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.

Nikki McCutcheon started working with Tao Group Hospitality when she was eighteen. Now she's the VP of Beverage in New York and her career has progressed from passing the level two somm exam, to designing cocktail menus, to opening a punk rock sake bar. She chats with Sother and Greg about what’s changed in the world of wine, how she and her team decide which drinks make it onto the menu, and how their tasty instagram snacks and Magnum Mondays work to bring guests (including Sother) through the doors.

PLUS bars around the country are “benefitsmaxxing” by finding clever workarounds for healthcare and wealth inequality. Is it ingenuity, an indictment of a broken system, or both?

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.

Greg and Sother are live on the red carpet at Bartending’s Biggest Night! They speak to the winners of the 2026 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards, including Amanda Gunderson and Travis Nass who took home Best Bar Mentor for their work with Another Round Another Rally, the team from Allegory in Washington, DC fresh off their win for World’s Best Cocktail Menu, Moe Aljaff from schmuck which snagged the plate for Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar, and the inimitable David Wondrich after he was honored with the Helen David Lifetime Achievement Award.

PLUS Charlotte’s back to reflect on her time as a judge for the Spirited Awards, and she shares a life hack she wishes more people knew: that you can just nominate yourself!

Follow Tales of the Cocktail at @tales_of_the_cocktail

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.

Next week David Muhs is going to open his cocktail bar Monkey Thief for the third time. He sits down with Greg and Sother to talk about the different incarnations of his concept, what he’s learned by opening the same bar three times in Hell’s Kitchen, and how the bar has been refined in the process. They also discuss the other concepts on that same street corner, including Rita’s a taco and margarita joint, Same Same Wine Bar and Sama Za, a pizza place that manages to pull of 90s nostalgia in a non-cringe way.

PLUS Greg and Sother are safely returned from Tales! They talk about what they saw, what they learned, why their voices sound like late-stage Johnny Cash, and what sparked them at this year’s festival.

Follow David at @muhsman

Follow Monkey Thief at @monkeythiefbar

Follow Sama ‘Za at @samaza_nyc

Follow Same Same at @samesamewinebar

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.

Greg and Sother are back in the pool at Tales of the Cocktail 2026! On Day Four they’re joined by Shawn Lickliter and Vay Su, the owners of Vandell in Los Angeles which is up for best new cocktail bar at this year’s Spirited Awards. They discuss what makes Los Angeles different from New York City, their approach to inventing drinks (and when you cease tweaking a classic and start inventing something new) and what the incredible success of their bar has meant to them and their team. Then everyone gets a poolside spritz delivery, courtesy of Luxardo.

PLUS Charlotte returns to talk about her career in the industry, going from bartender to brand rep to her current position at Tales, and what she’s looking forward to in the hospitality industry.

Follow Shawn at @shawninverta

Follow Vay at @bearandstone

Follow Vandell at @vandell.losangeles

Follow Luxardo at @luxardousa

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.

Greg and Sother are back in the pool at Tales of the Cocktail 2026! On Day Three they tough out tropical storm Bertha with Kate Gerwin, the owner of Albuqurque’s Happy Accidents and a Top Four Finalist for Best US Bar Mentor. Kate walks through her philosophy of bar mentorship, how her feelings on being a mentor have evolved over the years, and what it’s like to go from bartender to bar owner. Plus, she teases her new concept Bad Apple over some delicious apple brandy from Laird’s

PLUS, Charlotte Voisey joins Greg and Sother to talk about the good work Tales of the Cocktail Foundation does behind the scenes.

Follow Kate at @alchemistkate

Follow Happy Accidents at @happyaccidentsbar

Follow Laird’s at @lairdsapplejack

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 Laird’s at lairdandcompany.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.