Whiskey Women

Shelley Sackier, author of the very funny memoir Make It a Double: From Wretched to Wondrous: Tales of One Woman's Lifelong Discovery of Whiskey, joins Janet for a conversation about learning to love whisky, Scotland, and making peace with your insecurity by letting it ride passenger seat on the journey.

St. Patty's day is a holiday very associated with alcohol, which can be difficult for those who choose to live a sober lifestyle. Inspired by Blair's recent week-long break from drinking, the whiskey women sample some alcohol-free spirits in solidarity.

It's a lot of new records here at Whiskey Women Podcast: our interview with Talnua Distillery features three whiskey women, five whiskies sampled, and one amazing cheers! Join us for a conversation with Meagan Miller, Amy Kingman, and Maya Oren to learn all about the company bringing Ireland's potstill traditions to Colorado and the ingenuity that has their bottles flying off the shelves. 

You can certainly expect a sweet time when you sit down with the owner of Three Lumps of Sugar, but did you know you'll also be sitting down with a salt expert? (Or that there was such a thing as a salt expert??) Join the whiskey women in conversation with LaShan Arceneaux as they discuss the perils of making a cocktail while traveling, how that problem led to the wonderful solution of LaShan's signature infusions, and how inclusiveness and ingenuity go hand in hand. 

It's February 2, 2022 and you know that that means...or maybe you don't because it's not a real holiday, but the Whiskey Women find puns TOO good TO resist and so must try TWO 2-named whiskies: Two Stars Bourbon, and Two Tigers Indian Whisky. 

Happy New Year! Janet and Blair bring in 2022 with the episode they had planned to do before COVID shut down their holiday plans: sipping Seven Jars' Ava Gardner Select and watching her film The Killers. 

If you haven't heard of Big Nose Kate, prepare for a wild ride and a new favorite whiskey! Janet and Blair chat with Mel Heim about the legend, the woman, the whiskey that is Big Nose Kate. 

Sure, Thanksgiving is this week...but, having already done a number of Thanksgiving episodes, the Whiskey Women decide to skip past Thursday and straight to Black Friday. Thankfully, whiskey companies try to make your shopping season easy by compiling gift sets, but not all are created equal. Join Janet and Blair as they review some of the best (and worst) whiskey gift set options before you venture to the store.

The Whiskey Women learn about Speed Rack, the kickass all-women bartending competition from this year's National Champ and director of Libations at Houston's own Toasted Coconut, Sarah Troxell.  ​To learn more about the competition, visit

In honor of Halloween, the whiskey women are drawing on their tarot knowledge for insight into some scary-good whiskey. So what will they draw for each dram? What card will they pull for each pour? What is the spirit of these spirits? Listen in, if you dare...

What's cooler than Distiller magazine? Distiller Pro! And what's even cooler than Distiller Pro? Getting a 20% discount on it when you use the code whiskeywomen! And what's the coolest of all?? Hearing Editor-in-Chief Stephanie Moreno and Brand Director Mollie Berntsen tell the Whiskey Women all about their spirit journeys and distill the details behind Distiller!

We're still waiting for the season of Netflix's Nailed it! where contestants have to make whiskey bottle or barrel shaped cakes, but in the meantime to celebrate the new season, the Whiskey Women made whiskey cake and invented a drinking game for their favorite baking show! Now you can have your cake and drink it, too!

The Whiskey Women combine a few of their passions -- books, environmentalism, and whiskey -- when they sit down with Shanna Farrell, author of the new book A Good Drink: In Pursuit of Sustainable Spirits. In this eye-opening discussion, Shanna gives Janet and Blair the scoop on which distilleries are prioritizing green practices, how the bar industry can create less waste, and how consumers can demand more transparency when it comes to what ends up in their glasses.

Are you ready to drink some RTDs?! Join the Whiskey Women as they review their summers and launch season four with some Jim Beam canned cocktails!

It's the end of our season three, and we're graduating our favorites from the season with senior-style superlatives -- with a little help from our listeners. So what whiskey won "Most Athletic"? Which gets crowned "Teacher's Pet"? Tune in, toss your cap, and see you next fall

One year ago this month, Covid-19 sent us into lockdown just before St. Patrick's day. This year, still in lockdown, the whiskey women celebrate a holiday they usually ignore (who wants to go to a packed bar anyway?) and sip some Irish Whiskey in honor of snake diaspora day. 

What would it be like to drink whiskey in space? That may be a final frontier still unknown, but Janet and Blair sit down with Dr. Erin MacDonald -- Astrophysicist, Star Trek consultant, and Whiskey Woman-- to sip some Auchentoshan, share some Scotch stories, and boldly ponder the drinks where no whiskey woman has been before.  

The Whiskey Women say it's always a good time for chocolate cocktails. Join us in chocolatey celebration of the real holiday of love for your ladies!

Go west, young whiskey woman! Pull up a stool at the saloon with Janet and Blair as they tour through the wild world of "western" whiskies with High West, Smoke Wagon, and Black Saddle.

The Whiskey Women bring in 2021 with The Water of Life -- a documentary that brings the distillery tour experience to your home (...including tasting kits and dreamy shots of that beautiful golden liquid). Join us as we talk to Brittany Curran, an Executive Producer, and Jenna Elie, one of the cast members, as we learn all about the making of two different passion projects: the film and the Scotch it features.  

Like most, our minds are fervently fixed on the future as we HAPPILY usher out 2020 and greet 2021. In celebration of the good parts of the year, Janet and Blair sample three whiskies from Milam and Greene, the company Blair works for, and talk with CEO Heather Greene and Head Distiller Marlene Holmes. 

What's the holiday season without a quick Christmas Carol reference? Here in the final episodes of 2020, Janet and Blair talk with Nora and Adam of Lost Lantern, the first American independent bottling company built on the Scottish Tradition. Listen in to learn about regionality, whiskey science, and which ghosts are haunting the whiskey women's palates. ​  

With Thanksgiving around the corner and not everyone able to travel home this year, the Whiskey Women sample some pie-themed cocktails to keep all solo feasters raising glasses. 

The Whiskey Women interview Hannah Lowen of New Riff Distillery in the aftermath of the 2020 election night. With civic duty in mind, join Janet and Blair in learning about what's new about New Riff's Kentucky Bourbon and Rye, and how the whiskey, at least, manages to stay smooth...  

Halloween might not look the same this year, but one thing is still true: all heroes wear masks! In celebration of 2020 times, the whiskey women try cocktails inspired by their favorite Superheroes and carve their own super signals...

Nathan Nearest Green is the "Godfather of American Whiskey" you've never heard of -- and the brand Uncle Nearest is here to change that by sharing his story, challenging the status quo in the whiskey world, and bottling excellent Tennessee Whiskey. Join Whiskey Women in conversation with Fawn Weaver, CEO and founder of Uncle Nearest, and Tracie Franklin, the first apprentice in the 

Janet and Blair reunite! In this episode, the Whiskey Women discuss all things quarantine, ways the whiskey world can be be more responsible, and chat with Sarah and Spencer Whelan of the Texas Whiskey Association to learn what consumers can do to help the distilleries they love.   Also, be sure to check out of , with the whiskey women as guests in a discussion of Jim Murray and sexism in the whiskey business.  

Janet and Blair's plan to have a live event to celebrate the end of season two had to be scraped in light of the Covid19 quarantine. So, in order to keep their social distance and party from home, the whiskey women put their knowledge of each other to the test by playing the "newlywed game" in this special video episode.

"You buy your second bottle of Maker's Mark because of what Bill senior did, but you buy your first bottle of Maker's Mark because of Margie." -- Bourbon Diplomat Frank Crockenberger. Join the Whiskey Women as we learn about the magic Margie Samuels baked and brought to her husband's bourbon, including its trademark design.

Join the Whiskey Women as they get the inside scoop on the third annual Texas Whiskey Festival from co-founder Michelle Clements!

This Saturday, the Whiskey Women were invited to two very special events and were so excited to share our experiences in this episode...unfortunately, any plans we had were blown away when our night ended under attack by a predator. Join us for a discussion of what happened, an analysis of what we would do differently or the same should it happen to you or someone you know, and a reminder of the two most important things in any situation where a woman is under attack: listening and believing her.

Garrison Brothers is a Texas staple, but don't let the masculine name deceive you. The Whiskey Women enjoy an interview with Distiller Samantha Olvera-Moreno and a tasting with Whiskey Evangelist Alaina Branch.

Bonus episode! Leave the mistakes of last year behind with our favorite hangover cures.

Is there anything to better get in the holiday mood than Christmas music and whiskey cocktails? (Or, better yet, is there anything you need more after a holiday at home than whiskey and music to drown it all out?) Janet and Blair get into the spirit of spirits while trying whiskey cocktails and comparing them to carols.

Creeks and Rivers and Oceans, Oh My! Plenty of brands choose to name their whiskies after the water -- and or songs -- that makes it all possible. Join Janet and Blair on a lazy trip downstream, from Knob's Creek, Rowan's Creek, Old Whiskey River, and Jefferson's Ocean.

What is one to do when NOLA is too far away? Let 73 Distillery bring the 73 Neighborhoods of NOLA to you, of course! The Whiskey Women sit down with co-owner Eileen Bivalacqua and tour guide Candy Trahan to discuss what makes this distillery so special.

Few cocktails evoke a place more than the Sazerac embodies New Orleans. Made of Sazerac rye, peychaud's bitters, absinthe, and a sugar cube, this cocktail is as beloved and emblematic as Bourbon street itself. Janet and Blair sample the best wares available at the famous Carousel bar, Mahogany Hall, and -- of course -- the Sazerac Bar in the Roosevelt Hotel, comparing the various concoctions to other NOLA staples. 

Halloween is here again, which means costumes and candy for the Whiskey Women! Join Janet and Blair as they sample an array of bourbon and alcohol flavored treats -- and enter for your chance to win some treats to try yourself! 

Hipsters get blamed for a lot -- skinny jeans, ironic t-shirts, and obscure indie bands -- but bringing the Old Fashioned cocktail back into style is something they (we) can be proud of. Still, there are a lot of options when it comes to which bitter to choose when making an Old Fashioned, and the Whiskey Women learned the best and worst options out there, comparing them to the best and worst of the hipster world. Get excited -- but only ironically.

In this new segment called "Whiskey Witches and Wizards", the Whiskey Women interview professionals in the bar, spirits, and/or cocktail world who elevate their work above the realm of mere mortals and into something... magical. Our first featured Whiskey Wizard is Michael J. Neff, who brought his twenty year experience behind the bar to Houston's own the Cottonmouth Club. Listen in to learn the artistry and intent that goes into making each drink a curated experience for the patron.  

Forget flights of whiskies -- these whiskies take flight! Janet and Blair sample Eagle Rare, Red Breast, and Old Crow whiskies to see how they stand up to their aviary namesakes.

Welcome back to Whiskey Women! We're ridin' into a new season by literally taking the show on the road this time, to our Texas urban neighbor, Austin. Join Janet and Blair as they walk around Austin's legendary sixth street and off-road to find whiskey in a summerland of Tequila.

The whiskey women tried to compare bonded whiskies to James Bond actors...only to realize they don't really like James Bond. Appropriately, since they were tasting these at Poison Girl, they decided instead to come up with some (slightly more human) names for the women character in James -- or, actually -- JANE Bond's story. Next stop: Hollywood.

After inheriting a fully stocked bar from a family member who is moving away (Thanks, Rick!), Janet and Blair sample some of his collection and discuss the stables of a basic home bar when hosting guests. So what guests are each of the brands? This is one party where everyone wins.

It's 2019 and some listeners are opting to take a break from the booze for an annual Dry-uary. The Whiskey Women offer some delicious mocktail options for those who still want to sip something to bring in the new year.

Join the Whiskey Women in celebrating Blair's "Blairmas" birthday and the final episode of 2018 by drinking a whiskey that is as old as they are (and two tasty fifteen years that add up)!

Houston, Texas, may not have much of a real winter, but these hot whiskey drinks are worth sampling no matter how sunny December stays. Listen in as Janet and Blair get into the would-be chilly caroling spirit with a Classic Hot Toddy (no tea!), a Seaside Hot Toddy (tea included), and Hot Buttered Whiskey.

The Whiskey Women go for the obvious Thanksgiving choice and sample three different kinds of Wild Turkey Whiskey. So which type was the mashed potatoes? Which brought out the nostalgia? Listen in to find out.

It's Halloween in Houston, which means the Whiskey Women are drinking in costume. This year, Janet and Blair celebrate their love of the classic British scifi show Doctor Who by dressing up as the TARDIS and a Dalek, and finding the inner doctor of in each of a sample platter of scotches at a local British pub.  

Roses are red Except when they're not Join Whiskey Women For shot after shot    Intro music: Liechtenstein - "Roses in the Park"