The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias

Pictured above – (from left, upper right panel) Katilin Wilkes and Kristine Bocchino of The Ada Coleman Project. It’s our last show before Tales of the Cocktail 2024 and our short summer break! This time, we welcome Kaitlin Wilkes and Kristine Bocchino, founders of The Ada Coleman Project! It is a terrific non-profit that supports women+ in the drinks business and hospitality industry. A core part...

Pictured above – Bryan Dias of The NOLADrinks Show and Eileen Wayner of the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation (from left, left panel) at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum. We always look forward to bringing you our annual Tales of the Cocktail preview show! As always, we are joined by the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation’s CEO and friend of the show, Eileen Wayner. We let you know everything yo...

We’re back with a new show! On this edition of The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias, we are talking about two projects spearheaded by two talented bartenders and hospitality industry veterans. Both projects involve community gardens for and by the industry. We chat with Keyatta Mincey-Parker, founder of Atlanta’s “A Sip of Paradise Garden,” and great friend of the show. Also joining us is Elise Han...

Pictured above – Anthony Advincula, National Communications Director (far left), and Brandon Arnold, New Orleans Community Organizer, of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, along with two members of the New Orleans hospitality industry who bravely shared their stories of sexual assault and violence on the job at a recent press conference at We Dat’s Chicken and Shrimp in downtown NOLA. This t...

Pictured above – (Lower left panel) Tammera Catchings, Government Affairs Manager for the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation. (Lower right panel) Last year’s Policy Committee in action. On this episode of The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias, we talk about the policy initiative being undertaken by the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation supporting bar professionals in the US. The effort is designed to b...

Pictured above from left – Matthew Sharpe, Director of Operations, and Wayne Curtis, Head Judge of the New Orleans Spirits Competition. This time around, we’re bringing you a preview of the 2024 New Orleans Spirits Competition, now in its 3rd year. We chat with Head Judge and noted cocktail author, Wayne Curtis, and Director of Operations and spirits industry veteran, Matthew Sharpe. They let us k...

Pictured above – various shots from French Quarter Festival and, upper left panel from left, Kenneth Spears, Director of Food & Beverage and Hospitality, Morgan Valier, Director of Marketing and Communications, and Emily Madero, President and CEO. Photos courtesy of French Quarter Festivals, Inc. and photographers Cedric Ellsworth, Zack Smith, and Justen Williams. We’re happy to bring you our...

Pictured above, from left, clockwise, Jackie Summers, aka Jack from Brooklyn, founder of Sorel, Crystal Lilly, key accounts manager, and Josh Davis, mid-US representative and founder of Brown and Balanced. On this edition of The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias, we welcome some of the folks behind Sorel Liqueur! We chat with founder Jackie Summers, along with Josh Davis and Crystal Lilly. Aside fro...

The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias – Speed Rack and Winning Cocktails – 2024Ep03. Lynnette Marrero and Ivy Mix. Photos Courtesy of Speed Rack, Jim Vondruska, Erick Medsker, and Gabi Porter. On this edition of The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias, we welcome Lynnette Marrero and Ivy Mix, co-founders of Speed Rack! We talk about that terrific organization and about their upcoming cocktail book, A Qu...

Pictured above – Group picture from left – Chef Richard Papier, Rich Szydlo of Calliope Beer Works, and Bryan Dias of The NOLADrinks Show at Calliope Beer Works in Uptown New Orleans. We’ve talked beer a lot here on The NOLADrinks Show over the years. But this time around, more of our focus is talking about pairing beer with food. We’ve touched on it before but here it is a little more focused on...

Picture above from left – Bryan Dias of The NOLADrinks Show and Turning Tables’ Geoffrey Wilson, Tyrē Brown, Ari Nicholas, Touré Folkes, Francisco Miralda, Chelsea Reid, and Shaun Williams at Bacchanal Fine Wine & Spirits in the Bywater of New Orleans. Hey, All! We’re back with new shows here in 2024! And we’re excited to kick things off with one of our favorite interviews to bring you –...

Pictured above from left – Kirk Estopinal and Neal Bodenheimer of Cure Co. along with Bryan Dias of The NOLADrinks Show at Cure in Uptown New Orleans. This time around on The NOLADrinks Show, we chat with the co-founders of Cure Co., Kirk Estopinal and Neal Bodenheimer. Both have been on the program individually a handful of times, but never together! As Cure, their inaugural New Orleans hos...

Pictured above – Happenings at the Old Fashioned Week 2023 preview event at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans. Lower right panel, from left – Lynn House of Elijah Craig and Heaven Hill and Caroline Nabors of the Southern Smoke Foundation. Some images courtesy of the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation and Foxglove Communications. On this edition of The NOLADrinks Show, we’re once again talki...

Pictured above from left, upper-left panel – Chef/Owner, Jacqueline Blanchard of Sukeban, Saké Expert, Shaun William, and Bryan Dias of The NOLADrinks Show at Sukeban, Uptown New Orleans. We’re back with a new show! This time around, we are at the terrific Uptown sushi spot and izakaya, Sukeban, talking saké and Japanese cuisine. We’re joined by New Orleans saké expert, Shaun Williams, and Sukeban...

Pictured above – Author John DeMers pictured with the cover of his book (inset), The Vieux Carré . On this edition of The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias, we once again speak to an author from the terrific book series “Iconic New Orleans Cocktails” by LSU Press. This time around, we talk with John DeMers, a native of New Orleans, who recently penned a book on the classic Vieux Carré cocktail. John...

Pictured above from left – Head judge Wayne Curtis, Director of Operations Matthew Sharpe, Managing Partner Andrew Faulkner, and Bryan Dias of The NOLADrinks Show at Tales of the Cocktail 2023 in New Orleans. On this The NOLADrinks Show, we convene with the guys behind the New Orleans Spirits Competition, which culminated at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans recently. We chat with noted c...

Pictured above from left – Bryan Dias of The NOLADrinks Show, Erika Flowers, Shauntaye Merritt-Williams, Rachel Johnson, Touré Folkes, Thomas Moore, and Geoffrey Wilson all of Turning Tables at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum. On this edition of The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias, we are chatting with our friends, once again, from Turning Tables bringing you our annual show on this amazing...

Hey, All! Tales of the Cocktail is turning 21 this year and we’ve got our annual preview for you! It’s always one of our favorite shows every year! Joining us as she has before is our friend Eileen Wayner, CEO of the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation. We discuss this year’s seminal event and many of its connected activities. Of course, we let you know how you can participate whether you are a drink...

And… We’re back! After some time off, we’re back with new episodes of The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias. We welcome author Marielle Songy who recently penned a book on the famous New Orleans cocktail – the absinthe frappé. Marielle joins us at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum where we discuss her book, how she came on board to write it for LSU Press, and some on her background. Though the b...

On this week’s The NOLADrinks Show, it’s our last broadcast on WGSO! After several years, we’ve decided to move to a podcast-only format and focus efforts on the Nitty Grits Podcast Network at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum. Thanks to WGSO for some great times! It’s just our time to move on! With this episode, we’re joined by three good friends who are experts in the world of wine. We chat...

On this week’s The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias, we’re talking Port! Our guest is winemaker, Carla Tiago, of Kopke – the oldest Port wine house in the world, founded in 1638. Carla joins us from Portugal (the land of Port, of course!) We discuss what Port is, the typical grapes that are used, how it is made, their terroir in the Douro, and much more! We also taste through several of their expre...

On this week’s The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias, we’re back after a bit of a break! We are over at Ecology Beer Creative, a new brewery opening in the Central City neighborhood of New Orleans in spring 2023. We’re joined by our good friend (and one half of our “Unpaid Beer Correspondent” duo), Matt Horney. He’s been a regular guest talking brews on the show for years and, if you’re a regular li...

On this week’s The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias, we visit with filmmakers, Abby and Jeremey Lavoi. They have recently produced the terrific film documentary “Roots of Fire.” It explores Cajun music and a host of connected topics and ideas – cultural preservation, linguistic preservation, food, and much more! The film, which features terrific musical performances and fascinating interviews, is m...

On this installment of The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias we’re back at the Southern Food and Beverage Museum. We talk about their new “Juke Joint” exhibit open now through February. What’s more? We visit with chefs and farmers, Tia and Matthew Raiford. This terrific couple was in NOLA for the exhibit’s opening event serving up delicious bites. We talk about their farm in Brunswick, Georgia, thei...

On this week’s The NOLADrinks Show with Bryan Dias, we have an important yet entertaining conversation. We discuss working as a bartender as a BIPOC individual. Our guests are Omar Jacks and Geoffrey Wilson. Omar is a rising star bartender at New Orleans’ Cane & Table. Geoffrey also works at Cane & Table and other spots, is a leader with Turning Tables, and is a long-standing bartending ve...