Spirits & Distilling Podcast

The podcast for those who make and drink great spirits.


S&D Podcast Episode 41: John D.E. Jeffery Wants You to Balance Science and Intuition When Crafting Spirits

As a journeyman master distiller and now a consultant, Johnny Jeffery has left his mark on American craft spirits and learned from unusual experiences along the way. Here, he shares some of his best advice for craft distillers trying to succeed today.

S&D Podcast Episode 40: Joe O’Sullivan of Minden Mill Controls the Variables in Dry-Climate Whiskey Maturation

With estate grain and a climate-controlled rickhouse, Minden Mill’s team is exploring the impact of terroir on their spirits while taking a slow, measured approach to predicting how the environment impacts their maturation and flavor-focused blends.

S&D Podcast Episode 39: Jarrad Huckshold of The Cask Takes a Winemaker’s Approach to Whiskey Maturation and Blending

Understanding the dynamic way casks interact with the liquid inside and the environment around them is key to producing the components of a great whiskey blend.

S&D Podcast Episode 38: Jonathan Goldberg of Black Velvet Seeks Harmony through Thoughtful Blending

The master distiller for Alberta, Canada’s Black Velvet embraces the challenge of blending dynamically different distillates into a cohesive whole, with a process focused on consistency, quality, and repeatability.

S&D Podcast Episode 37: Staying Sane and Happy in the Spirits Industry—a Panel Discussion with Maggie Campbell and Jennifer Wren

Get your bugout bag ready! In this special episode, co-hosts Molly Troupe and Sydney Jones reunite to swap advice with American Cane CEO Maggie Campbell and Jennifer Wren, an industry veteran who now specializes in coaching women on professional development.

S&D Podcast Episode 36: Todd Leopold Designs and Distills Spirits that Have Something to Say

Todd Leopold of Leopold Bros in Denver is part historian, part tinkerer, part creative muse, and part sounding board for the broader craft-distilling world—and his multi-stream approach to experimentation in the service of flavor over style is more relevant than ever.

S&D Podcast Episode 35: American Cane Tells Expressive Stories in Regionally Relevant Rum

Great rum is a magical thing, and when all the elements come together—ingredients, culture, fermentation, maturation, and story—there are few spirits that can match its joie de vivre. Today, Maggie Campbell and Chaz Vest are aligning these forces of flavor to cast light on rum’s legacy in America, and telling that story through American Cane.

S&D Podcast Episode 34: Brent Looby of Desert Door Summons the Spirit of Sotol

Agave may get the lion’s share of distillers’ love, but it’s far from the only game in town when it comes to distilled Mexican and Southwestern spirits. Desert Door, on the outskirts of Austin, is out to show the beauty and range in sotol—made from the desert spoon plant and sustainably harvested from wild plants.

S&D Podcast Episode 33: Stranahan’s Tyler Glasser Distills with Artful Efficiency

The journey from art student to distiller may strike some as unusual, but for the plant operations administrator at Denver’s Stranahan’s, creativity matched with effective and disciplined execution is the key to successful spirits.

S&D Podcast Episode 32: Aged Whiskeys and Citrus-Flavored Spirits Heat up for St. Augustine Distillery and City Gate Spirits

Distilling in Florida’s hot and humid environment, and producing spirits specifically tuned for cocktails in a tourism-driven locale—those are the major guideposts for the creative direction of these sibling distilleries, as well as for their methods of barrel aging and adding flavor.