Are You In The Muff Market? Are You A Muff Liquor Man?

Ok folks, we're going to have fun on this one.

When I started the research for this episode, I wasn't sure whether the "Muff Liquor Company" name was a tongue-in-somewhere thing or a hard lean-in. Turns out it's the latter with a healthy dose of the former. It is a company based in Muff, Ireland that makes liquor, and yes they know what the name means.

If you doubt it, check out their April Fool's Day post from this year...just delightfully dirty.

Once you're past the name, though, you've got to have a good product for me to care, and boy do they. I'm joined by Laura Bonner, founder of Muff Liquor Company and probably the closest connection I'll ever have to Jimmy Carr and Ed Sheeran. She's made Muff Liquors of these men, joining Russell Crowe and other notable celebs as spokespeople and investors.

The journey was long and hard, and nothing came easy (ok, last puns, I promise). COVID nearly put them under before they could begin. Now, they're thriving, and the US market awaits.

Muff Liquor's Irish Whiskey is a delicious pour, smoked apples and gentle, sweet peat, at a ridiculously affordable price point (all of their products are $34.99 MSRP, give or take). Take a shot - see if you enjoy diving into the Muff as much as I did (ok, THAT's the last one).

Thank you to Laura for entering to the Whiskey Ring!

Thanks to our Presenting Sponsor, BAXUS

Baxus is the world's leading collectible spirits marketplace, with user-friendly options for buyers, sellers, and collectors looking to vault their collections. Use my link below to visit the BAXUS.CO website and sign up!

• BAXUS Website
• BAXUS on Instagram
• BAXUS on Facebook
• BAXUS on Twitter/X
• BAXUS on LinkedIn

_________________________________________________________

If you haven’t joined the Patreon community yet, please consider doing so at patreon.com/whiskeyinmyweddingring

The Bottle Share Club - the $25/month Patreon level - is SOLD OUT! You can still support the podcast for as little as $1/month, and $5/month patrons will have first dibs if a $25/month member retires.

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The Muff Liquor Company

• The Muff Liquor Company Website
• The Muff Liquor Company on Instagram
• The Muff Liquor Company on Facebook
• The Muff Liquor Company on X
• The Muff Liquor Company on YouTube

Blueberry Muffins in Cognac and an Ice Cream Collab Waiting To Happen

Allison Parc began as a ballet dancer, and nearly 20 years after leaving that career behind, she still exudes the confidence and posture of one about to assume first position. Her new career, embarked upon at just 23 years old, was wildly different: one grounded in a product of indulgence and imbibing. Even she was unsure if she'd succeed - yet succeed she has, going from renting a Citi-bike and riding around NYC selling Brenne by the bottle to multiple acquisitions and international acclaim.

Brenne is the first French whisky to grace the podcast, and that was purposeful. France has thousands of distilleries making whiskies and brandies, many of them as small as the smallest craft producers in the US yet putting out incredibly unique spirits. For Allison, Brenne was born of a partnership with a cognac-maker who spent a few weeks every year making spirit from malt rather than grapes. The stills, the terroir, the maker all combine into a flavor profile that is so recognizable I'd argue it can't be blinded (blueberry pancakes or muffin tops are shared notes by everyone I know who has tasted it).

Whether the soft approachability of the Brenne Estate Cask or the more assertive reward of the Brenne 10 Year Old, this is a beautiful pair of whiskies. These profiles were built on years of testing the market, sending bottles on a barrel-by-barrel basis to see which ones hit the consumer the best (the first time I've heard of this method, and one requiring great patience).

Singular. Unique. These words are overused, but here I found them more appropriate than for most.

As Allison steps back from full-time work at Brenne toward her next chapter, she joined me to reflect on the steps taken and her own journey. Allison's candid reflections on the challenges of entrepreneurship, including the realities of burnout and the need for self-care in a demanding industry will resonate with you as with me. Most of all, remember these two thoughts of wisdom from Allison: we all have trauma, and it is our responsibility to deal with it, and that only you can achieve your dreams. Take the first step, and the support net will grow.

Thank you to Allison for entering to the Whiskey Ring!

Thanks to our Presenting Sponsor, BAXUS

Baxus is the world's leading collectible spirits marketplace, with user-friendly options for buyers, sellers, and collectors looking to vault their collections. Use my link below to visit the BAXUS.CO website and sign up!

• BAXUS Website
• BAXUS on Instagram
• BAXUS on Facebook
• BAXUS on Twitter/X
• BAXUS on LinkedIn

_________________________________________________________

If you haven’t joined the Patreon community yet, please consider doing so at patreon.com/whiskeyinmyweddingring

The Bottle Share Club - the $25/month Patreon level - is SOLD OUT! You can still support the podcast for as little as $1/month, and $5/month patrons will have first dibs if a $25/month member retires.

If you haven’t yet, please follow Whiskey in my Wedding Ring and the Whiskey Ring Podcast on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, and subscribe to the newsletter on the website.

Brenne Whisky

• Brenne Whisky Website
• Brenne Whisky on Instagram
• Brenne Whisky on Facebook
• Brenne Whisky on X

Shochu Tradition Meets The New Japanese Whisky

In Kagoshima, along one of the longest beaches in Japan, lies Kanosuke Distillery. Though the family has been distilling shochu for 140+ years, they hadn't entered the whisky sphere. That changed in 2017, with the first products coming out in 2021.

This is a new standard for Japanese whisky, making grain whisky on shochu stills and using Japanese stills to distill the malt. They've aged as much as 40% of their new make in their own shochu casks, and the component series I've tasted with just the shochu cask-aged spirit is as different a Japanese whisky as I've had in years.

As they enter the US market more fully, the Kanosuke team is led by Roland Ng, a techie-turned-whiskyphile who serves as General Manager for the Americas and is also a founder of Fog City Social. He's a guy who knows his whisky (and is a great hang out!), and I'm glad to call him a friend.

Thank you to Roland for entering to the Whiskey Ring!

Thanks to our Presenting Sponsor, BAXUS

Baxus is the world's leading collectible spirits marketplace, with user-friendly options for buyers, sellers, and collectors looking to vault their collections. Use my link below to visit the BAXUS.CO website and sign up!

• BAXUS Website
• BAXUS on Instagram
• BAXUS on Facebook
• BAXUS on Twitter/X
• BAXUS on LinkedIn

_________________________________________________________

If you haven’t joined the Patreon community yet, please consider doing so at patreon.com/whiskeyinmyweddingring

The Bottle Share Club - the $25/month Patreon level - is SOLD OUT! You can still support the podcast for as little as $1/month, and $5/month patrons will have first dibs if a $25/month member retires.

If you haven’t yet, please follow Whiskey in my Wedding Ring and the Whiskey Ring Podcast on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn, and subscribe to the newsletter on the website.

Kanosuke Distillery

• Kanosuke Distillery. Website
• Kanosuke Distillery on Instagram
• Kanosuke Distillery on Facebook