Episodes

Simplicity at it’s finest. The Highball isn’t about complication or fancy glasses, crazy garnishes, or a boozy drink… it’s about taking a spirit, and making it more approachable. It’s a thing of beauty when done right – and an embarassment when done wrong. What’s the story, though? What makes a great Highball? Where did they come from? Where do you even start? We’ll unpack it all on this episode – so make yourself a drink (2oz of any spirit, over ice, with four onces of soda water… it’s that ...

Is the world of Non-Alcoholic beer actually improving at the speed that we think it is? Is it actually caught up to the point that the beer might actually be worth drinking in place of a “regular” beer? I have so many questions that I’ve been working to answer for myself. It’s time you joined with me, and we unpack this one piece at a time. While this is definitely not comprehensive, nor is it the end of me talking about NA Beverages… It’s the start that we need to have happen! https://youtu.b...

It’s hard to catch my attention these days with so many different products on shelves in our favorite stores… but Stoop Dayz managed to do that with their bright, clean hard soda brand. When I saw them sampling things out down at Oktoberfest, and saw the positive reactions from everyone trying it – I knew that I had to get them on the show! On the episode we learn all about the brand, how it started, why it started, and what makes it unique compared to the other stuff that surrounds it. Huge t...

I’ve been curious… I think that a canned cocktail that scratches the itch has a really important place in my drinking experience, but too many of them just kind of, well… aren’t great. That’s why I wanted to sit down with the founders of PonyBoy Slings on the show. I like them. I think they taste GOOD. Mike and Janell Bass were gracious enough to take some time to sit down with me and tell us the story of PonyBoy, what inspired them to start the brand, and what you can expect from it when you st...

I love cocktails, and I also like the simplicity of cracking open a can instead of mixing a whole bunch of stuff up myself. That’s why I love MadTree’s line of Sway cocktails… they make it easy for a lazy lawn ornament like me. I sat down with Brittany Frey and Sean Cox to talk about this collaboration with the folks over at New Riff. We cover it all, and you’re going to want to hear about not just what this project is, but what other projects are coming from MadTree. This is a good one! If yo...

There are a lot of neighborhood bars around the city of Cincinnati. There are dives, there are sports bars, there are cocktail bars, more types of places than I think there are neighborhoods that house them. When you find “your spot” in one of those, you fall in love with it. With that, when you hear that someone new has bought that spot, it’s easy to be afraid of what it means. To continue along this… when that restaurant group turns your spot into the flagship location for a local chain of pla...

On this week’s episode of Drinking With The Gnome, we take a journey out to Harrison, Ohio, to talk to owner Rob Watson about what makes this space work in an ever-crowded market like we have in Greater Cincinnati. We drink a couple of beers and explore how their evolution might be precisely what saved them over the last five years. Huge thanks to Rob and 1860 for taking the time to make this episode happen. If you want check this great place out, make sure you hit them up on social media, via ...

My favorite. It’s not a term that I throw around very often… tastes change, feelings change, and the desire for different experiences is a real thing. Binskis is my favorite bar, though. I can say that without hesitation (with the caveat that if owner Kiel Erdelac screws up and starts changing things… I might change, too) because I love this place. Binskis is the perfect blend of a neighborhood bar, with just the right amount of “dive-iness”, community, good feelings, a proper sense of humor, a...

There’s always been something happening behind the scenes of craft beer – we’re starting to see it very visibly here in Cincinnati with some of our breweries who are getting “old” enough to start figuring out who they are under the surface. Still, places like DogFish Head and Sam Adams have been doing it for decades. I got a chance to sit down with Sam Calagione of DogFish Head to talk about how sustainability and “bigger picture” things have always been a part of their company – and how, still...

I love finding new places to grab a drink in Cincinnati. I love it even more when those places have unique, fun personalities and definitely that focus on community. It’s no surprise though that Victory Pints, up in Maineville, is this episode’s focus. I sat down with owner and founder Riley Mullins to explore what they are all about! To start off, Victory Pint is not just a bar. They have food, but they aren’t just a restaurant. During the day, there’s a vibe inside the place that sort of feel...

If I’ve learned anything through this series of shows diving into winter drinking, it’s that the traditions that come along with the season are a massive part of it. On that note, this one is definitely a favorite of mine! I headed back down to the Moerlein Lager House at the Banks for their Cincinnati Christkindlmarkt for another live episode with a few friends, an open flame, and a hot poker for a great episode. The fun process of Bierstacheln (or hot pokers in a beer) doesn’t just warm up yo...

Oh boy… we had a fun one with this episode. With bad weather on the way, I broke with the plans for the month. Instead of recording live down at the Cincinnati Christkindlmarkt, I headed up to ‘The Garage Bar’ (don’t start googling, it’s Chris from Shift Beers’ garage. We cracked open three bottles of peppermint schnapps to figure out what this tasty winter drink is all about. It was fun – my wife got mad at me – and I think we learned, well… I don’t know that we learned anything. I hope you e...

One of my top two things that I like to have in my glass during the winter season makes its first appearance on the show this week. It’s called Glühwein, and it’s a warm, spiced, delicious wine. If you haven’t had the chance to experience it, yet – let this episode be the call to action for you to do just that! We’re back down at the Cincinnati Christkindlmarkt again this week, doing the third in our series of Winter Drinking shows live from the festival. It’s an absolute blast, and I was joine...

This is definitely solidly in my wheelhouse. I’m a big beer nerd. I was joined by my buddy Marco, from Truth, Beer, Podsequences to take a peek into winter beer. The big question is “what makes a winter beer, anyways?” We explore that over a couple of pints, of course! This is the second in a series of five episodes that are being recorded (and broadcast) live from the Cincinnati Cristkindlmarkt down at the Moerlein Lager House. Make sure you tune in every Thursday evening this month. Guests T...

There are a few things to be answered before we jump in… namely, what makes a winter cocktail? We set up shop inside an igloo down at the Cincinnati Christkindlmarkt at the Banks to answer that, and many other questions (and of course to drink a few drinks along the way. I was joined by Julia Rohs, from Truth, Beer, Podsequences for this unique, fun, and undoubtedly chaotic episode of the show. Guests This Episode Julia Rohs – Truth, Beer, and Podsequences What We Drank The Drunken Rudolph ...

I could spend a lot of time writing about Zane Lamprey… but you’re better off just diving into some of the work he’s done over the years to get a better picture of why he’s important to who I am today. To say that he’s inspired what The Gnome has become is a bit of an understatement. Zane has been critical in shaping how I have created content over the years, and just as much into the directions that I plan on going in the future too. For those reasons, among many others, I was thrilled when he...

I will be the first to admit that I know very, very little about the world of wine. I’m a beer guy that loves to drink booze and cocktails. With all of that out in the open, I also fully recognize that as a drinker, I need to expand my horizon a little bit, and take a dive into wine. I took the easy road. I called up our friend over at Fruitblood Wine, Josh Elliot. We know Josh because of his time at Urban Artifact, a brewery whose beer is just as close to wine as it is beer. It was a natural p...

It’s been far, far too long since I got an episode of Drinking With The Gnome out there. This show seems to be the thing that gets pushed aside when things get a little busy, and that’s not fair to a show that I have big, big plans for. With that being said, I’ve got one for you this week! I LOVE absinthe but get a little frustrated at the misinformation that gets put out there about this herbal liquor, so I made an episode to hopefully dispel some of those myths. We talk about the history – the...

It’s a different world, this “craft beer” thing that we’re currently in. Gone are the days that you can just throw together a brewery, put a picnic table or two in your warehouse and operate a successful business. You have to do more, and you have to do better. You can see clear evidence of this when you look around Cincinnati at the places that have opened. This show is about that other side that people desire. Cartridge Brewing Company made it a point to create a business that not only cater...

I had never been to Crown Republic before this episode – and was lured in by some friends from the beer industry… and I am glad that I was. This place is fantastic on a few different levels – on the drinking side, the bar is great, it’s down to earth and provides great drinks without any of the pretentiousness that you might find at other spots. It’s a relaxed place to grab a great cocktail. On a whole other level, though… the food is to die for. Upscale, but still keeping that relaxed atmospher...

I was on vacation with the family down in Gatlinburg, but that wasn’t going to stop me from doing a little “Gnome-Work” while we were away. I stopped into Sugarlands Distilling to chat with Reede Copeland about the unique culture of Gatlinburg, and the reasons that moonshine has caught on so heavily in the area versus other places. We talk about what makes the distillery special, what makes moonshine special, and what makes Gatlinburg a little different than you might think that it is at first g...

Wrapping up a three part series from Karrikin we take a dive into what’s coming down the pipeline for this distillery. To help guide us through the conversation we pour a little bit of their ‘Emerge’ gin and take a quick tour through how they make it, and what pushed them to launch with two different gins into the market. This is most definitely not the last you’ll hear about Karrikin on Drinking With The Gnome – there’s a lot more to them that still needs exploring! Also, of quick note – Than...

It’s not common to see a Baiju on shelves here in America. It’s especially not common to see an American distillery making a version of this spirit – let alone in a city like Cincinnati. This is beyond fascinating, but a huge part of what makes Karrikin so exciting to me. They are thinking outside of the box when it comes to making their products, and I needed to try to take peek behind that curtain a little bit. We talked about their American made Baiju, which they call Shifu, and dug into the...

There are going to be a few different shows about Farifax’s Karrikin Spirits in the very near future. The last time I sat down with Eric Baumann and Jeff Hunt for a show, we ended up recording for a lot longer than anticipated, which means (good news for you) a lot more content! The first of this little “Karrikin Series” is a showcase of their delicious sparkling spirits, a product that I think deserves quite a bit of recognition. It’s not a seltzer, it’s not a beer… it’s something else entirel...