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The Philip Duff ShowAuthor: Philip Duff
Liquor, bars, cocktails: the people and companies who make them, sell them and drink them, plus everything & everyone in-between, with your host, globetrotting spirits guy and escaped bartender, Philip Duff. Language: en-us Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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#157, Eric van Beek, co-founder, Handshake Bar (Mexico City, #1 W50BB ‘24) & Shakerato (Amsterdam)
Episode 157
Monday, 27 April, 2026
I met Eric in Amsterdam in 2019 just before he moved to Mexico City to open his first bar there, and our paths have crossed a good bit since then, most recently at the Maybe Cocktail Festival in Sydney, where we got to hang out for almost a week. Eric started off in the world of basketball, training and playing in the US, switched to hospitality after returning to the Netherlands, and rapidly learned his craft, winning the global finals of Bacardi Legacy in 2018 and moving to Mexico City in 2019 to open a bar there. His second bar in CDMX, speakeasy Handshake, opened in 2021 and within just six months was on the 50 Best Bars list, winding up as #1 in 2024 and maintaining the top spot for 50 Best Americas in both 2024 and 2025. In late 2025 he finally opened the European cafe-style Shakerato in his native Amsterdam.This is a great episode, as Eric speaks with typical Dutch honesty on some of the tougher challenges he had on the road to opening a W50BB #1 bar. Eric on IG: https://www.instagram.com/ericvanbeek.carino/Handshake Bar: https://www.instagram.com/handshake_bar/Shakerato Bar: https://www.instagram.com/shakerato_bar/Ahorita Bar: https://www.instagram.com/ahoritacantina/ (Get in touch with Duff!Podcast business enquiries: consulting@liquidsolutions.org (PR friends: we’re only interested in having your client on if they can talk for a couple of hours about OTHER things besides their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is. They need to be able to hang. Oh, plus we don't edit, we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, nor listener or “reach” stats, either, and no, you can't sit in on the interview (or lurk on the Zoom.) And our AI automatically deletes pitch emails that are clearly written using AI. Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, liquor brand creation and repositioning: philip@liquidsolutions.orgPhilip on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipsduff/ Philip on Facebook: Philip Duff Philip on X/Twitter: Philip Duff (@philipduff) / Twitter Philip on LinkedIn: linkedin.com Old Duff Genever on Instagram: Old Duff Genever (@oldduffgenever) • Instagram photos and videos Old Duff Genever on Faceboo...
