Living Proof: Conversations for Bartenders: Recent Episodes
The Message Pod
The podcast for bartenders and anyone who likes to drink well. Broadcaster Nicole Haack and accomplished bartender Marcus Motteram - 'The Admiral' - aim to keep you at the edge of the cocktail, bartending and spirit trends by connecting you with producers, drink historians and mixologists globally.
Our final installment of the Masters Series features Salvatore Calabrese. Known as the Maestro, Salvatore has been mixing drinks for over 40 years. He's served the likes of US Presidents, Fidel Castro, Mick Jagger, Princess Diana and even Nelson Mandela.
He also knows what it's like to being in every corner of the bartending industry. Over his career he's written books, sold barware, judged competitions, consulted for bars and brands, created his own products and mixed drinks to the point of mastery.
In our 2019 chat with The Maestro, we discuss what it means to create a classic and reflect on 100 years of the negroni. “Simplicity is one of the [keys] of a great classic. And the name. Simple name, simple ingredients- ingredients you can find all over the world.”
"It is worrying- we go further into our industry but we create less and less classics.”
Salvatore also reflects on being mentored by Signor Rafaello in the early stages of his career. The lesson he learnt then has stayed with him throughout his career: perfect the art of reading a guest. It was a lesson he learnt after having a fish thrown at him.
"Every customer is different. So before you bring your sunshine to somebody else, try to understand what they want… It’s about making him feel comfortable in his own shell. And then maybe eventually bring him the sunshine.”
In conclusion? "Remember that a great bar is made by people. It’s not the place that makes the place, it’s the people inside.”
Tune in to hear all this and more on part 5 of the Living Proof Masters Series. In The Master Series, The Living Proof Podcast will be taking in the advice, stories and opinions of those considered to be legends of the industry.
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When he was younger, Jim Meehan wanted to be a doctor who wrote books. Fast forward a few years and, although he didn't follow the medicine path, his desire to serve others persists in what has been an outstanding bartending career. Oh, and he has two books under his belt, too.
In this latest episode of our Masters Series, Jim discusses how his desire to 'lead' in the industry brought him to the brink of burnout. He talks of preparing for the marathon, not the sprint, and managing your career devotion. It ties into themes of health an wellbeing that persist in the industry today.
"If you work in the bars or own the bars, there’s a curtain between the people who host the party and people who are at the party. That’s a dangerous line, I think." -Jim Meehan
Tune in to hear all this and more on part 5 of the Living Proof Masters Series. In The Master Series, The Living Proof Podcast will be taking in the advice, stories and opinions of those considered to be legends of the industry.
Stay up to date by following us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
There must be some unwritten law stating that every bar worth its salt carries at least one copy of David Wondrich's Imbibe. Long accepted as one of the foremost authorities in the cocktail world, David Wondrich takes his place as the fourth master in our Masters Series.
Our conversation with the drinks historian takes us as far back as 1850 with the story of Jerry Thomas, before flinging us into the future with David's views on 'restaurant-style bars'.
"One thing we’re seeing a lot of here is a new relationship between bar and restaurant where the bar is in the driver’s seat. So you’ve got a full bar with a small restaurant menu as opposed to the usual, small bar with a full restaurant menu." -David Wondrich
We'll also cover David switch from a 'miserable' junior professor to regular drinks columnist for Esquire, and how nobody believed that positive change was possible in the bar industry.
In The Master Series, The Living Proof Podcast will be taking in the advice, stories and opinions of hose considered to be legends of the industry. Stay up to date by following us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
Our third installment of The Masters Series takes us back to 2019, when we sat down for a chat with industry great, Philip Duff. We kick off the conversation with Phil's bold step into producing, Old Duff Genever. Now the top selling 100% genever globally, Old Duff has provided Phil with an insight into just how far the liquor industry has to go.
From there, we pick Phil's brain about the second cocktail revolution, global bartending hotspots to watch and his tips for young bartenders. Phil knows this industry inside out, so being able to pick his brains at length provided us with a wealth of insights. When it comes to bartending, he truly is a Master.
In The Master Series, The Living Proof Podcast will be taking in the advice, stories and opinions of hose considered to be legends of the industry.
Join us this week as we remember the late Gaz Regan. Gaz was brought up in British pubs in the 1960s, before he made his way to the US aged 19. Over the next five decades, he became a larger-than-life pioneer of the cocktail revolution - his impact epitomised by the popularity of his iconic finger-stirred Negroni. His books, such as The Bartender's Bible and The Joy of Mixology, have become some of the most-referenced texts of today's cocktail renaissance.
Full of both hilarious stories and sage advice, our time with Gaz is always worth listening to again.
Nicole and Marcus revisit one of their first interviews with King Cocktail himself, Dale Degroff. He’s a bartender, author and “one of the world’s foremost cocktail experts,” according to in the New York Times. He’s worked some of the US’ best bars, written some timeless books, helped found award-winning training platform Beverage Alcohol Resource, and even opened a Museum of the American Cocktail in New Orleans.
In this episode, Dale, Nicole and Marcus discuss the cocktail revolution, the future of the bartending industry, and the test of a true bartender. As one of the most qualified bartenders in the industry, Dale's view of the bartending industry is fascinating.
In The Master Series, The Living Proof Podcast will be taking in the advice, stories and opinions of hose considered to be legends of the industry.
It’s been a year like no other, especially for bartenders and anyone in the hospitality industry. So for our final episode of 2020, we're taking a look back at the year that was on the Living Proof podcast.
You'll be hearing snippets of a few of the conversations we were lucky enough to have in 2020, the first of which focus on the subject of wellness and balance for bartenders. We had some great discussions with Tim Philips-Johansson, Australia's most awarded bartender, and Mark Livings, CEO of Lyre's Spirit Co, about how and why young people are increasingly choosing to drink less.
Then, we cast our minds back to when the pandemic first took hold of cities the world over, spelling a long lay-off for many bars. We hear from Dante's Liana Oster, who we spoke to back in April, and then Big Bar's Eugene Lee and Selene Martinez.
Finally, we explore how the industry might emerge from the challenges of the year with a renewed focus on high quality customer experiences. Alex Ross, who opened the renowned Ginger bar in Melbourne, talks us through how she keeps the customer front-of-mind whenever she's working on a project. And Diageo's Global Cocktailian, Lauren Mote, describes how the front- and back-of-house are coming together to create guest experiences that go beyond the glass.
And we couldn't look back on 2020 without re-visiting our hilarious chat with Artem Peruk of El Copitas Bar in St Petersburg - the bar that went from scrounging around to find enough chairs to open, to sitting proudly on the World's 50 Best Bars list.
Stuart Gregor is Co-founder and Trade Director at Four Pillars, the Australia gin distillery that's just won International Gin Producer of the Year for the second year running.
Dushan Zarić is an owner and co-founder of Employees Only, one of the most recognisable hospitality brands in the world. To date, EO has operated bars in Los Angeles, New York, Singapore, Sydney, Hong Kong and Miami.
Dushan himself arrived in the US from Yugoslavia when he was in his 20s. He had nothing but a "useless degree" and $2,000, but quickly went from working the door at a strip club to making cocktails under the tutelage of Dale DeGroff. Then, it was a loophole in the law that banned smoking in bars that saw him and co-founders Henry Lefarge, Igor Hadzismajlovic, Jason Kosmas, and Bill Gilroy devise the concept for Employees Only.
Dushan's an advocate for working your way up within an organisation, and helping people realise that it's a privilege to be of service to others. It's this ethos and support that has seen Employees Only become such a rewarding place to work that staff members very rarely leave.
Dushan explains: “At Employees Only, when you’re hired you’re encouraged to make mistakes. We want you to make mistakes … [otherwise] there is no chance for you to build confidence and feel like you have support. I encourage everybody to take responsibility and run with it. If you make a mistake - so what? .. so long as we are courageous enough to stand there, take responsibility, learn what we can and move on, feeling like we have support."
“It’s a real privilege to be of service to people. It took me a long time to realise that. I was a really ego-driven maniac rockstar kid … it took a long time for me to understand why service is such an avenue for growth and personal happiness and contentment.
And here's a couple more of our favourite quotes from what was one of our most thought-provoking conversations to date:
“Anybody can make a good burger or a good cocktail. That will not differentiate you from anybody else. What will differentiate you is how people feel - I emphasise feel because most of them are not even aware why they prefer a certain place. … when you distill it down, it’s basically because you feel comfortable in a place and you’re not rejected.”
“I’ve had plenty of people who’ve worked with me whose attention was on developing a different career - some art or becoming something else. And that’s fine. But when you find yourself in a situation to be serving others, I think it’s important to ask oneself: ‘How curious that in my life, at this time, I’ve been given this opportunity to actually be of service. This is not just a job that provides me with some money. It is an opportunity for me to learn something about myself.”
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Kevin Diedrich is Tales of the Cocktail's 2020 American Bartender of the Year. He's also at the helm of the American Cocktail Bar of the Year - Pacific Cocktail Haven in San Francisco.
PCH's reputation in San Francisco precedes it. But four years ago, when Kevin was still in the process of re-imagining the existing neighbourhood bar that would become PCH, a bunch of regulars were asking why he was ruining their bar. He said it was like getting punched in the stomach, over and over again.
But listening to Kevin speak about hospitality and service leaves nothing to the imagination as to how he's been able to push through that initial pain to become one of the emerging stars of the industry.
Jeremy Spencer is co-founder of both The West Winds gin and Curatif canned cocktails. The West Winds was one of Australia's initial gin distilleries, beginning way back in the old days of 2011 and effectively paving the way for the hundreds that have come since. Jez takes us through how they were able to make a splash, thanks to some Margaret River seawater and slightly risqué marketing slogans.
Now, Jez has brought a new range of premium canned cocktails to market. Curatif was born from the frustration he and his co-founders felt towards the quality of drinks available in places like hotel rooms, golf courses and on long-haul flights. Having seen the canned cocktail market taking hold in the US, they've decided to package up some of their own, many of which have a distinctly Australian flavour - such as the Never Never Negroni and Archie Rose Espresso Martini.
Brian Bartels is co-owner of the Settle Down Tavern in Madison, and the author of two books: The Bloody Mary and The United States of Cocktails.
Sam Egerton is Group Bars Manager at Merivale. He's also the latest bartender to be featured by Blends of the VIRTUAL World with his 'Growing Drinks in the Modern Bar' series. Check it out at https://www.theblend.world/en-au/news/growing-drinks.
H. Joseph Ehrmann is the owner of Elixir San Francisco, and co-founder of Fresh Victor, a range of cold-pressed juice-based mixers.
H. has a background in public relations, business and as a chef. In the early 2000s, he decided to leave all that behind while putting the knowledge he'd gained into practice, by taking over San Francisco's second-oldest Saloon bar. He gave it a lick of paint and a new name: Elixir. But for the first few months, Elixir struggled. Slowly, H. began to unravel the reasons why, coming to the conclusion that he hadn't put enough emphasis on hiring the right people, or investing in the quality of his drinks. When he then suffered a sudden pulmonary embolism, which had an effect typical of near-death experiences, it wasn't long before he had totally upended the bar's staff, drinks and prices. It hasn't looked back since.
H.'s newest venture is Fresh Victor, a direct-to-trade and -consumer range of premium, juice-based cocktail mixers. Fresh Victor aims to make US bars' and bartenders' lives easier, by increasing efficiency and consistency of craft cocktails.
Margot Lecarpentier is a Parisian bartender, and co-owner of Belleville bar Combat. At only 33 years of age, she was last year voted the city's Most Influential Bartender. And just to drive the point home, Combat was named the Most Influential Bar.
Margot's a champion of making cocktails and spirits more accessible for the uninitiated. It stems from having seen the perceived unapproachability of mixology first-hand, around six years ago. Back then, when Margot was just starting out behind the bar, she had been buying up all the best books on cocktails and spirits. But it was all gobbledegook. So, she's written her own - La Bible de Alcools. We ask her all about that, why she likes to call Combat a 'cocktail bistro', the man who acts as the bar's forager and flavour-finder, how Paris is faring amid a second wave of the coronavirus, becoming a mother behind the bar and more.
Continuing a legacy that's steeped in history and innovation, Richard Angove is making sure that St Agnes Distillery builds upon the foundations laid by his grandfather, who started putting down brandy stocks in the 1970s.
In this episode of the Living Proof podcast, Richard chats with Nicole and Marcus about the challenges and opportunities currently facing brandy makers in Australia. He discusses opening brandy up to a wider market and finding the balance between tradition and reinvention- a test that the distillery recently faced with the release of their Bartender's Cut brandy.
Jacques Bezuidenhout is a San Francisco-based Industry Specialist at Liquid Productions. He is also a bartender with 20+ years' experience, having worked at a range of successful venues such as Tres Agaves and the Starlight Room, as well as on the cocktail programs for 70+ venues at the Kimpton group of Hotels & Restaurants.
Importantly, Jacques is a student of hospitality and spirits production. He's joined Julio Bermejo on many trips to Mexico to study tequila, has visited Jerez de la Frontera to check out Sherry and, most recently, France to dig deeper into Calvados.
We chat about life in San Francisco in 2020, squeezing thousands of limes to order at Tres Agaves, making a $650 drink at the Starlight Room, running 70+ hotel bars and some of his favourite Sherry cocktails.
Tyler Zielinski is a freelance journalist, competitive bartender, and beverage consultant. His writing has been featured in magazines such as PUNCH, Imbibe Magazine and Whiskey Advocate, and publications such as Liquor.com, Bloomberg and Fast Company have touted him as a beverage expert. Still, only 26 years old, he is just hitting his stride and has yet to fulfill his ambitions, so there is plenty more to come.
In this episode, Nicole chats to Tyler about where his drinks blog Bon Vivantito has taken him, and some fascinating articles he's written about carbonating cocktails with baking soda, being more sustainable with prediluted cocktails and creating alternative acids.
Willy Shine is the Brand Meister at Jägermeister United States. German digestif Jagermeister has earned a place on most backbars around the world thanks to the notoriety of ‘Jager-bombs’. But at its heart, it is a versatile and complex amaro made with 56 different botanicals. Willy Shine joins the podcast to discuss his career, how the company has set about changing people’s perceptions of the product, as well as its versatility in cocktails.
Paul Gabie is co-founder and CEO of Proof & Company, the premiere independent spirits distributor in Asia. Proof & Co also has a creative team that has become a driving force behind the cocktail renaissance taking hold on the continent, by designing bars such as 28 Hong Kong Street and ATLAS. Paul has an expansive chat with Nicole about the company's origin; the most exciting markets in 2020; their newest venture, ecoSPIRITS, that aims to end single-use glassware; and his philosophy on building successful teams.
After graduating with a degree in political science in her 20s, Canadian Lauren Mote was left questioning whether it was actually herself or her grandmother who had wanted her to become a lawyer. Lauren already had experience running a host of bars and businesses and, deep down, she knew that was where she found her calling.
Now a ‘Global Cocktailian’ for Diageo Reserve and World Class, she talks Nicole and Marcus through what her role entails, and how brands can build the all-important customer connection through experiences that go beyond the glass.
Natasha David is the co-owner of Nitecap NYC, and Imbibe Magazine's Bartender of the Year.
Dan Gregory is an Australian bartender currently leading the charge at Evolve Spirits Bar in Hobart. Dan himself is a former winner of both the Australian Bartender of the Year and the Australian leg of the Angostura Global Cocktail Challenge competitions, both of which he took home in 2017. Despite all the accolades - and much like the city of Hobart - Dan's humility has led to him somewhat flying under the radar. We find out about Tasmania's burgeoning hospitality scene, just how much preparation went into those competition wins and why he's made more martinis at Evolve than anywhere else he's worked thus far.
Camper English is a former scientist and current cocktail & spirits writer. He's the creator of the directional freezing technique for making clear ice which is ubiquitous in bars around the world. And he's also the man behind websites like Alcademics, CocktailSafe.org and CocktailGreen.org.
Steve Schneider is the former US Marine who is now an integral part of the Employees Only team. Many of you would already be familiar with Steve, who has one of the more extraordinary and inspiring background stories that led him to becoming an icon behind the bar.
It's been over 15 years since Steve first discovered his love of making drinks, when he was working in a dive bar while recovering from severe brain injuries. Fast forward to today, and he is a co-owner of six bars and restaurants in four different countries, now including the famed Employees Only NY - where he first started as a bar-back many moons ago.
Millie Tang is a freelance photographer and one of the rising stars of the Australian bar industry. She has almost a decade's experience and currently works at The Gresham in Brisbane. In 2019, Millie took home a slew of awards and cocktail competitions, including the Australian Liquor Industry Awards' Bartender of the Year, Licor 43 global cocktail competition in Spain, and Speed Rack Australia.
Millie shares what inspired her to reach these recent heights, what's been keeping her busy since, and how she plans on enjoying a sustainable career behind the bar.
Vasilis Kyritsis is co-owner of Athens bar The Clumsies - #6 on the World's 50 Best list.
Sebastian Costello is the owner of Bad Frankie, a Fitzroy bar that stocks only Australian spirits.
Los Angeles’ Big Bar, which is actually quite small, is one of many venues having its operations restricted once again amid a second wave of the pandemic.
Big Bar’s Manager, Eugene Lee, and Bar Lead, Selene Martinez spoke candidly with Nicole and Marcus about how they’re protecting themselves and their customers while still staying open for business.
Eugene: "They don’t really give you a lot of lead-time – it’s not like 'in a week from now, bars are allowed to open.' … It is go time when the Governor makes his announcements. And then the managers, the bartenders, the staff are scrambling.”
Selene: "I have a mentality of: protect everyone around me, but also protect myself. Being in interaction with X many people every day ... we're taking all of the guidelines we need to to make sure we're safe. So I can tell you, bartender's hands are raw anyways ... but they are even more raw now because I'm constantly washing my hands."
Tim Etherington-Judge is a hospitality industry veteran and the founder of Healthy Hospo.
Tim’s an Englishman originally from Cornwall who was named the 10th most influential bar industry figure by Drinks International Magazine last year. He has held a wide range of roles in the hospitality industry, having started behind the bar before moving into sales and marketing for brands like Bulleit American Whiskey and Johnnie Walker. He then became a Diageo reserve brand ambassador, which was ultimately the role that led to him burning out and needing to take a break to focus on his mental wellbeing.
Tim’s experiences inspired him to launch Healthy Hospo, which provides education around mental health to bartenders and hospitality professionals the world over. He’s spoken at events such as Tales of the Cocktail, Bar Convent Berlin & Brooklyn and Moscow Bar Show.
Stay tuned for Tim’s fascinating story and some tips we can all implement on a daily basis to ensure we stay happy and healthy behind the bar.
“Hospitality is about looking after your guests – its the very definition of it. Yet we don’t afford the same hospitality to our friends and colleagues within the industry.”
“You cant fill a glass from an empty glass. So often our personal glasses are empty because we’ve not only given to our guests, we haven’t taken the time to recharge.”
“There’s nothing wrong with going out and having a good time sometimes, but when you’re at work five or six nights a week and you’re drinking … there are going to be heavy consequences.”
If for any reason you need support, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 (Australia) or the Suicide Prevention Line on 1 800 273 8255 (USA).
Alex Ross is a pioneer of the Melbourne bar industry. She opened Ginger in 2001, having just arrived back from a stint in the UK where she could see that a cocktail revolution was imminent. In the nine years following, she changed the way things were done in Australia by ensuring the customer was front and centre, while utilising fresh ingredients and plenty of Jägermeister.
"I wanted everyone who walked in there (Ginger) to feel like part of the family, whether we knew them well or not. One night a friend was in the bar and said ‘if I didn’t know you so well, I’d think you’ve known those people for 30 years’ … and I said, ‘f*?$ you, I’m not 30 yet!’"
"It’s about what the customer wants and making them feel comfortable. Every venue I’ve helped build, it’s always been about pure comfort for the customer: where are their knees resting? How far are the feet off the floor? … that’s the first way you get them in. After that it’s about training your staff."
José Luis León is the Bar Director for RitualH group in Mexico City. He's best known for his work behind Limantour which sits proudly at #10 on the World's 50 Best list. Jose himself is nominated for the Best International Bartender at this year's Spirited Awards.
Alexandre Gabriel is a master blender and the founder of Plantation Rum and Maison Ferrand.
Dave Arnold is a "master tinkerer", the author of Liquid Intelligence and the owner of Existing Conditions and Booker and Dax.
Artem Peruk is co-owner of El Copitas bar in St Petersburg, Russia. In five years since opening, El Copitas have come through unimaginable adversity to now be sitting at #27 on the World's 50 Best list, as well as nominated for Best International Bar Team at this year's Spirited Awards.
Artem shares what led to them door-knocking nearby bars in an attempt to borrow a single chair from each so that they could open, and how they were forced to start selling the mezcal that was given to them as opening gifts, often back to the friends who gave it to them.
The fact they have made it to where they are today is the result of an incredible amount of resilience, energy and what can only be described as 'Russian' innovation.
Luke Whearty is the Aussie bartender who made his name in Singapore at iconic venues like Tippling Club and Operation Dagger. These days, he and wife Aki Nishikura are back in Melbourne heading up Byrdi, the innovative cocktail bar housed in a shopping centre that doesn't advertise any booze brands on its menu.
Luke's a champion of local producers, and takes the concept of using seasonal ingredients to another level - his cocktail creations often starting with a natural ingredient (even mushrooms!) and working backwards from there. He tells us all about where this ethos comes from and why it took travelling to South Africa for him to realise what he had at home in Melbourne.
Luke's also recently teamed up with The Blend for Beam Suntory and is putting together a series of online workshops on everything from Fermentation, Seasonality, Fats and Oils, Texture, Acidity. Check them out at www.theblend.world
Sebastian Reaburn, of 1806 and Anther Gin fame, is on the show to reflect on the life and times of his friend Vernon Chalker, who has sadly passed away age 55.
Vernon is the man behind Gin Palace - which remains an iconic Melbourne venue - Bar Ampere, Madame Brussels and Collins Quarter. But he's also one of the main reasons for the city's world-leading small bar scene, having fought for their place among Victoria's liquor licensing and late-night lockout laws over the years.
David Wondrich is back to discuss the daily cocktail recipes he's been sharing on Twitter, the right years' work that's gone into the Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails, and how he thinks the pandemic will affect cocktail culture in New York.
Ollie Margan is the man behind the drinks programs at a plethora of Adelaide venues, and is best known for being a part-owner of the highly-acclaimed Maybe Mae. Still yet to reach 30 years of age, he's achieved a phenomenal amount in a short space of time.
But just as Maybe Mae was about to launch its new menu - 12 months in the making - the Coronavirus hit, and Ollie found himself lining up for unemployment benefits alongside many of his staff. Ollie recently wrote about his experiences of the past month for Difford's Guide, in a raw and honest article you can read here: https://www.diffordsguide.com/en-au/g/1148/bar-entrepreneur-frontline/covid-19-diaries-maybe-mae-adelaide
We ask Ollie about how he's using the current downtime, what he thinks the industry will look like when it returns, that new menu at Maybe Mae that we can't wait to discover, and the four pillars of sustainability that inform his ethos behind the bar.
Jeffrey Morgenthaler has been a bartender for the best part of 25 years. Like many in the industry, he first got behind the jump part-time while studying in his 20s - a degree in interior architecture that he completed, but ultimately shelved. He quickly became obsessed with cocktails, bought up old books and began his own writing about drinks, recipes and techniques on his website. Now, he is a well-known industry authority, has two books of his own and has ticked over 11 years running the beverage program at Portland bars Clyde Common and Pepe Le Moko.
Jeffrey's most passionate about sharing his wealth of knowledge with the rest of the bar community, finding longevity and a balanced lifestyle behind the bar, and doing so with like-minded individuals. We ask him how life has changed for him in recent weeks, why he always seems to be ahead of the curve, where the ideas for his unique books came from and more.
Liana Oster is an Aussie expat who works as a head bartender in New York - at the best bar in the world, no less. Dante NYC is an Italian-inspired institution that specialises in Negronis and other circa-1915 cocktails and apperitivos. Last year, it took out top honours place in not one, but both of the two most prestigious bar awards on the planet in World's 50 Best and Tales of the Cocktail's Spirited Awards.
For now though, like almost every other bar in the world, Dante's doors are closed indefinitely. New York itself has entered a state of shutdown that reflects its rising number of COVID-19 cases, and with no end date to the restrictions in sight, all businesses are having to innovate just to stay afloat.
Nicole and Marcus ask Liana about what life in New York amid the pandemic is like, how Dante has re-invented its offering and is engaging its loyal community. Liana is wonderfully open and honest, and as soon as it's safe to do so, we'll be ready to jump on a plane and enjoy a fabulous Negroni at Dante.
Bars across the world are closed indefinitely. Millions of bartenders are out of work and hospitality businesses are on the ropes. Today, we try to make sense of it all through the lenses of two career bartenders from different corners of the globe.
First, we're dialling the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel, to speak to Head Bartender Maxim Schulte, who we got to know in Episode #9 of Living Proof just over 12 months ago. During the downtime, Maxim has started running some drinks seminars alongside Jo Last titled 'Booze Brain', which are being broadcast live on Instagram and Facebook.
Then, it's a bar owners perspective on the whole thing with our dear friend Marcus Motteram - 'The Admiral' - who takes us through how he is pivoting Hains & Co's business and staying connected with his staff.
Steve Roennfeldt has been in the drinks industry for 20 years. He is better known as Steve the Bartender - a YouTube channel that has amassed almost 300,000 subscribers since first posting 200 videos in 200 days to kick things off about four years ago.
Steve also runs an online barware store, has recently launched an Android smartphone app called Shake and Strain, and is one of the three men behind Threefold Distilling, which has just brought its Aromatic Gin to market.
Steve is as understated as they come but his experience and ability to build a dedicated community speaks for itself.
Brad Thomas Parsons is an award-winning cocktail and spirits writer who specialises in Bitters, Amaro and asking bartenders what their final drink would be.
Brad has written three books since debuting with James Beard Award-winning 'Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-all' in 2011, which cemented him as an authority on the elemental cocktail ingredient and its history. For his most recent title, 'Last Call: Bartenders on Their Final Drink and the Wisdom and Rituals of Closing Time', Brad surveyed a range of bars and bartenders from all walks of life about their routines at closing time, as well as what they would choose as their deathbed cocktail.
William Edwards is the Founder of Archie Rose Distilling, the first successful Sydney-based distillery for over 100 years.
Archie Rose has operated out of Rosebury, Sydney since 2014, and their whiskys, gins and vodkas have since won international awards. Will runs us through the investments they're making in equipment, and why they refuse to do things as they always have been - constantly innovating and distilling new and interesting flavours.
Mark Livings is the co-founder of Lyre's Spirit Co, a company that is re-defining the non-alcoholic spirit category with the use of futuristic beverage technology, market research and investment. Mark’s background is in marketing, branding, technology and investing, mainly within the food and beverage industry. He’s the co-founder and Director of hugely successful independent agencies The Kinetic Agency and BrandLink Australia.
And it’s through this line of work that he noticed some surprising trends within the industry – younger people are drinking less, and more are choosing not to drink at all. With this in mind, he set about creating Lyre’s Spirit Co – a non-alcoholic spirit category that now has 14 products in its range, all of which aim to mimic its alcoholic counterpart. Unlike companies that have come before Lyre’s in this space, however, they are doing things very differently, and achieving results that have made the industry stand up and taken notice, even taking out an award in a blind tasting against alcoholic variants.
Mark is on the podcast to explain how Lyre’s develop their unique ‘spirits’, the importance of drinks and beverages in our culture and the opportunity for bars and bartenders going forward.
Trish Brew is an accomplished bartender and now Fever-Tree's first Australian Brand Ambassador. Of her 12 years of bartending experience, 8 of those were spent at Melbourne's Gin Palace, making the transition to representing Fever-Tree's portfolio a smooth one.
Trish joined us in-studio to chat all things gin, tonic, what her new role entails, her views on females in the bar industry and more.
Martin Hudak is bridging the gap between coffee and cocktails. He is the Global Coffee Ambassador for Mr Black and a bartender at Maybe Sammy. Originally from Slovakia - a country that's produced more than its fair share of bartending royalty - Martin began his career in hospitality at a local cafe, before he zipped over to London for a 3-year stint at The American Bar at the Savoy.
In 2018, he moved to Sydney to help set up Maybe Sammy and became the Global Ambassador for locally-roasted Mr Black Coffee Liqueur. Along the way, he's won the World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship, taken out the top gong at World's 50 Best with the American Bar, and in 2019, Maybe Sammy won the Spirited Award for Best New International Cocktail Bar at Tales of the Cocktail.
We explore Martin's career trajectory behind the bar, before getting his top pieces of advice for making coffee cocktails, including a favourite recipe you can try today.
John Roberts is the owner of Bushwick Country Club - the home of the iconic Pickleback. Bushwick, or BCC, is far from your usual ‘Country Club’. It’s an archetypal dive bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, that specialises in dreadful mini golf, lager, shots and apparent lawlessness.
John has been the owner for almost 16 years, but was only a year or so into the job when one of his bartenders - Reggie Cunningham - stumbled across a modern-day classic concoction in 2006. Old Crow’s Whiskey and the brine of McClure’s Pickles quickly became known as a match made in heaven at BCC, before the good word spread to bars the world over.
John's on Living Proof to describe the fortuitous events that led to the invention of the Pickleback and help us define what a true dive bar is.
Stay up-to-date @livingproofpod on Instagram and Twitter, or at Living Proof Podcast on Facebook.
Andrew Derbidge is Director of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) of Australia, and the man behind Whisky and Wisdom.
For over 15 years, he’s worked as a brand ambassador and presenter for some of the world’s most renowned Whisky brands, organised bespoke Whisky tours of Scotland and written for publications such as Whisky Magazine and Australian Gourmet Traveller.
Andrew’s on the podcast to briefly outline the history of SMWS, which is a prolific independent bottler as well as a club that hosts events and tastings, before indulging us in an in-depth discussion about today’s Whisky market.
Is there still room for the Scotch industry to expand? Is there a market correction on the way? Why are distilleries now releasing countless different expressions of their product? Are Whisky bottles a worthy investment? It’s all on the agenda!
Tim Philips-Johansson is a Senior Consultant at Sweet & Chilli, a multi-venue owner and Australia's most awarded bartender. And once upon a time, he was trained by our own Marcus Motteram!
Tim has become a somewhat of a behemoth of the bar and cocktail industry since working at London institution Milk & Honey in the 2000s, and going on to win Diageo Global World Class cocktail competition in 2012. Since returning to Australia in 2010, he's set up shop in Sydney with the hugely successful Bulletin Place, where he still finds time to get behind the bar once a month. For more on the systems and attention to detail that saw Bulletin Place win 'Best Sustainable Bar Program' at the Australian Bar Awards, check out our conversation with Alex Gondzioulis from October 2019.
These days, Tim has shifted his focus to how we can help the bar world become, not only a more sustainable industry environmentally, but also a more sustainable occupation for our young people health-wise. Tim shares the strategies he implements to maintain a healthy lifestyle despite working in an industry surrounded by alcohol, late nights and the like.
Mike Collings is one of the most experienced Marketing Directors in the Whisky industry, having worked with some of the biggest brands in the world during his time at Diageo (which was then known as United Distillers). He played a major hand in launching Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Green Label, as well as helping to reinvent Jack Daniels and Southern Comfort among others.
Now, Mike is producing his own range of whiskys, including the luxury, handcrafted and personalised 'Imperial Tribute' and most recently, his range of 'Firkin Whisky Co' bottlings.
If you'd like to get your hands on any of the Firkin bottlings, you can click here to see details of relevant importers.
Jeremy Blackmore is a veteran bartender and venue owner from Sydney. Along with good friend Alex Dowd, he owns Tio's Cerveceria, The Cliff Dive and now miniature mezcal mecca Catina OK!.
Cantina OK! was opened in February 2019 has been described as "a micro version of a honky-tonk down in Mexico" by Time Out, and is the culmination of multiple trips to the country to taste and source some of the rarest mezcal bottles and other Agave variants. Joining Jeremy and Alex on the venture is Alex 'Happy' Gilmour, who is studying to become some sort of 'Master of Mezcal', and together they boast some of the most intricate knowledge of the spirit in the country.
Jason 'Widge' Williams is a Creative Director at Proof & Co. He began his hospitality career in pubs owned by his family in Queensland, before moving into running nightclubs and then cocktail bars in various parts of Australia.
Now, as an integral part of the Proof & Co team in Singapore, he's played a major hand in creating some of the most exclusive bars in the world and has his name (well, nickname) on a bottle of gin.
We catch up with Jason to learn about the trajectory of his career, how he ended up in Singapore, the brief that became the exclusive Art Deco Lobby & Bar ATLAS, what makes Widges Gin different and more.
Sean Muldoon is the co-owner of world-renowned NYC bars Dead Rabbit and BlackTail. He's on the show to share what's on the cards for both concepts - from taking the Dead Rabbit to five more cities in the next five years, to potentially relocating BlackTail, and throwing in a Hollywood movie along the way.
Kathleen Davies is the founder of Nip of Courage, Australia's leading wholesaler and exporter of Aussie craft spirits. Prior to starting Nip of Courage in 2013, Kathleen worked in sales for some of the most recognisable drinks brands in the country, and she has since been a Presenter at Tales of the Cocktail and a National Judge for female bartending competition Speed Rack.
Kathleen saw the craft spirits boom coming before most - she had seen the industry take off in the United States and started Nip of Courage on the assumption that Australia would follow suit. As she explains, the first few months were slow and business became a bit touch-and-go, before she took the company to an event in Melbourne and was overwhelmed with the ensuing response.
Now, Kathleen has a fantastic relationship with many a boutique distillery, many of which are located in remote and rural Australia, and she has even started her own range of bottle cocktails. The Aussie Tipple Company utilises (of course) handcrafted Australian spirits to batch classic cocktails such as a Negroni and Martini.
We were eager to ask Kathleen about the level of opportunity that remains for small distillers in a market that we're continually being told is reaching saturation, the challenges faced by those operations, her experience at Tales of the Cocktail and more.
Mike Enright is a bartender, hairdresser and owner of The Barber Shop Sydney and Barangaroo.
Mike's career began in the UK - he was raised in English pubs and then trained as a hairdresser upon leaving school. But it wasn't too long before he was drawn back to the bar business in the 1990s, where he spent the next 25 years involved with a plethora of successful venues.
It was in 2013 that he realised his dream of uniting the cocktail bar concept with that of a barber shop with (aptly named) The Barber Shop, which has gone on to win more than its fair share of Spirited Awards and continues to lay claim to the largest rare and modern gin collection in Australia.
Following the tragic news of Gaz Regan's passing, we bring you our late-2018 conversation with him.
News came through on Friday that Gaz Regan passed away peacefully, aged 68, following a bout of pneumonia. He was one of the most loved members of the bar and cocktail world, and for good reason.
Gaz was brought up in British pubs in the 1960s, before he made his way to the US aged 19. Over the next five decades, he became a larger-than-life pioneer of the cocktail revolution - his impact epitomised by the popularity of his iconic finger-stirred Negroni. His books, such as The Bartender's Bible and The Joy of Mixology, have become some of the most-referenced texts of today's cocktail renaissance.
More recently, Gaz was passionately promoting the concept of 'Mindful Bartending', in which he sought to transfer meditative techniques to the practice of keeping bar. Ultimately, as always, with a view to enhancing the entire experience for both guests and mixologists alike.
Above all, Gaz was an exceedingly generous and giving soul, who we are all greater for having known.
Vale, Gaz Regan.
Joshua Bernstein is the United States' pre-eminent beer writer. For 20 years, his work has regularly appeared in The New York Times, New York magazine, Imbibe and countless other leading publications. Josh is also the author of five books, the latest of which - Drink Better Beer - has just been released and features insights from over 100 beer industry professionals.
Beer and its new-age craft varieties - sours, IPAs, etc - are ubiquitous in bars and restaurants around the world, and the available flavours are changing and expanding quicker than most of us can get a handle on them. For these reasons, we've been meaning to properly explore the category on the podcast - with someone with the right expertise - since we began. Enter Josh, whose curiosity and passion for what makes the perfect pint is unrivalled.
Stay tuned for how beer has changed - from light lagers to IPAs that taste "like blended pine needles" - why the opportunities for the craft beer industry lies in service, how to pour the perfect beer, why foam is important and more.
You can stay up-to-date with all of Joshua's work at https://www.joshuambernstein.com/.
Richard Carleton Hacker is an author, and one of the world's foremost experts on cigars, wine and spirits. He has written 11 books, as well as countless columns for Robb Report, Playboy Magazine, Ritz-Carlton Magazine and more, and is credited with helping to ignite the cigar boom of the 1990s.
Since he smoked his first 'proper' cigar in the mid-1960s, Richard has been researching and writing about them, their place in society, as well as the countries and people producing them. That research first culminated in the most-popular of his 11 titles, The Ultimate Cigar Book, which continues to fly off the shelves and has just been released as a fourth edition.
Not only is Richard a preeminent authority on cigars - he's also well versed in spirits of all types, wine and "anything over 40 per cent!" He's been a judge on many a global spirits competition, has been inducted by the Scotch industry as a Keeper of the Quaich, and was even knighted in Germany. He is absolutely brilliant, and full of knowledge you simply won't find anywhere else.
Stuart King is reinvigorating the cocktail culture in Cincinnati with his young bars, Sundry & Vice and Comfort Station.
Garth Foster is the Belvedere Vodka's Brand Development Manager for Australia and New Zealand.
Garth was a bar and venue manager until "vodka chose him" and he went to work for Moet-Hennessy Australia. He takes us through how they are innovating to keep up with the other spirits categories through their Single Estate Ryes and more.
Stay up-to-date at https://www.themessagepod.com.au/livingproof
Alex Gondzioulis is a bartender at Bulletin Place, Sydney, who was crowned Bartender of the Year at the 2019 Australian Bartender Awards. On that same night, Bulletin Place took out Best Sustainable Bar Program, so we had plenty we wanted to unpack with Alex.
We chat about how he prepared for the Bartender of the Year competition, the two cocktails he created for it, and how Bulletin Place manages to create a new cocktail list every day, even while maintaining their renowned levels of sustainability. Plus the Free Pour Five!
Hiryasu Kayama is a bartender come modern-day alchemist who owns Tokyo's Bar Benfiddich. We caught up with Hiro just before he presented the Nikka Whiskey masterclass at Maybe Sammy during Bar Week 2019.
Hiro has introduced a flavour pairing concept called 'Kochu Chomi', in which individual whiskeys are paired with small morsels of food. The flavours of the food and whiskey combine in the mouth as they are chewed, creating a 'marbling' effect and building a cocktail of sorts.
After our chat to Hiro, we learn more about Nikka from Naoki Tomoyoshi, Asahi's International Business Department Representative.
Agung Prabowo is co-owner of the #1 Bar in Asia, The Old Man Hong Kong, and in 2018 was crowned Best Bartender in Asia by Drink Magazine.
Agung was recently in Sydney for Bar Week 2019, where he presented Monin's Bartending as an Art masterclass at Employees Only. We caught up with him straight after to discuss what sets The Old Man apart from other bars in Asia, what's on the cards for the future and the message he gives young bartenders.
Ludo Ducrocq is the Global Director of Education & Advocacy at Ardbeg, a distillery which produces some of the world's smokiest whiskys. Ludo was recently in Sydney for Bar Week, where he presented Ardbeg's long-awaited Masters of Smoke event to an Australian audience for the first time.
We caught up with Ludo after the event to chat about what went in to creating it and how well-informed consumers are changing the landscape in terms of educating bartenders. Then, we chat to Pauric 'PK' Kennedy, a bartender at Smoke Bar at Barangaroo House, about the cocktail he created for the event with Ardbeg Uigeadail.
Martin Lynch is the Asia Pacific Commercial Manager at Teeling Whiskey, which produces a 24-year-old Single Malt that recently won World's Best Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards.
Martin himself has been named Irish Whiskey Brand Ambassador of the Year at the Icons of Whisky Awards. Who better to speak to about all things Irish Whiskey, some of Teeling's new releases and collaborations, where the industry is headed and more.
Masahiro Urushido is a career bartender and owner of Katana Kitten, a Japanese-American style bar in New York. The bar recently took out Best New American Cocktail Bar at the 2019 Spirited Awards.
Masahiro is pioneering the practice of bringing elements of the Japanese style of bartending - which you can learn more about in our chat with Hidetsugu Ueno or Rogerio Igarashi (at the 48:00 mark of #3) - to the industry in the United States. As such, he's become renowned for his stunning highball cocktails that are made even more impressive by his attention to detail, something that seems to come naturally to any Japanese bartender.
We ask Masahiro about his background, why Katana Kitten stands out, what is needed to make a beautiful highball and then finish with the Free Pour Five!
David Spanton is the man behind the only monthly bar magazine in the world - Australian Bartender. Dave’s published the magazine for 20 years and over 260 editions, as well as established and continues to run the country’s biggest bar show, Sydney Bar Week, since 2002.
With this year’s instalment of Bar Week just around the corner (September 14-18), we had to get Dave on the program to cast an eye towards some of the must-see events and masterclasses. Underscoring our conversation is an analysis of how the bar business has changed in Dave’s time covering it and a recognition of the role he’s played in positioning Australia’s as the most powerful pound-for-pound bar & cocktail industry in the world.
Giannis Miliotis is a brilliant bartender at Oz Cocktail Bar on the Greek island of Chios. Chios also happens to be where Mastica - the plant which produces the resin that goes in to making Mastiha Liqueur - originates from. Giannis takes us through a bit of Mastica history, how he uses the liqueur in cocktails, and we hit him with the Free Pour 5!
Ross Blainey is William Grant & Sons’ The Balvenie Brand Ambassador for Australia and New Zealand. His job, as he puts it, is to bring the stories from the 126-year-old Speyside distillery to those who haven’t been able to get there. Some of those tales are also behind the company’s new ‘The Balvenie Stories’ range of whiskys.
Ross’ first encounter with The Balvenie’s Single Malts was as a teenager, when he was tasked with building the whisky range at the Dufftown pub where he was working. He grew the bar’s range of single malts from under 10 to almost 200, yet found that he kept coming back to The Balvenie 12 DoubleWood as his go-to dram.
We ask Ross about the process to becoming a Brand Ambassador, the qualities that bode well for success in the role and what goes into developing brilliant tasting events.
"It's about passion and communication."
Then, we explore what's next for the category of whisky, as well as some food pairing tips, with some classic stories from the Distillery interspersed throughout.
Key points
- 05:14 Getting into Whisky
- 07:05 Ross’ go-to dram
- 11:08 Becoming a Brand Ambassador
- 16:09 Tasting events
- 19:00 The weirdest tasting note he’s encountered
- 20:40 The Balvenie Stories
- 27:27 What next for the category of Whisky?
- 34:12 Translating the Scottish accent
- 36:34 Food pairings
Jim Meehan owns Please Don’t Tell, a hidden high-end cocktail bar in New York that has become something of an institution. He's also an accomplished author - many of you would be familiar with his work in the PDT Cocktail Book and Meehan's Bartender Manual, winner of the 2018 James Beard Foundation Cookbook Award in "Beverage" category.
Even now that he’s stepped back from his New York duties to settle down in Oregon, Jim remains a highly sought-after industry authority. He spoke candidly with us in the early months of this year about why he made that move, as well as how he encourages young people to traverse the hospitality industry that can present a unique set of challenges.
Key points
- 02:00 The bar industry in New York
- 06:30 Opening another PDT in Hong Kong
- 11:20 Stepping back to settle in Portland
- 14:15 How to 'swim in the deep end' of the bar industry
- 24:45 How Jim manages to be an author, owner and father all at once
- 29:45 What drew Jim to hospitality
- 34:50 The 'memory-creating' business
- 36:00 American Express’ The Centurion Lounge
David Wondrich is the world's pre-eminent drinks historian. After beginning his career as an academic - he has a PhD in Comparative Literature - Dave decided to combine his appetite for writing and history with his passion for well-made drinks. So, he began tracing the stories behind many of the cocktails we enjoy to this day and, in doing so, he built an awareness and community that helped drive the drinks renaissance of this century. His books, including Imbibe! and Punch, are essential reading for bartenders or anyone fascinated by the history of the cocktail.
Nicole & Marcus chatted to David in January 2019, about where he thinks the drinks rennaissance is at, why he thinks the category of whiskey has been "overtaken by geeks and douches", the future of the neighbourhood bar and much, much more.
Next up in our ‘best-of’ series of podcasts is our chat with Philip Duff.
Philip has been a successful drinks consultant, educator, producer, writer, judge and venue owner. The Irishman has done it all since establishing his consultancy, Liquid Solutions, 20 years ago: He opened the Netherland's first Speakeasy – door 74 – mentored some of the world's best bartenders (including Marcus!) and at the time of recording, he was the Director of Education at Tales of the Cocktail.
Phil's latest project has been getting his own range of spirits off the ground and into bars the world over. Old Duff Genever - 100% owned by Phil - is one of only three brands permitted to carry the seal of Schiedam, and since our chat, Proof & Co have announced they'll be bringing it to Australia and New Zealand.
For the next month, we’re bringing back some of our greatest hits as part of our ‘best-of’ podcast series. You’ll be hearing four of our most popular conversations with cocktail royalty. The first of those is this chat with ‘King Cocktail’, Dale DeGroff.
Dale is a bartender, author and “one of the world’s foremost cocktail experts” according to in the New York Times. We were lucky enough to get him on the other end of the phone when he was in Australia in late 2018, to chat about the cocktail industry he’s a part of today versus the one in which he began his career in the 1970s, plus plenty of stories in between.
Kayla Grigoriou is a Bar Manager at Bar Torino in Adelaide who recently made the Top 20 Australian bartenders at this year’s Diageo World Class competition.
Kayla takes us through the cocktail that helped her make the cut, the elements of the next phase of competition that she was preparing for at the time of recording, the Free Pour Five and more.
Next week, we kick off our ‘Best of’ series of podcasts, in which we're bringing back some of our earlier interviews with some absolute household names of the industry, starting with Dale DeGroff.
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Wes Heddles and Sacha La Forgia both own and run different award-winning South Australian distilleries. Wes is one of two men who co-founded Prohibition Liquor, a small-batch gin producer, and Sacha is a former winemaker who now heads up Adelaide Hills Distillery. Adelaide Hills' headline product is their 78 degrees gin, and the company has recently begun the foray into vermouth and whiskey production.
Wes and Sacha were good friends before they became direct competitors, so there is plenty of banter to be had during their chat with Nicole. She asks about how they started out, the saturation level of the gin market in Australia, where further opportunities lie and what sets their products apart.
Robin Wolf is a career bartender and the winner of the Tales of the Cocktail 2019 Official Cocktail Competition. Her liquid creation, titled Night Gardens, riffed off of the competition themes - Highball and 'Cultivate' - to settle on a Jasmine Tea number that is simple and refreshing.
Robin herself is a well-rounded and accomplished hospitality professional who has a background as a wine sommelier. She currently runs the bar program at The Hatch Rotisserie & Bar in Paso Robles, California, as well as makes her own range of bitters for her company SLO Bitter Co.
For the full Night Gardens recipe, head to https://talesofthecocktail.org/industrynews/tales-cocktail-foundation-announces-winner-tales-cocktail-2019-official-cocktail-competition
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In Marcus' absence this week, we're throwing back to an earlier chat with Japanese Master Bartender Hidetsugu Ueno. Owner of the world renowned Bar High Five in Tokyo, Ueno is the most revered of anyone behind a bar in Japan, which is astounding when you consider the fact he doesn't even drink.
We asked about the gruelling master & apprentice style of bar tutelage that's ever present in Japan, his meticulous ice-carving and dilution techniques, and the subtleties of making conversation with customers. He's as fascinating as ever.
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Find all of our episodes at https://www.themessagepod.com.au/livingproof
Michael Bergstrom is co-founder of Purfict. A career bartender from Sweden, he and three bartending friends came together to create the consultancy in 2007. Since 2010, they've done a sensational job of running the Nordic Bartenders' Choice Awards, which has come to be renowned as the most prestigious awards gala in Scandinavia.
We ask Michael about his background in bars, how the Nordic scene compares to other markets, the story behind Purfict and more. You can't question his passion, ingenuity and ability to craft out a successful niche in the industry we all know and love.
Salvatore Calabrese is The Maestro. One of the most recognisable bartenders in the world, he’s been working in hospitality he was 11 years old on the Amalfi Coast. He's now in his mid-60s, so his passion for cocktails long precedes the craft cocktail movement of this century
By age 21, Salvatore was the youngest maitre d' on the Amalfi Coast, and then it wasn't long later that he was making a name for himself in London at Duke’s Hotel. Among his most well-known legacies are the invention of the Breakfast Martini and drinks program Liquid History, which culminated in him making the oldest cocktail of all time from ingredients with a combined age of over 700 years.
Salvatore is an exquisite story-teller (and he's just finished his morning coffee!), so sit back and enjoy the tales behind those and so many other brilliant ideas that are synonymous with 'The Maestro'.
Gossett Brown is the reigning Taste of Jamaica Bartender of the Year. He heads up the bar program at the Rockhouse Hotel in Negril, a stunning and unique resort that sits as far West on the island as you can get.
Gossett’s also a council member of the Jamaica Union of Bartender and Mixologists and has built a reputation as one of the biggest contributors to the industry in the country.
He takes us through how he got into the bar game, some of his wonderful (and wonderfully interesting) cocktails and then we hit him with some Free Pour questions!
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Richard Seale is owner and master distiller at Foursquare Rum Distillery. He’s "arguably the greatest rum maker in the world."
Richard well and truly has rum in his blood - the Seale family can trace five generations of rum-making expertise back to the early 1800s, and he credits his 'inheritance' of knowledge as the reason Foursquare is where it is today. He’s also the man leading the charge against the claim that ‘rum has no rules’, and has been consistently outspoken about consumers being deceived by producers that ‘doctor’ their rum with sugar or other additives.
This podcast provided the perfect opportunity for us to get under the skin of these divisive topics, most of which were alluded to a fortnight ago during our chat with Matt Pietrek. Today, Richard puts all his views on the table in his usual no-holds-barred style.
Whatever your position, you can have nothing but respect and admiration for the brand Richard has helped build, the exceptional rum it produces and the way he’s got the rum industry talking about issues he’s deeply passionate about.
Justin Cross is co-founder and CEO at Earn Your Booze. He and Elliott Clark, who runs Instagram account @apartment_bartender, joined forces in 2017 to create the company that aims to bridge the gap between the fitness and drinks industries. Last year, they ran over 40 events in conjunction with big liquor brands to promote a healthier lifestyle among bartenders and other industry workers. At their activations, all 150+ participants complete a workout before an after party at which the drinks have all been 'earned' through hard work.
Then, we chat renowned Toronto bar manager Ana Wolkowski who can be found behind the stick at Bar Raval. Ana grew up in her Dad's bar and is a an expert on all things Sherry.
Matt Pietrek is the Cocktail Wonk. He made the switch from writing about Microsoft Windows (of all things) to spirits and cocktails, and was last year a finalist for the Best Cocktails and Spirits Writer award at Tales of the Cocktail. You can read his insightful, impeccably researched and wide-ranging articles at https://cocktailwonk.com.
Marcus was chomping at the bit to pick Matt’s brain about his specialist area of expertise – rum – as he’s recently been using the Wonk’s articles to educate his own bartenders at Hains & Co. He and Nicole ask about carving out a career without a background in the industry, Matt’s upcoming book and some of the sensitive topics surrounding rum and sugar. Stay tuned for his well-thought-out answer to that massive question.
And for our Free Pour segment, we chat to an industry icon in Connecticut who you may know from TV or social media as the Cocktail Chemist, Dimitrios Zahariadis.
Key points
- 03:55 From Microsoft Windows to Cocktails
- 07:00 Rum reporting in New Orleans
- 11:00 Carving a career without a background in the cocktail industry
- 13:40 Matt’s upcoming book – Minimalist Tiki
- 18:50 The big question: rum, sugar and other additives
- 24:50 The Cocktail Wonk audience
- 28:05 Some of the Wonk’s favourite drinking experiences.
- 32:45 The Free Pour Five with Dimitrios Zahariadis
Bill Lark is the founder of Lark Distillery and is rightfully known as the Godfather of Australian Whisky. When Bill first pondered producing single malts in 1992, distilling whisky was still illegal in Tasmania due to archaic laws passed in the mid-1800s. Now, thanks largely to Bill, Tasmania’s ideal conditions for malt whisky are home to many a distillery that have followed in his footsteps, and the industry in Australia more generally commands respect.
We finally got hold of Bill for an interview, and couldn't be more grateful for him finding the time in his schedule that remains jam-packed despite his decision to step back from the day-to-day running of the distillery a few years ago. We jumped straight in to explore his little-known background, his predictions for the ever-growing distilling industry in his home country and what a month in the life of Bill Lark entails.
We're confident you'll have nothing but admiration for this gentle giant who is an absolute lover of life!
In our Free Pour segment this week, we chat to former bartender from Perth Georgia McDonnell-Adams, who is now based in Stockholm as Absolut’s Global Experience Manager. Georgia’s a living breathing example of some of the amazing places that a career behind the bar can lead to.
Olivier Ward is co-founder and editor of online juggernaut Gin Foundry, an independent website that covers all things gin. Gin Foundry conducts hundreds of gin reviews, none of which are paid for, and is also behind Junipalooza, the international ‘meet the maker’ gin festival that exploded onto the scene in 2013.
Olivier and brother Emile started Gin Foundry in 2010, and coverage on the site is now so highly sought after that they’ve had to hide their address due to the sheer amount of unsolicited samples they’re sent on weekly basis. If anyone knows the gin market inside out, it’s Olivier, so we were sure to get his opinion on the industry that’s overflowing with new brands. Is this peak gin? Is that a bad thing? Where’s it going to be in five years? Which brands are doing a good job of connecting with their consumers?
If you love gin, you don’t want to miss this.
Following Olivier, we dial the Bon Vivant in Edinburgh, Scotland, to chat to bar manager Daniel Smith. The Bon Vivant has previously been crowned Best International Restaurant Bar at Tales of the Cocktail, and Cocktail Bar of the Year at the Scottish Bar and Pub Awards.
Key Points
- 4:40 Olivier’s gin journey
- 8:15 Where is the gin market is at
- 12:30 Have we reached peak gin?
- 21:10 Barrel-aged gin
- 25:00 How Gin Foundry selects its gins
- 29:40 Olivier’s favourite gin brands
- 37:55 The emerging markets
- 41:20 Junipalooza
- 46:25 Olivier's take on tonic
- 49:30 Appellation controls?
Resources, bars and products mentioned
- Gin Foundry
- Junipalooza
- Help Gin Foundry research the gin market by filling out their Ginfographic
- Last week's episode with Robert Simonson
Robert Simonson writes about cocktails. A lot. He’s cemented himself as a senior cocktail scribe for publications like the New York Times, Imbibe, Punch and Muck Rack since first stumbling across Tales of the Cocktail in 2006, just as the cocktail renaissance was gathering steam. He’s also got three books about drinks to his name: The Old Fashioned, A Proper Drink and 3-Ingredient Cocktails, some of which chronicle the history of the drinks in question and some of which focus more on the recipes themselves. In September, he’ll be releasing his fourth book on the topic: The Martini.
And in our Free Pour segment, we head to Kansas City to speak to one of the most decorated bartenders and hospitality professionals you can find. Ryan Maybee owns cocktail haunt Manifesto, The Rieger Hotel Grill & Exchange and now a distillery, J. Rieger & Co.
Kurtis Bosley owns and runs CBK Hospitality Solutions, a stunning Instagram page (@cocktailsbykurtis) and now a bar / eatery at Dee Why Beach. Prior to all that, he helped open five venues and led the drinks program at Public House Management Group as their Group Bars Manager, so he’s had more than his fair share of valuable experiences in the industry.
Kurtis takes us through the learnings that have come with opening his first venue, what that venue is going to look like and his top social media advice for anyone looking to create a presence on Instagram.
And the insights don’t stop there – our Free Pour segment that follows is an in-studio interview with Proof & Company’s Charlie Ainsbury. Charlie holds the perfectly-named position of ‘Spirits Evangelist’ at Proof & Co and is an extremely well-regarded bartender both in Australia and internationally.
Key points
- 2:15 Kurtis’ first venue – Corretto
- 5:30 Opening a bar
- 11:40 Pushing yourself
- 16:20 Making the most of social media
- 24:30 Kurtis takes us through Corretto
- 31:15 Free Pour segment with Charlie Ainsbury
Resources, bars and products mentioned
- Kurtis’ Instagram page @cocktailsbykurtis
- Corretto Dee Why
- Proof & Company
Ian Burrell is the global ambassador for the entire category of rum. London born to Jamaican parents, Ian’s packed more into his life so far than most of us ever will – he made his name as rapper 'The Dude' and as a professional basketballer, before deciding to devote himself to tasting and traversing the category of rum. He was behind the world’s first International Rum Fest in London in 2007 and has since set up events on every continent, even in Antarctica of all places! Ian’s the man to ask about anything to do with rum, so we asked away – about the touchy subject of adding sugar, the markets that excite him most and much, much more.
Then, we’re off to Cork in Ireland, where Andy Ferreira from Cask takes us through their intriguing approach to cocktails. They use only locally foraged ingredients to build their menu and some of those elements would never have thought of putting in a drink.
Jeff 'Beachbum' Berry has made a living from being, as he puts it, a tiki 'geek'. If it wasn't for Beachbum's decades spent doggedly digging up and decoding old trade secrets, many of the classic tiki cocktail recipes we know today would have died with the people who created them. Tiki culture and the rum-based mixed drinks that come with it have been enjoying somewhat of a resurgence lately, and Beachbum's six books - which now culminate in a smartphone app - have been at the absolute heart of that. And since 2014 he's been taking advantage of it himself with his New Orleans venue, Beachbum's Latitude 29.
Then, we're joined by Sheena Hartcher, President of the Australian Bartenders Guild, in the Free Pour segment.
This week: Feature interview with Diageo World Class winner Orlando Marzo. Free Pour Five with Josh Esposito from Hains & Co.
Orlando Marzo is Beverage Director at Worksmith, and the #1 bartender in the world after winning Diageo World Class in Berlin last year. But after winning such a coveted award, he could have opened a bar anywhere in the world, so why did he choose to join the team at a hospitality-focused co-working space in Melbourne? As you'll hear, Orlando is super passionate about creating a framework and vocabulary around training professional bartenders.
And in our Free Pour Five, we're joined by Marcus' Head Bartender at Hains & Co, Josh Esposito, for a chat about his experiences working behind the stick in Melbourne, London and Paris.
Key points:
- 3:30 What drew Orlando to Worksmith
- 7:00 An apprenticeship for bartenders?
- 19:55 Winning Diageo World Class
- 34:20 Advice for this year's entrants
- 35:30 Opening a bar in 2020
- 40:50 Free Pour Five with Josh Esposito
Charles MacLean is 'Whisky Max', one of the world's foremost experts on Blended and Single Malt Scotch, and is an absolute icon of the industry in the UK. He's written 17 books about the spirit, is on many a judging panel, acts as a consultant for various companies and has been named a Master of the Quaich. This week, he takes us through all things whisky - from how best to taste, to some of its history and some fantastic stories to boot.
Then, we dial the third best bar in the world, the Manhattan at the Regent Hotel in Singapore, to chat to Head Bartender Cedric Mendoza for the Free Pour Five.
Sean Baxter is Brand Director and a ‘Juniper Freak’ at Never Never Distilling, whose Southern Strength Gin has just been awarded World’s Best Classic Gin at the World Gin Awards in London. Quite a feat for a company that’s been producing gin for less than two years. Sean himself has been a bartender, a Reserve Brand ambassador and even had a stint on Masterchef in 2014. He was legendary enough to take time out of his crazy week to come in and talk to us about the win, and even stayed on to co-host the Free Pour Five afterwards!
Then, Thor Bergquist is a New Zealand-born bartender in his mid-30s who has already worked in Auckland, London, New York, Singapore and Melbourne. He now co-owns PS Soda and PS40 – a Sydney bar that’s won best cocktail list at the Australian Bartender Magazine awards two years running.
Stay up to date at facebook.com/livingproofpod + find us @livingproofpod on Twitter and Instagram.
Resources mentioned
- Never Never Distilling Co.
- PS Soda and PS40
Key points
- 4:00 Winning Best Classic Gin
- 8:20 Southern Strength
- 16:00 Never Never’s story
- 21:00 Where to from here?
- 25:50 The biggest challenges along the way
- 29:00 Masterchef
- 34:20 The drinks that best showcase the Never Never range
- 43:00 The Free Pour Five with Thor Bergquist from PS40
Rob Libecans and Matthew Stirling are two thirds of Fancy Free, a group of Australia's best bartenders who met at Fitzroy institution Black Pearl. Under the Fancy Free banner, they've run a series of pop-ups, started a consultancy called Seven Ounces and are now about to open a bar in the heart of Melbourne. We got the boys on to chat about why their opening's been delayed, what the bar will be like once it's here, why it's only going to be here for six months and how they've made it work on a shoestring budget.
Then, during the FP5 we check in with the head bartender at one of Nicole's favourite Gold Coast haunts, the Roosevelt Lounge. Bree Erica is relatively new to the world of cocktail bars but is making a splash in the evolving GC market with her experimental, food-inspired creations.
Aussie Sam Ross has been climbing the ranks in the New York bar scene since his Dad bought him a one-way ticket there from Melbourne in 2004. He spent years learning from the late great Sasha Petraske at Milk & Honey before he and Michael McIlroy re-christened it as Attaboy in 2012. Since then, they've opened an Attaboy in Nashville and a new venue - Diamond Reef - that's making similarly outstanding drinks in Brooklyn.
Then, we chat to the newest Head Bartender at The American Bar at the Savoy Hotel in London: Maxim Schulte. Maxim is only 28 years old, was born in Hamburg and has worked in bars all across the world - from Bangkok to Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia. At such a young age, he's already won the Beefeater MIXLDN competition with his cocktail, 'The Stack of Fortune', and is only the 11th person to head up the The American Bar in its 125-year history.
Resources, bars and products mentioned:
- Attaboy New York & Nashville
- Diamond Reef New York
- The Dorsey Las Vegas
- Bartender's Choice Vol. 2 smartphone app
Key points:
- 03:50 What Sam is up to in Vegas
- 07:00 Training bartenders
- 09:10 Sam's move to New York
- 15:30 Sasha Petraske
- 19:40 The return of the classics
- 22:30 Opening Attaboy
- 26:50 New York vs Nashville vs Las Vegas
- 32:40 The Pencillin - issues with CCA
- 35:00 The Bartender's Choice app
- 37:40 Tips for running a successful bar
- 42:28 The Free Pour Five with Maxim Schulte
This week: Feature Interview with Agave aficionado Phil Bayly and the Free Pour Five with 2018 ALIA Bartender of the Year, Natalie Ng.
Phil Bayly is the world’s foremost expert on all things Agave spirits, such as Tequila, Mezcal and Raicilla. He’s helped open 18 Tequila-themed bars and restaurants, founded a series of networking events promoting the category – Agave Love – and in 2017 he was recognised as the first official Mezcal Ambassador by the Mezcal Regulatory Council. For 16 years, Phil owned and ran Sydney institution Café Pacifico and he’s recently released his first book, also titled Agave Love.
During his time at Café Pacifico Phil mentored many a young bartender. One of those was Natalie Ng, who is the Australian Liquor Industry Awards’ Bartender of the Year for 2018 and joins us for the Free Pour Five at the 1:01:50 minute mark. Natalie now owns Door Knock in Sydney after cutting her teeth at some of some of the best bars in the country.
Resources, bars and products mentioned:
- De Vino Mezcal
- Mezcal.com
- Phil's book, Agave Love
- Door Knock Sydney
Key points:
- 03:00 When Phil first realised his passion for Tequila
- 05:00 How Phil came to be the first official Mezcal Ambassador
- 09 :00 What it is about Agave that Phil fell in love with
- 13:30 How you should be drinking Tequila
- 16:20 Tequila vs Mezcal
- 22:45 What Phil wants bartenders to know about Mezcal
- 30:45 Mezcal vs Raicilla
- 36:25 Sotol vs other Agaves
- 39:50 Life for Phil during and after Café Pacifico
- 43:00 Phil’s book, Agave Love
- 1:01:50 The Free Pour Five with Natalie Ng from Door Knock, Sydney.
This week: Feature interview with author and owner of Please Don't Tell, Jim Meehan. Free Pour Five with Japanese Master Bartender Hidetsugu Ueno.
Jim Meehan owns PDT, a hidden high-end cocktail bar in New York that serves only hot dogs alongside its drinks. Philip Duff had so many nice words to say about it in Episode 3 that we simply had to get the man behind it on the podcast. Jim's also written the PDT Cocktail Book and, more recently, Meehan's Bartender Manual. He speaks candidly about how he sees the industry and doesn't shy away from any of the hurdles or potential pitfalls faced by career bartenders.
After Jim, at around 55:30, we're joined by Japanese Master Bartender Hidetsugu Ueno from High Five in Tokyo. He's fascinating - a coffee lover who doesn't drink alcohol, Ueno started his career in cafes and has made a name for himself as a bartender in a society that has historically looked down on the profession.
Resources, bars and products mentioned
- Roosevelt Lounge Gold Coast
- Death & Company New York
- The Dead Rabbit New York
- Attaboy New York
- Amor Y Amargo New York
- Jim's books: The PDT Cocktail Book & Meehan's Bartender Manual
- The Centurion Lounge
Key points:
- 5:00 Jim's take on the New York bartending market
- 10:00 Jim on opening another PDT in Hong Kong
- 14:50 Why Jim moved away from New York to Portland
- 17:45 How to 'swim in the deep end' of the bar industry
- 28:15 How Jim manages to be an author, owner and father all at once
- 33:15 What drew Jim to hospitality
- 38:20 Why Jim believes he's in the 'memory-creating' business
- 39:30 Jim’s involvement in American Express’ The Centurion Lounge
- 55:30 The Free Pour Five with Hidetsugu Ueno
David Wondrich is an academic, lover of well-made cocktails and now the world's foremost drinks historian. After
starting his career by completing a PhD in Comparative Literature, Dave decided to combine his two passions - history and good drinks - and began tracing the history of cocktail culture and its different elements. He and his books, such as Imbibe! and Punch, are full of knowledge that you simply can't find anywhere else.
Afterwards, stay tuned for our Free Pour chat with Paige Aubort, who's a former winner of the Australian Liquor Industry Awards Bartender of the Year and is flying the flag for women in the industry with Coleman's Academy.
This week * Feature Interview with Gaz Regan. * Free Pour Five with Ryan Lane.
Gaz Regan - the Bartender formerly known as Gary Regan - has been around the bar industry since he began working in English pubs in the 1960s. He knows it inside out, having seen it evolve into the cocktail culture we know today and written about it extensively in countless books and magazines. Still fully immersed in the industry in New York, we had Gaz join us to discuss his past experiences, before letting us in on the inspiration behind his current projects – Mindful Bartending, the Worldwide Bartender Database, the updated ‘The Joy of Mixology’ and more.
Then, at around the 40 minute mark we're joined at Hains & Co by Ryan Lane for our Free Pour segment. Ryan manages award-winning Brisbane pub The Gresham and is sixth on the Australian Bartender Magazine's Most Influential List.
Resources, bars and products mentioned
- http://www.gazregan.com/ - where you can sign up for Gaz’ email newsletter and buy his orange bitters
- G’Vine Gin
- Gaz’s Worldwide Bartender Database
- The Joy of Mixology, Revised and Updated Edition: The Consummate Guide to the Bartender’s Craft
- The Polynesion New York
- Cocktail Kingdom, where you can buy Gaz Regan negroni finger stirrers
- The Gresham Brisbane
- Buffalo Trace – Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Key points
- 5:00 From English pubs to creating cocktails in New York – a brief look at Gaz’s journey behind the bar
- 11:20 How Gaz made the transition to writing about cocktails
- 13:15 How the finger-stirred negroni came to be
- 15:30 Gaz’s advice for young bartenders
- 21:50 What Gaz is up to these days
- 23:30 Mindful Bartending
- 28:45 How Gaz manages his drinking
- 29:45 the drink Gaz likes to finish his day with
- 35:10 The story behind Gaz’s famous eyeliner
- 41:10 The Free Pour Five with Ryan Lane of The Gresham
This Week: * Feature Interview - Sven Almenning from the Speakeasy Group. * Free Pour Five - Timo Janse from the Flying Dutchmen, Amsterdam.
Sven Almenning is a ex-Norwegian Navy officer who became a bartender when he was in Australia studying journalism. He now owns and runs the Speakeasy Group of venues and online staff training program Ananas. Prior to that, he and his wife ran Behind Bars, a bartending education consultancy that reached over 15,000 people per year. Sven is second on the Australian Bartender Magazine’s most influential list and he genuinely cares about the industry, its future and the people in it.
After our chat with Sven, we head to Amsterdam for a Free Pour chat with Timo Janse, who’s recently founded Flying Dutchmen Cocktails.
Key points:
- 4:30 An overview of all the amazing things Sven was involved with in 2018
- 10:30 What Sven looks for in a Speak Easy venue
- 14:10 What Sven’s experience in the Navy taught him
- 18:15 What Sven looks for when hiring employees
- 22:30 The philosophy behind Sven’s online training program Anana’s
- 28:20 Sven’s most memorable drinking experiences
- 33:00 Sven’s advice for young bartenders
- 36:00 The venue trends that Sven sees taking shape in 2019
- 41:45 The experience on offer at Sven’s newest venue, Nick & Nora’s
- 47:40 Sven’s favourite drink to make
- 52:15 the Free Pour Five with Timo Janse of Flying Dutchmen Cocktails
Resources, bars and products mentioned:
- Sven’s famous Instagram
- Mjolner Sydney
- Mjolner Melbourne
- Nick & Nora’s Parramatta
- Ananas – online staff training program for bars and restaurants
- Eau de Vie Melbourne
- La Esquina New York
- Nick and Nora – Alcohol moments video
- Flying Dutchmen Cocktails Amsterdam
- Door 74 Amsterdam
- Timo Janse’s new cocktail cherries – Revolution Cherry
This Week: * Feature Interview - Philip Duff on cocktail culture. * Free Pour Five - Rogerio Igarashi with Hisatsugu Saito from Bar Tram, Tokyo.
Philip Duff is a consultant, educator, producer, writer, judge and former venue owner. He's also hilarious. The Irishman has done it all since establishing Liquid Solutions 20 years ago: He's owned the Netherland's first speakeasy - door 74, mentored some of the world's best bartenders (including Marcus!) and he's now the Director of Education at Tales of the Cocktail. Oh, and he also produces Old Duff Genever Single Malt, one of only three brands permitted to carry the seal of Schiedam.
Phil's always ahead of the curve, which makes him the perfect person to kick off 2019 with. Our wide-ranging interview covers the cocktail revolution, where and what he's most excited about in 2019, what he'd tell bartenders starting out today (he's one of the most accomplished mentors going around) and what he regards as the most important of the many positions he's held to date.
Then, we bring you the Free Pour Five with two of Asia's best bartenders - Rogerio Igarashi and Hisatsugu Saito - to explore the unique world of bartending and cocktail culture in Japan.
Key points:
- 10:00 Changes Phil has seen in his time at Tales of the Cocktail.
- 17:00 Why Phil regards Australia as the best pound-for-pound cocktail nation in the world.
- 19:00 Where Phil thinks the cocktail revolution is at and where it’s headed
- 24:50 What Phil thinks people are looking to drink in 2019.
- 26:40 What Phil looks for when judging cocktail competitions.
- 33:10 The advice Phil would give to bartenders starting out today.
- 39:50 Phil’s most memorable drinking experience.
- 44:00 We bring out Phil’s soft side!
- 48:50 The Free Pour Five with Rogerio Igarashi and Hisatsugu Saito from Tokyo.
Resources, bars and products mentioned:
- Malabusca Gin
- Tales of the Cocktail
- Philip’s Old Duff Genever
- Proof & Company
- Please Don’t Tell (PDT) New York
- Phil’s old bar, door 74 – the first speakeasy style cocktail bar in the Netherlands
- Eleven Madison Park New York
- The NoMad Hotel New York
- The Baxter Inn Sydney
- Rogerio Igarashi’s Japanese bars, Bar Tram and Bar TRENCH
- Nikka Coffey Gin
Allen Katz is one of the world's leading experts on distilled spirits and cocktails. He founded the Brooklyn-based New York Distilling Company in 2011 with Tom Potter, and has been at the forefront of the resurgence of rye whiskey in the United States. He's even helped to create a new category of the stuff - 'Empire Rye' - which requires 75% of the mash bill to be rye grain grown in New York.
We were dying to ask Allen: why is he so enamoured with whiskeys? Are they increasing in popularity? Does he have any advice for the plethora of young craft distillers entering the market today? How is the Shanty Bar, which is attached to the NY Distillery, experimenting with the company's famous spirits? Allen is absolutely brimming with valuable knowledge and expertise.
Then, our Free Pour Five segment features young gun Ollie Margan, a 26-year-old multi-venue owner from Adelaide who's already making waves in the industry.
Resources mentioned
- New York Distilling Company & their entire range of spirits
- Jerry Thomas’ Bartenders Guide: How To Mix Drinks: A Bon Vivant’s Companion
- Rittenhouse Rye, now by Heaven Hill
- Overholt Rye, now by Beam Suntory
- Milk & Honey bar, now Attaboy
- New York Distillers Guild
- Gaz Regan’s The Joy of Mixology: The Consummate Guide to the Bartender’s Craft
- David Wondrich’s Imbibe
Key points
- 04:00 What is about whiskey that captures Allen so deeply?
- 06:00 Is the number of rye whiskey drinkers increasing?
- 12:00 Where did the idea behind the Empire Rye category grow from?
- 14:45 What advice would Allen give young craft distillers planning to break into the industry?
- 17:00 Why there’s a bar, the Shanty, attached to the New York Distillery.
- 19:15 Where does Allen see cocktail culture going?
- 24:20 What does Allen look for in a Manhattan, his favourite cocktail?
- 27:20 The advice that Gaz Regan gave Allen when he first started bartending.
- 29:40 Why Dave Wondrich described him as ‘The Mysterious’ Allen Katz.
- 37:15 The Free Pour Five with Ollie Margan.
Next Monday: We'll be having a short break over the Christmas/New Year period, and we'll be back on January 7 with Tales of the Cocktail's Philip Duff.
Dale DeGroff is King Cocktail. He’s a bartender, author and “one of the world’s foremost cocktail experts,” according to in the New York Times. He’s worked some of the US’ best bars, written some timeless books, helped found award-winning training platform Beverage Alcohol Resource, and even opened a Museum of the American Cocktail in New Orleans.
As one of the most qualified to opine on the current state-of-play of the cocktail world, where does he think we have got to and where does he see us going? What does he credit with driving the resurgence of classic cocktails and their twisted varietals? Which drink does he regard as the true test of a bartender? How did he wind up inventing cocktails for Rupert Murdoch on one of his first days on the job? And what would he tell a young bartender starting out today?
Stick around after Dale’s interview as we head to LA for our Free Pour Five chat with D. ‘Max’ Maxey, The Chestnut Club’s renowned bar manager. He’s a crack-up!
Resources mentioned
- Dale's books – essential reading for any bartender: The Craft of the Cocktail, The Essential Cocktail
- Beverage Alcohol Resource, Dale and his partners’ online training program, where you can learn more about classic cocktails
- De Kuyper liqueurs & spirits
- United States Bartender's Guild
- See more about Dale at http://www.kingcocktail.com/
Key points
- 05:30 How does Australia’s cocktail culture stack up to the rest of the industry internationally?
- 08:00 Have we reached the true cocktail revolution that Dale forecasted previously?
- 12:30 What is Dale currently drinking?
- 14:00 Where to next for the bartending industry?
- 16:15 The advice Dale would give to young bartenders starting out today.
- 22:20 The drink Dale believes is the true test of a bartender.
- 23:45 Dale's Rupert Murdoch story
- 31:30 The Free Pour ‘Five’ with D ‘Max’ Maxey
Next week: New York master distiller Allan Katz and the Free Pour Five with Aussie young buck Ollie Margan. Out Monday.
Introducing Living Proof, a podcast for bartenders and anyone who likes to drink well. Your hosts are award-winning broadcaster Nicole Haack and veteran bar guru ‘The Admiral’, aka Marcus Motteram, who steers the ship at boutique Adelaide venue Hains & Co.
In the Living Proof podcast, we aim to keep you at the edge of spirit, bar and cocktail trends, by keeping you connected with producers, historians and mixologists globally. Each week, we’ll have an in-depth conversation with an industry authority – think Dale DeGroff and Dave Wondrich – before heading somewhere in the world (from our studio) to chat to a lesser-known yet forward-thinking bartender about what they’re pouring.
This will be essential and entertaining listening for bartenders, or anyone who likes to drink well. So like & subscribe, and we’ll see you Monday!
Suggestions, queries or comments? Tweet us @LivingProofPod. Otherwise, you can stay up-to-date at facebook.com/livingproofpod and themessagepod.com.au/livingproof
Here’s to lifting spirits!