Transcript of Dixon Dedman: The Man Behind The Bottle

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This guy sent me an email and he said, yeah, I just wanted to send you this picture. He and his son, they had a bottle of Batch 2 of Kentucky Owl and they were toasting with little Styrofoam coffee cups. In the background was a big window and What was beyond that was this gentleman's grandson and his son's firstborn son. And so it was the first, the second, and the third that had just been born. It was one of those moments where you get that and you think you're doing something that goes beyond selling bottles.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Mic Unplugged, and today's show Gets personal. I'm talking to a guy that I call the Prince of Kentucky. If you know bourbon, you know him, um, from his, his beginning roots at Kentucky Owl to now leading 2XO, which is my favorite bourbon on the market. And I have no shame putting that on record. We are talking to none other than the brilliant, the amazing, the master blender himself, Mr. Dickson Dedmon. Dickson, how you doing today, brother?

I, I, you know, I'm a lot better after that intro. I, um, I, I'm not sure I deserve it, but I sure as heck appreciate it. That, that's, that's awesome. Thank you.

Bro, you deserve it. Um, in, in, in so many ways. I mean, again, I've been a huge fan of you and your story. Um, the, the family history that you have with bourbon, like I, I've been telling folks for the last 18 months, you can't tell the story of bourbon without talking about the Dedmon family. Um, and, and I'm just honored to, to truly have you on, man. Like, I've looked up to you forever. We're around the same age. We have a lot of connections. So I'm honored, Dixon. I truly am.

I, listen, I, I, I feel the same way. I mean, I, um, I don't know. I, I think what you've done is, is amazing. You, you, you've talked to some amazing people. You, you continue to kind of Um, I, I, you know, it was a, it was a real honor, real privilege when the invitation was extended to, to, to get to talk to you. Um, it was, it was something that meant a lot to me and, and I certainly do appreciate the opportunity and, and, um, goes both ways here, my friend.

Yeah. Well, much appreciated. And, and this show was about you and it's about 2XO and You know, knowing the story and we'll get into it a little bit, but, you know, you sold Kentucky Owl to Stoli, right? And you could have chillaxed, as I like to say, you could have, you know, rode off in the sunset, found other things that you wanted to do, but you came back to bourbon. And I don't know many master blenders, right?

Right.

But what I can tell you is that you've perfected something that I would say most people haven't. But my first question to you, Dixon, is this, and this is what I ask all my guests, like, what's your because? That deeper purpose that's deeper than your why. Why does Dixon Dedmon continue to do what you do and give back the ways that you give back? Like, what's your because? What's your purpose today?

You know, I, um, I think about Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Like, why, why did I come back and, and do this? But it, to me, and I think with a lot of things, like, it just always, it, there's, it goes deeper. Like there's a deeper current to, to a lot of that stuff. Um, you know, I, I, I grew up in the hospitality business.

Mm-hmm.

My family, um, very, you know, a lot of tradition, a lot of history, you know, long legacy, generational business, kind of a, historic and longtime Kentucky. So there's a lot of pride there, right? There's a lot of continuing that legacy, extending that legacy, building on that legacy. And so that was kind of the way I was raised, right? And a big part of that is about the people component, the hospitality component, the Um, you know, when it, I used to talk to our team about it a lot. It was like, you know, we, you know, when people come to stay with us, when they were coming to visit us, you know, um, we've got really a number of options. Um, but the, the one that, that, that we're after is, is to provide them an experience that is unexpected.

Yeah.

That is beyond, you know, what, you know, if they think they're just coming here to stay for a night in a hotel and have dinner and sleep and have breakfast and leave the next day, or if they think they're coming to stay here for 4 or 5 nights and, but, but this is just kind of base camp and they're looking for all of these ancillary things to do outside. All of that, you know, it's like, okay, our goal is to exceed that, right? Is to become a part of their, special moment, uh, become a part of their experience, to, to elevate their expectations, to go beyond their expectations and, uh, and, and to be a part of, of something special for them.

Yeah.

And so, you know, with Kentucky Owl, as I got into the bourbon world and all of a sudden we're creating these things and, and, you know, they, in a different way, they become part of somebody's special, like special moment, special experience there. You know, it's like you get note, I've been saving this bottle until a certain time, certain moment, certain thing happened, and this is when we opened it. This is when I shared it with my son or with my father, with my friends, or this is how we celebrated that or whatever. All of a sudden, it's like, oh, You can kind of do the same thing in bourbon that we were doing in hospitality. And that's, that's, you know, being a part of someone's special moment. And, and so I think like leaving Kentucky Owl and wanting to create something else was a lot. When you say the because, the because is that it's, it's just really special to To be able to passionately develop something, put yourself into something to really create something that then goes out into the world and becomes part of people's— something that moves people, that excites people. They say, hey, I have that bottle and that reminds me of this, or we use this to celebrate, or, you know, or whatever.

I mean, it's, it's probably you were looking for a one-sentence answer to that question, but that's what I got.

No, that was perfect. And, and what I take away from that is this, and, and again, it's something that I applaud you on because you've mastered this, and I'm gonna say blends, so no pun intended on mastering blending, right? But I believe that life is about moments and memories, right? And if I were to say what has Dickson Deadman done almost better than anyone else on earth is that through hospitality, that background that you have and the passion that you have with that and bourbon, you've allowed the world to have moments and memories. And I don't, I, I don't know if that's purposely what you've done and if that's tied to your because, but you have done that. And that's what I think I appreciate and respect the most from you is that you've allowed me personally, um, in the last 18 months to have lots of moments and memories that are associated with you and the things that, that surround you.

Well, I, you know, That means a lot. And, and, and that, that is, um, it's gonna take me a while to unpack that compliment because that's, that's really special. I think what I have enjoyed the most about the, my experience in, in bourbon is that, um, it's always been more of a passion project for me rather than a you know, a business model.

Yeah.

I, you know, and I think that it's become this incredible way to interact on a very personal and emotional level with people that, and my partners and the people, you know, everybody's like, maybe you should focus more. I mean, I, yes, focus more on the business side of this, but you know, the reward, the real reward in a lot of what we've accomplished in the bourbon space has been kind of the, what you gain because you've created these personal emotional connections with people through.

Yeah.

And so that's, I don't know, I just, I feel very, you know, very blessed, very honored to have, you know, kind of My, my path to gone the way, you know, to go the way it's gone.

Nah, absolutely. Absolutely. And you know, this, this next segment of the show I like to call the Unplugged Truth. And I'm gonna start with the truth that I'd love for you to elaborate on because you, you kind of hinted on it earlier when you talked about, you know, holding something for the right occasion or, or pulling it at the right time. Blending bourbon is an art, obviously, as you know. And I personally feel like it requires a lot of patience. It requires a lot of variables and testing. Tell us a truth about blending bourbon that most people wouldn't know or understand.

You know, that's such a good question. And there's really two, I mean, there's like the technical piece of it, and that's the part that is, that makes it a lot more difficult than people realize.

Mm-hmm.

I think, you know, you have, and I mean no disrespect here, you know, But a lot of times, you know, people fancy themselves as like, you know, home blenders because, you know, they take a measuring cup and it's 30% Wild Turkey and 40% Weller and a little bit of, you know, whatever. And that's, you know, the real Honestly, one of the real challenges with blending, with blending whiskey is, you know, working from sample bottles, 200 ml sample bottles.

Yeah.

Or whatever, and creating a blend that you can actually replicate when you start dumping, you know, full barrels.

Right.

And so, you know, the challenge is having an understanding of You know, the fact that this particular component is, is actually, you know, roughly say 46.5 proof gallons per barrel at a certain proof with this component is 47.5 proof gallons per, you know, per barrel. This one is 53 and this one is, you know, so to create a, a sample in the lab. You know, it's not just like 20% of this, 30% of that, 30% of that, because the volumes of the barrels are different. Because, you know, so when you went and dumped those in, in, in reality, that, that blend, that ratio is gonna be off. So that's the, that's the technical challenge that a lot of, you know, a lot of times is, is, is not, you know, people are like, oh, I, I could do that. You know?

Yeah.

Well, that's, that's the hard part. Um, I think for me, in terms of blending, it's about the, it's, it's really about the confidence. And I don't know if it's, uh, confidence may not be the right word, but you know, when you are, when you are trying to create something.

Yeah.

Um, there has to be some amount of confidence or maybe selfishness to say, I'm going to make the— I'm going to create the best bourbon, the best whiskey that I can make.

Yeah.

And the con— you know, if you— to me, as soon as you start blending or creating for someone else, you know, you're, you kind of, the certain amount of credibility, you know what I mean? You know, it's just not, it's not a true expression of what you can make.

Right.

You know, I, and I think that's part of it is to, you know, when you sit down and when you go through this process, you know, it's like, that's interesting. That's cool. That, Yeah, you know, whatever. But at the end of the day, this, to me, as far as I'm concerned, this is the single best thing that I could put together. And that's what we're going to release. And, you know, you trust that people out there, um, enjoy what you create. Trust your palate, you know, trust, trust what you can make. But The moment you start saying, hey, I'm gonna make this for a certain, uh, selection of the population out there, whatever, you know, you're, you're, you're not really, you know, you're really doing the, the work anymore. You're just kind of, um, you know, you might as well have, have a, have a robot doing it, you know?

Nah, I agree, man. And, you know, like, it irks me a little bit. when I hear, I, I'm gonna say the, the, the whiskey influencers now, because they, they're, they're out there in droves now. And, and I, I respect it. And I would never consider myself a whiskey influencer because I just like really good bourbon and that's just what I drink.

Right.

Um, but you know, you'll hear people talking like, oh, well, this is just Buffalo Trace juice, or this is MBP MPG juice or whatever. And I'm like, you, you have no idea what blending actually takes, because if that were the case, like, yeah, we know juice is juice, but then all bourbon would taste the same. Right? Like there's an actual process. There's an actual skill to, to get the different notes that you enjoy or that the master blender wanted you to experience. And it irks me, but I, I've always wanted to ask you that question. Like when you hear people talking about, oh, well, this is Buffalo Trace juice, or this is MPG juice. Like, does that bother you too?

I mean, you know, when I first started doing this 15, 16, however many years ago, you know, it was, it was, it was, it was almost like a, um, you know, it was taboo to be what they called an NDP, like a non-distilling producer, somebody that, that got liquid from somewhere else. And, and so to, When I, when I kind of created the model for what we were going to do, that was 2XO, or that was Kentucky Owl then. And I carry this forward now, even though all the whiskeys that we're using in 2XO were distilled for our program. I always wanted to put my thumbprint on the whiskey. Like, I always wanted to put my mark on it just so no one could say, oh, you're just buying to your point, MGP or whatever, you're, you're just buying it, putting in a bottle and claiming that it's yours.

Mm-hmm.

And so that's a lot of that was why I went down the, um, secondary oak process, you know, the double barreling, worked with different, um, you know, different maturation methods, different locations in rickhouses, but also blending different distillates, you know, this, this stuff, this mash bill, that, you know, because I, you know, I, I didn't want, I never wanted people to say, oh, you know, you're doing nothing but buying 5-year-old stuff, putting it in a bottle and telling a story about it.

Right.

You know, that I always wanted there to be, you know, the whole part of the story about the craft of creating these products and developing these products and being involved during the maturation process and creating variables during maturation to To change things. So, you know, I, yeah, I mean, I get what you're saying that, you know, there is that, there is that piece sometimes where people are like, you don't have anything to do with it. But, you know, for me, it's always been about like, I can take a certain, you know, number of barrels, a certain, uh, you know, and, and then, you know, it's, it's, it's crafting that.

Yeah.

It's, it's developing that into an inventory. Um, of different flavor profiles, different components, different, for lack of a better term, different paints. Um, that, that then, then all of a sudden you've got this, this, you know, this, this, I don't know, plethora of paints to, to create your own individual canvas that, that no one else could replicate because no one else is carrying all these different variables that you're carrying. Yeah. If, if that That makes sense.

No, absolutely. Absolutely. And I'm glad you said that too, because again, I think there's this new age of bourbon drinkers that are just, just like anything now, right? Like, like they look at data and they look at numbers and it's like, no, no, no, no, no, no. Go sip the bourbon. All right. Go sip it and you'll start to really enjoy and understand. And, um, that's a great segue to My next segment that I call the Hot Takes. And so I said I was gonna tell you this live and, and on record because I want to, um, right here. Your, your wonderful team sent me over the, the newest edition of the Icon Series Rapper's Delight, and I have a Glencairn right here. And because it's my show and I can do what I want, I'm gonna sip this live for the first time here.

Love it. Love it.

All right. So here's, here's my first hot take. This is the truth. And I, and I always preface this by telling people I'm not a bourbon influencer. That's not what I do. I, I just love really good bourbon and I'm not the person that does like the aroma And we'll give you all the notes. Like, I, I, I could do that, but that's not the purpose, right? Um, my first hot take is this. Actually, I'm gonna do that and then I'm gonna sip it live. How about that first? It's 2XO. Rapper's Delight is amazing. Um, I already told you the 2XO Family is my favorite bourbon and it's not close. Rapper's Delight is amazing. It is damn good, Dickson. Dickson, this is damn good.

It's, uh, I'm, I'm pretty happy with that one. Um, come off, come off well.

So this is my first hot take. 2XO, and it doesn't matter what I've had. 2XO is the first bourbon that when you get the aromas in your nose and you drink them, it's the same. And that is very, very, very rare because Yeah. Most bourbons, the aroma and the taste are a little bit different, right? Like the finishing note isn't like what you originally smell or get in your, your, your nasal passages and down to that palate. How the heck did you do that?

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Chime is a fintech, not a bank. Banking services and Chime Card provided by Chime's bank partners. Qualifying direct deposits required. Terms and limits apply. Go to chime.com/disclosures for details. Okay. Well, um, I, I do think that one of the, um, one of the, and I'm not saying this is a good thing or a bad thing, it's just my thing. I, I'm not a, I'm not a tasting note guy, right?

Right.

Like, I don't, I don't, um, I'm not gonna, when we go through these different blends and work on these different things, it's, it's never like, hmm, I want to build on this note, this, you know, right? To me, it's— I, I taste on— I'm a feel guy. I want—

Same.

I want mouthfeel, I want viscosity, I want weight, right? You know, and, um, so, you know, what I'm after is, is, is like a really pleasant, um, you know, the nose to me is very important. You know, and, and there are a lot of, a lot of times that we'll, you know, I'll create something and, you know, I will really like the nose and then the taste either won't match up or it, you know, it, you know, or vice versa. So, you know, for me, nose, very important initially. And then, you know, following that, like, where is the mouth? Where does the mouthfeel go?

Mm-hmm.

Like where, you know, Um, and is there, you know, if there isn't balance, is the lack of balance okay?

Right.

For example, the, the one that you're having right now would not be a whiskey that I would consider very balanced in the sense that it, when you taste it, it's a big, rich, sweet, caramel bomb on the front of the palate.

Yep.

There's not a lot on the back of the palate. There's not a lot of finish. It doesn't, you know, it, you know, so in terms of balance, does it have that transition across the palate? No, not as much. But I really am good with the lack of balance on this because I really like the way it resonates on the front of the palate.

You feel it.

From a, from a nose perspective, it's rich, it's viscous, it's sweet. Uh, it was very interesting. And then on the palate, it does all those things. It just sits right on the front third of the palate and it just kind of coats and, and it's, there's a syrupy quality to it. And so, you know, it, it checks the boxes. I, I don't, um, yeah, I, I, I really, I'm like you, it, if the nose doesn't match the palate, if the, if those things are, are kind of outta whack, it's, it's really hard to For me to get behind it. Um, you know, totally agree.

I totally agree. And, and for me, it's one of those things where I almost expect it now that the nose and the finish, or even the first taste, aren't gonna be the same. And it's just because I'm so used to that. That's why I was so shocked when I first had my first ever 2XO and I was like, wait, This is exactly what I felt going in. And it was the first time I ever did that. So I was like, okay, let me get to the middle of the bottle.

Right?

Like, you, you know, bourbon folks, right? Like there's, there's the open the neck and then you get to the middle and then, and then the bottom. All the way through that bottle, it was the same thing. And I was like, okay. And then when the Icon Series started coming out, it was like, all right. Dixon is doing this on purpose. Like the, like how the nose is exactly how it goes in. And again, I'm a, from an age statement, I like Jack Daniel's. I don't like Jack Daniel's other than like Jack 10 and Jack 14, but I know that what I smell on the nose isn't how it's gonna taste, but it's okay because I like how it tastes. I like how it smells, but I just like—

You like how it smells, you like how it tastes. So it just, yeah.

I, I know what I'm gonna get, but I like it. Again, 2XO was the first time that ever the nose and the palate connected. And I was just like, damn. And that's why it's my favorite bourbon. And I, I'm on record and I don't care being on record saying my favorite bourbon is 2XO.

No, I love it. I love it. I love it. I love it.

Yeah. And, and here's another I'm gonna say a hot take. Um, and, and these are the hot takes of Mick and Mick only. So don't, don't go yelling at Dixon. It's not him. It's me.

Nah, I like the hot takes.

Here's my hot take.

Bring the hot takes, Mick.

So you said something that I connect with too, that bourbon for you is about the feel and the weight. So this is my hot take. I think there are a lot of people that chase high proof Because they like chasing high proof and they like to talk about it. I actually think bourbon and traditionally bourbon, like you go back to Kentucky Owl back in the day, you go back to the older, early established bourbons. They were not high proof. Like they were not hazmats, but it was the weight and the depth that made good bourbon, good bourbon. And I wish people would understand that because you'll get someone that's like, Oh, well, that's just a 104. That's just a 110 or a 116. And I'm like, but you gotta taste it because it's really good bourbon. Because I will, I don't like high-proof bourbon because I feel like they're immature. Like a lot of them are immature and you're just getting a lot of noise on your palate. Right. And you're not really tasting bourbon. I'd love to get your thoughts on that. And, and these are your personal thoughts and opinions, not like you might love high rye or you may love high proof.

I just personally don't. And part of it is I have heartburn and I can't— anything high proof triggers heartburn for me.

I used to drink higher proof and then as I get older, I can't handle it, you know? So it's part of that. But I, you know, it's funny that you say that. I was having this conversation the other day about, um, about some of the Kentucky Owls and when the early— This was damn good, by the way. You know, have another pour. It's fine. Take the rest of the day off. I'm good with it.

You know, there we go.

When, when we, you know, some of the very early, uh, Kentucky Owls that were only a, you know, a small number of barrels blended and, and a much larger percentage of the, of the liquid was, was double-barreled, they were lower proofs. They were, you know, in the, you know, 1, you know, 1-0-somethings, 1 single digits.

Mm-hmm.

As we continued to grow the markets, but also the quantity of what we were producing with each one, and I had more stocks available to me and we were still double barreling, but the proof got higher. They were still very interesting. Like I was tasting, we with some people and they had a batch 8 and a batch 9. Um, very, very interesting. I mean, I, I, you know, they're like my children, right? So I can't like talk bad about 'em. They were, they were very good. But, um, they also, like with a lot of things, the higher they get in proof, uh, 120s and, and things like that, they, um, They just begin to really lose a lot of kind of mouthfeel, a lot of viscosity, a lot of weight. So they're complex, they have a lot going on, there's a lot of notes, but, um, they come across as a little bit more thin. Um, you know, and, and, and, and, and, and just, um, lack a lot of that kind of viscosity and things like that.

Right.

And, and, and a lot of that also comes from the way products are distilled today, where there's a lot more dilution that takes place in today's whiskeys than took place in whiskeys before. You know, now it's about maximizing volume, so you come off the still higher, so that, you know, when you go down to that 125 entry proof, you know, you're going from, say, 145, 150 off the still to 125 entry proof. So you're, you're adding— 18 to 20% water to that liquid to get it down. And then, um, a lot of these, you know, so you, the higher you get it in proof and then, and then dilute it back down again, you're adding water after the fact.

Mm-hmm.

And, and all of the, all the water added just detracts from mouthfeel. It detracts from viscosity. It just, you know, and so that was a very conscious decision with what we were creating with 2XO is, is to, to spend a lot more time focusing on those feel components rather than the weight.

Right.

And so we, you know, the whole program, the distillation program, the maturation program is about, you know, the condensing of flavors and then adding that additional viscosity and weight through secondary oak exposure. So it's a, you know, the experience is a lot less about specific notes and a lot more about, you know, kind of the weight and feel on the palate that, you know, and building more of a, um, you know, a syrupy oily quality when you, when you taste it. Because I think at the end of the day, what do people remember? They remember, um, a note of, of, of caramelized raspberry, or do they remember like that was just a really you know, rich, viscous, enjoyable feel of an experience.

And yeah. Yeah. You, you've nailed it, bro.

Yeah. I don't, I, I, I don't, the, like, I get it a lot. Like this guy the other day, he was like, you know, when are you gonna, um, when are you gonna make a hazmat? And I was like, it's probably not happening. One, because by the time I got, you know, my barrels to that 140+ proof, I don't know that they would be any liquid left in the barrel, um, you know, to—

Right.

To, to get that. But, you know, that's the, that's the technical side of things. The reality is, I mean, I've had some pretty amazing hazmat whiskeys before. I, I worked with some 16 and 17-year-old barrels at one point and, and some stuff I did with Kentucky Owl that were 150 proof and they were unbelievable. But The majority of that stuff, when you get up in those, those numbers, um, there's a whole lot of concern about eating away the lining of your stomach and not about how, how, how, how enjoyable the tasting experience is.

I'm telling you, man, like I, again, if you're watching this, if you're listening to this, 2XO is what you want. Um, It is, it is Mick Hunt and Mick Unplug approved. It's my favorite. It's my favorite bourbon. Like, again, I, I'm on record. This is gonna live forever. It's, it's my favorite bourbon.

I love it.

And, and everybody knows that when I say something on the record, I mean it. Um, and, and it's not just me, it's all of my family members who have come to my house and in, in my bar, I've got, William LaRue. I've got Eagle Rare 17. I've got all, I've got really good bourbon here. And I'm not saying that those aren't good or great bourbons, but everyone will tell you when they have a sip of 2XO, they're like, oh my God, this is amazing. And then when I tell them the, the, the price point that you can go get at your local, whether it's an ABC store, package store, Costco, if you're West Coast, like whatever it is. When I tell them the price point, they're like, oh my God. And every single person that I know that, that's come to my house, that's had it, they immediately go get 2 or 3 bottles because it's that great. And so if you're watching or listening—

I like that hot take. That's a good hot take right there. I, I appreciate that.

Yes, sir. So if you're watching or listening, go get 2XO wherever you go get your, your adult beverages because it's, it's, it's amazing. And then talk to your restaurants and, and, and your, your local retail establishments about Making sure that they get it in there too, because it is, it's, I promise you, it's great. When you have it, you'll, you'll come back and thank me later. You'll come back and thank me later. So Dixon, man, I, I know we gotta run, but I have 2, one quick segment and then I'm gonna end it with my rapid fire 5. So this segment I call The Room. Because every great leader, every great entrepreneur that I know there was a room, there was a moment, there was a dinner, there was a meeting, there was a conversation that changed their life. For you, what was that room or that moment or that conversation that like changed your entrepreneur or leadership life?

You know, I think I probably could give you a few. And, and I, I say that because I've been very fortunate, um, we were rewarded or honored with a— accepted a James Beard Award one time, and that was a pretty significant moment. And that kind of, that type of recognition that kind of really drives you to pursue things. And some of the things in the bourbon world have been very exciting. And obviously the original conversation that started all of this where I had this idea and found a partner and an old friend who helped me figure out how to get from point A to point B and launch this whole thing. And my friend Mark Carter was very influential. But it's funny when we talk about Early, you know, your, your points earlier. And, and, um, one, one thing that has always, uh, resonated with me and, and really, you know, stuck with me, and it, it's the same, it's the, it's the same thing that, you know, I learned in hospitality and in my family, you know, in, in that world. But we hadn't, we hadn't had 2XO, or I'm sorry, this is Kentucky Out.

We hadn't had it out for very long. And, and, um, received, you know, we won some, some pretty impressive things right out of the gate, that Garden Gun Made in the South Award and these types of things. But I remember, um, this guy sent me a, an email and he said, hey, I just, you know, I just wanted to send you this picture. And it was, um, he and his son, um, and they were, they had a bottle of batch 2 of Kentucky Owl and, uh, they had, they were toasting with little Styrofoam coffee cups. And in the background was a big window, and what was beyond that was this gentleman's grandson and his son's firstborn son. And so it was the first, the second, and the third that had just been born.

Mm-hmm.

And they were toasting with a bottle of Kentucky Owl. And the guy said, you know, I've had this for 2 years and Um, you know, I have met you, love your story, and I thought this was a really appropriate time to, to open this bottle as a toast with my son, uh, shortly after the birth of, of his first son, the 3rd, you know, generation. And, you know, that was one of those moments where you get that and you think you're actually, you know, you're doing something that, that goes beyond selling bottles. You're, you're doing something that—

Yeah.

Um, you know, that becomes meaningful and important to people and, and you're, you're becoming a, you know, creating something that becomes a part of people's, um, special moments, their special experiences. It goes back to what we were talking about before. And, and so, you know, moments like that are, are a lot of the, they create the because.

Yeah.

Um, you know, um, that, you know, it's a lot of times you know, people, our team, the marketing team, they get excited because we got, I don't know, some award or some rating from a periodical or some, and those things are great. Like, you know, it's great when you get that type of recognition or, you know, the double goal, whatever, you know, but the personal things are a big part of, you know, what drives me and what, you know, makes me want to continue to— Do what we're doing.

I love it, brother. I love it so much.

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You've been gracious with your time, man. I'm gonna get you outta here with my rapid-fire quick 5, but before I do that, anything you wanna tell the audience about 2XO and, and, and what's coming up next and, and all that jazz?

Well, no, I mean, you know, what you're sipping on, that hip-hop blend, um, it's pretty cool. It's kind of in, in partnership, uh, from a marketing perspective with the, uh, Sugarhill Gang. So we're gonna do some promotional events with them. I, you know, so that, that's, that's always really fun to be able to do these kind of crossover things. But that's launching, uh, end of August, early September. Um, so nationally and, and, uh, and, and all 50 markets too.

Yeah.

So that's exciting.

Shout out to Master G, a good friend of mine. So yes, sir.

I love it. I didn't realize that, but yeah. So that's kind of what's next. We've got some other line extensions on the horizon that we're still working through, but life is good. It's good. It's fun. That's what's so, but that one, that hip hop blend is, is, uh, is gonna be out there and, and it's, it's pretty special.

No, it, it is. I'm, I'm sipping. I just, because you allowed me to, because Dixon allowed me to. So Chris, my COO, I, I'm only doing this because Dixon told me to. So just, that's right. Just so you know.

That's right. Yeah. I'll take all the heat.

There you go.

Um, no, I love it, man. And, and yeah, we'll have links to everything in the show notes and descriptions. Do me a huge favor and follow. Um, you know, I, I'm gonna do something before I go to this, this Unplugged 5. Um, I wanna do, I wanna do like a, a monthly 2XO little bourbon society that we do on Instagram together. So here's what we're gonna do. Everybody that's watching or listening, go buy a bottle of 2XO. I don't, I don't care which, which bottle you get. Just go get one. Send me a picture. And we're gonna do like a monthly virtual little 2XO mini society Instagram group where we go live. Everybody's invited, everybody's cameras are on. We're gonna celebrate 2XO. We'll go around the room and talk about what you're sipping. We'll talk about your day, your life, like whatever. It's just gonna be a fun little moment that together as a group we celebrate 2XO. So if you want to be in, Go buy a bottle, take a picture, message me directly on Instagram, and I'll create the group. And you know, maybe, maybe once a year, twice a year, we get Dixon to hop on and toast.

What are you talking about?

I'm in.

You tell me when the first one is. I'm there. I'm already there. I'm already in the, I'm already in the room.

All right. So if you wanna be in, let me know. All right. Your Unplugged 5. You ready? Rapid fire.

Ready.

Bring it.

First question, and, and everybody in the world wants to know the answer to this question. So no pressure, Dickson. They wanna know when the Unplugged blend is coming out.

I don't know. That is a good question. I, you know, TBD. We're, we're working with the, uh, you know, powers that be on, on, on that.

But there we go.

Let's, let's make that. That sounds like a lot of fun.

It, it does. It does to me too. All right. So I know you are, Kentucky born and raised. You went to Wofford, so you're a Terrier. I want to know who is your favorite college basketball team and why is it my alma mater, the University of North Carolina Tar Heels? I'll take a sip while you answer that question.

You know, I don't, I don't, I don't have any real problem with the Tar Heels just because of, of the fact that my biggest problem with any college basketball team is Duke. Uh, you know, I'm a, I'm a UK fan. I'm a Kentucky fan. Always been a Kentucky fan, season ticket holder.

So, um, we hate Duke together.

Yeah, we, we, we do have, we, we have that Duke hate together. That's for sure.

There we go. There we go. All right. Now, now I'll ask serious questions. So hospitality is where you started. What's one hospitality rule or core value That still lives with you no matter what you do in life?

Well, you know, I know that like, it's, it's, it's probably, everybody expects you to say the customer is always right. And I don't think that's—

They're not always right.

I don't, I don't think that's the case. You know, I mean, I, you know, you know, prevailing wisdom in, in anything is common sense and, and you can, you know, and, and, and, and, and common sense and hospitality is very important. Like, why, you know, what, you know, they're expecting this. Common sense will tell you, okay, how do we get, you know, beyond that to provide an experience that I used to call it disruptive hospitality with our team. And it's funny because my friend Will Godara calls it unreasonable hospitality, but I used to call it disruptive hospitality. And it was, Um, you know, the attempt to disrupt their expectations by going above and beyond with, with, with service or opportunity. And, and, um, you know, so fundamentally it's, you know, how, how do we exceed, you know, not how do we meet, but how do we exceed the expectations of, of our guests, uh, of our clientele?

Yeah. Good stuff. Good stuff. 4th question. You're sitting down for dinner with your favorite pour of 2XO. What is that meal?

Well, I, I have to admit that I'm a, I'm a red meat guy, but my, you know, my, Probably vice. Prime rib. I am a huge— I like to fancy myself a prime rib connoisseur.

Okay.

If we're traveling, I'm always looking for— so, give me a nice glass of 2XO and a nice slab of prime rib, and I'm a pretty happy guy.

Okay.

I love it. I love it. Last question. And this is for me personally, man, because I'm such a huge fan of you, the entrepreneur, the leader, the, the, the, the family man, the husband, everything that you are. I wanna know this for me, 30 years from now when the world is looking at a bottle of 2XO, what do you wanna, what do you want them to know about the man behind the bottle? What do you want them to know about Dixon Dedmon?

I, uh, there's no, I don't want to put any, this is not, there's no pressure here. Like I'm not that, that guy. Um, but if, you know, if I had, if, if I could, you know, write my own, you know, had a genie that, that could, that could grant me this wish. Um, 30 years from now, a bottle of 2XO.

Mm-hmm.

And they said the man behind it, um, it would be at that point, it would be one of my, one of my children that it was, you know, that, that it was, that it, that it had gone to another generation, that, that one of my children or all of my children or some combination, you know, that it was, that it had gone past me, that we had created something that it wasn't like, oh, that That old guy that used to be involved, that it's like, oh no, there's another generation. There's some, you know, and, and there's a, you know, a tradition that's being continued through another generation. Maybe, maybe that they don't even remember me. They don't even think about me. It's that when they say, who's the guy behind it? It's, shoot, 30 years from now, like, you know, you know, be, you know, be one of, one of, or a combination of my sons who are carrying the flag and, and They don't, you know, nobody knows who I was. And that would be, that would be my dream come true.

Amen to that, brother. Amen to that. Ladies and gentlemen, this has been my good friend, my brother from another mother, Dixon Dedmon. Um, you, you've heard me talk about 2X0 a lot. It is my favorite. I don't care. We, we are gonna watch this 10 years from now. It's still my favorite. But it's because of the man that, that Dickson is. Yeah, the bourbon is amazing, but the man behind the bottle, the family behind the bottle, the team behind the bottle are first class. And it lives in every pour that you'll have. But Dickson, man, I wanted to tell you this man to man, eyeball to eyeball. I freaking love who you are. I'm a huge fan of you. If there's ever anything I can do for you, I promise you I'm there. There's so much love and adoration for you, the human, and what you do and what you mean to the world, man. And I just want you to know that, brother.

Well, listen, it goes both ways. I'm proud of you. I appreciate more than you know, you having me on and extending the invitation. And I'm, I'm small potatoes compared to the, uh, you know, your normal guests, but it's a, it's truly an honor. And, and I, I think what you're doing is amazing. I, I'm, I'm, um, uh, it's really big deal for me. And, and I, I mean, the, um, uh, goes both ways. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

You got it, brother. And if you're watching or listening, remember, your because is your superpower. Go unleash it.