# Ep 49 - Matt Sinagoga

An episode of [Shit My Dad Taught Me](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1794241148), 13 May 2026, 55 min.

Audio: https://anchor.fm/s/10ad395cc/podcast/play/119942933/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-4-13%2F424091884-44100-2-e5a3195ec4b8e.mp3

In this special episode of Shit My Dad Taught Me, we’re joined by mixologist and entrepreneur Matt Sinagoga for a conversation about cocktails, fatherhood, business, and the unexpected lessons life throws at you. Matt opens up about becoming a first-time dad just weeks before the recording, the emotional shift that comes with fatherhood, and how it changed the way he understands his own dad. He also shares how he built a successful mixology business during Covid—going from virtual cocktail classes in his basement to consulting for restaurants, creating content for major brands, and hosting cocktail experiences across the city. The episode also features live cocktail making with Grant's, including a Grant’s & Cola and Matt’s “Triple Wood Special.” A fun, honest, and surprisingly heartfelt episode about becoming the kind of man—and dad—you want your kids to remember. Contest Details: We’re teaming up with Grant’s Whisky for a Father’s Day contest all about legacy, fatherhood, and the lessons that stay with us for life. Contest Runs from NOW until Father's Day of 2026, and one lucky winner will take home a Blackstone Grill and a cocktail set Here’s how you guys can enter! Record a video sharing your dad’s legacy… the lessons he taught you, the impact he had on your life, or the values he passed down. Or, talk about the legacy you hope to leave behind for your own kids one day. • Post your video exclusively on Instagram, • Follow both Sh*t My Dad Taught Me and Grant’s • Use the hashtags #smdtmxgrants and #weregoodweregrants. *this contest is for Canada, Ontario residents/citizens only* Special Thanks To Our Incredible Sponsors: This Episode’s Dad Jokes sponsor: Spicer Landscaping & Snow Removal Services This Epsiode is sponsored by: Grants Triple Wood

## Transcript

[0:03] Let's go. What do we say in here to kick
[0:05] this one off? This isn't our usual format.
[0:08] Shit my dad taught me. Shit, my dad taught me.
[0:09] We're gonna have a little fun today.
[0:11] James, the alcohol version. This is a segment we call day
[0:13] drinking at work. And we're very excited for work.
[0:19] Yeah, I want to welcome a special guest today.
[0:21] We have a mixologist in the house today.
[0:24] It's Matt Synagogue. Thank you guys for having me.
[0:27] It's we're going to turn up on a Wednesday.
[0:29] We're yeah, turned on a Wednesday.
[0:31] It's Wednesday at 1:00, so we might as well.
[0:34] So. Thank you, Grants.
[0:35] Let's start with a quick cheers to Grants for bringing us all
[0:37] together here. Here's the grants.
[0:38] Cheers. The Grants.
[0:39] Whiskey. Cheers, place.
[0:43] So, Jamie, I have a fun fact that you don't know.
[0:47] Feel like I walked into a hornet's nest here.
[0:50] Matt is a first time dad to a three-week old child.
[0:56] Wow. Oh yeah, you're allowed to come.
[0:58] Dangerous. Allowed.
[0:59] To come dangerous 100%. Shout out to Wifey.
[1:01] What did you tell your wifey you were doing today?
[1:04] Very strategic business partnership, yeah.
[1:06] Yeah, that's. Love that.
[1:08] Got to keep the bacon rolling in which?
[1:10] Required some some time and dedication.
[1:12] What's give us a little story dude.
[1:14] How's it feel to be a dad to a three-week old?
[1:16] It has been an absolute roller coaster even for when the child
[1:20] was born, like going back and forth to the hospital.
[1:22] They sent us home, we came back and like 6:00 AM on April 5th,
[1:28] it was an Easter baby. So all the Easter plans are
[1:30] completely canned. And it's a, it's been amazing.
[1:33] Like it's hard to describe to people that aren't dads.
[1:36] Like just like that instant bond connection, because there was AC
[1:39] section, I got the first skin to skin and it's just, it's hard to
[1:42] describe like your brain rewiring, you know, just like
[1:46] I'm instantly ready to fight for this thing to put my life on the
[1:49] line. You know, it's hard to describe
[1:50] those emotions. You thought you knew what love
[1:52] was until you knew. What love was until you're
[1:54] holding like this absolute precious baby.
[1:57] And like, I remember calling my dad.
[1:59] I'm like, I think I get it now, you know, And I've never felt
[2:02] closer to my dad until I became a dad.
[2:05] It's funny how cliche that works, but it's it's been really
[2:07] a blessing. Watch as you go, too.
[2:10] The more you go through it and the more life hits you, you'll
[2:12] be like, OK, my dad. Yeah, OK, maybe he was right.
[2:16] And it'll be like, oh, yeah, he told me about that.
[2:19] Like you're going to have some wonderful moments of reflection
[2:22] on that stuff. And what was you told me you had
[2:24] a son, right? What's your boy's name?
[2:26] His name is Augustino. Augustino.
[2:27] Yeah. 2 Italian families. We were going back and forth,
[2:30] but it was strategic of keeping the gender unknown.
[2:34] You know, it's like with Italian grandparents.
[2:36] No, no, no, no. You got to name it after your
[2:38] grandfather, you know? So that's why I'm like, OK, both
[2:41] sides, let's keep it a mystery. And then they'll know the name
[2:44] when they need to know the name, right?
[2:46] Yeah. There you go, and here you are.
[2:48] So I want to talk about what you do for work, man.
[2:51] Tell us a little bit about being a mixologist and tell me about
[2:54] your company. Perfect.
[2:55] So I started during COVID. All the bars closed.
[2:58] I brought the bar home, fell in love with the art of making
[3:00] drinks and it's been an absolute snowball.
[3:03] You know when all the bars shut down, I was itching for a good
[3:06] whiskey sour. Proceeded to make the worst
[3:09] whiskey sour ever had. I'm like you know what I got to
[3:11] get better at this. So bought my first shaker and
[3:14] bought some books, did the master class and then I said to
[3:17] myself how can I monetize this? And so I started doing virtual
[3:21] classes through an ad on LinkedIn.
[3:23] Got way more hits than I ever thought I would.
[3:26] A lot of Alcoholics during that time. 100%.
[3:28] Keep the team. Yeah, keep the team connected.
[3:31] That was the whole proposal, you know, with people, all these
[3:34] virtual events and then next thing you know people said, hey,
[3:36] can you do a in person party? How about my birthday?
[3:40] How about an engagement party? Could you do weddings?
[3:43] And then slowly as 2021 progressed, I was getting a lot
[3:47] of bookings on the weekends. And then it wasn't until the
[3:50] spring of 2022 I got formally trained at the Toronto Bar
[3:53] Institute, and by that point I was having like 3-4 events every
[3:57] weekend. In the summer I started hiring
[3:59] other bartenders. Now what?
[4:01] 2026, I'm making content for big alcohol brands.
[4:05] I've got a team across the city, content creation and making
[4:09] products are on the way. I don't want to spoil the
[4:11] surprise just yet, but it's been an absolute crazy journey from
[4:15] what started off making drinks in my basement, getting my
[4:17] family hammered during Thanksgiving, during COVID, to
[4:20] now making cocktails that are being on big menus for
[4:24] restaurants, consulting on many different menus across the city.
[4:27] So it's been a huge journey. That's super cool man, That's
[4:30] amazing. Yeah, and it's like even going
[4:34] to be here sponsored by Grants. So I feel like we gotta do
[4:37] another sip. I wanna walk you guys through a
[4:39] bit of a a whiskey tasting idea. OK, so I think you might need a
[4:43] little top. Up over there, it's it's very
[4:45] dry in here. I think some of that might have
[4:47] evaporated a little. Bit and it's these coasters I
[4:49] think it. Yeah, do do do they sponge it up
[4:51] a little bit? Yeah, percent.
[4:53] OK, that makes sense. So.
[4:53] When we are tasting whiskey or tasting any spirits, there's a
[4:56] few different things you got to do.
[4:58] Normally you wouldn't serve it on a king cube, you'd have it
[5:01] straight. But I feel like the king cube is
[5:03] going to add like a nice chilled effect.
[5:04] So first thing you just want to grab the glass.
[5:06] We're going to we're going to give it a couple noses.
[5:10] What do you guys smell? Give it a few times.
[5:14] OK, so I'm I'm sitting beside Jamie so I smell CK one with a
[5:19] little bit of wait. Is that?
[5:20] Is. That Axe body spray I got there
[5:22] too, yeah. So it's Jean Paul Gautier, It's
[5:27] the green bottle. It's something from Sears,
[5:29] there's no doubt about that. I'm.
[5:30] Going to do one more thing before I tell you what you
[5:32] should smell. It's going to sound weird, but
[5:35] smell with your mouth open. I know it's going to sound
[5:37] strange. I kind of imagine you're smiling
[5:40] a lot of your taste receptors on your tongue so your aroma might
[5:44] change. You should be getting some like
[5:46] ripe pear, some are fruits, apricot, Peach, perhaps some
[5:50] stone fruits. And of course, a little subtle
[5:52] on the smoke at the end. So when we're tasting now
[5:57] there's you have to sip it twice.
[5:59] They always say your first sip kind of count that as like a
[6:02] write off because you have to get your pallet adjusted to the
[6:04] alcohol. And your second sip is where
[6:06] you're going to start writing things down.
[6:07] So let's give our first sip here.
[6:14] Life. Life is good.
[6:15] You kind of got to make out with it a little bit.
[6:16] You got to make out, you got to chew it a little bit.
[6:18] How to squish it around. Give that a second.
[6:20] We're going to nose it one last time, see if we smell anything
[6:24] different, and then we're going to sip it one more time.
[6:32] So the one thing that's unique about Grant's whiskey is that
[6:34] it's a triple wood whiskey, so it's been aged in three
[6:38] different barrels. You have virgin oak, you have
[6:40] American oak, and then you have bourbon refill casks.
[6:42] So you're getting three different barrels, which each
[6:45] leaving their own unique imprint.
[6:47] Some of the tasting notes, we should get some vanilla spice
[6:49] from those barrels as well as some floralness on a long
[6:52] finish. And of course, a lot of Scotch
[6:55] whiskey has that signature PD flavour and that's what kind of
[6:58] makes Grants has that signature blended Scotch whiskey.
[7:02] A couple of fun facts to you about Grants.
[7:04] It's available in over 100 countries and it's ranked the
[7:08] third in the category for blended Scotch whiskies.
[7:11] More than just a sipping whiskey using a ton of different
[7:14] cocktails, very versatile. So whether you're doing a summer
[7:18] BBQ, you want to have a nice whiskey cocktail with a cigar
[7:21] after dinner. It's one of the most versatile
[7:23] Scotch whiskey behind the bar, and that's a great segue to some
[7:27] of the cocktails I'll show you a little bit later in the show.
[7:30] What did you guys taste? I I definitely tasted the the
[7:34] stone fruits for sure. Yeah, like the apricots, the
[7:36] Peaches. Yeah, YouTube.
[7:38] Caramel. Yeah.
[7:39] Sweet, Sweet. Delicious.
[7:41] Yeah, yeah. It's nice though.
[7:42] I was, yeah, Yeah. That's one thing I love about
[7:46] Scotch whiskey. There's always an occasion
[7:48] whether you want to sip it neat, sip it on a cube, make a
[7:51] cocktail. It's always the the perfect
[7:53] setting. I just find that like the big
[7:55] cube, it just, it always opens it up a little bit.
[7:57] You know what I mean? Like it, It chills it a bit, but
[7:58] it opens it up and gives it a little bit more of that for you
[8:01] for. Sure.
[8:01] We went to one of these tastings and he talked a little bit about
[8:05] adding just a drop of water. Have you heard about that or
[8:08] what is 90? Percent.
[8:09] So a lot of these tasting guys will come with droppers of
[8:12] distilled water and the whole idea is kind of what you
[8:14] mentioned opening it up. So by diluting it we are going
[8:18] to experience more of the flavour profiles.
[8:20] So one of these whiskey consultants or reviewers,
[8:23] they'll dilute the whiskey down almost to 1520%.
[8:27] And as they open it up, they're going to taste all these amazing
[8:30] things. So if you ever read a tasting
[8:32] note and you're like, how are they getting chewing tobacco,
[8:34] Leather. Some very interesting
[8:37] adjectives, yeah. Craziest one I've ever heard was
[8:40] garden hose. Somebody's like if you smell it
[8:43] on the nose there's a slight rubbery garden hose.
[8:46] I'm like, what kind of place are we?
[8:49] Making still talking about drinking.
[8:52] Right. Are we at Home Depot?
[8:53] Where are we right now? So yeah, the whole deal, whether
[8:56] you're sipping whiskey, gins, cognacs, tequilas, by opening it
[9:01] up you're going to experience more of the flavour profile.
[9:04] So that's especially when you're tasting something that's over
[9:06] proof, even whether it's a bourbon or rye whiskey coming in
[9:09] at 5055%. The whole idea is whether you
[9:12] put it in a king cube or you drop it down with the droppers,
[9:15] you're going to taste more of that experience.
[9:18] Interesting. Yeah, so I want to talk about
[9:21] experience behind the bar and experience at some of these
[9:24] events. You see a guy like Jamie walk up
[9:27] to the bar. What's he ordering and how many
[9:30] do you think he's already had? So my first.
[9:33] Name What time is this at? Yeah.
[9:35] Anytime, yeah, the the cut off sleeves, you know what my
[9:38] initial reaction is? Did the client tell me to watch
[9:40] out for this individual number #2 I don't know, I tried.
[9:44] Question. He wasn't even invited.
[9:45] He wasn't invited. Is he?
[9:47] Backing. My first reaction is cold beer.
[9:51] I don't know that would just with the hat with the eagle on
[9:53] it. I'm thinking cold beer or
[9:56] straight whiskey is kind of where my head goes.
[9:58] I don't know if I. I'm not a straight beer.
[10:01] I, I can't stand beer, OK, but definitely, definitely whiskey.
[10:04] I'm, I'm a big bourbon guy. I, I love whiskey.
[10:06] Yeah, I'm dipping into some scotches, but I'm a big bourbon
[10:09] guy. The answer was Shirley Temple,
[10:11] Shirley. Temple.
[10:13] Just so you know, 9 1/2 times out of 10, he's like, do you
[10:15] guys have everything to make a Shirley Temple back there?
[10:18] Breakfast. Maybe a Caesar He.
[10:20] Loves a soccer for the. Little umbrella.
[10:22] He gets them every time. Yeah.
[10:23] But I mean, being behind the bar, like especially the whole
[10:25] smart serve guidelines, like being have a duty of care.
[10:29] And so it's one thing like private events is such a Gray
[10:32] area sometimes compared to if you're working at a bar or a
[10:35] licensed venue. How do you cut off the host
[10:38] who's paying you and whose alcohol it is, you know?
[10:42] In their own house. Oh yeah, I've definitely got a
[10:44] few stories where there's this. This guy was his 30th birthday.
[10:48] Let's use full names. Go ahead.
[10:49] Full names? Yeah, let's just call.
[10:50] Him you can remember an address. Yeah, let's just let's call him
[10:53] Bobby for this story. And it was his 30th birthday and
[10:58] he had one mission and 1 mission only.
[10:59] I don't think to remember his birthday.
[11:01] And so I recently this was also a lesson learned for me.
[11:04] I did 2 events in one day. I don't recommend double booking
[11:07] yourself doing a kids party at noon and then a 30th birthday at
[11:11] 7:30. Hold up.
[11:12] You do kids. Yeah.
[11:13] What? Yeah, I swear to God they they
[11:16] wanted fancy mocktails for kid children.
[11:19] This was an Oakville mom's. Yeah, that is guaranteed.
[11:23] Oakville. That's Oakville.
[11:24] Yeah, Shirley Temples, as you mentioned, drinks like that.
[11:26] So I'm like, OK, perfect. They they tipped large.
[11:29] It was a great event. They fed me like perfect.
[11:31] And then I went to very opposite kind of experience with a 30
[11:35] year old birthday who didn't want to remember the night.
[11:37] And, you know, it's like 730. We're an hour in and Bobby's had
[11:43] two cocktails, four or five shots.
[11:45] And it's like, hey man, like there's a cake.
[11:47] You had to get to the cake at 11:30.
[11:48] Got to slow it down, have some food, have a samosa, you know,
[11:52] like, chill, you know? And he's like, hey, man, like I
[11:55] want my tequila, whatever. I want my tequila.
[11:58] Like, don't fucking hold me back.
[12:00] And I'm just like, OK, Bobby, here's your tequila.
[12:03] Let's make a bet. I'll bet you whatever's in my
[12:05] tip jar, you won't make it past 9:30 at this rate.
[12:08] He's like, I'll prove you wrong. No problem.
[12:11] His girlfriend comes up to me. It's 10:30.
[12:13] Oh, my God, Where's Bobby? Like, I saw Bobby.
[12:16] I think he's still in the washroom.
[12:17] And yeah, Buddy was throwing up. He had to hold him up to blow
[12:21] out the candles. And that's that's where I'm like
[12:24] in those scenarios, like, how do you, like, cut off the host?
[12:27] You know, usually the host always has that, like, OK, I
[12:29] can't get too messed up. It's my own party.
[12:32] But when there are those scenarios where the guy lives in
[12:35] the building, you know, I can't exactly kick him out of his own
[12:38] party or. And he's not driving.
[12:40] He's not driving, right? And so at that point, so with
[12:43] mobile bartending, you always find yourself in a sometimes few
[12:46] sticky scenarios or there's always whether it's a crazy
[12:49] uncle or it's the host or just some wild scenarios like how do
[12:53] you kind of draw the line of professionalism, but also duty
[12:56] of care for your guests? If someone wants to get
[12:59] blackout, all the power to them. And that's where it's like even
[13:02] when I train my staff, like do the best you can.
[13:05] If you're in an uncomfortable scenario, you can always call me
[13:08] or you can always talk to whoever booked you.
[13:10] Usually, sometimes event planners are there and just kind
[13:13] of sometimes double water on the rocks is always a great way to
[13:15] help deter or smart serve always says sometimes like it might
[13:20] sound like bad service, but sometimes even like ignoring the
[13:23] order. OK, yeah, sure.
[13:24] You want another old fashioned, Just give me one moment.
[13:25] And then sometimes they might walk away, they might come back,
[13:29] or sometimes they just fully pass a bottle of water.
[13:32] Somebody like just have a few have a little bit of this first.
[13:36] So ordering vodka sodas, you just keep giving them sodas?
[13:39] Yeah, because they're at that point, they have no clue anyway.
[13:41] Vodka soda is the easiest one. Yeah, double soda on the rocks,
[13:44] easy. But it's like a stronger drink,
[13:46] like a martini or an Old Fashioned.
[13:47] You can't really hide too much. And those one is pure booze.
[13:51] And so, yeah, I definitely found myself some interesting
[13:53] scenarios behind the bar. Most of the time it's easy, but
[13:56] when it's the host it's like OK, let me have an honest chat.
[14:00] About when? We've all had some interesting
[14:02] scenarios behind the bars, right?
[14:03] Different. Ones right.
[14:04] Yeah, Jamie didn't work there. Yeah, it's OK.
[14:09] We cleaned it. Up and then we cleaned it up.
[14:12] So behind the bar, man, Why don't you take us behind the
[14:14] bar? What you got here?
[14:15] Perfect. So we have two signature.
[14:17] Professional Segway, right? Look at that Segway.
[14:20] We've got 2 cocktails for you for you guys today we're going
[14:23] to start on the more light and refreshing.
[14:26] So we're going to be doing Gran and cola.
[14:28] So Gran and cola. I purposely didn't say Coke
[14:31] because you know what? I want to shout out my other
[14:34] friends here reading some Fever Tricola.
[14:36] This is a great product. Coke and Pepsi have their own
[14:40] flavor profile, but I find some of these more craft sodas have
[14:43] such a unique flavor, a little bit more spice in this one.
[14:47] So it's going to add a really nice taste.
[14:49] Gentlemen, singles or double S. How many are we?
[14:53] How many are we doing here today?
[14:54] We've got one more after this. Yeah, so let's do a double then
[14:57] we'll yeah, we'll really taste it 100.
[14:59] Percent and so the grand in cola is supposed to be the signature
[15:03] serve here. Super simple to make very easy.
[15:08] Choose your favorite cola you want to use diet that's up to
[15:10] you. I'm not the biggest fan of diet
[15:12] colas. I don't love an aspartame flavor
[15:15] in mind personally, but you do you.
[15:17] Sugar Sugar free Cherry Pepsi. I mean, that'd make a pretty
[15:22] interesting one. Bro.
[15:25] So another little bartender secret.
[15:27] Whenever we're making some of the highballs, vodka, sodas, gin
[15:29] and tonics, rum and cokes, Gran and colas, a little bit of fresh
[15:33] lime is my secret because a lot of these products have a lot of
[15:36] sugar. The freshly squeezed lime juice
[15:39] is really going to make the difference.
[15:41] And I say freshly squeezed for a reason.
[15:43] I'm not talking about the green bottle at the grocery store.
[15:46] I work with the local juice company.
[15:48] They gave me some freshly squeezed ingredients and it
[15:50] really makes the difference. So half an ounce of fresh lime
[15:54] is really going to brighten the cocktail up and make it more
[15:58] citrusy, balance out the whole thing.
[16:00] And you get your vitamin C. 100%.
[16:03] We're all about healthier. Another thing we might notice.
[16:08] As I'm explaining some of the cocktails, I didn't add any ice
[16:11] in yet. So as bartenders are always
[16:13] trying to fight dilution and only want to stir it down to the
[16:16] appropriate amount. So for example, if I was making
[16:18] an old Fashioned, you add in all your ingredients 1st and then
[16:22] you add ice and stir at the end. Because we're going to be adding
[16:24] in the soda here. If I had it in all the ice and
[16:27] do it, all this talking, it's going to start watering down
[16:29] very quickly because we have a highball glass, we don't have
[16:33] those very big king cubes or the Spears.
[16:35] So that's why the ice has a little bit smaller.
[16:38] It's going to melt really quickly.
[16:39] So you always want to prepare your ingredients and then add in
[16:42] the ice towards the end. That is your bartender's trick
[16:46] behind the bar. Have we had ice over there this
[16:51] whole time? Yeah, it's incredible.
[16:56] The shit my dad taught me. I thought I was already a
[16:59] professional drinker, but apparently not yet.
[17:03] So you guys, Coke or Pepsi if you have to pick one.
[17:06] So I'm weird. I would rather Diet Coke over
[17:09] Diet Pepsi, but I'd rather Pepsi over Coke.
[17:12] OK, And I wasn't joking about the sugar free cherry Pepsi.
[17:15] I I also do that. I'll mix that with a with with a
[17:19] Canadian whiskey or a or a Scotch whiskey, OK.
[17:22] Yeah, Pepsi products in the Carter household.
[17:26] OK, Yeah. But I love fever tree even for
[17:29] like the the gin and tonics like their new sugar free.
[17:31] Oh the tonic is dope. Yeah, their sugar free tonic
[17:34] that they make is great. Yeah, I think their their stuff
[17:36] is money. I I would say I would definitely
[17:40] lean Coke over Pepsi personally. Coke 0 is better than diet.
[17:44] That's just my opinion. OK, but hey, to each their own.
[17:55] Also recommend if you guys like drinking Long Islands Fever
[17:58] Treat cola is money for that too.
[17:59] I'm going to join you on this one.
[18:03] Excellent. Another brand I would say if you
[18:06] want to try keep a Canadian 1642 out of Quebec is a great soda
[18:09] beverage. They do tonics as well.
[18:12] That's also one to look out for at like your upscale grocery
[18:16] store. Nice dehydrated lime to bring
[18:20] some of that professional angle. Of course, Grants gave us some
[18:23] of these fancy stir sticks. I'll throw one in for you.
[18:27] Beautiful. Got to make sure we're camera
[18:31] ready. OK, gentlemen, I've got my first
[18:36] Grant and cola. Thank you, Sir.
[18:41] Thanks brother. Cheers, Cheers guys.
[18:48] Cheers guys, cheers to all the dads, cheers.
[18:52] To the dads, you're so responsible drinking.
[18:58] That's very bright. Yeah, the lime juice for me adds
[19:01] a nice little acidity, keeps a little more fresh.
[19:04] So for me this is like the perfect patio and if I'm having
[19:08] a BBQ I'm outside. Super refreshing.
[19:11] Bro that's stupid good. Yeah, and the fact that you
[19:14] taste there's a double in here. I don't.
[19:16] Yeah. Wow.
[19:20] Yeah, this one goes down a little too easy.
[19:22] For example, if you didn't want the fresh lime, you totally
[19:24] don't need to add it. But I find that's a nice little
[19:27] brightness because people, whether you use like a lime
[19:29] wedge and they'll squeeze it in, feel like it's the same idea.
[19:32] I like using dehydrated fruits because over time it will
[19:36] rehydrate in the glass and release even more flavor.
[19:39] So if you sip this 20 minutes later, sure, might feel a bit
[19:43] more watery, but you'll have a much more citrus flavor as you
[19:46] go, right? That's cool.
[19:48] So that is our grant and cola beverage.
[19:51] That's excellent. That's a great summer drink.
[19:53] Delicious. Poolside.
[19:54] Yeah, you're going to have a fun summer coming up too.
[19:57] No, kiddo. Oh yeah, a little kiddo.
[19:59] We already started buying some of the outfits.
[20:01] You know, the wife he's already going through Carter's Oshkosh.
[20:05] I'm like, OK, seen the credit card bill.
[20:07] I'm like, this is going to be fun.
[20:08] Yeah. That doesn't get any better.
[20:09] No, no. Talk about your growing up.
[20:11] Where Where'd you grow up? How many brothers?
[20:13] Sisters. Yeah, so I'm the youngest of
[20:15] three. I've got an older sister and
[20:18] then an older brother. My brother's five years older,
[20:20] my sister's 10 years older. So my sister's basically a
[20:23] second mom, which is very frustrating sometimes, you know,
[20:27] but I mean, it's always nice to have that support.
[20:30] And then, yeah, my brother's about 5 years old than me.
[20:33] So he's also a dad himself. So I've got a little niece who's
[20:36] about 3 years old. So he's pretty much my dad
[20:39] hotline. They call me anytime, you know,
[20:41] you're, you're in the thick of it right now, you know, just do
[20:45] your best. And so, yeah, things been really
[20:48] been going well the last few weeks, I would say.
[20:50] Yeah, not sleeping as much. I find every time we feed the
[20:54] kid I have an espresso. I've I met like 6 espressos a
[20:57] day at this point just to try and manage keep things floating
[21:01] around the house. So yeah.
[21:03] Yeah. What's, so where are you seeing
[21:06] trends in this whole beverage industry?
[21:08] Like what what's going on now? I know I we've talked to a few
[21:11] guys that are really starting to mix the non Alcoholics and
[21:14] putting those into their rotation.
[21:16] We've had two businesses open up in downtown Burlington that are
[21:21] really specializing and we should probably give him a shout
[21:23] out. So it's like sober market.
[21:25] And the other one is so I'm going to mess it up.
[21:28] I'm so sorry, dude. It's Taylor.
[21:31] Will look it up in a second, second swing or second shot or
[21:33] something like that. Second shot, second shot.
[21:35] And those boys are like, it's incredible the amount of
[21:37] products they got that are all on the non alcoholic side and
[21:39] they're mixing drinks. Change your guys industry too,
[21:42] right? Because your guys industry has
[21:43] had to kind of like open up and kind of do different things and
[21:46] kind of get on this kind of wagon and stuff.
[21:47] Right, 100% so. They've had to make drinking
[21:50] interesting again. Yeah, and re kind of reinvent
[21:53] the wheel a little bit and the non alcoholic trend is here to
[21:56] say I'd say it's more than just a trend.
[21:58] Now when I do corporate events, I find myself making more non
[22:02] alcoholic drinks than alcoholic drinks.
[22:04] So every event that I get staffed to, I always have to
[22:07] bring non alcoholic spirits. I'm glad you shout out the sober
[22:10] market. I've been there a few times.
[22:12] They're great partners in Toronto.
[22:13] They carry some incredible stuff and it's really come a long way.
[22:17] I find a couple years ago some of the non alcoholic gins I
[22:20] tried were borderline mouthwash. Now 2026, there are some really
[22:26] incredible products out there and a lot of them are much more
[22:30] affordable than what they were. There are still some of them I
[22:33] find are almost pricing themselves out of the market.
[22:36] For example, I saw a non alcoholic whiskey go for $67.
[22:40] I'm like, OK, I can get a pretty decent whiskey for that price.
[22:45] And that's where I find myself like unless you're buying
[22:48] wholesale or unless you're finding some other alternatives,
[22:50] like I find it can be a little bit more expensive for the
[22:54] average consumer. But I'd say like even for bars
[22:57] and restaurants, like you can't have a good cocktail program
[23:00] without having a good non alcoholic list that's more than
[23:03] just a Shirley Temple or just soft drinks.
[23:07] So for example, I recently got contracted by the Hilton Falls
[23:10] you to make a full beverage program for their wildflower
[23:13] social and that was one of the requirements I had to include.
[23:18] It's also part of my consultation that we need to
[23:20] have at least four to five solid non alcoholic beverages.
[23:24] One of the partners I brought in was NOAA and away.
[23:26] They're a great non alcoholic spirit brand out of Quebec.
[23:29] You could get them at sober market and I'm sure at the other
[23:32] location that you mentioned. And so in those scenarios, like
[23:35] if you're not putting non alcoholic spirits and knock on
[23:38] nano products on your restaurant and bar menu, you're just not
[23:42] creating an inclusive environment.
[23:44] And that's something like a food critic or review comes in,
[23:47] that's something that you're going to look at.
[23:48] So non alcoholic trends here to stay.
[23:51] I think the Gen. Z is just really drinking less
[23:55] than they're saying they're the most health conscious like
[23:58] generation to date. And so healthier choices.
[24:02] But also I also heard on the flip side that it's also
[24:05] affordability issue, like a lot of people aren't drinking
[24:07] because booze is a little more expensive.
[24:10] We live in Ontario. LCBOI feel like every year is
[24:12] increasing their prices now. The minimum went from I think
[24:15] $27.00 bottles to now we're at 30.
[24:18] So every year there's increases. The tariffs didn't help with
[24:20] that. So whether it's healthier
[24:22] choices, whether it's affordability, I find just Gen.
[24:25] Z's not drinking as much. And so a lot more of our non alk
[24:29] spirits are trying to diversify. And so energy drinks have seen a
[24:33] rise surprisingly, apparently tobacco use has seen a huge
[24:36] increase, surprisingly with Gen. Z to like 80s level tobacco
[24:41] smoking compared to drinking volume.
[24:43] So very interesting trends these days.
[24:46] I'd say you hit the head on the nail, hit the nail on the head
[24:48] with the non elk stuff. Another thing I'm starting to
[24:52] see is people kind of moving away from people want more
[24:56] experiences, especially my industry.
[24:59] People want more than just a bartender to come bartender
[25:02] event, especially in the mobile game.
[25:03] So that's something where I do is my mystery bar experience.
[25:06] Whoever comes up to my bar, we make a cocktail to them on the
[25:09] fly, like kind of a full custom experience.
[25:12] That's cool. So that's my most popular
[25:14] offering for a corporate event as well as my mixology classes.
[25:18] Like I'm doing a class almost once every week, every two
[25:22] weeks. Usually in the winter time
[25:24] things are a bit slow, but even now, like I'm getting requests,
[25:26] oh, Bachelorette mixology class, corporate functions, people want
[25:29] more than just the cocktails. They want some of that
[25:32] showmanship. They want to learn as part of
[25:34] that process. So I find experiences are really
[25:38] doing well and that's why like I think Airbnb experience reached
[25:42] out they all we want to include more custom cocktail
[25:44] experiences. Throw up a listing.
[25:46] And so that's where a lot of people in my industry are now
[25:49] offering more cocktail making kits.
[25:52] So come to the class, make your own Negroti, bottle it and you
[25:55] can take it home with you, right?
[25:57] Stuff like that. So things are definitely more
[25:59] than just, hey, let's hire a bartender to now how can we make
[26:02] it way more interactive? And, and even the companies like
[26:05] like grants or other whiskey companies or you know, vodka
[26:08] companies, they used to really have the big push that they
[26:11] wanted you to be drinking their drink.
[26:12] And it was like, it was straight like you're supposed to drink it
[26:15] to enjoy it. We're now they're getting on
[26:17] board with like, hey, we need to be a part of these experienced
[26:19] drinks and stuff like that, right?
[26:20] It's really changed the industry for sure.
[26:22] Exactly, and I think one of the biggest things we saw this year
[26:26] was the LCBO had their first cocktail event.
[26:28] It was the Shakes, Mixers and Shakers event at Queens Harbour
[26:33] and you would think by this point they would have had a
[26:36] cocktail focused event cause every other month LCB has an
[26:40] event regarding spirits. Like there's Viva Tequila that
[26:43] happens every year, they do a W1 so they always try and focus on
[26:47] different spirits. And they finally did one about
[26:50] cocktails and like every bartender worth their salt was
[26:53] there behind a brand. I was there with another company
[26:57] and yeah, it's just always nice to see that the focus is now
[27:00] more on cocktails. RTDS are having a huge moment.
[27:04] They have been the last couple years.
[27:06] Yeah. Tea and cocktails is another
[27:07] trend I'm seeing a lot. Matcha cocktails.
[27:10] Have you guys ever had Macho before?
[27:12] Yeah. So matcha and like.
[27:15] Yeah, Macho man Big. Matcha drinker over there.
[27:18] Yeah. So yeah, tea and cocktails,
[27:21] another trend I'm seeing a lot, like a lot of Arnold Palmer's, a
[27:24] lot of golf courses doing up the your spikes Tees.
[27:26] That's definitely been something I'm noticing a lot, yeah.
[27:29] Patience is a big thing. Like I, I, I do not have the
[27:33] patience to make any of these kind of drinks at home, but like
[27:35] your house, like you love entertaining and doing that
[27:37] stuff and showed it to one of our other sponsors, like Sean
[27:40] Spicer's. Like he's, he's the host with
[27:42] the most like we go to that guy's house and he absolutely
[27:45] loves making all these different drinks and like spending the
[27:47] time and like getting them smoking and all that it.
[27:50] Was one of the best tastings was at his house.
[27:51] He had a guy out and we were tasting a bunch of that.
[27:54] That one was whiskey. Yeah, and the best part is like
[27:56] when the tasting was over, he just loves to entertain and
[27:58] like, make these right where I don't have the patience at all
[28:01] to want to get into it. But I'll drink them all night
[28:04] long. You're so.
[28:05] Good at it dude. I'm so.
[28:06] Dedicated. I'm dedicated.
[28:08] And I think the other thing too is just the choice, which is
[28:11] kind of cool now, right? Like there's no pressure if
[28:12] you're going to have a glass of like in in our circle too.
[28:16] Like we all moderate ourselves like most of the time, but we
[28:19] can have like, you know that. But I I'm just as happy having a
[28:22] non alcoholic too. Like there's some beers that are
[28:25] like Guinness 0 or even that Corona sun brew, like extremely
[28:29] good for what they are, but I sure do like a whiskey.
[28:32] I think I'm ever going to give that up.
[28:34] Non alk whiskey. I've tried it, it's not the
[28:37] same. Can't do that.
[28:38] Though you can said I've ever tried a non alk alcohol.
[28:41] So I had some at second shot and it was very sweet and it just
[28:47] didn't have the depth like one of the thing.
[28:50] And again, everybody has their own taste and that's why there's
[28:53] a million different things to drink.
[28:55] But like when you have a glass of Scotch of that quality,
[28:59] you've get a little bit of a, it's like almost like a little
[29:01] bit of a vivation. It's a little bit, you know,
[29:04] it's the alcohol obviously, but it it kind of you just can't get
[29:07] that with a non alcoholic. And that's what like the, the
[29:10] part I don't quite understand is like, also kind of like, you
[29:14] know, the vegan stuff and, and that we're like, OK, so there's,
[29:18] you know, meatless burgers, but like, why not just eat the
[29:22] vegetables? Like, why do you need to make a
[29:24] fake burger? Like, no, nobody would be like,
[29:26] hey, can I get a celery that's made out of meat?
[29:29] You know what I mean? Like, give me a fake vegetable
[29:31] made out of meat. So like, why would you order a
[29:33] whiskey that's not a whiskey, You know what I mean?
[29:35] Just, I don't, I don't get that side of it.
[29:37] Like just stick to what you drink.
[29:39] Then you know what I. Mean, I think, I think, I think
[29:41] it's going to be a different answer from a couple different
[29:43] people. I think probably like a guy like
[29:45] Pierce says he would want to be just a part of the social event,
[29:48] like he and he feels more a part of it if it's a mixed drink,
[29:51] right. So and then I think there's
[29:52] other guys that probably really like it like seems like Tyler
[29:55] there at second shot is just like he's a he's an enthusiast,
[29:58] right, So. He's a great dude too.
[30:00] That guy's got like another full time job.
[30:02] Like he works works for Shoreline.
[30:04] He was. Shortly, a shout out Shoreline.
[30:05] Yeah, he's a he's a big time worker, man.
[30:07] Yeah, shout out Shoreline Pools. Great dudes.
[30:09] I find that some of them are a little thin.
[30:11] You try some of them like they don't have as much body that's.
[30:14] What I was trying to say with the alcohol component, it's just
[30:16] you look for it like if somebody tells you it's meant to be a
[30:19] whiskey, you're looking for that.
[30:20] Like what this does. It's just, it's such a
[30:22] experience, you know? Yeah, and I find sometimes I dig
[30:25] in. Was it though?
[30:25] You kind of, you kind of, you kind of drank.
[30:28] And I don't know if there was a hole in this one, but it really
[30:31] came. Out.
[30:32] Oh, it was the dehydrated fruit. It was it absorbed.
[30:34] It absorbed I believe. The fruit has.
[30:36] It's no longer dehydrated. Yeah, that's.
[30:39] Right, it has been hydrated. Well, you mentioned something
[30:41] about like patients and so one of the things I was trying to
[30:44] tell people is batch ahead of time.
[30:46] So if I know I've got Pardon Yeah by.
[30:51] The way you're talking to Bobby at his 30th, he's gone for it
[30:55] every. Time.
[30:56] But I mean, it's like, if I know I've got like 6-8 guys coming
[30:58] over, we're all gonna have a cigar.
[31:00] I might make a bottle of Old Fashioned.
[31:02] All I have to do is just pour on ice or make a bottle of an
[31:04] Ogroni and then it's just ready to go.
[31:07] Keep it in the fridge, pour on ice, batch your drinks.
[31:09] Or if I know I've got another group coming, you can make like
[31:12] a pitcher of a spritz and at least that way it's ready to go.
[31:16] Easier here for stirred sippers than carbonated drinks.
[31:19] But I find it's just that's what I would tell people that are
[31:22] hosting batch ahead of time. You spend what, half an hour
[31:25] making it and then next thing you know your save yourself way
[31:27] more time throughout the event. OK, so we've been.
[31:29] I feel like then we would just like grab the pitcher and we
[31:32] each grab a straw. I'm.
[31:33] Like so we've been classy without even knowing it.
[31:35] So we're actually not smuggling A tremendous amount of pre mixed
[31:40] vodka sodas on the golf course we're batching.
[31:42] Yeah, we're batching. So much I've learned something
[31:45] today. Yeah, you're thinking.
[31:46] Again. Yeah, we're going to.
[31:48] Batch What else we got behind the bar, man.
[31:50] Perfect. OK, so we're going to make our
[31:52] second cocktail. This is the triple Wood special,
[31:56] so 3 barrels. I wanted to bring three
[31:58] different products here, So of course we're going to start with
[32:01] our grants here. So this cocktail is kind of a
[32:04] play on a black Manhattan. They've never heard of black
[32:07] Manhattan before. No.
[32:09] So a black Manhattan will utilize whiskey and instead of
[32:15] vermouth, you're going to be adding in Amaro.
[32:20] However, because we are representing A portfolio, I
[32:23] don't have a motto, I have Jägermeister.
[32:26] So it's going to be, trust me. And Jägermeister.
[32:30] Jager, we're having a Wednesday. Yeah, we're having a Wednesday,
[32:32] So we've got our grants in here. Of course, I wanted to still
[32:37] keep some of the vermouth action.
[32:38] And so I'm blending the Martini Rosso with, of course, our good
[32:42] old pal Jägermeister. So we're going to kind of do
[32:45] like equal, equal parts in here. So 1 1/2 ounces of our whiskey
[32:50] we're going to be adding in. It's almost 3/4 of an ounce of
[32:54] the sweet vermouth for people at home.
[32:58] Little bartender pro tip, keep your vermouth in the fridge.
[33:02] OK? It's a wine based beverage.
[33:04] You keep this on the shelf, it's going to deteriorate much
[33:06] faster. You want a quick pro hack to
[33:08] know if a bar knows what they're doing.
[33:10] You see the vermouth on the back bar?
[33:12] Giant red flag. So talking to you out there.
[33:15] OK people, vermouth in the fridge or?
[33:18] Be dedicated and drink quicker do.
[33:19] Not know, yeah. Yeah, don't let it sit on the
[33:22] back if. You open the bottle, finish it.
[33:24] OK, you guys. 100% So we add in the sweet vermouth and now I've
[33:28] got Jägermeister. So when I said a model a motto
[33:31] is kind of like a digestive, it's an Italian liqueur often
[33:36] had after dinner. Now Jägermeister kind of fits
[33:40] that profile. It's the kind of the German
[33:42] version. It's got 56 botanicals.
[33:45] Definitely have had Jägermeister in my day, that's for sure.
[33:49] So it's going to kind of pair really nicely, brings some that
[33:52] herbal notes because Jaeger is in there, I don't need to add
[33:55] bitters. Normal Manhattan is you got your
[33:57] whiskey, your sweet vermouth and bitters.
[33:59] I think the Jaeger's are going to bring enough bitterness here.
[34:01] So we're going to ditch the Angostura bitters again.
[34:04] For those of people at home, bitters are kind of like your
[34:07] bartenders. Salt and pepper, few dashes go a
[34:10] long way. Angostura is kind of the OG
[34:12] brand. If you're going to start your
[34:13] home bar, you're always going to want to start with there and
[34:15] then you can always buy other flavors that you like, so.
[34:21] I'm interested about this Scotch with the Jager.
[34:24] You know what I had for the first time this past weekend in
[34:26] like probably 10 years, we went to the 40th birthday party and
[34:30] they're like, you guys want to do some Jager bombs, like
[34:33] because I was drinking vodka red ball and they're like, we should
[34:35] do some Jager bombs. And like, I don't think I've
[34:37] drank a Jager bomb 10 to 15 years they.
[34:40] Have the setup like they have the right glasses the.
[34:42] Shop well, we use the red, the red Solo cups and just like drop
[34:46] the things in. But yeah, then we were a bunch
[34:48] of 40 year olds that weren't doing Jager bombs.
[34:50] Yeah, not a bad, not a bad way. I like Jager bombs, you know,
[34:53] it's has it has this moment of course brought.
[34:56] Me back to big bucks. Oh God, have you been into the
[34:59] new place that's there? I haven't been in yet.
[35:02] Game time Social. No, I think it's called.
[35:04] Oh yeah, no, that is what it's. Called I know what's on other
[35:06] kids with the with the. Yeah, that's right with the fox,
[35:09] the one on Brant St. and. What did that used to?
[35:12] Oh, filthy Mcnasties. What was it before that, though?
[35:15] I thought it was something Fox. I thought it was.
[35:18] Yeah, I don't even remember taking that up.
[35:19] I had the nightclub upstairs above above for a while.
[35:22] We did a Christmas party. There for you, yeah.
[35:24] Oh, that was Joe Dogs in between.
[35:25] Yeah, and then it was something else too, but I thought it was
[35:27] big bucks, but. So one of the things, as you can
[35:30] see I'm doing this, is what's known as a mixing glass.
[35:32] And so when you're doing stirred cocktails, you always want to
[35:35] use one of these guys 'cause you can fit 3-4 cocktails in one,
[35:39] and I can stir out and pour out many different versions here.
[35:41] Not what everybody else does when they do the Shakers and
[35:43] like they mix. Everything.
[35:45] That's a great question. When to shake, when to stir.
[35:47] I get this question all the time.
[35:49] You're normally going to shake when you have fresh juices or
[35:52] emulsifiers and say. How many shakes is too many
[35:55] shakes? That's.
[35:57] When are you? Playing.
[36:00] No, I would say it depends on the ice that you're using.
[36:03] So the bigger the ice, the more you have to shake.
[36:07] So for example if I. Stop, stop, Chris.
[36:11] Don't go there. OK, so the reason being is I
[36:14] like the the bigger ice. We got.
[36:18] Quick quick recap has more surface area new.
[36:20] Ones need to be shaken more. Yeah, it's not going to melt as
[36:23] fast. So if I use a Pebble ice, it's
[36:25] going to melt really fast. I don't have to shake as long.
[36:28] When we're shaking, we're air creating and diluting.
[36:30] So yeah, damn it, you gotta be there.
[36:35] You know he's going to say that next time we're at the urinal.
[36:38] What are you doing? I'm hair rating.
[36:40] Yeah, hair rating. You're diluting.
[36:41] I'm diluting. Bigger the circus?
[36:44] Shaking more We heard it from a professional.
[36:47] That isn't our opinion. OK, so quick recap.
[36:50] We have got our Grants whiskey, we've got some sweet vermouth,
[36:55] and I've also got our Jägermeister.
[36:58] This is a stirred zipper. Apparently you've been cut off.
[37:00] There's only two of. These stirred zipper I better
[37:03] clear the way. It's starting to fill up over
[37:06] here. Yeah, so this is one of the
[37:09] cocktails I made for grants just to kind of bring a little bit
[37:13] more depth, bring a little black and super.
[37:15] Interest you're not. Drinking this This is a.
[37:17] Different one, No, this one's all for you because I'm just
[37:19] going to enjoy my grants nice and neat.
[37:20] I do got to have a long drive after this so.
[37:23] Here's to being responsible. Cheers.
[37:25] Drinking responsible. As I have straight whiskey
[37:29] salute. Cheers.
[37:34] Oh, that's ridiculous. That's really good.
[37:38] I got to get, I got to get Spicer on this wagon.
[37:41] We got a few bottles of grants. We're going to bring a bottle of
[37:43] this over this. Comes out after it too.
[37:45] Yeah, yeah, that's it. The.
[37:46] Long finish. It's like the fire after, yeah.
[37:49] Yeah. So this ones really nice.
[37:50] It's super simple. You can batch just ahead of time
[37:53] and that's where people say how do I use some of these products
[37:56] or I had somebody said I've got all this Jager sitting on my
[37:59] shelf. I'm like, well mix it into a
[38:01] stirred zipper, treat it like an Amato, and you can easily make
[38:05] this into a unique cocktail. And it's got 56 botanicals in
[38:08] it, and it's great for your digestive system.
[38:10] Yeah, there you go. Want to drink it this way?
[38:13] You're. Hired Basically you gotta do
[38:14] that's. So good.
[38:15] So we gotta, we gotta make sure we got little ingredient lists
[38:19] on this. We'll put in description or
[38:20] something like. That, yeah, we'll put it up on a
[38:21] snapshot on the side there, yeah.
[38:23] Yeah, feature recipe The Triple Wood special featuring our
[38:26] grants like. Whiskey.
[38:27] This I would drink in the evening.
[38:29] I would drink the other one beside the pool for about 6
[38:31] hours. Yeah, I could.
[38:32] I could. The first one like that
[38:34] specialty soda one. Yeah, like I could drink 27.
[38:37] Yeah, like 3:50 and then this would be like 4 till eight,
[38:39] yeah. And you'd want two of those,
[38:41] maybe 3. Yeah, and that's why.
[38:43] And he'd be sitting there saying, hey, these guys aren't
[38:44] making it past 9:30. Yeah, yeah.
[38:46] Listen, you're a pace, gentlemen.
[38:48] It's a Wednesday afternoon. So I picked these two cocktails
[38:51] to describe exactly what you said.
[38:52] One's more the daytime, more approachable, and then this one.
[38:55] I feel like a cigar is waiting for you with this one dude.
[38:59] That makes that makes the Grants sing in that too, right?
[39:02] Oh yeah, boy, that's yeah, the first one.
[39:03] You don't taste the grants so much, right?
[39:05] Yeah. Because the lime is so this.
[39:07] One you definitely taste it. Yeah, it comes through.
[39:09] It's your fruit sipper. You're not going to crush this
[39:11] one too fast. Hopefully.
[39:14] But hey, do you know my friend? But I have noticed a couple
[39:18] holes in the glasses, so you never know.
[39:21] Well, I'm going to ask you boys a question, right?
[39:24] Because I am a a new dad month in.
[39:28] Any advice? We've never had guest.
[39:33] Question. You go first, boss.
[39:34] What's advice? Advice for Yeah.
[39:38] Enjoy the moments like you'll figure out what your moments
[39:42] are. My favorite moments are are
[39:43] bedtime like definitely like my most favorite moment every day.
[39:48] Enjoy those moments and and appreciate them and and don't
[39:54] don't take them for granted for sure.
[39:56] Oh, and I'll double down with that too, because that's like
[39:58] cliche shit. Everybody always says like don't
[40:00] blink, you'll miss it or like it goes so fast or whatever.
[40:03] But like, bro, it goes so fast, man.
[40:07] Like I hear stories about you. And like when we were off
[40:09] camera, I was talking about it. I remember putting Lucy in her
[40:12] little bucket seat for the first time.
[40:14] And my wife and I are walking out of the hospital and we're
[40:16] like. They're just going to let us
[40:18] take, yes, like, this is ours to take care of now.
[40:21] And like, we just started laughing.
[40:23] And then it was like, you got to figure it all out together,
[40:25] right? I remember that like it was
[40:27] yesterday, but it feels like a lifetime ago and like now, you
[40:31] know, my daughter is, is you know, she's, she's big, she's
[40:34] 10. She, you know, she has her own
[40:36] autonomy and friend group and you know, she's doing
[40:38] competitive cheer and she's like doing all this shit.
[40:41] But I'm like, man, that felt like yesterday.
[40:43] So like, and you got to do it man.
[40:45] And be, be super intentional about it.
[40:47] Like at some point with your wife when you are having what
[40:51] you know is a milestone moment, could be a first step, could be
[40:54] a first bite of solid food, could be like whatever milestone
[40:57] moment, stop in the moment and just go.
[41:00] Let's just, let's just take a beep.
[41:03] Like just remember, we were right here at this time.
[41:05] We did this together. You and I made that.
[41:08] This is our 30 seconds. But like, store it in your
[41:12] memory bank, take a picture and then move on 'cause all that
[41:15] shit goes so fast. Yeah, and, and like and like
[41:18] life happens and things, things change.
[41:20] Like I, I just got separated in December, January.
[41:23] And like now when I do have the kids, like even moments like my
[41:27] 6 year old brings his, his homework home on Mondays and
[41:30] Tuesdays and that's when he gets his like his new 6 words that
[41:32] he's got to like practice every week.
[41:34] And like I never really thought about it before, but now that
[41:37] I've only got them half the time, I love when he gets home
[41:40] and we do his words for like the next 15 minutes.
[41:43] And you know what I mean? Like you just start to
[41:44] appreciate the moments differently.
[41:46] So don't take those for granted because like life happens,
[41:49] things change. Appreciate every moment, man.
[41:52] That's that's the stuff that you'll regret and feel guilty
[41:54] about later. And Jamie's an epic boy dad, the
[41:57] best boy dad. And like, it's just different
[42:00] when it's a boy like you, you are allowed to be a little more.
[42:05] I've got three of them. Three.
[42:06] OK, 3 So he's a pro, but like really lean into whatever your
[42:10] son wants to do. Like if he wants to wrestle when
[42:13] you get home, I don't care how tired you are, Like if he wants
[42:16] to swing a bat in the house, like throw, find a softball, but
[42:20] like throw a pitch, you know, like, because that shit is just
[42:23] like, it's fun to watch him do it.
[42:25] And I'm like, yeah, that's the, that's the moments, man.
[42:27] And, and don't say no, like I know work, school, like whatever
[42:32] it is like can get in the way. And like you'll be sitting at
[42:34] your desk and you know, one of the kids walks up to you and
[42:36] just like, hey, dad, can you blah, blah, blah.
[42:38] And it's just easy to be like, no man, like give me like 30
[42:41] minutes. Like I just got to get this
[42:43] done. But, like, do everything you can
[42:45] to not say no because you'll regret it.
[42:47] You'll feel guilty. You'll think about it, like,
[42:50] appreciate those moments. Yeah.
[42:52] Yeah, I think you guys mentioned all the all the big ones because
[42:54] like I can't believe it's already been almost a month, 3-4
[42:57] weeks now. And like, to your point, the
[43:00] hospital feels like forever ago and it's only been three weeks.
[43:04] And so I can't imagine as years go by.
[43:07] And so that's kind of one of the things that I always like
[43:09] remember what the shit that my dad taught me, right?
[43:12] So like my dad was never the most handy individual.
[43:15] So when I think of like things he taught me, it was all more
[43:17] about like morals and virtue. He has this whole like cheesy
[43:21] saying about like true champion, like dialing in that like rocky
[43:24] moment, like, can you do better every day?
[43:26] Can you push yourself to be the best version of yourself?
[43:29] And in some, sometimes that looks different depending on the
[43:32] day where that's being more healthy, whether that's not
[43:35] saying no. And so I think that's kind of
[43:37] where I wanted to say like, you know what for my kid, like how
[43:40] can I help enable them to be their true champion or be like
[43:43] their true self? And that's kind of where I get
[43:46] that some of that inspiration and motivation, you know?
[43:48] Yeah. I.
[43:48] Love it. Yeah.
[43:49] And I think too, like, because we're just sipping delicious
[43:54] Grants whiskey right now, we can talk life a little bit.
[43:56] I'll give you another one. And this one's about your wife,
[43:58] OK. When you have a new baby, that
[44:02] baby is just that lives and breathes for your wife.
[44:07] It just, it's a biological thing, man.
[44:09] They can feed it. We can't.
[44:10] Like it's, it's biology, right? The best thing you can do is
[44:15] treat her as the queen she is, man.
[44:17] Like I'm talking food, I'm talking chores, I'm talking acts
[44:22] of servitude and kindness and all that shit.
[44:25] Because that is how you can be a really awesome dad on day one
[44:29] because the the it's great to have the baby.
[44:31] You mentioned the skin on skin moment.
[44:32] Like that's incredible. It's so important, but like.
[44:35] They're the superheroes. Bro, and you got to treat them
[44:38] like that, like you got to be like you just did something
[44:41] amazing. Let me take care of you for a
[44:43] minute and just just live by that, dude.
[44:45] Because right now your wife is going to notice.
[44:47] It's going to take the stress off, you know, happy house and
[44:51] all of that. But like, as you go now, your
[44:53] son's watching, your son's watching how you're taking care
[44:56] of his mom and like you just set the pace with that man.
[44:59] And so be intentional with, with your wife.
[45:01] She, she just went through it. You got to got to treat her
[45:03] right. Yeah, and then that can't stop.
[45:05] Like, like throughout the entire time of your kids, like they're
[45:08] always watching. You want to see them respect
[45:10] their mom, love their mom, treat their mom well.
[45:13] Yeah, I think like lead by example.
[45:15] And also, yeah, I want to want to be a good husband.
[45:17] I'm not the best in the kitchen, but I'm like, OK, next thing you
[45:19] know, I'm I'm GPT ING recipes and like, oh, you want lentil
[45:22] soup? Let's figure out lentil soup.
[45:25] Not every recipe's gone to plan, of course, you know.
[45:28] The problem with ChatGPT is you'd be like, oh, I want to
[45:30] make lentil soup, here's my ingredients and it could be
[45:32] missing half it and ChatGPT be like, oh, those are amazing
[45:35] ingredients. Let me help you make that then.
[45:36] Tuna's a great suggestion. Maybe try Claude or Grok or one
[45:40] of the others, because ChatGPT will rub your back when you
[45:43] don't need a background. Oh my God, you're funny how you
[45:45] said that because like, yeah, not I'm like, yeah, I'm like,
[45:47] let's try making risotto. This could be fun, and it was a
[45:51] tough day in the kitchen scrubbing that bird.
[45:54] Yeah, I'm. Like OK.
[45:56] And the Italian man, that's like a that's like a sin, yeah.
[45:59] I'm like, OK, I have to call mom after that.
[46:00] I'm like, OK, yeah, what? How did I fuck this up?
[46:03] You know, so change. Of plans Now we're having
[46:06] crunchy rice. Yeah, a change of plans.
[46:08] Uber Eats, Yeah. But even that man, just do do
[46:11] whatever feels good. But just, yeah, just just take
[46:13] care of her, man. So talk about your pops.
[46:14] Wow, what's what's what's your pops legacy?
[46:17] What's your pops legacy gonna? Yeah.
[46:18] So sort of like like my dad or like for me.
[46:22] Your your dad. Yeah, so he was out of my dad
[46:25] kind of great salesman. So he works for a computer
[46:29] company. He sells hardware to all the
[46:31] school boards and all that stuff.
[46:32] And for him, like it's it's funny because like within the
[46:35] other side of my family, there's a lot of like very traditional
[46:39] like trade like jobs, right? Like my grandfather always
[46:42] worked in construction. My uncle has a big landscaping
[46:45] company and so all that like more handiwork and like more
[46:49] traditional masculine like work, I find always came from that
[46:52] side. But like my dad's always kind of
[46:54] instilled that more like what's the word like core values?
[46:59] And like how can we like as cheese?
[47:01] It is to say like sometimes the golden rule, like hey, treating
[47:04] people, they want to be treated. How can I approach different
[47:07] scenarios and like more critical thinking I find.
[47:09] So that's where I really want to try to bring some of that same
[47:13] legacy to now. My son and he went to University
[47:16] of Waterloo and I end up going there myself.
[47:19] And it was kind of one of the craziest moments.
[47:20] Like when I graduated. His leather jacket fit me like a
[47:24] glove. I know it's cheesy to say like
[47:28] his 80s old school jacket and like I put it on and like this
[47:31] is scary how well this fits right now.
[47:34] And just probably the the emotional feeling.
[47:36] Yeah, like, like, it's almost like passing the jacket off
[47:39] moment. And so when it's like your kids
[47:41] going to Waterloo, I'm like, OK, well, let's see what they want
[47:43] to do. But it would be a pretty trippy
[47:45] scenario to like get there in the end.
[47:46] And so I always find that for me, like the shit my dad told
[47:49] me, he's always like, how can we approach scenarios?
[47:52] Some of that empathy moments. Of course, my mom did that too.
[47:55] Like obviously we call mama's boy Italian family.
[47:58] We're all about the matriarch. But I find like kind of that
[48:02] like sacrifice moment. I know it's almost like I was
[48:06] finally like that, like Transformers movie, no
[48:08] sacrifice, no victory kind of mindset where it's like, how can
[48:11] I always like be better? How can I always be proactive in
[48:15] those moments? And that's where I always find,
[48:17] like, I haven't, like I said at the beginning of the show, like,
[48:21] it's made way more sense now that if now I have to lead by
[48:24] example to point, like the kids always watching their sponges.
[48:28] And so you're always trying to. You're always on.
[48:31] Yeah. Yeah, for sure.
[48:33] And the bigger they get, the more they're watching.
[48:35] We're big on legacy and obviously thanks to grants for
[48:38] being our legacy sponsor. When your kids are, you know, 20
[48:42] years old, 30 years old and you're either old or maybe not
[48:46] here anymore, what do you want your legacy to be?
[48:48] I know it's probably a tough answer right now because your
[48:51] kiddos so young, but what do you what do you want to leave as
[48:54] your legacy? Wow.
[48:57] I mean, I think on the very onset, immediate reaction would
[49:00] be like part of the legacy is making sure that the family's
[49:04] taken care of. I think that's every dad's and
[49:07] husband's dream is to make sure that no matter what they're
[49:10] provided for that that I've done for work and my career has set
[49:14] them up to have a successful future.
[49:16] But on the other side, it's like some of those core memories that
[49:19] you just described, whether that's the first pitch, whether
[49:22] that's the graduation ceremony, first band rehearsal, things
[49:26] like that, like being there for those moments and help sharing
[49:30] my experience with them. Whether they listen to that
[49:32] experience and that advice is a whole other question.
[49:34] But still being in that moment and being there to represent.
[49:38] So I want to obviously do my part to making sure that I can
[49:41] manage my time effectively, whether that's through my
[49:44] managing the career, managing the household, but also making
[49:47] those moments so that when they need me, I'm there.
[49:50] And I feel like that's the the ultimate legacy I could leave,
[49:53] you know? Plus you got the legacy that
[49:55] you'll be the cool dad like you have the dad that makes
[49:57] everybody cool. Drinks like we want to party at
[49:59] your house, right? I mean, it depends who you ask,
[50:02] right? Some parents might not think
[50:04] that way. They're friends of the are my
[50:06] kid, potentially or. The parents want to be there.
[50:08] Oh yeah, they might want to be there.
[50:10] It depends, you know. But yeah, it's definitely going
[50:13] to be very interesting. Like I, I played soccer my whole
[50:15] life. So hopefully I'm going to try
[50:17] and get them get the cleats on him one day.
[50:20] But hey, if it's if they if he likes basketball or if he likes
[50:24] hockey, I can't help on the hockey front.
[50:25] I can't skate. So I'll be in the stands.
[50:28] But you know, it's always going to be interesting whether they
[50:31] tie up the laces for the first time or for swimming lesson and
[50:34] stuff like that. Italy could really use the help
[50:37] on the soccer front so not not to rub salt in the moon if you
[50:40] have any saltier. People, where's the where's the
[50:42] whiskey? Italy not making Italy not
[50:45] making the World Cup right now. I'm adding more whiskey to this
[50:48] glass right now. Why'd you have to do?
[50:49] We're having such a good time, Jamie.
[50:52] You guys were getting along so much.
[50:53] Oh my God, yeah. Delicious.
[50:57] It is crazy like the the path that they had to try and get
[51:00] through and then they had like such opportunity at the.
[51:02] End. Are we doing this?
[51:03] OK, OK. Hope you got more time.
[51:07] Yeah, but can you? Bring up some footage of the
[51:08] game in the satisfy. You had a Kleenex box.
[51:12] Like I am a soccer junkie. So like, again, you just opened
[51:16] a rabbit hole right now, but I would just say that you know
[51:19] what? If you can't beat Bosnia, you
[51:22] don't deserve to. That's.
[51:22] What I mean like they had the like out of those 3 tournaments
[51:25] that all those teams mini teams like Poland my ex is from Poland
[51:30] so my kiddos are like huge Polish fans like the same thing.
[51:32] Like they had a tougher route but like Italy literally had
[51:35] like the easiest route to get out of their little group.
[51:38] Man, that's crazy. I don't know, like there's so
[51:40] many like factors that went into it, like the player selection.
[51:43] I just found like, again, it's there's a lot of corruption in
[51:48] the federation about who gets called up to the team and all
[51:51] that stuff. So the only silver lining is for
[51:54] Canada, I would say, because if it was Canada versus Italy and
[51:58] that Toronto game, I fear there would be a lot of blue shirts
[52:02] over red shirts and it might not feel like a Canada home game
[52:06] versus. Now, I don't think you're gonna
[52:07] get too many Bosnia fans. Sure, there might be some, but I
[52:10] think now for Canada sake, it's actually gonna feel like, okay,
[52:14] this is our home opener. It'll give them some great
[52:16] momentum. Yeah, yeah.
[52:17] And also tennis got a pretty good group, like I think we
[52:21] could actually. The injuries can like subside a
[52:24] little bit, like that's what's getting scary like over the last
[52:26] two months, like the injuries. We've had some injuries, CBS.
[52:29] I think should be OK, but like, they're probably gonna limit
[52:31] them big time, yeah. Until then, he did play
[52:33] yesterday in the Champions League.
[52:35] I don't know if you watched Champions League, watch the
[52:38] highlights of PSG versus Bayern Munich, probably the craziest
[52:41] game I've ever witnessed. But yeah, it's really exciting.
[52:45] I did buy tickets to that Canada versus Bosnia game.
[52:48] Don't ask how much I spent. I don't have enough grants here.
[52:51] Maybe I do. Yeah, maybe I do.
[52:55] But yeah, it's going to be a really exciting experience to
[52:57] witness the World Cup. And I think, yeah, we actually
[53:01] have a chance to get out of the group.
[53:02] How far we go, who knows, but World Cup, you never know.
[53:06] Like last time Morocco made it to the semis, or Croatia, same
[53:09] thing. So there's always one of the
[53:11] host nations I think will go pretty far.
[53:13] I'm going to end up taking the kids to it's weird.
[53:16] I don't want to take them to go to BMO place.
[53:19] So to watch a game, I want to take them somewhere else to go
[53:21] see them watch Canada play a game.
[53:24] And plus, BMO is like, I don't know if you've seen the
[53:26] headlines, but it's being ranked as like one of the worst FIFA
[53:30] places to go watch a game like at all.
[53:32] And like those stands are kind of like.
[53:34] Little janky. Janky, like, I don't know that I
[53:37] want to be off there when there's 35,000 fans on those
[53:39] things. Pray for me.
[53:40] That's where I am. But I'm like, you know what?
[53:43] My kids have never been to Vancouver.
[53:44] My kids have never been to Boston.
[53:45] So like, I'm going to end up like last minute buying tickets
[53:48] to go to watch one of Canada's games at one of those places for
[53:51] sure. Yeah.
[53:52] Vancouver's the smart play. I think for the same amount of
[53:54] tickets price you could get your flight.
[53:56] It's half the price. It's half the price and I've
[53:58] never been out there and my kids haven't.
[54:00] So like, why not go experience something versus like Fight
[54:03] Traffic for 4 1/2 hours to go to BMO Place?
[54:07] I wouldn't drive. I do you take the GO train down
[54:09] to the city. If you are going to go, it's
[54:10] going to be an absolute disaster for sure.
[54:13] Yeah, yeah. We have a little tradition on
[54:16] the show where we ask our guests to bring us a dad joke.
[54:19] Would you tell us a dad joke? OK, putting me on the spot,
[54:23] let's see if we can bring it back to the bar.
[54:25] I only drink on 2 occasions, OK? When it's my birthday and when
[54:30] it's not. Yeah, yeah, I.
[54:34] Feel like I feel like we're friends, yeah.
[54:36] Happy Wednesday, everyone. Dude, appreciate the drinks.
[54:40] Yeah, thank you. Appreciate the insight.
[54:42] Shout out to grants again. I enjoyed that way too much.
[54:46] If you haven't bought grants recently, go out and get
[54:48] yourself some delicious. Yeah, yeah.
[54:51] Amazing sponsors, amazing drink. Yeah. 100% Grants is available
[54:55] at the LCBO in three different sizes.
[54:56] You have your two six, your 40 and your 60 oz.
[54:59] And I believe we're also doing a Father's Day giveaway.
[55:01] Is that correct, gentlemen? That's right, yeah, we're doing
[55:04] a giveaway for a Blackstone Grill and then like a like a
[55:07] rocks and glass set that will that will be given away to to a
[55:10] lucky winner in Ontario. So we'll be we'll be posting
[55:12] those details sometime in the next few days for sure.
[55:15] Very exciting. Well thank you guys for having
[55:17] me on the show. Hope you guys choose Grants as
[55:19] your next Scotch purchase and hopefully I'll see you soon.
[55:22] Absolutely. Thanks so much for this man.
[55:24] Salute.

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