Beloved Comedy Director Paul Feig Talks About His Love Affair With Gin

Paul Feig holds a lofty place in the world of comedy. He’s has been behind the camera on Spy, Freaks and Geeks, Arrested Development, The Office, Bridesmaids, and the criminally underappreciated Ghostbusters reboot, among many others. He’s worked with the best and been trusted with massive properties. In the process, he’s become a defining voice in modern comedic cinema and TV.

Now, Feig is hoping to help shape modern cocktail culture, too. One martini at a time.

More than simply liking booze, Feig seems to be a true believer in cocktail culture (right down to his three-piece suits and boulevardier persona). During quarantine, his spirits prowess has been on full display. He spent the early part of lockdown on Instagram making cocktails as everyone’s favorite “Drunk Funcle.” More recently, he announced an endeavor to bring the world a new top-notch gin.

In a world full of celebrity white-labeling, it would have been very easy for Feig to slap his name on a label and go about his business. Instead, he partnered with a distillery to craft his gin from the ground up, based on decades of experience. He toiled with glassmakers over the bottle’s design and even named the gin after his mother, using her maiden name. Artingstall’s Brilliant London Dry Gin is personal to Feig in every way. And that personal care definitely translates to the final product.

We jumped on a call with Feig this week, between set-ups on The School For Good And Evil, shooting in Belfast, Ireland. If you want more from him after this interview, this Saturday, May 1st, you can see him live via a virtual cocktail party and trivia night. At the end of this interview, you’ll find a recipe for the “Feigtini” — a perfect cocktail for your weekend.