The Spirit Guides

The Spirit Guides

Every month four friends get together to taste, enjoy, and review premium liquors from around the world.

Episodes

April 23, 2022 42 mins

Your ever-punctual Spirit Guides are back with a special all-together-in-one-place mega episode.  But will we delight in our selected special barrel of bourbon and much as we delight in each others company?  Come pull up a chair, pour yourself a glass, and join us to find out.

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Your ever-dedicated Spirit Guides are at it again! This time we return south of the border to sample some tequila that - get this! - comes in a cool bottle. Can we judge this book by this cover? Join us for a sip and a listen to find out.
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September 27, 2021 44 mins

We’re back!  With a… uh oh… flavored gin?  These usually don’t go down smooth with all of your open-minded Spirit Guides. But maybe… just maybe…

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March 25, 2021 35 mins

You ever-discriminating Spirit Guides are delving once more into the world of Irish whiskey.  This time to sample a tempting single pot still offering.  Will it taste like a familiar Irish blend, or will we find something a little more wild and unique?  Pull up a chair and join us for a wee bit o' the craiture.

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Your wayward Spirit Guides are scouring the aisles of a very well-stocked distillery gift shop to bring you something special this episode.  It’s a special/special wheated bourbon where more care might have been put in to which oak staves finished it than the amount of wax the top was dipped into.  And which spirit guide bought the wrong bottle?  You’ll have to join us for a sip and listen to find out.

Apologies for the quality of ...

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January 26, 2021 39 mins

Your tried and true Spirit Guides are back on task drinking and reviewing single bottles of what we certainly hope to be "the good stuff."  In this case, we're sampling Hampden Estate Pure Single Jamaican Rum in the hopes that we've found a new Caribbean sipper.  Will this bottle bring the funk or not?  Come join us for a listen to find out...

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December 24, 2020 63 mins

Your ever-festive Spirit Guides are visited by the Ghost of Christmas Past as we dive into George Washington's (supposed - but extremely boozy nonetheless) Mt. Vernon Egg Nog recipe.  And then we make a couple of extra nogs for good measure.  Which is the best nog?  The one nog to rule them all?  Come on in during this holiday season and join us for a sip and a listen.

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This is it, faithful listeners.  Your dependable and determined Spirit Guides have followed the rigorous and unforgiving championship bracket to the final match. Which of these exotic-ish gins will be determined the best of the best?  Honestly, we recorded the entire tournament in a single evening and we're a little hazy on what happened in the final round.  So pull up a seat, pour yourself 3 shots and mix yourself 3 cocktails, and...

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Your thrill-seeking Spirit Guides won't stop until we've taken it to the limit. This is the final qualifying round of the greatest spirits competition in podcast history.  Which gin will make it to compete in the final 3-way battle royale?  Will it be Bloom Jasmine & Rose Gin (Limited Edition!) or Empress 1908 Gin?  Well get of the edge of your seat, pour yourself a few glasses, and listen along to find out!

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Your ever-diligent Spirit Guides won't stop until the best gin (from our perfectly random selection of contestants) is crowned the best of the best.  Round two pits against one another a couple of nations famous for their gin, Spain and Ireland.  Here's a little taste of what's to come: one of them is really quite good.  But which one?! The only way to find out is to come join us for a sip or two and a listen...

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Your hyper-competitive Spirit Guides are at it again.  This episode begins our four-episode-long tournament pitting six craft gins against one another in a winner-take all battle royale.  We start with a California gin distilled by the famed director of the 1996 classic Jack and named after an early contributor to the eventual development of computer programming for some reason, and a variation on a now-classic Scottish gin that th...

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Your brave and daring Spirit Guides once more race to the precipice of... I don’t know... something about a mountain of liquor?  Anyway, we’re drinking two whiskies and a rum from Colorado.  Some come and join us for a taste a listen.  Colorado pride!

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April 25, 2020 34 mins

Welsh gin.  That checks out.  Your fancy free Spirit Guides have been flirting with a few examples of non-England-based UK gin for a little while now and are still seeking that big surprise.  Is this the one that will delight us all?  Come have a listen and a sip to find out with us.

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March 25, 2020 41 mins

Have your ever-mischievous Spirit Guides lost their minds?  No friends, you’re eyes are not playing tricks on you: we are truly tasting some “welsh rum.”  Or maybe that doesn’t surprise you given the exploding state of craft distilling around the world.  But all of this is beside the point.  Here’s what really matters: is it any good?  Only one way to find out...

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March 2, 2020 24 mins

Three great tastes that taste great together?  You know, that classic Scottish trio of flavors: rhubarb, ginger, and juniper. Have your ever-steady Spirit Guides gone too far?  Is even such a thing possible in the never-subtly-flavored world of gin?  Join us for a listen and find out for sure...

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After a much-appreciated hiatus (and a much-resented dry-spell) your resurrected Spirit Guides are back and we’re excited to enjoy a much needed dram.  Was this special edition bottling worth the wait?  Come sit back down with us for a sip and listen to find out!

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August 26, 2019 28 mins

Your diversity-focused Spirit Guides are keeping the streak alive to hold off on whiskey for a while. It some rum this time around. Do we have some boring frat party lighter fuel, or some of that hard sought after dank tiki bar funk? Only way to find out is to come join us for a taste and a listen...

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Your constantly collaborative Spirit Guides have joined forces once more to analyze a Californian gin.  Does this live up to the high standards of...uh...California gin?  Come for a listen and a sip and find out!

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June 5, 2019 23 mins

Your ever-alert Spirit Guides have come a cross a month-old article that demands our immediate attention!  Has a beloved mainstay of European cafes and American brunch spots been removed from its throne?  Or is this just click-bait masquerading as weaponized hipsterism?  Come and listen to the only truly qualified experts on the subject and find out for sure! 

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Your unfailing Spirit Guides are here to bring you a meticulously crafted finale that will totally not disappoint you. We’re talking about scotch, of course. Come have a taste and a listen to hear how we stuck the landing. 

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