Best Collab Asia Podcasts (2025)

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#121, BONUS, Alan Murungi & Guy Brennan, Founders of Procera Gin (collab dual-cast with The Speakeasy podcast) 30:49

1d ago30:49

30:49

Down in New Orleans during the Tales of the Cocktail festival, I helped Procera, a luxury gin from Kenya, to run a private hospitality House, which came complete with a pool, so myself and Greg Benson of The Speakeasy had the bright idea to interview the Procera founders, Guy and Alan, while drinking martinis on the rocks, in the pool. Yep, we inve…

1
#120, Alexandre Gabriel & Matt Pietrek, authors of “The Rum Never Sets”, a history of naval rum (collab dual-cast with The Speakeasy podcast) 28 July 2025 54:54

7d ago54:54

54:54

Myself and The Speakeasy Podcast co-host Greg Benson were both in New Orleans last week at the Tales of the Cocktail festival, and so were Alexandre Gabriel, master distiller and blender at Maison Ferrand & Planteray rum, plus Matt Pietrek, spirits author & publisher, who lives in the Crescent City. AND Alexandre and Matt had just published (with M…

1
#119, Christian Delpech, 19 x world champion flair bartending, bar director Presidente Miami, bar consultant 1:30:00

14d ago1:30:00

1:30:00

I first met Christian, who is Argentinian, in 2000, at the Quest for the Best world bartending championships in Orlando. I'd competed in Quest and Roadhouse and other contests like those quite a few times, but when many of us saw Christian that year - who competed in the Rookie division - a lot of us just decided to retire from competition and beco…

1
#118, Ian Burrell, global rum ambassador, author, “Rum: A Tasting Course”, founder, UK RumFest, co-founder Equiano Rum, EduTainer 2:45:51

21d ago2:45:51

2:45:51

I've judged many a cocktail contest with Ian, and he's got a new book out AND just been awarded the Lifetime Achievement award by Tales of the Cocktail, so it was time for us to catch up over a rum or two. Having played basketball in his native UK, and rapped - he still gets royalties from a song of his featured on the soundtrack of "Space Jam" - I…

1
#117, Timo Janse: opening bar manager, door 74 bar; owner, Dutch Courage bar, Perfect Serve Barshow and RevolutionCherry; co-founder, Flying Dutchmen Cocktails bar, Belly of the Beast bar, Amsterdam Cocktail ... 2:01:07

25d ago2:01:07

2:01:07

Timo has been a friend for almost two decades now: first he was the bartender who served me, then my employee, then my bar's manager, and then a bar owner in his own right, before founding a bar show, and several other excellent bars. We could have gone for four hours. We've known each other through multiple marriages, got to know each other before…

1
#116, Kristiane Westray, UK-based drinks writer and LGBTQIA+ proponent, who also runs FAR too much 1:35:34

1M ago1:35:34

1:35:34

Krissy is a hilarious person that I got to know judging spirits contests together, and an accomplished drinks writer as well as being an outspoken proponent of the LGBTQIA+ community, so I wanted to catch up with her just as we round out Pride Month. We had a great chat, not even that much about that community, because we both had a lot to catch up…

1
#115, DNN - Duff News Network 1:09:10

1M ago1:09:10

1:09:10

It's been a minute since we went over the news, and I've been rocketing around the world doing interesting things, so here's a DNN episode! We cover bar shows like BCBrooklyn, the Gulf Bar Show, the upcoming BCB London, the risers and fallers in the annual Millionaires List of million-case-selling liquor brands, Pernod's restructuring, the tiny coc…

1
#114, Lorenzo Antinori, founder, Bar Leone (HK), #2 W50BB 2024, #1 Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2024 2:24:10

2M ago2:24:10

2:24:10

I've known Lorenzo since his days bartending at The Savoy in London, and have also had the pleasure of his drinks during his stint at Argo Bar (HK). Now he's opened Bar Leone, which is the fastest-ever to get to #1 in Asia's 50 Best Bars and #2 in World's 50 Best, after opening in June 2023. He's also about to open Montana bar in HK together with h…

1
Multi-Cultural Relationship? Ask These Questions First 15:49

2M ago15:49

15:49

Follow up on IG, Youtube and TikTok @TheHalfieProject Write in to us at [email protected]

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10 Things Half-Koreans Hear (Often...) 13:34

2M ago13:34

13:34

Follow up on IG, Youtube and TikTok @TheHalfieProject Write in to us at [email protected]

1
#113, Hayden “Woody” Wood, cocktail entrepreneur, world champion, author of 10 cocktail books (and Guy Fieri’s tour buddy) 1:57:24

2M ago1:57:24

1:57:24

Woody, a New Zealander, has been a fixture in Australian bartending for as long as I've been in the business, and he built his flair bartending and cocktail catering firm into a massive business there, wrote ten best-selling cocktail books, toured with Guy Fieri, burned out, came back, and has now founded a new solution to revolutionise the import-…

1
#112, Josh Harris, founder, Trick Dog (San Francisco), Pig & Punch, and forthcoming Quik Dog 1:55:40

3M ago1:55:40

1:55:40

Me, Josh and a bunch of other people (including Julio Bermejo and Mauro Mahjoub) were together in Yerevan for Yerevan Cocktail Week (YCW), so I took the chance to tape an episode with Josh, who I always run into at Tales of the Cocktail, but never get to sit down and chat with. Josh is best known for Trick Dog cocktail bar in SF, a perennial award …

1
#111, Patrick Pistolesi, owner Drink Kong and Nite Kong, Rome, co-founder NIO Cocktails 1:48:28

3M ago1:48:28

1:48:28

Taped live in an annoyingly child-ridden park on a lovely day in NYC, myself and the rock 'n' roll Irish-Italian Rome-based cocktail bar owner Patrick Pistolesi cracked some all-American tariff-free beers, washed 'em down with mezcal and 'Murican single malt whiskey, and talked about Japan, billionaires, awards, his adventurous Irish mum, bars, coc…

1
#110, Ektoras Binikos, founder, Sugar Monk, Bitter Monk and Atheras Spirits 1:51:50

3M ago1:51:50

1:51:50

Ektoras Binikos opened Sugar Monk cocktail bar in Harlem just 9 months before the COVID lockdowns kicked off, after a career in both art and mixology, having emigrated to Manhattan from his native Greece. While weathering the storm of the lockdown, he and his team started making and selling amaros and liqueurs, and this venture has blossomed into a…

1
#109, Tony Sachs, Philip Duff Show regular, drinks writer, bon vivant 2:45:39

3M ago2:45:39

2:45:39

Regular listeners will know New York drinks writer Tony Sachs, who occupies a place in The Philip Duff Show universe somewhere between "henchman" and "drinking buddy". It's been a while since we convened to drink our way through the literal lakes of booze Tony is sent on a daily basis, and because he was off to drink Direct Martinis from the hand o…

1
#108, Warren Bobrow, creator KLAUS THC beverages, cocktail book author, cannabis advocate 1:35:15

4M ago1:35:15

1:35:15

Warren has written six cocktail books - including on cannabis cocktails, as well as more conventional cocktail tomes - and he was way ahead of what is now a trend of quitting alcohol, back in 2018, during Tales of the Cocktail, which is like quitting skydiving mid-jump. He's recently created a range of delicious cocktail-inspired THC beverages name…

1
EP 74: Speculative Fiction as a Limitless Genre 26:56

4M ago26:56

26:56

A brief journey through brave new worlds Featuring: •Kenneth Yu •Kadi Serafica

1
5 Things Mixed Koreans Understand 24:23

4M ago24:23

24:23

Have you heard any of these things? Becky and Cedric break down five commonly heard phrases we get as mixed Koreans. If you have your own thoughts on this, write in at [email protected]

1
Positive Stereotypes - Not All That Great 43:25

4M ago43:25

43:25

At first glance, positive stereotypes seem different than negative stereotypes, but ultimately they do the same thing - strip down a full human being to the qualities or characteristics you choose to believe. Take a listen as Cedric and Becky talk about some positive stereotypes we've faced and how to deal with it. Read more at ⁠thehalfieproject.co…

1
The Kim Sisters: The First K-Pop Girl Group? 48:46

4M ago48:46

48:46

The Kim Sisters, the first Asian group to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show, also hold the record for most performances ever for the variety show - a whopping 22 times. The largely forgotten godmothers of K-Pop girl groups, the Kim Sisters were one of the most popular Vegas acts of the 60s. Write in to [email protected]…

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#107, Rob Husted, flair bartender, competitor & judge, co-creator “Shaken & Stirred” flair documentary 2:16:16

4M ago2:16:16

2:16:16

Me and Rob have known each other since the early early days, back when I was still a competitive flair bartender in the 1990s, and together with fellow OGs Dean Serneels and Deborah Richards, he's just created and premiered the world's first documentary about flair, "Shaken & Stirred", so it was high time we had a chat. We talked about the wild net…

1
EP 73: Inside the Mind of Speculative Fiction 20:31

4M ago20:31

20:31

To voyage the what if's Featuring: •Cesar Miguel Escaño •Jacob Ramos

1
#106, Hayden Lambert, owner, Above Board (Melbourne), jet-set bartender 2:40:11

5M ago2:40:11

2:40:11

Hayden's been a mate for ages, and his bar, a gorgeous, tiny, stripped-back speakeasy-type Mecca in Melbourne, is almost ten years old and has been winning awards and getting on lists quite a lot, so it was time we got together and shot the shit. This tiny little bar in Australia's second city got #100 on the overall World's 50 Best Bars list - not…

1
#105, Jonathan Downey, cocktail bar empire builder and hospitality entrepreneur 1:12:10

5M ago1:12:10

1:12:10

Without Jonathan and the London-based international Match Bar Group he built, spanning 40+ venues at one time or another, cocktails in the UK would look very different today. Jonathan, a cheerful Mancunian former lawyer, invested heavily in bartending expertise when building his group: his first head bartender for Match bar was the legendary, late …

1
#104, Nico de Soto, co-owner Mace (NY), Danico (Paris) Kota Pandan Liqueur, globetrotting bartender & consultant 1:57:14

5M ago1:57:14

1:57:14

I've known Nico since his time at Experimental Cocktail Club Paris around 2008, and he's very much the mixologist's mixologist; most people would say - I agree - that he's one of the two or three best mixologists working today. He just launched Kota Pandan liqueur with a banging party in Mace NY, so the next day we sat down to talk bars, pandan, aw…

1
#103, Salvatore Calabrese, bar maestro, The Donovan Bar, Velvet by Salvatore (London), Igiea Terrazza (Palermo), Stravinsky (Rome), author, public speaker 1:28:03

5M ago1:28:03

1:28:03

Few people in the cocktail world are as well known as Salvatore; you don't even have to say his surname before people begin talking about his many achievements in bartending, dating back forty years to his youth on the sun-kissed shores of the Amalfi Coast. He really is the Maestro, and it's been a privilege to call him a friend for several decades…

1
#102, Maxwell Britten, award-winning NY beverage director, cocktail book author & documentary producer 1:28:15

6M ago1:28:15

1:28:15

Maxwell is an old friend who came to prominence with the drinks program he curated at Brooklyn's amazing Maison Premiere, winning James Beard awards, World's 50 Best Bars listing, and Tales of the Cocktail awards, to name but a few. (It is also, and to this day, a magnificent place for dinner or a cocktail). He's also co-authored a cocktail book an…

1
#101, Dolph Lundgren, MA (Chem. Eng.), karate champion, vodka entrepreneur, Hollywood movie star 1:08:28

6M ago1:08:28

1:08:28

It's nomination season! If you enjoy The Philip Duff Show, take a minute to throw our hat in the ring for an award that is guaranteed to annoy everyone - link to nominate us for "Best Broadcast, Podcast Or Online Video" here: https://spiritedawards.secure-platform.com/a (Nominations deadline is February 13th, at 1159pm New Orleans time!) Dolph's be…

1
#100 David Gluckman, creator of Baileys, Tanqueray TEN, The Singleton, etc., author of “That Shit Will Never Sell” (2nd edition) 1:35:06

6M ago1:35:06

1:35:06

Nominate The Philip Duff Show for the Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards - “Best Broadcast, Podcast, or Online Video Series” category: https://spiritedawards.secure-platform.com/a David’s a legend in the liquor business, ever since he and his business partner came up with the idea for Baileys Irish Cream, easily the most succesful liquor brand c…

1
#99, Adam Montgomerie, former bar manager, Hawksmoor New York 1:46:44

7M ago1:46:44

1:46:44

Adam, a native Scot, spent a decade working for the Hawksmoor group, including a five-year stint opening and running the bar at their first-ever US branch here in New York, and he's just moved back to London, so I thought we'd have a chat. It was a lot of fun and we got into a ton of different stuff, including US tipping culture, the "Sopranos"-esq…

1
#98, Caitlin Bartlemay, Master Distiller at Clear Creek Distillery and McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt 1:36:16

7M ago1:36:16

1:36:16

Caitlin makes some of America’s best eaux-des-vie, as well as America’s first-ever single malt whiskey, McCarthy’s. (American Single Malt was only recognized by the US government’s TTB as a legal category about a month ago, but McCarthy’s started distilling in 1985. ) This is a nerdy one. It was a great chat, though, discussing Caitlin’s unconventi…

1
#97, Oisin Davis, owner, Great Irish Beverages (Ireland), ex-bartender, drinks writer, brand consultant 2:34:54

7M ago2:34:54

2:34:54

I'm not sure exactly where me and Oisin met, but we definitely had a drink to hand! Born in New Jersey, he moved to Ireland when he was just 10, so he's lived there for far longer than I have - in fact he moved there more or less precisely as I left - and has done far more cool stuff there than I ever did, from running great Dublin bars and music v…

1
96, Steve Schneider, co-owner Sip & Guzzle (NY), Elysian Cafe (Hoboken), Employees Only (Singapore) & The Odd Couple (Shanghai) 3:00:48

7M ago3:00:48

3:00:48

Ever wondered what'd happen if I sat down with Steve Schneider for three hours over half a bottle of whisky and numerous beers? Wonder no more! Steve's been a friend since his time bartending (and later managing) Employees Only NY, and I've had the pleasure of drinking with him in EO Singapore, which he co-founded. His newest place, Sip + Guzzle in…

1
#95, Giuseppe Gallo, ex-London bartender, founder of the Italicus rosolio and Savoia vino aperitivo brands AND Roma Bar Show 2:21:41

8M ago2:21:41

2:21:41

Giuseppe's an old friend, so when I heard he'd be in NY we made time to sit down and catch up over a negroni or two. Yet another Italian bartender transplanted to London, Giuseppe worked at some of the OG cocktail bars back in the day, was the global ambassador for Martini & Rossi, founded onpremise agency Italspirits, created Italicus and Savoia a…

1
#94, Alex Kammerling, London cocktail OG, author, liquor entrepreneur and training consultant 2:37:19

8M ago2:37:19

2:37:19

Simon Difford once described Alex as being an even better mixologist than his mentor Dick Bradsell, and it was in the pages of Simon's print magazine CLASS than I first came across Alex, first being written about, and then as a writer for CLASS himself. After bartending at the birth of mixology's Second Golden Age in 1990s London, Alex went on to w…

1
#93, Mark Reynier, talking about Waterford Whisky and Renegade Rum entering (and hopefully exiting) receivership 55:03

8M ago55:03

55:03

Mark, founder of the ground-breaking terroir-driven Waterford Whisky in Ireland and Renegade Rum in Grenada, is going through the grinder of both being in receivership*, and made time for a chat with me. Mark is very open on the 'pod about the factors that led to the current situation, and there are some real nuggets in here, such as Waterford bein…

1
#92, Rob Cullins, liquor industry titan, current CEO of Disaronno and former CEO of Stoli Group 1:07:07

8M ago1:07:07

1:07:07

I've known Rob for several decades now; we met in Korea when he was MD for global liquor distributor Maxxium, and I was doing cocktail seminars there for bartenders. We've had personal and professional intersections - not to mention more than a few martinis here and there - ever since, as he racked up a truly stellar resume in the liquor biz: Diage…

1
#91, Se Busca Barmaid Week (Barcelona) with organisers Bianca Grisolia, Laura Alonso and Meritxell Coll 1:43:02

8M ago1:43:02

1:43:02

An unusual one! My friend, and top-rank bar PR guru Bianca Grisolia organised the first-ever Se Busca* Barmaid Week recently in Barcelona, and I thought it was a great opportunity to have a discussion about mezcal, ladies in bartending, and bar weeks in general, with Bianca (of PR firm BG Communications), Laura Alonso (Global Agave Director for SE …

1
EP 72: Poetry in the Time of Roman Baths 22:22

8M ago22:22

22:22

Sound on romancing the bath Featuring: •Myke Celis •Merci Hilario •Ocel Fabian

1
#90, Dr. Nicola Nice, sociologist, entrepreneur and author of “The Cocktail Parlor: How Women Brought The Cocktail Home” 2:03:53

9M ago2:03:53

2:03:53

I met Dr. Nicola, an English expat, just a couple of weeks ago, but I'd been hearing about her - and her groundbreaking book detailing the forgotten history of women's involvement in the cocktail's evolution, especially in the home - for quite a while, since before the book came out, in fact. We say down for a nice long chat about what it's like fo…

1
#89, Ambre van de Berg, founder of Lala Tequila, wellness consultant & yoga instructor (but definitely not woo) 1:41:33

9M ago1:41:33

1:41:33

I met Ambre at the infamous pre-Bar Convent Berlin networking hosted by Thorsten Husmann a couple of years ago, and learned she had just founded the first woman-owned tequila brand in the Netherlands, Lala. Ambre is fascinating: a wellness guru but not woo-woo (very likely due to her no-nonsense Dutch upbringing) who came to love great tequila afte…

1
EP 71: To the Rescue 19:45

9M ago19:45

19:45

Speaking of animal rescue. Featuring: •Charms Tianzon •Jú Cabrezos •Elliz Marie Alog

1
#88, Robin Robinson, author, whiskey guru & brand sherpa for craft liquor brands, NYC 2:53:02

9M ago2:53:02

2:53:02

Robin's been a fixture of the spirits education world for as long as I can remember - I think we first met when he was still shepherding Compass Box Whisky for the US, at a bar show in Paris. He's a remarkable raconteur - like a lot of the ex-actors littering the spirits industry - and a true expert across the broad world of spirits, but what reall…

1
#87, Emily LaRuffa, New York hospitality veteran and founder of Oracle Hospitality Consultants 2:34:50

9M ago2:34:50

2:34:50

Emily LaRuffa has scaled the dizzy heights of Manhattan hospitality business, from bartending to managing and being a GM at every kind of NY joint from rock 'n' roll bars in Hell's Kitchen to the five-star luxury of Loews Hotel, The Baccarat, Major Food Group (and cheerful pirate Brian Miller)'s The Polynesian, and Danny Meyer's Union Square Hospit…

1
#86, Alice Lascelles, award-winning drinks writer and author of “The Martini: The Ultimate Guide To A Cocktail Icon” 1:03:48

10M ago1:03:48

1:03:48

Alice, an old friend from way back when, is one of the best drinks writers based in the UK, has won multiple awards for her writing about spirits, wine, beer, cocktails and bars, is often to be found on UK radio & TV, and just published her new book "The Martini: The Ultimate Guide to a Cocktail Icon", so we sat down over a martini (or in my case, …

1
#85, Kara Newman, award-winning drinks writer & author, New York City 1:40:10

10M ago1:40:10

1:40:10

Kara defected to writing about spirits, cocktails and bars after starting out writing about matters financial, and finance's loss is cocktail's gain! A New York native and friend, Kara has written seven spirits- and cocktail-related books as well as her newest venture, The Cocktail Cabinet, decks of beautiful playing cards themed around a particula…

1
#84, Chris Cardone, sober advocate, founder Continuous Beverage Solutions, Diageo World Class USA winner, NYC (flair) bartender & mixologist 2:13:10

10M ago2:13:10

2:13:10

I've known New York (well, Long Island) native Chris for over two decades, since we met at a flair bartending contest in the Cayman Islands, and he's maintained his rep as a flair bartender while becoming an accomplished mixologist as well, getting sober, winning Diageo World Class USA in 2017, crafting the Via Carota range of bottled cocktails and…

1
EP 70: A First Look at Sci-fi and The Culling in Proxima 29:12

10M ago29:12

29:12

Encounter earth reimagined through science fiction in literature. Featuring: Renato Clarete Tranquilino

1
#83, Iain McPherson, owner, Panda & Sons, Hoot the Redeemer, Nauticus, Edinburgh. 2:02:04

10M ago2:02:04

2:02:04

The Cocktail Panda himself comes on The Philip Duff Show! I've known Iain for years - he entered the G'Vin Gin Connoisseur Program which I used to run - and he's built a mini bar empire in Edinburgh so it was time to catch up on his adventures guest bartending for his uncle in Korea, celeb liquor, how he got his start in the bar business and what h…

1
#82, Marshall Minaya, beverage director Valerie, Madame George and Lolita, New York City. 1:49:15

11M ago1:49:15

1:49:15

Marshall - and the three top-notch places he runs the beverage programs for, Valerie, Lolita and Madame George - is one of Manhattan's best-kept secrets. If you come to New York, I'll take you to one of these places (or all three, as they're conveniently located right next door to one another), and I guarantee you'll be blown away by the quality of…

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