On & Off

Asian flavors may be a top beverage trend for 2025, but Ashley Castillo, food and beverage director of the Westin Atlanta Gwinnett hotel, was ahead of the curve on this one. She joins us in this episode to talk about what she learned from a year spent in Asia and how she has been translating that to the hotel's beverage program, as well as the drinks her guests are enjoying now and general trends...

Nonalcoholic beer is on fire, with many consumers opting not to imbibe alcohol at all or choosing to drink less. The market has responded with a number of NA options in craft styles. Katherine Benecke, the general manager of New York beer hall and sports bar Treadwell Park, weighs in on the state of alcohol-free beer, what consumers want and her current NA favorites.

We talk top beverage alcohol hospitality trends for 2025 with the folks at af&co. and Carbonate, two San Francisco-based agencies that recently presented their 17th annual Hospitality Trends Report. Tune in to hear why pistachio is the flavor of the year, along with other top trends like Freezer Martinis, Sotol, Banana cocktails, lagers vs. IPAs, the continued growth of THC drinks, and more!

Today’s consumers are no longer choosing between comforting classic flavors and adventurous exotic tastes; they’re demanding both. To learn about some of the trends and flavors driving change in the beverage industry, and the operational challenges in delivering on them, we talk with Jason Valentine, chief strategy officer at the beverage automation platform provider Botrista.  This episode is spo...

How much alcohol does Gen Z actually drink? And what exactly are they drinking? Will these trends maintain long term, or will they shift as Gen Z consumers get older? For answers to these critical industry questions, we interviewed Nick White, the research lead for the consumer research platform Attest.

In this episode, Kyle and Melissa switch their usual roles: Kyle discusses wine while Melissa talks whiskey. Can Kyle pronounce a single French word correctly? Will Melissa stomach an Old Fashioned? Tune in as the editors take turns pretending to be the other person as they dish on recent NY tasting events they attended, Kyle reviewing the 2024 Beaujolais Nouveau while Melissa drinks whiskey cockt...

Hosts Melissa and Kyle talk about recent press trips and alcohol events, digging into major liquor store trends in the Midwest, Madeira wine, higher-proofed Irish whiskey, vintage-dated rum, cocktails made with beer AND/OR wine, and more. Then towards the end, Kyle shares work travel stories about New England sarcasm performing poorly in the Midwest, and why you shouldn't eat fettuccine alfredo on...

The world of alcohol shipping and ecommerce continues to evolve rapidly, settling into a new era in our post-Covid world. What's the current state of these two industries and their legal challenges? And what's next? For answers, we interviewed Jaci Flug, partner in the Hospitality, Alcohol, and Leisure Industry Group at Greenspoon Marder LLP, and previously general counsel and senior vice presiden...

What's the current state of the U.S. whiskey industry? For answers, we interviewed Marty Holland, store manager of The Party Source, a 65,000-square-foot independent beverage alcohol retailer in Bellevue, KY. The Party Source remains on the cutting edge of whiskey retail, including opening a new bar in the store that helps generate sales elsewhere in the business. Marty also discusses some of the...

In this episode, we talk with the founders of Fierce & Kind, a values-driven spirits company that puts supporting LGBTQ+ and other underserved communities (incarcerated individuals, female entrepreneurs) at the heart of its business model. Fierce & Kind donates 25% of all profits through its equity foundation to these important causes. Founders Cyndi Smith and Basem Harb discuss this way o...

What's up with THC beverages? What do folks like to drink the most on cruise ships? Hosts Melissa Dowling and Kyle Swartz discuss drink trends from their summer travels, including the 2024 Beverage Alcohol Retailer Conference, and Melissa's recent press trip aboard Princess Cruises in the Mediterranean.

Our guest for this episode is Master Sommelier Nick Hetzel, who is one of the founders of Wineaux, a new wine market and bar in southwest Las Vegas. Nick weighs in on popular wine styles, wine education, pairings and creating an experience for guests, as well as the challenges with operating an on- and off-premise wine business.

How much growth is left for Ready-to-Drink beverages? What does cannabis descheduling mean for the alcohol industry? Was Sazerac smart to purchase BuzzBallz? We discuss all this and more in this episode, with Bridget Albert, senior director of external communications for the distributor Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits.

Melissa and Kyle talk with Marina Velez, research director for our sister company, The Beverage Information Group. The discussion centers on the top alcohol trends among the 2024 Growth Brands Spirits and Wine winners. What helped lead these brands that sold and grew the most in the past year?

In this episode we talk about natural wines with Steve Charters, Master of Wine and professor at the School of Wine & Spirits Business in Dijon, France. Steve shares his thoughts on the lack of a uniform definition of natural wines, why the style has become more significant in recent years and how it appeals to the new generations of wine drinkers.

In this episode we talk with Maxwell Reis, beverage director of Mirate restaurant and bar in Los Feliz, CA. Mirate boasts an agave spirits-led program that shines a spotlight on Mexican producers. Max shares insight from travels to Mexico, his commitment to showcasing authentic, sustainably sourced spirits, how he makes exotic spirits approachable and “edu-tains” guests, and his predictions for th...

In our first podcast devoted to gin, we talk with Brendan Bartley, the head bartender and beverage director at the renowned speakeasy Bathtub Gin and the creator of Botanery Barn Distilling’s new Revivalist Garden Gin. We discuss the challenges in getting people to overcome their apprehension about gin, the new and different gin styles, brands and botanicals and why this year could finally be the...

Have you noticed that the prices on the bottles of American whiskey that you love continue to tick up, up, up? It's hard to miss it. How much longer can that go on? For answers, in this episode, we speak with Maggie Kimberl, Content Editor, American Whiskey Magazine. Maggie also discusses several other top whiskey trends in 2024.

In this episode, we chat with Brian Warrener, associate professor at The College of Hospitality Management at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI, about the new generation of beverage professionals and their opportunities and challenges. Warrener, also director of the university’s new Center for Beverage Education & Innovation, discusses the areas that students today are most exci...

We're talking the top drinks trends of 2024, with Andrew Freedman, founder of the San Francisco-based agencies af&co. and Carbonate, and Leith Steele, senior strategist & head of insights at Carbonate. The two collaborate on an annual hospitality trends report that the industry eagerly anticipates. What will trend in 2024? Tune in to find out.

In this episode, we speak with Hillary Wirtz, Breakthru Beverage’s Director of D&I, as well as the Chair of WSWA's Women’s Leadership Council (WLC). Wirtz talks about the importance of improving diversity in the workforce, female mentorship, executive training programs, and meeting people where they are in terms of D&I education. She also relates how her past as a first grade teacher prepa...

In this episode, we begin with Cheers Editor Melissa Dowling discussing her time at Tales of the Cocktail 2023, the enormous and long-running bartender conference in New Orleans, as well as several notable alcohol events she recently attended in Manhattan. Afterwards, Beverage Dynamics Editor Kyle Swartz talks with veteran whiskey writer Steve Coomes about what MGP's recent changes to their sourci...

Why can't rum grow like whiskey or tequila? What's holding this category back? And what signs are there that rum might be about to break out? For answers to these questions, we chatted with our colleague Marina Velez, research director, data & insights, at The Beverage Information & Insights Group. Velez is an all-around rum and rum cocktail enthusiast.   The handbooks she references are a...

In this episode, we're joined by tequila connoisseur David Suro. He is the founder of the Tequila Interchange Project, owner of the tequila brand Siembra Azul and the owner of Tequilas, an upscale Mexican restaurant in Philadelphia. Suro discusses opening a Mexican restaurant in 1986 during a "catastrophic" time for tequila, why he vehemently dislikes cristalino, and his concerns for the sustainab...

In this episode about alcohol sales data and statistics, we sit down with NABCA President and CEO Neal Insley, NABCA Sr. VP Trade Relations and COO David Jackson and Campari America General Sales Manager Control Region Sean Noble, to talk about the importance of NABCA-collected data and what it tells us about the current state of the industry. Also, we see which man is willing to admit that they w...