Whiskey, Reimagined The New Orleans Way with Master Blender Kieran Walsh

We explore how a five-year whiskey aged in used cooperage becomes something new when layered with over two dozen botanicals. Kieran Walsh shares the path from wine and High West to Big Easy Whiskey and why he designed an 86 proof pour that opens on ice, thrives in a toddy, and avoids sugary shortcuts.

• philosophy of enhancing whiskey rather than masking it
• used cooperage to balance oak and highlight grain character
• infusion set including baking spices, citrus peel, and green herbs
• how hydrophobic compounds bloom with water and heat
• positioning beyond the “flavored whiskey” category
• New Orleans as flavor inspiration and brand home base
• distribution focus on Louisiana with planned regional growth
• future expressions and bourbon releases teased
• simple cocktails: big easy hot toddy and absinthe pairing ideas

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What if American whiskey could be lifted, not lacquered? We sit down with master blender and COO Kieran Walsh of Big Easy Spirits to unpack a five-year whiskey aged in used cooperage and layered with precise infusions—baking spices, citrus peels, and verdant herbs—that amplify what whiskey already does well. No cloying sweetness, no camouflage, just a thoughtfully built 86 proof pour that blooms on ice, hums in a hot toddy, and reshapes what “flavored” can mean without losing its whiskey core.

Kieran’s journey runs from wine production and restrained oak philosophy to High West’s blending lab, where the idea of barrel-aged cocktails and Amaro architecture took root. That background shows in every decision: used barrels keep the oak in line, botanicals track existing whiskey notes rather than fighting them, and the proof point preserves structure in cocktails while staying approachable neat. We explore how hydrophobic compounds unlock aroma with water and heat, why category rules forced a new lane beyond “flavored whiskey,” and how New Orleans—more gumbo than single note—became both muse and proving ground.

We also get practical. Expect serving ideas from a minimalist Bourbon Street hot toddy (just whiskey and hot water) to an absinthe-kissed riff worthy of the Old Absinthe House. Kieran shares distribution plans rooted in local love first, then careful expansion to Texas, the Florida panhandle, Mississippi, California, and more. He teases future releases, including older base stocks with alternate infusions and two bourbons waiting in tank—early tasters’ reactions ranged from “holy shit” to wide-eyed silence.

If you’re curious about whiskey innovation, botanical infusions, New Orleans cocktail culture, and how to bridge the gap between purist pours and sugar-heavy flavor bombs, this one’s for you. Hit follow, share with a whiskey friend, and drop a review—tell us what cocktail you’ll try first with Big Easy Whiskey.

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Transcript

Sponsor: Middle West Spirits

SPEAKER_06 0:47

Middlewest Spirits was founded in 2008, focusing on elevating the distinct flavors of the Ohio River Valley. Their spirits honor their roots and reflect their originality as makers, their integrity as producers, and their passion for crafting spirits from grain to glass. Their Michelon Reserve line reflects their story from the start to the bottle to your glass, with unique wheated and rye bourbons, and also rye and wheat whiskeys. The Michelon brand is easy to sip. It might be a grain to glass experience, but I like to think of it as uncut and unfiltered from their family to yours. Uncut and unfiltered. Hey Kieran, nice oh wow, that's crazy. I thought I had you up and then it was there. And I moved quick. Oh my gosh. I click on you. Oh wow, what's going on here? Where did it go? That was so I now I I love having great. What there you are there. Oh, what where did you uh that is crazy? Now where did it oh yes?

SPEAKER_05 3:27

There we go.

SPEAKER_06 3:28

Finally, see that's how things go. Normally people would want to. Everybody who's everybody who's listening to this, it's like he just disappeared. I I had I I I I have two screens, two monitors, and I thought I mastered something tonight where I just go up. It does it, you does it. It's like I did it like 10 times. Like, all right, and I practiced it and it didn't work. There you go.

SPEAKER_05 3:52

That's what we call Murphy's Law.

SPEAKER_06 3:54

Yep, that's how it works, right? No matter how many times you try and do it, it's something's gonna go wrong. Uh so, anyways, today's guest is Kieran Walsh. He's the master blender and chief operating officer of Big Easy Spirits Company, the New Orleans-based brand behind Big Easy Whiskey. Welcome to the show.

Meet Kieran Walsh And Big Easy Spirits

SPEAKER_05 4:14

Thank you very much. I'm excited to be here.

SPEAKER_06 4:16

We're doing it. I don't know what what is the temperature down by where you live in New Orleans in the New Orleans area in Louisiana?

SPEAKER_05 4:22

Yeah, yeah. So the funny thing about the temperature here is that it is cold, really cold by New Orleans standards, which is basically laughable for everybody else in the in the country. Um but it was in the 20s here this morning. So, you know, the the the the the fountain in you know by my house was frozen. I think you know that's the part that my kids always are, you know, wanting the that's the that's the marker. Like it's cold because the fountain is frozen. So you know it's it's it's cold everywhere around this country.

SPEAKER_06 4:56

Well, I mean, it is uh like we're like in the second half of the polar vortex. It's so cold up here, they're just calling school off. Like when I went as a kid, I lived in Wisconsin, I grew up in Wisconsin. Negative one degree didn't call school off. But here in Ohio in Canton, Ohio, negative one disc. So first there was the snow that got them. That month Monday made sense. There was so much snow up here. Well, you did you guys get ice or did it mostly rain?

SPEAKER_05 5:24

We uh in New Orleans, we did not get any ice. Okay, the the rain had had you know, streets had basically dried off uh enough by the time that the freeze came in.

SPEAKER_06 5:35

Yeah, looking. Yeah, because the the power at the worst was the the ice storm that was happening between where you were and then probably up around, you know, a little bit south in southern Kentucky in that area. Whereas the with us with the snow, it was just this powder snow that was not heavy, so it wasn't that bad. But now we're in that part where you're just getting those extreme colds, and like you said, you're getting 20. People go to New Orleans at this time of year for 75, 75, you know, degree temperatures.

SPEAKER_05 6:08

And that's yeah, we're we're just starting the uh the some the Mardi Gras parades actually this weekend, and and I know I have some friends coming in town, and it's we're getting another cold snap down here this weekend. It's it's gonna be you know again, low 20s, which man, that's too cold for for a for a Mardi Gras parade.

SPEAKER_06 6:28

Oh, yeah, that's for sure. It's just kind of and then I'm just sitting there looking at the whole week, and my granddaughter, it's like my wife takes care of my granddaughter if there is no school, and you know, you're expecting a snow day here or there, you're just not expecting. I think it was negative one this morning, it's supposed to be negative four tomorrow morning, negative one the next morning, and I'm just like, she's here the whole week. So, anyways, all right.

SPEAKER_05 6:55

Almost sounds like football weather.

SPEAKER_06 6:58

Yeah, that's for sure. But hopefully, I think what this year's Super Bowl's in in Los Angeles, so I hope it's you know uh San Francisco, but yeah, California weather, right? Yep, yep, we hope for that. You're right, it is San Francisco, and there's no California teams in there, and and then you throw it, then you throw in the Seattle team, and that's almost like an invasion to those guys.

SPEAKER_05 7:24

Yeah, yeah, I know it is a good game though.

The Philosophy: Enhance, Don’t Mask

SPEAKER_06 7:27

Yep, it should be. All right, so, anyways, we're you know, like I said, we're in the middle of this. So, you know, talk about you know, we're uh when when I when I talked to Amy about she she contacted me initially and told me about it. I'm not like uh as far as flavored whiskeys, right? I there's some in there's some spirits, I don't mind the infusion of flavor through the natural distilling process. You know, like you got gin baskets and that type of things, and you mix it, you could come up with, but I was very intrigued by this is because you know, you can explain it, but it will, it's uh how you've taken these flavors and put them in there isn't to flavor it like cherry or at it's almost like you know, tasting it, it's like you're flavoring it to enhance the whiskey experience. Like you're you're not trying to get it so far away from whiskey that it's flavored, you know, that type of thing. So, I mean, talk about that a little bit.

SPEAKER_05 8:39

Well, and I appreciate that. That's a great uh introduction, the greatest assessment of it. I, you know, this was this was such a strange process in in bringing it together and still quite honestly remains interesting just to figure out how to talk about it. My my biggest thing in tasting anything is always setting people's expectations uh appropriately enough. And I I will always remember one of the first people who tasted the the final the final blend of this before we come, you know, before we started bottling it was my brother, who's you know, the the huge, huge whiskey fan, you've heard of that. And he tasted it and it it wasn't a bad look, but it was a puzzled look. And and that right then and there told me, yeah, I gotta figure out how I'm talking about this because I know it's good and I know people are gonna love it. But if they grab a bottle and they see big easy whiskey, they might be thinking straight urban. They might be thinking, you know, it it it's it's a five year the basic at the end of the day is a five-year straight whiskey. And I I make confusions into it, you know, over two dozen different herbs and spices and a little bit of fruit in there. And all of them are very deliberate, all of them are are very purposeful. And you know, my feeling on uh flavored whiskeys, as you were saying, is a lot of them are are there really to control the flavor, they're there to override the flavor. And I wasn't looking to mask the flavor of the whiskey's the base whiskey is delicious, and I was looking more just to accentuate it and kind of highlight all of those great undertones that we get in whiskey, anyways, with you know, maybe of a little just something extra that that just almost kind of works a slightly contradictory to it, just to kind of you know make it make it a little verbal fun that you know you might get a little bit in whiskey, but this really just accentuates it.

SPEAKER_06 11:42

So give us a little background of where you were before when you we connected on LinkedIn today, and that really helped me because I was looking, you know, when you when you search around a little bit to find a little background because I wasn't sure where you came from. And then, and it wasn't it wasn't easy to find on the internet, put it that way. But on your LinkedIn, you were very you're very specific. So it's like, oh, that's right. But talk about a little bit about where you were before, because you've been pretty much kind of all over the United States, you know, you know what I'm saying? Where did where where where did you start? I mean, where did you uh initially get in, you know, well into the whiskey industry?

From Wine To Whiskey And High West

SPEAKER_05 12:32

I mean, I got into the whiskey industry by by way of of the wine industry. And and so I was in wine production originally or initially kind of coming out of college and loved it. And you know, at the time I started my journey in in that industry here in New Orleans, but eventually moved to California. And I had done a couple of different harvests and such internationally, and you know, California being one of the big viticultural areas of the U.S., that's where I ended up. And I had a great time in the wine industry. And eventually it was just, you know, at that time, you were talking like, you know, kind of mid-ought, you know, 2004, 2005. That was there was a lot of wineries out there and a lot of breweries, and uh and a lot of makers who were just experimenting with the distillation of the beer they made or of the wine they made. And there were a lot of you know, hobby groups and and and people who were just fascinated with what really then ended up becoming the craft spirits movement. And it didn't obviously just happen in California, it happened all across the country, but that really kind of kicked my interest and curiosity in being on the production side of whiskey in particular. Um, I've always been a huge whiskey fan. I mean, honestly, my my my entry into that was the uh Irish whiskey at first, and Scotch and Irish whiskey were really my love before before bourbon. And you know when we we eventually, you know, I I I crossed paths with David Perkins, who was the founder of Pi West. And Pi West, as I'm sure you know, was really originally really just found your own rye whiskey. In those early days, was all about blending incredibly high quality rye whiskeys. And and rye appealed to me a little bit more than Bergen did, uh I think because of the green character, and there was there was a similarity of uh almost a linkage with with uh barley-based whiskeys. And so I was really found a true love for rye whiskey through that. Had a great time uh growing high west into what it became and what it is now. And and you know, eventually after after high west tripped around, helped out a few different distilleries all in the whiskey space, just doing anything from you know consulting and or or keep or or launching and growing. But eventually was always interested in creating my own thing. And the idea of big easy whiskey actually was was hatched in in San Francisco. Um this was at a time when Furnett was just becoming like the bartender's friend and and sort of that that that bartender's handshake. And I was getting really big into American whiskeys, and a buddy of mine threw out this idea of like, you know, what you know, we were just understanding that amaros and appertise could be made from any base, and and someone had thrown out this idea of a whiskey-based Amaro, and and it just kind of trickled, it just kind of hung out back there. And um, in my time at High West, we uh we did a lot of fun stuff, you know. One of the my favorite things was creating the the barrel age Manhattan, which at that time that we created it and launched it, that was a complete new thing for for uh for the whiskey space and for for whiskey drinking customers. And that really got my mind around sort of this idea of you can have whiskey-based spirits that are not just whiskey. And what that became in sort of my journey of developing big easy whiskey was the fact that right now, or at that time, we had flavored whiskey, and you know, I'll just call out like the the elephant in the room, like fireball, right? The step from fireball to say, you know, I don't know, just another like Elijah Craig. Like there's a big step right there.

SPEAKER_06 17:15

That's a big well, yeah. You could go fireball, which I think I don't even know if that's actually whiskey, they call it. But then you could, but then you could then you go to like let's just say the flavored whiskeys of Jim Beam. They've got I believe it's stag and then red stag. That's the one black cherry, and then you got the the hunt the honey one, what's it called from wild turkey? Pure wild turkey and right, right. So you're looking at those flavors, but once again, honestly, that's a step above fireball in a way because it's still bourbon mixed with, and then that but that those flavored whiskies, the proof comes down a little bit. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_05 18:01

And the sugar, and the sugar goes way up.

Beyond Flavored Whiskey: Building A New Lane

SPEAKER_06 18:03

Right. So yeah, you're looking at that, and it's more of a mixed drink. It's got a and I've always had a hard time with sugar delivery. I even, you know, I like an old-fashioned, but I usually like an old, I don't like the really sweet ones, you know, that type of thing. I I like an old-fashioned, it's got the bitters, it's got some simple syrup and a cherry and you're on and and some orange zest and you're on your way, right? That's that's still it's still, but I, you know, what but this isn't that.

SPEAKER_05 18:34

No, no. Well, I mean, really, you know, what has I think I think my once once I realized kind of where I was with it, with this whiskey, it then turned to how do I get it out there and communicate what it is. And I was really scared of I was interested in the flavored whiskey category because so many people were jumping into it and it was growing, right? But I was scared of it because I didn't know what that meant for the perception of my whiskey. And you know, as we were saying, you know, sugar goes up. Sugar is a flavor carrier at the end of the day, and so and and quite honestly, flavorings, however you get to them, are expensive. And so most flavored whiskey producers want to shorten the number the amount of flavoring and extend it by adding a lot of sugar. And that's really at the end of the day why a lot of these things fall flat, because even if you do enjoy them, it's really hard to enjoy much of it.

SPEAKER_06 19:47

Well, I will say they fall flat for the actual whiskey drinker, like somebody who drinks whiskey neat, bourbon neat, or a connoisseur, they fall flat for them. But there is no doubt that when you're talking about that market compared to if you throw in flavors like that, and it's that that's that's where the bar aspect of getting those flavors, and then it's out into mixed drinks, and it's at the bar and people drinking, and if you get if you get it there, that is a much bigger market than just the the the traditional, you know, purist whiskey drinker. You know, I mean it's it's it's a big market comparatively.

SPEAKER_05 20:44

Yeah, absolutely. And if you think about what that the benefits of uh any one of those products offers for your average interested drinker, it it A offers an entry into the whiskey segment, which as we know, whiskey has been huge for easily the last, you know, two decades. It's become a thing where people are curious about it. They want to be in it, they want to consume in it, they want to drink it, they want to dabble in it. And what flavored whiskey will offer, you know, kind of the run-of-the-mill flavored whiskeys, is a primary flavor that they can wrap their, you know, that somebody can wrap their head.

SPEAKER_06 21:25

Recognizable in their head.

SPEAKER_05 21:27

Yes, and and and it's gonna pair. Really well with something that they easily know. Oh, hey, I've got cherry flavored whiskey. Cherry, I think, goes well with cola. Yeah. Pepsi.

SPEAKER_06 21:41

You can say Pepsi Coke, yep. Cherry Coke, yep.

SPEAKER_05 21:44

Yeah. But I had somebody I remember like years ago, like so excited. It was just somebody who was who was at you know at a bar that I was I was sitting at, and I heard them order a it was a peach flavored whiskey, and I honestly don't remember which.

SPEAKER_06 22:01

It was probably Jim being peach, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 22:03

It might have been. And she ordered it with ginger ale, and she was so excited because peach and ginger goes together. And I'm thinking, I don't disagree with you. I mean, that sounds like way too much sugar for me, but like, go for it. I'm excited for you. And really at that point, what that told me is people want to have a little bit of creative direction over what they're what they're drinking, right? And they feel safe when they're like, oh, hey, I know exactly what this is gonna taste like, and I know what this is gonna taste like. And if I put them together, every all the information I have tells me it's gonna work.

Base Whiskey, Used Cooperage, And Style

SPEAKER_06 22:36

And then she's or if it's a she, she's like, Well, and I'm drinking whiskey. Because you know, there's the aspect of that, you know what I mean? It allows somebody to be able to enter into that realm. It's just so the one thing I wanted to ask you is uh so you've got a five-year, and and you're you're not you're you're a blender, so you've got a five-year. Now, is this did you is it like a did you blend the five year to make a batch, or is this a uh right straight?

SPEAKER_05 23:14

Yeah, so really what so what the whiskey is it's pretty it's pretty cool and it's it's it's fairly unique. It so it is distilled as a straight bourbon, but is refill but it's filled into used cooperage, so obviously it cannot be called a bourbon.

SPEAKER_06 23:31

I'm well I'm well aware that's that's where the whiskey comes in, and and so and and there's nothing in you know that is a category that's gonna be at one point. Uh I've heard rumors and everything about, but at one point, Amer, they're gonna we're gonna want there's an aspect now. Was it a used cooperage of something else, or was it actually a used bourbon barrel?

SPEAKER_05 23:58

It's it's both used bourbon and used rye. Okay, so that's that's cool. Yeah, the mash bill itself is 15% rye. And you know what I didn't I didn't need all of the oak presents, anyways. No because of my my personal interest in that started in Irish whiskey and scotch whiskey. I was already very well attuned to barrels that tone down, you know, that oak presents. Certainly the styles of wine that I made when I was in California, all used at the very most used cooperage. I was not a brand new oak type of guy. And so I was already interested in what that whiskey could turn out on its own. So it takes you then to okay, well, we've got a five-year whiskey. And I'll be quite honest, it's beautiful on its own.

SPEAKER_06 24:55

I'm I'm kind of aware of probably what it was. Yeah, because it you that there's a certain amount of uh knowing the certain amount of people who who are blending from what they're there's that uh that was on the mark, that's on the market, and and it was done by a good, it's it's a great distillery.

SPEAKER_05 25:19

So yeah, and make a great whiskey.

SPEAKER_06 25:23

Um so think think about it. It's like so you got a five-year whiskey, and now you're you're going into it being creative. So it's a combination of an approachable, you know, spirit that is got some sort of sophistication based off it's it's a it's not a two-year bourbon. You're not you're not taking a young bourbon, it's by no means young. I mean, it you know, it it's already right there, it could survive on its own. And so you've done this. So, what how do you balance out? I mean, how did you come to that many herbs, spices, fruits, you know, what what made you flavor it with that that flavor profile?

Layering Herbs, Spices, And Citrus

SPEAKER_05 26:17

Yeah, well, the the journey on that one was really actually began as as part of a project where I was, and this was something that didn't end up happening, but was a project where I was tasked, I tasked myself with trying to see if I could create a a spirit, an alcohol-free spirit that then could potentially be dosed with some type of hemp derived product, TFC or something. And I wanted to just see what what are all of the layers of flavors, the compounds that go into it. That's where it began. And it was not actually originally related to to Big Easy Whiskey. And once I had locked in on what I wanted to create, I thought, well, everything that I put into this now, if I just took out, you know, the real obvious ones, like all the heavy, like oak extractions and such, and got into some of the notes that are undertones and began laying in, you know, some baking spices. You know, there's a lot of like kind of, you know, there's nutmeg, there's mace, there's all spice that goes into this, and and see what where that where that put me with this whiskey. And then then I started getting into green herbs. And I'll tell you quite honestly, the the a little bit of my north dar on that originally was how freaking good the original high-west rendezvous rye was. There was there was an element of like almost like celery leaf that was in that was in that that original whiskey that I could not like it was so present and you could not ignore it. It was like one of those things that like now every time I taste it's like, man, I just don't get this like a nose full of celery, and it was it was not always readily apparent to a lot of people, but it was something that I loved so much. The the MGP whiskies were part of that blend came from and were well known, the rides were well known for that green characteristic in a in a positive way, that herbal characteristic.

SPEAKER_06 28:35

Put it this way it's positive, so that that's one thing, and and that's one this is uh it's great that that you're on because when we first started the podcast, for me, the the MGP 95.5, and there's uh some Willet that pick up that celery note, and then also it it for me, my palate, it doesn't work. There's actually some it there's some aspect for me that I pick up that it tastes almost like off. But my the guy who I started, his name Young Nose Johnson was what he went by when we first was on. He loves scotch and he loves rise like that. And that's where we really like on this show came up with the fact that we're we like to give you a guide, but by no means do we think that we can taste something for you because everything out there that anybody puts out, you know, all you gotta do is say lobster, right? Like a majority of the people like die over lobster or whatever, but there are people on this planet that don't like lobster, they think it's gross. So it's the same thing with whiskey. It's you can't, but at the same time, when you're saying that, I get that. Um when you were saying you love those ries, the high west rise initial ries, you know, those weren't, but but but once again, that's not here, neither here nor there. I love the passion that you have towards what your palate goes to. Now, I don't I don't I don't taste any of that celery off of this, though.

SPEAKER_05 30:18

You know, no, no, no, that was just the inspiration. So actually, just to make sure we're clear on that that whiskey, the rendezvous rye was the M the MGP portion that was, which was actually, they weren't even called MGP at that point. They were still called LBI. And so the distiller was an LBI distiller, was not the 95% rye. It was actually 80% rye, 10% corn, and 10% malted barley. That thing was one of my favorite rye whiskies ever produced in the US. I still have very small shreds of it. Someday I'm gonna share it with you so you can so you can see the difference with that in the 95s.

SPEAKER_06 31:01

Well, but but but but even on the 95.5, there's been barrels that I've tasted like at you know, th right out of the barrel that tasted nothing like the 95.5 that you put out with what bullet, nine, you know, bullet rion, whatever. It's just like that for me was not was not my thing. But but it but I really feel that like for yourself as a blender, how you went about doing this and what that flavors are. Even my my wife, Roxy, on the she comes on on the podcast from time to time and tours with us when we go on the road. She tasted it. Now she was eating split pea soup and she tasted it, and it didn't work for her. But then she came back down and she said, that's working. That's that's pretty good. So I mean, you know, what don't pair it with split piece two please don't do that.

SPEAKER_05 32:04

As soon as you said split piece tube, but I thought, oh boy, what's it?

SPEAKER_06 32:07

Uh oh, it's going in the wrong direction.

Taste Is Subjective: Palates And Pairings

SPEAKER_05 32:10

So I you know, I think you know what I was saying about the sort of those herbal notes were really that they were inspirations for this because some of the things that go into this are not necessarily what you would think is wanting to infuse into a whiskey. You know, I'm talking like hyssop and lemon balm, you know, things of that nature, aloe that that really again, that's not what you would think of within whiskey. And so it's a bit of a contrast where we have all of these infusions that really help support, you know, there's some orange peel in there. That's like a you know, everyone gets that one with whiskey. But then we also I also like to kind of counterbalance that with some, you know, whoa, you know, it's some something that really kind of just makes you think about it for a second and need to go back in on it.

SPEAKER_06 33:04

Well, I don't know if you're familiar with Alan Bishop at all. He was at the Spirit of French League. Well, now he's at Old Homestead, and he does this. He calls it his Black Forest Spirit, okay? And uh honestly, this isn't this isn't aged five years. It's something that they did, and then he's infused it with eight different, you know, herbs, and lemongrass is one, you know, like what you're talking about. So um seriously, you should he's he if you called him, he would definitely talk to you because honestly, this has an aspect of this, but this is way more, this isn't this isn't whiskey, you know what I mean? It's a black forest spirit. He put it out because he it's he wanted to put something out because he's just two years into this, you know what I mean? Yeah, but but what you did here is very, very similar. So he calls himself an alchemist and he uses herbs and stuff. And what you're doing here is very similar, similar. You're taking all these herbs, putting them together, mixing to make something that works as uh that though those flavors are there, but it's one, right?

SPEAKER_05 34:23

Yeah, yeah. I mean, you're really talking about paint on a palette that gets applied together to create a whole, you know, a whole set of colors on the canvas that doesn't remotely look like it would when it's just sitting there's individual colors on the palette. Um that's that's that's my goal, is and it's always been is how can we get one plus one equals three? Because it's it doesn't matter if one plus one equals two, everybody can add up to two. But when when I can get something else from the from the connection of those flavors, it is is where we're talking.

SPEAKER_06 35:00

So it's really curious because one of my questions was kind of based off this. Like, when you're blending, did you start with the whiskey base first and then infusion later or opposite? And honestly, you were trying to do the infusion and the stuff first, but then you thought of the whiskey, you got the whiskey base, and then you started putting what you learned about the infusion from that way to match up so that they blend together, right? I mean, that's kind of it in a nutshell as far as that goes.

SPEAKER_05 35:30

I mean, to be to be completely honest, so yeah, I was kind of working from two different from two different ends on two different things, and I the part just happily came together. The whiskey, as I said, is delicious on its own. And I've had several people ask me, why don't you just bottle it on its own? And who knows? I, you know, I might. I will tell you that as you well know, I can label it as straight corn whiskey or whiskey from a bourbon mash. And on the shelf, neither one of those things are lighting the world on a fire.

New Orleans Inspiration And Versatility

SPEAKER_06 36:10

Well, it could be great whiskey. No, no, no. I I think if you're gonna do go forward, you do different herbal blends because you're in you're in an area that okay, so one, it's called the big you got you have the big easy as a brand. I mean, yeah, that in itself just a copyright aspect of what you can do. So, you know, New Orleans is known for food, music, culture. I mean, so you were looking to translate what New Orleans has as far as, you know, because New Orleans, there definitely bourbon street has bourbon, but a lot of the stuff is like the rum and like some of the drinks. So is there a big easy bourbon street drink that people are mixing with the big easy bourbon or whiskey?

SPEAKER_05 37:14

Yeah, you know, it's we're definitely getting it there. I mean, I I'm I appreciate you bringing us back to bringing us back to the point of New Orleans because it obviously plays a big part on the flavoring of it. I mean, the part of the inspiration once I started layering all these flavors, and it got to a point where I'm just putting more and put more on it, was really this sort of slightly philosophical and esoteric idea of like what is New Orleans? What's New Orleans flavor? And there is not one. There are dozens and dozens, and it's a bit of a you know, cliche, but you know, this idea of this gumbo where like, you know, gumbo is not one thing, it's a million different flavors. And and so where that, you know, how that comes out in on the streets of New Orleans when it's served is I think the versatility of this whiskey is a big highlight of it. And so I have some of the most revered cocktail bars that use this as one of several ingredients in a cocktail. But you know, on a cold day like today, there's there, you know, is a you can get a a big easy whiskey hot toddy, which quite honestly is just big easy whiskey and hot water on bourbon street, which I love. I mean, it's it's pure simplicity. And the woman at the bartender at Jesters, who who created Jesters right on on Bourbon Street, was so proud of it that you know, for her, it's just a simple, like it's two ingredients, it's two touches. It's big easy whiskey and hot water. And she's you know, putting them hand over fist out on Bourbon Street on a cold day, I think really speaks to so how easy this whiskey can be to work with.

SPEAKER_06 39:05

So I've been to New Orleans now three times. I mean, I love it. Being from this part of the world, it's not just an easy place to get to. Yeah, but I will tell you that before I was into and started this podcast as I was a commercial artist that eventually had a fine art career for about seven years, and one of the things I was totally into was Absinthe. And I'm telling you, you need to go to the old John, what is it, the the pirate?

SPEAKER_05 39:45

You need to go to the old absent like old absinthe house.

Cocktails, Hot Toddies, And Absinthe Ideas

SPEAKER_06 39:51

Yes, and they but it's available on the old absinthe house. But you've got John Lafitte, yeah, right, right. But you need to go there and you need to come up with an absinthe drink with this. Okay, because you've got, I mean, what is absinthe? I mean, we're talking about it's herbs, black licorice, and all those herbs, plus you got wormwood, but you mix that with this. I mean, it just hit we're sitting here talking New Orleans, and I'm thinking, like, oh, all of a sudden, I don't know why I didn't even think of this before the podcast. I mean, I should probably pull out my lucid and dump some in right now. Yeah, no, but I think I think you got something there that could be New Orleans. I mean, that that place is like that. It's I can't not go to Bourbon Street without going there.

unknown 40:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 40:39

I mean, it's also and Jean Lafitte, the blacksmith shop. Is that what you were talking about?

SPEAKER_06 40:44

No, old absinthe house.

SPEAKER_05 40:47

Old Absmith House, yeah. We are at the blacksmith shop as well, um, which is also on Bourbon Street, a little further down. I was loving that. I I I did not think when uh I was, you know, when I was creating this whiskey, I didn't in my mind think that it would be really anywhere on Bourbon Street. I can tell you that High West, for all the bottles of whiskey I've sold of High West into anywhere in the state of Louisiana. I think the only place on Bourbon Street that it was in was in the Bourbon House, uh, right? You know, Dickie Brennan's Bourbon House, which is a great supporter of ours and and has a fantastic cocktail.

SPEAKER_06 41:27

I'm I'm glad you underestimated your mark. Marketing prowlis, but I don't give a crap what you what you're what you put in this bottle. If you call it the big easy and get the trademark, it's it's gonna be on bourbon street. It's the marketing aspect is they should all have it. I mean, that's just what what should be part of it, but yeah.

SPEAKER_05 41:51

Yeah, that that you're absolutely correct. I think what we're what you know, and then that that really came into a bit of it for the places that were not on bourbon street, who just looked at the name originally and just thought uh you know, this this does not look like this was a product for me. And I and I do understand that there's been a bit of uh that there will be a bit of a a judgment to some degree on what it can be. And I think people don't understand just exactly how quality it is. And and I looked at this from the very get-go as an opportunity to to change the dialogue on the idea of big easy and and really elevate it to just meaning something that is of utmost quality. I had a dear friend of mine that at the time was we're getting it right when I first developed this, was working at Sazerac and she tasted it and said it's it's it's delightful. So what are you gonna call it? And I told her Big Easy whiskey, and she looked at me and she said, I think you need to get a different name. I said, Well, I can't change, I can't change your, you know, I can't change your now. You're gonna think about the the whiskey and I want to, because it's good. You might have to change how you think about the name.

SPEAKER_06 43:03

But but at the same time, so I'll give you we all know when it comes to anybody who is a connoisseur or that drinks whiskey, like one of the buzzwords is smooth. Because anybody who drinks whiskey, they don't like we're not looking for smooth. Your palate's been refined. You want a little bit of a bite, you want some bold flavor when it's going. You're not looking for it to be Johnny Walker blue and just pour down your throat and be everything that whiskey's not. I mean, it's a scotch that is designed. I mean, it's it's in its perfection of not being whiskey, even though it is, it's it's a fantastic bottle. But at the same time, when people tell you smooth, I mean, I try and tell everybody, I want something that's smooth. I'm like, don't say that. You want here's here's here's one other ones. Silky. Okay. People accept silky because it's like it's kind of funny, and there's some movies, movie references to it and everything. And then the other one is easy. I love to call, I'm like, this is easy. That just means I I don't have to think about too much or whatever, but you've got a whiskey called the big easy. So not only did you you don't got it smooth, but it's big and you could have put big and easy, but you wouldn't want to do that. But at the same time, I mean you the I would have gone with what you went with, but it's still it's it's not something that it's I wouldn't call it smooth because there's so much flavor that you're thinking you, you know, whatever. And then what do you come in? What's what's the proof on this?

Naming, Positioning, And Perception

SPEAKER_05 44:47

Yeah, I was just gonna say, so it's 86 proof, which you know, as you referenced to earlier, a lot of a lot of whiskeys that are are flavored whiskeys um come in much lower than that, usually, you know, 30 to 35 percent alcohol. So, you know, I wanted this to be uh a real whiskey before anything else, and it technically is not a flavored whiskey. The the government wouldn't even let me call it that if I wanted to, you know, because flavored whiskey actually can only have one singular flavor. So if you say, you know, peach flavored whiskey or cinnamon flavored whiskey, that's the category definition and the type for flavor whiskey. This is something in and of itself, and that's that's really the challenge. I think really what I'm getting to with most people is kind of creating almost a new type and a new category, which is just big, easy whiskey. Not flavored whiskey, it's not straight whiskey, it's big, easy whiskey.

SPEAKER_06 45:46

Yeah, it's infused with natural flavors. Yeah, that's that's that's perfect. Now let's let's talk about where I I mean so where did you learn the business aspect of it? So right now you're the master blender, the use of COO, but your distribution is what I I I believe what I've read is 46 states.

SPEAKER_05 46:14

Yeah, so that's actually just that we're we're commercially available. It doesn't mean we're in distribution in those main states. It would there's a a there are retailers that will ship out to those those states cover you if you can't. You know, my uh my dear parents live in the city of Chicago, and we are not available in any retail there. I really want to be, and uh, I hope that my dear friend Brett Pontani over at Ben E's is hearing me because I would love to be on those shelves. But until that point, my dad still needs his bottles of Big Easy Whiskey because he loves it. So, you know, he's able to put in an order on our website, Big Easy Whiskey Deck, and we have retail partners that will fulfill that those orders. So but no, we're as of right now, we're only in distribution in the state of Louisiana, which was by design. We really wanted to make sure that we built that here and we and that the people of New Orleans not just appreciated it, but loved it because you know the people in New Orleans are an interesting breed, and we s we we know we have something unique, and we love to share it with our friends and tell our friends about it. And so this was not going to work if I made it here and then barely even sold it here and put all my effort into building it in Texas and Florida and you know and California, let's say. And then we've got to get all the, you know, those people. If you ask your friend from New Orleans, hey, ever heard of big easy whiskey, and they say no, it doesn't look good for big easy whiskey, in my opinion. So we're we're going the slow route, trying to grow this thing responsibly. We we are looking at at rolling out, expanding into the Texas market this this year, as well as the Florida panhandle, and then our neighbors in Mississippi. Probably we've got some interest in again Tennessee as well. So probably looking in Tennessee, and that that will pretty much be about it for 2026. We all sorry, we are also we just started to trickle into California just this month. So so we're slowly you know getting it out there.

Proof, Labeling, And Category Rules

SPEAKER_06 48:33

So what's your vision for like three to five years? I mean, are you looking are you looking at to take it all the way, or are you are you looking for somebody to come in and take over? You know what I mean? Or is it and is there gonna be, are you thinking of new expressions also to go into this? I mean, you talked a little bit about putting out the bourbon, you know, and just kind of knowing a little bit about it with the whatever, I think you did the right thing with this. I mean, I think the the the the bourbon that you that's there, I just think that no matter what you would have to do, you would you have to do something to that bourbon or that whiskey, you know, because it was a bourbon match built, like you said, into a used barrel. And it's it's you go into that just straight, it's there's so much like you were you your instinct of what you told me, what you did, is was was completely right. And so going if you were to go forward it with with a bourbon, that a big easy bourbon or a big easy, I would, I would look at different purchases for that because you've you you don't have to have it be the same, you know what I mean? You have the world the the whole world to cherry pick from, right? As far as what you can get, because right now it's the there's gonna be a lot of whiskey on the on the market.

SPEAKER_05 50:02

Yeah, yeah, there sure is. Well, we have, yeah, I mean, we've I'm I'm in constant development on things. This this exact base whiskey I have as a nine-year-old with no infusions into it, and I am looking at basically a slightly different infusion into the the older whiskey. It is uh it is a delicious whiskey again on its own, but would love to kind of put our stamp on it. And then actually, separate to that, I do have two extraordinary bourbons that will probably may launch later this year. They've been sitting in tank waiting to get throttled. And I've had them I've I've I've shared it with some friends in the industry, and they've had some really, really positive feedback. The best review. Am I allowed to swear on this podcast? Oh, it's fuck yeah. Yeah, best review was uh from uh from probably one of the most uh finicky palettes uh that I've encountered uh over at Barrel Proof, which is here in New Orleans, which his review is just holy shit. That was I took that as a really good thing, especially combined with the fact that his eyes were like really big in excitement, and it's hard to get into like you know, really anything that's only even halfway decent.

SPEAKER_06 51:28

So um so my my catchphrase, and I would say that I could put this put this when I tasted it, because I obtained this bottle through Amy early on because initially we were you were talking, we were talking, it was before it was during the holidays. We were thinking of trying to do and it just as far as getting the whole thing set up. I'm so glad that you came on. But yeah, but I had it and I was sitting in it and I was like, I just gotta wait till we're close to we got something set up before I open it and taste it. But I would have to say my my catchphrase would be, what the shit? And that would be, yes, because when I first when I tasted it, it does not taste, you know, it's like you said, it's infused with natural flavors. It doesn't taste like a flavored whiskey. It it and what you've done is created something that so I had it neat a little bit earlier, and putting it on the rocks has been delightful. I put it on, you know, the little wedge wedge cube and whatever this way it would be. And as it goes, definitely enjoyable pour over the rocks. There's no that I I mean, neat, there's a lot of stuff going on, but I think the strength is gonna be into you. It's it's perfect for mixing, you know, coming up with very unique, the the unique flavors of that are there, you know?

Distribution Strategy And Rollout Plan

SPEAKER_05 53:07

Yeah, it was I mean, it was very much formulated to be something, my vision of it was something that was on the rocks. I I personally, I mean, I'm I'm drinking it, I'm enjoying it here with you, that and it's a it's just neat. But I think most people enjoy to have the whiskey, you know, on ice. And so that was very present with me when I was putting this all together. Now, there are naturally within whiskey what are called hydrophobic compounds. And so those are those elements that kind of when you add water, they really perfume out. And uh that's both naturally in the whiskey, the the base whiskey itself, but I also made certain too the the herbs and spices that that we were infusing into it absolutely add another level of hydrophobic compounds. And so those really begin to perfume out, particularly in the sort of the herbable bitters type of category. If I was going to kind of slot in or categorize all the types of flavors that we have in here, but I think it's really pretty when you put it over ice that you add just a little bit of water. I mean, I in my free time uh coached my son's baseball team, and we were doing a uh a practice this weekend, and it was cold, and we were all outside. And you know, I had a little thermos, and it was again big easy whiskey with a bunch of hot water on it. And as soon as I opened the top, one of the coaches that was, you know, maybe standing six feet away from me goes, Oh my wow, I guess away from that. And the idea is that you know, you do have these compounds that just like oil and water come together and they cook and they they separate quickly. It's the same idea.

SPEAKER_06 54:59

You get these compounds that just leap out of the vessel as soon as so you're trying like you're trying, you're talking to hot toddy, you add that warm water, that hot water, that warm water, it makes it infuse. You don't have to add the lemon or the whatever, you just put the hot water in there and everything's happening. You could add the lemon. You could.

SPEAKER_05 55:19

If you like more of it, lemon peel in the whiskey itself.

SPEAKER_06 55:23

So so did what you were talking about initially about the hemp or that type of thing. Is there stuff like that in there?

SPEAKER_05 55:34

No, no, no, no, there's not.

SPEAKER_06 55:36

Well, there you go. That was that's your next level. You just do you just you just do the banger infused.

SPEAKER_05 55:44

Yeah, that's right. Yeah, it really, I mean, it could be that, and you know, that'll be a conversation with uh with my partners with um on if we go that direction, I think a lot of that will be.

SPEAKER_06 55:56

If you go that direction, hit Macaulay Mitten up because he probably would give you offer you some good advice on so anyways.

SPEAKER_05 56:09

Yeah, it's it's I mean, you know, at this point, I think that the the greatest thing about getting creative is that it opens so many other creative doors downstream for you. And and all and you know, there's always just anytime you got doors open up, you got opportunities.

SPEAKER_06 56:26

Well, I mean, last but least of the of the what in what inspired inspired you to actually you know do this as far as infusing these what was the inspiration where you were like was it were was it uh somebody who did this before with all the different was there somebody or was there a specific moment where you're just like we need to put this with whiskey?

Future Expressions And Early Reactions

SPEAKER_05 57:01

Well, so I mean the the the actual moment came uh in 2011 when a buddy of mine came up to me and said I just landed the trademark for big easy in whiskey in the whiskey category. And my first reaction, the first thing I said is so. But I didn't say that. My wife was sitting there looking at me like, when are you gonna tell this guy to go? So that really actually ended up being the catalyst for what ended up coming many years down the stream. What happened in all of that was a lot of ideas of what really not what whiskey could be, but what a morrow could be. That was that was kind of early on as you know, you can make wine-based tomorrow's, you can make spirit-based tomorrow's. You know, the spirit traditionally tended to be either, you know, just a grain alcohol that was from, you know, whatever farmers had left over, or it might be like a grape distillant or a grape pumice distillate, you know, like a grappa. And you're putting all these, you know, herbs into it, kind of doesn't matter what how good the base spirit is. And that's really what that's kind of what Amaro still is to this day. I wanted to put an American kind of look on it. And what if we did an Amaro or something Amaro liked that had a whiskey base to it? And that's really then, you know, there was all sorts of directions. I could make it more Omaro leaning, I could make it more whiskey leaning, and that's you know, trying to find the balance there because at the end of the day, you got a big old, you know, big country in a big world that's interested in the American whiskey taste. So I needed it to be clearly American whiskey while also giving a lot of nods to to to Amaro and in you know just that that flavor style and flavor profile.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:03

So did your friend who got the big easy easy whiskey trademark, is he still your friend and everything? And and he he was able to you guys were able to pull this one off, huh?

SPEAKER_05 1:00:19

Yes, I'm gonna I I will I will toast to Eric Rubin. He uh he's out there, and I hope he's proud of what what we've created. Uh he he's you know, we we our team is is sort of built on a on a group of friends that have all kind of been in the industry together and and we're just looking for that next thing. So, you know, and Eric's definitely one of those. He's he's a great he's a great uh ideator, even comes up with a lot of things that no one else would have liked to know of.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:55

Well, put it this way, by being able to get that, I mean you didn't you at the moment you didn't realize it, but it to try and do what you're doing without the label, it adds way, way more difficult, right? Yeah, a way more difficult thing that that happens, right?

SPEAKER_05 1:01:20

I mean it doesn't absolutely there's there's a what I might call a crazy license that you get when you put New Orleans over it, as you get all the parameters get to be weighed. In terms of you know, we're leaning into New Orleans, and as I said before, like what is New Orleans flavor? I know I've countless chef friends here, and there's been you know chefs for many, many years who've tried to encapsulate like what is New Orleans flavor. And it's not any one thing, it's it is a it is a mixture of all the things, and with some type of balance and all and just all kind of underwritten under the idea of fun. That that's how New Orleans still continues to inspire people and and draw people to it.

The Spark: Amaro Meets American Whiskey

SPEAKER_06 1:02:11

Alright, so thanks so much for joining us. Your process is fascinating. You know, thank you. It's just like for make sure I I'll I'll throw a shout out. You have an online shop, right? So tell everybody, give a little plug for where they can go to get this because you there's only four states you can't get it. I'll ask you this question Is Ohio one of the four states?

SPEAKER_05 1:02:43

No, uh Ohio thankfully is not one of the four states. Okay, so I can't remember all four. I know Utah is definitely one of them. So my friends at high west uh not be able to, I can't send it to you.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:55

The only way you the only way you could do it is deliver it to them.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:59

Yeah, right, right, right, right. Yeah, which which I still do oh oh my friend David Perkins uh a bottle over there. I I I brought him a little bit of the base whiskey before I I infused it, and he also gave me the holy shit, this is good. So but yeah, I can't remember New Hampshire is unfortunately out of luck. I believe Massachusetts is out of luck, and there's one other, but I can't remember, I can't remember the fourth one, but um we can always get it everywhere. We've got some some great other merchandise that's also on our site. And and one of the things, because it's Mardi Gras season right now that I have to call out is it'll only be available through Mardi Gras, which this year is February 17th, is our big easy whiskey king cake. And for anybody who knows what a king cake is, you you know what it is, and you can you probably already know that whiskey well, our whiskey flavor in there is gonna be delicious. And if you don't, you can just take my word for it because it is an absolutely sublime king cake.

SPEAKER_06 1:04:05

That's awesome. That's awesome. What what is the website?

SPEAKER_05 1:04:09

Big easywiskey.com. Super easy.

SPEAKER_06 1:04:13

Perfect, perfect. All right. So there you go, everybody. Thank you for your for your time. If uh, do you want to hang on for a couple minutes and take questions once we finish up?

SPEAKER_05 1:04:24

Okay, yeah, absolutely. Okay, I love QA.

SPEAKER_06 1:04:26

Okay, remember everybody, www.scotchybourbonboys.com for all our merchandise. We got t-shirts, we got Glencaron's and bourbon balls. So check us out there. And then also remember we're on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, X, and TikTok, along with Apple, iHeart, and Spotify. No matter whether you listen to us or you watch us, make sure that you listen, like, subscribe, leave good feedback, especially on Apple. Give us a five-star review, please. And then also you can become a member and also join our Patreon. So check us out there. But remember, good bourbon equals good times and good friends. Drink responsibly, don't drink and drive, and live your life uncut and unfiltered. Good night, everybody. Here we go.