Shift Drink

In an era of mergers and acquisitions by multinational alcohol conglomerates, it is rare to find a family-owned distillery with a 150-year history of making world-renowned products. Hayman’s Gin is one of those rare companies. Today we’re talking with Lee Fisher , Head of International for Hayman’s. Since 1863, when a charismatic pharmacist decided to switch from toothpaste to gi...

It’s been almost nine months since we’ve heard from Arthur Black . Last Fall, he left his well-paying position with a national distributor, cashed in his 401K, and set out to explore the world. Since then, he’s lived on the porch of a Rastafarian, climbed the Himaylayas with Sherpas, made the four pilgrimages of Buddhism, was nearly attacked by a tiger, and now he’s back to...

Joshua Gonzales was one of the first guests on the show, has talked about mental health and sobriety in the service business , and even guest-hosted our interview with Don Lee of Existing Conditions . This week, he’s back on the show to talk about his new bar, Jailbird . Joshua has built a career on being a fierce competitor, an educated and opinionated voice of the industry, and one of the...

Growing up in an entrepreneurial family, Jason Wuerful knew from a young age that he wanted to be his own boss. After a stint playing minor league baseball and even co-owning a minor league team (the Traverse City Beach Bums!), he landed in Indianapolis with his very own place. He opened Books & Brews when he was just 32-years-old and has since grown it into a successful franchise. At a time...

EDITOR’S NOTE: At this point in the chronology, Ed and Jeff “Beachbum” Berry appear to have broken down completely; the original recording is so splintered that we were forced to seek out the raw audio and present it here. We made no attempt to edit this section, and Ed and Jeff refused even to listen to it. “We’d be fools not to ride this strange torpedo all the way out to the e...

Riesling is perhaps one of the most misunderstood grapes outside of Germany and Alsace. The labels can offer far too much information, or too little. “Blue bottle” Rieslings that popped up in the 1980’s didn’t do any favors for wine’s reputation, and there is always the “I don’t want anything sweet” argument. So, today, we’re trying to break do...

Just before one last winter snowstorm rolled through Washington D.C. I sat down with Dave Delaplaine, the General Manager and Chief Brew Guru of Roofer’s Union in Adams Morgan (just a block from last week’s guests from The Green Zone). Dave is known for his eccentric beer menu and a prolific list of cellared beer offerings. Cellaring beer is a foreign concept to many people, and not al...

What happens when you mix Rye, Dates, Arabian Bitters, and “Sharqtreuse”? You get a Saz’Iraq and a cocktail bar that’s breaking all the molds of what we think about cocktail bars should look like. This week, I’m talking with Chris Hassaan-Francke and E Jay Apaga of The Green Zone . When Chris started organizing Middle Eastern cocktail pop-ups in DC while working an of...

This week’s special guest, Richard Seale , needs little introduction in rum circles. He’s a fifth-generation rum purveyor, the master distiller and owner of Foursquare Rum Distillery in Barbados, a champion of transparency in rum production and marketing, and a self-proclaimed Guardian of Rum. His rums have a rabid following, inspiring rum fans to snatch limited bottlings up the day th...

We’ve talked about Hampden Estate and Rum Fire with Nick Feris on a previous show, but today we’ve got a really special roundtable. Join in as Ed welcomes Christelle Harris of Hampden Estate , Kate Perry of La Masion & Velier , and Gui Jaroschy of The Generator MIAMI . We’re chatting about historic Trelawny rum, the genesis of the partnership between Hampden Estate and Velier, and The Five Pr...

Matt and Mason Lamping started their distillery just after Indiana opened the doors for craft distilling. While they were both in their 20s, they set about to learn everything they could before getting started with their passion project. 8th Day Distillery got started in 2015 and launched with only one product and one goal – make great booze that represents their city and region. The stills,...

Cities often look to entrepreneurs in the food & beverage community when mapping out a plan for economic growth. All factors have to be considered when weighing out the positives and negatives of that growth and how they affect the respective communities. There are few greater minds in this field that Michael Huber , the President and CEO of the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce . Prior to that...

As usual, we’re always thinking about wine during the holidays. This week we had the pleasure of sitting down with Mary Taylor of Mary Taylor Wines to discuss her mission of bringing high quality, yet affordable, wines to consumers. Originally from Massachusetts, she now lives in New York and often travels to Italy and France to search out new growers and vintners to work with. She’s t...

Manny Pena dropped through Indianapolis this week to talk about rum, the political environment in Venezuela, cocktail competitions, and how bartenders are helping to shape the spirits world. Unfortunately, there was a technical difficulty during the recording and we lost a few minutes of audio regarding the inflation rates in Venezuela and also a bit of the history of the stills found at DUSA (Dip...

Kevin Beary and the crew from Three Dots and a Dash in Chicago dropped through Indianapolis on their way back from the Woodford Reserve Distillery to check out The Inferno Room , so we sat down to talk Tiki, rum, and how to run a high volume bar in the heart of Chicago. So make yourself a Mai Tai, put on an Aloha shirt, and enjoy the sultry sounds of Kevin Beary .

Jake Parrott from Haus Alpenz returns to talk about Maderia – what it is, how it’s made, and what makes it so unique. Per usual, Jake gets a little geeky on the subject. This one might be worth a few listens. We’re also talking a bit about Rancio Sec . We also recommend going back to our previous episode with Jake found here: Vermouth and Amaro with Jake Parrott , to catch up on...

Ed Hamilton needs no introduction in rum circles, and he’s a longtime friend of our co-host, Ed. Hamilton can be polarizing to people that don’t share his opinions, but is one of the most interesting characters in the business. He started out building boats in Taiwan, worked on oil rigs in Singapore and Thailand, and smuggled cigarettes and booze in the Caribbean until finally finding...

Every now and again we run across true kindred spirits. And Rick Edwards is definitely one. Join us as we chat about how the “brand ambassador” job has changed over the years, how The Glenlivet makes Scotch, the differences between single malt and blended scotches, picking out jewelry with Elvis Presley, watching Ozzy bite off a bat’s head, and the meaning of life. Rick is truly...

Jim Meehan needs little introduction in cocktail circles. He was part of the legendary team at Pegu Club, helped the rebirth of Gramercy Tavern, and started a hidden bar craze with his iconic bar, PDT . We sat down with him at Cardinal Spirits in Bloomington, Indiana to talk about bar design, his new book, the explosion of hidden bars and speakeasies, and the recent closing of his Chicago bar, Pra...

It’s been two years since we started this show, and we’ve had a lot going on behind-the-scenes in the past few months. So today we sat down with our producer to talk a little about Ed’s new bar project, Creative Zombie Studios, and Arthur’s search for eternal truth through wine education. Thanks to all of you that have supported us over the last two years. We can’t wait until our next anniversary...

Mark Swartz has seemingly done it all – aviator, train conductor, world traveler, and FedEx box handler. But two years ago he realized his dream of opening his own nanobrewery, Cannon Ball Brewing Co. , in a not-yet-developed neighborhood just north of downtown Indianapolis. His interest in brewing really ignited in 2008 when his job as a pilot vanished with the bankruptcy of ATA Airlines. His bre...

Though she may only be 31-years-old, Kendall Lockwood has been operating one of Indianapolis’ first and finest craft cocktail bars, has traveled the globe visiting distilleries, and has won cocktail competitions across the country. Being one of eight children, her parents would have the children cook dinner. That ignited her passion for the service industry and competitive nature. Her bar, T...

From insurance to importing, Raj Sabharwal of Glass Revolution Imports has quickly become one of the country’s respected importers. Today we’re talking about Indian Whisky, Scottish whisky regulations, Mahon Gin, The Nectar of Life, and his independent rum bottlings. So flag down a bartender and order a gimlet, you’ll be getting thirsty really quickly.

This week we’re broadcasting live from Indy PopCon where we won Best Food & Beverage Podcast for 2018. So, as a special treat, we brought back one of our listeners’ favorite guests, Chef Chris Benedyk of Love Handle . We’re chatting about ChamTang, Tangquette, Eggo waffles, the passing of Anthony Bourdain, and old stone vs. new stone. It’s all over the place, as you&#82...