On special Halloween episode of The Fred Minnick Show, Fred gets a virtual visit from GWAR’s Jizmak Da Gusha. GWAR, of course, is the legendary heavy metal band formed in 1984 made up of barbaric interplanetary warriors whose home base on Earth is Antarctica. Jizmak has his own story: He is a beast of great power who was frozen in a block of ice before being thawed to replace former GWAR drummer Nippleus. He comes from a planet where, apparently, there are “many frisbees” and also seems to like whiskey. Fred was lucky to make it through the interview alive, as GWAR is notoriously hell-bent on destroying the human race. During the interview, Jizmak talks about decapitation, missing killing humans on stage and his love of Earth whiskey, while tasting and ranking five bourbons. Along the way, Jizmak gets a taste of what some consider the best bourbon ever made and chooses his favorites.
Whiskeys tasted:
Jack Daniel’s Eric Church Edition (17:51)
Heaven Hill 6 Year Old (26:02)
Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch A119 (31:21)
Parker’s Heritage Collection Promise of Hope 2013 (41:44)
1974 Vintage A.H. Hirsch (50:13)
EPISODE SUMMARY
Fred and the GWAR drummer cover a number of topics, such as:
Jizmak notes that while it’s possible to write good music while under the influence of drugs and alcohol, it’s impossible to play music well, so the band doesn’t drink prior to a show. (That said, when they slaughter humans, they’re usually wasted.)
When talking about COVID-19 keeping them from touring and performing live, Jizmak does concede the band enjoys watching thousands of humans die from Antarctica. “It’s like reality TV for us,” he says.
Jizmak notes that one of the blind-tasted bourbons obviously had lots of alcohol content. “This tastes like driving school,” he says, meaning that particular bourbon is a great way to get a DUI.
His first love in whiskey was Maker’s Mark, but around 2010 he began to try other bourbons and expanding his palate beyond just Maker’s, blood and human flesh.
Fred and Jizmak agree to have some GWAR Glencairn glasses produced. Gotta like fan swag.
At about the 34-minute mark, Fred realizes he poured one of the bourbons wrong, which makes him wonder aloud if he’s had too much bourbon already.
Jizmak offers to have Fred as a guest on his YouTube show Cocktail Corner with Jizmak. Fred asks if he’ll wear an ascot on the show, and Jizmak quickly says no way. “You don’t tell me, I tell you. I’m the god here.”
Here’s a scoop: GWAR has a whiskey in the works, so expect it to be released to the public in 2021. No word yet on whether there will be blood in the mash bill or if it will be finished in human carcasses.
Fred compares the endurance of GWAR’s popularity to heritage brand bourbons. For Jizmak the popularity relates directly to the interactive nature of the band’s shows. While most bands just stand up on stage and play, he says, “Our show and music, we … hit you in the face with a big bucket of goo, whether its blood piss or semen. It’s not a spectator sport, so to speak.”
Jizmak doesn’t much care for vodka as a spirit, much to Fred’s relief. “It seems like it’s for college people.”
Jizmak rants about how difficult it is to get good bourbon, thanks to state-controlled liquor stores and the folks who stalk the liquor stores buying up all the good stuff to sell on the secondary market. No wonder he enjoys slaughtering humans so much.
Jizmak finally chooses Elijah Craig Barrel Proof as his favorite of the flight, following a final taste-off.
QUOTABLES
Jizmak notes that his species doesn’t have an advanced sense of taste of sight, which makes it tough to taste and see, but easy to just take care of business: “Humans look blurry. I can’t tell if you’re a cow or a human being, so that’s why we just slaughter everything in our path.”
.svg)
