Sipping NC: The Art of Drinking Podcast – Episode 11: Great Wagon Road Distillery

In the News: Raylen Vineyards, Olde Mecklenberg Brewing, Walton’s Distillery, Mystery Brewing, Fortnight Brewing, JOLO Winery, Crude Bitters.

Meet the Maker: Oliver Mulligan from Great Wagon Road Distillery is in and we talk about his fantastic spirits. He gets high marks, especially from his Rua, which has basically made the distillery famous! We try several more, though. A lot of good stuff from Great Wagon Road!

Food for Drinkin’: Chef Tim Grandinetti sends a fantastic Irish-inspired sausage and pasta dish for us to try.

Mix It Up (the art of the drink)Get Down with the Brown.
2oz Rua Single Malt Whiskey
3oz Molasses Black Pepper Sage Reduction¹
¾oz Roses Lime Juice
Top with Crude Rizzo Bitters
Rosemary Lemon Oil²
Two sage leaves (slapped)

¹Molasses, Black Pepper, Sage Reduction
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 cup molasses
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
3 cups water
1 tbsp coriander seed
2 fresh sage leaves
3 tbsp whole black pepper
Reduce on high heat by half. Refrigerate until cool

²Rosemary Lemon Oil
3 rosemary sprigs
Juice and zest ¼ lemon
1½ cup olive oil
Let set for 24 hours to meld flavors

Sipping NC: The Art of Drinking Podcast – Episode 10: Broadslab Distillery

In the News: Boxcar Bar and Arcade, Appalachian Mountain Brewery, Outer Banks Distilling, Providence Restaurant, Raffaldini Vineyards

Meet the Maker: Jeremy Norris, the owner and distiller of Broadslab Distillery is in the studio to talk about his distillery, its history, his grandfather, where the name of the distillery came from and yes, we tasted a right many of his fantastic spirits.

Also, Brent Lain of Old Southern Moonshine Revival (OSMR) is in the studio to talk about their new album that is coming out soon and we debuted a song from that album. A world-exclusive! And, we must say he has one of the most righteous beards ever seen.

Mix It Up (the art of the drink)Black Magic Woman
Muddle 5 blackberries in the mixing glass
1½ oz Broadslab Legacy Shine
¾ oz Broadslab Carolina Coast Spiced Rum
1½ oz Pomegranate Juice
Juice of ½ lemon.
1½ of honey saffron syrup (recipe below)
Shake and strain

1 part honey
1 part warm water
3 saffron threads
Mix and let set overnight.

 

Sipping NC: The Art of Drinking Podcast – Episode 8: The Brothers Vilgalys Spirits Company

In the News: Tap Hopper Tours, Southern Grace Distilleries, Great Wagon Road Distillery, Oskar Blues

Meet the Maker: Rim Vilgalys is in the studio with Tim and Jordan and tells about the history of the Brothers Vilgalys Spirits Company, why they started it and how they do their work. Brothers Vilgalys does some fantastic liqueurs including the now-famous Krupnikas. We get to try several different ones.

Mix It Up (the art of the drink)That Apple Bottom Martini
1¾ oz. Brothers Vilgalys Krupnika
1 oz. Pomegranate Juice
2 oz. Apple Butter
1 oz. Honey Syrup (1 part water, 1 part honey, pinch of paprika, pinch of Salish (smoked salt))

Shake and strain into a martini glass. Enjoy!

Slàinte mhath!

The First SippingNC Blog Post

SippingNC: The Art of the Drink is a podcast (coming soon) and blog that focuses exclusively on libations (beer, wine, spirits) that are made in North Carolina and is written and maintained by Tim Beeman and Jordan Keiper. The podcast will be part of The Less Desirables Network, joining other podcasts like The Less Desirables, Fan Interference, The Beer Dads and The Man Who Ate the Town.

There will info, tidbits and educational pieces on NC brewers, vintners and distillers coming often and we’ve already recorded two episodes of the podcast and those should come out in the next few weeks. We’re proud of the content and look forward to sharing it with you.2016-11-10-15-58-44

So, this is our first “official” blog post. Sure, we’ve gone back and backlogged our Facebook posts to keep them blog style, but this is the first blog post specifically for the blog. We appreciate the loyalty you’ve shown us so far; the response and support has been incredible. Keep watching here and on the Facebook and Twitter feeds for news on the podcast.

Cheers & Slàinte Mhath!