Today, the Boys imbibe on some bottles with bits of blackberry and barrel funk. Matt’s barrel strength bourbon was a purchase from Slightly Toasted in Chicago, and Drew’s Anejo was a gift from the folks at NOM 1414 at the Sabor y Cultura event in Chicago about a month ago. Find some similar bottles, invite your buds, plop down, listen and sip along, and Make It A Happy Friday™!

Hello and welcome to a special anniversary edition of Whiskey Tequila Fridays.  Today, the Boys celebrate 3 years of shenanigans with three special QuickSips™! Find out what their three favorite pairings of the past year were as the Boys recap the past years’ episodes, tastings, and guests, and also tease a little of what’s to come. Grab your favorite QuickSip™ from the past 12 months, invite your friends, share a pour, listen and sip along, and Make It A Happy Friday™!

For this episode, the Boys pair a couple of spirits that scream summertime. Against Drew’s initial thoughts, Matt brings a 120 proof Single Barrel from Malloy’s - Rebel Bourbon Cask Strength. Drew bings a Suerte Reposado at 80 proof. With tons of fruit and flavor, these two spirits pair great together.  By the time they get to the QuickSips™, Drew becomes a convert. If you want to find out for yourself, pick up these bottles, invite your friends, listen and sip along, and Make It A Happy Friday™!

Hello and Happy Friday!  This episode is a first for the Boys: Their first appearance on another podcast! A few months back, the Boys had the pleasure of sipping blind with Brad Niccum, host of Tasting Tequila with Brad.  Brad’s show is a fun mix of tequila reviews, guest interviews, and informative content.  For this episode, he invited the Boys to sip a few blancos blind, and the results were surprising.  You’ll have to listen to find out what happened! Find Brad everywhere on the interwebs by visiting his website: https://tastingtequilawithbrad.com And find our episode on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/u7kBc1Dcq-A?si=4dtZpkpujezqTcxL Help support our community!  Please like, subscribe, and follow Brad wherever you get your podcasts. This one was a lot of fun!  Why not scoop up a few blancos yourself, invite your friends, blind those pours and see what happens.  Then, sit back, listen and sip along, and Make It A Happy Friday™!

powerful thirst just reading the label! It has so many complex flavors, and at 122 proof, this one packs a punch. Drew brings the Cambio Tequila Anejo, which also boasts complex flavors. This brand is quickly becoming on of the Boys’ favorite, and at 92, the extra proof doesn’t hurt. The QuickSips™ bring cascading layers of flavors, and both Boys decide one way is a clear winner. It may be hard to find this exact store pick, but Cedar Ridge is out there, as is Cambio Tequila, and both at great prices. So scoop up these bottles, invite your friends, listen and sip along, and Make It A Happy Friday™!

Happy Friday, y’all!  Today the Boys mix up a few of their favorite cocktails using their favorite ingredients. Matt gets it started with a Bloody Mary made with Koval White Rye, an unaged, unoaked rye. Drew follows with two he makes with the El Tequileno Blanco Mixto (yes, a mixto!): a Margarita and a Paloma, both with fresh ingredients. Matt shares his spin on a traditional Old Fashioned using his own Infinity Bottle of Bottled In Bond bourbons! Drew finishes the tequila side with his version of a Tequila Sunrise using Tapatio 110 blanco for a little extra proof punch. Not to be outdone, Matt makes a Sazerac using the Neeley Family Distillery Liqueur Absinthe Verte and 139 proof Jack Daniels Single Barrel Barrel Proof Rye! And to top it off, Joby performs a cover from the Cocktail soundtrack! These cocktails can be endlessly tweaked to your taste, most of these bottles are available on the shelf, so scoop ’em up, don’t forget a bag of ice, invite your friends, mix a cocktail, listen and sip along, and Make It A Happy Friday™!

Happy Friday, Y’all!  Today, Matt moves to the other side of the show as a guest while Drew takes over the interviewing.  The Boys are delighted to welcome Jeff Huber of the Wheaton Whisky Club for their first live recording with a special guest. Hear how Jeff and Matt took over the WWC and have worked to revitalize it, a quick movie tangent, their outlook on Whisky Clubs in general, and the demand for Single Barrels. And speaking of Single Barrels, Matt and Jeff delivered for this episode.  Jeff shares an Eagle Rare 10 Single Barrel that was NOT found in any stores and a Wheaton Whisky Club - Malloy’s collaboration, a Yellowstone Bourbon Single Barrel.  Matt cracks open a beautiful Bladnoch 11 year Single Malt Scotch, and Drew brings a dusty- a Centinela Tequila Reposado from 2011! The QuickSips™ are fantastic, and Jeff discovers the allure of the hype horn! These might be tough to find on the shelves, but don’t let that stop you... Scoop up a few of your favorites, invite your friends, share, listen, and sip along, and Make It A Happy Friday™!

On this episode of Whiskey Tequila Fridays, the Boys bring two bottles whose lengthy titles are only surpassed by the flavors they hold.  Two bottles that are truly Rum Barrel Baddies! Matt brings the Glenlivet Caribbean Reserve Single Malt Scotch Whisky and Drew brings the Yeyo Tequila Reposado Great Lakes Tequila Club Tropical Edition Private Barrel Pick.  I don’t know about you all, but just saying all that makes me thirsty! This Glenlivet is everywhere, so scoop one up.  And while a Great Lakes Tequila Club pick may only be in the Chicago area, there is surely a Yeyo Tropical Reserve series reposado available near you. This is the perfect Friday to grab these two bottles, invite your friends, sip and listen along as the Boys discover one of the best QuickSips™ to date.  And, as always, Make It A Happy Friday™!!!

Happy fRYEday, y’all.  Today the Boys bring 8 bottles of rye, get 4 chosen at random, and do a blind tasting to see what they prefer when marketing bias is removed. Listen along as they discover new flavors and a few surprises.  Pick up these 8 bottles, invite your friends, do your own blind, listen and sip along, and Make It A Happy Friday™! PS - the Boys send their apologies to Dudley Moore.

Happy Friday, y’all!  Today the Boys fill up the zoom room with a special guest, a man who wears many hats with Altamar Brands: Director of Education, The Chief Sniffer & Taster, The Troll Under The Bridge, Brandon Cummins. Brandon supplies the Boys with bottles of High N’ Wicked Bourbon and Rye and Lagrimas Del Valle 2024 La Loma Plata and Reposado.  Even though he was traveling while recording and forgot to pack his own, his knowledge and passion shine through as he guides the Boys through the tasting!  And, as usual when a guest stops by, there is some special news dropped you haven’t heard anywhere else! Altamar Brands operates under an informal motto of ”What The Fuckiness” which is a perfect match for WTF - Whiskey Tequila Fridays and its contribution to the world of spirits.  The Boys choose the Rye and Repo for the QuickSips™ and one direction in particular is a clear winner.  These bottles are fantastic on their own, and even better together.     So grab these four bottles, invite your friends, crack the seal, listen and sip along, and Make It A Happy Friday!™

The Boys want to wish you and yours a Happy St Patrick’s Day!  And today we celebrate with a marathon of Irish Whisky, starting with a Beginner Buy line-up of Jameson, Bushmills, and Tullamore Dew.  They Boys blind these 3 spirits with interesting results.  Then, on to the good stuff, with Sexton Single Malt, Teeling Single Grain, and Powers John’s Lane Irish Whisky to round out a full episode of Irish Whisky suitable for any St Paddy’s Day get-together! Everybody’s Irish on St Patrick’s Day!  So, grab your friends, buy these bottles, give a grand Irish toast, listen and sip along, and Make It A Happy Friday™!

Happy Friday, friends!  Today the Boys are joined by John Des Rosiers, Founder of Cambio Tequila. Cambio is what is created when a world-class Chef turned tequila maker Questions Everything, experiments, and does everything he was told could not be done.  The results are incredible. Cambio is a rare gem in tequila: It is rich, complex, additive-free, available, and affordable.  It’s a newer brand now, but will soon be on everyone’s Top Tequila list. So pick up each expression (the Anejo was recently released), invite your friends, crack the bottle, and listen and sip along as Chef John lets us behind the curtain to reveal what it takes to create a top-shelf spirit. And, as always, Make It A Happy Friday™!

It’s Valentine’s Day, so the Boys bring two bottles worthy of a romantic, expensive holiday! Matt brings The Macallan Harmony Collection Amber Meadow, a highland single malt, and a bottle that breaks the budget and when you sip it,  your heart!  And Drew brings the Tequila Fortaleza 2024 Winter Blend Reposado, a highly coveted bottle he managed to pick up at suggested retail price that will have your wallet wilting like carnations on February 21st! The Boys wax philosophical on ”The Macallan Effect” and dispel the myth that Fortaleza is the ”Pappy of Tequila.”  They discover two QuickSips™ that are some of the best to date, with one clear winner. These bottles are damn near impossible to find, but that’s not a problem.  Invite your friends, open what you have, listen and sip along, and Make It A Happy Friday!™

Today the Boys bring a few bottles that just work.  Together, they are sweet, spicy, and smoky! Matt brings the Hard Truth Sweet Mash Rye, a Malloy’s Single Barrel pick.  Drew brings the Amatitena Tequila Anejo he and Matt picked up during a special tasting with the Master Distiller, Alberto Partida. Each sip of each spirit evolves into something new, and the QuickSips™ bring out even more flavor! While this exact single barrel is a Chicagoland pick, both the high-proof rye and the tequila are available everywhere. So pick up these bottles, listen as Drew and Matt reveal some interesting music choices, sip along, QuickSip™, and Make It A Happy Friday™!

Happy New Year! Today, the Boys celebrate the start of 2025 with another installment of the Beginner Buys series. Matt brings the easy drinking 90-proof Green River Wheated Bourbon and Drew brings the 100% agave, traditionally made El Tequilieno Platinum Blanco. Each bottle has a special kind of *nuance* and the QuickSips™ are fantastic in both directions! The Boys also take this opportunity to review 2024 and look ahead to what’s next in 2025. These bottles are available everywhere, so scoop ’em up, invite your friends, listen and sip along, and Make It A Happy Friday™!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!  The Boys welcome you to another Holiday Edition of the ’cast, an attempt to repeat last year’s ”12 Minutes of Christmas” that fails by the clock, but excels with the bottles. Matt brings a single barrel he found in, of all places, the local grocery store!  The Jefferson’s Reserve Single Barrel Bourbon is a smash hit! Drew brings the Suerte Tequila Great Lakes Tequila Club Single Barrel Reposado.  This one has been on the show before, but not with a suitable whiskey for the QuickSip™. You may not be able to find these exact bottles near you, but these are two brands with a long line of single barrels so an approximate replacement is not far away! The Holidays are best enjoyed with kith and kin, so invite your friends and family to sip these bottles, listen along, enjoy two fantastic QuickSips™, and Make It A Happy Friday™!

Today the Boys welcome a special guest, Ryan Thompson, Founder and President of the 10th Mountain Whiskey & Spirits Co. in Vail, CO. 10th Mountain is on the shelves in 20 states, and available nationally via their online shop.  So pick up a bottle or three, sip and listen along.  While you’re at it, pick up a Tequila Ocho Anejo and play along with some delicious QuickSips™. Follow the 10th Mountain Whiskey & Spirits Co. in their production of top-shelf and support of our Military by finding them using the @10thmtnwhiskey handle on all the socials, in-person at their tasting room in Vail Village, and online at https://10thwhiskey.com/  Be sure to check out their new Affiliate Program at: https://10thwhiskey.com/pages/become-a-10th-mountain-whiskey-affiliate This episode is good time so crack these bottles, invite your friends, listen and sip along, and Make It A Happy Friday™.

Welcome, and Happy Friday!  Today the boys bring two beautiful bottles that pair perfectly, perhaps unexpectedly. Matt brings the Murray McDavid Single Malt Scotch Madeira Finish, an affordable scotch that will appeal to everyone, even to those who are not yet fans.   Drew brings the Tequila G4 Blanco Madera which has a few production differences than the regular G4 Blanco, namely fermentation in a wood cask. So why would a wood cask fermented tequila match so well with a barrel finished Scotch?  Well, Ladies and Gentlemen, that’s just Matt’s palate genius! Both of these bottles are around, although the tequila may be a bit harder to find.  Go on the hunt, scoop ’em up, invite your friends, listen and sip along, and Make It A Happy Friday™!

Today the Boys are honored to be joined by Doug Price of The Agave Social Club Podcast!  Doug quickly established his podcast as the go-to source for the stories and people behind our favorite tequila brands.  In this episode, Doug shares his story, as well as his behind-the-scenes knowledge of the tequila industry.  He and the Boys sip two beautiful spirits: Doug’s own Single Barrel pick, the Volans Reposado Agave Social Club Single Barrel, which was aged in a used Basil Hayden barrel, and of course a Basil Hayden Toast Bourbon to complete the pairing. The conversation is lively and insightful, and the QuickSips™ are truly a perfect match.  While Doug’s Volans Single Barrel sold out in just a few hours, you may find a pour at your local watering hole, or another Volans Reposado on your liquor store shelf. So listen and sip along, invite your friends, share a pour, and Make It A Happy Friday™.

Today an old friend of the show stops by for his 2nd visit! The Boys welcome again Mike Barad, Founder of the Great Lakes Tequila Club, to talk all things tequila and share the GLTC Single Barrel Picks to date: Reposados from Suerte Tequila, Codigo 1530, Yeyo, and El Gran Legado de Vida. Listen along as Mike reveals his dedication,  thoughtfulness, and intention in building an inclusive community and curating a line of single barrels with something for everyone. These bottles are on shelves only in the Chicagoland area, but luckily these brands likely have other single barrel picks in your area.  So scoop ’em up, invite your friends, share a dram, listen along, and Make It A Happy Friday™.