Drinks International Magazine has announced the second year of their Bar World 100 list, and I'm on it for the second year. Last year I was 39, this year I'm 56, but the ranking doesn't matter- I'm just delighted to be included along with tons of friends and other people... Read more →
I was recently in touch with Top Note Tonic founders founders Mary Pellettieri and Noah Swanson about their new Club Soda that was created specifically for making highballs with whiskey. They went into the process with specific goals in mind to pair it with whiskey, researched styles of water and... Read more →
Two new vermouth lines have me thinking about where the category is going. Typically vermouth is branded as extremely old-world, with monochromatic bottle labels and pictures of obscure plants. It's hard to love, from a marketing perspective. Small-batch vermouth brands launched over the last decade are often distinguished by their... Read more →
I did another podcast, soon I will be on all of them! This one was The Living Proof, and Australian bartender-facing podcast, so I was chatting with funny-accented hosts. I don't remember what I said, but something about lasers at one point. I try not to listen to my own... Read more →
This batch of new drink books, mostly released in September and early October 2020, includes everything from non-alcoholic drinks to cocktails inspired by gangsters, real and imagined, global cocktails hard seltzer and other fizzy drinks, two new books from The Aviary, and a lot more. It's kind of a lot,... Read more →
These are the ice tools that I have used and recommend. I decided to put them all in one place. These links go to Amazon. If you're coming to this page fresh, you'll want to check out the Index of Ice Experiments here on Alcademics. Cooler: I use the Igloo... Read more →
Tony Gonzales is a bartender and fellow ice nerd who had clear ice cube trays made. The brand is called Ghost Ice. Well, not really trays, they're inserts that fit into insulated coolers to take advantage of the directional freezing. If you're familiar with the method of poking holes in... Read more →
Years ago when I first heard of - and tried- Barr Hill Gin, it was a revelation. The gin is neutral spirits with added juniper and honey- that's it. The honey brings with it other aromatics from the flora the bees feed on. The gin is made by Caledonia Spirits... Read more →
I received an email from a newish soju brand Tokki Soju with a really interesting story. Given the technical skill of one of the founders, I thought I could get some additional information, and that's just what happened. First, the background: The brand was launched in 2016 by Founder Brandon... Read more →
I recently read the new cocktail book by John deBary Drink What You Want: The Subjective Guide to Making Objectively Delicious Cocktails. I guess I expected it to be a superquick book of easy classics, as it features a lot of pictures and giant fonts (and a Margarita on the... Read more →