Lagralane Spirits Jason and Yvonne Lee

Is food central or trivial to the formation of identity?
 
In our final episode of the season, hosts Jason and Yvonne Lee welcome Yvonne’s sister, Chef B.B. Huff to the show. Chef Huff left the corporate world to begin her own company, The Salted Parlor, which is a boutique catering firm specializing in storytelling through food. In this episode, these three bring food into the story of our lives. They ask questions like how do we use ingredients and dishes to tell a story? How does art and the story of food connect us to the past? What is food’s role in preserving culture?
 
This spirited culinary conversation will leave you wondering, if food is a conversation starter, what happens after they leave your table?
 
For more spirited discussions, make sure to subscribe to the podcast.
And if you’ve enjoyed thinking and mocktailing along with us, we’d love for you to leave us a review.
 
Cheers … and Please Drink Responsibly!
 
Links:
 
Guests:
Chef B.B. Huff - The Salted Parlor
https://www.thesaltedparlor.com/about
https://www.instagram.com/saltedparlor/
 
Cesar Chavez
https://ufw.org/research/history/story-cesar-chavez/
https://www.history.com/topics/mexico/cesar-chavez
 
Lower Depth Theatre
https://lower-depth.com/
 
Additional Links + Special thanks to:
Podcast Haven - https://thepodcasthaven.com/
Liam E. Allen (original music) - @Liamea97
 
Cocktail Recipe: Ala Ala*
*This cocktail was created by Jason Lee. “Alaala” translates from Tagalog to English as “Memory” or “Recollection.” It is also the name of Jason’s elementary school yearbook in Manila, which was an interesting inspiration for the cocktail. 
 
Muddle sliced peaches w/ dashes of Regan’s Orange Bitters; Peychauds; Bitters Lab Charred Cedar & Currant bitters; and Hella Bitters Smoked Chili bitters.
 
Then:
 
2 oz Pierre Ferrand Cognac
1/4 oz Lambanog
1/2 oz simple syrup
1/2 oz sparkling water 
 
Build in cocktail glass.
Serve on rocks.
Add Tangerine peel (or blood orange peel) garnish.

How do we personally take action to shift the narrative?
 
With an energetic calm that is both inspiring and soothing, playwright/actor/producer Nambi E. Kelley (Native Son, Re-Memori, Jabari Dreams of Freedom) joins hosts Jason and Yvonne Lee for a discussion about how we take action to shift the narrative from one that is exclusive and often incorrect, to one that is authentic to ourselves and our stories.
 
Knowing that small change can make a tidal wave of change, these three discuss their personal journeys as examples of how they have individually taken action to change the narrative. From acting in roles and productions with representative stories, to providing access to those who are climbing the ladder now, to adapting stories with strong messages, this episode is full of inspiring solutions to using your voice and career to make change.
 
As they say, if we don’t take action now, we’re not just letting down those who came before us, but those who came after us.
 
Jason makes his first original-recipe cocktail and names it Bureau 68 after being inspired by the actions of the Freedmen’s Bureau of 1865-1868. As he says, “[This cocktail] is built upon the specs of others through the lens of access, brought together in the combination of remembrance of all these accomplishments but also the combined bittersweetness of success.” 
 
What advice can we give to those coming up behind us? How can we strive for individuality and the freedom that brings?
 
Nambi and The Lees suggest that by maintaining identity, self-love and actualizing kindness, we can achieve individuality. By being individual, which means being true-to-self, we can achieve a level of freedom; they further  encourage us to be scared but then also be courageous. They ask, how do you change the narrative – how do you impact people? You tell the truth.
 
For more spirited discussions, make sure to subscribe to the podcast.
And if you’ve enjoyed thinking and mocktailing along with us, we’d love for you to leave us a review.
Cheers … and Please Drink Responsibly!
 
Links:
 
Guests:
Nambi E. Kelley
http://www.nambikelley.com/
 
Jabari Dreams of Freedom
www.jabari-dreams-of-freedom.com
 
First Woman, Inc.
http://www.firstwomaninc.com/
 
The Freedmen’s Bureau – The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands (Freedmen’s Bureau 1865-68 primary years)
https://www.freedmensbureau.com/
https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/FreedmensBureau.htm
 
GirlTrek
https://www.girltrek.org/
 
Lifeline - film
https://lagralane.com/#portfolio
 
Infants of the Spring by Wallace Thurman
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/868448.Infants_of_the_Spring
 
Lower Depth Theatre
www.lower-depth.com
 
 
Additional Links + Special thanks to:
Podcast Haven - https://thepodcasthaven.com/
Liam E. Allen (original music) - @Liamea97
 
 
Cocktail Recipe: Bureau 68
Bureau 68 was coined & created by Jason after being inspired by the actions of the Freedmen’s Bureau of 1865-1868.
2.5 oz Hine Cognac
3/4 oz Rammazzotti Amaro
1/2 oz fresh lemon AND lime juice
1/4 oz simple syrup
Dash of Angostura Bitters
Dash(es) of Chard Cedar + Currant Bitters (Bitters Lab)
2 Blackberries
 
Shake & serve in Martini Glass. Add blackberry garnish.

Why is film such an important medium for creating access? How can we use empathy to expand vision?
Hosts Jason and Yvonne Lee share a moment with Spirit Award nominated producer (Songs My Brothers Taught Me), Angela C. Lee who also is the Associtate Director of Artist Development at Film Independent. By examining the ecosystem of filmmaking and producing, these three discuss the larger notion that access to “Hollywood” doesn’t come just because we deserve it. They explore how we can find (or even create) traction within a film system by showing myopic gatekeepers the capability of success from projects that have stories, actors and production teams with whom these power-holders may not associate with viability. As a solution, these three discuss one real truth: diverse producers get diverse projects made.
How do we nurture empathy to gain equity? How do we create a pathway to ownership so that we can control and expand vision?
Listen and be inspired by Angela’s determined passion. LA based and a native Chicagoan, she understands that producing is about seeing and supporting a filmmaker's vision, and sticking with them for the long haul to create space where they can shine. Along with Jason and Yvonne, who are on a mission to provide opportunities for stories that may not otherwise be told, they ask, how can we explain that discovery is infinite?
For more spirited discussions, make sure to subscribe to the podcast.
And if you’ve enjoyed thinking and mocktailing along with us, we’d love for you to leave us a review.
Cheers … and Please Drink Responsibly!
 
Links:
Guests:
Angela C. Lee
https://www.filmindependent.org/talent/angela-c-lee/
Project Involve
https://www.filmindependent.org/blog/project-involve-is-back-meet-the-30-new-fellows-joining-us-in-2022-2/
Philiane Phang
https://www.filmindependent.org/talent/philiane-phang/
Chloe’ Zhao (Songs My Brother Taught Me, Nomadland)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chlo%C3%A9_Zhao
Original source of NPR episode about the ABA:
https://freakonomics.com/podcast/dont-worry-be-tacky/
Kurtis Blow - “Basketball” song
https://youtu.be/_shxzlTRK44

Death & Company
https://www.deathandcompany.com/
Array Now
https://arraynow.com/
Byron Allen
https://entertainmentstudios.com/founder/

Robert Townsend
https://www.roberttownsend.com/
Shonda Rhimes
https://www.shondaland.com/
Sundance Institute
https://apply.sundance.org/

Ruth Ann Harnisch
https://thehf.org/about/
 
Additional Links + Special thanks to:
Podcast Haven - https://thepodcasthaven.com/
Liam E. Allen (original music) - @Liamea97
 
Drink Recipe:
Ep 4 Cocktail- Smoke & Mirrors A daiquiri variation created by bartender Alex Day for Death & Co in NYC, a company who has been a huge inspiration for Jason. 
Ingredients:
1oz Islay scotch - Lagavulin 
1oz blended scotch - Johnnie Walker red or black
3/4 oz lime juice 
3/4 oz simple syrup
4-6 mint leaves 
Absinthe spray 
Shake ingredients with ice. Finish with absinthe spray.

Can we move away from caste to create a more equitable society? How do we understand racism by looking at caste and class? 
 
Pull up a seat and join us for a special roundtable episode with the Lagralane Team. 
 
Using the book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, by Isabel Wilkerson as a source of exploration, we help define what caste is, and discuss how race has become the basis of our caste system in the United States. We also talk about how caste affects each of us personally – and what we can do to bring about meaningful change. 
 
Through the lens of our multi-ethnic and multi-generational Lagralane Team, we seek to answer the question: can we move away from caste to create a more equitable society?
 
How can we be the guardians of truth?
 
Our team has a myriad of perspectives rooted in being adopted, Black, Asian, White, mixed-race, male, female, fluid and beyond … we are representative of America and we have also lived the experiences presented in Caste. We know first-hand that we’re all living in a time of discontent created by generations before us. While sipping The Comeuppance cocktail, knowing the task before us is huge, we also ask how can we make change? How can we live today so that healing can begin for so many? How do we share the task of being guardians of truth? 
 
For more spirited discussions, make sure to subscribe to the podcast.
And if you’ve enjoyed thinking and cocktailing along with us, we’d love for you to leave us a review. 
Cheers … and Please Drink Responsibly!
 
Links:
 
Guests:
The Lagralane Team
(in alphabetical order)
 
Peppur Chambers-Soraci - 
www.penandpeppur.com 
https://www.instagram.com/peppurthehotone/
 
AJ Dinsmore - 
https://writers.coverfly.com/profile/Amanda-Joy-Dinsmore https://www.instagram.com/aj.dinsmore
 
Courtney Oliphant - 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/courtney-oliphant-6546818a/
https://www.instagram.com/cori_anne92/?hl=en, 
 
Matthew Soraci - 
www.lagralane.com
https://www.facebook.com/matthew.soraci



Mentions:
Caste:The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson 
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/653196/caste-oprahs-book-club-by-isabel-wilkerson/
 
The Gilded Age
https://www.hbo.com/the-gilded-age
 
The Myth of the Model Minority: Asian Americans Facing Racism by Rosalind S. Chou, Joe R. Feagin
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-myth-of-the-model-minority-rosalind-s-chou/1124310184
Model Minority Myth
https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/what-is-the-model-minority-myth
 
How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America
by Clint Smith
https://www.littlebrown.com/titles/clint-smith/how-the-word-is-passed/9780316492935/
 
Belonging - Ben McBride
http://www.benmcbride.com/
 
The Ideal Bartender by Tom Bullock
https://punchdrink.com/articles/tom-bollock-and-the-forgotten-legacy-of-african-american-bartenders/
https://euvs-vintage-cocktail-books.cld.bz/1917-The-Ideal-Bartender-by-Tom-Bullock/IV/



Additional Links + Special thanks to:
Podcast Haven - https://thepodcasthaven.com/
Liam E. Allen (original music) - @Liamea97
 
Cocktail Recipe: The Comeuppance
Jason renamed the Bizzy Izzy to “The Comeuppance” to fit the conversation around Caste in this episode. Although many believe it is “un-American” to challenge hateful and hurtful tropes or to demand reparations from the past 250+ years, that is exactly what we should be doing right now. 
The Bizzy Izzy is a classic drink by an African American bartender in St. Louis from 100 years ago named Tom Bullock, who included this cocktail in his book, “The Ideal Bartender.”
 
1oz fresh pineapple juice (Dole or fresh)
1oz sherry (Lustau)
1 oz  templeton rye whiskey (Templeton)
¾ oz fresh lemon juice
¾ simple syrup 
A couple dashes (or more) of angostura bitters 
1 oz chilled club soda 
Lemon wheel garnish
 
Shake and pour into

We return to explore the theme of passing – and the duality of preserving one’s identity while being forced to navigate the world in certain ways. 
Joining us for this episode are producer and philanthropist Brenda Robinson and CEO and civil rights attorney Chaz Ebert. As Executive Producers on the film Passing (2021), Brenda and Chaz have so much to share on their respective roles, as well as the vital importance of the critically-acclaimed movie. 
Together, we examine systems of oppression and share personal stories of what we gotta do – and what we’ve had to do – to survive and thrive historically. We also examine Modern Day Passing and the many ways we might pass (intentionally or otherwise) outside of skin color.
 
What is modern-day passing and what are the roles we play to gain equity? How do you find ways to fit into the dominant culture? How do you stay true to self and show up empowered and authentic to everything that you are?
 
QUESTIONS
Power-producers Chaz Ebert and Brenda Robinson join hosts Jason and Yvonne Lee to talk access. In this mini-reunion, these four friends and film professionals share why they do what they do – and that is to lift and provide opportunity for voices of color working in film. By highlighting impactful projects like Regina Hall’s award-winning debut film, Passing, to new projects like veteran Lisa Cortes’ documentary Empire of Ebony which covers 70 years of culture from Ebony and Jet magazines, we learn from the inside what it’s like to operate from what can often feel like the outside. We also learn that what matters in this industry is being empowered from within, showing up to the table as your authentic self… and knowing that the table you’re at is THE table.  
 
What do you gain by not having to pass as anything?
 
In our very first episode with a delicious mocktail, we acknowledge the increasingly popular addition of inclusive mocktails as a beverage choice in social situations. Jason whips up a non-alcoholic French 75 and the conversation flows, as always. Knowing that modern-day passing takes on many, many forms, our guests also share personal stories of how passing has affected them and how it has shown up in their own families. Yvonne poingantly presents Chaz and Brenda with their confessional question, what more needs to be done  so that people of color can show up authentically and not have to pass for anything?
 
For more spirited discussions, make sure to subscribe to the podcast.
And if you’ve enjoyed thinking and mocktailing along with us, we’d love for you to leave us a review.
 
Cheers … and Please Drink Responsibly!
 
Links:
 
Guests:
Brenda K. Robinson
https://www.filmindependent.org/people/brenda-robinson/
 
Chaz Ebert
https://www.rogerebert.com/contributors/chaz-ebert




Book: 
Passing by Nella Larsen
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/passing-nella-larsen/1001883168
 
Film: 
'Passing' filmmaker Rebecca Hall shares the personal story behind her movie
https://www.npr.org/2021/11/30/1059824073/passing-rebecca-hall-film
 
Empire of Ebony
https://deadline.com/2021/02/the-empire-of-ebony-lisa-cortes-documentary-ebony-jet-magazine-one-story-up-1234700486/
 
LIFE Camp
(Erica Ford, Violence Interupter)
https://www.peaceisalifestyle.com/
 
A Most Beautiful Thing
https://www.amostbeautifulthing.com/



Additional Links + Special thanks to:
Podcast Haven - https://thepodcasthaven.com/
Liam E. Allen (original music) - @Liamea97
 
 
Cocktail Recipe:
French 75  Mocktail  3/4 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz simple syrup
Float San Pellegrino Sparkling water 
 
Cocktail
2 oz gin
3 oz champagne 
3/4 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz simple syrup
 
Shake ingredients and strain into a champagne flute
Float champagne on top
Add a lemon slice garnish
 

What does it mean to look at yourself through the eyes of the ‘other’? How do you maintain a sense of self in this process? How do you build social equity to match the room that you are in?
Hosts Jason and Yvonne Lee examine the pathways to equity in this season two debut of Lagralane Spirits. With guests Monique Marshall (anti-bias/anti-racist educator) and DeMille Halliburton (champion of access and equity), they discuss the historical perspectives of ‘Passing’ which is the ability of a person to be regarded as a member of an identity group that is different than their own.
This meaningful conversation is accompanied by the Ramos Gin Fizz cocktail, chosen purposefully for this episode due its unique appearance and complexity to prepare. 
The journey to access, or ‘getting in the room’ is different for each one of us, and usually includes self-exploration and self-acceptance.
Enjoy Monique and DeMille’s unique examples of how they work to provide pathways of access and equity to others whether through food banks, entertainment or education. They also share personal stories about passing and identity as they answer this episode’s Cocktail Confession question, “When it comes to establishing and maintaining equity, what have you had to do to get in the room?”
*This episode contains strong language. 
For more spirited discussions and cocktails, make sure to subscribe to the podcast.
And if you’ve enjoyed thinking (and drinking) along with us, we’d love for you to leave us a review.
 
Cheers … and Please Drink Responsibly!
 
Links:
 
Book: 
Passing by Nella Larsen
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/passing-nella-larsen/1001883168
 
Film: 
'Passing' filmmaker Rebecca Hall shares the personal story behind her movie
https://www.npr.org/2021/11/30/1059824073/passing-rebecca-hall-film



Guests:
Monique Marshall
https://mmscequity.com/about
 
SoCalPosis
https://socalpocis.org/team-instructor/monique-marshall/
 
DeMille Halliburton
SEE-LA
https://seela.org/portfolio-item/sola-food-co-op/
 
Blackhouse
https://theblackhouse.org/about-us/
 
Film 2 Future
https://www.film2future.org/
 
Additional Links + Special thanks to:
Podcast Haven - https://thepodcasthaven.com/
Liam E. Allen (original music) - @Liamea97
 
Cocktail Recipe:
Ramos Gin Fizz
2 oz  gin
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz lime juice
1 oz simple syrup
2 dashes of orange flower water*
1 oz cream**
1 egg white
2-3 oz of soda water 
 
*We swapped in Rose Water; it’s what we had on hand in the house
**For lactose intolerant drinkers, this can be swapped cream with oat milk
One of the most complicated and difficult cocktails to make. Famous for a big frothy, Meringue-like head because of the egg white and soda water.
Shake the ingredients with 3-5 ice cubes for 5-10 minutes to build up thick and creamy foam.
Pour into a glass and leave it in the refrigerator for 3-4 minutes to let the head of the cocktail rise up.