The Curious Bartender Podcast

Kevin Armstrong is a bartender, bar owner, spirits and cocktail educator and the author of Round Building, a manual for the professional bartender. Kevin rose to fame in the London bar scene over 20 years ago as the group bar manager for the Match Bar Group. He wrote and deployed the most comprehensive cocktail training program of the era, contributing significantly to the critical acclaim of bars like Milk & Honey, The Player, Trailer Happiness, and Sosho to name a few. He has since gone on to open Satan’s Whiskers, which over its 12 years of existence has become one of the best loved bars in London and more recently featured in the World’s Best Bars. Kev and I were together in Scotland a few weeks ago and got inthralled in some deep conversations about cocktails and bars. He is known to have strong and well thought out opinions on various topics pertaining to drinks and drinking, so I was delighted when he agreed to come on the podcast. I was also keen to hear about the rise of Satans Whiskers as a globally recognised venue.On the episode you can expect to hear about Kev’s early career in bars and how he transitioned to the match bar group, you can hear us remeniss over the London bar scene as it was in the early noughties, we talk about his time at Soul Shakers working with Michael butt and bars like Mahiki, then becoming a bar operator, first with pubs and then Satan's whiskers. We spend some time talking about modern cocktail bars, both the things we like and don’t like, including homogeneity, ingredients, batching, and more, then we touch on bar awards and finally finish with a surprise quiz! Well, a surprise for Kev that is - not me.Episode Sponsored by Fever-Tree

Iván Saldaña is a Mexican biologist and internationally recognised expert on agave spirits. With a PhD from the University of Sussex, his research focuses on agave ecology and evolution. Saldaña co-founded Montelobos Mezcal and Casa Lumbre, launching innovative brands like Ancho Reyes, Abasolo whisky, and Sotol Nocheluna. He blends scientific expertise with sustainable practices, and is one of the leading voices in the global agave and spirits industries.In this episode, we explore the fascinating world of agave, from biology and genetic diversity to the risks of monoculture farming and crucial pollinators like bats. We discuss the role of terroir in tequila, explore fermentation variables before delving into Mezcal's denominations of origin, ancestral methods, environmental politics, and the balance between tradition and modernity. Lastly, we cover other intriguing Mexican spirits such as Sotol—including celebrity-backed brands like Nocheluna—as well as innovative non-alcoholic spirits like Almave, and concluded with Abasolo Whisky and the cultural significance of nixtamalised corn drinks.This episode is sponsored by Fever-TreeFind Casa Lumbre (and all their products) here - https://www.casalumbretour.comThanks to Paolo for making this happen, and to Carlos for letting us record at Café Pacifico.

Luca Gargano, CEO of Velier and a transformative figure in global rum, shares his extensive Caribbean experiences. He delves into the evolution of the Italian rum market and emphasizes the importance of transparency in labeling. Luca discusses the rich cultural heritage of Haiti's Clairin and the historical significance of Caroni rum, reflecting on artisanal practices and authenticity. He introduces his innovative 'Nomad Project,' blending tradition with modern distilling methods, and highlights the dynamic relationships within the rum industry.

Desmond Payne MBE is Master Distiller Emeritus of Beefeater, one of the world's best loved and most respected gin brands. He is the longest serving gin master distiller in the world, having also spent a 20 year stint at Plymouth Gin. And he is perhaps the most respected gin distiller alive today.I sat down with him in his office at the Beefeater Distillery in London to discuss the history of the brand, the challenges that gin distillers face, the tension between innovation and tradition, what Desmond thinks about the current state and future prospects of the gin category, and much more.If you enjoy this podcast please give it a rating.Episode sponsored by Fever-Tree

Jonathan, known to his friends as JD, is a bar and restaurant operator of nearly 30 years who has been responsible for some of the best loved and most influential cocktail bars of the early 21st century. In 1997 he founded the Match Bar group which through JD’s uncompromising vision and an illustrious cast of future superstar bartenders, made for groundbreaking venues as Match Bar, The Player, Milk & Honey London, Sosho and more. These bars along with the likes of LAB, Lonsdale and others set the standard for cocktail excellence in London through the first decade of the century, defining a generation of drinking in the capital and inspiring all that came after globally. JD then went on to found Street Feast which brought together small food and drink vendors in disused or otherwise useless spaces (like old car parks or former markets) with music and entertainment. Street feast was a casualty of covid however, but JD is now back and involved with a couple of new restaurant projects which we touch on briefly at the end of the conversation.The main part of our chat is centred around the remarkable story of the Match Bar group. Expect to learn how JD met Dick Bradsell by pure chance and convinced him to help open the first Match Bar. How Dale DeGroff became the director of cocktails for Match Bars and introduced Jonathan to a certain Sasha Petraske and a new and title known bar in New York called Milk & Honey. How Sosho and the East Rooms burned to the ground in 2010 jeopardising the whole business, what in JD’s eyes makes a great bar, what he thinks of the current state of cocktail bars in London, and much more.This episode is sponsored by Fever-Tree mixers.

Jaime Orendain is a tequilero based at the El Llano Distillery in Tequila Town, Mexico. The Orendain family are considered one of the four founding families of tequila and remain the only family owned producer of the founding four. Jaime and his brother Eduardo established the Arette brand of tequila in the 1980's from the El Llano distillery, and today are amongst the most respected producers of authentic tequila in Mexico. In this episode, you can expect to learn about the fascinating history of the Orendain family and their deep roots in Tequila Town, as well as the legacy of the El Llano distillery. The conversation explores the evolution of tequila production, from traditional methods to modern efficiencies, including the use of diffusers and additives. You’ll hear about the cooperative spirit among tequila families, agave cultivation, and the production practices at El Llano. The episode also tackles common misconceptions about tequila, and features guided tastings of Arette Artesenal Reposado and Extra Añejo, highlighting the differences between autoclave and brick oven cooking, and the story behind the brand's namesake horse. There’s an in-depth discussion on fermentation vessels—steel versus concrete—and a nostalgic reflection on early Arette tequila and the family business. Finally, the episode delves into high-proof expressions, current concerns around competition, rising agave prices, and cristalino tequilas.https://www.tequilaarette.com/Thankyou to Cafe Paifico in London for hosting this conversation.This episode is sponsored by Fever-Tree Mixers.

Ed Hughes is a certified beer sommelier, the author of Just add Beer - a book about beer and food pairing - and also one of my oldest friends. Based in Cornwall he works at Sharps Brewery as an educator and advocate for Molson Coors but also the beer category as a whole.This is a wide ranging conversation about beer, where we drink through 10 different beers reflecting a bunch of styles, whilst covering the ingredients, production, marketing, packaging, culture and public perception of beer - with more than a little bit of beer and food chat. Quite a few chefs get name checked. Expect to learn how German lagers dominated the world, what defines a cask ale, who drinks the most beer in the world, what food you should pair a Belgian Lambic Ale with, and what a 10% beer aged 14 years tastes like. Beers Tasted:Sharp’s Offshore PilsnerStaropramenBamberg RauchbierSharps Doom BarBlue MoonSharps Chalky’s BiteDuchesse de BourgogneBoon Oude GeuzeSharp’s Quadruple Ale 2011Ed's Book - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Just-Add-Beer-Ed-Hughes/dp/1999647807Sponsored by Fever-tree Mixers

David Gluckman is a retired brand and advertising consultant and author, who over a 40 year career working in the drinks industry created the ideas behind some of the world’s best know spirits, liqueurs and soft drinks.This is a conversation about how brands come into existence, how to test them, package them and market them, and how to streamline this process so as to do it quickly and avoid compromise. You can expect to learn how a popular brand of butter (which David also worked on) inspired Bailey's, how Smirnoff Black became the smoothest vodka in the world - and why David thinks it never fulfilled its potential, how the idea of making grape based vodka came to David in Tlibisi, how non-alc and energy drinks started at least 10 years before you think they did, and much more.There are quite a lot of brands mentioned here, and if you find yourself not being ale to picture them or do check out the video version of the show on YouTube where I have kindly put them up on the screen.To support this podcast please rate it, subscribe and share.This episode is sponsored by Fever-Tree MixersBuy David's book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/That-Will-Never-Sell-Person-ebook/dp/B0BDGDPB2J

Jake Burger is a bartender, gin producer and amateur (his own words) drinks historian. I gave him just four questions - who is the greatest bartender of all time, what is the greatest cocktail of all time, what is the greatest cocktail book of all time, and which is the greatest bar of all time?Now an apology. Before recording with Jake I had just finished my interview with Alessandro Palazzi at Dukes. Then followed a martini, followed by a taxi ride to my other good friend Hannah-Sharman Cox’s house in west London, where upon arrival Hannah and her partner in crime Siobhan gave me a beer and a gin & tonic. Then we began recording and worked airway through a further three martinis, beers, and whisky. And no food. All of this is to say, you may notice the effects of all that alcohol taking hold at around the halfway point of the interview. Jake, being Jake manages to come away relatively unscathed, though even he falters a little towards the end. Thus, this is not the most professional looking or sounding episode of this podcast. There is bad language, and there are incomplete trains of thought. But it is a pretty honest one, and not a million miles away from what it’s like spending a night drinking with Jake and I. Regardless of my fairly obvious and steady transition into an intoxicated person, there remains some great insights - mostly from Jake - and historical anecdote that make this episode too good not to release in spite of the mild embarrassment it’s going to cause me.This Episode is sponsored by Fever-Tree Mixers

Jamie Baxter is a Distillery Consultant who has designed and built more than 100 distilleries over the past 15 years. He setup the Chase Vodka Distillery in Herefordshire in 2008, built the City of London Distillery, East London Liquor Company, and distilleries in Europe and India. On the episode we discuss his transition from cereal manufacturing to potato vodka distilling when he joined Willian Chase in Herefordshire, some of his consultancy projects, along with the pitfalls of building a distillery from scratch. Jamie gives a brief rundown of the various factors that go into making a great gin, then we finish by talking about the Chinese spirit baijiu (arguably the most popular spirit in the world), which Jamie became an ambassador of after a recent trip to China.To support this podcast please like and subscribe.This episode is sponsored by Fever-Tree mixers.