Jarrod Lapato
Born just a few miles up the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh, Jarrod has been living in sunny St Augustine, Florida for the past 20+ years. While his love for periogies remains strong, much of the Pittsburgh accent has faded. He attended Florida State University in Tallahassee, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Finance, and met the woman who would eventually become his wife… some 20 years later. After working for a short time in the finance industry, he and his (future) wife Dawn, both quit their corporate gigs to open and operate the not-so-world-famous ‘Backstreets Coffeehouse’ in St. Augustine. After selling the business, Jarrod took a job with the local library system working in acquisitions, while running the book budget for the 7 library branches in the county. Though Jarrod grew up with a father who considered himself a “Dewars Man”, he never had a real interest in whisky himself until his 40th birthday when he felt the need to buy himself a bottle of singlemalt scotch whisky as a rite of passage. It was only a few pours into that bottle of Macallan 12 Sherry Oak that Jarrod knew he had found his new love. In an effort to learn more and meet other like minded people, he joined Twitter under the name @FL_ScotchLover and quickly became immersed in the online whisky community known as the #whiskyfabric. It was not until joining the team at Bourbon & Banter that he really began to explore the world of bourbon and rye whiskies. Hobbies include photography, gardening, woodworking, hiking and biking.
Fun Facts
Backpacked through Western Europe for 3 weeks after graduating from college.
Operated a seafood wholesale business in Sarasota, FL, supplying much of the seafood served in area restaurants.
Our Coffeehouse was on an episode of MTV’s Ultimate Video Game Countdown when we hosted a performance by the video game cover band, The NESkimos.
As a personal trainer, worked with the world famous stunt pilot & aerobatic national champion Patty Wagstaff.
Married my wife on the 20th Anniversary of our first date… Which also happens to be April Fool’s Day.
Desert Island Whiskey
Highland Park 18
Glenmorangie Signet
Aberlour A’Bunadh
Lagavulin 16
Willett Family Estate Small Batch Rye
“They speak of my drinking, but
never think of my thirst” Scottish Proverb
Jarrod’s Recent Posts
- Old Fashioned from Watershed Distillery Review
- Speyburn 10 Year Old Sourced Water Gift Pack
- Son of a Peat Batch 02 Whisky Review
- Coppercraft Blend of Straight Bourbon Whiskies Review
- Highland Park Magnus Review
- Stillhouse Black Bourbon Review
- Aberlour A’Bunadh Review
- Johnnie Walker Blenders’ Batch Wine Cask Blend Review
- You Need to Meet…The Smooth Draws Radio Show
- Laphroaig Cairdeas Quarter Cask Review