Living Proof: Conversations for Bartenders

Our final installment of the Masters Series features Salvatore Calabrese. Known as the Maestro, Salvatore has been mixing drinks for over 40 years. He's served the likes of US Presidents, Fidel Castro, Mick Jagger, Princess Diana and even Nelson Mandela. He also knows what it's like to being in every corner of the bartending industry. Over his career he's written books, sold barware, judged competitions, consulted for bars and brands, created his own products and mixed drinks to the point of mastery. In our 2019 chat with The Maestro, we discuss what it means to create a classic and reflect on 100 years of the negroni. “Simplicity is one of the [keys] of a great classic. And the name. Simple name, simple ingredients- ingredients you can find all over the world.” "It is worrying- we go further into our industry but we create less and less classics.” Salvatore also reflects on being mentored by Signor Rafaello in the early stages of his career. The lesson he learnt then has stayed with him throughout his career: perfect the art of reading a guest. It was a lesson he learnt after having a fish thrown at him."Every customer is different. So before you bring your sunshine to somebody else, try to understand what they want… It’s about making him feel comfortable in his own shell. And then maybe eventually bring him the sunshine.”In conclusion? "Remember that a great bar is made by people. It’s not the place that makes the place, it’s the people inside.”Tune in to hear all this and more on part 5 of the Living Proof Masters Series.  In The Master Series, The Living Proof Podcast will be taking in the advice, stories and opinions of those considered to be legends of the industry. Stay up to date by following us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.  

When he was younger, Jim Meehan wanted to be a doctor who wrote books. Fast forward a few years and, although he didn't follow the medicine path, his desire to serve others persists in what has been an outstanding bartending career. Oh, and he has two books under his belt, too. In this latest episode of our Masters Series, Jim discusses how his desire to 'lead' in the industry brought him to the brink of burnout. He talks of preparing for the marathon, not the sprint, and managing your career devotion. It ties into themes of health an wellbeing that persist in the industry today. "If you work in the bars or own the bars, there’s a curtain between the people who host the party and people who are at the party. That’s a dangerous line, I think." -Jim MeehanTune in to hear all this and more on part 5 of the Living Proof Masters Series.  In The Master Series, The Living Proof Podcast will be taking in the advice, stories and opinions of those considered to be legends of the industry. Stay up to date by following us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. 

There must be some unwritten law stating that every bar worth its salt carries at least one copy of David Wondrich's Imbibe. Long accepted as one of the foremost authorities in the cocktail world, David Wondrich takes his place as the fourth master in our Masters Series. Our conversation with the drinks historian takes us as far back as 1850 with the story of Jerry Thomas, before flinging us into the future with David's views on 'restaurant-style bars'. "One thing we’re seeing a lot of here is a new relationship between bar and restaurant where the bar is in the driver’s seat. So you’ve got a full bar with a small restaurant menu as opposed to the usual, small bar with a full restaurant menu." -David WondrichWe'll also cover David switch from a 'miserable' junior professor to regular drinks columnist for Esquire, and how nobody believed that positive change was possible in the bar industry.  In The Master Series, The Living Proof Podcast will be taking in the advice, stories and opinions of hose considered to be legends of the industry.  Stay up to date by following us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. 

Our third installment of The Masters Series takes us back to 2019, when we sat down for a chat with industry great, Philip Duff. We kick off the conversation with Phil's bold step into producing, Old Duff Genever. Now the top selling 100% genever globally, Old Duff has provided Phil with an insight into just how far the liquor industry has to go. From there, we pick Phil's brain about the second cocktail revolution, global bartending hotspots to watch and his tips for young bartenders. Phil knows this industry inside out, so being able to pick his brains at length provided us with a wealth of insights.  When it comes to bartending, he truly is a Master. In The Master Series, The Living Proof Podcast will be taking in the advice, stories and opinions of hose considered to be legends of the industry. 

Join us this week as we remember the late Gaz Regan. Gaz was brought up in British pubs in the 1960s, before he made his way to the US aged 19. Over the next five decades, he became a larger-than-life pioneer of the cocktail revolution - his impact epitomised by the popularity of his iconic finger-stirred Negroni. His books, such as The Bartender's Bible and The Joy of Mixology, have become some of the most-referenced texts of today's cocktail renaissance.Full of both hilarious stories and sage advice, our time with Gaz is always worth listening to again. 

Nicole and Marcus revisit one of their first interviews with King Cocktail himself, Dale Degroff.  He’s a bartender, author and “one of the world’s foremost cocktail experts,” according to in the New York Times. He’s worked some of the US’ best bars, written some timeless books, helped found award-winning training platform Beverage Alcohol Resource, and even opened a Museum of the American Cocktail in New Orleans.In this episode, Dale, Nicole and Marcus discuss the cocktail revolution, the future of the bartending industry, and the test of a true bartender. As one of the most qualified bartenders in the industry, Dale's view of the bartending industry is fascinating. In The Master Series, The Living Proof Podcast will be taking in the advice, stories and opinions of hose considered to be legends of the industry. 

It’s been a year like no other, especially for bartenders and anyone in the hospitality industry. So for our final episode of 2020, we're taking a look back at the year that was on the Living Proof podcast. You'll be hearing snippets of a few of the conversations we were lucky enough to have in 2020, the first of which focus on the subject of wellness and balance for bartenders. We had some great discussions with Tim Philips-Johansson, Australia's most awarded bartender, and Mark Livings, CEO of Lyre's Spirit Co, about how and why young people are increasingly choosing to drink less. Then, we cast our minds back to when the pandemic first took hold of cities the world over, spelling a long lay-off for many bars. We hear from Dante's Liana Oster, who we spoke to back in April, and then Big Bar's Eugene Lee and Selene Martinez. Finally, we explore how the industry might emerge from the challenges of the year with a renewed focus on high quality customer experiences. Alex Ross, who opened the renowned Ginger bar in Melbourne, talks us through how she keeps the customer front-of-mind whenever she's working on a project. And Diageo's Global Cocktailian, Lauren Mote, describes how the front- and back-of-house are coming together to create guest experiences that go beyond the glass. And we couldn't look back on 2020 without re-visiting our hilarious chat with Artem Peruk of El Copitas Bar in St Petersburg - the bar that went from scrounging around to find enough chairs to open, to sitting proudly on the World's 50 Best Bars list.

Stuart Gregor is Co-founder and Trade Director at Four Pillars, the Australia gin distillery that's just won International Gin Producer of the Year for the second year running.

Dushan Zarić is an owner and co-founder of Employees Only, one of the most recognisable hospitality brands in the world. To date, EO has operated bars in Los Angeles, New York, Singapore, Sydney, Hong Kong and Miami. Dushan himself arrived in the US from Yugoslavia when he was in his 20s. He had nothing but a "useless degree" and $2,000, but quickly went from working the door at a strip club to making cocktails under the tutelage of Dale DeGroff. Then, it was a loophole in the law that banned smoking in bars that saw him and co-founders Henry Lefarge, Igor Hadzismajlovic, Jason Kosmas, and Bill Gilroy devise the concept for Employees Only. Dushan's an advocate for working your way up within an organisation, and helping people realise that it's a privilege to be of service to others. It's this ethos and support that has seen Employees Only become such a rewarding place to work that staff members very rarely leave.  Dushan explains: “At Employees Only, when you’re hired you’re encouraged to make mistakes. We want you to make mistakes … [otherwise] there is no chance for you to build confidence and feel like you have support. I encourage everybody to take responsibility and run with it. If you make a mistake - so what? .. so long as we are courageous enough to stand there, take responsibility, learn what we can and move on, feeling like we have support." “It’s a real privilege to be of service to people. It took me a long time to realise that. I was a really ego-driven maniac rockstar kid … it took a long time for me to understand why service is such an avenue for growth and personal happiness and contentment. And here's a couple more of our favourite quotes from what was one of our most thought-provoking conversations to date: “Anybody can make a good burger or a good cocktail. That will not differentiate you from anybody else. What will differentiate you is how people feel - I emphasise feel because most of them are not even aware why they prefer a certain place. … when you distill it down, it’s basically because you feel comfortable in a place and you’re not rejected.” “I’ve had plenty of people who’ve worked with me whose attention was on developing a different career - some art or becoming something else. And that’s fine. But when you find yourself in a situation to be serving others, I think it’s important to ask oneself: ‘How curious that in my life, at this time, I’ve been given this opportunity to actually be of service. This is not just a job that provides me with some money. It is an opportunity for me to learn something about myself.” Stay up-to-date at instagram.com/livingproofpod

Kevin Diedrich is Tales of the Cocktail's 2020 American Bartender of the Year. He's also at the helm of the American Cocktail Bar of the Year - Pacific Cocktail Haven in San Francisco. PCH's reputation in San Francisco precedes it. But four years ago, when Kevin was still in the process of re-imagining the existing neighbourhood bar that would become PCH, a bunch of regulars were asking why he was ruining their bar. He said it was like getting punched in the stomach, over and over again. But listening to Kevin speak about hospitality and service leaves nothing to the imagination as to how he's been able to push through that initial pain to become one of the emerging stars of the industry.

Jeremy Spencer is co-founder of both The West Winds gin and Curatif canned cocktails. The West Winds was one of Australia's initial gin distilleries, beginning way back in the old days of 2011 and effectively paving the way for the hundreds that have come since. Jez takes us through how they were able to make a splash, thanks to some Margaret River seawater and slightly risqué marketing slogans. Now, Jez has brought a new range of premium canned cocktails to market. Curatif was born from the frustration he and his co-founders felt towards the quality of drinks available in places like hotel rooms, golf courses and on long-haul flights. Having seen the canned cocktail market taking hold in the US, they've decided to package up some of their own, many of which have a distinctly Australian flavour - such as the Never Never Negroni and Archie Rose Espresso Martini.

Brian Bartels is co-owner of the Settle Down Tavern in Madison, and the author of two books: The Bloody Mary and The United States of Cocktails. 

Sam Egerton is Group Bars Manager at Merivale. He's also the latest bartender to be featured by Blends of the VIRTUAL World with his 'Growing Drinks in the Modern Bar' series. Check it out at https://www.theblend.world/en-au/news/growing-drinks. 

H. Joseph Ehrmann is the owner of Elixir San Francisco, and co-founder of Fresh Victor, a range of cold-pressed juice-based mixers. H. has a background in public relations, business and as a chef. In the early 2000s, he decided to leave all that behind while putting the knowledge he'd gained into practice, by taking over San Francisco's second-oldest Saloon bar. He gave it a lick of paint and a new name: Elixir. But for the first few months, Elixir struggled. Slowly, H. began to unravel the reasons why, coming to the conclusion that he hadn't put enough emphasis on hiring the right people, or investing in the quality of his drinks. When he then suffered a sudden pulmonary embolism, which had an effect typical of near-death experiences, it wasn't long before he had totally upended the bar's staff, drinks and prices. It hasn't looked back since. H.'s newest venture is Fresh Victor, a direct-to-trade and -consumer range of premium, juice-based cocktail mixers. Fresh Victor aims to make US bars' and bartenders' lives easier, by increasing efficiency and consistency of craft cocktails.

Margot Lecarpentier is a Parisian bartender, and co-owner of Belleville bar Combat. At only 33 years of age, she was last year voted the city's Most Influential Bartender. And just to drive the point home, Combat was named the Most Influential Bar.   Margot's a champion of making cocktails and spirits more accessible for the uninitiated. It stems from having seen the perceived unapproachability of mixology first-hand, around six years ago. Back then, when Margot was just starting out behind the bar, she had been buying up all the best books on cocktails and spirits. But it was all gobbledegook. So, she's written her own - La Bible de Alcools. We ask her all about that, why she likes to call Combat a 'cocktail bistro', the man who acts as the bar's forager and flavour-finder, how Paris is faring amid a second wave of the coronavirus,  becoming a mother behind the bar and more.

Continuing a legacy that's steeped in history and innovation, Richard Angove is making sure that St Agnes Distillery builds upon the foundations laid by his grandfather, who started putting down brandy stocks in the 1970s.  In this episode of the Living Proof podcast, Richard chats with Nicole and Marcus about the challenges and opportunities currently facing brandy makers in Australia. He discusses opening brandy up to a wider market and finding the balance between tradition and reinvention- a test that the distillery recently faced with the release of their Bartender's Cut brandy.  

Jacques Bezuidenhout is a San Francisco-based Industry Specialist at Liquid Productions. He is also a bartender with 20+ years' experience, having worked at a range of successful venues such as Tres Agaves and the Starlight Room, as well as on the cocktail programs for 70+ venues at the Kimpton group of Hotels & Restaurants. Importantly, Jacques is a student of hospitality and spirits production. He's joined Julio Bermejo on many trips to Mexico to study tequila, has visited Jerez de la Frontera to check out Sherry and, most recently, France to dig deeper into Calvados. We chat about life in San Francisco in 2020, squeezing thousands of limes to order at Tres Agaves, making a $650 drink at the Starlight Room, running 70+ hotel bars and some of his favourite Sherry cocktails.

Tyler Zielinski is a freelance journalist, competitive bartender, and beverage consultant. His writing has been featured in magazines such as PUNCH, Imbibe Magazine and Whiskey Advocate, and publications such as Liquor.com, Bloomberg and Fast Company have touted him as a beverage expert. Still, only 26 years old, he is just hitting his stride and has yet to fulfill his ambitions, so there is plenty more to come.In this episode, Nicole chats to Tyler about where his drinks blog Bon Vivantito has taken him, and some fascinating articles he's written about carbonating cocktails with baking soda, being more sustainable with prediluted cocktails and creating alternative acids. 

Willy Shine is the Brand Meister at Jägermeister United States. German digestif Jagermeister has earned a place on most backbars around the world thanks to the notoriety of ‘Jager-bombs’. But at its heart, it is a versatile and complex amaro made with 56 different botanicals. Willy Shine joins the podcast to discuss his career, how the company has set about changing people’s perceptions of the product, as well as its versatility in cocktails.

Paul Gabie is co-founder and CEO of Proof & Company, the premiere independent spirits distributor in Asia. Proof & Co also has a creative team that has become a driving force behind the cocktail renaissance taking hold on the continent, by designing bars such as 28 Hong Kong Street and ATLAS. Paul has an expansive chat with Nicole about the company's origin; the most exciting markets in 2020; their newest venture, ecoSPIRITS, that aims to end single-use glassware; and his philosophy on building successful teams.

After graduating with a degree in political science in her 20s, Canadian Lauren Mote was left questioning whether it was actually herself or her grandmother who had wanted her to become a lawyer. Lauren already had experience running a host of bars and businesses and, deep down, she knew that was where she found her calling. Now a ‘Global Cocktailian’ for Diageo Reserve and World Class, she talks Nicole and Marcus through what her role entails, and how brands can build the all-important customer connection through experiences that go beyond the glass.

Natasha David is the co-owner of Nitecap NYC, and Imbibe Magazine's Bartender of the Year.

Dan Gregory is an Australian bartender currently leading the charge at Evolve Spirits Bar in Hobart. Dan himself is a former winner of both the Australian Bartender of the Year and the Australian leg of the Angostura Global Cocktail Challenge competitions, both of which he took home in 2017. Despite all the accolades - and much like the city of Hobart - Dan's humility has led to him somewhat flying under the radar. We find out about Tasmania's burgeoning hospitality scene, just how much preparation went into those competition wins and why he's made more martinis at Evolve than anywhere else he's worked thus far.

Camper English is a former scientist and current cocktail & spirits writer. He's the creator of the directional freezing technique for making clear ice which is ubiquitous in bars around the world. And he's also the man behind websites like Alcademics, CocktailSafe.org and CocktailGreen.org.

Steve Schneider is the former US Marine who is now an integral part of the Employees Only team. Many of you would already be familiar with Steve, who has one of the more extraordinary and inspiring background stories that led him to becoming an icon behind the bar.It's been over 15 years since Steve first discovered his love of making drinks, when he was working in a dive bar while recovering from severe brain injuries. Fast forward to today, and he is a co-owner of six bars and restaurants in four different countries, now including the famed Employees Only NY - where he first started as a bar-back many moons ago.

Millie Tang is a freelance photographer and one of the rising stars of the Australian bar industry. She has almost a decade's experience and currently works at The Gresham in Brisbane. In 2019, Millie took home a slew of awards and cocktail competitions, including the Australian Liquor Industry Awards' Bartender of the Year, Licor 43 global cocktail competition in Spain, and Speed Rack Australia. Millie shares what inspired her to reach these recent heights, what's been keeping her busy since, and how she plans on enjoying a sustainable career behind the bar.

Vasilis Kyritsis is co-owner of Athens bar The Clumsies - #6 on the World's 50 Best list.

Sebastian Costello is the owner of Bad Frankie, a Fitzroy bar that stocks only Australian spirits. 

Los Angeles’ Big Bar, which is actually quite small, is one of many venues having its operations restricted once again amid a second wave of the pandemic.Big Bar’s Manager, Eugene Lee, and Bar Lead, Selene Martinez spoke candidly with Nicole and Marcus about how they’re protecting themselves and their customers while still staying open for business. Eugene: "They don’t really give you a lot of lead-time – it’s not like 'in a week from now, bars are allowed to open.' … It is go time when the Governor makes his announcements. And then the managers, the bartenders, the staff are scrambling.” Selene: "I have a mentality of: protect everyone around me, but also protect myself. Being in interaction with X many people every day ... we're taking all of the guidelines we need to to make sure we're safe. So I can tell you, bartender's hands are raw anyways ... but they are even more raw now because  I'm constantly washing my hands."

Giovanni Graziadei is the Principal Bartender at Jigger & Pony, Singapore.

Tim Etherington-Judge is a hospitality industry veteran and the founder of Healthy Hospo.Tim’s an Englishman originally from Cornwall who was named the 10th most influential bar industry figure by Drinks International Magazine last year. He has held a wide range of roles in the hospitality industry, having started behind the bar before moving into sales and marketing for brands like Bulleit American Whiskey and Johnnie Walker. He then became a Diageo reserve brand ambassador, which was ultimately the role that led to him burning out and needing to take a break to focus on his mental wellbeing.Tim’s experiences inspired him to launch Healthy Hospo, which provides education around mental health to bartenders and hospitality professionals the world over. He’s spoken at events such as Tales of the Cocktail, Bar Convent Berlin & Brooklyn and Moscow Bar Show.Stay tuned for Tim’s fascinating story and some tips we can all implement on a daily basis to ensure we stay happy and healthy behind the bar.“Hospitality is about looking after your guests – its the very definition of it. Yet we don’t afford the same hospitality to our friends and colleagues within the industry.”“You cant fill a glass from an empty glass. So often our personal glasses are empty because we’ve not only given to our guests, we haven’t taken the time to recharge.”“There’s nothing wrong with going out and having a good time sometimes, but when you’re at work five or six nights a week and you’re drinking … there are going to be heavy consequences.”If for any reason you need support, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 (Australia) or the Suicide Prevention Line on 1 800 273 8255 (USA).

Alex Ross is a pioneer of the Melbourne bar industry. She opened Ginger in 2001, having just arrived back from a stint in the UK where she could see that a cocktail revolution was imminent. In the nine years following, she changed the way things were done in Australia by ensuring the customer was front and centre, while utilising fresh ingredients and plenty of Jägermeister."I wanted everyone who walked in there (Ginger) to feel like part of the family, whether we knew them well or not. One night a friend was in the bar and said ‘if I didn’t know you so well, I’d think you’ve known those people for 30 years’ … and I said, ‘f*?$ you, I’m not 30 yet!’""It’s about what the customer wants and making them feel comfortable. Every venue I’ve helped build, it’s always been about pure comfort for the customer: where are their knees resting? How far are the feet off the floor? … that’s the first way you get them in. After that it’s about training your staff."

José Luis León is the Bar Director for RitualH group in Mexico City. He's best known for his work behind Limantour which sits proudly at #10 on the World's 50 Best list. Jose himself is nominated for the Best International Bartender at this year's Spirited Awards.

Alexandre Gabriel is a master blender and the founder of Plantation Rum and Maison Ferrand.

Dave Arnold is a "master tinkerer", the author of Liquid Intelligence and the owner of Existing Conditions and Booker and Dax.

Artem Peruk is co-owner of El Copitas bar in St Petersburg, Russia. In five years since opening, El Copitas have come through unimaginable adversity to now be sitting at #27 on the World's 50 Best list, as well as nominated for Best International Bar Team at this year's Spirited Awards. Artem shares what led to them door-knocking nearby bars in an attempt to borrow a single chair from each so that they could open, and how they were forced to start selling the mezcal that was given to them as opening gifts, often back to the friends who gave it to them. The fact they have made it to where they are today is the result of an incredible amount of resilience, energy and what can only be described as 'Russian' innovation.

Luke Whearty is the Aussie bartender who made his name in Singapore at iconic venues like Tippling Club and Operation Dagger. These days, he and wife Aki Nishikura are back in Melbourne heading up Byrdi, the innovative cocktail bar housed in a shopping centre that doesn't advertise any booze brands on its menu. Luke's a champion of local producers, and takes the concept of using seasonal ingredients to another level - his cocktail creations often starting with a natural ingredient (even mushrooms!) and working backwards from there. He tells us all about where this ethos comes from and why it took travelling to South Africa for him to realise what he had at home in Melbourne. Luke's also recently teamed up with The Blend for Beam Suntory and is putting together a series of online workshops on everything from Fermentation, Seasonality, Fats and Oils, Texture, Acidity. Check them out at www.theblend.world

Sebastian Reaburn, of 1806 and Anther Gin fame, is on the show to reflect on the life and times of his friend Vernon Chalker, who has sadly passed away age 55. Vernon is the man behind Gin Palace - which remains an iconic Melbourne venue - Bar Ampere, Madame Brussels and Collins Quarter. But he's also one of the main reasons for the city's world-leading small bar scene, having fought for their place among Victoria's liquor licensing and late-night lockout laws over the years.

David Wondrich is back to discuss the daily cocktail recipes he's been sharing on Twitter, the right years' work that's gone into the Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails, and how he thinks the pandemic will affect cocktail culture in New York.

Ollie Margan is the man behind the drinks programs at a plethora of Adelaide venues, and is best known for being a part-owner of the highly-acclaimed Maybe Mae. Still yet to reach 30 years of age, he's achieved a phenomenal amount in a short space of time. But just as Maybe Mae was about to launch its new menu - 12 months in the making - the Coronavirus hit, and Ollie found himself lining up for unemployment benefits alongside many of his staff. Ollie recently wrote about his experiences of the past month for Difford's Guide, in a raw and honest article you can read here: https://www.diffordsguide.com/en-au/g/1148/bar-entrepreneur-frontline/covid-19-diaries-maybe-mae-adelaide We ask Ollie about how he's using the current downtime, what he thinks the industry will look like when it returns, that new menu at Maybe Mae that we can't wait to discover, and the four pillars of sustainability that inform his ethos behind the bar.

Jeffrey Morgenthaler has been a bartender for the best part of 25 years. Like many in the industry, he first got behind the jump part-time while studying in his 20s - a degree in interior architecture that he completed, but ultimately shelved. He quickly became obsessed with cocktails, bought up old books and began his own writing about drinks, recipes and techniques on his website. Now, he is a well-known industry authority, has two books of his own and has ticked over 11 years running the beverage program at Portland bars Clyde Common and Pepe Le Moko.Jeffrey's most passionate about sharing his wealth of knowledge with the rest of the bar community, finding longevity and a balanced lifestyle behind the bar, and doing so with like-minded individuals. We ask him how life has changed for him in recent weeks, why he always seems to be ahead of the curve, where the ideas for his unique books came from and more. 

Liana Oster is an Aussie expat who works as a head bartender in New York - at the best bar in the world, no less. Dante NYC is an Italian-inspired institution that specialises in Negronis and other circa-1915 cocktails and apperitivos. Last year, it took out top honours place in not one, but both of the two most prestigious bar awards on the planet in World's 50 Best and Tales of the Cocktail's Spirited Awards. For now though, like almost every other bar in the world, Dante's doors are closed indefinitely. New York itself has entered a state of shutdown that reflects its rising number of COVID-19 cases, and with no end date to the restrictions in sight, all businesses are having to innovate just to stay afloat. Nicole and Marcus ask Liana about what life in New York amid the pandemic is like, how Dante has re-invented its offering and is engaging its loyal community. Liana is wonderfully open and honest, and as soon as it's safe to do so, we'll be ready to jump on a plane and enjoy a fabulous Negroni at Dante.

Bars across the world are closed indefinitely. Millions of bartenders are out of work and hospitality businesses are on the ropes. Today, we try to make sense of it all through the lenses of two career bartenders from different corners of the globe. First, we're dialling the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel, to speak to Head Bartender Maxim Schulte, who we got to know in Episode #9 of Living Proof just over 12 months ago. During the downtime, Maxim has started running some drinks seminars alongside Jo Last titled 'Booze Brain', which are being broadcast live on Instagram and Facebook.  Then, it's a bar owners perspective on the whole thing with our dear friend Marcus Motteram - 'The Admiral' - who takes us through how he is pivoting Hains & Co's business and staying connected with his staff.

Steve Roennfeldt has been in the drinks industry for 20 years. He is better known as Steve the Bartender - a YouTube channel that has amassed almost 300,000 subscribers since first posting 200 videos in 200 days to kick things off about four years ago. Steve also runs an online barware store, has recently launched an Android smartphone app called Shake and Strain, and is one of the three men behind Threefold Distilling, which has just brought its Aromatic Gin to market. Steve is as understated as they come but his experience and ability to build a dedicated community speaks for itself.

Brad Thomas Parsons is an award-winning cocktail and spirits writer who specialises in Bitters, Amaro and asking bartenders what their final drink would be. Brad has written three books since debuting with James Beard Award-winning 'Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-all' in 2011, which cemented him as an authority on the elemental cocktail ingredient and its history. For his most recent title,  'Last Call: Bartenders on Their Final Drink and the Wisdom and Rituals of Closing Time', Brad surveyed a range of bars and bartenders from all walks of life about their routines at closing time, as well as what they would choose as their deathbed cocktail. 

William Edwards is the Founder of Archie Rose Distilling, the first successful Sydney-based distillery for over 100 years. Archie Rose has operated out of Rosebury, Sydney since 2014, and their whiskys, gins and vodkas have since won international awards. Will runs us through the investments they're making in equipment, and why they refuse to do things as they always have been - constantly innovating and distilling new and interesting flavours.  

Mark Livings is the co-founder of Lyre's Spirit Co, a company that is re-defining the non-alcoholic spirit category with the use of futuristic beverage technology, market research and investment. Mark’s background is in marketing, branding, technology and investing, mainly within the food and beverage industry. He’s the co-founder and Director of hugely successful independent agencies The Kinetic Agency and BrandLink Australia. And it’s through this line of work that he noticed some surprising trends within the industry – younger people are drinking less, and more are choosing not to drink at all. With this in mind, he set about creating Lyre’s Spirit Co – a non-alcoholic spirit category that now has 14 products in its range, all of which aim to mimic its alcoholic counterpart. Unlike companies that have come before Lyre’s in this space, however, they are doing things very differently, and achieving results that have made the industry stand up and taken notice, even taking out an award in a blind tasting against alcoholic variants. Mark is on the podcast to explain how Lyre’s develop their unique ‘spirits’, the importance of drinks and beverages in our culture and the opportunity for bars and bartenders going forward.

Trish Brew is an accomplished bartender and now Fever-Tree's first Australian Brand Ambassador. Of her 12 years of bartending experience, 8 of those were spent at Melbourne's Gin Palace, making the transition to representing Fever-Tree's portfolio a smooth one. Trish joined us in-studio to chat all things gin, tonic, what her new role entails, her views on females in the bar industry and more.

Martin Hudak is bridging the gap between coffee and cocktails. He is the Global Coffee Ambassador for Mr Black and a bartender at Maybe Sammy. Originally from Slovakia - a country that's produced more than its fair share of bartending royalty - Martin began his career in hospitality at a local cafe, before he zipped over to London for a 3-year stint at The American Bar at the Savoy. In 2018, he moved to Sydney to help set up Maybe Sammy and became the Global Ambassador for locally-roasted Mr Black Coffee Liqueur. Along the way, he's won the World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship, taken out the top gong at World's 50 Best with the American Bar, and in 2019, Maybe Sammy won the Spirited Award for Best New International Cocktail Bar at Tales of the Cocktail. We explore Martin's career trajectory behind the bar, before getting his top pieces of advice for making coffee cocktails, including a favourite recipe you can try today.

John Roberts is the owner of Bushwick Country Club - the home of the iconic Pickleback. Bushwick, or BCC, is far from your usual ‘Country Club’. It’s an archetypal dive bar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, that specialises in dreadful mini golf, lager, shots and apparent lawlessness. John has been the owner for almost 16 years, but was only a year or so into the job when one of his bartenders - Reggie Cunningham - stumbled across a modern-day classic concoction in 2006. Old Crow’s Whiskey and the brine of McClure’s Pickles quickly became known as a match made in heaven at BCC, before the good word spread to bars the world over. John's on Living Proof to describe the fortuitous events that led to the invention of the Pickleback and help us define what a true dive bar is. Stay up-to-date @livingproofpod on Instagram and Twitter, or at Living Proof Podcast on Facebook.

Andrew Derbidge is Director of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) of Australia, and the man behind Whisky and Wisdom.For over 15 years, he’s worked as a brand ambassador and presenter for some of the world’s most renowned Whisky brands, organised bespoke Whisky tours of Scotland and written for publications such as Whisky Magazine and Australian Gourmet Traveller.Andrew’s on the podcast to briefly outline the history of SMWS, which is a prolific independent bottler as well as a club that hosts events and tastings, before indulging us in an in-depth discussion about today’s Whisky market.Is there still room for the Scotch industry to expand? Is there a market correction on the way? Why are distilleries now releasing countless different expressions of their product? Are Whisky bottles a worthy investment? It’s all on the agenda!