Acclaimed sommelier, winemaker, and restauranteur André Hueston Mack has ventured into the whiskey world. With Rye & Sons whiskey, Mack gives the same playful approach that he gives to his wine, hoping to make the liquor accessible to more people. André Hueston Mack joined Cheddar's News Wrap to give us a taste of his latest project.

 André Hueston Mack Launches Rye & Sons Whiskey

Alright, we are going to switch gears, we're going to, going to the food stand acclaimed Samuel, their winemaker and restaurant tour, Andre Houston Mack has a new venture, Ryan's sons, an elegant rye whiskey crafted in Kentucky andre has always strived to make wine accessible and playful and I was bringing that same approach to american whiskey. Welcome, Welcome. We're so happy to have you happy to be here. So cheers to your latest accomplishment first. Okay, you're gonna pour some while I have a taste, tell me about this whiskey, awesome. So this is two year old straight Kentucky rye. Um, and so I got a little fun glass to pour it in here for you. You were telling me that there's something special about this class. So what we'll do is we'll turn it on its side here. Are you sure switch here, hold on. Maybe it was a little wait, just turn it on, turn it on its side slowly. Okay. Like that. You got it. No, it's not gonna spill. There you go and just roll it back and forth like this. So what this is doing basically coating the glass right, so we can really analyze and taste the wine. Sure. I'm always in actually and so we can taste the whiskey, smell the whiskey. So you can, I was smelling it as we were even turning it. So it's like a little bit of eucalyptus, there's some cinnamon, mm salted caramel, You've built your korean wine? What inspired you to get into whiskey and how did your knowledge of wine come into whiskey and this as we cheers for me, I think you know whiskey was the first love wine is kind of like how I got put on. Um But I think for me it's just more about like palette wise, you know something that's a little bit more palatable in that way. It's like you think of like something like bourbon, you know, I always think of like bourbon is more, is made from corn sweeter, richer, rounder and that's more like a California cabernet right and right to me, which was America's first spirit uh is more like pinot noir. It's a little more nuanced, there's a little bit of spice to it and there's layers here, would it be notes for whiskey as well? What's so interesting andre is you left your career in finance became one of the most well known simulator saying that word wrong, thank you. What inspired you to leave your desk job and get into the liquor business. It was just fun. I think I realized that I was a people person, I think I was waiting tables going onto my bigger and better thing. Uh And then when I got to my bigger and better thing, I didn't interact with people the way that I got to in restaurants and then when I found something that was interesting like wine and spirits and is just not wine. It's, you know, it's spirits to its anything liquid also, even cigars, but the idea of like no two days are the same and you get to meet these people. Um, and you know, nothing brings people together like food and, and beverage. That's so true. You've had so many amazing accomplishments in your career and so many more to come, no doubt. But you have a favorite so far. Um, you know what? I take it all one day at a time, right? So I don't do much reflection. I'm always excited about what's new. Um, and I always want to do what's new, right? And it's like, it's like if I'm not having fun, then I don't want to do it. And I'm still having fun. I can tell. So let's talk about what's new. What you working on, what, what I'm working on is Ryan Sons. Um, so this is, uh, we like to take what we call a winemaker's approach to whiskey. Um, and so that means is that we're more about like, you know, make it trying to make the best whiskey that we can make each year that's available. So you can see that the wine is vintage dated. Uh, and then also like more of an approachable palette. And so I wanted to make a whiskey that was, was inviting and friendly and that you can see on the packaging, but also to the taste, right? This, It's not overwhelming. This is like, you know, it does pack a wallop in that sense that it is not, you know, 97.5 proof, but it's pretty, you know, it's pretty well integrated in it and it's like, it allows for a better drinking experience, have less than a minute. But I am interested, how was the approach different from wine to whiskey? Um, it's a lot the proof is a big deal and a lot of it is a different consumer, right? What I've realized in America, like, you know, you have your lane, you know, there's wine drinkers and there's whiskey drinkers and sometimes they don't cross over. Um, I think for me it was like if you build it, they'll come and so for me it was just like, hey, I want to do something that's a little bit more restrained and more inviting for people. Um, and now we built it and now we'll just have to see who comes. Well, cheers, I have no doubt many people will be coming. This is very good Andre Houston Mac award winning, say the word for me. Winemaker, he says, it's so nice. Restauranteur and Mask maker of Rye and Sons whiskey, thank you again,