The more Mr. Bozzi thought about it, the more he realized that much of his identity came from others. He was “the son of” on the Palm. In 2016, Mr. Bozzi married Bryan Lourd, the all-powerful Hollywood agent, becoming “the husband of.” In celebrity gossip magazines, Mr. Bozzi has long been identified as “the best friend of” Andy Cohen, the rambunctious media personality; they have been BFFs for almost 30 years. (Yes, Mr. Diller hosted them on his yacht.)
“These relationships are extremely important to Bruce,” said Sarah Jessica Parker, who has been close to Mr. bozzi. “But so much of his Palm life was about others – everyone else, everyone else – that I think he wants to be his own person and be seen as his own man.”
‘James Bond in a gay bar’
mr. Bozzi toyed with opening his own restaurant, perhaps a boîte with the speakeasy vibe of the original Palm. He looked at real estate in New York’s theater district, but decided against it. “I still have too many wounds from the other,” he said.
Mr. Bozzi and Mr. Lourd, who live in Beverly Hills, also have a 14-year-old daughter. “I don’t want to be an absent father,” Mr. Bozzi said softly. “I hardly ever saw my father as a child.”
Instead, he plans to become a liquor mogul and star podcaster.
Mujen Spirits, founded by Mr. Bozzi and a friend, Sondra Baker, began rolling out in November. It is a line of Japanese shochu, a colorless and odorless spirit distilled from rice. Mrs. Baker’s husband, Kenneth Orkin, a startup investor and entrepreneur, is also a partner of Mujen. The money making opportunities are enticing: Casamigos, George Clooney’s tequila brand, sold for about $1 billion in 2017, and Aviation American Gin, co-founded by Ryan Reynolds, traded for $610 million in 2020.
Mujen got a burst of publicity on December 31, when Mr. Cohen and Anderson Cooper drank it while hosting DailyExpertNews’s “New Year’s Eve Live.”