Still Life: A Podcast

Still Life rings in the new year by chatting with Chris Crowe of Burnt Church Distillery in Hilton Head, SC. Though relatively young by whiskey purveying standards, BC has an interesting story, a gorgeous facility, and makes products that are worth checking out. They get into the fine points of starting a destination distillery, working around restrictive regional laws (or waiting for them to change), trying to build a business in uncertain times, 2and the long arm of history. https://burntchurchdistillery.com/

Andy takes pride in the fact that the story of Nelson's Green Brier Distillery is about as good as any in the distilled spirits industry. If a better whiskey distillery story exists, however, it no doubt belongs to Uncle Nearest, whose founder and CEO Fawn Weaver joins Andy for this fascinating and far-reaching conversation about the business, the hard work of historical research (especially in a region that doesn't always want its story to be told correctly), and why it might not be the worst thing in the world if the whiskey itself isn't a distillery's number one priority. The talk turns frank and personal at times, which is fitting for two people who have both made a life's work out of resurrecting the past to inform the present. https://unclenearest.com/https://www.happywivesclub.com/

Andy and his longtime pal and colleague Brandon O'Daniel (Master Distiller, Copper & Kings Distillery) get into some tall weeds about the fermentation peculiarities of different fruits, the intricacies of making a standout bourbon, the burdens and blessings of marketing your family history for business purposes, and following Phish on tour. 

An expansive conversation with legendary Nashville restaurateur  Tom Morales, who has been at the forefront of this city's cultural and culinary evolution for decades. He and Andy discuss the white bread/salt and pepper roots of the local palate, and the process that led to the abundance on offer today. They also take note of the less-salubrious side effects of that growth (looking at you, lower Broadway) . Plus, Morales parts the curtain on the years his company, TomKat's, spent as the country's preeminent entertainment caterers, providing meals for hundreds of properly big deal feature films and music video productions (including some excellent stories from the set). https://www.tomkats.com/https://www.instagram.com/tomkatscatering/

Khalid Williams is a bartender, writer, scholar, and hospitality super genius whose insights into the social and cultural history that informs his work help elevate craft into the realm of humanist art. But not to worry: Andy and Khalid also get deep into the distillation weeds. A fascinating conversation with a fascinating man. Learn more at https://www.drinkthebarrelage.com/

Andy gets down to cases with Nashville's premier luxury brand PR/communications representative, East TN native Libby Callaway. They discuss her background as a music and fashion critic in NYC, her transition to PR, the shrinking media landscape of Nashville, the way brands have to be about more than quality craftsmanship, and the challenges and rewards of sobriety—especially for those who work in the hospitality industry.

If you're wondering what stock car racing has to do with the craft spirits industry, you're not alone. Fortunately, in this month's episode, Andy gets down to cases with NASCAR Xfinity series driver Stefan Parsons—whose car and suit advertised Nelson's Green Brier Tennessee Whiskey at the Nashville Superspeedway on Sat. June 24—and discover one or two surprising similarities. (Note: This episode was recorded three days before that ill-fated race, which adds a degree of historical interest to the conversation.)

Andy sits down with the charismatic and inspiring founder of the celebrated mixer company Perfectly Cordial to discuss the many ways in which their stories of building a business in the spirits/hospitality industries overlap, despite radically different circumstances. Also: The link between nursing and hospitality, and what Nashville has to offer in the way of support to entrepreneurs (hint: not much). Find Rhonda's incredibly delicious mixers at https://www.perfectlycordial.com/

Years before LP O'Brien was blowing minds on the Netflix competition series Drink Masters and transforming the spirits industry, she played a big role in helping launch Nelson's Green Brier Distillery. Andy catches up with his erstwhile colleague for an intriguingly candid conversation about the art of the cocktail and the process of self-discovery it can help animate.

This month, Andy is joined by Chris Fletcher, Master Distiller at a scrappy, up and coming distillery called Jack Daniel's. Their conversation delves into their shared and disparate experiences as legacy members of the spirits industry, and the peculiar nature of trying to carve out one's own identity in the contemporary world while honoring the past.

Andy gets down to cases with the mighty Marianne Eaves, whose bona fides were cemented in 2015 when she became Kentucky's first female bourbon master distiller. Her career since has followed a steady trajectory of conspicuous successes. Their conversation touches on many of them, and plenty of other subjects besides—including confidence,  sexism in the industry, and the unlikely route that led Eaves out of the world of art and science, to the role she occupies today: one of the most visible and respected players in the spirits industry today. (All this between sips of exotic bourbons from Eaves Blind, her audacious mobile spirits lab/ subscription service/ education program.) 

Still Life returns from its holiday hiatus with a bang as Andy sits down with Ketch Secor, co-founder and leader of Old Crow Medicine Show. Their discussion ranges far and wide—from the humble beginnings of Secor's music career, to the challenges of trying to keep traditions alive in a changing world (and more specifically a changing city!), to the relationship between punk rock and old time music, to the definition of the word “authenticity.” There's even some whiskey talk in there. Happy new year, and welcome back!  PSThe instagram link Andy alludes to in the intro is https:instagram.com/nelsonsgreenbrier and more info is always available at https://greenbrierdistillery.com/stilllife

Andy has a long chat with one of the most notorious—and fascinating—figures in the world of craft spirits, the inimitable Chip Tate. Of course they discuss you know what (and if you don't know what, aren't you curious to find out?), but the conversation takes many more surprising turns, covering themes from the nature of truth, epistemology, the future of craft spirits in general, and how to assess the metal you make your still out of. Deep divers welcome.

Host Andy Nelson's frank and funny conversation with one of the whiskey industry's most prominent figures covers a lot of ground—from learning how to fake confidence until it becomes real to the risks and rewards of political engagement, and beyond. They discuss some heavy personal matters, and explore the unusual predicament of sharing a name with an internet celebrity whose bottom line is radically different from your own. 

Episode 2: Ciona Rouse(July 22, 2002)Andy's conversation with Nashville's unofficial poet laureate goes deep into the mystery and power of poetry in fractious times, the importance of seeking out voices of people outside one's own culture, and, perhaps more to the point for this show's purposes, the historic relationship between writers and alcohol—specifically bourbon in Rouse's case (and Andy's, too, as luck would have it). Related topics: Lucille Clifton, Langston Hughes, the derivation and pronunciation of the name Ciona, the pros and cons of puns, Andy's musical theater issues, the Louisa Nelson Awards (Rouse received one in 2019), and the deep pleasure of reading Shakespeare aloud among friends. Special Guest Appearance by Andy's dog Clyde, the very best boy in the whole wide world. 

June 17, 2022For his inaugural episode, Still Life host Andy Nelson turns to friend and podcast pro John Edwards for pointers, and the conversation takes some surprisingly personal turns. John Edwards is best known as one half of the award-winning podcast Dads Drinking Bourbon. After his prospects as an athlete were cut short by an injury in college, he turned his attention to radio, working as a sportscaster and reporter for a series of national and regional stations before changing gears again to pursue a thriving career in IT. Somewhere along the way, he developed a taste for whiskey, which, when combined with his natural gift for talking into a microphone, led him and friend Zeke Baker to create Dads Drinking Bourbon in 2016. Over 350 episodes later, DDB has gone become one of the most popular and well-regarded spirits-related podcasts around.