Key In The Lake Whiskey Podcast

We’re back at Warehouse Liquors with Zak Rye, Eric Rosentreter and Chris Blatner. We continue our conversation on, “Are Single Barrels Dead?” Then we head into a variety of conversations: including; how to separate pure capitalism from creating a culture as a whiskey brand/retailer; the consequences when brands are purchased and their relationships with accounts, but also how more innovation comes...

Are Single Barrels Dead? Good friends Chris Blatner and Wilson Torres join me for a conversation and debate if the heyday of whiskey single barrels is coming to an end in America. Guests: Chris Blatner & Wilson Torres Hosts: Jake Hukee Listen to more episodes and read stories at keyinthelake.com Key In The Lake

Buzzard’s Roost Founder and Master Blender Jason Brauner, along with Sales Manager Omar Elayan join the show to share the brand story of their whiskey. Jason also shares stories of opening Bourbon Bistro, 18 years ago, while being one of the first single barrel customers for many distilleries in Kentucky. He also shares Buzzard’s Roost intricate method of back engineering the barrel-aging process...

Live from Warehouse Liquors in Chicago, IL, I’m joined by Callum, Eric Rosentreter and Zak Rye for a in-depth industry discussion on whiskey. We discuss the etiquette of whisky tastings; along with customer etiquette in retail stores and how to build a relationship with retailers. Eric and Zak also throw-in their two cents on how to get yourself banned from a bar/retail shop. We also ponder about...

Our precious Matt Brown of Dancing Goat Distillery returns to the show. We discuss the over saturation of whiskey brands and the effects that has on the consumer; along with an in-depth conversation on distributor relations with whiskey brands. We also taste through some new whiskeys from DG and shares some laughs. Hosts: Jake Hukee & Matt Brown Listen to more episodes and read stories at keyi...

I share a story… When my grandfather was laid to rest, and the first conversation my family and I had about him was his service. My uncles, my cousins and I passed around a bottle of Woodford Reserve, and as the bottle emptied, our hearts were grew more full from the pervasive memories of our hero. Host: Jake Hukee @KeyInTheLake Listen to more episodes and read stories at keyinthelake.com

Chris Blatner and I select our second Pinhook Bourbon Single Barrel. This year’s Vertical Series hails from the Kentucky distillery’s eight-year-old stock of MGP barrels that the owners purchased years ago to begin their company. This year, Chris and I are selecting the barrel for Malloy’s Finest, and owner Steve Malloy sits down with us in his swanky office to taste through the three samples that...

Jake is joined by old friends Chris Blatner and Wilson Torres to celebrate National Bourbon Day. The guys discuss the ever-changing notion of how Bourbon is legally defined, yet evolving new subcategories of the Native Spirit. They sip on a Leopold Bros. Bourbon single barrel, a couple new Bardstown releases and the newest hot item from Penelope. Hosts: Jake Hukee , Chris Blatner & Wilson Torr...

Live from Delilah’s we celebrated World Whisky Day with our good friends from six distilleries from across the world. On Part 2, we get started with Eric Rosentreter of Old Elk, then we flip the script and Chris and Matt interview me about Starward Whisky (00:36:40). And to bring the house down, our spirit sherpa Nick Brady Maas of Dancing Goat closes the show (01:03:10). Listen to the personal st...

Live from Delilah’s we celebrated World Whisky Day with our good friends from six distilleries from across the world. On Part 1, we chat with Mark Boyle of Pernod-Ricard about Red Breast 12 (06:25:00), followed by Lukas Vlasnik of Woody Creek (25:33:00) and with Joe Luna of Judson & Moore (01:18:58). Listen to the personal stories of these distillery representatives and the history of their di...

Live from my hotel room in Estes Park, CO, I discuss the life of whiskey ambassador from this lovely landscape. I talk about selling single barrels; and developing genuine, healthy relationships in the whiskey industry. Host: Jake Hukee @KeyInTheLake Listen to more episodes and read stories at keyinthelake.com

Master Distiller Greg Metze joins the show to share the professional and life lessons he’s learned during four decades in the whiskey industry. Before leaving a 38-year career at Seagrams and MGP, Greg crafted custom mash bills for Old Elk. The creative freedom of working with new grain-builds inspired him to leave his legacy in Indiana of distilling 65% bourbons and 85% of ryes in the market, and...

Alex Brick, Woodinville Whiskey Ambassador joins the show talk us through the history of the Washington state distillery, and his career in the spirits industry. We sip four delightful expressions that Woodinville has to offer, including a 2022 Harvest Release Port Finished Straight Rye. Alex shares stories of Dave Pickerell, the distillery’s focus on wine-finished whiskeys and we even talk the wo...

Four years ago I met a man from Australia with ambition to build his whisky brand in the United States. He held an irrational belief that was nearly contagious. In 2009, Starward founder David Vitale built a single malt distillery in Melbourne—when whisky distilling barely existed in Australia. in just 15 years, he went from hand-selling his whisky on folding tables in corporate offices to Distill...

I recap my recent visit to the Bourbon Trail to select a handful of single barrels for Malloy’s Finest, and how wonderful/individual the whiskey industry truly is. We visited Maker’s Mark, Bardstown Bourbon Co., Preservation Distillery, Starlight Distillery and the Bardstown Collection Launch. Host: Jake Hukee Listen to more episodes and read stories at keyinthelake.com

Zak Rye of Warehouse Liquors (Chicago) shares the history of the iconic spirits purveyor, and how they’ve earned the trust of invested whiskey customers from across the country. Zak is a storyteller, a host and a retailer who’s spent time as a coffee roaster, an ambassador for the famed Compass Box, and now, leads the renovation and transformation of their upstairs space into an event/tasting room...

Good friend and Lustau National Brand Ambassador, Steven Dragun tastes us through five sherry wines from the Bodegas Lustau. Steven also explains a detailed history of the company and the complex organization of aging sherry in a solera system. We also discuss the versatility of their wines in cocktails. Sit back, grab a sherry from your local independent retailer and sip some sherry along with us...

Live from the world’s best whiskey bar, Delilah’s, I record a Drammers - Chicago whisky event. I’m an ambassador for Starward Whisky, and this episode gives insight to what it’s like to be an ambassador at a branded event. Thank you to Drammers for having me and thank you for being great friends and people. Host: Jake Hukee Listen to more episodes and read stories at keyinthelake.com

I visit the the conversation of contemplation and preservation of the body and the mind as being a whiskey brand ambassador. Host: Jake Hukee Listen to more episodes and read stories at keyinthelake.com

Live from The Franklin Room in Chicago, IL, we record the February outrun for Scotch Malt Whisky Society. We blindly sip on six different drams from the club with 34 our dearest friends. We give our tastings notes, reveal the distilleries on the bottle, and talk through history of the club and the scotch distilleries. Hosts: Jake Hukee & Callum O’Donnell Listen to more episodes and read storie...

I share my guide to the great city of Austin, TX. This isn’t a best of list, instead, it’s a curation of how I explore cities as a whisky ambassador on the road. Find great coffee shops, breakfast spots, whiskey haunts and cocktail joints. Host: Jake Hukee Listen to more episodes and read stories at keyinthelake.com

Live from The Green Post in Chicago, we escape whiskey and focus on barrel-aged gin from Tattersall. Our old friend Ambrosia Borowski of Green Post and Marcus Reidy of Tattersall sit down to explain how this delicious gin came to be a single barrel for the restaurant. We also discuss the foundation of Minnesota distillery, and focus on Green Post resurrecting both former Northside restaurants Foun...

Jake, Wilson, and Brett Bauer of Sagamore Spirit analyze the future of their collective distillery’s single barrel programming, and how distributors /retailers value single barrels from mid-size distilleries. Guest: Brett Bauer Hosts: Jake Hukee & Wilson Torres Listen to more episodes and read stories at keyinthelake.com

Old Elk’s new market manager, Eric Rosentreter explains the rise of their single barrel program, and the responsibility of selling/representing a whiskey made by a living legend like Greg Metze. Guest: Eric Rosentreter Hosts: Jake Hukee Listen to more episodes and read stories at keyinthelake.com

Brett Bauer is back to share the development of Sagamore’s private barrel program. Sagamore has a unique blending process of seven-year-old rye whiskey to create private selects for retailers, bars and clubs across the country. Brett breaks down the Maryland distillery's intricate process private rye barrels. Guest: Brett Bauer Hosts: Jake Hukee Listen to more episodes and read stories at keyinthe...