Hey hey Movers and Shakers, it's your host April Wachtel, and I’m pleased to present to you a most unusual episode of Movers and Shakers. If you’re a regular listener and are familiar with our standard format- this isn’t that. In today’s episode I interviewed an old friend and the cocktail mastermind behind world-famous New York bars Employees Only…

Today’s interview is with Elayne Duff from the Beverage Brand Ambassador Academy. Elayne Duff is a 20-year veteran of the spirits industry. She was Diageo U.S.A.’s first head mixologist and luxury spirits ambassador, has appeared on the T.V. show Bar Rescue numerous times as a beverage expert, and was a Global Manager of experiential events and edu…

Today’s interview is with Allison Evanow from Square One Organic Spirits. Allison is the Founder and CEO of Square One Organic Spirits and Cocktails. She is a pioneer in the organic spirits space, starting Square One as the U.S.’s first all organic spirits company and one of the first women to start her own spirits brand. Square One crafts a line o…

Today's interview is with Lance Winters and Dave Smith from St. George Spirits. Lance is the Master Distiller and Dave is the Head Distiller for St. George Spirits, one of the pioneer craft distilleries in the United States. Founded by Jorg Rupf in 1982, St. George originally distilled eau de vie, then birthed and sold the Hangar One brand, and exp…

Today’s interview is a special episode on the Enthuse Foundation Pitch Competition coming up in November of 2022. Some of you know, I worked with the Foundation when they were starting out four years ago, and the event remains near and dear to my heart. It’s a competition for women founders in food, beverage, and cpg, with some great cash prizes an…

Today's episode is an interview with Andrew Merinoff. Andrew is the founder of DisPact Ventures, an investment fund focused on emerging retail, food & beverage and technology brands, and is also the co-founder of Chinola Passionfruit Liqueur. Andrew’s experience spans multiple sectors and industries, including F&B, Wine & Spirits, Hospitality, Inve…

Today's episode is an interivew with the man, the myth, the legend, David Gluckman. David is the Author of the book “That S*it Will Never Sell,” and is the creator of Baileys (the number one selling liqueur in history, which has sold billions of bottles across 160 countries. David is also the mind behind Ciroc Vodka, Tanqueray 10 and dozens of othe…

Today's guest is Jackie Summers- a James Beard Finalist AND judge; a seasoned public speaker, and the creator of the award-winning Sorel Liqueur. His accolades are FAR too many to list, but to give you a small sampling, he’s been named one of the world’s “100 Most Influential Bar Industry Figures” by Drinks International Magazine (2019, 2020, 2021,…

Today’s guest is Philip Duff- a renowned expert on distilled spirits and a beverage consultant to drinks companies everywhere. He bartended around the world for decades and founded Holland’s first bar to enter the World’s 50 Best Bars. Philip owns the lauded Old Duff Genever brand, served as the first Director of Education for Tales of the Cocktail…

Today's guest is Stephanie Jordan, the CEO and co-founder of Avallen Calvados, and multilingual wine & spirits professional with over 15 years in the global drinks business. Stephanie is a former Global Brand Ambassador for Tanqueray Gin, and founder of the luxury marketing consultancy Drinking Out Loud. She and her business partner Tim Etherington…

Today’s guest is John deBary, the creator of Proteau, a line of zero-proof botanical drinks, a co-founder of Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation, author of Drink What You Want: The Subjective Guide to Making Objectively Delicious Cocktails, Food52’s first Resident Drink Expert, and a freelance journalist with bylines in Bon Appetit, Food & Win…

Today’s guest is Allen Katz, Co Founder of the New York Distilling Company. Allen is one of the nation’s leading experts on distilled spirits and cocktails, Director of the Spirits Education & Mixology for Southern Wine & Spirits of New York and is at the forefront of industry training in New York and around the country. He is renowned for his publ…

Today’s guest is Eugene Khabensky, Director of Business Development and Ventures at Diageo. Eugene specializes in finance, strategy, commercial insights, and business development, so I was excited to pick his brain on how he evaluates businesses for potential investment. In his tenure at Diageo, he has worked on many exciting projects and acquisiti…

Movers and Shakers is back! In today's episode, I explain our absence, introduce my company Cheeky Cocktails, and my colleague Aaron Moses steps in as host. We discuss some of my background in the beverage and hospitality industry, how I became an entrepreneur, how I think about team and culture building, and much more. A special thanks to Cheeky A…

In today's special episode of Movers and Shakers, I speak to friends in industry icons, Chris Lowder and Micaela Piccolo about life in Shanghai during Coronavirus. They share what they're doing to stay positive and productive under quarantine, what you should expect if your market is not yet adapted for the virus, and what bars and restaurants are …

Dearest listeners, In light of the impact Coronavirus is having on our industry, we will be adding coverage, interviews, and professional development opportunities to our regular programming, intended to help our community get through these next few months. Please stay tuned for tomorrow's interview with Chris Lowder, the General Manager of Proof &…

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Effie Panagopoulos is a 15 year veteran of the alcoholic beverage industry, and is founder of Kleos, the super premium Mastiha spirit. Effie earned her stripes as a bartender and brand ambassador in Boston, later working for major spirits suppliers like Bacardi and Remy Cointreau, most notably as the US National Brand Ambassador for Metaxa, and as …

Shilen Patel is co-founder and non-alch lead for Distill Ventures, the world’s first accelerator for the spirits industry. Shilen started in drinks by leading a team at Guinness that turned around over 20 years of brand decline. He then started his own business and has helped dozens of founders realize their potential. He loves asking provocative q…

Jeffrey Morgenthaler is an award-winning bartender working since 1996 in everything from neighborhood taverns and college nightclubs to fine restaurants and upscale lounges. Jeffrey has been writing about bartending and mixology for years at his website, jeffreymorgenthaler.com- which is still one of the most respected blogs in the cocktail world. …

Nick Papanicolaou is a former investment banker and MBA graduate turned entrepreneur, who launched his own spirits brand which eventually brought him to Pernod Ricard. He led the M&A and Strategy team for the USA and helped build the New Brand Ventures unit as Head of Business Development. He was also CFO of New Brand Ventures and CFO of Smooth Amb…

Robert Simonson writes about bars, bartenders, cocktails, spirits and travel for The New York Times. His work has also appeared in Imbibe, Food & Wine, Saveur, Bon Appetit, Punch and many other publications. His books include “The Old-Fashioned” “A Proper Drink”, and “3-Ingredient Cocktails,” and his newest book, “The Martini Cocktail,” was release…

Charlie O’Donnell has been an active member of the NY startup community for over 15 years, with a reputation of being the most accessible early stage investor in New York. His fund, Brooklyn Bridge Ventures has made over 60 investments since it was founded, often leading or co-leading investments in a wide variety of startups including The Wing, Pe…

I am so excited to present my interview today with Ryan Chetiyawardana, aka, Mr Lyan. Ryan is an Internationally renowned bartender, businessman, and author, and he and his establishments have won heaps of awards- from International Bartender of the year to World’s Best Bar, to Best Bar Team, to World’s Best Bar Menu, and so much more. Currently hi…

I’m so excited to present my interview today with Ben Branson. Ben is the Founder of Seedlip and Æcorn Aperitifs, the world’s first distilled non-alcoholic spirits and aperitifs, intent on changing how the world drinks. With offices in the Chilterns, Los Angeles and Sydney, Seedlip is now available in over 25x cities including New York, Barcelona, …

I’m so excited to present today’s interview with Claire Warner. Claire has worked in the drinks industry for over 20 years, starting her career as a bartender and moving into brand advocacy and education, and later liquid development and innovation. Claire joined Belvedere Vodka and LVMH in 2003, and was appointed Head of Spirit Creation and Mixolo…

I'm so excited to present my interview today with Giuseppe Gallo. Giuseppe is a twenty year veteran of the beverage and hospitality industries, and founder of ITALICUS Rosolio di Bergamotto, a liquor that is reestablishing a forgotten Aperitivo category. Prior to Italicus, Giuseppe was best known as a global brand ambassador for MARTINI & ROSSI and…

I'm so excited to present my interview today with Ming-Tai Huh, Head of Partnerships at Toast, & Proprietor at Puritan & Company As many of us know, restauranteurs are struggling with rising labor costs, and are adapting their businesses to accommodate for the increase in off-premise restaurant sales. In conditions like these, operators are constan…

Steve Luttman started his career at Unilever, working in Europe, the United States, and Brazil on various brands including Lipton Iced Tea, Ben & Jerry’s, Bertolli, and Ragu Pasta Sauce. In 2003, he joined Diageo & Moët Hennessy’s Schieffelin & Somerset as Senior VP Marketing. In 2005, he created and launched Leblon Cachaça, the leading superpremiu…

I'm so excited to present my interview today with Ryan Magarian. Ryan is president of Ryan Magarian Concepts and Hospitality, he is co-founder of Oven and Shaker, and co-founder of Aviation American Gin, which was recently purchased by the actor Ryan Reynolds. For over two decades Ryan's unique chef like approach to mixed drinks, along with the dev…

Kerry Preston is an executive coach and founder of Growtality, where she works with clients to optimize individual and organizational performance, growth, and vitality through research based methodologies. Kerry's worked with luxury brands, individuals, and businesses to help them reach their full potential. She spent over ten years with Unilever, …

Simon Ford is a legend in the cocktail and spirits worlds and is a co-founder and president of the Ford's Gin Company, formally the 86 Company. While he started his career working in wine, he's probably best known for his time in spirits marketing, working with some of the world's largest brands launching Plymouth Gin in over ten countries, directi…

Elliott Clark is the founder and creative director of Apartment Bartender. Apartment Bartender is a private digital content agency that specializes in the drink and lifestyle category. Elliott is also the co-founder of Earn Your Booze, a drink and fitness event company geared towards helping industry professionals to find balance between wellness a…

I'm so thrilled to have Billy Melnyk on the show with me today. Billy and I go way back- from when he was Director of Influential Accounts at Bacardi, and I was the New York based Brand Ambassador for the rum portfolio. Billy is now the Founder and CEO of Soto Sake a super premium junmai daiginjo sake. Billy's experience spans music and nightlife a…

Hey y'all- So sorry for the long absence, and a belated happy new year! Here's a quick update to let you know what's in store for Movers and Shakers in 2018, plus an opportunity to participate in Swig + Swallow's instagram giveaway with @apartment_bartender. More interviews coming soon with Billy from Soto Sake, Aidan and Andrew from Fora Foods, an…

We are super excited to welcome Noah Rothbaum on this episode of Movers & Shakers. Noah is the drink and food editor of the Half Full section at the Daily Beast. He's the author of "The Art of American Whiskey" and "The Business of Spirits." And he hosts the podcast, "Life Behind Bars" with the esteemed Dave Wondrich. Today we discuss the evolution…

I'm so pleased to have Jim Meehan on this episode of Movers & Shakers. He's best known as the proprietor of PDT, a speakeasy-style bar in New York City. He's also the author of the "PDT Cocktail Book" and "Meehan's Bartender Manual," released in October, 2017. On this episode we discuss his career trajectory, the global expansion of cocktail cultur…

It's been an amazing year so far, having such wonderful guests on. And it's finally holiday season and we're super hard at work putting together our next show. So until then, if you've got questions or comments for the show, or potential guests, email host April Wachtel at [email protected].

Today i’m incredibly pleased to present to you our first episode recorded in front of a live audience. We recorded this show in October, in front of the Activation Army, a 200 person team working across the US on spirit brands you probably know- Smirnoff, Ketel One, Crown Royal and Captain Morgan, to name a few. We recorded the episode panel style …

Today's show is the second episode of Top of Mind, the freestanding solo-series within "Movers and Shakers." The episode is short and sweet, and focuses on the essential organizational tools needed to be a productive and effective freelancer, remote employee, or entrepreneur.

What's up Movers & Shakers, it's your host April Wachtel. And today on the show I have Thi Lam, the co-founder of Keepers Coffee Soda, a citrus coffee soda based out of Brooklyn, New York. On this show, we discuss everything about the evolution of the product, the brand, and the company. From being a crazy accident in an office space, to bottling o…

My guests on today's show are Ivy Mix and Lynnette Marrero, the badass founders of Speed Rack. If you don't know it, Speed Rack is an international cocktail competition featuring female bartender, it benefits charities that combat breast cancer, it's heading into its seventh season, and has raised over $600,000 to-date to fight breast cancer. Prett…

I am pleased to welcome Alex Kratena to this episode of "Movers and Shakers." He is best known for his work as the former head bartender at the Artesian in London, and most recently for his work as the founder of P(OUR), a not-for-profit that is based in London but has global influence already in and around the bar community. On the show today we d…

Today on the show we have the inimitable Lauren Mote. She's an icon in the world of Canadian bartending. In the episode, we discuss how she originally fell in love with food and beverage, her work in Vancouver at The Refinery, Uva Wine & Cocktail Bar, and The Four Seasons, her company Bittered Sling, and most recently her work with Diageo World Cla…

I am thrilled to welcome the infamous Steve Schneider to this episode of "Movers & Shakers." Steve is known throughout the community from Employees Only and then he went to open Employees Only in Singapore. Most recently he opened The Strangers Club in Panama. Today on the podcast we are talking about his roots in bartending, how to succeed in bart…