About AlcademicsTM and Camper English
Camper English is a San Francisco-based cocktails and spirits writer and educator who has contributed to publications including Popular Science, Saveur, Details, Whisky Advocate, Food & Wine, the San Francisco Chronicle, Drinks International, The Oxford Companion to Spirits & Cocktails, and many more.
He is the author of Doctors and Distillers: The Remarkable Medicinal History of Beer, Wine, Spirits, and Cocktails (2022) and The Ice Book: Cool Cubes, Clear Spheres, and Other Chill Cocktail Crafts (2023), which won Best New Cocktail or Bartending Book at the 2024 Spirited Awards from the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation. His work has been cited in at least 30 other books.
He is a regular speaker at bar industry conferences in addition to corporate events and educational institutions. He is also the founder of CocktailSafe.org and CocktailGreen.org in addition to his main site Alcademics.com.
Camper is the pioneer of the "directional freezing" technique to make perfectly clear ice that is used around the world. He 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, and passed the prestigious B.A.R. course. He is a judge of the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, has been a judge of the James Beard Awards, Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards, and other bar/book competitions, and was an international polling coordinator for the World's 50 Best Bars for several years. He was voted as one of the top 100 most influential people in the bar industry three times.
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
About AlcademicsTM
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.
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.
Contact him here:
Camper English has written for the following publications:
7x7 Magazine [sample]
Alaska Airlines Magazine
AlcoholProfessor.com [sample]
Bacchus
Bay Crossings
Best Life
Beverage Media [sample]
Bevvy [sample]
Caviar Affair [sample]
CHOW.com [sample]
CitySearch.com
The Cocktail Lovers
Departures.com
Details.com [sample]
Difford's Guide/CLASS Magazine
DigitalCities.com
Distiller [sample]
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
Food and Wine [sample]
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]
MSNBC [sample]
Out
Playboy.com
PopularScience.com
San Francisco Bay Guardian
San Francisco Chronicle [sample]
San Francisco Magazine
SF Standard
Saveur
ShakeStir.com
SilverKris (Singapore Airlines Magazine) [sample]
Stuff
Sunset Magazine
Tasting Panel
Tasting Table [sample]
Time [sample]
Vinepair.com
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.
- The Ice Book won Best Cocktail or Bartending Book in 2024.
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. Affiliate links: Many of the links from this site, including those to Amazon and GoodReads, earn me a small commission if you make purchases afterward.