PODCAST · arts
Shift Drink
by Shift Drink
Restaurateur Ed Rudisell chats with movers and shakers in the beer, liquor, and hospitality industry. These casual conversations offer a unique glimpse into a world not often seen by those on the outside.
Episodes
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Trump Tariffs with Lyle Fass
You can’t escape the topic. Seemingly, everyday Trump goes on social media announcing new tariffs in an effort to bully other nations into submission. But in the meantime, Americans are the ones getting hurt. And that hurt has the p0tential to metastasize across the global wine community. Today I...
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Mai Kai with Cory Starr
Cory Starr has helmed some of the most well-respected cocktail programs in the country. But a few months ago, he took his biggest job yet… he is now running the show at the Mai Kai in Fort Lauderdale. The Mai Kai is a tiki institution — in a class of “survivors” from tiki’s golden age. Originally...
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Balanced Hospitality with Stevan Miller
Over the last 10 years, restaurants and bars have placed a much bigger emphasis on their cocktail program. And one segment where this is most apparent is the world of fine dining. Until recently, these Meccas for haute cuisine have largely only served wine and offered wine pairings. But as...
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Around the World with The McGees
For the final episode of 2024 I’ve got a fun one for you. This week, we departing from the norm a little. Well, a very little. We’re talking Tiki, but this week I’ve got two aficionados on the show to talk about seeking out the world’s best Tiki, tropical, and rum bars. When Tikiphiles travel…
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Beachbum Berry Redux: Sippin Santa
Everyone gets everything he wants. I wanted another interview. And for my sins, they gave me one. It took 5 years to recover from the last “interview” on Shift Drink, and we’re finally ready to do it again. Given our personal history of overconsuming together, it was best to make this interview...
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Eve Bergeron of Trader Vic’s
If this week’s guest sounds familiar, you probably recognize her last name. Eve Bergeron, granddaughter of the late Trader Vic Bergeron, is now helping to run the family business that just celebrated it’s 90th Anniversary. For those unfamiliar with Tiki and Polynesian Pop history, Trader Vic is…
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Denali Brewing with Sassan Mossanen
During my first visit to Alaska, I had to check off the requisite activities… salmon fishing on the Kenai, Halibut fishing off Kachemak Bay, Denali National Park, and of course, Denali Brewing Company. So, on my way out of Talkeetna, I stopped by to chat with Co-Founder Sassan Mossanen. In a 15...
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Rumbustion with Rebecca and Martin Cate
Rum nerds and mid-century Mavens, Martin and Rebecca Cate are back on the show! Check out Tiki Guru and The Cult of Tiki to hear previous interviews. This week, we’re diving into their place in the world of rum and the Rumbustion Society at Smuggler’s Cove, where their collection of fine and rare...
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Marie the Beachcomber
Marie King has been making cocktails longer than most of us in the tiki bar business. She got an early start in hospitality at the age of 16 and couldn’t wait to get behind the bar. But, in order to do that, she’d have to move away from her home in Southern California and make her way to The Big...
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Eric Kaye Talks Holmes Cay
Eric Kaye spent decades of his life as a professional musician and amateur rum aficionado. But, as a composer for film and television, technological advances brought the barrier-to-entry intro so low that the competition for those film contracts started to dry up by 2017, as producers looked for...
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Worthy Park with Zan Kong
It’s always a great time when I get a chance to talk with Zan Kong of Worthy Park Estate. But, despite the many hours of sharing Jamaican rum together, I’ve never really asked about his background and how he ended up in Jamaica from Canada. Well, this was my opportunity to remedy that. Tune in to...
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Resonation with Christophe Rossi
I’ve been working on getting Christophe Rossi on the show since mid-August of last year. His bar, L’Escamoteur, came highly recommended from several Kyoto locals while I was in Japan. I dropped in expecting to have a drink or two, but ended up staying all night. And several subsequent nights. The...
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Aguardiente and Mexican Rum with Jason Cox
Lately, there seems to be a theme of guests that had a specific path in life only to find it disrupted and hijacked by the craft spirits business. And this week is no exception. Jason Cox was working as a translator when he decided to spend a few months studying Mexican slang and dialects. When…
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Tropical Standard with Garret Richard
This week’s guest, Garett Richard has worked in some of the best bars and with some of the best bartenders in New York, which also makes them some of the best in the world. And being a tikiphile running a Tiki/Tropical bar in New York makes him something of a unicorn these days. Having made an...
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Rolling Fork: Spirits for Rum Nerds
Rolling Fork Spirits won me over immediately. The two owners, Turner Wathen and Jordan Morris, set out to create a brand that offered something no one else was offering. Luckily for us (read: me) that meant rum! This small, independent bottler could easily fly under the radar of spirits geeks.…
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The Kazan Room with Brandon Grilc
I’m back in Japan today, and talking to one of the few tiki bar owners in the country. Brandon Grilc’s career as an architectural historian took a left hard turn when he and his wife decided to spend some time in Japan teaching English. They had already become tikiphiles and amateur Mid-Century...
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Amrut Whisky with Ashok Chokalingam
When Ashok Chokalingam took his first job with Amrut Distilleries, he had no idea how far that job would take him, and the impact he’d have on the whisky category, India, and worldwide acceptance of one of the most beloved whisky styles in the world – made in India. Not Scotland. His first job…
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Minimalist Tiki with Matt Pietrek
The Cocktail Wonk is back on the show after six long years. And he’s accomplished a lot in that time. This week we’re talking about his influential book, Minimalist Tiki and his new tome, Modern Caribbean Rum, and how those books lead him and his wife Carrie to start their own publishing company,...
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Toyko Confidential with Holly Graham
If you’re reading this we hope you’re in Tokyo, because you’re in for a real treat. Tonight is the opening of Japan’s newest craft cocktail bar, Tokyo Confidential. So today I’ve got Holly Graham on the show to discuss how she got here. Both literally and figuratively. How does a Londoner end up…
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Equal Access with Chris Montana
Just a decade ago, Chris Montana opened DuNord spirits. In the ten years since, his role has grown in ways that he could have never imagined. Looking around rooms filled with craft distillers, he noticed that no one looked like him. So he set about to help remedy that through educational programs...
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Lullaby of Birdland with Brother Cleve
UPDATE: My good friend, Brother Cleve, passed away unexpectedly on Sept 9, 2022 — just a few months after this interview. Cleve was a mentor, a friend, and a confidant for me, as well as countless others in the industry. He was always quick with a smile, generous beyond reproach, and one of the...
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Japan Distilled: A Conversation with Stephen Lyman
After the first ever shochu episode back in 2017 A Shochu Lesson with Erik Zmara, I received a tweet from a gentleman in Japan that was working in a distillery. He sent some responses to questions we weren’t able to answer during that episode. That man was Stephen Lyman and his life has been a...
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KōHana Ohana with Kyle Reutner
A week ago I had the opportunity to visit KōHana Rum in Kunia, Oahu. And that visit was precisely what I needed to get my groove back. The trek to the distillery from Honolulu is a picturesque paradise. But the one thing that I didn’t see on that drive was sugarcane. Sugarcane used to be an...
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Sherry with Chantal Tseng
Over the last decade, Sherry has increasingly become a drink of choice for bartenders and service industry professionals. It has started showing up on bar programs, in cocktails, and the used casks have become a distiller’s favorite way to finish different spirits. Although once as ubiquitous on...
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The Death of a Blog with Jennifer Matthewson
Today I welcome Jennifer Matthewson, founder of Daily Blender ,to the show. As the ripple effects of the pandemic are now becoming clear, it looks as though we are losing her blog as another casualty of COVID-19. Food journalism has been going a major transformation over the last decade. The…
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Contento NYC: Accessibility Redefined
One in four Americans lives with some degree of disability – whether that is the need for a wheelchair, limited sight or hearing, or limited range of motion. Yannick Benjamin is one of those Americans. And he also happens to be the co-owner of one of New York’s hottest new restaurants. Contento,...
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Kokonas and Tonic
Nick Kokonas has worked in some of the most well-known cocktail destinations in Chicago. But it was at Heritage that he curated a program that eventually led to an entire project. When his manager there told him that they’d do a book together once he had over 50 unique tonic recipes, Nick took it...
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Three Tiers of Frustration with Adam Thierer
There are few things more confusing than the three-tier system controlling alcohol distribution in the United States. It’s a topic that is complex even for policy savvy bar owners and restaurateurs — and even more so for the average consumer that just wants to find a bottle of their favorite...
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Asian Cocktails with Al Thompson
It’s been four months, but we’re finally back from break. And this week I have my friend Al Thompson on the show to talk his position as Beverage Director for Thip Khao and Hanumanh in Washington DC. This position is somewhat of a departure for him as he has spent the last several years working…
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Can’t Knock The Hustle with Sullivan Doh
Sullivan Doh has seemingly done it all, and just seems to be garnering more respect from the community each time he shifts his focus. He became enamored with fine dining at quite a young age working at Michelin-starred restaurants in London. It was there that he decided that, if he were going to...
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Pushing Boundaries with Charles Joly
Charles Joly has witnessed and been a part of the craft cocktail renaissance since the beginning. After starting as a bar back in a high volume, underground Chicago club, he moved on and moved up – finally taking the reins at The Drawing Room in Chicago. And he realized that hospitality was his...
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Breaking News with Bailey Pryor
Bailey Pryor’s achievements are impressive. He is the recipient of several Emmy awards, has written, directed, and produced scores of movies and documentaries, and is the leading authority on notorious rum runner, Bill McCoy. And he’s barely over 50-years-old. F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said...
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Booze Cruise with Andre Darlington
It’s the return of André Darlington! The last time he was on the show we were discussing his now-bestselling cocktail book, Booze & Vinyl. And now he’s back to discuss his new book that took him around the world on a cocktail adventure, just months before travel restrictions and COVID-19 shut…
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Sother Teague: I’m Just Here for the Shift Drink
PLEASE NOTE: This episode mentions several links and articles. They are available at the bottom of these show notes. Sother Teague is no stranger to Shift Drink. We’ve been planning on doing a show together for years. But my first visit to his show, The Speakeasy, also included the venerable…
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Sother Teague Bonus Content
When Sother and I get to chatting, jaunts off-topic aren’t rare. So, here we’re offering this bonus material for you to eavesdrop. If you haven’t listened to I’m Just Here For the Shift Drink, check in to hear all about bitters!
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Drinking Like Misty Kalkofen Pt. 2
Misty Kalkofen needs no introduction in the spirits community — or if you listened to my interview her on our last episode,Drinking Like Misty Kalkofen Pt. 1. But regardless of whether or not you’re familiar with her work, you’ve likely encountered it. After spending the first half of her career...
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Drinking Like Misty Kalkofen Pt. 1
Misty Kalkofen has done it all. She was building craft cocktail menus in an era ruled by pre-mixed Long Island Iced Tea. While studying at Harvard Divinity School, she took at job behind the bar and ended up as a protégé of lounge legend and Tikiphile, Brother Cleve. Her dedication to hospitality...
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Newfangled Confections with Carrie Abbott
Carrie Abbott started her candy company, Newfangled Confections, back in 2012. But that wasn’t the beginning. This hospitality industry veteran had been running the pastry and service side of a catering company (with my future business partner, Chef Micah Frank) when she made a confection that...
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Behind Bars in Colombia
It’s been a wild ride for Vincent Pollard so far. As many bartenders out there, he started in the business with no real knowledge of the craft cocktail scene. But working in Canada for some of the best bars in the country put the hooks in him. He’s since been full speed ahead. His most recent...
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2020 Wrap Up: The End of the Beginning
As we wrap up the end of the year in our living rooms rather than bars and restaurants, I want you to take a moment and listen to this abbreviated episode about the impending collapse of the hospitality industry. YOU CAN STILL HELP! But that window is closing quickly. I’ve added links below as...
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Kentucky Bourbon Festival
When Randy Prasse took the job to help overhaul the Kentucky Bourbon Festival, didn’t realize that a month later the world would shut down and no one would be able to gather in groups for the entire year. Like everyone, the organizers had to pivot and rethink what a festival could be while…
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Cider House Rules with Ryan Burk
In the food and beverage world, it’s easy to dismiss companies with wide distribution as “sellouts”. We expect everyone to starve for their art and if they don’t, they become an object of our ire. Angry Orchard falls into that category. Their hard ciders have become so ubiquitous that it can feel...
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Leviathan Bakehouse with Pete Schmutte
Pete Schmutte, owner and pastry chef extraordinaire of the newly-opened Leviathan Bakehouse in Indy, joins the show this week to talk about his path into pastry at a time when it seems that pastry jobs were disappearing and the career path might be dead. He persevered with the kitchen work he...
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Music and Booze with Chris Coy
I’ve mentioned my business partner numerous times on the show – perhaps ad nauseam (see Fear and Loathing with Beachbum Berry). I always try to avoid doing interview with people within my circle because it’s awkward when we know each other so well. We’ve worked together on and off for 20 years…
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Thirst Group with Eric Mersch and Kim Klinger
We may be witnessing the death of independent restaurants as we’ve known them. We all closed with the trust that we would have help recovering. That trust was misplaced. But many people are stepping up to help rescue the industry they love. One of the most important organizations is Thirst Group....
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Fess Parker Wines with Elizabeth Cooper
It’s our 100th EPISODE! To mark the occasion, this interview was conducted in-person and… Arthur is back! And he’s brought a good friend with him this time. Elizabeth Cooper has spent her career around wine – starting in restaurants as a teenager before moving into management and finally into the...
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Sipping with Somms
For the first time in three years, I took a break. This week’s episode is a repost from an interview I did with Thomas Dean of Sipping with Somms a few weeks into the U.S. quarantine. It was a fun interview, and one of my first times doing any remote audio work. I have Tom to thank for helping me...
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Shift Drink have?
Shift Drink currently has 149 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Shift Drink about?
Restaurateur Ed Rudisell chats with movers and shakers in the beer, liquor, and hospitality industry. These casual conversations offer a unique glimpse into a world not often seen by those on the outside.
How often does Shift Drink release new episodes?
Shift Drink publishes regularly with 149 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to Shift Drink?
You can listen to Shift Drink on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Shift Drink?
Shift Drink is created and hosted by Shift Drink.
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