Welcome to another episode of Drinking With Robots. I'm your host, Rob Nester, and today we're diving into a theme that tingles the spine, tempts the sweet tooth, and most importantly, what's our whistles with bewitching drinks? Yes, you guessed it. We're talking about the history of Halloween. Brianna Neville, general manager and cocktail crafter at Weldon, North Carolina's own Weldon Mills Distillery, will be stopping by a little later to talk to us about her love of Halloween, her passion for cocktails, and how being behind a bar and working in EMS aren't really that different. But first, a word from our sponsor. Upgrade your cocktail game with Remedy Cocktail Company's handcrafted bitters. Order online at RemedyCocktailCompany.com and choose from over 20 flavors. Elevate your drink experience today. Hold on to your witch's hats and ghostly sheets. This episode is not just about candy corn and monster mash. We're exploring the ancient roots, the American metamorphosis, and the spirited drinks of the spooktacular holiday. So grab your broomsticks and cauldrons, folks. We're in for a hauntingly good time. First on our spectral journey is the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. Now wait, I know what you're saying. But it's spelled Samhain. I know. The Irish, they have this whole other way of speaking. Just go with it. Samhain occurs approximately at the midpoint between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice. And there's physical evidence in Ireland that some Neolithic passage tombs, such as the entrance to the mound of the hostages on the hill of Tara, were aligned with the rising sun around Samhain. This suggests that the date of Samhain was being celebrated even before the arrival of the Celts in Ireland approximately 2,500 years ago. For the Celts, Samhain marked the beginning of winter and was one of four Gaelic seasonal festivals. Samhain around November 1st, Mbok around February 1st, Biltana around May 1st, and Lunasa around August 1st. Samhain and Biltana at opposite ends of the year are thought to have been the most important of these festivals. The Celts believed that during Samhain, the veil between the living and the dead grew thin, allowing spirits to roam freely among us. And Irish mythology is replete with stories about the supernatural and the souls of the dead. Whether it's stories of gaining great wisdom as a result of slaying one from the other world, as seen in the story of Fen-Makul. Or the Book of Invasions, which told how each Samhain, the people of Nemed had to give two-thirds of their children, their corn, and their milk to the monstrous Fomorians. The Fomorians were the embodiment of harmful or destructive powers of nature. They were personifications of chaos, darkness, death, blight, and drought. What made all of this more than just your collection of ghost stories was the role that they played in the community. The Celts would light bonfires and dress up in animal skins to ward off any malicious spirits. And yes, I know what you're thinking. Was this the first ever Halloween costume party? Kind of. But instead of bobbing for apples, you'd be trying to scare away the ghosts of your ancestors or chaos itself. Definitely not for the faint hearted. Now, you might wonder how a pagan Celtic festival became a Christian holiday. And boy, do we have a story for you. Enter the early Christian church. Stage right. Keen to subdue pagan practices, they decided to repurpose Samhain and sandwiched it between two Christian holidays. All Saints Day on November 1st and All Souls Day on November 2nd. Thus, October 31st transformed into All Hallows Eve. A pretty clever rebranding, if you ask me. This Christian makeover didn't stop in Europe. Oh, no. It packed its bags and took a trip across the Atlantic, much like the settlers themselves. Halloween wasn't exactly the highlight of the social calendar. Most of the early settlers were Protestants who weren't keen on the holiday's Catholic undertones. However, they did engage in something called "play parties," gatherings that celebrated the harvest season and included dancing, singing, and storytelling. The Puritans weren't keen on ghost stories and pagan rituals, but they couldn't ignore the crop harvests and community gatherings. Over time, Halloween underwent a colonial metamorphosis, a cultural potpourri blending English and Native American traditions. Think of it as the first American remix, a mixtape of play parties, public events, and stories of the dearly departed. And then, like a vampire smelling fresh blood, Halloween received a rejuvenation thanks to the Irish potato famine of the 1840s. Fleeing from starvation, the mass migration of Irish folks to America brought a serious dose of Halloween enthusiasm. With them came their folklore and customs of dressing up and going door-to-door, asking for food or money. An early prototype of what we now lovingly call "trick-or-treating." Picture jack-o'-lanterns, originally made from turnips, not pumpkins, mind you. And tales of Stingy Jack, the man so cunning, he tricked the devil himself in so morally gray, heaven didn't want him either. In the late 1800s and the early 1900s, Halloween started shifting from a spooky night of fortune-telling and pranks to a more community-oriented affair. People began hosting parties filled with games, seasonal foods, and of course, costumes. Imagine, if you will, a masquerade ball but with less "Phantom of the Opera" and more "Legend of Sleepy Hollow." This era marked the beginning of Halloween as we recognize it today. A celebration where the community comes together, if only to scare the living daylights out of each other. Oh, but Halloween was just getting started. During the 1920s and 30s, the ritual of trick-or-treating really took off. It became a way for communities to engage with their younger members and also to reduce the mischief and pranks that were common at the time. Newspapers started printing costume ideas and candy companies saw the opportunity for a gold mine. Suddenly, Halloween was both a kid's paradise and a capitalist dream. Ooh, has that capitalist dream got its hand tightly wrapped around Halloween's throat. You can't walk into a store after Labor Day without bumping into a row of skeletons, witches, and inflatable pumpkins. If Thanksgiving and Christmas are the rock stars of holiday commercialization, then Halloween is the indie band that's gone mainstream. Did you know that Americans spent over $10 billion on Halloween in 2021, according to the National Retail Federation? That's billion with a B, folks. And that was during a pandemic. That spending covers everything from costumes for the entire family, including your pets, to home decorations and, of course, candy. That's a lot of sugar rushes and dental bills. Now, let's talk pop culture, the beating heart of modern Halloween. If you can't hum the Halloween movie theme or quote at least one line from Hocus Pocus, are you even celebrating? Movies and media have sculpted the way we view Halloween. Michael Myers turned a William Shatner mask into the face of terror, and Tim Burton made it okay to mix Christmas and Halloween without causing a holiday paradox. That's some powerful storytelling. And let's not forget the viral trends that take over each Halloween season. Whether it's the trending costumes inspired by the latest blockbuster or TikTok challenges that have you dancing like a zombie from Thriller, these trends give each Halloween its unique flavor. The point is, social media has turned Halloween into a globally shared experience, democratizing scares and dares for all to enjoy. Or endure. Ah, but where would Halloween be without the iconic jack-o'-lantern? This poor pumpkin's undergone quite the transformation. Once a humble turnip used to ward off spirits in Ireland, the jack-o'-lantern has become the smiling or snarling face of Halloween neighborhoods everywhere. Remember Stingy Jack, the folklore figure we talked about earlier? He's the reason we're gutting pumpkins every October. And to think, his eternal punishment became our eternal decoration. All the irony. All right, boils and ghouls. That's a little nod to the Crypt Keeper for those old enough to remember. You're now fully equipped to impress at your next Halloween soiree with all this newfound knowledge. Don't rush off to perfect your squid game costume just yet. We've got the most intoxicating part of the show coming up. The boozy side of Halloween. Trust me, you won't want to miss what we've got bubbling in our cauldron. Are you a full-time professional bartender who thinks they have what it takes to defeat our AI competitor? If so, we'd love to talk to you about being on the show. Send in to our DMs on Instagram or email us at bookings at DrinkingWithRobots.com. All right, we're back, my potion-mixing aficionados. Now that we're steeped in the history and cultural evolution of Halloween, it's time to get to the liquid courage that fuels our spookiest night. Oh yeah, it's time to talk about the drinks that warm our bones and lift our spirits. Literally. So, pour yourself a little something and let's get down to it. Let's go back a step and think about what drinks might have graced the tables during the original Samhain festivals. The Celts loved their mead and ale, often spiced with seasonal herbs. So, while they were dodging angry spirits, you can bet they had a goblet of something strong in hand. Kind of like how we tackle family gatherings these days, right? Fast forward to the more recent past and we find ourselves in the era of prohibition. Now, speakeasies were notorious for many things, but celebrating holidays was one of the under-the-radar activities. Halloween was no exception. In the secret corners of these illegal bars, bartenders crafted cocktails with ominous names like the corpse reviver and death in the afternoon. Talk about a hauntingly good time. Of course, speakeasies have long since closed their hidden doors, but the influence remains. Modern bars and pubs go all out for Halloween. Whether you're enjoying an autumnal craft brew, sipping a smoking witch's brew cocktail, or simply relishing a good old glass of bourbon with a cinnamon stick, today's establishments know how to serve up Halloween in a glass. And don't forget the home mixologists among us. But let's not forget the autumnal flavors that are the true "MVP" of Halloween. I'm looking at you fancy people with your cocktail shakers and bitters collections. DIY Halloween cocktails have become a staple of adult celebration. Punches with floating eyeballs made of lychee and blueberries. Bloody Marys that really lean into the bloody. And concoctions with activated charcoal for that deep, dark appearance. It's all fair game. The spookier and more Instagrammable, the better. But let's not forget the autumnal flavors that are the true "MVP" of Halloween drinks. We're talking about the spicy warmth of cinnamon, the comforting sweetness of apple cider, and the rich, earthy notes of pumpkin. These flavors not only make your taste buds do a little happy dance, but also bring us back to the root of the holiday. The harvest season. And what's Halloween if not the last hurrah before we hunker down for winter? So there it is, folks. Whether you're toasting with ancient mead, a Prohibition-era cocktail, or your own homemade concoction. The boozy side of Halloween is as diverse and fascinating as the holiday itself. So stick around after the break when we sit down with our guest, Brianna Neville of Weldon North Carolina's Weldon Mills Distillery. A little later, we'll see how she fares when she has to go head-to-head with our AI contender. Will she be our winner, or will she give up the ghost? Stick around to find out. I want to take a moment and say thank you for listening so far. I'd love it if you'd connect with the podcast on social media. We're Drinking With Robots on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Threads. And we definitely appreciate your likes and follows. Make sure to hit the subscribe button on whatever platform you're listening to our podcast on, so you don't miss any episodes. Also, check out DrinkingWithRobots.com while you're at it. Hey, folks. Well, we're here today with Brianna Neville. She's the general manager and cocktail crafter over at Weldon Mills Distillery in lovely Weldon, North Carolina. Thanks for being here, Brianna. Thanks for having me, Rob. Glad to be here. Absolutely. So, you know, this episode, which, you know, I want to say I think it's very fitting that we were recording this on Friday the 13th. I definitely agree. Considering our topic today is, you know, the history of Halloween in America. I don't know about you, but I grew up kind of poor in Western North Carolina. And I think there were numerous years where my Halloween costume was some leftover clothes from my parents and probably at worst the sheep. That's definitely crafty. Necessity is the mother of invention. So now you grew up in Massachusetts, correct? I did. Now I have to ask, did you grow up anywhere near Salem? About an hour and a half away. So did you make like Halloween journeys? So we did not. But I will say Halloween in Massachusetts is definitely something special. Thinking back, do you have like that like quintessential childhood Halloween memory? Oh, yes, definitely. We would always, always go to the nice neighborhoods and get the big candy. But it's moving down south in 2009. We came down and it's crazy because we were expecting all kinds of trick or treaters. And there was almost none. We spent all this money on candy because we were ready for the influx like we had up in Massachusetts. So I just think like the dynamic between the north and the south that plays in with Halloween is definitely crazy. Well, I think part of it, too, is living in the south. Like where I grew up, you would get in a car and you'd be like, oh, we're going to go over to your great aunt's house. And then we're going to go over to her sister's house, you know, or whatever. It was a lot of that. And living in a neighborhood now, it's so funny because some years we'll get like a string of trick or treaters. And I find myself just kind of being like, how many kids live in this neighborhood? True, true. We still don't get like a large influx. I think as time progresses, we're getting more into like trunk or treats and meeting in a public area. I feel like some of that is, you know, obviously with COVID the past few years, things have been really weird. But even before COVID here, the horror stories that always come out this time of year about kids finding razor blades in their apples, you know, or something like that. Now, you had another life kind of at the time when you joined Weldon Mills and you were in EMS EMT, right? I was. So I'm going to assume that most of those stories that we always hear don't actually happen. They do not. And it's funny that you bring that up because my mom was very much into that. We have to inspect all the candy, make sure nobody put drugs in it, make sure it's all safe for you guys. And I kind of worked Halloween every year just to spite her. So I could say, hey, mom, like nobody put any drugs in the candy this year. There was no razor blades. Everybody was safe. I saw a meme recently and it was someone had decorated a cookie that said, here's your pre Halloween PSA. No one likes your kids enough to give them free drugs. I mean, it's true. It's true. It's true. And I kind of want to add to that. She always told me to go play on the yellow line and I did it for a living. I got paid for it. Love it. You know, I'm always kind of intrigued by like our guests, how much they get into the topic. And I know you kind of have a soft spot for the holiday anyway. Did you have a chance to or did you have a desire to kind of dig into a little bit of the history of Halloween? Yeah, we covered a lot of it in the first part of the show. But I was curious if you did and if you had anything you found particularly intriguing or interesting. I did. And there was a lot that I found very interesting and how it kind of ties into modern day Halloween. So I'm Irish. I'm only third generation over here. And if you look into the history of Halloween, it started out as a pagan holiday in Ireland. So kind of going in and like reading through all of that history and how it relates to all of the immigrants moving over to the United States during the potato famine. Yep. And all of these traditions came over and you kind of have like a cool little integration of, you know, the Christian version of Halloween and then the pagan. Yep. So that I feel like that's very interesting. Yeah. So we talked a little bit about that in the first part of the show where, you know, the kind of this influx of Irish immigration bringing their traditions and things like that. And I found it interesting that apparently the early Irish tradition was going door to door asking for food. Okay. That makes sense. Yes. You know, kind of the candy component. And the other part was money. They would actually ask for money. And I'm like, now I can get behind that. I can go back to doing some trick or treating at 43 years old. I'm okay with that. Yeah. But to your point about the pagan and Christian, I find it interesting that there was what all saints day and all souls day. Yeah. All souls day. And it was like, oh, you guys have a thing that's right around then. It's called all Hallows Eve and completely disregarded the traditions and kind of that. I love the way that I read somewhere that it was the the veil between the, you know, the living and the dead was, you know, thinner that day. And I'm just like, how, like, how super creepy is that? And I'm awesome way. It definitely is. And kind of going back to when it was the pagan holiday. They would go souling. That's where you get the door to door. That's what they call it. You have your all saints day and your all souls day. But they would take that time where the you had the veil and it was lifted. Right. To talk to their family members and tell them kind of catch them up on the past year that they've missed with what's going on with the family. That's kind of I mean, that's actually a really cool sentiment that I think we, you know, obviously kind of lose in American culture with Halloween because I think it's seen as a very commodified holiday these days. And I like that sentiment a lot because it causes a reflection on what your family's been doing this year. And sometimes I feel like maybe we've supplanted that in America with like the idea of like Thanksgiving because, you know, it's always we're thankful for what's gone on this year. So, you know, maybe it's just kind of jumped to the next holiday, but it's kind of cool. I think it's interesting how it relates to Day of the Dead because, you know, they still take that time and really honor their dead. Definitely. I was going to ask you, you may not have gone during holidays, but did you ever make it over to Salem? I have. How was that? Because, you know, I lived in Boston for a number of years and I regret the fact that I never actually made it over there just for the sheer fact of being able to say I had gone. But then I'm always skeptical on those kind of things because I'm like, oh, this is going to be touristy crap. So which was it? Touristy. It's like going to Busch Gardens on opening day. You're waiting in line for the shops for like an hour, an hour and a half. And for food, you're waiting at least two hours. So by the time the day is over with, you know, you may have had like this huge list of certain things you want to check off. Right. You have not. You've done maybe a third just because of the lines and waiting, especially around Halloween. I think if anybody listening to this wants to go to Salem, highly recommend the springtime. But it probably doesn't have the same vibe. Definitely not the same vibe. Yeah. But you'll be able to check those things off your list. Oh, touche, touche. You know, we mentioned that you were doing something very different before you got into kind of the current role that you have. But your history of being into cocktails and spirits stretches back a number of years. It does. So we were discussing before we sat down to record that you were Massachusetts and then you spent some time in South Carolina. The Carolina that shall not be named. Yes. The other woman. I kid anybody who's listening in South Carolina. We love you. But, you know, I am a native North Carolinian. So please forgive me. But you were working in what I affectionately call the Redneck Riviera, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. And you were doing a lot of volume bartending, right? I did. How was that? You definitely learn a few things. It's a completely different animal out there. If you like to test your patience with people and how well you can tolerate the heat on a hundred degree day on a patio, listening to Margaritaville on repeat, highly recommend going down to Myrtle Beach to work for like a summer. You're going to make really good money. But you're definitely earning it. Oh, you're 100% earning it. The heat cramps are unmatched. All right. So you're in Myrtle Beach. You're kind of doing the day to day grind for volume. What happened? I mean, because clearly you don't do volume now. You're doing, I would call it a craft product with Weldon Mills. How did you get from there to here? So my husband was actually attending Coastal Carolina University, getting his bachelor's degree. And he graduated and we had to decide, did we want to stay down there or did we want to move back to Virginia? So we talked about it for a while. And Myrtle Beach is so touristy. And, you know, when everything dies down, going back to bartending, there was really nothing for me to do out of season. And I had my EMS certification. So we just made the decision to move back home. And at that time where we lived, there wasn't a market for craft cocktails or bartending. So it was full time EMS for me until I was able to pick it back up a few years later. Yeah, because you guys were in like the southwestern region of Virginia. You know, when you think about Virginia, what is below basically Richmond is very different than what is north of Richmond as far as industrialization culturally. And there just wasn't the craft scene in that part of Virginia, right? Not at all. I'm going to call myself out here. So I live in Emporia, which is notorious for speeding tickets. And when I was working down in Myrtle Beach at Margaritaville in particular, you kind of have to put where you're from. So I put Emporia, Virginia, and I had several people, you know, take their angst out on Emporia's finest on me. And I would get little notes on my checks at the end of the night. We got a speeding ticket. They're not cool. So somehow it was my fault that, you know, they got pulled over for speeding. I lived on the North Carolina-Virginia border my youth, and I could do without ever driving in that part of Virginia again personally myself. But, okay, so you were back in Virginia. You're doing EMS, EMT. How did you end up at Weldon? So, funny enough, I actually wanted to save money to go back to school to be a physician's assistant. I had the years of experience in college like under my belt. So I really wanted to just kind of get everything settled so I wouldn't have to work while going to school. And I saw that Weldon Mills Distillery opened, which is only about 15 minutes from where I live. So I messaged them on Facebook and I was like, hey, I'm actually a bartender mixologist. I'm looking for something part time. My schedule with EMS has like really allows me to have 20 days off a month. I'd like to come down and work for you. Are you interested? And Bruce Tyler messaged me back. He was like, okay, yeah. Come in Friday. We'll see how you do. I was like, all right. Do you have any like drink recipes, anything like that? He said, no, we'll just come in and see how you do. So to this day, almost five years later, that was probably the busiest night of my life working there. And I guess everything worked out well because here I am. You had mentioned you had done some other craft bartending gigs in between to explain some of your knowledge there. And I have to say, I think I've gotten the most book recommendations from you of like any of the guests I've ever had. So I know your bookshelf is kind of replete with awesome references and things like that. Do you find that you draw a lot from good cocktail books or where do you go looking these days? Let's say maybe for inspiration and things like that for cocktails. So it's actually a really interesting combination. I'm a bookworm. I have a lot of craft cocktail books, as you just mentioned. I love finding like antique shops with like older cocktail books, but I also love to travel and I love food and I love people. So I'll kind of ask around wherever I go. Like, hey, what's your favorite place to get a craft cocktail or a certain cocktail recommendation? I will go to said bar or restaurant and then kind of start talking to the bartenders or whoever is working and see what their recommendations are. And that kind of leads me down a path to find a book on that particular cocktail. I just want to know more. Yeah, that's awesome. I love that. You know, we've talked with other guests in the past that so much of being a bartender is the like on your feet experience. And that's great. But you're never going to be able to make every cocktail in a given location. You know, there's some places where it's like, that's nice. We don't do Tiki here or, you know, whatever it may be. And it's awesome that, you know, there are resources both, you know, in print and online, you know, where you can kind of find that information. One of the things that, you know, I always tell people who ask me these days, like, oh, I want to get into making cocktails. And I'm like, OK, two books, Raising the Bar, which is phenomenal for building your back bar. And then my next one is Death and Company's Cocktail Codex, because it explains so much of the why behind why cocktails work and how you can really tweak them. I find that, you know, being a nerd myself, I'm like, oh, you give me a kind of a blueprint or, you know, an idea of why something works and I can go in and adapt that and modify it. And then, you know, it's it's invigorating. Yes, I agree. And I think Cocktail Codex is like a great book for anybody looking to get into cocktails because they really break things down. So it's simple to understand. I mean, obviously, you're going to have to source information from other places. But as far as basics, they have your one, two, three, ABC. Yep. So one of the things we've talked about in previous episodes is this idea of all this information is out there. So that brings us into kind of the AI component. Now, I always love asking folks, you know, have you used ChatGPT, AI, anything like that in your cocktail creation process? Actually, no, I've actually never, ever thought of using it in the process until I saw that you have this podcast. So I think that whole dynamic is very interesting. So I think at some point, I think it may have been Ingrid Folkers was on and she was talking about the fact that she'd never used it for cocktail creation, but she did love using it for getting ideas for the name. She said she had never actually used a name that it had given her, but those always sparked, oh, no, I'm not going to call it that, but I am going to call it this. And she said that was really a great approach to take with it. I think that is a brilliant idea because I, too, struggle with naming cocktails. It takes me a good day or two, especially with a cocktail that I'm particularly proud of. I mean, you really just have to. It's like naming a kid because, I mean, it's really a baby at that point. No, it is. I mean, it's your child. You birthed it into being. Yes. My dad used to always say, eat up, give the house a good name. Now I say, drink up, give the house a good name. There you go. Are you a horror movie fan? Oh, I love it. I love the classics. So, all right. Give us your top three Halloween night watches. Oh, great question. I love the original like Halloween movies like the 80s. And then I love the original Exorcist. I think that's a classic. You cannot go wrong. Pea soup and all. Oh, right. Oh, I've had that happen to me. I was going to say like, I feel like you're the and you still like that. Oh, but banana pudding, you know, and then my third favorite, you know, it's not really it is a classic, but it's not such a classic scream. Oh, yeah. Yeah. I feel like that one did a really good job of kind of taking that horror genre and playing with it a little bit. I thought that was really cool. Well, not to say that it's going to be horrific, but we are here to talk about your endeavor into battling your AI competitor. So let's talk about we've mentioned the prompt right before the break. But just to recap, being that we're talking about Halloween, our prompt this time was to reimagine a favorite childhood Halloween candy or treat in a sophisticated adult cocktail. We were looking for being able to evoke nostalgia while keeping it chic and modern. So do you want to take a moment and talk to us about your cocktail and then I'll talk about the A.I.'s cocktail? Of course. Awesome. So you brought us an Almond Joy themed cocktail. So tell us a little bit about what's in it and whatnot. So as I mentioned earlier, I really like to travel and I was recently on the West Coast and they are actually using beer simple syrups. So I really wanted to integrate that into the cocktail. So for my cocktail, I really love Almond Joys. I think that's because my brother used to steal all of the great candy on Halloween. I'm the baby. So I guess it's kind of fitting, right? I took two ounces of coconut oil, washed bourbon, three quarters of an ounce of cultivated cocktails, creme de cacao, quarter ounce of coconut porter simple. So when we made that here, we actually used Noda Brewing, which is based, I think, north of Charlotte. And we used their Coco Loco Porter, which turned out really good. A half an ounce of espresso and almond bitters. I'm going to shake it vigorously and double strain it into a chilled coupe glass and then top it off with the bitters. But I felt like because I do run a bourbon distillery, it was only fitting to use a bourbon. And you don't really see bourbon often integrated with coconut fat washing. Yeah, typically when I've done coconut oil, it's been either a rum or I did do Campari one time. But yeah, I was kind of surprised in a really pleasant way of the choice. So when you specced it, which bourbon did you use? So I used our select bourbon. That's my favorite. It's 94 proof. It's really smooth. So when we did it in-house, we did go for a 100 proof Old Forester. Easily accessible bottle for folks who may not be able to get Weldon Mills. But if you're not able to get Weldon Mills, you should totally talk to the folks at Weldon Mills to get Weldon Mills. We love those folks. But carry on. All right. So I really wanted to carry over like a Tiki element. I feel like coconut is such a Tiki drink. And like I said, you really don't see the, you know, merging of the two ever. So I wanted to pair them and it creates such a nice visceral mouthfeel when you fat wash. So I used a quarter of an ounce of Cultivated Cocktails creme de cacao, which absolutely love Cultivated Cocktails products. They're based out of Asheville. They're local. If you guys have not had anything by them, highly recommend. And I used a coconut porter simple. I was just recently on the West Coast and I noticed a lot of bars out there were using beer inspired simple syrup. So I really wanted to try my hand and bring that coconut element in with the fat wash bourbon. And I used espresso, which I'll get into that in just a minute and almond bitters. I love an espresso martini. I think we've seen like such a trend here lately with them coming back. But there is a fantastic book. It's called Dick Tales. Don't get any ideas. It's by Dick Bradsell, the inventor of the espresso martini. He is a bartender out of the UK and passed away just a few years ago. But what he would do is he would bartend and make up all of these great concoctions. But he was famous and notorious for writing down his cocktails on bar napkins and doing a little doodle and handing them over to his patrons, which I absolutely love. You just don't find that nowadays. No, that's awesome. One of the things that I remember hearing and I'm curious, did they tell did they tell who the patron was? Because I heard rumors that was Kate Moss. I've heard a few rumors, but no, he doesn't specify. So the book actually started out when he was alive and his friends finished it for him. So I'm not sure if he would have like told at the end, like in a big reveal how they would have gone about that. Yeah, because, you know, the classic line was was it was after a patron requested a cocktail that would wake them up and fuck them up. And I love that. I'm like, oh, that's phenomenal. So I have to say, as I often do, I sampled this one after the judge had finished and I rather enjoyed it. It was very tasty. Thank you. Now, here's your competition. All right. So I want to preface this with saying I always get a kick out of those scenarios where the prompt is something like pick your favorite or think of a childhood. Because the A.I., you know, it doesn't have a favorite. It didn't have a childhood. So I always wonder how it formulates this. And this is the one where I'm like, oh, you can tell you don't. You're not a you're not a person. The A.I. went for a candy corn infused old fashioned. Oh, wow. So two ounces of bourbon, a half an ounce of candy corn infused simple syrup, two dashes of orange bitters, orange peel for garnish. So, you know, really straightforward, you know, stirred in a mixing glass, strained over a large cube, just a really straightforward old fashioned. I'm shocked when I saw that I was going to have to make a candy corn infused simple syrup. I just was kind of like, oh. So you don't love candy corn. No one loves candy corn. I love candy corn. Oh, you're such a broken soul. I just feel like I'm eating crayons. It's nostalgic. I agree with Lewis Black that they stopped making candy corn in like 1937. And every year after Halloween, they just collect whatever's left over and repackage it. It's that bad. I wasn't expecting a lot from this cocktail. The syrup is gorgeous to see. It is this bright pumpkin orange color. So, I mean, it definitely makes a visual splash. But I mean, it's just a really straightforward cocktail. With that said, let's talk about the scoring. See how you did. So, as always, we have three buckets of points. Taste worth a total of 50 points. Presentation worth a total of 30 points. And originality, a total of 20 points. Our judge, as always, my amazing wife, Ariana, the owner of Remedy Cocktail Company. She has a kind of a super taster palette. She scores everything. She does it blind. So, she doesn't know whose is whose. This was the scoring. Your cocktail. For taste, 39 points. Presentation, 15 points. Originality, 18 points. Total of 72 points. For the AI. For taste, 39 points. Presentation, 22 points. Originality, 13 points. A total of 74. What? So close. It was. Incredible close. I want to read you the notes, because I love reading the judge feedback here. On the AI cocktail. More balanced than expected for a candy-based old-fashioned cocktail. Manages to remain boozy and also bright with orange notes. Not super creative, being a simple substitution riff for an old-fashioned cocktail. So, nothing crazy there, but it held up okay. For yours. Well balanced and very creative, with innovative ingredients being utilized. Would have loved to see this cocktail with a better garnish. Maybe something to contrast the rich chocolate color. We talked about this afterwards. Had there been a visual garnish kind of component, you would have won. Oh, so close. Always garnish your cocktails. Always. Always. All right. Well, we're at that point in our show where it's everyone's favorite segment. It's Don't Get Me Started. Just to recap, I'm going to give Brianna a topic. She's going to have 30 seconds that she has to completely rail against it. As I always do. This is our disclaimer. The views expressed by Brianna are not the views of drinking with robots. They're not the views of Brianna's employer. They may not even be Brianna's views. But with that said, Brianna, don't get me started about ambulance drivers. Ambulance drivers, they're literally the worst. Who gave them the authority to just go through lights like that and drive as if they don't have a license? Who gave them the certifications to just wail sirens through the middle of the night and wake the entire neighborhood up? And there is a difference between EMS providers and ambulance drivers. I think a lot of it is definitely region specific as well because you see some people just bobbing in and out of traffic like that bus on Harry Potter. And it's definitely not safe. All right, all right, all right. Clearly, you could have more than 30 seconds for this. I'm very passionate about it. I want to say thank you so much for joining us. It's been a pleasure to all of our listeners out there. If they want to keep up with you, they can follow Weldon Mills at Weldon.Mills on Instagram. That's correct. All right. And like I said, thank you once again for being here. We are Drinking With Robots on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, threads and whatever social media is hot this week. As always, drink well and be well. Thank you for having me. I've really enjoyed my time and happy Halloween, everyone. Mwahaha.