The Two-Nineteen Podcast

About ten years ago, consumers began selling empty bottles of Pappy Van Winkle on Ebay that would eventually be used to defraud future enthusiasts. Authenticating rare and valuable bottles of wine and whiskey has long been an issue, but today a new company called proof-it has found a modern solution. Not only can it protect against fraud, its tags can instantly send any sort of media to any sort o...

Lately, I've been asking myself why so many new Bourbon brands are still coming to market when the American whiskey bubble has already started to pop. Then I realized, perhaps not enough people are aware of the massive whiskey sell-off that is currently (and quietly) underway in our industry. Bourbon writer and historian Chuck Cowdery joins the conversation to discuss the gluts of the past, an...

Over the last few years, the desire to drink a wine or whiskey from a special place or prized location has become so profound that's it forced the entire industry to respond. Today, there are more single vineyard wines than ever before, more single barrel whiskies being sourced and labeled from specific parts of the warehouse, and countless liquids put into bottle with a clever marketing story...

The recent news that France paid more than 200 million Euros to destroy surplus wine sent a shockwave through the industry, as did Boozehound author Jason Wilson's most recent article in the Wine Enthusiast covering the story. With wine consumption dropping drastically among younger generations, the industry is facing an existential crisis: is there still an audience for $10 bottles of everyda...

Limited merch drops have become the norm for sneakers, vinyl, clothing, jewelry, and now allocated whiskies. With COVID accelerating the evolution of online shopping and social media influencing, more whiskey drinkers than ever are tuned into the world of limited edition bottles, to the detriment of everyday items. But can the whiskey industry adapt to a new reality of everyday consumers no longer...

Most conversations about quality concerning wine and spirits rely heavily on personal preference and stylistic choice, but when it comes to Tequila these discussions become troublesome. Because so many Tequila drinkers today still don't know about "the big lie," exchanges on social media can become emotional and even personal in the face of the truth. Advocates of non-additive Tequil...

If you've ever wanted to start your own whiskey business, in the episode we discuss the difficulties of distribution and the scope of running logistics for your booze company. David touches briefly on bots destroying retail websites, and Nicolas Palazzi joins in to share the secrets of running a successful distributor.

While other parts of California's wine country have changed with the times, something about the Santa Cruz Mountains remains firmly rooted in the past—and it's not just the winemaking! Santa Cruz as a city has a lure and a lore that continues to captivate new generations while remaining faithful to the nostalgia of previous ones. It's a very special part of the state, devoid of pretens...

Since the ascent of Pappy Van Winkle and Buffalo Trace Distillery soon after, the culture surrounding today's hottest Bourbons has homogenized around a small set of similar tastes and ideals. While that formula worked out for Kentucky's largest producers, will it continue to be successful for small brands moving forward? Distiller Todd Leopold joins the conversation to add his thoughts on...

In this episode, we discuss private label whiskies for some of America's largest retailers including Costco, Trader Joe's, and Total Wine: how they work, what's in them, where they are sourced, and more. Alexander Murray CEO (and Scottish rugby superstar) Chris Cusiter joins the conversation to add his perspective as well.