The Cocktail Lovers

15 competitors, four judges, four mentors, seven brands, three winners – that’s the global final of SIP Supernova in numbers; in words, the stats are just as impressive.

In the true ethos of Share, Inspire, Pioneer, aka SIP, the global advocacy platform powered by Pernod Ricard, SIP Supernova is about celebrating and empowering hospitality professionals at every level, be they wait staff, managers or bartenders. The only stipulation is that they’ve been working in the industry for less than 6 years.

Over four days, from May 9th to 13th, the 15 finalists from around the world will be in Tokyo and Kyoto where they’ll be tested across a variety of disciplines. In this bonus episode we hear from from Cloé Auger, Global Trade Advocacy Leader at Pernod Ricard; Hedda Bruce, one of the judges and Danil Nevsky one of the mentors to hear more about SIP Supernova from their unique perspectives.

Follow SIP at join-sip.com
Find out more about SIP Supernova here

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In this sponsored bonus episode, we’re joined by Lisa King, founder of Free AF, New Zealand’s number one non-alcoholic canned cocktail brand.

Founded in 2020, Lisa created Free AF with one goal in mind, to provide a range of alcohol-free cocktails for those who take what they drink seriously. But more than producing great tasting liquids, a range with complexity, texture and attitude, the brand was born with a greater mission – to create a movement for making non-drinking aspirational.

In just 5 years Free AF has built a global following for its alcohol-free cocktails – as well as being the No.1 non-alcoholic ready-to-drink brand in New Zealand, it’s one of the fastest growing non-alc RTD’s in the USA, has been endorsed by Khloe Kardashian and Kris Jenner and is listed in Morrison in the UK. What’s all the fuss about? That's what we’re speaking to her about in this episode.

For more information on Free AF, visit af-drinks.com
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We've made it to 100 episodes and to celebrate, we're joined by Agostino Perrone and Giorgio Bargiani, Director of Mixology and Assistant Director of Mixology at The Connaught respectively.

As the first guests on the very first episode of the podcast it made perfect sense to catch up with them over a Martini or two. Only this time, rather than recording remotely, we've joined them at The Connaught Bar. And rather than interviewing them, they've flipped the script and asked us the questions. Oh, and we get a turn behind that famous trolley and get to make them a Martini!

With very special thanks to:

Agostino Perrone, Director of Mixology at The Connaught
Giorgio Bargiani, Assistant Director of Mixology at The Connaught
The Connaught Bar team

Produced by Laura Grassulini

For more from The Cocktail Lovers, visit thecocktaillovers.com

Tune in to episode one featuring Agostino Perrone, Giorgio Bargiani and Maura Millia, here

The Cocktail Lovers theme music is by Travis 'T-Bone' Watson
Edited by Christian Fox
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s not intentional but we tend to talk about people, places and products that are already out there, so for our penultimate episode of the season, we’re flipping that and going for things that may not immediately be on your radar. But should be.

Like Harp of Darkness, a black Irish whiskey and Atheres Spirits, a boutique range of botanical amaro and liqueurs distilled in Industrial City, New York.

Botanicals are also front and centre of Danny Childs inspiring book 'Slow Drinks', while top-notch music (live and vinyl) and no-nonsense classic cocktails are at the core of the deliciously low key, high value Bird’s in New York.

And we’re thrilled to welcome Denny Kallivoka and Dimitris Alpanezos, the bright minds behind Vision, a pioneering, much needed platform they’ve created to make hospitality spaces more inclusive for people who are blind or partially sighted.

For more from The Cocktail Lovers, visit thecocktaillovers.com

For the products featured in this episode, see websites below:

What we're drinking:

The Truly British Hanky Panky

40ml Cygnet 22 Dry Welsh Gin
40ml Asterley Bros Sweet Vermouth
7ml Asterley Bros Britannica London Fernet
Orange coin to garnish

Method:
Chill Martini glasses. Stir ingredients over ice. Pour into the chilled Martini glass and garnish with an orange coin.

Atheras Spirits
Birds NYC
Harp of Darkness Black Irish Whiskey
Slow Drinks – A field guide to foraging and fermenting seasonal sodas, botanical cocktails, homemade wines and more, by Danny Childs
Vision by Metron Ariston

Listen to the original episode featuring the Hanky Panky recipe here

The Cocktail Lovers theme music is by Travis 'T-Bone' Watson
Edited by Christian Fox
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've done whisky specials before but here we are, back with another. Why? There are always plenty of mighty fine whiskies to shout about. Besides, why the hell not?

We start with two whiskies born and raised in the US. One is the result of two actor friends who bonded over their love of the spirit so much they decided to create their own, aptly called Brother’s Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey. The other is also the result of two bright minds coming together: this time it's Sirdavis created by Dr Bill Lumsden and Queen B herself, the one and only Beyoncé Knowles-Carter.

Our book is a glorious road trip journal across Japan in which renowned whisky expert Dave Broom shares his very personal observations of the spirit and place in 'The Japanese Way of Whisky'.. And while we're on the subject of travel, there's certainly a whisky-based cocktail or two on the menu at Shakerato, the new bar in Amsterdam from the team behind Mexico City’s award-winning Handshake bar.

And then there's our guest, the fabulous Georgie Bell-Leoni, who has been evangelising about her favourite spirit, whisky, for over 15 years. She tells us about sourcing whiskies for her company, The Heart Cut, talks about how to fully appreciate them and guides us through a tasting of one of the bottlings on offer from her award-winning company The Heart Cut.

For more from The Cocktail Lovers, visit thecocktaillovers.com

For the products featured in this episode, see websites below:

What we're drinking:

Matcha Highball
By Jason Patz, from Food & Wine Magazine

60ml Japanese whisky (we used Hibiki)
15ml honey water
15ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 tsp Matcha powder
Chilled Club Soda to top
Lemon wheel to garnish

Method:
Chill Collins glasses. Shake first four ingredients over ice. Pour into the chilled Collins glass, top with Club Soda and garnish with a lemon wheel.

Brother's Bond Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Shakerato, Amsterdam
SirDavis American Whisky
The Heart Cut
The Japanese Way of Whisky – by Dave Broom

The Cocktail Lovers theme music is by Travis 'T-Bone' Watson
Edited by Christian Fox
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.