199 Proof: Data Driven Drinking

Like all major sports and tournaments around the world at this time, we've postponed our tournament for the time being due to global pandemic.  In an effort to promote social responsibility, we're recording episodes via teleconference to accommodate physical distancing, not social distancing; and rather than making the drinks that we've codified and use as part of our scoring system, we're doing like many of you and working with what we have.  In the first of a series of these episodes, join us as we drink two tequila drinks and two gin drinks as we take 199 Proof into the age of the Quarantini.  Cheers

Episode 125: The Quarterfinals Revealed.  We are down to our final eight gins, and now we need more than just gin and tonics to determine a winner in each episode.  Find out what cocktails we're adding, and why, as we talk to a special guest: New York City's Parkside Lounge owner, Chris Lee.  After we hear from Chris, the quarterfinals are revealed.  Cheers!

Episode 124: Copenhagen Gin vs. Fords- In the final episode of this round, Daniel's oriGin spirit goes head-to-head against Fords, a gin built to be a jacl-of-all-trades.  Copenhagen, a gin distilled from mead using only one botanical, yields a very unique flavor, and Fords, which uses only nine botanicals and has a very familiar name attached to it.  Which gin will win the final spot in the quarterfinals?  Listen in!

These two gins from former British colonies compete in perhaps our tightest episode yet.  Four Pillars from Australia, and Greylock from Berkshire Mountain Distillers, have Dan and Marc split on almost every category, yet they both agree that these gins are delicious.  Take a listen as we whittle down our field and inch closer to the final 8 gins in the opening season.

Episode 122: Malfy vs New Amsterdam- This episode features a fairly straight forward Malfy from Italy's Amalfi coast, against the winner of the Value Gin episode, the sweeter and more widely available, New Amsterdam.  While one comes across as very traditional and juniper forward, Marc figures out what the other reminds him of.  Another gin joins the Quarter Finals as we wind our way down in the Round of 16.

Episode 121: Plymouth vs. Boodles- This episode features two very well established and old English gins.  One is very citrus forward, the other is distilled with no citrus at all.  Can the gin from England's oldest working gin distillery take down the relative newcomer, which is a mere 174 years old?  Take a listen and, and pay particular attention to some very interesting garnish rounds.  Cheers.

Episode 120: Brooklyn Gin Vs. Corgi Earl Grey- This episode pits our Novelty Episode winner Corgi Earl Grey against our Second Chance Episode winner, Brooklyn Gin in a unique match-up.  These two gins, separated by only a few miles and two rivers, are worlds apart philosophically.  The garnish round takes a bit of a different turn as we end up drinking some delicious cocktails.

Episode 119: The Botanist vs. Edinburgh Gin's Cannonball Navy Strength.  This Round of 16 match up features two Scottish masterful gins: one, a boozy and modern take of botanical gin from Islay, and the other, a bold Navy Strength from Edinburgh.Both did extremely well in their first brackets, but differences emerge as we take them head to head in another round of Data Driven Drinking.

Episode 118: Junipero vs. Uncle Val's Botanical: This matchup takes San Francisco's Junipero, one of the early US entries into the craft gin market, and not surprisingly, a juniper forward gin, and puts it up against Uncle Val's Botanical, distilled in Bend, Oregon.  While Junipero is a modern interpretation on a classic flavor profile, Uncle Val's is inspired by a man and his garden, and is an incredibly bright and fresh tasting spirit.  Join us as we put these through our rigorous scoring system, featuring Gin and Tonics with several garnish rounds.  Cheers.

Episode 117: Edinburgh Gin vs. Greenhook Ginsmiths: In this first Round of 16 matchup, Edinburgh Gin, with it's first round bye into this round, takes on New York City's Greenhook Ginsmiths gin.  This round features extra scrutiny, additional garnishes, and 16 delicious gins from across the spectrum of modern gin, and around the world.

In this abbreviated update, Marc and Dan explain what's changing for the next rounds, and what's staying the same.  The Round of 16 match-ups are revealed as we prepare for some really discerning drinking in the weeks ahead.  Cheers!

Episode 116: Second Chance Gins brings 5 gins that have competed before for the LAST at large berth into the Round of 16 Gins!  We take Tommyrotter American Gin, Brooklyn Gin, Opihr Oriental London Dry Gin, Dorothy Parker American Gin, and Plymouth Navy Strength Gin, where we have a drink-in to cull it to four, and then we have a smoker of an episode in what may have been our tightest brackets yet.  Listen through the end to find out who gets the last spot in the Round of 16!

Episode 115: Last Call- this is the last call for the first round before we offer a few gins a second chance at stardom!  These are the gins that we've been seeing a lot of or just can't ignore for one reason or another, and we've finally gotten around to getting them in the bracket.  Unfortunately, we had five, so we facilitated a bit of a play in round to cull it down to four.  Nolet's Dry Gin, The Revivalist Botanical Gin Harvest Expressions, Tommyrotter American Gin, Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin, and Hendrick's Gin fight for one of the two remaining spots in the Round of 16.

Episode 114: Value Gins- those gins under $20 that we, as gin enthusiasts and connoisseurs, usually skip over or sometimes even scoff at, are entered into tournament tonight.  Gordon's, Seagram's, New Amsterdam, and Kirkland from Costco.  One of these Value gins gets a berth in the round of 16 for it's chance to take on one of the other bracket winners.  Think these gins are beneath you?  You may want to think again...

Episode 113: Four London Dry Gins.  In this week's episode, Dan and Marc cull 5 British gins down to four as they become more selective to round out the bracket.  Boodles Gin, Brokers Gin, Portobello Road No. 171, and Gin Lane 1751 fight it out to get to the round of 16.  This episode really tests out the scoring system in a tight round of data driven drinking. Listen through the closing credits for an infectiously hilarious Easter egg.

This week, Dan and Marc take on four gins that tick off the Novelty point- Empire Spirits Project Smoked Gin, Uncle Val's Peppered Gin, Principe De Los Apostoles Mate Gin, and Corgi Earl Grey Gin.  Four very unique gins that all bring something very different to the table.

For the Fourth of July, Daniel and Marc take four gins with (incredibly loose) ties to the American Revolution, at least geographic ties!  Ivy City Gin from Washington DC, Liberty Gin from Philadelphia, Greylock Gin from Sheffield, Massachusetts, and Barr Hill Gin from the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont.  It's an episode that really tests the strength of our scoring system with four delicious and unique gins.

On this episode, we take four gins from countries better known for producing wine than for their gin.  Italy, France, and Spain provide the fodder for this week's Data Driven Drinking: Malfy Originale, Citadelle, Esmé, and Mahón compete in the round of 64.

199 Proof takes four gins from around the UK and puts them through their paces: Bulldog, Ophir, Plymouth, and Caorunn go head to head this week.  Cheers!

199 Proof take four London gins to to task in this weeks episode: Fords, Fifty Pounds, Sipsmith, and Oxley.

In this episode Daniel and Marc take two gins from the Bay area and put them against two gins from Oregon.  

In this episode, Daniel and Marc bring 4 Navy Strength gins to the table. Yes, four 57% Alcohol by Volume gins, in a boozy, tight, bracketed competition that leads to several overtime rounds to determine a winner.  3 Howls, Plymouth Navy Strength, Edinburgh Cannonball Gin, and Four Pillars 58.8 Navy Gin square off in the tightest episode to date.

Daniel was out of town, so I decided to take a visit to Corgi Spirits to talk to Leandra Del Pozo and Nate Thompson, two of Corgi Spirits' three full time employees, to learn about distillation.  We cover a lot of ground here, so pour yourself a glass of your preferred tipple, sit back, and enjoy an Afternoon at the Distillery.  Cheers.

We take 4 East Coast Gins and put them head to head against each other to find one winner.  Dorothy Parker, from New York; Bluecoat from Philadelphia; Greenhook Ginsmiths also from New York; and Catoctin Creek from the foothills of Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains.  Listen as Daniel makes bad pun after bad pun about some pretty great gin.

This week, Marc takes Brockmans and Uncle Val's against Daniel's Monkey 47 and Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin

On this episode, we bring Tanqueray 10 and Beefeater 24 to the table to compete with The Botanist and Brooklyn Gin.  

Welcome to 199 Proof.  In our introductory episode, you'll hear how Daniel and I developed an appreciation for gin after decades of thinking of it as a perfume-y drink for old folks, and the madness behind Daniel's methods.  Come for the stories, stay for the drinks.