We recently connected with RICHARD DUBUS and have shared our conversation below.

Hi RICHARD, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I learn mostly by doing , trial and error is the only way I know how to learn basically. creating the recipes for cocktails, i.e. putting ingredients together and shaking it up, seeing if they work well together is something I do daily. Another way I learn is by observation, watching other people try to perfect their craft and build on what they accomplish is very insightful. Creativity is an important skill in being a mixologist, looking at an ingredient and getting inspired is a way to stand out in a crowd. Recently I was tasked with making a sweet potato cocktail, and immediately began coming up with different routes to make that cocktail. Funds is a big obstacle, booze are not cheap and testing could use up a bottle before even filming the final recipe. Also purchasing a camera, lights, computer, and other things needed to just put on a show can be expensive. Gnome’s Tavern demands almost full time hours to run, and doesn’t provide full time pay.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Gnome’s Tavern is a booze educational Youtube Channel. On the channel we make cocktails, and review spirits to educate viewers while also entertaining them. Our show was one time described as the “Wayne’s World” of Youtube. It is about having good spirits in our drinks and in our personalities. We challenge misconception of drinking, and often ask ourselves why not do this or that. I am most proud of the cocktails we have created on the channel, and many of them have done great in competitions, often placing highly. The Evanly Brewed cocktail got me placed in the top 8 of the bourbon fest competition, I would later place 3rd in that same contest. I also have made a lot of Malort cocktails that got the attention of the company and they now follow me on social media. My Malort Cocktail the Southern Bear placed 2nd in a contest and had high scores in taste. Another episode I was proud of was when we crushed misconception on absinthe, and many of our viewers wrote that now they are absinthe drinkers cause of that episode.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

In my view the best way to support the arts is support your friends and local artist. Buy your friends music, or go to their shows never ask for free stuff from friends trying to share their creative side with you. Now with social media it can be as simple as sharing their projects on your page, and showing your appreciation for your art.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My overall goal is to get more than 1000 subscriptions on Youtube, and that will open more doors for me. I also planning on releasing my next cocktail book before next year, and having a book that I wrote on the shelves of book stores and in people’s homes. My third goal is to win more cocktail competition which will to up my cocktail resume.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Gnomestavern
• Twitter: @gnomestavern
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEai0XzrqwREuN1vYea_W9g
• Other: gnomestavern on Tiktoc

Image Credits
All are pictures my wife took Courtney Dubus