Trade & Consumer Courses
Despite a jet-set lifestyle that can have her styling cocktails in Hawaii one day and filming for national TV the next, independent consultant & educator Elayne Duff, first love is talking craft cocktails with bartenders and consumers alike.
Nominated for a James Beard Award, Elayne has spent her career learning and teaching others everything she could about spirits and cocktails. She was Diageo’s first-ever Luxury Brand Mixologist and spirits educator; she graduated from the first-ever class of the grueling 5-day B.A.R program in New York, earned her WSET Level 3 Spirit certification & a Level 1 Cicerone. To perfect her skills, she interned at globally recognized, award-winning New York bars, The Dead Rabbit, the three-Michelin-star restaurant Le Bernardin, and the Nomad.
"Elayne is an absolute joy to watch working; her energy and enthusiasm is unrivaled," says Sean Muldoon, Dead Rabbit. "She is well-liked and highly respected by all who know her and is one of my favorite people in the entire industry."
Elayne is an in-demand speaker, has spoken at bar shows around the world, having filled rooms as far afield as Copenhagen (Copenhagen Spirits & Cocktails), Berlin (Bar Convent Berlin), and Canada (Art of the Cocktail, Victoria, BC), as well as massive national events in the US like Tales of the Cocktail (New Orleans) and the Nightclub & Bar Show (Las Vegas).
Elayne's infectious passion for cocktails and polished presentation skills made her Diageo's go-to person for media. She was one of the most-requested mixology experts on Spike TV's hit "Bar. Rescue" show, as well as being Andy Cohen's favorite bartender on-set for "Watch What Happens Live!"
Throughout her 20-year career, Elayne has educated over 10,000 consumers and bartenders on the fine art of mixing cocktails. She has the unique ability to connect, entertain, and educate her audience all at once. A typical day can see Elayne designing seasonal cocktails for internationally known spirit brands, consulting on new projects such as Pottery Barn's new mixology section, teaching virtual cocktail classes to corporations, hosting Cellar Sessions on the Spirits Network and Bar Virtual on Foodable TV.