Movers and Shakers with April Wachtel

Movers and Shakers with April Wachtel

Movers and Shakers is the podcast about people and ideas that are changing the beverage landscape. Hosted by mixologist and Swig + Swallow Founder, April Wachtel, this podcast examines stories from innovators and thought leaders throughout the beverage ecosystem.

Episodes

January 31, 2023 65 mins

Hey hey Movers and Shakers, it's your host April Wachtel, and I’m pleased to present to you a most unusual episode of Movers and Shakers. 

If you’re a regular listener and are familiar with our standard format- this isn’t that. 

In today’s episode I interviewed an old friend and the cocktail mastermind behind world-famous N...

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Today’s interview is with Elayne Duff from the Beverage Brand Ambassador Academy.

Elayne Duff is a 20-year veteran of the spirits industry.  She was Diageo U.S.A.’s first head mixologist and luxury spirits ambassador,  has appeared on the T.V. show Bar Rescue  numerous times as a beverage expert, and was a Global Manager of experiential events and education at A...

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Today’s interview is with Allison Evanow from Square One Organic Spirits.

Allison  is the Founder and CEO of Square One Organic Spirits and Cocktails. She is a pioneer in the organic spirits space, starting Square One as the U.S.’s first all organic spirits company and one...

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Today's interview is with Lance Winters and Dave Smith from St. George Spirits.

Lance is the Master Distiller and Dave is the Head Distiller for St. George Spirits, one of the pioneer craft distilleries in the United States.

Founded by Jorg Rupf in 1982, St. George originally distilled eau de vie, then birthed and sold the ...

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Today’s interview is a special episode on the Enthuse Foundation Pitch Competition coming up in November of 2022.

Some of you know, I worked with the Foundation when they were starting out four years ago, and the event remains near and dear to my heart. It’s a competition for women founders in food, beverage, and cpg, with some great cash prizes and marketing se...

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Today's episode is an interview with Andrew Merinoff.

Andrew is the founder of DisPact Ventures, an investment fund focused on emerging retail, food & beverage and technology brands, and is also the co-founder of Chinola Passionfruit Liqueur. 

Andrew’s experience spans multiple sectors and industries, including F&B, Wine & ...

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Today's episode is an interivew with the man, the myth, the legend, David Gluckman.

David is the Author of the book “That S*it Will Never Sell,” and is the creator of Baileys (the number one selling liqueur in history, which has sold billions of bottles across 160 countries. David is also the mind behind Ciroc Vodka, Tanqueray 10 and dozens of other beverage bra...

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Today's guest is Jackie Summers- a James Beard Finalist AND judge; a seasoned public speaker, and the creator of the award-winning Sorel Liqueur.
 
His accolades are FAR too many to list, but to give you a small sampling, he’s been named one of the world’s “100 Most Influential Bar Industry Figures” by Drinks International Magazine (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022), one of The 50 Most Influential People In Brookly...
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    Today’s guest is Philip Duff- a renowned expert on distilled spirits and a beverage consultant to drinks companies everywhere. He bartended around the world for decades and founded Holland’s first bar to enter the World’s 50 Best Bars. Philip owns the lauded Old Duff Genever brand, served as the first Director of Education for Tales of the Cocktail, and regularly appears on TV & in publications li...

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    Today's guest is Stephanie Jordan, the CEO and co-founder of Avallen Calvados, and multilingual wine & spirits professional with over 15 years in the global drinks business.
     
    Stephanie is a former Global Brand Ambassador for Tanqueray Gin, and founder of the luxury marketing consultancy Drinking Out Loud. She and her business partner Tim Etherington Judge founded Avallen in 2019 with the mission to be th...
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    Today’s guest is John deBary, the creator of Proteau, a line of zero-proof botanical drinks, a co-founder of Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation, author of Drink What You Want: The Subjective Guide to Making Objectively Delicious Cocktails,  Food52’s first Resident Drink Expert, and a freelance journalist with bylines in Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, Thrillist, the Food Network, Punch, and more.
     
    In the...
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    Today’s guest is Allen Katz, Co Founder of the New York Distilling Company. Allen is one of the nation’s leading experts on distilled spirits and cocktails, Director of the Spirits Education & Mixology for Southern Wine & Spirits of New York and is at the forefront of industry training in New York and around the country. He is renowned for his public and professional seminars on topics of America’s food and cocktail heritage a...
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    Today’s guest is Eugene Khabensky, Director of Business Development and Ventures at Diageo. Eugene specializes in finance, strategy, commercial insights, and business development, so I was excited to pick his brain on how he evaluates businesses for potential investment. In his tenure at Diageo, he has worked on many exciting projects and acquisitions including Diageo’s acquisition of Casamigos Tequi...

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    Movers and Shakers is back! In today's episode, I explain our absence, introduce my company Cheeky Cocktails, and my colleague Aaron Moses steps in as host. We discuss some of my background in the beverage and hospitality industry, how I became an entrepreneur, how I think about team and culture building, and much more. 

    A special thanks to Cheeky Aaron for doing a great job hosting!

    As always, if you have questions, comments, or f...

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    In today's special episode of Movers and Shakers, I speak to friends in industry icons, Chris Lowder and Micaela Piccolo about life in Shanghai during Coronavirus. They share what they're doing to stay positive and productive under quarantine, what you should expect if your market is not yet adapted for the virus, and what bars and restaurants are doing across China to persev...

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    Dearest listeners,
    In light of the impact Coronavirus is having on our industry, we will be adding coverage, interviews, and professional development opportunities to our regular programming, intended to help our community get through these next few months.
     
    Please stay tuned for tomorrow's interview with Chris Lowder, the General Manager of Proof & Company in China, on how bars and restaurant...
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    Today’s guest is Jen Batchelor. Jen is the co-founder and CEO of Kin Euphorics, an alternative beverage company intent on revolutionizing the future of social drinking. Launched in December of 2018, Kin has sold over 1 million servings of their three products- High Rhode, Dream Light, and Kin Spritz. Raised in Saudia Arabia, Jen built a decade long career in strategic innovation at the intersection o...

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    Today's guest is Hugh Thomas. Hugh is the CEO and co-founder of Ugly Drinks, a flavored sparkling water brand founded in the U.K. Hugh and his co-founder, Joe met while working for Vita Coco coconut water before deciding to start their own business, disrupting the soft drinks industry.

    In the podcast today, we discuss:

    • How Hugh and Joe went from Googling how to build a business in their apartment in London, to having distribut...
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    Today’s guest is Paul Gabie. Paul is an investor, former lawyer, and co-founder and CEO of The Proof Collective, a portfolio of companies dedicated to spreading fine drinking around the globe. If you’re in the cocktail world and you don’t know their name, you definitely know their work. Their companies include:

    • Proof & Company; a leading independent spirits distributor and consultancy with offices in five countrie...
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    Today’s guest is Mariena Mercer Boarini. Mariena is a second generation Las Vegan and a ten year veteran of the industry. Excelling in alchemy, and with a focus on experiential cocktails, Mariena oversees cocktail creation for The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. Mariena has been featured on The Food Network, Esquire Magazine, Saveur Magazine, Tastemade, and various other media outlets. She has been named ...

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