Damon and Sother are joined by Julie Reiner and Susan Fedroff of Clover Club, Leyanda, Flatiron Lounge, Pegu Club...basically some of the most iconic bars in Brooklyn and Manhattan. The Speakeasy is powered by Simplecast
This week, Damon and Sother are joined in studio by Lauren Myerscough, co-founder of Cocktail & Sons. The company has a line of all-natural hand-crafted syrups, cordials, and tea concentrates for a variety of bars and restaurants in New York, New Orleans, Las Vegas, and more! Also joining them is Valerie Franco, satellite regular at Amor y Amargo and drummer extraordinaire, who appeared on Late Night with Seth Meyers last night (and will be again in the near future)! The Speakeasy is powered...
This week, Damon and Sother are joined in the studio by Kat Hamidi of Capitoline Vermouth, Washington DC's first commercially available vermouth. After Negroni Week and Bar Convent Brooklyn, what better way to come down than with Americanos?? The Speakeasy is powered by Simplecast
Thomas Spaeth is a bartender at Dear Irving in the Gramercy Park neighborhood of Manhattan. In the summer, you can also find him serving drinks at Grand Banks, a seasonal oyster bar on the deck of a historic fishing boat docked at Pier 25 on the Hudson River. He's always on the go. When he's not bartending, Thomas can be found salvaging bicycles by night and rebuilding them into urban speed machines. The Speakeasy is powered by Simplecast...
Damon and Sother are joined in the studio by Angus Winchester, the Global Director of Education for the Bar Convent Berlin and Bar Convent Brooklyn and is curating over 100 training slots at these two significant trade events helping to educate and inspire Hospitality staff from around the world. Winchester’s contacts and knowledge have been built up over nearly 30 years of engagement with the best bars and bartenders in the world. As founder member of one of the first global bar consultancies, ...
From a young age, William Elliott had a fascination with taste and memory, and sharing the experience. Though he grew up in a “dry” household, his obsession with liquor and food sprang from elicit sips of pastis from his parent’s cupboard and busted attempts at bouillabaisse. During a stint playing music around California and the desert Southwest, Elliott realized a new obsession, and transitioned full-time into the realm of beer, wine, and spirits. He has been an integral part of the critically...
This week, Damon and Sother are joined by Jeffrey Morgenthaler, the bar manager at Clyde Common in Portland, Oregon. His newest book is Drinking Distilled: A User's Manual , an opinionated, illustrated guide for cocktail beginners, covering the basics of spirits plus making and drinking cocktails. The Speakeasy is powered by Simplecast
This week, Damon and Sother are joined by the husband and wife team of Jackson Stamper and Tonia Guffey-Stamper, of Employees Only and Highland Park Distillery, respectively. Tune in for hiccup cures, beef tartare, and some pretty outstanding Scotch.
Eric Medsker is a New York City based photographer and content creator working on a variety of commercial, publishing, and personal projects centered around food and beverage. Some notable projects include Wylie Dufresne's WD~50 cookbook, Brian Bartel’s The Bloody Mary Cocktail Book for Ten Speed Press, and the social media for Death & Co. The Speakeasy is powered by Simplecast
In her own words, Melissa “Mellie” Wiersma is just a girl who giggles a lot, makes lots of drinks, has a lot of love for Boston, and has started falling in love with New York. She's worked in every type of joint, from buttoned-up cocktail bars to roofs and dives, and has enjoyed every moment of it! She is also a contributor to the forthcoming book Drinking Like Ladies , which is dedicated to the proposition that a woman’s place is behind the bar. . . or in front of it. . . or really any place sh...
Originally from the Finger Lakes, NY, Lauren Corriveau moved to NYC at the age of 17. After graduating college with a degree in Merchandising and Business Management, Lauren went on to work in the fashion industry for almost 10 years. Although she worked in bars and restaurants while in college, hospitality didn't factor into her career path until 2013, when she was hired as a member of the opening team for Battery Harris in Brooklyn. The process of opening a new space resonated with her experie...
Giancarlo Mancino is a gifted bartender and entrepreneur hailing from Pignola, Italy. Famous for his amazing hospitality, he has literally traveled the globe progressing the world of cocktails with his own Giancarlo BAR Ltd., a Hong Kong based bar and beverage consultancy firm. Giancarlo is also the creator of the Mancino line of artisanal Vermouths and the Aperitvo Rinomato. He recently launched his own glassware "the Wormwood Collection" in collaboration with Italesse. The Speakeasy is powered...
This week, Damon is joined in the studio by Nate Dumas, a Prime Meats alum, premium account specialist for the Campari portfolio of brands, and Wild Turkey connoisseur. The Speakeasy is powered by Simplecast
Steva Casey is a bartender at The Atomic Lounge in Birmingham, AL. She also works on numerous projects including International Cocktail Karaoke and Tiki By The Sea. Her cocktail recipes and ideas about building drinks have been published in Cosmopolitan , Men’s Journal , and on CNN . When asked to explain her job, she quickly responds that it's mainly about being a good host. She owns more bottles of Scotch than dresses. Also sitting in this week is Greg Benson, co-host of the podcast Bar None, ...
This week, we're joined in studio by Eryn Reece, who has tended bar all over New York City, and is now heading up a new bar program at Banzarbar, a new concept above Freemans Restaurant in the Lower East Side. The Speakeasy is powered by Simplecast
Kate Perry grew up in Maine, and earned degrees in Anthropology/Archaeology & Geography/Geology from the University of Denver. She moved to Seattle after college, drank a lot of sherry, opened a rum bar, and drank a lot of rum. She was invited to Haiti with the Velier spirits company, where she fell in love with Haiti and fell in love with Velier. After returning to the states, she moved to NYC to work for Velier, the Indiana Jones of rum -- so she's using her degrees and still drinking a lo...
This week, Damon is without Sother...which is fine. He's joined in the studio by Rob Dietrich, Head Distiller of Stranahan's Whiskey, which, at tender age of fourteen, was the first company to be granted a distilling permit in Colorado. The Speakeasy is powered by Simplecast
This week, Sother is joined by Charlie Marshall, the Design Director and a principal of Parc Office. With a background in industrial design, retail and hospitality design, and interactive experiences, Marshall works to find innovative ways of integrating digital interactivity in physical spaces. Prior to Parc Office, Marshall ran the Lab at Rockwell Group, designing experiences and innovation labs for Coca Cola and Google, and designing bars and restaurants for Le Meridian, W Hotels, Darden Grou...
This week, Damon and Sother are joined by Maggie Hoffman, author of the new book The One-Bottle Cocktail: More than 80 Recipes with Fresh Ingredients and a Single Spirit , which will be published by Ten Speed Press in March 2018. Hoffman writes about cocktails, spirits, food, beer, and wine. She founded the drinks section of Serious Eats in 2011, and served as the managing editor for the James Beard award-winning site. The Speakeasy is powered by Simplecast...
On this Valentine's Day edition of The Speakeasy , Damon and Sother are joined by Dani DeLuna, Shannon Mustipher, and Austin Hartman of the Cane Club Collective, a group that organizes experiences around cane spirits that foster community and appreciation for rum and the people working in the industry. The Speakeasy is powered by Simplecast
This week, Damon and Sother sit down with Alfred Cointreau, the sixth generation scion of – you guessed it – the Cointreau family, which has been making the French orange-flavored liqueur brand of the same name for over 150 years. Also joining them are Kayla Mata and Emily Arseneau of Collectif 1806. The Speakeasy is powered by Simplecast
Sother is back from Miami, where he was named Mixologist of the Year by Wine Enthusiast . He and Damon are joined today by Mike Milyavsky and Anna Gorovoy, founders of Shaker & Spoon, which is sort of like the Blue Apron of cocktail ingredients. The Speakeasy is powered by Simplecast
Willy Shine is a proud and dedicated Spirits & Hospitality Professional. Willy has an affinity towards building spirits brands using unconventional marketing, relationships, networking and immersing himself into its history & culture while paying forward the education bestowed upon him. Willy is the Brand Meister for Mast-Jägermeister U.S. – National Brand Ambassador, Head of Brand Education, Trade Advocacy and Mixology. The Speakeasy is powered by Simplecast...
On the first episode of 2018, Damon is joined in studio by John Tebeau, a Brooklyn writer, artist, and bartender. He began a series of bar illustrations in 2013 out of an appreciation of architecture and community gathering places, later reporting on and writing about what made those bars special. Tebeau also works as a bartender at one of New York’s great neighborhood bars, Fort Defiance in Red Hook, Brooklyn. His new book, Bars, Taverns and Dives New Yorkers Love , is due out in March. The Spe...
For the season finale, Damon and Sother welcome back Allen Katz from the New York Distilling Company, who last appeared on The Speakeasy six years ago. Allen is one of the nation’s leading experts on distilled spirits and cocktails. He is the Director of the Spirits Education & Mixology for Southern Wine & Spirits of New York and is at the forefront of industry training in New York and around the country. And today, he brought some rye with him. The Speakeasy is powered by Simplecast...
Damon and Sother welcome Italian spirits expert Giuseppe Gallo, creator of Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto. Made at a family-owned distillery in Moncalieri, Torino, Italicus is a blend of bergamot peel, Cedro lemons, chamomile, lavender, gentian, yellow roses, and Melissa balm. Tune in as they sample this expression of the "original aperitivo." The Speakeasy is powered by Simplecast
On today's show, Damon and Sother are joined by Bianca Miraglia of Uncouth Vermouth, who may or may not be wearing a shirt – the magic of radio! Tune in to hear them talk about how vermouth is in fact wine, why you shouldn't fear blue (or pink) drinks, and more! The Speakeasy is powered by Simplecast
Micah Melton was born and raised in Davenport, Iowa and began his studies in computer science before finding his calling in the culinary arts. While attending Culinary Arts school he began working in bars to pay the bills and fell in love with the beverage side of the industry. Micah was part of the opening team that envisioned and created the opening menu at the Aviary. He studied and trained in the kitchen at Alinea restaurant for the opening of the new bar concept. His role at the time of ope...
Author, musician, world-traveller, and professor of whiskey—Bernie Lubbers travelled the road for 20 years performing comedy before getting into the bourbon business. Originally hired by Jim Beam to promote their Knob Creek brand, Bernie took it upon himself to delve into the rich history and heritage of American Whiskey and the whiskey men and women who forged that legacy, and along that way earned the title of The Whiskey Professor and was awarded Whiskey Ambassador of the Year by Whiskey Maga...
Reunited and it feels so good! Damon and Sother are back together again, and this week on The Speakeasy they're joined by Shanna Farrell, an interviewer at UC Berkeley's Oral History Center, where she does many things but specializes in contemporary cocktail culture. She is the author of the new book is Bay Area Cocktails , and the co-host of The Prix Fixe , a new podcast about the intersection of food and drink. The Speakeasy is powered by Simplecast...
