In Part 1 of my two-part conversation with bar consultant and spirits expert Philip Duff, some of the topics we discuss include:

• How a small Irish town of 5,000 people played host to the busiest pub in all of Ireland thanks, in part, to a trip to Texas, some stained glass, and knack for documenting its drink recipes

• The shift in consumer consciousness from fun, flair-driven pours to more complex and serious cocktails with the opening of the Atlantic Bar and Grill in London in 1995.

• How real estate moguls, hotel chains, and venture capitalists radically transformed the rules of the game and opened the doors for mid- and high-end bar and restaurant chains in the 90s and 2000s.

• And what it takes to train and retain a high-quality bar staff in the wake of a pandemic that decimated the talent pool available to our industry..

• Along the way, we cover the design similarities between Air Force One and certain bar programs, the heavy-hitting Spillstop 28550 Pour Spout, how to say "hamburger" in Italian, and much, much more.