The Speakeasy

Latest Episodes:

"Don't Start a Mezcal Company" Apr 07, 2023

Show notes

“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 with a wedding present. Stay tuned.

Photo Courtesy of Maguey Melate.

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🔥🔥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

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Old Family Recipes Mar 30, 2023

Show notes

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 appeal to the self deception? Tune in and find out!

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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.

Chocktails Mar 23, 2023

Show notes

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!

Photo Courtesy of Dmitri Wildfong-Nishman.

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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.

Burger Royalty Mar 16, 2023

Show notes

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 youngest ever guest - Michelle’s son, Claude, who’s only two decades and seven months away from the legal drinking age.
———————————————— #DrinkingOnTheRadio

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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.

Dive Hard Mar 09, 2023

Show notes

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.

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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.

A Show Which Will Live In Vinfamy Mar 02, 2023

Show notes

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! Check out their first episode and subscribe here!

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.

Make the Jump! Feb 22, 2023

Show notes

Tennessee native Alex Jump joins us to discuss fearlessly leaving her position as bar manager at Death & Co Denver to start her own consultancy called Dim Lights Hospitality. She’s also passionate about better representation in our sector surrounding mental and physical health as well as striking the ever elusive Life/Work balance. She’s also slated to be the fist woman to make the Ride to Tales this summer, a motorcycle convoy from Denver to New Orleans.

Plus, Sother ate meat with his bare hands at Gage & Tollner on Mardi Gras. Tune in!

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.

Turn It Up to 500! Feb 16, 2023

Show notes

Speakeasy number 500 comes rocking onto the airwaves with Chad Solomon of Slow & Low. Between him and the band we cover the history of rye whiskey, the labor movement, Jersey lightning, a liquor scandal in Oregon, and everything in between. Plus, a special thank you to HRN and our awesome listeners for sticking with us after twelve years. Here’s to 500 more!

The Speakeasy is nominated for a viewer’s choice TASTE AWARD. Cast your vote before February 17th.

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.

Laird of the Rings Feb 02, 2023

Show notes

Ninth generation brandy professional and company president/global ambassador/living legend Lisa Laird Dunn joins the band to talk about all things apple brandy. What goes into making it, how it’s waxed and waned in popularity, and what it’s like working with your father and your kids in the same company. Plus, RIP Dry January 2023. You will not be missed.

The Speakeasy is nominated for a viewer’s choice TASTE AWARD. Cast your vote before February 17th.

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 Influenc(er) Jan 26, 2023

Show notes

Ever wonder what it’s like to be an internet influencer in the spirits field? Tune in as YouTuber Leandro Dimonriva of The Educated Barfly joins Sother one-on-one to talk about his journey from behind the bar to in front of the camera.

Plus, it looks like Fireball is in a whole new kind of hot water, find out why on this episode!

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.