Best Tim Santoni Podcasts (2024)

1
#88, Robin Robinson, author, whiskey guru & brand sherpa for craft liquor brands, NYC 2:53:02

2h ago2:53:02

2:53:02

Robin's been a fixture of the spirits education world for as long as I can remember - I think we first met when he was still shepherding Compass Box Whisky for the US, at a bar show in Paris. He's a remarkable raconteur - like a lot of the ex-actors littering the spirits industry - and a true expert across the broad world of spirits, but what reall…

1
#87, Emily LaRuffa, New York hospitality veteran and founder of Oracle Hospitality Consultants 2:34:50

2d ago2:34:50

2:34:50

Emily LaRuffa has scaled the dizzy heights of Manhattan hospitality business, from bartending to managing and being a GM at every kind of NY joint from rock 'n' roll bars in Hell's Kitchen to the five-star luxury of Loews Hotel, The Baccarat, Major Food Group (and cheerful pirate Brian Miller)'s The Polynesian, and Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospit…

1
#86, Alice Lascelles, award-winning drinks writer and author of “The Martini: The Ultimate Guide To A Cocktail Icon” 1:03:48

9d ago1:03:48

1:03:48

Alice, an old friend from way back when, is one of the best drinks writers based in the UK, has won multiple awards for her writing about spirits, wine, beer, cocktails and bars, is often to be found on UK radio & TV, and just published her new book "The Martini: The Ultimate Guide to a Cocktail Icon", so we sat down over a martini (or in my case, …

1
#85, Kara Newman, award-winning drinks writer & author, New York City 1:40:10

20d ago1:40:10

1:40:10

Kara defected to writing about spirits, cocktails and bars after starting out writing about matters financial, and finance's loss is cocktail's gain! A New York native and friend, Kara has written seven spirits- and cocktail-related books as well as her newest venture, The Cocktail Cabinet, decks of beautiful playing cards themed around a particula…

1
#84, Chris Cardone, sober advocate, founder Continuous Beverage Solutions, Diageo World Class USA winner, NYC (flair) bartender & mixologist 2:13:10

27d ago2:13:10

2:13:10

I've known New York (well, Long Island) native Chris for over two decades, since we met at a flair bartending contest in the Cayman Islands, and he's maintained his rep as a flair bartender while becoming an accomplished mixologist as well, getting sober, winning Diageo World Class USA in 2017, crafting the Via Carota range of bottled cocktails and…

1
Los Angeles Fair Chance Ordinance 5:20

1M ago5:20

5:20

Los Angeles Fair Chance Ordinance When did it take effect? Who does it apply to? What changes do you need to be aware of? LINK TO THE ORDINANCE LNK TO THE INDIVIDUALIZED ASSESSMENT FORM LINK TO FACT SHEET Watch the VIDEO Version of the PODCAST HEREBy Tim Santoni

1
#83, Iain McPherson, owner, Panda & Sons, Hoot the Redeemer, Nauticus, Edinburgh. 2:02:04

1M ago2:02:04

2:02:04

The Cocktail Panda himself comes on The Philip Duff Show! I've known Iain for years - he entered the G'Vin Gin Connoisseur Program which I used to run - and he's built a mini bar empire in Edinburgh so it was time to catch up on his adventures guest bartending for his uncle in Korea, celeb liquor, how he got his start in the bar business and what h…

1
#82, Marshall Minaya, beverage director Valerie, Madame George and Lolita, New York City. 1:49:15

2M ago1:49:15

1:49:15

Marshall - and the three top-notch places he runs the beverage programs for, Valerie, Lolita and Madame George - is one of Manhattan's best-kept secrets. If you come to New York, I'll take you to one of these places (or all three, as they're conveniently located right next door to one another), and I guarantee you'll be blown away by the quality of…

1
#81, Tim McKirdy, managing editor, VinePair, recovering chef, host of the Cocktail College podcast 2:33:23

2M ago2:33:23

2:33:23

Myself and Tim have been threatening each other with a podcast taping for over a year, and we finally found time to sit down, beverages to hand, and make it happen! (This is a satisfyingly lengthy episode, clocking in at over 2.5 hours, and we'll do more of such chat fests in the future, too). We talk about Tim's path into the industry as a cook an…

1
#80 Simone Caporale, co-owner Sips & Sips Esencia (#1, W50BB 2023), Amaro Santoni, Canaima Gin, MUYU Liqueurs & The Art of Shaking 1:15:10

2M ago1:15:10

1:15:10

Simone has come a long way since his Italian childhood in Como: while part of a legendary double-act with Alex Kratena, he led London's Artesian Bar to an unprecedented four #1 listings in World's 50 Best Bars. Simone's post-Artesian career is even more impressive: Sips, his Barcelona bar together with business partner Marc Alvarez, was crowned #1 …

1
#79, Mark Pascal & Francis Schott, hosts of The Restaurant Guys podcast, owners of Stage Left Steak and Catherine Lombardi restaurants, New Brunswick, New Jersey 1:37:07

2M ago1:37:07

1:37:07

Francis, and, later Mark, have been friends of mine for a long time; we must have bumped into one another in Manhattan or at a Tales of the Cocktail event in New Orleans, but it was our mutual friend Dale de Groff who persuaded me to make the trek out to NJ to see their restaurants, which are incredibly successful and a mainstay of their community.…

1
#78 Erik Lorincz, owner Kwānt (London), Antique American Bar (Bratislava), BIRDY by Erik Lorincz bar tools, ex-head bartender The Savoy, former Diageo World Class global champion. 1:42:01

3M ago1:42:01

1:42:01

Me and Erik go waaaaaay back, to when I taught a class on the IBA's elite John Whyte residential training course in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic, before Erik moved to London to start his stratospheric ascent to the top of the bartending world. We sat down during Tales of the Cocktail to talk about all that: awards, scalpels vs. hammers, how cities …

1
#77 Simon Difford, founder Diffordsguide.com, creator Difford's Easy Jigger, chronicler of the Second Cocktail Golden Age 1:42:21

3M ago1:42:21

1:42:21

Simon's been a mate since the late 1990s, when he created CLASS (standing for Cocktail Liqueur And Speciality Spirit) magazine, the print forerunner of Difford's Guide and, in a pre-Internet world, just about the only way to learn about the revolution in cocktails that began sweeping London in the mid-1990s, which we both agree dates to the opening…

1
#76, Natasha Bahrami, The Gin Girl, The Gin Room (St. Louis, Missouri), Gin World festivals (everywhere), member The Gin Guild 1:19:14

3M ago1:19:14

1:19:14

I've known Natasha for ages and it's no exaggeration to say she's changed the landscape of gin consumption in her native Missouri, and indeed in the wider USA as well. Much as Julio Bermejo built a dedicated band of fanatics drinking 100% Blue Agave tequila at Tommy's, a suburb of San Francisco, Natasha did the same with gin, in her family's restau…

1
#75 Zev Glesta, spirits specialist Sotheby's New York, ex-bartender at The Modern, The Fat Duck/Dinner 1:47:20

3M ago1:47:20

1:47:20

Zev's had one of the most interesting career arcs of any bartender I know, but when we finally sat down to tape an episode, it turned out to have even more twists and turns than I thought! From Brooklyn to Melbourne to Montreal and back to NY, and from bartending for Heston Blumenthal Down Under to manning the shakers in the Meyerverse* that is Uni…

1
#74, Anna Sebastian, UK-based hospitality consultant, founder of #CelebrateHer, ending homelessness with @underonesky 2:06:58

4M ago2:06:58

2:06:58

Anna is brilliant and this episode - taped partly in a hotel lobby in London, and then on Zoom - is just like having a drink with her, which is always great. She's not afraid to say the things others won't, and her goal is to elevate anyone she works with, and especially to make bars better and get more women to embrace hospitality as a career opti…

1
#73, Ago Perrone, Director of Mixology, The Connaught, co-author, The Connaught Bar book 1:20:23

4M ago1:20:23

1:20:23

Well, I've know Agostino since he was a fresh-faced young buck at Montgomery Place, one of London's best cocktail bars back in the day. I remember when he moved to take the reins at the Connaught when it reopened, and the dream opening duo that was him and Erik Lorincz. In the sixteen years since, Ago built a core around him with stunning professio…

1
#72 Benji Cavagna, partner, Farmily Bars Group (Milan), co-founder, Bitter Fusetti 1:36:19

4M ago1:36:19

1:36:19

Benji (whose actual name is Fabio), is a friend, and a tremendous host even among his fellow Italian bartenders, which is really saying something. After studing philosophy and being a professional soccer player (!), Benji went into bartending and is now a partner in the Farmily hospitality group that includes 1930 Bar, MAG Cafe and Tripstillery, al…

1
#71, David Thomas Tao, Kentuckian, whisky writer, fitness commentator (!), voiceover actor, theatre investor 2:26:31

4M ago2:26:31

2:26:31

I kept bumping into David at events (like Philip Duff Show stalwart Tony Sach's regular get-togethers for writers and other waifs and strays) and he was always good fun to chat with, so me and him sat down in a shady spot inside Central Park* on a hot-as-balls day, on camp chairs, with a nearby wheelie cooler bag full of ice cold Negra Modelo beers…

1
#70, Gegam Kazarian, founder Yerevan Cocktail Week, Magika Cordials, champion bartender, renaisssance man 1:27:50

5M ago1:27:50

1:27:50

What to say about my old mate Gegam Kazarian? In his native Armenia, he studied biochemistry, then floral design, then silversmithing, started bartending, followed his passion for Spanish classical guitar by emigrating to Spain, started several bars and a mixology lab, won the Havana Club Rum European championships, the G'Vine Gin Connoisseur Progr…

1
#69 (nice!), Shannon Mustipher, tropical drinks guru, bartender, author, consultant 1:24:19

5M ago1:24:19

1:24:19

Shannon, a Charleston native, is a powerhouse: an artist who left art due to its restrictions, a New York City bartender who championed rum when no-one cared about it (spoiler: a lot of people still don't care), the award-winning author of "Tiki: Modern Tropical Cocktails" and a consultant and ambassador for brands including Denizen Rum, Privateer …

1
#68 Jim Meehan, award-winning mixologist, bartender, author and consultant 2:06:11

5M ago2:06:11

2:06:11

Me and Jim met in 2006, when he entered the Bols 200 contest I organised, and I dropped by Pegu Club to see him next time I was in New York (I was living in Holland at the time). He went on to open PDT (Please Don't Tell) in 2007, which almost immediately became the most famous cocktail bar in the world (and also served the best hot dogs to be had …

1
#67, Robb Jones, owner, Meteor bar, Minneapolis 1:09:35

5M ago1:09:35

1:09:35

Robb's been a mate for a long time - I think we met when he was a Tales of the Cocktail Cocktail Apprentice (CAP) - and the first event we ever did after I launched Old Duff Genever in Minnesota was at his bar, Meteor, which he opened in late 2019. Timing, eh! Robb and his business partners and staff weathered the madness of the 'rona, and recently…

1
#66, Negotiation Book Club with Bianca Grisolia, BG Communication, Barcelona 1:30:05

6M ago1:30:05

1:30:05

Another first for the Philip Duff Show! Bianca, a Barcelona-based PR maestra, is a good friend and we were chatting about all sorts of things during the recent Paradiso Sustainability Summit* in Barcelona, and it turned out we both were interested in the practice and study of negotiation. So, we agreed she’d read a book on the topic that I recommen…

1
#65, Linden Pride, co-owner Caffe Dante, Dante West Village & Dante Beverly Hills 1:20:57

6M ago1:20:57

1:20:57

What to say about my mate Linden? He built Caffe Dante, already a decades-old fixture in New York, into the #1 rated on the World's 50 Best Bars list, then opened Dante West Village in the teeth of the COVID pandemic, and recently opened Dante in the Maybourne Hotel in Beverly Hills. We talk about his origin story in Australia - I didn't know he wa…

1
#64, Mark Reynier, founder of Waterford Whisky, Renegade Rum and former owner of Bruichladdich 1:47:12

6M ago1:47:12

1:47:12

Mark is one of the most interesting people you could meet in the liquor business; drawing on his and his father's experiences importing and selling fine wines in his native England, he applied the logic of terroir to spirits, starting back in 2000 when he led a consortium of investors who bought the mothballed Bruichladdich distillery. Mark and the…

1
#63, Ciaran Smith, founder, The Bottle Cocktail Shop (London), former award-winning cocktail bar owner & hotel executive 2:04:31

6M ago2:04:31

2:04:31

He was a bit knackered because he just got back from consulting on a banqueting event in the Middle East, but London-based Tallaght* bowsie Ciaran Smith brought the heat in this episode, from supplying me with one of his Bottle Cocktail Shop spicy margaritas all the way from London (plus a bottled negroni, and very tasty they both were too), to giv…

1
#62, Nick Papanicolaou, founder No Sleep Beverage liquor incubator, former mergers & acquisitions at Pernod-Ricard USA 1:45:51

7M ago1:45:51

1:45:51

UPDATE SUNDAY 28 April - fixed the audio, which cut out at 15mins on Friday & Saturday. The full 1 hour 45min session is now live! Nick Papanicolaou just founded No Sleep Beverage, an innovative incubator taking minority investments in liquor brands in order to add value by combining his own entrepreneurial experience with big-company expertise, in…

1
#61, Amir Babayoff, Mixologist, Actor & Teacher 1:30:19

7M ago1:30:19

1:30:19

I was introduced to Amir a few years back by our mutual friend Oron Lerner, of Imperial Group in Tel Aviv. Amir came to New York decades ago to try his hand at acting, and began working in hospitality as a side hustle. Along the way he also worked as a special-education teacher, but he's now, in my opinion, one of the best mixologists in Manhattan,…

1
#60, Phil & Tony Sachs Eclipse Special! 1:49:00

7M ago1:49:00

1:49:00

I sat down yesterday with Philip Duff Show stalwart and drinks writer Tony Sachs to catch up, drink some of the colossal amount of booze he has in his apartment, and pre-game an event yesterday evening which saw New York bartending legend Brian Miller step back behind the bar. There's a celebrity rum-off, some tobala mezcal in a plastic water bottl…

1
#59, Jillian Vose, Hazel and Apple (Charleston), Outwalker Whiskey 55:48

7M ago55:48

55:48

Jillian's an old friend from her acclaimed days heading up storied New York cocktail bars such as Dead Rabbit, Death & Co, and Maison Premiere, to name but a few. She relocated to Charleston, South Carolina a while back to open her next project with Sean Muldoon, Hazel and Apple, so it was great to make time to meet up when we were both judging a b…

1
#58, Margarita Sader (Paradiso, Barcelona), Bianca Grisolia (BG Communications), Kaitlyn Stewart (Likeable Bartender) 2:09:12

8M ago2:09:12

2:09:12

Well, I couldn't pass up this opportunity! I was at the third and largest edition of the Paradiso Sustainability Summit in Barcelona recently, organised by #1 W50BB 2022 bar Paradiso, which brought together speakers and bars from around the planet to share best practises on sustainability for bars, and have a bit of fun into the bargain. Margarita …

1
#57 Agave Series 3 of 3: Sophie Decobecq, Agave Spirits Production Consultant & Founder, Calle 23 Tequila 1:27:41

8M ago1:27:41

1:27:41

(In my voiceover I say this is episode 2 of 3 for the Agave Series, but we swapped it with last week's episode, to coordinate with the release of The Tequila Ambassador V.O. book, so this - episode 2 - is now coming out 3rd in the series.) Sophie Decobecq is a force of nature: from Lille, France, she moved to South Africa to work on agave research …

1
#56 Agave Series 2 of 3: The Tequila Ambassador V.O., with Jesse Estes, Phil Bayly and Mitch Wilson. 2:02:34

8M ago2:02:34

2:02:34

I first met Tomas Estes, a West Coast American (who opened Europe’s first-ever Mexican restaurants starting in Amsterdam in 1976, and co-founded Tequila Ocho in 2008) almost twenty years ago. We last had dinner and drinks in Athens in December 2020. The Tequila Ambassador V.O.(link to preorder below) is the "director's cut" of Tomas' book The Tequi…

1
#55 Agave Series 1 of 3: Danielle Tatarin, founder Mezcal Gotagorda, mixologist & entrepreneur. 1:36:41

8M ago1:36:41

1:36:41

This is the first in a mini-series of three about agave spirits and the people who make them. (The WiFi wasn’t great, so sound quality is a little echoey at times and there’s the occasional pause in dialogue when Zoom froze, but that’s how it goes when you’re a 4-hour drive from Oaxaca!) It was great to catch up with Dani, who I first met when she …

1
Court Access Fees are on the RISE... Why? 2:02

9M ago2:02

2:02

Court Access Fees on the RISE... Why? Court access fees are on the rise. What does that mean to the screening industry and the clients that we serve? In years past we would see updates to court access fees maybe every quarter or every six months. In the last year we are seeing updated court access fees every month and the additional fees to access …

1
#54, Damon Boelte, owner Grand Army Bar, founder The Speakeasy podcast, bartender 2:07:32

9M ago2:07:32

2:07:32

I sat down with the extravagantly-hatted Damon Boelte himself, founder of the longest-running bars & cocktails podcast The Speakeasy as well as owner of Grand Army bar in Brooklyn, musician, and bartender of decades standing. We talked about him going from never having worked in hospitality to being the bar manager in four weeks, did a Where Are Th…

1
Los Angeles County - Dates of Birth Removed? 2:58

9M ago2:58

2:58

Los Angeles County - Dates of Birth Removed? The Los Angeles County Superior court has announced that partial dates of birth will be removed from the public kiosks and from the court website. What does this mean? How does it impact you? The Los Angeles County Superior Court announced on February 20th that as of the close of business on Friday, Febr…

1
#53 DNN Duff News Network! 57:03

9M ago57:03

57:03

Well, we did it all. Awards? 50 Best? Alternative agave? We got it all, and this was fun - plus discounts for awesome gin and the world's best spiced rum! 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 hours about OTHER t…

1
#52, Sid Patel, founder of Beverage Trade Network and a TON of spirits contests worldwide 1:37:33

9M ago1:37:33

1:37:33

Sid's a fascinating chap; coming from a family background of East Coast (USA) liquor stores, he created Beverage Trade Network to operate spirits, wine and beer contests just about everywhere, as well as advise brands, all with the goal of helping brands market themselves and succeed in the marketplace. There's a lot of cold hard truth truth in thi…

1
#51 Greg Benson, podcast co-host (The Speakeasy), co-founder Ancestral Agave Syrup 1:47:22

9M ago1:47:22

1:47:22

Greg's a top chap and I first met him years ago when he had a brief stint as GM at one of my local bars here in NY. A hospitality refugee, Greg dove deep into the beer world before coming to the dark side of spirits and cocktails, and is now the third leg of the sturdy stool that is the award-winning The Speakeasy podcast, together with its founder…

1
#50, Nick Vrielink, IBA World Cocktail Championships 2023 Gold Medal Winner, bar manager Fitz's Bar (Amsterdam), Best New Cocktail Bar 2023 1:53:41

10M ago1:53:41

1:53:41

The champ is here! Dutchman Nick Vrielink is definitely on a roll: Fitz's Bar, which he set up in Amsterdam's Pillows Hotel, won Best New Cocktail Bar at the Entree (Dutch hospitality) Awards last year, and the day after the Awards Nick boarded a plane to Rome to compete on behalf of the Netherlands Bartender Club (NBC) in the International Bartend…

1
#49, Chris Tunstall, co-founder A Bar Above, superior barware, online mixology training & education 1:40:16

10M ago1:40:16

1:40:16

Chris and www.abarabove.com which he founded with his wife Julia, is a bit of a legend. They've been cranking out top-notch online education centered around spirits, cocktails and mixology since 2013, with 661 (!) videos on YouTube and over 200 podcast episodes (including one with me, about gin & genever - link below!), all building on Chris' decad…

1
#48, Tim Etherington-Judge, Founder Healthy Hospo, co-founder Avallen Calvados, recovered brand ambassador 1:58:49

10M ago1:58:49

1:58:49

Tim's company Healthy Hospo is at the forefront of bartender health, both mental and physical, but it took a crisis in his career to put him on that path. After bartending in the UK and New Zealand, he became a liquor brand ambassador, first regionally in India and Africa, then globally for Bulleit whiskey, before one day hitting a wall - almost li…

1
#47 2023 In Review with Tony Sachs (and some live distilling) 2:08:50

10M ago2:08:50

2:08:50

Always fun to sit down with Philip Duff Show stalwart Tony Sachs and go over all the happenings of the year! We covered AI, ChatGPT's cocktail skillz, Skrewball whiskey, gonzo "collabs" like Absolut's vodka sauce made with Heinz and Empirical's Doritos flavour, and discussed the deafening silence around Jason Momoa's Meili vodka, the dastardly abv-…

1
#46, Colin Field, former head bartender (for 3 decades!), The Hemingway Bar at the Ritz, Paris. 1:26:23

11M ago1:26:23

1:26:23

Colin is a legend, an English native who doggedly pursued his dream of being head bartender at the Ritz Hotel in Paris, a position he achieved and dominated for thirty years, creating the Hemingway Bar along the way, serving & befriending celebrities, heads of states, and run-of-the-mill billionaires as well. Now retired from the Ritz, he's busier …

1
#45, Forest Collins, French cocktail blogger and author, "Drink Like A Local In Paris" 2:32:19

11M ago2:32:19

2:32:19

Forest is the O.G. cocktail blogger in France, since she moved there from the US in 2001 and started the 52 Martinis blog, adding a podcast a decade ago. She's also the author of several books including the new "Drink Like A Local In Paris", Academy Chair for France for World's 50 Best Bars, creator of the 52 Martini iPhone app, and a constant cham…

1
#44, Rachel Harrison, New York City PR powerhouse for bars, hotels and liquor brands 3:11:18

11M ago3:11:18

3:11:18

I fucking love Rachel Harrison. We caught up over drinks and went for three hours straight! Her firm Rachel Harrison Communications is a serious mover and shaker for dozens of hotels, resorts, liquor brands and bars across the US and around the world, with offices in the UK, Mexico and elsewhere. There's a lot of PR wisdom in here (my favorite: "Hi…

1
#43, Derek Brown, author of "Mindful Mixology", wellness coach, and bartender 2:28:22

11M ago2:28:22

2:28:22

Derek is a hospitality lifer who, after decades of being a bartender, sommelier and founding groundbreaking cocktail bars like The Colombia Room in Washington DC, transitioned in 2018 to being an advocate for no- and low-alcohol cocktails and wellness in general, training as an NASM coach, founding Positive Damage, Inc., and co-founding the Mindful…

1
#42, Kevin Armstrong, Owner Satan's Whiskers (London), co-author "Roundbuilding", and bar consultant 1:25:38

11M ago1:25:38

1:25:38

It was great to finally catch up with Kevin; I’ve been chasing him to come on the podcast since earlier this year, when I read “Roundbuilding” a book he co-wrote with Daniel Waddy on the technique of making rounds of cocktails as quickly and efficiently as possible, so they can all be served at the same time and to the same quality (link to buy bel…

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