The NOLADrinks Show – 8-20-18 – Genever with Danny Ronen and Wild Roots Vodka

On this edition of The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias, we chat with noted spirits educator, consultant, and bar owner, Danny Ronen, about the interesting spirit Genever. We also visit with Brendon Bain of Wild Roots Spirits and discuss their various and well-made fruit-infused vodkas!

Pictured above from left – Bryan Dias of NOLADrinks and spirits educator and consultant, Danny Ronen.

The NOLADrinks Show – 8-20-18 – Genever with Danny Ronen and Wild Roots Vodka

We kick things off talking about what’s on tap for this week’s show. We also talk about trends in vodka including premiumization of the category and how flavored vodkas are making a comeback in the form of higher-end, well-made versions.

We then move into our interview with spirits educator, consultant, and bar owner Danny Ronen talking Genever. We tape this during Tales of the Cocktail, where Danny was around to promote this interesting spirit. It has a long, rich history but is unfamiliar to many. We talk about what Genever is, where it is made, and some ideas on use and taste. Danny joins us later for an extended tasting and chat on “Another Shot with NOLADrinks.”

Check out Danny’s venture, DC Spirits, the is an education and consulting firm. Also, see his newly-opened bar in Austin, Academia.

Then, we visit with Brendon Bain (pictured at left with Bryan Dias), President of Sales for Wild Roots Spirits. They create really nice natural fruit infused vodkas. They are located in Oregon and use, in most instances, locally grown Pacific Northwest produce. They also start with a quality, well-made vodka base spirit.

We taste several of their expressions, discuss their philosophy, and talk about their production process. Their vodkas are rolling out now around the country and are certainly worth seeking out! They perform well in cocktails and are delicious on their own, as well.

Then, we move into our podcast-only portion of the show – “Another Shot with NOLADrinks.” Danny rejoins us to delve further into the world of Genever. We taste a fascinating flight the shows off the diversity of the spirit, breadth of flavor profiles, and some of the differing approaches to production.

Danny has me taste through them without much up-front discussion on each. We sample and then chat about the impressions, flavor-profile, and comparisons with other spirits that one might make. It was very interesting to experience the wide-array of Genevers, one-by-one!

We close things out with our “Parting Shot.” Here, we feature my ode to vodka! Yes, I wrote a poem (oh, my!)

You can subscribe to, stream, and download the podcast using the player and links at the top of this post. Special thanks to our friends at Sylvain (location shown on the map below) for hosting us for these two interviews! See more on The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias podcast here.

Cheers, You All!

~ Bryan