Hold My Whiskey While We Fix Downtown - Whiskey Taco Foxtrot

You can tell a lot about a city by what happens when you let people step outside with a drink. We set up a pop-up recording at Whiskey Taco Foxtrot in Clawson, Michigan during Social District Sunday, with a mobile cigar lounge parked nearby and a scavenger hunt pushing people to explore downtown. The result is equal parts whiskey hang, community experiment, and practical guide to what social districts actually are and how they work when they’re done right. 

We talk through the biggest misunderstandings we keep hearing: whether the social district only applies during street-closure events, what the stickered cup is really for, and why you can’t just walk your cocktail onto any patio you want. Charlie shares why the social district mattered during COVID-19 recovery, how to-go cocktails kept people employed, and what it takes to keep participation growing across bars and restaurants. If you care about walkable downtowns, small business momentum, or local events that don’t feel forced, this one has real takeaways. 

Then we get into the glass. We run down the cocktail lineup, zoom in on an Elijah Craig Small Batch Old Fashioned, and explain why higher proof bourbon stands up better to sugar and bitters, especially outdoors. We also connect the “Snap And Smoke” theme to whiskey barrel charring history and close with a spotlight on the Southern Smoke Foundation and Old Fashioned Week giving that supports hospitality workers. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves whiskey culture, and leave us a review. What would your perfect social district event look like?

https://whiskeytacofoxtrotclawson.com/

Transcript

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Pop-Up Podcast Kickoff

August Gitshlag 0:00

So how are we gonna open this one? Is it with the full music or are we just gonna oh we're all playing with the music here? We're gonna call it a pop-up podcast.

SPEAKER_00 0:10

I said hey!

unknown 0:11

Hey!

SPEAKER_00 0:12

Welcome to the Man Cave Happy Hour. I said hey! Hey! Welcome to the Man Cave Happy Hour. We're gonna drink a fine whiskey and smoke a really fine cigar.

Jamie Flanagan 0:34

It is time for Happy Hour, The Man Cave Happy Hour Whiskey Cigar Spirits, the stories that go along with it. I am Jamie Flanagan. I am not here to introduce Matt Fox because he's not here, but I am August, the smart ass.

August Gitshlag 0:47

We should have Wayne jump in. Well, Wayne just walked by all asked. He just walked down there like, without Matt, I don't know what to do.

Jamie Flanagan 0:54

I know. So this week on The Man Cave, it is a Man Cave adventure. It's a pop-up. We're taking it, we're taking the party on the road. Taking it to the streets. We've done that once or twice. We've done that once or twice. And we're once again at uh rock is next month. That's next month. That's next month. Sorry.

unknown 1:11

I can't wait.

Jamie Flanagan 1:12

I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm so excited. Captain. I don't know. I want uh I want to Jeff.

August Gitshlag 1:20

Well, I think you're supposed to be the water and everything. That was supposed to be in the social district cup, but okay, we'll just make it work. All good, all good.

Jamie Flanagan 1:27

Yeah, all good. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.

Social District Sunday In Clawson

Jamie Flanagan 1:31

So it is social district sunday here in uh Clausen. Popping up because we've been at Whiskey Taco Foxtrot before, and we're back again. And it's a there's a party, there's cupcakes, somebody's celebrating a birthday.

August Gitshlag 1:42

One of the whiskey society people birthday plus one.

Jamie Flanagan 1:45

Yeah, and then thank you, sir. Jeff is an amazing bartender. Whenever you come into Whiskey Taco Foxtrot, he took damn good care of you on your retirement party. If he's spilling drinks, man, it's a it's it's a way to go.

August Gitshlag 1:56

And 12 more dollars out of me than I should have gotten already. We got, yeah, we does well for these.

Jamie Flanagan 2:00

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm going for the the low end. He's like, hey, wouldn't you want another little floater on that? Hey, wouldn't it? You know, it would take it. He's good. He's good.

SPEAKER_02 2:10

I love a floaty.

Jamie Flanagan 2:11

And then outside we have Kent and Tamara. Kent Fowlers, the Fowlers, and they are sticks, STX, the mobile cigar line. Isn't there a Y in there? I forget. STX. Just STX. That's Mr. Robot.

SPEAKER_01 2:24

Checking the sign. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Whoa, and then we're like the cigars.

August Gitshlag 2:31

That's another voice. And there's Jen. Oh, Jen Cherry.

SPEAKER_02 2:34

Uh, two end gen with a cherry on the end.

Jamie Flanagan 2:38

That's it, Jen. You're all thank you again. You and Charlie. Thank you for having us and letting us here.

SPEAKER_02 2:44

Thank you for matching me.

Jamie Flanagan 2:47

I got it's really hard to see in the camera, but I got the very tiny little Elijah Craig, the stirs. I'm gonna need a bag of those. I need to grow. Yeah, I need a gross of these for the studios. I need a box of that for sure. But Jen, uh normally you're hoping you are hosting today, but it's it's slightly different because we're celebrating the social district.

SPEAKER_02 3:05

Social district here in Clausen, Michigan, yes.

Jamie Flanagan 3:08

Yes, and and so we pulled the cigar truck up, people can have a cigar, and then there's three fabulous cocktails. The first one was good, the second one was out of this freaking world, and the third one was really, really good. They're all really, really good. Okay, but the second one, did you curate the the cocktails?

SPEAKER_02 3:25

I didn't, but I did steer, I did steer Charlie into which spirits to use uh to match with the cigar lounge.

Jamie Flanagan 3:32

So just people could be jealous of the shenanigans going

Three Cocktails And A Cigar Truck

Jamie Flanagan 3:36

on. What were the three cocktails and what what uh spirits were in the because the first one was like tequila based, yes, but it was an old fashioned, yes, yeah, an old-fashioned tequila shut the front door. We're not talking uh crappy tequila either. No, no, all three of the bourbons were brilliant. All three of the whiskeys were or all three of the spirits were brilliant.

SPEAKER_02 3:54

So all right. So normally, normally during whiskey society here at a whiskey taco box chat, they I'm dressed in costumes, I'm doing parodies, we're doing crazy things, but we're also tasting and educating, right? Yeah, and Charlie and I talked about having this kind of summer party, and uh he said, Let's smoke cigars. And I was like, Yeah, nothing says like puff puff pass as um uh a hundred degree weather.

August Gitshlag 4:20

You've done it before.

SPEAKER_02 4:21

I did do that, yep, up the smoke, and then but you guys brought the idea of the mobile cigar bar, which I thought was a really cool idea, and so then we created a riddle scavenger hunt taking photos of all the places in Klauson as they bring around their social district cup and they sip on their cocktail cocktail as they snap. So this one's called Snap and Smoke.

Jamie Flanagan 4:46

Snap and smoke, yeah, yeah. Oh, because you're snapping as a photo scavenger and then smoke. Now I I didn't know what the snap was.

August Gitshlag 4:53

Yeah, I was like, I

Snap And Smoke Scavenger Hunt

August Gitshlag 4:54

was like, all right, well, gentlemen, so there is a really interesting history of how these these social districts were born of COVID. COVID, born of COVID. The one the one decent thing to come out of COVID, yeah, and and the fact that it stayed, it was done as so people could drink outside, right? The whole idea was like they didn't they wanted the people to close down streets, have your cocktails, be social, but not be in a room where all your breath is being re-circulated, yeah. So that's where the social district was born of, and then people freaking love them. I love I love the walk and idea to go from place to place, and I mean it's even a little restricted. They have the sticker. I mean, who cares? But they may give a sticker that identifies where it came from, yeah. And it's uh it's it is actually the greatest. This and the the the more patios, patio is easier and cheaper to do, yeah. As long as you have your ADA distance between the end of the patio and the street, you can do it. But social districts are wonderful. There's a there's the ones in Wyandotte are huge, State Course Shores is huge, yeah. Some cities are built for it, some aren't.

Jamie Flanagan 5:49

Yeah, some are they try to do in downtown Birmingham, but you're sitting in traffic. That I get super nervous at uh a couple of them downtown Birmingham.

August Gitshlag 5:58

The misconception is you have to shut the street down because State Course Storage does every time. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Because they have that little Mac Avenue section. Northville, there's a there's a there's a drive around. The streets are about to go around it.

Jamie Flanagan 6:10

Northville had a huge issue with it, yeah. And I think Clawson is one of the cities that has done it the best out of the office.

SPEAKER_02 6:18

Right, it's the the people on the city planning board also own restaurants. I mean, that's the thing, too, is that when you have a voice in the conversation and you're part of the community and what the community wants, that's when you can really shine and have a program that works, right?

Jamie Flanagan 6:34

And that's and we're here and we're pandering, so that there's that.

August Gitshlag 6:37

Most other people think social districts only if we weren't here.

Jamie Flanagan 6:41

I would recommend it.

August Gitshlag 6:42

They think the social districts only happen when there's a city-sponsored event downtown, like a movie night, right? Or we shut the street down.

Jamie Flanagan 6:48

It's now they do movie given day, they do movie nights, they do, they do, they'll do they'll they'll close off me, uh, they'll close off Main Street here, yeah, and they'll put a big screen here at 14 and show movies, which is gorgeous.

August Gitshlag 6:59

There's a social district even when they're not shutting the street down for those.

SPEAKER_02 7:03

We'll have Charlie pop on here too to talk more about the social district, but also we have an active scavenger hunt going on, and as these people pop in, I might have to like bounce to go check on their stuff. Oh, yeah, yeah, check so that because we do have some beautiful prizes over here.

Jamie Flanagan 7:19

But all right, tell me your three, tell me the three cocktails. What were they again?

SPEAKER_02 7:22

So the first one is Coroleo Extra Neho Three Year Amaretto Old Fashion. So using using DiSorono Amaretto and Coroleo, just really nice and sweet. No Mr.

August Gitshlag 7:35

Boston shit in these cocktails. Right, right, right.

SPEAKER_02 7:37

Nope, nope. Charlie, Charlie went all out on wanting to have something really fun for the city.

Jamie Flanagan 7:41

They were gorgeous, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:42

The second is what I want to talk about. That was the standout.

Jamie Flanagan 7:46

That was the standout.

SPEAKER_02 7:47

Elijah Craig. Elijah Craig.

Jamie Flanagan 7:50

With the little Elijah Craig flags. I'm I'm loving these areas.

August Gitshlag 7:53

It's not the kind of red flag that I usually look for at a girl, but I'll take it.

Jamie Flanagan 7:56

I am in, I'm 100% in. And Elijah Craig is one of my go-to's at home.

SPEAKER_02 8:01

I know that. I remember seeing that about you when the first times that you get me on the podcast, and I was like, I can help you with that. I'll get you all the fun socks and everything.

Jamie Flanagan 8:10

We'll name it the Elijah Craig studio if you give us Elijah Craig for life. We will do that. Jennifer, Jennifer gave me socks today.

SPEAKER_02 8:16

Oh, you iffered me.

Jamie Flanagan 8:17

I did, I did.

SPEAKER_02 8:19

It's just Jen.

August Gitshlag 8:21

I did that like seven podcasts ago, and I got my feet down for it.

Jamie Flanagan 8:25

Jen, Jen, it's I blame the Elijah Craig. I'm sorry, Jen. You want something to socked me today.

August Gitshlag 8:31

You sock it too. She's about to sock you.

Jamie Flanagan 8:33

She was uh I she gave me I was gonna say she gave me socks, but now she's just gonna sock me for the iffering. That's all right. But no, these are fun little I was trying to be all risque and it backfired.

SPEAKER_02 8:45

It's okay. I apologize. You were giving

How Social Districts Really Work

SPEAKER_02 8:48

me my formal name.

Jamie Flanagan 8:49

Fair play.

SPEAKER_02 8:50

But I'm just all sass and shenanigans.

Jamie Flanagan 8:52

Hey Charlie, are we checking grades? Are we are we grading papers?

SPEAKER_02 8:59

We might have some people coming back from the scavenger hunt real quick. So, Charlie, we just started talking about the social district. Real quick, we'll uh have you join the conversation again. Thank you so much for having us here for Whiskey Society.

August Gitshlag 9:14

You didn't even have the Legend Craig yet.

SPEAKER_02 9:17

Uh thanks for having us here. Thanks for bringing the cigar mobile mobile mobile cigar lounge.

August Gitshlag 9:24

Okay, which Tony is all about having at Firebird now. He can't wait to get this sucker going down to Lions games and soccer games and everything.

SPEAKER_05 9:31

You know, I I thought this was a really cool idea, and then they rolled up this morning, and I was like, this was a really cool idea. And I'm like, I have people walking by going, This is awesome. Like, can I get like I was really cute?

August Gitshlag 9:45

Pok your head in with a $20 bill, have a cigar.

Jamie Flanagan 9:48

I was like I actually there's there's a little family walking by with like three little kids and the mom and the dad, and and they're like, the little boy was like, I smell cigars, and the mom was like, I hate the smell of cigars. She goes, but this is very cool. So mom was like, I don't like the smell of cigars, but this is very cool.

SPEAKER_05 10:04

I was like, Yeah, mom. It's it works well.

SPEAKER_02 10:09

Yeah, it was great with the air quality alert. Yeah, we said we said, hold my whiskey. You think the air quality is bad? Yeah, poor Canadians.

Jamie Flanagan 10:20

We're sorry, thank you because getting this approved for like shenanigans in the street cigars, a little bit of work.

SPEAKER_05 10:27

A little bit of work.

Jamie Flanagan 10:28

So thank you for putting the work in and getting her done.

SPEAKER_05 10:31

Yeah, so uh yeah, social district. This was a I've I've I've slowly made myself the champion of the social district for the DDA and for Clauset in general. It started in 2020, and it was one of those things that had like it saved our business.

August Gitshlag 10:45

Uh Charlie, don't be afraid of that microphone in front of your face. No, he's good. He's good.

SPEAKER_03 10:50

We're good, we're good, we're good.

SPEAKER_05 10:51

I'm never good with microphones, ask Jen.

August Gitshlag 10:53

I don't know what to do with my hands.

SPEAKER_03 10:56

I don't have to do with my hands.

SPEAKER_05 10:58

No, so I kind of slowly became the unofficial champion of the social district because again, it saved my business. We saw the prophet actually spoke in front of Senate and brought margaritas to Senate because that's what you do. Yeah, I remember you seeing you at Landstein's 10 a.m. Crack Cracker. Got a crackerita, you know. Suit it up. Yeah, so we did that this year. We we actually saw a really big deficit of people that just are not aware of the social district in Clausen. And it's a it's a really great thing we can all take advantage of here is all the bars and restaurants that have it, which pretty much every bar and restaurant in Clawson has the social district.

August Gitshlag 11:34

They have no reason not to participate, they really don't.

SPEAKER_05 11:36

Yeah, and it's and we've been doing the market to try to push that. We've got the cinema in the street, which always you know, come down, watch a movie in the street and have talk to you.

August Gitshlag 11:44

Well, that's the other thing. People think it's only when they have those events is are you social?

SPEAKER_05 11:47

No, you're social distancing right F and now all the time on a Sunday all year long, all year long, every day.

SPEAKER_02 11:52

Yeah, so like when we're a day that ends in why we're we're we're better than hands.

SPEAKER_05 11:57

And these events have been great, and it's and and I'm getting the feedback that I I know is out there of like I didn't know we could do this. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You and I can push the rules, I'm doing it. The only year come out of COVID, right?

Jamie Flanagan 12:10

You're the other the other business owners here. You can do that, yeah. No, we can do this. We can do this, yeah. And it's like, and I I was doing I was talking about podcasting, and there's like competitive podcasting stuff going on. Yeah, I go, when we all promote each other, we all get better.

SPEAKER_05 12:25

This this morning, the crew at Justice came out because they thought we had a food truck out in front, and I was like, oh no, it's a cigar truck. I told them what we're doing. I was like, you guys have social distance stuff, right? Like I'll send people your way too because they're a great neighbor, they're good to have. It's nice to have Dimitri's a good dude.

August Gitshlag 12:41

He's he's also a fun have of the podcast. He's a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_05 12:44

Hell yeah, I could only imagine. Yeah, we gotta do a Klaus and Bar Owner podcast.

August Gitshlag 12:48

That'll just oh Mary Liz. Oh we get Mary Liz in. Yeah, I think I think we should try to make it in the room to have all of us in Mary Liz in the room. I mean, I love Mary Liz. I would say let's do it right from three cats, otherwise, no.

SPEAKER_05 13:04

I mean, that's that's what I would suggest. I love three cats cocktail. So you like that little cocktail on it. This has been my mission this summer is to get the social district out there. We always try to do a gathering kind of situation for our whiskey society. Labs are informational. We sit inside, we do it. July is a low turnout usually, which we had a really good turnout today. I think we had about 40 some people show up for this one.

August Gitshlag 13:27

That's good.

SPEAKER_05 13:28

It's good because the last few years we've we've gone off site to somebody else's restaurant. Oh, and I love again, I'd love to support, but on a on a Sunday when I can actually use the sales, it's great to have everybody here. The truck has been awesome, they've been great. I see people coming in with packs, stacks of cigars, and like this is awesome. Like, I didn't realize that we had that many cigar smokers in Whiskey Society, but got a lot of good positive features.

August Gitshlag 13:51

You know, I ran into the the regular guys that I know here, you know. I get to meet people doing this for a year, only for a year now. I got to meet people, yeah. I'm like, so do you do you partake? And I'm like, I know it makes me sick, but uh they're like, Oh, well, I do like once or twice a year. I think I might do two in a day today. Yeah, like, all right, it's like it's like it's a hall pass from their wives, yes, yes, seriously, and then seeing the ladies out there coughing too. I'm like, all right, that's a look. Yeah, get these. I hope your dad got those pictures.

SPEAKER_05 14:18

It was there, you probably got 10,000 of them.

SPEAKER_02 14:22

One of the whiskey society members, uh Jasmine, she uh she she upped her annie on her cigar. She she got a she got a a a three dollar sign that cigar. She said, I'm I'm celebrating, I'm celebrating life, I'm celebrating summer, and uh, you know, why not? And that's what this is about. You got a tent outside with cocktails, we have a tent with some nice stools for you to smoke your cigars, it's just fun. And then a very wicked scavenger hunt. As I see the same people walk by and by that they are just scratching their heads. No, all right. I'm gonna let you guys talk for a second. I'm gonna go check in with some of these uh some scavenger people, and then I'll come back and we will talk about some Elijah Craig and the Southern Smoke. You're gonna make me wait to drink it again.

SPEAKER_05 15:10

Oh my god. Oh, they were the first ones to hand me something.

Jamie Flanagan 15:13

All right, fair play. So, yeah, she's uh she's graving papers. Yeah, great.

August Gitshlag 15:18

That's that's part of the what the the the I'm gonna call it the shtick, the uh what you do at the Whiskey Society is we do the yeah, we might be like the official podcast of the Whiskey Society. Is this our fourth?

SPEAKER_05 15:30

You are the you are if I haven't made it formal, you are now the official podcast.

August Gitshlag 15:36

We will have a fifth next month, probably when we're yacht rocking this joint.

Jamie Flanagan 15:39

So I'm DJing your rot rock. Are you?

August Gitshlag 15:42

Yeah, we're gonna write up the yacht rock. We need the stage back.

SPEAKER_05 15:46

I can put the stage if we have it here. Jeff may kill you because him and I spend the Sunday moving that off.

August Gitshlag 15:52

I noticed the stage was gone. I didn't know why.

Jamie Flanagan 15:55

It'll be right here. Yacht rock it out, I'll have a cap and playing a lot of Pablo Cruz. Love it. Little LR staying so much America.

SPEAKER_05 16:05

How much I truly love that yacht rock genre. Not in the sense of like, could I name any of the songs or tell you who sang all of them? Not really. I'm pretty good at that. But if it's on, I'm listening to it. It's in the car, the windows go down automatically. I want to throw the sailor hat on. I don't know.

August Gitshlag 16:23

What times in my life? Doom doom doom doomed. And it's not, and it is not just crisscross sailing. Yeah, there's much more than that. Oh, that early Kenny Loggins that people think is uh, you know, it's amazing. I love the logism. Kenny Loggins' voice, people think that's George Michael if they didn't know who they're listening to. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. He's that good. I got another voice of an angel.

unknown 16:43

Yeah.

Jamie Flanagan 16:45

I got I got Kenny Loggins stories, music stories into oblivion, but yeah, I'll save that for another another day.

COVID Lessons And To-Go Cocktails

Jamie Flanagan 16:53

So it's a it's a lot of work. Are there any pitfalls to opening up a social district for you know someone as a as a as an owner? Is there something that like concerns you when you do it?

SPEAKER_05 17:04

Overall, I have zero concerns. It's it's you're checking the IDs for people, you're going out. We had a lot of year one issues on people not knowing where they could go and not go. Okay, and it's kind of beach groups, right? Like it's a don't be a jerk, don't mess up, really just get in there.

Jamie Flanagan 17:23

Don't don't poop on anybody's don't poop on anybody's wall, you know, be respectful.

August Gitshlag 17:26

Yeah, it's not social bathroom, it's social drinking.

SPEAKER_05 17:29

Yeah, but overall, like we we never had really any big reported issues. I and I think it's one of those things of like it's it's only how creative you can be, right? Like, I I look at most of my drinks, how do we make them? We try to make sure they can fit into the cups that we do. I try to make sure that it can be an option for inside and out. It gives us that opportunity when somebody wants to go somewhere else. You want to walk and drink, you know, you want to you want that last drink. If you don't finish it, we can pour it in the thing and take it home.

August Gitshlag 17:56

It doesn't necessarily translating into me walking into the baseball cart shop with my cocktail, though.

SPEAKER_05 18:01

Yeah, so there are some limits on this, like you don't walk into the, you know, so so you can't really walk into other businesses, you can go into other patios. So that is a little bit of an issue. And one of the things that you can't go on the patios, right? No, so like if you have a whiskey taco drink, you gotta drink it at Whiskey Taco or on the street. Okay, you can't take it into another.

Jamie Flanagan 18:22

There are stickers that go on the glasses.

August Gitshlag 18:25

That's another misconception because I can just I get my cocktail over here because I like yours better and walk into the bar next door. We can't do that.

Jamie Flanagan 18:31

Because we used to do that. We would like back when we were rock and roll boys, we had our Brooks Leathers, they had those big old indoor indoor pockets. We'd like to get a beer at one place and we were at Gusoline Alley, and we like put our beers in our pockets and walked out of Gus's and then went to another bar that had like way higher prices, and then we're like our first round already, you know. And so we made our own little social district, yeah. So but as you do, and but you you can't really sit on somebody else's patio. I okay, and it's it's mainly control. So finish your drink, yep, sit on their patio and order a drink, and it's the option too for us.

SPEAKER_05 19:11

Like, we always try to encourage that. Like, sure, sure, sure if you really want one, and you know, but we're gonna go here next. Go get it, drink what you want here.

August Gitshlag 19:20

We'll pour it in a cup for you, and you walk somewhere else. Yeah, I guess that's why it's more valuable when there are street events and there are ardour events because you can finish your full drink while wandering around. Yeah, you know, it it's and we I think every one of us has had a cocktail about getting their hair cut at some point. Oh, yeah, yeah. You know, I mean there are exceptions that you know, but it isn't as restrictive as it might sound.

SPEAKER_05 19:41

It's it's and some of the things that we're looking at for Clawson right now is it's placemaking. Flosson is it's it's sidewalk and streets, right?

August Gitshlag 19:50

Like I got a ticket in East Lansing for doing what I was just doing a minute ago, standing outside with a half empty cup. They said, Oh, that must be half empty, it's also half full. Yeah, that must be uh beer. I'm like, Well, it was before I drank it. Yeah, get in the back of the car. What? Just standing outside.

SPEAKER_05 20:05

Yeah, yeah. And it's and it's great for those, like it provides so much opportunity. And again, it's just that like we need we need to kind of keep keep the word out, keep it going. I mean, this was something that was gonna be kind of taken away in 2025. Wow, okay. Luckily, Sunnet was like, no, we're gonna keep it. We see the benefit. During COVID, I was able to keep six people employed because we made around a hundred thousand dollars into go cocktails, yeah, and that's huge.

August Gitshlag 20:31

Well, you started canning those margaritas right away. You're right on the can margarita teal.

SPEAKER_05 20:35

Yeah, that was that was a choice of like I went with a can that not glass because you can have a glass container.

August Gitshlag 20:40

You were a 16-ounce can too, didn't you?

SPEAKER_05 20:42

Yeah, yeah, we had a 12-ounce and we had a 19-ounce.

August Gitshlag 20:45

Oh, 19 ounce. I'm okay, it was 19. I knew you had a big old can.

SPEAKER_05 20:48

Yeah, and that's not a butt joke, and they still come and buy my cans all the time.

August Gitshlag 20:54

Everybody likes big cans, Charlie. I mean, I got the big old margarine.

SPEAKER_05 20:59

They're like, I need that four pack, that $40 four pack to go. Yeah, which if you buy that, you get a free margarita. Oh, like well shit, well shit, it's a value.

August Gitshlag 21:09

You should just do it. Bang for your big can buck.

Booking A Mobile Cigar Lounge

August Gitshlag 21:13

Yeah, it is that's what it is.

Jamie Flanagan 21:15

That is a value.

August Gitshlag 21:16

Yeah, well, have you had your cigar yet, Jamie? I haven't.

Jamie Flanagan 21:19

I have my cigar. I have not smoked it.

August Gitshlag 21:24

So it's included in your membership this week.

Jamie Flanagan 21:25

It was, it was so uh the the followers were nice enough to help me pick a cigar, and I figured I want a podcast first before we before I sat down and smoked and got really otherwise.

August Gitshlag 21:36

You need that with the honey and lemon and tea to get your voice back. You are the professional voice of this show. Oh I'm just the smart ass.

SPEAKER_05 21:43

Uh and then, yeah, and so as well. Also, thank you for the suggestion on the STX. Oh, mobile cigar lounge.

August Gitshlag 21:51

I yeah, they're great. So if you're into cigars, this is a killer.

SPEAKER_05 21:56

So easy to work with, too. They're wonderful. I'm a business owner, I'm just a like I'm a shooter. Just straight like this is what I want to do, what's the cost, all that? It like our our our call went longer than 20 minutes because we like talking to each other, but it was just it was a good they're good people. The followers are amazing. I'll absolutely use them again. I actually want to see if I can bring them down for one of the closet events. We'll see if that applies, but yeah, yeah.

Jamie Flanagan 22:16

I mean, they'll they'll do they'll do weddings, grad parties, bar mitzvahs, you know, opening day. There's plans for like opening day shenanigans. There's all kinds of things that you could book the the STX for sticks, mobile cigars backyard party at that point.

SPEAKER_05 22:32

I mean, think affordability on it too. Like it's it was not outrageous at the end of here, and that's for 50 some people. That's really hard to say because there's a lot of times I want to do this stuff, and I'm like, We're a small business still. Yeah, thank you.

August Gitshlag 22:46

So this is hard to say with Charlie and I sitting here, but the podcast just got much prettier with the return of Jen here.

SPEAKER_02 22:53

Yes, so what we had winners for our scavenger hunts. But we did, yes, so close.

August Gitshlag 23:02

No, so you gave out my Zapuka.

SPEAKER_02 23:05

I did, I didn't know. No, but we had some close, so it was the quickest back with the most right, you know? Like and they're they're now gonna go visit other places, you know. You're you came back.

SPEAKER_05 23:21

The other side of this scavenger hunt was mainly the city advised me that we didn't have a large gathering of people smoking cigars. Oh, they broke up, and it was nice to go. Yeah, push people around the city, they'll walk around smoking cigars, also also promoting the social district.

August Gitshlag 23:37

Air quality Sunday in classic.

SPEAKER_02 23:39

Air quality sundays in classic.

August Gitshlag 23:41

July is an air quality month for sure.

SPEAKER_02 23:44

We said hazardous conditions, hold my whiskey.

Elijah Craig Old Fashioned And Char

August Gitshlag 23:47

Speaking of speaking of holding the whiskey, what kind of whiskey am I holding here, darling?

SPEAKER_02 23:50

So you're holding Elijah Craig small batch bourbon. It got loud in here. People come back, people came back. A lot of people came back, yeah. A lot of hot air.

Jamie Flanagan 23:58

Is this a barrel pick?

SPEAKER_02 24:00

It is not a barrel pick.

Jamie Flanagan 24:01

No.

SPEAKER_02 24:02

But one of the things that people don't realize about Elijah Craig's small batch is 94. It's 94 proof, right? Okay, so when you're thinking old fashioned, it really brings something to the party. So the second cocktail we had was an Elijah Craig old fashioned. Yes, an old fashioned is made up of uh whiskey, some sugar, and some bitters. So if you have something a little bit higher proof, you're bringing something more to the party, right?

August Gitshlag 24:25

No, I I tried it. My home ones are 100 proof when I when I make them. Yeah, giddy up game.

Jamie Flanagan 24:29

So be a bourbon, the baseline is 80.

SPEAKER_02 24:31

Yes, yes.

Jamie Flanagan 24:32

Um, and so 94 is more than that.

SPEAKER_02 24:36

Yes, you do math.

Jamie Flanagan 24:37

I do math.

SPEAKER_02 24:38

Good, good, good, get it. Um, Elijah Craig, we can also so why I chose Elijah Craig. Well, this is snap and smoke, and Elijah Craig has allegedly claimed that they were the first to smoke their barrels, char the inside of their barrels back in 1770. You know what?

SPEAKER_05 24:58

Let them have it. What I heard was the Elijah Craig, the Reverend Elijah Craig was just cheap and he just used the burnt barrels.

SPEAKER_02 25:05

I I think it was an insurance scam. Oh, my barrels and my birds on fire. And oh, this tastes good.

August Gitshlag 25:12

So a lot of insurance in the 1700s, you know, state farm and they were all they were always there.

SPEAKER_02 25:18

Um uh yeah, before flow and progressive. So the the thing is that charring inside of your barrels is not a new thing, it has been around for a really long time because barrels are used to transport beverages, right? And whatever you used to have in your barrel before that, if you you need to get rid of those flavors, smells, and all those things too. But then also in the time of moonshine, yeah, in the time of moonshine, though, they were putting things in barrels and moving them on their horse and buggy or horse or whatever, sure. And they realized that the things that horse or whatever, yeah, maybe the things that weren't palatable before now tasted better.

SPEAKER_03 26:02

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 26:02

So they were like, hey, why aren't this thing called oak is imparting flavor to this distillate, and uh people in cognac have been doing that for years and to the booze world, yeah, and just because of commercialization, pretty much, and transportation.

August Gitshlag 26:18

But that's how you got IPAs, yeah, yeah, transporting beer to India with a whole lot of hops in it to get it from rotten, and then people loved it tasting that funky, funky juice. Those people are weird because that stuff's gross, but anyway, this is delicious. So speaking of charred cocktails, yeah, we just walked by with a smoked cocktail, two smoked cocktails in social district cups going down.

SPEAKER_05 26:39

I think that is a first for our uh location. Oh, that smelled good going by smoking eclectic, love it.

Southern Smoke Support For Hospitality

SPEAKER_02 26:45

But one of the one of the things that I think we talked about community with social district, Charlie, and what you do for the community. What Elijah Craig also has started doing for the community is they teamed up with a charitable foundation, and it's called Southern Smoke. So the Southern Smoke Foundation was started by actually someone from my past, James Beard award-winning chef Chris Shepherd out of Houston, and it's to provide aid and wellness financial for the people who need it the most, and that's the food and beverage industry. The hospitality industry is vastly known for not having insurance. So when their life goes up in smoke, yeah, the members, uh yeah, the your average server, server, dishwasher, barback, uh, someone working at a cigar bar, uh, the ballet guys, like all of these people that give us an exciting experience. If something happens to them, then what are what are they gonna do? So the Southern Smoke Foundation was started when a restaurant tour noticed that his sommelier was um having some physical ailments. It started off as a charitable organization that was just gonna give back in this one instance and now has raised 16 million dollars for the food and beverage workers themselves. So no ask is too big, no ask is too small. If you need new tires to get on your car to get safely to work, Southern Smoke Foundation is there for you. And Elijah Craig, this is now going to be the fifth year running that they during the week of October, the old-fashioned week, they donate one dollar per old fashion to the Southern Smoke Foundation. That's gorgeous, up to a hundred thousand dollars, and we've never not hit it. But here in Michigan, we also have the most amount of restaurants participating in doing an old fashioned with Elijah Craig.

Jamie Flanagan 28:36

You know, Michigan, Lemo Midwest, they're always so giving. It's astounding.

SPEAKER_02 28:41

Yes. Oh, we just had someone with a scavenger hunt. I'm sorry, I've got to pass away.

August Gitshlag 28:46

To Elijah, thank you for doing that, Elijah Craig. Yeah, cheers. Yes, cheers to Elijah.

SPEAKER_02 28:51

I'm gonna go check the scavenger hunting. Take some little zipperoo.

August Gitshlag 28:55

Take your sipparoo.

SPEAKER_02 28:57

Oh, that tastes nice.

August Gitshlag 29:00

All right, I personally always have a bottle. My dad always has a bottle of Elijah Craig rye under the kitchen sink. Oh, that's his gift. It's this is where my dad's come from. It was always black velvet as a kid. Uh yeah. And that was under the sink and grabbed my. Oh, and then my friends had a bar, the bar that's now Tokororo used to be called Stash. They used to do a black label and black velvet handshake. Oh, it was so awful. I don't know how they ever drank that stuff. It was so bad every Sunday.

Jamie Flanagan 29:31

Awful, so awful. That's wonderful. Oh my god.

August Gitshlag 29:34

But yeah, this is uh now my dad has upgraded to you know modellos and elisha Craig Ryan. There they are under the sink.

Jamie Flanagan 29:41

So that's where we're at. Fair play.

Next Events And Sign-Off

Jamie Flanagan 29:44

Charlie, thanks for having us out.

SPEAKER_05 29:46

Thanks for again the official podcast of the Whiskey Society. Yeah, MK Happy Hour. Absolutely so happy to have guests here.

Jamie Flanagan 29:55

It's great. And we'll do more. We're gonna we're gonna yacht rock it up in uh a few weeks, and then when the seasons turn, there'll be more more shenanigans afoot.

August Gitshlag 30:04

I think with the Taco Foxtrack should consider building a canoe to race in the ham traffic yacht races. Yes, I'm I'm throwing the gauntlet down there.

SPEAKER_05 30:15

No, I'm just gonna kind of tree down when I get home tonight.

August Gitshlag 30:17

Yes, our carpet canoe like an old Hawaiian.

SPEAKER_05 30:19

Can I just bring a kayak and do it myself?

August Gitshlag 30:22

We gotta have wheels.

SPEAKER_05 30:23

Kayak with wheels. I you're in. I can put anything on anything. Yes, yes.

August Gitshlag 30:29

The the folding warehouse, their canoe is a quarter of a canoe. But wheels. Oh my god, that's fabulous. Classic, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 30:38

Every year, you may have to send me these rules. We will two men, one woman, myself down a hill in a unsanctioned.

August Gitshlag 30:46

That's not no, you're just running. It's a full sprint up and down the road. We'll bring it all to you next month. Okay. All right.

SPEAKER_05 30:52

So excited.

SPEAKER_03 30:52

Yep.

Jamie Flanagan 30:53

I like it.

August Gitshlag 30:55

All right. Like and subscribe. Uh have the podcast things and podcast places, podcast places. I'm August Gitchlag.

Jamie Flanagan 31:01

I'm Jimmy Flanagan.

August Gitshlag 31:02

That's Charlie over there. Charlie. Thank you. All right. Thanks for having us, guys. Cheers. Cheers.