CRAFTED

Who decides which wines make it to wine shop shelves and restaurant lists? For decades, importers like Ronnie Sanders have quietly helped shape the way we drink wine. As the founder of Vine Street Imports, Ronnie has spent the last two decades building a reputation for finding overlooked winemakers long before the rest of the industry. In this episode, Ronnie and Eli dig into emerging wine trends, his take on ‘the death of wine’, and explore what actually makes a bottle worth drinking.We Want to Hear from You!Have a topic, craft category, or craft company you’d like to see us cover? Email us at: info@blisterreview.com to share those or any other thoughts you have about CRAFTED.RELATED LINKS:Vine Street ImportsBlister Craft CollectiveBecome a BLISTER+ MemberTOPICS & TIMES:Ronnie’s Australian Connection (3:37)Getting Into Wine (6:11)Bordeaux and Ronnie’s Father (17:34)Sourcing Australian Wine (22:20)The Jakarta Story (30:44)What's Hot In Wine (45:00)Australian Pinot Noir And Chardonnay (48:49)What is Value? (49:59)Emerging Wine Trends (58:49)SEE OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicBikes & Big IdeasGEAR:30Blister PodcastENTER OUR WEEKLY GIVEAWAYS:Enter Our Free Weekly Giveaways Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For years, the “Mr. Potato Head” theory of drinks was accepted by bartenders to create new cocktails and memorize recipes. But until the release of Cocktail Theory, by Dr. Kevin Petersen, no one had taken the time to prove it, and now, Cocktail Theory is reshaping how bartenders are designing drinks. Today, Eli talks with Kevin about his diverse background and how it informs cocktail creation; the Mr. Potato Head theory of cocktails; the core concepts of the book; and much more.We Want to Hear from You!Have a topic, craft category, or craft company you’d like to see us cover? Email us here to share those or any other thoughts you have about CRAFTED.TOPICS & TIMES:Kevin’s Background in Food (3:39)Kevin’s Introduction to Cocktails (9:48)Pairing Food, Scents, & Cocktails (11:40)Opening a Bar vs. a Restaurant (17:33)Cocktail Families (26:06)Pitch for Cocktail Theory (29:43)Alternate Theories for Cocktail Creation (32:02)The Engineer’s Perspective (34:05)Scent & Taste Cohesion (44:03)Turning Theory Into Practice (50:10)A Sensory Approach to Drinks (54:52)SEE OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicBikes & Big IdeasGEAR:30Blister PodcastBLISTER NEWSLETTER:Get It & Our Weekly Gear Giveaways Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While the overall category of craft beer is currently experiencing a decline, the Burlington, Vermont craft beer maker, Zero Gravity Beer, is thriving. How? To find out, Eli talked with Zero Gravity’s Christopher Costello about the keys to Zero Gravity Beers’ success; what has evolved and what’s stayed the same for them over these 20 years; the current state of New England brewing; and more.We Want to Hear from You!Have a topic, craft category, or craft company you’d like to see us cover? Email us here to share those or any other thoughts you have about CRAFTED.RELATED LINKS:Blister Craft CollectiveBecome a BLISTER+ MemberZero Gravity BeerZero Gravity CommunityTOPICS & TIMES:Zero Gravity Background (1:50)Farm House Model (11:52)Production Facility (14:22)Adapting to High Growth (19:26)State of the Union: East Coast Beer (25:04)Terroir & Beer (30:34)3rd Place Space & Community (34:44)The Hummingbird Logo & ‘Listers’ (38:33)Caribbean Beer Dinner (41:06)The N/A Category (44:12)SEE OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicBikes & Big IdeasGEAR:30Blister PodcastBLISTER NEWSLETTER:Get It & Our Weekly Gear Giveaways Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jonathan talks with Blister managing editor Luke Koppa, reviewer Paul Forward, and our bike editor, David Golay, about the craft categories that most captivated them this past year, and some of the categories they are most curious about heading into 2026.We Want to Hear from You!Have a topic, craft category, or craft company you’d like to see us cover? Email us here to share those or any other thoughts you have about CRAFTED.RELATED LINKS:Blister Craft CollectiveBecome a BLISTER+ MemberHeaven 11BLISTER NEWSLETTER:Get It & Our Weekly Gear GiveawaysTOPICS & TIMES:Luke Koppa (3:40)Paul Forward (18:45)David Golay (45:17)SEE OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicBikes & Big IdeasGEAR:30Blister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Distillation has been a common topic here on Crafted as of late, and we have had the pleasure of speaking with some of the most important names in the American spirits industry. Yet, commercial distillation inevitably limits creativity and innovation.That is not the case for this week’s guest, Jesse Wilson, the founder of a pair of companies focused on home distillation, Still It and Chase the Craft. What began as a video series based around a man learning to distill has grown into an exploration of all things spirits innovation - Jesse has now distilled everything from Big Macs to 300 year old absinthe recipes. In this conversation we dive into the history of both companies, the science of distillation, the magic of aging, and the unique insights Jesse has gained from his exploration of supremely small batch spirits production. We Want to Hear from You!Have a topic, craft category, or craft company you’d like to see us cover? Email us here to share those or any other thoughts you have about CRAFTED.RELATED LINKS:Blister Craft CollectiveBecome a BLISTER+ MemberChase the CraftStill It18th-Century AbsintheDistilling Big MacsPotato VodkaBLISTER NEWSLETTER:Get It & Our Weekly Gear GiveawaysTOPICS & TIMES:How Eli Discovered ‘Still It’ (3:58)Distillation Adventures & YouTube (7:15)Jesse’s First Still (21:03)Chase The Craft (27:41)Absinthe (34:04)Head, Hearts, & Tails (51:10)Charring Barrels (1:04:48)Big Mac Distillation & Meme Spirits (1:09:23)Who Should Try Home Distilling (1:16:30)The Future of Home Distilling (1:21:29)SEE OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicBikes & Big IdeasGEAR:30Blister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amanda Thomson loved enjoying a glass of wine to wind down the evening, but she also needed to be high-functioning first thing in the morning. That craving led to the 2019 release of Noughty Non-Alcoholic Sparkling Chardonnay, Thomson’s award-winning attempt to fill a massive gap in the industry. Eli sat down with Amanda to discuss what makes Noughty “wine, just better”; the differences between the American and European markets; and some of the most challenging aspects of creating a product line that has come to define quality N/A wine. We Want to Hear from You!Have a topic, craft category, or craft company you’d like to see us cover? Email us here to share those or any other thoughts you have about CRAFTED.RELATED LINKS:SennzaFinneBlister Craft CollectiveBecome a BLISTER+ MemberNoughty WineBLISTER NEWSLETTER:Get It & Our Weekly Gear GiveawaysTOPICS & TIMES:A Brief History of Noughty Wine (3:54)Champagne (11:12)The difference Between European & American Drinking Culture(14:52)Defining NA Wine (20:35)Reds (25:03)Challenges Making Sparkling White (34:57)NA State of the Union (35:46)Being the OG Brand Everyone is Chasing (42:13)New Products (47:00)Hard Work Pays Off (50:33)SEE OUR OTHER PODCASTS:Blister CinematicBikes & Big IdeasGEAR:30Blister Podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.