#96 | Sebastien Derbomez | The Cocktail Ambassador

Sebastien Derbomez on starting at Nobu in London, award-winning cocktails in Australia, and leading William Grant & Sons' US ambassadors. Hailing from the South of France, Sebastien started his career in the beverage industry 20 years ago in London at the prestigious Nobu restaurant. In 2007, he took his talents and cocktail shakers to Brisbane & Sydney, Australia, and during his time there, won several awards for outstanding cocktails, service, and leadership including two Australian Bar Awards and a Queensland Lifestyle Award. He is currently serving as the functional lead for the US Ambassador team and an internal specialist resource to the marketing team, sales team and luxury team ensuring that the William Grant & Sons brands and their company get a disproportionate share of mind and recommendation within the media, with our trade partners and consumers. To learn more about Sebastien: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastien-derbomez Chapters 0:00 Welcome Sebastien Derbomez 2:31 Going abroad to learn English 5:02 University and a computer engineering diploma 7:36 Bartending in London 10:05 The night that changed his career 12:32 A working holiday visa to Australia 15:06 Building a cocktail scene in Queensland 17:36 From service to the big drinks companies 20:00 Taking on Hendrick's in Australia and New Zealand 22:36 A volcano, a tribe and a gift exchange 25:04 Ryan's tour of The Balvenie Distillery 27:34 Hendrick's, cucumber and the craft gin boom 30:07 Leaving it all for New York with two young kids 32:36 Throwing yourself in the deep end 35:03 Curling and Ailsa Craig 37:31 An outhouse race in Anchorage 40:05 Bagpipes and a first taste of whisky 42:31 How younger drinkers choose 45:03 Broker fees and renting in New York 47:35 Anthony Bourdain and The Balvenie 50:01 Distillery staff who know every corner 52:31 Side steps to move forward 55:01 Ryan on doing business in France 57:34 The ambassador as an extrovert 1:00:05 Travel and family life 1:02:35 Americans trading up to luxury 1:05:00 Ryan's first real whisky 1:07:34 On trade, partnerships and the team 1:10:02 Ryan stuck in Istanbul during Covid 1:12:33 Flasks for the camera crew 1:15:04 Tasting a 55 per cent whisky 1:17:35 Formula One in Miami and Shanghai 1:20:07 New fans are good for the sport 1:22:38 The martini, king of cocktails 1:25:00 Ryan on Expedition Asia The Ryan Pyle Podcast is ad-free by choice. If you enjoy these conversations, you can buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/ryanpyle Ryan's TV series are streaming around the world. Follow the Podcast X: https://x.com/RyanPylePodcast Facebook: https://facebook.com/ryanpylepodcast Follow Ryan Pyle YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ryanjpyle Instagram: https://instagram.com/ryanpyle X: https://x.com/RyanPyle Facebook: https://facebook.com/ryanpyle https://www.ryanpyle.com