Celebrated crime author-slash-entrepreneur Marcus Sakey joins me this week to talk about Ritual Zero Proof, the new company he launched in September.

Ritual Zero Proof makes totally delicious alcohol-free whiskey and gin, perfect for mixing into your favorite cocktail recipes! We sampled Old Fashioneds and Gin & Tonics as were parked outside Ritual HQ on Irving Park Road. Discussed this week:

• The four months since Ritual launch, and the insane speed everything’s been moving at.
• Bespoke Box’s role in my Ritual discovery.
• The birth of Ritual… in Marcus’s kitchen.
• We dared police to ask what we were doing.
• Can you drink Ritual beverages “neat?”
• Traditionally, creative people make terrible businessmen.
• I give an unpaid plug to Trader Joe’s Quinoa Cowboy veggie burgers.
• How did Marcus know when to stop iterating the initial versions of Ritual whiskey and gin?
• If you like fried chicken, you’ll love Ritual Zero Proof.
• When did Marcus know he had a legit business idea with Ritual?
• Millennials are totally down with the zero proof idea.
• The opportunity the “spirit alternative” category provides.
• Marcus’s literary career, and whether it runs in conflict with Ritual’s efforts.
• What does Marcus’s writing schedule look like?
• The future of Marcus’s books in Hollywood: “Will Smith is still interested.”

Car Con Carne is sponsored by C&H Financial Services