Lagralane Spirits

Jason and Yvonne Lee
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Lagralane Spirits

We’re Jason and Yvonne Lee. Husband, wife, father, mother, actors, producers, seekers, educators, and explorers of identity. Lagralane Spirits is a delicious podcast where we invite you into our living room for a family spirit symposium, a real-talk meeting of the minds over reverent cocktails. Each week we examine an important topic related to identity that not only is about our own history and how we identify, but is also rooted in social issues, historical events and even a little genealogy. We get into some heavy stuff that often needs the light lift of a cocktail. Therefore, each episode includes a curated cocktail that we then share with a guest as we ask them their “Cocktail Confession” in relation to that episode’s topic. It’s a lot of fun! So, join us as we dive back in time to examine the legacy of our ancestors that have shaped the stories of our shared cultural history. By the way, you can find all of our original cocktail recipes and show notes on lagralanespirits.org. And as always, please enjoy responsibly!

  1. 4 DAYS AGO · BONUS

    In the Spirit of Bourbon: LIVE with Rob Beatty of the Kentucky Black Bourbon Guild

    In this special episode, we chatted LIVE with Rob Beatty, Founder of the Kentucky Black Bourbon Guild — a groundbreaking initiative to preserve hidden histories, promote inclusivity, and celebrate the legacy of African Americans in bourbon culture.  Rob was instrumental in the making of Lagralane Spirits Season 3. He connected us to several incredible guests this season and guided us through Louisville and Lexington’s rich Bourbon culture. It was a delight to pick Rob’s brain again. So please pour a glass of your favorite Bourbon and hear from a multi-faceted entrepreneur who is leading the charge to make the Bourbon industry more diverse and inclusive. This episode was streamed live to Facebook and Instagram. Internet connection impacted the audio quality at a couple brief moments.  Links Guest:  Rob Beatty + Kentucky Black Bourbon Guild https://kentuckyblackbourbonguild.com/ https://www.instagram.com/iamrobbeatty/

    55 min

  2. 4 DAYS AGO

    In the Spirit of Bourbon: Woodford Reserve

    In this episode, we meet with Elizabeth McCall, the Master Distiller of Woodford Reserve, who leads a tasting that feels more like an art class than a lesson in Bourbon. Elizabeth shows us how pairing curated foods with Bourbon releases new flavors. And together, we experience how pairing a few good stories with Bourbon can unlock an unforgettable conversation.  Our greatest takeaway? Bourbon is more than a drink — it’s a way to explore identity and history.  This episode also features the voices and palettes of our dear friend, Cyndi Gatterdam and our Producing Team. We hope you’ll enjoy the warm and inviting atmosphere as we share stories over delicious Woodford Reserve Bourbon. Please visit www.lagralanespirits.org/episodes/woodford for shownotes, transcripts, and more.   Links: Guest Elizabeth McCall https://www.woodfordreserve.com/press-room/elizabeth-mccall/ https://www.woodfordreserve.com/ https://www.woodfordreserve.com/lifestyle/   Additional links + Special thanks to: WEP - https://weeditpodcasts.com/ Liam E. Allen (original music) - @Liamea97

    57 min

  3. 4 DAYS AGO · BONUS

    A Special Message About Season 3

    Jason and Yvonne share a quick message about this special season of Lagralane Spirits.

    2 min
  4. FOOD: Creating Connection Through Story with Chef B.B. Huff

    08/10/2022

    FOOD: Creating Connection Through Story with Chef B.B. Huff

    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.

    58 min

  5. 07/27/2022

    ACTION: Re-framing and Reclaiming the Narrative with Nambi E. Kelley

    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.

    57 min
  6. Creating Access Through Film with Angela C. Lee

    07/20/2022

    Creating Access Through Film with Angela C. Lee

    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.

    58 min
  7. Blast from the Caste with Lagralane Spirits Production Team

    06/29/2022

    Blast from the Caste with Lagralane Spirits Production Team

    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 a highball glass.

    1h 24m
  8. Passing Pt 2: The Roles We Play with Chaz Ebert and Brenda Robinson

    06/15/2022

    Passing Pt 2: The Roles We Play with Chaz Ebert and Brenda Robinson

    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

    1 hr
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5
out of 5
28 Ratings

About

We’re Jason and Yvonne Lee. Husband, wife, father, mother, actors, producers, seekers, educators, and explorers of identity. Lagralane Spirits is a delicious podcast where we invite you into our living room for a family spirit symposium, a real-talk meeting of the minds over reverent cocktails. Each week we examine an important topic related to identity that not only is about our own history and how we identify, but is also rooted in social issues, historical events and even a little genealogy. We get into some heavy stuff that often needs the light lift of a cocktail. Therefore, each episode includes a curated cocktail that we then share with a guest as we ask them their “Cocktail Confession” in relation to that episode’s topic. It’s a lot of fun! So, join us as we dive back in time to examine the legacy of our ancestors that have shaped the stories of our shared cultural history. By the way, you can find all of our original cocktail recipes and show notes on lagralanespirits.org. And as always, please enjoy responsibly!

Information

  • Creator
    Jason and Yvonne Lee
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2025
  • Episodes
    18
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Show Website
    Lagralane Spirits

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