The Philip Duff Show

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 Hospitality Group's Manhatta bar-restaurant. She's now founded an innovative consultancy, Oracle Hospitality Consultants, to share her knowledge with owners and managers who lack the time or experience to stop working in their business so they can work on their business, so it was time for us to catch up. We had a great chat about everything, the state of the industry, why bar owner GoFundMe pages make our blood boil, the joy of managing union staff, why owners will drop $50k on a bar system but $0 on buying in far more lucrative knowledge, and a bunch more. Enjoy!Emily's Favorite Books (click to buy from independent bookstores)Trust & Inspire - Stephen Covey. Buy: https://bookshop.org/p/books/trust-and-inspire-how-truly-great-leaders-unleash-greatness-in-others-stephen-m-r-covey/17380308?ean=9781982143756Unreasonable Hospitality - Will Guidara. Buy: https://bookshop.org/p/books/unreasonable-hospitality-the-remarkable-power-of-giving-people-more-than-they-expect-will-guidara/17927785?ean=9780593418574Traction - Gino Wickman. Buy: https://bookshop.org/p/books/traction-get-a-grip-on-your-business-gino-wickman/8408027?ean=9781936661831Fierce Conversations - Susan Scott. Buy: https://bookshop.org/p/books/fierce-conversations-revised-and-updated-achieving-success-at-work-and-in-life-one-conversation-at-a-time-susan-scott/7706050?ean=9780425193372 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 things besides their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is. They need to be able to hang. Oh, plus we don't edit, and we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, or listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview or Zoom.) Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: philip@liquidsolutions.orgPhilip on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipsduff/ Philip on Facebook: Philip Duff Philip on X/Twitter: Philip Duff (@philipduff) / Twitter Philip on LinkedIn: linkedin.com Old Duff Genever on Instagram: Old Duff Genever (@oldduffgenever) • Instagram photos and videos Old Duff Genever on Facebook: facebook.com Old Duff Genever on X/Twitter: ...

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, some fine rum drunk out of a martini glass - beggars can't be choosers when you're staying in an AirBnB!) to talk all things martini....Alice on IG: https://www.instagram.com/alicelascelles/Alice's website: https://www.alicelascelles.com/Buy "The Martini" book: https://geni.us/themartini 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 things besides their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is. They need to be able to hang. Oh, plus we don't edit, and we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, or listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview or Zoom.) Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: philip@liquidsolutions.orgPhilip on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipsduff/ Philip on Facebook: Philip Duff Philip on X/Twitter: Philip Duff (@philipduff) / Twitter Philip on LinkedIn: linkedin.com Old Duff Genever on Instagram: Old Duff Genever (@oldduffgenever) • Instagram photos and videos Old Duff Genever on Facebook: facebook.com Old Duff Genever on X/Twitter: ...

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 particular spirit - the first two, Gin and Whiskey, are already out in the wild - with cocktail recipes curated and in some cases created by Kara on each card. We sat down to talk about Kara's 14 years (and counting!) run as the spirits person at Wine Enthusiast magazine, got nerdy about nerdiness in relation to coffee and martinis, then talked about martinis, the business of writing, why we're not on TikTok, and why she's looking for new vodkas to review, among a whole bunch more things - enjoy! Kara on IG: https://www.instagram.com/newman_kara/?hl=enKara's books (and the Decks) on Bookshop.org, supporting local independent bookstores: https://bookshop.org/search?keywords=kara+newmanKara's website: https://www.karanewman.com/ 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 things besides their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is. They need to be able to hang. Oh, plus we don't edit, and we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, or listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview or Zoom.) Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: philip@liquidsolutions.orgPhilip on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipsduff/ Philip on Facebook: Philip Duff Philip on X/Twitter: Philip Duff (@philipduff) / Twitter Philip on LinkedIn: linkedin.com Old Duff Genever on Instagram: Old Duff Genever (@oldduffgenever) • Instagram photos and videos Old Duff Genever on Facebook: facebook.com Old Duff Genever on X/Twitter: ...

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  - just now - founding Continuous Beverage Solutions AND all this while still holding down regular bar shifts at i Sodi here in Manhattan. We sat down - over a St. Agrestis Phony Espresso Negroni, in my case, 'cos it's Sober October - to talk about the old flair days, making the switch from flair to mixology, getting on the Bar Rescue train early, why cocktails should have abv % on menus, and his new firm Continuous Beverage Solutions which helps bars, companies and individuals ensure everyone - whether drinking full-fat, low-alc or zero-proof - has a seat at the bar.Oh, and a looot more, enjoy...Chris on IG: https://www.instagram.com/chriscard0ne/?hl=enContinuous Beverage Solutions on IG: http://instagram.com/continuousbevContinuous Beverage Solutions on FB: https://www.facebook.com/continuousbev/ 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 things besides their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is. They need to be able to hang. Oh, plus we don't edit, and we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, or listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview or Zoom.) Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: philip@liquidsolutions.orgPhilip on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipsduff/ Philip on Facebook: Philip Duff Philip on X/Twitter: Philip Duff (@philipduff) / Twitter Philip on LinkedIn: linkedin.com Old Duff Genever on Instagram: Old Duff Genever (@oldduffgenever) • Instagram photos and videos Old Duff Genever on Facebook: facebook.com Old Duff Genever on X/Twitter: ...

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 he'd do differently now, plus how he got famous for inventing new ways to create flavour. (We also drank some seriously odd stuff; I had a gin martini followed by the only liquor left in our Spanish apartment the night before flying back to NY, which turned out to be Tom Zyankali (of Zyankali Bar in Berlin)'s Zyankali Falernum, which was 50% abv(!). Iain countered with a Metaxa brandy with sweet vermouth. )Iain on IG: https://www.instagram.com/thecocktailpanda/ 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 things besides their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is. They need to be able to hang. Oh, plus we don't edit, and we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, or listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview or Zoom.) Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: philip@liquidsolutions.orgPhilip on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipsduff/ Philip on Facebook: Philip Duff Philip on X/Twitter: Philip Duff (@philipduff) / Twitter Philip on LinkedIn: linkedin.com Old Duff Genever on Instagram: Old Duff Genever (@oldduffgenever) • Instagram photos and videos Old Duff Genever on Facebook: facebook.com Old Duff Genever on X/Twitter: ...

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 the cocktails and the hospitality his team emanates in Midtown. Despite me being insanely congested, we made time to sit down and chat about why it's always rum's year, the politics of selling agave spirits, why ladies are looking for more of an ROI on a night out than gentlemen, and a whole bunch more - enjoy!Marshall on IG: https://www.instagram.com/marshallvincent/Valerie, gin cocktail bar & restaurant: https://www.instagram.com/valerienewyorkcity/ Lolita, additive-free agave spirits and sugarcane spirits cocktail bar & restaurant: https://www.instagram.com/lolitanewyorkcity/ Madame George,  sexy subterranean cocktail bar: https://www.instagram.com/madamegeorgenyc/   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 things besides their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is. They need to be able to hang. Oh, plus we don't edit, and we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, or listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview or Zoom.) Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: philip@liquidsolutions.orgPhilip on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipsduff/ Philip on Facebook: Philip Duff Philip on X/Twitter: Philip Duff (@philipduff) / Twitter Philip on LinkedIn: linkedin.com Old Duff Genever on Instagram: Old Duff Genever (@oldduffgenever) • Instagram photos and videos Old Duff Genever on Facebook: facebook.com Old Duff Genever on X/Twitter: ...

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 and chef in some very high-profile restaurants in his native UK and then in Argentina, moving into drinks writing, the rise of spirits designed to be mixed, the delusions we must all buy in to that make hospitality pleasant, changing tides of kitchen culture, why we don't have (but probably need) reviews of bars and spirits that are critical where deserved, the sparkling repartee that legendary restaurant AA Gill exchanged with Gordon Ramsay one evening in a restaurant where Tim worked, the anonymity dilemma of modern bars, our respective roles spreading COVID in early 2020 and our shared experience of the deli-counter / conveyor-belt marriages at Manhattan City Hall. Enjoy!(Oh, and the place Tim couldn't remember the name of, when I asked him for a place outside the US that had impressed him recently? It's Radici in Italy: https://www.instagram.com/____radici____?igsh=eW45YnpteTNsaDAy )Tim on IG: https://www.instagram.com/timmckirdy/?hl=enTim on X/Twitter: https://x.com/timmckirdy?s=11&t=kTsTPMPK0kgHLvK8ldrFXQCocktail College on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5MLIRt8RnvTdfp1vFtVtI7VinePair on IG: https://www.instagram.com/vinepair/?hl=en 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 things besides their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is. They need to be able to hang. Oh, plus we don't edit, and we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, or listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview or Zoom.) Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: philip@liquidsolutions.orgPhilip on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipsduff/ Philip on Facebook: Philip Duff Philip on X/Twitter: Philip Duff (@philipduff) / Twitter Philip on LinkedIn: linkedin.com Old Duff Genever on Instagram: Old Duff Genever (@oldduffgenever) • Instagram photos and videos Old Duff Genever on Facebook: facebook.com Old Duff Genever on X/Twitter: ...

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 in 2023, he bought the revered classic Barcelona bar Boadas, the spirits brands he has co-founded, Canaima Gin, Amaro Santoni and MUYU liqueurs, go from strength to strength, and the online training portal he created, The Art of Shaking, reaches thousands of aspiring bartenders daily, teaching them techniques and mentalities that simply can't be communicated in noisy bar shows. We sat down in Sips while it was being renovated - Simone's hands were coated with silicone residue and dried paint - and chatted about the before, the now and the future. Enjoy! Simone on IG: https://www.instagram.com/simonecaporale_/Sips on IG: https://www.instagram.com/sips.drinkeryhouse/Boadas on IG: https://www.instagram.com/boadascocktails/Canaima Gin on IG: https://www.instagram.com/canaimagin/MUYU liqueurs on IG: https://www.instagram.com/muyu_liqueurs/The Art of Shaking: https://www.instagram.com/theartofshaking/ 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 things besides their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is. They need to be able to hang. Oh, plus we don't edit, and we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, or listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview or Zoom.) Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: philip@liquidsolutions.orgPhilip on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipsduff/ Philip on Facebook: Philip Duff Philip on X/Twitter: Philip Duff (@philipduff) / Twitter Philip on LinkedIn: linkedin.com Old Duff Genever on Instagram: Old Duff Genever (@oldduffgenever) • Instagram photos and videos Old Duff Genever on Facebook: facebook.com Old Duff Genever on X/Twitter: ...

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. Their two places were also some of the first fine-dining restaurants in America to take craft cocktails seriously; they hosted literally the first cocktail-pairing dinner anywhere on the planet outside Manhattan at Stage Left, which was maybe only the second cocktail-pairing dinner ever, with Dale, back in the late 1990s. Mark & Francis have also just rebooted their podcast, The Restaurant Guys, which originally ran 2005 - 2013 and was just about the first restaurant podcast there was, welcoming guests like Anthony Bourdain (yep!),  Thomas Keller, Dale, Danny Meyer, Dan Barber and Jacques Pepin, among many others. They're now putting out one new episode per week and one archived episode per week, and there's a Regulars option where you slide them a few bucks a month and get extra episodes and invites to IRL events. (also, shop the TRG merch, it's hilarious!)We sat down to chat about what's really important in the restaurant business (clue: it's not the actual business itself), what places have impressed Mark and Francis lately, and what advice they'd give a young ambitious bartender from their lofty vantage point. Enjoy!The Restaurant Guys podcast website: https://www.restaurantguyspodcast.com/podcasthome, with links to all episodes, both new and archived. Also on Spotify & Apple podcasts, obvs. The Restaurant Guys on IG: https://www.instagram.com/restaurantguyspodcast/Become a Restaurant Guys Regular: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2390435/subscribeStage Left Steak on IG: https://www.instagram.com/stagelefteats/Catherine Lombardi on IG: https://www.instagram.com/catherinelombardirestaurant/  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 things besides their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is. They need to be able to hang. Oh, plus we don't edit, and we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, or listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview or Zoom.) Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: philip@liquidsolutions.orgPhilip on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipsduff/ Philip on Facebook: Philip Duff Philip on X/Twitter: Philip Duff (@philipduff) / Twitter Philip on LinkedIn: linkedin.com Old Duff Genever on Instagram: Old Duff Genever (@oldduffgenever) • Instagram photos and videos Old Duff Genever on Facebook: facebook.com Old Duff Genever on X/Twitter: ...

In this lively discussion, Erik Lorincz, a bartending superstar and owner of multiple acclaimed bars, shares insights from his remarkable journey. He dives into the balance between creativity and comfort in bar concepts, the rise of Shochu in cocktails, and the changing landscape of global cocktail culture. The conversation also touches on the madness of guest shifts, the significance of mentorship, and the artistry behind crafting iconic drinks. Erik discusses the evolution of bartending competitions and the role of storytelling in showcasing talent.