Ep 216 - The Story Behind Fog City Social with founders Roland Ng & Marcello Grande

Original author：Five Drinks Or Midnight

Original source：https://www.youtube.com/embed/GA-lbRyrFrE

This time around, we are pulling up a stool with, Roland Ng and Marcello Grande, the founders of Fog City Social, the San Francisco festival that has quietly become one of the most anticipated gatherings for serious spirits enthusiasts on the West Coast. Hosted by the San Francisco Whisky Society, Fog City Social was built around a simple idea: the best bottles in the world are often shared, not sold. Many of the whiskies and rare spirits poured at the festival never make it to retail shelves—they move directly from cask to collectors, or appear only when the right people happen to be in the same room. Now in its fifth year, the festival returns to San Francisco’s historic Rincon Center, bringing together hundreds of collectors, distillers, and enthusiasts for an evening of rare pours, festival-only bottlings, and genuine conversation. Roland and Marcello talk about how Fog City Social grew from a small community gathering into a destination event, why intimacy matters in a world of massive spirits festivals, and what happens when the right bottles—and the right people—find themselves around the same table. Because sometimes the rarest thing in the room isn’t the whisky. It’s the company. 🎥 Five Drinks or Midnight is where spirits meet storytelling—featuring bartenders, brand builders, distillers, blenders, and cocktail creatives from around the globe. Come for the booze. Stay for the stories. #FogCitySocial #SanFranciscoWhiskySociety #WhiskyCommunity #WhiskyFestival #SpiritsIndustry #HospitalityIndustry #BarCulture #WhiskyCollectors #RareWhisky #WhiskyLovers #SingleMalt #AmericanWhiskey #WhiskyTasting #CraftSpirits #SanFrancisco #SFEvents #WestCoastWhisky 00:00 - Intro 00:38 - Question 1 - What made you want to start a Whiskey Festival? 25:01 - Question 2 - When someone walks into the room at Fog City Social, what do you want them to feel in the first five minutes? 40:09 - Question 3 - From your vantage point, what do people get wrong about collecting? 54:34 - Question 4 - What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned about hosting a spirits crowd over the last five years? 1:06:42 - Question 5 - Are you going to be popping something special? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To get to know us better follow us on our social media: INSTAGRAM : https://www.instagram.com/fivedrinksormidnight/ INSTAGRAM : https://www.instagram.com/whiskey.wednesdays TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@whiskeywednesdays FACEBOOK : https://www.facebook.com/fivedrinksormidnight/ THREADS : https://www.threads.net/@whiskey.wednesdays ➡️ Get your WhiskeyWednesdays® Decision Coin 🪙 here: https://shop.whiskeywednesdays.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Catch up on Previous Interviews : 🥃 Ep 215 - Under the Bowery: Five Drinks with ATILÓN’s Jeraldo Pearson https://youtu.be/LGXylgIGOxs 🥃 Ep 214 - Bars, Ink, and Hospitality: A Conversation with Peter Markelson https://youtu.be/33GHQNWecKk 🥃 Ep 213 - Inside Midleton Distillery with Master Distiller Kevin O’Gorman https://youtu.be/W8XSkgO_O-s 🥃 EP 212 - Matthew Lillard on Movies, Bars, and Building a Spirits Brand https://youtu.be/Iz5-db_J9Ys 🥃 Ep 211 - Inside The Vault at Bellagio with Craig Schoettler https://youtu.be/408I9r7ELpo 🥃 Ep 210 - Every Drink Worth Drinking | A Conversation with Michael & Zara Madrusan https://youtu.be/urro0Zyk3P4 🥃 EP 209 - Inside The Whiskey Bible with Noah Rothbaum https://youtu.be/99fkODMfc5E 🥃 Ep 208 - Inside Mr Lyan’s Global Playbook with Alex Lawrence Milia https://youtu.be/L_uyUghQ8WM 🥃 Ep 207 - Inside Mr Lyan’s Global Playbook with Alex Lawrence Milia https://youtu.be/L_uyUghQ8WM 🥃 Ep 206 - A Life Behind the Bar with Steve Schneider https://youtu.be/oBqdEdLj6IQ 🥃 Ep 205 - Andy Lock on opening Foolproof: A No-Nonsense Whiskey Bar in Williamsburg https://youtu.be/RpMVdukL3ho - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Thanks for all the love and support from all of our subscribers!!! For all those that a new to our channel go ahead and SUBSCRIBE to our channel! Like and share this video and remember to turn on the notification bell for more updates. Thank you! #fivedrinksormidnight #FDOM #SpiritsChannel #BartenderTalk #DrinkStories #DrinkCulture #SpiritsAndStories #drinkwithus #drinkingwithfriends #boozytalk #letsdrink #cocktaillife #WhiskeyWednesdays® #spiritsindustry #interviews #vlog #videopodcast #YouTubeInterview #Spirits #CocktailYouTube #cocktail #drinks #mixology #DrinkWithThePros #CocktailConversations #SpiritsofTheWorld #LiquidStorytelling