#77 Simon Difford, founder Diffordsguide.com, creator Difford's Easy Jigger, chronicler of the Second Cocktail Golden Age

Simon's been a mate since the late 1990s, when he created CLASS (standing for Cocktail Liqueur And Speciality Spirit) magazine, the print forerunner of Difford's Guide and, in a pre-Internet world, just about the only way to learn about the revolution in cocktails that began sweeping London in the mid-1990s, which we both agree dates to the opening of the Atlantic Bar & Grill there in 1994. Without CLASS and Diffordsguide, the latter of which later moved online and is bigger and better now than ever, the only way to learn about the dawning of the Second Cocktail Golden Age was to hop on a plane to London, so it's no exaggeration to say that Simon and his publications were (and are) critical in helping grow this Second Cocktail Golden Age, first outside London, and then across the world. Before the Internet spawned the Drinkboy messageboard, then morphed into social media and YouTube, you learned about cocktails and this new bar culture from Simon's publications. A serial entrepreneur, Simon's a hilarious person to have a drink with and we caught up over breakfast during Tales of the Cocktail to tape this one, chatting about selling liquor minis from the back of a van, the culinary art of punch, getting a bit too obsessed with cocktails, tax-deductible cocktail bills, and of course the rather amazing Difford's Easy Jigger he's created. Have a listen and enjoy!Diffordsguide on IG: https://www.instagram.com/diffordsguideDiffordsguide on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diffordsguideDiffordsguide.com: https://www.diffordsguide.com/Buy the Easy Jigger: https://www.diffordsguide.com/bar-equipment-and-barware/201/easy-jigger (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.)  And our AI automatically deletes pitch emails that are clearly written using AI. Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: [email protected] 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 Faceboo...