Unboxing Keeper’s Heart And Planning An Irish Whiskey Night

A box shows up at the studio that’s way too big for what we thought we requested, and it makes one unmistakable sound when we lift it: swishing. We’re Man Cave Happy Hour, so you already know what happens next. We clear space, grab the camera, and start the kind of whiskey unboxing that turns a normal night of cigars and pours into a full-on reveal.

The reason for the delivery is Keeper’s Heart, a name that’s been popping up for us thanks to Motor City Irish Fest. We talk through why this brand has our attention before we even crack a cork: the Irish American whiskey angle, the pot still focus, and the idea of blending Irish-style character with American whiskey structure. If you’re curious about what “American pot still” actually implies, or how bourbon cask influence might change an Irish-leaning profile, you’ll hear the questions we’re bringing into next week’s deeper tasting conversation.

Then the box opens and the surprise hits. Instead of a couple small samples, we’re staring at four full bottles, including an “Irish and Bourbon” expression and a cask strength bottle coming in hot at 118 proof. We talk packaging, proof, labels, and where it’s coming from in the Midwest, and we set the plan: save the pours now so we can taste on mic with Keeper’s Heart next week.

If you like whiskey podcasts, Irish whiskey exploration, bourbon-curious blends, and real first reactions, hit subscribe, share this with your tasting group, and leave a review. What should we do first when we pop these bottles, sip neat or build an Irish Old Fashioned?

Transcript

Welcome To Happy Hour

August Gitshlag 0:00

I'll just get like you're making around.

SPEAKER_00 0:05

I said hey.

unknown 0:07

Hey.

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Welcome to McCay Happy House. I said hey. Hey. Welcome to Man Cave Happy Hours. We're gonna drink a fine whiskey and smoke a really fine cigar.

Jamie Flanagan 0:28

It is time for happy hours. The Man Cave Happy Hour. Whiskey, cigars, spirits, the stories that could go along with it. I'm Jamie Flanagan and I got a big old box of that in front of me.

SPEAKER_03 0:38

What's in the box? What's in the box? What's in the fucking box?

Jamie Flanagan 0:43

Matt Fox, August Kitchlag, David Wright. We're all here. Yes. Uh and we're gonna do this. We're gonna uh we're doing an unboxing. We're coming off a box of that episode, sort of.

SPEAKER_03 0:53

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Jamie Flanagan 0:54

We just got it. And uh we wanted to dive into this uh because next week we have uh the fine find folks from Keeper's Heart.

SPEAKER_03 1:01

You know, there's nothing like planning ahead. Uh-huh. When you plan ahead, you know what to yeah, Matt.

Jamie Flanagan 1:07

Tip get work that camera so you people can see what I'm leaning on. Grab my camera and manipulate him with it. Pick it up and crank it back towards you so you can get it because you gotta go wide angle. Wide angle because this is a big old box of that. That is a big old box of that. Thank you to our friends over at O'Shaughnessy's distillery, the makers.

August Gitshlag 1:26

Is this gonna be Irish whiskey? Is it gonna be we don't know? Every bottle's everything's gonna have a shamrock on it. I was deciding who we're gonna bring in as an extra, you know. He wants a bourbon. I don't want to bring him on an Irish day and them spitting it out at you. Oh, yeah.

Jamie Flanagan 1:42

Well, that would be that would be I like Neil. His kids go to my school. I like Neil. That'd be that'd be good podcast, but yeah, content. No, no, he went to your school. This is that was yeah, I've been teaching there that long. But 33 more days, James. Oh my god, that is great.

Last Drink And Old Fashioned Talk

SPEAKER_03 1:58

Countdown. God, that is so good. You're gonna love it. I just had to be nice sippy sippy.

Jamie Flanagan 2:02

Yes, all right. We just poured last episode. If you join us, we had some uh bumble bur uh a rum.

August Gitshlag 2:08

It wasn't the bumboo bumba and boom boom boom boo boombox rum.

Jamie Flanagan 2:17

And we said, hey, we should do old fashions with that, and I didn't finish my first one. You guys, oh that's nice.

August Gitshlag 2:21

That is uh you know what that that trumps and I hate using that word in public, the uh chartreuse and the Punieswood. It's a better cocktail.

SPEAKER_03 2:32

Yeah, much and and this one is good. Clinton's lovely, yeah.

Jamie Flanagan 2:37

Again, like I could do three old fashions in a night on a Tuesday. All right, you don't know me. What if it's an Irish old fashion, Jamie? So keeper's heart, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:50

Keeper's Heart, Jamie.

Why Keeper’s Heart Matters

Jamie Flanagan 2:52

So go back to the last episode. You can see that moving on fantastic old fashions out of that. Keeper's Heart, and they are one of the uh uh main sponsors there for the uh Motor City Irish Fest coming up this summer, uh June, like in the teens. Okay, like second or third week of the year. 2020, yeah, yeah, uh 12, 13, 14, 13, 14, 15, something like whatever.

August Gitshlag 3:12

Motor City Irish Fest. Motor City Irish Fest. They gotta have a whole episode of just Irish sounding car names. Yeah, like Chevelle.

Jamie Flanagan 3:22

So, but yeah, so they're doing uh the Mother City Irish Fest. Three days of bands and fun and shenanigans and mixed things. So, anyway, I I got introduced to them last year when they we became one of the sponsors, and I've been dying to talk to them. And so it's an American pot still.

August Gitshlag 3:43

It's made here. Some of it right, so they're making an um an Irish whiskey pot still. It's American pot still whiskey.

SPEAKER_03 3:51

Is it like red breast like pot still?

Jamie Flanagan 3:53

Yeah, yeah, all right. So and so they have several expressions. So some are American pot still, and then they have a blend which is Irish pot still and American pot still blended together. So we're talking to one of their decisions just next week, and I said, Well, for the conversation, we need to have a couple bottles. We'd like to have a bottle of that. Not even buy just uh go get a sample. I said a sample, and I was expecting like you know, sample bottles. We had a little sample bottle. Well, we don't know what's in that box. I got this box. There's got to be is it heavy, Jamie? It's uh fairly heavy. And I hear some shingles.

August Gitshlag 4:26

Do you have to go to your doctor and have him grab your balls and make you cough?

Jamie Flanagan 4:29

I'm hearing some swishing. Okay, much like then. I'm hearing swishing. Should there not be swishing?

August Gitshlag 4:34

That was uh turnia from heavy lifting at your age thing. Yeah, that's what I was talking about. Oh, all right.

Jamie Flanagan 4:39

All right, so we got a box of that from uh keepersheart, and uh nobody has their headphones on, so nobody knows how bad this sounds.

August Gitshlag 4:46

Yeah, it has to be like oh I wasn't even listening.

The Unboxing Big Reveal

SPEAKER_03 4:49

Yeah, your hall working. It's a box, it's a box. It's a box. Actually, it's not that bad.

Jamie Flanagan 4:54

So we gotta okay, we got a big old, we got a big old box. Oh lots of corrugating cardboard. There's some protection in the camera for you. Matt, pick that up and tip it in so we can see what we're revealing here. Get the big reveal, tip it in. Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. Tip it in, tip it down, Matt. I'm getting dizzy. All right, here we go. Here's the big reveal. Oh, look at that. Look at that. Man, that's a big box for two bottles. That's uh two bottles. Yeah, I was expecting a case of this is like some serious packaging, unless there's like another pair of I I'm almost thinking there's something underneath there. Is there there is only four bottles that keeps on giving? Holy crap! I was like, that's a lot of packaging for two bottles. Holy shiitake mushrooms. There's four four fifths in here.

August Gitshlag 5:39

We haven't had a score like this since uh Redwood Empire.

Jamie Flanagan 5:42

All right, so there you go. Keeper's Heart. So this one is Irish Irish American. This is Irish and Bourbon. What? This is Irish and American whiskey, bro.

SPEAKER_03 5:55

Oh my goodness, American pot still. Okay, all right. So not even trying to get fake. Yeah, good Irish and bourbon cask strength. Cask strength.

Jamie Flanagan 6:05

All right, so I would sweet prints.

SPEAKER_03 6:08

So uh what you're saying is next Tuesday morning, I should not go to work. Yeah, maybe maybe we take next Tuesday off.

August Gitshlag 6:14

Can we do this on a Saturday afternoon?

Proof Points And Next Week Plans

Jamie Flanagan 6:18

God will it's a cheap Uber right on. So there you go. Keeper's Heart. They are they are one of the uh main sponsors for the uh Motor City Irish Fest, and apparently now one of the main sponsors of the Man Camp Happy Art. Thank you, Michigan. No, thank you.

August Gitshlag 6:34

Is this Michigan made Irish whiskey?

Jamie Flanagan 6:36

No, no, no, no. No, no, no. Are they Michigan? I don't know. No, no, it wasn't. Where's he zooming in from? The the return address, it's Midwest. Oh, all right. All of a sudden, they just slipped out of my brain because I was looking at the return address and I'm like, oh, look, it's whatever. We have Minnesota. We're definitely gonna have to have a pizza before. Minneapolis, Minnesota. You need to put their pizza. They are in-house. They are Midwest folks. I like the colors because that's got that that that light that four distinct colors.

SPEAKER_03 7:04

Oh, very distinct colors bottled by Oshanahi bottling company. Oh, yeah, I heard Minnesota, yeah.

August Gitshlag 7:13

County Commissioner, South, you know, downriver. Downriver County Commissioner.

Jamie Flanagan 7:18

92 proof. What do you got there?

SPEAKER_03 7:19

I am super excited for this uh for next week's episode.

Jamie Flanagan 7:23

It's uh triple pot. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 7:25

Still I don't have my reader, so I can't read the smaller.

Jamie Flanagan 7:30

And this one is coming at 118.

SPEAKER_03 7:33

All right, that guy's the cast strength. So yeah, uh, that makes sense to me.

Jamie Flanagan 7:37

Yeah, all right.

SPEAKER_03 7:39

So thank you, keepers heart for so we haven't cracked these.

Jamie Flanagan 7:44

I'm trying to see if they're twists off or they look like they're corks.

SPEAKER_03 7:47

Yeah, they look like corks. I hope they're corks underneath there.

Jamie Flanagan 7:50

All right, so we'll pop these next week. And who are we gonna be seeing next week? So keepers heart. Join us the keeper's heart distiller.

August Gitshlag 7:56

Yes, fantastic. So I think Minneapolis puts the S on the end of words too.

Invitation And Sign Off

Jamie Flanagan 8:01

Oh, fair play, yeah. All right, so thank you for all generosity. And if you want to join us, if you know where the podcast your voice studios are, join us if you're around a 27 and you're still listening, yeah. Um then you're welcome to to crash that party. Yeah, so there you go. You don't even have to be Irish to do it, you can just crash that part.

August Gitshlag 8:22

Just do it, just do it. Everyone's Irish.

Jamie Flanagan 8:25

All right, there we go. Thanks a lot. We're gonna get out of the way so the uh motor city hypnotist can do his thing on his podcast. See y'all again. Bye. See ya.