The Philip Duff Show

Episod

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  #169, Philip Duff solo - The Tales recap! 27 July 2026 27.07.2026 49min

  Well, we - meaning me - survived Tales! (not that Delta Airlines were any bloody help). Here's a recap of what I did, where I went and how I think it all shook out, including of course some - sometimes salty - commentary on the Spirited Awards, said commentary applying to all the the other awards, Lists, nominations and suchlike that now bedevil our once-tranquil industry. Enjoy! (Get in touch with Duff! Podcast business enquiries: consulting@liquidsolutions.org&nbsp...
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  #168, Leslie Merinoff Kwasnieski , master distiller, Matchbook Distilling, North Fork, Long Island, NY. 20 July 2026 20.07.2026 1j 43min

  I didn't realise Leslie was the person behind Matchbook Distilling until I had her brother, Andrew Merinoff, on the show (Episode #154, here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3Qgz2nPJNYyrVu4MnHoLfd?si=Ypn5UXXlTMii5zNOD_1KrQ ) I was aware of Matchbook, you see, because as well as making their own mindboggling spirits, Matchbook are spoken of reverently by the very best bars in New York, such as Death & Co., Eleven Madison Park, Shinji's (RIP), Schmuck, and more, for the custom distillates ...
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  #167, Emma Janzen & Toby Maloney, award-winning authors of “The Bartender’s Manifesto” and “The Classic Cocktail Sessions” 13.07.2026 1j 34min

  Toby is a veteran bartender and mixologist, who added high-level mixology to his legendary drinkmaking speed with stints at Milk & Honey (NY), The Violet Hour (Chicago) and Mother's Ruin, before turning his hand to (as well as consulting on bar programs) writing and co-authoring "The Bartender's Manifesto" with Emma, which won a James Beard award, and most recently "The Classic Cocktail Sessions" a prequel to the Manifesto. Emma is an acclaimed Chicago-based spirits, cocktail and ba...
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  #166, Scott Mayer, bartender, manager , beverage director & founder of Blended Family liqueurs 06.07.2026 1j 46min

  I first ran into Scott down in New Orleans at Tales of the Cocktail, but we've since hung out many times, also in Atlanta. His story, about coming up in mixology, especially in Miami in the early years when it wasn't cool, is fascinating. Like a lot of bartenders back then, he made his own bitters, syrups and liqueurs because the industry then hadn't yet caught up to the Second Golden Age of cocktails; unlike a lot of bartenders, he decided to make his experience into a branded range of...
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  #165, H. Joseph Ehrmann, owner, Elixir bar (San Francisco), Chief Mixology Officer, Fresh Victor cocktail mixers 29 June 2026 29.06.2026 1j 46min

  H is an old friend and I'd been meaning to catch up with him anyway, but when I heard he was piloting a ground-breaking new mentorship program for bartenders, in association with the brand he helps spearhead, Fresh Victor, it was time to schedule a session. From being a line cook to gaining an MBA, creating products for grocery and consulting on liquor brands, then breathing new life into San Francisco's second-oldest bar, he's done it all. Enjoy! H on Instagram: https://www.insta...
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  #164, Seymour Ferreira, global liquor CEO, brand owner (inc. Ridgeview Wine Estate), founder of Chimera import, distribution & brand development (UK) 22.06.2026 1j 59min

  Seymour has has a long career in liquor and has been a global CEO multiple times, adding millions of cases and value to every firm he worked at, from the Philippines to Singapore, to Amsterdam, and from Allied-Domecq to Maxxium to Amber Beverage, and many more besides. Seymour was my client for years, starting at Maxxium, and we developed a friendship that's seen us collaborate on many projects since. His newest venture, Chimera brand development in the UK, is less than two years ...
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  #163, Hemant Pathak, partner & beverage director Junoon, Jazba, Room 207 & Tandoor Oven (NYC), World Class and Bacardi Legacy winner (India) 15.06.2026 1j 19min

  Hemant , who is from a small village in the foothills of the Himalayas, became a star overnight after winning Diageo World Class India, followed quickly by winning Bacardi Legacy India, but when he moved to New York he was briefly homeless and just four weeks from returning to India. At the last moment he was connected to restaurateur Rajesh Bhardwaj, owner of the Michelin-starred Junoon restaurant, where Hemant went on to become the beverage director and general manager. Subsequently H...
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  Brian Maxwell, owner & beverage director, Vieux Carre, Pittsburgh 10.06.2026 2j

  Brian is a peripatetic bartender who's slung drinks in his native Pittsburgh, New Orleans, Philadelphia, New York, and, with the recently opened Vieux Carre, back to Pittsburgh. He's also been a fighter, starting with wrestling, then boxing and MMA, and fought the booze too, becoming and staying sober after going to just one too many "celebrations of life" for someone who left us too soon. This is a great conversation, and fun too - enjoy! Brian on IG: https://www.instagram.com/shakerof...
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  Aarón Díaz, founder, Carnaval (Lima), beverage director Super Group, chef & mixologist 02.06.2026 56min

  I met Aarón in Europe when he was visiting, and I've wanted to sit down with him for ages. From a childhood in kitchens to teaching culinary arts around the world and falling sideways into mixology after a stint at Chicago's world-famous Aviary, his career path has been anything but straightforward. He's now moving on from Carnaval, the bar he founded that put Lima on the map for 50 Best Bars, so we caught up on his plans. Aarón on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aarondiazoli...
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  Mike Paladini and Danny Polise, founders, Penelope Bourbon 25.05.2026 1j 48min

  I bumped into Mike at NY's legendary Irish bar Swift in 2020, when a mutual friend who'd been showing Mike around Manhattan bars introduced us. I'd heard a story or two about this new-to-the-market MGP-sourced bourbon named Penelope from a couple of New Jersey guys, and I took his business card and wished him well; the whiskey had only been available for a year or so at that stage. Mike sent me a nice email afterwards saying he enjoyed reading some of the articles I was writing for Imbibe mag...
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  Rakshay Dhariwal, founder, Maya Pistola Agavepura Indian agave spirit, co-founder Passcode Hospitality and India Cocktail Week 20.05.2026 1j 26min

  I met Rakshay a few years back on one of the legendary Blueblazer press tours of bars in Italy, and he let me taste the agave spirit he produces in India, Maya Pistola Agavepura. Its distilled with traditional tequila methods from an Indian-grown species of agave usually used in Mexico for mezcal, then aged on the tropical Indian island of Goa before bottling. Pistola was born during Covid and after being on the market for just a couple of years, Diageo's Indian subsidiary, United Spirits, be...
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  #158, Drew Schenck, owner, Dram & Draught bar group,(North Carolina), founder, Moonbird Gin & GOATz Rum 04.05.2026 1j 6min

  Drew has been a friend for half a decade, and as well as being a lauded bar owner, we created Moonbird Gin (double gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Awards) and GOATz Spiced Rum together - and he's a hilarious, fascinating guy. Drew on IG: https://www.instagram.com/drewbarman/ (Get in touch with Duff! Podcast business enquiries: consulting@liquidsolutions.org (PR friends: we’re only interested in having your client on if they can talk for a couple of hour...
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  #157, Eric van Beek, co-founder, Handshake Bar (Mexico City, #1 W50BB ‘24) & Shakerato (Amsterdam) 27.04.2026 1j 12min

  I met Eric in Amsterdam in 2019 just before he moved to Mexico City to open his first bar there, and our paths have crossed a good bit since then, most recently at the Maybe Cocktail Festival in Sydney, where we got to hang out for almost a week. Eric started off in the world of basketball, training and playing in the US, switched to hospitality after returning to the Netherlands, and rapidly learned his craft, winning the global finals of Bacardi Legacy in 2018 and moving to Mexico Cit...
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  #156, Sven Almenning, founder, Behind Bars agency (Australia), and Australian cocktail bars Eau de Vie, Nick & Nora’s, The Roosevelt, The Sanderson, Pearl Diver & Mjolner Viking steakhouses, 13 April 2026 13.04.2026 1j 34min

  What can you say about the extravagantly-bearded Norwegian Sven Almenning, who at one stage owned the world's largest bar agency, based in Sydney, running best-in-class bartender engagement programs at scale, and has since morphed into a tycoon of the Australian cocktail bar scene, with 8 or so top-notch venues in Sydney, Melbourne and the like? Well, quite a lot it seems! We talked about savant vibes master Max Greco (quite a bit, in fact), what it takes to create a great bar now in Australi...
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  #155, Tobin Ellis, veteran bartender, author of “Bar Design Essentials", champion flair bartender, principal of Barmagic design studios (Las Vegas & New York) 30 March 2026 30.03.2026 2j 9min

  God help me, I've known Tobin for thirty years now, having met when we both competed in flair bartending contests, starting with the legendary Quest for the Best in Orlando many moons ago. Tobin went on to co-found the Flair Bartenders Association (FBA) and later moved to Las Vegas, where he still (mostly) hangs his hat. He went all-in on bar design decades ago, and has completed a book, "Bar Design Essentials" that he started writing in 2007, and which is as seminal and definitive for ...
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  #154, Andrew Merinoff, Co-founder & Investor Chinola Liqueur, Coconut Cartel, Empirical Spirits, Matchbook Distilling, Seven Rooms, & more 23.03.2026 2j 7min

  I met Andrew several years ago when he came to hang out at an Old Duff Genever evening I was hosting at Berlin’s marvellous Zyankali Bar, and the good people of Rachel Harrison Communications recently recommended I get him on, which struck me as an excellent idea. Turns out he’s fourth-generation American liquor royalty, with a mother from the Hiram Walker family, a great-grandfather who bootlegged during Prohibition, a grandfather who legalised the business, and his father, who built U...
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  #153, TJ Lynch, co-founder Mother’s Ruin (NY, Austin, Nashville, Chicago), Lowlife Bar and Lost Isle restaurant (South Carolina) 16.03.2026 1j 34min

  TJ Lynch is one of the most genuinely hilarious people I know, but the success he and business partner Richard Knapp have had with cocktail dive bar Mother's Ruin - four branches, a fifth and sixth on the way, plus separate concepts in Folly Beach and Johns Island South Carolina - is no joke. And it all started with a little bar on Spring Street in Manhattan that they opened in 2011 for the princely sum of $185, 000. We talk about his switch into bartending from cooking, then into...
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  #152, David Vogel, founder, Badger Bevs premium mixers, 9 March 09.03.2026 1j 16min

  David’s a great guy I met through Jillian Vose, ex-supremo of mixology at Dead Rabbit and all-round bar goddess. Badger Bevs is a gorgeous range of premium mixers, and David IS ALL IN on the on-premise, so I badly wanted to sit down and hear his story, and it did not disappoint - enjoy! Badger Bevs on IG: https://www.instagram.com/badgerbevs?igsh=cTMzYjlrZndteDg2 (Get in touch with Duff! Podcast business enquiries: consulting@liquidsolutions.org (PR friends: we’re only in...
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  #151, Stephan Berg & Alexander Hauck, founders, The Bitter Truth cocktail bitters, liqueurs & spirits 02.03.2026 1j 11min

  The Bitter Truth cocktail bitters launched in 2006, after German bartenders Stephan Berg and Alexander Hauck visited London Bar Show, had a drink in Sketch bar, and decided to go for it. This year TBT celebrates 20 years, so it was time to sit down with Stephan and Alexander to talk about how a couple of bartenders making extinct bitters in their garage entered a centuries-old category and carved out a thriving business that's expanded to include rare liqueurs, Tiki Lovers rum and Pink ...
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  #150, Jeff Bell, owner-partner PDT, Crif Dogs, Tacos 1986, Mixteca and Kees, New York City 23.02.2026 1j 52min

  Jeff's best-known for being a mainstay of New York's world-famous speakeasy-behind-a-phone-booth Please Don't Tell (PDT), where he was hired by Jim Meehan and has worked since 2010, and which post-pandemic he bought from its founder Brian Shebairo along with the hotdog stand it's housed inside, Crif Dogs. In a city where bartenders hop around jobs willy-nilly, Jeff credits his tenure at a single bar with helping him gain the trust of investors (Apres Cru Hospitality) and become an owner...