In this week's guest is Brenton Mofort, the creator and driving force behind Cheers to Happy Hour and Wander Thirsty. Brenton's career is a terrific story of perseverance, listening to his critics and implementing changes and becoming successful while charting his own course in life. Since creating Cheers to Happy Hour in 2017, Brenton has become the authority on where to drink and how to drink. His mission is to influence people to share in his passion for drinking better and not more by taking a more thoughtful approach to what we consume.
In our conversation with Brenton, we discuss his journey from a career in advertising and production to becoming a prominent figure in the cocktail world. Brenton talks about the work and effort to build the brand from scratch, how he developed relationships with brands, bartenders, bars and restaurants. We discuss his strategic approach to content creation and social media growth. Brenton also talks about exploring new opportunities and product development and brand diversification, plus we cover a lot of other topics as always.
It was a pleasure to spend time talking with Brenton after meeting at the Toronto Cocktail Festival earlier this fall. Make sure you check Brenton out online on Instagram at Cheers to Happy Hour and Wander Dot thirsty or check the show notes as always for all the links. We want to thank Brenton again for joining us on the podcast and enjoy the show. All right, we're back with another episode of the industry podcast.
My name is Kip. This is Dan. What is happening? Not too much.
It's not a exciting week. So other than that, you know, usual, usual yourself. Yeah, after a port got through the Halloween weekend and yeah, here we are. How was the Halloween weekend at the bar with the Blue Jays games?
It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Yeah, yeah, I think Halloween saved us. I'm assuming I haven't seen the exact breakdown on the days yet, but the weekend wasn't as bad as I was anticipating. So that's good.
Nice. Yeah, for those wondering, we're recording this on Monday, November the 3rd. So we have a couple of weeks, the lead way before the episodes get released. So right.
Hence the reason a little couple of weeks behind. Sometimes we can hear these. But yeah, I mean, too bad for Blue Jays fans to add for them. However, I am not disappointed that the playoff run is now over owning a bar that does not have television.
Not great for business. But if you are in the kitchen, you want to check out this television list bar, then you should come on down to Sugar Run at Sugar Run Bar on Instagram, find out everything that's going on there. Lots of stuff going on all the time. We just had Halloween Burlesque.
That was good. That's probably what saved Halloween night. Music, we have karaoke on Sundays. Yeah, lots of stuff going on, but the easiest way to figure it out is actually to run bar.
And if you are interested in winerspirits, then check out Allure Distillery at Allure Distillery Company on Instagram. Allure, just we're about to announce that the, well by the time you hear this, the announcement will be made. But the World Spirits Awards, the Lemon Shallow from Allure Distillery received a gold medal and the Espresso LeCure, the Cafe Noire, received a silver. So that's in the world as it's worth.
So big deal for Allure Distillery. And also Malabar, why don't forget about all the great things that are going on there. If you're interested for wine or spirits from either of these places, it's kipsonders.gmail.com. If you like what we're doing here on the show, hit us up, help us out, subscribe, follow Rake Review, that's the easiest way to help.
And if you'd like to be a guest on the show, then you can DM us at the industry podcast or email us at info at theindustrypodcast.club. As always, a great big shout out to zakana at zakana.co for the artwork he does for the Instagram page, always much appreciated. And you know, if you're just listening to this podcast right now and you're thinking, well, I should make a cocktail because they're talking about booze the whole time and now I'm getting thirsty. But you're not maybe as a professional bartender or you're looking for some new recipes to try out.
What would you recommend them? Well, today's episode is a partnership with the Bibliothel Cocktail app, built by bartenders for bartenders. Start free with a library of 500 plus recipes that keeps growing as bartenders worldwide contribute and classics get researched. Ready for more?
Individual subscriptions unlock the professional builder unlimited flavor searches and custom ingredients running a bar business accounts give you collaborative tools, shared ingredients and a menu analytics over 1000 custom user recipes have already been added to in Bibliothel. Whether you're perfecting your craft or revolutionizing operations in Bibliothel scales with your ambitions, here are the details in episode 216 of the industry podcast. See why it was featured by Bon Appetit then hit number one in the app store when it launched. The free download gets you 500 plus recipes in all core features with subscription options for individuals and businesses to unlock advanced tools and connect entire teams.
Visit www.mw.mw.com for more and we do have the links to everything we talk about in the show notes as well so make sure you check it out there. In Bibliothel, invaluable tool. You're also an invaluable tool there. But please hold me on Friday night on my walk home.
Yeah, okay. Well, I think that's all we need to chat about in advance here. So let's get to our guests and if you follow Instagram, anything on Cocktail related on Instagram at all then you already know his work. He's the man behind the extremely popular Cheers to Happy Hour.
This is Brenton Moforth. How are you Brenton? Hey nice to see you. Yeah, thanks for joining us.
It's great to see you again. At the Toronto Cocktail Festival a couple weeks ago. So that was cool. Glad to have you on the show.
Yeah, okay. So let's talk. Well, why don't we just start by you telling our listeners exactly what it is that you do and what's the idea behind Cheers to happy hour? So I started in 2017.
I was trying to pursue a life in production and the advertising world and at some point I just realized that it wasn't really where I wanted to be. So I had to basically sit down with myself and like, yeah, what is my path? What should I be doing? Up until this time I've been following this old maxim, you know, find something you do for free and do that for a living and you'll never work a day in your life.
And you know, I figured maybe I'll just take that a step further and not what I'll do for free. But what am I spending all my money on? And I looked at my credit card and I realized that I have a real affinity for the liquor industry. So yeah, so, you know, if I'm willing to spend all my money there, why the hell not just, you know, find a way to actually make a living from it that way I could spend my days doing things that I truly, truly love.
And that was 2017. And it really blew up in 2019 and 2020 was a really interesting time just because, you know, when people got bored of sourdough, actually, they actually really got into doing, you know, intricate drink making. And I was right there, you know, feeding them all the crazy complex recipes that they can, they now have time to execute on. So yeah, and that just keeps devolving from there.
So you started this in 2017, to start as you making your own cocktails or to start about as you reviewing bars and restaurants. Like I know you kind of do both. So yeah, so actually I just wanted to put things up online so that people could rip it to shit. Honestly.
I knew like, I know that, you know, people at home on their computers are so much more willing to give their feedback. Oh, for sure. And people are warriors. Yes, serious.
And I figured, you know, considering how little I knew about the industry and making classic cocktails at that time, I figured, you know, the trolls would be valuable. All this crazy, harsh and, you know, unnecessarily mean feedback at that point would be quite valuable. And yeah, so I just published, I just published stuff and sure enough, like I got, you know, some pretty good education from. At this point, because this was such a situation for me where like, I was really, like, I was really trying to etch out a living.
I, you know, sacrificed all type of income at that point. So I gave myself a year to make basically no money. You know, I had a little bit of severance from an agency contract that I'd ended. Well, they ended.
But, so that had just enough money to live a very uncomfortable life for about a year. And I took, you know, I took a couple of contracts, you know, through that year just to like keep my head above water. But yeah, for a year, I basically made nothing. And it was just, you know, intended to hustle my ass off and do this thing and, you know, break into an industry and really carve out a niche for myself.
Because, you know, leading up to this idea, like, I would be, there's times where I'd work on my own and like, you know, I didn't like it too much because I was spending way too much money or sorry, spending way too much time, you know, doing sales and trying to find clients and maintain clients. So I wasn't really, you know, doing much actual fun work. So I got with a couple of agencies, you know, I took on some long term contracts. And so now I'm doing all the fun stuff, like all the creative and they were doing all the sales.
But for some reason, I was just even more miserable. So yeah, and then I figured, you know, in 2017, I figured, you know, if I were to just focus on one industry and just really hammer it in there and carve out a niche for myself and eventually build a reputation and that reputation would do the sales and I could just do all the fun stuff, you know, the creative and all the production. And yeah, so that was, you know, that was motivation enough for me to live uncomfortably for about a year. And yeah, I just spent that time trying to learn as much about classic cocktails as possible.
And eventually I look at my dwindling homestash, like, I'm going to have to replace all these bottles and shit, this, this little mess tag is going to be really fast. So that's actually how I got started with bars, you know, working with bartenders. Like, eventually I just started reaching out to them and be like, you know, show me three of your best cocktails and, you know, in exchange for the drink and the product, I'll give you photos, I'll, you know, publish you, I'll put you online and I'll give you a little bit of press. And at first, nobody gave a fuck.
Like nobody could care less. Like, they, nobody got back. But then eventually Josh and Emily, who are running Magiong Bar, they were running Magiong at the time, they got back and they brought me in and I shot some really cool photos with them and they introduced me to some people and slowly but surely I started becoming that guy, just ubiquitous and, and eventually everybody started wondering who the fuck I was and they would start getting back to me. And eventually I got to the point where I was just introduced to enough people that I didn't even have to reach out.
It was kind of just like, hey, do you want to come do that with my, like, you know, at my bar and be like, yeah, let's do it. Yeah. So it's kind of, and it works with the bars as well because you're not only pumping up the individual bartender in the cocktail, but you're also providing basically free advertising to the bar as well. Yeah.
And a very, like a very niche market to like this isn't just a billboard on the side of a highway that has been being seen by, you know, anybody. This is people who have opted in to be an audience member specifically because this is what they're interested in. They like to go to bars. They like to know what to order and, you know, the odd time they like to recreate these things at home.
And even nowadays, even though it's so, like these recipes are so complex, I make it very comprehensive. So like, you know, I've noticed that a lot of people actually do execute these things at home. Yeah. So kind of the deal is you're breaking it down to every single step so they can like figure out how to make the syrups or like if they're sat watching about or anything like that, you're like drawing out the entire process for them.
So it's like, it's like how to manual. Yeah, exactly. And so did you have any experience in service industry before you decided to do this or you were just a happy customer? When I first moved to Toronto in 2019, sorry, 2009, I went for a job interview at a place called La Palette and I did get involved and that is the closest I've ever been to working in the service industry.
We interviewed the owner of La Palette actually. Yeah. You know, funny enough, like I go in there a lot now and I'm pretty tight with the staff there. It's one of my favorite places to go and eat and drink.
I love that place. Yeah, we haven't had a chance to eat there yet, but apparently the food is amazing and especially if you like course. Yeah. And I think everything they've got and like the aesthetics there, but what you really got to do is follow a band called Little Ram Bunchis and they will play there once in a blue moon and they're like a raunchy jazz band.
Yeah, cool. All the brass and they'll go in there and you know how like they have the bar on the left and then they have that kitchen partition on the right. So the band will stand on those two bars and they'll play above your head and you'll be sitting there or you'll be standing there drinking a glass of wine or a beer and a trombonus. Well, you know, a trombone player is going to be on top of you just playing this raunchy jazz and if you just get a little tipsy, you'll lose yourself.
Yeah. Amazing. Yeah, I've seen them post a couple of videos of that. It looks amazing, like an amazing party.
So you mentioned that it blew up sort of in 2019. Was that just because you started making more connections or was there another specific reason? So that's when I started like monetizing. That's when it became my full time job.
And yeah, it's just it's just when things started to catch fire. 2020 was actually when it really, really blew up. And the reason for that was, you know, the pandemic, you know, it's got everybody at home and they're much more likely to, you know, put in the time, but also a couple initiatives that I was doing during the lockdown. It just at that point, like, you know, when we especially when we first locked down, most people were like, holy shit, what am I going to do?
Like, how am I going to pay rent and all like everybody was kind of freaking out me, me too for the first two weeks. I was really wondering, like, what am I going to do? But then I realized, like, I don't really need to change too much. Like, what I started to do was reach out to brands and I would convince them to hire bartenders to make me cocktails.
And instead of serving them to me at the bar, they would just email me the recipe and I would recreate the recipe at home, shoot it and publish it. And now the bartender, you know, get the bartender paid. I could still do my work as well. And because at that point, like everything was in my life was shifting towards focusing on the bars and, you know, going out.
So I wanted to keep that going and this was a really good way of doing that. But it was also a good way to get the bartenders paid because a lot of them were out of work. And not a considerable amount of money because, you know, I was small at the time too, but it was, you know, some folding cash, a little, you know, some groceries in here and there. So because I did that, Forbes magazine did an article about it.
A lot of people were talking about it. And I feel like that had a huge impact on, you know, my pandemic growth. And yeah, it was such a pivotal time for everybody. Everything, you know, there's a lot of new avenues opening up because of that.
What was the reaction originally when you were serving up to some of these brands? Because I know that, I mean, obviously brands sponsor a lot of social media pages now, as long as you promote a brand. Like, what, like, did you have enough followers at that point that it was easier or did you get some sort of a pain on minds? So I did a bit of a push method, actually.
So, you know, reaching out cold to anybody. And I experienced this throughout my entire life, you know, trying to be an entrepreneur, reaching out cold to anybody, chances are you're going to get crickets. Nobody gives a shit. And if you're not a well-known name, they're not going to do so many options out there.
You know, they're going to go with somebody that they know. So knowing this, I did a bit of a push method and I got to know the reps really well. And they were the ones who kind of pushed me forward and introduced me to the marketing and the brand managers. And that's how, in the beginning, that's how I got a lot of sales.
You know, just, you know, collaborating with reps, like scratching their backs and then, you know, helping them do things that they need to do. And then they would, in turn, I would say to them, it's like, you know, I know you don't have much budget for me and they don't because they're spending, you know, they need to focus on on premise. Also, don't want to take that money away from the bars anyway. So I said, you know, I know you don't have any budget for me, but I would like to take what we do to the next level.
Can you introduce me to your brand manager? That way we can take some, you know, we can use the marketing, the marketing budget. And, um, and this works out for the brand for the, this works out really well for both the, the reps and the brand manager because I'm creating content like they want to do anyway. They want to be on social media.
But now the rep who isn't paying for like my services, they're able to use that to do collaborations with the bars, the bartenders. So it's basically creating new budget that would normally be, you know, used to put like a, you know, some kind of dark post on social media. Right. Yeah.
So yeah, sales is a fickle thing. And I'm lucky enough that, you know, my dad's a salesman too. And he, uh, he helped me understand this whole thing too, but just trying to live in a city, you know, like pay for rent. It's crazy here.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You put yourself in a situation where you need to figure it out.
And I was doing that for so many years already. And now that I was like focusing on one niche, um, doing this push method and, you know, warming up those leads really, you know, coupled well with the fact that they actually know my name. They actually heard of me before. And the fact that they've heard about me before, they're like, holy shit.
Yeah, let's have a phone call. And I would say to them, I'd be like, you know, we could have a phone call. I could try and sell you the dream. And at the very worst case scenario, we're going to have a great conversation.
And maybe, maybe if you learn something about me or something about the industry in general, best case scenario, we do some, you know, some projects together and we do some great work. Worst case, you know, great conversation. Yeah, that makes sense. You know, when you got like on your bio, it says that you are a bar reviewer and recipe developer as well.
So how do those things play into the whole truth happier? So actually the recipe creation thing that actually because of the pandemic. So like before the pandemic, me doing collaborations with bartenders, like, I'll just look at what they're doing. I'm like, wow, that's amazing.
But then during the pandemic, when they're emailing me the recipes and they're sending me like a recipe that has five ingredients and each ingredient has like steps to making it, like doing fat washes and all these, you know, milk clarifications. And I'm like, I'm looking at this. I'm like, holy shit, I got to learn this. Is that right?
Learn how to do this or I starve? So, you know, because of that, like the hands on, the hands on training that I got through that. And you know, being able to see the results. Yeah, that really got me, you know, some great, that was great training.
And so I started doing some recipes. They weren't great, but I don't think anybody's recipes are great when they first starting out. Like you got to, you got to shit the better few times before you get something that's truly amazing. And then when the pandemic ends and I've got this knowledge and now I'm collaborating with these bartenders, I can collaborate with them on such a much more intimate level.
And I can understand what they're doing. And that was a huge change. And then it was some, like every time I bring out a new client, the first thing I say, you know, let's bring on some bartenders, try to send my list. But there's some brands that just don't have any interest in that.
So I have to create the recipes. And I feel like I've gotten myself to a point where the recipes are actually pretty good. They're, I would say they're contenders. Yeah, but I try not to do it.
I try not to do it too much because first of all, I just, you know, the amount of time that it takes to create some like an amazing recipe that I'm willing to share with several thousand people. Like I just rather somebody else do it. Because then you're spotlighting a bar and a bartender as well. Which is exactly what I want to do.
And that's my MO. Yeah. And so basically the model here is just for people who don't understand, or maybe not, or curious in doing something like that on their own. You're reaching out to big liquor brands, smaller liquor brands, whatever, and saying, look, if I get a bartender or myself to make a cocktail with your brand, you pay me an extra amount of dollars.
Yeah, exactly. Okay. Just wanted to get that out of the way just in case people didn't understand how it works. But and you have developed at this point until now, like, what, you got like 138,000 followers, something like that.
So was there a specific time you remember like a real spike in those numbers happening? Uh, yeah. Who am I? So, well, of course, like, you know, that huge press that, you know, you know, when I was getting published in Forbes and the doc on like, there was a lot of press.
And that gave me a little bit of bump, but not too much. But what really did change everything? Fucking TikTok. Oh my God.
I was like, we can use TikTok, but TikTok changed the world. You know, before TikTok, photos were, you know, king, like photos were doing really, really well. And I didn't have any motivation to get into video. And at this point, no motivation.
But then, you know, TikTok happened and I'm like, fuck it out. You know, I'm going to stay the course. I've been doing pretty well with photo. I'm going to keep doing that.
That's my thing. But then eventually I realized, I need to, I need to learn video yesterday. And like I said earlier, like when you put yourself in a shitty position and you have to figure it out or starve, you know, you think at a different level, your brain works on a different level. So it was a matter of four months for me saying, I don't need to do video to me being like pretty comfortable, you know, relatively proficient at video four months.
And that's because I was in a situation where like, if I don't do video, I'm fucked. Right. Yeah. Yeah.
And so, and then I was it, you would do videos of like what exactly? Basically, you know, the way the way that I got into video so quickly, the way I was able to pick it up, like I had been training, you know, I was a trained photographer. I was, you know, for years, I was learning how to take photos of cocktails. But the way I kind of like parlayed this into into video, I would just line it up like a photo and just, you know, push record instead of pushing the shutter.
And I noticed like, you know, I'm a huge movie buff too. And if you were to look at some of the best movies out there in the world and you pause it at pretty much any time in that movie, like you would see the composition as kind of like a photograph. And the best directors, they, they compose their videos like a photograph each frame. So I figured like, I'm just going to do the same thing.
I'm going to like, I'm going to set up my shots the same way I would have photo to make it beautiful. And then I'll just press record and see what happens. And sure enough, like, you know, pouring, pouring liquids into yarries and, you know, pouring, then pouring the cocktail into the, into the class and all that stuff. Like it just, it turned out looking pretty good.
And I upgraded my, my lenses to get a macro lens, get a nice, nice, you know, up close and sexy. And yeah, so yeah, that's how I got into video. But it was just videos of you making the cocktails? Yeah.
Yeah. Just hands really. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah. And then you just, sorry, I just, you put, and you just put these videos in TikTok. And that's what led to the, yeah.
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah.
So the thing is, like, the reason why TikTok changes the world so much is that it made video very accessible for people who had a lot of time because I haven't really panicked to make two. And because, because TikTok blew up so much and so fast and because it made, you know, it was capitalizing on people having free time and people were actually like, just, you know, regular office folk would be learning how to do video to Instagram, had to, had to compete with that. So they basically ripped off TikTok and they became TikTok. And, and the reason why, oh, sorry, I feel like I, I just realized I went on a huge tangent here.
So back to your earlier question. How do I, you know, where I got the biggest spike? It was during this time because Instagram was competing so heavily with TikTok that anybody who flipped over to, to video and did it like a relatively decent video, it would be, it would reward you by, by giving you a lot of exposure. Mm-hmm.
So at this time, when I was first getting into video and first getting relatively good at it, that's when I was getting a huge, huge amount of viewership and a lot of followers. Mm-hmm. Yeah. I was going to ask about, I think, editing software-wise.
What did you start off using for software to edit? And what are you using now? Premiere Pro. Premiere Pro.
I'm still using Premiere Pro. I'm just doing a lot, you know, doing a lot better at it. Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. I've thought about getting, I've got, you know, after effects, but I don't really feel like I need it too too much. You know, I feel like every, I tried to build my skills set as much as I can. And I've done so quite a bit.
And I know I'm probably going to get to a place where I'm going to want to really get into after effects and do some crazy stuff. DaVinci Resolve, like I love, you know, what the capabilities, but I'm just working on a, like, a laptop, you know, my, my MacBook Pro. So that, you know, DaVinci, like, it's just too robust for my computer. Yeah.
Yeah. And what's the longest video clips that you end up creating? So in the beginning, I was trying to keep it at, you know, 12 seconds. But now I'd say like a minute and six, I think a minute and six seconds is my longest video.
Gotcha. And I used to be doing videos for TikTok and Instagram, or just primarily one or the other. Just Instagram. Just Instagram.
I sometimes syndicate over to TikTok, but realistically, my style of shooting is not really conducive to TikTok. TikTok is great for anybody who wants to sit in front of a camera and talk about something that they're really knowledgeable about. This is why I really, you know, this is why I was really valuable during the pandemic, because let's say like a liquor wreck, you know, got furloughed, and then just go pick up a ring light and a nice camera. They sit in front of the camera and talk about liquor.
Like, you know, that's actually what really, you know, changed the world is because it's so simple. Like, you know, you need a ring light and a relatively good camera and a knowledge. And there you are, like, your Instagram or TikTok famous. For me, like, I don't want to be in front of the camera, to be honest, I didn't even really care for anybody to know who I was.
I just wanted to know who, what Cheers to Happy Hour was. And I wanted them to value a well-crafted cocktail or a well-made drink at a bar. I didn't really want to get in front of the camera. And it's not really, really, you know, where I belong anyway.
Yeah, like, your whole thing is sort of then popping up other people's work. So, like, to put your own face forward would be kind of weird in that scenario, I would imagine. Yeah. And also, I'm just like, like, as soon as I'm in front of the camera and it starts rolling, I'm like, where the hell did my personality go?
Okay, so you also ended up getting into doing, like, judging cocktail competitions as well, that's come through this. So at some point, people started to recognize you as an expert in the field. So do you remember a specific time on that switch? Like, you're just a guy who liked to go to the bars and now people are looking to you, like, as for an expert opinion.
To be quite candid with you, like, they looked at me as an expert well before I had earned that title. Yeah, well, it helps if you have 138,000 followers. Yeah, so, and actually, like, you know, lots of imposter syndrome is really what led me down this crash course and really helped me immerse myself to the point, like, where I thought that I was at least, you know, earning my, you know, my notoriety. And also, like, I kind of like it when I get trolls online because they help me stay humble, they help me, you know, be motivated.
You know, it always hurts a little bit, but then that hurt. It pushes me to make sure that I'm, make sure that they're wrong, you know what I mean? So it took me a long time to really feel like I was worthy of that accolade, you know, that notoriety. But then eventually, I feel like I feel like I've gained, like, a good enough taste where, you know, good enough understanding of what goes into a good drink that I have, you know, have the ability to lend this expertise in a way that, you know, I'm actually providing that value.
And I've also sat on the other side of the wood so many times that I know the difference between good hospitality and bad hospitality. And I know the difference, you know, between a good drink and a bad drink. Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Well, and that's the, like, I think there's a value space for someone like who did not grow up in the service industry because I think we tend, people did tend to get a little snobby about it. It's like, well, somebody was never working in the service industry. How are they going to tell me how, like, to make a drink or how a drink should taste or whether it's good or not? But really, if you have a strong palate, you don't have to have spent eight, 10,000 hours behind a bar to know what a good drink tastes like.
Nor do you have to know to sit at that bar to, like, you mentioned to know what good hospitality feels like, right? Like you've put, you've put in the hours just on the other side. Yeah. Yeah.
Like if you put me into, you know, I get a lot of people saying, oh, you should join like a bartender or a competition. I'm like, I could make a decent drink. But if you want me to make a, you know, if you want me to get behind the bar and understand how to run a bar and, you know, do that, you know, do what a bartender does, I have no experience doing that. Like, and I'm totally okay with that.
Yeah. So, well, I guess I have two questions now because, so you've reached this point in your career doing this that you've, it's obviously become very successful. You've monetized it. How long do you think this can go for?
Have you thought about that? And have you thought about doing anything to expand it or something different? Like, where's your brain on all of this? I, I'm, I'm all, you know, always conscious of the fact that everything that we do is so volatile.
Like, my work is just as volatile as, you know, somebody working at like a, you know, financial institution. Like, if there's a recession, you know, they have a lot of layoffs. Maybe there's something that happens where there's, you know, all this new regulation on social media that I'm, then my, you know, livelihood is screwed. So I've never really wanted to keep all my eggs in one basket.
It's really tough to really take on more. But I've, you know, I've thought about creating products, getting them on the shelves. I've got a couple things in the, in the works right now in terms of products. In fact, I just actually, actually, I guess it's not, there's no video here, but I got a, I got a, two years ago, my wife was pregnant and we got all nostalgic and we decided to get a real Christmas tree.
And when it's, you know, about time we got to throw this thing out, I'm like, shit, it's going to suck. Like every time you walk into your place and you get that, that aroma washing over you, it's amazing. And I'm like, oh, I'm going to have to throw it out. So I reached out to a friend of mine who runs Nickel9 Distillery and I'm like, hey, do you want to distill my Christmas tree?
And he's like, yeah, so now we have this Christmas tree, Jen, which, you know, yeah, we've got, it's great to hear like, we, we've balanced it out with like the, you know, it's balsam fur and we just, you know, bounced it out with, you know, obviously Juniper, some Angelica root, some cardamom, just to, you know, compliment the balsam fur and then some, some cocoa nymphs there just to, so it isn't so much, you know, you know, woodiness in a, in a glass, just really round out those flavors. And I think it's like a really balanced gen. It works really well with soda. And that's, so that's like my first little foray into two products.
It's a bit novelty, but we're going to see where it leads us and we got a couple other things like we're going to, we're going to also make what we are making some balsam fur bitters. And I'm thinking that, you know, if that works out, we, you know, might flush out a couple other flavors that are not a little bit more uncommon. Like every brand has, you know, chocolate bitters, every brand has, you know, orange bitters, but there's a lot of flavors that are really underrepresented. And I feel like there might be a little bit of a gap in the market there.
So we're going to start with, you know, balsam fur and see how it goes. And that might be a little bit more, you know, financial security for future, you know, future, future proof. Right, because that's the thing. It's like, I just think about like, it's amazing what you've done with this and congratulations, frankly, but like, I always think just because I'm an entrepreneur, as well as like, what is the limit that I can take this to before I got that people are still going to be interested in it, you know what I mean?
Like, and that includes the bars I open as well, like how long, because we always like in the bar business think five years, because that's your lease. And like, okay, let's make it five years and then regroup and see if we want to re up for the next five years. So I assume doing stuff like this, you kind of got to think in the same manner. Yeah.
And also on the side that you're happy are, you know, being future proof, like it's it's a constant evolution. Like, if I look at my work from six months ago, it's going to be a lot different than it is now. And it's not like I'm changing. It's evolving.
Like, like, I used to think, okay, you know, just showing people how to make cocktails and, you know, here's the ingredients, boom, boom, boom inside of a shaker. But then I started getting into showing them full on videos on how to make the ingredients. And then I realized that it's better to include, you know, include them all into one longer video, because people actually do like to see if the content's good. They like to, there's a lot of people watching a full minute long video.
But like, I'm moving in the direction of more documentary style. So maybe we could push it a bit farther past one minute and have it be, you know, a bit more time cutting down into the raw passion of kind of like, you know, the farm to farm the glass thing, you know, kind of take some inspiration from chess table, but doing it in a drinks matter. I'm working on a project right now where me and a, I guess I'll just say, I don't know that'd be too discreet. But Hugo, Tony and I, we went up to Tamarack Farms to like early early in the morning to pick some first frost carrots, because we're going to use those carrots in a festive cocktail for the product we're working on.
And it's very much farmed the glass, you know, cutting down to the raw passion of, you know, it's not just pulling things off the back bar. It's, you know, taking fresh ingredients at proper times of the year and using them in a way that many people haven't even thought about. And we're making a, like a really tasty drink about it from it. Amazing.
Well, Brendan, I can't tell you enough how impressed I am with how you built this thing from the, from ground zero and where you've come, where you are now with it. It's quite an amazing story. So in case anyone who's listening to this doesn't know, which I do, just tell our listeners where they can follow you and see what's coming up next. Find me on Instagram.
Cheers to Happy Hour. That's it at Cheers to Happy Hour. This is Brendan Mowfor. Thanks so much for joining us and giving us your time.
And yeah, we look forward to see what's coming up next. Amazing. Hope to see you soon. How's it going?
Thanks, man. It's great to be here. Thank you.