Alcademics

While robots will eventually make all our jobs obsolete, they seem to be coming for bartenders first. Three robot bartender happenings have popped up on my radar recently.  Read more →

In my latest post at FineCooking.com, I list the recipe for the 23rd and Valencia by Traci Howell of Public House in Las Vegas. Those of you familiar with San Francisco will know that 23rd and Valencia is the location of the bar Beretta, and it turns out Howell adapted... Read more →

The Vanguard Lounge is in old Downtown Las Vegas, accross the street from the Downtown Cocktail Room. I have never been to Downtown but with two bars that makes it worth a hop. Bar Manager Nathan Greene sent me their menu. The menu is below. CLASSIC COCKTAILS WITH A MODERN... Read more →

Last night I helped judge the Auchentoshan Switch competition in Las Vegas. Nineteen bartenders competed for a chance to work with Tony Conigliaro at 69 Colebrooke Row in London for two weeks. They'd submitted videos on YouTube and the top 19 finalists were chosen. (Headshots of most of the bartenders.... Read more →

Last week I helped judge the Bombay Sapphire/GQ Magazine Most Inspired Bartender Competition in Las Vegas. My fellow judges were Tony Abou-Ganim, Francesco LaFranconi, and our host Tyler Florence. This makes me look awfully good in comparison! In the first round (that I did not judge), 46 bartenders from the... Read more →

Usually in cocktail writing we think in terms of microtrends: the latest techniques (barrel aging cocktails, fat-washing), the latest categories (mezcal, pisco), popular flavors or ingredients (falernum, smoke), and the latest bar themes (high-volume cocktail bars, tiki). We don't talk too much about the macro-trends. In my latest post for... Read more →

In my last post, I talked about the three tier system in the US and what goes on at the WSWA convention in La Vegas. Now I want to mention how the convention is changing. This was the first year that they invited consumer press (I write for both consumer... Read more →

The WSWA is the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America, representing the distribution tier of the booze business. I recently went to the WSWA convention in Las Vegas to check out what's new. As you know, in the US the three-tier system was installed after Prohibition to keep alcohol brand... Read more →