The Philip Duff Show
Liquor, bars, cocktails: the people and companies who make them, sell them and drink them, plus everything & everyone in-between, with your host, globetrotting spirits guy and escaped bartender, Philip Duff.
Episodes
94 episodes
#94, Alex Kammerling, London cocktail OG, author, liquor entrepreneur and training consultant
Simon Difford once described Alex as being an even better mixologist than his mentor Dick Bradsell, and it was in the pages of Simon's print magazine CLASS than I first came across Alex, first being written about, and then as a writer for CLASS...
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Episode 94
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2:37:19
#93, Mark Reynier, talking about Waterford Whisky and Renegade Rum entering (and hopefully exiting) receivership
Mark, founder of the ground-breaking terroir-driven Waterford Whisky in Ireland and Renegade Rum in Grenada, is going through the grinder of both being in receivership*, and made time for a chat with me. Mark is very open on the 'pod ab...
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Episode 93
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55:03
#92, Rob Cullins, liquor industry titan, current CEO of Disaronno and former CEO of Stoli Group
I've known Rob for several decades now; we met in Korea when he was MD for global liquor distributor Maxxium, and I was doing cocktail seminars there for bartenders. We've had personal and professional intersections - not to mention m...
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Episode 92
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1:07:07
#91, Se Busca Barmaid Week (Barcelona) with organisers Bianca Grisolia, Laura Alonso and Meritxell Coll
An unusual one!My friend, and top-rank bar PR guru Bianca Grisolia organised the first-ever Se Busca* Barmaid Week recently in Barcelona, and I thought it was a great opportunity to have a discussion about mezcal, ladies in bartending, and ...
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Episode 91
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1:43:02
#90, Dr. Nicola Nice, sociologist, entrepreneur and author of “The Cocktail Parlor: How Women Brought The Cocktail Home”
I met Dr. Nicola, an English expat, just a couple of weeks ago, but I'd been hearing about her - and her groundbreaking book detailing the forgotten history of women's involvement in the cocktail's evolution, especially in the home - for quite ...
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Episode 90
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2:03:53
#89, Ambre van de Berg, founder of Lala Tequila, wellness consultant & yoga instructor (but definitely not woo)
I met Ambre at the infamous pre-Bar Convent Berlin networking hosted by Thorsten Husmann a couple of years ago, and learned she had just founded the first woman-owned tequila brand in the Netherlands, Lala. Ambre is fascinating: a wellness ...
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Episode 89
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1:41:33
#88, Robin Robinson, author, whiskey guru & brand sherpa for craft liquor brands, NYC
Robin's been a fixture of the spirits education world for as long as I can remember - I think we first met when he was still shepherding Compass Box Whisky for the US, at a bar show in Paris. He's a remarkable raconteur - like a lot of the ...
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Episode 88
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2:53:02
#87, Emily LaRuffa, New York hospitality veteran and founder of Oracle Hospitality Consultants
Emily LaRuffa has scaled the dizzy heights of Manhattan hospitality business, from bartending to managing and being a GM at every kind of NY joint from rock 'n' roll bars in Hell's Kitchen to the five-star luxury of Loews Hotel, The Baccarat, M...
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Episode 87
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2:34:50
#86, Alice Lascelles, award-winning drinks writer and author of “The Martini: The Ultimate Guide To A Cocktail Icon”
Alice, an old friend from way back when, is one of the best drinks writers based in the UK, has won multiple awards for her writing about spirits, wine, beer, cocktails and bars, is often to be found on UK radio & TV, and just publish...
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Episode 86
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1:03:48
#85, Kara Newman, award-winning drinks writer & author, New York City
Kara defected to writing about spirits, cocktails and bars after starting out writing about matters financial, and finance's loss is cocktail's gain!A New York native and friend, Kara has written seven spirits- and cocktail-related books as...
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Episode 85
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1:40:10
#84, Chris Cardone, sober advocate, founder Continuous Beverage Solutions, Diageo World Class USA winner, NYC (flair) bartender & mixologist
I've known New York (well, Long Island) native Chris for over two decades, since we met at a flair bartending contest in the Cayman Islands, and he's maintained his rep as a flair bartender while becoming an accomplished mixologist as well, get...
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Episode 84
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2:13:10
#83, Iain McPherson, owner, Panda & Sons, Hoot the Redeemer, Nauticus, Edinburgh.
The Cocktail Panda himself comes on The Philip Duff Show!I've known Iain for years - he entered the G'Vin Gin Connoisseur Program which I used to run - and he's built a mini bar empire in Edinburgh so it was time to catch up on his adventur...
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Episode 83
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2:02:04
#82, Marshall Minaya, beverage director Valerie, Madame George and Lolita, New York City.
Marshall - and the three top-notch places he runs the beverage programs for, Valerie, Lolita and Madame George - is one of Manhattan's best-kept secrets. If you come to New York, I'll take you to one of these places (or all three, as they'r...
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Episode 82
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1:49:15
#81, Tim McKirdy, managing editor, VinePair, recovering chef, host of the Cocktail College podcast
Myself and Tim have been threatening each other with a podcast taping for over a year, and we finally found time to sit down, beverages to hand, and make it happen!(This is a satisfyingly lengthy episode, clocking in at over 2.5 hours, and ...
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Episode 81
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2:33:23
#80 Simone Caporale, co-owner Sips & Sips Esencia (#1, W50BB 2023), Amaro Santoni, Canaima Gin, MUYU Liqueurs & The Art of Shaking
Simone has come a long way since his Italian childhood in Como: while part of a legendary double-act with Alex Kratena, he led London's Artesian Bar to an unprecedented four #1 listings in World's 50 Best Bars. Simone's post-Artesian career...
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Episode 80
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1:15:10
#79, Mark Pascal & Francis Schott, hosts of The Restaurant Guys podcast, owners of Stage Left Steak and Catherine Lombardi restaurants, New Brunswick, New Jersey
Francis, and, later Mark, have been friends of mine for a long time; we must have bumped into one another in Manhattan or at a Tales of the Cocktail event in New Orleans, but it was our mutual friend Dale de Groff who persuaded me to make the t...
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Episode 79
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1:37:07
#78 Erik Lorincz, owner Kwānt (London), Antique American Bar (Bratislava), BIRDY by Erik Lorincz bar tools, ex-head bartender The Savoy, former Diageo World Class global champion.
Me and Erik go waaaaaay back, to when I taught a class on the IBA's elite John Whyte residential training course in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic, before Erik moved to London to start his stratospheric ascent to the top of the bartending world. ...
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Episode 78
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1:42:01
#77 Simon Difford, founder Diffordsguide.com, creator Difford's Easy Jigger, chronicler of the Second Cocktail Golden Age
Simon's been a mate since the late 1990s, when he created CLASS (standing for Cocktail Liqueur And Speciality Spirit) magazine, the print forerunner of Difford's Guide and, in a pre-Internet world, just about ...
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Episode 77
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1:42:21
#76, Natasha Bahrami, The Gin Girl, The Gin Room (St. Louis, Missouri), Gin World festivals (everywhere), member The Gin Guild
I've known Natasha for ages and it's no exaggeration to say she's changed the landscape of gin consumption in her native Missouri, and indeed in the wider USA as well. Much as Julio Bermejo built a dedicated band of fanatics drinking 100% B...
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Episode 76
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1:19:14
#75 Zev Glesta, spirits specialist Sotheby's New York, ex-bartender at The Modern, The Fat Duck/Dinner
Zev's had one of the most interesting career arcs of any bartender I know, but when we finally sat down to tape an episode, it turned out to have even more twists and turns than I thought! From Brooklyn to Melbourne to Montreal and back to ...
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Episode 75
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1:47:20
#74, Anna Sebastian, UK-based hospitality consultant, founder of #CelebrateHer, ending homelessness with @underonesky
Anna is brilliant and this episode - taped partly in a hotel lobby in London, and then on Zoom - is just like having a drink with her, which is always great. She's not afraid to say the things others won't, and her goal is to eleva...
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Episode 74
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2:06:58
#73, Ago Perrone, Director of Mixology, The Connaught, co-author, The Connaught Bar book
Well, I've know Agostino since he was a fresh-faced young buck at Montgomery Place, one of London's best cocktail bars back in the day. I remember when he moved to take the reins at the Connaught when it reopened, and the dream opening duo ...
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Episode 73
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1:20:23
#72 Benji Cavagna, partner, Farmily Bars Group (Milan), co-founder, Bitter Fusetti
Benji (whose actual name is Fabio), is a friend, and a tremendous host even among his fellow Italian bartenders, which is really saying something. After studing philosophy and being a professional soccer player (!), Benji went into bartendi...
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Episode 72
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1:36:19
#71, David Thomas Tao, Kentuckian, whisky writer, fitness commentator (!), voiceover actor, theatre investor
I kept bumping into David at events (like Philip Duff Show stalwart Tony Sach's regular get-togethers for writers and other waifs and strays) and he was always good fun to chat with, so me and him sat down in a shady spot inside Central Park* o...
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Episode 71
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2:26:31
#70, Gegam Kazarian, founder Yerevan Cocktail Week, Magika Cordials, champion bartender, renaisssance man
What to say about my old mate Gegam Kazarian? In his native Armenia, he studied biochemistry, then floral design, then silversmithing, started bartending, followed his passion for Spanish classical guitar by emigrating to Spain, started sev...
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Episode 70
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1:27:50