About AlcademicsTM and Camper English
Alcademics.com is journalist Camper English's blog about cocktails, spirits, bars, and bartenders, as well as the place to find links to Camper's published work on other sites. Camper is also the founder of CocktailSafe.org, a website about safer cocktail techniques and ingredients.
Techniques developed and reported on Alcademics have been widely implemented in bars around the world from Sao Paulo to Singapore to Scotland, including methods for making clear ice and uses for dehydrated liqueurs.
About Camper English
Camper English is a San Francisco-based cocktails and spirits writer, speaker, competition judge, consultant, and maker-of-cocktails for special events. He has been the cocktail columnist for Fine Cooking and Details, and was the Contributing Drinks Editor for Saveur.
Camper has visited over 140 distilleries, blending houses, and bodegas in more than 25 countries, has judged cocktail contests locally and internationally, is a member of the United States Bartenders' Guild, passed the prestigious B.A.R. course, is a judge of the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, and was the US and Canadian polling coordinator for the World's 50 Best Bars for several years. In 2019, he was voted the 39th most influential person in the global drinks industry, and 56th in 2020.
True story: He once gave a talk about ice... in Iceland.
In addition to his work as a journalist, Camper is a:
- Frequent speaker at trade and consumer cocktail events.
- Consultant to bars and brands, and cocktail competition judge.
- Cocktail creator for events and tastings
Contact him here:
Camper English has written for the following publications:
7x7 Magazine [sample]
Alaska Airlines Magazine
Bacchus
Bay Crossings
Best Life
Beverage Media [sample]
Caviar Affair [sample]
CHOW.com [sample]
CitySearch.com
The Cocktail Lovers
Departures.com
Details.com [sample]
Difford's Guide/CLASS Magazine
DigitalCities.com
Drinks International [sample]
Drink (China)
Eater [sample]
Entrepreneur
Epicurious.com [sample]
Every Day with Rachael Ray
Executive Travel [sample]
Fine Cooking [sample]
Front Desk
Frontiers
Imbibe [sample]
Imbibe UK
Instinct
Liquor.com [sample]
Lonely Planet Guides
Long Island Pulse
Los Angeles Times Magazine [sample]
Malt Advocate
Mixology (Germany)
Modern Farmer [sample]
Out
Playboy.com
PopularScience.com
San Francisco Bay Guardian
San Francisco Chronicle [sample]
San Francisco Magazine
Saveur
ShakeStir.com
SilverKris (Singapore Airlines Magazine) [sample]
Stuff
Sunset Magazine
Tasting Panel
Tasting Table [sample]
Time [sample]
Wine & Spirit (UK)
Wine & Spirits
The Wave
Whisky Advocate
Wired [sample]
World'sBestBars.com [sample]
Education, Awards and Affiliations
Camper studied physics as an undergraduate and computer science in grad school. The drinking and writing he picked up as he went along. Camper is a member of the United States Bartenders' Guild, has passed the BARSmarts program and the prestigious B.A.R. course in New York. Camper was inducted into the first American chapter of the Ordre International des Anysetiers in 2012.
- Camper won the Best Cocktail Writing award at Tales of the Cocktail in 2011, the industry's highest writing honor.
- Camper's website Alcademics.com won a San Francisco Bay Guardian Best of the Bay award in 2011 as "Best Liquor Lowdown."
- Camper English was the recipient of the Legends Award at San Francisco Cocktail Week in 2012.
- He was also awarded International Cognac Writer of the Year for 2014.
Disclaimer Regarding Samples and Trips
As a blogger and journalist, I frequently receive samples of spirits, tools, books, and other freebies, and partake in press trips sponsored by brands, destinations, and industry groups. While not all products and places discussed on this site have been provided by 3rd parties, readers of Alcademics.com should assume that any product or destination mentioned on this site has been provided or paid for by a 3rd party.