Show Notes
Two dads, a drink with nothing in it to cut it, and a question worth asking out loud: who sharpens you?
Ryan pours the Sharpie Mustache — equal parts gin, rye, Meletti and Bonal, three-quarters of an ounce each, stirred, with bitters and an orange peel — and explains the name, which anyone who went to college can probably guess. Then Proverbs 27:17: iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. The group chat named Toxic that roasts you and then shows up to help you move. Why men would rather inconvenience themselves for a week than make one phone call.
The theory that there is only one man on the planet who wants you to be better than him — your dad — and what that looks like on a driveway basketball court and parents still in love decades in. The friends you pick right back up with after a year. The one who told a heartbroken high-school senior to stop being mopey and come have a beer. A cousin who never said a word when a nine-year-old punted the ball — just a look that said you're better than this.
Then the numbers on men and friendship, what phones have and haven't done to it, and the only fix either of them has: pick up the phone. We can't do life alone.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Cold open — we can't do life alone
00:18 Welcome in — no facts tonight
01:45 The pour — the Sharpie Mustache
06:10 Who sharpens you — the group chat called Toxic
10:10 Faith — iron sharpens iron (Proverbs 27:17)
15:59 Family — the one man who wants you better
17:32 A dad who is still the hero — watch the example
20:34 Tom, and the friends who pick right back up
25:00 Who haven't you called in ages?
26:19 Cousin Matt — you're better than this
28:32 A faithful friend — Christus Vivit
31:20 Pay the bills — meet the SideKart
37:31 The stats — men with no close friends
39:33 Why? Phones, doom-scrolling, and connection
43:48 Back to episode one — AI
45:21 We can't do life alone
46:53 Thank you — and next week
THE POUR — the Sharpie Mustache. Equal parts gin, rye whiskey, Meletti amaro and Bonal, three-quarters of an ounce each. Stirred, served with bitters and an orange peel. Created by Chris Elford at Amor y Amargo in New York; Ryan found it at Swordfish Tom's in Kansas City. The full kit and every tool: https://dadtails.com/gear
CORRECTION — the close-friends figures around
37:45 are from the Survey Center on American Life: 15% of American men reported having no close friends in 2021, up from 3% in 1990.
MENTIONED — Proverbs 27:17 · Christus Vivit, Pope Francis (2019) · Sirach 6:15 · Cocktail Codex and Meehan's Bartender Manual · SideKart, our new segment · McCoy Custom Carts
THE FIELD NOTES — one email a week: the episode before it's public, plus the cocktail and the kit. https://dadtails.beehiiv.com/subscribe
Roast us: info@dadtails.com. We read every email, and we'll read it live.
Music from #Uppbeat — "Groove Sauce" by Stan Town.
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