Show Notes
[00:00:01]
The Driving Eureka! Podcast
[00:00:33]
Episode 17 – 3 Ways to Bring Integrity to Your Work
[00:01:16]
Opposite of Integrity is Drama
[00:03:17]
Integrity: First Way is Clarity of Mission
[00:06:10]
2. Data-Driven Decisions
[00:07:55]
Truth Teller
[00:11:44]
What are Some of the 50 Traits in Truth Teller
[00:13:45]
Development of Idea is Key – The Idea Needs to Evolve
[00:15:11]
98% 0f Problems Come in Development of the Idea
[00:15:38]
Third Trait – Culture of Innovation
[00:17:44]
Driving Eureka! Book Segment – Whatever Happened to Pride of Work
[00:19:45]
In Craft Companies There is a Higher Calling
[00:21:01]
Integrity – Doing the Right Thing
[00:26:27]
Brain Brew Whisk(e)y Academy
[00:26:52]
Bringing Integrity to Craft Whisk(e)y
[00:30:48]
Integrity Means Doing What You Believe Matters
[00:34:47]
Craft to Industrial Revolution to Craft
[00:38:30]
Change is Coming to the Whisk(e)y Industry
[00:39:07]
The Craft Cocktail Recipe – The Island Sailor
[00:40:31]
The Island Shaker – Step 1
[00:40:54]
Step 2
[00:40:57]
Step 3
[00:40:59]
Step 4
[00:41:01]
Step 5
Transcript
Tripp: [00:00:01] Welcome to the Driving Eureka! podcast where we share ideas and advice for helping you find filter and fast track big ideas.
Tripp: [00:00:14] Hi I’m Tripp Babbitt advisor to global organizations on the Deming philosophy and host of the Deming Institute podcast.
Doug: [00:00:23] And I’m Doug Hall inventor speaker teacher and whisk()y maker. I’m also the founder of the Eureka ranch and author of the driving Eureka book.
Tripp: [00:00:33] This is Episode 17 of the driving Eureka podcast. This podcast discusses Doug Hall’s newsletter released February 14th. You can get the newsletter at Doug Hall dot com and click newsletter. So our theme this week is integrity and the feature article in this first segment. Three ways to bring integrity to your work. So we will we you pick this theme of integrity why integrity.
Doug: [00:01:07] Well I don’t know I thought it was Valentine’s. This is being released tonight. I thought this should be integrity relationships too. I mean really.
Doug: [00:01:16] I mean it’s it’s not not that much different whether it’s in our work or in our relationships what we’re looking for is integrity that you know and I looked it up and the definition of integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles the state of being whole and undivided. I mean it’s kind of as fundamental as that So Doug when we don’t have integrity what happens. That’s when it gets ugly or when it’s a movie it’s entertaining you know because there’s drama and intrigue and politics and and all of the stuff going on. And and so the opposite of integrity is all of this drama and and it’s drama that sucks the life out of you. And it gets bigger when you’re with larger organizations in the more in organizations. I think when the leadership or the ownership of the organization is separated from the work of the employees because instead of being whole and undivided we become divided our bosses are working off of one mission plan we’re working from a different one. And the net result is there’s no integrity we have. We’re just we’re disconnected. And so it’s just not fun. I mean it’s just not fun.
Tripp: [00:02:41] So it’s another word for drama than kind of politics then in an organization that would be that would definitely be a way that it comes out where serving myself or my hidden needs we’re in a passive aggressive mode is more important than the mutual alignment of us and within the organization.
Tripp: [00:03:05] Ok. So this gets now into your three ways to bring integrity to your work because you’re you just described getting clarity on the mission. Is there some else you want to say on that.
Doug: [00:03:17] Yes. Yes. So the three ways are the first one is clarity of mission. We have to have alignment on a mission that is greater than an individual needs. And this brings integrity to our work. And and the key with mission is it’s just not flex situationally flexible you know where. Yes. And in the big picture we sit in a room we say OK this is our mission. I understand. That’s our mission. But in this one case this one project or customer or client we’re not going to follow that mission. Now that’s not integrity. It’s not situationally flexible. That’s not what what I mean by it. It transcends our daily work. It provides a purpose across days weeks and months. And when we do this at the ranch we call this strategy activation or blue cards which comes out of the military commanders intent that we’ve talked about. It’s about a sense of purpose. So we know why we’re there and what we’re doing. When you have that that is the foundation the bedrock that gives clarity to our mission our life and and frankly our relationship.
Tripp: [00:04:33] So one of the things you you just set in there and I just kind of pops out at me and I think it’s worth repeating is that we all organizations have some type of mission associated with what they’re trying to accomplish and it may have been made 50 years earlier and somehow that alignment gets I don’t know I think it ages over time and people just you know start moving away from what it was or maybe it wasn’t valid in the first place. So the alignment portion of this is I think it’s really important for listeners to gather is that we’re being consistent and that therefore brings integrity to the mission.
Doug: [00:05:15] Is that. Yeah I think so. I think so. I think I think though if we look at a lot of those old ones those missions are more like you’re running from Miss Universe you know save the world and you know blah blah blah blah. Nobody cares. No I’m talking about the mission of what we’re doing right now how we organize to win what. What’s the difference we’re gonna make in the world. What is the thing we’ve brought together as a group to accomplish something greater than ourselves. What is it that we’re trying to accomplish and it shouldn’t be seven hundred years into the future or or a hundred years from the past because the world’s changed this there’s much more of a sense of you know when we say strategy activation it’s about what is activating us to get going right now.
Tripp: [00:06:10] Mm hmm. OK. All right. Well that’s actually a better explanation than what I would have thought going into my head about what a strat strategy activation meant it sounds like you know something that you’re getting ready to do as opposed to the operational definition you just gave. So that that makes sense. So what about data driven decisions. The second one.
Doug: [00:06:33] Yes. So so with the foundation in place of the mission we then need to know are we getting closer to it or further away. And the only way to figure that out is with data. The nice thing about data is there’s no emotional drama connected to it. Now I’m not saying that it’s all black and white. In fact high quality data has variation in it. There’s probabilities but data gives us clarity and it takes out drama takes out politics and it keeps us subjective which is why frankly I love the Deming cycle of plan do Study Act and the most important step of that being the plan.
Doug: [00:07:14] What are we trying to get to do what’s our hypothesis what we’re doing in this study. Did the action accomplish the aim of what we were trying to do and in the bigger picture it’s. Does this help us accomplish our mission or not. I mean it’s as simple as that. Not my opinion on it but quantitatively does the data give us confidence that by doing this action we’re going to see a positive movement towards the mission of what we’re trying to do. And and I know I know I know as I’m saying this I can read the thought balloons that you’re driving in your cars your exercising or wherever you’re listening to this podcast. Your thought bluegrass. Yeah I understand.
Doug: [00:07:55] That’s fine because you sell whisk()y and that’s like a product. But I’m in the service business I’m in the industrial business I’m in the blah blah blah I’m in a non-profit I’m a we’ve set a whole bunch of schools with youth colleges with us I’m in the education business there just isn’t data for what I have to do well. Get over yourself. The fact of the matter is is if we can measure creativity groups of people creating ideas as a theory all as ideas then you can measure everything and in fact you know our course our innovation and during courses at the Eureka! ranch teaches as well as are our services that we provide. You know we work we call it test the untestable just to challenge people as we talked about just recently because you can’t measure anything you can measure anything.
Doug: [00:08:41] I challenge you. I absolutely challenge if you don’t think you can measure it contact me hit the Eureka ranch and I guarantee you I’ll put up a bottle of my best whisk()y against your favorite whisk()y that I can measure and provide data to help with your decisions on anything that you’ve got. Just straight up my best whisk()y against yours.
Doug: [00:09:01] I’ll do it because but because when we have data we’re now taking out the that human emotional bias that comes I mean in one one example we have a system called truth teller that quantifies innovations whether they be services products whatever that might be. And literally we took a bunch of ideas that that leadership had said of top corporations to Fortune 100 had said go to them and then we asked the truth teller system to evaluate data it’s not knowing if they’d succeeded or not. And to say you know would you have said Go or no. And it was seven times smarter than humans that make decisions not that humans are stupid but we got all this emotional baggage and when that emotional baggage is playing then we lose integrity of our work. And it just becomes demoralizing because we make dumb decisions.
Tripp: [00:10:01] Yeah. There’s one thing I think it’s important too to kind of say with with regards to data driven decisions and it’s kind of covertly in there. But what you’re measuring is associated with something that creates value for customers. It’s kind of the underlying thing.
Doug: [00:10:19] Well that’s one part yes. That’s only one part. I think.
Tripp: [00:10:22] That’s a good part.
Doug: [00:10:24] It’s an important part. Yes it’s important but it’s not just that. It’s also about the likelihood that we would be able to. And again it’s a value but it’s in a very broad definition. Will a student learn from this. Will employees be more effective at this. Will they be more efficient. Well you know it’s it’s any change that we’re about to do it’s getting data to guide us to make the right decision to go or not on any change that we’re implementing in our in our professional life.
Tripp: [00:10:58] Okay. So the truth teller system is much broader than just getting the information from whether a customer likes your product or service or not is what guiding.
Doug: [00:11:10] It actually doesn’t doesn’t involve ready for this test involve testing with customers. It’s a benchmarking system against 50 traits that we found that are predictive of success for change and it was it was validated by the Nationals to science and technology and so it’s much broader than just you know. How likely are you to buy something that that’s not really what it’s about. It’s about a broader dimension which is do you have the kind of traits that predict success with with an important change.
Tripp: [00:11:44] Okay. Now that’s a little esoteric and I may be getting into kind of the company secrets but can you get a cut. Can you name a couple of the 50.
Doug: [00:11:53] Clarity. confusion is not predictive of success. All right that’s fair. Yeah. So clear clarity is is one of those things. We also know in fact in the driving Eureka book I talk about a number of these things. Focus is important. You know if you’re trying to do three things it’s not as good as trying to do one thing you know while we joke focus focus focus that when you have no clarity and focus on doing one thing great you’re more likely to be successful if you’re trying to do three things at the same time. I mean I guess I guess it’s the science of common sense. A little bit more involved in that. With 50 traits but it is it’s pretty clear we have the technology to do this.
Doug: [00:12:43] You know many people when they work at organizations they think well we can’t measure that because 20 years ago you couldn’t but you know these computer things they’re pretty amazing and our ability to do simulations to model uncertainty is amazing. And what we can do today.
Tripp: [00:13:03] Yeah I think in episode 15 you also talked about you know at the beginning there’s more uncertainty so there’s going to be a broader range of if we’re trying to guess what the sales of a particular product is that it’s going to be broad. But as you refine and looking at the data and learning more as you move through PDSA then you’re really starting to narrow in on what you know how big that market is associated with that with that product or service.
Doug: [00:13:33] But but but. And now. OK so that. Yes. For the idea. Mm hmm. However the bigger use the bigger use of that is as you’re in development.
Doug: [00:13:45] This is a really important point because people think well we’re just trying to decide if the idea is right or to do or not. Well the reality of it is that’s not what you’re doing in development. I mean you know I assume you’ve done the idea the idea is good enough. The problem is is that when you try to do the idea whether it’s a new course whether it’s a new fundraising thing or a new products or whatever it might be a new system is as you start to try to do the work to develop it. You find that it just doesn’t work the way you thought it did. You try to put things together and and that’s just things that you can’t program there’s this things that that as you try to put the class together it just doesn’t fit in the time that’s allotted or or there’s rules and regulations that you know that say that you know you can’t have students going crazy in the classroom you know there’s something that comes up that causes you to have to adapt the idea. And so the primary thing you’re doing with data is making sure that when you get to those forks in the road and you have hundreds of them hundreds of them that occur that you’re making the right decision or you’re deciding you know something we’re dead forget it now that’s rare. The majority of the time what happens is you have to pivot you have to change the idea you have to adapt it. You have to do it.
Doug: [00:15:11] That’s the unknown that people think everybody’s got this idea that you get this big idea and then you just do it. That’s not where 98 percent of the problem is the problem is in development not the idea. It’s it’s you know we. Because what happens is is we make a little change and a little change and we compromise a little bit more a little bit more little bit or a little bit more until you know the ideas like whatever it’s not worth doing anymore.
Tripp: [00:15:38] So so you have to the three three things we cover the clarity of the mission data driven decisions. And the third one you put is culture of innovation what do you mean by that.
Doug: [00:15:50] Well integrity requires a mindset that is open to confronting uncomfortable realities. I mean part of integrity is calling people out when something’s not right or calling it out when we’re about to make the wrong thing. And as a lone wolf in an organization you can do it for a while until eventually you just get burnt out and exhausted.
Doug: [00:16:16] It’s much easier to do this when you’re working within a culture that embraces innovation. And a culture of innovation embraces change learning experimentation. I mean when you hit those death threats those problems they’re seen as opportunities for fresh thinking as opposed to being something to be suppressed or blamed on someone. And and so it’s a matter of creating a community around you that has a common sense of mission a common commitment today. If you’re spending half your time debating whether or not we should have data then you’re just dead.
[00:16:53] And so if you want to have integrity to sustain integrity you’ve got to create that culture of like minded people around you and frankly that’s the mission of my entire life. When I step back and look at the whole thing it’s about helping people create whether it’s opening up their minds to ideas whether it’s a Driving Eureka! book and helping you take those ideas to reality whether it’s my books the TV shows this podcast. It’s about how do we bring people together so they can win. And you need that culture to give you the energy source to keep going. When you run into the inevitable challenges that you’re gonna face when you’re trying to do something amazing
Tripp: [00:17:44] It’s time now for the Driving Eureka! book segment with author and inventor Doug Hall OK what’s moved to our second segment here which is the driving Eureka books segment and you really kind of dive into one of Dr. Deming. Famous line about pride of work. So whatever happened to pride of work associated with that was Deming the inspiration for this or was it something else.
Doug: [00:18:19] Yeah. The phrase obviously came from Deming. It was this section for Driving Eureka! talks about pride of work. And it’s interesting because crossing over with me doing the work in the craft whisk()y space it’s been an interesting learning because when it comes to craft products I don’t care if you’re talking craft food craft restaurant craft whisk()y craft beer craft hats craft clothing whatever it is you know there is a definite movement around the world right now for this craft thing.
Doug: [00:18:54] I mean you see it I want to travel in other countries the same thing where there’s a difference between you know the mass market stuff and and the thing that separates them. I think craft companies from mass market companies is this pride of work that there is a sense of pride in the thing that we’re doing in other words as part of the mission.
Doug: [00:19:23] You know it’s often commonly said that if you work for a large publicly traded company your mission it is said I’m not condoning it I’m just reporting it that your mission is to help the shareholders make more money. That is your purpose. Your purpose is to help the shareholders. And if it will help the shareholders make more money and the shareholders do it then that’s why you’re there.
Doug: [00:19:45] You were there to serve the shareholders. That’s your mission. Well that’s fine. And if that’s your deal. That’s cool. I got that with craft companies. There is a higher calling. Money is the outcome of the mission. It’s not the mission. You’re I’m saying yeah in one case they say we’re gonna make more money and we’re gonna do it by doing this in the other case we flip it over and our mission is to make the world’s greatest grilled cheese sandwiches for people. And if we do that we’ll make money. It’s an inversion of the mindset and I think at its root that’s what it’s about and it’s about doing things that may not always be you know visible to people. It’s about caring. When you peel back a Kraft company you are pleasantly surprised by what you see. When you peel back a mass market company you’re oftentimes shocked at what you see. I’m sorry. I’m just you know this is an old guy who’s been doing this for a long time. Does that make any sense.
Tripp: [00:21:01] Yeah it does. I think the one thing that you know if I find an executive in a large company which I’ve been before you know one of the things that happens is that yes you are focused on the financials you’re focused on what you said which is you’re looking at the quarterly dividend. And so I almost hear and I don’t think you mean this but what what I hear is Well if you’re one of those our system won’t work for you. In other words because we’re focused on trying to make a better product that’s going to produce that outcome. And I think I just want to talk a little bit more or have you talk a little bit more about method versus outcome. So in other words if you’re you know there’s the big thing with executives and they’re focused on their financials and focused on their their sales pipeline their focus where.
Doug: [00:22:00] Let’s just go back let’s just go back to integrity.
Tripp: [00:22:02] Yep. Okay. Yep.
Doug: [00:22:05] I went to work for Procter and Gamble because Procter Gamble’s commitment was to do the right thing in the right way and if it was going to cost the company money they would do it anyways. If it was the right thing to do Okay so the question is is when that drama comes. Are you more loyal to making money or are you doing the right thing in the right way. That’s what we’re talking about. And no I’m not going to give any room for the money changers. I can give it. I’m not going to give it no Europe. You have to have a mission. Money is an outcome. It’s not the mission. It cannot be the mission. If it’s a mission you will fail because you will not do the right things in the right way for the long term success of the organization. It is an outcome nobody goes to buy your products. Let’s think of it this way. Well our mission is to make more money for shareholders. Hi would you please buy my new soft drink. It will make me more money. Yes. Yeah I mean it’s it’s there is zero tolerance in my head for this.
[00:23:09] Now that’s not to say that they aren’t that way and that’s not to say there aren’t Precious. I got all of that. I’m good with all of that but that cannot be the mission of the organization you’re not going to get great employees you’re not going to do great stuff. And it’s just a matter of time before you die or get bought. Same thing. No we’ve got to have a mission that is greater than that. And to get that pride of work it means we’ve got to have a commitment to that. And you can see it in organizations you can see it when they’re committed to educating their employees. Versus treating them as replaceable parts. You can see it when you have leadership setting long term strategic vision and saying this is where we’re gonna go and we’re going to invest in this to make this work. And we’re willing to take time versus the shortest distance we can get to make in the next buck so that I can get my next bonus. And I know this is hard. That’s why it’s called integrity integrity. This is the difference between people with integrity and not. And I know that is brutal and I’m going to get slammed for people I met. You don’t understand my life is miserable.
Doug: [00:24:14] Well than change it you have to start from yourself and say I’m going to do stuff that matters. And you know what I’m not talking the easy path. No I’m not talking the easy path but the path of integrity is not easy. It’s about making those choices of what you’re going to do. And when you have that pride at work you know I wrote in the newsletter of Steve Jobs told the story of from his adopted father. He told Walter Isaacson about it. You said once Walter Isaacson wrote he said once they were looking at a fence that’s the Steve Jobs and his adopted dad. And he said you and his dad said you’ve got to make the back of the fence that nobody will see just as good looking as the front of the fence. Even though nobody will see it you will know. And that will show that you’re dedicated to making something perfect.
Tripp: [00:25:00] Mm hmm. That’s a good that’s a good quote.
Doug: [00:25:03] I mean that’s what that’s called integrity. Now I mean you know it’s that’s integrity. It may look fine. But when you open the drawers and a stapled together or if they’ve been fitted together of the desk I mean. And if I have something to throw at I mean I love design I love great design you spend to the ranch you’ve seen we have a lot of great design I love design but I love design like the furniture we have there which is Stickley furniture made in upstate New York which is incredible old furniture made with dovetails and with true oak and real integrity to it. It’s not just a pretty couch. It’s a phenomenal couch that’s integrity and that’s the craft world is that we put integrity in our product and that’s where you know that’s where the future is going to go. And the reason trip the reason it’s different today is cause of this thing called the Internet. Because when you don’t have integrity the world’s going to find out. So the debate between integrity or not the good news is is the Internet over time. Truth will become more truthful and those without integrity will die.
Tripp: [00:26:27] This is the Brain Brew Whisk(e)y Academy podcasts where we will take you behind the scenes so you can see what it takes to build a whisk(e)y distillery business. The Eureka! ranch team led by Doug Hall are creating a craft whisk(e)y company with patented technology like has never been done before.
Tripp: [00:26:52] Bringing integrity to the craft whisk()y business. Now you’ve touched upon it a little bit in our conversation so far. Well how are you bringing integrity to craft whisk(e)y.
Doug: [00:27:02] Well I’m going to I’m going to first off confront this issue. I’m going to confront the issue as to what is integrity and a craft spirit because there’s a lot of debate there’s a lot of debate amongst the craft world especially in the spirit world as to what is a true craft product. In other words they’re debating some. Some organizations have certified craft product craft you know all these things and in what is craft and there’s a number of options. I mean one option is is that it’s a proprietor or a proprietorship that that it’s majority control some say 75 some say 80 percent controlled by an individual or individuals working in the business not by some mega corporation. So craft is basically employee owned kind of thing. Another one is small volume if you’re tiny in the whisk()y business they call it under 100000 thousand proof gallons is a definition is oftentimes shoes. So yes small volume. In other words one location. So you distill age and blend in one location. This is the way Scotland defines single malt is it it’s made at one spot. And then the most extreme example a friend of mine does which is farm de glass where they he grows the grain distills ages and blends all in one one location and that’s that’s an extreme one. I guess he could go even more extreme and he can make his own electricity to you know so you can see there’s a number of different places you could define it and well you could define what is what. What is a true craft company. True crafts whisk(e)y Company.
Tripp: [00:28:42] Ok. But you’ve missed one in here and you know I had a conversation about this and maybe it maybe you see it fitting in one of these. But you know I shared a conversation that I had on line with with someone they said oh no you know you I know what type of you know stuff is the brain beer whisk(e)y you Academy putting together because it’s not aged you know in the traditional sense it’s being built there and you and you shared a conversation that you had also in Cincinnati. Does that fit into. I mean from that person’s perspective that’s an integrity issue. Yeah. You’re not a stat barrels for 15 years or 24 years or.
Doug: [00:29:28] And again I mean and that’s that kind of one location or old style approach. OK. And and that’s fine. And that’s that’s fine. That could be a definition too. You know it really. So. So we’ve got these challenges on how we’re going to define it. That’s how do you do it. Well my view is that Kraft comes from a person not a corporation at its most basic. It’s about having someone as someone’s who are connected directly to the. Corporations can’t be Kraft. I mean saying corporations with quotes around it only people can craft so that means there’s a person now in the old days of Johnnie Walker Jim Beam and Jack Daniels. There was that there isn’t any more they’re owned by megacorporations now. OK. So when they were there it was Kraft today it’s not. I mean that’s just my simplistic definition to be Kraft. Somebody has to be doing the crafting. OK OK. The second thing is is there’s a commitment to create products that are meaningfully unique because we’ve talked about in other words good enough is not Kraft. It’s about have a caring and pride in the product and oftentimes it’s about you develop a house style.
Doug: [00:30:48] And if you don’t like my product that’s OK but this is what I’m doing. In other words is this. You’ve made a statement you haven’t tried to be all things to all people. You’ve made a choice that says this is what I believe to the world matters. And so this is what we do in our case. We really like to have complexity but clean. In other words we we try to as I’ve talked before we try to have the complexity of whisk()y from the old country with the cleanness of new world bourbons. In other words so it’s complex but clean. That’s our house style. That’s what I like. That’s what we make. If you don’t like that I’m cool with that. But respect I’ll respect yours. You just respect. That’s my style. That’s my house style that I like. That’s what we try to do and we’ll do collaborations with people that are different. But on our fundamental products that we put out under our name. That’s what you’re going to see in every one of our product shows we’re not doing it. OK. So.
[00:31:41] So there is this there are some lines about what you’re going to be and then it’s it’s also lastly it’s about honesty and transparency. But what you do and don’t do. OK. And and so if are you going to grow your green. That’s cool. Are you not going to grow your green and you’re going to buy it from you know on the open market from conglomerates. Fine. Are you going to buy it from family farms. Fine. You know whatever your choices are your choices don’t try to lie that you’re doing something else. Just be open about it. OK. We can’t do it all. We can’t make our electricity grow our grain make our own fertilizer and do the whole thing. So we’re gonna pick a place that we’re going to apply our craft. You know the person who who makes furniture might specialize in a certain type of furniture. One person focus size maybe on the finish or the woods selected another one the intricacy of the cuts. Everybody’s different. I respect them all. Same way with whisk()y. I respect what you’re doing however you choose to do it if you want to age it and you have a lot of money and you’re able to age it for a long time. Awesome. I think it’s great. We don’t have that kind of money to go do that. And and and it’s tough but if you do great that’s great as long as you’re making a great product that you’re proud of not just something that’s good enough to sell.
Doug: [00:33:09] That is not craft. That’s not craft now in the case of Brain Brew Custom Whisk(e)y. I’ve decided to focus on the interaction of the wooden sphere. That’s what we’ve gone deep on. So a friend of mine in Cincinnati buys grain from farms family farms and sells it. That’s awesome. A friend in Nova Scotia actually grows the grain himself and then distills it. That’s awesome for him. In my case my background 20 something years in this industry is that 70 percent of the flavor comes from the wood. And so that’s where I focus. Twenty five percent is grain selection 5 percent and selling. Some people want to go focused on distilling some he wants to do grains. I want to do wood. Okay so I buy my spirit because I don’t want to waste my energy on that. I want to spend all my time on making that whisk(e)y taste as smooth and as complex yet clean as I possibly can. And so that’s what I do and I don’t use. We have rules we don’t use chemicals we don’t use colors we don’t put in flavors we do it we do classic process. Same process just replicating seasons of barrel aging by using heat and cooling to do it. So that’s my choice as a craft and I’m very open about that we don’t hide anything we’re very honest with it. Now if at the end of the day you don’t like that because you want to have something that’s been aged for 10 years that’s cool that’s cool. But I’ve made my choices of what I want to spend my time crafting.
Tripp: [00:34:47] That’s fair. You know it’s interesting as it is you know as we talk here about the the whisk(e)y and we’ve had conversations about this before you know that Cincinnati had a lot of distilleries at one point and it seems like we used to be this you know I used to almost have this vision of the blacksmith the person who make things and craft their own metal and and things of that sort. And then we went through this industrial revolution where we kind of brought everything together to make more of it faster and cheaper. And now there seems to be this kind of trend to this kind of craft because people can’t do it and do it you know associate because of technology or whatever. To be able to kind of separate it out and to a making craft not only competitive but also tasty. In the case of whisk(e)y.
Doug: [00:35:48] Well that’s right. There’s more you can be more regional. I can take you know the oak from Manitoba and I can make a whisk(e)y with that oak so they can taste it as opposed to getting the same wood as everybody else. I mean we’re in a world where that diversity is celebrated.
Doug: [00:36:07] And but you’re absolutely right. We went from a time when you know I mean Cincinnati was the heart of whisk(e)y making on the planet warm whisk()y was made in Cincinnati plus the areas of the people in Cincinnati own many of the distilleries in Kentucky because it was the big commercial center. And collectively it was the heart of whisk(e)y making on the planet. And this is this is really the volumes they were doing was just ridiculous. Seventy distilleries or rectify and now many of these people were blenders. They would they would buy whisk()y and put it together. That’s an artistry to put together.
Doug: [00:36:40] I learned recently you know we’ve talked before trip about distillers versus whisk(e)y makers the whisk(e)y maker takes the different barrels and puts it together whisk()y makers are paid 65 percent more money than distillers are. So that gives you some sense how important the whisk(e)y maker is versus the distillery. No it’s not.
Doug: [00:37:01] That’s just as important we have to do it. But that’s not where the value add comes the value add comes in putting those those barrels together in different ways. Now to be fair in Cincinnati its history is not all positive.
Doug: [00:37:13] You know pre prohibition and following prohibition there were some things that were done where people would throw stuff into the spirit the young spirit to make it drinkable. There was not always good for people. In fact it was very bad for people. Oh wow. Oh. And it’s the same way the food industry. I mean what Big Food did is it made food safer as it would be people growing food that was not necessarily pure and right.
Doug: [00:37:37] So so it’s not all just always that nice to have that quaint organic farm. It has to be done with food safety and done properly. The difference is. And so a lot of those things went away because the cost and quality was better with manufacturing. Now with new technologies and we know more it is now possible again for us to have craft that’s giving us quality and value and not be the lowest common denominator so this is a resurgence that is growing.
Doug: [00:38:09] It’s only going to get bigger as time goes on and it’ll be interesting because you know we work with a lot of big corporations and don’t get me wrong. Know we love big corporations and we love the people in particular within them the people because there are good people in these organizations looking to bring more craft spirit bring more caring in it.
Doug: [00:38:30] And many leaders are supportive of it. But sadly there are still too many that are not. And I’m optimistic though. I mean it’s gonna change. It’s going to it’s going to change or we’re gonna see. More of openness to having integrity.
Tripp: [00:38:49] Well it’s cool to see that you’re part of that change. Yeah. From my perspective just kind of watching you know some of things the things you patented. You know the way they’re going about the wood those types of things. You’re bringing change to the industry by virtue of doing these types of things.
Doug: [00:39:05] Yeah that’s I mean it’s we’re trying to do.
Tripp: [00:39:07] Ok well let’s move to the craft cocktail recipe and it looks like you have a brain Brewer original here on the island sailor. You got to tell me about the name first.
Doug: [00:39:19] That’s the name is is named after my beloved Prince Edward Island. As you know I have Canadian and U.S. citizenship and we have a home in Spring Brook Prince Edward Island on the shore of New London Bay. And we have a brain brew beach bar we set up every summer down there and. And so while we’re up there playing you’re messing around. I said well we got to celebrate the sailors and and the farmers. We have an island farmer as well we’re equal opportunity here and and the.
Doug: [00:39:50] So this is designed to take you to the sand sun and sea. And it’s perfect when you’re looking to escape the winter blast. So here we are middle of February. Got you sweetheart. It’s Valentine’s Day this podcast comes out. And time to just kind of chill out maybe put some island music on it and enjoy it.
Tripp: [00:40:14] I guess at the moment I’m sitting here thinking February 14th in New England on a beach a big overcoat on and making this drink. I think I’d rather be in Florida or someplace. I don’t take your mind. That’s fine. OK.
Doug: [00:40:31] So the way it works is they take a Boston shaker. You remember what that is right.
Tripp: [00:40:35] Oh yes I’ve got that drummed into my head. Not a cobbler shaker. And now I remembered I had to look up the name of what the other one’s called they call a cobbler apparently. That’s right.
Doug: [00:40:44] Well Boston shakers are one we have the generally a glass and then a metal tube about the same size that you get a good throw with it filled with ice.
Doug: [00:40:54] Ounce and a half of our Relativity.
Doug: [00:40:57] Half ounce the sweet vermouth.
Doug: [00:40:59] Half ounce the Grenadines.
Doug: [00:41:01] And a half ounce of fresh orange juice. Give it a shake. Let’s put it in a martini glass. You could do a rocks glass In fact, You could do the whole thing just on the rocks but let’s add some elegance to it. So we’re gonna shake it put it in a martini glass and then a splash of seven up regular diet doesn’t matter whatever is your taste preference. And if you’re really going crazy some champagne or sparkling wine we’ll take it even over the top. Are you more but it’s just got some bubbly lots of fruit lots of character to it. The whisk(e)y gives it some depth and a backbone to it. So it is it isn’t just it’s not a sugary drink. You know I think of this as Tiki done less sweet more cocktail like instead of sort of the Tiki sugared drinks that we’ve tended to get to as time’s gone on. Right. And it’s just kind of a fun lighthearted little bit a maybe some steel drum music helped you escape to the islands.
Tripp: [00:42:04] So it’s the one thing I do want to cover off in the assist because I’ve gone to mixing these actually even at the Super Bowl. I wound up doing the Bourbon Milk punch.
Doug: [00:42:15] Yeah. What do you think of that.
Tripp: [00:42:17] In episode 15. It was well liked especially by people who like you said don’t drink whisk(e)y. But but the one thing I have trouble with is because Relativity for instance relativity isn’t in my area. What would be what would you recommend as you know other because you know you’re favored towards the craft industry. Yeah. So why would would be an equivalent to Relativity. Yes.
Doug: [00:42:45] So I would strongly strongly strongly recommend that you explore the craft spirit scene in your community and and and go to your local liquor store or actually just go to the local bars and just say who’s who’s got the best craft spirits whisk()y is up there. They know that they know the world.
Doug: [00:43:03] And so I would really suggest that you do that. Now if you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere where there’s no craft great craft spirit and certain areas the country the north west of places really rich in it. There are some barren parts of the planet where we haven’t gotten there yet. And if you’re really forced to do it then then if you’re making cocktails bullet bourbon and rye is kind of the simple go to and if you’ll see it in bars you’ll see it on the menus oftentimes if you want it more whisk(e)y forward use the rye if you want it less so use the bourbon.
Doug: [00:43:46] But I mean and it’s made by you know big US company but it’s not craft but it is it’s a good solid reliable practical prudent product. I’ve worked on guys out I know and they’re good folks. The good folks at it. And it is a good solid product for value for the money. And you know if you’re stuck with it then try that.
[00:44:15] Okay. But is Relativity then which with which grain is that is that that’s a for grain product that’s that’s for creative that’s the most one of the most inventive products that I created that product with with a friend John and somebody had to do it two weeks of tasting to put it together but we literally use wheat corn rye and barley all four grains in it. So it’s not a bourbon it’s not Scotch it’s a whiske()y it’s an American whisk(e)y we call it the new American whisk(e)y and it literally takes all four grains and think of them is four notes that make up a chord that you might play on a piano.
Doug: [00:44:54] And we’ve made the four grains come together there’s some nice wheat in there that gives it an elegance to it truly elegance. I mean the big fancy bourbons are all wheat forward. You give us an elegance to it. The corn gives it some mouth feel and a touch of sweetness. The Rye gives it just a touch of spice the way we do the Rye. It’s not as spicy as it is richness. I think that our rye gives richness more than Spice. And then there’s just a little bit of barley which is kind of like the bass note. It just it just balances it out and gives it a a bass note to it. So you got to eat at the top the corn and and then. I mean it’s almost like an order. Wheat corn rye barley from the very latest sort of the high notes down through to the to the base notes and a lot of the soprano a lot of the wheat in it but which is very difficult to work with. Well I mean to make it really work for you it takes a lot of work. We spent a lot of time with how we work the wood with the wheat in particular.
Tripp: [00:45:54] Okay. So long explanation there but it sounds like there really isn’t an equivalent then to the Relativity product because it’s kind of it’s own category.
Doug: [00:46:03] Well let’s let’s go back a second. I think I earlier on this segment. I think I talked about a commitment to create products that are meaningfully unique.
Tripp: [00:46:11] Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah. Well starting your product what I and you get your product where I am that I must be in one of those barren places that you work well oh well we’ll be everywhere soon and Relativity will have it at the ranch and here in Ohio and then maybe we’ll work to get it over to Indiana soon.
Tripp: [00:46:35] Ok. Very good. All right. Well that concludes our Brain Brew Whisk(e)y Academy any final comments Doug.
Doug: [00:46:43] Yes. So the whole subject of this podcast is around this concept of integrity and it’s not time to rant about it it’s not time to complain about it it’s not time to whine about it. Integrity comes from when we make a decision that we’re going to live a life with integrity and I’m not saying it’s easy. I’m not saying it’s always the most popular thing to do but you know what integrity is when you look within yourself and you say that’s what I’ve got to do. That’s the right thing. And the good news is is this people to help. We’ve got a wonderful community of folks that we’re teaching and there’s a community growing up around the world some 35000 strong now which are focused on doing the right things in the right way. So thank you very much folks.
Tripp: [00:47:36] Is it time to use artificial intelligence and innovation forecasting. We believe the answer is yes. The truth teller system shows evidence of picking winning innovations seven times better than executives in thousands of research tests. Be sure to look at our show notes for this episode to download more about the truth teller system or use go dot driving Eureka dot com. Forward slash truth teller. And don’t forget to subscribe. To the driving Eureka podcast on iTunes.