TEASER!! Martini Expo III 2025

This is a TEASER in our Martini Expo series

Inside Track The Restaurant Guys were invited to be the official podcasters of The Martini Expo. They spent the day sipping and chatting with the greatest makers, stirrers and shakers on the planet!

Guests

Joe Magliocco is the president of Michter’s Distillery, where he has been instrumental in reviving the historic American whiskey brand. His company is involved in creating eco-sustainable Farmer’s gin.

Dale DeGroff known as “King Cocktail,” is a legendary bartender, author, and educator known for reviving the craft of the classic cocktail. Dale is a James Beard Award winner and founding president of the Museum of the American Cocktail.

David Wondrich is a cocktail historian, author, and James Beard Award winner recognized as one of the world’s foremost authorities on drinks and drinking culture. 

Robert Simonson, co-founder of The Martini Expo and The Mix with Robert Simonson, is an award-winning journalist and author who writes about cocktails. He has authored several acclaimed books, including The Martini Cocktail. 

Mary Kate Murray, co-founder of The Martini Expo and The Mix with Robert Simonson, is a drinks writer and event producer. Her career spans communications and media where she shares a deep love for the communal spirit of drinking.

Lisa Laird Dunn is the ninth-generation family member behind Laird & Company, America’s oldest licensed distillery and the historic producer of Laird’s Applejack. 

Info Martini Expo 2025 https://martiniexpo.com/

David's book The Comic Book History of the Cocktail 

The Mix with Robert Simonson https://robertsimonson.substack.com/

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Transcript

the-restaurant-guys_1_09-23-2025_164252: 0:29

Hello everybody and welcome. You are listening to the Restaurant Guys. I'm Mark Pascal and I'm here with Francis Shot. Together we own stage left in Ka Lombardi restaurants in New Brunswick, New Jersey. We are here to bring you the inside track on food, wine, and the. Finer things in life. This is the grand finale of the shows that we recorded at the Martini Expo in Brooklyn. It was tremendous. It was a grand day. It was a long day, but it was a grand day. We have Joe Mallo, then there's mayhem when Dale DeGraff attacks Joe Malco and then David wdr muscles into the room. And then in the end, Mary Kate Murray and Robert Simonson weaned their way in, and somehow Lisa Laird got in the tussle. I don't know exactly how that happened. Great show. Really. A fitting end to the Martini expo. We have Joe Mall, Yoko, so I snuck just a little bit of rye and bourbon talking. He's he whiskey man. He's, he's from mixers and also does farmer's gin. He's really interesting and maybe the nicest guy in the business. The good news, bad news though, if you are a restaurant guy subscriber, you'll be able to hear this whole entire wonderful episode, in its entirety. If, however, you are a free listener, much as we love you, this is gonna fade out in a couple of minutes and you'll miss the dramatic conclusion of the Martini Expo at Industry City in Brooklyn, where we taste one of the coolest things we've ever tasted. So this is as good a time as ever to subscribe, uh, and if you have already subscribed, thank you very much. You can always find out how to do this more At restaurant guys podcast.com. Enjoy the show.

salvatore_2_09-13-2025_181737: 1:50

All right, so we're at the Martini Expo. We've just, reeled in Joe Magliocco. Uh, now a lot of people know Joe because he is a, a graduate of Yale. He got his Harvard law degree. I know Joe because he brought Micers back to the world Whiskey man. Super, super important guy in my world as that's, that's really one of my absolute favorite bourbons and rise in the world. Uh, and now you're, you're doing this new farmer's gin and, and how cool is that? You're, you're still branching out and doing some cool stuff? Yeah, we're trying to do some good stuff. And first of all, thank you so much for having me on the restaurant, guys. Ah, we're so happy you're here. I really appreciate so much being here and, and just. To have the opportunity to be at the Martini Expo. Oh my God. It's with Robert Simonson, I should have expected that it would be absolutely wonderful. And Mary Kate Murray. It's really a cool event, by the way. Oh my God. So those of you who aren't here today, sorry. It's really cool. See you next year. Yeah. it's such a good event. It's so well done. I mean, I can't believe it's, it's so perfect for the first time it's ever been unbelievable. And then to see, like, you know, to have like your drinks made by like Dave W Salvador Calabrese like, oh my God. That's huge thing. I just, it's really cool. I just, took a, took a video of the bar, which we're gonna put up on social media. Yes. And behind the bar there were three bartenders, They were David Wdr, Salvatore Calabrese, and Takuma Avi. Yeah. I mean, it's like superstores. Well, you know what's funny about this event? You know, whatever it costs to get in. Have you any idea what it would, a cocktail would cost and a bar martini would cost. Right. Staff staffed by those three people, they're like, oh, I like a martini that is$975. Please. No, it, it's incredible. And it's interesting too because I've met several people here today. They're not industry people, they're just people who like cocktails. Oh yeah. Like martinis, like gin. I've met people from different parts of the world. Yeah. I thought people are traveling from amazing, far away to be at this. And they love it. They absolutely love it. it's chill. It is a sophisticated, chill event with like people that would have a line around the block. extraordinary. I just wanna say when I saw you here and, uh, we've only met briefly, yes. But I, I know you as the whiskey guy, kind of the mixers guy. Yes. Yeah. And I thought to myself, what's the whiskey dye, the Martini festival? I didn't know about Farmers General. Yeah. We gotta spend three minutes talking about mixers because it's so important. You're so kind. Um. you resurrected a, a really iconic brand that had gone bankrupt. Yeah. 89 went bankrupt. Right. You moved them to Kentucky. it's funny. Whiskey was so out of favor when we restarted, we acquired the mixers, uh, trademark for$245. Wow. So, I mean, yeah. But we, but we had no whiskey, no, no recipe. If you'd to sell that for. If you'd like to sell that for a tiny profit of a three 50, I would go three 50. Well, so Mixers was a, a very famous American whiskey brand. Sure. And like many whiskeys at the time, they don't really exist so much anymore. But Western Pennsylvania was a place that made whiskey. There were Pennsylvania whiskey. Absolutely. Uh, and then. they went bankrupt and you resurrected the brand, but you also, a lot of people resurrect a brand and they just, they don't really put a lot of thought into the whiskey. They put more thought into the marketing, but you took that brand and put it on top of really resurrecting quality whiskey, but important whiskey brand. You're, you're, you're very, very, you're very, very kind. You know, we, we concentrated on American rye when it wasn't popular at all. Yeah. Yep. And, we had tremendous help from the on-premise community, from bartenders like us to really help. Yes. Bring it back and, well, because seriously, I think that, I think there are a, and this is no, there are a lot of retailers who really do taste and really knowledgeable retailers now, which is different than it was when we started 30 years ago. But I think it was the on-premise guys who you could walk in and say, here, taste this. And even if you don't know what it is, you're like, oh, that's. Great, I'll take it. And, and they really became evangelists, like introducing people to like, you know, that Rye made great cocktails and you know what if you used a really good bourbon, you know, you can make a really good bourbon cocktail too. Yeah. Yep. And I think, I've been fortunate to work with really good production people. I try to sell the stuff. I don't make it myself. American whiskey. Is in a different position now than it was really 25 years ago. Yes. 30 years ago when I was getting started.'cause the whole industry's done a good job on quality. I we were very fortunate for, for the third time, you know, uh, drinks International outta London, their poll of a hundred whiskey experts around the world. We were named, for the third time the world's most admired whiskey. before us, an American whiskey was never. That's fantastic. It's some of the world's most admired and, um, and I think, but it's not, it's not just about us, it's about the category. Yeah. And I think this growing recognition that American whiskey can be really, really good. So Joe, you don't, you don't know this, but today, when I, when we were gonna be here, and I saw your name on the list, I saw you out. I know you're very kind and I went, I went to find you, but you don't know the reason I went to find you. So Francis and I do Instagram videos and we do all sorts of, different types of things. And often we'll be drinking whiskey in those videos. what many people don't know, and if you really follow me closely, I, I mentioned it enough times that, that, you know, this is true. if you are looking at me drinking whiskey in a video, nine times out of 10 it's Michter's 10 year rye. Wow. Because that is the rye that I cannot get enough of. Well, you're so kind. If you haven't had Michter's 10 year bourbon is spectacular, but specifically the rye is, is one of those gr and it's not cheap. It's a, it's an expensive rye at this point. Yeah, but it pun it punches above its weight. It's very, very extraordinary for so many reasons. It's spicy, it's got great viscosity. It's just a beautiful whiskey. So, so. Yeah, we're gonna talk about farmer's gin in a minute. Yeah, but I, I had to talk about that. Michter's 10-year-old rye. I love minter's American whiskey, and I love Minter's bourbon. I love minter's regular rye. But Michter's 10-year-old rye is a category alone. Yeah. you're, you're really kind. It. And it's interesting too, because there's so many great American r. But our rye is very much what we call Kentucky style rye. Mm-hmm. It is not like a 95% rye mashville. Right. It's a lot less rye than that. It's still a, obviously majority rye grain. Mm-hmm. But so you get good rye spice, but there's enough corn in there, there's enough malted barley in there. You get some other really nice flavor components going on and complimenting the nice spice and making it rich. And then too, you know, the fact is, at mixers, you know, we're privately held. Our goal, whether we're doing we'll, say whether we're doing it or not. The goal is to try to make the greatest American whiskey as we're trying to do and, Because we're privately held, we get to do things like, we release something not on based on a strict a statement, release it when it's ready. Mm-hmm. I mean, you know, uh, uh, the latest 10 year bourbon that released, you know, we releasing 10 year bourbon, that's actually 14 and a half years old to put all this stuff in the bottle. Mm-hmm. So we let our master distiller, our master maturation, Andrea Wilson, decide when stuff is ready. So there's a lot that goes into it, but I'm just so glad you like it. That's the main thing is you like it. It's, well, I'm, I've just done my self a disservice.'cause now there's a whole bunch of people who are, who are gonna be looking forward. They're trying to get that right. Yeah. They're less likely for me to get. No, appreciate it. But, uh, it really, I, I needed to tell you that and I wanted to tell you that in, in front of America. I wanted everybody to know that when you see me with that glass out there, nine times outta 10, that's, what I'm drinking is really appreciate It is that 10 year, 10 year rye. Very much appreciate it. We gotta talk about gin, right? We're at the martini expo. It's time to talk about gin. Yeah. Yeah. So, so gin. Um, my go-to when I'm not drinking whiskey is gin. I personally love gin. Mm-hmm. And there's so many wonderful gins. I like gin with a, with a good amount of juniper. And, uh, farmers, you know, I work between Chatham Import, which is the parent company of mixers. we do organic vodka Minnesota. the gin is, is distilled in Idaho. All of the grain comes from one. Organic farm in Idaho. Mm-hmm. Um, my friend Tim, corny is the farmer. I mean, it's all Tim. Corny is grain. Tim is very specific. He's sort of the father of organic and regenerative farming in Idaho. What sort of grain? Uh, it, it's actually wheat. Okay. Um, and Tim is like very particular and I got to know Tim well because we have a 2 5, 2 5 acre farm in Refield, Kentucky where we grow some of our own grain from mixers. And Tim was consulting on that and we became good friends. And he's just, he's just a brilliant farmer and farming's hard. Yeah. I, I never realized if farming's not, so farming is, is the hardest job there is. Yeah. It really is. I, I don't, I don't know of a harder job than farming. I mean, you're so dependent on nature. Mm-hmm. And just so many different things can go wrong. it's like making whiskey, you know? You need really good ingredients. Yeah. And, the better the ingredients, the better chance you have to come out with something really good. And, you know, and, we have a team, um, our, our M'S team actually works. on the farmer's gin. Um, they go to Idaho. they do the botanical infusion in Idaho. Um, they're very particular about the juniper that we pick. And it also has an interesting flavor profile.'cause we tried it, we tried it with lemongrass. It was nice, tried it with elder flower. It was nice. When you put that a certain amount of elder flour and lemongrass in with the type of juniper we use, you get a really nice medley of flavors that's really wonderful and sort of accentuates each other. Rick Robinson is our Chief Product Officer, uh, uh, you know, does a lot of work on the farmers, Jen, and I think he's done a really, really good job. it's regenerative, organic, and, um, you know, we enjoy it. We think it makes a nice martini. So let's talk about martinis'cause we're here at the Martini Expo people who come from all over the world to be here? Sure. Do you see a kind of a renaissance of interest in the martini? Absolutely. And why is this here, why is this happening now? You know, that's such a, that's such a great question. And I'm, I'm not really sure, but you know. First of all, it's a wonderful drink. It's a classic drink, but it's also, and, and it's a word that I've heard used at these seminars here, and the seminars have been terrific that, that Robert's put together. Um, it's experiential. Mm. it's not just about how it tastes, it's about how it's made and how it's served to you and how it's presented. Yeah. I love that. I love that you've ice and the cold glass. It's a ritual. You're James Bond. Exactly. You're drinking a martini. You're James Bond. Exactly. That's a great, that's a great, no, seriously. Yeah. but we see. All different types of people everywhere, you know, we export a, a farmer's gin is actually a really good export market for us. and at Chatham, which is a sales agent for mixers and apparent oficers, we export to 83 countries. Wow. And we see, we see martinis growing, not just in the US but worldwide. Substantially. Well, so let me ask you a question. I want to ask you a couple of rapid fire questions, please. One. We've been doing seminars all day. You make gin mar you, you're aware of the cultural place of martini. We, we have a visitor joining us. Mr. DeGraff. How are you? That noise, that degra busting now. Now we got it. We are just talking about you. So, what makes a martini a martini? Look, I, I think that there's been a lot of poetic license. Look, espresso martinis are hugely popular and, but as somebody who likes a really good, you know, dry gin martini, personally, it's, it's, you know, it's, it's, it's not my, you know, it's not my personal preferred drink. Okay. So is an, if it's an upas, is an espresso martini? A martini is a chocolate martini, a martini? Do they call? They call it, they call it a martini. I know. My question is, is that legit? They. I, I think that there's a lot of creative bar people making really good stuff Uhhuh, and, I encourage the creativity. Let your martini flag fly. I think, I think, I think got, I think, I think people should drink what they enjoy. Amen. Joe, I agree with you. And as a guy who has an espresso martini and a chocolate martini. On my list. They're not martinis. Yeah. Alright. There's only martini in the name Dale DeGraff just entered the room. Let's, let's go with martinis. With martini. In name only Dale DeGroff What makes a martini? A martini? Well, please give me at least vodka and Jen at least some kind of fortified wine product. Something you, you know, sharing, whatever you know, so you're sort of, kind of in it. But those martini menus of the nineties with. Spiced from and pineapple juice. You know, I mean, not a martini. Yeah. All right. There are standards, we just dunno what they are. That's the debate. And the best way to figure that out is for us all to drink more martinis.