In Episode 47, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh attempt another experiment in format, covering a range of quick-hit topics in the news rather than a single deep dive. As always, we welcome feedback. Before we got to that, however, our whiskey theme was also new, or new to us: we each picked a whiskey we hadn’t tried before. Jamie’s pick was Four Walls Irish American Whiskey, a celebrity whiskey from a group of stars from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, including Rob McElhenney, who...

In Episode 46, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh spend a lot of time talking about AI, but that still, as always, begins with the whiskey. Episode page We both asked ChatGPT to consider all our ingredients for making a whiskey-based cocktail, and to invent an original recipe. Jamie's is called The Bourbon Harmony, although there was a lot in there to try to reach harmony, and Mark's was called the Spiced Cherry Rye Cocktail. The verdict for both drinks was that they were good, but...

Episode page In Episode 45, Jamie Flinchbaugh and Mark Graban join the Just-in-Time Cafe team of Elisabeth Swan and Tracy O’Rourke as a special nod to their 100th Episode, while also having a chance to toast Mark’s accomplishment of 250 episodes of My Favorite Mistake podcast and 500 episodes of the Lean Blog Podcast. This episode blended the two formats a bit, but you can be sure whiskey was one of those elements that we retained.    We each selected a cocktail to make. Jamie made his...

Episode page with video and more In Episode 44, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh get back together for this first episode of 2024. Since we’re not doing Dry January, we go right into the whiskey first by talking about old bottles, including one very old one found at auction. We then did our own comparison tasting, with Jamie trying two different age statements of Knob Creek bourbon and Mark trying two different expressions of Glen Scotia scotch from Campbeltown.  Dry January is like a New...

Episode page with video and more In Episode 43 of the “Lean Whiskey” podcast, Jamie Flinchbaugh and Mark Graban begin by talking about each of our interviews regarding the new book by Steve Spear and Gene Kim, Wiring the Winning Organization. Mark interviewed Steve and Gene for the Lean Blog Interviews podcast, and Jamie interviewed Steve for a forthcoming episode of the People Solve Problems podcast. We then shifted our attention to celebrating 100 years of Suntory Distilling by each pouring...

Episode page In Episode 42, Jamie Flinchbaugh visits Mark Graban in northern Kentucky and they get to record an episode in person. This was the origin of the podcast series — getting together in person, enjoying whiskey, and talking about Lean stuff.  In the last episode, we did an experiment that was inconclusive — sometimes that's how it goes. We had moved the whiskey talk to the end of the episode, but since we had no firm evidence that it was better, we moved it back to the...

Episode link with video and more In Episode 41, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh try a couple experiments, in the spirit of continuous improvement. You’ll first notice that we moved the whiskey talk to the end. The hypothesis here is that some people don’t want to hear the whiskey talk, so they can just exit the podcast when we finish the lean talk. We also used a different platform for recording, so it may affect your listening or viewing experience. We would really appreciate any feedback...

Episode page with video and more In Episode 40, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh get back together after their in-person visit where they enjoyed the origins of this podcast: talking about lean stuff while enjoying some whiskey. We get to celebrate the launch of Mark’s new book, The Mistakes That Make Us, as well as Jamie’s new podcast titled People Solve Problems. We recap our in-person visit and some of the great whiskey we were able to try. And we taste one of the expressions we were able...

Episode page with links, video, and more In Episode 39, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh toast the completion of Mark's new book, The Mistakes That Make Us: Cultivating a Culture of Learning and Innovation (coming soon!). We also acknowledge Jamie's forthcoming podcast based on the book People Solve Problems. That's already plenty to cover before we even get into our whiskey.  Our whiskey theme was sourced juice, or essentially whiskey producers that buy whiskey from other distillers. This...

Episode page with video and more What do you do when you are chosen as Jim Murray’s US Micro Whiskey of the Year? You pop in to join Mark and Jamie on Lean Whiskey to talk about it. At least that’s what our friend David Meier of Glenns Creek Distilling did in Episode 38. While we were able to drink, and celebrate, the success of OCD #5, we also explored David’s continued learning, problem solving, and improvement of whiskey production. We also learned that he was featured on an episode of...

Mark Graban & Jamie Flinchbaugh Alternative title: “I’ll have a half-caff no-whip soy-milk chestnut praline latte… to-go” Episode page with video and links In Episode 37, we wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays with some new (to us) holiday cocktails. Mark tries the Bourbon Flip, and Jamie makes a Hot Buttered Bourbon. Neither will likely be in our regular rotation of cocktails, but they suit the “spirit” of the holiday season and might be a nice treat to make for...

In Episode 36, Jamie Flinchbaugh is joined by Chris Kauzmann, an Adjunct Faculty and Innovator in Residence at Lehigh University. Chris, a self-described “bottom shelf” whiskey drinker, joins Jamie to sample some Nikka Coffee Malt Whiskey and Blue Run High Rye Bourbon.  We explore design thinking, which is both distinct from lean but also inherently consistent. The terminology is often quite different, but the essence of the work is very similar. Removing our biases and gaining insight...

In Episode 35, Mark is recently back from his Scotland gemba visit. He isn't tired from jet lag, or from whiskey, but nevertheless, Mark and Jamie both end up complaining about being tired. Maybe we're just…old (gasp). We also didn't plan our color coordination (for those on video). Episode page with video and more  We focus this episode on going to the gemba in the making of scotch whisky, from Mark's recent trip. We talk about what is learned by going to the gemba, both in general and...

Episode page: https://leanblog.org/whiskey34 In Episode 34, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh begin by belatedly celebrating the 3rd birthday of Lean Whiskey. No, this wasn’t a pandemic-launched podcast, although if we hadn’t started it yet it probably would have become one. We also learn of Mark’s pending trip to Islay, where an awful lot of good whisky is produced. Apparently, Jamie wasn’t invited to record an “on location” episode.  Most of the episode we explore the challenges,...

Episode page: https://leanblog.org/whiskey33 In Episode 33, we recognize some of the back to normal which includes Mark heading out on the road to do consulting again. That brings Mark close enough to Jamie for a new first: an in-person recording of Lean Whiskey. Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh meet up in Philadelphia to drink some Garrison Brothers special barrel selection from Mark as well talk about Lean 101 training.  In many ways, this is an origin story for Lean Whiskey. Mark and...

Episode page: https://www.leanblog.org/whiskey32 In Episode 32 of “Lean Whiskey,” Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh have a first… comparing two similar whiskeys from the same distiller. In this case, family-owned Willett and their Willett Pot Still Reserve bourbon and the Johnny Drum bourbon. We definitely both have our favorite of the two, but you'll have to listen to find out which. We also spend a little time exploring the history of this old brand, their departure, and their recent...

Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/whiskey31 In Episode 31 of “Lean Whiskey,” Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh discuss the routines and practices of wrapping up a year, and kicking off a new year. In that spirit, we either finish a bottle of whiskey, or start a new one. We also invite three guests to share their thoughts. Past Lean Whiskey guests Jim Benson, Deondra Wardelle, and Chris Burnham join and share their thoughts on finishing up a year and starting a new one. Routines,...

Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/whiskey30 In Episode 30 of “Lean Whiskey“, Mark Graban and Jamie Flinchbaugh find things to celebrate, starting with the fact that we have hit 30 episodes. In that time, we've had 14 guests or co-hosts, and tasted 56 different whiskeys (not counting the gin and coffee detours) covering 5 countries and 7 states. We've also had over 10,000 downloads which is a celebration of its own right, and while we do not record this show just to get lots of...

Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/whiskey29 In Episode 29, it's been a little while since Mark and Jamie got together for Lean Whiskey. We catch up on what's new, which includes Mark's new certification with distinction with the WSET Level 2 Spirits certification, and Jamie's new side-hustle as a soccer referee. We return to making cocktails, this time building on our coffee theme from the pour-over edition of Episode 27. We both make coffee cocktails. Jamie's is a whiskey espresso...

Show notes: https://www.leanblog.org/whiskey28 In Episode 28, Mark and Jamie begin by having our spouses pour mystery whiskeys for us. We don’t know what they are when we start drinking them. Mark’s wife at least joins him occasionally in a dram, but Jamie’s wife is truly pouring without experience, but he’s safe since it is from his own shelf. Mark and Jamie give their best guess, so listen and see if they get it right (or at least partially correct).  Jamie and Mark then build on Mark’s...

https://www.leanblog.org/whiskey27 In Episode 27, Mark and Jamie switch things up a bit with a morning recording of the show. While we could have just started our whiskey early, instead we decided to switch to a beverage that shares much of the same culture, craft, and appreciation as whiskey, and that is coffee. Although a bit of throwback in terms of usages, the trend towards pour over coffee embraces the culture of single origin coffee, much like the shift from whiskey blends towards more...

Show notes and links: https://www.leanblog.org/whiskey26 In Episode 26, we accidentally celebrate St. Patrick's Day with some Irish whiskey, lightly mourn some NCAA March Madness losses (or absences, and Jamie Flinchbaugh and Mark Graban welcome guest co-host Adam Zak. We selected Irish whiskey as a category because we hadn't used it yet, but after changing the date of the scheduled recording, we ended up quite close to St. Patrick's Day (which was officially a dry holiday until 1970, but...

In Episode 25, Jamie Flinchbaugh and Mark Graban welcome a guest to our show, with Jim Benson joining us. Jim has been a long-time collaborator of Mark's, and certainly enjoys a dram or two of whiskey. We begin by getting the backstory on Jim's Twitter handle @OurFounder, complete with artwork.  Show notes: https://www.leanwhiskey.com/whiskey25 Since it's still winter, and Jamie continues to spend more time driving his snowblower than his car, we thought “something peaty” felt fitting. We all...

Mark Graban & Jamie Flinchbaughhttps://www.leanblog.org/whiskey24In Episode 24, Mark and Jamie return to a familiar format, just the two of them chatting over some whiskey. In this episode, they decide to make homemade whiskey cream (more popularly known as Irish cream or just Bailey's). Mark's recipe is keto-friendly and Jamie's utilizes rye whiskey. Check out the links below for their recipes and a history of the creation of Bailey's Irish Cream. After celebrating Jamie's completion of...