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 and Macao Trading Co- Dushan Zaric. Dushan is widely recognized as an industry leader and a pioneer in craft bartending; his innovative work behind the bar has revolutionized the art of the cocktail.  Dushan and I hadn’t spoken in a ..read more

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 education at Ab-InBev.  More recently Elayne founded “Duff on the Rocks,”  an on and off-trade brand strategy consultancy, launched a YouTube show “Celebrating the Brand Ambassador”  and created  the “Beverage B.A ..read more

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 of USDA Organic vodkas and botanical spirits and now also has two new products lines – organic cocktail mixers and convenient ready to drink sparkling vodka cocktails.   In the podcast today we discuss: How Allison harnessed her backg ..read more

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 expanded their portfolio across categories to include base spirits like Gin, Vodka, and Whiskey, as well as liqueurs and more esoteric offerings like Absinthe and Shochu. In the podcast today we discuss: How Lance and Dave have grown the brand organica ..read more

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 and marketing services available to the winners. I was fortunate to have Kim Lawton, the co-founder of the Enthuse Foundation and co-owner of Enthuse and Inspira Marketing join me on the podcast to talk about the Foundation, the competition, and how po ..read more

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, Investing, and Marketing. Most recently, Andrew worked to develop intuitive spirit branding for Proximo Spirits, where he focused on brand development for the company’s current portfolio.   In the podcast today we discuss: How And ..read more

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 other beverage brands. In the podcast today we discuss: The story of Baileys and what he learned after presenting the brand to his clients David’s advice on advancing ideas through large organizations What large companies should do with their market res ..read more

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, 2022), one of The 50 Most Influential People In Brooklyn Food by Brooklyn Magazine, The 2019 Award winner for “Best Food Essay” by the Association of Food Journalists and on and on.   In the podcast today we discuss:   How a cancer ..read more

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, and regularly appears on TV & in publications like Esquire, Reuters, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and more. In the podcast today we discuss: The evolution of Phil’s career in the global drinks business Why large companies st ..read more

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 Judge founded Avallen in 2019 with the mission to be the world’s most planet-positive spirits brand, and is a certified B corp sold in ten markets around the world.   In the podcast today we discuss: Stephanie & Tim’s ..read more