The Good Bottle Podcast
Chris Sinclair owns a bottle shop, a bar and has been a world famous Bartender. Drew Garrison is a liquor broker and is known internationally as one of the afore most knowledgable people in the world of Agave and Rum
Sit and listen to the guys talk to amazing people who help breakdown the information of the moment and offer insight based in real world knowledge.
The Good Bottle Podcast
S.6 Ep.12 - Fresno's Flavor Frontier: A Bartender's Tale (feat. Aline Tongkhuya)
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Join us as we reconnect with our listeners, exploring the vibrant world of spirits through the lens of our incredible guest, Aline Takuya, bar director of the renowned Modernist bar in Fresno, California. Aline shares her journey of defying conventional paths and embracing her Hmong heritage in bartending, while infusing traditional flavors into innovative cocktails. Her story is not just about mixing drinks, but about weaving together cultural identity, creativity, and a passion for excellence in an industry that's full of potential yet fraught with challenges.
We dive into the lesser-known, yet richly creative cocktail culture of Fresno, shattering the city's once mundane image. Aling exemplifies the spirit of small markets, proving that even in places like Fresno, innovation thrives and local communities can redefine success in the hospitality industry. From crafting unique cocktail menus to nurturing new talent in the bar scene, she highlights the importance of creating meaningful connections and standing out in markets with limited competition. Through her experiences, we uncover the struggles and triumphs of representing the Hmong community and women in bartending, emphasizing the need for mutual respect and authenticity in professional settings.
As we explore broader societal issues in the hospitality industry, our conversation touches on the challenges women face, the evolution of brand partnerships, and the artistry behind Modernist's new cocktail menu. We question traditional industry norms and geographic gatekeeping, advocating for a more inclusive and diverse conversation about spirits. Whether you're a cocktail enthusiast, a hospitality veteran, or someone curious about the intersection of culture, creativity, and service, this episode promises an engaging and enlightening discussion that celebrates the vibrant and innovative world of spirits.
www.goodbottleshop.com
@thegoodbottlepodcast
The Good Bottle Podcast Returns
Speaker 1welcome to the good bottle podcast . Join chris and drew two self-proclaimed booze pundits with a lifetime of industry experience as they walk you through the alcohol business and how today's headlines affect the industry each week . You guys will be joined by a special guest that will help them break down these stories and offer their own expertise to the podcast . So pour yourself a glass of your favorite drink and sit back . This is the good bottle podcast this is the good bottle podcast .
Speaker 3I know you guys missed us so much . You know what . Here's the thing I miss you too . Uh , uh . I think anybody who exists in uh , the world of the liquor industry this last year realizes how much everything fucking sucks , and so Drew and I have been . You know , we've been going through some things , we got through some things . Hey , drew , welcome back . Buddy , missed you .
Speaker 4You know I don't want to make too much of a big deal about coming back , because then your beautiful wife will make fun of us for talking about coming back and then not coming back , and then all those different things .
Speaker 3It's already happening .
Speaker 4I know it happens . She literally texts me about it and then makes fun of me to my face . The girl has no shame .
Speaker 3She's been married to me for too long . She used to be really nice .
Speaker 4Yeah , we've broken her . We've long . She used to be really nice . Yeah , we've , we've broken her . We've broken her . Um , yeah , I think the ongoing theme of this year for our industry is that it's really fucking hard and we're all trying to figure it out and we're just trying to be like emotional support for each other , and it's one of those things that I think is also going to bring a lot of us closer .
Speaker 4And it's kind of funny to see where we're kind of like the groups go right , because it's like one group is going to the side of the negativity and falling into that , which is obviously very understandable and very easy to do , and then the other side is going into . None of this is happening . I don't know what you're talking about . We're totally fine . I'm just going to continue to plug away into the things that I'm doing , and that also makes a lot of sense as well . And as we move forward , I think I've now adopted the idea that everything is cyclical and , yes , we've gone through the shit . We're always going to gone through the shit . We're always gonna go through the shit , but ultimately , we are surrounded by amazing people and amazing bar programs and amazing spirits , and how lucky are we to be in a position where , occasionally , people will listen to us ramble about this beautiful industry yeah , it's true , I can't believe it , man .
Speaker 3We've been receiving a lot of people reaching out saying like , where the fuck are you guys ? We miss you . I need you on my drive . So it's been a few months , but yeah , we're figuring it out . It's not like people pay us to do this , man , so you're welcome .
Speaker 4Now , if you want to pay us , we will do it more consistently .
Speaker 3I will sell out whatever you want , man , I'll change my name , yeah I just .
Speaker 4I mean , listen , you know what , if your name starts with the d and is with the agio , I'm here for you . I will fucking do this . It's just , it's one of the ones . I will change my tune on everything you know , let's say , let's say I'll make some . I'll I'll ask around . Listen , if you are a house of friends and you're selling agave and you need me to promote you , send me the check . I'm in , let's do this . That's what it is , house of friends . Now he's got to know your Spanish , that's what that means .
Speaker 4So , yeah , I've been practicing my Duolingo , yeah . So I am very excited about tonight's conversation for a couple different reasons . One , we're back and we're talking and this really is something that I've missed a lot , and I think this individual is someone that kind of helped remind me of it's like , oh my God , when you talk about this industry and you talk about how much fun it is , this is the person that kind of gets you very excited about it . And , um , I've been fortunate to have a few conversations with her not enough , hopefully more in the future that we're going to be best friends forever . But , um , she is leading a super , super dope bar down in the Valley . Sometimes people refer to it as Fresno . You know , home of the Bulldogs . You know , go dogs , Big time Fresno State fan here . She's also a Virgo , which I think is important to her . I don't know what that means to everybody else .
Speaker 4But , also the bar director of arguably one of the most impressive bars in Northern California the modernist in Fresno , aling Takuya . What the fuck is going on ? You're here . You said . You said yes to this . Thank you so much for joining us .
Speaker 3Wait a minute . I have a . I have a point . I have a . I have a question . Order . Order in the court Is Fresno , Northern California .
Speaker 4Yes , what it is ? Since when Central Valley , are we saying Central Valley ?
Speaker 2Central Valley . Yeah , we're the Central Valley . You got NorCal Central Valley and then SoCal .
Speaker 4Well , in the world of distribution , you're Northern California .
Speaker 2Yeah , that's right , that's true .
Speaker 4Yeah , the trucks don't go below the grapevine . They can't handle the mountains , so they all get .
Speaker 3They get all of our trucks out of all the folks who don't live in california , who've never been in california , who assume that , like oakland is next door to la , are having their minds blown that there's a central valley right now . So yeah , anyway .
Speaker 4so so I guess for the , for the people that I think the thing that has always been hilarious to me is like trying to like convey california geography to people . So just before we really get into this with elene , I just want to see , I want to say , like we're in sacramento alice , in fresno , which is three hours away from us , okay , south , and then if you go another three hours which I found out recently to Bakersfield , also considered Northern California , so we're talking about six hours of drive time in Northern California , which is absolutely ludicrous . We have a huge fucking state . Stop being critical of us , us , we're trying to figure it out . There's a lot of people here , it's a lot of space . Um , I mean , tell us about you , tell us about fresno , tell us about the modernist bar go well , uh , first of all , thank you for
Driven to Excellence
Speaker 4having me .
Speaker 2This is the first time I've ever been on a podcast , so this is some really cool shit and rocket launched , rocket strapped .
Speaker 4Now here it goes .
Speaker 2I'm just hell yeah , if you like this , I've got a garage band you should listen to I would love to listen to your garage band .
Speaker 2But , um , yeah , I mean , honestly , this is such a great opportunity and I'm just happy to be here . But but also great intro . It is very important information to disclose to everyone that I am a Virgo and to anyone who knows what that means . I hope you know exactly what that means . But yeah , fresno , I always like to say , is we reside in the armpit of California and it's a small but big city and I feel like there is lots of room for growth and opportunity in this city . But you know , as in with everything else in the world , everything great comes with time . So it's just going to take a long time to get to where I would like to see Fresno . So it's just going to take a long time to get to where I would like to see Fresno .
Speaker 2But I used to be that teenager that was like , yeah , there's nothing to do in Fresno , it's just the same shit everywhere you go .
Speaker 2But honestly , I really started to see the rich culture in Fresno when I actually went out and sought after those things and actually participated in events you know , events or little things here and there with the community and actually got involved , and that's when I actually saw that Fresno , honestly , is a great place .
Speaker 2I mean , there's a reason why everybody is moving to Fresno to raise their families and to , you know , just build a life .
Speaker 2And honestly , I thought that I would have moved out of Fresno a long time ago . But I'm still here and it's all for a good reason and , especially working at Modernist , I really do find myself on a mission of trying to bring something to Fresno that I don't think I would be able to bring to another city . Plus my family , my family's been here for a very long time , so I've always visited here as a kid . I'm originally from Texas , so I've always visited Fresno as a kid and my family has always lived here , so I mean it is home . But yeah , I think , with modernists and what we're trying to do , and like literally trying to bring something to the Fresno crowd that you can't get anywhere else unless you drive three hours or you fly across the country to an award-winning bar or something , I feel like we're just really trying to make that accessible . Accessibility is a huge thing for this demographic in particular and we are just really trying to push that .
Speaker 4Just trying to push boundaries , man so I just came to this realization um , we have had a guest on before from Fresno , and it was actually Ryan Metcalf , who used to be at Modernist as well and it just struck me that both of your guys' responses to our email prompt were actually very similar in the sense that both of you guys offered feedback and did lots of research on like the topics and things like that , and I just think that that's so interesting that both of you did that .
Speaker 4Both of you are now like and it's funny because it's like he was in charge of the monitors program back then you're in charge of the monitors program now , but there's still this desire to kind of be like we're going to go above and beyond , we're going to take that extra step that a lot of people maybe don't . And that's also one of the things that I love about your guys' bar is that when you don't have a ton of competition around town , you don't have to be as good as you guys are , but you are and you're so amazing . And then you in particular have really found a way to put yourself out there more and more and more through competitions , through different just activities that are put on by spirits and brands and stuff like that , of like . I just can't half-ass this . These two slapdicks emailed me from Sacramento and I still have to give them this really in-depth response to all these articles that they just sent me . What drives you to do that ?
Speaker 2Honestly , you know , I think I've always wanted to create something for not only myself , but something to prove to others that I can do something amazing and great . And since I was little , I've always been an artistic person . So I've always loved to draw . I've always , I've always loved using different mediums to express my creativity and all that stuff . And , um , coming out of high school like I always thought that I was going to go into the the arts , Like I went to school for art and graphic design , and coming out of high school like I always thought that I was going to go into the arts , Like I went to school for art and graphic design and like I thought that that's what I wanted to do , Life took a different turn and now I have found a new medium to express my creativity and that's through cocktails and through sippable art . And I think I think currently I think about this all the time .
Speaker 2I think currently I'm always wanting to prove to someone that I am good enough and that I am the driving force behind something as great as this , as great as modernist and our , our program and all that stuff . And I am really proud to tell people like , yeah , like this is , I put this together . This is me , but there's always something that I feel like is missing and I'm trying to figure out what that is . But I mean , I don't know . I don't feel like I have a one thing that motivates me to keep doing this .
Speaker 2I think that's just who I am and that's always just been in my blood to just always either perfect something or outperform somebody or just go above and beyond , because I would say I'm a perfectionist again , virgo tendencies here but I just cannot . I cannot do anything half-ass , and if I do , I have a really good reason to do something half-ass . But most of the time I don't , Because I'm like , if I'm going to do it half-ass , what's the fucking point ? I might as well not even do it to begin with . So I'm going to put my all into it , and if someone recognizes that it's fucking amazing , then that's great . That makes me feel better about it .
Embracing Hmong Heritage in Bartending
Speaker 2Does that answer your question ?
Speaker 4cocktail menu and try a bunch of different things and experience that stuff . I mean , I think you know , again , one of the things that I've always found impressive about a place like Modernist is that the bar is not high in Fresno . It is something that you could do an okay job and really have an impressive cocktail program . But like you could take the modernist program and you could drop it into a lot of different cities and people would be like , yeah , dude , that shit fucks , like that's , that's awesome and I think that's . I think that's one of the things that I really admire about like what you've done and what Poe has done and you know , and everybody that's on that team , where it's like you continue to push yourself . Now , the other thing that you kind of brought up in a lot of your notes and this is actually something that I wanted to talk about as well , so I'm glad that you already illuminated it in all the extensive notes that you gave us on each article and I do want to convey that to our listeners it's like I always send articles to our guests each week Like , hey , if you can read these , great , just we'll , we'll talk about them there . You're like bullet points of like things that you wanted to nail as you like went through them , which is so amazing and , um , and I just really , really appreciate the time and effort that you put into this .
Speaker 4Uh , but you know , one of the things that I've always known about Fresno and that I've always loved about Fresno is that it has one of the most , it's like one of the richest Hmong communities in the United States . It's just , I don't know all the history , but I do know that , for whatever reason , a lot of people migrated to Fresno and that's where they ended up and it is just this huge representation of this culture . And now you're at the forefront of the cocktail culture in Fresno , as part of the Hmong community as well . What is you know does ? Is there pressure that comes with that ? Is there things from your culture that informs how you continue to push forward your cocktails ? And things like what about your heritage informs your current bartending now ?
Speaker 2Well , I think this this also kind of ties back to your other question of you know why . Why essentially ? Why do I do this and why do I keep pushing forward with all this is . I do sort of feel a form of pressure and I think this is kind of similar across the board for all Asian Americans and especially children of Asian immigrants as well is that it's kind of just beaten down on you that you have to have a successful life with a successful job , you need a degree , you need all those things .
Speaker 2I don't have a degree . I never finished college , I did not go the typical route post high school or anything like that , and I do feel a pressure to prove something to my community and my family that I am just as capable of achieving something amazing and great and fulfilling without a degree and without needing to further my education post high school or anything like that . But I also do feel a pressure to make sure I represent my community really well , and it's something that I know that the Hmong community and even my family is not very well informed about . Like they , they just think I make drinks for fun and that I call it a day after that and they don't know how nuanced it is to run a bar and they don't . They don't take me seriously and they just think that it's a placeholder job and whatnot . So I do feel the pressure to kind of prove that like it's not any of those things that they're saying .
Speaker 2I think I recently just started to become more aware of pushing this as part of even my own personal brand or my story and really recognizing that the Hmong heritage in the bar industry is really important to represent , and I even tried when I was doing my research earlier . I did not find anything about current Hmong American bartenders in the industry right now , and so I really feel like this is the start of something , but I'm starting to implement it in ways of , you know , kind of tying in certain flavors from signature dishes into cocktails or possibly doing pop-ups that are themed around Hmong culture and heritage , like Hmong New Year's coming up in December , and I want to do like a limited pop-up menu specifically tied around Hmong culture , and I just , yeah , I feel the need that this is something that I need to do . So I would say I'm in the beginning stages of it , so I don't really know what I'm doing . I'm kind of just raw dogging it right now and figuring it out .
Speaker 3So that's where I'm at
Exploring Hmong Cuisine and Cocktails
Speaker 3. Can you give our listeners a little taste of what some signature dishes are ? I myself , I'm not familiar with the cuisine . Can you break down .
Speaker 2Not a masterclass or anything but , yeah , we um , for the most part we don't have a lot of signature dishes because we've pulled from a bunch of neighboring countries . Um , among people were village people and so we have little villages all over the place in Southeast Asia . So Laos , thailand , vietnam , cambodia , all that stuff . So we've pulled a lot of inspiration from them and I would say the most , two of the most iconic things that are . Just , they're just like I cannot even explain how like you see this put on a dinner table and you're like that's , that's the shit right there . Like that is the centerpiece of the Hmong cuisine and it is the main dish I'm talking about is a soup . The main dish I'm talking about is a soup and it literally just has mustard greens and pork belly or any pork of your choice , and we call it xiao chua and it's literally just blanched mustard greens , pork belly , and then you eat it with the side of rice and then , um , we usually I love eating it with a pepper sauce on the side .
Speaker 2It's now being dubbed crack sauce in like yeah , yeah , uh , we just in hong we just call it what's all , which means like soup , itchy , and that's exactly what it translates to like itchy , itchy , liquid , itchy sauce , um , but yeah , didn't david chang try to like .
Speaker 4Uh , you know , uh , copyright , uh , chili crack no , he was doing something a little bit different . It was it was more so of like , yeah , like that chili sauce , but it was similar but not the same . But yeah , I mean not a great look for chang .
Speaker 2I mean fortunately he backed off of it , but uh , but yeah , yeah , it's not great , not great , but like literally that dish , man , like my grandma she makes that I have never been able to recreate it to the same degree as her . And and there's just , it's so warming , it's so healing , I will literally eat it all throughout the year . And then there's also the same with the mustard greens . We also pickle them and we call it , which literally translates to greens , sour , sour greens , greens , sour , so , sour greens . Um , and it's essentially , uh , putting the mustard greens through a lacto fermentation process just tons of salt , tons of chilies . Let it sit , it ferments and it's pickled and you just eat it as a side side dish and um , yeah , that , that dish is literally home .
Speaker 4It's amazing how would you say that your culture informs your cocktail making process ?
Speaker 2I , I think I had this conversation with somebody earlier this week actually I well , I'm sorry I'm not first , but I'm doing my best here , you know well , I think I haven't really dove in to making a cocktail directly inspired by mom cuisine . I'm actually going to be working on that for my world-class submission this year . She , she , she , she's doing it yes I am .
Speaker 2I got two weeks , um , but I think , at least , since I haven't actually done it yet or like , done the R&D process yet , my thoughts going into it is that I just want to do it justice and I think , because Hmong cuisine is just very simple , so simple . I think that's also how I need to approach my cocktails . I just need to refine everything , and less is more , because I used to throw a hell of shit into my cocktails , but now I've gotten better at just refining and editing and just making it look cleaner . Um , but yeah , my , my main goal is just to just to do it some justice .
Speaker 4Yeah , I mean , I love that and I think that's that's something that I'm , first of all , I'm very excited to hear that you are pursuing that Cause . I know the last . That's something that I'm , first of all , I'm very excited to hear that you are pursuing that , cause I know the last time that we talked , like you were a little bit on the fence about whether or not it was it was time and and now I feel like I was I was supposed to hook you up with our good friend Karina and I don't know if I did . And now I need to know that I'll definitely do that tomorrow If I didn't . But that's great and I think that is really amazing .
Speaker 4So in every prompt we always talk about , hey , what do you want to talk about ? Because I think it's one of the things that we love is that you're taking time out of your very busy schedule . I know you guys just launched a new menu and there's all kinds of stress that comes with that . I'm sure it's great . I can't wait to get down there and try it out . Every single time I've come down to modernists , it's really amazing .
Speaker 4But one of the things you brought up kind of a few different topics in terms of what you wanted to discuss on the podcast and what you think is important to you and we love that as well that we get to hopefully provide somewhat of a platform . So one of the ones that you're talking about was just the representation of women in the bar and the challenge that they face . On this podcast , both Chris and I are always talking about how fortunate we are to have the women in our life and then , more importantly , the women in spirits in our life , because some of the best stuff in the world is only possible because we have the greatest women doing that . Now .
Speaker 4I joked with you before that you are just a little baby in this industry and you have such big aspirations . You know and you've , and you've already done so many different things . I actually didn't even go through those which . We'll go through those
Navigating Hospitality and Authenticity in Bartending
Speaker 4later . But , um , you know through your experience . I mean , like , what are some of the things that you're seeing ? Like , where do you think that we have room for improvement ? And then , um , not to put you on a soapbox , but it's just kind of like , hey , this is stuff that we should be talking about . How can we get better ?
Speaker 2Yeah , I will say that I have faced some challenges along the way . Within my two years of being in this industry and hearing other stories from other women and hearing what they've shared I thankfully have not had to endure as much as they have , but just hearing their stories and then also with my experiences , it just kind of makes me sad , because I'm like we should just be doing better . Like , why are we like this ? Why are we letting this happen right under our noses ? And I feel like this also ties into one of the other points that I also brought up . Um on the notes was like call out culture . Like I am not afraid to call people out at the bar when they're acting real dumb , especially against women , and I feel like I have just a radar . Every single time I'm on service , I just I know when something is going to happen and I'm just ready to pounce on that shit , because I don't have any tolerance for um , you know any any harassment towards women at all . Um , for me , though , I think the the challenges that I face the most is that , either a people don't take me seriously or , b they are always trying to make me soften myself more , and that has always been an ongoing challenge , not just in the bar industry but across the board , ever since I started working when I was 16 years old . I remember particularly this one story , or this one story , this one time where I was working at this place that I will not disclose , but I was 17 . I was 17 . And the co-owner came into the shop and took me into the back office and we shut the door behind us and he essentially cussed me out and said you need to fucking smile more . You need to stop doing that shit with just having a blank stare across your face , and you need to . You need to talk to these guests and blah , blah , blah , blah . You need to have a smile on your face and that's . That was it . I didn't say anything else Cause , again , I was a 17 year old . I didn't know how do you fucking respond to that as a 17 year old and just kind of walking out of the office with my tail between my legs , you know . And ever since then it's been the same thing at um other workplaces , especially Starbucks .
Speaker 2I was a barista for two years and it was constantly like your tone is too mean , like you sound , like you're always , you know , upset with people or you always look like you're angry and I'm like , genuinely , this is just the way that I talk . When I just talk normally , I'm monotone as fuck and like I just naturally have a lower register , like I don't know what . You want me . You want me to talk like this all the time . You want me to smile for you . Does that make you feel better ?
Speaker 2I fucking hate that and I still kind of face those challenges today where it's like you look so intimidating or you look so this or so that , and it's to a point where you know , I feel like I've internalized that a lot and I'm trying to undo that and just really being unapologetically myself , because it's like if you think I'm talking to you a certain way based off of my tone , like I , that sounds like a personal problem .
Speaker 2So if you're intimidated by me , that sounds like a you problem .
Speaker 2Not for me , but I do think that it's also a angry or upset or something and I'm literally just a girl .
Speaker 2I am , I'm just trying to do my day to day and I feel like people read into it too much and I'm not sure if it's because I'm a woman . I'm not sure if it's because I'm the only woman behind the bar currently , and I do feel like people have had to tread carefully around me because they're like , oh well , we don't want to piss her off , or like , oh well , we don't want her to feel like she has to be defensive , or anything like that , and it's like dude , don't , don't coddle me , don't you know ? Just don't think that what you're going to say is going to affect me in a negative way or that I'm going to burst at the seams or whatever . Like , just fucking , talk to me like you would to anybody else , and I can pick up on that , especially working with majority of men in this industry as well , and at the bar currently , I do feel like people try to coddle me and I'm like don't do that .
Speaker 3Do you feel like the boys are just soft ?
Speaker 2um , possibly , I do think men are very emotional creatures , which is not a bad thing . I do want to encourage men to , you know , be more emotional , like let their feelings flow . Um , but genuinely , yes , and I'm not trying to start shit , but you're talking to two very emotional guys right now , so you're you're .
Speaker 4You're in a safe space , you're in a safe space . We both , chris and I cry at the most ridiculous shit , so we're good here it's true , I'm a girl dad now man , you put on the wrong commercial and I'm all tears yeah , yeah , it's not great . It's not great well we can cry together .
Speaker 4I enjoy a good crying session well , let me , let me ask you this .
Speaker 4So I think you one of the things that that I always kind of struggle with now and and you talk a little , you talk a little bit about it in some of your notes , about you know , is the customer always right , and stuff like that , and it's it's always trying to find that balance between hospitality and people being respectful , because the reality is that there's a lot of people out there that just don't know how to fucking act when they're out in public .
Speaker 4Right , and those people need to be checked . But at the same time , I know that I've seen a lot of younger bartenders and things like that that don't know , also don't know how to act in public either . Right , and they don't know . And in the , the scene and I know I've referenced this on the podcast before and I apologize to our listeners , but the scene I always think of , or like the example I always think of , is the movie waiting , where the waitress is motherfucking the guest as she's walking back and she's putting together like a birthday cake for someone and she's just like fuck these motherfuckers , stupid bitches , stuff like that , all these different things .
Speaker 1And then she comes back . I've worked with so many of her .
Speaker 4Yeah , and she comes back out into the , she comes back out to the floor and she's back on stage you know , quote unquote stage and she's like happy birthday and she's all excited and stuff like that . And I think there's you know , there's obviously this balance where , like you know it's it's this push and pull between we want to be authentic . We're also trying to provide an experience , but we also don't want to be fake and we want people to respect us . You know , where do you feel the younger generation is falling into that ? Because I've personally witnessed you give exceptional hospitality , Like I know that you're actually capable , but you're also saying , like I'm fully aware of my resting bitch face and I know that I have to be like you know that too .
Speaker 4It's like where's the push and pull ? Like how do you convey that to other people ? Because I do think that you're very motivated within this industry and like you kind of have . I mean , like I'm joking about the rocket strap from us , but it's like you've fully rocket strapped yourself and you continue to do things that are going to take you to the next level and I can't wait to see where you go . But not everybody is like you , but I do think there's a lot of people in your age group that are kind of like fuck those motherfuckers . They can't tell me to smile . This is a job like how do you balance that ? How do you kind of bring people in to be like , hey , I get it be independent , but also , hospitality is still hospitality yeah , yeah , um , yeah , I think my generation is very much like I don't give a shit .
Speaker 2I'm gonna tell you how it is and don't don't tell me how to speak , don't tell me how to hold myself , don't tell me to smile , don't fucking tell me smile .
Speaker 2But um , for me , I think the way that I approach it with every person that walks through the door is I'm going to be real with you from beginning to end and if you push the right buttons , you will get a certain reaction out of me . And I am going to speak to you as the adult that you are , if you want to come at me sideways . And I am never going to back down on an opportunity when someone wants to try me or someone wants to kind of say something out of pocket . And this is what I always tell to our new hires , our trainees . I always tell them , you know , if you , if you were ever in a position where someone says something to you that does not sit right with you , I want you to feel empowered to stand up for yourself and say something . Obviously , if you're not comfortable with it , please get someone else to help you , like a manager or something like that . But if you feel comfortable to do so , like tell them , tell them that it's not okay to , or something like that .
Speaker 2But if you feel , comfortable to do so , like tell them , tell them that it's not okay to do something like that . And that is the same thing that I do , whether it's , you know , on a smaller scale or a larger scale , it's I always want to kind of challenge people with what they say initially . So , for example , in context , there was this this is actually really funny there were these two guys that were sitting at the bar and they were probably late 40s , close to their 50s , and they were talking about how they're just trying to catch a break because their wives are out doing whatever down the street and they wanted some boy time . And one of the gentlemen , in particular , he was like yeah , my wife always said that she's wanted to be a bartender . But I told her you know , honey , you can't do that , you gotta be young and hot .
Speaker 2And you know , everyone else was kind of like oh ha ha . And I , the moment that it got silent , I looked at him and I go you don't think your wife is hot ? And they're . Everyone was just quiet and he like , if he thank god he didn't choke on his drink , he almost did and he was like no , no , no , no . I mean , yeah , I think she's hot and I was like , hey , man , sounds like , sounds like you need to fucking buy her a drink , dude , because you are not . You , yeah , you , you said the wrong thing , man . You I'm sorry , you like you put yourself out there and like I'm not afraid to say things like that to people and so , but that's also a good time for the rest of the bar .
Speaker 3I mean , if you , if you can engage in their conversation and not just let people get away with shit like that's just entertainment .
Speaker 2Man , that's why people go to bars right it's like , yeah , they want to have a little bit of that push and pull right , yeah , and I , the the couple next to them , definitely got a kick out of that , because when those two men left , they're like holy shit , I can't believe you actually said that to him and I was like , first of all I didn't really think about it , it kind of just came out , but also , like it was funny and , yeah , like he said something that was kind of out of pocket because imagine if his wife actually was here , you know like that would be embarrassing to her and I mean , I think there's a good balance between keeping it real with people but still delivering great hospitality , because I think , with hospitality , hospitality is different from service , as to where hospitality , you are genuinely trying to , just trying to just provide them a good experience .
Speaker 2And I think , in human nature , like you should want everybody to have a good time , like you should never want to make someone have a bad time , right ?
Speaker 2So I mean , with that , it's like I just I just want to be real with you , like this is essentially my second home .
Speaker 2I'm opening the doors to you to come and enjoy , have a , enjoy a cocktail and have a good time , and I'm happy that you're here and , with that being said , like you're my guest , I'm going to take care of you . But if you do kind of step over some boundaries , I am going to tell you like hey , we , we , we need to talk about this and I think , with my generation as well , there are a lot of social anxieties that we all have and for me , kind of calling out to people as often as I do or being as comfortable as I am doing , so it's me exercising that muscle of not having as many social anxieties when I am out , because I do feel like I have guns . You know , kind of anxious going out in public now , but especially bar facing , I feel like I do need to exercise that muscle and being able to just talk to people , whether it's addressing positive things or negative things , I think it's a challenge within itself and I really just kind of want to push that boundary .
Speaker 3I think one aspect a lot of people forget about hospitality too is that it's a two way street . Like it's not just , like I am not just here forcing hospitality on you . You show up into my space , whether you're sitting at a table or you're sitting at a bar , and you are anticipating receiving hospitality , and so there's , there's a push and a pull there , right . Like it's not you are not just agreeing to a social contract , but like you're showing up with expectations . Those expectations have certain parameters and and your expectation allows me to meet those or not . And we have , whether it's verbal or nonverbal , that communication that happens and hospitality is a conversation ,
Hospitality Over Service
Speaker 3right . Service is a one way street .
Speaker 3Yeah , it's this , I bring you this , I deliver the check . Here you are , here's water . I make sure all these things are in order , but hospitality itself is more nuanced .
Speaker 2It , like provides a conversation and a texture to someone's day right and at the end , at the end of the day , we're all . We're all human . Like respect me , I respect you and you're . If you're nice to me , I'll be nice to you , and I think a lot of people forget that . What a concept . But , like I , I think genuinely people will just forget about that .
Speaker 2There's this , um , there's this like little tiktok debate that I saw going on , where people are getting upset that , uh , service workers , aren't you greeting people as soon as they come to the register or wanting to conversate with them or anything like that ?
Speaker 2And you know a lot of service workers . Their side of the story is like oh well , they don't pay me enough to actually care to ask about someone's day or whatever . But then there was another person who brought up the other side of the argument and was like dude , it doesn't matter if you don't get paid enough to say hi to somebody , just say hi to them . Like it's just you , being a good person , does it ? Do you have to be paid to be a good person ? And I genuinely think no , like you shouldn't use your pay or money as an incentive to be a good person . So I think with hospitality , it's just you know , we don't . We don't care , at the end of the day , if we get paid for it or not . We're just good people wanting to make good drinks , and if you're good people to us , great . We'll have a great time .
Speaker 4Now correct me if I'm wrong , but I feel like there was a somewhat of an insinuation that you also feel like that on our side of it , where there's people within our hospitality community that could probably be less shitty is , and I know one of the things that you talked about is geographic gatekeeping , which I fucking adore Now .
Speaker 3Chris and I of course really , when you brought that up I was like oh shit , geographic gatekeeping which I fucking adore Now , chris and I of course . I got really giddy when you brought that up . I was like oh shit , I've been on my soapbox for like 15 years about this shit .
Speaker 4So let's go . So , and I've been closer to 10 , right , and so for our listeners , geographic gatekeeping is basically the mindset of you know , we have these really vibrant markets where bigger brands ignore us . So for the longest time , when Sacramento used to have a bartender's guild , we would be consistently told that we're not going to take this national program to you , despite having the appropriate amount of members and things like that , because we're gonna go to San Francisco and you guys can just drive there . Well , again , getting back into the geography of California , which I know everybody loves , you know that could be anywhere from an hour and a half to a three hour drive , which is not not conducive , especially when we're talking about the prospect of drinking . And then people like we'll stay there . It's like well , drinking . And then people like we'll stay there , it's like well , san francisco is also one of the most expensive cities to stay in , so that's not really an option either .
Speaker 3Um , so , we've always looked at it not like . Not like , just like inconveniently expensive . It's like literally one of the most expensive cities in the world , like on the world on the planet yeah , so all the places you can choose to go .
Speaker 4That's like not it so we absolutely empathize with you , but Fresno has got to be even worse , right Cause . You know cause we're looking at like fucking Fresno and we're Sacramento , which is like fucking .
Speaker 3Sacramento , like you know . So we're the elbow of California . So it's fine , I get it . Yeah , yeah , it's like elbow to the arm .
Speaker 4Like you know , we're
Exploring Opportunities in Small Markets
Speaker 4right there too . So , you know , with the , the geographic gatekeeping , and and then also , it's , like you know , like what do you , what do you want to see more from the industry when it comes to markets like fresno ? Like , like what can , what can this industry , you know , be doing better to serve a market like fresno ?
Speaker 2well , I think with Fresno , there's only a handful of talented bartenders Literally , we're such a small community here and everybody knows everyone no experience in the bar industry whatsoever , and we're we're essentially a training bar , and so I've seen I honestly , the last four people that we've hired have had no bar experience and we've been able to train them from the ground up and it's a whole new world that they've been immersed into . And I'll I'll take one of my , uh , one of my coworkers , for example . His name is Jacob and he is , honestly , he is such a gem . He was our baby bartender for a very long time and he had never been to any other bars outside of Fresno other than Modernist . He actually started as our security guard and we hired him , as now he's a fucking bartender , he's slinging drinks and he's doing a fucking great job at it . But I remember we , uh , we took him to san francisco , we took him to pch for the first time earlier this year and kevin , by the way .
Speaker 4But yeah , yeah , yeah , go ahead , keep going and he had .
Speaker 2He had never . He had never had any other bar experience outside of fresno , and PCH was his first time . And that is the kind of stuff that I want to see , like I want to take my green beans out into these bars and out to these events and I want them to meet all these people in this industry and I want it to make . I want to make it more accessible to them . And that's the thing where , with all of these events and like trying to put together all these brand partnerships and stuff with the Fresno market , it's just so hard and I'm trying to push for it , saying like , hey , we need to make it more accessible for not only the green beans that work at this bar , because we want to provide this experience for them and show them what this industry is all about , but also for the customers , for the guests , for the people who live here in Fresno who don't know about any of these things that are going on .
Speaker 2I want you know , why can't Fresno also indulge in those things that San Francisco is doing , or that LA is doing , or New York or whatever Like ? Why can't we also have those things ?
Speaker 3Can you give an example for our listeners Like what would be , you know what sort of event or item or education ?
Speaker 2Like what sort of thing are you referring to ? Like what ? What sort of thing are you referring to with the entire planning process is hard , because asking for a brand like Patron because Patron did sponsor the event asking for a brand like Patron to sponsor this entire thing and kind of initially having to give them a reason why they should sponsor a pop-up in Fresno , is a challenge within itself , because it's like asking them or , yeah , it's like telling them this is why we're relevant enough for you to sponsor a guest shift and a pop-up in Fresno , because if we didn't try to convince them to come to Fresno , then it wouldn't have happened . They wouldn't have put brand dollars towards this . And we want to do more things like that .
Speaker 2We want to bring guests to modernists or we want to send our bartenders out to different cities . But I feel like with a lot of these bigger brands , it's like , well , you're not that big of an account for us , so we can probably put our brand dollars somewhere else . Like , sorry , we can't really make that happen , so that's a challenge for us too . So that's just one example .
Speaker 4Do you , do you think there's a time where you would outgrow this market and be like it's time for you to take your personal brand to a bigger city and be like hey , I've done what I've done here and now it's time to spread my wings and fly ?
Speaker 2It's funny Cause I was actually thinking about that this week , wow .
Speaker 4We're so we're so good at at asking questions . This is we're fucking professionals . We've taken months off and we're still great at this .
Speaker 2High five .
Speaker 4Chris digital .
Speaker 2I think I don't know . I think I really do kind of have a desire to keep working in a smaller market like this . Because there there was also a friend of mine . He is the lead bartender of the Guild Hotel in San Diego and he told me one time he was like God , I miss working in smaller markets because working in a tier one market fucking sucks . And I was like why ? He was like ? Because in tier one markets all you get are the people who just want what they want . They don't give a shit about any cool things that you're doing . They just yeah , they're just there to have a good time . And then sometimes you get the tourists and then they never come back . But in smaller markets you are more free to experiment and do cool shit , because then your market is literally based off of regulars . You're regulars that come in because they know what you're doing . They know you're doing cool shit and they keep coming back for it because they know what you're doing , they know you're doing cool shit and they keep coming back for it .
Speaker 2And so I really kind of shifted my perspective ever since he told me that and realized that , huh , maybe working in smaller markets is actually more beneficial to me and what I want to continue pursuing in this industry . Because for the longest time ever , when I actually first got hired at Modernist , I told my boss Poe , like I want to work in a top 50 best bar and I want to be the next Julie Reiner or Fei Chen , or like literally all of that . And I mean I do still want to be the next Julie Reiner and Fei Chen , but in terms of like working in a top 50 best bar , I'm kind of like well , usually those bars are in larger cities and it goes back to the same conversation that I had with that bartender from San Diego . It's really just made me think like maybe that's not actually for me . I don't think it really aligns with what I want to continue pursuing in this industry .
Speaker 2And again , it's about making all of those wonderful things in tier one cities accessible to Fresno , because I don't think people in Fresno are ever going to go out there themselves and find it unless we bring it here to them . And I think it's . You know , I don't think people in Fresno are that fortunate to go out there and see all those wonderful things , so that's why I just really feel like I need to bring it home for everyone to see and potentially , if you know , there's a chance of opening a bar in another secondary market or tertiary market , like hell yeah , let's also bring all the cool shit over there , because there's chances that they'll never .
Speaker 4They'll never be able to experience it so my first reaction to that is san diego tier one market hilarious . Totally disagree um the fact that anybody in san diego would consider themselves a tier one market . Get the fuck out of here . Like , no , like that's just , it's just not it . It's not it . It's a great market , but I want to put it up there .
Speaker 4Um , I think that . I mean , I think that's great . I I also think at the same time , though , um you know where , there's a lot of truth to what you're saying . Um , places like pch do exist in the biggest market in the world , and what kevin and francis and that team do in a bar in san francisco being top 50 , while still being innovative and playing the game and doing that stuff like it's . It's one of those things where , like , what those guys do is is is truly incredible , and and I get it Like I think there's there's obviously a lot of benefit to being a big fish in a in a small pond , but I also think that I mean as the person that's been my entire career , hey yeah , well , I mean , you know , and I and I and I think Chris has done a lot of really amazing stuff , you know , and he continues to do amazing stuff and will continue to do that for a long time .
Speaker 4Aw shit .
Speaker 4But I think also , you know , it can be limiting in those areas where I don't I mean , listen , I love what you're doing and I told you that a million times over and I will tell you that until I die , you know , and if you decide to stay in that market , it's like , yeah , totally get it , totally understand that . I just think that you're destined for bigger things , and the reason that I say that is maybe we'll get into , kind of like , these next topics and stuff like that . Is that , like you know , you're really putting yourself out there in the competition world and we've had this conversation ad nauseum where I'm like elene , you're doing fucking great you're , you're placing , you're , you know you're coming in second pretty consistently . It seems like that's your thing , you know . Um , but it's really about how you present yourself in these situations , right , which I feel you've done an amazing job of , because I know that I've heard it from other brands and things like that .
Speaker 4So , um , whether or not you stay in Fresno again , I love Fresno , I don't want anybody to think I'm shitting on that , it's just kind of like . It's like , eh , I don't , I don't know if this stratosphere is big enough , you know , uh , fresno for you , you know I'm gonna , I'm gonna push back on you a little bit on this one , because , like look at , like uh ryan , maybe out of kate , uh , out of like kansas city .
Speaker 3Or you look at , um , the guys out of denver , right , like , like . These are smaller markets that have made , made their impression , felt right , like and and , and not even just there , right Like , you know , like Jill , right , like Jill Coxon's crushing it , right , and and . And these are small markets that that also have the same issue of not getting those like that brand dollar , I would , I would always say like one of the best pieces of not getting those . Like that brand dollar , I would , I would always say like one of the best pieces of advice I I always got or was reminded early on , uh , in my leadership career .
Speaker 3I'll say , is like you don't need brands to do dope shit , like , just do dope shit , right , like , I think getting caught up on the brand side of things is like you , honestly , they want you to get caught up on that , even though they're gonna bitch and moan about the fact that , like you're like , oh , all these people want money from us , but the second that you go , fuck you , I don't need your money and I don't need your product . They're gonna be like no wait , please , please , please , take my product and my money right , like you can just do dope shit and find really cool ways of of producing those things .
Speaker 4I literally had this conversation the last time I was at modernist .
Speaker 3We were talking about brands not being fucking dope to modernist and aline like we had this exact conversation , so yeah , I mean that there there are ways of doing those and and I'm more than happy to off air , like , if you want to continue that conversation , because that's been the last 10 plus years of my career like drew worked with me with sack bartenders guild and , and even though the , the guild itself is brand focused as much as they pretend , like they're not , it 1000 is and you , you still have to find ways of of doing dope things because you're not there to meet their roi .
Speaker 3Like your job is not to demand their roi or to like gain their attention . I think , as bartenders like we , we end up in this , in this mindscape . We're like , well , fuck , like we need Diageo to pay attention so we get those marketing dollars , so we can get that attention , but really that's not what they do and legally they're not allowed to do it right ? So it's like we have to do something on our end that forces them to beg us to give it to us , right ?
Small Markets and Brand Partnerships
Speaker 3And I'll tell you I've known Kevin for fuck . How long . I've known kev for like maybe 15 years , and there was a long time even fucking dietrich couldn't like beg people to give him money and attention , and that's even in san francisco . And it wasn't until he became someone and the homies , who've always been homies , were like no , everybody here is an idiot . Like just do your shit . And . And we go out there and we tell everybody else that they're idiots and they need to pay attention to him . And now people are literally just vomiting shit at him . Like they're just like yes , please take it . And when ? When he doesn't take it , when he like throws campari on blast for , like , not wanting to play by his rules or whatever you know . And you know , take that for what , for what you will , but it becomes a big issue .
Speaker 3Right , like , yeah , because these guys like kevin dietrich or like , let's say , bobby hugel , right like out of texas , like who own anvil when , when they have earned their stripes over doing things that didn't require brand money . And the second , they say fuck brands . The second , like , all of a sudden you have either articles and New York times articles and all this shit being written about you and it doesn't have anything to act . The first time I remember Kevin Dietrich being written up in a newspaper was for his workout routine , like , and he still works out , he still boxes journal writing about fucking kevin dietrich's workout routine or some shit like that . Like it was wild , you know , but it had nothing to do with any of the fucking brands , like it didn't have anything to do with anything .
Speaker 3So I think that's like for for everybody out there who's struggling with this um , like stepchild syndrome of a small market because this brand I mean brands are out there to make money too . Right , like you can't , you can't hate on them for that , but uh , I mean , you can , and that's fine , we will . We do Uh , but like but . But our job's not to make them money . Our job is to make ourselves money and to find partnerships that work for us in the long term . Right , right .
Speaker 3It's incumbent on us to like just do dope shit on our own .
Speaker 2Yeah , I do feel like I'm learning that now . I was kind of stuck in that loop for a second where I was like , well , how am I supposed to make us relevant ? And like , if this is what you know , if brand partnerships are the way to go , then cool . And I was like laser focused on that , until now I'm realizing like , okay , I don't really give a shit . Now , like I'm starting to realize whatever what all of my peers were saying about you know , the downside of brand partnerships . And so now I'm really kind of , especially with this new menu , I'm kind of just like , all right , well , um , essentially , if you're not going to give me what I want or what I need , uh , for the bar and for this program , cool , I'll , I'll go find something else .
Speaker 2And I and I did so . I , I'm really starting to lean into that . It was a big learning curve for me . But everything you said , yep , it was a huge realization for me . But going back to what y'all said , I never said that I didn't want to leave Fresno ever , but potentially , you know , like in the future .
Speaker 2I would love to you know , like , shout out , monica Berg , I would love to work at Tehran Elementary at some point . But you know , I would love to experience what it's like to work in different cities and at all these bars where I just admire the work that they're doing there and whether that's in the form of like a small little three-month hiatus or guest shifts or pop-ups or whatever it may be Like , I do still want that experience . But you know , fresno will always be home and especially with the relationship that I've built with modernists and Poe and Carmen , I just I feel like my heart will always have a piece here , so emotionally , I feel like I will still be here .
Speaker 4I do want to point out that I had to look this up , but you know that Fresno is actually bigger than Kansas City , like , in population Population , so I just want to put that out there . It's actually bigger by about 32,000 people Fucking do your work , girl , let people so so so you got that now .
Speaker 4Um , before before we move on to we're actually going to do , just going to do it follows because you know and then you , like you gave us so many different fucking fun things to talk about . We're not going to do the top articles now , so you have to come . You have to come back for part two at some point .
Innovative Cocktails at Modernist Bar
Speaker 4But new menu just launched . What are you most excited about on it and why do people need to come down to Fresno , and particularly to Modernist , to drink this menu ?
Speaker 2I think we are just constantly implementing new techniques and especially really testing out new flavor profiles that at least the frozen market has never had before . Maybe you know people in other markets have probably been there , done that , but I think what we're really trying to push the boundaries in terms of flavors and ingredients being used in cocktails . So across the board we've got things like dandelions on the menu that are infused in capoletti .
Speaker 2We've you know , we've got fig leaves on there , we've also got figs , but you know we're using them in different ways . We're also using you know it's a fall slash winter menu . So I mean , you kind of have to give the people what they want without actually having to give them what they want . And so one of our bartenders , ace , he actually has a cocktail that has a whole ass pumpkin pie in it , but it is turned into a cordial , a sherry cordial . So it's kind of giving the pumpkin spice bitches what they want , but not really , and making it more interesting and more fun . And you know we're the modernists , so we're gonna do some fun , quirky takes on basic things , I guess .
Speaker 2And so , yeah , I'm just really excited , honestly , this entire year with the team and with developing three menus this year , it's been honestly such a fun like I can't .
Speaker 2Fun doesn't , doesn't even cover it , but that's the only word that's coming in my mind , but like it's . It's been really fun to do this with all of them and it's it's really been a test to my creativity but also theirs , and pushing them to think outside of the box and pushing their boundaries as well . Um , and especially with jacob , as I mentioned before , like this is probably only his second or third time around developing a cocktail , and then he's never done that before , and so to kind of throw him in the water with no floaties on , that's exactly what we're pushing for , and so I I want to bring that to the guests of Fresno , because I would say , fresno , they , they love their whiskey , they love their tequila , and then you've got a good handful of them , vodka drinkers , and it's it's that , that's it , and it's , it's really boring , it's really basic , and I'm kind of of just like stop being boring and stop being basic , like , if you like a fucking margarita , drink this instead .
Speaker 2Margaritas are great , I fucking love margaritas , but try this instead . Or you always have the people that are so skeptical . They'll , they'll read the ingredients on our menu and they're like , like , it says tomatillo , are there actual tomatillos in it ? And I'm like , for the love of God , for the love of God , like , please , um , you know , like , just just just try it .
Speaker 2Be more open-minded , you know , and I , I always say this to , uh , some people at the bar Um , I'll say , you know , they'll , they'll never try it unless we shove it down their throats . And this is us shoving it down their throats . So , every single menu , it's like I don't give a shit . If you think dandelion infused capoletti is weird , we're going to shove it down your throats and we're going to change your mind about it . I think that's what we always push to people too . Is that cool ? If that's how you feel about this ingredient in particular , bet , I'm gonna put my money where my mouth is and I'm gonna tell you I'm gonna change your mind about it and that's . I feel like that's just what we're trying to do . We're trying to push boundaries and change people's minds . That's rad .
Speaker 4I love it , I love it , so again . So two things one , ace , love you , shout out to you , you little son . Two , again , I can't emphasize enough If you're in a marketplace where you don't have to be as impressive as modernists is , and when they do the things that they do , it's worth going to . I mean , it's just like that's . You know , competition obviously breeds like really great stuff , but like sometimes when there's no comp and you still are that great , it's worth checking out . So I'm so pleased with that . But now I think we're going to have to move on to my favorite section , chris . What do you think you know who's dope them over there ? That's right , it is time for our dope follows . This is where we tell you who you should be checking out , what you should be listening to , what you should be watching , possibly all of the above . So , chris , who is your dope follow this week ?
Speaker 3I got two baby .
Speaker 3I've been watching uh I've been watching , uh uh , vince vaughn's new show , uh bad monkey , and I fucking love it . It's incredible . It's so much fun and like the the like movie nerd in me like goes crazy watching this because I first saw vince fawn when he like showed up in a movie called clay pigeons with joaquin phoenix in like the mid 90s and uh , I fucking love it and his character in this show reminds me so much of that movie fucking great . Also takes place in the florida keys , so it makes me want to be there all the time .
Speaker 3Also , he drank barbincourt uh rum in like one of the episodes and immediately after I had like four people come into the shop asking me for barbincourt . It's fucking great . I've been dying to get people to drink barbincourt for years and it just took vince vaughn drinking it in like 10 seconds of an episode for people to fucking go oh yeah , that's good uh , so there you go for the record I still don't like barbincourt .
Speaker 4I don't care if it's one drink so I'm gonna put that out there .
Speaker 3anyway , don't listen to drew . Never listen to drew , it's fine . Uh , you're a fucking idiot . Anyway , don't listen to Drew , never listen to Drew , it's fine .
Exploring Diverse Entertainment Options
Speaker 3Another one is is on Instagram and TikTok . It's called Random Pubs and sorry , random Bars and Pubs . All one word Random Bars and Pubs and it's literally just an account where they zoom in on Google Earth onto a random fucking bar and pub and show you screenshots of it all around the fucking planet . It's kind of dope . I'm like really , really into it and it brings me a lot of joy every time I scroll past it and I see it followed .
Speaker 4All right , elena , who's your uh , who's your dope follow this week .
Speaker 2I've been really honestly for the last few months . Actually , I've been really obsessed with watching Caleb Hammer on YouTube and he is . I guess the easiest way to put it is that he is this generation's Dave Ramsey , if you will . So he talks about all the finances and all that stuff . But specifically the way that he does it is that he brings guests onto his show and kind of like podcast style , and the guest who applies to be on his show sends all of their like financial information over to him to review , because you know all their debts , all their collections , all that stuff , and he literally like he literally just goes to town and reads the fuck out of them on his shows and at the end of it , going through all their numbers and all of the bullshit spending that they did or whatever , he'll create like a budget for them , cause he genuinely wants to help these people to turn their life around and , you know , pay all their debt off and whatever . But , um , he's a funny guy and I've honestly contemplated on just sending an application for fun , cause I just , I just want to be on his show .
Speaker 2Show he talks about all the finances and stuff . Honestly , I've learned a lot of stuff from him . It's just a good show . I think you guys need to watch it . It's really funny . The Money Guy show yeah , he's the Money Guy , I think it's called . His show is the Financial Audit Financial Audit . I love it .
Speaker 4The Financial Audit is what he does . Financial Audit Mm-hmm , I love it . I love it . Okay . So the Financial Audit , all right . So I have two for you guys as well . One serious one , not so .
Speaker 4As a lot of our listeners will know , I have been on a nautical kick for the past two years , unfortunately , and I just keep reading one nautical book after another . I want , I want you guys to read in the kingdom of ice . It's about the USS Jeanette that goes up to the entire , up to the North pole , and just gets fucked up . It is crazy what happens to this boat . So , story of survival , all that fun stuff , it's really riveting . Uh , I just will never not be impressed by the fact that people were just kind of like , yeah , we're probably not going to survive , let's go and uh and going from there .
Speaker 4And then , on the other other side , a very , very unserious podcast is the Seth Meyers and Lonely Island podcast . It is Seth Meyers and the Lonely Island , which is Andy Samberg and his buddies , and they talk about all of their digital shorts that they did in the mid 2000s on SNL . If you're around my age , you know that that was a very influential time in your life , and things like Andy popping into frame and lettuce and things like that . Listening to those guys describe how they came up with those skits is completely ridiculous and I love it to death . So if you're you know again around my age , it's great . So if you're you know , again around my age , it's great . If you are young and spry like Alina's , I'm going to send you a bunch of clips so you can see what digital shorts are . And then Saturday Night Live it's a show every week that comes on . I don't know if you know where .
Speaker 2But yeah it's . I know what SML is .
Speaker 4It's , I don't know .
Speaker 2They just debuted their 50th episode , my favorite episode was when Justin Timberlake was a guest and he did his whole tea bagging skit .
Speaker 4The tea bagging skit . So then those guys also wrote Dick in a Box , if you're also familiar with Dick in a Box .
Speaker 2I do remember all that stuff . I probably shouldn't have watched it , but I remember it .
Speaker 4I was actually literally about to say that . So I think you know , overall guys , wow , those are some pretty dope follows . Hell yeah .
Speaker 3The music for the Good Bottle podcast is orchestrated by Leon and Chase Moore and it's been produced pretty darn good by uh , by me today .
Speaker 2And if you've enjoyed this episode can you please subscribe and give us a five star review . Thank you .
Speaker 3Thank you , hensley , and simple things like that make a huge difference for a nice little podcast like ours , and it brings us back to keep doing this over and over and then taking a four month break , then doing it again , again and then taking a four-month break it's all about life balance , guys .
Speaker 4Um , you can follow us on instagram or facebook at the good bottle podcast or our personal accounts mine is d garrison six . You can find chris at chris and flair . Or you can find lynn , where are you at on the social medias I am just on instagram .
Speaker 2Instagram Well , I'm kind of on TikTok , but not that seriously but at V line per all . It's like a lean for all , but with the V .
Speaker 4Naturally , naturally , hell , yeah Makes sense .
Engaging With Audience Interaction
Speaker 3As always , we would like to thank you all for tuning in , listening to this buffoonery . If there is anyone you think that we should talk to , ah , tough , fuck them , we're not care , you know , we're just gonna do what we do anyway . No , just kidding , you should probably reach out to us and uh drew , will uh get , uh get his liquid courage up to ask we've had two people reach out to us recently .
Speaker 4One of us asked for a media kit . Hilarious , don't have one , you just come on . The second one was like what do you think of this ? We already asked that person and it's working out . We want you Come hang out with us , come talk with us , come have a great conversation . You can basically dictate the entire conversation , like Aline just did tonight . We didn't do any of the things that we planned on doing because she sent us so many notes of all the things that she wanted to do and it was great . All the things we talked about tonight , we loved , it was great , we appreciate it . We appreciate all of you guys . Listen , subscribe , share with your friends and cheers , guys , cheers , thank you Thank you , god , I miss this music .
Speaker 4Yeah , fuck those articles man .