Living Proof: Conversations for Bartenders

Andrew Derbidge is Director of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society of Australia and the man behind Whisky and Wisdom.

Tim Philips-Johansson is a Senior Consultant at Sweet & Chilli, a multi-venue owner and Australia's most awarded bartender. And once upon a time, he was trained by our own Marcus Motteram!

Tim has become a somewhat of a behemoth of the bar and cocktail industry since working at London institution Milk & Honey in the 2000s, and going on to win Diageo Global World Class cocktail competition in 2012. Since returning to Australia in 2010, he's set up shop in Sydney with the hugely successful Bulletin Place, where he still finds time to get behind the bar once a month. For more on the systems and attention to detail that saw Bulletin Place win 'Best Sustainable Bar Program' at the Australian Bar Awards, check out our conversation with Alex Gondzioulis from October 2019.

These days, Tim has shifted his focus to how we can help the bar world become, not only a more sustainable industry environmentally, but also a more sustainable occupation for our young people health-wise. Tim shares the strategies he implements to maintain a healthy lifestyle despite working in an industry surrounded by alcohol, late nights and the like.

Mike Collings is one of the most experienced Marketing Directors in the Whisky industry, having worked with some of the biggest brands in the world during his time at Diageo (which was then known as United Distillers). He played a major hand in launching Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Green Label and helping to reinvent Jack Daniels and Southern Comfort among others.

Now, Mike is producing his own range of whiskys, including the luxury, handcrafted and personalised 'Imperial Tribute' and most recently, his range of 'Firkin Whisky Co' bottlings.

Jeremy Blackmore is a veteran bartender and venue owner from Sydney. Along with good friend Alex Dowd, he owns Tio's Cerveceria, The Cliff Dive and now miniature mezcal mecca Catina OK!.

Cantina OK! has been described as "a micro version of a honky-tonk down in Mexico" by Time Out, and is the culmination of multiple trips to the country to taste and source some of the rarest mezcal bottles and other Agave variants. Joining Jeremy and Alex on the venture is Alex 'Happy' Gilmour, who is studying to become some sort of 'Master of Mezcal', and together they boast some of the most intricate knowledge of the spirit in the country.

Jason 'Widge' Williams is a Creative Director at Proof & Co. An integral part of the Proof & Co team in Singapore, he's played a major hand in creating some of the most exclusive bars in the world and now has his name (well, nickname) on a bottle of gin.

Sean Muldoon is the co-owner of world-renowned NYC bars Dead Rabbit and BlackTail. He's on the show to share what's on the cards for both concepts - from taking the Dead Rabbit to five more cities in the next five years, to potentially relocating BlackTail, and throwing in a Hollywood movie along the way.

Kathleen Davies is the founder of Nip of Courage, Australia's leading wholesaler and exporter of Aussie craft spirits.

Mike Enright is a bartender, hairdresser and owner of The Barber Shop Sydney and Barangaroo.

Following the tragic news of Gaz Regan's passing, we bring you our late-2018 conversation with him.

Joshua Bernstein is the United States' pre-eminent beer writer. His work regularly appears in The New York Times, New York magazine, Imbibe and countless other publications. He is also the author of five books, the latest of which - Drink Better Beer - has just been released and features insights from over 100 beer industry professionals.