The Speakeasy

Latest Episodes:

What the People Want Mar 22, 2024

Show notes

A non-alc portfolio you say?? Yuna Asriyan sits down with Greg and Sother to talk about the consumers driving this trend - for once! - and what they want. That includes why they’re choosing to drink and not to drink, what they’re after in the world of mocktails and zero proof beverages, and why they’re making those choices in the first place. And of course, what it’s like to manage a brand portfolio with no booze whatsoever. Plus, why are working class folks so sour on the economy? Greg has a few theories. And on Bottled in Bond, Yuna and Greg get a chance to talk about some other recreationals making their way into the public discourse. Become a regular to tune in!

Love The Speakeasy but wish there was more? Check out Bottled in Bond, our new Patreon podcast exclusively for you, our best regulars! Join now for sponsor-free listening, video podcasts, access to pre-sales and drink recipes from all our guests. Higher proof and aged to perfection, check it out now at patreon.com/BottledinBond

Follow Yuna on Instagram at @sipswithyunz

Additionally, here at HRN we’re celebrating our 15th year and deepening our commitment to giving voice to the next generation of food systems storytellers. And we need your help. Our internship and fellowship programs help activate new possibilities for underrepresented and underestimated young people—through experiential journalism, audio engineering, and production training. When you donate to help support these programs, you can be entered to win a dinner for 2 at an amazing restaurant in 1 of 8 cities, and tickets to a concert at a great venue in one of those cities. Thank you for supporting our work to educate the next generation of food systems storytellers!

Don’t forget to click SUBSCRIBE and RATE the show if you can.

🔥🔥Join us each week as industry leaders, Damon Boelte and Sother Teague, sit down with a wide range of hospitality and spirits experts from around the world to discuss everything that impacts our business.

Damon Boelte @DamonBoelte

Sother Teague @CreativeDrunk

Greg Benson @100ProofGreg

Speakeasy Podcast @SpeakeasyPodcast

Sother Teague @CreativeDrunk

SpeakeasyRadio @SpeakeasyRadio

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support The Speakeasy by becoming a member!

The Speakeasy is Powered by Simplecast.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

99 (Year-Old) Bottles of Booze on the Wall Mar 15, 2024

Show notes

The bottles may be dusty but the conversation sure isn’t! Aaron Goldfarb, author of the new book "Dusty Booze: In Search of Vintage Spirits”, sits down with the band to talk about the wild paths you wind up on when you write a book about spirits that can be over a hundred years old, and the people who collect them. Learn why some things don’t taste like they used to and why some things never change, and what drives people to seek these relics out in the first place. Plus, Icelandic prohibition! Possibly the world’s weirdest? Tune in to hear some semi-informed, wildly unverified history.

Photo Courtesy of Cory Smith.

Don’t forget to click SUBSCRIBE and RATE the show if you can.

Damon Boelte @DamonBoelte

Sother Teague @CreativeDrunk

Greg Benson @100ProofGreg

Speakeasy Podcast @SpeakeasyPodcast

Sother Teague @CreativeDrunk

SpeakeasyRadio @SpeakeasyRadio

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support The Speakeasy by becoming a member!

The Speakeasy is Powered by Simplecast.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Come As You Are Mar 08, 2024

Show notes

Tiffanie Barriere, the drinking coach herself sits down with Greg and Sother to talk about her long and storied career behind - and in front of - many different bars. From the iconic “One Flew South” in Atlanta’s airport to helping empower folks who want to change the world, Tiffanie has been in lots of different situations and she’s been unapologetically herself in every single one. Tune in for a conversation that gets surprisingly deep about self-worth, the challenge of elevating black voices in a very white space, and the challenge of assigning a value to your work.

Plus (on a lighter note), White Claw has finally made an innovation that modern science had said was impossible. You heard it here first, the future is now.

Photo Courtesy of Lynsey Weatherspoon.

Don’t forget to click SUBSCRIBE and RATE the show if you can.

Damon Boelte @DamonBoelte

Sother Teague @CreativeDrunk

Greg Benson @100ProofGreg

Speakeasy Podcast @SpeakeasyPodcast

Sother Teague @CreativeDrunk

SpeakeasyRadio @SpeakeasyRadio

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support The Speakeasy by becoming a member!

The Speakeasy is Powered by Simplecast.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Spinning Plates of Caviar Mar 01, 2024

Show notes

The one and only Ms. Franky Marshall sits down with the band to talk about a singular career in the drinks industry. Cognac, events, behind the bar, in front of the bar, she’s done it all and tells all on an episode that’s very fun and very (sorry about this) frank. Plus, are there too many or too few agave? Journalists can’t seem to agree, even though whatever the answer, it’s bad. And, Sother’s check from Anheuser-Busch finally arrives. Tune in to hear how justice sounds in real time.

Photo Courtesy of Rose Callahan.

Don’t forget to click SUBSCRIBE and RATE the show if you can.

Damon Boelte @DamonBoelte

Sother Teague @CreativeDrunk

Greg Benson @100ProofGreg

Speakeasy Podcast @SpeakeasyPodcast

Sother Teague @CreativeDrunk

SpeakeasyRadio @SpeakeasyRadio

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support The Speakeasy by becoming a member!

The Speakeasy is Powered by Simplecast.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Homecoming Feb 25, 2024

Show notes

Aaaaand we’re back! You are listening to The Speakeasy on Heritage Radio Network where Greg, Sother, and Damon have all gathered for the first time in almost four years! It’s a great big love fest as the three of them catch up, talk about what they’re drinking these days and discuss what, if anything, will be the next mezcal. Plus, what, exactly, is that table doing? Tune in to find out.

Don’t forget to click SUBSCRIBE and RATE the show if you can.

Damon Boelte @DamonBoelte

Sother Teague @CreativeDrunk

Greg Benson @100ProofGreg

Speakeasy Podcast @SpeakeasyPodcast

Sother Teague @CreativeDrunk

SpeakeasyRadio @SpeakeasyRadio

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support The Speakeasy by becoming a member!

The Speakeasy is Powered by Simplecast.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Under the Influencers Feb 18, 2024

Show notes

Elliott Clark, you’ve made it to eighty thousand followers! What are you gonna do now? That’s the question on everyone’s mind as Elliott, aka Apartment Bartender sits down with the band to talk building a personal brand, surviving the attention economy, and becoming a dad. He also talks about the process of writing and putting together his new book “Let’s Do Drinks” which is out in April and available for preorder now.

Plus, is Jimmy Fallon trolling us? The band talks about a new sketch with Fallon, Keegan Michael Key, and a special guest appearance by Boy George that seems an awful lot like it’s making fun of us, or at least who we used to be ten years ago.

Don’t forget to click SUBSCRIBE and RATE the show if you can.

Damon Boelte @DamonBoelte

Sother Teague @CreativeDrunk

Greg Benson @100ProofGreg

Speakeasy Podcast @SpeakeasyPodcast

Sother Teague @CreativeDrunk

SpeakeasyRadio @SpeakeasyRadio

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support The Speakeasy by becoming a member!

The Speakeasy is Powered by Simplecast.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Right Blend Feb 12, 2024

Show notes

Blending. Distilling. What does it mean to “make” whiskey? Eboni Major joins Greg and Sother live from Birmingham, Alabama, to break down a day in the life of a whiskey blender (spoiler alert, there are a lot more spreadsheets than you might think), discuss her often winding path through the world of food and beverage, and open up about what it’s like as a Black woman in the bar community to hold a former employer accountable. Plus, real life vs. VR. Greg and Sother talk about what it was like finally being in the same room together and Greg shares the results of a head-to-head bartending challenge between a chatbot and a bunch of regular-ass humans.

Don’t forget to click SUBSCRIBE and RATE the show if you can.

Damon Boelte @DamonBoelte

Sother Teague @CreativeDrunk

Greg Benson @100ProofGreg

Speakeasy Podcast @SpeakeasyPodcast

Sother Teague @CreativeDrunk

SpeakeasyRadio @SpeakeasyRadio

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support The Speakeasy by becoming a member!

The Speakeasy is Powered by

=Simplecast.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

I Did Not Get ChatGPT to Name This Episode Feb 03, 2024

Show notes

It’s a three-on-three pod-off as Rob, Greg, and Ariana from the “Drinking With Robots” podcast sit down with Greg, Sother, and Damon from… well, you know. The DWR team is getting ready to launch a second season of their show, which pits human bartenders against chatbots in a battle for cocktail supremacy, but first they come on the show to talk the rise (and pitfalls) of generative AI, what it’s like to compare people with robots, and the unexpected pairing of a bespoke bitters company and Microsoft. Plus… crab whiskey? …there’s nothing else to say just… crab whiskey? Tune in to find out.

Don’t forget to click SUBSCRIBE and RATE the show if you can.

Damon Boelte @DamonBoelte

Sother Teague @CreativeDrunk

Greg Benson @100ProofGreg

Speakeasy Podcast @SpeakeasyPodcast

Sother Teague @CreativeDrunk

SpeakeasyRadio @SpeakeasyRadio

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support The Speakeasy by becoming a member!

The Speakeasy is Powered by Simplecast.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Whyn? Jan 25, 2024

Show notes

Live from the future (and Australia) Aaron Trotman sits down with Greg and Sother to talk about Non, his zero-proof… wine? Wine alternative? Liquid? Beyond the failure of the English language to discuss these drinks the convo covers what’s in them, where the inspiration for a non-alc comes from, and whether or not Dry January is a good thing. Plus, James Beard nods are out, and a couple entries from New York made the list - one you’re expecting and one that may surprise you.

Don’t forget to click SUBSCRIBE and RATE the show if you can.

Damon Boelte @DamonBoelte

Sother Teague @CreativeDrunk

Greg Benson @100ProofGreg

Speakeasy Podcast @SpeakeasyPodcast

Sother Teague @CreativeDrunk

SpeakeasyRadio @SpeakeasyRadio

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support The Speakeasy by becoming a member!

The Speakeasy is Powered by Simplecast.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Year of the Rabbit Jan 19, 2024

Show notes

All the way from South Korea, Bran Hill joins the band to talk about Tokki Soju - what it is, how it’s made and most importantly, how it’s being sold these days to a customer base that’s just getting to know it here in the U.S., and it rediscovering it in its home country. Plus, it’s awards season! A certain restaurant themed show is racking up the trophies this year but what does that mean for those of us who’ve actually lived it, instead of just playing it on TV?

Don’t forget to click SUBSCRIBE and RATE the show if you can.

Damon Boelte @DamonBoelte

Sother Teague @CreativeDrunk

Greg Benson @100ProofGreg

Speakeasy Podcast @SpeakeasyPodcast

Sother Teague @CreativeDrunk

SpeakeasyRadio @SpeakeasyRadio

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support The Speakeasy by becoming a member!

The Speakeasy is Powered by Simplecast.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.