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Kojin Tashiro, founder of Mugen Spirit, shares his Japanese heritage and American identity in the form of whiskey. Kojin was burnin in Japan but moved to America as a child. He blends both worlds together by sourcing Bourbon and using Japanese history, folklore, and art to tell a story of both countries inside and outside of the bottle. Guest: Kojin Tashiro Host: Jake Hukee and John Chesney Listen to more episodes and read stories at keyinthelake.com Key In The Lake

Co-Founder at Clonakilty Distillery, Sean Scully joins us to share his family’s story of transforming their family farm to an Irish Whiskey Distillery. Sean also highlights the vast history of Irish whiskey, and pays homage to the large Irish brands that have established themselves across the world, paving the road for the smaller distilleries that are emerging. Guest: Sean Scully Host: Jake Hukee, John Chesney & Brett Bauer Listen to more episodes and read stories at keyinthelake.com Key In The Lake

Chris and Sammy share the truly unique method of blending whisky at Found North. Their independent approach has caught the attention of consumers from across the country in a short time since they opened their doors just five years ago. Found North’s individualistic and eccentric approach to sourcing and blending Canadian whisky is truly the intertwining of art, science and business. Guests: Sammy Karachi & Chris Riesbeck Host: Jake Hukee & John Chesney Listen to more episodes and read stories at keyinthelake.com Key In The Lake

Kevin, founder of The Beautiful and The Damned, returns. Kevin provides his industry insights on the financial side of whiskey; the price drop in barrels, the rising amount of inventory in the US, the growing number of US distilleries, etc. These are the factors that equate to the drop in whiskey sales and the plethora of unsold cases we have sitting in the millions waiting to be sold, purchased and consumed. Host: Jake Hukee Listen to more episodes and read stories at keyinthelake.com Key In The Lake

An East Meets West conversation, translated through our love of whiskey. Ken Matsuyama proprietor of famed Tokyo whiskey bar Ken’s Bar and Kojin Tashiro of Mugen Spirit share their love of spreading bourbon across the world. Kojin explains how his unique background of immigrating from Japan to America’s Bourbon Capital has created his opportunity to bridge bourbon in America and Japan. Ken stands on the other side of said bridge by visiting America, developing a great friendship with Kojin and bringing his bourbon experiences back to Japan. Guest: Ken Matsuyama and Kojin Tashiro Host: Jake Hukee and John Chesney Listen to more episodes and read stories at keyinthelake.com Key In The Lake

Kevin, the founder of The Beautiful and The Damned, shares his adventurous decision to start a whiskey brand in 2023. He patiently approached building an American whiskey brand with quality of construction with sourced whiskey from MGP and steadily expanding in various markets across the country. We also discuss the economics of whiskey and the confidence and the intelligence it takes to construct a brand in the current climate of the industry. Guest: Kevin Host: Jake Hukee Listen to more episodes and read stories at keyinthelake.com Key In The Lake

After six years between appearances, Jared Savocchi is back. We visit his Logan Square tavern, The Native to converse on a myriad of subjects surrounding bar culture. We hit on running/operating a neighborhood establishment post covid, creating trust with employees, adapting to drinking trends and how relationships are everything in this industry. Guests: Jared Savocchi, Chris Blatner, Matt Brown & Eric Rosentreter Host: Jake Hukee Listen to more episodes and read stories at keyinthelake.com Key In The Lake

To celebrate International Whisky Day, we go to a New York with a live studio audience at Martiny’s for the launch of the collaboration between Starward X Lagavulin. Last March, I recorded a conversation with Starward founder David Vitale, Diego Master Blender Stuart Morrison and Whiskey Expert Noah Rothbaum. The three share the story of how this unprecedented collaboration developed over years of exploration to make a very special whisky. Guests: Noah Rothbaum, David Vitale & Stuart Morrison Listen to more episodes and read stories at keyinthelake.com Key In The Lake

Angela is the director of all things sales and representing her hometown distillery of KOVAL. She entered the industry three years ago, but she holds herself as an industry vet with great charm, personality and a real sense of hospitality. Her background in the theater built a foundation of approaching whiskey as an art, which has allowed her authentic passion for whiskey to shine. Guest: Angela Salinas Host: Jake Hukee & Hannah Thomas Listen to more episodes and read stories at keyinthelake.com Key In The Lake

Hannah and I are launching a series of episodes highlighting women in the whiskey industry. We kick off this series by Hannah briefly sharing her experience of working for local and international distilleries in various markets; and introducing our future guests’ diverse backgrounds in spirits and whiskey. Guest: Hannah Thomas Host: Jake Hukee Listen to more episodes and read stories at keyinthelake.com Key In The Lake

Last week, we hosted a charity bottle raffle to donate money to Another Round Another Rally for their aid to the LA bars/restaurants affected by the LA fires. Brands from around the world donated bottles to be raffled at our live event with 50 guests at Slightly Toasted in Chicago. We interviewed master distillers, brand reps, retailers and whiskey clubs who donated products to raise more than $3,000. Guests: Hannah Thomas, Steve Malloy, Zalman Goldbloom, Eric Rosentreter, Kimio Yonezawa and Brett Bauer Hosts: Jake Hukee, Chris Blatner and Matthew Brown Listen to more episodes and read stories at keyinthelake.com Key In The Lake

Neil Macleod Mathieson is the whisky maker for Torabhaig Distillery and Mossurn Distillers & Blenders. He has 40 years of experience in the spirits industry. Neil began his career by writing to Champagne houses, in a gentlemanly way, to become a blender. A couple of houses accepted him onto their estates and from there whisky was the next step. Blending and distilling of spirits has been Neil’s only job. On this episode, he breaks down the process of collecting barrels for blending Mossburn’s projects, along with the purpose of bringing together the elements of space, culture and tradition to create Torabhaig. Guests: Neil Macleod Mathieson Host: Jake Hukee & Brett Bauer Listen to more episodes and read stories at keyinthelake.com Key In The Lake

John Chesney of Slightly Toasted and Matthew Brown of La Crosse Distilling are back. John shares how his bar’s recent Pappy Van Winkle event revealed that the one percent of American whiskey drinkers are jaded by our overabundant amount of great American offerings. We also discuss how bars and retailers are surviving during the slow months of January and February; and how marketing departments of distilleries are in their “Bell-Bottom” phase. Guests: Matthew Brown, John Chesney and Eric Rosentreter Host: Jake Hukee Listen to more episodes and read stories at keyinthelake.com Key In The Lake

Matthew Brown is back with a new game called Hot, Not, Thought. The game turned into an expertise for us to discuss new brands and marques coming soon to the market. We gage our levels of anticipation and excitement for these new whiskeys, and discuss how they’ll adjust into the current climate of this fading whiskey industry. Guest: Matt Brown Host: Jake Hukee Listen to more episodes and read stories at keyinthelake.com Key In The Lake

For the last six months I’ve worked for The Macallan. My previous employer was Starward Distillery from Melbourne, AU. I worked for the Aussie outfit for over five years, and on this episode I talk about the pros of working for one of the biggest single malt distilleries in the world versus a smaller single malt distillery. Host: Jake Hukee Listen to more episodes and read stories at keyinthelake.com Key In The Lake