TONIC TALKS

Rob Ellison Rob Ellison

TONIC TALKS - GRACE GONZALEZ

Grace Gonzalez is a fourth-generation distiller and brand ambassador at El Major Tequila. While in London, we talked to Grace about her family's history with tequila, the brand, and what it means to be a woman in a male-dominated industry.

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Rob Ellison Rob Ellison

TONIC TALKS - IMME ERMGASSEN

Imme Ermgassen is the co-founder of Botivo, an aperitif-inspired, slow-sipping botanical drink. I met her at Botivo's shiny new office bar to talk about where it all began, the genius of Botivo's co-founder, Sam Paget Steavenson, and her thoughts on the non-alcoholic category.

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Rob Ellison Rob Ellison

TONIC TALKS - MR LYAN

Ryan Chetiyawardana takes great pride in his business being a family affair. Despite his busy schedule Ryan, aka Mr Lyan, met me at his latest bar The Seed Library. During our conversation, Ryan shared insights on how he started, the challenges he faced along the way, his experience collaborating with other brands, the advice he would give aspiring individuals looking to venture into the hospitality industry, and how he maintains his motivation

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Rob Ellison Rob Ellison

TONIC TALKS - MALMSEY RANGAKA

Malmsey Rangaka is the co-founder and CEO of M'hudi Wines, a pioneering family-owned wine farm in Stellenbosch, South Africa. Alongside her husband, she founded M'hudi Wines in 2003, and by 2005, they released their first vintage. M'hudi Wines is the first wine tourism farm in the Stellenbosch Winelands to be 100 per cent owned and managed by a black South African family. We talked with Malmsey to discuss her story so far.

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Rob Ellison Rob Ellison

TONIC TALKS - SIMON FORD

Simon Ford is the founder of Fords Gin. In this interview, Simon tells us how he started the business, how he came to work with 11th-generation gin distillers, why bartenders are at the heart of the brand and why he made an album with the Handsome Boys Modelling Club.

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Rob Ellison Rob Ellison

TONIC TALKS - ILSE RUTHFORD

Compagniesdrift is not your average wine company. It is a black-owned business with women at its heart. It was launched in May 2015 by farm workers striving to be the best in a sector with little black representation.

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Rob Ellison Rob Ellison

TONIC TALKS - HENRY JEFFREYS

Henry Jeffreys is no stranger to TONIC magazine having written articles for us. We sit with him to discuss his latest book, Vines in a Cold Climate: The People Behind the English Wine Revolution. Henry tells us how he came to write the book, the characters he met along the way and why he's happy the book has swearing in it.

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Rob Ellison Rob Ellison

Tonic Talks - DIISTIL

Diistil is a company at the forefront of modern-day distillates and bespoke spirits. We spoke to Diistil's founder Raj Batra about the journey so far, working with some of the best bartenders in the world, his small but passionate team and plans for the future.

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Rob Ellison Rob Ellison

TONIC TALKS - ANTHONY GLADMAN

Tonic contributor Anthony Gladman talks to us about his new book - Gin: A Tasting Course. We find out how he came to write it, what it's like to taste 300 gins, how Old Tom Gin got its name and what his favourite Gin cocktail is.

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Rob Ellison Rob Ellison

TONIC TALKS - VENICE COCKTAIL WEEK

Paola Mencarelli is the founder of Venice Cocktail Week, we sat down with her to hear how Venice became the home of one of her newer Cocktail Week events.

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Rob Ellison Rob Ellison

TONIC TALKS - THE COCKTAIL BOTTLESHOP & BAR

Ciaran Smith was born for hospitality. Having workied at some of the best hotels in the world and previously set up a multi award winning bar Ciaran has a new project in the heart of Islington. Ciaran sits down to talk to us about it.

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