This week on Single Tree Nation, we've got a rare two-guest show: musician Justin Andrews and coffee entrepreneur Darren Spicer — the duo behind Cowboy Mud Rub, a coffee-based spice rub built on Justin's grandfather's third-generation recipe.
The backstory is a good one. Darren built a drive-through coffee company in the Carolinas and sold it to Dutch Bros. Justin grew up in Oklahoma in a family of traveling bluegrass-gospel musicians — with a grandfather (a butcher) who smoked meat all night and cooked with a coffee-based rub he'd perfected over the years. Justin landed in Nashville after a run on Season 10 of The Voice, crossed paths with Darren over a coffee deal, mentioned the family rubs almost as an afterthought... and a spice company was born.
In this episode:
Why coffee makes it work — the rub penetrates and breaks down the fat as it cooks, tenderizing it and locking in flavor. Even folks who normally cut the fat off a steak end up eating it. (And the caffeine cooks off, so no jitters.)
The three flavors — Original (grandpa's untouched recipe, with Hawaiian salt), Maple Bourbon, and Spicy.
What to put it on — steaks, brisket, burgers, prime rib, mac and cheese, eggs, even popcorn (the maple bourbon is a sleeper hit).
Big ideas and squirrels — a first-ever Rutherford County Veterans Day Parade, dreams of Cowboy Kent Rollins on a chuck wagon, and getting Single Tree Nation onto Radio Row for the 2030 Nashville Super Bowl.
Nashville then vs. now — Broadway before the barricades, CMA Fest back when it was "Fanfare," and surviving a Fourth of July crowd downtown. - Dinner for Two — Darren picks a childhood hero he can't sit down with anyone: Tune In
Plus a "Friday Feel Good": take the high road, play the long game, and let time make you a better person.
LINKS
Single Tree Nation airs Saturdays 8-9 AM on ESPN 94.9 The Fan (Nashville).
Reach the show at charlie@singletreebbq.com or 615-307-0120. Like, share, and subscribe on YouTube.