Cocktail Showdown 4: Winner Announcement & Interview

Ray Latif [00:10] Uh, we do have a winner for the cocktail showdown. Just before we make the announcement, I wanna go back to the judges and debrief just for a sec about why the brand that won did. Grace, let's start with you. Um, you know, what did you see in this brand that helped you make that decision?

Speaker 2 [00:30] I thought the liquid was really good and um. There was an innovative take on the direction it was going,

Speaker 3 [00:40] Taylor. I think it comes down to balance. Um, if a customer buys it, they're gonna want to rebuy it and they're gonna wanna know. That they trust it. They trust the liquid, they, they trust that this is the direction they're interested in, that they trust that, uh, it's something that they're willing to spend their money on, frankly.

Ray Latif [00:56] And Taylor

Speaker 4 [00:58] Uh, I'm out of commentary, I think, yeah, I have nothing else to add other than we just kept wanting to drink it more and more and more, and I'm fine. We're all still capable of judging, uh, but thought it was great and, um, yeah, like nothing that we've ever tasted before, so.

Ray Latif [01:14] I can attest the judges were continuing to sit on the, this brand's products uh during the deliberation. Uh, one more quick note, we are going to do a quick interview with the winner, uh, just after the announcement. So live stream viewers, stay tuned for that. All right. The winner of Bevnet Live Winter 2023's cocktail showdown, a $10,000 ad package, and that wonderful trophy is. Pony Boy slings. Congratulations to Mike and Janelle. Come on up on stage.

Speaker 3 [01:48] They are, there they are.

Ray Latif [01:55] Come on up. You're very, very welcome. Yeah, you can come on over here. We have insurance, but not that kind of insurance. Congratulations. Well done. Thank you. Congratulations. This is yours, and our photographer is gonna wanna take a photo real quick. And one with our judges. Judges, take a photo. Thank you. Oh yeah,

Speaker 3 [02:30] yeah, awesome job. Congratulations.

Ray Latif [02:33] Oh awesome. Thank you. All right, Nate, you ready? We're gonna take a photo with the judges and then we're gonna wrap up here if we may. Are we standing

Speaker 2 [02:39] up

Speaker 3 [02:40] standing. Yes,

Ray Latif [02:41] please. That's my hand. All right.

Speaker 4 [02:48] Are we

Ray Latif [02:56] Hey folks, I'm Ray Latif, the editor and producer of Bevnet's Taste Radio podcast and the host of Bevnet Live Winter 2023's Cocktail Showdown. I'm here with the winners of that competition, Janelle and Mike Bass, the founders of Pony Boy Slings. Congratulations. Thank

Speaker 5 [03:14] you so much.

Speaker 6 [03:15] Thank you. Yes, thank you so much. We're so stoked to be here.

Ray Latif [03:19] Let me tell you something. You guys had an outstanding presentation. Uh, your stage presence, your knowledge of your own brand, your passion for delivering something new and innovative and exciting to this industry really shone through.

Speaker 6 [03:34] Thank you so much for saying that, and it, and it's very true. I feel like being from bourbon country. You know, I, I grew up with bourbon. I'm pretty sure my grandma probably put it on my pacifier and like him and all his experience with bartending, it was really fun to get into it with the bourbon brands and kind of see a little bit of a, a light that's not being shined upon yet or like a spot that's not being shined upon, you know, and so that was really fun for us because especially when people don't drink bourbon and then they're like I think I like bourbon.

Ray Latif [04:09] Yeah, you know, uh, the judges had so much feedback for you on stage.

Speaker 6 [04:26] Uh, were you surprised when you heard your name? I, I mean, yes, I, I mean, I was surreal. Yeah, I. I, I mean, I feel like all the time, you know, you, you tell yourself, oh, it's fine, it doesn't matter. We're just gonna go and do the best to be a winner with a trophy like I don't know the last time I ever got a trophy. this is awesome. You

Ray Latif [04:39] know, I'm trying to recall the

Speaker 5 [04:54] name I missed it, Mike, you know, that's name is Whiskey came up with the name, let's call this Whiskey. But then as bartenders, we, we realized, well, if we want to lay you down in the, in the future, go with a different spirit or change direction or like start trying some agave spirits or anything like that, then um we kind of pigeonhole ourselves into whiskey. So we were like, well, let's think of something with kind of a nod to Kentucky and Janelle was like thinking horses and she's like, what about Pony Boy? And I was like, oh, like the Outsiders and she said, what, what's the Outsiders?

Speaker 6 [05:25] I know I'm embarrassed about that now. Are

Ray Latif [05:27] you a millennial, Janelle, we can forgive you if you're a millennial.

Speaker 6 [05:30] OK, there we go. I'm, I'm on the cusp of it, but I'm

Ray Latif [05:33] still, I think if folks watching like, uh, who are probably in their 20s or early 30s, they're like, I don't really know what that movie is, but It's a fantastic movie and it's a fantastic I guess you know that's part of it at least I mean

Speaker 6 [05:53] Wonder sang Out's nuggets.

Ray Latif [06:09] I gotta tell you something that is a phenomenal product. Um, the judges talked about how delicious it was and it's a product that I haven't encountered. It's a liquid I haven't encountered. It's a cocktail I haven't seen before, um, and I was immediately drawn to it because if you like cherry, you love cherry in my opinion. Um, how do you.

Speaker 5 [06:51] And just tried to balance in because we wanted the vermouth to be in there so we just kind of stacked in the bourbon and just slowly built our way up, but we, we added the cherry to the final mix basically and

Speaker 6 [07:07] and layered the flavors and sorry to interrupt, but I was gonna say um story of our life. Um, and I was gonna say, uh, we use real black cherry juice, so there's just nothing like real black cherry juice. Like, uh, it, it's hard to replicate, and we're not even the biggest cherry fans because I think so many times it's a cherry flavor, which is fine, right, but. We, um, when we actually tasted the real black cherry juice, we're like, oh, this would go so well with bourbon and the dry vermouth, and that's kind of how we chose to do cherry. Well,

Ray Latif [07:41] I think you need to share your brand and products with a lot more people. You talked about your next step in terms of distribution going into places like Southern Indiana. Um, it's weird though. I, I almost would think Miami, Brooklyn. Los Angeles, I mean, is, is, is any of that on the horizon?

Speaker 5 [07:58] So being from Florida and just running programs down there, I have a, a tight network there. So Florida is definitely one that I lay in bed at night. Like, I mean, we get, we need to get to Florida because it kind of fits, you know, the brand as far as beaches, golf courses, you know, lakes. It's summer year round basically, so. But we don't wanna, we don't wanna jump into that immediately. We wanna, we wanna be hands on and, and just kind of slowly build our way out so that way we can get the, the proper education of what our brand is and be there for tastings and whatnot. We wanna beats boots on the ground.

Ray Latif [08:40] It almost sounds like you guys have watched a bit of Bevnet live content in the past and incorporated into your business strategy, and I, I know you said you have Janelle, and you've watched a lot of these competitions, uh, and what's really, really cool is that you guys are going to influence the next generation. Of cocktail makers of RTD cocktail brands and entrepreneurs and founders, and it's, it's really awesome because what you've created is tremendous. What you did here today at Bevnet Live is tremendous, and, uh, you deserve the honor. Congratulations.

Speaker 5 [09:10] Thank you so much. Thank

Speaker 6 [09:11] you for having us. That means just so much to us. So we're, we are so grateful for, for you guys and, and so happy to be here and. And thanks for liking them. Let's party,

Ray Latif [09:23] right? Yeah, let's party. Yeah, exactly. That is yours. Uh, $10,000 ad package is coming your way as well. Congratulations again. Thanks to everyone who's watching and enjoyed our cocktail content, our spirits content. So much more to come in the next two days. The live stream begins tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. Pacific time. Don't miss it. It's gonna be a fantastic event. Signing off for everyone. I'm Ray Latif, and we'll see you tomorrow.