Episodes

Had a great chat with Erik from Modern Bar Cart about my love of Victoria, BC, the force behind my second book, Great Northern Cocktails and so much more. Could have chatted for another hour about entrepreneurship, the industry and further beyond. Share a dram with the hospitality industry’s top global talents: bartenders, venue owners, distillers and industry aficionados. Shawn Soole has lived, breathed, and imbibed hospitality for decades. Now, he delves into the advice, opinions, and provoca...

Jason Williams is the Creative Director for Proof & Co. in Singapore and we chatted about his trek from Coolum in Queensland to Singapore along with creating gins including his own, Widges Gin and the story behind the innovative program, Eco Spirits from Proof and Co. He has 35 open projects open across the globe including the historic Pegu Club in Myanmar. Great insight into the inner workings of the company throughout APAC and his personal drive to succeed. Share a dram with the hospitality i...

We deep dive into an online presence, website design and social media marketing for all types of businesses from large to small. Trying to demystify how to create a reliable, sustainable and effective online strategy to get the biggest bang for your buck. Kristoff and I have partnered to build Exemplar LM, a specific media company for the beverage industry. Share a dram with the hospitality industry’s top global talents: bartenders, venue owners, distillers and industry aficionados. Shawn Soole...

Had an amazing and raw conversation with Christina Veira of Side Duties about the state of the industry, who work in advocacy and training, intersectionality in the industry along with some in-depth advice pieces of changing the culture in venues across the country and globe. If there is any episodes that you listen to, this is the one. Share a dram with the hospitality industry’s top global talents: bartenders, venue owners, distillers and industry aficionados. Shawn Soole has lived, breathed,...

This week's Post Shift Shot is a mash-up of advice about side hustles and entrepreneurship over the last year and a bit. I think side hustles, projects and entrepreneurship are more important than ever. Share a dram with the hospitality industry’s top global talents: bartenders, venue owners, distillers and industry aficionados. Shawn Soole has lived, breathed, and imbibed hospitality for decades. Now, he delves into the advice, opinions, and provocative stories that are helping to define the c...

Had a great chat with the husband-wife team behind Bittered Sling Bitters based right here in BC, a great bitters line that has been slowly taking over the globe for the last 8 years. We chat their backgrounds and get into the thought processes behind the brand, them meeting and the true nature of drinks entrepreneurship. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including barten...

This is a great episode with Miles Jones, Senior Commercial Manager Western Canada for anyone who ever wondered how brands like Aperol and Campari went from obscure to mainstream in five years, this is a really great insight how you can take a brand and make it mainstream using a couple of specific tips and tricks. Worth the listen to learn the mantra behind the whole Campari Group, not just their bitter line up. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole int...

Have you ever wondered the driving force behind Speed Rack to take it from a humble idea to a worldwide phenom? We have a chat with the dynamic duo behind the competition, the early days, the global success and the future. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including bartenders, venue owners, distillers and industry supporters. Get points of view, advice and the backstorie...

This is from an interview with Eugene from Rhum Bishop in Kenya, chatting about hospitality, industry mentorship and entrepreneurship. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including bartenders, venue owners, distillers and industry supporters. Get points of view, advice and the backstories every week. Brought to you by www.soolehospitality.com FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM – Shawn...

I have always admired Simon Ford, he was always a brilliant marketer and ambassador for the brands he backed. I wanted to get to the bottom of why he gave up a fantastic gig for taking the risk on his own brand, the pitfalls, the losses and the wins. Gets very raw on the topic of drinks entrepreneurship, if you are thinking of getting into business yourself, listen to this first. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality in...

Haley was actually one of my very first podcasts back at San Antonio Cocktail Conference in Jan 2019, but I butchered the audio and had to scrap the interview. So happy that I reconnected and got to chat to her about her obsession with food, drinks and of course her beloved Italicus. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including bartenders, venue owners, distillers and indu...

John is the man behind some seriously amazing events like World Class, Coachella and more. How did he go from bartending at a TGI Fridays in South Hampton to running a massive event, advocacy and training company in the US and everything in between. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including bartenders, venue owners, distillers and industry supporters. Get points of view...

This is for the My RodeCast podcast competition, a brief episode of my origin story; which I don't think I have ever told. Vote for it here! Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including bartenders, venue owners, distillers and industry supporters. Get points of view, advice and the backstories every week. Brought to you by www.soolehospitality.com FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM –...

With restaurants and bars reopening this week, I wanted to get a live stream Q&A with Ian Tostenson of the BC Restaurant and Foodservice Association and Jeff Guignard of ABLE BC. We chatted about the fundamentals int he reopening, new legislation and answered questions given before and during the Q&A. You can email Ian and Jeff directly with questions at itostenson@bcrfa.com and jeff@ablebc.ca. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of th...

Franky Marshall is a tour de force bartender out of NYC, we discuss where she has come from, how 2012 was a huge year for her, her love of all things French including the super obscure Pineau de Charentes and sticking to you guns; professionally and personally. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including bartenders, venue owners, distillers and industry supporters. Get po...

We look at the meteoritic rise to one of the top bartenders and consultants in the world. This was a great episode that covers so much about where Chris came from and his plans in the future. His outlook on the APAC market pre and post COVID is inspirational and you should apply the things happening in the Chinese hospitality market to your business. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from arou...

To give this man a title in the hospitality industry would be a grave disservice, flair god, OG mixology magician, just all-round industry legend. Dean started in small-town Ontario and took the flair world by storm, competing and organising competitions all over the world. He has been a mentor of mine since I could flair myself, great chat about what he's up to these days and what his plans are for the future. If you are a flairtender, this is the guy that helped catapult it. Join us every Tue...

Dean and I go back almost 20 years to our days starting out in Brisbane. The conversation was full of great stories, taking Monkey Shoulder world wide and the reason he started the Dean Callan Show. This was just a great catch up with an old friend. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including bartenders, venue owners, distillers and industry supporters. Get points of view...

This is the first of most likely 3 restaurant reopening episodes in the coming weeks. This one focuses on the BCRFA's recommendations to the government for restaurant reopenings. Some good pointers in here, ABLE BC sent me a few as well, along with Restaurants Canada. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including bartenders, venue owners, distillers and industry supporters....

Sit down with long time friend and mentor, Philip Duff and chat about his career, Old Duff Genever and the state of the hospitality industry in New York and the future of the industry as a whole. This is the second time Philip has been on the show, check out the first episode here. We also start the "Question of the Day", this one from Gerry Jobe, "Now that this is in full swing “reimagine” mode, are we all going to finally address the bullshit of Tip skimming from ownership? The practice of “ke...

One of the longest-standing brand ambassadors in the game, Charlotte has helped shape the way brand ambassadors are trained and respected. With a huge and diverse portfolio to work with William Grant & Sons, she gives insight into Hendrick's and how to make the transition and stay balanced as a brand ambassador. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including bartenders, venu...

Great to catch up with a dear friend and peer, Sven Almenning from Speakeasy Group and Ananas Academy, touching on the jump from consultant to the owner and then owner of multiple venues. This was a great eye-opener for any hospitality entrepreneur. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including bartenders, venue owners, distillers and industry supporters. Get points of view...

I took a larger view of the macro of small business this week and chatted to Michael Smith from Save Small Business.ca and chat about the things they are lobbying from the government along with changes they want to see stretch long after we see normalcy. This is a great big picture episode. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, Shawn Soole interviews some of the hospitality industries top talents from around the world including bartenders, venue owners, distillers a...

Side hustles and projects are more important than ever in this current climate of quarantine, but should you always have a side hustle, a passion project or something that can produce some passive income? Turn whatever your passion is into a source of income now and continue it after the lock down is lifted. I will show you the tools to go from A to B without breaking the bank and maximizing a little extra cash in your pocket. Join us every Tuesday & Friday as award winning industry stalwart, S...