The Curious Bartender Podcast

Mathieu Sabbagh spent fifteen years navigating the corporate corridors of Pernod Ricard, working on the relaunches of absinthe and Suze, before packing it in, driving around France looking for something real, and ending up buying a mobile still in Beaune. He's now the sole travelling distiller in Burgundy, running Alambic Bourguignon and his own label Sab's — and in this episode we pull apart how that happened and why it matters. We talk about the slow industrial death of France's once-thriving network of mobile distilleries, the customs regulations that govern when a still is allowed to run, and the three-pot preheating system that means someone has to be up at 4am during distilling season. Mat explains the difference between Marc de Bourgogne and Fin de Bourgogne, why Burgundy's grapes (Pinot noir and Chardonnay harvested at full maturity) make a fundamentally different spirit to cognac or Armagnac, and how he sources wine barrels from some of the most sought-after producers on earth because, quite simply, they're next door. We taste through an extraordinary range: four gins (including a navy strength, a barrel-aged expression and one infused with Pinot pomace), aged Marc and Fin finished in Islay whisky and mezcal casks, and three unaged fruit eaux-de-vie from apricot, mirabelle and pear. The conversation keeps circling back to the same idea: a great spirit is just great ingredients honestly handled.Find Mathieu and the full Sab's range at alambic-bourguignon.com.

Franz-Arthur MacElhone is the fourth-generation custodian of Harry's New York Bar, the legendary Paris institution founded in 1911 when its original Manhattan fittings were shipped across the Atlantic. His great-grandfather Harry MacElhone — a young Scotsman who arrived in Paris via Ciro's in London — bought the bar in 1923, put his name above the door, and set about building one of the most consequential addresses in cocktail history. Franz now runs the bar day to day, oversees its social media, has opened a second Harry's Bar, and has recently revived the International Bar Flies — Harry's original membership society.In this episode, recorded inside the bar itself, we work through the cocktails that made Harry's a cornerstone of the canon: the Bloody Mary (anchored by a 1967 Newsweek interview as the key documentary evidence), the Sidecar, the White Lady in both its original and better-known gin form, and the French 75 — originally made with Calvados, named after a piece of WWI artillery, and still the bar's best-seller. We also dig into Harry MacElhone as a personality: a WWI Royal Flying Corps pilot, a gifted self-promoter who distributed crying towels and earplugs during the 1929 financial crash, and — as Franz argues — someone who invented marketing before marketing was even really a word. Franz reflects on what it means to be born into that legacy: the daily responsibility of keeping 115-year-old American mahogany in good repair, serving 600 cocktails a day, and running through thousands of bottles of Cognac a year, while living by the philosophy he has coined to capture the whole thing: traditionally inventive.
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Kami Newton is a flavour expert, sensory analyst, and founder of Sensory Advantage, whose career took him from wine shelves at Oddbins to leading tasting panels at the Scotch Malt Whisky Society — and eventually to one of the most fascinating corners of the drinks world: the gap between chemistry and perception.
This is one of the most illuminating conversations about flavour we've ever had on the show. Kami unpacks why the drinks industry has become extraordinarily good at talking about technical production while almost entirely ignoring how chemistry becomes experience — and why that matters enormously for how people engage with spirits. We explore flavour as a cross-modal, non-conscious construct involving all of the senses; why tasting notes are snapshots of a movie that's constantly changing; how genetics, mood, environment and even your microbiome shape what you taste; and why the real difference between a novice and an expert taster is fundamentally about language, not sensitivity.
Sponsored by Denver & Liely whose whisky tasting glass will level up your flavour experience - get 15% of their glassware with this linkFollow Kami on Instagram:

Padraig Fox has spent 21 years at Guinness, starting out as a tour guide at the Storehouse in Dublin and working his way through sales, quality, and trade before landing the title of Global Brand Ambassador.In this episode, Padraig takes us deep into the world of Guinness: what's behind the brand's remarkable recent surge in popularity, the surprisingly exacting science of pouring the perfect pint, and why the two-part pour is a hill Padraig is prepared to die on. We get into the history: Arthur Guinness's audacious 9,000-year lease on a rundown Dublin brewery in 1759, the switch from ale to Porter recorded on a single turned-over page of a recipe book, and the Welshman who quietly invented draught Guinness in a London lab. We also explore how a brand that refused to advertise for 150 years eventually gave the world the toucan, the surfer ad, and the Guinness Book of Records. And what it actually means to pour the same beer consistently from Dublin to Astana.

Get 15% off the world's best drinking vessels at Denver & Liely using the discount code CURIOUS15 at checkout - https://denverandliely.comGet 15% off my favourite coffee liqueur at Algebradrinks.com with code CURIOUS1500:00 Why is Guinness Having a Moment? Taste, Look, Quality03:50 Arthur Guinness’ 9000 Year Lease, Bringing Porter to Dublin, The Difference Between Stout & Porter07:30 The Size of the Guinness Today09:05 Guinness Variants: Guinness Original, Guinness Foreign Extra Stout, Draught Guinness, Innovation Products, Foreign Markets11:42 Ingredients for Guinness: Roasted Barley, Malt, Hops, Yeast14:35 Why Is Guinness Creamy? Introducing Nitrogen Gas, What Nitrogen Does to Flavour17:00 Why Is Guinness Poured in Two Parts?18:30 Where is Guinness Brewed?19:40 What Temperature Should Guinness Be Served At? Guinness Extra Cold21:50 What is the Correct Mix of Gas for Guinness?23:30 The Secret to A Great Tasting Pint of Guinness: Line Hygiene 27:00 The Correct Glass for Guinness31:35 The Cult of Guinness, Discernment & Taste Acquisition35:20 Best Guinness in Dublin37:30 Why Is the Irish Bar Exported? Difference to British Pub, Balancing Irishness42:00 Guinness Advertising: The Surfer, the Toucan, Evolution Ad47:45 Association with Rugby & Other Sports49:45 Guinness Goes Viral51:02 Guinness 0.0 - Production, Scale53:20 Guinness Book of Records55:20 Is the Trend for Guinness Sustainable?56:20 The Opengate Brewery: Innovation, Nitrogen Foreign Extra Stout, Barrel Aged Guinness59:00 Being the Guinness Brand Ambassador1:00:00 The Guinness Storehouse Experience1:01:40 Is Guinness a Craft Beer?📷 Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tristanstephenson/📚 I've written quite a few books on spirits and cocktails - https://www.thecuriousbartender.com/

Hannah Sharman-Cox and Siobhán Payne are the co-founders of London Cocktail Week and the Pinnacle Guide. Having launched London Cocktail Week 16 years ago, they have built one of the drinks industry's most recognised consumer-facing events, taking it through multiple ownership structures - from its origins under Simon Difford, through the Whisky Exchange and Pernod Ricard — before buying it back outright in January 2026. Together with business partner Dan Dove, they also created the Pinnacle Guide, a Michelin-inspired rating system that awards one, two, or three pins to bars across 14 countries and counting.In this conversation, Hannah and Siobhán talk about the decision to move London Cocktail Week from October to March, how the event has evolved from its early days of London buses and pop-up bars in Seven Dials to a more purpose-driven celebration of bartenders and bar culture. They go deep on the Pinnacle Guide — its two-year consultation process, the extensive application form, how bars are assessed and reviewed, and the deliberate "skew of kindness" built into the system. They also reveal Curate Your City, a new venture that will offer a turnkey framework for anyone to create their own multi-venue festival in any industry, anywhere in the world. Plus, some quick questions from Jake Burger at the end on the golden age of UK bartending.https://londoncocktailweek.com/https://www.thepinnacleguide.com/Get 15% off the world's best drinking vessels at Denver & Liely using the discount code CURIOUS15 at checkout Get 15% off my favourite coffee liqueur at Algebradrinks.com with code CURIOUS15📷 Follow me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tristanstephenson/📚 I've written quite a few books on spirits and cocktails - https://www.thecuriousbartender.com/00:00:00 Introduction00:02:12 London Cocktail Week: 16 Years and Counting00:03:09 Taking Back Full Ownership00:04:12 Moving LCW from October to March00:08:04 How London Cocktail Week Has Changed00:10:31 The Cocktail Village Era00:14:38 Wristbands, Guidebooks and Building Community00:17:01 The Evolution of London's Cocktail Scene00:21:21 The Ownership Journey: Difford, Whisky Exchange and Pernod Ricard00:24:43 Burnout, the Pandemic and Pivoting00:27:36 What's Next for LCW in 202700:33:14 Introducing the Pinnacle Guide00:38:50 The Scoring System and "Skew of Kindness"00:43:21 Reviewers: Industry Pros and Interested Amateurs00:48:48 How the Application Form Elevates the Industry00:54:48 Global Expansion: 146 Bars Across 14 Countries00:57:36 How the Pinnacle Guide Will Make Money01:05:53 Curate Your City: A New Venture for Festival Creators01:14:52 The Hannah and Siobhán Partnership01:16:19 Is the Golden Age of UK Bartending Behind Us?