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In this episode of "The Mixing Glass", Gayle Taylor joins us to talk about building local communities, conventions, inclusivity in gaming, and cosplay! 

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Gayle Taylor is a Jacksonville-based community builder, event producer, cosplayer, and creative strategist with a deep love for nerd culture and the people who make it thrive. Gayle serves as an Event Coordinator for WasabiCon, where she designs and executes large-scale pop-culture programming including cosplay contests, themed nightlife events, interactive fandom experiences, and community-driven activations. Gayle is also an Anime Coordinator for FanExpo for their conventions across the country including Canada.

Beyond conventions, Gayle is the founder of Babes, Games & Geeks est. 2018. Babes, Games, & Geeks is a women-forward nerd collective that brings people together through book clubs, tabletop gaming, cosplay, fitness, and social events across Jacksonville including clubs Duval Dice and Dungeons, Book Babes of Jax, The Inkwell and their cosplay club . Gayle's work sits at the intersection of fandom, creativity, and real-world connection,  building spaces that are inclusive, hype, and genuinely welcoming.

By day, Gayle is a Neurosurgery nurse and Nurse Practitioner student, which gives her a unique perspective on balance, burnout, leadership, and building community while navigating high-intensity careers. Everything she does centers around creating experiences that make people feel seen, excited, and part of something bigger. 

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Don't miss out on any of the action!  Head to www.bardtender.com to stay up to date with all of the Bardtender content, find resources for mental and physical well-being, get access to education materials, and check out what all of our bards are up to!

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In this episode of The Tale & The Telling... Having located The Midas, our adventurers make their way to the yacht to discover the fate of their friends. Rune makes a bold decision, Izzy connects with the ocean around him, and Nattie meets a charming new "friend". 

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Don't miss out on any of the action!  Head to www.bardtender.com to stay up to date with all of the Bardtender content, find resources for mental and physical wellbeing, get access to education materials, and check out what all of our bards are up to! You can also check out our Linktree at https://linktr.ee/Bardtenders to find ways to listen to the show, join our Discord!

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Live from Fort Worth, Texas! 

The Bardtenders head to Fort Worth for the third annual Heard House to bring you live episodes with some amazing hospitality professionals. The Bardtenders had the chance to stay at the Heard House sponsored by Heard Card Game where bartenders from around the country came together to share their stories, gain access to education opportunities, and create some amazing memories along the way. Join us over the next several weeks as these bartenders share their experiences in the hospitality industry!

In this episode of "The Mixing Glass", Matan Steinfeld joins us to talk about what it takes to pursue the career you want to have and the importance of quality bar tools - like those made at Bull in China! 

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Like many young people before him with an underdeveloped frontal cortex and questionable decision-making skills, Matan realized early on that a traditional corporate career  did not suit his personality. Inspired heavily by his college life in New Orleans, he decided the world of booze, bars, and hospitality felt a lot more interesting than becoming another soulless finance bro.

Pivoting away from that path, he started barbacking at a fancy bar and bottling at a local distillery before moving to New York City as a liquor sales rep representing brands under Diageo and Moët Hennessy. It was there that he fell in love with spirits, wine, cocktail culture, and the world of truly great bars and restaurants.

Eventually, Matan found himself back in his hometown of Portland, Oregon where he met the original founders of Bull in China. He immediately connected with their mission of making professional-grade bar tools built specifically for bartenders, and eventually purchased the company from them.

Since taking over Bull in China, Matan has dedicated himself full-time to designing and sourcing barware that balances durability, functionality, and unapologetic beauty. Whether it’s solving common frustrations behind the bar or creating unnecessarily luxurious versions of everyday tools, he’s constantly chasing ways to make great barware feel even better in the hand.

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Don't miss out on any of the action!  Head to www.bardtender.com to stay up to date with all of the Bardtender content, find resources for mental and physical well-being, get access to education materials, and check out what all of our bards are up to!

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You're listening to Bardtenders! 

In this episode of The Tale & The Telling... Having located The Midas, our adventurers make their way to the yacht to discover the fate of their friends. Nattie takes a selfie, Rune walks on water, and Izzy ties some knots. 

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Don't miss out on any of the action!  Head to www.bardtender.com to stay up to date with all of the Bardtender content, find resources for mental and physical wellbeing, get access to education materials, and check out what all of our bards are up to! You can also check out our Linktree at https://linktr.ee/Bardtenders to find ways to listen to the show, join our Discord!

Support the show

Live from Fort Worth, Texas! 

The Bardtenders head to Fort Worth for the third annual Heard House to bring you live episodes with some amazing hospitality professionals. The Bardtenders had the chance to stay at the Heard House sponsored by Heard Card Game where bartenders from around the country came together to share their stories, gain access to education opportunities, and create some amazing memories along the way. Join us over the next several weeks as these bartenders share their experiences in the hospitality industry!

In this episode of "The Mixing Glass", Molly Cummings talks about her choice to leave the world of academia behind to pursue opening a distillery with her family. We also take a deep dive into the main ingredients in gin - Juniper! Molly shares her stories in foraging local Texas Juniper and how to work with botanicals when developing your own spirits. 

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While being a Biology Professor at the University of Texas in Austin, Molly Cummings founded WildGins Co. —makers of the only gins in the world featuring native Texas Junipers. 

Of the 8 native Texas juniper species, Molly found the best two for gin in West Texas. WildBark West Texas Dry Gin features the Alligator Juniper—a juniper that grows above 5,000 ft in the West Texas Mountains— and is a bold Texas take on the classic London Dry.  WildJune Western Style Gin features the Redberry Juniper—a juniper that grows only in the high plains of West Texas—and offers a wildly unique Texas spin on gin. WildGins honors our trees by putting the batch-specific tree names on their side labels—making them the world’s first single-origin gin.  

WildGins Co. also preserves the lands that give us these unique Texas junipers by giving proceeds to the West Texas chapter of The Nature Conservancy with their ‘Give a Wild Buck’ campaign. They invite you to ‘Take a Sip on the Wild Side’ and Celebrate Texas Biodiversity with WildGins!

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Don't miss out on any of the action!  Head to www.bardtender.com to stay up to date with all of the Bardtender content, find resources for mental and physical well-being, get access to education materials, and check out what all of our bards are up to!

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You're listening to Bardtenders! 

In this episode of The Tale & The Telling... Finally arriving at The Bitterspine Straights with hopes of aiding Alistair in finding Richter, our adventurers navigate their way to The Midas. Izzy looks through the fog, Nattie expresses some feelings about another passenger, and Rune lands some killer puns. 

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Don't miss out on any of the action!  Head to www.bardtender.com to stay up to date with all of the Bardtender content, find resources for mental and physical wellbeing, get access to education materials, and check out what all of our bards are up to! You can also check out our Linktree at https://linktr.ee/Bardtenders to find ways to listen to the show, join our Discord!

Support the show

Live from Fort Worth, Texas! 

The Bardtenders head to Fort Worth for the third annual Heard House to bring you live episodes with some amazing hospitality professionals. The Bardtenders had the chance to stay at the Heard House sponsored by Heard Card Game where bartenders from around the country came together to share their stories, gain access to education opportunities, and create some amazing memories along the way. Join us over the next several weeks as these bartenders share their experiences in the hospitality industry!

In this episode of "The Mixing Glass", Tobias Steeves discusses his journey in the world of hospitality, building a customer base in a small community in South Dakota, and The Flying Spaghetti Monster. 

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Tobias Steeves grew up as a Military Brat across the country with his 8 siblings, but started his hospitality and bartending journey in downtown Colorado Springs, CO, at The Archives (an underground cocktail bar) where he cut his teeth as a barback/bartender and was there for several years.

Tobias has worked at several other bars over the years and is a member of the US Bartenders' Guild.  He has competed in numerous cocktail competitions and won the 2021 Fernet Branca Barback Games. He was also the runner up in 2022’s Patron Perfectionist, 2021’s Hampton Water Rocking Rose by Bon Jovi, and has had multiple World Class by Diageo top 10 /and top 30 placements. 

In 2021 Tobias moved to Spearfish, South Dakota, and after 6 months of living there he took ownership of a small local Italian restaurant where he began building up the local cocktail and beverage scene through the restaurant. 

In July of 2025 he built and opened his first cocktail lounge in the basement of the building where my restaurant is located. Tobis is also a self-proclaimed massive nerd and loves Fernet!

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Don't miss out on any of the action!  Head to www.bardtender.com to stay up to date with all of the Bardtender content, find resources for mental and physical well-being, get access to education materials, and check out what all of our bards are up to!

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You're listening to Bardtenders! 

In this episode of The Tale & The Telling... Our adventurers lick their wounds and share a few final moments together before arriving at The Bitterspine Straights. Rune plays with fire, Izzy looks at some stuff, and Nattie shows off her lanterns. 

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Don't miss out on any of the action!  Head to www.bardtender.com to stay up to date with all of the Bardtender content, find resources for mental and physical wellbeing, get access to education materials, and check out what all of our bards are up to! You can also check out our Linktree at https://linktr.ee/Bardtenders to find ways to listen to the show, join our Discord!

Support the show

Live from Fort Worth, Texas! 

The Bardtenders head to Fort Worth for the third annual Heard House to bring you live episodes with some amazing hospitality professionals. The Bardtenders had the chance to stay at the Heard House sponsored by Heard Card Game where bartenders from around the country came together to share their stories, gain access to education opportunities, and create some amazing memories along the way. Join us over the next several weeks as these bartenders share their experiences in the hospitality industry!

In this episode of "The Mixing Glass", Steve McKinney introduces us to the world of hemp and THC products, their history, and the legislation facing their growth in the world of hospitality. 

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Steven McKinney is from Cleveland, Ohio and is the founder of Hippie Sips Company INC. - an organic beverage company specializing in hemp THC drinks. 

Hippie Sips originally started as a smoothie/ lemonade truck in Cleveland in 2019 and has since evolved into a full-blown beverage company. Their initial products include their 10 mg lemonades that come in lavender, mango, strawberry, and wild berry flavors. 

Hippie Sips intends to launch a soda line and a mushroom based energy drink at some point in the very near future! 

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You're listening to Bardtenders! 

In this episode of The Tale & The Telling... our adventurers find themselves on the open sea as they make their way to The Bitterspine Straights. Nattie tackles some stairs, Rune faces his fears, and Izzy explores his new powers. 

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Don't miss out on any of the action!  Head to www.bardtender.com to stay up to date with all of the Bardtender content, find resources for mental and physical wellbeing, get access to education materials, and check out what all of our bards are up to! You can also check out our Linktree at https://linktr.ee/Bardtenders to find ways to listen to the show, join our Discord!

Support the show