Barrel to Bottle, The Binny's Podcast

It's time to check back in on Chris and Pat's respective aged eggnogs. We last checked in on these over a year ago, but how are they now? Will the Barrel to Bottle Crew survive or is this the last episode? 

We're back with part two of our yearly Binny's Buyer's Picks episode. Bill, Wine Buyer: Alion, 2018   Clark & Sheffield 10 Year Old Tawny Port ­ Mike Baba, Wine Buyer Cliff Lede Claret 2019      Mark Senal, Wine Buyer Inspiration 1818 Brut by Billecart   Kyle, Beer Buyer Goldfinger Brewery If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at  comments@binnys.com , or reach out to us o...

It's December, which means we're once again talking with Binny's category buyers about what they were most impressed with this year. These people taste everything, so this is the best of the best for 2022. Jeff, Spirits Buyer: Bardstown Bourbon Company Collaborative Series Goose Island BCBS Barrel Finished Bourbon   Douglas, Beer Buyer: Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout 2022   Barbara, Wine...

There are a lot of guidelines and rules around drinking wine that may or may not apply anymore and Lincoln Park wine manager Ben is here to smash them. Or confirm them. Shatter some myths with the following wines: Crossbarn by Paul Hobbs 2019   Stadt Krems Gruner Veltliner Kremstal 2021 Vietti Barbera d'Asti Tre Vigne 2020    Chateau Peyrabon Haut Medoc 2009 Laurent-Perrier Harmony If you have a q...

Brian Nation (formerly of Midleton) and David Perkins (formerly of High West) are two heavy hitters in the spirits industry. So, Pat was quite shocked when he heard that an upstart distillery in Minnesota had hired both of them, he had to check them out. That lead him to Keeper's Heart, where they're making Irishized American Whiskey and Americanized Irish Whiskey. Right now, Keeper's Heart is sou...

What are you drinking for Thanksgiving? We've got recommendations for spirits before, during and after dinner, beers that pair with a wide range of dishes and wines to pair with specific types of guests at your dinner table. Check out Pat's Thanksgiving Picks: Huber's Starlight Distillery Bourbon Finished in Armagnac Barrel #21-2315 Binny's Handpicked   Huber's Starlight Distillery Bourbon Finishe...

Coffee. It's probably one of the most popular adjuncts in craft beer. Most of the coffee Roger drinks is through beer because he's a tea guy. But he assembled some coffee guys for today's episode. Then he picked some great coffee beers and also sourced the coffee used in the beers so we could try it all side-by-side. Drink along at home with the following beers: AleSmith Speedway Stout AleSmith Ba...

Marsha Milam is one of the founders of Milam & Greene, a Texas distillery that makes their own juice, but also blends and ages sourced liquid. Marsha started the distillery after having an epiphany while on the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky. She recruited world-renowned spirits expert Heather Greene to be her partner and blender. Then she brought in Marlene Holmes, formerly of Jim Beam, to be her Mast...

Pat loves Scotch. Scotchy Scotch Scotch. We haven't done an episode on Handpicked Scotches in a while, so to recap the process: Brett, and sometimes Pat and Joe, travel to Scotland once or twice a year and visit as many distilleries as possible every day. If it's at an independent bottler, the entire day is spent crawling around in barrel warehouses picking casks they want to try.   Binny's has ca...

It's the end of October, which means it's time to taste some Bourbon County Stout. Our friends at Goose Island were good enough to invite the Barrel to Bottle crew to their Barrel House and taste through the 2022 line-up. We took copious notes and then raced back to the Barrel to Bottle Studios to record this episode.  Goose Island Bourbon County Stout – The original always changes slightly and th...

Celebrities, they love tequila just like you! They love tequila so much in fact that they started their own brand of tequila! Sixteen to be exact, or at least that's what we have today, in our blind tasting of 16 celebrity tequilas. Blind is best, that's what the Whiskey Hotline always says. It's the only honest way to taste anything, so leave your preconceived notions at the door! As the Barrel t...

We've done new wines and new spirits , so obviously we're following the rule of threes and doing an episode on new beers (and ciders). This category is very different though. New beers and ciders come and go so quickly. In craft beer, it's "sure this is great but what have you got that's new?" There's constant turnover as more and more breweries have abandoned the concept of year-round and seasona...

Once again, Pat was asked at the last minute to assemble a spirits podcast on a Friday afternoon. And once again, he assembled enough bottles for four podcast episodes. Last week, we covered wines that are new to stores but might have fallen through the cracks because of the sheer volume of product we receive. The spirits category is no different; we see thousands of new products every year from I...

Binny's has a lot of wine. A LOT. This year, we're on pace to add over 4,000 new wines.  That means you could come into Binny's every day for a year, buy a mixed case, and not taste the same wine twice. There's no way around it though, some of this stuff is going to fly under the radar. We can't talk about all of it, so this week Chris put together a tasting of 9 wines that are worth checking out....

Most of the time when a Binny's Handpicked Single Barrel comes in, it's gone within a few weeks.  Sometimes even quicker. The good news is the Whiskey Hotline picks hundreds of barrels every year, and because of there are a lot of hidden gems that get lost in the shuffle. Pat brought Joe, and a box of hidden Irish Whiskey, Bourbon, Rye, Armagnac, Rum and Scotch gems. The Binny's name goes on these...

TIYL. If you're stuck in a rut with your wine purchases, but are looking to get adventurous, this is the episode for you. Today we'll be tasting well-known wines or wines from well-known regions; if you like those wines, we can recommend something to elevate your wine game and move your palate into new and exciting things. If you like these wines try these wines: Foxglove Chardonnay 2018 Pieropan...

Usually, the beer styles near and dear to Roger's heart get no love. That's not the case this week, as we delve into Vienna Lagers. Over the last few years, several local breweries have added Vienna Lagers to their line-ups. There are also some craft stalwarts that you might not have even realized were Vienna Lagers. If you're a fan of Oktoberfest beers, and want them year-round, you'll love Vienn...

Mahalo! Here at Barrel to Bottle, we've been touting rum for years. This week, we're sitting down with Bob Gunter, President and CEO of Kolo'a Rum. Hawaii's remoteness presents challenges in sourcing equipment and ingredients. Environmental standards in Hawaii also mean using molasses for the rum is not a viable option. Drink along at home with the following rums: Koloa Kaua'i White Rum Koloa Kaua...

The Barrel to Bottle Crew has never shied away from spicy food, so it's kind of hard to believe it's taken us this long to do a hot sauce episode. Jenna recently attended a hot sauce festival, which Greg was prevented from going to by his significant other, and she brought back a slew of sauces, then added some of her own, along with one from producer Jim. The plan is simple: crack open a selectio...

Chances are, if you make a pop culture reference on Barrel to Bottle, Jim will laugh at it, off mic. Tapping into his vast knowledge of useless information, Jim has crafted seven fictional cocktails from TV (and one book). From small town Indiana to medium city Pennsylvania to a bar where everybody knows your name to the deepest reaches of space, these cocktails are definitely liquid and they won'...

Every day at Binny's, our inboxes are flooded with beverage alcohol news. This week, we're going to look at some of the latest word in wine in a new series we're calling Booze in the News. This week, we'll cover two newly created American Viticultural Areas, in Oregon and California. We'll also look into the state of Napa Valley as more and more family-owned wineries sell to large corporations. Fi...

It's that time again…time for the Barrel to Bottle crew and producer Jim to take a break from podcasting. Luckily, we've been compiling clips from episodes that ran too long, segments that felt out-of-place and montages galore! But these clips are no mere castoffs. They are artfully curated segments that let the Barrel to Bottle crew dig deeper, get more esoteric, or say "Smooj" way too many times...

Jack Summers is the founder of Jack From Brooklyn and Sorel Liqueur. He's the first African-American man, after prohibition, to be granted a license to produce liquor in America. People have been drinking hibiscus flower tea for centuries. He's the first to bottle Sorel, a hibsicus-based liqueur.  If you have a question for the Barrel to Bottle Crew, email us at  comments@binnys.com , or reach out...

Ruben Aceves is the global brand ambassador for Tequila Herradura. The family sold to Brown-Forman in 2007 but before that there were seven generations working at the hacienda. Tequila Herradura has the last remaining hacienda in the tequila industry. Ruben has been in the industry for several decades now, but where does he see it going? How does Herradura expand around the world? What will happen...

Jack's back! Binny's cigar buyer Jack Spethman makes his annual visit to the Barrel to Bottle studios to talk sticks with Pat and Roger. Roger wanted to focus on golf course cigars, even though he doesn't really golf. But it is warm out and that's when Roger smokes cigars (and pipes). Check out this guide to some great cigars for summer, along with new accessories and a pairing with Calumet Farms...