The Speakeasy

How is a bartending competition different from a regular shift? What if there are cameras beaming that competition out to a national audience? And what if NSYNC is in the room watching you make drinks? Those are the conditions Lily Chun and Jena Ellenwood had to contend with on Cocktails Wars, a new competition show on E! and they’re sitting down with Greg and Sother to spill the tea. Hear them talk about the competition (and who won!), what it’s like to show up to a studio call on two hours of sleep, and how someone who’s made a life behind the bar can parlay a media appearance into a second act.

PLUS Greg and Sother break their silence on The Last Ditch. Hear what they have to say about America’s most famous (for the moment) bar.

Follow Jena on instagram at @jena.lane

Follow Lily at @lilsmcc

LINKS

• Become a Regular
• Support “Spirited Ladies”
• For resources on dealing with cold, hard water agents in your community visit nouswithoutyou.la/ and @thenycalliance
• The Speakeasy is on YouTube!
• Check out Quiote Imports and use promo code “Speakeasy” for free shipping.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Are you playing a character behind the bar? Or just being yourself? Actor, author and CocktailTok celebrity Nic Hamilton joins Greg and Sother to talk about his stage and film career, how his first cocktail video got a million views overnight, and what it’s like to move from online content creator to a regular working bartender. They discuss how being being the bar prepares you for a job on camera (and vice versa), how to craft drinks that the algorithm and human beings alike will enjoy and, for the Regulars, they settle once and for all whether or not Zoomers are drinking less.

PLUS protein in vodka? It’s real, and it’s spectacular.

Follow Nic on Instagram at @nicholas.hamilton and on TikTok at @nic.hamilton

LINKS

• Become a Regular
• Order Nic’s book, Sipsy-Doozy
• For resources on dealing with cold, hard water agents in your community visit nouswithoutyou.la/ and @thenycalliance
• The Speakeasy is on YouTube!
• Check out Quiote Imports and use promo code “Speakeasy” for free shipping.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What does it take to be one of the 50 Best bars? And what does “Best” mean anyway? Emma Sleight from 50 Best sits down with Greg and Sother to discuss how a bar makes the list, whether she’s still impressed with hospitality and what role these kinds of lists play in the hospitality industry at large.

PLUS, a line of 20% spirits has hit the market. Is this just fad-chasing or something real? Greg and Sother discuss this latest move by Diageo.

Follow The 50 Best Bars at @the50bars

LINKS

• Become a Regular
• Follow The 50: the50.com
• For resources on dealing with cold, hard water agents in your community visit nouswithoutyou.la/ and @thenycalliance
• The Speakeasy is on YouTube!
• Check out Quiote Imports and use promo code “Speakeasy” for free shipping.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Brett Adams just finished writing his second book. Good thing he had a lot of time since his day job is curating a bar with thousands of different bottles. Brett, author of “Raising the Bar” and “The Bartender’s Library” sits down with Greg and Sother to talk about his work as Spirits Curator and Education Manager at the Multnomah Whiskey Library, why he wanted to write such an in-the-weeds book after a much more stripped down debut, and what bottles he would take with him at the end of the world. Want to hear what goes into a $7,000 dram of Japanese Whiskey? Brett has your answers.

PLUS, cocktail names are getting simpler. By a lot. Greg and Sother unpack this latest iteration of the minimalist trend and whether or not it might be an overcorrection.

Follow Multnomah at @multnomahwhiskeylibrary

Follow Brett at @your.daily.brett

LINKS

• Become a Regular
• Preorder Brett’s Book
• For resources on dealing with cold, hard water agents in your community visit nouswithoutyou.la/ and @thenycalliance
• The Speakeasy is on YouTube!
• Check out Quiote Imports and use promo code “Speakeasy” for free shipping.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“Sustainable” and “Farm-to-Table” sound good on a business plan, in a press hit and on social media. But what does it actually mean for a bar to be sustainable? Fred Beebe has taken one approach, and focuses on sourcing almost everything at Post Haste in Philadelphia from east of the Mississippi. Fred sits down with Greg and Sother to unpack his decision to source most of the ingredients he uses from somewhere you can drive to in under 18 hours, what that means in terms of common bar ingredients (like lemons and limes) and what it’s like to open a Philly bar as a native New Yorker.

PLUS, can I get that in a man’s glass? Greg and Sother unpack a patriarchal trend that’s once again rearing its ugly head, and how that relates to the future of unreasonable hospitality (as seen on “The Bear”!)

Follow Post Haste at @posthastephilly

LINKS

• Become a Regular: patreon.com/SpeakeasyRegulars
• Bon Appetit’s piece on the end of unreasonable hospitality: bonappetit.com/story/will-guidara-unreasonable-hospitality-criticism
• For resources on dealing with cold hard water agents in your community visit nouswithoutyou.la/ and @thenycalliance
• The Speakeasy is now on YouTube! Tune in to “see” what we’re talking about at youtube.com/@Speakeasy.Podcast
• Check out Quiote Imports at quioteimports.com and use promo code “Speakeasy” to get free shipping at checkout.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Mixers have to fight an uphill battle to make an impression. They’re not as sexy as whiskey or gin, and if you’re starting a new company one question inevitably comes up: Does the world really need another tonic water? Fortunately David Vogel, the Founder & CEO of Badger Bevs has the answers. He sits down to talk about breaking into the business, the R&D required to get the quinine and citrus in his tonic just right, and how working for a pet food company gave him a secret edge in supply chain management

PLUS, new bobbleheads just dropped, and Greg and Sother take a moment to reflect on one of their favorite regional traditions: the beloved local beer of, let’s say less than stellar quality.

Follow Badger Bevs at @badger bevs

LINKS

• Become a Regular: patreon.com/SpeakeasyRegulars
• For resources on dealing with cold hard water agents in your community visit nouswithoutyou.la/ and @thenycalliance
• The Speakeasy is now on YouTube! Tune in to “see” what we’re talking about at youtube.com/@Speakeasy.Podcast
• Check out Quiote Imports at quioteimports.com and use promo code “Speakeasy” to get free shipping at checkout.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

When Damola Timeyin co-founded Bayab Gin he set out to “put Africa on the world’s back bar.” Greg and Sother chat with Damola about what that entails, how his company is aiming to avoid the mistakes of colonialism, and what that means the gin in the bottle actually tastes like. Spoiler, one of his four gin expressions is absolutely bursting with pineapple flavor.

PLUS, a beer heist and a new, slightly less simple way to make simple syrup. It’s news you can use!

Follow Bayab at @bayabgin

LINKS

• Become a Regular: patreon.com/SpeakeasyRegulars
• Read Damola’s substack: theafricanflavourmanifesto.substack.com
• For resources on dealing with cold hard water agents in your community visit nouswithoutyou.la/ and @thenycalliance
• The Speakeasy is now on YouTube! Tune in to “see” what we’re talking about at youtube.com/@Speakeasy.Podcast
• Check out Quiote Imports at quioteimports.com and use promo code “Speakeasy” to get free shipping at checkout.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What does it take to get consumers to try Vermouth straight? Not in a Negroni, or a Manhattan or a Martini, but by itself? And would it be any easier if you told them hey, that’s the way they drink it in Barcelona? Raj Nallapothola and Àlex Cardona, the co-founders of LAIE Vermouth join Greg and Sother for the first show of their fall season to discuss the native Catalan ingredients that make this bottle taste like home, why you should really just try vermouth by itself, and why putting it in a cocktail “ruins it.”

PLUS, Greg and Sother catch up on the industry news from their time off the air, including AI in promotional posters and whether or not anyone is impressed with your guest shift.

Follow LAIE at @laievermouth

Follow Àlex at @aborigens

Follow Raj at @rajnallapothola

LINKS

• Become a Regular: patreon.com/SpeakeasyRegulars
• For resources on dealing with cold hard water agents in your community visit nouswithoutyou.la/ and @thenycalliance
• The Speakeasy is now on YouTube! Tune in to “see” what we’re talking about at youtube.com/@Speakeasy.Podcast
• Learn more about Luxardo at luxardousa.com
• Check out Quiote Imports at quioteimports.com and use promo code “Speakeasy” to get free shipping at checkout.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

We're on summer break this week but we've got an announcement about the community we're building.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The minds behind World Gin Week, Philip Duff and Karl Finegan sit down with Greg and Sother to discuss the inaugural festival which took place this summer in New York City. They discuss the learnings from their first go-round, which was made possible in part by the fantastic staff at Ivory Peacock, their plans for world gin domination, and how to gently change the minds of folks who swear they don’t like gin.

PLUS summer break is upon us and Greg is headed to Iceland. Find out what he’s traveling for and share some of your own summer travel stories with us on Instagram.

Follow Philip at @philipsduff

Follow Karl at @finegk

Follow Ivory Peacock at @theivorypeacock

Follow World Gin Week at @worldginweekofficial

LINKS

• Become a Regular: patreon.com/SpeakeasyRegulars
• For resources on dealing with cold hard water agents in your community visit nouswithoutyou.la/ and @thenycalliance
• The Speakeasy is now on YouTube! Tune in to “see” what we’re talking about at youtube.com/@Speakeasy.Podcast
• Learn more about Luxardo at luxardousa.com
• Check out Quiote Imports at quioteimports.com and use promo code “Speakeasy” to get free shipping at checkout.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.