Shift Drink

You can’t escape the topic. Seemingly, everyday Trump goes on social media announcing new tariffs in an effort to bully other nations into submission. But in the meantime, Americans are the ones getting hurt. And that hurt has the p0tential to metastasize across the global wine community. Today I have wine importer Lyle Fass [https://www.fassselections.com/] on the show to talk about the damage that even relatively small tariffs will bring to the wine industry. It isn’t as simple as “buy American wine”. They’ll be suffering as much as everyone else. Lyle refers to the proposed 200% tariffs as an “extinction level event” for the wine industry. The nuance that gets missed in all the talk from politicians is the real-world effects they will have on hardworking American workers and entrepreneurs. It will touch everyone, especially those in ancillary businesses: importers, producers, distributors, truck drivers, warehouse workers, restaurants & bars, sales representatives, and the list goes on. Even the talk of tariffs is enough to send the industry into a panic and cancel orders from abroad. Listen in. It’s important. And, if you’re in the USA, please call or write your congressperson.

Cory Starr has helmed some of the most well-respected cocktail programs in the country. But a few months ago, he took his biggest job yet… he is now running the show at the Mai Kai [https://maikai.com/] in Fort Lauderdale. The Mai Kai is a tiki institution — in a class of “survivors” from tiki’s golden age. Originally opened in 1956, it was designed to be a Polynesian paradise to rival trendy Polynesian palaces of the West Coast. At the time, it was the most expensive restaurant that has been built in the United States. There was a catastrophic fire and resulting water damage in 2020. Millions of dollars of damage. And there were a lot of questions whether or not it would ever reopen. But, in November of 2024, the doors opened once again. And this time, respected barman Cory Starr [https://www.instagram.com/maikai_cstarr/] was at the helm of the massive bar program.

Over the last 10 years, restaurants and bars have placed a much bigger emphasis on their cocktail program. And one segment where this is most apparent is the world of fine dining. Until recently, these Meccas for haute cuisine have largely only served wine and offered wine pairings. But as bartenders got more savvy and chefs wanted to integrate some of the drinks that they personally enjoy, that area of the industry started to offer cocktail pairings, and in some cases, open whole cocktail lounges that operate as their own fine dining experience. Today’s guest, Stevan Miller [https://www.instagram.com/stevanmatthewmiller/], is the Beverage Director at Esmé [https://www.esmechicago.com/] and Bar Esmé [https://www.esmechicago.com/about-bar-esme] – Chef Jenner Tomaska’s homage to fine art as interpreted through his cuisine. This is a lofty goal in itself, but Chef Tomaska tapped Stevan Miller to work alongside him to bring that vision to reality with the beverage menu. Miller also hosts the Balanced Hospitality [https://www.balancedhospitality.com/] podcast where he interviews people in the food and beverage industry that are offering up new ways of operating and innovating the world of hospitality to make positive and lasting changes for our community and beyond. So “smash” that like button and subscribe!

For the final episode of 2024 I’ve got a fun one for you. This week, we departing from the norm a little. Well, a very little. We’re talking Tiki, but this week I’ve got two aficionados on the show to talk about seeking out the world’s best Tiki, tropical, and rum bars. When Tikiphiles travel, it’s a given that a search of bars in the area will be one of the first tasks before arriving. But what makes Dan and Kane McGee unique is that they travel for business. And that business is managing some of the biggest rock and pop tours in the world. They’re currently traveling with Justin Timberlake and the tour stopped by Indianapolis long enough for us to drink far too much, and to sit and have a chat about their unique lifestyle. I always have a lot of fun with these two (and Dan’s other son, Josh, that just wrapped up his tour with ELO, so couldn’t make it) and I hope you enjoy this conversation between friends that have a shared love of cocktails, tiki, and music.

Everyone gets everything he wants. I wanted another interview. And for my sins, they gave me one. It took 5 years to recover from the last “interview [https://shiftdrinkpodcast.com/fear-and-loathing-with-beachbum-berry/]” on Shift Drink, and we’re finally ready to do it again. Given our personal history of overconsuming together, it was best to make this interview happen remotely to avoid the pitfalls that we know all too well. Beachbum Berry returns to the show this week to talk about his recent travels, cruising around the Caribbean with Dave Wondrich, the early days of the Tiki Renaissance, the frustrations of opening a tiki bar later in life and, of course, to talk about Sippin’ Santa’s Surf Shack [https://www.sippinsantapopup.com/]! It’s all here and this time in Tiki-Vision-3D!