The Dram Dialogues
We are whiskey enthusiasts who enjoy getting together, online and in person, to enjoy a few drinks, share knowledge, meet new people, and have a great time. Our goal is to bring together individuals who share the same interest in whiskey
The Dram Dialogues
Whiskey Barrel Weekend Tasting Tour
A great pour doesn’t need a rare sticker or a secondary price tag. We set out to test that idea with a lineup you can actually find: Keeper’s Heart Irish American and Irish Bourbon, Kayo Five Wood from Japan, Hoyser Country Drunken Bean coffee whiskey, plus two reliable liqueurs for dessert cocktails and espresso martinis. Along the way, we lean into a simple buying framework—price, proof, and palate—and challenge the myth that top shelf always means top quality.
We start with the approachable side of Irish whiskey, weighing the clean, easy sip of Keeper’s Heart Irish American against the peppery, longer-finishing Irish Bourbon that wins on structure and versatility. From there, we cross the ocean to Kayo Five Wood, a cask-driven Japanese whisky with toasted marshmallow on the nose and a surprising, spicy lift on the tongue. It’s an eye-opener for Highballs and spirit-forward riffs, delivering character without the premium-tax price.
Then we pivot to coffee and chocolate. Drunken Bean brings a silky 70-proof punch that turns root beer floats, cream sodas, and after-dinner pours into instant dessert. St. Elder Espresso enters the chat as an espresso martini powerhouse, and Chocolate Deluxe Triple Chocolate adds malted richness and a perfect foam for bar-quality dessert builds at home. Whether you’re stocking a small shelf or curating a cocktail station, these bottles punch far above their cost and make entertaining easier.
If you’re tired of chasing unicorns, this tasting is your permission slip to buy smarter. We share honest impressions, practical pairings, and clear winners for sippers, mixers, and crowd-pleasing cocktails you can pour tonight. If you enjoyed this, follow the show, share it with a friend who loves whiskey, and leave a quick review—what under-$50 sleeper should we try next?
Alright, everybody, welcome to another episode. Sorry, it's been a minute of the Dram Dialogues. We've been kind of busy doing the North Idaho thing up here during this time of year. So we've been a little bit behind on shooting some videos coming podcasts, but we're here. I also got a camera rolling over here for our online friends. But today, so we have we had a big event in town. How long ago has it been now? Has it been a month already?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:What a month. A month. That we have every year at the resort called Whiskey Barrel Weekend, the Cordline Resort here in Idaho. The Cordline Resort's always super supportive of it and us and what we do. And uh they give us tickets every year, so shout out to them for getting us those tickets again this year to bring the team down there and do some recording. Sorry about that. But while we're there, of course, we we tried a whole bunch of great things, but we have a local local Idaho rep. They have products up here in our stores and all over the place, but they're based out of Boise, North, North Star Spirits. Um, Scott and Rochelle Kelch. They were really one of the first people that we reached out to and really jumped on board and was all about what we were what our vision was and what we're trying to do. They also do they do Sip Idaho. But they do not only Sip Idaho North, they do Sip Idaho everywhere that it seems in Idaho with Boise and all sorts of locations. And they have a website, and we'll we'll we'll plug that here and let you know what that is in a minute. But we've got some products from them out here that they rep. So out here in front of us today, we have Keeper's Heart Irish bourbon. We have the keeper's heart Irish American, and then we have a Kayo, which is we'll go into this is the Kayo Five Wood. And then we also just got out here. I'm not sure if we'll we'll try them or not, but we have them. We might try them because I'm interested. The Chocolate Deluxe and the St. Elder Espresso. Uh their liqueurs, and then we also have the drunken bean, the drunken bean. The drunken bean, it's a classic coffee whiskey by Claudia Hoyser. I hope I said that right. She's an up-and-coming country music star. I think she's out of Rochester, New York, originally, from what we can find. And then also what we could find is really can only find this in New York or Idaho or some places in Wisconsin. Indiana's Wisconsin, Illinois, Illinois, Indiana, and certain zip codes there. But we're gonna we're gonna get into this and kind of see. You know, especially for our Idaho friends here. These are some bottles we see in the store that we're just not quite quite sure about if it's worth buying or whatnot. Kyo's a great brand in general. I've been a fan of Keeper's Heart for a while, but we're gonna revisit these. I I have no tasting notes in front of me. I guess I could we could pull those up, but we're gonna jump into it. I don't know what we should start with, though. I don't know if we want to jump into the Kayo.
SPEAKER_02:Or what? I think we start with the Keeper's Heart. Okay, move up to the darker stuff.
SPEAKER_03:We'll go, we'll start with Keeper's Heart. We'll do the what do you want to do with the Irish American or the Irish bourbon? Probably Irish American and get the rye out of the way. Let's do that. Let's do the Irish American, then I'll I'll look that up while Jamie opens it.
SPEAKER_02:So this is 86 proof 43% alcohol by volume. And it is a bl it is Irish whiskeys blended with American rye whiskey.
SPEAKER_03:So I've had these I'm pretty sure I've had all these before. Actually, I know I have. I I did not try them at Whiskey Barrow Wicked knowing that we were going to be doing this. So we're revisiting them now. Just trying to find some tasting notes on it so we can before whiskey tasting.
SPEAKER_02:It's light. It is only eighty-six proof, though.
SPEAKER_03:Eighty-six proof. There we go. Yeah, definitely. Vanilla for sure. Vanilla, maltiness, definitely the maltiness. But give it a shot here. It's light. It's extremely light. Really light on that taste. The initial taste. It kind of kicks in a little bit there on the back.
SPEAKER_00:Hmm.
SPEAKER_02:Now here's my thing. I'm I'm not a fan of rye. I do not like rye.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:I also am not a huge fan of Irish. The fighting Irish. Not the not the not the whiskey.
SPEAKER_03:Oily buttercream frosting says jumps out at me first on the palate.
SPEAKER_02:I get oily. I for sure get oily. I don't know if I get buttercream. I don't get a whole lot of sweetness at all.
SPEAKER_03:Maybe more in the nose than they they say it turns into popcorn and orange pound cake.
SPEAKER_02:I don't get I kind of get popcorn. I could see I could see popcorn, but I don't know about orange pound cake. I like pancake.
SPEAKER_03:I mean apparently I need to be eating some more of that, so I know what it is. Caramel light lemon peel.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I get the citrus.
SPEAKER_03:Let's see what Scott and Rochelle said about this. They said something about this one. Let's see here. They personally think Keeper's Heart is a great everyday drinker or something to have around the campfire. It's affordable, which we can all use these days. That's true. I don't know what MSRP is. Keeper's Heart. Here in Idaho, anyways. Let's see. Keeper's Heart, MSRP. I don't know. Jamie, do you know off the top of your head?
SPEAKER_02:You know what I want to say sixties? Fifties? Sixties? Oh no, no, no.
SPEAKER_03:No, it's like thirty bucks. Right around thirty bucks a bottle. At least here in Idaho, thirty bucks a bottle. I'll say for Irish whiskey. I I have a few Irish whiskies. And and I'm not just saying this because it's Scott and Rochelle and we have a relationship with them. Because I'll tell you if it's if it's not good. This is a great sipper. Absolutely. There's nothing there's nothing harsh about it. If you're into Irish whiskey, I think this hits perfectly. All those taste buds are starting to pop out with everything the notes say, caramel.
SPEAKER_02:So the keeper's heart Irish? Yes. Is$33.20. Perfect. Very affordable. It is affordable. This is something I would drink over ice. Over ice? Yeah. I didn't. To me, it's it's a little light to sip on.
SPEAKER_03:Another sip. It says evolves into raisin bread. Oh. Nope. I think whoever was describing that had too many sips. I I can get the oily, I can get kind of like the buttercream, the popcorn in there. Lingering shot. The linger is short and mellow. And hints of tarragon, menthol cigarettes, and raspberry gelata. Tastes like a pack of Newports. No, I do not get any of that.
SPEAKER_02:No, not at all. I definitely don't get any sweetness.
SPEAKER_03:No, if you think this is gonna taste like a pack of cigarettes, you're wrong.
SPEAKER_02:Or or you're right. This is what you drink after you've had a pack of cigarettes. It's not, you know, it's it's not bad though. And the more you keep drinking it, it's just mellow.
SPEAKER_03:It's extremely extremely mellow, and the price point for an Irish whiskey is where it needs to be. That's one of my huge things when it comes to any when it when it comes to anything I'm drinking, is I I have bottles in this room that I've paid quite a bit for. And there's some bottles out there that I will not pay for. Secondary prices, especially, just because they're not it's not worth the it's not worth the price. But I got bottles in here that are$200 that are a bigger waste of money than this. And if I look at if I'm looking at a bottle, I want the price point to match the proof and the taste of it.
SPEAKER_02:And this does.
SPEAKER_03:And it does, absolutely. How I judge a bottle is the price point to the proof, you know, to the taste. Yeah. Well, let's move on to another one. I I would I say 10 out of 10, highly recommend on it.
SPEAKER_02:I would give it a six or seven. I mean, it's it's up there. And it for the price you're putting up.
SPEAKER_03:Well, it's up there. So with all those things in consideration, again, with the price point and what you're getting, yeah. It's a it's a solid seven. Absolutely great zipper. It's gonna be on my shelf. And I know it's uh I see a a lot of bars around town too. So it yeah. If you haven't tried it, I recommend giving that one a try. And guys, and the way Idaho works is if they don't meet a certain amount of sales, if the bottle's not meeting the sales, they basically they get one extra chance, they get like one month or something to get those sale numbers up, and if they don't meet those sale numbers, that bottle's gone for good for Idaho. And it's a booger to get it back. Well, that's a hefty pour. Oops. I'll let you pour your own. Boy. Okay, now okay, and so now we're getting into the bourbon. Now we're getting into the keeper's heart Irish bourbon.
SPEAKER_02:Our wheelhouse here, a little bit more than this is a 92 proof, so a significant jump from the 86. So this is keeper heart Irish bourbon.
SPEAKER_03:We'll get these pulled up and then I'll I'll take a look at now.
SPEAKER_02:This is also an affordable bottle. Is it? Yeah, so this bottle is 42.23. So you're getting an extra 10 proof for 10 bucks.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_02:Dollar proof point uh about up, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:And what was the proof point you said that you said on it? 90 92? 92. Okay. 92 proof. Six more proof for 10 more dollars? Six more proof. Hey, George Hobson's watching. George, probably wondering what we're doing. We're doing a uh a uh podcast over here. Okay, so before I read the tasting notes, let's let's give it a let's give it a whirl, see what we see. Smells Irish.
SPEAKER_02:Ethanol. I get it's I was smelling it for a minute now, it's starting to open up a little bit.
SPEAKER_03:These are fresh cracks on these two bottles too. You definitely get the hints of Irish, and you can tell it's a bourbon. I definitely get that caramel sweetness coming off of it. Honestly, they taste almost the same.
SPEAKER_02:I was just gonna say, I think you I think they messed up the labels. Yeah, no, they it is like it is it it's a little, it's it's a little, you know what, this one actually tastes more rye, you do, more rye the pepper on it.
SPEAKER_03:You'll you'll get it, but like the first initial taste is like they're the same thing.
SPEAKER_02:It definitely lingers longer, it does.
SPEAKER_03:Herbal notes, sweet. Okay, so let's go with the nose. They said nose is rich caramel and a freshly baked pecan pie.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, dude, I don't know what they must not be fat like we are, because I think of sweets, I think of sweets. I've eaten some pecan pie. I'll tell you what. No, I do carry both of these at my bar, and the Irish bourbon is far more popular than the Irish whiskey. To me though, I mean, if if you stuck those up to me blind, I would think that they were the exact same thing with maybe just a slight different age statement.
SPEAKER_03:Slight difference. So let's go with the taste. You definitely get the pepper. The pepper's lingering more on this. It lingers. I I can tell that it's the bourbon, and I like that. I like that lingering taste. Peppery with some herbal notes and sweet with vanilla malt shake, cocoa, and tootsie roll. Ooh, I love me a Tootsie Roll.
SPEAKER_02:I don't get Tootsie Roll though. It's still light, it's just really you get pepper, but it's there's not like a I absolutely love the mid-pallate linger on here.
SPEAKER_03:I I love that bourbon flavor. It's a little sweet, I think. I am getting a little bit more sweet on it. Maybe just a little bit more sweeter than I would like on a bourbon. But if you know me and you know and you know my palate, it's two things peanut butter and pepper. Is is my it's my jam. That's my go-to. Peanut butter and pepper flavor, that's where it's at. That says the finish is lingering, pleasant, sweet, rich wood.
SPEAKER_02:I definitely get the rich wood. I don't know if I get any sweet. I'm still not getting any.
SPEAKER_03:Well, let's talk about some uh awards it's gotten too. I mean, 2024 New York International Spirits Competition, gold, 95 points, 97 points of platinum, and 2023 Las Vegas Global Spirits, Best Blended Whiskey 2023 Salmonier Challenge, Best in Class Platinum 2023 SIP Awards, Double Gold 2023 USA Spirit ratings. There's probably got some more. I don't know when this was updated, but it keeper's heart's got some got some bling. Oh, I'd Irish bourbon all day. Yeah. I I absolutely love that linger. That lingering flavor and that pepper. It's amazing. Now the problem is I I said that the Keeper's Heart Irish was a seven out of ten. Highly recommend. But let's keep in mind what I said. Let's keep in mind what we're reviewing here. We're not reviewing Is this the best whiskey you've ever had? Okay, no, it's not. Right. We're not we're not but for its price point under 40 bucks. Right. We're not comparing this against Sazerac items, buffalo trays, stuff, stuff like that. We are reviewing an Irish uh blended whiskeys here. So with that in mind, the price point to the proof point to the finish. And the price point was what, Jamie? 42. 42 and change. 42. This hits every box on that. You know, if I gave that one a seven, I'll give this one an eight for what we're reviewing here.
SPEAKER_02:And I haven't tried too many. It's an Irish bourbon. I think it might be the only Irish bourbon and it's a thing.
SPEAKER_03:It's like I'm not familiar with them. There may be comparable better ones out there. I just I I haven't had them or know of them yet. And that may be why people are hesitant to buy these bottles too. There's just it's not out there. They're they're not sure about it.
SPEAKER_02:And Keeper's Heart does have other products. They have their Irish American whiskey 110 proof. Yes. And they have their cask strength Irish bourbon. Which I don't think we got those in Idaho. I do not think so. They also have a 21-year-old Irish single malt and a 10-year single malt. So they do have different things. So if these aren't hot enough for you, I'm sure you could order them somewhere. Yeah, absolutely. You'd get them in. But it's not bad for what it is in the price point. I I mean for$40, I think you should have it on your shelf. Yeah. I mean, I tried a lot of$40 whiskies that I would never pick up again. Oh, all day night. I would definitely pick this up again. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_03:But there's also a lot of$19 bourbons out there that I would pick up. There's a lot of$8 bourbons. All day long. Yeah. That's for another episode. Okay, so uh I gave that keeper's heart Irish for again for what we're reviewing here today. Irish on those two. Irish American and Irish bourbon. You know, the Irish American seven out of ten for me. That's a great sipper, especially on a hot day. Even like they said, around a campfire. They enjoy it around the campfire. And then Scott, I guess he prefers this Irish bourbon, just like me. So Scott, we're on the same page there.
unknown:No.
SPEAKER_03:Something that they Rochelle also. Oh something that Rochelle also said, and I agree with her, and uh actually I think she was agreeing with me, but is keep in mind, always keep an open mind on what you're drinking. Just because and I don't know where this sits on a shelf. Let's say you walk into the liquor store, you see this on second to the bottom shelf. Don't pass up on bottles because they're sitting down there. Keep an open mind. Try some new things. Jamie, how how many how many$19 bottles do I have under us right now that we drink a lot that are fantastic? I mean, do not pass it up on a bottle because it's not on the top shelf.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and top shelf doesn't always mean top quality.
SPEAKER_03:No, it's a brand name. I got bottles up there that I'll probably never open again that I bought off the top shelf.
SPEAKER_02:I'm okay on that.
SPEAKER_00:You know, I like that took me on a roller coaster.
SPEAKER_02:I'm okay.
SPEAKER_03:If you didn't know what we just did, I think I think we mentioned it, but we just blended the two. I like mixing stuff.
SPEAKER_02:And it was the time it was.
SPEAKER_03:The last episode we did, you I think it was you blended them.
SPEAKER_02:Yep, the Templeton Right.
SPEAKER_03:Nine year that was fantastic. Um this I would keep these separate. This took you like on the world's wildest roller coaster when you mixed up.
SPEAKER_02:I did not like that. It made my made my eyebrow twid.
SPEAKER_03:This my right eye is watering. Nothing good good product, so nothing against the product. It just they they shouldn't be blended like we just did. That that was an experiment on our own.
SPEAKER_02:So the Keeper's Heart Irish bourbon for sure is my choice over the Irish American. But for under$40 a bottle. Oh, yeah.$30,$33 and$42 or whatever they are.
SPEAKER_03:If you're looking to try something different, go give them go give them a try. I I'm not gonna sit here and endorse something and say go get it if it's not good. I and I know Jamie won't sit here and tell you trust me, yeah, that it's good or not.
SPEAKER_02:It's not bad. It's not bad. Together though? Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:No. Hey, for people watching over there on Facebook, I know you can well, yeah, I can say that. It's fine. That you're watching the live stream. We're here, we're shooting a podcast over here, and Dead Space and stuff will be edited out. Probably that part will be edited out too. But we're shooting a podcast over here, but we wanted to keep you guys in the loop as well. What do you think next, Jamie? Well, uh probably the Kai. Probably the Kayo. Probably the Kayo, then we'll go to the drunken bean.
SPEAKER_02:I'm excited.
SPEAKER_03:Okay, I've had Kayo. Okay.
SPEAKER_02:And Kayo makes a lot of products.
SPEAKER_03:Well, I've had Kayo's rainbow, I think, out there, and there's some that will knock your socks off that are in a good way. It's a great product. But it's a Japanese. I won't make sure I get it right. It's Japanese whiskey. Why don't I look this up before I say something wrong? Kayo 5. Wood. And and this is readily affordable too, I think. It's under 30.
SPEAKER_02:I think almost all their bottles, except two or three of them that are good above 90, 100 bucks, they're all pretty affordable.
SPEAKER_03:They're all yeah, bottles. This is probably right around 40, but between 30 and 40. 88 proof. Okay. Let's talk about Kayao for a second. While we oh geez, I gotta get lighter on the pores.
SPEAKER_02:Stay away from me.
SPEAKER_03:Malted barley matured in Pedro Jimenez, ex bourbon, French oak, mezzanuro, and a roso casks with three-month ocean maturity.
SPEAKER_02:I hate when companies say that. I really do. Ocean maturity, that means it sat on a boat.
SPEAKER_03:Sat on a boat in port.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:The Kayo Master Blender's understanding of different whiskey characteristics, the nuances, various cast types, maturation techniques, and the art of blending made five wood possible.
SPEAKER_02:Now I do like coyo. Yeah. There's a lot of coyos that I've tried, and coyos range from peated to smoky to everything.
SPEAKER_03:Ocean maturation. Ugh. I'm trying to find some tasting notes on it.
SPEAKER_02:I get I haven't pulled up right here. Oh, you have some? Dried fruit, marshmallow, and oak. The nose on this, I I love the nose on this. No, I don't like the nose on any Japanese whiskey. I prefer the taste.
SPEAKER_03:I would agree with you on that, on most other ones that I have, especially that one. Right there. But this one, you can almost pick up that vanilla toasted marshmallow.
SPEAKER_02:You could get the sweet, like almost smoky. Really sweet.
SPEAKER_03:I like that nose. It's like bruleeed sugar. Yeah, they that's that's what it is. Thanks, Chef.
SPEAKER_02:I'm still, I mean, uh, the sweetness is nice because I I'm I mean, I like anything sweet, but I don't like the nose on any Japanese whiskies. I think they just gotta.
SPEAKER_03:Okay, you have to be a Japanese whiskey fan. Or a peted.
SPEAKER_02:You have to like pet for a while. You have to like peted. They do have peted whiskies in their line too. Yep. I am not a fan of peted whiskey.
SPEAKER_03:Yes, correct. But the initial taste of this right away, if you do not like peted, then your initial thought on this is gonna be throw it in the garbage. But we're getting somewhere with this. Okay, I'm not saying throw this in the garbage. Let's give it a second here. We'll work our way through this. That second, it's all about that second sip. With that second sip, you're almost picking up you're picking up spice. You're picking up all spice, black pepper, and it coats the tongue nice. That second sip does it for me.
SPEAKER_02:I get the oak. I get the honey. I get the sweetness. I don't know if I get any dried fruit.
SPEAKER_03:No, I don't think so. You have to get past that first and second sip. After that, I'm I'm enjoying it. It's spicy. It's got to spice it.
SPEAKER_02:It is freaking spicy. I know, it is my my lips are burning. It is, it is, it has got a heat. It's almost like a heat in a guy.
SPEAKER_03:My tongue is coated.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it is not.
SPEAKER_03:It is it is spicy. That's crazy. I like that. Some people might not. That might not be for everybody, but I enjoy that. And I can say I enjoy it because I've honestly I've drinking a lot of this one before. When it first came out, I've already I've been through a bottle of it. I bought it when it first came out. I was probably one of the first people to buy the bottle. And I finished that bottle off right away.
SPEAKER_02:Now see if I smell it again though. After choking on the peatiness here for the first few sips. Yeah, it's uh you gotta get past it. You definitely I'm maybe I think now I get to dry fruit a little more than at first. And it feels like it look maybe lost some of its sweetness up front. Yeah. Yeah, there's okay, there is a little bit more but what fruit not not one that I am familiar with.
SPEAKER_03:I mean if anything, it'd almost be like a Jeez, hit the thing, like a banana or something. A laffy taffy.
SPEAKER_02:Artificial fruit. Yeah, yeah. Artificial fruit. It's not bad though. I mean I don't I don't go anywhere and ever order Japanese whiskey, so no, but you might soon. That's right.
SPEAKER_03:I'm sniffing the microphone. I thought I had my glass in my hand.
SPEAKER_02:It's very light. It's spice. Oh, it seems super light. You're right. I I don't think I can I don't I think it's a spice, it's like really.
SPEAKER_03:I enjoy it. Japanese there there's a bottle sitting right behind me that's well over a hundred dollars a bottle. That's a Japanese whiskey. I'll just say what it is because I don't care. Habiki whiskey sitting up there. That bottle is stupid expensive here for us in Idaho. I would buy this all day over that bottle.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, for sure. Oh, for sure. Yep. This isn't, I mean, it's not bad. It's not bad at all.
SPEAKER_03:No, I prefer this over that expensive bottle up there all day long. I gotta cleanse my palate. But I I made I had some hefty pores. I poured my stuff heavy. Cleanse my palate, because we're gonna move along to a little something different here.
SPEAKER_02:And I mean, and if I'm not a I'm not a I mean, it's good, I'm not a huge fan of this, but I am a huge fan of Kayo lineup in general. I mean, they have a bunch of different options. Other than just the five wood.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, oh, yeah. What yeah, do you remember what the names of in those were? Or what we tried. Just just Kayo brand in general. Kayo is K-A-I-Y-O. There's some other stuff out there that's just yeah, it's absolutely amazing.
SPEAKER_02:They got a cask drink, the signature, single barrel, yeah, peted, cherry. I mean, they have lots of bottles to choose from.
SPEAKER_03:Scott and Rochelle.
SPEAKER_00:Chocolate.
SPEAKER_03:Okay. So these next couple that we'll get into, well, we'll get into it a little bit here.
SPEAKER_02:I do want to say really quick that I said it sits in the port because most people who say their stuff's on an ocean adventure is usually next to the Jefferson's boat at sea, which is at the docking port. But these guys do say they actually go on a three-month journey through the seas from Osaka, Japan.
unknown:Okay.
SPEAKER_02:So they are moving on a boat.
SPEAKER_03:I'm waiting for my wife to bring some ice cubes. I hope she saw that text for these next couple. So we could try them over ice as well. George reacted to our video. Thank you, George. All right, so the next one we're gonna try, I think we'll go to the drunken bean. I see my wife moving. I hear her footsteps very loudly.
SPEAKER_00:Let's get this one.
SPEAKER_03:Hopefully, we don't need more than one glass. Ice you just drop an ice cube in there. Yeah. All right, go ahead and put one in. I'll I won't I'll let you finger your own ice. I'll drink out of this coyo one. This coyo. That's that's cute.
SPEAKER_02:So this is Hoyser Country Drunken Bean, a classic coffee whiskey. Say that ten times. It is a bean brewed, embarreled, unfiltered, sweet and silky. Hoyser Country Drunken Bean is exactly what you've been looking for.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, and from Scott and Rochelle, they say the drunken bean coffee whiskey is made right here in Idaho and owned by country music artist Claudia Hoyser, who is amazing, by the way. And also, it's made by I believe it's made by Centerfire.
SPEAKER_02:It is, yep.
SPEAKER_03:And uh they have a corn whiskey that's a special order as well.
SPEAKER_02:So if you're looking into corn whiskey, so if you're ever if you if you're ever in Nampa.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, Nampa, Idaho is where this is from. That's where they're at. It and and we are trying this over ice. I'm gonna try it that way. It's 35%, so 70-proof. I I try, I did try this one. I'm at Whiskey Barrel Weekend for the very first time. And I thought it was absolutely amazing. I tried it without ice there, so I'm trying it with ice right now.
SPEAKER_02:Oh it is it is sweet. I think I was expecting more of like a sweetness thick. It is thick, it is extremely thick.
SPEAKER_03:It it's it's freaking good. Oh, and it's and that yeah, I mean it is fantastic.
SPEAKER_02:I think I was just started with that. I think yeah, sorry, I didn't mean to scare anybody away. It is it is really good. I think I was just expecting more of like a whiskey in your black coffee. That is so good.
SPEAKER_03:Unfiltered thick.
SPEAKER_02:That's the unfiltered, yeah. The ice cream they used to make it.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. That could be dangerous. I could drink a bottle of that.
unknown:Hmm.
SPEAKER_02:It is extreme, it is extremely good. It's it's not my uh it wasn't gross. I think it was just the sweetness up front is a lot.
SPEAKER_03:What it says, it's unfiltered, sweet and silky. It's uh it's all of that. Uh 100% real coffee. 70.
SPEAKER_02:It okay, so it's I mean it's shut the front door. No, I I don't think that's something I'd drink by itself. It's gotta be with something. Oh, like some milk. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:It's uh it is extremely what about poured over a pecan pie?
SPEAKER_02:It'd be good to cook with it.
SPEAKER_03:Oh boy.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:We could come together and we'll put it on your bread pudding.
SPEAKER_03:Oh.
SPEAKER_02:That'd be good. It definitely it's definitely it's definitely to me, it's like a that comes across more of a mixer.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Than anything. It is sweet. I mean, I wouldn't I'm gonna try it warm now because now that's good.
SPEAKER_00:Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Does it make a difference? Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:I think I prefer it warm. Or not warm, room temp.
SPEAKER_03:Right.
SPEAKER_02:Than cold.
SPEAKER_03:All right, I'll try it again.
SPEAKER_02:You could add that to the root beer. That'd be good.
SPEAKER_03:Or like a cream soda. Now we're talking. I don't know. I like it both ways. It says this was established in nineteen ninety-four. Thirty years old. That's older than you, isn't it? Yeah, yeah. Coffee by two years. Nice.
SPEAKER_02:I prefer it warm. I don't know if I'm getting a whole lot of coffee though.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, I got a ton of coffee.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_03:I love I'm a coffee drinker. I I mean I drink a pot of coffee a day. I love this. That is fantastic. It is good. It is, it is good. Yeah, I think. It'll warm me up. You want a coffee whiskey out there?
SPEAKER_02:That's a and listen, there is a lot of coffee liqueurs and coffee whiskies and coffee anything you can think of. And this is, I mean, I've tried a lot of them, and this is definitely at the top.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, that's up there. Price point. What do we know about the price point on this? Standby checking. It's cheap. I I'm pretty sure it's cheap. I think it's like I might be wrong. I want to say it's like 20 bucks, but I might be wrong.
SPEAKER_02:Total wine, or not total wine, a wine seller and more has it for 24.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, so it's in the 20s.
SPEAKER_02:I it's I don't see a local price here.
SPEAKER_03:It's cheap. You're for what it is.
SPEAKER_02:Uh you're under 30 bucks.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, so let's talk about that. Let's talk about again what we're getting. What we're trying, we're trying a coffee liqueur. Well, is it a coffee liqueur? No, it's not classic coffee whiskey. Classic coffee whiskey. So let's talk. We're talking about proof point for the price. Under 30 bucks 70. Proof, great, that's where it used to be. And a coffee whiskey. Yeah, I think that's a perfect price point.
SPEAKER_02:I think I would put this more in a liqueur category.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, I think so. I mean, just because the thickness and the how it finishes and everything, I would definitely put it in a liqueur category for sure, but yeah, they're they're calling it a classic coffee whiskey, which that's what it is. But that's probably something I will buy more bottles of.
SPEAKER_02:It's good. Yeah. Yeah. With some vanilla ice cream.
SPEAKER_03:The bottom looks cool too. It's got her face kind of printed on it. And the bottle top has got the same picture on it. It's pretty cool. And for under 30 bucks? For under 30 bucks. 24, 25, 26 bucks, wherever you live. Yeah, I might, yeah, it might even be 25. It's it's perfect. Yeah. Alright. Well, another ask you. So these next two here, these are way out of the box. These are way out of the box from what we what we would normally try here. But like I said, we're we're helping out Scott and Michelle because they I can't say enough good things about them, uh, how cool they've been and supporting for us. But they recommended these next two for my wife. They said that the chocolate triple, the chocolate triple chocolate liqueur, and the St. Elder Espresso Coffee Liqueur would be great for my wife because they make fantastic chocolate espresso martinis.
SPEAKER_02:Now, I use the chocolate deluxe and the white chocolate deluxe in my bar for espresso martinis, along with we use five wives, five wives vanilla custard vodka. Which is amazing.
SPEAKER_03:Another great local-ish Idaho product is five wives. I'm pretty sure they're from Idaho.
SPEAKER_02:Are they?
SPEAKER_03:I thought so. Oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no. No, they're not. They're from that is Utah. It might be Utah.
SPEAKER_01:I don't want to sound like that, but I think it is.
SPEAKER_03:I was thinking Wild Roots, but the five guys. Five guys, that's the restaurant. Five wives.
SPEAKER_02:That's a Friday night.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. Five guys and five wives. Do you think they're the same owners? We can edit that part out.
SPEAKER_02:It's in Ogden. Ogden, Utah. Yeah, Ogden, Utah. You still live there. Ogden, Utah. Five wives. It's a good product. But we do I do use chocolate and they're a good product. I do really like the chocolate products. They're$18.99 a bottle. And they are extremely good for what they are compared to the categories. Now this is a So this is St.
SPEAKER_03:Elder Espresso Coffee Liqueur. So we just had a coffee whiskey. So we're going to go to the coffee liqueur. We're going to compare that, kind of see how that compares to a coffee whiskey.
SPEAKER_02:Another product that I do carry in my bar. Yep. Not the espresso, but the St. Elder Elderflower liqueur. It's very good. And these are both under$20 a month. Oh, yeah, under$20.
SPEAKER_03:Boston, Massachusetts. That's a little ways from here. It smells like Boston. Does it? Smells like a dirty river. Like a dirty river. That's a great way if we're tasting notes. That on the noses. I haven't even tasted it yet. Jamie has. Whoa!
SPEAKER_02:I'm gonna go run my head into a wall. That's whole. Hey! Hey!
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. Whoa, we're we're gonna run the Boston Marathon after that.
SPEAKER_02:Whoa. I do not like the nose. The flavor though. The nose is a little different. Here's it is it's it's like it's like muddy. I don't know if you exp it like it doesn't smell like what it tastes like at all. No, compared to this- Oh yeah, totally this is espresso. Right. That was this is coffee. Coffee. Correct. I prefer coffee. But this is it's very uh I mean you're not just gonna drink this straight. And it and well you can. You could, and if you can, you're weird to in my book. But this is a I mean, if you're looking for a like an espresso martini or anything to mix it with, you're definitely getting espresso. It's good.
SPEAKER_03:I mean, it is good, but yes, I think in espresso martini, yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_02:I think both of these products could replace my coffee creamer in the morning.
SPEAKER_03:I think they're both they're both sweet. I don't know if my job would allow that. It would make the day go by better.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Ooh, whoo! There's espresso in that dude.
SPEAKER_03:I I like it. I mean, there's nothing wrong with it, but yeah, like it's espresso, like you are it is, you are gonna be thumping away.
SPEAKER_02:And it does give a hazelnut espresso martini recipe on the back. Oh, perfect. Which I feel like it'd go perfect because you do almost get yep, like a hazelnut.
SPEAKER_03:Absolutely. I and this this next one right here. I don't recall if I've ever tried Sink Elder that that one. Maybe I have.
SPEAKER_02:Okay, so North Star Spirits, that one of their local reps actually just sold me on a few bottles of these a few months, like a month ago. And we have gone through a lot of them in our on our cocktail rotations. It looks cool, it is extremely affordable compared to other. I mean, you'd be surprised some of the chocolate liqueurs really get up there in price. This is eight under 19 bucks a bottle. The white chocolate is I haven't well, I mean, I've tried it, but I drink a lot more of the white chocolate than I do.
SPEAKER_03:Okay, so let's like the triple chocolate. So this is chocolate deluxe triple chocolate liqueur. It's only 15%, so 30 proof. And we are just trying this over ice. I mean, we're not mixing with anything right now.
SPEAKER_02:It tastes like a thick, like a thick oval teen. I need to pour more of that.
SPEAKER_03:I think I shook it right. There we go. I would love to try this in a martini. It's great.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. It's great. It's a great product, and it's it's it's it's borderline thick. Why is it extremely thick, but it it is thick. It foams up really nice in drinks. Okay. I'm wondering. You get it's triple chocolate, but you really get that. Uh a lot of chocolate liqueurs and stuff are like almost artificial. This is like malt chocolate. Like you really get you really get the chocolate. That's something I haven't tried.
SPEAKER_03:Milk. Milk malt chocolate. That's really good. Really good. I'm gonna have to have you make my wife and I come down and have you guys make one of those for us. But I will say, first of all, thank you to Scott and Rochelle Kelch and everything they do in North Star Spirits. Yeah, seriously. Thank you guys, and thank you for allowing us to review some of these products for you. And truly, though these are honest opinions. If you saw our a video we did while we were in Kentucky, you would know that these guys are honest when they review stuff with me.
SPEAKER_02:Extremely. I am not a fan of Seven Devils. I don't know what it's like.
SPEAKER_03:I absolutely love Seven Devils, by the way. Seven Devils, huge shout out, thank you. But that's why we do this. I mean, these guys will be honest, and I let everybody know that we're gonna be honest when we do a review. If we don't like it, you know, we'll let you know.
SPEAKER_02:Okay, now of all these. Which are least to your favorite?
SPEAKER_03:What it's tough. They're different. I mean it's obviously different, right?
SPEAKER_02:I think I'd pick up every one of these bottles. Probably besides the keeper's heart Irish American. It's just not my favorite. It's really light. I mean, I like light, sweet stuff. Yeah, it's just too, it's a little light. It the chocolate deluxe is probably my favorite, but again, I mean, I drink two or two bottles a week. Right. Because it tastes like chocolate milk.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. And when it comes down to the other things and what we're what we're drinking, if you like, well, let's talk about the Kayo for a second. Like I said, Habiki is out there, Habiki's expensive. Habiki's a nice Japanese whiskey. I think for the proof point, the price, the taste, it's way overpriced. And and the taste just, in my opinion, is not great. Kayo, five wood, Japanese, is where it needs to be. And it's like 42 bucks a bottle. It hits everything. Price point, it may even be less than that, but it's right, it's right around that, right?
SPEAKER_02:40s. Yeah, I mean 40 something.
SPEAKER_03:It's right around there. 42 something. It's where it needs to be at on the price point for the taste for Japanese whiskey. It's fantastic. Irish, you know, like I have some Irish whiskeys, and I'm a fan of Irish whiskey. The Irish American, I it's a good entry level if you're trying to Irish whiskey. I think that's where you need to be at. That should be when you try. The Irish bourbon, all day long. Do you have a bottle of that triple dog?
SPEAKER_02:Is it triple dog? Devil Dog. The one with a little spiked collar on the bottle.
SPEAKER_03:Oh. Yeah, what's that called?
SPEAKER_02:That's another one of North Star's brand.
SPEAKER_03:And I think drink it all.
SPEAKER_02:I think it is another Irish whiskey, isn't it?
SPEAKER_03:It is. I drank it all.
SPEAKER_02:That one's not bad. I don't mind that one.
SPEAKER_03:I I have the I have the uh coasters all around my house. Is that what it is? Yep, triple dog Irish whiskey. Oh, yeah, all day long. Yeah, I support that 100%. And I I've drank all that. I the bottle's cool. It's got like a dog collar around it. Yeah, I drank all that one. It's gone. Yeah, that's a fantastic one. I have some others in that shelf down there and on my shelf out in the living room. I put that Irish bourbon up there with all of them. That's that's really good. You know, and this junk and bean coffee whiskey for a coffee whiskey. I don't know how much coffee whiskies have I had, is the question.
SPEAKER_02:I don't think I've ever had a coffee whiskey. I think I've had a lot of coffee liqueurs or espresso liqueurs, but I don't think I've ever just had a classified coffee whiskey. It's thick.
SPEAKER_03:You have to figure out what to do with it. Mix it, pour it over something, or drink it straight over ice if that's your thing. I I recommend it. Go out and buy a bottle and give it a try. Let's see what else was up here. St. Elder. If you need to get going in the morning, take a shot at St. Elder. That would get you going. Eyebrows are buzzing. That will get you going. And then I'm really looking forward to trying out, honestly, both of them, but mostly the chocolate in a martini style. It's good. That's gonna be fantastic. But again, North Star Spirits, Rochelle, let's see. I asked Rochelle what she wants to say about them. She says, if you want to give a plug to follow at North Star Spirits on Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date on the latest booze news and events, that would be super cool. Yes, please go over and follow them on Instagram and Facebook at North Star Spirits. Or go to Northstar SpiritsIdaho.com and sign up for their once a month booze news and events newsletter. Yeah, if you guys could go do that for them, that'd be awesome. I appreciate it. And they're a great group of people.
SPEAKER_02:They're they're awesome. They're awesome people. And they are a local local. What would you call them? Like distributors?
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, and maybe they you know, sorry if it's wrong, and and they say it on their website, but they're kind of yeah, a rep almost. I mean a distributor rep. Idaho's different. I don't know if we can even call if they're technically called that in Idaho. Rochelle will always correct me on everything. So I'm sure she'll correct me on this stuff if we're wrong.
SPEAKER_02:But yeah, they're they're like a they're not a distributor. They are an official Idaho liquor broker. A liquor broker since 2011.
SPEAKER_03:Since 2011. Sorry. And I believe they're one of the few in Idaho, honestly. I mean, it's they do an awesome job. They work their rears off. Super cool people. Yeah, go give them a follow. And if you're from Idaho area, you know, check out those Sip Idaho events they do. They do a couple a year all over Idaho, and then they're up here for Whiskey Barrel weekend every year.
SPEAKER_02:Yep. And they have a bunch of other products besides this.
SPEAKER_03:Ton of other products, and they just took over a bunch more. Yes, so they did. They they have it's not just it's not just whiskey bourbon, it's a whole lineup of things they have. Yeah, go give them a look, see what products they especially for Idaho, guys. It is an Idaho company. I would always support Idaho and local, and they are a local Idaho company. In fact, I'm pretty sure Rochelle's from Post Falls originally, or at least lived here. But go support them, go support the brands that they wrap, go out and buy those and keep them on the shelves here in Idaho. But Jamie, if that's it, unless you have anything. I think that's it. Go over to our website and buy some merch for Craminy's sakes. Buy some t-shirts. I don't care what it is, go buy something. We've we've had a record of like 10 sales since we've been open for what, like two years now. So let's go. Thank you guys for that. Let's break that record next month, huh? All right, let's get eleven. Let's get eleven. So we'll see everybody on the next one. Thank you.
