The Philip Duff Show

Simon Difford, founder of Diffordsguide.com and creator of the Difford's Easy Jigger, chronicles the rise of the Second Cocktail Golden Age. He shares hilarious tales of selling mini liquor bottles from a van and the culinary art of punch. Simon explores the evolution of cocktail recommendations and the balance between technology and customer privacy. A deep dive into the history and craftsmanship behind cocktails and punch highlights how modern creations have transformed drinking culture. Join him for a delightful mix of humor, history, and cocktail mastery.

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 restaurant in St. Louis. Today, the Gin Room is a must-stop for every serious gin distiller in the USA, and her Gin World festivals have entranced people around the US and as far afield as Mexico. We sat down for a breakfast session early during Tales of the Cocktail - enjoy!Natasha on IG: https://www.instagram.com/thegingirl/The Gin Room on IG: https://www.instagram.com/natashasginroom/ 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: ...

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 Union Square Hospitality Group at it's Michelin-starred The Modern, to a COVID-era swerve into working as one of less than half a dozen spirits specialists worldwide at Sotheby's (who had just auctioned off a $44m T-rex skeleton the day before we met up) where he values whisky and other liquor that sells for five-figure sums, Zev has tales to tell and kindly supplied vintage whiskey to fuel the storytelling as well. (I still think he's actually a spy, tho).Many thanks to Sotheby's New York for hosting us, and the whiskey book Zev recommends in this episode is "Collecting Scotch Whisky" by Emmanuel Dron. *Danny Meyer, that is. #IYKYKZev on IG: https://www.instagram.com/raisezbar/ 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: ...

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 option. Enjoy!Anna on IG: https://www.instagram.com/annasebastian3/?hl=enAnna at Tales of the Cocktail: - "The Evolution of the Modern Hotel Bar", Monday 22 July, 245pm, seminar at The Ritz-Carlton New Orleans - "Upliftment in Action: Finding Meaningful Ways to Elevate and Empower Your Community", Tuesday 23 July, 10am seminar at the Ritz-Carlton New OrleansCelebrate Her on IG: https://www.instagram.com/celebrate___her/?hl=enUnder One Sky on IG: https://www.instagram.com/underonesky_london/?hl=enThe film I'm Still Here: https://www.instagram.com/imstillherethefilm/?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: ...

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 professionals like Maura Milia and Giorgio Bargiani, presented at every bar show in the world and won every single accolade, too, as well as personally creating The Connaught Bar Gin. Phaidon recently brought out The Connaught Bar book, only their second-ever beverage title, and I was in London, so it was high time to sit down with an old friend and shoot the breeze. Naturally, Ago being Ago, we started only after some very good lunch and a wee tasting of a few things. Enjoy!Ago on IG: https://www.instagram.com/agodragos/?hl=enThe Connaught on IG: https://www.instagram.com/theconnaught/?hl=enThe Connaught Bar book: https://www.phaidon.com/store/cookbooks-food-and-drink/the-connaught-bar-cocktail-recipes-and-iconic-creations-9781838668105/The Connaught Bar Gin: https://shop.the-connaught.co.uk/products/hand-crafted-connaught-bar-gin 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: ...

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, all in Milan, as well as Bitter Fusetti, a bittersweet Turin-style bitter which has fast become a cult favorite throughout Italy, and the group makes gins, amaros and other products, too. Benji was in NY to do two guest shifts, at Caffe Dante and Sueno, on behalf of the excellent Amaretto Adriatico, so we sat down in the CitizenM Bowery hotel to talk amaretto, Fusetti, bartending, taste, the state of play in Italy and a lot more. Enjoy!Benji on IG: https://www.instagram.com/benjicavagna/Farmily Group on IG: https://www.instagram.com/farmilygroup/Bitter Fusetti on IG: https://www.instagram.com/bitterfusetti/Amaretto Adriatico on IG: https://www.instagram.com/amarettoadriatico/ 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 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 and some 1960s IW Harper Whiskey (him) and some special releases from Widow Jane whiskey & FEW whiskey (me). He's hilarious, as you'll learn, and seems to have lived a dozen lives, from personally applying to boarding school at the ripe old age of 13, to being a commentator at the CrossFit games, to exiting successful businesses he created, becoming a writer, narrowly avoiding becoming an immigration lawyer, and a whole bunch more. We didn't get around to the half of it, so me and him are going to do this all over again as soon as both find a window. For now, enjoy!DTT on IG: https://www.instagram.com/davidthomastao/?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: ...

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 Program world championships, then moved back to Armenia after COVID, and started Yerevan Cocktail Week in 2023, and is launching Magika, a range of very high quality cordials. In short, an annoyingly well-rounded man. And a great human. I just returned from teaching at Yerevan Cocktail Week 2024, so we sat down to chat about his career, his Indian bar mentor in Armenia and his German one in Spain, why everyone should approach bartending like kung-fu, and what it's like to organise a cocktail week for the first time, and for the second, in a smaller country, and what Yerevan Cocktail Week 2025 will look like.Oh, and looooooooots more. Enjoy!Gegam on IG: https://www.instagram.com/kazaris/Yerevan Cocktail Week on IG: https://www.instagram.com/yerevancocktailweekofficial/?hl=enYerevan Cocktail Week website: https://yerevancocktailweek.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: ...

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 Rum and Myrtle Bank rum. We sat down in the back room of Porchlight bar in NYC over quite a few rums to talk brand creation, just how crucial the Myrtle Bank hotel was in building "Brand Jamaica", her role in creating their rum brand, drinking the excellent Privateer Rum, and the whole coming-to-NYC-and-winding-up-bartending experience for someone who wanted to be an artist (and who, if you ask me, still is). Enjoy! Shannon on IG: https://www.instagram.com/shannonmustipher/Shannon's website: https://www.shannonmustipher.com/Myrtle Bank Rum: https://www.myrtlebankrum.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: ...

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 in any cocktail bar, too!) authored The PDT Cocktail Book, Meehan's Bartender's Manual (which I think is the best single volume all-round book about bartending) and, as you read this, his new book The Bartender's Pantry is available now for pre-orders (link below) and is dropping on June 11th. Jim, and PDT have won every award conceivable.  Oh, and did I mention he helped create Banks Rum, the Cocktail Kingdom Mixology Spoons, the Moore & Giles Meehan bag, the PDT Cocktail App AND all the American Express Centurion Lounges' beverage programs? (Jim's doing an event at Porchlight Bar in NY on 10 June, btw, and a signing at Kitchen Arts & Letters bookstore on June 11th, if you're in NYC). After I read We sat down for a good old catch-up - Jim moved to Portland some time ago - and naturally discussed the new book ( a collaboration with Emma Janzen, herself an award-winning author, and Bert Sasso, designer extraordinaire), why chicken should be expensive, why successful cocktails usually only have one weird ingredient, kola wine, culinary cocktails, the ethics of prep, ultra-processed foods, being curious not judgmental (a la Ted Lasso), shed a tear for demise of Australian icon bar Bulletin Place, agreed that cocktails are more like dessert than salad, and a whole bunch more. Enjoy!Pre-order The Bartender's Pantry (and support small bookshops): https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-bartender-s-pantry-a-beverage-handbook-for-the-universal-bar-bart-sasso/20411265?ean=9781984858672Pre-order The Bartender's Pantry because you're not evil but the Kindle IS very convenient: https://www.amazon.com/Bartenders-Pantry-Beverage-Handbook-Universal-ebook/dp/B0CFPS4DG5Reserve a spot at the launch party, at Porchlight NYC, Ju 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: ...