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PODCAST

CRAFTED

CRAFTED is the podcast from BLISTER that dives deep into the craft world of beer, coffee, whiskey, watches, wine, and more. Our guests are some of the very best and most passionate brewers, distillers, winemakers, coffee producers, retailers, and founders that launched craft companies when success was unlikely, but their passion and principles caused them to forge ahead anyway. CRAFTED explores how things get made, and does so with the remarkable people that insist on making things well. Hosted on

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All Episodes

69:50

The Roots of American Craft Distilling w/ St. George...

CRAFTED ·

2026/09/30

Lance Winters has one of the stranger paths to becoming a master distiller: nuclear engineering, the Navy, brewing, and eventually showing up at St. George Spirits with a bottle of homemade whiskey.Three decades later, Lance has helped shape St. George into one of America’s most influential craft distilleries. In this episode, Lance and Eli discuss St. George’s early days as one of the first American craft distilleries; what it means to create something new in established spirits categories; and

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49:31

Slow Beer: Templin Family Brewing owner, Kevin Templin

CRAFTED ·

2026/09/23

How did Templin Family Brewing become one of the most respected breweries in the USA? Today, Eli talks to owner, Kevin Templin, about his approach to craft brewing, German brewing traditions, and what it takes to build a brewery where quality comes before speed.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. EPISODE SPONSORS: Momentous:

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73:22

Becoming a Master Bladesmith w/ Zack Jonas

CRAFTED ·

2026/09/16

While most of us use knives every day without thinking much about them, Zack Jonas has spent his life thinking about almost nothing else. And today, the founder of Jonas Blade & Metalworks joins Eli to explain how a former philosophy major became one of just over 100 master bladesmiths in the mysterious world of Damascus steel.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

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61:41

The James Beard Foundation: Its Origins, Mission, &...

CRAFTED ·

2026/09/09

If you love great food and great restaurants, then you’re probably familiar with the extremely prestigious James Beard Awards. But there is more to the James Beard Foundation, and today, you’ll learn more about its origins, its mission, its work today, and you’ll get a fantastic history of American culinary culture from the JBF’s Vice President of Impact, Anne McBride.We Want to Hear from You! Have a topic, craft category, or craft company you’d like to see us cover? Email us at:

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10:35

Skier & Chef Mark Connell on Great Palates & Cheap Pizza

CRAFTED ·

2026/09/05

What does it actually mean to have a “great palate”? In this episode of the Vault, originally featured on CRAFTED, Jonathan talked to lifelong skier and PARC Aspen Chef, Mark Connell, about “supertasters,” and why some chefs can detect tiny changes in a dish while still loving Domino’s pizza.Note: We Want to Hear From You! We’d love for you to share with us the stories or topics you’d like us to cover next month on Reviewing the News; ask your most pressing mountain town advice questions, or

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89:59

Did Accountants Ruin Whiskey? With Leopold Bros...

CRAFTED ·

2026/09/01

What do rye whiskey, fruit brandy, and vinegar have in common? At one point, they were all made on the same kind of still. Todd Leopold, co-founder and owner of Leopold Bros, has spent years resurrecting that lost production method, including commissioning the first three-chamber still built since Prohibition. Today, Todd and Eli discuss what drew Todd to that forgotten technology, and why he believes the results are worth the inefficiencies. We Want to Hear from You! Have a topic, craft

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48:15

Why This Device Could Change the Way You Make Coffee

CRAFTED ·

2026/08/27

What exactly is ‘pressure-brewed’ coffee? (Hint: it’s not espresso.) Today, Presston founder Korey Dausz joins Simon Stewart to talk about designing and building a coffee maker that uses pressure to make great coffee, in a simple, plastic-free, sustainable way.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. EPISODE SPONSORS: Momentous:

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56:38

High West’s Master Distiller, Isaac Winter, on the...

CRAFTED ·

2026/08/19

Today we’re talking with the master distiller of one of the most prominent American whiskey producers of the past two decades, High West Whiskey. High West built much of its reputation through blending, which has long been a tradition in Scotch whisky but has often been treated with suspicion by American whiskey drinkers. In this episode, master distiller, Isaac Winter, joins us to investigate why blending has been so misunderstood.We Want to Hear from You!Have a topic, craft category, or craft

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1:23:15

Zerno Founder Vel Genov on Coffee Grinders, Burr...

CRAFTED ·

2026/08/12

Zerno manufactures some of the best coffee grinders in the world, and last week, Jonathan Ellsworth returned to Zerno HQ to get into the weeds with founder, Vel Genov, about coffee grinder burrs, particle analysis, burr geometry, some big updates, and the future of Zerno. If you care about manufacturing in America, or uncompromising craftsmanship, or you love coffee, you need to know the Zerno story.We Want to Hear from You!Have a topic, craft category, or craft company you’d like to see us cover

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1:21:48

The Cult of Mezcal w/ Pedro Jimenez

CRAFTED ·

2026/08/05

There are more than 175 species of agave native to Mexico — so why is tequila made from just one? To answer that question, you have to understand centuries of tradition, industrialization, and the forces affecting Mexico's native spirits, and today, Pedro Jiménez, founder of Mezonte, joins me to unravel that history and explore one of the world's most fascinating spirits traditions.We Want to Hear from You!Have a topic, craft category, or craft company you’d like to see us cover? Email us at:

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1:05:53

The Problem with ‘Perfect’

CRAFTED ·

2026/07/29

“That’s smooth!” That’s often the first thing someone will say after trying a new drink. But what if that’s a sign that we don’t actually know how to evaluate -- and appreciate -- the thing in the glass we’re holding? In this episode, Nicolas Palazzi, founder of PM Spirits, joins Eli to discuss how artisanal producers think about the difference between perfection and excellence.We Want to Hear from You!Have a topic, craft category, or craft company you’d like to see us cover? Email us at:

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1:08:06

Hot Sauce, Human History, & Some Big Existential...

CRAFTED ·

2026/07/22

Hot sauce — many of us love it, but few of us know how & why it came to be; how it works; how it could kill you and how it might save you; and why exploring these topics actually leads into some big questions about the evolution of humankind itself. Jonathan Ellsworth & Eli Brown discuss.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.EPISODE

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1:00:27

What is “Post-Natural” Wine?

CRAFTED ·

2026/07/15

According to all the headlines, the wine industry is in trouble — sales are plummeting, major producers are shrinking their portfolios, and the natural wine movement has become a punchline. But what if wine isn't actually in crisis at all? Louis Schofield, founder of World Apart Wines, joins us to argue that the industry is simply returning to reality after years of unsustainable growth.We Want to Hear from You!Have a topic, craft category, or craft company you’d like to see us cover? Email us at:

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1:12:26

The Rise, Fall, and Revival of Tiki

CRAFTED ·

2026/07/08

Tiki is easy to dismiss: themed mugs, carved idols, Hawaiian shirts, and over-the-top cocktails. But the real history is far more interesting. After nearly disappearing in the 1970s, tiki is being revived and redefined by a passionate group of bartenders. Today’s guest, Sam Miller, is one of the people leading the charge, breathing new life into a style of drinks we almost lost.We Want to Hear from You!Have a topic, craft category, or craft company you’d like to see us cover? Email us at:

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1:21:02

Saving Tequila w/ David Suro

CRAFTED ·

2026/07/01

What happens when a category's success leads to its demise? Tequila is the fastest-growing spirit in the world, yet its popularity has put it on a path to extinction. In this episode, David Suro joins us to discuss the world of agave spirits, from smuggling tequila into the U.S. for tastings in the 1980s to the rise of industrialized production methods that he believes have put the entire category at risk of disappearing overnight.We Want to Hear from You!Have a topic, craft category, or craft

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1:08:49

Who Decides What We Drink?

CRAFTED ·

2026/06/24

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

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1:08:44

How to Build the Best New Restaurant in America:...

CRAFTED ·

2026/06/17

Bûcheron (French for “lumberjack”) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, won the James Beard Foundation award for Best New Restaurant in America in 2025. Last month, Jonathan Ellsworth had the opportunity to attend a Bûcheron dinner, and today, he talks with owners Jeanie and Adam Ritter about their unconventional backgrounds; how they and their team created a restaurant that earned one of the most prestigious awards in the culinary world; and what life has been like since.We Want to Hear from You!Have a

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57:47

The Case Against Imitation: Brianne Day, Founder of...

CRAFTED ·

2026/06/10

For decades, Oregon’s winemakers have looked to France as the standard setter for what constitutes great wine. Brianne Day, founder of Day Wines, thinks it's time to stop doing that. Brianne has spent her career exploring what makes Oregon's vineyards unique. Today, we discuss her winemaking philosophy, biodynamic farming practices, and why Oregon's most exciting wines are the ones that aren’t trying to be from somewhere else.We Want to Hear from You!Have a topic, craft category, or craft company

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1:02:00

Cocktails in the Desert? Scott Gardner of Water Witch

CRAFTED ·

2026/06/03

Salt Lake City shouldn’t be home to one of America’s best cocktail bars. And yet, despite Utah’s strange liquor laws and its distance from traditional cocktail meccas, that’s exactly what makes Water Witch so interesting. After the Blister team stumbled across Water Witch on a recent trip, Eli wanted to find out how owner / operator Scott Gardner built something so special in such an unlikely environment.We Want to Hear from You!Have a topic, craft category, or craft company you’d like to see us

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1:25:20

Our CRAFTED Trip Report: Washington DC & Manhattan

CRAFTED ·

2026/05/27

Jonathan just got back from an incredible 12-day trip to Washington DC and Manhattan, and had a ton of notable ‘CRAFTED’ experiences. So he and Eli Brown talk about a bunch of them, and we’d love to hear your thoughts on some of the places we mention — or some additional places you think we need to check out next time we’re in DC / NYC.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

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132 results

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