Shots Fired and Poured

What happens when passionate producers, drought resistant land and a blank slate come together? You get the California agave movement, and nobody tells that story better than Gian Pablo Nelson of Jano Spirits. In this episode GP sits down with JJ and Jeff to pull back the curtain on how California grown agave is finding its own identity, from native US varietals producing higher sugar content than...

Mezcal is having a global moment, but who gets heard, who gets paid, and who gets left out? In this episode of Shots Fired and Poured, we sit down with Fabiola Santiago Hernandez, founder of Mi Oaxaca, to talk about mezcal beyond the bottle. Born in Oaxaca and raised in California, Fabiola shares her family’s migration story, the realities of living undocumented, and how that journey shaped her fi...

On this episode of Shots Fired and Poured hosts JJ and Jeff welcome vodka expert Tatyana "Tat" Petrikova to unpack vodka's history, myths and modern revival. Tat explains vodka's origin as "aqua vita," the role of terroir and raw ingredients (wheat, rye, barley, potato, corn, grapes), and how water, fermentation and still design shape flavor. They discuss pot versus column distillation, proof and...

Welcome to Shots Fired and Poured — where combat grit meets the world’s boldest bottles. Alcohol is legal, social, and everywhere… but the science of how it affects the brain (especially as we age) is widely misunderstood. In this episode, Dr. David Nutt — one of the world’s leading neuropsychopharmacologists — breaks down what alcohol is actually doing in your brain, why “drink less” isn’t a real...

In this episode of Shots Fired & Poured, we sit down with Dr. Tim Stockwell — one of the world’s most influential alcohol researchers — to have a real conversation about what “mindful drinking” actually means when you strip away the buzzwords. Dr. Stockwell has spent decades studying alcohol’s impact on health, behavior, and society, and his work has helped reshape how governments and research...

Welcome to the new podcast series, Shots Fired & Poured with JJ and Jeff JJ and We believe every drink tells a story—one rooted in soil, shaped by science, and shared through culture. As two Army veterans turned distillers, we bring discipline to our craft, curiosity to every conversation, and respect to the rich traditions behind what’s in your glass. This isn’t about snobbery or sales pitche...