Barrel to Bottle, The Binny's Podcast

Every year, Whisky Advocate releases their list of the Top 20 Whiskies of the Year. Invariably, we get many customers coming in looking for bottles on the list and unfortunately, we have to tell them "You can't have this", because we never had the bottle, or had six bottles months ago. This year is different, because you can get more than half of the Whisky Advocate Top 20 whiskies at a Binny's ne...

Pat is constantly extolling the virtues of aromatized wines. Finally, we have a guest who will actually agree with him and won't just make fun of him. Jake Parrott is a friend of the pod and the Whiskey Hotline and is also the national sales director of Haus Alpenz. What Jake sells, and Pat loves, is woefully esoteric. But Binny's customers, and Barrel to Bottle listeners, are enthusiasts. If you...

The end of the year means year-end lists. You've heard from the Binny's buyers over the last two weeks, now it's Barrel to Bottle's turn. The entire team has assembled with their favorites of 2021. Everyone was supposed to pick two, but of course that didn't happen. So thanks for listening to all these long episodes lately. If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at  comment...

We're back for part two of Binny's Buyer's Picks for 2021.  This week, we welcome wine buyer Bill, beer buyer Kyle, cigar buyer Jack and specialty spirits buyer Brett. If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at  comments@binnys.com , or reach out to us on Facebook , Twitter or Instagram . If we answer your question during a podcast, you'll get a $20 Binny's Gift Card! If you...

The buying teams at Binny's try thousands of wines, beers and spirits over the course of a year. They pick the best of the best and always keep pocketbook in mind. Getting these very busy people to record a podcast is like herding cats, but Pat was able to get it done.  In part one we welcome Binny's Wine Director Barb Hermann, wine buyer Mike and spirits buyer Jeff.  If you have a question for th...

Last year on our Batch Cocktails episode, Pat and Chris made big batches of eggnog and aged them for 12 months. Now it's time to try them and hopefully not get sick. Additionally, Roger has cooked up a really easy cranberry simple syrup and has three cocktails to try out. If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at  comments@binnys.com , or reach out to us on Facebook , Twitt...

You may have heard that there's a Champagne shortage going on. First, we all drank too much of it during the early stages of the pandemic. Then supply chain issues caused even more problems. Luckily, Binny's crack team of buyers saw the writing on the wall early and made some big purchases for all of our thirsty customers around the holidays. Alicia has selected five Champagnes today that are avai...

Acclaimed actor William H. Macy is a bourbon fan. Luckily his neighbors are a distillery, specifically Woody Creek. They used one of his fields to grow potatoes for their vodka and that's how Bill became their spokesguy. David Matthews, master distiller at Woody Creek had a goal to make to make the best potato vodka in the world. Since then they've been able to get some aged whiskey out into the m...

The Barrel to Bottle crew is always excited to talk about wine, beer and spirits. Sometimes we talk too long and stuff gets cut out. Sometimes Pat brings seven different bottles when everyone else brings two. Sometimes we start riffing on cocktails and things get crazy. Enjoy this bonus episode of more Thanksgiving pairings. 

This year for Thanksgiving, the Barrel to Bottle crew wants to make it simple to buy beer, wine, and spirits for your feast. Instead of pairing individual drinks with dishes, we've selected some items that pair with nearly everything you might eat on Thanksgiving. If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at  comments@binnys.com , or reach out to us on Facebook , Twitter or In...

Greg 2.0 is the other Greg at the Binny's offices. He's a longtime listener and he jumped at the chance to come on the podcast. He wanted to share his passion for gin, specifically local gins that are more in the Modern American style. We're going to sample five gins today on their own, then mixed with tonic water. After that we'll determine which gins would work best in classic gin cocktails like...

This week, our guest is David Phillips, co-owner of Michael David Winery. While in town to run the Chicago Marathon, he stopped by the Barrel to Bottle Studio to talk about his popular winery and the Lodi AVA. If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at  comments@binnys.com , or reach out to us on Facebook , Twitter or Instagram . If we answer your question during a podcast,...

It's been nearly two years since we answered the question "What the Hell Does That Taste Like?" For every Jack Daniels, Bud Light or Apothic Red, there are even more products in our stores that most customers aren't familiar with. Another Lithuanian beer, German bubbly with gold flakes, a Mexican corn whisky and most importantly: Smooj. If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email u...

We were lucky enough to get a sneak preview of this year's Bourbon County Brand Stout line-up. Goose Island sent us all eight beers and walked us through the process of creating and brewing these beers. Then we jumped on mic to share our thoughts on each of this year's offerings. For more information on how to sign-up for this year's raffle, click here .  If you have a question for the Barrel to B...

It's the spooky time of year, so it's time to talk about Halloween beers and Halloween cocktails. A cocktail episode means that Greg and Pat get to hang out while Roger makes them cocktails. And Chris will make his own while spending way too much time crafting the garnish. If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at  comments@binnys.com , or reach out to us on Facebook , Twit...

Roger put some real time and effort into this week's episode of Barrel to Bottle, all about Czech Pilsners. He's also asking Greg to be on his best behavior since he usually doesn't like these kinds of beers. Roger has long encouraged listeners to check out lagers and more and more local breweries are making pilsners, so it's never been easier to czech these beers out. If you have a question for t...

Uruguay is a wine region you may have not heard of before. Luckily, we have two special guests to introduce you to this category. Alec Griffiths, export manager of Bodega Garzón came all the way from Uruguay to do the podcast. Also joining Alicia is Bill Newton, Binny's wine buyer for Uruguay. If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at  comments@binnys.com , or reach out to...

We have twelve…yes twelve…100 proof bourbons to sample today on Barrel to Bottle. Pat just couldn't help himself; once he started picking, he just couldn't bear to leave something out. Once again, we're blind tasting, which is the best way to taste anything. Once again, producer Jim is conducting the tasting and as we go, Future Pat will be telling you, the listener, which bourbon is being sampled...

Pat and Greg are notoriously...difficult...about the current state of IPAs. So Roger tailor made today's selection of IPAs to hopefully satisfy them. He's selected seven IPAs that offer a snapshot of the current state of IPAs in craft beer.  If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at  comments@binnys.com , or reach out to us on Facebook , Twitter or Instagram . If we answer...

Robert Eden is the winemaker and co-owner of Chateau Maris and considered to be the grandfather of the biodynamic movement in the Languedoc. His journey has taken him from England to Australia to the South of France. Join the Barrel to Bottle crew as we sample some of his wines and learn about his commitment to biodynamics. If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at  comment...

Rye Whiskey, it's a category that is a mystery to a lot of people. "Spicy" is the main descriptor most people have for rye, but there are also sweet ryes and fruity ryes. Join the Barrel to Bottle crew as they blind taste six ryes that run the gamut. If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at  comments@binnys.com , or reach out to us on Facebook , Twitter or Instagram . If w...

A few weeks ago, Binny's wine manager Emily joined us for a junk food and wine pairing. When Binny's Wine Director Barb Hermann heard about that episode, she wanted in on the action. Barb is fundamentally a red wine drinker, especially when she's sitting down with food. But very often, white wine is the standard recommendation for her favorite Thai, Indian and Chinese dishes. Today, she'll help so...

Welcome to Barrel to Bottle, the podcast where Roger forces his strange, obscure interests on the listening audience. We're changing things up this year though, and not sampling the same six Märzens and Festbiers. This week's episode is a peek into the Adamson Oktoberfest Celebration, which is much more than just beer. We do have some beer, but also wine, Brophy-approved cocktails, and some digest...

When you think savory cocktails, the Bloody Mary is probably the first thing to pop into your mind. But there's more to Bloody Mary's than just the standard brunch fare with a giant garnish, and there's more to savory cocktails too! This week, our resident Fancy Mixologists Roger and Chris, along with our Lazy Mixologist Pat, are whipping up some umami bombs. Check out our blog for all of the cock...

We at Barrel to Bottle have always advocated for treating yourself to high quality ingredients. Sugars are no different. Simple syrup is simple to make, it's right in the name. But the sugars you can use to make simple syrup have deep, complex flavors that will elevate your cocktails.