Crafting Cocktails & A Career with Danny Clayton

🎙️ Exciting News! 🎉

I am thrilled to announce the release of our latest podcast episode, filled with insightful conversations and valuable takeaways! In this episode, we dive deep into the topic of personal growth and finding fulfillment in both our personal and professional lives. Here are three key takeaways from this thought-provoking discussion:

1️⃣ Focus on what truly brings you joy: One of the guests on our show shared their experience of being overly stressed and consumed by trying different avenues to achieve success. They realized that it's essential to take a step back, calm down, and prioritize enjoying the journey. By finding something you love and providing value to others, success and fulfillment will naturally follow.

2️⃣ Surround yourself with a supportive network: Our conversation touched upon the importance of having a strong support system. We discussed the value of having a best friend who happens to be a liquor rep (yes, you read that right!). They shared how this friendship opened doors to new opportunities and helped them achieve their dreams. Remember, having a team behind you and attracting a supportive community is crucial for personal and professional growth.

3️⃣ Embrace collaboration and teamwork: We delved into the misconception that success can only be achieved through individualism. Our guests emphasized the significance of building a team and working together towards a common goal. History has shown us that great accomplishments are rarely achieved alone. By focusing on the needs of our community and putting ego aside, we can make a more significant impact and find true purpose.

I encourage you to listen to this episode and gain valuable insights that can inspire personal growth and fulfillment in your own life. Don't forget to share your thoughts and takeaways in the comments below. Let's continue the conversation and support each other on our journey towards success and happiness! 🌟

PodcastEpisode #PersonalGrowth #Fulfillment #SupportiveNetwork #Collaboration #Teamwork #Inspiration #Success #Happiness

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How to find us:
Whiskey & Wisdom: @whiskey.and.wisdom
Chris Kellum: @ctkellum
LinkedIn: Christopher Kellum
Tyler Yaw: @tyler_yaw_
LinkedIn: Tyler Yaw

Transcript

Chris: 0:31

Welcome back to the whiskey with some podcasts this week. You have your constant co hosts, Chris and Tyler y'all this week. We're bringing on a fella. I met a few months ago. Who's been making some amazing drinks and give me a little tipsy.

Danny: 0:50

I'm that fellow. Hi I'm Daniel Clayton. I'm Helen from Richfield, North Carolina. Originally. Lived in Wilmington for about 10 years, or no, 8 years now. Yeah, yeah, I'm getting ahead of myself. Currently working at Starling full time just got done helping open a bar called Cryptid. Really cool spot over there. It's over on the river, well on the riverfront rooster and crow owners but they're doing a little cocktail beer bar. But I just since left there because managing wasn't my thing and I was ready to go full time with Starling. So, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So we're excited about doing that that's how I met Chris actually, it was at Starlink, he was at the bar. We both have a joke, he's our Monday bartender. We're also not open on Mondays. No one's heard that joke. We started shooting shits and we we came in for a video at Crypto one day and we did a little sidecar videos, I think y'all saw

Tyler: 1:32

that. Yeah, we posted that a couple weeks ago. Yeah. So it's funny because I, I know and meet most people through Instagram. So when you actually introduce yourself with your official name, I was like, Oh, so he's not Danny

Danny: 1:44

Phantom. Ah, give me those superpowers, please.

Chris: 1:48

That'd be the funniest. I'm like, you know, that we'll, we'll talk about that later. Oh, I'll bring up Danny Phantom again in regards to the bar. But before we go too deep into it, We are sipping on some whiskey this morning.

Tyler: 2:04

Yeah, we brought in tarnished truth from my travels up to Virginia Beach. And we are sipping on the high rise straight bourbon whiskey today. The single barrel. It's three years aged and I will let Chris go more into the mash bill and

Chris: 2:21

taste. So this one is supposedly a 40% mash bill, 30% 36% rye and 4% malted barley. So it's not going to be as harsh as like a higher rye percentage. It should have a little bit of butterscotch and maple syrup on the aroma. And then supposedly it's supposed to have some balance flavors with some toasted oak, honey, vanilla, cloves, ripe figs. And because we're here to try silly stuff we're going to try this straight up. Let's taste it, see how we like it. And then we saw this thing on TikTok. So I bought like this little blender and emulsifier, I don't know what they're called. And we're going to see if it actually makes a difference. In the coffee

Tyler: 3:04

world, we call them frothers.

Chris: 3:06

Okay, thank you. I know it from Max, like he mixes his greens, which is what it'll be used for, like mixing my morning greens. Today

Danny: 3:15

it's for whiskey. Yeah. All right. So

Chris: 3:18

let's taste it out straight traditional. Cheers. Cheers Yeah,

Danny: 3:22

I like

Chris: 3:24

it's There's a lot more flavor than I was expecting for a three year. That's

Danny: 3:28

dessert. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. That's good. A Little tingling on my tongue, too. Mm hmm. Not like all over my mouth, which is cool, right? Sometimes I like that though

Chris: 3:39

I can definitely taste the honey on it, though.

Tyler: 3:43

Yeah, they're making some pretty good stuff out of there for only being a five year old

Chris: 3:47

distillery. Yeah, because it looks like they opened in 2018. Sounds right. And supposedly Tyler got lost trying to find the place because it's not like a traditional distillery. No. Like, up in the cut or in a normal building. It's in the basement of an old mansion, which is now, I guess, a hotel. Yeah,

Tyler: 4:06

we pulled up to it originally and it was in a gated community and we're like, how in the hell did we get into this place? Like, where are we at? And then we went to another entrance and we show up at this mansion and what is going on here? So we finally go in and we were told it's in the basement of a

Danny: 4:20

mansion. It sounds like some secret society stuff. Right? Yeah. I was like, I don't know what's going on down

Tyler: 4:25

here. But I was very impressed with it. Pretty neat. And we brought on Kaylee, who you know really well. And that as soon as I posted about it, she was like, Hey, that was my old stomping grounds over there. So I was like, Oh, no way. So you knew about the secret society. Yeah.

Danny: 4:39

Doesn't surprise me. She's the coolest person in the world. emulsifying

Chris: 4:45

things.

Danny: 4:46

Frothing up some whiskey the first and only time I'll probably see anyone emulsify whiskey Maybe I'll start doing it at the bar. Right? Yeah, if this turns out good enough. I think it's really I wonder if there's like a Time like since there is no dilution added to it when you emulsify that does like after a while just settle out again That's what I was wondering too. Yeah, let's see You can definitely this nose. Yeah These take whoa, that's crazy

Tyler: 5:11

I'm actually not sure if I like it or not yet. It's just very

Danny: 5:14

different Yeah, you don't get any of like those spices are getting vanilla a lot now. Yeah, that's a very vanilla. It's

Chris: 5:23

extremely something that's like aged a little bit longer.

Danny: 5:27

Sorry. It was impulsive. You guys are about to get me a little drunk. Cause I had said chia seed water this morning. I didn't know you ate real

Chris: 5:35

food to be completely honest. I'm a rabbit. Good. So. Every time I see him at the bar he has like this giant mason jar or something oversized full of chia seeds. I'm like, what, what are you drinking?

Danny: 5:49

Tea and chia seeds. I blend my own tea and I put the chia seeds, mix them up, put them in the fridge, let them like gel up.

Tyler: 5:55

I have been obsessed with chia pudding lately though. It's

Danny: 5:58

so good for you. I

Chris: 6:00

used to eat it for breakfast all the time. It, the problem is with a busy lifestyle you have to like, Prep it the night before and I'm like

Tyler: 6:10

Kill me crazy has a really good chia pudding over there. So what I'm just grabbing coffee I'll grab that to you for the morning make sense. Yep. Well enough about chia

Danny: 6:19

pudding Sorry, tell us a little bit about yourself What do you'd like to

Chris: 6:25

know so where is this town cuz I never heard

Danny: 6:29

of so it's a I basically have to go down the line of places that are close to us. So do you know where Salisbury is at? Oh, okay, cool. Nice. First one's hit. Usually I have to go all the way to Charlotte. But yeah, so it's like, it's near like 15, 20 minutes, 20, more like 20 minutes from Salisbury. Like one stoplight town. Is it Like my neighbor is a cow. Or like east of it?

Chris: 6:50

East. Oh, so it's closer to us

Danny: 6:53

than Charlotte. Yes, yeah, yeah, sort of like right in the middle. Okay, okay. Between there. But yeah, like super tiny. It's really nice, like, growing up I was like, I don't want to be here ever. How close is it to Cleveland, North Carolina? Cleveland, North Carolina? I don't know, honestly. That doesn't ring a bell to me, so it's like, probably not close.

Chris: 7:11

No, Cleveland is more north.

Danny: 7:14

Cause you're like up in the mountains a little bit, that's what you're going for. No,

Chris: 7:18

Cleveland. So like, you'd have to hit Charlotte and then go north, east. He is east of Charlotte. Like before you even get there. East? We go to, outside of Statesville I guess

Tyler: 7:30

is a better way

Danny: 7:31

of. Oh yeah, it's pretty close to Statesville. Yeah, like the, have you been to the Southern Stars Jewelry out there? No, I want to. So bad though, yeah. It's so good. Their products are great. I got me, I got to go there when I was working at Manna, Fred, Fred Flynn, what he was like having a, he was sick or something. And he, he had let me and Mason go up there. We were working there at the time and we got to pick out the barrel or whatever that they did. Oh, sick. Oh, so you helped. One of the downtown brown. Yeah, I hated the name. It was such a stupid bad name. Oh, It's like, I'm like, who? We got out voted for that one, but mm-hmm. I mean, you're the youngins in the group. Oh, yeah. We were like babies in there, who let us come in here and drink whiskey. All We, we had no idea what we were doing, but it was fun. It was so much fun. Yeah. Yeah. Pick

Chris: 8:13

though,

Danny: 8:13

huh? Yeah, the pick was good. Yeah. The pick was great. Yeah. We went through like six or eight. But we ended up on that one and we were all like, this is the best one.

Chris: 8:21

Yeah, I'm bougie and when they brought it in like we had it on the podcast last year When they picked it right when it was coming out. Yeah, this is so good So when my store had a whiskey event, which I hosted I was like guess what we're drinking Southern star and then I went and got the barrel pick along with a few other ones I was like, you know, you gotta support local

Danny: 8:45

Yeah, I think cryptid still has a bottle in there. I don't know what yeah, so if you want to try it again, it's over there They probably do I might pop in there this weekend It's

Tyler: 8:53

very impressive especially for a North Carolina whiskey usually the Carolinas aren't known for their like whiskey selections as a

Danny: 9:02

whole So from what I understand, from what they told me, and I did a little bit of research, apparently the Statesville area in North Carolina used to be like, whiskey capital of the world, but, you know, push politics and prohibition and like, all those distillers went elsewhere, like Kentucky and stuff, but the weather, the water, the climate's perfect for it. Oh wow. So I think it's cool they're bringing that back. They actually are releasing a series, they bought all the old families that were making whiskeys in that. During that time, the Mashville they bought the rye staff like stupid cheap. And so they're remaking all those and doing like special edition series. They're about to release, I think it's like a double rye or a high rye. It's one of the two. I can't remember, but it's really cool. Like the bottle caps, like it's, it's, it's pretty neat. Yeah. I highly recommend looking into it. I'm going

Chris: 9:43

to end up with like a whole shelf in the house. That's all. Like, you know, most of the time people are like, well, I have all these Blantons or have all these aged tailors. Like, I'm just gonna have a whole thing of just like, welcome to the Southern Star. Right. Just everything in there. On a different note, I definitely liked this better before I emulsified it. I did too.

Danny: 10:03

I almost like getting like an oatmeal. Wait, am I weird for that? I haven't tried it since the first like two sips. Maybe I'm just So,

Tyler: 10:11

Oh, you know what? It smells a lot like

Danny: 10:13

it. Yeah. I don't know if I like that came into the taste too. So

Chris: 10:17

we're, we're going to advise. Good morning. If you're going to try this, it definitely changes the flavor up, but I would suggest it on something that is older. Yeah, because the flavors that you're tasting have settled a little bit more. So you're not getting all of them. So when you emulsify it it brings in some more air and you'll taste a lot more of the flavoring But on a younger thing or a younger whiskey,

Danny: 10:43

it's not good It

Chris: 10:45

hasn't set as long so the flavors aren't as

10:47

deep

Tyler: 10:48

right interested in doing it with like the Kentucky compass Kentucky out confiscated Like a much nicer and then just seeing what happens.

Danny: 10:56

Are you saying we should do that? I mean, I'm not opposed to it I love Kentucky.

Tyler: 11:00

So good. Alright, let's do it. Grab it, Chris. It's pretty much a full bottle, so.

Danny: 11:04

I'm not finishing that. Well, yeah, like you said with the young ones, this is the wet four year, you said? Yeah, you want to like mix with this. I mean, it's good on its own, too. Don't get me wrong.

Tyler: 11:15

Oh. Yeah, so if you get this, do not emulsify it. Drink it on its own. It tastes significantly better.

Danny: 11:19

We're just combining, so you don't... Okay, thank you. I was going to say, I don't want to die.

Chris: 11:24

No, no, I'm not that mean. There we go. We like alcohol, but we're not alcoholics.

Danny: 11:29

Thank you. That glass stresses me out so much. I know. I can see why that bar got rid of mine. The bartender is probably just sweating. I have

Chris: 11:40

these drunken glasses is what I'm going to call them. I'm going to wrench yours out. And so like you fill it up and you set your drink down and it will float and toddle. I don't know. We have a video if you want to

Tyler: 11:55

show

Chris: 11:55

people. So over here, instead of it sitting straight up, there's a little nipple on the bottom. So it like it'll rotate and spin around. And when we're not paying attention and you set it down, it just spins on you. And I'm just like freaking out for like half a second before I do it.

Danny: 12:13

I'm going to call this the Humpty Dumpty class. Yeah.

Chris: 12:16

All right. So you moved here eight, 10 years ago.

Danny: 12:20

Not 18 years ago. Yeah. So I lived in Richfield for like. I graduated, then I went to East Carolina University for two years and I transferred out. Another ECU guy. Yeah, yeah, man, crazy out there. Nah, it's nothing bad. School was great, learned a lot, teachers were amazing. Greenville's just kind of like the armpit of the state. There's nothing really there to do but party. Now I'm a bartender. Wow. Makes sense. Now it all comes together. It's just funny. Yeah. You get into bartending then. Oh man. So COVID actually yeah, I had a, I had a, I was interested in it before and I was really like, when I do it, cause I was like, oh man, that's gonna be good money. Right. I can do that while I'm like at school or whatever. And so, I was kind of like, I took like a bartending class in Raleigh, which is looking back and I was so dumb on me, but like, it was, I was like super ambitious. I was like, man, this would be so cool. There's some states you have to do that. Yeah, exactly. But here it's like, you don't obviously, but, and so I didn't do anything with it for like a year probably. And then I got a bartending job and I was like, all right, that's cool. I did a couple of places. And then I was actually at the time also I'd gotten my massage therapy license. I was doing that for about two years. Yeah. I was working with a chiropractor for a little bit. And then for awhile, And then and then COVID kind of like killed his business at least to the point where he was still doing well, but it wasn't a point where he could have like a whole, like, annex. He was like trying to do a whole extra thing for the massage therapy too. And then I'd gotten the job at Manna with Fred and then he taught me everything. And then I just read lunch and then here I am.

Tyler: 13:48

We just poured Kentucky Owl now, too. So, that's so

Danny: 13:51

good. Yeah, I know. I'm just, I want to savor it.

Tyler: 13:54

I know. I'm like, I want to try this thing, but I don't.

Danny: 13:59

Oh, man. Mm hmm. That's what I want. There's always like

Chris: 14:04

a throwback. So, for those who've listened for a while, Kentucky Owl was mentioned well over a year ago, when we were originally at Catherine On. And Tyler was like, Hey, if I find a bottle of Kentucky Owl confiscated, you'll come back. And it took me like almost a full year to find another bottle. Yeah. It's

Tyler: 14:19

hard. And then when Catherine came back, she wasn't drinking because she was doing the Live Hard program. So, I mean, we, we get to benefit from it. So

Danny: 14:27

there. That's what I like. One of the things I like going back home and Rachel is because the ABC's out there, people don't know what they're getting. So sometimes you can go out there and find the stuff that you can never find here. I'm just like, yes. When I go back, I hope to go soon. I think I can bring a cool bottle for you guys. Yeah, that'd be neat.

Chris: 14:43

Yeah. We shall see. That's what I do randomly. Now, Emily looks at me like I'm stupid when I will stop like, oh, there's a liquor store and just pull over. What are you doing? I'm like, I want to see if they have something good. It

Danny: 14:56

might be something in there. You find gems in those like weird towns. South Carolina too. It's like right down the road for us. So yeah, it's

Tyler: 15:03

a normal stop for me. I'll go down and try to go to like a smaller town area. Go to like a liquor store that no one's ever heard

Danny: 15:10

of. It's like, I know you have That Mitchers 10 year, let me know, where is that?

Chris: 15:16

I've really never had Mitchers. It's been one of the brands that I like just avoided because I kept seeing so many ads for

Danny: 15:23

it. You should, you should try it. I really like to mix with it. The rye I like to mix a lot. I don't, never really mess with the bourbon so much, but they're, the Mitchers 10 year rye is...

Tyler: 15:32

We have a rye back there from Nectar's that we'll eventually try later on in the weeks. But yeah, I love mixing that

Danny: 15:38

too. It's my favorite. It didn't really change the notes that much for me. Like the other one. No, it didn't

Tyler: 15:44

change it near as much. It makes it even easier to drink, but the flavors are all

Danny: 15:49

still there. Yeah. I kind of do like that though. Yeah. Cause it's like, I don't, I still get that, that straight poor flavor and I don't like. Have to dilute it, right? Yeah. But it's still got smoothness. It's cool.

Chris: 15:59

But that's what I saw originally. It was like, it's supposed to make it smoother and there's not as much bite, which is what you're typically getting. Mm-hmm. Yeah. When you just get the straight alcohol. But like it shouldn't,

Tyler: 16:09

this worked much better'cause

Chris: 16:11

it's

Tyler: 16:12

a little bit older. That could definitely be it.

Danny: 16:15

So now we learned, we learned. Take that TikTok, right? just elevated your shit. That is good. All right. So thank you for sharing that with me. Oh, of course. Yeah. Yeah.

Chris: 16:25

So you worked at Manna? I did, yeah. And then did you just split shifts between there and Earnest money? Ernest Sun. Yeah.

Danny: 16:32

What's the name of that bar? Ernest Bun. Yeah, it's like a membership bar. Mm-hmm. Super cool. Matt Brinker's doing the program over there now. I think Fred's doing the Greenville Yacht Club, which is over there. Oh, that's, yeah. Yeah's super cool place. It's, it's sick. You just go check it out. There's especially going to that Greenville Amphitheater a great spot to go before and after. I'm just saying. But yeah. Yeah. They got a cool spot going on over there. Yeah. Yeah. Matt's doing the whole program between both now. And then Fred's like full-time with the. The Yacht Club from what I understand. Sick. And

Chris: 16:59

then, They do some cool stuff. We acquired Danny in the Cargo District.

Danny: 17:04

Mhmm. I'm happy to be there. It's so fun. It's like the spot for me right now. I'm like, when I was done with the When I went full time with them now, It's kind of like, that was the goal to begin with. Yeah. It feels like things are moving along, you know? Mhmm. Which is good, it's a good feeling.

Chris: 17:19

I love this guy. So like, I saw him show up at the bar and I'm like, I know how particular Kaylee is like in general, like looking across her staff, like her bartenders all have amazing experience and know what they're doing. So of course I had to look Danny up and I was like looking at these videos on Instagram. I was like, oh, he's making some good

Danny: 17:38

stuff. I tried to. I need to post more. It's just, ugh. Instagram just sucks me in. It

Chris: 17:44

sucks you in. And then you don't get enough likes and you're frustrated and you're like, well, why did I waste my time doing

Danny: 17:48

that? Well, the thing is, it's not even about the likes for me or anything. It's like, it's, it's strictly the fact that like, I'll get on there and just start seeing all this stuff and I just get depressed. I'm like, dang, like this. Cat got murdered today. Like that's crazy. And I get sad about it. And then it's like, it's too much. It's like sensory overload. Like I just get overwhelmed and then I can't stop looking at it. So I just get more. So you're a cat dad? No, I'm a dog dad. I just, I don't know where that came from. I mean, well, everyone else in the bar is a cat. People think

Tyler: 18:19

of social media, think of cats. No, I think of dogs. I think of cats because that was the YouTube thing back in the day. It's all like the cat

Danny: 18:26

video. Yes, cats playing piano. My dog is very memeable. Maybe I should start a meme page on him. Yeah. He has very, like, facial expressions. Does he? Yes, he'll like, do head tilts. Get upset. Like he's like, it's the very expression. It's funny, but yeah, I'm a dog dad. I got a lab yellow lab. He's Turning eight in february Yeah, oh nice. Yeah, he's old. It's all white in the face now and dog years. He's old as my dad I joke with him like because they're old guys

Chris: 18:54

See that's the funny thing like when it compares like a dog to a human it's like wait You really are as old as my dad now. Yeah

Danny: 19:02

I feel like that's the thing. He's got like disappointment looks at me now. He's just like, Man. Like, dawg, come on. I saw how late you got home last night. He was like, I know you weren't just working. Sniffing me up and down. He was like, where have you been?

Chris: 19:19

So, jumping back into topic, because this always happens. You helped Open up the cryptid bar and I went in tried a few drinks and that's where we shot one of our how to make a sidecar videos. How was that experience? Did you work? Because like for a young, I mean, quote unquote, young bartender to start and have to like help come up with drink ideas and put things together. How is that?

Danny: 19:49

I really, really enjoyed that part of it. Did not enjoy, like, the managerial side. I think it, like, it was, I think that it definitely opened. An idea for me of like where I like what I want to do in the future like I really want to get to consulting work. Mm hmm. So, but like I also realized I would never want to manage a bar. Unless I owned that thing, you know, but it's it was it was interesting for me It was like it really just fell in my lap because it was like like I said It was supposed to be an in between job until Starling needed me more and they were like, hey we got to open this bar in two weeks Um Um, can you do it? And I was like, yeah, I'll try my best. Like we need a menu and everything, blah, blah, blah. So he got everything set up and like got the, the bar arranged how we wanted it to be and like put a new sink in or whatever. But yeah, it was, it was interesting. I definitely felt like underqualified and I was, but but no, I was like, you know, this is an opportunity I can shoot my shot and if I fail, whatever, I learned something. And it's very seldom you get to do things like that and you don't have to use your own money. So that's my, I'm a big, I like, like the idea of that, you know, if I can like try something new. And if I fail, that's cool. I didn't lose my money. You know, but It was a success though, like it's going hard. Like, Crip, it's great. Zach and Alan do a great job over there. What I like about

Tyler: 21:03

what you were saying too is The other reason why I think owners do that with people, they give a lot of leeway to people that aren't going to lose any money is you get a lot of expression out of someone and like, you probably don't feel as restricted. Like, Oh, I need to make sure my old fashioned tastes like every other old fashioned. Like you probably have a little bit more freedom to

Danny: 21:24

kind of try what you want. Exactly. And that was the thing too. Like it was a big, my biggest obstacle was. Learning the demographic. And it's like, I didn't, you just don't realize that. And do you have to, but it's like, you have to figure out what people are drinking. Like there, there are like certain demographics of drinkers. Like I just didn't even realize that until now. And it's like, you have these like, you know, like older folks are like, yeah, let me get my Malibu and Coke. And like, I want you to make me something with this, this, this, then this. And you're like, oh wow. But yeah, so that was all this on Tik TOK. Yeah, exactly. It was like, how do I make this? Like this really cool, like cocktail bar, but it's not too sophisticated. Where it's very inviting, but also kind of keep people interested, you know what I mean? So, yeah, that's, that's one of the things I learned that I really want to like look more into. It's like that learning, learning your demographic of drinkers and how do you tailor that like business side, I guess. And that was really interesting for like menu creation. I was wondering

Chris: 22:13

about that because I remember, yes, I sit at the bar a lot. I don't always drink, but I do sit at the bar a lot. And I remember when you were coming up with these concepts in my brain. Because I'm I've been going back and forth trying to think of something fun to do something new to do and I was like How are you coming up with these ideas? Do you like because you've made drinks in concepts. Do you? What is your process? Like do you start with the liquor first or do you are you like this is the flavor? I'm shooting

Danny: 22:42

for so I My brain is all over the place. So okay, I contributed most of it to like cooking So my mom would always cook growing up. I'd be in the kitchen with her. And then when I got to college, I was super poor. So I would just like buy groceries and cook all the time. Maybe my friends would come home, we'd be a little, a little wastey. And then I would just get in there and just make food. And then we, and I would just like realize like what I had. So it was like these different weird flavors. I was like, Oh, that goes great together. And you know, cooking, you're not really measuring anything. You're just like, like whipping it up. So I contributed to that pretty much. I think I don't know where it started, but like when I'm making things, like it just makes sense to me in my brain. I, it's almost like a, you know, when you do something for so long, it's just, you're just like good at, you don't know why, but I guess it's just like a conglomerate of everything you've done in the past. I think it's like that. I don't know. Earnest money helped me a lot too, because there was like, the main thing for that was most people would just come and be like, I want. Tequila, St. Germain, and when I feel like I'm drinking on a beach, you have to make them something brand new. So it was like a lot of that was like probably 60, 70% of the drinks because I was constantly making something on the fly right there. So it was like on a busy night, you know, I had eight drinks lined up. Six of those were probably going to be like, I have to make those in 30 seconds or less, you know? So it's like, I think a lot of it was that too. So for me, that's a strong suit where I think a lot of other. What do you mean like people, other bartenders are way better at me than other things, but I'm okay at that. It's something I'm going to get better at. Right. Yeah. Okay. I'm okay at it though. Yeah.

Chris: 24:12

Yeah. No, it's very, like, it's interesting. I enjoy that. Cause you started in like a busier process. I did. I feel like, I feel like Manna and Earnest Money are like busier locales versus like, I know some bartenders who started in like the classic, like dive bars or strip malls or it's like, Hey, do I really need to learn how to make anything besides like the classic? Hey, can you make me a rum and Coke?

Danny: 24:38

Yeah. And that was the thing too, is like, I, before that, my experience was like dog bar beer, all that stuff. And I wanted to learn more cool stuff, but when they, when I worked, got hired at man, and they were, it was during COVID. So it was just me and Fred behind the bar for several months. It's like, I got that extra attention to where I was like, everything that was happening. I was like, just. On the spot, like throwing up the looses kind of thing. Yeah, yeah. And that helped me learn like very, very quickly. So, yeah, I, I, yeah, I think that's was, I like it. So I think that like year of just like ex expedited I think, I think it helped you, which is interesting. One of

Tyler: 25:15

the reasons why I was excited to bring you on kind of along those same lines. Is like if you go to like the normal like dive bar or college bar or whatever you have like the college guys and girls Over there that they're like, oh i'm just doing this like to make a few extra bucks So I always love talking to someone who wants to make like a career out of bartending because I don't think As many people realize you

Danny: 25:35

can I didn't so Same. So I was, I'm always really hard on myself too. So I guess until recently I was always beat myself up. Like, Oh my God, this is really what I want to do in my life. And then I got a, Kaylee helped me get into camp run a muck. Oh yeah. Yeah. So I'm Kentucky. They basically apply. I think there was like 5, 000 applicants for the session that I went to in fall or spring. And I think only like 250 got in. I don't think it was me, Kaylee said, She's like, you deserved it, you did good. I was like, I think she got me in there. But, so, but, but yeah, so I went, and they take all these steroids, everything's paid for. They had like a James Beard chef come in and cook us food every day. It was sick. But it was all, it was called Camp Crescendo, so it was all like music camp. And it was exactly what you think it would be. It's like, but so, it's like, you know, just like shitty cabins, and but all bartenders from around the world and country and like everybody, like the best. When I realized how like under qualified I was until after and like seeing everyone else's Instagrams. I'm like, Oh, I was like, these people are serious. But that's when I realized I was like, Oh dude, I can do anything with this. And they have like all these different programs and stuff that they can take you like to, to Mexico to like see the distillation process of mezcal and stuff. So yeah, so it's like now that you're like, when you get in that thing, you realize that there's all these events and. I went to BCB right after too, which is the, the Brooklyn bar convent. And it was really a lot of fun. We're going next year. You guys have to go put it on your calendars. It's so much fun. And there's like just all this free swag and stuff too. And you just drink for free and try all these cool products. But it also makes you realize that there's just so much more out there. Like North Carolina is like the bare minimum of what we can get. Oh yeah. So, I mean, I don't know, like you said back to the, I'm getting off track. Like what you're saying, like you can make a career out of it for sure. And you realize like you buy these jobs, like at distillers and stuff later too. So you can be like a brand representative. You could be going to the distillery and work and that's kind of like, I realized, Oh, it's not just me behind the bar, you know, making whatever, but it can't be more.

Chris: 27:35

It's like, I never thought of it like that, but like the correlation between a, like a good bartender and a good, like sales associate are very similar.

Danny: 27:46

Like if you have a common,

Chris: 27:47

yeah. Cause you're learning, you help people out and you're trying to learn stuff to help people have a great experience. And I feel like. As a good bartender, trying to go to these schools and these like camps and like just getting to learn more about these brands will make you a lot better versus the guy who's just like, hi, what do you want? Or, I mean, even the great, yeah, even the great dive bar people who like only know your order. I'm like, Are they trying to learn more to like expand your horizon? It's like, yeah, I know you're, you drink a MI culture every day, but like, guess what? We tried this came in. Have you tried this? Have you tried that? Something new. Like

Danny: 28:30

I think that goes back to like the demographic of drinker too. So it's like mm-hmm. some people like, it's almost like well learn how to relate this to something else. It's basically like watching TV, right? So you want it. It's like, some people want to be like, I want a very well thought out show. I want to lie. I want it to be like every season to just compound each other. I want character development in the beginning. And some people are just like, I want to watch reality TV. Yeah. I would like, I want to see the exact same episode and drama every freaking time. You know, I think it's just what people want. You know, that's a good point too,

Tyler: 29:02

because even the same person can have. I'm going to go to the same dive bar where they know when I sit down I'm just going to have

Danny: 29:08

a yingling in front of me. Yeah. Exactly. And then people need different things. I don't know what their life is like. I'm not going to judge them, but. And me personally, I'm bougie. We, we like to sit down and have a sidecar. But, you know, Tony, Tony might want a Tim McLeod Ultra. So, it's cool. Like, it's just one of those things

Chris: 29:23

I never really thought about. Like, there, you go to some bars and you're like, Well, I'm going to get the same thing. And then you go to other spots and you try something new. But, I think that was the great thing about us starting the podcast. And then, like, the Starling opening is, it'll, It opened my mind to the thought process of like trying new things. Yeah. Like, very, like I also learned to be more respectful of the bartenders.

Danny: 29:50

They'll let you

Chris: 29:51

know. Because I have, in my head I always thought it was like the cool thing to be like, Hey, can you make me a drink? And the bartender is looking at you like, you showed up on a Friday, Saturday. Do you, do you have any preferences? And and so like, in my head, I'm like, well, that makes sense. Like if I show up and I, if I don't know what I want really, Hey, can you make me a whiskey drink? That's like, bourbon forward. And then I'm like, okay, cool. Or. Hey, I like tequila. He made me drink giving a little bit of information, go so much further and get you a better drink

Danny: 30:24

typically. It does always feel like it. And so wherever you want, it's like the more, the more descriptive you are. Yeah. The better the artist can work.

Chris: 30:32

Reminds me. Cause so like when we were, we were chatting during like our episode, like with the sidecar and everything we were talking about, like, The transition of like cocktails and like less alcoholic or less alcohol forward and non alcoholic drinks. Yes. So my question to you is like, what would be like your favorite not super alcohol forward drink that you make? Mmm,

Danny: 30:58

so there's this drink that Jeff Taylor taught, or it's one of his, like forever ago. He used to bartend around here a lot. I think he's at Maynard right now, actually, for a little bit. But he, it's called the Orange Julius, and it's, it is Sherry, Amara Monte Amara Averna, like orange juice, lemon, ginger, honey. I feel like I'm forgetting something too, but it's like, it's a bunch of them are, it's super low ABV, but it's like, it's good for your tummy kind of thing. You know, if you have an upset stomach or something like that, it's like perfect. It is too easy to drink. And also it on top, it's, it's so good. It's in a high ball and it's just like, it's great. Yeah, it's a good one. That'd be like my, my like, I do a low ABV. It's like super low ABV, but. Yeah, you're not drinking like a straight up boozy drink or anything. It's lower than like all the other cocktails for sure. Okay. I'm super interested in the future of doing like more, like non alcohol. I want to get into like aftogenic. Is that how you say it? Adaptogenic? Adaptogenic? It's something, yeah, something like that. Yeah, Yeah,

Tyler: 32:03

that's really interesting too because it's getting like, It's super big now and if you can be like one of the first like forefront people be like, hey Like I'm the guy who can make the best cocktails that are non alcoholic Yeah, like

Danny: 32:16

the world is your oyster at that moment. It's a blank canvas, right? Exactly. That's not like really intrigued cuz I was like, oh man, I need to I need to move I got this job with Kaylee. She writes like, scoop me off the street, which is great. So appreciative for that. And I was like, you know, there's like, there's not a lot going on. And there's like a, a scene like up and coming, but I feel like what they're doing is like going to be huge. So I think, I think it would put us on the map a little bit. So I think I'm happy to be in the spot that I'm at this time. So I can do things like that, especially now that I made the networking at camp and everything, and like met a bunch of cool people. I think that we can make something cool in Wilmington, like other cities. Yeah, I think that's going to be a big, I think that's a big component of like, of having a growing city too, is like having that nightlife, and the food industry, and the drink industry, and make white people want to come and like actually have a good time. Yeah. And try new things, and if I can contribute to that, I would love that. See,

Chris: 33:11

and like you're saying, like Wilmington is growing, and for years, because I've grown up here, I've lived here my whole life, and the goal is like, alright, so you're here, For now, where are we going next? And, Wilmington has grown so much that it's, it's becoming a destination for a lot of people. But I do definitely think that everyone should leave their hometown for at least two years. Oh yeah. And, learn something new. I

Danny: 33:37

agree. And I love my hometown, don't get me wrong. Now that I've left it, like, I haven't lived there in so long, but I visit my mom and dad a lot. But I appreciate it so much more now. Because it is so quiet and small, it's like when I get there, it's just serene. And I'm like, I want to build a house here one day. If I won't ever be able to, who knows.

Chris: 33:55

It's like if you left here and went to Charlotte, and you're like, Okay, Charlotte's busy, has a good vibe, and you can learn a lot from the bartenders there. Or if you want to take a big jump, you move to like Chi Town or like New York or something, D. C. That's what

Danny: 34:07

I'm thinking. Like, after I moved to Wilmington, I would be here for a little while. With Kaylee, but yeah. That's what I I want to go somewhere big. I think I have to. I think I have to do at least a year in like a big city and just be like, Yeah, right. I did it. Well, and you learn so

Chris: 34:19

much. Like, if you, if you move from here, you're like coming from one of the top bars in the town. You, you want to go somewhere where you can learn. So, when you come back, you're like Hey, I learned so much like here's what I would love to add and like a good manager is gonna like take your thought process And be like, okay, you know I see what you're doing and trying to help help you grow as well as help themselves grow from learning from you Right.

Danny: 34:43

Have you met? I agree. Have you met

Tyler: 34:45

Brian Pratt over at Flying Machine at Wrightsville Beach? I think you guys would really hit it off and enjoy talking and stuff, too. So he lived out in Charlotte for a while. Helped make the cocktail menus at a few bars and nightclubs and stuff over there. And now he does the, he's actually the beverage director at Flag Machine at Wrightsville Beach. Oh, super cool. So, yeah, and he does some of the consulting and bar building and stuff, too. So I feel like you guys would extremely hit it off. I

Danny: 35:10

might have to go pop in one day. Yeah. Oh, he's a super cool guy. I thought I wanted to, I just think it'd be so cool. I mean, like, I think, like... End goal would be, as far as like the career in cocktails goes, or in bartending. I'd be like, I want to have it like a open sourced consulting business. So it's like, Hey, we can do, cause I have a little bit of a graphic design background too. So I think it'd be cool if I could have like a whole package thing. It's like, Hey, like, okay, you're Indiana, for example, some city out there, like, Hey, we want to build a business. Like, Oh, I know a couple of bartenders out there or near that area. That know like how people drink or like know the demographic and how, how people act and everything in the, in the bar scene have been like, you know, have pay everybody else. Pay them out of like how they want to do it. Do that, make sure like they have it. So it's like tailored to the area. Yeah. And then have like a, like a board of like other bartenders that like, so no one, like everything would be remote. It doesn't have to be like edit, like where, where we're at kind of thing. I think it'd be cool. Yeah, that'd be neat. Have like a actually like do your menu design. Web design, you know, like come and train your staff, like tell you what we think we, we would need you to have and like it's their paycheck together. A better version of bar rescue. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Except like we're not on TV. Yeah. Well, like that

Chris: 36:21

concept is really cool. I mean, it makes sense, but you're right. Like every demographic is different. You can't show up and be like, okay. All of you bartenders have to know how to make a proper rum and coke. I'm like, well, technically you should know how to.

Danny: 36:34

Yeah, that's easy. It's like, I'm not going to know how people drink in Wisconsin. Like people put olives in their old fashions up there. I would turn my nose at that. Yeah, for real. You should look up all the different variations of old fashions in Wisconsin. It's insane. There's like a ton. It's absurd. It's weird. I don't trust the Midwest. Well, I think they just got left alone out for so long, but like when all you have

Tyler: 37:00

is a olive out there and you can't find an orange because you're so far

Danny: 37:03

away from Florida and you just do it.

Chris: 37:05

I mean, Chicago came out with Malort. So like, I don't trust, like, I don't trust the great lake

Danny: 37:13

states. How

Tyler: 37:13

about that? Yeah. They're like,

Danny: 37:15

all we have is this sweaty sock. Yeah. Let's distill it.

Chris: 37:21

I don't totally trust Ohio. Or Michigan, or Wisconsin, or Illinois, it's like,

Danny: 37:27

Weird. You know what's up? Interesting place, like North Dakota. Never been there. It's so weird. It's not weird, it's just like, It's different. It's so different. Also, some of the most beautiful women I've ever seen in my life. Like, it's like, super cute accents, too. They're like, oh, hi, how you doing?

Chris: 37:44

Hey, what's up? I've been to South Dakota, because we were there for training years ago, and I'm like, okay, cool, I know South Dakota. But, I'm like, That's, that's it. I was only, I was there for like a, a week. I don't remember. I was there for a little bit, but not in the city. So I was just sitting out there. I woke up in the middle of like some national park because that's where we were staying. I looked, I'm like, Oh, there's some bison. Yeah, they're everywhere. And it walked apparently like right behind our tents and like took a poop and I'm like I was Within 20 feet of dying. It's like if you walked out and weren't paying attention.

Danny: 38:22

Yeah Yes, yeah, they have that when I went they they had a Oh, really? Yeah. Yeah. It was really old. And then we found out like two years later, because we, we'd met these two girls on spring break. And it's like forever ago. And they were like, you should come up here. So we went up there and visited them. And then like two years later, she texted me. She was like, Hey, the albino bison died. I was like, Oh no. It's so depressing. It was.

Tyler: 38:48

Thank you for the random

Danny: 38:50

message. I was like, I totally haven't thought about that in forever,

Chris: 38:52

but. I haven't talked to you in three and a half years, but thanks for letting me know about that

Danny: 38:57

outline. Yeah. I'm going

Tyler: 38:59

to steal Chris's question here real quick. So with everything you have going on in the bar industry and where you'd like to go, what

Danny: 39:04

does success look like for you? Success, man, in the bar industry. Yeah. I think success for me. Long term or like, what are you, are you thinking about like right now? Like, next five years. Next five years? Success to me would look like helping the best I can where they need me at Starling and Ibis and creating something I think would be cool if we could get a James Beard award. That'd be pretty sick. I'm gonna add that on there. That's gonna be in my goals list. Yeah, I might have to talk to the gang about that. Maybe I mean But I've just definitely has

Tyler: 39:45

a

Danny: 39:45

yeah, just cuz it's so different. Mm hmm.

Chris: 39:48

I mean you have potential I actually didn't know that you get a James Beard

Danny: 39:51

award for a bar. You can yeah, I looked it up the other down. Yeah Well, that's I think definitely on there we got a an all star You can all start a lineup over there right now. So, I think it's possible we're going to make it happen anyway, but that for sure. Bartending one year, at least one year in a big city. And then having a strong foundation for my, for our consulting business and like habits where like, I feel comfortable enough that I can. Bartend like two days a week and then the rest of the week focus on that. Yeah, let me say buy land and houses, right? Help everybody. I don't need

Chris: 40:25

multiple. I need a lot of land and like one big

Danny: 40:28

house rental property well see my thing is like it's not even like I wanna I want to have I want to help like Do affordable housing? If I can buy land and make money off of it or like just have it and like help other I think that would be That would be like The Indian goal, but I don't know, that'd be so cool to have. Like, I don't know, just like have like very sustainable, like, I would, I would like to learn how to garden really well and just like have it. Cause to where like, I could like maybe like buy like affordable housing and then have like a garden kind of area where people can have food and just like pay somebody to maintain it. And then like, I think it'd be cool. But that's very like far fetched. We know some people. One of my,

Tyler: 41:11

yeah, one of my friends actually went and got his master's degree. And that's

Danny: 41:15

exactly what he wants to accomplish too. Really? Yeah. Cause I just feel like people don't get a good break, man. Like, you know, it's like, it's, if you have all your bases covered, like, Hey, I have fresh, clean food on the table every night. The things that I need to survive. It's like, that's such a big burden off your chest. And you can focus on the things that you need to focus on to make yourself better. To help your little corner of the world be sane. Yeah. I don't know. I think it'd be cool. Excuse me.

Chris: 41:39

Shoo! Sorry. I got hit. So, because we're coming up on the good times, I got a question. Since Tyler stole mine, I'm gonna steal his. If you could tell your younger self one thing, what would it be?

Danny: 41:52

Hmm. Hitting with the big questions at the end. Yeah, that's a big one. what would I tell myself? Mm-hmm. I would say don't focus so hard on, I'm trying to figure out what you're trying to do and be right now. Enjoy what you have and focus on learning self-discipline. I think, yeah, I think it's I've just like, I really should really, that's funny you guys to ask that question. Cause literally just like last night I was sitting there like journaling and I was, I think I was like, man, I've spent a lot of my younger twenties really just like stressing myself out being like, I have to like. Meet all these goals and it may cause money and do all this stuff. And I'm realizing it was like, it's money's not really, I mean, like that's a by product of your own, like diligence and success anyway. I mean, it's necessary, but it's like, that's not the focus. Like you need to focus on purpose and it's like that the rest of everything else will come. And I think like in my early twenties, I was just like, so focused on like. Trying these different avenues and just like really just stressing myself out for like what when I could have been enjoying myself a little more You know or like I mean, I had fun boring, but you know, but I don't know I just think it I think just calming down and realizing that there are Right now it's okay Yeah.

Tyler: 43:11

I thought a lot. There was actually a mental toughness forum that I was watching as like a virtual forum of some of the most successful people in the United States right now. And they were talking about very similar things that you were just talking about there where it's not about your one and only goal, making all this money. But if you can find something that you love and enjoy to do that's providing value to others, you'll just automatically receive that byproduct because if you have something that's worthwhile to give and you love doing it. It's,

Danny: 43:39

it's natural. Can I come to you? It is. Yeah. And that's the thing too, is like a lot of that will attract community and most of us, you can't do it by yourself either. You have to have that team behind you. I think, I think, I don't know. I think as a culture, we've kind of. Promoted individualism to a point where it's like you think the only way you can be successful or our fine purpose is if like you do it all yourself. And that's not true. Like for all of history, you look at everything, like anyone that's ever done anything, they have a team of people with them. Yeah. And it's like, you're not doing it for yourself. You're doing it. If you act off of, people need instead of like my own ego? Like that's. Everyone's loyal to each other and like, that's how you build stuff. I think that's from my own research and what I've seen. Yeah,

Tyler: 44:24

absolutely. Chris and I are actually coming out with a a summit later in the year. That's called build your community summit and we're going to bring a bunch of people together that have built communities in one way or another and just

Danny: 44:35

promote the importance of having people around you. Yeah, I love that. I mean, build more communities, man. Yeah, exactly. We gotta do this together. You know it. So yeah. So I have a question for you guys. Okay, Chris is just looking at me like a deer in head. I know No, I

Chris: 44:51

had like going through my head like back to back to back

Danny: 44:54

so Cool. So my question for you is so you're at the dive bar. It's 1 a. m. What is your go to dive bar drink? Mmm, Jameson and ginger nice solid. Yeah,

Chris: 45:06

he's so much nicer than me I've realized that dive bars typically underpriced their whiskey. So I'm just gonna be like can I get a Pour of like whatever that top shelf whiskey is. Yeah,

Danny: 45:17

it's smart There is be

Tyler: 45:19

careful though, because some of them will be like, oh, hey, I think this is expensive and they'll like charge 40

Danny: 45:27

for a pour of Eagle rare. So

Chris: 45:30

I'll like I've been to quite a few lately cuz me and Tyler talked about this the other day and I walk in I'm like You guys have, like, Elijah Craig barrel proof sitting there? How much is that? And they're like, Eight dollars. It was like,

Tyler: 45:44

that's the regular Elijah

Danny: 45:45

Craig price. Can I get a double of that dusty bottle of EH Taylor in the corner there? Yes! That hasn't been touched in two years. So

Chris: 45:52

yes, I always ask before, but if I'm like, if I'm legit, like, sitting at a dive bar all night, I'm probably drinking like rum and Coke or just a regular, like I have learned, I have to say bourbon ginger, not just a flat whiskey

Danny: 46:07

ginger. They'll give you whatever you're right out the hard way. Like I've had this ginger ale up in for five hours, you're going to drink it. It's

Chris: 46:18

so flat. Should have asked better. That's a good one. See,

Danny: 46:22

what do you order? Me? Miller High Life, baby. If they have it, for sure. I'd like a Miller High Life. I don't know, probably like... If they have Campari, I'll do Campari and soda. Okay. But most people don't. Yeah.

Tyler: 46:36

Probably not a dive bar.

Danny: 46:37

Huh? Probably not a dive bar. Probably not a dive bar. Some of'em do though. Really? It doesn't happen. I don't know what it is like.'cause Beth does a great job. She does. Yeah. she's out there hustling. I went out do, she gave me some like bar mats and stuff for Crypted, and she's just like, we met at Luna Cafe and she's like, come, come out to my car. I'm like, are we about to sell drugs? Right. she pops her trunk and she's just like looking around. She's like, brings all these mats and stuff. And I was like, thanks. But she, she's really doing her thing out there. So. I love that. She's great. She's a goober. She is a goober.

Tyler: 47:07

I'm gonna give every listener here the best advice I can give them listening to a whiskey podcast. Make sure you find yourself a very good best friend that is a liquor rep. Mm hmm. It'll make all your dreams come true. Yes. Yeah, you get a bunch of free shit.

Chris: 47:23

Or, to save you some time, just use Sway Creations to make all your podcast activities and social media things look so much better. Shameless

Danny: 47:34

plug. It's not

Chris: 47:36

even shameless. It has made the life so much better. Like if people looked at us, cause like we've been around, we're at a year and a half now. Yeah. Like Tyler just typed like. We're slow at life and we finally put together how many episodes we've done done 80 episodes Wow Yeah,

Tyler: 47:52

and try it over 60 different whiskeys.

Danny: 47:54

Yeah, that's impressive I think too is like a lot of times you guys have a pretty good following right now, too Mm hmm, like that's and thanks again for bringing me on. Yeah, I'm so I feel I feel blessed but yeah, a lot of times it's like once you have that base of like Of just doing it for so long you guys have the experience now. It's like any minute. It's gonna get bigger, you know It just happens everything everything I've seen it like it's like it happens every night kind of thing So yeah, she's got to keep doing it

Chris: 48:19

In the keep from burning out That's literally why we had to do sway because I hit a point where Tyler was working way too much and then doing all the social media and I'm like Thank you for doing all that but I have no concept of how to make any of these posts and we linked up with them and they were like We got you. Yeah, it

Danny: 48:37

makes it

Tyler: 48:37

nice to because before we're just like, oh I need to do something today like here you go throw it up there and Now people are like, oh my gosh, your Instagram looks really nice. I'm like, I've had nothing to do with that.

Danny: 48:47

Thank you It's like like having a social media presence, it's so important now I think I think I'm gonna take a big sabbatical and come back and like do like just go ham And you

Tyler: 48:58

know actually Then this, I'm not plugging sway because like it's who we work with, but I kind of am like,

Danny: 49:06

I'm out community. You've got to help each other. Right. But

Tyler: 49:10

they actually, how they originally got started was working with gamers and helping them build their social media presence. Interesting. But like now that I was thinking about it and you saying that like bartenders that are trying to gain social media presence is very similar to like that gaming aspect. Like it has the same type of like, Culture and vibe and stuff to it that I think it makes a lot

Danny: 49:29

of like an easy transition It does like someone like Beck, but she works of her Starting to like Mac Frazier, but she was talking about that one day and I can made sense to me She's like she does that but people come to see her. You know, I mean, I should be like cuz you post stuff And just like, that's kind of my, that's your brand, you know what I mean? It's like, Hey, like I'm out here doing today, slinging tiki drinks, you know, and people are like, Oh, I like that. And I like Daniel, I'm going to go get a tiki drink today. There's definitely

Tyler: 49:53

been times I wasn't planning on drinking. I'm like, Oh shit. Like so and so's at the bar today. Like, Oh, they're doing this. Like, Oh, okay. I'll swing by real quick.

Danny: 50:00

Yes.

Chris: 50:01

And I mean, I definitely like, I legit love all the bartenders over there. And so it depends on the day. If I'm like, you know, I'm in a feisty mood and I look up and it's like. Bex and Dan are working. I'm like, yep, I'm going to show up because I'm going to look at Danny and be like, surprise me. And he'll, he'll come, he'll bring

Danny: 50:21

it. I'll do it. That's what I'm excited about. I have a son. We're going to have so many things to play with. Like, I feel like I'm burning out at Starling as far as like that goes. But you can make so many things. Like, wow. I love Starling. It's so good. It's great, but it is truly Just put a

Tyler: 50:34

quarter in the little game thingy and you'll get whatever you get. Yes, on Tuesdays. Yeah, on Tuesdays. Yeah, you just keep it all the time for Chris and be like, anytime he ask, you'd be like, quarter

Danny: 50:45

but we got it. You should I may, Hey, hey, I'm with it. We

Chris: 50:48

might at the new bar. Yeah. Hey. Possible. But that's, that makes sense. Like the Starling is truly a whiskey and wine bar, and so like you only have so much room for non whiskeys elements. I

Danny: 50:59

kind of like those parameters too, in a way. Mm-hmm. it's like I wanna have more to play, but like also I think when I really get creative, it's like when it's like, Hey, you have this. And I'll be like, I wanna make this. That's when it's like, I think a lot of the cool stuff happens. Cool. Because like, it's like you gotta, you gotta get weird. Yeah. Just like, how do I make this work? Right. Understandable.

Chris: 51:18

Yeah. So do you wanna shout on any social media, any bars, anything? Any bars?

Danny: 51:23

Um hmm. Wow. I got, I wanna shout out everybody, everybody, everybody. So sh, shout out, I guess, my Instagram, I guess I gotta do that. Mm-hmm. Danny Phantom. And then I also wanna shout out, All my people at Starling go on there and check out their handles too, cause I can't remember them off the top of my head, cause my brain don't work like that. Also follow Ibis, you know, we should be opening sometime, hopefully this year. We'll open before December. Yeah, hopefully. Yeah. So, it'll be, it's happening shout out Cryptid, shout out Rooster Crow, shout out Manna, Earnest Money, Greenfield Yacht Club. All of them, go to Whiskey Trail, get your cheap whiskey. They have some good ones there, Chris.

Chris: 52:05

I know, it's just

Danny: 52:06

so far from my house. It is. The Mesa Mara Loop's a hike. I mean, for me, it's like with traffic, sometimes it's like 30 minutes. I know, yeah. I put on my, I put on like an audiobook and I just roll with it. I live

Tyler: 52:15

in Leland. People are like, oh, you like go out to Whiskey Trail sometime. I'm like, that'll take me a good hour.

Danny: 52:20

Yeah. Like if there's traffic there, there's one on market too next to the Avalon Apartments, but it's not the og. I was gonna say it's not the same. It's technically the exact, it's like cookie cutter. Same, but it's like not the same. Know,

Chris: 52:31

you know, parking is so much worse too, huh? Yeah. Like

Danny: 52:34

there's, there's road parking, there's like 20 spots maybe. Yeah, that's generous. I

Chris: 52:39

showed up in the middle of the day and I'm like, where am I supposed to park?'cause Avalon has so many like, Guaranteed spots.

Danny: 52:45

Yeah. Also, shout out Captain Bill's. I did a volleyball league. Oh, yeah. With everybody. It was so much fun. Everyone should go. I'm done now. That's

Chris: 52:53

where everybody was on Monday when I was bartending. Yeah. Anyways, as you know, I am the Monday night bartender at Starlings and they're closed. Don't shut up. Please don't. But yeah, thank you guys for listening to the podcast, follow us on all our social medias, like comment, share, subscribe, and please download all the episodes because that definitely

Danny: 53:16

helps. That does help a lot. Subscribe for sure. Do it. Cheers. Cheers.