Best Tom Craze Podcasts (2025)

1
#34 Dr. Anastasia Miller & Jared Brown - Rewriting Gin History, G&T's, History of Distillation, The Gin Craze, Female Distillers, London Dry Gin, Old Tom 2:03:27

1M ago2:03:27

2:03:27

Jared Brown and Anastasia Miller are internationally acclaimed authors, historians, distillers. They are the co-founders of Mixellany Limited, they have consulted for spirits brands and bars worldwide, contributing significantly to contemporary cocktail culture. It’s also Jared and Anastasia we have to thank for discovering the first known written …

1
#38 Tony Cecchini - Inventing the Cosmopolitan, NYC Bars, Andy Warhol, Long Island Bar, Guest Shifts, Batching Cocktails 1:33:55

3d ago1:33:55

1:33:55

Toby Cecchini is a bartender of some 40 years, the author of Cosmopolitan which remains the best memoir on the life of a bartender, but perhaps best known for inventing the drink by the same name, which defined an era and still attracts love and hate from consumers and bartenders alike. With a storied career spanning decades at some of New York Cit…

1
Confession Is Good for the Soil 4:36

5d ago4:36

4:36

You can see it taking shape in pages of cursive in the letterpress copybooks of J. B. Power, Land Commissioner of the Northern Pacific Railway Company. Following the financial panic of 1873, he had to find some way to revive interest in land investment; he had all those land-grant sections on his hands, and no one was buying. The success of some mo…

1
#37 Joy Spence - World's First Female Master Blender, Jamaica Rum, Appleton Estate, Rum Chemistry 1:14:03

10d ago1:14:03

1:14:03

Joy is a true legend of the spirits industry. As Master Blender at Appleton Estate in Jamaica, she holds the historic distinction of being the first woman ever appointed Master Blender in the world. A trained chemist, Joy’s remarkable sensory talents and scientific rigour have been instrumental in Appleton’s rise to global prominence, making her on…

1
Mr. Power’s Letterpress 4:29

12d ago4:29

4:29

In the early days of the Institute for Regional Studies, at NDSU (established 1950, the country’s oldest academic studies center for the history of the Great Plains), there were certain faculty members of the AC who demonstrated a truly entrepreneurial spirit, doing wonders with really no appropriated budget. Chief among these was an English prof n…

1
#36 Esteban Morales - Agave Spirits History, Mezcal, Raicilla, Challenges, Community, Tequila 1:51:48

17d ago1:51:48

1:51:48

Esteban is the founder of Casa Endemica which is a stable of brands that includes La Venenosa Raicilla, Derumbes Mezcal, La Higuera Sotol. He has been a major force in championing mezcal outside of he state of Oaxaca (where 91% of mezcal is made) and really led the charge on exposing the amazing spirits of ancestral raicilla (the mezcal of the stat…

1
#35 François Thibault - Creator of Grey Goose, Maître de Chai, Vodka Market, How Vodka is Made, Wheat, France, Cognac 44:14

24d ago44:14

44:14

Francois Thibault is the co-creator of Grey Goose vodka, which launched in 1997 quickly became the world’s most respected super premium vodka brand. I travelled to Picardy in Northern France alongside Grey Goose’s global brand ambassador, Joe McCanta to meet Francois, and visit the wheat fields of the region the distillery where Grey Goose is made.…

1
The Bullhead Craze 4:09

1M ago4:09

4:09

The common bullhead catfish on the northern plains is the black bullhead. The state record for North Dakota is 4 pounds, 9 ounces, taken from Devils Lake by a lad from Fort Totten. I’ve never seen a bullhead even half that size.By Tom Isern

1
History and Memory 4:19

1M ago4:19

4:19

There is an outpouring this summer of events, as well as books from North Dakota State University Press, pertaining to the Germans from Russia, the state’s largest ethnic culture.By Tom Isern

1
#33 Professor David Mabberley - Citrus Fruit, The End of Citrus, History, Citrus Hybrids, Cultivation, Morphology, Medicine, Biology 1:00:14

1M ago1:00:14

1:00:14

Professor David Mabberley is a world renowned botanist, writer and public speaker, who specialises in the taxonomy of tropical plants. Over more than 50 years he has authored countless scientific papers and identified dozens of new plant species through fieldwork conducted in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and Australia. He is a former Keeper of the He…

1
#32 Kevin Armstrong - Satan's Whiskers, Drinks Knowledge, Match Bar Group, Cocktail Gripes, Awards 2:36:32

1M ago2:36:32

2:36:32

Kevin Armstrong is a bartender, bar owner, spirits and cocktail educator and the author of Round Building, a manual for the professional bartender. Kevin rose to fame in the London bar scene over 20 years ago as the group bar manager for the Match Bar Group. He wrote and deployed the most comprehensive cocktail training program of the era, contribu…

1
Juneberries on the 4th of July 3:47

2M ago3:47

3:47

There are hundreds of commercial saskatoon plantations in the prairie provinces of Canada; here we have few, although the Nowatzki pick-your-own operation near Langdon has been going for a couple of decades. Perhaps this is a neglected commercial opportunity, but I am personally sort of happy that juneberries in North Dakota remain largely in the r…

1
#31 Dr. Iván Saldaña - Agave Biology, Mezcal & Tequila Production, Lewis Hamilton, Lenny Kravitz, Mexican Whisky 1:44:14

2M ago1:44:14

1:44:14

Iván Saldaña is a Mexican biologist and internationally recognised expert on agave spirits. With a PhD from the University of Sussex, his research focuses on agave ecology and evolution. Saldaña co-founded Montelobos Mezcal and Casa Lumbre, launching innovative brands like Ancho Reyes, Abasolo whisky, and Sotol Nocheluna. He blends scientific exper…

1
Young Love in the Juneberries 4:14

2M ago4:14

4:14

In late June 1898, a North Dakota boy—I suspect he was a serviceman en route to the Philippines—got homesick and wrote home to his mother in Jamestown. The question on his mind?: “Are there lots of juneberries at home? I would rather fall into a patch of juneberries, chokecherries, or bullberries than to have all the tame fruit in California.”…

1
#30 Luca Gargano - Godfather of Rum, Classification, Haiti, Caroni, Nomad Project, Velier 2:27:14

2M ago2:27:14

2:27:14

Luca Gargano, CEO of Velier, is one of the most influential figures in rum, known for transforming the rum category globally. Based in Genoa, Italy, Luca's expertise spans wine and spirits trading, authorship, and deep-rooted connections within the Caribbean rum world. In this episode, Luca discusses his extensive experience travelling the Caribbea…

1
Talking About the Weather 4:14

2M ago4:14

4:14

I’m on my way to St. Paul for the annual meeting of the Agricultural History Society (yes, there really is such a thing, comprising an impressive community of scholars), where I’m supposed to present a paper entitled, “A Hidden Hand: The Significance of Climate Change in Great Plains History.”By Tom Isern

1
#29 Desmond Payne MBE - Beefeater Master Distiller, 50 Years Making Gin, How To Make Gin, Gin Category 53:49

2M ago53:49

53:49

Desmond Payne MBE is Master Distiller Emeritus of Beefeater, one of the world's best loved and most respected gin brands. He is the longest serving gin master distiller in the world, having also spent a 20 year stint at Plymouth Gin. And he is perhaps the most respected gin distiller alive today.I sat down with him in his office at the Beefeater Di…

1
The Weekend of Lawrence Welk 4:22

2M ago4:22

4:22

We’re just home from a Lawrence Welk weekend, and by that I mean, total immersion in all things Welk. Three things came together.By Tom Isern

1
#28 Jonathan Downey - Milk & Honey London, Sasha Petraske, Dick Bradsell, Success, Disaster, Street Feast, Vodka 1:28:35

2M ago1:28:35

1:28:35

Jonathan, known to his friends as JD, is a bar and restaurant operator of nearly 30 years who has been responsible for some of the best loved and most influential cocktail bars of the early 21st century. In 1997 he founded the Match Bar group which through JD’s uncompromising vision and an illustrious cast of future superstar bartenders, made for g…

1
The True Patriot 4:39

2M ago4:39

4:39

Reading the documents on the rise of Syttende Mai celebrations in North Dakota in 1906, I was more than a little alarmed at the themes and tropes that emerged. In matters of ethnic identity, I am prepared to accept a certain measure of cultural chauvinism, but the remarks of future senator Asle Jorgenson Gronne in Grand Forks went way beyond that. …

1
#27 Jaime Orendain - Tequila, Regulation, Family History, Tequila Arette Production, Agave Economics 1:17:32

3M ago1:17:32

1:17:32

Jaime Orendain is a tequilero based at the El Llano Distillery in Tequila Town, Mexico. The Orendain family are considered one of the four founding families of tequila and remain the only family owned producer of the founding four. Jaime and his brother Eduardo established the Arette brand of tequila in the 1980's from the El Llano distillery, and …

1
Syttende Mai 4:40

3M ago4:40

4:40

During the early heyday of Norwegian immigration to the northern plains, during the First Dakota Boom of the 1880s, nobody celebrated Syttende Mai. Occasionally a newspaper, doing its best to make a cultural translation, would note on 17 September the occurrence of what it called “Norwegian Independence Day.”…

1
#26 Ed Hughes - Beer Sommelier, Beer Styles, Sharps Brewery 2:19:00

3M ago2:19:00

2:19:00

Ed Hughes is a certified beer sommelier, the author of Just add Beer - a book about beer and food pairing - and also one of my oldest friends. Based in Cornwall he works at Sharps Brewery as an educator and advocate for Molson Coors but also the beer category as a whole. This is a wide ranging conversation about beer, where we drink through 10 diff…

1
The Tree of Life 5:21

3M ago5:21

5:21

Was there ever a town whose name better expressed the buoyant optimism of the prairie frontier than Westhope, near the Canadian line, in Bottineau? Local chroniclers have credited the name to a phrase, “Hope of the West,” emanating from the railroad men who founded the town in 1903, but I want to believe the sentiment was honest. Westhope.…

1
#25 David Gluckman - Inventor of Bailey's, Tanqueray Ten, Smirnoff Black, The Singleton, etc. Innovation, Non-Alc, Design 2:02:45

3M ago2:02:45

2:02:45

David Gluckman is a retired brand and advertising consultant and author, who over a 40 year career working in the drinks industry created the ideas behind some of the world’s best know spirits, liqueurs and soft drinks. This is a conversation about how brands come into existence, how to test them, package them and market them, and how to streamline…

1
Our Songs 3:32

3M ago3:32

3:32

Things were pretty raw out on Duck Creek, northeast of Hettinger in Adams County, in 1907, but the Milwaukee Railroad had arrived. Soon, over in Lemmon, on the South Dakota line, there was a flourishing newspaper, the State-line Herald. By which we know that “the boys” on Duck Creek, as the editor said, were singing some stanzas about their life as…

1
#24 Jake Burger - Who/What is the Greatest Bartender, Bar, Cocktail Book & Cocktail Of All Time? 2:11:42

3M ago2:11:42

2:11:42

Jake Burger is a bartender, gin producer and amateur (his own words) drinks historian. I gave him just four questions - who is the greatest bartender of all time, what is the greatest cocktail of all time, what is the greatest cocktail book of all time, and which is the greatest bar of all time?Now an apology. Before recording with Jake I had just …

1
The Baldwin Ranches of Dickey County 4:30

3M ago4:30

4:30

Pushing boxes and pulling folders from the massive Baldwin Corporation Records held for the Institute for Regional Studies at NDSU Archives, I come to the realization we have a lot to learn about life on the plains by rereading the considerable — I should say massive — documentation available in the reading room. Given that the papers of the Baldwi…

1
#23 Jamie Baxter - 100+ Distilleries Built, How To Make Gin, Baijiu 2:14:22

4M ago2:14:22

2:14:22

Jamie Baxter is a Distillery Consultant who has designed and built more than 100 distilleries over the past 15 years. He setup the Chase Vodka Distillery in Herefordshire in 2008, built the City of London Distillery, East London Liquor Company, and distilleries in Europe and India. On the episode we discuss his transition from cereal manufacturing …

1
Baldwin Farms 4:08

4M ago4:08

4:08

Having spent a fair bit of time in Ellendale over the years, I always wondered about the history of that elegant insertion in the business district, with its triple-arch facade, known as the Baldwin Building. I knew there had to be a story there.By Tom Isern

1
#22 Alessandro Palazzi - Dukes Hotel, Martinis, Ian Fleming, 50 Years of Bartending 1:17:34

4M ago1:17:34

1:17:34

Alessandro Palazzi is the Head Bartender at Dukes Hotel in London where this episode was filmed. In a career spanning 50 years, he has made possibly more martinis that anyone else alive today at what is perhaps the most famous martini bar in the world. On the episode Alessandro shares his 50 year career in hospitality, the philosophy of Dukes, his …

1
1889 3:49

4M ago3:49

3:49

The year 1889 is so full of meaning in the history of the Great Plains. To Samuel Western (that’s his real name, seriously), it connotes the writing of constitutions, five of them, all in the Great Northwest — North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho — as authorized by Congress in the Omnibus Bill of 1889. He writes about them in his…

1
#21 Dawn Davies MW - Wine Masterclass: Regions, Varieties, Terroir, Biodynamic, Natural, Tasting, Closures, Storage, Enjoyment 2:10:05

4M ago2:10:05

2:10:05

Dawn Davies is a certified master of wine, former sommelier to the star, former head wine and spirits buyer for Selfridges, and has been the head wine and spirit buyer for the Whisky Exchange for the past 8 or 9 years. 00:00 What is Wine? 01:40 Where is Wine Made? Climate, New World & Old World, History, Soil 08:56 Wine Producing Regions of Note 15…

1
The Pasque 4:36

4M ago4:36

4:36

This sort of notice appeared ritually in the newspapers of the settler society on the northern plains sometime in April — I quote from the Griggs County Courier Democrat, 29 April 1909: "The pasque flower or prairie crocus, the first flower of spring, is showing its head above ground."By Tom Isern

1
#20 Lyndon Higginson - UK's Greatest Bar Entrepreneur, Dive Bars, Inspiration, Rum, Manchester 1:23:47

4M ago1:23:47

1:23:47

Lyndon is the designer a co-founder of more than 20 bars, pubs and restaurants in the UK including Crazy Pedros, Bunny Jackson’s, Junkyard Golf, Cane & Grain, and Southside. Through a complex range of business partnerships he has conceptualised and built these venues over only a little more than a decade, becoming probably the most successful Briti…

1
The Trachoma Outbreak 4:17

4M ago4:17

4:17

There was a certain irony in the determination of immigration authorities and aroused citizens of the early twentieth century to turn back immigrants at Ellis Island on account of the eye disease, trachoma. It was true that many Germans from Russia and others arrived with telltale granules of the disease under their eyelids. But it was also true th…

1
#19 Ian Stirling - Building a Vertical Distillery, Port of Leith, Fermentation, Regeneration, Sherry, Legacy 1:12:17

5M ago1:12:17

1:12:17

Ian Stirling is the co-founder of the Port of Leith Distillery, located in the historic port of Leith, Scotland. He’s also the co-founder of Lind & Lime Gin and runs a wine and spirits bottling and import business. The Port of Leith Distillery is one of the most remarkable in the world — a vertical distillery built like a tower block in an urban la…

1
Graft Pure and Simple 4:07

5M ago4:07

4:07

Trachoma, the contagious eye infection, was a serious complication for Germans attempting to immigrate here from Russia. I’ve already talked about the cases of Magdalena Klipfel of Ashley and Benedict Fried of Richardton in the early 1900s. Germans from Russia were not the only ones affected by public fears of trachoma among immigrants.…

1
#18 Charles MacLean MBE - The Scotchfather, Writing, How To Taste, Favourite Drams, Luxury Scotch, Historic Whisky, Charity, Legacy 3:10:28

5M ago3:10:28

3:10:28

Charles Maclean is a renowned Scottish whisky writer, expert, and author. He has written numerous books on the subject, including Whisky: The Water of Life and Scotch Whisky, and specialises in the history and culture of scotch whisky, along with the sensory evaluation of its appreciation. This interview took place at his residence in Edinburgh. Ex…

1
A Coyote in Manitoba 4:09

5M ago4:09

4:09

Trachoma, an infectious eye disease now handled readily with antibiotics, was considered a menace, the major cause of blindness, early in the twentieth century. It came to public attention in 1897 when Dr. Porter S. Wyman, surgeon general of the US Marines, issued a report calling trachoma a “dangerous contagious disease,” after which inspectors at…

1
#17 Jack Stein - Rick Stein, Television, What Chefs Eat, Fishing Industry, Cornwall 1:43:58

5M ago1:43:58

1:43:58

Jack Stein is a chef, author, and TV personality. He is the executive head chef of Rick Stein Group including the Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall, which recently celebrated its 50th birthday. On the episode we talk about 50 years of The Seafood Restaurant—how it all started as a nightclub, its transformation into a culinary institution, and…

1
Debarred! 4:08

5M ago4:08

4:08

In her 1941 book on the early history of McIntosh County, Along the Trails of Yesterday, Nina Farley Wishek writes of her life with the Germans from Russia among whom she lived. One chapter is entitled “German Maids Whom I Have Known,” for as the wife of the town’s leading business figure, Mrs. Wishek employed domestic help. Like other upper-class …

1
#16 Isabel Graham-Yooll - Whisky Detective, Counterfeits, Secondary Market, Valuation, Whisky Investment 1:47:03

5M ago1:47:03

1:47:03

Isabel Graham-Yooll is a leading expert in the world of fine spirits and the secondary market. She was the director of Whisky.Auction and before that, she worked as a spirits buyer at Bordeaux Index and Milroy’s of Soho. In 2024, she launched Wisgy, an independent consultancy specialising in old and rare spirits, helping collectors, investors, and …

1
#15 Salvatore Calabrese - The Maestro, Record Breaking Cocktails, Dukes Martini, Celebrity 1:55:48

5M ago1:55:48

1:55:48

Salvatore Calabrese has remained one of the leading figures in global cocktail culture for at least forty years. He has served kings, queens, presidents, and a string of Hollywood actors over a career that has seen him tend the bar at legendary Mayfair hotels such as The Dukes, The Lanesborough, Fifty St James, The Playboy Club, and most recently B…

1
#14 Antonio Amorim - How Corks Are Made, Cork Performance, Cork Taint, Sustainability 53:43

6M ago53:43

53:43

Antonio Amorim is the CEO of Amorim Cork, who over a 155 year history have become the world’s biggest producer of cork and cork products. Amorim produce 6 billion cork stoppers annually accounting for over 50% of the global market. Expect to learn the varied way in which infiltrates our lives, cork is harvested, processed and graded, how cork stopp…

1
#13 James Hoffmann - Coffee, Caffeine, World Barista Championships, Coffee Economics, YouTube 1:37:16

6M ago1:37:16

1:37:16

James Hoffmann is the best known coffee person in the world. He is the author of the World Atlas of Coffee, co-founder of Square Mile Coffee Roasters, former World Barista Champion, and the host of the James Hoffmann YouTube channel.Expect to learn how delicious instant coffee is made, how barista competitions work, the best ways to up your coffee …

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#12 Andreia Esteves - History of Drinking Vessels, Egypt, Wine, Greek Symposium, Poison 1:19:37

6M ago1:19:37

1:19:37

Andreia is an archaeologist and museum curator, working principally with the Art of Drinking Museum at the World of Wine in Porto, which holds more than 3,500 drinking vessels dating back 9,000 years. This episode was recorded and filmed in the museum, along with eight selected artefacts taken from the display cabinets that together total more than…

1
#11 Ryan Chetiyawardana - Mr Lyan, Language of Drinking, Magic of Bars, Fermentation, Top Whiskies, Sustainability 1:42:43

6M ago1:42:43

1:42:43

Ryan Chetiyawardana aka Ryan Cheti, aka Mr Lyan, is a bartender, bar operator, and author, known for his unique creative style and multi award winning bars in London, Washington DC and Amsterdam, including White Lyan, Cub, Dandelion, Lyaness, Silver Lyan and Super Lyan. Expect to learn about Ryan’s approach to creativity, how important language is …

1
#10 Dr. Nick Wykes - Setting Goals, Motivation, Internal Dialogue & Perspective 1:27:11

7M ago1:27:11

1:27:11

Nick Wykes is a former bartender and drinks consultant turned professional sport psychologist who holds a Master’s degree in Sport Psychology and a Doctorate in Sport Science. There is a lot to be learned from elite performers and how they set goals, manage adversity, and work with other people. These skills are certainly applicable to people who w…

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#9 Adrian Bridge - CEO of Taylor's Port, History, Challenges & Innovation, Port Tourism 1:50:23

7M ago1:50:23

1:50:23

Adrian Bridge is the CEO of Taylor’s, Croft, and Fonseca Port Wine brands, a hotelier, museum owner, and holder of perhaps the greatest collection of glassware on the planet. This interview was recored in one of Taylor’s port lodges on the banks of the Douro river. To watch it in full atmospheric 4K HD head to the Curious Bartender YouTube channel:…

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