The new Austin cocktail staple has shifted the paradigm on cocktails in Texas. Constructed entirely from scratch, the basement-esque, Here Nor There keeps service #1 and pretention somewhere outside the doors. Chatting with a few brilliants minds that created the culture, Terry Robson and Nik the Greek, you quickly learn that this is the place you want to drink. Lauded, delicious, and still obscured by city streets, Here Nor There is just about to launch their new menu. We talk about acting, having what you want, creativity, and more.
Tullamore Dew's latest addition to the team is the Irish force, Donna Stewart. With a background in business and event coordinating, a fortuitous trip to L.A. turned into the beginning of a deep love of Irish whiskey. The seemingly random stint working at an Irish bar in California became the perfect stage for Donna to represent one of the world's finest whiskies. We chat Irish Coffee, podcasts, Boston, and more....
Bacardi Malts international ambassador Georgie Bell has trekked far from her original geography studies in Scotland. A fan of culture, travel, and flavor, Georgie traverses the world sharing drams of the finest Scotches: Aberfeldy, Craigellachie, Deveron, Aultmore, and others. Her keen interest in making Scotch accessible in terms of discussion and flavor keep elevating the narrative of whisky. We chat females in whisky, Marsala, Austin, and more....
The shores of Islay have been described as beautiful, gray, and obscured. However, this small area of Scotland produces some of the most beautiful and vibrant spirits in the world. Master distiller of Bruichladdich, Adam Hannett and master forager, James Donaldson, have constructed something different on Islay, something truly unique to the flavors of the area. The resulting Botanist Gin is the beauty, smoke, and grayness of Scotland in a bottle. The painstaking process of hand picking botanicals, using different distillates, and crafting something outside the comfort zone of Scotch, is the perfect of The Botanist gin. We chat fatherhood, humility, not recognizing actors, and more.
Allan Logan is the distillery manager of Bruichladdich distillery on the wee island of Islay. A small community of around 3000 people enriched by whiskey culture and camaraderie due to the limited number of resources. This small community often leads to intimate understandings of whiskey culture and surfaces some, but yet rare, career opportunities. Allan had such an opportunity at the early age of 28. Years later, his team is composed of creative, driven, and Black Arts vibed individuals. We chat sherry, yellow submarine, Bere barley, and more.
The dynamic duo of Travis Tober and Brandon Hunt have created the modern legend of a bar Nickel City. At first apprehensive of one another, the 2 forged a long lasting relationship over a few Old Fashioned's. Nickel City is the apex of hospitality and accessibility in the cocktail movement. With inexpensive food, rare whiskey, and an unparalleled staff, the Austin staple has quickly become one of the most lauded bars in the United States. But the only way to truly understand Nickel City is to sip a dram and enjoy a burger. Thanks to Travis and Brandon a monument to community thrives in East Austin.
Wild Turkey's Benny Hurwitz has no problem working any gig on the totem pole. For him, mastering even the smallest of things, leads to a much better and well-rounded life. After realizing the suit and tie lifestyle wasn't for this skateboarding Maryland native, he entered the freeing world of hospitality. This land of little structure, no lectures, and a lot of creative freedom set his career on a whole new path. With his great experience at the Columbia Room and Jack Rose Dining Saloon, he attending his first session of Behind the Barrel. This connection to the Wild Turkey family continued to grow and now he travels the states sharing fine drams from the Wild Turkey distillery. We chat stepping, skating, family, and older vintages of Russell's Reserve.
Christopher Stevens of Craft Distillers INC flies under the radar. He doesn't have much in the way of social media presence and his humility directly mirrors that of the producers for which he works. Once a psychology student focused on going into practice, his connection with hospitality and initially, fine wine, set his path on a whole new direction. Now as a regional sales manager for Craft Distillers Inc, he shares the fine mezcales of Alipus, Los Nahuales, and the Mezcalero collection with intrigued palettes across the states. We chat Hawaii, fatherhood, San Andres, and more.
Dalla's Amy Flores started down the straight and accepted path of college and a "real" job. For some this is a fine and regular endeavor, but as Amy's mind grew more creative and sought out more diverse experiences, a desk job just wasn't enough. Enter Hospitality stage left, and then a connection between people, spirits, and stories enrich Amy's life forever. After years behind the bar, time in distribution, and now as an educational liaison for Collectif 1806, Amy shares some of the finest Remy Cointreau products to the masses while conducting roundtable chats about insights with industry legends. We chat Bon Iver, Cognac, community college, and more.
The man of many talents, Mr. Nico Martini has traversed numerous aspects of the marketing and academia industries, but his largest passion has stemmed from the modern cocktail movement. As the founder of marketing company Hypeworthy, and a co-founder of large event/mobile draught system technology Bar Draught, Nico has had many irons in the fire. However, his latest effort turned writer, Texas Cocktails chronicles the history of Texas cocktails and details some of the producers in this great state. With such an illustrious set of projects and achievements, what's next? We talk heart issues, fatherhood, public speaking, and more.