A chance to explore gins with friends, have a few laughs and go off the beaten path. It is a small slice of the intellectual tavern life.
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My guest for our latest episode has had quite a hand in shaping the selection of gins that we have tasted on the show. Rishi, from Rishi’s International Beverage in Grand Rapids, is our guest for this episode. And while enjoying two tasty gins from the UK, we discuss his journey of starting his own bottle shop and how tastes have impacted the growt…
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In our latest episode, my cousin Marc joins us as we enjoy two delicious gins from Scotland. Throughout the episode, we learn about some of the very cool places that Marc has had a chance to visit - including Wales, England, Cuba and New Zealand. And in Off The Beaten Path, Marc adds a new category to my favorite segment. Come for the gin, and stic…
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Drinks with the Outlaws - Two gins from South Carolina
1:10:54
1:10:54
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For our latest episode, my guests are affectionately known as “The Outlaws” - Beth Jester, Andy King and Alyssa Jester. They are also my cousin-in-laws. And in this episode, we try a couple of gins that I picked up while visiting my cousins in South Carolina. And as we try these new gins, we talk about the annual documentation of showing who marrie…
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My cousin Todd joins us as we try two gins from Detroit, the Arsenal of Democracy as it was known during the Second World War. While sipping the gins, we talk about the Detroit Lions and their new uniforms, how Todd is related to those who resemble Aaron Rodgers and John Elway, his podcast - “Saturday at Seven”, and we go through our final rounds o…
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Drinks with Adam - Two Gins from Far Away Places
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1:03:21
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My cousin-in-law Adam joins us as we try two gins from far away places. During our enjoyment of the gins, we chat about Adam’s love of Disney, whether or not Goofy is a dog, my first exposure to Mr. Bill on Saturday Night Live, a trip to Alaska, and Adam’s experience of being a pilot. We also follow up on a question about Daffy, the Goddess of Gin.…
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Drinks with Drew (again) - French Gins & the conclusion of the Rhine River Chronicles
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58:36
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Drew joins us again to try two French gins as we conclude the Rhine River Chronicles. While enjoying these gins and putting a wrap on this three-part series, Drew and I discuss if I can actually taste lavender, how he went to Euro Disney at perhaps not the greatest time, why there are pumpkins in Slovenia, his fear and basic avoidance of deep water…
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Drinks (again) with Greg - Two more gins from his trip to England
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59:07
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Our old friend Greg is back to join us again as we look to try two more of the gins that he brought back for the show from his trip to England last year. As we try our first ever gin from Sicily and another from CBA Gin, we celebrate Greg being the first guest to have an episode hit 100 downloads, talk about his return as head coach of Tulip City U…
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Drinks with Maki - Dutch Gins (aka Part Two of the Rhine River Chronicles)
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We are incredibly excited to kick off season 2 with a very special guest - my Mom, aka “Maki”. In the kickoff episode to the season, we pick back up with the Rhine River Chronicles, and in this second installment of the series we try a pair of Dutch Gins. As we give these two gins a try, we chat about our river cruise this past fall, my mom’s favor…
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Toe Squished Grapes hosts the season finale
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In a holiday themed episode, the lovely ladies of Toe Squished Grapes are back to help me put a bow on the first season. Kelly brings two wines for us to try and has the patience of a saint while dealing with the snarky comments from the peanut gallery. She also utilizes her bible - “Wine for Normal People” to teach us a bit more about the regions …
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What do you get when you combine a former intern, an AI questionnaire and the Pink Panther? You end up with episode 21 with Jamie Belt as our guest. During the episode we sample two blue gin and discuss how robots are now screening your resume, the proper way to prepare a pop-tart, and how seeking a large coffee in Europe might be a search in vain.…
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Drinks (again) with Brian - German Gins (aka Part One of the Rhine River Chronicles)
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Episode 20 is the first of our Rhine River Chronicle series, which is a three part series that will stretch into the beginning of season 2. On this episode, our old friend Brian Place joins us again as we try two gins from Germany that I picked up on a recent river cruise up the Rhine River. As we try these two local products of Speyer, Germany, we…
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Are you a fan of pizza? If so, this might be just what your ordered. My guest (and Good Samaritan) Lori Wilson and I try a couple of new Italian gins. One is our first ever listener donated gin, and the other is a fun little discovery. While sampling these two gins, we chat about our journeys through Italy, the talents of Michelangelo, and how Lori…
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In this episode we travel to the land of the Cheeseheads - Wisconsin. My sister Amie, a resident of Madison, has introduced me to a couple of great distilleries there, and we try two of their gins in this episode. While enjoying these tasty gins, we chat about the treacherous waterways of Death’s Door passage, how we connected through football earl…
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Drinks with Jim (again) - Two Gins that reflect things that connect us
1:10:13
1:10:13
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Wake the kids, call the neighbors - Jim is back for his second stint as guest on the podcast. For this episode, I came up with two gins that have a bit of a connection between us, and Jim does an amazing job of guessing what those connections are. While enjoying the gins we also chat about different movies theaters we have gone to, lament the passi…
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Wait . . . What . . . Wine? It's a podcast takeover. Enjoy Toe Squished Grapes
1:07:03
1:07:03
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The guest for episode 16 is actually me!! It’s a podcast takeover, and two of my former guests are hosting. On the debut of Toe Squished Grapes, Molly & Kelly are having us try wine. They follow the same criteria - we try two wines, have a bit of trivia and go Off The Beaten Path. Along the trails we learn how the region that a grape is grown in ca…
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My guest for episode 15 is my buddy Jon Kuipers. In this episode we enjoy a gin he introduced me to a couple of years ago, and try a new gin from Portugal. While sipping these tasty gins, we chat about his trip to Alaska, how little we actually know about Orcas, gray hair, and how tonics can compliment a gin. Come for the gin, and stick around to h…
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Drinks with Greg - Spiced Gins from England
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In 1984, my guest Greg and I ended up in a math class together. The rest, as they say, is history. Greg recently traveled to England and brought back some gins for us to try. While enjoying these spiced gins, we chat about his trip, our recent tour of a distillery, riding camels and eating abroad. Come for the gin, and stick around to hear about ho…
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Drinks with Jax - Plymouth Gin and a Sloe Gin
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45:53
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My guest for episode 13 - Jax - loves trying things and tends to always be up for an adventure, so she joins me as we try two new styles of gin for the show - a Plymouth Gin and a Sloe Gin. While we sample the gins, we also chat about a podcast she has been a part of (Is This My Thing), adventures in Australia, and the proper way to follow a drink …
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Drinks with Laurie - Scottish Gins (If it's not Scottish, it's crap)
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Much like the old SNL skits at the All Things Scottish shop, in Episode 12 when it comes to the gins, if it’s not Scottish, it’s crap! My sister Laurie joins us as we indulge in a couple of gins from the homeland of our ancestors from Scotland. During the episode we hear about her trip to Edinburgh, recyclable gin pouches from the highlands of Scot…
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A rose is a rose is a rose, and then there is a rose gin. My guest Angie and I try a couple of rose gins in Episode 11, one from the USA and one from Ireland. During the course of the episode we also chat about Playmobile, World Gin Day, bees, ants, praying mantis, murder hornets and F. Scott Fitzgerald. There is a whole lot packed into the episode…
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Episode 10 - Drinks with Scott (AKA Girl Drink Drunk) - Colorful International Gins
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Are you a fan of Kids in The Hall? If so, do you remember their “Girl Drink Drunk” sketch? Well, if you do, that best describes my guest Scott, who loves a vacation in a glass. In episode 10 we try a couple of international, colorful gins - a pink gin from Ireland, and a blue gin from France. We also chat about how he sort of blames me for his love…
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Episode 9 - Drinks with Alyssa - Japanese Gins
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"It tastes like Christmas" - that's how my guest Alyssa describes gin, and I love that. In episode 9 we try a pair of Japanese gins, and discover how the two distilleries actually have a little history in common. In addition, we chat about how I was afraid I was going to lose track of my mother-in-law at the Tokyo train station, how Alyssa was conc…
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Episode 8 - Drinks with Jim - San Francisco (area) Gins
1:03:48
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Wake the kids, call the neighbors - in episode 8, my best friend for the last 46 years Jim joins me. He calls San Francisco home, so we try a couple of gins from that area. But we end up having so much fun that we sneak in a third drink for the Off the Beaten segment. Prior to that, we talk about visiting one of the distilleries from this episode, …
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Episode 7 - Drinks with Dave - Scandinavian(ish) Gins
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In episode 7, my fake son Dave joins me to try a couple of gins with a Scandinavian influence. And as we sample these spirits, we discuss my favorite class at Michigan State, what might be the ideal way to taste a new gin, and both take a musical trail when we go Off The Beaten Path. Come for the gin, but stick around to see how he became my fake s…
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Episode 6 - Drinks with Drew - Gin Cocktails
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41:28
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In episode 6, my guest Drew convinced me to concoct a couple of gin cocktails, as opposed to the usual gin & tonics that I serve. And as we imbibe those, we discuss the Old Tom style of gin, discover how Drew came upon the cocktail that he made, find out the gin for my cocktail is at a distillery only about 30 miles from our neighborhood, and poten…
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Episode 5 - Drinks with Kelly - London Dry Gin vs American or New World Dry Gins
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In episode 5, my guest Kelly and I explore two similar styles of gin - the classic London Dry style, and their New World or American Dry cousins. And along the way we chat about Downton Abbey, morning game shows and soap operas and mix in a bit of cilantro, and that's before we even get to Off The Beaten Path. Kelly also takes great enjoyment in my…
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Episode 4 - Drinks with Molly - Two Favorites (But is a Hater Going to Hate?)
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In episode 4, we encounter a dilemma - my guest Molly is not a fan of gin. So I break out two of my favorites to try and answer the age old question - is a hater going to hate? One is Empress 1908 Indigo Gin, and the other is Alkkemist Gin (which has an interesting relationship with the full moon). And as usual, we get in a couple of rounds of triv…
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Episode 3 - Drinks with Brian - Irish Gins
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46:08
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In episode 3, my guest Brian and I decide to ring in St. Patrick's Day a little early and explore a couple of Irish gins. One is Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin and the other is Dingle Gin. In addition to the two rounds of trivia, Brian also tries to go down multiple paths when we go "Off the Beaten Path". My thanks to Darin VanderMolen for helping …
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Episode 2 - Drinks with Sean - Italian Gins
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54:01
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In episode 2, my guest Sean and I explore a couple of gins from Italy. One is Malfy Limone, and the other is Piedmonte gin. We also get in two rounds of trivia, and Sean has an interesting selection for "Off the Beaten Path". My thanks to Darin VanderMolen for helping to produce this podcast. For questions, comments, or to suggest a new gin to try,…
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In the first episode, Jerry and I try Monkey 47 and the Nautical version of Sherlock & Sons gin. We also go through two rounds of gin trivia and go "Off the Beaten Path". My thanks to Darin VanderMolen for helping to produce this podcast. For questions, comments, or to suggest a new gin to try, feel free to send us a message on our Instagram accoun…
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