It’s so easy to be seduced by the Italian way of life. Long lunches, great food, weather, wine, and all of August off on holiday. Rob Patchett fell for it in a big way and a gap year turned into nine years that would change his life. What Rob learned in Italy would stay with him for the rest of his career. Even when he returned to his hometown, he had acquired a touch of host-Italia: that perfect combination of hospitality and bella figura that usually only Italians are born with. Now he’s with ...
Apr 16, 2019•41 min•Season 3Ep. 112
Can you ever have enough bourbon? Not as far as I am concerned. Therefore after a trip to Glendalough, we are heading straight back to Kentucky. This time to take a tour of Maker’s Mark Distillery - virtually. When I say a tour, I mean a tour. Today the lovely Matty will guide us through the ins and outs of the Maker’s Mark Distillery in Loretto Kentucky. Discover why Maker’s Mark is called so, what’s in its mash bill, why the bottles have their distinctive look and more... Then we’ll head over ...
Apr 09, 2019•31 min•Season 3Ep. 111
Poitin isn’t something to hide behind all the other bottles anymore. Gary Mcloughlin and his fellow co-founders of Glendalough Distillery in Wicklow, Ireland knew it was to be the first spirit that they had to make when establishing Ireland’s first craft distillery. If you don’t know what it is, then now is your chance to find out. Poitin is the traditional spirit of Ireland and after years if it being illegal, it’s finally out in the open being enjoyed along with all the other award-winning gin...
Apr 02, 2019•54 min•Season 3Ep. 110
The Old-Fashioned is one of the most iconic cocktails on the planet. Adored by Bourbon-lovers world-wide. Three simple ingredients - bourbon, sugar, and bitters, and a bit of fruit have wowed them since the 19th century. A billion variations have popped up especially in these cocktail-crazed times, but the true recipe is just perfection and hard to top. Today’s episode we see how the Old-Fashioned came to be, and that could only begin in one town - Louisville, Kentucky. I’m Susan Schwartz, your ...
Mar 26, 2019•25 min•Season 3Ep. 109
Sometimes the worlds collide and two people not only find each other but also speak the same language. The language that Charles Roche and Eleanor Holcroft speak is cocktail creation. Charles and Eleanor who, from the depths of their underground kitchen, have concocted Jam Doughnut Negronis, Chicken Dumpling Martinis, and Cookie Dough Old Fashioneds and that’s just the beginning. Their bar consultancy company, Liquid Intellect , has created cocktails and menus for brands and bars all over the wo...
Mar 19, 2019•53 min•Season 3Ep. 108
It really was just a coincidence that an Irishman is on our show the week of St. Patrick’s Day. I promise it wasn’t planned! And what a pleasant coincidence it is to have James Goggin of Maverick Drinks on the show today. Slainte, I’m Susan Schwartz, your drinking companion, and this is Lush Life Podcast, every week we are inspired to live life one cocktail at a time by the best in the industry. I actually met James at the Embassy of Ireland almost one year ago and I knew he would make a great g...
Mar 12, 2019•1 hr 18 min•Season 3Ep. 107
It takes a lot of guts to enter a cocktail competition when you are new to the business. But thanks to a gently prodding and supportive mentor, our guest today Ninon Fauvarque from Annecy France entered the Havana Club Grand Prix. What’s the worst that could happen? Bonjour, I’m Susan Schwartz, your drinking companion, and this is Lush Life Podcast, every week we are inspired to live life one cocktail at a time by the best in the industry. Ninon never found out the worst because she ended up swe...
Mar 05, 2019•34 min•Season 3Ep. 106
It sounds so easy. Master vacuum distillation and then create the gin that Alessandro Palazzi has selected for the most famous martinis in the world at Dukes Bar in London. But as our guests today, Ian Hart and Hilary Whitney of Sacred Spirits know, it’s not as easy as as all that. What is easy is checking out our Lush Life Merchandise at www.alushlifemanual.com/merch I’m trying to convince Alessandro to serve his martinis in the lush life mug. We can always hope and dream. You can serve yours i...
Feb 26, 2019•43 min•Season 3Ep. 105
As a child, I couldn't stand asparagus, spinach, peas in fact most green vegetables. Also wine, beer and spirits and, now I love them. How is that even possible? My nephew says it’s because our taste buds are getting old - which in turn means we are getting old. Well I’d rather have it that way if it means I can enjoy sipping a dram of whisky. Our guest Jason Clark never wanted to be in the drinks industry. His parents owned a bar and when he was up and ready to play they were still in bed. He e...
Feb 19, 2019•50 min•Season 3Ep. 104
I am so excited Lush Life is getting out of the studio and onto the slopes with our first Lush Guide. I‘m Susan Schwartz, your drinking companion and this is Lush Life Podcast - every week I’m inspired to live life one cocktail at a time by the best in the industry. Maybe it was speaking to Mia Johansson from Sweden for the past two weeks, but I couldn't help wanting to jump into the snow. So I headed to Morzine France - a skiers paradise - quaint, pretty, with great slopes. Honestly, I prefer A...
Feb 12, 2019•24 min•Season 3Ep. 103
You know sometimes there is just too much pressure, not that starting a third season of Lush Life is so difficult but i had decided to start the season with a spoken intro, like I’m doing now and then it all changed and I went back to the way I was doing it before with the little canned intro I had slightly updated. why didn’t I do it the new way? This week the subject of our episode is how to start all over again with a vengeance. I‘m Susan Schwartz, your drinking companion and this is Lush Lif...
Feb 05, 2019•41 min•Season 3Ep. 102
We are beginning Lush Life Season 3 with a guest who somehow manages to be a surgeon and a nurse all at the same time. To be a great surgeon you need absolute precision and knowledge of your craft and to be a great nurse you need compassion, warmth and patience. Mia Johansson combined these attributes in a mixing glass and out came Bar Swift. Determining who wants or needs to be hugged and/or a martini is an art and Mia has mastered it. She has been Imbibe’s Personality of the Year Award, traine...
Jan 29, 2019•45 min•Season 3Ep. 101
Welcome to Season 3 of Lush Life Podcast. If you’ve listened to the first two seasons of Lush Life, you know this is the place to meet the movers and shakers, I couldn’t help myself, in the drinks industry. I keep reminding you that Lush Life is the how-to guide for living life one cocktail at a time. I think it’s time I explain what I mean by that. A few years ago I went through a pretty traumatic medical experience. The medicine I was taking affected my esophagus and I was unable to eat and dr...
Jan 22, 2019•3 min•Season 3Ep. 101
99 episodes ago I had a mic and “bottom’s up” to end the show. Now we have reached the 100th episode - I have a mic, bottoms up and 99 episodes of Lush Life Podcast! This is due to the hard work and dedication of everyone involved with a Lush Life Manual and Lush Life podcast, especially my producer Evo Terra who was with me when Lush Life was in the idea stage and who has remained my work partner throughout my Lush Life Journey and of course, my boyfriend and life partner Akis Stephanides, arch...
Dec 11, 2018•56 min•Season 2Ep. 100
Our guest today always loved the stories, that’s why he went in for a degree in history. Now Pete Garraway, Brand Ambassador of STARWARD whisky, spends his days telling one particular story - of why one should be drinking Australian whisky. It’s not hard to convince them once they have had a sip of STARWARD, the award winning whisky born and bred in Australia. He joins us today to tell us his story, having just returned from Singapore a place that brought back all sorts of memories for him. Our ...
Dec 04, 2018•35 min•Season 2Ep. 99
My first stop on my first trip to Louisville or so I thought, but I was to be corrected by our guest today. Technically we were in Shively not Louisville even though it’s minutes away from the centre of town. Sylvia Holden, Team Leader for the Bulleit Frontier Whiskey Experience at Stitzel-Weller Distillery, explained why being in Shively was so important for bourbon history. As a native Kentuckian, even she had to leave Louisville to return to Bourbon. Our Cocktail of the Week is the Kentucky M...
Nov 20, 2018•21 min•Season 2Ep. 98
Our guest today made his way from Georgetown Kentucky to Tahara Japan and came back with Ganbaru - the Japanese word for never stopping until a goal is achieved. This became crystal clear when I met Daniel Harrison, co-founder of Country Boy Brewery . DH, as he is known, was always a beer lover, but during his stint teaching english in japan it became a passion. Arriving home in Kentucky he and his partners were inspired not only to make beer, but the very best, and won’t stop until this goal is...
Nov 13, 2018•29 min•Season 2Ep. 97
Our guest didn’t realise he was a lover of rum until he sipping it at his first RumFest. His wife’s comment “wouldn’t it be fun to go to the Rum Fest in London for the weekend” changed everything for him. Now Pete Holland has given his life over to this molasses based spirit and has never regretted it. He is the man behind TheFloatingRumShack.com and one of the UK’s Authorities on Rum. Now he is also the Brand Ambassador for Old Fashioned Week here in London. Our cocktail of the week is Agri’Old...
Nov 06, 2018•51 min•Season 2Ep. 96
The region of Savoie Mont Blanc in France is known for a lot of things - mountains, skiing, hiking, Michelin starred restaurants, but not usually its wines. That’s all changing as more and more of them are winning awards. I was invited by Savoie Mont Blanc Tourism to meet the folks who are spreading the word about the wines I’ve been sipping with my tartiflette when shushing the slopes of Chamonix. First I met Bernard Vissoud the Savoie wine specialist, who took me on a tour of the vineyards tea...
Oct 30, 2018•28 min•Season 2Ep. 95
Most of the people I interview have been doing their jobs as brand ambassadors for a long, long time - having begun their career as bartenders or in house at a drinks brand. Few have come to it through a special program designed to appeal to graduates from all backgrounds. I thought that hearing that journey would make a change. Our guest today, Scott Lever was one of those lucky grads. Only a year ago, he embarked on the Chivas International Graduate Programme and is here to tell us all about i...
Oct 16, 2018•24 min•Season 2Ep. 94
It might seem like a long stretch to go from lawyer to Co-lead Brewer at Truman’s Brewery, one of the most iconic of British brands. but not if you listen to the advice of our guest’s mother. Charlotte Cook wasn’t shy and she grabbed what she could. It literally took one sip of IPA to get her to change her career from would be lawyer to would be brewer, but let her tell you how. I am forgoing our usual cocktail of the week to give you a guided tour through a few of Truman’s special beers. Truman...
Oct 09, 2018•28 min•Season 2Ep. 93
Thanks to the hard work of our guest today, Pisco Waqar is a whole lot easier to find on the shelves in London than it was even three years ago. Javiera Lorenzini Raty, Brand Ambassador for Pisco Waqar, fell in love with Pisco and John Donne at about the same time. I don’t usually say that in a sentence that’s for sure. Her passion for English poets may have led her to London, but her studies as a sommelier led her to Waqar and she couldn’t pass up the chance to work with her favorite Pisco here...
Oct 02, 2018•35 min•Season 2Ep. 92
I truly believe that today's guests were on a mission to take on the business world as soon as they were born and in this case that would be the same day. Joyce and Raissa de Haas are the twin sisters behind Double Dutch Drinks , the extremely successful mixers that in less than a year were the most sought after in London. These two took the time to sit down with me to tell me their tale of where they began and how they went on to win the prestigious Foodpreneur Award by Sir Richard Branson. Our...
Sep 25, 2018•23 min•Season 2Ep. 91
Who applies to Harvard when they know they have no chance of getting in? Today’s guest, that’s who, and, of course, Tom Tuke-Hastings, founder of the non-alcoholic spirit Borrago , wowed them in every way and succeeded in winning a place to one of the most exclusive programs in the world. It’s not a surprise - Tom has succeeded in almost everything from winning the design prize at school to cooking for sheiks to writing books on vodka jelly. Now that his sights are set on conquering the drinks w...
Sep 18, 2018•50 min•Season 2Ep. 90
La Hechicera Rum is one of those brands I have fallen head over heels in love with. Maybe it was its history recounted so beautifully by owner Miguel Riascos right here on Lush Life in April of this year. Maybe it was my own wonderful adventure to Colombia and tasting La Hechicera in situ or maybe it was because of today’s guest, Stephanie Jordan . I met her when she was Brand Ambassador of La Hechicera Rum earlier this year. Even then, I could tell hers was a story that needed to be told. Our c...
Sep 11, 2018•41 min•Season 2Ep. 89
This episode is a cocktail whose ingredients include hard work, determination, and a natural ease with guests all mixed with a centuries old Italian spirit reborn. This creation is served up by today’s guest, Luca Missaglia, the Brand Ambassador for probably the chicest spirit to come out of Italy today, Italicus - Rosolio di Beragmotto . I almost said it was a new spirit which has taken the world by storm, but Italian grandmothers have been brewing a version of it in their homes for centuries. ...
Sep 04, 2018•59 min•Season 2Ep. 88
Sometimes I sip something at a drinks do and immediately need to meet the people behind it. This time, that cocktail was Silver Swift’s Ready to Drink Wild Rose Gin at the Spirit Show in London. It as fortuitous that Rose Unwin, the founder of Silver Swift , was the one holding the bottle. A few months later, when I could lure her into London from the wilds of the Southwest, she sat down with me to reveal her secrets. Of course Silver Swift is already a perfect Ready to Drink cocktail, but Rose ...
Jul 31, 2018•32 min•Season 2Ep. 87
This week I was invited to the inaugural Peter Spanton Cocktail Competition, being held at the Jin Bo Law cocktail bar in Aldgate, London. Before anyone picked up a shaker, William Stern, the Commercial Director of Peter Spanton, sat down with me to explain why and how they conceived the competition in the first place. Four groups of two bartenders prepared and presented one cocktail to the three judges: Veronika Karola, Jarek Zawadzki and William. And they were off. I snagged them for a chat af...
Jul 24, 2018•32 min•Season 2Ep. 86
How is it possible for our next guest to do so many things at once and all well? Reinhard Engel, the owner of Nuremberg’s Altstadthof makes Beer, Whiskey, and gin from his distillery in the historic centre of this ancient city - a city that has over 26,000 kilometers of beer cellars below the street. He’s with us today to describe how he managed to revive A nuremberg beer that was almost lost forever. For this week’s Cocktail of the Week, we give you a few special beer cocktails, but you have to...
Jul 17, 2018•16 min•Season 2Ep. 85
If you’ve just joined us then you need to go back to the previous episode and start from the very beginning of Tim Etherington-Judge’s journey. Before he established Healthy Hospo - the foundation that provides information, advice, and support on mental & physical health for all hospitality professionals, he’d been all over the world as a bartender and brand ambassador. Now, in this episode, we find him on his way to Africa via London... Our Cocktail of the Week is the Pea & Pine nut ver...
Jul 10, 2018•51 min•Season 2Ep. 84
