This week's guest is Amanda Colombe, who is a whiskey educator and content creator with nearly 15 years of experience in the hospitality industry. Amanda has spent her career helping people discover new spirits and enjoy memorable experiences. In our interview with Amanda, she shares her journey in the industry, starting from her background in hospitality and wine, and how challenges from fellow bartenders led her to develop a passion for whiskey. This in turn drove Amanda to develop a social media presence to showcase whiskey in a more inclusive way.
Amanda talked about her work as a whiskey reviewer in Barrel Picker for short barrel whiskey. She also talked about her unique rating system and approached a selecting unique and accessible options. She discussed Amanda's long-term goals in the whiskey community, including her plans to open a distillery and make whiskey more approachable and accessible to everyone, plus we discussed a number of other topics as always. You can find Amanda on Instagram, at bourbon, underscore, and under score, bikinis, or check the show notes as always for all the links.
We have a terrific time talking with Amanda and you'll enjoy this episode too. Enjoy the show. Hey, we are back and it is the 250th episode of the industry podcast. Can you believe that shit?
Sure can. Yeah, that's a $259 hangover side spot. That's what you came here for. That's what the industry podcast is all about.
Congratulations, buddy. Cheers to you. Yes, 250. Thanks for all your hard work.
That's all the hard work. I'm sure everybody knows by now. I just show up in gap. You talk a lot.
We appreciate you, buddy. We appreciate you. Thanks for all your hard work. Cheers to the industry podcast.
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I think that's about it. Let's get on with episode 250. Joining us from Central Florida is Amanda Colome. How are you?
Great. How are you doing this evening? We're doing all right. We're doing well.
Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to join us today. Yeah. Thanks for having me. We were going to, I was going to just start, like I wanted to mention that you were obviously looking at Central Florida, but why don't we just start with why you're currently joining us from Atlanta?
Because you're out there for a project. Yeah. So, if you can see my shirt, obviously the viewers can't, but you can hear it. I'm out here doing a barrel pick with short barrel whiskey, more short barrel bourbon.
Details coming soon about what we decided on and when that will be coming out, but I love the team out here and they have a lot of great products. And we're really excited about what we chose today. So a little barrel pick. So, does this something you do on the regular, like barrel picks for different facilities?
So, barrel picks are kind of a newer thing for me. I've done it a few years ago in the past, but moving forward, I feel like it's going to be a bigger passion project for me. I really love finding unique barrels for people that I think will really enjoy. So, hopefully more coming soon.
That's cool. Like it's cool to be invited to be involved in a project like that, obviously. So, maybe we can start talking about how you found yourself in this position at this stage in your life. When how did you first get into whiskey and then get your sort of accreditation and, you know, like what else you got here?
Yeah. So, in terms of hospitality, I'll kind of start broader than Maryland a little bit. I mean, everybody in college needs a little side job. So, I started in restaurants and started at the good old Olive Garden back in the day, like 15 years ago.
And really, really had a great time giving people an experience at a restaurant. And I feel like when you're in hospitality, you kind of go two routes when you're in front of house. And it's either you really dive deep into food or you really dive deep into spirits. And I definitely took the spirits route because there's so much to learn, so much to teach people.
And back in the day, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. And as far as whiskey is concerned, I would say that point started like seven or eight years ago when a number of bartenders said that I wouldn't like whiskey because it's too strong. And they said I cry literally like, oh, you're not going to like that. You should have this cute fruity, sweet cocktail.
And if they had approached it in a kind way, I would say, you know what? All right, I'll go with that. But because they kind of were a little condescending, I'm a little stubborn if you ask my husband. And I said, you know what, give me the strongest whiskey you have.
And I was like the same in the strongest whiskey you have. And I'm going to like it or hate it. And I'm going to die on the sill. And nobody's going to tell me otherwise.
And before whiskey, I started in wine. And I am a small yay. So I learned how to taste whiskey or how to taste spirits. And I learned how to nose it and visualize it and taste it.
And I said, what would happen if I tried these methods with whiskey? And so seven years ago or so, I said, let's go into whiskey. And I said, I'm going to try tasting this whiskey the way I taste wine. And I did not like it.
I was not a fan. And I said, OK, put some soda in here. I want Jack and Coke. That was my signature drink back in the day.
And slowly it became more Jack, less Coke, more Jack, less Coke. And it was suddenly all Jack, a tiny splash of Coke. And then I realized there was so much more to that particular spirit than I ever thought there was. And my page came about two years ago.
Because same thing, if you look at the whiskey space in general on social media, there are a lot of men with beards backwards hats. They're like Columbia, Columbia shirts. And I said, wouldn't it be funny if we tried an entirely different approach to whiskey to kind of open it up to people that maybe don't identify with that particular demographic on what it all kind of started with wine and my desire to find something new in that spirit. Versus it just being something for men or something for that particular demographic.
Do you remember what the whiskey was that they gave you when you said ask me for your give me your strongest one? I'm pretty sure it was a bookers. I was like 122 proof for like a girl who had previously only drink in Moscato. They weren't reading me incorrectly.
They were reading me 100% correctly. But I didn't like the challenge they're giving me. No, yeah. Did you find that you focused mostly on American whiskey?
So yes, definitely a lot of American whiskey. I feel like because of the aging process and the new oak, it really makes it well rounded and approachable, which is ironic because everyone always says like Japanese or Scotch whiskey is lower proof. Typically, it kind of comes in a lower proof. So it allowed people to maybe taste the notes a little bit easier.
But it was just for me, it was easier to find American whiskey in a large variety. Well, there's so much of it now too, right? You go back even 20 years ago, it's like, I mean, there was obviously a lot of American whiskey then too, but not even close to it. It's like really exploded with all these small facilities all over the country.
And I love I love crafts. Like I love those small distilleries and I don't just love them because they're small. I love them because they're trying new things. They're trying to be innovative.
And there's a lot of really cool things they're doing these days. So maybe give us a few of your favorites that are smaller ones that people might not know about besides the one you mentioned obviously. Yeah, I mean obviously short-barrehold because I'm wearing a butcher right now with them. A really cool one I like is rye three.
They do a blend of three different barrels for every barrel they produce. It's a blend of three different ones. And they do a lot of fun things with thinness. They have a kai finish, they have a bedera finish.
They're really destroying something unique as well. And then my favorite, so you'll kind of notice a trend. I love rye. That's my favorite type of whiskey right now.
But ponfae, they're actually out of Pennsylvania. And they use monoclele rye, which was originally almost extinct. When these Philadelphian distilleries started actually producing the rye whiskey from that subspecies. Obviously everyone sort of makes theirs.
That's my classic. If I'm never trying to whiskey, what should I start with? Of course everyone knows about winter mixtures. There's just so many out there.
It's impossible to choose. Yeah, it's crazy now. That was a handful of recommendations. So you start off serving in the industry and then at some point you have your small-day designation in your life.
And now you're getting into whiskey and trying to figure that out. Do you sort of transition to your main gig? At the end of the day, my goals have to be paid. So I still do serve on the side a little bit.
I bartender my serve. So I'm really heavily in that spirit and hospitality space. And I don't think I'll ever be able to leave it. I would joke that hospitality kind of like holds you back in, no matter if you leave or if you come back.
It's always on a holds you hostage. My end goal eventually, hopefully in the next five years or so, is to have my own distillery. Whether it's a contract facility or I'm sourcing Elise's to start. I would love to do that because for me, I would love to do some experimenting and some cool finishes and unique match bills.
But that's an open question for me right now. That's fair. And would you say that starting the Instagram page and giving it sort of a different flavor than the dudes with Beards and Backward Baseball Cats, was that like kind of what propelled you to the space and got you some of these other opportunities where people started taking you more seriously? Yeah, so I count myself as very lucky in the social media space because I started on TikTok in August 2023.
And my first video was just like, in an introduction, hey, I'm Amanda, this is my page, this is what it's going to be about. And I went viral overnight. I went from like 12 followers to 12,000 in less than 24 hours. And I kind of at the moment didn't know what I had when it happened.
And it took me a five another six months to really start kind of honing in on it and taking it super seriously. And that's when I started seriously posting on Instagram. And now my total followers are close to almost 80,000 like all combined. But it just really, it just came from a place of trying to make a difficult industry easier to get into for people who are wanting to learn about it.
Whether you have a question that's super interlevel of whether it's like a little higher level, a few steps up. I just want we see to be a table for everybody who's willing and wanting to try it. I've gotten so many questions and comments from men and women alike saying, you know, thank you for making this more approachable. I feel so comfortable asking you questions because you don't take yourself seriously and that is ultimately.
And how do you account for like this jump from like 12 to 12,000 overnight? Like what do you think like positive? What is it like, tell us what the post what happened? Like, I mean, that's a huge number to jump from.
I mean, I wish I could tell you like the actual reason behind it. I think it was a combination of my whiskey room. I featured these custom made honeycomb shelves and that was featured very heavily in my initial video. But I also think I opened it up in a really casual manner and made it more of a conversation versus me trying to tell you what you need to know about this space because I think I think at the end of the day in this space is a very welcoming community.
But it's kind of intimidating because like you'll see some of these giant names out there and they know so much and they have so many connections. And I do too now, you know, if you think about it, but if you're just joining and you're you look like me and you're a woman that's expected to get her mosquito or get her foodie rum drink. It's difficult sometimes to feel like you're welcome, but you truly are in the community of such a cool and welcoming place. But I just wanted to provide you with that place and maybe someone who is a little out of the norm.
Well, it's kind of intimidating when you start out too because like you're putting yourself out there and then like putting yourself out there and as a woman in a space like that, that is pretty male dominant. You're opening yourself up to any shitty comment that might be made, right? Yeah, that's true. That's very true.
And like I've gone a few here and there like some weird ones, some strange creepy ones, but for the most part, it's been like the antithesis of that. And frankly, like when I started my page, I was kind of setting myself myself up. I was like, my husband said, Hey, just let you know you're going to get some weird stuff. It's going to be kind of weird, creepy.
There's a new brand of guys. And it's kind of the opposite. Actually, like someone will give me a one weird comment out of a thousand and my followers will be like, Hey, don't treat it like that. And so I feel so supported.
I have like this community of big brothers just being like, Hey, leave this girl alone, which is really endearing. And I think that kind of alone speaks for the hardest community has. I was going to ask what of the platforms, which ones do you find to get more traction or engagement on? And does it kind of flip flop back and forth over time?
So definitely 100% Instagram. I think for anybody in spirits in general, whether it's whiskey or tequila or agave, like whatever it is, TikTok is very challenging for spirits. And almost like they don't want that kind of content there, which that's their prerogative. And I think Instagram for me has been the main platform, the main resource for me to really gain that community.
And that's where I get most of my contacts for spirits brands reaching out saying, Hey, we have this cool new thing. You want to try it? And my answer is yes. But I was practicing with, I'm going to be honest.
And I think Instagram really appreciates that honesty from their spirit community. Yeah, I feel like the TikTok platform in general is not really going after educating North Americans. That's not their ultimate goal. They want to make us dumb work.
Absolutely. I get it. And it's working. So good for them.
That's a great point. So what is your style of approaching the Instagram page? One, any other social media, obviously, but like to make it whiskey more accessible to the average person who so they don't feel intimidated by feeling they don't know anything about it. And what made you want to learn?
Like what are some of the tricks you use? So tips and tricks, I always say, be 100% honest, approach it like you're talking to a friends and not like you're trying to like teach someone. I'm not a professor. I will never be that person.
And yes, I do have a technically a certified professional with the council with the Masters. I'm going for my whiskey professional, which so right now I include just bourbon. The next level is bourbon and scotch and the level of that is all they love. We can be like a master of bourbon and master everything.
So I just more love. So like I have all this knowledge and I have this book knowledge, but I don't want to come across as someone that's trying to preach the like whiskey facts to you. Yes, I know them, but I don't want you to ever feel like I am potentially belittling you or making you feel a certain kind of way because you don't know something. I'd rather do like a funny blooper or something where I sound silly than making anyone feel like they don't know enough.
Like that's a good day. Like that's what it is. You're building a community. And when I first started my page, I told myself, I said, I'm doing this because I have these bottles.
I have 50 bottles, 100 bottles at a time. And I want to talk about it. If it goes somewhere great, if it doesn't, also great. I'm just here to talk about it because I have the resources.
And as long as you've got to keep yourself grounded and have that mentality, that goes a long way. Well, having the knowledge and being able to speak to it obviously helps, but doing it in a way that people don't feel like you're talking down to them. But then also, clearly, like you said, having all the bottles, that kind of lends you a bit of credibility on its own, right? Because people are like, okay, well, she wouldn't have all this whiskey.
I shouldn't know what she was talking about. Or she didn't love whiskey. I'm not sure you're psychotic. I mean, you never know.
So when did you start collecting all, when did you start your collection? Like as soon as you kind of turned the corner and got into whiskey? Or was there a point where you're like, I'm going to start collecting stuff? Or was it for trying different products?
Or were you just curious and you kept buying bottles? So I was lucky. My husband is also really into whiskey. And he's also in hospitality.
And we started our journey kind of, he started probably like two years before I did. And he was in the position to get bottles, gifted from guests that is dropped. And so he started bringing the palms. He's like, wow, I hate it.
And he kept bringing bottles. And he said, what about this one? And then suddenly our cabinets were overflowing. And we had so much, honestly, our first product that we really leaned into was listening.
And I think that's where my love of rye comes from. Just because of the extra spice and the extra grain notes and the mintiness. It's a beautiful spirit. But I was lucky that I had someone else in my household that was also very interested in the same thing.
And when I kind of like balked and said, oh, no, this is too much for me. I got encouragement to try new things and keep trying and keep building my palate. And from the wine space, it's really easy to kind of have a little bit of that sottery, like to be completely honest. And a lot of smaliers.
Not even. That's OK. Not a lot of smaliers. But a lot of people imagine some all yeas to have some sort of like, pie and mighty, my tasting notes are better than yours kind of mentality.
And that's so not true. And I think all of it really stemmed from that and me wanting to give whiskey, that mainstream approach that wine is now getting as well. And that's where it all kind of came from. Yeah, it's so true.
And I feel the same way. I'm really into wine and whiskey. And like, it is that thing where it's like people in that world, there is some sort of weird competition or there has been in the past where people want to feel like they're letting you know that they're not. Or like they're letting you know they know more than you do.
Or their pallets are more developed or whatever. And really, there's a funny thing about it. It's like everyone's palate is different. So everyone's going to taste differently anyway.
Yeah, exactly. And like, just because I'm getting honey, segull and artotope doesn't mean that you have to. You know, right? Yeah.
And it doesn't mean that anyone's really wrong, right? Right. Yeah. It's also directive.
Like I'll say something like crazy, like grape sour candy and my friends will be like, you're insane. And then they'll taste it and say, OK, I can see where that's coming from. I'm tasting it as not me. Anyone who's listening to me has to all stage that.
Well, and it also can be pretty suggestive too. Like, if when somebody brings up a flavor profile, then it's a little important thing for sure. Yeah. When you get chosen to do something like this, like a barrel pick, how did that come to be?
Like, did someone find you from your social media or and like, how did you connect with short barrel? So I'm lucky in the sense that because I mean, hospitality, a lot of like liquor reps and brand owners will come to the various locations that I work at my husband works as well. And we'll just start talking. And the thing about the industry is like, if you if you are open to it, there's so many opportunities that can just land in your lap and which short barrel in particular, I started with them on social media.
And then a friend of mine had a event where they were actually presenting a pick, but they had done for a barrel. And I met Clinton, who's actually one of the co-founders of for a barrel was or a bourbon. And we just kind of started talking and they said, you know, try our stuff. Let us know what you think.
And that was probably two years and a half, two years ago. And we just happened to be like, right place, right time. If you ask anyone in Orlando, the hospitality industry is such a small, almost embarrassing, embarrassingly so everybody knows everybody, especially once you get a kind of like the fine dining level, which is where I kind of live. And it's been a really cool journey to go from just casual meeting because like a friend of a friend to this experience.
And last, I'll say two months ago, I was able to do a short barrel dinner where we were at the restaurant called Savea in Orlando, the Conrad Orlando. And we featured four courses accompanied with the cocktail made from a short barrel spirit. And that is that relationship that was built from years ago that has no culminated in my own pick. Nice.
And maybe walk our listeners through the whole barrel pick process. Like, what are you looking for when you're trying to pick the spirit, you're going to bottle from a barrel? Like, what are the characteristics you're looking for? How do you decide one's better than another?
Walk us through that. Yeah, absolutely. So essentially, if you've never been a pick before, what you do is to live in a distillery has a blind tasting set up for you on where they have numbered it out. They give you a variety of options based on their available barrels.
And they just take it through a blind tasting where you do your nose and your tasting notes. And when it comes to picking a barrel, it's very much, I think, go two ways. So there's two streets on a barrel pick. You either go throughout that's from that's very like different and unique and not on the market at all.
Or something that you think will be 100% mainstream that is more typical to the bourbon sales that the common people are enjoying and buying in bulk. Personally, I like to go out something that's a little bit of a combination of both where it's a unique, either unique finish, unique proof or flavor profile that also can kind of resonate with those people who are knowledgeable and have information. And I know the college, but I don't want a barrel pick to ever feel like it's out of reach for someone or out of pocket or out of college for someone I want it to be like enjoyable. But ultimately, you go in, you have a number today we actually got to take six different selections.
They were kind of paired with each other like different proof and age statements, but similar those like to with a very similar finish side by side. So we ended up going with one that was very unique. And it's something that's, I don't think ever has been in the Florida market. And it's going to be really cool, but it really is a full on sensory experience where you just have to trust your guy, especially if they didn't tell you especially with the blind tasting and you have no idea what what's in the glasses in front of you.
And how many of you, when you say we, how many of you are doing this? So it was our one of our friends, Manny, who is a rep for Twerber and Wyskeet and my husband. So it was two of us. And Manny was a tiebreaker.
Thankfully, we all agreed. So we can have the big tie, but it can be anywhere from two people to however many will fit in the tasting room. There's a lot of really cool pics that come from like tasting societies like urban clubs and social media, especially on Facebook is where a lot of them kind of start. And it's a really cool perk to go out and be able to try these new expressions and maybe introduce something completely different to market.
Yeah. And it's interesting to talk about what you're saying there, where it's like, obviously, it's, I think it'd be like most of us are kind of who are into spirits and whine are like, oh, that's cool. I never tried that before. I'm going to pick that.
But you do need to, there is obviously a economic factor that they want to be able to sell it as well. So just because you think it's cool, it doesn't mean that the mass public is going to. Exactly. Yeah.
That's a huge thing. Like you have to either buy the bullet and go totally like out of left field. Or find that kind of that balance in between. And it's, it's a challenge because my palate tends to go really towards like, high proof, spicy, like strong flavor profiles.
And that's not for everybody. So I have to kind of consider that. Yeah, that's the other thing too, is I always thought about this one. I've been like picking stuff to sell in my bars and restaurants as well.
It's like, I gotta remember, I'm not just selling to me. Yeah. That's a big deal. And it's funny because like, I've had people online be like, um, thank you so much for the recommendation.
I finally found a call that matches mine. And it's an interesting concept because my palate and this guy's palate over here might be completely different. But if you then try my recommendation and you agree with me, great. You found a match.
But if you totally disagree and you hate what I just said, it doesn't mean that I necessarily off on my notes. It means that maybe our palate are not aligned and you'll hear it. You may be learning something from me, but maybe this other influencer or content creator is a better match for your taste. Right.
Yeah. It's very weird too. It's like that. I guess probably even like when you're serving in a restaurant though, it's like sometimes you recommend something to somebody and they'll be like, Oh, this is not good.
And I'm like, well, it is good just because it's not to your taste. That's not good. Right. And you're kind of doing the same thing when you're recommending whiskey to people.
Well, yeah, it's literally like if someone says my favorite bottle of all time is Buffalo Trace, but that kind of gives me a profile. You like, why Oak? You like it's sweet and not super high proof. And I can recommend so many things for you till the couch come home.
But if you say I like this really crazy, like 140 proof rye to Kai Finnish situation, that's a whole different game. So it really is just like understanding your audience. Well, and it's all about asking questions, right? Now, so that's kind of interesting when you think about it because obviously if you're on your Instagram page, you aren't able to ask your followers what they're into.
You're just out there recommending different stuff. How do you decide to focus on? Do you like consciously focus on recommending very different types of whiskey to people so that there's something for every palette? So I kind of go about it a couple of ways.
The first one, yes, I definitely try and do a variety of things. Like if I were to just do rye whiskey reviews, that's a very specific group of people because rye is not for everybody. But if I go in, like, so I'm in a conscious effort to go and be like, okay, let me do a review on some comfort or Jack Daniels or any of those like classic easy to find bottles on the shelf. And my problem is my palette leans towards more craft more unique like mash bills.
And so it's kind of balance of I have to create the system that is very cut and dry for my review process. And I will review anything. I don't care what it is. If it shows in my house, I will review it whether it's, you know, some crazy agave spirit or whether it's a mass-produced Canadian whiskey, like it doesn't matter, I will review it.
But I have to kind of put my bias aside sometimes and think about it from, okay, my rating says this if I force it, I have four categories. A bus for me is literally something I'll not recommend. It's not good in the cocktail. It's not good meat.
It's not good on ice ball. It's like literally just not good because typically it's either too young or it's really a stringent but it's not overly flavored. And then I have a category that's basic that might be something that's better in a mixed drink or over ice, not necessarily like that first nice and neat, super you grow to. My next category is banger, which for me is something you bring to a party and you'd be sad if the bottle was finished, but like you'd be happy everybody enjoyed it.
And then my bikini rating is something that it's great. You get it for MSRP. It's great flavor profile. The nose matches the palette.
The color is beautiful. The packaging is wonderful and everything just kind of all works together. And I have to be very conscious of if I were doing Jack Daniels like classic bottle of Jack, it might not ever get that highest rating, but it has its place. And that's what I kind of had to understand within my own review system.
Right. Yeah. And like I like how you've deleted it that way, but it's also like it makes sense like, yeah, because there's nothing wrong with like it said like breaking Jack Daniels maybe it's not going to get forced from you, but it's not like it's no one thinks it's a bad spirit. Right.
So how did you decide on the whole bikini motif for this whole thing? Like how did that come to be? So that kind of went hand in hand with the, oh, so you say I'm not going to like burden because I am a certain demographic. Like I am a blonde white female that was in a sorority.
Like I will say I was a sorority girl. So there's a certain kind of expectation that people hear that. But we as a group, it was my husband and I and two friends were in the whiskey room just enjoying the night with friends and they said, wouldn't it be funny if we did literally the exact opposite of everybody else online talking about whiskey. And we were thinking, okay, Amanda, what are you comfortable with and how far are you willing to take this.
And we said the most out of pocket thing for me to do is almost sexualizing away this, this brand and my brand and make it something you haven't seen online. And half the time it's so funny because I'll be doing this review and all of people say, oh, I didn't even realize you had changed into a bikini because I was listening to your note. And it's almost kind of like a desensitization desensitization that I'm trying to do that like women are seen a certain way and they can also teach certain things in this space. And there is room for them.
And that's kind of where it came from. And it's like, oh my God, women are marginalized. It's more of like a women can be one of the guys to and make this space their own in their own way. So that's kind of where it came from.
So that's how it works. If you get a bikini rating, then they're going to see you in the beginning. All right, because our outfit face. So four levels, the worst one I just said one of the day where I was Southern comfort and I'm so sorry, but that is like a college drink and I hadn't had it since college.
I did. So my method is kind of the classic song line method. And so I always start with doing the color, calm down the color, a little information on the brand itself. Maybe the proof, things like that is like informational things.
And then after my nose, the second like once I drink it, I will then transition into the rating outfit based on what is in the glass. So when I know Southern comfort and I tried it, I was in a blow up. Trying to source Rex costume. So it's like basically like a blow up dinosaur slash muggy.
The other one, like the next level up the basic is like Dean's and a D shirt like it's still great. It has its place, but maybe not like be relevant. And then next level is a banger, which I call elevated Miami club. So it's still really good to be fat if you're bottle with missing, but maybe like it's a super high price point that isn't attainable or comparable to what's in the glass or maybe like the nose and the palate don't 100% like connect.
And then bikini is something that for the right price, I will go out there and I'll buy it every single time because there's, you know, all these layers in the nose and the palate and everything just really works together. And that's kind of like a special for that you bring out the by itself for like a friend you're trying to really get the whole experience to do so how much do you factor price into your ratings? Like like if obviously if it's just like an exceptional product, you're probably going to give it a very high rating, but if it's like also like crazy high price, does that affect the rating or? For me, it does like I think when it comes to the biggest discrepancy I have is between the two highest ratings of being in the bikini.
So it might taste amazing smell amazing, have a beautiful label, but they're selling it for $500 for an eight year. And for me, you may, it may be close to impossible to find. So like that is really important to me because like if I'm talking about it to this large community and I'm saying, Hey, this is really amazing. You can't get it anywhere and it's $500 to me.
That's going to drop the rating a little bit. So I wouldn't say the price is like the only factor, but it does play a big part, especially if it's something that can never be found for MSRP. Like I'm a big MSRP hound. I usually don't spend more than $50 above MSRP depending on like the base price.
But that's important to me. It has to be a table. Yeah, and like probably for your demographic who's following you, like that's exactly what they're looking for, right? Because they want you to give them good recommendations of like awesome whiskey that they can also afford and they can find.
Like, yeah, and like for me, like that's why I'm super into craft because yeah, there's some really pretty crap with you out there, like 100% like it needs to age for at least two more years before you can actually bottle it on versus like what you did. But a lot of them are available online and these small distillers are working really hard to make their their bottles more attainable to let the general population and there's also some really cool stuff out there. And that's, that's I think more important and I always people always like, oh, like you always talk about craft demand, but, but there is a place for it. And they're typically just trying to get their stuff out there and not trying to like nickel and don't need to death.
I want to put you on the spot, but do you remember for any by any chance, like what was there ever like the say the lowest price most attainable whiskey that you gave like a bikini rating to. Oh gosh, lowest price most attainable. So as far as like online those, the lowest price, I think of actual I'm trying to think of like in my head the brand. Like for me, when it comes to proof price, sustainability, like I said earlier, the brand flanfay, they have a like $70 120 something proof ride whiskey that's available online and like 44 states.
For me, I think that and like it hit all the ratings like it tastes good. It's not good. But I'll read all circle back with you, but there's some brands that like $30. I mean, right now, right got a bikini rating, but they're banger like they're like $24 on Strandhan's they had an American single malt.
It was a store pick from a local place. It's like $34. And that that American single malt from Strandhan's was incredible. And like I was found like angels and he too was very underpriced and attainable for its like quality.
But yes, I did try the I did try the angle. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
I think I think it had a lot of really cool stuff. They actually when I when it comes to the whiskey and spirits, and Jack Daniel was the first two that I would say got me into this spirit game. And so what was the first one that you mentioned not the Strandhan's with the one before that because that was another one that I sorry. Okay.
Yeah. Awesome. P O N N E G H. Okay.
Well, that's something to look at. We can't get any of it here anymore at this current time. So, no. But you know, maybe if there's a bottle, don't tell anyone.
Okay. Perfect. Well, this is the perfect time to actually tell our listeners where they can follow you and get all this excellent information. So what where can they all find you and get great whiskey recommendations.
So my primary platform is Instagram. You can find me at bourbon and bikinis bourbon underscore and as soon as I put on Instagram, to just type it on Instagram. I'm the first person that pops up. So I'm available there.
I'm also on TikTok, but like I mentioned earlier, it's a little bit more precarious there. And if you like blind tastings, I do have a bourbon and bikinis blind tasting channel on YouTube. Same thing bourbon underscore and bikinis. And I do a lot of blind tastings where I either get it really right or really wrong.
And just give you the straight facts about within the glass. Awesome. Well, thanks so much for giving us your time this evening. I know you got like going on right now.
So we really appreciate it. And yeah, we did it at 250 episodes. So thanks for being number 250. Awesome.
Congratulations on 250. And thank you for having me. I really appreciate it. And I can't wait to see where you guys are next.
Thank you, Mehta. And same to you. Thank you so much. Awesome.
Have a great night.