Episodes

In this episode of Barrel Room Chronicles, I speak with silicon valley engineers and Bespoken Spirits founders Stu Aaron and Martin Janousek. We chat about their proprietary ACTivation technology which completed spirit maturation in only 3 days. Plus, Chef Louise Leonard tells me about a cookie recipe that might surprise you. Barrel Room Chronicles is a production of 1st Reel Entertainment and is available on Spotify, Apple, Google, iHeartRadio, Amazon and wherever you listen to your favorite p...

On this episode of Barrel Room Chronicles I speak with John Ralph about his Double Gold award winning Poitin, and the history of the Irish Spirit. Then later in the show I speak with Chef Louise Leonard, about a redheaded Mary. About Mad March Hare: First distilled by monks (God bless you lads), the Irish enjoyed their poitín for a thousand years before it was banned by the Brits in 1661. But we’re resilient feckers and poitín never really went away. It remained part of Irish drinking culture...

On this episode of Barrel Room Chronicles we speak with Sanjeev Banga about Rampur Indian Single Malt Whisky. Then Chef Louise Leonard creates a special dessert with it! Guest Bio Sanjeev Banga has been spearheading global reach for Radico Khaitan brands since 2008 as President – International Business. Radico brands are available in over 85 countries. He has been instrumental in the growth and premiumization journey of the company through the creation of luxury brands, such as Rampur Indi...

On this episode of Barrel Room Chronicles I speak with Steve Akley, founder of the ABV network about his whiskey journey and how his hobby grew into the network he has today. Then later in the show I speak with Bob White, founder of Kentucky Guides LLC, on how he went from local newspaper reporter to small business tour guide and entrepreneur. Guest Bios Steve Akley is the owner of the ABV Network, LLC . We are a bourbon media company that got started in 2016. Our mission is to provide quality c...

In this episode of Barrel Room Chronicles you’ll get a glimpse of 291 Colorado Distillery when I speak to Michael Myers in Tales from the Still . 291 Colorado Whiskey is a uniquely American story – honoring the Western whiskey of a bygone era, 291 is the passion project of a former New York City fashion photographer and was first created in a small basement from a one-of-a-kind still constructed from old copper photographic plates. 291 is made the Colorado Way®, grain to barrel to bottle, and th...

On this episode of Barrel Room Chronicles, you’ll get a behind the scenes look at Mrs. Robinson’s Irish Pub in Toluca Lake California in today’s Tavern Talk . I’ll catch up with owner Brett Robinson and talk about how he became the proprietor of the pub and how he has weathered the pandemic. But first, I’ll chat with whiskey filmmaker Bo Cumberland in Tales from the Still . Bo Cumberland is a video editor/independent filmmaker with over fifteen years of video editing experience, ten of those yea...

On this week's episode of Barrel Room Chronicles, I visit Frey Ranch in Fallen NV. So if you are watching this on www.BarrelRoomChronicles.com, YouTube or Spotify, you are in for a treat! After our in person interview, Colby takes us on a private tour of the distillery and later in the show Chef Louise Leonard dishes out some good cooking ideas with the Frey's Single Grain Oat Whiskey! Barrel Room Chronicles is a production of 1st Reel Entertainment and is distributed by Anchor.FM and is availab...

On this episode of Barrel Room Chronicles, we discover the long lost  whiskey history of Peoria, Illinois. Andy Faris and Jeff Murphy join me  in a conversation about how they are working to bring back one of the  cities greatest distilleries from pre-prohibition era. Plus, Chef Louise  Leonard chats with me about her cooking creation using the wheat  whiskey expression from JK Williams Distilling.

On this episode of Barrel Room Chronicles, A Glass Apart Author Fionnán O’Connor, shares how his academic career collided with the water of life. As an undergrad at UC Berkeley, he taught a one unit class in the  Celtic Studies department about the amber spirit. This experience helped lead him into his post graduate work on the history of lost Irish  Whiskeys. With a grant from the Irish government and the cooperation of Boann Distillery, O’Connor will be the first person to have a PHD in “Ghost Whiskey.”

On this premiere episode of Barrel Room Chronicles, Bernard Walsh shares his whiskey journey, while tasting through several expressions from his brand, Writers Tears. Bernard also talks about his involvement with Left Bank, a documentary about four remarkable women who made the first publication of Ulysses (by author James Joyce) possible in 1922—and lastly, he tells us about the recent acquisition of the Walsh Whiskey company by the Amber Beverage Group. To see the full article click on the...

This week's guests on Spirits of Whisk(e)y are Christopher Pellegrini and Stephen Lyman, founders of Honkaku Spirits, US importer of a rapidly expanding portfolio of Japanese spirits, including koji whiskey and a wide range of shochus. Listen and learn how Christopher, a university lecturer turned certified sake and awamori expert, and Stephen, a clinical epidemioligist and medical educator, went from indulging a passion for Japanese libations to pinning their professional future on building a g...

This week's guest on Spirits of Whisk(e)y is Rhonda Kallman, Founder & CEO of Boston Harbor Distillery . Located at The Port on Boston Harbor in a renovated 1850s brick and beam building, the Distillery produces an expansive portfolio of distilled spirits, with a particular focus on whiskey, including a bottled-in-bond single malt. Listen and learn how the matriarch of Boston's craft beer movement—Rhonda founded both The Boston Beer Company, makers of Samuel Adams, and New Century Brewing Co.—we...

Hey Spirit of Whiskey fans! Check out our new spin off series, Barrel Room Chronicles , hosted by Kerry Moynahan. BRC will bring you more whiskey, more spirits, more stories, and most importantly, more people of the food and beverage industry. Each episode will have a variety of new segments including Dram Diaries, Tales From the Still, Tavern Talk, Whiskey Whereabouts, Club Corner, and fan favorite, World of Weezy with Chef Louise Leonard. Check out the 1st two episodes streaming now on Anchor,...

This week's guest on Spirits of Whisk(e)y is Louise Mc Guane, Founder of J.J. Corry Irish Whiskey and Ireland's first modern whiskey bonder. Listen and learn how this daughter of Irish agriculture enjoyed a career promoting a global portfolio of spirits with the likes of Diageo, Pernod Ricard, and Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton before returning to the family farm to revive the generations-old practice of blending and maturing select whiskeys from across the Emerald Isle. Spirits of Whisk(e)y is a p...

Welcome to the Barrel Room Chronicles, a new podcast coming soon hosted by Kerry Moynahan. Kerry is a Certified Bourbon Steward, former Bartender, and all-around whiskey aficionado. Over the last year Kerry has combined her love for whiskey into media projects which celebrate this great spirit. And for the last 20 years she has been helping other people tell their stories though television, film and other media. But now it’s time for her to take her love for whiskey and her experience in the e...

This week's guest on Spirits of Whisk(e)y is Mark Reynier, Founder of Waterford Whisky in Waterford, Ireland, the Emerald Isle's oldest city, as well as Renegade Rum Distillery on the tiny Caribbean island nation of Grenada. Listen and learn how this former wine merchant went from resurrecting Islay's long-shuttered Bruichladdich Distillery and helping to revive the tradition of Scottish gin making by introducing The Botanist to converting a former Guinness brewery into Waterford Distillery, mak...

This week's guest on Spirits of Whisk(e)y is Paul John, Chairman of John Distilleries in Goa, India, makers of Paul John Indian Single Malts, some of the world's finest and most award-winning whiskies. Listen and learn how the company, founded in 1996, grew from an idea to a leading spirits manufacturer in less than a decade—not just in India, but across the globe—introducing its first single malt whiskies, to worldwide acclaim, in 2012. Please visit spiritsofwhiskey.com for show notes, pa...

This week's guest on Spirits of Whisk(e)y is Harris Cooper, PhD, Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience, Emeritus, at Duke University and author of American History Through a Whiskey Glass. Listen and learn how Dr. Cooper, the editor and author of numerous social science textbooks and an avid student of American history, went from hosting whiskey and music pairing dinners with his wife to becoming an Executive Bourbon Steward and penning an engaging and whimsical book that colorfully illustrates...

This week's guest on Spirits of Whisk(e)y is Matthew Cordiner, Global Brand Ambassador for Single Malts at Scotland's John Dewar & Sons. While this Speyside native grew up in the village of Craigellachie, home to one of the single malt whiskies in his charge, it was a chance summer position as a distillery tour guide that opened his eyes to the possibility of a career in promoting the water of life. Hear Matthew wax both poetic and technical over Aberfeldy and Craigellachie, but two of the five ...

This week's guest on Spirits of Whisk(e)y is Joe Beatrice, Founder of Louisville, Kentucky's Barrell Craft Spirits and his newest project, Stellum Spirits. After a successful career in advertising, founding and leading Blue Dingo Digital in the 1990s, the Boston native and New York technology and marketing entrepreneur turned his talents to whiskey and rum, launching Barrell Craft in 2013. Hear Joe, the driving force behind Stellum Spirits, discuss the brand's initial blends, Stellum Bourbon and...

This week's guests on Spirits of Whisk(e)y are the powerhouse trio who quite literally run, distill, and blend Penderyn, the first whisky made in Wales in over 100 years. Listen and learn how CEO Stephen Davies, Distillery Manager Laura Davies, and Master Blender Aista Phillips followed unlikely career paths to producing award-winning single malt whiskies and other spirits at the Welsh Whisky Company and its Penderyn Distillery, in the foothills of the magnificent Brecon Beacons in South Wales. ...

This week's guest on Spirits of Whisk(e)y is Dave Beck, a 3D digital, game, and new media artist. He's also a professor of game design at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, in Menomonie, Wisconsin. All very exciting stuff, but just why are we featuring him and his work in this space? Well, he created Distilled, a board game of spirited strategy based on his sabbatical research in—where else?—Scotland! Please visit spiritsofwhiskey.com for full show notes, past episodes, and coming attractions! W...

This week's guest on Spirits of Whisk(e)y is Kaitlyn Tsai, Global PR Officer at Taiwan's Kavalan Distillery, recognized by the spirits press as maker of multiple best-in-class whiskies, including the celebrated Vinho Barrique. Listen and learn how Kaitlyn went from a successful career in film production to representing Taiwanese whisky before a global audience, in the process being named Icons of Whisky's 2021 "World Whisky Brand Ambassador." Then hear Chef Louise Leonard wax delicious over pair...

This week's guest on Spirits of Whisk(e)y is Donal O'Gallachoir, Co-Owner & US National Brand Manager at Ireland's Glendalough Distillery, in County Wicklow, just south of Dublin. Founded by five friends, including Donal, with a mutual love of Irish whiskey and Irish lore, the distillery is located in a narrow glacial valley—"Glendalough" is Irish for "the valley of two lakes"—in the Wicklow Mountains, the historical and spiritual home of the legendary St. Kevin, whose image graces each and ever...