From Battlefield to Bottle: SPYRT Worldwide's Global Mission with Sam Lerman (S4 E7)

00:17.27
Jonathan 
Well, dad, it's been a few weeks since we've done an episode of the show. We've been on a little bit of an extended hiatus, right?

00:24.64
jeffrey
Yes, we have. It seems like it feels like it's been at least a year since we've been together, but it hasn't been quite that long, but it's been a bit of a hiatus.

00:29.00
Jonathan 
Right. I know. i I know, but we're...

00:34.41
jeffrey
And we're I'm happy to say I don't feel rusty. I think we're getting right back into the swing of things.

00:38.51
Jonathan 
Okay. Yeah.

00:41.05
jeffrey
And I can't wait to interview our next guest.

00:44.78
Jonathan 
Yeah.

00:45.06
jeffrey
who is about the closest thing.

00:45.40
Sam Lerman
been

00:48.01
jeffrey
Well, let's let's say, let's preface this by saying that I went to a concert the other night, about almost a week ago, and it pertains to this interview because it was a group called Leonid and Friends,

01:03.16
jeffrey
It is a group of Ukrainian and Russian musicians, singers, fantastic group.

01:03.99
Sam Lerman
terms

01:10.22
jeffrey
They cover songs from Chicago, from Earth, Wind and Fire, from the Carpenters, from all kinds of fantastic groups.

01:14.17
Sam Lerman
and then

01:22.55
jeffrey
And it's very moving to see the Ukrainians and the Russians singing together cajoling together, just having a great time. um <unk> It's a very festive sort of concert when you go. And I urge everyone to go and see  Leonid and friends.

01:40.47
jeffrey
And that fits right in because our next guest is the closest thing that we're ever going to get to James Bond.

01:48.54
Sam Lerman
Thank you.

01:49.68
Jonathan 
Yes, it's true.

01:49.77
jeffrey
That's right. That's right.

01:51.02
Jonathan 
he um, he is a former air force technical Sergeant, uh, decorated for valor in combat in Afghanistan. Uh, he's then gone on as a volunteer advisor to the ministry of strategic industries.

02:03.18
Jonathan 
Um, he, uh, was in Western Ukraine just a few weeks after the Russian invasion in February, 2022, he was in a safe house. I mean, this is like, this is total James Bond type of things.

02:14.94
jeffrey
His life is a spy novel.

02:15.39
Jonathan 
Um, Yeah.

02:18.05
jeffrey
That's not.

02:18.18
Jonathan 
And so it was there in Western Ukraine that he first um had a ah well tried Ukrainian alcohol and and he and has brought it to the states when we're very thankful for that.

02:19.08
Sam Lerman
All

02:23.74
Sam Lerman
right.

02:28.84
Jonathan 
And we wanted to bring him in and have him tell his story because we met him at WSWA Access Live in Denver.

02:32.40
Sam Lerman
right not

02:35.87
Jonathan 
um And so without further ado, Sam Lerman, welcome to the Cocktail Guru Show.

02:41.05
Sam Lerman
Thanks for having me, Jonathan. Jeffrey, really appreciate it It's so great to meet you guys at WSWA. um This is the first podcast I've ever been on. i

02:50.68
Jonathan 
All right.

02:51.34
Sam Lerman
e it

02:51.44
Jonathan 
Nice.

02:52.89
jeffrey
Well, thank you for choosing the Cocktail Guru podcast as your first.

02:53.25
Sam Lerman
the two that like you

02:57.60
Jonathan 
Yes.

02:57.70
jeffrey
Thank you.

02:58.54
Jonathan 
And Sam is the CEO of ah Spirit Worldwide.

02:59.05
Sam Lerman
miss la

03:01.70
Jonathan 
And um we wanted, well, first, we' we'd love to start off by having you, Sam, give us a little bit of background on um you know how you got in, where from where you started to where you are today.

03:12.92
Jonathan 
I know it's a pretty incredible story.

03:16.19
Sam Lerman
but Sure. So i I grew up in um Bethesda, Maryland, was born in D.C. ah When I joined the military, you know, I was in high school for 9-11. So I joined the military when I was 17.

03:30.46
Sam Lerman
I did Katrina, fought in Afghanistan, ah did ah You know, I was in a specialty in the Air Force called Air Force Security Forces, which does law enforcement and resource protection stateside and ground defensive airfields um in hostile zones overseas.

03:50.38
Sam Lerman
And i did that for going back and forth between reserve time for about 12 years. We deserve an activity time for about 12 years. And after my time in the military, went into the defense industry where I did procurement and weapons and equipment work for U.S. military sort of across the spectrum for conventional and special operations forces at a contract that had large procurement contract.

04:22.66
Sam Lerman
um and it was because of that experience that when the Russians invaded Ukraine I got a call from some friends who'd retired out of the special operations community who said hey um we're putting together a small team of volunteers to go assist the Ukrainian government and advise them on a variety of different things and they're asking for a guy from the US you know equipment industry who knows procurement requirements ah to come help ah advise them on what right looks like and and how to work with the West.

04:54.47
Sam Lerman
Any chance you want to go? i said, okay. When? ah said, Saturday.

05:00.64
Jonathan 
wow

05:00.85
Sam Lerman
said, ah,

05:02.35
jeffrey
Hmm.

05:02.78
Sam Lerman
Okay, um what are the details?

05:02.87
Jonathan 
and

05:04.35
Sam Lerman
I said, well, ah no pay, no insurance, no backing, um but an NGO will pay your airfare. And I said, let me go talk to my wife. And so I went to my lovely wife and explained the situation. She said, is anybody else with your experience in the industry going to be this? I said, I don't know.

05:24.97
Sam Lerman
said, you should probably go. And I said, okay. She said, don't get killed. So I went to Poland and I joined the team in Warsaw and we went overland into Ukraine, week four, week five of the invasion.

05:37.24
Sam Lerman
um And ah we wound up um going and living in this Ukrainian safe house. We were embedded in an office under the Ministry of Strategic Industries at the time, which ah was is very different to what they do today. but um I immediately fell in love with the place. I could not believe the people, the resilience, the unbelievable spirit and devotion that I saw there. And I got hooked on the culture, the fight, and pretty quickly, the wine and spirits.

06:11.56
Sam Lerman
um Yeah, it was it was actually my first night in the safe house. ah ah You can imagine it's like a little bit like a movie scene, except the safe house was not some ramshackle rundown building. It was this beautiful house in a village in the middle of nowhere. and ah But other than that, it was kind of like ah that what you would imagine, you us all sitting around the dining room table.

06:37.47
Sam Lerman
AK-74s on the table, a body armor, medical kits, etc. And the deputy director of the unit puts down this bottle and says, ah you know, ah now we do a cultural exchange. and Okay, okay.

06:51.42
Sam Lerman
I thought i didn't like vodka.

06:51.72
jeffrey
it

06:53.22
Sam Lerman
I thought I didn't like vodka. Bad memories from college. And I said, is that vodka? No, this is not vodka. This is for real time. And I said, ah it looks like vodka. What's the difference?

07:08.74
Sam Lerman
Vodka Russian, and it can only make you angry. Varylka is Ukrainian, and it opens your mind. ah And I said, OK, I get it.

07:14.76
Jonathan 
Wow.

07:18.04
Sam Lerman
that's That's really nice Ukrainian vodka. I'm not really a vodka guy. Well, it was not optional. So I had my first taste of Ukrainian vodka, and it blew my mind.

07:28.19
jeffrey
And from there, you went on to to taste, hopefully drink the brandies produced there and and wines produced there, including sparkling wines.

07:28.50
Sam Lerman
I was shocked.

07:36.22
Sam Lerman
yeah yeah

07:41.07
Sam Lerman
yeah absolutely um so i you know i i tried a fair variety while i was there that first time which was several weeks living in a safe house um and then when i came back to the us i brought some home with me that ran out pretty quick um and as i was doing this i sort of decided i I couldn't go on doing anything else. I needed to be involved in in the war effort.

08:03.56
Sam Lerman
So um i I continued volunteering from the US for several more months until my wife said, you have to get a job again with income. ah Something about small children, let me just be sad.

08:15.86
Sam Lerman
um So I decided to ah get a job ah doing defense work that would allow me to work in Ukraine and and and and help the war effort.

08:27.77
Sam Lerman
um ah But as I'm doing this, I've run out of, I've been back in the US for a while, I've run out of these wines and spirits pretty quickly, um and I've tried to go buy them, and I cannot find them anywhere. They just don't exist on the US markets at all, um which frustrates me deeply. So as I start going back to Ukraine over and over again,

08:48.49
Sam Lerman
um I start coming back with backpacks and or with suitcases full of wine and spirits from different places that I try as I go do the work on the war effort, which is is not really the EU.

08:58.28
jeffrey
Thank you.

09:03.77
Sam Lerman
You can only bring one liter of ah the alcohol into the EU. I would declare the stuff not like a bootlegger bootlegger. I'd declare it when I got to the you know US s at the at the airport at You can't do that with the EU, so I'd have to snake it into the EU.

09:18.82
Sam Lerman
I got caught a couple of times. Had some interesting conversations with Polish customs.

09:20.31
Jonathan 
Uh-oh.

09:23.35
Sam Lerman
um But ah eventually, by early 2023, decided that you know i i couldn't like ah couldn't believe that these weren't available in the United States. They were unbelievable products.

09:38.98
Sam Lerman
and so um uh in january 2023 i reached out to two friends uh my one of my comrades from the safe house a ukrainian veteran uh who is serial entrepreneur has had a ton of successful business pursuits who was also a volunteer with me in the safe house and then um actually a former boss of mine from ah the industry david who

10:02.17
Jonathan 
so

10:03.04
Sam Lerman
was incredible, just has an unbelievable set of operations and logistics i experience. And, um you know, if I couldn't do this alone with, you know, if we were going to stand up this company, um ah we needed all the right people. And it just so happened that between the three of us, all veterans, David's prior Marine Corps veteran, Max and my Ukrainian partners, prior Ukrainian armed forces.

10:32.33
Sam Lerman
um And you know I pitched to them starting a company to bring the best of Ukraine to the United States and show America a different side of Ukraine, and something other than the war they see on TV every day, and then use that to fund humanitarian life-saving action in Ukraine.

10:52.78
Sam Lerman
um And everybody said, yeah, we're in. So the three of us founded Spirit Worldwide and started this incredible journey.

11:02.43
jeffrey
Well, it's it's very exciting and I've learned something about the wines that and brandies that you're representing.

11:02.89
Sam Lerman
That's right. and stuing with down not pitch but

11:09.46
jeffrey
The winery distillery is called Chabot, is that right?

11:10.43
Sam Lerman
yeah but

11:13.69
Sam Lerman
that's right so

11:14.05
jeffrey
Yeah. Hmm. yeah

11:15.47
Sam Lerman
We have several partners. Our our first wine partner is Shabo, which is a 200-year-old, 3,300-acre winery in southern Ukraine and on the coast of the Black Suit.

11:29.31
Sam Lerman
It's just an unbelievable facility. And they they make still wine, sparkling wine. um ah They make brandy. They make grape vodka, anything having to do with grapes. They have 4 million grapevines.

11:41.28
Sam Lerman
um um and It's truly incredible. ah i The next one we bring on will most likely to be Father's Wine, um which is from a central Western Ukrainian town called Chernobyl.

11:54.79
Sam Lerman
It's very small by comparison, ah really nice client family run small winery. And then we have two vodka distilleries we work with, Hetman in Lviv and Ukrainian Spirit in Lutz, both some of the most amazing vodka producers in the world.

12:06.53
Jonathan 
Thank you.

12:13.62
jeffrey
ah Wonderful. And then some of the wines that you have include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

12:15.67
Sam Lerman
Yes, absolutely. That's right. So.

12:19.54
Sam Lerman
but i though yes absolutely

12:21.17
jeffrey
and and And you have Saparavi too, right?

12:22.94
Sam Lerman
yes and so that's right so

12:25.66
jeffrey
Which is a wine I know from Georgia, not from Ukraine.

12:27.62
Sam Lerman
started Correct. So the owners of the Shabot winery are the Krinze family who immigrated from Georgia to Ukraine several decades ago.

12:37.55
jeffrey
Hmm.

12:38.62
Sam Lerman
And so they do several things to honor their Georgian heritage, including using some Georgian grapes and making wine in the traditional Georgian style quaveries, 10 foot tall, ah you know, clay plots that are buried in the ground to control temperature and humidity.

12:52.39
jeffrey
play pots. Yeah. Yeah.

12:56.91
Sam Lerman
um so they they do traditional winemaking uh they do sparkling wine they do charmat and champenois and they do uh uh kitchen or quaveri winemaking um and yeah they have they have more than 20 different varietals across their portfolio from international varietals like cabernet sauvignon merlot

12:56.87
jeffrey
It's amazing.

13:19.25
Sam Lerman
are three ah Chardonnay, you know, Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, to international, you know, internationally specific ones like Saporabi, Rokatsateli, and then a really amazing, been one of my personal favorites, Telki Puruk, which is an indigenous Ukrainian grape that doesn't meat grow anywhere else in the world.

13:41.34
Sam Lerman
It almost exclusively grows in the sand on the banks of the Black Sea. um And the only original rootstock of it left in the world for its pure genetic condition is at Chalmers Wander.

13:46.59
Jonathan 
Wow.

13:54.74
Sam Lerman
um And it's it's this truly amazing dry white wine. It's not really quite comparable to any other grape. It's so different.

14:02.41
jeffrey
I would love to taste that someday.

14:03.62
Sam Lerman
Oh, we can arrange that.

14:06.34
Jonathan 
Same, same.

14:06.87
Sam Lerman
if

14:07.18
Jonathan 
where Where and when, please.

14:07.50
Sam Lerman
like donly attending Send me addresses.

14:10.69
Jonathan 
Oh, that's I didn't know it was that easy.

14:11.25
Sam Lerman
and Yes.

14:14.38
Jonathan 
All right.

14:14.62
jeffrey
So at this point, Sam, um where are, yes.

14:14.87
Sam Lerman
yes

14:17.80
Jonathan 
Hold on, Dad.

14:17.94
Sam Lerman
So right now we started launch because part of our mission is

14:19.13
Jonathan 
Dad, we're going to take a quick break before you keep going, and then we'll be right back.

14:20.70
jeffrey
Okay,

14:23.64
Jonathan 
Okay, and now we're back. Dad, you were saying?

14:25.86
jeffrey
Sam, I wanted to ask, where are the wines available right now?

14:30.06
Sam Lerman
so right now we we started our launch because part of our mission is is You know, diplomacy for Ukraine through wine and spirits. um So we started with our initial launch in DC area, DC, Maryland, and Virginia.

14:42.81
Sam Lerman
ah those The vodkas are available in Maryland and DC.

14:42.86
jeffrey
Mm-hmm.

14:46.57
Sam Lerman
The wines are available in all the foods. um uh which by the way leads me to i'll we've wound up bringing some incredible people on even since i met you guys i think last um we have two brand ambassadors now who are helping us ah spread the word about this uh one is uh met the u.s medal of honor recipient lieutenant colonel william swenson

15:00.70
Jonathan 
Oh,

15:09.37
Sam Lerman
um who i actually met at a Ukrainian Armed Forces Day event and fell who fell in love with the wine and said, how do I get involved? um And Ambassador Kurt Volker, former US ambassador to NATO and former US special representative to Ukraine, um who is also working with us and actually has a 10 year long love affair with Shavo Wine.

15:20.56
jeffrey
Oh, wow. Yeah.

15:31.37
Sam Lerman
ah So when he heard Shavo was finally coming to the US, he was very excited.

15:37.95
jeffrey
Wow, that lends a great deal of prestige to your mission.

15:39.17
Sam Lerman
it would be

15:42.31
Sam Lerman
Yeah, we call him our brand ambassador ambassador.

15:44.91
jeffrey
Yeah.

15:48.66
jeffrey
Wonderful.

15:49.54
Jonathan 
Well, um so can you tell us?

15:50.03
Sam Lerman
definite so

15:52.13
Jonathan 
Yeah, sorry.

15:52.34
Sam Lerman
Oh, and then I'm sorry, we're wherere where we're available.

15:52.53
Jonathan 
Go ahead, Sam.

15:55.36
Sam Lerman
um So what we're about to launch in colorado the wines in Colorado, Michigan, um ah Massachusetts, Rhode Island, ah Kentucky, and Indiana, ah hopefully followed by California shortly after that.

16:11.95
Sam Lerman
um They're also available online. There's some links on our website. And if you search Shabo Wines online, there's there's some online DTC places. ah We did just also get our first Michelin star listing in the United States for the wines at ah ah Imperfecto in Washington, D.C.

16:29.62
Sam Lerman
um ah Previously, they served at Michelin starred restaurants in London and Paris.

16:30.33
Jonathan 
Oh, wow.

16:35.02
Sam Lerman
um

16:35.37
Jonathan 
Wow.

16:35.77
jeffrey
Congratulations. That's great. Yeah.

16:37.30
Sam Lerman
Yeah, Chabot is actually the only Ukrainian winery exhibited and sold at the Sip du Vin in Bordeaux, um the Bordeaux Wine Museum. um

16:45.37
Jonathan 
Oh, wow.

16:45.54
jeffrey
and

16:45.96
Sam Lerman
And the the vodkas are available in, ah ah or the vodkas will be launching soon in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, um ah then ah in Washington, California, Nevada, Arizona, and Colorado.

17:05.54
jeffrey
You have to be on the lookout for those, Jonathan.

17:06.41
Sam Lerman
not

17:08.77
Jonathan 
Yes, I know. I know.

17:09.94
Sam Lerman
it was kind yeah are you you're in Massachusetts right very cool yeah

17:13.51
Jonathan 
And

17:16.07
jeffrey
Yes, well, i hope they'll come come to New Jersey and New York one of these days soon too.

17:18.48
Sam Lerman
with that we're anticipating that next yeah uh that that that'll be one of the new ones they would I think they just started hitting the shelves in Massachusetts massachusetts this last week

17:31.52
jeffrey
Wonderful. And I, yes, go ahead.

17:32.52
Jonathan 
and

17:34.86
Jonathan 
No, I was just going to say, and you're with Burke, our our mutual friend, Dave Catania, we have to give him a shout out because he's a really great um networker and facilitator of of just making things work in in the states that he covers.

17:35.44
Sam Lerman
Thank you.

17:48.59
Jonathan 
So he's with Burke Distributing, and he's been very helpful to you, right?

17:51.68
Sam Lerman
Yeah, so we met, he was the first person we met at WSWA 2024 when we were just dipping our toe in and and starting to say that we're out here. um he came and found us because of his love of of Ukraine and his support from the Ukrainian people.

18:08.91
Sam Lerman
And he said, let me know what I can do to help. And he's he has been a wonderful friend and advisor, and we're really proud to have him and the Burke team distributing for us in in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

18:23.08
Jonathan 
Yeah, amazing.

18:25.39
jeffrey
Great. I saw when I was watching you do an interview or you were doing a seminar of some sort that you mentioned that there was a wine that was extremely, you have all different price ranges for for the wines and the spirits, but there's one in particular that's quite expensive.

18:29.17
Sam Lerman
that

18:46.32
Sam Lerman
but There's actually, there's a few. Yeah. So our price ranges on the wine go all the way from around $15, $16, $17 the shelf $500.

18:48.19
jeffrey
Oh, really? Yeah.

18:52.30
Sam Lerman
sixteen seventy million dollars on the shelf up to around five hundred um

18:56.51
jeffrey
500 or 600.

18:57.20
Jonathan 
What? $500? five hundred dollars

18:58.50
Sam Lerman
Yeah.

18:59.39
jeffrey
And what is that wine or spirit?

18:59.49
Sam Lerman
Yeah.

19:02.82
Sam Lerman
So within the regular range of the Chabot collections, there's the original line, the reserve line, a limited edition line, and the Grand Reserve, which some really incredible winemaking trowels goes into. it

19:14.56
jeffrey
So is that...

19:14.71
Sam Lerman
But then above all of that is the family collection.

19:16.42
jeffrey
Yeah.

19:17.68
Sam Lerman
And there's two levels of the family collection.

19:18.56
jeffrey
Ah. Ah.

19:20.13
Sam Lerman
And those don't those aren't made every year. It has to be perfect conditions. Everything has to be perfect and that it to to go into the family collection. um and it's

19:29.62
jeffrey
Are some of those Cabernet Mellow blends?

19:33.04
Sam Lerman
Yes, as a matter of fact, um at an international competition for the top 10 Cabernets and Cabernet blends of the world, um ah run by the Wine Critics Associations of France and Italy, Chabot came in top 10 in the world with one of their Cabernet Merlot, think the Cabernet Merlot Saboravi that won.

19:52.76
jeffrey
Hmm.

19:58.03
jeffrey
Oh, really?

19:58.28
Sam Lerman
ah yeah uh and the in chava was the first to do a cabernet something low saparavi blend um and and that bottle is only around 500 and it beat out and came in higher than bottles that were you know seven to ten thousand euros

20:04.23
jeffrey
Wow.

20:15.98
jeffrey
Fantastic. Well, somehow we'll have to try those too if we can.

20:16.42
Sam Lerman
so there do i i have some i have some in the dc area come on down

20:23.89
jeffrey
well thank I will make a trip. Just for that reason alone, I will go down there.

20:27.27
Sam Lerman
more things hand

20:28.77
Jonathan 
Yeah, I'm in DC a couple times a year.

20:29.16
Sam Lerman
ah we

20:31.46
Jonathan 
so you know

20:33.16
Sam Lerman
i it's a real offer so you you come down and i will i will host you and we'll go all the way through the lines it'll be a lot of fun so

20:40.76
jeffrey
Thank you, Sam. Thank you very much.

20:43.40
Jonathan 
And where where what is your um what is your goal with the brand, Sam?

20:43.98
Sam Lerman
so but the biggest still one this i think gets only just a better and that when they will' get it work through like

20:47.12
Jonathan 
what you know what what What would you like to see moving forward? Would you like you know more expansion?

20:50.57
Sam Lerman
one

20:52.19
Jonathan 
Would you like to bring in more products?

20:54.98
Sam Lerman
Yeah, so we're going to bring in more products. um we're gonna We're going to grow the brand. We're goingnna we're going to grow across the US and try to represent really all of the best wines and spirits of Ukraine and and bring that ah bring that experience to the United States.

21:10.48
Sam Lerman
But the true mission of the company, it goes way beyond the business. um As I mentioned, you know we we dedicated building this company to doing real work on the ground.

21:21.80
Sam Lerman
So we partnered with a group called Invictus Global Response, um which is 501c3 nonprofit based out of Ohio.

21:30.77
jeffrey
Thank you.

21:31.96
Sam Lerman
um And it takes American combat engineer and explosive ordnance disposal veterans ah go to Ukraine and volunteer to dig up and disarm Russian landmines in liberated frontline towns.

21:45.43
Sam Lerman
And a significant chunk of our profits from um all of our sales across every portfolio go to funding their landmine operations in real time.

21:56.23
Sam Lerman
um Their leader, Michael Montoya, this is I mean, this is real world stuff. Their leader, Michael Montoya, lost his right foot in ah in Ukraine in 2023. And he's actually on his second trip back there on his prosthetic.

22:11.67
Sam Lerman
ah now, ah demining. And so our true goal is two-sided.

22:16.11
Jonathan 
Wow. I mean, that's...

22:18.01
Sam Lerman
One, grow Ukrainian wine and spirits presence and and not and acceptance and love in the United States. And two, we'll move as many landmines as possible and and really help make a difference on the ground.

22:30.25
Sam Lerman
So as one grows, the other supports that growth and vice versa.

22:37.10
Jonathan 
wow i mean that's the

22:39.59
jeffrey
that' That's tempted that's a noble such a noble effort.

22:39.90
Jonathan 
but

22:42.79
jeffrey
It's just incredible.

22:43.28
Jonathan 
I'm just, I'm flabbergasted. I'm flabbergasted because it just, it it sounds so incredible. And just these stories that that that are coming out of of the war zone and and removing, I mean, removing, volunteering to remove landmines.

23:00.80
Jonathan 
um You are risking your life without any kind of potential for monetary protection. um

23:07.47
Sam Lerman
Right.

23:07.93
Jonathan 
you know, payback.

23:09.05
jeffrey
Ken.

23:09.34
Jonathan 
it's just It's just out of the goodness of of their hearts and and you as well, you know, volunteering.

23:11.33
Sam Lerman
but don't rest know it's

23:15.40
Jonathan 
And it's just it's just insane to think about.

23:18.75
Sam Lerman
Well, those guys who do the landmine removal are really are really putting their lives on the line every day. So we're we're really proud to support them and and support what they're doing and and help them make a difference on the ground.

23:31.18
Jonathan 
I mean, Sam, what do you do?

23:31.81
Sam Lerman
I train on the range.

23:32.26
Jonathan 
Do you do anything fun in your spirit in your spare time? I mean, I know that spirit, the spirits wine and spirits business is fun. But do you play like do you play sports? You play golf? Do you relax? How do you relax?

23:45.29
Sam Lerman
ah train on the range

23:47.06
Jonathan 
You train on the range. Okay.

23:49.35
jeffrey
and Is that a rifle range we're talking about?

23:50.82
Sam Lerman
ah Yeah.

23:52.87
jeffrey
all Right. Yes. and just stand I to do that myself.

23:57.58
Sam Lerman
No, I've got my family. I've got two two small children.

24:00.71
jeffrey
Yeah.

24:01.37
Sam Lerman
of god ah I've got two little daughters. and um you know ah But the you know my my fun job is there's the wine and spirits now.

24:12.39
Jonathan 
right

24:13.44
jeffrey
Yeah, it really doesn't sound like you have a great deal of free time anyway.

24:14.34
Sam Lerman
Not a

24:17.30
jeffrey
well,

24:17.78
Sam Lerman
not a lot

24:18.99
jeffrey
no the question is moot.

24:23.40
Sam Lerman
Yeah, it's ah a you know but this is this is fun.

24:23.50
Jonathan 
the question is moot

24:28.68
Sam Lerman
This is awesome. that's ah it's all It's a lot more relaxing than the other stuff I've that been involved in and yeah, it's ah this industry is incredible. And some of the folks I've meeting were just awesome stories, awesome people.

24:45.14
Sam Lerman
um yeah I'm learning a lot, you know, the crash course for me on the wine and spirits because, ah you know, I'd never done this before in my life. I'm not a, I'm not an industry veteran. um ah So it's a fun learning experience. And, you know,

25:00.41
Sam Lerman
you know yeah i did bring a a cool little visual aid to show you something that just uh got authorized for import into the united states is three liter containers of alcohol and uh we that was already being produced in ukraine by ukrainian spirit this is a three liter limited edition bottle from ukrainian spirit uh you can see

25:09.05
Jonathan 
Oh.

25:11.72
jeffrey
whoa whoa

25:17.34
jeffrey
wow wow

25:23.58
jeffrey
wow

25:24.00
Jonathan 
Wow.

25:25.92
Sam Lerman
this is all hand stitched leather um on the bottle and they even have a version of that bottle that comes in 150 mil 155 millimeter artillery propelling charge case so big steel case taken from the battlefield and repurposed as a vodka bottle and dan

25:29.38
jeffrey
um

25:29.60
Jonathan 
Oh my goodness.

25:46.76
jeffrey
Mm. Incredible.

25:49.69
Jonathan 
that That's amazing.

25:50.51
Sam Lerman
putting in a ball similar

25:50.49
Jonathan 
And, you know, wow when I'm in next time I'm in D.C., I'll take you up on the offer and we'll taste through some things.

25:53.03
Sam Lerman
you up tobc

25:56.55
Jonathan 
We'll try to get dad down there to do that as well.

25:58.50
Sam Lerman
Yeah.

25:59.71
Jonathan 
um

25:59.88
jeffrey
Now twist my arm.

26:01.86
Jonathan 
was job

26:02.80
jeffrey
Yep.

26:02.89
Jonathan 
Now, you know, Sam, what what you're doing, the mission, it's amazing. The products we were able to taste, um one of the products at WSWA, it's really beautiful and crisp and and full of character.

26:13.20
Sam Lerman
and yeah where by the way the head at wswa this year the hetman elite vodka won best of show vodka 98 points double gold and ukrainian spirit to second place so both of our uh both of our uh distilleries won double gold at wswa

26:25.35
jeffrey
Wow.

26:32.46
jeffrey
Congratulations.

26:33.25
Jonathan 
that's That's amazing. Yeah, congratulations on on the products and the success.

26:35.50
Sam Lerman
thanks

26:36.69
Jonathan 
and And you are, I mean, as much as you say you're not a hero, I mean, i i no you know i have known definitions of heroes and and you know you fit within that.

26:38.73
Sam Lerman
let ah victim

26:47.63
Jonathan 
So I know you probably don't think it, but just take it. Yeah.

26:50.80
jeffrey
For us, for as you are an American hero.

26:51.06
Sam Lerman
Okay.

26:54.67
jeffrey
And I think for a lot of other people as well.

26:54.82
Jonathan 
um

26:55.11
Sam Lerman
Well, thank you.

26:57.56
Jonathan 
And yeah, we we thank you for for having us be your first introduction to podcasting.

26:59.43
Sam Lerman
hope I did okay. No.

27:05.82
Sam Lerman
hope i did okay

27:07.36
jeffrey
Oh,

27:07.32
Jonathan 
I hope it was everything you wanted and more, everything you dreamt of and more.

27:07.67
Sam Lerman
it

27:10.13
Sam Lerman
no This is really exciting and i and I look forward to tasting through everything with you in person. um ah That'll be really fun. i actually I may be up in Massachusetts before too long too.

27:20.64
Sam Lerman
Thanks.

27:21.15
Jonathan 
ah cool. Yeah. To say hey to Dave.

27:22.58
Sam Lerman
Thank you so much for having me again.

27:23.08
Jonathan 
um Awesome. um well Well, good.

27:24.81
jeffrey
And of course, thank you for your military service.

27:25.32
Jonathan 
Awesome.

27:27.94
Sam Lerman
Awesome.

27:28.93
jeffrey
Of course.

27:29.71
Sam Lerman
banks

27:30.17
jeffrey
Thank you.

27:30.56
Jonathan 
Yes. All right. Take care, Sam. Thanks so much.

27:34.05
Sam Lerman
thank you so much for having me again

27:35.78
jeffrey
Thanks, Sam.