May 19, 2026 • 20 mins
Nigel Barker stops by to tell us all about his new espresso martini line from The Barker Group.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Of course you've watched America's Next Top Model. Of course,
maybe you even went further to watch reality check Inside
America's Next Top Model, which I loved. It's now streaming
on Netflix. So Nigel Barker is with us. How long
were you on Next Top Model? Pretty much? Forever? Here
a complete generation.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
I think I was on from two thousand and three
to twenty twelve.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
That is forever.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Yeah, pretty much. I mean that's forever. Yeah, yeah, eighteen seasons.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
So you were there from the second cycle.
Speaker 4 (00:29):
Second cycle exactly. Look at you giving the vernacular. So Nigel,
of course does many other things. He used contacts and
contact in his mind and his heart and his passions
to do other things, other projects like furniture design, and.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
I've done all kinds of things. I mean, I think
at the end of the day, guys, do you want
to pigeonhole yourself?
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Oh? God, an opportunity to do. If no one's watching,
I'll be at home pigeonholing myself. I'm sure you are.
This Elvis is still in the house. Part of me
never came to work. Hey, But Nigel also has this
new venture from the Barker Company, his espresso Martinis it's
America's next best espresso martin. What's the official name.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
We joke with it and call it America's top martini,
but it happens to be America's top martini joking aside,
So I literally, you know, obviously it's a playoff to
some extent, but it has become now the number two
most poured cocktail.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
In America, number one being the margarita. There you go.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
But don't worry, folks. With Trump's tariffs, that'll soon be over.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
So Nigel, thanks for being here. Okay, we just lost
half of our audience. No, they're going to think that
happened after your last conversation. We're going to get into
yeah game on models in a moment, Nigel. But Nigel,
by the way, is one hundred percent straight. Let me
(01:58):
just say for the record, even though you were what
a large number, Okay, let's talk about espresso mamartinis. I
just lost half of my fan base. This is the worst.
This is the worst interview ever in the history of interviews.
So wait, okay, Nigel, if everyone listening isn't in love
with espressal martinis, they have someone in their life who
(02:19):
is in love with espressal martinis. I've been drinking them
since before most burntenders ever knew how to make them,
which is still the case. But some of her great.
My look, but you know, there are different degrees of
tastes and sweetness in this and that in espresso martinis.
When I order an espresso martini, I always use the
word bitter. I don't like it sweet at all. Bitter,
and I think is an unusual term. I understand what
(02:41):
you're talking about. You don't like a sweet especial martini.
A lot of people put too much simple syrup in
things like that, and there's rule sort of tricks to
make people like things, right the average person, if you
get something sweet, it's like a dessert, so that most
people will favor that over something that's perhaps burnt or bitter.
But I think if it's perfectly balanced and the sort
of smoothness, like the coffee flavor, like I would say this,
(03:04):
do you like, say, Starbucks coffee, Dunk and Donuts coffee now,
or do you like Italian coffee? Yes?
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Right, well, Italian coffee, by the definition, is generally speaking,
not burnt at all. It's very smooth and balanced. And
I lived in Italy for years. I based the whole
coffee flavor that we use, and we use one hundred
percent Colombian espresso coffee in our coffee. But it tasted
to me just like I remember when I lived in
Milan and I was an upcoming photographer and I would
go into these little bars and have a little espresso
(03:33):
and taste like mocha, almost like a chocolate, but you know,
but it's coffee, okay.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
So Nigel Barker just kind of took my mind on
a vacation. He used the descriptives Milan, little bars, photography, balanced,
so everything so far making up a great martini or
espresso martini. I want to taste these though, of course,
so when I say bitter, I have to say that
to some bartenders so they will try to take some
(03:59):
of the sweet out because they.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Can also say a bit like a sort of a
skinny margarita. You know, there's a such a thing as
I think it's a skinny espressal martini. We'll see which,
you know which is? So ours is made with one
hundred percent Columbian espresso. As I mentioned, six time distill
vodka and if you can be this, we actually distill
our own vodka in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. It's corn based, so
hey you gluten free people, this is for you, and
(04:23):
caramelized brown sugar, so you know. And all you have
to do is simply put it in a shaker. I've
got it in one here and give it a hard shake.
I'm doing it off Mic so deaf, and you all
do it on Mic Mine, Mike, Mike on, so you
can imagine I'm actually shaking and moving and turning and
jumping a.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
Piece of mad Man.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
Sounds like a Martini is.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Running the way, and then it'll come out looking like
a Guinness. See let me see. Oh that's beautiful. It
has a beautiful caramel color. But wait for it, because
it takes about ten seconds for it to sort of settle.
Go to a jet black, you know, ebony bottom jet
right to the bartom with a white, crispy, beautiful crema
head on.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Oh my god, you just described my date last night.
That's a good name for a drag queen cremahead. I
met her last year.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Actually, I'll see how see how this one's coming together?
Oh yeah, and you got to put the three beans.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
I did actually bring my beans. I brought it all,
but we'll give me a second. This is a b
y orb show, bring your own beans, but I'm falling
off my chair. It's all happening. Well, after several of these,
you will.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
I always recommend people don't actually make their espersa martinis
whilst sitting down, much easier to do while standing. I
also have, by the way, a cappuccino martini, which is
made with a Wisconsin cream liqueur. A funny story about this.
I made it because a lot of people like to
add a shot of Baillies to their espersa martini, and
I'm like, well, if you do that, you know it's
no longer an espresso. Surely right, it's going to be
(05:51):
a latter or a cappuccino. When I actually went to
register the name, turns out we were the only ones,
not just in America but in the world to ever
put cappuccino in front of martini and registered it. That's
gonna love that absolutely, So it makes up who wants
a cappuccino martini.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
I'm just ready to drink this one, But where's yours?
You make mine? I can't make a ten at the time.
You're extremely special. If you're turning us on now. Nigel
Barker is here, of course with his summartinis. We're gonna
take someone ate the shrimp salad.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
What was that.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Anyway? Do you miss doing America's Next Top Model at all?
I mean, you know, for me, I loved America's Next
Time Model I had I had a great time on
the show. Not everyone had that great experience.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
I mean, I think you know clearly from if you
watch the documentary that you said you liked so much,
then you would know that a lot of people didn't.
I mean, I think it didn't age well right. There
were a lot of things that happened in it for
the contestants that you know, we simply wouldn't do today.
And on top of that, I mean, I think that
you know, there were plenty of people who did have
a good time, and I know that because I'm friends
(07:03):
with many of the contestants who have nothing bad to
say about it at all. But that doesn't mean that
a lot of things happened and that you know we're
done that shouldn't have happened or could have been done
much better.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Would you do a revamp if they came to you
and said we want to do it over we're going
to do it differently. We want you to be part
of it. Show me the money. He's honest, I mean,
but I will tell you this. I'm making myself one
right now. Please do. It was such a massive, massive
hit and all my friends love watching it, so yeah,
it was. It was Oh my god, you're you're aided
(07:35):
no offense. I like it when you're lopsided. Nigel, all right,
do you want one? I to uh press some martini.
Thank you so much. And we have to tell you
about where it came from.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
I feel like the name the Barker.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
You need a hotel that goes with this.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
The Barker would be such a cool name for a hotel.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
I like her. She can come and work for me.
He also wants you to to apply the cash for
the hotel. What's that, Nate? We have? This is? This
is beautiful.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
By the way, professional model here, can we do ask
a model anything?
Speaker 1 (08:09):
I would love to ask some questions.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
So, by the way, I was the model in nineteen
eighty nine and back when, back when hair was in fashion.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Wait, I've never seen I haven't seen ninetel. I gotta
look you up.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
Can I tell you one of my favorite things about
him being here. He's making Nate feel short, and I
can see it in Nate's face when he walks past him.
He tries to keep a safe distance.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Nate, how to you? How tall am I? Or how tall?
Do I? Say? Either? One? Six?
Speaker 2 (08:36):
So you guys say, guys out there, that isn't actually
a tool? Oh that's tool for a female model.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Oh my god, is that you?
Speaker 2 (08:44):
That is? Oh my god, Elvis, come on, can I
hop in the time machine and play with your Excuse me?
What am I shaking up now? Oh my gosh, yeah,
I'm sixty three. Yeah, this is actually this is what
sixty three actually looks.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Like, like five eight.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
But look here holding onto his wood. That actually doesn't
mind because I've seen those instagrams where you do the
bottle face. Are we? Are we? On the Aska Models segment.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
You say like, raise your eyebrows, smile without smiling, and
then you.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Look you look like you need to be put away. No,
that's exactly not it. Okay, it's the original smize right
right now.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
You're gonna do this with me. Okay, imagine first, on
the first we'll relax your face. You look at a turtle.
Imagine now, I've put a piece of chocolate in your mind.
You like chocolate, Okay, so just imagine eyes open, not
eyes closed. Try to imagine with your eyes were eyed
open there put if he's a chocolate in there, and
imagine right now it's melting in your mouth. Just imagine
the delicious taste, the mocha notes, the caramel, Your taste
(09:54):
buds are opening up. And then just look at the
camera and then without saying anything, going.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
To say that's delicious. It's just with your eyes. I'm
not I'm not convinced. I think he might be constipated,
but that you have to use the bathroom first, or
what what if if you want the ultimate model face,
you have to use the bathroom during the photo shoot.
That actually gives you the pucker you want?
Speaker 3 (10:21):
Photographer, how do you make people like relax?
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Like?
Speaker 3 (10:24):
Is there a way?
Speaker 1 (10:25):
The thing is is that there's a that's photography, a photographer.
Well they get they got him drunk and high back
in the day.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
Well, actually, my thing was that you don't really have
to have them relaxed, really just have them have them
being something right. So any kind of true reaction is
good on camera. So if you're you know, excited or
aggravated or annoyed or bored like something, but not nothing, right,
So nothing that deer in the headlights is what we
always are against. So I would often even you know,
(10:53):
use things like cold water or wind or because you
react to elements that so you don't have to imagine,
you don't have to be like, oh I'm going to act.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
You can be like no, I'm cold. You know, you
could be like the.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Wind, you know, it sort of brings you up and
all you tell you play music. Music is super powerful, right,
put the right song on and all of a sudden,
you feel like you're gonna dance. You're gonna you know,
you remember your first date, your first kiss or whatever.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Right. So, so a photographer is sort of like the
equivalent of a director on a film set. Oh god, wow,
and really, I mean a great photographer. Did you ever
work with a photographer that you're like, oh my god,
the best ever? They really knew how to get me
to go exactly where I needed to go?
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Oh yeah, no, no, sure, I mean all the time.
I mean there were many great photographers. I mean I
had an unusual sort of way of getting into photography
back when I started, which was in the eighties nineties.
There wasn't a sort of a thing as a degree
in photography. Right now, everyone who works for me has
a sort of master's degree in photography of some sort,
But back then you had to apprentice and what have you.
(12:00):
So my Antai career was based actually as a model,
watching photographers who photographed me, and watching their style, how
they treated people, how they interacted with their equipment, all
of those sorts of things. And there were many people
that either didn't have great sort of communication skills but
had great lighting or had great lighting, you know, great
communication skills and the lighting was less important. Avid On,
(12:22):
who's you know a real star, is known for saying
many times that he wasn't about great lighting, he was
about his story and the person. He wanted to have
very kind of natural lighting that wasn't particularly spectacular, but
would be enough to see the person clearly, and then
within that light he would capture their salt.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
Wow, another world, I love it. Can we get back
to the Martinaige place?
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Absolutely now that Nate wanted to be a model? No, no, no,
the most fashionable cocktail of our time, and by the way,
are you drinking? I actually brought you some for later.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
A Nate drunk is atrocious. We don't actually want that
to happen.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
Okay, So I think I've heard where do I find
your martini? You're especial martini.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Well, you can go to Barkermartinis dot com and there
we have a store locator which will show you where
the closest store to you is. But we're also all
over the place. So for example, we just had a party,
didn't we in New Jersey at the High Regency and
Jersey City, and they serve it there at the Exchange Bar,
you know, and you can get it all over New
York City as well, so you know, we're sort of
(13:30):
at felix Is on West Broadway for example, at the
Bowtye Bar and Times Square. You know, this is a
fun cocktail, but it's a hard one to make.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
Yeah, this is this is very well balanced. Thank you,
And I'm very very picky. I didn't want to like this, No, no,
trust me.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Most people don't want to like it because if they
hear something is pre batch, pre made RTD, it's immediately
the oh no way, I don't want I like, don't
like that because it's almost a dirty word. Because they're
not done well. I had a podcast called The Shaken
and Stirred Show. I did it for one hundred and
thirty five episodes during the pandemic and it became clear
Spersda Martiniz super popular, not well made. You have there'd
(14:05):
be a barista and a bartender. Most people are neither,
and so then to be both was tough. This took
me two years to figure out.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
How to do.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
I went through seventy seven different coffees to get here.
This is one of the onliest person of Martiniz. That's prebatch,
that uses real coffee in the ingredients, and it was
a labor of love. And I didn't want to do
it and I didn't need to do it unless I
did it well.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
So what you did? Thank you. I got bad news
you did it, but it's all good. I loved it.
Now what other things? Gandhi from the party with Nigel
do you recall as something like, God, we gotta get
him on the show and talk about that.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
Oh yeah, I mean he has really great stories. As
far as modeling.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Days, Gandhi was passed out in the corner of the
party most of the time, so I'm not quite sure
she really remembers what.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
True what I was talking about at all. Okay, let's tale,
but let's talk about certain influences in your life. You
actually get a great example.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
He was talking about the influence Cindy Crawford had on
his life, which I feel like is what a sentence
to even be.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Able to say.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
But how it sounds a little bit over the top,
doesn't it, or sort of slightly exaggerated, but true, I'm
afraid just like most of my photo shoots on top model,
you know, so, I mean like Cindy is someone who
I've known for a long time. I back in the
day when I first started shooting, I would actually look
around at other photographers and people in the industry and thought,
how do you make this into a success, How do
you scale your business? What do you do to make
(15:23):
this bigger than just modeling of photography? And there were
certain people who I could see, And I actually wrote
a book about this called Models of Influence that was
in New York Times bestseller actually, and it was all
about how models and people in the industry took their
business to an whole new height, and Cindy was one
of them who, you know, whether it was through her
furniture sort of business or you know, she obviously with
(15:46):
her husband created Casamigos and George Clooney and what have
you and so on and so forth, and I actually
rop onted to replicate what she was doing. And I
originally started with trying to copy her furniture collection and
I created my own with a co called art Van
in the Midwest that she actually came over and launched
for me in Chicago. And at the time was like,
(16:07):
I can't believe I'm doing this, your direct competition to me,
And here I am launching your furniture line.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
And but she didn't know. So she saw something you
knew she really enjoyed.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
Well, I think she was being paid and she couldn't
really get out of it as contractual, but hey, I
like that idea.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
We've become.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
We've always been friends. She's very sweet. She sends me
Christmas cards. Likewise, we see her. She her daughter KaiA
worked out in my gym, the Dog Pound for years,
and you know, long story short, she was also when
I would shoot her and I would be working with her,
she would have Casamigos at every set, right, so she
would have it with her as part of her rider,
even at eight o'clock in the morning in the dressing room,
(16:41):
and I'm like, well, this is amazing. She's really promoting this,
and I thought, well, why can't Why shouldn't I get involved?
But I wanted to have, you know, a reason for
being there, not just put my name on a bottle
like so many people do. And so that's why I
spent two years learning the industry, doing a podcast all
about it. And clearly you know cocktail like and the
special Martini, which is now the number two most poored cocktail,
(17:03):
number one with women, number one with under thirty year olds,
but hard to do properly, like how do I do
this so that I can do it well?
Speaker 1 (17:10):
And you do? It's it's it doesn't taste like a
pre batch at all, not at all. It tastes really good,
thank you. And I didn't want to say that. I
didn't want to like it. I wanted to pretend I
liked it. I wanted to merely act as if it
was fantastic.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
No, people literally taste it normally, and I have to
actually tell people, like, don't call it an RTD, call
it pre batched or something, because it helps just change
your mental focus about what it is, because when you
try it, the biggest reaction I get is people go like,
oh wow it is good or oh something else and
and they you know, and they because they shocked, actually shocked.
(17:44):
So let's talk about the history of the specsa Martini,
little little known facts. So my podcast was called the
Shake and Stage Show. It was all about the rumors,
legends and myths of the espresso martin of cocktails. Actually
it turned out to be about all about the special Martini's,
because that's all anyone wants to drink. But one of
the stories and the Italians will say this is absolutely
untrue and that they've been making spersal martiniz for hundreds
(18:06):
of years. The problem is, guy, is that they didn't
call it in the spreso Martini. They just simply called
it coffee liqueurs and coffee cocktails of sorts, right, different names.
But the first one was apparently a supermodel walking into
a bar in the early nineties in London, by the Way,
and asked Dick brad Cell, the bartender, to make her
make themselves a cocktail that would wake them up and
(18:27):
bleep them up, mess them up.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
She walked in and said, all right, they need a
cocktail that's gonna wake me up or f me out.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Correct, yeah, wake me up, coffee, f me up? Was
you know, the vodka and the rest of the pieces,
and he was like, here's an espresso martini. And so
there's a little bit of provenance for me being a
British photographer. And you know, if you look up this
story or you google it, you'll see who the supermodels are.
And I have had the luck, the luck to have
(18:53):
worked with many. So I kind of talked about this,
who's there's actually and this is where the story be.
I'm like, potentially untrue because if you look at the timeline,
you're like, well, how could it be who they're suggesting
because they would have to be underaged?
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Who is it? Now? You have to look it up? No,
do you tell me no, No, you have to work
for this.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
No.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
Sorry, that's right, all right. You were nice enough to
bring some incredible and professional Martina here. I'm not going
to force it anymore.
Speaker 3 (19:19):
I'm not going to say it was allegedly. I'll do
the homework for you. Allegedly. No, Naomi Campbell.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
So the timeline doesn't work early nineties, she would have
been two. Yeah, well she's the same. She's a little
older than me and I'm fifty four, right, so I
think she's the same age as me or something like that,
So it would be it's it's it's yeah. I mean
it's somewhat possible potentially in the UK because you can
drink when you're eighteen, so it's it's hard to know.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
But she don't, you know, it's.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
Out there, so that I was her, I would claim
that every single day.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Well maybe she does. I don't know. Okay, So Nigel Barker,
you've seen him now you can taste him, so to speaks,
to shake up the bottle, I appear, shake it up
three times if you really want him to do what
you want him to do, put three beans on his
head anyone?
Speaker 3 (20:05):
Why is it? Three beans? By the way?
Speaker 2 (20:06):
For look, health, wealth, happiness, father's son and the holy
ghost and the sort of informant, police officer and criminal.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
Yep, whatever you want to do about like that last one.
So from the Italian one from the Barker company. These
especial martinis are fabulous. Uh go online and do a
search for just do a Barker company or what barkermartiniz
dot com and you'll find everything. Do that Barker Martinis
dot com.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
Buy him online and you can find the nearest store
to you. There's a store locator pulling his zip code.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
I sure hope you brought an extra bottle for Big Daddy. Oh,
don't worry.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
Bottles are really cool.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Everything about this is cool. And thank you for coming
in today. Thank you
Of course you've watched America's Next Top Model. Of course,
maybe you even went further to watch reality check Inside
America's Next Top Model, which I loved. It's now streaming
on Netflix. So Nigel Barker is with us. How long
were you on Next Top Model? Pretty much? Forever? Here
a complete generation.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
I think I was on from two thousand and three
to twenty twelve.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
That is forever.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
Yeah, pretty much. I mean that's forever. Yeah, yeah, eighteen seasons.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
So you were there from the second cycle.
Speaker 4 (00:29):
Second cycle exactly. Look at you giving the vernacular. So Nigel,
of course does many other things. He used contacts and
contact in his mind and his heart and his passions
to do other things, other projects like furniture design, and.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
I've done all kinds of things. I mean, I think
at the end of the day, guys, do you want
to pigeonhole yourself?
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Oh? God, an opportunity to do. If no one's watching,
I'll be at home pigeonholing myself. I'm sure you are.
This Elvis is still in the house. Part of me
never came to work. Hey, But Nigel also has this
new venture from the Barker Company, his espresso Martinis it's
America's next best espresso martin. What's the official name.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
We joke with it and call it America's top martini,
but it happens to be America's top martini joking aside,
So I literally, you know, obviously it's a playoff to
some extent, but it has become now the number two
most poured cocktail.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
In America, number one being the margarita. There you go.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
But don't worry, folks. With Trump's tariffs, that'll soon be over.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
So Nigel, thanks for being here. Okay, we just lost
half of our audience. No, they're going to think that
happened after your last conversation. We're going to get into
yeah game on models in a moment, Nigel. But Nigel,
by the way, is one hundred percent straight. Let me
(01:58):
just say for the record, even though you were what
a large number, Okay, let's talk about espresso mamartinis. I
just lost half of my fan base. This is the worst.
This is the worst interview ever in the history of interviews.
So wait, okay, Nigel, if everyone listening isn't in love
with espressal martinis, they have someone in their life who
(02:19):
is in love with espressal martinis. I've been drinking them
since before most burntenders ever knew how to make them,
which is still the case. But some of her great.
My look, but you know, there are different degrees of
tastes and sweetness in this and that in espresso martinis.
When I order an espresso martini, I always use the
word bitter. I don't like it sweet at all. Bitter,
and I think is an unusual term. I understand what
(02:41):
you're talking about. You don't like a sweet especial martini.
A lot of people put too much simple syrup in
things like that, and there's rule sort of tricks to
make people like things, right the average person, if you
get something sweet, it's like a dessert, so that most
people will favor that over something that's perhaps burnt or bitter.
But I think if it's perfectly balanced and the sort
of smoothness, like the coffee flavor, like I would say this,
(03:04):
do you like, say, Starbucks coffee, Dunk and Donuts coffee now,
or do you like Italian coffee? Yes?
Speaker 2 (03:11):
Right, well, Italian coffee, by the definition, is generally speaking,
not burnt at all. It's very smooth and balanced. And
I lived in Italy for years. I based the whole
coffee flavor that we use, and we use one hundred
percent Colombian espresso coffee in our coffee. But it tasted
to me just like I remember when I lived in
Milan and I was an upcoming photographer and I would
go into these little bars and have a little espresso
(03:33):
and taste like mocha, almost like a chocolate, but you know,
but it's coffee, okay.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
So Nigel Barker just kind of took my mind on
a vacation. He used the descriptives Milan, little bars, photography, balanced,
so everything so far making up a great martini or
espresso martini. I want to taste these though, of course,
so when I say bitter, I have to say that
to some bartenders so they will try to take some
(03:59):
of the sweet out because they.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Can also say a bit like a sort of a
skinny margarita. You know, there's a such a thing as
I think it's a skinny espressal martini. We'll see which,
you know which is? So ours is made with one
hundred percent Columbian espresso. As I mentioned, six time distill
vodka and if you can be this, we actually distill
our own vodka in Lansdale, Pennsylvania. It's corn based, so
hey you gluten free people, this is for you, and
(04:23):
caramelized brown sugar, so you know. And all you have
to do is simply put it in a shaker. I've
got it in one here and give it a hard shake.
I'm doing it off Mic so deaf, and you all
do it on Mic Mine, Mike, Mike on, so you
can imagine I'm actually shaking and moving and turning and
jumping a.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
Piece of mad Man.
Speaker 3 (04:41):
Sounds like a Martini is.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Running the way, and then it'll come out looking like
a Guinness. See let me see. Oh that's beautiful. It
has a beautiful caramel color. But wait for it, because
it takes about ten seconds for it to sort of settle.
Go to a jet black, you know, ebony bottom jet
right to the bartom with a white, crispy, beautiful crema
head on.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Oh my god, you just described my date last night.
That's a good name for a drag queen cremahead. I
met her last year.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
Actually, I'll see how see how this one's coming together?
Oh yeah, and you got to put the three beans.
Speaker 1 (05:20):
I did actually bring my beans. I brought it all,
but we'll give me a second. This is a b
y orb show, bring your own beans, but I'm falling
off my chair. It's all happening. Well, after several of these,
you will.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
I always recommend people don't actually make their espersa martinis
whilst sitting down, much easier to do while standing. I
also have, by the way, a cappuccino martini, which is
made with a Wisconsin cream liqueur. A funny story about this.
I made it because a lot of people like to
add a shot of Baillies to their espersa martini, and
I'm like, well, if you do that, you know it's
no longer an espresso. Surely right, it's going to be
(05:51):
a latter or a cappuccino. When I actually went to
register the name, turns out we were the only ones,
not just in America but in the world to ever
put cappuccino in front of martini and registered it. That's
gonna love that absolutely, So it makes up who wants
a cappuccino martini.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
I'm just ready to drink this one, But where's yours?
You make mine? I can't make a ten at the time.
You're extremely special. If you're turning us on now. Nigel
Barker is here, of course with his summartinis. We're gonna
take someone ate the shrimp salad.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
What was that.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Anyway? Do you miss doing America's Next Top Model at all?
I mean, you know, for me, I loved America's Next
Time Model I had I had a great time on
the show. Not everyone had that great experience.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
I mean, I think you know clearly from if you
watch the documentary that you said you liked so much,
then you would know that a lot of people didn't.
I mean, I think it didn't age well right. There
were a lot of things that happened in it for
the contestants that you know, we simply wouldn't do today.
And on top of that, I mean, I think that
you know, there were plenty of people who did have
a good time, and I know that because I'm friends
(07:03):
with many of the contestants who have nothing bad to
say about it at all. But that doesn't mean that
a lot of things happened and that you know we're
done that shouldn't have happened or could have been done
much better.
Speaker 1 (07:14):
Would you do a revamp if they came to you
and said we want to do it over we're going
to do it differently. We want you to be part
of it. Show me the money. He's honest, I mean,
but I will tell you this. I'm making myself one
right now. Please do. It was such a massive, massive
hit and all my friends love watching it, so yeah,
it was. It was Oh my god, you're you're aided
(07:35):
no offense. I like it when you're lopsided. Nigel, all right,
do you want one? I to uh press some martini.
Thank you so much. And we have to tell you
about where it came from.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
I feel like the name the Barker.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
You need a hotel that goes with this.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
The Barker would be such a cool name for a hotel.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
I like her. She can come and work for me.
He also wants you to to apply the cash for
the hotel. What's that, Nate? We have? This is? This
is beautiful.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
By the way, professional model here, can we do ask
a model anything?
Speaker 1 (08:09):
I would love to ask some questions.
Speaker 2 (08:11):
So, by the way, I was the model in nineteen
eighty nine and back when, back when hair was in fashion.
Speaker 1 (08:19):
Wait, I've never seen I haven't seen ninetel. I gotta
look you up.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
Can I tell you one of my favorite things about
him being here. He's making Nate feel short, and I
can see it in Nate's face when he walks past him.
He tries to keep a safe distance.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Nate, how to you? How tall am I? Or how tall?
Do I? Say? Either? One? Six?
Speaker 2 (08:36):
So you guys say, guys out there, that isn't actually
a tool? Oh that's tool for a female model.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Oh my god, is that you?
Speaker 2 (08:44):
That is? Oh my god, Elvis, come on, can I
hop in the time machine and play with your Excuse me?
What am I shaking up now? Oh my gosh, yeah,
I'm sixty three. Yeah, this is actually this is what
sixty three actually looks.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
Like, like five eight.
Speaker 1 (09:04):
But look here holding onto his wood. That actually doesn't
mind because I've seen those instagrams where you do the
bottle face. Are we? Are we? On the Aska Models segment.
Speaker 3 (09:18):
You say like, raise your eyebrows, smile without smiling, and
then you.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Look you look like you need to be put away. No,
that's exactly not it. Okay, it's the original smize right
right now.
Speaker 2 (09:31):
You're gonna do this with me. Okay, imagine first, on
the first we'll relax your face. You look at a turtle.
Imagine now, I've put a piece of chocolate in your mind.
You like chocolate, Okay, so just imagine eyes open, not
eyes closed. Try to imagine with your eyes were eyed
open there put if he's a chocolate in there, and
imagine right now it's melting in your mouth. Just imagine
the delicious taste, the mocha notes, the caramel, Your taste
(09:54):
buds are opening up. And then just look at the
camera and then without saying anything, going.
Speaker 1 (10:00):
To say that's delicious. It's just with your eyes. I'm
not I'm not convinced. I think he might be constipated,
but that you have to use the bathroom first, or
what what if if you want the ultimate model face,
you have to use the bathroom during the photo shoot.
That actually gives you the pucker you want?
Speaker 3 (10:21):
Photographer, how do you make people like relax?
Speaker 2 (10:24):
Like?
Speaker 3 (10:24):
Is there a way?
Speaker 1 (10:25):
The thing is is that there's a that's photography, a photographer.
Well they get they got him drunk and high back
in the day.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
Well, actually, my thing was that you don't really have
to have them relaxed, really just have them have them
being something right. So any kind of true reaction is
good on camera. So if you're you know, excited or
aggravated or annoyed or bored like something, but not nothing, right,
So nothing that deer in the headlights is what we
always are against. So I would often even you know,
(10:53):
use things like cold water or wind or because you
react to elements that so you don't have to imagine,
you don't have to be like, oh I'm going to act.
Speaker 1 (11:02):
You can be like no, I'm cold. You know, you
could be like the.
Speaker 2 (11:05):
Wind, you know, it sort of brings you up and
all you tell you play music. Music is super powerful, right,
put the right song on and all of a sudden,
you feel like you're gonna dance. You're gonna you know,
you remember your first date, your first kiss or whatever.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Right. So, so a photographer is sort of like the
equivalent of a director on a film set. Oh god, wow,
and really, I mean a great photographer. Did you ever
work with a photographer that you're like, oh my god,
the best ever? They really knew how to get me
to go exactly where I needed to go?
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Oh yeah, no, no, sure, I mean all the time.
I mean there were many great photographers. I mean I
had an unusual sort of way of getting into photography
back when I started, which was in the eighties nineties.
There wasn't a sort of a thing as a degree
in photography. Right now, everyone who works for me has
a sort of master's degree in photography of some sort,
But back then you had to apprentice and what have you.
(12:00):
So my Antai career was based actually as a model,
watching photographers who photographed me, and watching their style, how
they treated people, how they interacted with their equipment, all
of those sorts of things. And there were many people
that either didn't have great sort of communication skills but
had great lighting or had great lighting, you know, great
communication skills and the lighting was less important. Avid On,
(12:22):
who's you know a real star, is known for saying
many times that he wasn't about great lighting, he was
about his story and the person. He wanted to have
very kind of natural lighting that wasn't particularly spectacular, but
would be enough to see the person clearly, and then
within that light he would capture their salt.
Speaker 1 (12:39):
Wow, another world, I love it. Can we get back
to the Martinaige place?
Speaker 2 (12:43):
Absolutely now that Nate wanted to be a model? No, no, no,
the most fashionable cocktail of our time, and by the way,
are you drinking? I actually brought you some for later.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
A Nate drunk is atrocious. We don't actually want that
to happen.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
Okay, So I think I've heard where do I find
your martini? You're especial martini.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Well, you can go to Barkermartinis dot com and there
we have a store locator which will show you where
the closest store to you is. But we're also all
over the place. So for example, we just had a party,
didn't we in New Jersey at the High Regency and
Jersey City, and they serve it there at the Exchange Bar,
you know, and you can get it all over New
York City as well, so you know, we're sort of
(13:30):
at felix Is on West Broadway for example, at the
Bowtye Bar and Times Square. You know, this is a
fun cocktail, but it's a hard one to make.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
Yeah, this is this is very well balanced. Thank you,
And I'm very very picky. I didn't want to like this, No, no,
trust me.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Most people don't want to like it because if they
hear something is pre batch, pre made RTD, it's immediately
the oh no way, I don't want I like, don't
like that because it's almost a dirty word. Because they're
not done well. I had a podcast called The Shaken
and Stirred Show. I did it for one hundred and
thirty five episodes during the pandemic and it became clear
Spersda Martiniz super popular, not well made. You have there'd
(14:05):
be a barista and a bartender. Most people are neither,
and so then to be both was tough. This took
me two years to figure out.
Speaker 1 (14:12):
How to do.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
I went through seventy seven different coffees to get here.
This is one of the onliest person of Martiniz. That's prebatch,
that uses real coffee in the ingredients, and it was
a labor of love. And I didn't want to do
it and I didn't need to do it unless I
did it well.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
So what you did? Thank you. I got bad news
you did it, but it's all good. I loved it.
Now what other things? Gandhi from the party with Nigel
do you recall as something like, God, we gotta get
him on the show and talk about that.
Speaker 3 (14:38):
Oh yeah, I mean he has really great stories. As
far as modeling.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
Days, Gandhi was passed out in the corner of the
party most of the time, so I'm not quite sure
she really remembers what.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
True what I was talking about at all. Okay, let's tale,
but let's talk about certain influences in your life. You
actually get a great example.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
He was talking about the influence Cindy Crawford had on
his life, which I feel like is what a sentence
to even be.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Able to say.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
But how it sounds a little bit over the top,
doesn't it, or sort of slightly exaggerated, but true, I'm
afraid just like most of my photo shoots on top model,
you know, so, I mean like Cindy is someone who
I've known for a long time. I back in the
day when I first started shooting, I would actually look
around at other photographers and people in the industry and thought,
how do you make this into a success, How do
you scale your business? What do you do to make
(15:23):
this bigger than just modeling of photography? And there were
certain people who I could see, And I actually wrote
a book about this called Models of Influence that was
in New York Times bestseller actually, and it was all
about how models and people in the industry took their
business to an whole new height, and Cindy was one
of them who, you know, whether it was through her
furniture sort of business or you know, she obviously with
(15:46):
her husband created Casamigos and George Clooney and what have
you and so on and so forth, and I actually
rop onted to replicate what she was doing. And I
originally started with trying to copy her furniture collection and
I created my own with a co called art Van
in the Midwest that she actually came over and launched
for me in Chicago. And at the time was like,
(16:07):
I can't believe I'm doing this, your direct competition to me,
And here I am launching your furniture line.
Speaker 1 (16:12):
And but she didn't know. So she saw something you
knew she really enjoyed.
Speaker 2 (16:14):
Well, I think she was being paid and she couldn't
really get out of it as contractual, but hey, I
like that idea.
Speaker 1 (16:20):
We've become.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
We've always been friends. She's very sweet. She sends me
Christmas cards. Likewise, we see her. She her daughter KaiA
worked out in my gym, the Dog Pound for years,
and you know, long story short, she was also when
I would shoot her and I would be working with her,
she would have Casamigos at every set, right, so she
would have it with her as part of her rider,
even at eight o'clock in the morning in the dressing room,
(16:41):
and I'm like, well, this is amazing. She's really promoting this,
and I thought, well, why can't Why shouldn't I get involved?
But I wanted to have, you know, a reason for
being there, not just put my name on a bottle
like so many people do. And so that's why I
spent two years learning the industry, doing a podcast all
about it. And clearly you know cocktail like and the
special Martini, which is now the number two most poored cocktail,
(17:03):
number one with women, number one with under thirty year olds,
but hard to do properly, like how do I do
this so that I can do it well?
Speaker 1 (17:10):
And you do? It's it's it doesn't taste like a
pre batch at all, not at all. It tastes really good,
thank you. And I didn't want to say that. I
didn't want to like it. I wanted to pretend I
liked it. I wanted to merely act as if it
was fantastic.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
No, people literally taste it normally, and I have to
actually tell people, like, don't call it an RTD, call
it pre batched or something, because it helps just change
your mental focus about what it is, because when you
try it, the biggest reaction I get is people go like,
oh wow it is good or oh something else and
and they you know, and they because they shocked, actually shocked.
(17:44):
So let's talk about the history of the specsa Martini,
little little known facts. So my podcast was called the
Shake and Stage Show. It was all about the rumors,
legends and myths of the espresso martin of cocktails. Actually
it turned out to be about all about the special Martini's,
because that's all anyone wants to drink. But one of
the stories and the Italians will say this is absolutely
untrue and that they've been making spersal martiniz for hundreds
(18:06):
of years. The problem is, guy, is that they didn't
call it in the spreso Martini. They just simply called
it coffee liqueurs and coffee cocktails of sorts, right, different names.
But the first one was apparently a supermodel walking into
a bar in the early nineties in London, by the Way,
and asked Dick brad Cell, the bartender, to make her
make themselves a cocktail that would wake them up and
(18:27):
bleep them up, mess them up.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
She walked in and said, all right, they need a
cocktail that's gonna wake me up or f me out.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Correct, yeah, wake me up, coffee, f me up? Was
you know, the vodka and the rest of the pieces,
and he was like, here's an espresso martini. And so
there's a little bit of provenance for me being a
British photographer. And you know, if you look up this
story or you google it, you'll see who the supermodels are.
And I have had the luck, the luck to have
(18:53):
worked with many. So I kind of talked about this,
who's there's actually and this is where the story be.
I'm like, potentially untrue because if you look at the timeline,
you're like, well, how could it be who they're suggesting
because they would have to be underaged?
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Who is it? Now? You have to look it up? No,
do you tell me no, No, you have to work
for this.
Speaker 2 (19:10):
No.
Speaker 1 (19:11):
Sorry, that's right, all right. You were nice enough to
bring some incredible and professional Martina here. I'm not going
to force it anymore.
Speaker 3 (19:19):
I'm not going to say it was allegedly. I'll do
the homework for you. Allegedly. No, Naomi Campbell.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
So the timeline doesn't work early nineties, she would have
been two. Yeah, well she's the same. She's a little
older than me and I'm fifty four, right, so I
think she's the same age as me or something like that,
So it would be it's it's it's yeah. I mean
it's somewhat possible potentially in the UK because you can
drink when you're eighteen, so it's it's hard to know.
Speaker 1 (19:45):
But she don't, you know, it's.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
Out there, so that I was her, I would claim
that every single day.
Speaker 1 (19:48):
Well maybe she does. I don't know. Okay, So Nigel Barker,
you've seen him now you can taste him, so to speaks,
to shake up the bottle, I appear, shake it up
three times if you really want him to do what
you want him to do, put three beans on his
head anyone?
Speaker 3 (20:05):
Why is it? Three beans? By the way?
Speaker 2 (20:06):
For look, health, wealth, happiness, father's son and the holy
ghost and the sort of informant, police officer and criminal.
Speaker 1 (20:16):
Yep, whatever you want to do about like that last one.
So from the Italian one from the Barker company. These
especial martinis are fabulous. Uh go online and do a
search for just do a Barker company or what barkermartiniz
dot com and you'll find everything. Do that Barker Martinis
dot com.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
Buy him online and you can find the nearest store
to you. There's a store locator pulling his zip code.
Speaker 1 (20:36):
I sure hope you brought an extra bottle for Big Daddy. Oh,
don't worry.
Speaker 3 (20:39):
Bottles are really cool.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
Everything about this is cool. And thank you for coming
in today. Thank you
Elvis Duran and the Morning Show ON DEMAND News
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