The Philip Duff Show

Marcio is very much Our Man In Brazil, an old friend and (during Bar Convent Brazil) I’ve visited his previous, much-vaunted bar Guilhotina. 
Marcio was in NY to do a MasterCard-backed pop-up of his Sao Paolo bar, Eximia, at New York’s Dante, so we carved out a few hours to hang out and catch up. 
Enjoy! 
(Get in touch with Duff!

Podcast business enquiries: [email protected]
(PR friends: we’re only interested in having your client on if they can talk for a couple of hours about OTHER things besides their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is.
They need to be able to hang.
Oh, plus we don't edit, we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, nor listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview (or lurk on the Zoom.)

Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: [email protected]

Philip on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipsduff/
Philip on Facebook: Philip Duff
Philip on X/Twitter: Philip Duff (@philipduff) / Twitter
Philip on LinkedIn: linkedin.com

Old Duff Genever on Instagram: Old Duff Genever (@oldduffgenever) • Instagram photos and videos
Old Duff Genever on Facebook: facebook.com
Old Duff Genever on X/Twitter: ...

Tom and Marco are legendary flair competitors, multiple-times world champions, teachers, contest judges - and now, authors of the 501-page (!) “The Flair Bartending Book”.
Its unquestionably the most definitive tome ever written on this chapter in bartending, from flair’s origins in the 1600s to Jerry Thomas & co.’s flamboyant 1800s mixology to TGI Friday’s Bartender Olympics in 1984, THAT movie in 1988, the rise of well-run contests, the emergence of a professional contest circuit, and the state of play nowadays. 
If you have any interest in bartending at all, you have to own this book. 
We talked about all things flair, Marco and Tom’s own routes into bartending, the oft-forgotten speed and freepouring elements of major contests, and a whole bunch more - enjoy! 
Buy the book (USA): https://barproducts.com/products/flair-bartending-by-marco-canova-tom-dyer?variant=42885994479705&fbclid=PAVERFWAP2sjxleHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA8xMjQwMjQ1NzQyODc0MTQAAaebEZGlsHDF7Oa7V2JzE8DjHsZbMTF6WMwUeVebgYyKcMcrBOs8BA0JDavgCA_aem_e3c9RQ0XQHt3urXf5Y09yw
Buy the book (rest of world): https://www.flairbartendingbook.com/
The book on IG: https://www.instagram.com/theflairbartendingbook?igsh=ZGV1d2I1b2lhNnp0
Tom on IG: https://www.instagram.com/tomdyerflairbartender?igsh=MTVxa2p3aGJubHJjaQ==
Marco on IG: https://www.instagram.com/marcocanova_83?igsh=cDJkbDc3bXI2OGpk
Shaken And Stirred - The Flair Bartending Movie: https://www.shakenandstirredthemovie.com/dash#:~:text=Flair%20Bartending%20Documentary%20%7C%20Shaken%20and%20Stirred%20The%20Movie

(Get in touch with Duff!

Podcast business enquiries: [email protected]
(PR friends: we’re only interested in having your client on if they can talk for a couple of hours about OTHER things besides their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is.
They need to be able to hang.
Oh, plus we don't edit, we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, nor listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview (or lurk on the Zoom.)

Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: [email protected]

Philip on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipsduff/
Philip on Facebook: Philip Duff
Philip on X/Twitter: Philip Duff (@philipduff) / Twitter
Philip on LinkedIn: linkedin.com

Old Duff Genever on Instagram: Old Duff Genever (@oldduffgenever) • Instagram photos and videos
Old Duff Genever on Facebook: facebook.com
Old Duff Genever on X/Twitter: ...

Paul's been a a friend for ages; he's former London bartender and bar owner, taught seminars for the WSET and Diageo, has lived all over the world* as a conservation biologist - and founded Everleaf. 
*And is currently wrapping up several years living in Iceland!
We chatted about his many careers, the bar biz, learning Chinese, being part of Diageo's Distill Ventures brand incubator program, the state of non-alc, and a whole lot more. 
Enjoy!
Paul on IG: https://www.instagram.com/everleaf_paul/?hl=en
Everleaf on IG: https://www.instagram.com/everleafdrinks/?hl=en
(Get in touch with Duff!

Podcast business enquiries: [email protected]
(PR friends: we’re only interested in having your client on if they can talk for a couple of hours about OTHER things besides their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is.
They need to be able to hang.
Oh, plus we don't edit, we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, nor listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview (or lurk on the Zoom.)

Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: [email protected]

Philip on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipsduff/
Philip on Facebook: Philip Duff
Philip on X/Twitter: Philip Duff (@philipduff) / Twitter
Philip on LinkedIn: linkedin.com

Old Duff Genever on Instagram: Old Duff Genever (@oldduffgenever) • Instagram photos and videos
Old Duff Genever on Facebook: facebook.com
Old Duff Genever on X/Twitter: ...

Ruben’s an old friend from Amsterdam, a native Aruban who bartended in Amsterdam and London, and whose life was changed by a Diplomatico rum training he attended while working as a flair bartender at London’s famed Roadhouse. 
(That training was given by none other than Declan McGurk, himself a former flair bartender, who went on to become Director of Bars at The Savoy, leading them to a #1 spot on W50BB, and is now  Commercial Director for Boatyard Gin) 
Ruben went back to Amsterdam with rum in his heart and started Spirited Union rum, inventing “botanical rum”as a category in the process, delivering orders in person, on his bicycle, for the first few years. 
He then crowdfunded (!) buying the former Our/Vodka distillery & bar from Pernod-Ricard, whose bar, cocktail classes and rum blending workshops have made it the #1 activity in the Netherlands on TripAdvisor.  
(Last week’s episode was with Brendan Bartley, btw, who bought the Our/Vodka NY bar & distillery and reopened it as Hello Hello Cafe & Bar and Silent Alibi distillery, making 11th Hour Coffee liqueur and more). 
Ruben’s gone from strength to strength with Spirited Union rum, exporting across Europe, to the UK, and to five states in the US (where their first customer was Whole Foods!) and recently started Pineapple Drinks Club to import & distribute founder-led brands in the Netherlands. 
Enjoy! 
Ruben on IG: https://www.instagram.com/the_rubenmaduro?igsh=MWJtaTFwYnB5d2ljbA==
Ruben on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruben-maduro
Spirited Union on IG: https://www.instagram.com/spirited_union_rum?igsh=MWFxbGxxYTJvZ3E5bg==
Pineapple Drinks Club on IG: https://www.instagram.com/pineappledrinksclub?igsh=bDg5NXNvZjRmOGN5

(Get in touch with Duff!

Podcast business enquiries: [email protected]
(PR friends: we’re only interested in having your client on if they can talk for a couple of hours about OTHER things besides their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is.
They need to be able to hang.
Oh, plus we don't edit, we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, nor listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview (or lurk on the Zoom.)

Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: [email protected]

Philip on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipsduff/
Philip on Facebook: Philip Duff
Philip on X/Twitter: Philip Duff (@philipduff) / Twitter
Philip on LinkedIn: linkedin.com

Old Duff Genever on Instagram: Old Duff Genever (@oldduffgenever) • Instagram photos and videos
Old Duff Genever on Facebook: facebook.com
Old Duff Genever on X/Twitter: ...

Brendan's a hell of a cool guy: Australian, learned distilling in parallel with his university medical and science studies back home, got a Phd from NYU, GM of New York's hugely fun Bathtub Gin, and in late 2025 he opened Hello Hello Bar and Silent Alibi distillery, both of which are in the West 26th Street space in Manhattan  formerly occupied by the New York branch of Pernod-Ricard's epically failed Our/Vodka distillery program. 
This is a proper long Philip-Duff-Show episode, so settle in! 
We kick off talking neuroscience and Ozempic (because of course) and it quickly morphs into Brendan's career path, immigration advice, bartender training, how they got hold of a distillery smack dab in the middle of Manhattan, what they do at the distillery, and his consulting work formulating liquids for clients as well as running two bars and a distillery, and we taste their first brand, the amazing 11th Hour Coffee Liqueur, as well as a rum brand from a consulting project he's working on and a million other things besides. 
Enjoy!
Brendan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/b.is.somewhere?igsh=MWI0MzEzdGJjajBiag==
11th Hour Coffee Liqueur: https://www.instagram.com/drink11thhour/
Hello Hello bar: https://www.instagram.com/hellohellobar/?hl=en
Bathtub Gin: https://www.instagram.com/bathtubginnyc/?hl=en

(Get in touch with Duff!

Podcast business enquiries: [email protected]
(PR friends: we’re only interested in having your client on if they can talk for a couple of hours about OTHER things besides their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is.
They need to be able to hang.
Oh, plus we don't edit, we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, nor listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview (or lurk on the Zoom.)

Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: [email protected]

Philip on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipsduff/
Philip on Facebook: Philip Duff
Philip on X/Twitter: Philip Duff (@philipduff) / Twitter
Philip on LinkedIn: linkedin.com

Old Duff Genever on Instagram: Old Duff Genever (@oldduffgenever) • Instagram photos and videos
Old Duff Genever on Facebook: facebook.com
Old Duff Genever on X/Twitter: ...