In this episode, I speak with Aaron Joseph to learn about Bourbon. If you are under 21, go ahead and skip this episode. With my daughter being in a school near Kentucky, John and I have discussed checking some bourbon trails, but I know nothing about the beverage, so I invited Aaron to get me up to speed on what I should know.

Aaron Joseph is a beverage consultant who has participated actively in the hospitality industry for over 19 years. He has spent time behind the bar in various roles from 2001 to the present. Starting at the esteemed Inn at Perry Cabin located in St. Micheals, Maryland, Aaron has visited and worked at a number of the establishment, including La Samana( ST.Maarten), Bourbon Steak located in the Four Seasons Washington D.C., Wit and Wisdom located in the Four Seasons Baltimore, and R.bar located in R.house ( Baltimore). Through these experiences, Aaron has found his passion for the creation of award-winning cocktails as well as a genuine love for taking care of the guest. 

Aaron is using his many talents to serve as a beverage consultant in the Baltimore area, where he has designed bar build-outs, created beverage menus and advised on numerous bar programs throughout the D.M.V.(D.C. Maryland, Virginia area). Aaron has also created cocktails for Major Brands on National Levels and small brands local to his Market. Through his hard work and crafty cocktail creation, Aaron has had cocktails published in national magazines, Chilled, Food and Wine Magazine, Tasting Panel, Imbibe, as well as hospitality-driven websites, Liquor.com, Chilled.com

Are you ready? Let’s Roam!

Please check out Aaron’s business CAnE Collective for amazing mixers for cocktails and mocktails.

Transcript

Here is a transcript of the podcast. Please keep in mind this was done via AI, so there are typos and mistakes. I tried to catch as much as I can, but it is definitely not perfect.

Beth  0:13  

Welcome to the Roaming Yeti podcast where we share stories and tips to inspire you to roam your neighborhood and the world. I’m your host and Head Yeti Beth Schillaci. In this episode, I speak with Aaron Joseph to learn about bourbon. So if you’re under 21, you can go ahead and skip this episode. With my daughter being in school near Kentucky, John and I have discussed checking out some bourbon trails in the area, but I know nothing about the beverage. So I invited Arun to get me up to speed on what I should know. Aaron Joseph is a beverage consultant has been active participant in the hospitality industry for over 19 years. He has spent time behind the bars in various roles from 2001 to the present. Starting at the esteemed in at Perry cabin, located in St. Michael’s Maryland. Erin has visited and worked at a number of establishments throughout the DC Baltimore area. Through these experiences, Aaron has found his passion for the creation of award winning cocktails as well as a genuine love for taking care of the guest. Currently, Aaron is using his many talents to serve as a beverage consultant in the Baltimore area where he has designed bar build outs created beverage menus and advised on numerous bar programs throughout the DMV. Aaron has created cocktails for major brands on national levels, as well as small brands local to his market. Through his hard work and crafty cocktail creation. Aaron has had cocktails published in national magazines, chilled Food and Wine Magazine tasting panel imbibe, as well as hospitality driven websites like liquor.com and shield.com. You’re ready, Let’s Roam. Welcome to the roaming Yeti Podcast. Today I’m speaking with Aaron Joseph, who is a beverage consultant in the DC Baltimore area. And today we’re going to talk bourbon. Welcome, Aaron. And thanks for being here today.

Aaron  2:10  

No, thank you very much for having me. It’s a long time coming. And I’m very excited for this conversation.

Beth  2:18  

As you know, I’ve already confessed and most people that lists a lot of people that listen No, I’m not a bourbon drinker, I am very much a craft beer drinker. And I know very little about bourbon. But I have a daughter who is going to school near Kentucky where there are several bourbon places that we want to check out. And I don’t want to go in fully like an idiot, I want to be a little prepared. So thus the reason I’m speaking with you, well, I mean,

Aaron  2:47  

no problem, it’s always good to get some background information and have some kind of education, especially going into Kentucky where quote unquote bourbon is king. And I think there’s as many barrels of bourbon as there are people in the state of Kentucky. So that’s

Beth  3:06  

that’s a lot. So is is Kentucky like considered the birthplace of of bourbon.

Aaron  3:13  

Um, when you look back at like distillation, and especially distillation in the colonial periods, you got to look at what was being provided and what they had a resource considering everybody that established the United States was the immigrant, you had this rough, kind of like importation of culture, flavor, food, and of course, some of them brought along their distillation or alcohol preferences as part of their cultural experiences. And from that establishment. We there has been talk that rum and brandy were the some of the initial distilled spirits in the colonial times. What they when you look at what the Americans kind of thrived on is the distillation of whiskey and in particularly bourbon.

Beth  4:17  

So that brings you sane whiskey brings up a question I’ve been told, let me see if I get this right. Every bourbon is a whiskey, but every whiskey is not a bourbon.

Aaron  4:29  

Correct. So when you start talking about whiskey in general, whiskey is the broad category. And when it comes to bourbon, Bourbon is the specific subcategory. So if you look at it as an umbrella method, the umbrella is whiskey and everything underneath the umbrella has subsidiaries or subcategories, that can be defined as whiskey. So if you want to look at it, right bourbon In single malt, blended malt whiskies, and all those other types of, and there’s many other Japanese whiskies, all of those fall underneath the whiskey category, but when you start talking about bourbon bourbon has its own particular designation, production method and classification. And, and literally some requirements that specify to what makes it bourbon.

Beth  5:29  

Oh, okay. So it’s it’s, but it’s not by region. It’s not like champagne is only champagne, if it’s the grapes are grown in that that region. But is it a technique that makes it certified?

Aaron  5:43  

Yes, absolutely. So when you look back and look back into the early 1800s, where bourbon kind of got its name from there’s a diluted or unclarified history of exactly how barbering was called bourbon bourbon was actually named after the French dynasty bourbon. And that’s why we have a bourbon in Kentucky also, you have Bourbon Street, and New Orleans, it was paying homage in named after the bourbon Dynasty and the French culture and French civilization. So that being said, Bourbon specifically, has a mass Bill has a proof and has a specific like barrel isation into which it is called in which it classifies itself to be bourbon. If you want to get into the specifics, majority of the mash field has to be corn, so at least 51% of Nashville, and when we start talking Nashville, just the composition of grain that go into the composition of the distilled spirits. So at least majority of that has to be corn. It has to be distilled in America. So it can be distilled in the Continental 48 states. And then from there, through distillation, it has to go in a new charred American oak barrel. And then it has to be stored there. And then once it makes contact with the barrel, and it’s stored and then emptied out of the barrel, we have bourbon. Now, there’s other things that you can that are on the label in order to be on the label to call it bourbon. So it can be a once it hits a new American oak barrel, it becomes bourbon. Okay. Now, that being said, if you were to aged a certain time, over two years, you now can call bourbon straight bourbon. Oh, right. And then after four years, you now can put on an age statement

Beth  8:10  

on the bottle. So after that was after four years, you can do that?

Aaron  8:13  

Yes. Okay. Yes.

Beth  8:20  

Yeah, that’s all I wish I shouldn’t laugh because when you really look at the styles of beer, it’s just as complicated but it just because it’s new to me, I’m like, Oh, okay.

Aaron  8:34  

No, I mean, but it’s a great, it’s a great format. And it’s a great structure to kind of monitor and keep the actual integrity of the spirit. To what, which it is. When you look at other spirits, some of them still have a very particular format, like bourbon. But then there’s other spirits, like rum, pretty much is the wild wild west where you can just have to be like a derivative of either sugar cane juice, sugar cane, byproduct or sugar cane, any kind of tight sugar source, and then once it’s distilled from that, then you can call it ROM and then you can do pretty much anything with it. brandies are a little bit more looser, because all they have to do is come from fruit. It doesn’t specify what fruit it is. And then tequila as well has a designation of origin and production as well. But for our intensive purposes in our conversation bourbon had definitely has strict rules. And people have a tremendous pride about their bourbon, especially in the state of Kentucky.

Beth  9:45  

Well, I mean, I bet there’s so much tradition and and process involves like if you if you dedicate yourself to that you should be proud of of that. That dedication to it.

Aaron  9:55  

Absolutely. And you got to look at you know, everybody can produce bourbon but Kentucky kind of is like the the, the homeland in the mecca of barbecue. And it’s simply because it’s not only were the resources there to, you know, grow the agricultural aspect which is corn, but their water source and Kentucky is perfectly perfectly established to have a wonderful, very clarified very qualitative distillate. And because it sits on a bed of limestone and limestone, acts like a filter. And so when they pull their water source from that aquifer, it is soft, it is nutrient rich, it is clean, and it just is a wonderful, wonderful source to distill qualitative spirits. So, because Kentucky sits on that limestone bed, and they have sorted to that aquifer, the water as much as the corn is so much of emphasis and creating a wonderful product that they call bourbon.

Beth  11:05  

Wow. Okay. I mean, that makes that makes sense. It’s, you know, most of these things are, it’s a lot of water.

Aaron  11:13  

Exactly, exactly. Good water

Beth  11:15  

is is. But that’s interesting that the limestone helps affect that water too. Yep. Yep. So I don’t Is there a is there a simple way to break down how it’s made without, you know, getting into the, the wheat weeds with all the details, but sort of what’s the distilling process, I guess, to simplify it?

Aaron  11:38  

Well, I think you just got to look at it like since you’re, you’re familiar with a beer aspect of a lot of things, we can just continue with that process, where you take your grains, and you grind them up, who essentially introduced your water source. And you kind of heat those up just to kind of extract and kind of pull those essential sugars and enzymes out of the grain. So basically, you kind of cook the grain a little bit. And from that process, you let it sit with yeast. And yeast, by its natural functionality produces two properties that produces carbon dioxide and alcohol. So what you want to do is you allow it the ferment what they call it, so that process is called a creating a distillers beer. And with the process that you want to just create simple sugars that can be simply extracted, and then when let the yeast do its job, and then therefore, you create an alcohol content within that beer. And from there, you can place it in a still heated up. And since alcohol when heated up, is will boil faster than the actual water, you need something to capture that that vapor. And so when you look at Still, these necks that come up, some of them are pot sales, and some of them are column stills. But the whole basically functionality of a steel is to separate water vapor from alcohol vapor. And since alcohol boils at a lower point than water, the alcohol vapor was will rise, and then it will rise all the way to the top of the still. And then from the top of this drill, they have this what they call a gooseneck. And it will you know also a condenser in which the vapors will go from gas to actual liquid liquid and run down this gooseneck and into coils. And then you extract that. And then from there you have three parts of the distillation that you’re looking for. You’re looking for heads, hearts, and tails. Heads are kind of like the more like slider notes. Like they’re not great, but they’re not like terrible. A lot of people use like the heads to clean their skills and use them for things. They’re like higher proof but they’re not as like flavorful. They do contain some like hazardous material. When you start looking at the heart, the heart is exactly where you are a lot of where your bourbon comes from. And so that’s like your sweet spot. And that’s where like distillers will make a cut, they will stop the flow of head, put that to the side and then start collecting the hearts process. Once they feel like they’ve got enough of the hearts process or the hearts process is done in production. You move from that and then you start stop the production or that or stop the collection of that and then you collect the tails and the tails are everything that’s left out of that distillation process. And so when you look at it, you have basically three parts of a distillation process from one beer mash. And then from there, whatever is hearts, will then be collected and then eventually put into a new charred American oak barrel. Okay.

Beth  15:28  

Very cool. Yeah, I mean, it’s, it’s so funny because they both start with, like, basically wheat or corn, or whatever. You’re thinking peeking from it. So it is it is very sir we homebrew. So, okay, probably a little too intimate with the the beer process from a small scale?

Aaron  15:50  

Well, all you got to do is from that fermentation process, if you want to do you can probably take some of that fermentation, or wort and then heat it up. If you had a home still not Cali? Don’t. I highly don’t encourage that since because most times it’s illegal. But if you were to say run in experimentation, you could do that with the same thing you’re doing as like you’re doing your homebrew?

Beth  16:16  

Yeah. I don’t think we’ll tackle that one. We’ll let that

Aaron  16:22  

SmartChoice very, very fortress.

Beth  16:25  

So are there. I know, there’s ages and stuff? Like, are there styles of bourbon? Or is it more based on the 18th? Or the barrels are sort of when you’re looking at a shelf? What am I what am I looking at.

Aaron  16:40  

So when you’re looking at a shelf, there is a tremendous difference in bourbon, not all bourbons are created equal. And so what you kind of have to do is look at what like the composition of what each bourbon is made out of a lot of burdens carry a similar format, where they’re going to use predominantly three grains, where they’re going to use corn as the dominant grain, they’re going to use rye as secondary grain. And then they’ll use barley or like malted barley or just barley in general, as a way to control the enzymes. And in that part is needed to help like, basically control a lot of the some of the flavor, but also the distillation and fermentation process as well. So what you now have, and what I’ve seen over the years is emphasis on basically the type of grains that are going into the mash guild when creating the Bourbons. So a lot of the staples have their math skills, and they won’t change all the time. So they’re just going to be like, for instance, some of them are like 75% Corn 20% dry in the rest of malted barley. But now we’re starting to see expressions emphasize, you know, a little bit more on what the grain build is in, some of them will actually publish that on their bottle, too, you will see words like high rye bourbon, which means it’s just a larger components have arrived in like they’ve scaled back the corn and use more rice to in that that state, emphasize or incorporate a, a rye flavor into the bourbon, which is a little bit more on the spicier side. It’s like white pepper, it’s a little bit floral, things of that nature. And then you’ll also see things like weeding, or where now they’re replacing some of the grains or incorporating wheat as part of the grain mash to kind of emphasize or create a different flavor profile and mouthfeel with the bourbon. And so there’s there’s some brands out there that have been doing weeded since its origin. And they’re now some brands out there that are starting to to incorporate that as a new distillation process for their spirits as well. And a lot of these are done simply because you want to add a nuanced, secondary tertiary flavor, or you want to achieve a certain one we call in the spirit world is mouthfeel. And that’s the field that you get from tasting your spirit. So when you have like a ride spirit, characteristically, right, it’s going to I mean, characteristically, it will be more on the like spicier thigh and you’ll get different tasting notes on that aspect will allow when you put more weak in that process. We like to call that the pillows talk where it’s like softer, gentler and subtle flavors as well. So It’s just mainly it mainly goes to what like the distiller or each company wants to achieve from that aspect as well.

Beth  20:10  

And then go ahead, no, no, go ahead.

Aaron  20:13  

No, no, no, no, I was just gonna say from there, then you have the aging process. Some people have like temperature controlled brick houses and brick houses are the, basically the storage containers for all the barrels. And so from there, there was thought to be two ways to have your brick house, you can have either have a temperature controlled or entrepreneur controlled. And so temperature controlled, you’re kind of controlling the temperature. And that controls basically what we call the conversation between the barrel and the liquid in the barrel. He acts as a accelerator. And so our, in that how helps the liquid extract flavor from the barrel faster. And when it’s colder, it slows down the molecules and slows down the interactions. And so you’re not getting as much extraction from that. And it’s thought to say that you lose anywhere between three to 5% of your alcohol or your bourbon to add a year in a barrel. And that’s what we call the angel share. So when you when you started looking at a bourbon that is over like 10 or 12 years, you gotta figure doing the multiplication of 3% Every year, you know, that can be a considerable amount. So you can start off like 55 gallons. And then if by let’s say year 10, you can probably have 35 ballots. Wow. Oh, spirit. So and it just shown

Beth  21:47  

in the price of the

Aaron  21:49  

right. Correct? Correct? Correct. Yes, exactly. So yeah, you just have been, it’s just a matter of finding a spirit that you like, and as far as taste goes, and then from there, I always recommend people do the research and kind of research companies that like the verb is.

Beth  22:14  

Yeah, because how much how much of that information is on the label? Or is it sort of you do your research before you walk? Walk in? Well, a lot of a lot of

Aaron  22:23  

times, it’s a selling point, right? So you can go on like a brand’s page, and they’ll tell you a lot about their production process and what they do. Now, that being said, I am a nerd. And I’ve been in this industry for 22 years. So I’ve had the privilege of going to like a lot of distilleries. And then once you get to the distilleries, then you can kind of ask those hard questions, sometimes they won’t give you so upfront. So like, you know, asking them Ashfield is like asking to see somebody’s a little black book. It’s kind of personal. Right? Right. There’s some things that people don’t hide, and there’s some people that hide it very well. So it’s just a matter of, you know, just what the brands actually able to tell you. But there’s so many like secondary and like investigate groups. Now, with social media that all you have to do is really just join like a bourbon group, and then start throwing out, you know, inquisitive questions, and I’m pretty sure everybody somebody has an answer for every question you have.

Beth  23:25  

They can’t can’t keep it secret forever.

Aaron  23:28  

And never, never never. So go ahead. No, go ahead. No, I was just saying, especially now that the consumers are so inform now, that it’s just it’s just hard for people to say that, Oh, we don’t do that in like, pretty sure somebody will, like run a lab test on the spirit and come up with a composition that wow, and read. So

Beth  23:52  

yeah, that’s hardcore research. If you’re gonna run lab, observe

Aaron  23:57  

it, it has been done. It has definitely been done. And good for them. Right? Because sometimes, like, because of those investigators, aspects and curiosity. We might not know half of what we know. Simply because, you know, it’s a long time ago, like people just didn’t think that the stories mattered and the composition matter. And all of this stuff. It was the romance and the stories that the brands tell us and that’s all we had to go off of. But now we have another basically outreach in another resource group, that we did actually kind of call bluffs and get verifications for a lot of these brands and spirits. It has forced the spirit industry to be a little bit more transparent towards what they’re producing as well.

Beth  24:49  

Which is good for the mean, which is good for the good brands, too. I would think that gets rid of some of the, the ones that were trying to get get by cheaply or whatever and that that helps the To the real ones out there.

Aaron  25:02  

Absolutely, absolutely. But also opens it up to like the smaller craft distillers as well. Because now that consumers are a lot more educated as far as like composition, distillation technique, barrels. And sometimes now with bourbons, and a lot of especially the whiskies, the finishing, you can kind of just kind of source what like, what each, each brand is telling you and, you know, kind of call them out. But you can also have that much more working knowledge and making a educated decision on what you want to drink and why you liked it.

Beth  25:39  

Makes sense? So say, I’m heading up to the store tomorrow, which I probably will. Maybe tomorrow, but this weekend? And I’m like, what as a, as a newbie? Should I look for or? Or try? Or should I? Or are there a few that I should do like a tasting through or what’s my plan of attack,

Aaron  26:09  

I guess your point of attack would be just to kind of figure out what you like, if you go to some of these, like elevated liquor stores, they’ll have some bottles for tasting, I highly suggest when paying attention to your liquor stores. And when brands are going in for tastings or you know a brand is going to be present, they’re going in necessarily don’t have to buy anything, but like taste it in and let them explain to you what you’re tasting. And that way you can build your palate around it. I mean, there’s there’s some staples and brands that have been around for years and years and years. And there’s a reason for that. But there’s now a ton of niching crap and smaller producers out there that are doing some phenomenal things. So again, what I like to suggest is, one is you can taste, taste everything. That way, you know what things taste like, but if you can’t taste everything you like, like if I would say, you know, pay attention to kind of like, what the, what do you know about the brand? Like, if you’re only drinking your bourbon and coats, and I mean, I guess that’s the application that you need, or you want to use, you were going to probably looking for less qualitative spirit than you would be if you were going to, let’s say, make old fashions or just drink it by itself. So I guess, you know, it would just say, look at price point as well, because that’s a huge consideration for a number of consumers, especially when they’re making their first choice on their bourbon selection. Price indicates age, but necessarily doesn’t indicate quality. So there’s a great value and whiskies and bourbons that are that are really moderately priced. And then there’s some great bourbons that are under priced and some great bourbon better price adequately in and then there’s some stuff that’s overpriced as well. So it’s just like, you know, it’s just like buying a designer, or, you know, like buying designer clothes, like at the end of the day, a shirt, the shirt, but like, whether it’s who’s got it on and who made it, and what’s the label is, and what you what you’re comfortable wearing and paying for it is what you’re going to be comfortable wearing.

Beth  28:41  

So yeah, I mean, so I won’t be, you know, a confession as a craft beer drinker. There’s definitely the breweries I like, but oftentimes, you’re just literally picking it based on the label. When they grow up with don’t judge a book by your cover. Well, that’s there’s no other way to pick a beer most than it’s a style you like and oh, that looks like a fun label. I’ll give it a try. So it seems like maybe a little more research with my bourbon choices. So I can do that.

Aaron  29:16  

Yeah, and please like if you know your palate, a lot of the people that worked with stores will definitely help. Just because I will say you’d be familiar with your palate, know what you like, and know what you’d like the taste. I mean, coming in with like, for myself a bartender is a like, we always ask people, you know, what do you like because their favorite thing to ask us is what is our favorite cocktail? And always describe the cocktails as you know, like having children you prefer different ones at different times on different days necessarily. You don’t have a favorite

Beth  29:53  

admit to it.

Aaron  29:54  

Exactly, exactly. But that being said, you know Just know what you like and know what you don’t like. And you know, don’t be afraid to make a mistake. I mean, it’s alcohol for a while, so it’s gonna, it’s gonna be there. But yeah, some things are better than others and you learn from our mistakes. I think I learned more from our mistakes, and I’ll do more for my successes. And if not, you know, there’s always a party that you can bring a bottle to.

Beth  30:25  

You go. Ah, don’t worry, it’s just a little bit out of it. Angel share. It was best share. It’s fine.

Aaron  30:36  

Yeah. Yeah, exactly.

Beth  30:39  

So when you’re tasting bourbon? Like, do you? Okay, I’m so sorry for my stupid questions. Like, do you put it on ice? If you’re, if you’re just trying not mixing or anything but like, if you’re gonna drink bourbon as bourbon? Do you do it at room temperature? Do you put it on ice like how, what is the best way to sort of experience that palate

Aaron  31:07  

I think it’s a little bit of two again, leading to your personal preference. Um, so when you’re tasting bourbon, I like to taste everything. Concentrated first. So literally straight up the model there when you’re doing that, I like to taste it twice. So I take my first sip, which basically kind of nullifies any, anything that I have going on, on my palate, it kind of washes your palate and kind of neutralizes anything that would make flavor obscure. And then I usually spit that part. And then the second one is the genuine taste. And I’ll usually let it sit in my mouth for like three to four seconds. So it just coats everything. And then either it’s up to you to either spit or swallow. But the reason you do that is because you want to get like that, that prominent, clear. Taste. So for myself I do to chase on that. Now, when you’re pouring it over the rock over ice, you’re looking to do a couple of things when you’re pouring it over the ice. Ice is a friend and a foe when it comes to you know, alcohol in especially in cocktails as well. I bring the temperature down, right. So why bring it temperature down, we know that things slow down when the temperatures drop. So you’re also looking to suppress or mute a little bit of that flavor. Right? So you’re looking to if something’s a little bit more vibrant than you would like, or what we call hot. And that’s simply because the proof is a little bit higher than the look. The mandate at proof would be you know, you have barrel string, hammer overproof stuff, stuff that’s like 100 110 Proof that’s going to be very much concentrated, I would say yeah, store that little nice. So you can just kind of like just check out the flavors. I always tell people tasting spirits and tasting cocktails are like playing an accordion, right? You taste everything when you first get an accordion. It’s very tight and compact. And there’s really not a lot of room for notes to be expanded. But as you expand it accordion, and in our case, we’re talking about ice and water, which is dilution. As you expand that accordion, it allows the remotes to be elongated and definitely isolated. So you can kind of taste it in an elongated kind of like the flavor component of the whiskey. So that’s what I would do. So if you see people’s like, oh, I need a couple of drops of water. That’s exactly what they’re doing. They’re just trying to like, tone down the flavors and expand the flavor profile. Now some people like it over ice, and that’s their preference. I mean, we call those peers but in a lot of people who like their bourbons and cocktails and just really depends on what you like to drink and how you want to approach your burger. Right so there’s not really a best way it’s your way

Beth  34:08  

which you said about cocktails which brings me like what are I know the old an old fashion I’ve had those those are very good like what other cocktails Do you suggest to go that are good with bourbon that you know I don’t want to say definitely some that are their drinks that make it a highlight more of a highlight and then some that sort of play it down a little bit or you know what are your What are your favorite go to cocktails with bourbon?

Aaron  34:38  

Well I think you got to look at what kind of solid cocktails you drink and then for example if you don’t know you like bourbon you don’t know what kind of cocktails so I would say like stick to your general like base palate right if you like soft there citrus for drinks or cocktails out there that use bourbon and that incorporation. If you like things that are like martinis are what we call spirit forward. There are styles of bourbon cocktails out there that you can pursue to drink that highlight different aspects and different flavors. Like for example, the main Hatton is a composition of bourbon, sweet vermouth, and bitters. All three of those are alcohols. And we would classify that as a spirit fork cocktail. But those other two components other than bourbon, add a little bit of sweetness, add a little bit of depth and add some intricacies to the cocktail that make bourbon kind of a lot more palatable. I want to say if you find bourbon in palatable or approachable, the old fashioned is another one of those that are spirit or wood. It’s just the use of bourbon, sugar source, whether it be simple syrup flavored simple syrup, agave, and then bitters. And that’s easily served on ice as well. Now, those, that’s something that is like if you like to taste alcohol, those, those are something that I highly recommend. Now, for those that don’t necessarily taste like to taste the alcohol, but still want to enjoy bourbon. Like if you’re a margarita. There’s a cocktail out there. It’s a new classic called a gold rush. And it’s simply a bridge between with a bee’s knees is in the gin world as far as cocktails goes, but it’s substituting bourbon. And so you’re using bourbon lemon juice and honey. Oh, so it’s lighter. It’s citrus a little bit, a little bit sweeter, and application, but it’s you still get the flavor profiles of bourbon, but you get the contrast that sits in the honey as well. Another one is the Kentucky buck, which is simple play off what a lot of people know as a Moscow meal. Oh, instead of a pocket, it would be bourbon usage ginger beer, lemon, lime juice and a little bit of simple syrup. And some people throw a little bitters in there, just to add a little bit of depth and flavor as well. So that when you have something like refreshing with a little bit of effervescence, so the Bourbons not terribly prominent, but it’s still there for a secondary the secondary flavor profile. We can’t forget about them in July, especially since we’re talking about Kentucky and that’s I would say that’s beautiful, even though it looks like in refreshing. It would certainly be it is the only components in that cocktail are going to be sugar, mint, and bourbon over July served in a really fancy glass. Alright, so say that you’re going to the Kentucky Derby to drink juice all day is probably a huge either you have a very ironclad alcohol tolerance or two, you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into two or three and you probably should require a lot of water in between

Beth  38:08  

your bedding before you drink them.

Aaron  38:10  

Correct? Correct? Correct. In a lot of cases, Bourbon can substitute as the primary spirits and a lot of traditional classic cocktails when we look at something like the bulb RDA, it’s a Negroni, but the substitute instead of gin is bourbon. Classic whiskey sours are great. Because it’s just lemon juice, bourbon and simple syrup. So if you like your margaritas or your gimlets, or anything that requires like a little bit of citrus and sweet to it, you can just easily replace that with bourbon and do that as well. And then bourbon is always great. And you know, like things like hot toddies or like cider punches. And whiskey smashes are another couple of cocktails that you can throw out there to kind of expand your not only your, your preference as far as what style of bourbon cocktails, you know, but just different applications as well. Gotcha.

Beth  39:15  

Yeah, I guess I didn’t realize how I just always I knew there were some mixed drinks. I didn’t realize how many options there were. I just always thought of it as how the purists did

Unknown Speaker  39:28  

exactly. Well,

Aaron  39:29  

if you talk to any pure sailor, they’ll tell you they have their, their bourbons that they like to mix them in environments that they’d like to sit. So. So that being said, it’s not necessarily a limit of what you’d like to do, but it’s just the preference.

Beth  39:45  

Now, do you do you have a favorite bourbon or I don’t want to get you in trouble with any requirements or maybe I shouldn’t ask or is there or a favorite style? Maybe I won’t get into brand I don’t want to get

Aaron  40:00  

I, personally myself, I do like like a little bit of the ones that have carry a little more of a ride component in bourbon composition. There are some out there that well, I’m gonna put it like this my very first burden Roman bourbon romance was Maker’s Mark. And I used to just drink that on the rocks. And for so long, I didn’t understand why I like make remarks as opposed to like Jim Beam or Woodford or anywhere else, we simply because that that was just my preference, well, then I go to Maker’s Mark and toured the distillery and they come up with their match Guild and tell me waste exactly like their mash belt is composed of, and their mash fields composed of a lot of wheat in their composition in the mash belt. And I was like, that makes the most sense, because maker’s mark on the rock would be the most delicious thing, but it would never have that bite that I’ve found in a lot of the other permits. And so that I gotta say that, like, I liked the softer styles, but now as I’ve gotten older, I do like a little bit more of a prominent and spicy thing in life, and what the bourbon incorporates. But, I mean, that’s just my personal preference.

Beth  41:18  

Yeah, totally. This is, I mean, this information is great. And I think the one thing I did not tell you that was coming up, and sort of I run through a, a few rapid fire questions that I don’t send ahead of time, just for just for fun.

Aaron  41:41  

Hold on, let me stretch and get my mouth. Let’s go.

Beth  41:47  

A lot of them are around travel. So you know, we’ll change a little bit.

Unknown Speaker  41:53  

We can stick with travel. I like to travel as well.

Beth  41:56  

I figured. But I do this information about like I feel. I feel like now I can walk in a distillery and not look like a total. Total. Newbie and be confused. I’ll still make faces when I try it because that’s just how I am but I’m weird with some beers, too. Don’t worry. It’s not. I’ll hit a double sometimes and I’m like, oh, no, that is that is too much.

Aaron  42:30  

Believe Believe me, I’ve lived to a brewery and they were brewing IPA. And I was just like, this smells like college. Like, smells like college.

Unknown Speaker  42:41  

Like what is going on? Is this a new CBD beer? Like what is no no? No, like, no, that’s the house.

Beth  42:49  

Okay, yeah, depending on what hops it can it can definitely give off that that odor. Which is fun to explain to your child as you’re brewing. Like what is that mom? Like? Oh, don’t worry about it. It’s just hops. But if you spell that the dorm it’s something else.

Aaron  43:10  

Yeah, there’s no home brewing going on in

Beth  43:12  

college. Yeah, exactly. They’re not doing that. Alright, so favorite road trip snack.

Aaron  43:20  

Favorite roaches snack is either gummy bears or French onion. SunChips.

Beth  43:24  

Nice. Do you have a dream trip?

Aaron  43:30  

A dream trip is to go a road trip to every baseball stadium in the United States.

Beth  43:41  

Good land. How many teams I’m a football fan. So I always forget how many baseball teams there are. A lot.

Aaron  43:47  

And they play a lot of games.

Unknown Speaker  43:52  

There’s 3633

Beth  43:56  

Yeah, so a little more than NFL. So but yeah, that’s, uh, that would be quite the road trip. We’re gonna need a lot of

Aaron  44:02  

gummy bears. Yes, exactly.

Beth  44:06  

Do you have a favorite trip that you’ve been on?

Aaron  44:10  

Yes. Recently, I just went back to Hawaii after not being there for 22 years. And then I spent two weeks there. And it was the most glorious thing I’ve done in a very long time.

Beth  44:22  

Which island were you on? A Wow.

Aaron  44:25  

Little background. I was actually raised on Oahu. So it’s kind of good to go back home and just gonna just be one. I did a sunrise hike every morning and tried to catch a sunset every night and just kind of it’s good to just kind of be in the water and be present.

Beth  44:42  

So yeah, it’s it’s a magical place like it really there’s just a vibe and then in a sense when you’re there, it’s just like, I don’t know how to explain it, but people have been, they get it. It’s just sort of that that feeling that you get when you’re there. It’s just

Aaron  45:00  

Step Yes. It’s it’s felt as the mental and physical relationship literally break. And not to mention the food there is absolutely outstanding. I lost 20 pounds and gained 20 pounds, I knew I was going to gain eating.

Beth  45:16  

So that happens. Do you have a favorite travel tip you can share with us?

Aaron  45:23  

Yes, go out your comfort zone, be safe, but go and try new things. Experience the culture like a lot of the locals would and so therefore you have a true appreciation of about the destinations and the places you’ve been.

Beth  45:39  

And who is on your travel playlist. So whether your road trip or is whether it’s music, podcast, but what do you listen to when you’re out on the road?

Aaron  45:51  

If I’m so my dad and I have an affinity for doing road trips together, and he he he started me on like 70s, funk and soul so definitely old school when I’m with him when I’m by myself. Collaboration of 90s hip hop, reggae. And a little classic soul would definitely be composed of my like, genres. Yeah, I want to say those are the three Mainstays and then I’ll throw some either some house or something when I’m getting tired or excited. Yeah,

Beth  46:31  

yeah. You and I would road trip well together that would be good. No one else in my house will tolerate that mean? Well, listen, let me listen to that. But that’s okay. When I’m by myself.

Aaron  46:43  

What are your phones are for for you?

Beth  46:49  

Well, this was great. Aaron, I so appreciate your time and your knowledge. So it I hope other people now feel a little more empowered to go out there and, and whether it’s bourbon or just trying anything new. Just go out and give it a try and ask the questions. And there’ll be snobs who won’t relate to it well, but most people I feel are are gonna help you through it.

Aaron  47:17  

Yeah, I will say like, one last time I started free to ask and don’t question because somebody has asked them before more than likely the group you’re with. There’s more than one person that’s inquiring about the same thing. So if you wanted to go ahead and jump on the grenade, feel free to because there’s more, there’s more than just you that probably will benefit from you asking the question. Angley Yeah, yeah, just go ahead and ask, like, there’s no shame in learning.

Beth  47:45  

Great. Well, thanks again for your time. Aaron.

Aaron  47:48  

Thank you very much. This has been an absolutely amazing opportunity. And it’s so good to talk to you and glad I hope hopefully, I provided some insight. 

Beth  47:57  

Thanks again to Aaron for giving me the 101 on Bourbon. There was so much great information in that conversation that I plan to put pen plenty of that to us. And thank you for listening. I hope these episodes inspire you to get out and roam even in your own neighborhood. So please subscribe, so you don’t miss any future episodes. And if you like what we’re doing here, and please leave a review and a rating. Also to help support us please head to Yeti to shop.com to pick up some roaming Yeti merchant and sign up for our newsletter to join us on our monthly bingo challenge. Talk to you soon and keep roaming.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai