Show de Vie Podcast

Don't go into the business he said, I want different things for you he said. But yet St Louis' Justin Cardwell found himself being pulled back into the industry despite his father's advice. Stints in computer science, film, and hockey were just temporary as the hospitality gene's dominance took effect. Justin is dedicated to improving his skills while also making simple flavors even more accessibl...

The road to hospitality is often paved with drumming, touring, and recording. Chris McClish grew up in the golden era of punk and post-punk music. The Richmond, VA and surrounding music scenes crept into a burgeoning pianist and influenced him to be a drummer. The thankless life of being a drummer led him to great opportunities at Sound City, The Troubadour, and more. But as many personalities col...

From the school of hard knox, to Austin, TX. Jeremy has started from humble beginnings and turned these experiences into successful bar ownership with 3 concepts now under his belt. Tennessee and Longview, TX don't begin to describe Jeremy's backstory but working as a door man at Beauty Bar just might. An often private persona with a penchant for delicious whiskey, Jeremy has just opened his third...

The balance between romance and the hospitality industry is a complicated one. Madelyn Kay is a rising start in the cocktail scene and represents a lot of the complications brought on by technology. As a Speed Rack competitor, shaker and stirred at Vox Table, her career is building but at what social cost? This chat is broken into two parts, the latter being more up close and personal with Madelyn...

Salud Bon Vivants! Today's guest Whitney Hobbs cut her teeth with sandwiches and brunches before joining the Ancho Reyes/Tequila Ocho team. What started as a path paved in volleyball veered sharply into hospitality since mean coaches can really change the trajectory of one's life. A few stabs at academia and living the Rocky Mountain high later, Whitney stepped into yet another chapter of her stor...

Magic number 80, Trevor Schneider is another great mind and personality on the William Grant and Son's roster. He has seen a life of popularity, tragedy, and male persuasion. Talking to him you think Tom Cruise, but he has the mind of an insightful Tom Waits. An unexpected baseball injury propelled Trevor into a different stratosphere of sensory perception and future. He landed somewhere in the mi...

Music often spawns other creative endeavors and WG&S's Fred Parent is a true master of the arts. Aspiring screenwriter, musician, and gin peddler, Fred has an academia focused lens on the world around him. As the new Hendrick's Gin ambassador, Fred integrates his love of aesthetic, history, and the arts into a Gin-fueled roadshow. Often brandishing his massive cucumber, an eccentric blimp, Fred sh...

This world traveler was literally born into this industry. Michelle Fedor is the lovely brand ambassador behind Bruichladdich and The Botanist Gin. Her varied interests have led her in many directions professionally but ultimately were never quite the perfect match that she now feels with Whiskey. But what about that moment when it's ready to give it all up and just hit the road? We talk materiali...

The history of Ireland and Irish Whiskey is an eye opening one. Once the largest segment of whiskey in the world, now has had to reinvent itself and bring people back to Irish Whiskey. With great options and conversations, Irish whiskey sees a bright future; especially now that Jennifer Farrell has moved from Ireland to Texas specifically representing the wonderful Tullamore Dew. Jen is an ambitio...

Hungarian immigrant turned animator turned hospitality extraordinaire: Mate Hartai is a pensive and compassionate man. He has taken to the English language with eloquence and charisma. As beverage director at HG Sply Co, he is concerned about the well being of his employees and how they can sustain a safe/injury free career in this industry. He can design a better bar, and strives to enrich the li...

Julian Pagan was infused with the spirit of music and invention from an early age. He traveled the states for love and ended up making a massive creative splash in the Dallas cocktail scene. With a constant quest for learning and approaching new ingredients, Julian has read his way to being one of the finest minds in the game. His recent chapter with St. Germain exhibits his dedication to great wo...

The godfather of the Austin cocktail scene, Bill Norris. He's a published author, noted speaker, and modern mentor. His east coast personality brings about a clever terseness that has shaped his experiences in this intriguing journey. From teaching to politics, Bill has endured many sides of the human experience and ultimately found the perfect match in hospitality. Bill influenced the early days...

With a Steve McQueen rebelliousness and a Jack Kerouac sense of wanderlust, Adam Bryan has faced a lot of tumultuous roads and escaped them all. With the fundamentals in mop work, and hospitality checked off early on in his life in the Pacific Northwest, he headed to San Francisco, and ultimately Austin. As love has punctuated his life and created the new chapters, Adam's influence on the Austin c...

Pardon the enunciation, JP De Loera deserves an introduction worthy of a fine emperor. Another brilliant compatriot of the William Grant and Sons roster, he travels the world speaking the praises of Milagro Tequila and manages to eat some chocolate along the way. From Mexico to San Antonio, JP has been focused on business, cocktails, and making the most important impact to the world of agave that...

Stefano Francavilla is the perfect blend of a rough and sarcastic exterior covering a truly compassionate core. A Milanese world traveler, Stefano has expertly adapted to his amazing global journeys and emerged as one of the most memorable personalities in agave. He's multi-lingual, a self proclaimed punk, and an absolutely lovely person. The exciting travels ultimately brought his story to a new...

A modern John Wayne, Jeramy Campbell resides as beverage director at Juliet in Austin, TX. He's the all-American hard working athlete, turned soldier, turned hospitality guru (in no particular order). Jeramy learned the manual labor trade at the early age of 8 and has used this time in the fields to craft an amazing sense of devotion and unwavering work ethic. He leads a great staff at Juliet and...

As we soon bid farewell to the studious Phillip Smith to the fine city of Chicago, it's great to recant the tale of how this Austinite became entrenched in the Dallas cocktail scene. The athletic and ambitious Phillip Smith was drawn to hospitality at a younger age and even became a cabana boy at the Four Seasons to work his way through the ranks. Bar Smarts, USBG meetings, and a Camp Runamok late...

An academic path soon turned into one of creativity and hospitality as Elisabeth Forsythe found her true calling. Elisabeth has helped shape the cocktail scene in San Antonio and is one of the most tenured bartenders in the city. Her perfect blend of book smarts and cocktail knowledge come together in some of the best drinks committed to glass. From Speed Rack to Barbaro, Elisabeth keeps challengi...

It's a great thing that a San Antonio native helped found and continues to promulgate the San Antonio cocktail scene. Jeret Pena has seen the sweeping growth and transformation of San Antonio, and this Catholic school boy has affirmed his position as one of the founding fathers of its cocktail renaissance. Jeret has transmutated his love of music and singing into a great appreciation of flavor and...

Shrewd pragmatism drove the uber-intellectual Jake Lustig into the world of agave. A native of California and frequent traveler to Oaxaca, Jake Lustig has been at the forefront of agave sustainability and spirits education. Raised in an impressively academic household, Jake learned how to make a living at a young age and always paired passion with a sense of cost effectiveness. This adaptability a...

As a celebration of his 40th birthday, today is Chris Bostick day on SDV. A true all-star and mentor to the industry, Chris has many unexpected turns in this cinematic tale. From music to drama to hospitality, the spark of creativity and inspiration remained a constant thread. His Tex-Mex subplot drove him to connect with one of his true loves, agave and unexpectedly shaped many aspects of his car...

Hockey, basketball, acid burns, and mezcal are only the beginning to this fruitful chat with Vancouver native Jonathan Smolensky. A serpentine road of broadcast journalism, hockey curriculum, and a genetic prosperity to understanding economic theory led Jon into the wonderful cocktail culture of Vancouver. Although he wouldn't admit it, Jon helped shaped the narrative of hospitality and craft cock...

The world is a crazy place and sometimes you can't shake the path on which you were raised. Ashley Haussermann started as a Hotel owner's daughter in Canada and touched with various types of performance arts in the process. Understanding the turmoil that surrounds divorce and substance abuse, Ashley has finely crafted her ambition to ensure success in any road she takes. As she just now leaves Aus...

This is the latest from Show de Vie, Jonathan Wingo is the brilliant Balvenie brand ambassador for William Grant and Sons. His passion for music and ruckus steered his life in very exciting directions. A conservative Christian upbringing became the impetus for a deep interest in something else, something wilder: punk rock. This musical foundation inspired creativity and ultimately coincided with t...

It takes a lot to start a distillery. It takes even more to put your life into mastering the flavor of Whiskey. The passion, education, and sheer sweat equity you put into your business cannot be described. So imagine that someone wants to take this all away from you? This chat with Chip Tate is a frustrating and an optimistic one. The media has portrayed his departure from Balcones in a such misa...