Cocktails & Conversation

It’s always a pleasure to meet new friends. When I heard about Orlando’s first spirit-free speakeasy and tasting lounge, I wanted to invite Kevin Zepf of The Bandbox over to learn more! I love that so many bars and restaurants are offering a variety of Zero Proof Cocktails. Not only are more folks going sans alcohol, it’s nice to have the option if you want to have night off of booze. Kevin walks me through his new tasting lounge that opens on June 25th, what he did as a Marine Musician and how exploring his own city is his favorite way to spend a day! Plus there is a zero proof cocktail recipe in there incase you want a booze free drank. ENJOY!

If you know me at all, you know I love a good dance party. These two young ladies stumbled into some massive success about a year ago, with meeting the need for raging Taylor Swift dance parties. What started in Orlando has swift(ly), you’re welcome, grown to dancing across the USA! I chat with Courtney and Caitie about how they started Le Petite Feté, what in the world a Margarita Rash is, and how they are the exact same Enneagram numbers! Join us for some day drinking w my favorite Monkey 47 Dry Gin cocktails, that are literally perfect for a Hot-Hot Summer. ENJOY Darlings!

I ♥️ love meeting new friends and Jen Knopf was no exception! Life would be the most challenging without the capacity to read properly. Reading a recipe, holding down a job, reading street signs, all nearly impossible without understanding how all of the letters come together to make sense. Listen in as Jen shares her story on how she started her initiative, The Reed Charitable Foundation, to come alongside kids that need help in the reading department to get the assistance they need! We do some early afternoon drinking with Tito’s Vodka and some local (read: delicious) Limoncello, as well! ENJOY Darlings! 🥂

So much incredible work has come out of Orlando. Wouldn’t you agree? Sitting down with John Rivers was no exception. He is a bit of a (self proclaimed) perfectionist, which works out for us, since his brisket he perfected for 18 years. Plus, that sauce. (Insert a drooling emoji.) We chat his journey from having to figure out how to make life work at a very early age, to being able to take care of over a million people during a pretty challenging time. Plus, we get the scoop on all that is coming up with 4Roots Farm Campus! I did some day drinking by myself this time, so I made my favorite cocktail, a Blackberry Whiskey Sour with Woodford Reserve. Hope you will make this drink as you listen in. I can personally guarantee you will enjoy both!

Who likes to party? Whether that is your thing or not, it’s definitely a part of the downtown Orlando scene, which adds a lot to the flavor of Orlando! Dominique held Orlando’s first ever Nighttime Manager position, and honestly it’s one of very few in the country! She has loads of stories to tell including how she moved to and lived in NYC at 16, working with her brothers in the ever growing cannabis industry and why she started the Orlando Hospitality Alliance. Plus, I may have made up a new favorite Monkey 47 Gin cocktail called “Thyme’s Up.” You will have to listen in to get the recipe! Cheers.

If there’s something I really love, it’s meeting new people – well, most of them. If you are a new dentist, no thank you, but it was so delightful to meet and interview the new(ish) Mayor of Winter Park, a small-town gem, north of Orlando! Phil finished a couple successful careers, retired, and then decided it would a good idea to run for Mayor. He has incredible current and long-term plans for Winter Park! For the first time ever, I let my Guest bring the drink. Instead of a cocktail, we went straight for the hard stuff and sampled a midday tasting of Scotch! Enjoy these endless stories and hope you will sip on something delicious while you listen in!

Spending time with Teryn Tucker is truly one of the greatest delights one can enjoy in this life. Teryn has been my long-time hair stylist and keeps me in the beautiful blonde. Her story is so incredible, from her living in NYC on her own for a bit when she was 16, to intentionally losing her southern Georgia accent, to doing hair for Bella Hadid at NYFW. She is a true legend around this town. I made a perfect dusty rose colored cocktail called "Elk's Own" and it did not disappoint and neither will this episode! ENJOY!

During this Holiday Season, I wanted to chat with some of the most giving folks I know! Jim and Beth Hobart have been such active members of the Orlando scene. Beth has a wildly successful Real Estate business and Jim has too many projects to list here, but he has a long-standing photography business, MacBeth Studio. It’s hard to go out around town and not run into one of them. We get a sneak peek inside how they met, fell in love (after many years), and have had a successful 16 year marriage! Plus, we chat about how they love to give back to the Orlando community. I made them Hibiscus Lemon Gin and Tonics with my favorite Monkey 47 Gin. This is the LAST podcast of the year. Hope you ENJOY!

What a pleasure to have such a deep and vast community in Central FL. DJ Nigel John, aka Kurt Rambus, just makes Orlando better. If you've gotten out in the last couple of years, chances are you have witnessed the magic that Nigel brings to events. His story is forever fascinating. We chat about his first vinyl purchases, listening to KISS with his mother, and his alter ego Kurt Rambus. I made him a fall rum cocktail that you really should try. ENJOY this one!

What’s better than making new friends? Not much. It was a pleasure to meet a kindred spirit in Heather LaVine. I went from knowing a bit of Heather’s story, to knowing her journey quite well. There’s never a straight cut path in life and Heather’s story reflects that well. From the baseball through-line, to discovering the joy of a well-designed wine bar, to her starting the ever lovely Golden Hour Wine, right here in Baldwin Park, getting a front row seat to her story was thrilling! I made her a Classic Negroni with my favorite Monkey 47 Gin. I think you will most definitely ENJOY this one!

We can’t believe it either! It’s been 50 episodes of the Cocktails and Conversation Podcast. To celebrate this momentous occasion, I invited long-time Orlando Mayor, Buddy Dyer to join me on the podcast. I brought my little recording set up to City Hall and asked the Mayor some hard hitting questions. Kidding. But, I did get to find out how his first job helped him in his current job, what his real name is, and how he feels rested and renewed! Also spoiler alert, the Mayor’s go-to drink is so simple. You can make it in about 3 seconds flat: Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Club Soda, and Lime! Enjoy!

If there is one thing we can all agree on, it’s been one hell of a Global Pandemic. This past year has been a myriad of things ... Ups / Downs and everything in between. I invited my incredibly wise friend, Aaron Moore, over to chat about how this Pandemic has had an effect on our bodies and our Mental Health. I don’t know about you, but I have been really feeling it. Plus, I wanted him to speak about how getting into our bodies affects our brains. Aaron is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor at his practice, Solace Counseling. Aaron sips on a real simple and refreshing Tito’s Handmade Vodka cocktail and things get real DEEP! I hope you don’t sleep on this episode. ENJOY!

When you sit down with Tony Adams to hear all his stories, you better have time on your hands and a good amount of Whiskey. Lucky for me, I had both! I’m always so proud of the Orlando folks that, sadly, move away from Orlando, but create incredible careers and magical things around the country and the world! Tony is no exception. He shares how he knew he wanted to be a Chef since he was 14, how he has created the MOST DELICIOUS pasta company out of a Global Pandemic, Mill Valley Pasta Co., and how learning about the Enneagram just might be unlocking some things for him! Hope you make a couple of these delish Whiskey Sours and settle in for a wild ride!

Summer on Summer! So thankful to visit my friend Summer Singletary in San Francisco. She spent several years in Orlando learning how plants heal us and then gained experience worldwide. She helped to Co-Found The Kosmic Kitchen and has now moved onto her own ventures of Marketing for unconventional brands Warmly Summer and an Herbal Business Conference Emblossom Herbal. We chat her journey with herbs, her journey to SF, and her brand new journey with the Enneagram. Plus a delish and healthy-ish Tito's Handmade Vodka Cocktail. Please do ENJOY!

Spending time with adventuring friends is quite life giving. So glad I got to share some space with Chelsea Steele. A pioneering young woman from Orlando who has made her way to Los Angeles. She has already started and sold a mini-cultural phenomenon, has a couple songs out, and is now shopping her screenplay around the LA town. I'm tired just thinking of doing all those things. We shared one of my favorite (and hopefully yours, too) Tito’s Handmade Vodka Cocktails. Get the recipe and all Chelsea's wild stories in this episode. ENJOY!

First podcast on the road! So fun to check in with my filmmaker friend, Jon Strong. We chatted moving to Los Angeles from Orlando with his family, in the middle of a pandemic. Jon talks and talks and we are here for it. ; ) We chat his growing up in Orlando, how his family of origin influenced him as a dad, and his plans for living in Los Angeles! I made him one of my new favorite drinks, a Jungle Bird, made with Treaty Oak Rum, which I dare say, is the king of all Tiki drinks. You can decide for yourself, as I have included the recipe! ENJOY.

It’s no secret that I could talk about International travel all day and/or International food! So it was such a pleasure to chat with Katerina about her life that may or may not resemble “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.” She and her husband opened Taverna Opa, Tapa Toro and have a new Mexican concept in the works! Plus, she is headed to Greece in short order for her family Holiday (pack me in your suitcase please!). We got to sip on some tropical Tito’s Handmade Vodka drinks and chat all things entrepreneurship. We would love for you to listen in!

Well, we all gotta eat. And one of the best places to eat around town is Pig Floyd’s. I have to say we are more than blessed when it comes to incredible food and drink in Orlando! My friend Thomas Ward who created Pig Floyd’s came by for a chat and drink and shared some fantastic stories! We chat learning how to create delicious burgers by watching YouTube, going broke a couple times in adulthood, and his latest venue that includes PIIIIIIIZZZZZZZAAAAAA, which I am not mad about. Join us as we do some day drinking: Boulevardiers with Treaty Oak Ghost Hill Bourbon!

Well Cheers to new friends! It was so fun to invite someone NEW over into my home and on the podcast this time around. So fun to chat the Enneagram in depth and get to know an incredible story of courage and new adventures! We got to sip on some tropical Tito’s Vodka drinks, that I named after my new friend, and share in the wonder that is all the wonderful folks that live in Orlando! I know you will enjoy this one!

You don’t know Orlando if you don’t know Corinne Gammichia. She is the mastermind behind Alchemy Hair Salon. I would dare to say, Orlando’s most creative salon! These stories are PURE GOLD. She shares her journey with High School, why she still doesn’t have a full kitchen, and her road to being an adoptive mom to her incredible son, Seger! We may or may not have had Pineapple and Mango Waterloo Gin & Tonics at a morning hour, but I will say it was VERY worth it! DO NOT SLEEP ON THIS EPISODE.