Podcast
Three Questions, Three Drinks with Chris Mikolay
Hosted by Chris Mikolay · EN
Three Questions, Three Drinks is a podcast for the inquisitive, for those who know there is still so much to know, and that the best way to learn is by asking great questions and seeking first to understand. Join me – Chris Mikolay – and my rotating group of brilliant and funny and opinionated friends as we pour a few drinks and dive headfirst into life’s most important, most absurd and most thought-provoking questions. We’ll either solve all the world’s problems, or we’ll get stuck arguing whether cereal is a soup. From the provocative to the profound, Three Questions, Three Drinks is a podcast that gets more interesting with every sip, and it will prove that there is still room for civil debate and altering your world view, even if it requires a little liquid courage. Cheers!
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Episodes
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Ep. 95 - 3Q3D's Totally Excellent High School Reunion
Jan 2601:14:28Tap to summarizeHIGH SCHOOL REUNIONS! 30 years ago, Amanda Adams, Matthew Jordan and Chris Mikolay matriculated from the same suburban high school. Fast forward three decades and they're now slugging back beers large and small (literally) while unpacking their 30 year high school reunion. Do people change as they age? Do social hierarchies still matter after decades have gone by? And how, exactly, should one prepare themselves for a pending reunion? Well, pull up a barstool and join another lively conversation that proves - while time has certainly passed - great questions and great drinks remain as cool as ever. DRINKS IN THIS EPISODEBLOOD RAIN BELGIAN GOLDEN ALE >> Erie Brewing Company. Best served from an absurdly large can as you wonder where the last 30 years went.BOULEVARDIER COCKTAIL >> 1½ oz bourbon, 1 oz Campari, 1 oz sweet vermouth. Stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass, garnish with orange peel. Like a Negroni that grew up, got nostalgic, and switched to bourbon.LIL BUDDY LAGER >> Hopewell Brewing (Chicago). An adorably tiny 8-oz can of crisp, easy-drinking lager at 4.2% ABV. Perfect for pacing yourself as you recall the halcyon days of your youth, only to realize those days are long gone and you'll need three more Lil Buddies immediately. If you’ve been enjoying the 3Q3D podcast, please subscribe and consider giving us a rating, a review, or sharing an episode with a friend. Follow our social sites here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3drinkspodcast/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/3Drinkspodcast
Transcribe →Ep. 94 - 2026: The Year of the Cheez-It
Jan 101:11:51Tap to summarizeRESOLUTIONS! A new year has arrived, which means it’s time to make bold promises you’ll quietly abandon by mid-January. But fret not: Chris, Amanda and Matt have returned from a long podcasting hiatus with 3 drinks and a plan to ensure 2026 is your best year ever. Unfortunately, things quickly fall apart after Amanda pours a drink laden with half a stick of butter while admitting she has no ability to track her schedule. Matt then attempts to raise the conversational IQ by questioning whether it’s harder to start a good habit or to break a bad one, but the group instead fixates on Amanda’s Cheez-It addiction. If you’re looking to start 2026 in style, look no further than this latest episode of the 3 Questions, 3 Drinks podcast. DRINKS IN THIS EPISODE:HOT BUTTERED RUM >> 1 oz dark rum, 1 tbsp butter, 1–2 tsp brown sugar, Hot water, Nutmeg (for garnish). Add butter and brown sugar to a mug. Pour in rum and top with hot water (less than you think). Stir until melted. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg. Best enjoyed on a snowy day, preferably while questioning your life choices. WATERSHED BOURBON >> Watershed Distillery Uncut, Unfiltered Straight Bourbon. Pour two fingers worth of bourbon over ice (or enjoy neat if you’re feeling brave). Sip slowly while running your fingers through your newfound chest hair. MARTINEZ COCKTAIL >> 1½ oz Dingle Gin, 1 ½ oz sweet vermouth, 1 tsp maraschino liqueur (Luxardo preferred), 2 dashes Angostura bitters. Stir all ingredients with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with an orange peel and/or a Cheez-It.If you’ve been enjoying the 3Q3D podcast, please subscribe and consider giving us a rating, a review, or sharing an episode with a friend. Follow our social sites here:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3drinkspodcast/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/3Drinkspodcast
Transcribe →Ep. 93 - Ask Your Doctor if 3Q3D is Right For You
Jul 2001:11:44Tap to summarizeMORTALITY. After a jarring family event flips his world upside down, Chris confronts some of life’s biggest questions: What does it mean to live knowing our time is finite? How do we find purpose in the face of our own impermanence? And can confronting death actually teach us to live more fully? Joined by 3Q3D regulars Amanda Adams and Matt Jordan, this conversation about life’s ultimate deadline proves delightfully refreshing – just like the 3 cocktails shared by the group.DRINKS IN THIS EPISODE: Chambord Old Fashioned >> 2 oz Bulleit rye whiskey, ¼ oz Chambord, ¼ oz simple syrup, 2 dashes Angostura bitters. Stir ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and serve over one large ice cube. Garnish with a Luxardo cherry and drink like your heart condition is 100% genetic. Mint Watermelon Fizz cocktail >> 4 oz watermelon juice (blend several cups of watermelon chunks in a blender and strain out any pulp); 1 oz Vodka, ½ oz mint simple syrup. Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and pour into a rocks glass with crushed ice and top with a splash of soda water. Garnish with a mint sprig and freshly cut slice of watermelon. Congratulations, by eating fruit you just made a heart healthy decision!Southside Cocktail >> 5 muddled mint leaves, I oz lemon juice, 2 oz gin, ½ oz simple syrup. Muddle mint leaves with lemon, add gin and simple syrup, shake on ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Serve with mint sprig and enjoy one of summer’s most refreshing cocktails while pondering your own mortality.If you’ve been enjoying the 3Q3D podcast, please subscribe and consider giving us a rating, a review, or sharing an episode with a friend. Follow our social sites here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3drinkspodcast/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/3Drinkspodcast
Transcribe →Ep. 92 - Get Rich Quick with 3Q3D!
May 5, 202501:11:59Tap to summarizeMONEY & WEALTH! Chris kicks Episode 92 off with a (clearly very legitimate) pyramid scheme sales pitch to Amanda and Matt, who prove, yet again, that there's a sucker born every minute. But the talk quickly shifts to hard-hitting money truths—childhood lessons we ignored, what “F-you money” really means, Rockefeller’s quip about craving “just a little bit more,” and how ego sabotages our savings. Along the way, Amanda reveals her Cadbury Egg obsession knows no budget, Matt dreams of cruising in a Saab 900, and Chris suggests tipping valet drivers with $2 bills like a benevolent Bond villain. DRINKS IN THIS EPISODE:CLASSIC DAQUIRI >> 2 oz light rum, 1 oz fresh lime juice, ¾ oz simple syrup. In a cocktail shaker with ice, shake vigorously until well-chilled, strain into a coupe, and enjoy this bright, citrusy nod to Hemingway, JFK, and warm spring nights.THE WHITE LADY>> 2 oz gin, ¾ oz triple sec (or Cointreau), ¾ oz lemon juice, 1 egg white. Dry shake, then shake with ice, strain into a coupe. The once-maligned White Lady gets her long-overdue redemption.MINT JULEP >> 2 oz Four Roses bourbon, ½ oz demerara simple syrup, Fresh mint (muddled + garnish). Muddle the mint with the demerara syrup in the bottom of a Julep glass and then discard the mint. Pour in the bourbon, stir, and then pack the glass with crushed ice. Garnish with a mint sprig and serve with a metal straw. Enjoy the official cocktail of the Kentucky Derby while making a reckless bet on the longshot to win it all.If you’ve been enjoying the 3Q3D podcast, please subscribe and consider giving us a rating, a review, or sharing an episode with a friend. Follow our social sites here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3drinkspodcast/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/3Drinkspodcast
Transcribe →Ep. 91 - Teaching Rocks To Think
Apr 28, 202501:07:35Tap to summarizeARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE! These days, AI is all the rage, but it’s also fueling more late-night doomscrolling than many care to admit. Whether we like it or not, though, Artificial Intelligence is no longer the stuff of science fiction — it’s here, it’s evolving faster than we are, and in some unsettling ways, it feels like we’ve begun teaching rocks to think (what could go wrong?). On the bright side, the rocks in 3Q3D’s cocktail glasses are still cold, and the conversation – at least for now – still involves real people. While Chris Mikolay appears to welcome our new AI overlords, noted technophobe and hunter-gatherer enthusiast Amanda Adams assumes Episode 91's hosting duties, leading the trio down a dark and winding path that questions how AI is reshaping creativity, education, relationships, and perhaps, what it even means to be human. DRINKS IN THIS EPISODE:BABY GUINNESS SHOT >> 1 oz Kahlúa; 1/2 oz Baileys Irish Cream (floated carefully on top). Pour the Kahlúa into a shot glass. Using the back of a spoon, carefully float the Baileys on top to create a layered – and nearly perfect – deep fake of a miniature Guinness.PERFECT MANHATTAN COCKTAIL >> 2 oz rye whiskey; 1/2 oz sweet vermouth; 1/2 oz dry vermouth; 2 dashes Angostura bitters. Add all ingredients into a mixing glass with ice. Stir until well chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe or martini glass and garnish with a Luxardo cherry or a lemon twist. A classic cocktail that pairs perfectly with a Cadbury Egg (or 3).PINK GIN COCKTAIL >> 2 oz Dingle Gin (or any London dry gin); 2–3 dashes Angostura bitters. Add gin and bitters to a mixing glass filled with ice. Stir gently and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist if desired.Simple, sophisticated, and tinged with just enough mystery — fitting for a conversation about our AI future. If you’ve been enjoying the 3Q3D podcast, please subscribe and consider giving us a rating, a review, or sharing an episode with a friend. Follow our social sites here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3drinkspodcast/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/3Drinkspodcast
Transcribe →Ep. 90 - Genetically Enhancing the Jetsons
Mar 24, 202501:10:36Tap to summarizeBIG, DIFFICULT, FASCINATING QUESTIONS (THAT WE’LL HAVE TO FACE IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE). It seems only fitting that Matt Jordan – with his genetically perfect beard – should assume command of the USS 3Q3D for a conversation that tackles the toughest bioethical questions of our not-at-all distant future. Joined as usual by Amanda Adams and Chris Mikolay, the group wastes no time discussing whether we ought to genetically enhance our children, the second and third order consequences of dramatically increasing lifespans, and whether it’s a good idea to implant a computer chip in our heads to make us a whole lot smarter. The questions are as good as the drinks (and in this episode, the drinks are *chef’s kiss*), and resulting conversation is so strong that it’s hard to believe it wasn’t held by superhumans from the future. Drinks in this Episode: Last Word coctkail >> 3/4 ounce gin; 3/4 ounce green Chartreuse; 3/4 ounce maraschino liqueur; 3/4 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed; Garnish: brandied cherry (optional). Add the gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur and lime juice into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe glass and enjoy on your spaceship to Mars. Sakura Sunrise cocktail >> 1 ½ ounce Roku gin; ½ ounce simple syrup; ¾ ounce grapefruit juice; ½ ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed; splash of St. Germain; 3 dashes Lavender bitters. Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into a coupe. Enjoy it anywhere, but ideally at a fancy bar on the North Shore of Hawaii so you can humblebrag about it later during a podcast recording. Lemon Drop cocktail >> 2 ounces vodka; 1/2 ounce triple sec; 1 ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed; 1 ounce simple syrup. Garnish: sugar rim. Coat the rim of a cocktail glass with sugar and set aside (do this a few minutes ahead so the sugar can dry and adhere well to the glass). Add the vodka, triple sec, lemon juice and simple syrup to a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled. Strain into the prepared glass, take a sip, and immediately declare how much you enjoyed Lemonheads as a kid. If you’ve been enjoying the 3Q3D podcast, please subscribe and consider giving us a rating, a review, or sharing an episode with a friend. Follow our social sites here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3drinkspodcast/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/3Drinkspodcast
Transcribe →Ep. 89 - The Stylish Man's Guide to Clothes Shopping at Costco
Feb 10, 202501:07:44Tap to summarizeSTYLE! (Part 2). In the final installment of a special two-part series on Style, serious style is apparently found at…Costco? While Chris begs to differ, Matt makes a case for a closet full of Kirkland Signature and – provided Roman chic someday makes a comeback – at least one quality toga. Clearly, the 3Q3D crew is not afraid to break all the rules as they arrive for this second serving of style with a fresh batch of questions (including a frenetic lightning round finale) and 3 new drinks that are as varied (and, in one instance, as regrettable) as the style trends discussed. You may regret your style decisions of years past, but you won’t regret listening to this classic episode of 3Q3D!Drinks in this Episode: Bâtonnet cocktail >> 1 part cognac, 4 parts white wine, 5 parts tonic; 2 cinnamon sticks. Mix cognac, white wine and tonic in a tumbler with ice and pour into a cocktail glass. Garnish with cinnamon sticks and, like a Hefty bag of old clothes you’ll be donating to Goodwill, forget this drink ever existed. Classic Martini (Stirred, not shaken) >> 2 1/2 oz vodka; 1/2 oz dry vermouth (spring for the good vermouth, you’ll thank us); 1 dash orange bitters. Garnish: lemon twist. Add the vodka, dry vermouth and orange bitters into a mixing glass with ice and stir until very well-chilled, about 20 to 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, garnish with a lemon twist and go ahead, buy that fancy Costco dress shirt you’ve been eyeing. YOU DESERVE IT. Jack Rose Cocktail >> 1 1/2 oz applejack or apple brandy; 3/4 oz lemon juice, freshly squeezed; 1/2 oz grenadine; Garnish: lemon twist. Add the applejack, lemon juice and grenadine into a shaker with ice, and shake until well-chilled. Fine-strain into a coupe glass, garnish with a lemon twist and no, that pair of Air Jordan’s doesn’t make you look cool. It makes you look like a middle-aged Dad wearing Air Jordan’s. If you’ve been enjoying the 3Q3D podcast, please subscribe and consider giving us a rating, a review, or sharing an episode with a friend. Follow our social sites here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3drinkspodcast/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/3Drinkspodcast
Transcribe →Ep. 88 - Cocktails & Catwalks: Fashion Week at 3Q3D
Feb 3, 202501:07:12Tap to summarizeSTYLE! (Part 1). In the first of a special 2-episode double feature, Fashion Week has made its way to 3Q3D headquarters and the drinks aren’t the only thing in vogue. Amanda, Matt and Chris have upped their sartorial game, arriving to the studio dressed to the nines and ready to pour cocktails that are as elegant as their names (Tuxedo No. 2, where have you been all our lives?!). The group wonders whether fashion’s future is formal or if it’s cooler to be comfortable, how much we ought to cultivate our own personal style, and why a woman might worry about the size of her knees. Get ready for your turn on the catwalk, 3Q3D Nation, and welcome to a very stylish conversation. Drinks in this Episode: Tuxedo No. 2 Cocktail >> 1/4 oz absinthe, to rinse; 2 1/4 oz Plymouth gin, 1/2 oz blanc (Bianco) vermouth, 1/4 oz maraschino liqueur, 4 dashes orange bitters. Garnish: orange twist and brandied cherry. Rinse a chilled cocktail glass with the absinthe and discard any excess. Add all other ingredients into a mixing glass with ice and stir until well-chilled. Strain into the prepared glass, garnish with a brandied cherry and an orange twist. Sipping a tuxedo while wearing a tuxedo is optional, but never a bad idea. Brandy Alexander Cocktail >> 1 1/2 oz cognac, 1 oz dark creme de cacao, 1 oz cream. Garnish: grated nutmeg. Add cognac, dark creme de cacao and cream into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass or a coupe glass. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg and try to suppress the urge to drink 4 in rapid succession. Chelsea Sidecar >> 2 oz gin, ¾ oz Cointreau, ½ oz fresh lemon juice. Rub the rim of a chilled cocktail glass with a lemon peel. In a cocktail shaker with ice, shake the ingredients vigorously and then strain into the prepared cocktail glass. Garnish with the lemon twist and If you’ve been enjoying the 3Q3D podcast, please subscribe and consider giving us a rating, a review, or sharing an episode with a friend. Follow our social sites here:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3drinkspodcast/?hl=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/3Drinkspodcast
Transcribe →Ep. 87 - Lean Into Winter
Jan 20, 202501:12:56Tap to summarizeWINTER SURVIVAL TIPS. With over a foot of fresh fallen snow blanketing 3Q3D headquarters in Northeast Ohio, Amanda, Matt and Chris wonder why they live in a locale with such harsh winter conditions. However, as the drinks go down and the conversation warms up, the group looks at the bright side of shorter days and colder nights, debates which animal has winter figured out (hibernate like a bear, or fly south like a bird?), and reminds listeners to keep that moisturizer nearby. So get out of the cold and join the conversation – all are welcome to hunker down in the 3Q3D igloo.DRINKS IN THIS EPISODE: CLEVELAND WHISKEY COMPANY CHRISTMAS BOURBON >> Pour 2 fingers of this spice flavored bourbon over a large cube and enjoy next to a roaring fire on a cold winter night. MARY PICKFORD COCKTAIL >> 1 ½ oz white rum, 1 ½ oz unsweetened pineapple juice, 1 tsp Luxardo liqueur, ¼ tsp grenadine. Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a coupe glass, serve with a Luxardo cherry, and with the moxie of Mary Pickford now filling you up, walk out into that winter storm and show it who’s boss. MAI TAI COCKTAIL >> 1 ½ oz white rum; ¾ oz orange curaçao; ¾ oz lime juice, freshly squeezed, ½ oz orgeat, ½ oz dark rum, lime wheel and mint sprig. Add the white rum, curaçao, lime juice and orgeat into a shaker with crushed ice and shake lightly (about 3 seconds). Pour into a double rocks glass. Float the dark rum over the top. Garnish with a lime wheel and mint sprig and be instantly transported out of the cold and into a Polynesian tiki hut (or, perhaps, a hotel bar in Oakland, California, where the mai tai was born).If you’ve been enjoying the 3Q3D podcast, please subscribe and consider giving us a rating, a review, or sharing an episode with a friend.Follow our social sites here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3drinkspodcast/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/3Drinkspodcast
Transcribe →Ep. 86: The State of Our Union is ________ (fill in the blank)
Oct 24, 202401:24:49Tap to summarizeARE YOU OPTIMISTIC OR PESSIMISTIC ABOUT AMERICA? Despite recording from a sun-drenched back patio on a postcard perfect Autumn afternoon, anxiety is running high among the 3Q3D crew. This year, October’s beauty is bittersweet, with red and blue political signs competing with Fall’s glorious oranges and golden yellows - and raising the nation’s collective blood pressure. But is everything truly terrible, as Matt initially suggests? Or is America making a slow and often imperceptible march toward a brighter future, as the ever-optimistic Chris seems to believe? As the team explores both the pessimistic and optimistic sides of America (and the future of humanity), one thing is for sure: today’s drinks pair perfectly with Fall, and in true 3Q3D fashion, this conversation gets better with every sip.* *This message was NOT written by ChatGPT. (Or was it??!) DRINKS IN THIS EPISODE: APPLEJACK RABBIT >> 2 oz bonded apple brandy; 3/4 oz lemon juice, freshly squeezed; 3/4 oz orange juice, freshly squeezed; 1/2 oz grade B maple syrup. Add the apple brandy, lemon juice, orange juice and maple syrup into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a lemon twist. This refreshing drink makes a delightful companion in voting booths everywhere. MAPLE WHISKEY SOUR >> 2 oz whiskey; 1 egg white* (optional); 1 oz freshly-squeezed lemon juice; 3/4 oz maple syrup; 2–3 shakes Angostura bitters (optional). If using the egg white, add whiskey and egg white to a cocktail shaker and vigorously shake for 15-20 seconds until the egg white is very frothy. (If not using the egg white, you can skip this step.) Add the lemon juice, maple syrup, bitters (if using) and a handful of ice to the shaker, and shake for a few seconds to combine and chill the drink. Have your robot butler strain and serve immediately in a glass over ice while you enjoy the latest movie on your Apple Vision Pro glasses, just as Amanda would prefer. RUSTY NAIL >> 1 1/2 oz scotch; 3/4 oz Drambuie; Add the scotch and Drambuie into a mixing glass with ice and stir until well-chilled. Strain into a rocks glass over one large ice cube and toast to our new AI overlords. If you’ve been enjoying the 3Q3D podcast, please subscribe and consider giving us a rating, a review, or sharing an episode with a friend. Follow our social sites here: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3drinkspodcast/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/3Drinkspodcast
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