January Update

Been a couple weeks since our last AOTD episode, so I just wanted to give you all an update on what we've had going on and what's coming up. The plan was to take the first week of January off, and then post the episodes we shot during our trip to the Maker's Mark distillery as a special three-part series running through the end of the month. But as Bobby Burns says, the best laid plans etc....

Turns out we got way more footage than we expected, and we liked it so much that we're cutting it several different ways: you'll get the original three planned AOTD episodes in our normal six-to-eight minute format, but you'll also be able to download special extended versions of each. We'll start with an incredibly entertaining and informative interview with Maker's Mark president Bill Samuels that will take you through the entire history of American whiskey production by a man who saw most of it first-hand. Then we move into the distillery for a behind-the-scenes tour, including the famous wax hand-dipping line. Finally, we sit in on a Bourbon Tasting Class taught by Maker's Mark Master Distiller Dave Pickerell that will put most wine courses to shame. If you've ever wanted to learn how to appreciate fine spirits, please don't miss this one!

Needless to say this is all taking a bit longer than we expected. Plus, I'm getting ready for the move to New York at the end of the month (new studio, baby!), trying to work the bugs out of my recent ill-timed heart surgery on my main computer (new motherboard, processor, hard drives, and RAM -- so why didn't I just buy a whole new box instead?), preparing to speak at the upcoming Business Podcasting Expo this Friday, and just to keep things interesting had to go and catch the absolute worst case of food poisoning in my adult life last weekend (three days vanished into thin air).

So you really didn't need to know most of that -- especially the last one -- but I feel we've established a bond at this point, no? Bottom line is, bear with us just a bit longer and we're gonna get some really great stuff out to you as quickly as possible. And of course we've got barrels of great new drinks, classic cocktails, history, and techniques coming up throughout the year!

Keep up those e-mails, contest entries, and requests, and we'll keep the drinks flowing! Salute!