Richard Carleton Hacker is an author, and one of the world's foremost experts on cigars, wine and spirits. He has written 11 books, as well as countless columns for Robb Report, Playboy Magazine, Ritz-Carlton Magazine and more, and is credited with helping to ignite the cigar boom of the 1990s.

Stuart King is reinvigorating the cocktail culture in Cincinnati with his young bars, Sundry & Vice and Comfort Station.

Garth Foster is the Belvedere Vodka's Brand Development Manager for Australia and New Zealand.

Stay up-to-date at https://www.themessagepod.com.au/livingproof

Alex Gondzioulis is a bartender at Bulletin Place, Sydney, who was crowned Bartender of the Year at the 2019 Australian Bartender Awards. On that same night, Bulletin Place took out Best Sustainable Bar Program, so we had plenty we wanted to unpack with Alex.

We chat about how he prepared for the Bartender of the Year competition, the two cocktails he created for it, and how Bulletin Place manages to create a new cocktail list every day, even while maintaining their renowned levels of sustainability. Plus the Free Pour Five!

Hiryasu Kayama is a bartender come modern-day alchemist who owns Tokyo's Bar Benfiddich.

Agung Prabowo is co-owner of the #1 Bar in Asia, The Old Man Hong Kong, and in 2018 was crowned Best Bartender in Asia by Drink Magazine.

Agung was recently in Sydney for Bar Week 2019, where he presented Monin's Bartending as an Art masterclass at Employees Only. We caught up with him straight after to discuss what sets The Old Man apart from other bars in Asia, what's on the cards for the future and the message he gives young bartenders.

Ludo Ducrocq is Global Director of Education & Advocacy at Ardbeg, a distillery which produces some of the world's smokiest whiskys. Ludo was recently in Sydney for Bar Week, where he presented Ardbeg's long-awaited Masters of Smoke event to an Australian audience for the first time.

We caught up with Ludo after the event to chat about what went into creating it and how well-informed consumers are changing the landscape in terms of educating bartenders. Then, we chat to Pauric 'PK' Kennedy, a bartender at Smoke Bar at Barangaroo House, about the cocktail he created for the event with Ardbeg Uigeadail.

Martin Lynch is the Asia Pacific Commercial Manager at Teeling Whiskey. Teeling's 24-year-old Single Malt recently won World's Best Single Malt at the World Whiskies Awards.

Martin himself has been named Irish Whiskey Brand Ambassador of the Year at the Icons of Whisky Awards. Who better to speak to about all things Irish Whiskey, some of Teeling's new releases and collaborations, where the industry is headed and more.

Masahiro Urushido is a career bartender and owner of Katana Kitten, a Japanese-American style bar in New York. The bar recently took out Best New American Cocktail Bar at the 2019 Spirited Awards.

Masahiro is pioneering the practice of bringing elements of the Japanese style of bartending - which you can learn more about in our chat with Hidetsugu Ueno or Rogerio Igarashi - to the industry in the United States. As such, he's become renowned for his stunning highball cocktails that are made even more impressive by his attention to detail, something that seems to come naturally to any Japanese bartender.

We ask Masahiro about his background, why Katana Kitten stands out, what is needed to make a beautiful highball and then finish with the Free Pour Five!

David Spanton is the man behind the only monthly bar magazine in the world - Australian Bartender. Dave’s published the magazine for 20 years and over 260 editions, as well as established and continues to run the country’s biggest bar show, Sydney Bar Week, since 2002.

With this year’s instalment of Bar Week just around the corner (September 14-18), we had to get Dave on the program to cast an eye towards some of the must-see events and masterclasses. Underscoring our conversation is an analysis of how the bar business has changed in Dave’s time covering it, and a recognition of the role he’s played in positioning Australia’s as the most powerful pound-for-pound bar & cocktail industry in the world.