Kailee and Jason Asher from Century Grand in Phoenix sit down with the band to talk about their recent “Best Cocktail Bar” win at Tales of the Cocktail, building a sustainable (and profitable) bar program and creating immersive experiences. Wanna drink craft cocktails on a train? Better book your flight to Arizona. Plus, Sother’s back from Milwaukee and shares his thoughts on the band’s collaboration on a Speakeasy cocktail box with Shaker and Spoon.

It’s a podcollaboration! Anna Gorovoy and Mike Milyavsky of Shaker & Spoon swing by the studio to talk about their latest cocktail box, which just so happens to have been designed by the guys behind the Speakeasy! Tune in as they talk gin, the art of making cocktail kits to ship, and how their business has grown over the years. Plus, what Greg and Damon got up to on their summer vacations. Want to grab a Speakeasy cocktail kit of your very own? Check it out here:...

Lucky Preksto and Jon Langley from the newly established January Spirits share with us the the path they’ve taken to bring a spirit brand that includes a gin, genepy, and an amaro to market.

In a special on-location dispatch episode from New Orleans, Sother sits down with Karl duHoffmann and Regan Doughty of Preiss Imports to investigate possible alternatives to the now dwindling availability of Chartreuse. Together they sample several examples of Joaquín Simó’s neo classic Naked and Famous as well as the venerable Last Word cocktail. Though they all agree the differences are notable, it’s clear that there are some viable options for substitution as well as avenues for innovation.

Elayne Duff, Director of Advocacy for Samson & Surrey, founder of the Beverage BA Academy and all around bar all-star (and former rescuer) sits down with the band to talk brand ambassadorship, keeping busy, when to stay humble and when to brag just a little bit. Plus, one of her brands has a new collaboration with Alice In Chains, so you should check it out. Oh, and there’s a little bit of housekeeping news on the show from last week too. You might wanna tune in to check it out :)

Adrian Michalcek joins Greg and Damon live from Norway where he’s the head bartender at Pier 42 to talk storytelling, sustainability and what it means to welcome guests in with your hospitality. Plus, it’s Tales of the Cocktail week everyone! Remember to drink lots of water, get a reasonable amount of rest, and take everything in moderation, including moderation. Have fun out there kids!

Garret Richard and Ben Schaffer have released their book Tropical Standard and it’s a forward thinking look under the hood of everything we thought we knew about tropical cocktails. Together they apply modern techniques and tools to reinterpret classics as well as forge new paths to delicious drinks all in a manner that’s easily understood and digestible. We’re also quite excited that Michelin is giving more credence to the cocktail world and our dear friend Austin Hennelly took home the...

Jamie Hunt of Fast Penny Spirits and Kim Harmon of Maker’s Mark sit down with the band to talk B Corps - what they are, how you become one, and what a force for good they can be in the world. Far from a lecture from your CPA, this is a model for how distilleries of all sizes - and schools, offices, and businesses of all flavors - can do better. Plus, robot dates that stand you up? They’re available for hire and according to some, they’re already here. Tune in to learn more!

We all know the nursery rhyme but what exactly is whey? And can you make booze out of it? Greg sits down with Emily Darchuk, founder of Wheyward Spirits to discuss this new category of spirits; where it came from, how it’s helping the planet, and what, exactly, fermented whey tastes like. Plus, happy belated Fourth of July everyone! Greg gives a quick update on the state of the union alongside a few things to be happy about this Independence Day.

Where have all the lesbian bars gone? Greg sits down with Erica Rose, co-founder and co-director of the Lesbian Bar Project, to talk about the dwindling number of these spaces, and what they represent in the first place. The conversation ranges from New York to DC to Berlin to Mobile, Alabama, as they talk about the need for these spaces in the service industry and the queer community, as well as what some folks are doing to save them. Plus, New York’s beloved haze is back, and just in time...

Ever wondered why certain smells make you think of different flavors? How certain colors and even music affect flavors? Or whether Dijon mustard would be good in a brownie? Mandy Naglich, author of How To Taste joins Greg and Sother to discuss the science of tasting on a chemical, biological, cultural, and competitive level. You’ll have a newfound appreciation for all the hard work your tongue does after this. Plus, it’s the first day of summer in NYC! Greg and Sother talk about upcoming warm...

John deBary, author of “Drink What You Want” and the upcoming “Saved by the Bellini” sits down with Greg and Sother to talk about, what else? The 90s. Bucket hats, low rise jeans, Melrose Place and how all those relate to fun tasty cocktails abound in this episode. Plus, they talk about two things that have proven surprisingly tricky when it comes to the world of cocktails - taking care of yourself and having fun. Alternatively goofy and serious, this is one chat that pairs well with...

It’s Pride Month and Greg and Damon are joined by Chris Cabrera, longtime industry advocate and LGBTQ+ activist. In a year where Pride feels different from previous ones, the guys discuss what it means to be an ally, what to make of this current moment where civil rights are backsliding, and how the bar community, as a longtime home for queer folks, can continue to offer comfort and space to regroup and fight back. And on Bottled in Bond, Greg and Chris talk about corporate responsibility and...

Summer is here in NYC and that means boomerangs, nutcrackers at the beach, and sneaky lil flasks and pouches bearing gifts for friends, family, and maybe just yourself. So of course it’s perfect timing for the band to sit down with Spank & News, the duo behind Trap Kitchen (f/Maxwell Britten) to talk about their new book Trap Kitchen III: The Art of Street Cocktails. To-Go cocktails had a real renaissance a few summers ago (for some reason) and now we’ve a handsome book talking about...

In a jam-packed episode of The Speakeasy, Sother and Greg sit down with Deborah Brenner and Aaron Gregory Smith to talk about their new joint venture between Women of the Vine & Spirits and the USBG. Their mission? Provide support - not just healthcare but honest-to-god resources and support and actual human beings - for bartenders everywhere, whenever it’s needed. How they pulled it off was no easy feat but getting involved is; check out wotvsfoundation.org Plus, Greg’s been tempting...

Fresh off of scoring Number One on North America’s 50 Best bars, Faye Chen and GN Chan sit down with the band to talk about their still young and already award winning SoHo bar Double Chicken Please. A combination watering hole and design studio, GN and Faye talk about DCP’s approach to breaking cocktails and dishes down and then building them up again and building a community around a staff that brings six different languages to the table. Plus, Damon’s on the road again. Listen to where...

The band’s all here! Damon’s back after someone finally made an honest man out of him! And just in time to sit down with Mark Sansom of World’s 50 Best Bars to talk the origins of the list, how it’s put together, the big big task of ranking the 50 best of anything in the first place, and what they’ve got cooking in the next few months (and weeks!) Highlights include the first time the ceremony has ever taken place in Asia, an imminent awards show in Mexico, and the challenge of getting...

Aaron Polsky, founder of the original alcoholic RTD brand Livewire sits down with Greg and Sother to talk entrepreneurship, the weird things you find yourself doing sometimes when you make drinks for a living, and a certain turf war with a little company called Pepsi. Plus Damon is getting married and Greg became the oldest person on TikTok earlier this month. Tune in to find out what he’s up to.

Rum! We Love Rum! I mean, uh, Dawn Davies of the whisky exchange sits down with the band to talk about all manner of things, rum being very much one of them. Guilty pleasures, flavor inflation, working for a department store, and the underrated holiday of Mitchmas all get their time on air so tune in. Plus, Sother’s back! Hear about what he’s been up to and if you guessed the correct number of bars he’s opened in our sweepstakes.

“Don’t start a mezcal company.” That’s the advice that led Dalton Kreiss, ultimately, to start a mezcal company. Since then Maguey Melate has grown into a monthly subscription box and mezcalero encyclopedia sharing knowledge of agave spirits from all over Mexico all over the world. Listen in as Dalton sits down with Greg and Damon to talk founding a business, living all over the world, and how not to be just another gringo trying to make a buck off agave. Plus, Damon confuses a work sample...

Bea Bradsell - drinks professional, author, lifelong hospitality enthusiast, and little sister to the espresso martini - sits down with Greg and Damon to talk about getting started behind the bar at an early age, projecting hospitality in all forms (including photo shoots), and what it’s like to find yourself the guardian of a bartending legacy. PLUS: I’m going out for just one drink. We’ve all said it and all of us have been lying. Why do we do this to ourselves and is there some secret...

The one and only Chockie Tom - Indigenous activist and bartender extraordinaire - sits down with Greg and Damon to talk about bartending in a post-colonial age. In other words, being respectful of where the ingredients you use come from, how they’re grown, the heritage behind them ,and the reality of what they mean now. Also, Doom metal. Plus, are risk-taking and an affinity for bitter flavors linked? Science certainly seems to think so. Tune in to find out how!

Live from Durham, NC, Greg and Sother sit down with Sean Umstead and Michelle Vanderwalker of Kingfisher, QueenBurger, and Queeny’s to talk about building a bar, a cocktail program, and a brand outside of a major market city, designing a hand-crafted tile bartop, and of course, the great burger pivot over the early 2020s. Plus, ChatGPT has now passed level three of the master somm exam - what does that mean for everyone who’s been leaning on that resume line? And, The Speakeasy welcomes its...

Greg and Sother catch up with Dan Watson and Tommy Shaffner of Never Say Dive in Cleveland to chat about building out that most beloved and elusive of concepts: the upscale dive. Plus, a whiskey fungus that’s enveloping an entire Tennessee town and the art and science of naming cocktails.

Greg and Damon geek out about wine, storytelling, podcasts, and murder with Ashley Smith, host of the new podcast Vinfamous from Wine Enthusiast and Pod People. Her show covers fraud, arson, and even murder connected to the wine industry, and this show is here to talk about all of it!