The Speakeasy

By Heritage Radio NetworkSociety & Culture Arts Food

The Speakeasy episodes

April 10, 2013 Episode 90: Attaboy
Same spot, new look! This week on The Speakeasy, Sam Ross and Michael McIlroy drop by to talk with host Damon Boelte about their new bar, Attaboy. The two took over the former location of Lower East Side staple, Milk and Honey. Find out what it takes to open your own bar, and what they’ve changed to make the spot their own. What’s stayed the same since the bar opened a month ago? Classic cocktails. Hear Damon, Sam and Michael debate the value of a cocktail menu. Does a lack of menus make things more personal between a bartender and a customer, or more confusing? Without a menu, the duo talks about serving guests personalized drinks in “courses” – whether it’s with citrus or, even, an egg. This program was sponsored by White Oak Pastures
“Those couple months we were closed during the renovations, hours were changed significantly from being bartender for 14 odd-years getting up around midday, on an early miday and then getting home until 5 to just to change, getting and being there at 9 o’clock, making sure the contractors were on top of their game, making those phone calls, did you know business hours close at 5 p.m.?”
“Those few months we were closed I was just craving getting back behind the bar and we’re doing that in our own space.”
—Sam Ross of Attaboy on The Speakeasy
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36 min
April 03, 2013 Episode 89: Thomas Waugh / Major Food Group
Old school Italian New York is alive and well. This week on The Speakeasy, get to know Thomas Waugh, the bar director for Major Food Group – the people behind Torissi Italian Specialties, Parm and the newly opened Carbone. He shares the plans behind Carbone, a high quality and entertaining take on classic red and white checkered tablecloth NYC Italian restaurants. Hear about Thomas’s inclusive drink program at Carbone, that will promise diners free limoncello and grappa at the end of their meal. Damon and Thomas wax poetic about classic cocktails and their place at themed restaurants while giving listeners some great insight into the mentality of forward thinking bartenders. This program was sponsored by Hearst Ranch. Today’s break music provided courtesy of Dead Stars.
“Almost everybody that’s grown up in the United States can relate to the experience of the mid-century style American Italian restaurant. Red and white checkered tablecloths, breadsticks, etc. We wanted to do that idea – but actually do it really well.” [07:00]
“My job at Carbone is to finish the night. Every single customer gets free limoncello and infused grappa.” [13:00]
–Thomas Waugh, bar director of Major Food Group on The Speakeasy
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32 min
March 27, 2013 Episode 88: Tristan Willey of Booker & Dax
Booker & Dax is like a mad scientists lab… just with more booze. On today’s episode of The Speakeasy, hang out with Damon Boelte as he chats with bartender at Booker & Dax, Tristan Willey. Hear how he got into this scientific style of bartending and why the tools used at Booker & Dax are not at all for show. Hot drinks, savory cocktails and crazy infusions are all part of the formula at Booker & Dax – and if you weren’t craving a cocktail before this show, you will be by the end of it. Tune in and get the low down on the trendsetting and high quality ways of Booker & Dax. This program was sponsored by S. Wallace Edwards & Sons. Music provided courtesy of Knifeshow.
“The ideas of tools we use [at Booker & Dax] are basic – though the equipment is complicated can cause advanced issues. The way we view it as as simple as can be – we’re not pulling anything that’s exotic or foreign – it’s just a cleaner way to get to an end result.” [05:00]
“I would never make a daiquiri with clarified lime juice. There’s a time and place for clarifications.” [13:00]
–Tristan Willey of Booker & Dax on The Speakeasy
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33 min
March 20, 2013 Episode 87: Giuseppe Gonzalez (Explicit Content)
Giuseppe Gonzalez joins Damon Boelte for a raunchy, raw and real episode of The Speakeasy. Giuseppe was the head bartender at Julie Reiner’s well-known Flatiron Lounge and her more recent Brooklyn endeavor, Clover Club. Gonzalez also worked as lead barman at Sasha Petraske’s project in Long Island City, Dutch Kills, where he mixed classically-based cocktails in 19th century saloon-style digs. Since then, he’s opened Painkiller, one of the best tiki bars in the country, and plans on opening Golden Cadillac in the East Village soon. Tune in for some honest insights into what it takes to open a bar in New York City and listen in for a special studio bomb from Steve Schneider. This program was sponsored by Roberta’s
“My dream bar is a shitty bar. It’s a bar that was made by people without contractors, architects or designers.” [07:00]
“You should not be invested in what a guest drinks. You should not care. There should be a certain degree of creativity and ownership – but long story short – if somebody wants a vodka soda and bitters don’t try to sell them an Old Fashioned. What people drink is personal and what they need at the time.” [18:00]
–Giuseppe Gonzalez on The Speakeasy
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35 min
March 13, 2013 Episode 86: Nick Jarrett LIVE From New Orleans
Nick Jarrett is calling in to The Speakeasy all the way from sunny New Orleans! Damon checks in with Nick and talks shop about cocktails in NOLA, the Big Easy mentality, dive bars and beyond. Find out how they make a real Sazerac in New Orleans and why the drinking culture is so alive. Nick talks about some of his favorite rye whiskeys, house cocktails and day drinking routines. Find out why the drinks seem so sweet down south and what Nick has planned for St. Patrick’s Day! This program was sponsored by Fairway Market.
“Drinks feels a bit sweeter in New Orleans – I even find myself here with the hot weather preferring something sweeter with more body to it.” [07:30]
–Nick Jarrett on The Speakeasy
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34 min
March 06, 2013 Episode 85: Beer!
For the first time, Damon Boelte is talking BEER on The Speakeasy. Tune in as he’s joined by Tristan Colegrove for a conversation about session beers, beer cocktails and other interesting things happening in the world of brews. What’s the perfect ABV for a session beer? What does the future hold for beer cocktails? Get ahead of the curve and listen in for a very insightful conversation on the future of beer culture in America. This program was sponsored by The International Culinary Center.
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36 min
February 13, 2013 Episode 84: Nico de Soto
Nico de Soto has traveled the world in the name of cocktails. This week on The Speakeasy, Damon Boelte invites Nico into the studio to talk about his positions as Bar Manager and General Manager at The Experimental Cocktail Club in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Find out how Nico’s South American trip has influenced his creative juices. Hear about the small menu at The Experimental Cocktail Club, and why Nico does not include classics on his list. Find out how flash infusions, carbonation, and rotovaps have changed the cocktail landscape. How important is presentation when serving a cocktail, and how does Nico use nontraditional glassware at the bar? Later, Nico and Damon talk about the overlapping worlds of bartending and cooking! This program has been sponsored by Catskill Provisions.
“I approach drinks like cuisine. I try to marry ingredients that wouldn’t be obvious.” [6:05] — Nico de Soto on The Speakeasy
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32 min
February 06, 2013 Episode 83: Bridget Firtle
What goes into opening a distillery? From troubleshooting boilers to priming pumps, Bridget Firtle has gotten a lot of training she never expected to while opening “The Noble Experiment”, a distillery in NYC. On this week’s episode of The Speakeasy, Damon Boelte chats with Bridget about opening a distillery, making rum and making moves in the craft spirits industry. If things like sourcing molasses and Island rum variations interest you, then you’ve found the right show to listen to. Today’s program was sponsored by Catskill Provisions
“Whiskey is known as the American spirit, but one of the first distilleries in the country was a rum distillery in Staten Island.” [20:00]
–Bridget Firtle on The Speakeasy
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33 min
January 23, 2013 Episode 82: Kings County Distillery
Who’s in the mood for whiskey? Tune into the Speakeasy and hear from “master blender” Nicole Austin from Kings County Distillery in Brooklyn. Find out how the small distillery has evolved over the past few years, and learn what exactly a master blender does. Learn about corn whiskey and what makes it different than other spirits and why when it comes to barels size does matter. Small barel distillation is a trickier task, but it makes for some absolutely delicious product. Learn all about small batch whisky on a boozy episode of The Speakeasy. This program was sponsored by Greenhouse Tavern.
“I have every intention of sticking with small barels. I’m not trying to out-Jim Bean Jim Bean.” [09:00]
“Designing a still is the wheelhouse of chemical engineering.” [18:00]
–Nicole Austin of Kings County Distillery on The Speakeasy
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34 min
January 16, 2013 Episode 81: The Third Man
Damon Boelte is back and so is The Speakeasy! On the first episode of 2013, Damon is hanging out with friend and fellow bartender J Rosser Lomax, of a brand new NYC bar called “The Third Man”. Tune in and hear them talk shop and defend the integrity of Platinum Buds. How do restrictions help bar programs? How can bartenders make bitter classic drinks accessible to all? Hear about all of the crazy concoctions J Rosser Lomax has come up with, including Champagne-backs and tons of other crazy ideas. As always, aspiring bartenders and drink enthusiasts will have plenty to walk away with from this one. This program was sponsored by Hearst Ranch
“Creativity and restrictions like each other much more than people think.” 07:00
“America created the cocktail because we were making really bootleg whiskey and had to do something with it.” 12:00
–J Rosser Lomax of The Third Man on The Speakeasy
See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
33 min

About The Speakeasy

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Award-winning bartenders and co-hosts Sother Teague and Greg Benson sit down to talk cocktails, spirits, wine, beer, tea, coffee, and all the other exciting liquids in the universe. With each…