The Speakeasy

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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

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...

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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

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 NY...

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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-in...

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...

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 Be...

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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Ca...

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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Califor...

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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-n...

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 Educati...

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 H...

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 aro...

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 See Privacy Pol...

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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com...

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...

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 earn...

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...

This week on The Speakeasy , Damon is back! He and Sother are joined in the studio by Claire Bertin-Lang, the founder and president of CBL Liquid Consulting. Claire has over a decade's worth of experience in the hospitality industry, with a focus on spirits and food & wine events. A native New Yorker, she began tending bar at one of the city's classic dives at the age of 19. After college, she...

This week on The Speakeasy , Sother is taking the reins again, and is joined in studio by acclaimed barman Jim Meehan, whose new book Meehan's Bartender Manual is a magnum opus of mixology. Meehan is best known for his pioneering work at PDT in New York's East Village. Though he now lives in Portland, Oregon, Meehan recently opened a new bar called Prairie School in Chicago’s Fulton Market. Also s...

This week on The Speakeasy , Sother is flying solo in the host chair. He's joined in studio by John Little, CEO and master distiller of Smooth Ambler Spirits, and Antonia Fattizzi, founder and president of Cork and Tin, a strategic partner for emerging beverage alcohol brands. The Speakeasy is powered by Simplecast See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at ht...

This week on The Speakeasy , Damon and Sother are joined in the studio by Alla Lapushchik and Jane Danger, co-authors of the new book The Bourbon Bartender: 50 Cocktails to Celebrate the American Spirit . They have also co-written the book Cuban Cocktails: 100 Classic and Modern Drinks , in addition to being top shelf New York bartenders. The Speakeasy is powered by Simplecast See Privacy Policy a...

On this week's episode of  The Speakeasy , Damon and Sother are joined in studio by bartender and baker Leslie Feinberg of Prohibition Bakery and bartender Brian Grummert of Subject Bar. Prohibition Bakery makes delicious alcoholic cupcakes based on classic cocktails, which are available at their store in the Lower East Side and at Subject Bar, a neighbor and partner of the bakery, which also of...

This week on  The Speakeasy , Damon and Sother are joined by Andrew Meltzer, who was named 2016 U.S. Bartender of the Year by the United States Bartender's Guild (USBG), following two days of heated competition at the global finals in Miami. The Speakeasy is powered by Simplecast See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sel...

Damon and Sother are joined in studio by Matteo Luxardo and mixologist and brand ambassador G. Franklin of Luxardo, a family-owned company founded in Zara, a port city on the Dalmatian coast of what is now Croatia. Girolamo Luxardo, a Genovese businessman, and his wife, Maria Canevari, moved to Zara in 1817. It was Maria who began perfecting "rosolio maraschino," a liqueur produced in Dalmatian co...