Interview with Spence from Whiskey & Watches Podcast

The watch community is made up of a whole bunch of people that have been collecting for years or the ones who fell into the rabbit hole recently and can't look back. It's always fun to hear their side of things and how they got started in this community we enjoy so much. Like a lot of other watch nerds, they have other hobbies that go hand in hand with each other. Whether it is watches and photography, or watches and cars, a fun one is whiskey and watches. What is better than pouring a nice glass of whiskey and getting to talk all things watches with your buddies? Can't think of too many other things I'd like to do. Thats exactly what Spence does in his free time and is always a joy to listen to.

How it All Started

My name is Spence! I am from Cincinnati, OH, and I work in finance for an insurance company. I went to Notre Dame and studied Finance while I was there.

It’s cliché, but like many people when they start a family I wanted to start a new tradition. My family doesn’t really have heirlooms, or anything that we pass down, so I wanted to pass something down to my children. My wife and I agreed that if we had a boy, a watch made sense. So far we’ve had three boys!

I actually remember my first watch and I have it with me still! The first watch I bought was a two tone (PVD) Mickey Mouse watch I got in sixth grade on a vacation to Disney World in Florida with my family. It was a quartz watch with a date complication in the shape of Mickey. I am sure I have it somewhere in a box I just need to find it!

The Collection

My collection has grown over the years! There are quite a few a this point so lets start with the first ones. It started with a Tudor Black Bay Steel, then I added the Tudor Fastrider Black Shield (ceramic chronograph). Then it gets blurry, but there is an Omega seamaster professional (white dial),  also recently added the new 3861 Speedmaster. I added quite a few quarantine pickups, the Seiko SARX069 (turnograph), SPB149 diver, SRQ029 panda chrono, and SPB199J1 Alpinist mountain glacier EU LE. There is also the Oris Big Crown Fratello limited edition. I also have added some micro brands after connecting with them on the podcast. I have a Nodus Restrospect with a salmon dial, Brew Retromatic burgundy, and Cincinnati Watch Co Divers Edition. Lastly, I have a zenith el primero 38mm and Grand Seiko blizzard GMt LE. There are a couple I am trying to move that don’t get wrist time, so I’ll leave those out!

Its hard to narrow it down to just one favorite but I can try.

I would say that other than my two (soon to be three) for my boys, it’s really close between the el primero and speedy. I have more dive watches, but those two wear incredibly well and are very functional for timing the grill, kids naps, target runs, etc.

Under Appreciated Brands in the Community

 With so many brands out there, I feel there are a lot of under appreciated brands in my opinion.

I would say two, Oris and Zenith. Oris because they offer a wide variety at an excellent value proposition. Zenith because of their historic relevance and unique designs and technical innovation.

A specific model from this brand sticks out the most to me is the  Oris PPX. I really love it! It is completely underrated and a ton of watch with a unique design. It wears really well for its size.

Quartz vs. Automatic and is There Too Much Hype

When it comes to the quartz vs. automatic debate I'm going automatic all the way! There is just so much out there that is at a great value and great execution to really appreciate automatic movements.

There are things I would like to see more in the watch community. One of them being less hype. It is starting to get out of hand!

Starting Your Own Podcast

On the podcast, we tend to not hype up certain brands and models. You can listen to that on another podcast. But with that said, we did have some fears about starting our very own podcast! Why should anyone listen to three nerds in Ohio talk about watches while drinking whiskey! Obviously growing the listener base has been a challenge, but it has grown more than we could ever imagine. Our theme and tropes have even changed as covid hit and we were able to get more guests on the show!

We tend to keep it loose so there aren’t many challenges, but at times balancing our recording schedule with other family demands can be a bit with the kids.

An aspect of the podcast that we find most rewarding is getting to meet so many cool people (yourself included!). We have talked to people on all but two continents, people who have followed their passion into an amazing collection, starting a brand, digging down a vintage rabbit hole. The stories and people really make it an absolute blast. We are lucky to continue to get downloads and be nearing 100 episodes.

Favorites in the Collection

It's hard to say if we have had a favorite episode up to date though! That one is really tough, I will say that we were the first podcast to feature our favorite meme account @brodinkee, so we will always have that. There is also a fantastic episode with @rjkama and @whiskyblenderdude that was so much fun and really increased my appreciation for the other half of our podcast.

Even though 2022 just started, I have thought about the next watch purchase. I'm still working on something for my third little boy, but not sure what that would be. There are several that meet the criteria, but I haven’t been able to see them all yet.

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed, please leave a comment below! And if you had anyone in mind to be interviewed next, please leave a comment below!

Have a great one watch fam!