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 mas...
Apr 04, 2021•39 min•Ep. 84
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 de...
Mar 28, 2021•45 min•Ep. 83
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 ...
Mar 21, 2021•49 min•Ep. 82
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 know...
Mar 14, 2021•43 min•Ep. 81
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 sag...
Mar 07, 2021•36 min•Ep. 80
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 futur...
Mar 01, 2021•28 min•Ep. 79
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...
Dec 21, 2020•42 min•Ep. 78
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dec 14, 2020•36 min•Ep. 77
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 sm...
Dec 07, 2020•47 min•Ep. 76
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 lis...
Nov 30, 2020•40 min•Ep. 75
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 fru...
Nov 23, 2020•27 min•Ep. 74
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 16, 2020•38 min•Ep. 73
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 09, 2020•33 min•Ep. 72
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 reas...
Nov 02, 2020•43 min•Ep. 71
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 ba...
Oct 26, 2020•36 min•Ep. 70
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 t...
Oct 18, 2020•42 min•Ep. 69
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...
Oct 12, 2020•42 min•Ep. 68
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...
Oct 04, 2020•28 min•Ep. 67
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Sep 28, 2020•34 min•Ep. 66
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 ...
Sep 21, 2020•45 min•Ep. 65
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...
Sep 14, 2020•50 min•Ep. 64
Natasha David is the co-owner of Nitecap NYC, and Imbibe Magazine's Bartender of the Year. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Sep 07, 2020•37 min•Ep. 63
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 preparat...
Aug 31, 2020•30 min•Ep. 62
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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Aug 23, 2020•44 min•Ep. 61
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 ...
Aug 17, 2020•49 min•Ep. 60
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, a...
Aug 10, 2020•30 min•Ep. 59
Vasilis Kyritsis is co-owner of Athens bar The Clumsies - #6 on the World's 50 Best list. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Aug 03, 2020•28 min•Ep. 58
Sebastian Costello is the owner of Bad Frankie, a Fitzroy bar that stocks only Australian spirits. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jul 27, 2020•39 min•Ep. 57
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 Gov...
Jul 20, 2020•46 min•Ep. 56
Giovanni Graziadei is the Principal Bartender at Jigger & Pony, Singapore. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jul 13, 2020•35 min•Ep. 55
