The Cocktail Academy

Lindsey Johnson has spent nearly two decades quietly shaping the global drinks industry from behind the scenes. From punk bar bartender to broadcast journalist to founder of the world’s first bartender advocacy agency, Lindsey built Lush Life Productions on one simple principle: take care of bartenders and they’ll take care of everything else.

In this episode, we dive into how she bridges the gap between brands and the bar community, why hospitality professionals should be treated like VIP guests, and the uncomfortable truths about awards, recognition, and what really matters in this industry.

In this episode we cover:
Lindsey’s unconventional path from punk clubs to brand strategist
Why 80% of alcohol purchasing decisions are influenced by bartenders
The founding of Lush Life Productions and 19 years of bartender advocacy
Why brands still misunderstand the power of the bar
Economic downturns and why they often lead to smarter brand investment
The real reason some bartender programs fail
Why hospitality must be practiced towards hospitality professionals
Why awards don’t always equal impact
Social responsibility and bars as community safe spaces
Advice for bartenders who want to work with brands
Advice for small brands trying to grow strategically

Key Takeaways
If you want bartenders to champion your brand, feed them, respect them, and invest in them properly.
Showing up consistently matters more than chasing visibility.
Awards are nice — but mentorship and community-building matter more.
Smaller brands win by focusing deeply, not broadly.
Hospitality is not a buzzword. It’s logistics, care, trust, and follow-through.

Connect with Lindsey
🌐 Website: https://lushlifeproductions.com
📩 Sign up to the newsletter via the website
📸 Instagram:
@livethelushlife
@pdxcw (Portland Cocktail Week)
@camp_runamuck

If you enjoyed this episode, follow the show, leave a review, and share it with someone in hospitality who needs to hear it.
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In this episode, Damian sits down with Declan McGurk, a hospitality leader whose career spans high-volume bars, global spirits brands, and one of the most iconic hotel bars in the world.
Declan traces his journey from glass collecting and flair bartending in late-90s Leeds, through brand and sales roles in London, to managing the legendary American Bar at The Savoy. Along the way, he shares why systems matter more than stories, how classics training builds real confidence behind the bar, and why the martini remains the ultimate benchmark for hospitality standards.
The conversation also dives into his move to Boatyard Distillery, the realities of growing a spirits brand in a crowded market, and why bartender trust is still the most powerful driver of long-term success.
A must-listen for bartenders, managers, and drinks professionals who care about fundamentals, consistency, and genuine hospitality.

In this episode:
Starting out behind the bar and learning through structured training
Why everyone in hospitality is in sales (whether they realise it or not)
Lessons from The Savoy: consistency over personality
The martini as a diagnostic tool for bars and bartenders
Classics vs over-complicated cocktail menus
The current state of gin and why “real gin” still matters
What great hospitality actually looks like heading into 2026

Key takeaway:
Great hospitality isn’t about perfection, i t’s about standards, energy, and making sure nobody leaves unhappy, guests or staff.

🎧 Listen now and subscribe to The Cocktail Academy Podcast for more conversations with the people shaping modern hospitality.

Instagram 📲 Follow @welovecocktails for episode clips, insights, and bartender-focused content.
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Saeed “Hawk” House – better known online as @cocktailsbyhawk – joins Damian to talk about his path from Bay Area barback to LA content creator, why he still thinks like a working bartender, and how influencers with real bar chops can shape what guests drink around the world.
They get into the tension between “what works on Instagram” and “what works on a busy Friday night,” the responsibilities that come with reach, and Hawk’s campaign to make cocktails fun (and drinkable) again.

In this episode, we cover:
Growing up in the Bay Area, studying audio engineering and falling sideways into bartending via Burning Man and Chelsea’s nudge behind the bar
Building foundations at Cantina, Prizefighter, Perch and Mrs. Fish – and what high-volume vs high-craft venues each taught him
Picking up a GoPro, posting rough early videos and realising a working bartender could step into the influencer space
COVID as a turning point: brand deals, staying afloat and the decision to leave regular bar work for full-time content creation
The responsibility of bartender-creators: transparency around paid partnerships and learning to say no to brands that don’t fit
The inside story of the Batanga “conspiracy” and what it reveals about how online trends drive real-life orders
Balancing social-friendly recipes with drinks that bars and home drinkers can actually execute
Why Hawk is less interested in rotovaps and more focused on simple, repeatable cocktails you want four of—not just a one-off spectacle
How films, food and ingredients inspire his recipes, including a deep dive into his Joker-inspired cocktail build

About Saeed “Hawk” House
Saeed “Hawk” House is a Los Angeles–based bartender, consultant and full-time creator behind Cocktails by Hawk. After years in San Francisco and LA bars, he now partners with spirits brands, develops menus, runs a mobile bartending business and shares approachable cocktail content with a global audience.

Find Hawk: @cocktailsbyhawk on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and more.
Find The Cocktail Academy: thecocktailacademy.com · IG @welovecocktails · TikTok @welovecocktailsx
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From culinary classrooms to cocktail culture, Sother Teague has built one of the most distinctive bars in the world... Amor y Amargo in New York’s East Village by doing what few dared: saying no to juice, sugar and shakers, and saying yes to bitter, spirit-forward drinks built on precision and hospitality.
In this episode, Damian sits down with the bartender, author and educator to talk about how a career that began in kitchens shaped his approach behind the bar, why “bitterness is the grown-up flavour,” and how a 240-square-foot pop-up turned into a global benchmark for flavour integrity and service culture.

🧾 In This Episode
How Sother’s culinary discipline and mise en place mindset shaped his bar craft.
The story of Amor y Amargo’s accidental beginnings — and why it still hasn’t stopped “popping” 14 years later.
Building a bar around limitations and flavour focus: no fruit, no shakers, no syrups — only spirits, fortified wines and bitters.
Turning “no” into “yes, but…” — educating guests through experience.
The manifesto every team member receives: a two-way promise of mentorship, standards and care.
Why true hospitality is about feelings, not transactions.
New ventures: SAUCED, Sother’s upcoming podcast blending food, booze and creative friendship.

🍊 Key Takeaways
“We sell hospitality — everything else comes with it for free.”
The first 10 seconds at the bar are everything: eye contact, a menu, and a glass of water.
Great bartending starts with knowing your ingredients like a chef knows flavour.
Limitation can be a creative superpower.
Hospitality isn’t service — it’s making people feel welcome, comfortable, and cared for.

🔗 Links & Mentions
Follow Sother Teague → @CreativeDrunk
Amor y Amargo — amoryamargo.com
SAUCED Podcast → Check out the Kickstarter now live
I’m Just Here for the Drinks – Sother Teague’s essential book on spirits and flavour

Follow & Subscribe:
👉 Instagram @welovecocktails
👉 TikTok @welovecocktailsx
👉 Listen & support → thecocktailacademy.com
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On this episode, Damian Cole sits down with Jamie Lewis and Drew Fleming from Kiki Lounge — the award-winning bar bringing tropical escapism to the windswept Isle of Man. The pair share how a pandemic pivot turned a small-island nightclub into one of the UK’s most talked-about cocktail destinations, and why they chose to drop the word tiki in favour of something more authentic and inclusive.
They talk origin stories, supply-chain nightmares, and the creative freedom that comes with isolation. With only 80 thousand residents and every delivery arriving by boat, Kiki’s team have learned to plan months ahead, reuse everything, and turn scarcity into a design principle. From fermenting pineapple trim into milk punch to developing house “super-juice” for consistency, they prove sustainability can be both pragmatic and profitable.
Jamie traces his path from McDonald’s in Sheffield to running Bath & Bottle and opening his first pop-up in a hotel basement. Drew recalls starting as a 17-year-old glass-washer before discovering hospitality’s addictive rhythm and rising to co-founder. Together they explain how Kiki Lounge began mid-COVID as a one-room experiment and evolved into a purpose-built venue mixing neon, pop culture, and tongue-in-cheek tropical style.

The conversation dives deep into:
Island hospitality: how intimacy, consistency, and humour define service in a close-knit community.
Cultural awareness: moving beyond tiki stereotypes to celebrate joy and colour without caricature.
Sustainability by necessity: waste-free prep, local-first sourcing, and ingredient life-cycles that make sense on a small island.
The zine menu: an ever-changing printed magazine that educates guests (“What the **** is Kiki?”) and keeps the team inspired.
Hospitality outside the glass: the energy, soundtrack, and sense of fun that make a night at Kiki feel like an event.

Expect plenty of stories — from trading bar tabs for furniture in the early days to guest-shifts aboard the island’s heritage steam train. They also name their dream Kiki soundtrack (Spice Girls, Anderson .Paak, Madonna), confess the most Isle-of-Man thing that’s ever happened during service, and share their picks for overrated and underrated cocktails (spoiler: flavour-blaster bubbles out, 20th Century in).

Key takeaways for bar owners and bartenders:
You don’t need a big city to build a world-class bar; you need a clear identity.
Sustainability works best when it’s built into the workflow, not bolted on for PR.
Fun and professionalism can coexist — “we take what we do seriously, but not ourselves.”
Print menus can educate, entertain, and evolve with your guests.

Why it matters:
Kiki Lounge has redefined what island hospitality can be — proving that creativity, community, and a little irony can turn 36 miles of rock in the Irish Sea into a global cocktail destination.

Connect & Follow:
Kiki Lounge @kikis.lounge
Jamie Lewis @jamielewislewis
Drew Fleming @drewfleming00
The Cocktail Academy @welovecocktails | @welovecocktailsx
[email protected]

If you enjoyed this episode: share it with a hospitality friend, rate & review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and subscribe for weekly conversations with the bartenders, owners, and authors shaping modern cocktail culture.
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