Nick Maas of Dancing Goat Distillery joins the show to talk about Stillman's Sonder, the new 10-Year Bourbon and 10-Year American Single Malt honoring three generations of his family's work in whiskey — from his grandfather Duane Maas's behind-the-scenes production work at brands like Seagram's, to his father Tom's small-batch bourbon brand-building career, to Nick's own path running Dancing Goat today.

The conversation starts with the word "sonder" itself — a term coined by John Koenig in The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows — and how a concept about recognizing the full inner life of strangers became the guiding philosophy behind an entire whiskey brand. From there, Nick and John dig into the actual craft: how Andean oak (Quercus humboldtii) behaves differently than American white oak, why double-oaking was used to correct for a thin, fruit-forward base spirit, the mechanics of continuous still runs and where the "medicinal cherry" note in some MGP whiskey comes from, and how the American Single Malt was built through three rounds of blending across virgin oak, ex-bourbon, Wisconsin brandy, Cognac, and Calvados casks.

They close on the Frank Lloyd Wright–inspired label art, a tribute to a late Dancing Goat team member woven into the packaging, and where to actually find a bottle.

Spirits & distilleries mentioned: Stillman's Sonder Bourbon & American Single Malt, Dancing Goat Distillery, Death's Door Gin, Beren's Old Fashioned Brandy, MGP (Lawrenceburg, IN), RumChata

Links:stillmanssonder.com · dancinggoat.com · Buy: seelbachs.com, sharedpour.com

Pinkies down, headphones on.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.embellishpod.com