Fearless Leadership: Gridiron to Greatness with Jared Allen

0:00The NFL, everybody's fast, everybody's strong, everybody or some form of an All-American problem. What makes all these people in college the 1 % of 1 % when you get to those levels where everybody's good, everybody's great, it is a mindset and it's your work ethic. Guys that work hard, that are hustlers, like that motors, all that, you hear the high motor. And I'm like, you're actually using those in a negative connotation. At that point, everybody's talented. So the fact that I'm willing to outwork you just shows that mentally you're weak. And that's how I equate it. I wasn't willing to work out to meet the standard that I thought was acceptable.

0:34We hung on for paychecks and racked up five sacks a year and did the minimum, but that's just not who I was. And so I take that same philosophy of what we're doing. So if that passion for something burns or if I'm not willing to put that effort in, then we get out of it. We don't do it in the first place. What greater mission or greater purpose to be all in on than your kids and your wife and in your faith? All this goes away. When we go in front of our maker, whoever you believe your maker is, when you go in front of them, dollar signs and zeros in your bank account mean absolutely nothing.

1:00Mick:You're listening to Mick Unplugged, hosted by the one and only Mick Hunt. This is where purpose meets power and stories spark transformation. Mick takes you beyond the motivation and into meaning, helping you discover your because and becoming unstoppable. I'm Rudy Rush, and trust me, you're in the right place. Let's get unplugged. Ladies and gentlemen, today's guest is a phenom. If you look up the word or the term man's man in the dictionary, you find this guest. NFL Hall of Famer, legendary at everything that he does, man of faith, and a man who is an owner of the best bourbon I've ever had in my life.

1:45Mick:I am talking to none other than the GOAT himself, Mr. Jared Allen. Jared, how are you doing today, brother? I'm doing great. I mean, I need you to just be around my house 24-7 every morning with that intro. You can't have a great day after that intro. I apologize for the dog's barking over here. My golden dude will think she's a Rottweiler. All good, brother. All good, man. I'm doing great. How about yourself? I am great now that I am with you. I'm honored to have you on. There's so much I want to talk to you about because you're someone who, on and off the field, I've admired for a long time.

2:20Mick:man. You're someone who, when you played sports, even the things you do off the field, you don't hide your faith. You never hid your faith. And that's something I truly admired about you, man, because you know, when you have the spotlight on you like you did and all the things that you were doing, you still gave honor where honor was due. And I've always respected you. Well, I appreciate that. Yeah. You know, you know, like, like a lot of people, you know, I grew up in the church. I had my ebbs and flows, right. I always, I was laughing. and say growing up, you know, had that heart rate monitor relationship, right?

2:52You know, Sunday morning was always an apology for Saturday night at some point. Right. And as I got older, and as I grew, you know, going through challenges in my life, you know, I had, you know, I had great people around me. I have a great family, you know, for all their, all their flaws. And my mom and dad are fantastic people. And, and, you know, even though, you know, they weren't, they were married, my whole, my, they're not, they're not married. I mean, he got divorced when I was young, but, But, you know, my stepdad's an amazing person. So, you know, I got great influence. That's what I'm just trying to say.

3:22And, you know, as you go through life like that, you tend to always come back around to your foundations. Right. And so as I got older, I made mistakes. And, you know, I had my grandfather is a big part of my life. A lot of people heard me talk about him. And then my best friend's dad growing up was our pastor. And, you know, I remember I remember forget he said, you know, I'll never forget that. I was 20 roughly good. I was 24 years old, 25 years old, maybe I guess 26. six years old somewhere. And, uh, and that's what he said. He said, the world needs more moral heroes, you know, there's enough assholes in the world.

3:51And when your pastor cusses at you, you're kind of like, okay, yeah, you know what? I need to, uh, I need to, uh, I need this relationship. Yeah. I need this, right. Uh, anybody who's been married, I'm going on 16 years of marriage. I got to tell my friends too. I said, you know, you don't want peaks and valleys, right? This is flatlining and marriage is a great, is a great thing. Consistency. Um, and so that's kind of where, where I was at, you know, And I'm always, so I think, you know, again, this is my long-winded version of getting back to kind of why I always wanted to live the way I lived and be so transparent with people is that, you know, I understood that feeling of, you know, when people would ask you, what's the one thing people don't know about you?

4:31Oh, I'm a Christian. Like, that's not what you want to say, right? And that's not being, so through that process of growing up and learning that you are a role model, whether you want to be one or not, right? So what is it? And that's, you know, kind of going back to how I was raised is like, who are you? What is that authentic person that you look like? Right. You know, if you're, if you're praying, if you're praying and you're, you're reading your Bible and you're doing certain things, why, why are you hiding it? Right. And if you stay on, if this is how you were raised, what you stand on, then you need to live by those, those, those, those factors too, that you stand on.

5:01Right. And so those are kind of those mature, that maturation process of maturing and stuff like that. And I, you know, I realized, you know, that again, I'm just going to be me. I don't know how to be anybody else but me, right? It's too hard to try to be a different version of yourself or different people. Instead of telling my kids, just be authentically you. And so I tried to pass that along. And then I think I also had a great understanding of, I genuinely loved what I did for a living, right? And I had a lot of respect because, you know, I came from, I didn't have a lot of money growing up.

5:30I mean, we had prosperous times and we had really, really poor times, you know? So, you know, I understood and would read fan mail when people would talk about, you know, football was their escape, right? Or this guy was making a couple hundred bucks a week and he's spending a couple hundred bucks a week on his season tickets, you know?

5:46Mick:Yeah. You know, making me so you understand the importance of what football was bringing to people, whether it was a distraction, whatever that fan, whatever the fandom was for. And so for me, I'm like, if some people are going to pay their hard earned money to come watch me play, I mean, I'm just, I'm going to, I'm going to give it all. I'm going to be me. And part of that me was my faith. And I think people saw me grow in that. You look at me as a rookie running around to where I was, you know, at the end of my career, you'd be like, man, there's a maturation process of a human being right there.

6:14Right. And I think that was important for me to show people that, you know, and I didn't know it at the time. It wasn't like my goal was to show this, you know, this process of change. But when you look back at it, you say, you know what? I think I did a good job of being me and setting an example of, listen, young, fun, dumb, immature, growing into responsibility. You know, you're getting married, having kids, that whole life change that you can be an example for people that are out there running and gunning that don't think they're ever going to slow down. Or there's people that, you know, hey, I can stand on my faith and it doesn't have to be this legalistic view of what people think your faith is.

6:50Right. Of this list of do's and don'ts. you know, Christ calls us to be a light to the world, not, not to hide in the darkness and not to judge others, you know? So I just tried to, I just tried to do. I just tried to live it out authentically and be who I was. And because again, like I said, it's too hard to try to be multiple people.

7:09Mick:That is the truth, bro. That is the truth. And this is a great, you know, conversation. I, I had my kids who are older, they're in their twenties now, but my, my, my middle child my oldest son is a football coach now and we watched your hall of fame induction rewound it probably a hundred times no exaggeration because i'm like that's freaking jared allen right there right and you talk about authentically being yourself and that is you and i like to call it your because or your purpose right like you do so much that people the ordinary person doesn't know about right like i know how connected you are to veterans I know the things that you do for kids that you don't ever gloat about or talk about because it's about those individuals, man.

7:58Mick:Like if I were to say Jared Allen in 2026, what is your because? What is that thing that's deeper than your why? I like to call it like your true purpose, that foundation. What's your because, brother? You know what? I think I think it's my kids right now. Honestly, it's and I know that's kind of generic and cheesy because we're still we're still doing stuff with the foundation. I got a great team that handles most of that. But, you know, right now, like my kids sports, my kids are in volleyball and, you know, they're at that pivotal point in life or teenage. I have one teenager and one preteen.

8:32Right. And so they're at that pivotal point in life where where decisions matter. And I'm not talking about football decisions, like life decisions. Right. So, you know, and they're deep into sports. And I think mom and dad being present, you know, my kids are in two different clubs. So we're constantly here. Like we're Alabama one week in Atlanta, we're all over the place. Right. But it's, it's, it's that being present, you know? And I think if you look and if you go really deep into it, you look at society today, there's, there's, I think a lot of the issues we have in society today, because there's a gap in parents being present, you know, and it's, and I'm not just talking about, you know, people from, you know, poor communities and that, I mean, you look at a lot of the affluent, I mean, my kids go to affluent school and there's a lot of unpleasant and parents, you know, there's a lot of, you know, and, and no, no disrespect to people that are, that have nannies and that are working in their career.

9:23And I fully understand that. But for me, and we've been blessed, you know, my wife and I decided when, you know, when we decided to have children that we were going to be ever present in our kids' lives. Right. And I think that's one of the greatest gifts you can give your kids. So my biggest purpose right now is making sure through these transformable years that the dad is present, you know, and, you know, and that I'm, I'm continuing to show them what hard work looks like, right. You know, continuing to show them what humility looks like, continuing to show them and hopefully being the man, the type of man that they want around them, you know, not in much later in life.

10:01Right. It's crazy. You think about it, man. I got, you know, I mean, I have a 14 year old, I mean, 10 years, she could be getting married. Right. I mean, you think about that, you're like, wow, 10 years can go by so quick. So that's really my main purpose right now is that, um, and obviously we dabbled in a lot of stuff, but, um, I think again, just teaching them to, to, to find that passion and to be, and to be passion driven. Right. Um, and so, you know, it, that's kind of been what our, our family centers around right now is, is really making sure that, that we can be ever present. And, you know, they don't know, they don't realize it now.

10:37One day they'll look back and be like, holy crap, mom and dad were pretty awesome.

10:40Mick:Okay, here's something my younger self would have benefited from. Most of us picked a bank at 16 and never looked back, and it's been nickel and diming us ever since. That's where Chime comes in. Chime is changing the way people bank. They're not like those traditional old banks that gatekeep the perks and pile on fees unless you carry some massive balance. Chime is the most rewarding fee-free banking. No overdraft fees, no monthly fees, no minimum balance fees. Here's where it stacks up. You get 5 % cash back on your Chime card in a category you choose, like gas or groceries. You build credit through regular, everyday spending with no credit check.

11:16Mick:Your savings grow at a rate nine times the national average. And if you're ever in a pinch, Spot Me spots you up to$200 fee-free. Join the millions who are already banking fee-free with America's number one choice for banking. Head to Chime.com slash Mick. That is Chime.com slash Mick. It only takes a few minutes to sign up and mick unplug listeners can earn up to an extra 350 dollars and i'm gonna continue to give you praise and applaud you for that because here's the truth and i just got off stage two weeks ago and told this story of i grew up in a two-parent household but really was raised by a single mom my dad was physically there right yep but he wasn't present And I'm tying everything to what you're saying because you're right.

12:07Mick:Your kids are going to remember that and look back. And you're not just present physically. You're present emotionally, right? You're present mentally. You're active. When we talk about Jared Allen, everybody talks about his motor, right? And you talk about action there. Like what you just said was you're present, yes, but you're being active, right? 100%. I would love for you to talk to the folks that are listening and watching about why and how that is so important in the day to day, not just with your kids. Yeah. But also in the businesses that you have, the communities that you're with. You can be present, but you really better be active.

12:46Absolutely. I love that. I love that phrasing right there. I'm going to steal it. I tell people I have no original thought. Everything I regurgitate, I take from somebody. But, you know, honestly, I'm one of these weird people. is when I, when I hear something or read something that sticks me like, I can't forget it. Right. It's, it's part of the reason why, you know, we eat the way we do, you know, as far as we like to grow our own food, be very organically, you know, we eat everything, but you know, we try to, but you know, try to that certain education process. But point being is that when I know something, I have a hard time making a conscious decision against it.

13:16If I, if I believe in it, right. If I, if it comes down to my, my core belief system, I can't, I can't consciously make that decision go against it. And so I say that to say when I was young, I mean, I would, I didn't even have kids at this time. I was in Kansas city of early twenties. I read an article that said seven, your child, your children will have a 70 % less chance of poverty for just two parents being present, being there. You can be crappy parents, but if two parents are there, right, you have, your child will have a 70 % less chance of growing up in poverty. And I don't know why that struck me in that moment i didn't have kids i was reading i was like oh my gosh and then the article continues to talk about now if both parents are active right if you're present you're active you're now you're a good parent right now you know you're all parents are going to have you know struggles but and that stuck with me and so you know when we decided to have kids um and you know aim decided to stay home and and be as you know stay-at-home mom which is the greatest gift you can give your children.

14:19Right. And then when I retired, I knew it was like, it was, Oh, what are you gonna do? You're going to do media. And I'm like, no, like my kids were at that, that, that age. They were, you know, excuse me. They're like kindergarten. My oldest was starting kindergarten when I retired. So again, fully blessed to be able to do that. And I just knew I'm like, this is my time now to, to dive in. Right. You know, and, and share the load with Amy. And, and I could have easily taken a job in media. I could have taken, you know, run and done whatever. But again, I think there's that, there's that level of being active in your kid's life is huge you know um and so for me that's just what it is and then when i do something i go all in right and so i mean what greater what greater mission or greater purpose to be all in on than your kids uh and your wife and and in your faith right so like go those those things that actually matter i mean let's be honest all this goes away right when we're you know we when we go we go in front of our maker whoever you believe your maker is when you go in front of your dollar dollar size and zeros in your bank account mean absolutely nothing you know and so you know so for me i think i've had a great understanding of that um even when i was young and so i just tried i just i try to be active and like i said and then and then and you go into the business world things right i literally was on a call with with a distributor the other day you know again my buddy called me one day years ago back in 20 uh because i guess it's 2021 he said hey you want to buy a couple barrels of bourbon i was like cool he's a bourbon aficionado he's i i like to say i know a lot about bourbon i enjoy a great glass of bourbon my buddy's bourbon geek he's just he's all and so uh i was like yeah sure i had some connections over at mgp so we bought some barrels the next thing you know we bought some more barrels next thing we're gonna age it till it's 10 years old next thing we're sitting on these things for four or five years and and then fred minnick's a buddy of mine he's like man this is pretty good you should probably sit you probably sell this like oh and then i just get down this rabbit hole and now i have a bourbon company right uh and we can talk about that as well but this distributor he said he goes the the ones that make it the brands that make it are the people that show up right the people that are active you have to be active in your own company you have to be active in what you do you have to be active in your future right so if i expect my kids to have a good future or if i wanted to set a good example for them i have to show them what it looks like to be active now anybody who's raising teenagers know half the time i don't think they see what we're doing but they will they will at some point i hope so that you know we always tell them like where are you so lazy my goodness your mom and i work our butts off around here so i think that's just that's just the way i've been you know it's like it's that it's that mentality it's that all in mentality it's that you know if you're it you know and there's the old adage right if anything's worth doing is worth doing well uh and so that's trying to that's kind of what i get and and then when i don't have the time that's one of the reasons I retired for football I wasn't willing to put the six hours in the gym anymore right I wasn't willing to work out in the off season to meet the standard that I thought was acceptable right I'm going to hung on for paychecks and you know racked up five sacks a year and done the minimum but that's just not who who I who I was and so I take that same philosophy of what we're doing so if that passion for something burns or if I'm not willing to put that effort in then we then we get out of it all right or we don't do it in the first place and so um that's just kind of what was ingrained in me the hard work growing up you know very blue collar family my dad was a reigning cut horse trainer my grandfather was 23 years in united states marine corps um which means that we were all in the marine corps right we were raised we were raised boot camp style and um and so again i just that just kind of translates into again my i try to put that kind of work into my marriage my faith my kids uh any, any business we're doing.

18:01So yeah, it's just, it's a mentality and it's, it's, it's, you know, again, you joke about, I always joke about it with a mullet, it's a lifestyle. It really is. It's a choice. It's a choice to be, be this way. Yes, sir.

18:13Mick:Yes, sir. So Jared, I'm going to give you an unplugged truth right here. And I've said this to anybody that will listen to me. I think I've said this on film too. I hate the saying hard work beats talent when talent doesn't show up. And here's why, because I've said this before. When hard work and talent shows up, you got a monster and that monster is Jared Allen. I believe that you were the epitome of hard work, motor, but then talent too. Right? Because yeah, hard work does beat talent when talent doesn't show up. but a lot of times though when you mix that talent in you get 136 sacks that's the differentiator right yep that's the differentiator i tell that to kids these days i'm like you get to the nfl everybody's fast everybody's strong right everybody everybody was bored if they weren't first team all-american they were some form of an all-american problem like so so all the accolades are there right everybody so what's that what makes what makes all these people in college college that are the 1 % of 1%, right?

19:22I think, um, I love math, right? And I, and I had a high school coach tell me one time, and this is when he was basically trying to tell me like, I shouldn't get my hopes up for, for, for college scholarships. And I was like a freshman, right? He was like, there's like 20 ,000 colleges in the, in the country. Right. And you know, hundreds of thousands of high school students and high school athletes and this, that only about 20 ,000 of them get to go to college on a scholarship. And then out of that, another, only, you know, 5 ,000, at least this level of this and it was this whole like you know one percent of one percent kind of keep coming down uh and i think when you get to those levels where everybody's good everybody's great it is a mindset and it's your work ethic right and i used to laugh about it because guys in the league that that that work hard that are hustler like that motors all that you hear the high motor you know uh try hard hustle guy and i'm like right you're actually you're using those in a in a in a negative connotation, right?

20:15You're trying to say like, hold up. I only have 136 acts because I worked hard. No, I only have 136 acts because I tried hard, you know? And again, why is working hard and trying hard and hustling ever? What has that ever been a bad thing? Those are qualities I'm trying to teach my kids, right? Right. You have to put the work in. And that's why I love sports, right? Like you said, because at that point, everybody's talented. So the fact that I'm willing to outwork you just shows that mentally you're weak. Right. Right. And that's how I equate it. And, and so I'm with you. I don't, you know, yes, I would, I would take someone that has a great work ethic that might not be as naturally gifted.

20:52I don't like to say talent. I like to say, you know, there's everybody's got different gifts. Um, and I remember having that conversation with Everson Griffin when he was a young kid or, you know, young player. I said, dude, you, you have more natural athletic ability than I ever had. I mean, this dude was, this dude was running a sub four, five 40 after practice with pads on, you know what i mean like 270 i mean this dude is just a a absolute physical specimen yeah yeah well i told him i said but when you get this right when you when you know when you when you can use your mind when you when you you know when you when you know your playbook when you know uh what that offensive tackles in the set when you when you know the game so well now you're actually using those physical attributes as a as a as a tool in your toolbox right because you're just you're just surviving on those you know but when when that when that work ethic and that's what to say the hard work isn't just in the weight room you know it isn't just um you know practicing hard it's all it's fine-tuning the details being willing to pick yourself apart and you know i tell everybody the 136 are great i probably remember all the ones i missed more right and it's those missed opportunities of what could have been you know dang that could have been even better and every season I would just go back and I would just rip myself apart okay you get you're only as good as your last season how can we get better where can we get better where are we where are we lacking you know writing down goals and giving those to my coach to hold me accountable and stuff like that so yeah man I think I'm with you I think you know talent a lot of people get by on talent in all aspects of the world right you know it's it's like you got your person that naturally really smart so they don't have to try very hard to school but imagine if they did you know imagine where you could go um and so i i couldn't agree more with you i think you know you look at you look at anybody that's successful um you know it takes grit and determination the talent isn't given now what do you do with that talent is that's on you and that comes down to your work ethic and what and that's why you see guys wash out right it's not because they weren't talented yeah you know it's not it's not because you know and then you got you got guys that overachieve you got guys that underachieve and it comes down to that work ethic like you

23:02Mick:said yep yep absolutely all right jared i'm gonna get in trouble in a good way this is my hot take of the day but i need some help with this hot okay so sitting right here to my right i have this bourbon full ride bourbon and not only is this take hot this bourbon is hot on fire we're talking 122 proof 61 alcohol content but it's the presentation bro like got some signatures right here on the side right we got some limited edition stuff that i love so i wanted to do this live we're gonna open this oh I like it okay we're gonna open this and I need everybody to see this right here this is amazing this is amazing and this blend is number one of 25 it's how special Jared Allen is to me this has become my favorite bourbon and that's what I'm gonna get in trouble I love it and I'll tell you what that is fantastic and it's nine o 'clock i don't i don't know if i should have a sip live i didn't say if it was nine o 'clock a.m or p.m it's just nine o 'clock right no one knows if you've even swallowed it so that so that so what's special about this one too is uh you know this one is our is our higher pressure because so this was actually i i when we when we made this blend this was only for my hall of fame party right so we made this blend especially for my hall of fame party so that was batch one that we bottled in 2025 um that's where the 125 so you you should have a number on your canister that'll tell you which yes uh bottle of of 228 so after the hall of fame party i was never going to release this into the public right um and then we had we had some issues with our with our we had some delays in our glass because our our batch two is our 115 which is cool it is is primo we've softened the front end up a little bit um and so we had 228 bottles sitting in a tote uh over at our bottling company middle west so we said you know what let's let's uh let's make a custom canister for it right i'll sign all of them individually because you know our brand isn't built around me as an athlete right it's built around the bourbon like that's the other thing too it's like yeah you know when you do something you got authentic like there's a ton of celebrity brands athlete brands like that's why we put all of our focus into our our our juice and that's why we have we sat on our mgp until it was eight years old right i went out we bought 13 year old barrels uh of kentucky bourbon that are fantastic and we literally created this blend while we were we were there to to figure out how we were going to blend out our mgp with our middle west and we and this got we ended up with this which was totally so we shifted in the ninth hour right i mean we just were like yeah the juice is going to lead the way we're going to do what it takes so anyways we did this we signed this we got this out and that is why it's at the elevated price of two 95 our our batch two retails at 99.99 um but this is this is one of my favorite just because this is this was like this was that completion of an idea again right we just had me and my buddy sitting around called me up one day like yeah let's do it uh and then knowing nothing of the spirits world just just worked the process and took our lumps and just worked worked worked worked worked worked and and this is what we got you know in time for the hall of fame party be able to give that as gifts for everybody um and then like i said to have that left over and be able to release a very very small limited run to the public which which you are lucky to get one it it is cool and um i will say it is it is fantastic neat but i'm i'm a cube guy too and that 122 on a cube is ah bellissimo i don't even know bellissimo means i'm a good it's amazing no but i'm a cube guy too but you like this is so great neat yeah um and and by the way that canister was 122 of 228 okay okay perfect and here's what i got you release the video i sat here in this office and i signed every single one of those canisters i freaking love it i freaking love it okay here's something my younger self would have benefited from.

27:24Mick:Most of us picked a bank at 16 and never looked back, and it's been nickel and diming us ever since. That's where Chime comes in. Chime is changing the way people bank. They're not like those traditional old banks that gatekeep the perks and pile on fees unless you carry some massive balance. Chime is the most rewarding fee-free banking. No overdraft fees, no monthly fees, no minimum balance fees. Here's where it stacks up. You get 5 % cash back on your Chime card in a category you choose, like gas or groceries. You build credit through regular, everyday spending with no credit check. Your savings grow at a rate nine times the national average.

28:00Mick:And if you're ever in a pinch, Spot Me spots you up to$200 fee-free. Join the millions who are already banking fee-free with America's number one choice for banking. Head to Chime.com slash Mick. That is Chime.com slash Mick. It only takes a few minutes to sign up and Mick Unplugged listeners can earn up to an extra$350. Here's what I'm going to do because I need to do this right now before the rest of them get sold. I'm going to go ahead and buy another two bottles of this one if they're available. I'm going to check. I don't speak easy. They should be. Yep. Yep. So here's what I want. I want people that live here near me.

28:44Mick:So my friends, so John Moreau, my cousin, Randy, my cousin, Torrance, we're going to do a special. We're going to film it. We're going to do some cool things for social to really push this brand out here. I love it. Well, we'll get you sent. Next weekend when I'm home. I'm sorry to keep interrupting. No, no, no, no. We might call or FaceTime Jared Allen and get him on with us too. But we're going to go celebrate this right here. We're going to celebrate Jared Allen, but we're going to celebrate Full Ripe Bourbon. I love it. Because if you're watching, if you're listening, it is the best bourbon you're going to have.

29:19And this is where I'm going to get in trouble because everybody that knows me

29:22Mick:knows that, you know, I love the difference. Chris Voss, one of my very good friends. Chris, we're now number two. Nick, we're number two. Full Ride is my number one. They know I love a Vintage Yellowstone. Ooh, yeah. My Vintage Yellowstone is now number three. I love a Jefferson's. Jefferson has now moved to number four. Yeah. which because all right is that truth i appreciate you and and so i do do this to our and we can send you a bottle um of our uh of our batch two right yeah and taste them against each other because that's that's the coolest part about when if you have both of them is you know everybody's kind of trying to figure out what all is the difference and so we have about 10 percent more wheat in our batch two okay all right so again one of the reasons one of the reasons that we got to the 122.

30:11This is the reason everything's all high proof bourbon. Like the reason I love high proof bourbon is the complexity of the blending process and the making process, right? The, the, the ability a, because we're not drinking, like we're going to the clubs anymore, you know, like we're in our twenties, right? I'm out. Give me a, give me a glass. I'm ready for sleep. A glass. I'm going

30:27Mick:to sit for 30, 45 and just enjoy it. Right. Exactly. And, uh, as Fred would say, you, you, you graduated from a drinker to a taster. And, uh, and so high proof bourbon is so people who get so scared of it and i'm like but it's like it's like heating up your spices or you know toasting your your nuts before you make make a meal right it just it adds a complexity of flavors to it that you can't get any other way um and then the challenge is making it drink like a low proof and that's and that is why i love it and that is why you know we have the partners we have over middle west and and our blenders um you know they just acquired old elk which is a great brand as well and so we we get we get we get the ability of just being able to source and that's why we like to source too because i'm not going to sit here pretend i'm going to be a distiller and make and redo the world of bourbon there's so many great barrels of bourbon out there the key is finding those putting them together and then creating the blend that again is authentic i think it's great you think it's great some people might not but that's what i love about the challenge of it and then with our batch two you know we went to say okay how can we how can a we make you know the batch different right uh i like i love orphan barrel for that reason like they go out it's it's all it's always different it's always floating right yeah um and they said they have some staples like barter houses which is fantastic but that's kind of the premise behind full ride it's like we'll always let the juice lead you know we have what we have you know we have our barrels that will base it but if someone comes up to me he's like hey i just found something insane and we can get it like yep we're gonna and if and if it works with our with our premise of what we're trying to put out then we'll do it but this is why so our batch two um we just we softened it up just a little bit it came the proof came down to 115 based on uh based on the extra wheat so the 122 was hard to hit because the wheat our weeded bourbon was only coming in at like 100 i think 113 out of the barrel right it was a little lower out of the barrel uh in our kentucky it was like 130 so we were trying to balance like how we were trying to get these just to meet a standard and i really want really wanted to kind of be in that 120 above 120 for that first uh for that first one something really special um and we think we nailed it and then the 115 uh is our batch two i always call by their proofs because i think right now we've got our batch two um i would love for you to taste them together and give me your thoughts on them because it that has it has a little it's going to be a little a little softer on the front end uh not as grain forward now it It depends on what you like.

32:54I love the taste of the grains of a bourbon, right? Like I'm just, I want to taste what I'm drinking. And so again, it's such a fun process and you get kind of, you know, the science behind it. And you're just trying to get into this, like this play of trying to, you know, how can we soften the mouth? How can we do this? How can we do this? And hopefully we continue to throw out good products. So I'm glad you love it. And I look forward to hearing what you think about the other one too.