#176, Ibrahima Guenne and Lorenzo Cisi, owners, MUGI Bar, Barcelona

I met Lorenzo and Ibrahima just last week, and their Japanese-style cocktail bar, Mugi, which opened in Barcelona in April of this year, impressed me so much I wanted to get them on the podcast to tell their story. They're both Italians (tho Ibra was born in Burkina Faso), met while bartending in London (of course), and developed a deep love of Japan (they are Japalian!) and its traditions while working in top places like Roka and Coya, before moving to Barcelona. We talk about their hospitality journey, why they opened in Barcelona and not Madrid, how the reception has been, how they teach about sake and shochu, why we all love awamori, and why the most popular section of their menu is "Japan meets Mexico". And lots more - enjoy!(Shout-out to Bianca Grisolia, whose Barcelona-based firm BG Communication arranged a presentation, for us Barcelona Hotel Bar Week* attendees, of the Mugi cocktail and food menu last week. Drinks and food are DELISH!. *BG Communication also created Barcelona Hotel Bar Week)Mugi Bar IG: https://www.instagram.com/mugibar.bcn/Ibrahima Guenne: https://www.instagram.com/ibraguenne/Lorenzo Cisi:https://www.instagram.com/cisilorenzo/BG Communication: https://www.instagram.com/bg.communication/Barcelona Hotel Bar Week: https://www.instagram.com/barcelonahotelbarweek/ (Get in touch with Duff!Podcast business enquiries:  [email protected] (PR friends: we’re only interested in having your client on if they can talk for a couple of hours about OTHER things besides their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is. They need to be able to hang. Oh, plus we don't edit, we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, nor listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview (or lurk on the Zoom.)  And our AI automatically deletes pitch emails that are clearly written using AI. Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: [email protected] on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipsduff/ Philip on Facebook: Philip Duff Philip on X/Twitter: Philip Duff (@philipduff) / Twitter Philip on LinkedIn: linkedin.com Old Duff Genever on Instagram: Old Duff Genever (@oldduffgenever) • Instagram photos and videos Old Duff Genever on Faceboo...

Natasha is a whole bundle of energy: raised in the Dominican Republic, she moved to NY young and amassed an impressive background bartending and managing in New York at places like Zuma, Llama Inn & Llama San, and, now, ruling the roost at the New York outpost of Ryan Chetiyawardana's Seed Library, whose first branch opened in 2022 in Shoreditch, east London. Enjoy!Natasha on IG: https://www.instagram.com/natashita/ (Get in touch with Duff!Podcast business enquiries:  [email protected] (PR friends: we’re only interested in having your client on if they can talk for a couple of hours about OTHER things besides their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is. They need to be able to hang. Oh, plus we don't edit, we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, nor listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview (or lurk on the Zoom.)  And our AI automatically deletes pitch emails that are clearly written using AI. Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: [email protected] on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipsduff/ Philip on Facebook: Philip Duff Philip on X/Twitter: Philip Duff (@philipduff) / Twitter Philip on LinkedIn: linkedin.com Old Duff Genever on Instagram: Old Duff Genever (@oldduffgenever) • Instagram photos and videos Old Duff Genever on Faceboo...

Adam's a veteran of legendary Manhattan restaurants including Babbo, Carbone and The Grill (formerly The Four Seasons) and became an award-winning writer for publications including Bon Appetit, The Wall Street Journal, Grub Street and many more.His new book The New Rules of Dining Out is fabulous - maybe the first-ever dedicated guide to enjoying yourself more in restaurants (and bars) by knowing the best way to treat the staff, deal with issues and generally be the kind of guest staff can't wait to wait on. This was a GREAT ep - enjoy!Adam on IG: https://www.instagram.com/dopereiner/?hl=frAdam on X/Twitter: https://x.com/adamreiner?s=11&t=kTsTPMPK0kgHLvK8ldrFXQAdam's Bon Appetit article about his book: https://www.bonappetit.com/story/will-guidara-unreasonable-hospitality-criticism?srsltid=AfmBOoodl8zGAWjryOujS9Z7DoUN9y5c-aPjz1xxxzcyNh7HTUMws6fOBuy "The New Rules of Dining Out" from an independent bookseller: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-new-rules-of-dining-out-an-insider-s-guide-to-enjoying-restaurants-adam-reiner/f26a3fef9732ff92?ean=9780807185049&bkshp-astro=t (Get in touch with Duff!Podcast business enquiries:  [email protected] (PR friends: we’re only interested in having your client on if they can talk for a couple of hours about OTHER things besides their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is. They need to be able to hang. Oh, plus we don't edit, we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, nor listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview (or lurk on the Zoom.)  And our AI automatically deletes pitch emails that are clearly written using AI. Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: [email protected] on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipsduff/ Philip on Facebook: Philip Duff Philip on X/Twitter: Philip Duff (@philipduff) / Twitter Philip on LinkedIn: linkedin.com Old Duff Genever on Instagram: Old Duff Genever (@oldduffgenever) • Instagram photos and videos Old Duff Genever on Faceboo...

Officially our most-interviewed guest, me and Tony did our first-ever intercontinental podcast via satellite, and we jammed in  a whole lot - spicy margs, Drastic Dave firing 36% of the staff at Diageo's NY HQ, how the UK as a whole apparently drinks fewer martinis in a year than the legendarily thirsty guests of Bemelmans Bar in NY, and a bunch more. We also conducted a tasting of exquisite spirits (Tony) and random stuff I found lying around my host's apartment here in Spain, some of which was legit delish. Enjoy!Tony on IG: https://www.instagram.com/retromannyc/?hl=enTony's website: https://www.tonysachsdrinks.com/what-im-writing (Get in touch with Duff!Podcast business enquiries:  [email protected] (PR friends: we’re only interested in having your client on if they can talk for a couple of hours about OTHER things besides their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is. They need to be able to hang. Oh, plus we don't edit, we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, nor listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview (or lurk on the Zoom.)  And our AI automatically deletes pitch emails that are clearly written using AI. Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: [email protected] on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipsduff/ Philip on Facebook: Philip Duff Philip on X/Twitter: Philip Duff (@philipduff) / Twitter Philip on LinkedIn: linkedin.com Old Duff Genever on Instagram: Old Duff Genever (@oldduffgenever) • Instagram photos and videos Old Duff Genever on Faceboo...

Shannon is an utter powerhouse, and after seeing her nail it at Death & Co, then the American Bar at the Savoy, then the ultimate (massive) rock 'n' roll venue Outernet London, it came as no surprise she was tapped to be Director of Mixology for the Venetian - 1st or 2nd largest resort IN THE WORLD! - in Las Vegas. So we had to talk. This is a good one. Shannon on IG: https://www.instagram.com/Shannontebay/ (Get in touch with Duff!Podcast business enquiries:  [email protected] (PR friends: we’re only interested in having your client on if they can talk for a couple of hours about OTHER things besides their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is. They need to be able to hang. Oh, plus we don't edit, we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, nor listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview (or lurk on the Zoom.)  And our AI automatically deletes pitch emails that are clearly written using AI. Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: [email protected] on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipsduff/ Philip on Facebook: Philip Duff Philip on X/Twitter: Philip Duff (@philipduff) / Twitter Philip on LinkedIn: linkedin.com Old Duff Genever on Instagram: Old Duff Genever (@oldduffgenever) • Instagram photos and videos Old Duff Genever on Faceboo...

I met Allen in an Amsterdam bar in 2008, and everyone in the US scene already knew him; I assumed he'd been a bartender and transitioned into education & consulting, as so many of us did in the late 1990s and early 2000s. But the truth is much cooler! From growing up in Baltimore, living in NY as an aspiring musician, running a cooking school in Italy to becoming part of the Slow Food organisation, hosting a tribute to Jerry Thomas at the Plaza Hotel, being central to cocktail & spirits education for America's largest distributor and then founding NY Distilling Co and creating Dorothy Parker gin and - now - Jaywalk Rye, as well as making "Empire State Rye" a protected category, Allen really has done it all. We recorded at NYDC's gorgeous new home in Bushwick, which you really should visit Allen on IG: https://www.instagram.com/nydistilleryman?igsh=MXN1bTVlYXpzeWc5YQ==NYDC on IG: https://www.instagram.com/nydistilling?igsh=c2pqMjdyMTFmcnFyNYDC: https://www.nydistilling.com/ (Get in touch with Duff!Podcast business enquiries:  [email protected] (PR friends: we’re only interested in having your client on if they can talk for a couple of hours about OTHER things besides their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is. They need to be able to hang. Oh, plus we don't edit, we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, nor listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview (or lurk on the Zoom.)  And our AI automatically deletes pitch emails that are clearly written using AI. Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: [email protected] on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipsduff/ Philip on Facebook: Philip Duff Philip on X/Twitter: Philip Duff (@philipduff) / Twitter Philip on LinkedIn: linkedin.com Old Duff Genever on Instagram: Old Duff Genever (@oldduffgenever) • Instagram photos and videos Old Duff Genever on Faceboo...

J'Nai, a born-and-raised New Orleanian, is lead bartender at The Chandelier Bar inside the rather ritzy Four Seasons New Orleans, was just nominated into the final 4 for "US Bartender of the Year" at the 2026 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards, makes content with her companies Pretty Magic Cocktails and Magic House Media, and is also awesome (we met on a shoot for Australian Bitters Co. that involved us, ahem, "taste-testing" Sazeracs at 10am in the Old Absinthe House on Bourbon St) and great fun, so onto the Philip Duff Show she goes!We talked about her upbringing, swerving from dentistry to bartending, how she got into the industry and into craft cocktails, finding her own voice, being Black in big-city New Orleans versus small-town Georgia, political polarisation , the joy of dive bars and how she just wants to be able to eat all of the garnishes, all the time! J'Nai on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jnai.angelleMagic House Media: https://www.instagram.com/magichousemadeitPick Up My Shift: https://www.instagram.com/pickupmyshiftPretty Magic Cocktails: https://www.instagram.com/prettymagiccocktails (Get in touch with Duff!Podcast business enquiries:  [email protected] (PR friends: we’re only interested in having your client on if they can talk for a couple of hours about OTHER things besides their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is. They need to be able to hang. Oh, plus we don't edit, we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, nor listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview (or lurk on the Zoom.)  And our AI automatically deletes pitch emails that are clearly written using AI. Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: [email protected] on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipsduff/ Philip on Facebook: Philip Duff Philip on X/Twitter: Philip Duff (@philipduff) / Twitter Philip on LinkedIn: linkedin.com Old Duff Genever on Instagram: Old Duff Genever (@oldduffgenever) • Instagram photos and videos Old Duff Genever on Faceboo...

Well, we - meaning me - survived Tales!(not that Delta Airlines were any bloody help). Here's a recap of what I did, where I went and how I think it all shook out, including of course some  - sometimes salty - commentary on the Spirited Awards, said commentary applying to all the the other awards, Lists, nominations and suchlike that now bedevil our once-tranquil industry. Enjoy! (Get in touch with Duff!Podcast business enquiries:  [email protected] (PR friends: we’re only interested in having your client on if they can talk for a couple of hours about OTHER things besides their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is. They need to be able to hang. Oh, plus we don't edit, we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, nor listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview (or lurk on the Zoom.)  And our AI automatically deletes pitch emails that are clearly written using AI. Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: [email protected] on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipsduff/ Philip on Facebook: Philip Duff Philip on X/Twitter: Philip Duff (@philipduff) / Twitter Philip on LinkedIn: linkedin.com Old Duff Genever on Instagram: Old Duff Genever (@oldduffgenever) • Instagram photos and videos Old Duff Genever on Faceboo...

I didn't realise Leslie was the person behind Matchbook Distilling until I had her brother, Andrew Merinoff, on the show (Episode #154, here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3Qgz2nPJNYyrVu4MnHoLfd?si=Ypn5UXXlTMii5zNOD_1KrQ )I was aware of Matchbook, you see, because as well as making their own mindboggling spirits, Matchbook are spoken of reverently by the very best bars in New York, such as Death & Co., Eleven Madison Park, Shinji's (RIP), Schmuck, and more, for the custom distillates they will co-create with such bars to form the basis of truly unique cocktails.   So when I learned Leslie was the powerhouse behind this all I badly wanted to have her on the show - we just had to wait a couple of months, as she was 8 months pregnant (and still working!) when I first contacted her, not long after I had had  Andrew on. The day finally came, and the conversation was amazing. She's had a wild route into this industry, from being born into American liquor royalty on both sides of her family, to home brewing in high school and college, immersing herself in the world of fruits and grains and vegetables, founding Matchbook, being awarded Distiller of the Year (2025) - and even becoming an innkeeper. If you're even mildly interested by distilling, this is the episode for you. Leslie on IG: https://www.instagram.com/thebookofbam/Matchbook on IG: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.instagram.com/p/DZOIkukumxH/&ved=2ahUKEwi7muvuzLyVAxXEF2IAHU9gNKoQFnoECB4QAQ&usg=AOvVaw22tx7IOUyWGccq-Kw8L6ufBuy Matchbook products: https://mdcdropshop.com/collections/allStay at the Lin Inn: https://linbeachhouse.com/ (Get in touch with Duff!Podcast business enquiries:  [email protected] (PR friends: we’re only interested in having your client on if they can talk for a couple of hours about OTHER things besides their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is. They need to be able to hang. Oh, plus we don't edit, we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, nor listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview (or lurk on the Zoom.)  And our AI automatically deletes pitch emails that are clearly written using AI. Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: [email protected] on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipsduff/ Philip on Facebook: Philip Duff Philip on X/Twitter: Philip Duff (@philipduff) / Twitter Philip on LinkedIn: linkedin.com Old Duff Genever on Instagram: Old Duff Genever (@oldduffgenever) • Instagram photos and videos Old Duff Genever on Faceboo...

Toby is a veteran bartender and mixologist, who added high-level mixology to his legendary drinkmaking speed with stints at Milk & Honey (NY), The Violet Hour (Chicago) and Mother's Ruin, before turning his hand to (as well as consulting on bar programs) writing and co-authoring "The Bartender's Manifesto" with Emma, which won a James Beard award, and most recently "The Classic Cocktail Sessions" a prequel to the Manifesto. Emma is an acclaimed Chicago-based spirits, cocktail and bars writer and author, and has won numerous James Beard awards in addition to the one for The Bartender's Manifesto. This was really a chat about both the books they've written together, as well as the industry as a whole - enjoy!Emma on IG: https://www.instagram.com/emmajanzen/?hl=enToby on IG: https://www.instagram.com/tobycocktail/?hl=enBuy the Bartender's Manifesto from an independent bookshop: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-bartender-s-manifesto-how-to-think-drink-and-create-cocktails-like-a-pro-emma-janzen/46c7cc8bda6b756b?ean=9780593137987 Buy the Classic Cocktail Sessions from an independent bookshop: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-classic-cocktail-sessions-a-bartender-s-new-fashioned-approach-to-the-world-s-most-beloved-recipes-emma-janzen/583e258db56145d2?ean=9780593798584 (Get in touch with Duff!Podcast business enquiries:  [email protected] (PR friends: we’re only interested in having your client on if they can talk for a couple of hours about OTHER things besides their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is. They need to be able to hang. Oh, plus we don't edit, we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, nor listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview (or lurk on the Zoom.)  And our AI automatically deletes pitch emails that are clearly written using AI. Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: [email protected] on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipsduff/ Philip on Facebook: Philip Duff Philip on X/Twitter: Philip Duff (@philipduff) / Twitter Philip on LinkedIn: linkedin.com Old Duff Genever on Instagram: Old Duff Genever (@oldduffgenever) • Instagram photos and videos Old Duff Genever on Faceboo...