Tuning Spoons and Eggnog (BRC S3 E2)

AI Transcript: S3 E2 BRC.  Please excuse any typos.

Kerry Moynahan:
It is 5 o'clock somewhere and you've tuned in to Season 3, Episode 2 of BRC. For those of you who'd like to watch this episode, I highly recommend it. You can view Season 3 on our website, YouTube, Spotify, WhiskeyNetwork.net, and Zencastr. I'm Carrie Moynihan, and in today's Tales from the Still, I speak with Brian Summers about his consulting company, Tuning Spoon. Then later in the show, Chef Louise Leonard stops by to taste some of Brian's homemade eggnog. So kick off your shoes, pour yourself a dram, and join me for this episode of Barrel Room Chronicles.

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Kerry Moynahan:
Good morning, good afternoon to whatever time it is you are watching the show today. On the show, I have Brian Summers of Tuning Spoon. Tuning Spoon, you say? What is Tuning Spoon? Well, Brian is here to tell us all about it. Brian, welcome.

Brian Summers:
Hello. How's it going, Carrie?

Kerry Moynahan:
It's going well. I'm glad to have you. Um, so we met through a mutual friend, uh, with, uh, tell him or do, but we won't say, yeah, tell him or do, but that's okay. But if you want to sponsor, tell him or do go ahead. All right. Uh, anyway, so we met and she told me all about you and your company and I think it's just fascinating. So I'd love to have you, uh, tell our audience today about the tuning spoon and what it is you do there and your journey, your whiskey journey.

Brian Summers:
Absolutely. So I founded Tuning Spoon, which is basically like a tuning fork that resonates, but it's actually a bar spoon. So it's very much about the human connection aspect, the personal aspect of building a brand and creating brand experiences. So I have almost two decades of experience working behind some of LA's best craft cocktail bars. And I spent almost a decade working for some incredible spirit brands, a lot of single malts, cognacs, agave spirits, and eventually got to a place where I was like, you know, I've got some pretty, you know, deeply held convictions and working philosophies that I want to lean into that I believe are the most potent channel when it comes to building a brand. So it's very much about resonating with the soul of a brand and vibrating with the heart of their audience.

Kerry Moynahan:
Fantastic. So if somebody wanted to hire Tuning Spoon, what kind of services could you provide?

Brian Summers:
Yeah, absolutely. So I do everything from field marketing strategy, brand ambassador programs, experiential marketing events. I also help out bars, hotels, private clubs with beverage programming, be it a craft cocktail program or something a little bit more turnkey. And then, of course, personal experiences around tasting delicious liquid.

Kerry Moynahan:
That's fantastic. So we always like to start out the show with getting your whiskey journey. So when you were a wee little lad, do you ever think that you would be doing all of this in the alcohol realm?

Brian Summers:
I don't think as a wee one that that was on my radar yet. But my mother, RIP, definitely helped me lean into the values of good food. I believe that good food and good drink are the greatest conduit to human connection. And so my mom was an incredible chef. And the way she loved food and was able to be so mindful with the way she experienced it rubbed off on me. And I found myself forging a career in food, drink, hospitality. And once that spark was lit, that fire just kept burning.

Kerry Moynahan:
And you are a native Angeleno, correct? Los Angelenos? That's right. Absolutely. Born and raised.

Brian Summers:
That's a rare, rare thing. You know, people say that a lot. And then I guess us native Angelenos tend to gravitate to each other. I know lots of native Angelenos and I meet lots of native Angelenos. But I suppose... I only know two and you're one of them. So... I'll take it. You know what? Call me rare then, even though I'm not.

Kerry Moynahan:
Nice. You're as rare as a fine whiskey. There you go. I'll take it.

Brian Summers:
I will take it.

Kerry Moynahan:
So when you say left high school, what was your career aim at that point? And did you start in the hospitality industry there? Did you go to college and do some? Or what's the deal?

Brian Summers:
Yeah. At that point, I was convinced I was going to be a rock star. I was playing in bands. I started orchestrally playing violin as a four-year-old. Oh, wow. I played clarinet, trumpet, a little saxophone, and then I picked up the guitar when I was 13. Started playing some piano, some bass, and some drums.

Kerry Moynahan:
Is there anything you don't play?

Brian Summers:
I yeah, I actually wish I had some experience playing double rated instruments like oboe or bassoon, but I have not tinkered, but that would be a really fun experiment. And then yeah, there's a lot of really cool exotic instruments that I'd love to have the chance to tinker with and see if I can translate one instrument to the other, which is sometimes how it works. When I started playing piano, it was very much playing guitar on the piano for me and just connecting dots. But at that stage, yeah, I thought I was going to be a musician and I did start working in restaurants. My first restaurant, I was a teenager. I was 16, 17 years old working at a chain restaurant called Claim Jumper.

Kerry Moynahan:
Oh, Claim Jumper.

Brian Summers:
Still around, aren't they? I think they are.

Kerry Moynahan:
This was 22 years ago. Back when they used to serve whopping heaping, yeah, the last time I went to Claim Jumper, it was like tiny little, I told my mom, I said, oh, we're going to Claim Jumper. Everything's huge. We can share it. And then it came and it wasn't huge. I'm like, oh, I guess they don't do that anymore.

Brian Summers:
Oh, interesting. It's been a while for me since I've been, so maybe they,

Kerry Moynahan:
I think they lost their sensibilities by somebody. So I think they probably said, um, we need to lighten the portions a bit.

Brian Summers:
Reel it in. Yeah. Yeah. I met my wife there 21 years ago. Um, yeah, I still have some friends that I came up with, you know, uh, at that time and, you know, I've been fortunate enough to work at much better restaurants than that as well.

Kerry Moynahan:
Fantastic. Fantastic. So, um, When you were doing restaurants, how did you do the transition between restaurants into more of the spirits and ambassador way?

Brian Summers:
Yeah, absolutely. I was working at a little French boutique, and then I got a little French bistro. And I got the chance to open a restaurant here in LA in 2006 called Comme Ca. The bar program was being set up by Milk and Honey and now it's Atta Boy. Sam Ross did the bar program. And so that was just such an incredible experience. There was 30 of us training for probably six months while, you know, the delays of opening a restaurant inevitably happened. We just kept learning. And it was almost like a reality show with no TVs. Because every time we'd do a class, we'd test, and someone would kind of get the ax. And so I made, you know, there was three of us that were left standing at the end of it. And I got to, you know, that serves as a passport to work at some really incredible spots afterwards.

Kerry Moynahan:
That's really cool. And then, so you learned your bartending skills from the Milk and Honey guy. And then When did you leave, or did you leave, restaurants to become a brand ambassador for whiskeys?

Brian Summers:
So there was actually about five years of overlap where I was bartending, consulting, and then doing part-time brand work for Balvenie and Glenfiddich. So during that time, you know, I was, I got, this is, you know, about 2010 to, you know, yeah, 2015, I want to say. And I got the chance to go out to Scotland, roll up my sleeves. I got to work at the Balvenie Distillery for a week. I did everything from working a day in the still room to building casks. It was such a bucket list experience for me. It was brilliant. And I'm sure when I eventually close the book, that's going to be one of those memories that flashes before my eyes.

Kerry Moynahan:
Yeah, no, that sounds extremely exciting. I went on a tour in Scotland, so I only got to watch all of that. I didn't get to actually do any of it. But it seems that being a cooper would be extremely difficult.

Brian Summers:
Yeah, yeah. I actually, you know, If you ask my wife, I'm probably not the most handy person, but I am a decent creative problem solver. Just not always great at following written directions.

Kerry Moynahan:
So the IKEA furniture is hard for you?

Brian Summers:
Difficult for me because I'm better off without the instructions. reverse engineering the thing. And so my wife ends up like with the IKEA stuff taken over, you know, much to her frustration, I'm sure. But I was convinced that I was going to be so sloppy. And I built, you know, on our team, I built the only cask that didn't leak. Oh, nice. So I did pretty well.

Kerry Moynahan:
And how long did it take to do one? Because I know those coopers can put one together in like five minutes.

Brian Summers:
Oh, they're insane. It took me much, much longer. But I was under the watchful eye of Ian Miller, who looks after the Balvinian Glenfiddich Cooperage. He's a shorter gentleman and They call him Mini Cooper, which is pretty damn amazing. It would be great if you drove one too, right? Does he drive one? Absolutely. I don't think he does, but he really embraces the nickname and he was a phenomenal teacher. Helped bring it to life for me so that I could comprehend the instructions.

Kerry Moynahan:
Nice. So how many were on each team and how many teams were there?

Brian Summers:
Okay, so there was eight of us looking after major markets in the US and we all got to go out there and it was pretty special.

Kerry Moynahan:
And then how many people per barrel did you guys have? Or is it just you? Just one person? No, it was just you.

Brian Summers:
Yeah, yeah. Each of us got to take a swing and put one together, you know, hammering the rings down. And it was awesome. I can't believe thinking about that. So that was in 2014. I can't believe that was almost 10 years ago, because it feels like yesterday for me.

Kerry Moynahan:
Nice. So when you came back from that wonderful excursion, what kind of career building things were you doing to get you ready for the tuning spoon?

Brian Summers:
You know, getting the chance to, you know, work for William Grant and see how they you know, their philosophies about building a brand. And then I got to, you know, the opportunity to look after the Remy Martin brand after that. And then I was promoted to looking after the full book because my, my spirits, knowledge, and geekiness expands beyond whiskey. And seeing how, you know, Remy Quantro builds a brand. And then I got to work for Edrington and look after McAllen in Highland Park. And just to see where there's differences, where there's shared reality and seeing what parts align with me and what I'm seeing in the market, what I'm seeing out in the field or at events or when I'm connecting with people, sharing the liquid and seeing what lights people up.

Kerry Moynahan:
Nice. And then when did you come up with the idea for Tuning Spoon? And when did making it a go become a reality?

Brian Summers:
Yeah, that happened this year. That was a big step for me to walk away from some really comfortable salaries, 401k, all that security, and to just take that leap. And so that happened towards the beginning of 2023. this year. And it's nerve wracking, but it's been so rewarding. And it's been such a beautiful period of growth in my life. And I'm working with some incredible clients. I'm working with a mezcal and a Sotol brand called La Escondida. They have an incredible story, which I just love sharing with people. And just helping build a brand that has Grown to be ubiquitous out in Europe, a Mascow brand that's just launching here in the United States. So they've been around for 10 years and I get to get in at the ground floor here in the States and put people on to something new and exciting. I know Sotol doesn't get a whole lot of light in the sun. and such a delightfully delicious category. And the expressions that La Escondida is putting out are just blow mine. So really, really lovely, you know, getting the opportunity to contribute my, you know, my experience, my gifts, and my instincts to helping out people that I believe in.

Kerry Moynahan:
That's awesome. And then have you done any intimate tastings here in the area lately.

Brian Summers:
Oh yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Whether it's a three-hour Negroni class for six people, and we do the deep dive into the history, the execution, and then lots of the fun variations, or whether I did a Brandy tasting for 15 people over a course dinner and just explore some of the different styles of brandy, or doing much more in my wheelhouse, or at least where my first love was, which was single malt scotch, leading people on single malt scotch tastings. It's just been such a beautiful time. I love that intimate setting because you really get to connect with people. And I love looking at people's faces and seeing what's exciting them, where the stimulation is, and how to bring more of that to life.

Kerry Moynahan:
That's awesome. So what's your plan for the next five years with the Tuning Spoon?

Brian Summers:
Yeah. So right now, Las Condidas is just in California and New York. I know that they're going to scale into other states. I would love to look after a national brand ambassador campaign for them. I'd love to do that for other brands. I'd love to partner with larger suppliers and develop really creative and emotionally intelligent programming that just with a deep understanding of the universal human needs that make us all tick as humans, and the ways we scratch that itch with the spirits that we love, just bringing that to life and doing that on a larger scope and scale is definitely... What i want to do it creating some fun experiences i love doing things that are trade facing i have some programming coming down the pipeline that's gonna deliver education to the bar community especially right now since there's been. you know, post COVID, uh, you know, several new generations coming into the fold. How do we get them just as excited? How do we get them to carry the torch further than we brought it? And, and how do we. Communicate in maybe slightly different nonverbal and verbal, uh, you know, ways, uh, that are going to really resonate with them and, uh, help them buy into that shared identity that, that really, uh, carries this thing forward.

Kerry Moynahan:
That's fantastic. So, um, if, if I were a person that wanted to set up a private tasting, uh, where would we be able to find you?

Brian Summers:
So you can, you can find me at, uh, www dot tuning spoon.net. And there's a way to contact me there. You can follow me on the gram. at TuningSpoonCo. And either one of those ways, or you can email me at brian.tuningspoon.net. And just send me a note. I'm a very approachable, personable guy. And I love having these conversations. I love to get a deep sense of what people are looking for. And making people feel comfortable, happy, and meeting people's needs is just something that's deeply ingrained in who I am as a person. So I love having those opportunities to do that.

Kerry Moynahan:
That's great. And then I know you're based here in LA, but, um, would you be able to do tastings anywhere in the country?

Brian Summers:
Absolutely. Absolutely. I, I, you know, where there's a will, there's a way, uh, you know, we can get me out there to do, uh, really creative work in other cities. I've done plenty of that in the past with, uh, some of the jobs that I've done in the, in the past. And I, I'd love the opportunity to, to, to, to, to scale this out. Absolutely.

Kerry Moynahan:
That's fantastic. So Brian, before we go, we were talking off air about your eggnog. And I was just amazed by this eggnog because, as I was saying, I've seen people that make homemade eggnog where they go and get eggnog from the store, just plain, you know, and then they spruce it up with some various things. But your eggnog is like 100% pure start to finish eggnog. Tell me about that.

Brian Summers:
Absolutely, it has to be. When you just try to combine, even if it's great quality spirits with some store-bought eggnog, even if it's the kind that comes in a glass, there's always such a disconnect between the spirit itself and what you're mixing it with, and this ethanol note kind of comes up the center. There's something just so much better about building it all from scratch. There's a cohesion. So for my eggnog, which is something I've been working on for probably over 15 years, and just tinkering it a little bit every year, I blend cognac, rum, and bourbon. I infuse them all individually. I do some... sultanas and raisins. I do some dehydrated and fresh banana, some vanilla bean. I use heat for some of these infusions to aid in extraction. I use vibration in others through ultrasonication. And then I did a batch of this when I was looking after the programs at Jonathan Club where it was probably about 50 liters of this that I made. So we cracked hundreds of eggs. I used the big stand mixer that holds gallons and gallons and gallons to beat hundreds of egg yolks to cream in the sugar. I make a syrup where I reduce different baking spices. I love that nutmeg to come through, some clove, cinnamon, allspice. A little bit of fresh ginger. Love to infuse a little umami note in there as well. So I've even done nori. Very, very dialed back.

Kerry Moynahan:
You would never notice it. The flavors that you're talking about, it's blowing my mind. I can't wait to taste this. So you're making a batch starting tonight, tomorrow?

Brian Summers:
Yeah, I already made the syrup. So that, you know, that that happened, you know, last night. And then, yeah, we're infusing tonight, make and we'll be building it over the weekend together.

Kerry Moynahan:
So this is literally a three to four day project just to make some eggnog. And then how much eggnog are you going to get out of what you're putting together this weekend?

Brian Summers:
So for this weekend, it's just a small group of friends that I'll be enjoying it with so I think I'll keep the batch quite a Much much smaller probably only a couple liters and and I'll probably make something else a bit more refreshing and we'll probably You know cap the night with with some of the eggnog. It's delightfully rich and and You know, when you have your ABV high enough for this, it actually ages beautifully. We set aside some of the batch that I made at Jonathan Club, and we aged it for a full year. And did you age it in barrels? No, I sterilize glasses, so I use liter bottles that I obviously I clean with detergent and soap, but then just to make sure that it's completely nuked to zero and totally inert, I actually was using 200-proof anhydrous neutral grain spirit to rinse the bottles with before anything went in there.

Kerry Moynahan:
Wow. And, and, and it's shelf stable with. Yeah.

Brian Summers:
Well, no, you got to keep it under refrigeration. Uh, so you got to refrigerate it. Um, but it, it ages beautifully and yeah, that year that one year batch, uh, it's really high test eggnog and you just don't even taste the ethanol. You just taste all that beautiful weight of the different types of Oak and distillate. Um, and then with the infusion that kind of just marries it in there, it's a, You know, making me really want to celebrate the holidays right now.

Kerry Moynahan:
Yeah, no, that's that sounds really good. I'm going to send over a very sterilized bottle. And if you could give me a little swig, that would be great. I would love to have that and try it out. And maybe we'll talk to Chef Louise Leonard on our World of Wheezy segment and see what she can come up to pair with or. Yeah, she'll probably come up something good to pair with that. Now, do you have specific brands you use for your cognac and your brandy and these? And do you want to share those or, or no?

Brian Summers:
Yeah, absolutely. Um, I, I, I was using, uh, Romeo Martin, uh, 1738. Okay. And I was, uh, using, uh, as far as the rum, it was a blend of several rums, but I wanted something aged. So there was some diplomatico, some Appleton estate.

Kerry Moynahan:
Oh, nice.

Brian Summers:
I love that. bright estuary funk that the Jamaican rum brings into there. And then the bourbon, I was using Elijah Craig.

Kerry Moynahan:
Nice. Very nice. Well, it sounds delicious. Brian, thank you again for your time. And I wish you all the best of luck on Tuning Spoon. And please do keep us posted on what you're doing in the future. And we'd love to have you back at a later time to catch up.

Brian Summers:
I love that, Keri. Thank you so much for having me on. Love the work you're doing. And it's such a pleasure just having this conversation with you.

Kerry Moynahan:
Thank you. World of Wheezy is up next. Stay with us. Like what you've seen on BRC? Want to see more, experience more, and maybe even taste more? Then head over to our Ko-fi site and become a member of the Barrel Room Parlor. By choosing the Copper Level membership, you'll have exclusive access to videos related to topics discussed on the podcast and blog posts for members only. As an Amber member level, you'll enjoy everything from our Copper level as well as various spin-off series including The Cutting Room Floor and Kindred Spirits. In addition, the Amber membership includes exclusive discounts to live in-person events. To join, visit www.BerylRoomChronicles.com and click on Become a Member in the navigation bar. or go straight to our Ko-fi site at ko-fi.com slash BRC and click on the membership link. Once you've joined, you'll have access to everything your chosen level has to offer. You'll even be able to participate with the show by commenting on videos and other posts. Don't wait, sign up today for exclusive content and event discounts in the Barrel Room Parlor.

Chef Louise Leonard:
Hey Louise, how are you? I'm good.

Kerry Moynahan:
How you been? Good. So I told you about my friend Brian who created the company Tuning Spoon. And he also made this lovely eggnog over the holidays and recently made me a new batch so that I could share it with you. And when I tasted it over the holidays, I said, oh, we have to have Louise talk about this because I mean, yes, it's not, it's no longer Christmas, but I mean, it's eggnog and it's good, so.

Chef Louise Leonard:
Well, and here's the thing. It's still cold. It is still cold. In a lot of places. And I'm from the Midwest. I've said it a million times. I'm sure everyone knows it by now. It's cold there. And if you go into the supermarket, eggnog is sold well past like Christmas. Really? Yeah. It's still on the shelves. All right, well, let's taste this.

Kerry Moynahan:
Cheers. Cheers.

Chef Louise Leonard:
That's eggnog. It's got a lot of flavor. Delicious. Banana-y.

Kerry Moynahan:
Very. So what do you think about, like, I don't know.

Chef Louise Leonard:
Which is awesome because I don't normally taste banana with eggnog. Right. It's not like, it's banana pudding-ish in a way, which is good.

Kerry Moynahan:
Yeah. And there is bananas in here, infused with bananas, which, you know, I have never had. Well, I don't know that I've never had. I've never had Homemade eggnog.

Chef Louise Leonard:
If homemade sometimes by... You've never had like eggnog made from scratch?

Kerry Moynahan:
Not that I'm aware of, unless somebody didn't tell me, but I know that there are people that, oh, I bought this at the store and then I added blah, blah, blah. Sure. That's like semi-homemade. Yeah. But you're saying from scratch you've never had. From scratch, as far as I know, no, I've not had it. What do you think? What would you make or eat with this?

Chef Louise Leonard:
Well, so this is reminding me of former life when I lived in New York. I used to go to this awesome bar on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. called the Waterfront Ale House, and every year during the holidays, the owner, Sam, would make homemade eggnog and sell it in quart-sized mason jars. And it was, you know, it was his own. I don't know what he put in it. You know, the obvious. Obviously, cream, eggs. Rum nutmeg, you know all the spices and all of that, but I mean everyone has their own recipe for it so One of the things that I used to do is I used to buy his eggnog And then I would take it home and I make a cheesecake using his eggnog Cheesecake for the holidays. I have not done that in quite some time It's a little bit this style of cheesecake that I do take some time. It's like a little bit labor-intensive, but it's really damn good. And especially if you can imagine like, if you are a person that loves eggnog during the holidays, and then make it even more like yeah, and with this banana flavor, that would be a very interesting eggnog.

Kerry Moynahan:
I mean, a very interesting cheesecake because I've never had a cheesecake with a banana flavor either.

Chef Louise Leonard:
yeah and i mean what's interesting about this one is that it's pretty it's like when i taste it here it it's not like it's banana forward right but it's enough that i can pick it up I baked into a cheesecake I don't really know how much banana I would get but at the same time I'm like I don't know maybe some caramelized bananas on top of the cheesecake as well.

Kerry Moynahan:
You know what I was thinking too like for the crust maybe use and I'm sure you make your crust from from scratch but I always have when I have like um banana cream pie like those vanilla wafer cookies.

Chef Louise Leonard:
Sure, you could like just completely lean into that whole idea and do it like that. Make a complete banana pudding, eggnog, cheesecake. I think after today's recording, it's all the desserts all in one.

Kerry Moynahan:
I think after today's recordings, I'm gonna like have a whole lineup of a feast ready to go between everything we're going to talk about today. Anyway, Louise, thank you so much. It's been great having you here on the show, as always. It was good to see you, and thank you so much for being here, and cheers to you. Cheers. That does it for today's show. To read notes on this episode or learn more about our guests, please visit barrelroomchronicles.com. Want to interact with the show or have questions for our guests? Then ask them on our socials or send us an email. Or better yet, leave us a voicemail on our website. If you like what you heard, please rate and subscribe to the podcast. If you really liked it and you want to show your support, buy us a whiskey through our Ko-fi site at ko-fi.com slash BRC, or become an exclusive member of the Barrel Room Parlor. If you work in the whiskey or spirits industry or just have a deep passion for whiskey and want to share your spirits journey, register to be a guest through our website. Last but not least, please enjoy your spirits responsibly. Thanks for joining me. Until next time, so long.

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