite videos to watch ever. um We also got spicy Ron with it as well. um I think Ben was aging. Well, actually was pickling these.
Jez: ah Was it ghost peppers in like a knob Creek or something? Anyway, like,
Scott: Fire up.
Jez: Yeah, um Bang Bus 2023, I think. um We ended was up at Burrow Bar and we're just like all cheering Spicy Ron.
Scott: Yeah.
Jez: And we handed him this whiskey and he necked it. It was probably the worst decision he made that day. He was dying. we were all in tears.
Scott: Yeah.
Jez: I will have to insert video at the end here because it was horrific but incredible at the same time. Yeah.
Scott: I remember when Stephen first did it and he had it probably a couple of months in and he brought it up for my 40th. And he's like, oh, try this. And I'm like, so yeah that's disgusting. you know and it's um And I think I did another couple of years um with the chili in there. And then, yeah, Vidal drank a lot of it.
Jez: Yeah.
Scott: It was funny. it was funny
Jez: Oh, I remember saying remember seeing the video of Del just dying from drinking this chili bourbon.
Scott: was funny because I didn't drink it.
Jez: I'm like, yeah, I don't know how you do it.
Scott: Hello?
Jez: That is very scary. I will hit you with your ah your next question though.
Scott: Yeah.
Jez: During a whiskey apocalypse, all the bottles are gone, but one. Which one you starting a cult around?
Scott: I just lost you there, mate.
Jez: It's one of those things you just got to like...
Scott: Sorry, mate, I didn't hear any of that.
Jez: Oh, okay. It must have dropped. That's my bad. ah Yeah. During a whiskey apocalypse, all the bottles disappear but one. Which bottle are you starting a cult around? I could probably guess, but...
Scott: Sorry. Okay, so is it a bottle I've got or is it just if it's one bottle for the rest of my life that I've got to buy?
Jez: could be any one bottle ah for the rest of your life that is what you're stuck drinking.
Scott: Mate, I could die a happy man drinking Woodford Double Oaked.
Jez: My kind of guy. I'm all about it.
Scott: Like I say, it's it's it's the versatility of it. you know It's like if you want to you want to mix it you can. the way you would um but it's it's a great neat sipper and uh a great base for cocktails so yeah that'd that'd be my uh my desert island bourbon you know there's there's things in here that i'd grab first in a fire but uh you know that's something else
Jez: I um actually feel like...
Jez: Yes. Well, this is like... It's still easily acquirable. It's not...
Scott: although if there was a fire in here i'd i would run
Jez: of like
Jez: you It's going to go bang.
Scott: Yeah, it's going to go bang.
Jez: How many bottles you sitting on?
Scott: I don't know.
Jez: Roughly. it's Don't count. It's safer not to. Safer not to.
Scott: ah had a spreadsheet once and um I thought it was safer not to have a spreadsheet because, um yeah, I guess, you know, that like people say, um I worry that I'll die and then my wife will sell all my bourbon for it.
Jez: Oh, shit.
Scott: told her I paid for it.
Jez: Absolutely. i was having the same conversation the other day and I'm like, you know what? Just message one of the many friends you know of mine that drinks bourbon and they will give you either any money or like an accurate like your price of like, yeah they yeah, they know what I'm sitting on.
Scott: Yeah, they will buy all of it.
Jez: It's like, yes, it'll go to a good home. Absolutely. I'll round it out. If you could share a dram with a historical figure, who would it be?
Scott: Historical figure.
Jez: Mmm. Mmm.
Scott: Mate, I'm going to stick it to bourbon and one person I never got to have a dram with that I would love to is Booker No.
Jez: a
Scott: um You know, he's just, he's one of the um the old school greats and, um you know, I know his son Fred very well and have been lucky enough to spend a lot of time with him. But, yeah, book Booker is someone i'd but I'd love to have a drink with.
Jez: It would be one of those things you just want to sit down, take over like one of your favorite, I will say the, what is it? The 88 bookers? You say 88 or 98?
Jez: Bookers that you picked up. 96. 92.
Scott: um
Jez: Oh, 92. Yeah,
Scott: ah that I suppose that I bought it in 98, so it probably would have been a, um you know, a 1992 or something like that.
Jez: well before I was born.
Scott: 91, 92. Yeah.
Jez: yeah well before hours
Scott: yeah And it's funny. I had that bottle, that first bottle of bookers I had. I had it for years and my wife actually had it turned into a clock.
Jez: Oh, cool.
Scott: And my daughter smashed it when she was like one or two.
Jez: No.
Scott: um So I don't have it anymore. But otherwise I would have been able to tell you exactly because I yeah i can't recall. But um yeah, it had the had the little label on it.
Scott: It had the the dates and everything.
Jez: fuck.
Scott: But yeah, oops.
Jez: Oh, I am so sorry for bringing up that memory.
Scott: Oh, no, look, it was it was one it could have been a bottle, mate. It could have been worse.
Jez: Oh, yeah.
Scott: could have had liquid in it.
Jez: Yeah.
Scott: that was That was the time where I realised everything had to go up.
Jez: and
Jez: Oh, yeah. You just move it up a shelf and go, yep.
Scott: Now she's about to turn 17, so everything just got to be locked up.
Jez: Yep. Yep. Start putting a ah lock on that door. Well, Scotty, thank you so much for your time tonight, mate.
Scott: No worries, mate. It's been great having a chat.
Jez: Did you want to plug your socials or if you have any bonded events coming up, especially for people in the neighborhooding up in that beautiful Queensland?
Jez: Oh, you guys are probably having crack of weather at the moment.
Scott: Now, look, hard ah it's it's been ah off and on. um You know, we currently don't have an ambassador up here in Queensland. We've come and leaving, so that's going to be a while before that gets filled. So we don't have a lot of events. I am hosting a dinner tomorrow night, but um that's – yeah.
Scott: Apart from that, we'll have to wait before we have a Marriott of events on. But, yeah, you can check me out on Instagram at thatbourbonguy.
Jez: Amazing. I will share your socials across and I'll also share your Bourbon, what is it? Your bonded event tomorrow night as soon as I jump off this stream. So um yeah, seriously, thank you so much.
Jez: And thank you everyone for tuning in.
Scott: That's been good, mate.
Jez: Cheers, guys.
Scott: Good talking to you mate. we'll ah We'll catch up soon.
Jez: Absolutely. Thanks, guys.
