The Speakeasy

Beloved bartender and inventive ice-man Zach Gelnaw-Rubin is this week’s guest on THe Speakeasy! He’s behind the bar at Dutch Kills and Attaboy and helps run Hundredweight, the first company of its kind, supplying New York City with the highest quality ice specifically for use in craft cocktails. Their cubes, spears, spheres and punch blocks are all cut from 300 pound blocks of crystal-clear, totally pure ice, and lend a new level of quality and aesthetic to cocktails. Tune in and find out why ice matters more than you might realize and how Zach got the idea off the ground. This program was brought to you by The International Culinary Center. “Four, five years ago – you didn’t have to make a choice about ice because there was no choice.” [10:00] “More and more bars are opening up that are regular environment bars that are also serving high level drinks.” [13:00] –Zach Gelnaw-Rubin on The SpeakeasySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

What is American brandy and why should you care? Find out on a brand new episode of The Speakeasy as Damon Boelte is joined by Joe Heron, the co-founder of Copper & Kings Distillery. Copper & Kings is an American brandy company based in Butchertown, Louisville, Kentucky, USA. They make a differentiated, uncommon, unadulterated, pure pot-distilled natural American brandy. Tune in and find out what all the fuss is about and what Copper & Kings is doing to serve the community and push American spirits forward. This program was brought to you by The International Culinary Center. “Almost every farmer who settled America was at some stage a brandy distiller.” [05:00] “Kentucky is at it’s best when it’s zagging instead of zigging. The city and state are much more open minded than people realize” [10:00] “What makes craft beer so fabulous in the US is that the interpretation of style is individual and unique – and to me that’s very American.” [15:00] “We’re much more interested in being a community asset than a tourist attraction.” [21:00] –Joe Heron on The SpeakeasySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

To kick off the new year on The Speakeasy, Damon Boelte is joined by Heather Greene, Whiskey Sommelier at The Flatiron Room and author of Whisk(e)y Distilled. Heather Greene is one of America’s leading whiskey experts, media’s newest “go-to” woman on the topic of brown spirits, and the author of Whiskey Distilled, A Populist Guide to the Water of Life on Viking Studio, an imprint of Penguin Random House. She is also The Director of Whiskey Education and sommelier at The Flatiron Room in Manhattan where her classes sell-out regularly. Heather is also an accomplished musician. Her latest (third) record was released in 2012 under the name Argon 4o with her music partner Adam Williams. Their music is currently licensed to MTV Networks after being called by BBC radio as “Beautifully simplistic, yet thoroughly complex.” She has toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe. When she’s not sipping whiskey or playing keyboards, she can be found on her stoop drinking a simple gin and tonic. This program was brought to you by Michter’s. “There a lot of synergies between music and something beautiful and mystical like whiskey.” [08:00] “There’s an incredible amount of subjectivity in the human palate. The idea of a best whiskey is kind of lost when it comes to science.” [19:00] –Damon Boelte on The SpeakeasySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Misty Kalkofen of Del MagueySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Damon Boelte is talking shop with Adam Bernbach, bar manager at Washington, D.C., cocktail spot 2 Birds 1 Stone, on this weeks episode of The Speakeasy. Adam waxes poetic on the cocktail scene in Washington DC, the state of science driven drinks and his personal favorite – banana cocktails. The conversation is candid and the commentary is sharp on another episode of the best booze show on the net! This program was brought to you by White Oak Pastures. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week’s episode of The Speakeasy is all about whiskey. Damon Boelte is joined by Avianna Ponzi of Bomberger’s Distillery. Bomberger’s is the reincarnation of the original whiskey distilled under the same name, which dates back to 1753. Commemorating the historic Bomberger’s Distillery; this blend of American whiskey represents collaboration across generations and traditions to preserve the history and future legacy of Pennsylvania Craft Whiskey. Tune in and get the inside school on this incredible story. This program was brought to you by The International Culinary Center. “I think people glamorize distilling. It’s somewhat of a manufacturing process. The end consumer product is glamorous but mining the stills as things drip out is not as glamorous as people think.” [12:00] –Avaianna Ponzi on The SpeakeasySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Learn about cognac and other esoteric spirits on this week’s episode of The Speakeasy as Damon Boelte is joined by Nicolas Palazzi of PM Spirits, an uber small operation “importing and distributing geeky spirits in the US.” Tune in and find out how the often overlooked Cognac is a staple in French and European culture and hear what makes it different than any other category. They also discuss other specialty imported spirits and even taste some on air! This program was brought to you by Rolling Press. “We don’t throw huge parties, we don’t have a tour bus. We go one person at a time and try to open their eyes as to what’s available out there and hopefully we sell stuff!” [28:00] –Nicolas Palazzi on The SpeakeasySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Rum is really hot right now and Ron Diplomático rum is some of the best you can get. Tune in and get a primer on rum on a brand new episode of The Speakeasy, as Damon Boelte is joined by Manny Pena, brand rep for Ron Diplomático. Find out what goes into making great rum, how different distillation processes can drastically change the end product and why the potential for rum is still mostly untapped domestically. Whether you like Tiki drinks, daiquiris or just plain old rum n coke’s – tune in and learn something new about rum! This program was brought to you by White Oak Pastures. “Brown [liquor] is hot. Inexpensive products for the masses that are also premium are doing well right now.” [18:00] “Imagine if you were in Louisiana in 1950 – as creative as you want to be (making drinks) you wouldn’t have access to so many great ingredients.” [21:00] –Manny Pena on The SpeakeasySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The “Rye Girl” is back! Damon Boelte welcomes Abigail Gullo back to The Speakeasy this week for a discussion on whisky, cocktails and New Orleans. Abigail recently left NYC for NOLA and reflects on the differences between the two places while teaching listeners about some great cocktail and spirit history. This program was brought to you by Michter’s. “Rye whiskey would have gone extinct in the 80’s and 90’s if people in New Orleans weren’t drinking their Sazeracs.” [06:00] –Abigail Gullo on The SpeakeasySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hear from the authors of Brooklyn Spirits: Craft Distilling and Cocktails from the World’s Hippest Borough on a brand new episode of The Speakeasy. In the popular tradition of farm-to-table cookbooks, Brooklyn Spirits: Craft Distilling and Cocktails from the World’s Hippest Borough, is the first distillery-to-glass cocktail book. Organized into chapters focused on these distilleries, each chapter will take an in-depth look at the distillery’s story and the spirits they offer, and will present half-a-dozen cocktail recipes. Within these chapters, there will be sub-sections on several varying topics: a look at the bars and restaurants serving the Brooklyn-produced spirits; highlights on the work of local mixologists; and subsections on the history of distilling in Brooklyn. This program was brought to you by Michters. “One of the reasons its easy to promote a book like this is we’re promoting really cool work other people are doing. I’m hoping we did a good job capturing it. [06:00]\ “This is a yearbook in a sense. It’s capturing what’s happening right now.” [14:00] –Peter Thomas Fonatale on The SpeakeasySee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.