Arsenic Culture

Tipping: everyone has an opinion, but no one agrees. Are you tipping too much? Not enough? And what do you actually owe your bartender?

We dive into the weird rules, unwritten etiquette, and the psychology of tipping in bars and restaurants. From under-tipping horror stories to debates on whether tipping culture has gone too far, we break it all down with our usual unfiltered take. 

What's your rule when it comes to tipping? Let...

The bourbon secondary market: love it or hate it, it’s not going anywhere. Some say it keeps rare bottles moving and rewards collectors. Others say it’s ruining drinking culture, pricing real fans out, and turning whiskey into Wall Street.
We dig into whether the secondary market is helping or hurting bourbon culture, what it means for casual drinkers, and if brands secretly love it.
What do you think, is flipping bottles k...

Cantillon’s Tyrnilambic Baie d'Argousier is sea buckthorn in a lambic, and it’s as funky and legendary as you’d expect. Spontaneously fermented, aged in dusty barrels, and loaded with tart, citrusy berries, this one’s a cult classic for a reason. 


#Cantillon #SeaBuckthorn #Lambic

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Ever heard of a man so committed to eating for free that he made it a full-time job and a criminal record? Meet Edward Dando, the 19th-century Londoner who scammed his way through more oysters than a hangry TikTok influencer with a seafood sponsorship.

In this Spill, we dive into the (surprisingly well-documented) life of a dude who got drunk, smashed shellfish, stiffed the bill, and then asked for more, like some kind of Victorian-...

What happens when monks, caffeine, and alcohol collide? Buckfast Tonic Wine has been called "wreck the hoose juice" for a reason, and we’re here to find out why. From its bizarre monastic origins to its unholy connection to Scottish street crime, this stuff has serious lore.

Matt, Jason, and Drew dig into the story behind Buckfast while getting way too excited about glass shards, caffeine-soaked riots, and whethe...

In this Spill, Matt surprises Jason with a bottle of Sciacchetrà: a rare, golden, sweet dessert wine made on the cliffs of Cinque Terre, Italy. It’s fermented from sun-dried grapes, aged by tradition, and produced in such tiny quantities it’s practically liquid folklore.

We break down the ancient passito method, the grueling cliffside harvest, and how this cult-status wine became protected by Italian DOC laws. Bonus: Matt’...

In 1875, a warehouse in Dublin’s Liberties district exploded into flames, igniting more than 5,000 barrels of whiskey and unleashing a river of fire through the streets. But the fire itself didn’t kill anyone. The whiskey did.

This episode dives into the wild true story of the Dublin Whiskey Fire, where:

 🔥 Streets flowed with flaming booze
 🍺 Locals scooped whiskey with boots, hats, and porringers
 🧠 F...

In 2021, one of the biggest names in bourbon, Heaven Hill Distillery, was at the center of a massive labor strike that shook the heart of Kentucky’s bourbon industry.

In this Spill, Matt and Jason dig into how the strike started, why nearly 420 union workers walked out, and what was really at stake: healthcare, overtime, family time, and the soul of bourbon itself.
What seemed like a simple contract dispute turned into...

George Remus made millions bootlegging during Prohibition, lived like Gatsby, married a woman named Imogene, then murdered her in broad daylight. The kicker? He defended himself in court…and walked free.

This episode of Arsenic Culture dives into one of the wildest real-life crime sagas in American history:

 💰 The “King of the Bootleggers”
 🚘 A high-speed car chase through Cincinnati
 ⚖️ A murder trial f...

Welcome to the sweet, syrupy, slightly unhinged world of Dirty Soda: a drink that somehow combines Diet Coke, coconut syrup, cream, and religious guilt.

In this Spill, Matt and Jason break down how a Mormon workaround for coffee and booze turned into a national flavor phenomenon, complete with TikTok trends, sugar bombs, and yes… KFC’s Peaches & Cream Mountain Dew. We dive into the Utah roots of chains like Swig, explo...

In 1857, nearly 10% of Hong Kong’s European population was poisoned by bakery bread laced with arsenic. Was it political sabotage, racism-fueled hysteria, or just one hell of a bakery blunder?

In this episode, we dive into the chaos of colonial paranoia, courtroom drama, and the wild trial of Cheong Ah-lum, a baker who offered to behead himself and his entire family in court.

🔥 Exploding tensions from the Opium W...

Let’s get this out of the way: Michael Malloy should not have survived. 

But somehow, this Irish-born New York City drunkard became the most hilariously unkillable man in Prohibition-era history.

In this episode of The Spill, Matt, Jason, and Kendra unravel the unbelievable tale of Michael
Malloy, a man so dedicated to booze, and so impervious to death, that he turned a murder plot
into a months-long disas...

Oregon’s liquor agency was caught hoarding rare bourbon for themselves, and you won’t believe how deep the favoritism and sketchy behavior went. In this episode of Arsenic Culture, Matt, Jason, and Kendra break down the OLCC scandal, the shady bourbon allocation system, and what it reveals about liquor politics in America.

Are these “rare bottle lotteries” actually rigged? Is government-run alcohol distribution the lesser ...

Welcome to another episode of The Spill, where Arsenic Culture dives deep into the boozy drama behind Pisco, a brandy-like spirit that's at the center of a long-standing rivalry between Peru and Chile. Matt, Jason, and Kendra sip, squabble, and sort through history, origin myths, and flavor notes to figure out: who actually owns Pisco?

If you've ever wondered what makes Pisco different from brandy, why South Amer...

A 25-year-old cold case. One beer can. And a DNA match that cracked the case, this is one of our wildest Heavy Pours yet.

In this true crime twist, Kendra takes us through the bizarre and tragic murder of Dustin Kjersem, finally solved when police linked DNA from a tossed beer can to the killer: Daren Christopher. This isn’t your average murder mystery, this one ties beer, bad decisions, and forensic science together in a ...

What do a warrior medallion, an ancient amphora, and a secret blend of Mediterranean botanicals have in common? They’re all part of the mysterious and bold story of Metaxa—Greece’s signature spirit that defies easy categorization.

Matt and Jason sip through Metaxa’s layered history, from its roots in 1888 to its ties with the Salamina Warrior Emblem, the Amphora bottle, and the elusive Spyros Cask. Is it a brandy? A fortified wine? ...

The Whiskey Trust wasn’t just about bourbon—it was a full-blown criminal syndicate. From strong-arm tactics and price-fixing to actual attempted bombings of rival distilleries, this was a booze empire built on intimidation and greed. Matt, Jason, and Kendra unpack the chaos behind America’s most corrupt alcohol monopoly, reveal how it tried to murder Dr. Jokichi Takamine (yes, the Koji whiskey guy), and dive into the shadowy rise o...

This episode is not for the faint of liver. We asked: what alcohol is — or should be — illegal? From neon tourist trap moonshine to actual fermented spit beer (yes, really), we run down the worst offenders in the booze world.

Also featured:
 🧪 Bilk (beer + milk, why?)
 🐎 Kumis (fermented horse milk, apparently a laxative)
 🦶 The Sourtoe Cocktail (it’s exactly what it sounds like)
 🔥 Hard Mountain Dew (b...

Dan Aykroyd didn’t just star in Ghostbusters—he believes in ghosts, aliens, and psychic energy. Naturally, he made a vodka filtered through ancient crystals and bottled in a glass skull.
In this Heavy Pour, Matt, Jason, and Kendra explore the paranormal backstory behind Crystal Head Vodka, including the legend of the Mitchell-Hedges skull, ancient Mayan curses, and a daughter who rebranded a literal “Skull of Doom” into a cance...