All Episodes

Thinking long-term when developing a new drinks brand | Part 1/2 with Sebastian Barnick from Pleasant Land Distillery (Kent, UK) | 035

In Episode 035, I chatted with Sebastian Barnick, Director at Pleasant Land Distillery. Starting life in the Royal Navy, he became a certified distiller and WSET educa...

Bar Convent Berlin 2023 - Bonus Video Episode | Demystifying Gen-Z, how to build a brand that talks to all generations

This bonus episode was recorded at Bar Convent Berlin 2023, where Chris Maffeo held a presentation as a guest of Park Street University. Interested in having the sli...

From the right Bars to the right Wholesalers, Bottom-up | with Gaetano Chiavetta from Everleaf Drinks (London, UK) | 034

In Episode 034, I spoke to Gaetano Chiavetta. He heads UK & Italy On-trade at Everleaf Drinks | B Corp. He has previously worked for Global Brands and brings Bar Manag...

The Bottom-up Trade: aka where to build brands regardless if on or off-trade | Part 2/2 with Julian Marsili, Global Drinks Brand Director (Copenhagen, DK) | 033

In Episode 033, I continued the conversation I had in episode 032 with Julian Marsili. He is a Global Drinks Brand Director who has many years of experience in the dri...

Global Brands are built by Bus Drivers: how managers should look after brands for the next generation | Part 1/2 with Julian Marsili, Global Drinks Brand Director (Copenhagen, DK) | 032

In Episode 032, I enjoyed speaking to my friend and ex-colleague Julian Marsili. He is a Global Drinks Brand Director with many years of experience in the drinks busin...

Building brands bottom-up balancing Nordic minimalism with Italian flair | with Joonas Mäkilä, Co-founder of Mother's Milk Beverages (Helsinki, FI & Prague, CZ) | 031

In episode 031, Chris Maffeo had the honor of meeting in person with Joonas Mäkilä, a close friend and Co-founder of Mother's Milk Beverages, a Spirits Company based i...

The Future of Insights is sitting at the bar | with Paul Thomas, Global Insight Director at Beam Suntory (London, UK). | 030

In episode 030, I had the pleasure of talking to Paul Thomas. He is the Global Head of Shopper Insights at Beam Suntory. He has previously worked for Asahi Internation...

Building Bottom-up in the US 3-tier system | with Brian Rosen, Chairman of Growth Beverage (Chicago, IL, USA) | 029

In Episode 029, I had the pleasure of chatting to Brian Rosen. He is the Chairman of Growth Beverage and Founder of InvestBev, Sprout Beverage, Bev Strat and Algoma Ca...

Bottle Shops before Bars: starting at the liquid and work back towards the brand | with Duncan McRae, Co-Founder of Woven (Adelaide, Australia) | 028

In Episode 028, I had the pleasure of chatting with Duncan McRae, Co-founder of Woven Whisky and a Drinks industry veteran, having previously worked with William Grant...

Steven Grasse | Brand Mysticism: how to create winning brands from the bottom-up | Hendrick's Gin, Sailor Jerry Rum, Guinness, Miller High Life | 027

In episode 027 I had the honor of interviewing Steven Grasse. He is the founder of the renowned agency Quaker City Mercantile and of Tamworth Distilling. He is a legen...

Balancing Love & Money: how to build value for all the links of the value chain | Part 2/2 with Maurice Doyle, CEO of Compass Box Whisky (London, UK) | 026

This is the second part of the chat with Maurice Doyle, CEO of Compass Box Whisky. He is a business coach and brings 3 decades of industry experience, having held seni...

Starting from the Taste Profile: when liquids transcend categories and solve a customer's need. | Part 1/2 with Maurice Doyle, CEO of Compass Box Whisky (London, UK) | 025

This is the first part of the chat with Maurice Doyle. He's the CEO of Compass Box Whisky. He's a coach and brings three decades of industry experience, having held se...

Knowing Your Brand and Sticking To It: The importance of identifying your target occasion Bottom Up, not chasing trends | with Alex Ouziel Founder of 9diDANTE Vermouth & CEO of FIOL Prosecco | 024

In Episode 024, I had the privilege of interviewing Alex Ouziel, Founder of 9diDANTE Vermouth and CEO of FIOL Prosecco. He's a veteran of our industry, with many years...

Bootstrapping & Investors | How the founder's role evolves with scale | Part 2/2 with Paul Hletko of FEW Spirits and Goza Tequila (Chicago, IL, USA) | 023

In this episode of the Maffeo Drinks Podcast, we continue interviewing Paul Hletko, Founder of FEW Spirits & Owner of Goza Tequila. FEW was part of the vanguard of the...

Traditional to Modern Occasions | How they evolve and What Consumers Need | Part 1/2 with Paul Hletko of FEW Spirits and Goza Tequila (Chicago, IL, USA) | 022

In this episode, Chris Maffeo talks with Paul Hletko, Founder of FEW Spirits and CEO of Goza Tequila. He is one of the founding fathers of the Craft Spirits Revolution...

Co-Creating Vs Dictating in a Bar | Why you shouldn't worry about conquering a bar and instead fit in | Part 2/2 of the Interview with Alex Frezza, from L'Antiquario (Napoli, Italy). | 021

In this episode of the Maffeo Drinks Podcast, We continue interviewing Alex Frezza, Owner of L'Antiquario Bar in Naples, part of the World's 50 Best Bars. He's credite...

Decoding Cocktail Bars: Translating Between Consumer, Bar and Brand | Part 1/2 with Alex Frezza from L' Antiquario (Napoli, Italy) | 020

This is the first part of the chat I had the honor of having with Alex Frezza. He is the Owner and Founder of L' Antiquario in Napoli, currently number 46 on the Globa...

Negroni vs. Old Fashioned type of cities: how trending cocktails change between cities and can be used as target occasions | with Krista Schubert from Overproof (Miami, FL, USA) | 019

In this single episode, I had the pleasure of interviewing Krista Schubert from Overproof, an AI-powered market intelligence platform & field execution software for th...

Back Bars & Cocktail Menus: from being visible to driving rotation | Part 2/2 with Adrián Michalčík, Global Winner Diageo WorldClass 2022 (Oslo, Norway) | 018

This is the second part of the chat between Chris Maffeo and Adrián Michalčík. He is the Global Winner of the Diageo WorldClass 2022 and Global Top 6 in 2016. He is th...

Bar Scene dynamics: from advocacy programs to how to approach top bars | Part 1/2 with Adrián Michalčík, Global Winner Diageo WorldClass 2022 (Oslo, Norway) | 017

This is the first episode of the chat between Chris Maffeo and Adrián Michalčík. He is the Global Winner of the Diageo WorldClass 2022 and Global Top 6 in 2016. He is ...