Bartender Journey - Cocktails. Spirits. Bartending Culture. Libations for your Ears.

We chat with Chris Timmerman from Dano's Tequila.

We talk with Chad Cadden & Bill Varnell, founders of Whiskey, Bourbon, and Scotch Enthusiasts, (WBSE). Also joining us is author of Beginner's Guide to Whiskey, Sam Green. You can find WBSE on Facebook or their website.  

We talk with Peter Grasso of the Monmouth Whisky Club and Julia Ritz Toffoli founder of Women Who Whiskey.

Friend of the podcast Walter Easterbrook joins us to talk about how he's still hustling during quarantine.  He also share some great resources from his recent Beyond the Bar series. Keynote + Industry Panel Password: 0p.x58w4  Virtual Happy Hour Password: 3f%=%*?6  Content Creation Password: 6c*.!J67  Obtaining a brand Job Password: 4S^6#N78    Thanks to the Beyond the Bar sponsors who are supporting the community: Winebow Sazerac Los Vecinos mezcal San Matias Neft Vodka Pitu

Great Education with founder of Hiatus Tequila, Kristopher DeSoto for Cinco de Mayo!For a deep dive into Tequila Education, check out the Hiatus Tequila YouTube page. 

Brian’s Picks: Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s The Bar Book, Elements of Cocktail Technique  is always my #1 recommendation. (He was a guest on Episode 113.) Esquire Drinks, An Opinionated & Irreverent Guide to Drinking - David Wondrich (out of print, but is available used on Amazon for as little as $2.81!) An old book - 2002, but a goodie.  Mr. Wondrich, who is the end all authority on cocktail history wrote this book for Esquire Magazine.  If you ever want the definitive answer on the history of a cocktail, just google the name of the drink and "Wondrich". (He was a guest on Episode 110.) The Joy of Mixology The Consummate Guide to the Barternend’s Craft - Oh Gaz....I miss you. Originally published in 2003, there is an updated version of this book.  (He was a guest on Episode 175.) The Curious Bartender,  The Artistry and Alchemy of Creating the Perfect Cocktail - Tristian Stephenson.   Smart guy.  I love how in this book he presents a classic cocktail, gives the classic specs, and then his interpretation of an improvement on the recipe. (He was a guest on Episode 122.) Regarding Cocktails - Sasha Petraske (Foreword by Dale DeGroff), Shsah changed everything in our industry. (He's NOT been a guest on the show, he unfortunately passed away in 2015... I never had the opportunity to meet the man, but he influenced so many). Benny’s Picks: Liquid Intelligence, The Art and Science of the Perfect Cocktail by Dave Arnold.  The Science of Cocktails?  Who would have thought?  A great and well thought out book. Smuggler’s Cove, Exotic Cocktails, Rum,and the Cult of Tiki by Martin and Rebecca Cate (He was a guest on Episode 186 .) A beautiful book full of great information and beautiful tiki drinks. Beach Bum Berry Remixed, Gallery of Tiki Drinks by Jeff Berry.  A real tiki book, full of old school tiki recipes. PDT Cocktail Book, The Complete Bartender’s Guide From the Celebrated Speakeasy by Jim Meehan (He was a guest on Episode 77.) Meehan is a true gentleman who created a perfect Speakeasy.  Every Bartender should own this book. Also mentioned in this episode: Meehan’s Bartender Manual by Jim Meehan (Featured on Episode 89.)  If you ever even considered owning your own bar, you must read this book from cover to cover. The Flavor Bible, The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America’s Most Imaginative Chefs by Karen age and Andrew Dornenburg.  An outstanding book on flavors - what goes with what. Cocktails Made Simple: Easy & Delicious Recipes for the Home Bartender by Brian Weber and Amin Benny.  What to make cocktails at home, or get a foundation for becoming a professional Bartender?  This book is authored by host of Bartender Journey, Brian Weber and co-author Amin Benny.  

We talk with the President of the Distilled Spirits Council Chris Swonger about the Council's efforts during the COVID19 crisis.

With all of us Bartenders stuck at home and out of work during quarantine, this might be just the time to start a podcast of your own! Here's a little jump start for you!

In this difficult time of the Bud Lite, um, Corona virus...we are sending good vibes/wishes to stay healthy mental, physically and financially.  That last one...financially is really tough right now, I know. Before we go any further, please understand that while I am a professional Bartender, I am not a lawyer, doctor, financial planner or anything like that.  Please go to bartenderjourney.net/disclaimer to read our Disclaimer.

We here we are in the thick of the Corona-tastrophe.  It is having far reaching implications and consequences for the Hospitality industry. We have an interview with Andrew Rigie, Executive Director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance.  He’s also Chair of New York City’s Office of Nightlife Advisory Board. THIS EPISODE AND RELATED WEBSITE MATERIAL IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES AND NOT INTENDED FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING MEDICAL or LEGAL ADVICE BY THE BARTENDER JOURNEY PODCAST TEAM. PLEASE READ OUR FULL DISCLAIMER HERE,   The interview with Mr. Rigie  was recorded prior to the March 15th announcement of Mayor Di Blasio's executive order limiting restaurants, bars, and cafes to food take out and delivery; nightclubs, movie theaters, small theater houses, and concert venues must close effective Tuesday, March 17th.  The NYC executive order was then superseded by NY State Governor Andrew Cuomo’s executive order the following day - March 16, 2020 - that all bars and restaurants in the entire state must go to take out & delivery only.  Interestingly though here in NY State, where to-go alcoholic drinks were a definite no-no for establishments like bars and restaurants with an on-premise license, it seems that it will now be allowed during the Corona-tastrophe.  So here in NY anyway we can sell to-go alcoholic beverages.    The NYC Hospitality Alliance Group continues to remain a resource for our industry here in NYC - you can visit their site: the thenycalliance.org for the latest updates.

On Episode No. 294 we talk with Frank Ciulla, Educator, Scientist and Founder of Hudson Educational Services about COVID-19, commonly known as "Coronavirus". OUR FULL DISCLAIMER HERE FOR YOUR REVIEW.​

Today we talk with the very interesting Jacob Briars - Global Advocacy Director at the  Bacardi Company. Sorry there may be a few weird audio dropouts. Seems like I need to buy a couple new mic cables.  Tennessee was recently hit with a series of very destructive tornadoes. Nashville was hit very hard, which is a great town and one that has a lot of hospitality workers.  Our love and thoughts are we those impacted by this tragedy, but we’d also like to provide information on relief efforts for industry professionals in need of assistance led by the Nashville USBG Chapter. We shared the GoFundMe page and a list of businesses offering support and services on social media, we would also like to highlight two immediate avenues: the Bartender Emergency Assistance Program through the National USBG Foundation that provides emergency relief grants to bartenders, and a family charity partner, Core Gives, that provides assistance to service industry families. Follow the Facebook page for Nashville USBG that provides up-to-date information on the list of places impacted and bars that are hiring for those displaced.   We, at the Bartender Journey, send our support and wishes for a speedy recovery.  Bartender Journey Episode 293

More from Mexico, as we drive around the Town of Tequila in the back of a pickup truck drinking Tequila Fuenteseca Reserva 18 year old Extra Anejo bottled in 1995.

I have just returned from Mexico as a guest of Tequila Fortelaza. It was an amazing trip. I had such a great time but also learned so much about Tequila.  Coincidentally, less than a week before the trip, I took a 6 Hour Tequila certification course sponsored by Hiatus Tequila and presented by the Tequila Regulatory Council or CRT.  Listen to the Bartender Journey Podcast #291 for a Deep Dive into Tequila! For this information in text form, see the blog post.  

We speak with Owner Stewart King and General Manager Jack Keane of Circle Hospitality Group in Cincinnati.

There is a hole in the bartending community – Gary "gaz" Regan passed away on November 15, 2019. He was an inspiration and mentor to a huge portion of the bartender community. His book The Joy of Mixology in 2003 was groundbreaking.. In that book he encouraged Bartenders to measure, to consider the glasswear carefully, to chill the glasswear, when to shake and when to stir. These things weren’t talked about much back then, but help lay the groundwork for where we are now. Then there are more important lessons in the book about BEING a bartender. He updated The Joy Of Mixology in 2018. Cheers to you gaz. You are sorely missed.

Hazel interviews Assistant Master Distiller at Jack Daniels, Chris Fletcher. Check out the new book by host of this podcast Brian Weber:  Cocktails Made Simple!

We are very excited to announce the release of Cocktails Made Simple written by Brian Weber and Amin Benny.  We wrote it to be easy to follow, clear and concise, and most of all useful and practical.  On this episode of the podcast Brian and Benny discuss the book.

We speak with Chris Swonger, the President and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. and Responsibility.org Also what's the best way to cut citrus garnishes at the bar?  I co-authored a book!  Cocktails Made Simple is available on Amazon.

Bartender Journey Podcast #284   Today we talk about cocktail photography with professional food and beverage photographer Anthony Nader.  His company is called 52 chefs. He is a lot of fun.   I was lucky enough to be invited to his seminar recently that was specifically about taking great photos of cocktails with your phone.  It was sponsored by Tequila Avión - thank you very much for that Ms. Veronica Chaparro. It was at the roof top bar at the Park South Hotel, which is an awesome place, if you ever get a chance to go.  Bar Methods was going on while we were there, and I got a chance to say hello to friend Chris Bitmeed who runs Bar Methods which is a once a year, 3 day educational event.  I did it about 3 years ago, and I encourage you to look into that for next year - its an amazing educational opportunity.  Anthony gave a great demonstration about how to take great photos, and then we paired up into teams of two - I pared with Hazel, and we had a photo and video competition.  There were lots of props and drinks. We had to submit one photo and one slo mo video. In the end my photo won the contest! It was a picture of a Tequila Avión Nigroni.   We are excited to announce that the special project is our new book, Cocktails Made Simple: Easy and Delicious Recipes for the Home Bartender!  It’s coming out on October 15, 2019! I think you'll find our book serves as a great guide to making drinks, with an explanation of tools and techniques, in addition to classic cocktail recipes.   If you're a Home Bartender looking to entertain family and friends, you'll learn how to build a functional home bar with essential tools and cost-effective tips in order to craft cocktails in your own home. It was a great experience writing this with co-author and our West Coast Bartender Journey associate, Amin Benny and a quick thanks to Hazel Alvarado for Back of House duties on this project. The book is available NOW for pre-order on Amazon.  Click here to sign up for our email newsletter to keep informed about the book.  And please follow Bartender Journey on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Its @BartenderJourney on IG and FB, and on twitter I’m @BarKeepTips. Cocktail Photography Tips: Be sure to Clean the camera lens.  It gets dirty. You can clean it with a soft cotton t-shirt or any soft cloth. Zoom in a little. Setting the exposure and locking in the focus. Click on the subject before taking the picture - the subject will be locked into both focus and exposure  Also, next to the yellow box surrounding your subject, there is a tiny icon of the sun. If you slide that up and down, you can change the exposure.   Display abundance - use props...use your imagination.   Get close -  I had always composed my cocktail photos very neatly, displaying the entire glass and garnish - usually shooting from slightly above the glass so that the surface is visible.  I would center the cocktail. Try getting in very close. Art can be a little messy! Focus on garnish - or on the little droplets on the outside of the glass or whatever - something specific in the drink - not the drink as a whole. Bounce light. A white paper menu is one way to do that. Use a friend’s phone with a white screen - I’d heard at other seminars, or maybe read somewhere, to us the flashlight from a friend’s phone for light when you are in a dark bar or something, but that light is harsh.  A white screen is softer - you can just go to google.com for instance. And of course on iPhone you can go to Settings / Display & Brightness to control the brightness of the screen if you need more light. Pay attention to other photos - what do you like?  When you see a picture that you like, think about what you like about it.  Some ideas for looking at great cocktail photos on IG, are Anthony’s stuff at @52Chefs and our friend Natalie @BeautifulBooze.  I would also encourage you to follow the #cocktails Speaking of IG when you are editing your photo in the IG app before posting - don’t use the pre fab filters - edit the settings individually. When you first get to edit mode in the IG app, above you photo there is a little icon of the sun that is white on the left and black on the right.  This is the lux setting. I did not know about this! Its awesome. I don’t know enough about photography to explain what lux is, but its related to exposure.  Do this first. Then Anthony recommends adjusting the settings in this order: Contrast Warmth Sharpness Turn each setting all the way up to see what it does, then scale back from there.   I hope you learned something from the show today.  I’d love to see your cocktail photos, hopefully using some of the stuff you learned from listening.  Post your picture to IG and tag me @BartenderJourney.   I wanted to share one more thing with you - I just read an outstanding article on bourbonr.com.  Its called “What’s Malt, and Why is it Needed”.  It’s a really worth a read.  It not only does a great job of explaining the process of producing alcohol , but also some of the differences between scotch and bourbon and also the definition of a Single Malt.  I’ll have that link on bartenderjourney.net. We’ll have to try get the author of that article Mr. Henrik Brandt on the show sometime.

Joe McCanta, Grey Goose global ambassador joins us on the show.  This interview was recorded at Tales of the Cocktail 2019 -- we get a great understanding of Vodka. Bartender Journey has a special project in the works!  Please click here to sign up to be the first to know about it!  Yes, I'd like to be in the loop.  

We talk with Alberto Vollmer CEO of Santa Teresa 1796 Rum, made in Venezuela. Also a chat with Attaboy alum Zachary Pease at his new bar in Manhattan called My Friend Duke.

Listen in to the Toast to Tales, hear about the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation’s grant recipients for 2019 and hear about the Grey Goose Great Bar Race. Also, we talk to Jonathan Pogash about his edition of Mr. Boston’s Official Bartender’s Guide.

We speak with Raymond Edwards, Chief Mixologist for House of Angostura during Bar Convent Brooklyn.

Don't let those darn Fruit Flies take over you bar!  Give them an inch and they will take a mile!  There is a lot you can do to prevent them from flourishing.  Here's some things you can do: No standing water, anywhere! All drains including floor - sanitizer Plug beer taps Clean and plug beer drip tray Rinse and store empty beer bottles Cover liquor bottles Wipe down bottles Clean soda gun Bar mats must be clean Keep garnishes covered and cold.  Wash fruit before cutting. Don’t be surprised if fruit flies feed on the residue remaining on damp mops, moist cleaning rags and sponges, or near buckets of wastewater. Bottom of trash cans? Last resort - traps

We speak with friend of the podcast & founder and president of the Orange County, CA chapter of the United States Bartender's Guild Amin Benny.

On this week's Episode No. 277, Brian chats with Chad Arnholt and Claire Sprouse of ​Tin Roof Drink Community about green practices for sustainability in the cocktail industry in honor of Earth Day, April 22nd.In 2016, Chad and Claire's efforts were recognized at Tales of the Cocktail with the first Sustainable Spirit Sward and hosted the first Sustainability Summit at Tales in 2017. For past outtakes on sustainability in the cocktail industry on the Bartender Journey Podcast,, listen to Bartender Journey Episode No. 166  featuring a sample from a Sustainability Seminar from Tales 2015 with Mr. Lyan  (Ryan Chetiyawardana), who opened the first cocktail bar in 2013 to use nor perishables (i.e. no fruit, no ice), White Lyan in London andBartender Journey Episode No. 219, You are Throwing Away Money!.

Hazel Alvardo handles the interviewing duties on this episode. She talks to Kurt Maitland who is Deputy Editor of the Whiskey Reviewer website and the curator of the Manhattan Whiskey Club. He just wrote a book called Drink - The Ultimate Cocktail Book.

On this week's episode, Brian chats with Keli Rivers of Sipsmith Gin in honor of National Gin & Tonic Day, which is April 9, 2019.  

I recently attended a huge wine show at the Javitz Center in Manhattan called VinExpo. There were 1000’s of wines to try, plus a few sprits – I had some wonderful whiskey from France called Half Moon. There were also classes and seminars. I attended a seminar sponsored by the Riedel company who makes beautiful glassware – mostly wine glasses. In fact we use Riedel wine glasses at the Private Club where I work. The purpose of this seminar was to show that the glass has a substantial influence on your experience drinking the wine. Of course these glasses look beautiful, so that’s a great start. They feel great when you pick them up and are perfectly balanced…we all know to hold a wine glass by the stem yes? In fact it was said in the seminar “if a glass has a stem, use it!” This is of course so that you do not warm up your wine or whatever beverage with your body heat. I caught up with Anne Koziara, who gave the seminar, on the exhibition floor after … we’ll talk to her in just a moment. Our sponsor this week is CAKE POS from Sysco. CAKE is the Point of Sale system that lets bar & restaurant owners focus on the guest experience. Stop worrying about tracking every sale  - CAKE does that for you. CAKE is the Point of Sale system that lets bar & restaurant owners focus on the guest experience. Stop worrying about tracking every sale  - CAKE does that for you. You can automatically save information and review it later, from anywhere. That means maybe as the manager or owner can maybe actually take days off, which can be pretty rare in the restaurant business. No matter where you are, you can check in on daily reports and know they’ll be up to date. To get started with CAKE, check out trycake.com/bartender. For our Bartender Journey listeners, you can get $750 off the activation fee. That's a 75% discount. Go to trycake.com/bartender and request a demo! Please feel free to get in touch for any reason. You can email me directly at brian@bartenderjourney.net. If you have an interesting story to tell, please get in touch. I’m looking to line up guests for the next few weeks. Don’t forget about our sponsor CAKE POS. Find our special link for our Bartender Journey listeners at trycake.com/bartender. You can get $750 off the activation fee. That's a 75% discount. Go to trycake.com/bartender and request a demo! Or just go take a look. It’s a big help if you just go to that URL so that our sponsors to see the Bartender Journey listeners are at least clicking through to check it out. trycake.com/bartender. Toast: May we always part with great regret and meet again with pleasure.

Bartender Journey Number 273This time on the show we talk about the science of flavor with Derek Elefson.Derek shared some great resources with us:Flavor Wheels: Bourbonhttps://modernthirst.com/2014/08/06/the-bourbon-tasting-wheel/#prettyPhoto/0/ Malt Whiskieshttp://malt-review.com/2015/09/10/whisky-flavour-wheels-and-colour-charts/ Ginhttp://www.ginfoundry.com/gin-news/gin-tasting-wheel/ Winehttps://shop.winefolly.com/products/wine-flavors-chart AROMA-FLAVOR TOOLS FOR SENSORY TRAINING:http://www.aromaster.com/https://www.cicerone.org/us-en/products/beer-flavor-maphttps://www.aroma-academy.co.uk/pages/wsethttps://www.flavoractiv.com/beverage/spirits/ FRUIT CHEMICALSKennedy Fruit Chemicals!  An easy way to quickly educate people about chemicals in fruit.  I highly encourage you to post this image with the link.https://jameskennedymonash.wordpress.com/2014/07/19/ingredients-of-all-natural-cherries/ Our sponsor this week is CAKE POS.CAKE is the Point of Sale system that lets bar & restaurant owners focus on the guest experience. Stop worrying about tracking every sale  - CAKE does that for you. No matter where you are, you can check in on daily reports and know they’ll be up to date. To get started with CAKE, check out trycake.com/bartender. For our Bartender Journey listeners, you can get $750 off the activation fee. That's a 75% discount.

This time on the show we talk with Mr. Philip Duff. He’s been on the show several times. I caught up with Philip after a great seminar he moderated about Irish Whiskey, sponsored by Knoppoge Castle Irish Whiskey -  a great Single Malt Irish Whiskey. Irish Whiskey has such a tumultuous history. There was the great rise and fall of Irish Whiskey and right now another great rise, or resurgence. We’ll get into some of it with Philip during the interview. CAKE is the Point of Sale system that lets bar & restaurant owners focus on the guest experience. Stop worrying about tracking every sale  - CAKE does that for you. You can automatically save information and review it later, from anywhere. That means maybe as the manager or owner can maybe actually take days off, which can be pretty rare in the restaurant business. No matter where you are, you can check in on daily reports and know they’ll be up to date. To get started with CAKE, check out trycake.com/bartender. For our podcast listeners, you can get $750 off the activation fee. That's a 75% discount. And with that discount, you get a user-friendly Point of Sale solution that includes cloud reporting and world-class 24/7 support.

This week on the show we speak with Andrew Watson who is originally from Australia, but now lives and bartends in Sweden. He is competing in the Bacardi Legacy competition.   Andrew’s Bacardi Legacy Cocktail is called Cubist. Recipe: 45 ml Bacardi Silver | 20 ml dry vermouth | 2.5 ml (or a barspoon) Pastis | 25 ml Prosecco | 20 ml Honey water (1:1) | 25 ml Lemon juice Follow Andrew’s Bacardi Legacy journey: On Instagram On YouTube Our sponsor this week is CAKE POS & Management system from Sysco. To get started with CAKE, check out trycake.com/bartender. Bartender Journey listeners get $750 off the activation fee. That's a 75% discount. And with that discount, you get a user-friendly Point of Sale solution that includes cloud reporting and world-class 24/7 support.

Today on the show we talk with Dan Newcomb who is an expert on Liquor Licenses. Its tricky out there trying to navigate the liquor license process. Dan will share some insights with us on this complex issue. Dan's company is Liquor License Advisor. One of the distilleries I visited while in Ireland was Pearse Lyons distillery. Dr. Pearse Lyons had deep family roots in Dublin. There was an old church that had fallen into disrepair and was abandoned for many years. In fact Dr. Lyons’ grandfather is buried there. Dr. Lyons purchased the property and his wife restored it into a beautiful distillery. Unfortunately Dr. Lyons’ passed away in 2018, but the distillery is lives on.  We have some pictures on bartenderjourney.net If you are anywhere near San Antonio TX BarSmarts Advanced is coming to San Antonio, TX on April 2nd, 2019.  It’s a full day of education with the masters of the bar industry like Dale DeGroff, David Wondrich, Paul Pacul, Steve Olson, Doug Frost, and Andy Seymour. You need to do the online component called BarSmarts first in order to qualify. The online segment is absolutely worth doing, even if you are not planning to do BarSmarts Advanced. The online course is only $29! BarSmarts Advanced is just $75.

Tag along on a distillery tour of Tullamore D.E.W.’s state of the art facility. Opened in 2014 it is the first distillery to operate in Tullamore, Ireland since 1954. Tullamore D.E.W. Whisky Ambassador Kevin Pigott shows us around, shares lots of Irish Whisky knowledge, and even mixes us up some cocktails!

Travel Log from Dublin, Ireland.  Interview with Chris Hayes from Teeling Irish Whiskey.

Florence, Italy is an amazing, beautiful and historic city. Florence's Life Beyond Tourism inciative offers some interesting lessons.  Is it possible to be too ambitious with your cocktail program.  I visited a bar/bistro/restaurant that I thought was trying to do TOO much. I visited two vinyards in the Chianti Classico region: Casa Emma Fattoria Montecchio  

I had some great drinks in Paris! Favorite bars: Prescription Cocktail Club (Cocktail Bar) Dirty Dick (Tiki Bar) Candelaria (Speakeasy) Little Red Door (Speakeasy) The Highlander (Scottish Pub)

A brief wrap up of my adventures in Edinburgh, Scotland.  Plus a snippet of a bus tour around the city. What an amazing city. Full of friendly, hospitable people. A town with deep history and fascinating things to see. And lots of great whisky! Next stop on the Bartender Journey tour - Paris!

Happy New Year. I hope its full of great things for you. I’m starting 2019with an epic trip. I Bartend at a private club and we are closed after New Years Eve for almost 6 weeks. So I am taking my time off and going to Europe for over a month! I am bringing my audio gear and hope to push out some podcasts from the road. I will be visiting some distilleries, and lots of bars and restaurants, so the plan is to have you follow along on the trip a bit. The shows might not always be completely Bartending focused, but should be interesting. I leave today, Jan 3, 2019 for Edinburgh Scotland. Then I go to Paris for 4 nights, I’ll take a train to a small town called Chambery, then ski in the French Alps for a few days. I’ll go to Geneva Switzerland, then on to Florence and Rome and last stop Ireland. Follow me on IG at BartenderJourney for some pictures and hopefully you are subscribed to the podcast so you get the shows as they come out.

Bartender Journey Episode #263 The Old Fashioned. I was at a sitting at a bar the other day and there was a bartender, training a young lady who was obviously brand new to bartending. The younger one asked the one who was doing the training “how long have you been bartending”. She answers “nearly 15 years”. A ticket comes in for an Old Fashioned. Here’s a learning opportunity for the newbie, right? She explains how to make it: “Get a rocks glass Get an orange slice and a luxardo cherry and muddle it in the glass. Add ¼ to ½ oz of simple syrup and about the same amount of sweet vermouth. Add ice and then fill nearly to the top with whiskey, (usually you should ask what type of whiskey they would like). Top with club soda. Put 3 or 4 dashes of bitters on top” There are a lot of problems here. Lets take them one by one. The muddled “fruit salad” Old Fashioned was an unfortunate variation on the classic recipe. Some people like them and even expect them that way, which is fine…the best cocktail for someone is the one made exactly the way they like it. But the classic recipe is water, sugar, bitters and whiskey…we’ll talk about where that description comes from in a few minutes. Somewhere along the road it became popular to muddle an orange slice and a red maraschino cherry with sugar and bitters.The muddling in an Old Fashioned is supposed to be to incorporate the granular sugar (or sugar cube) with a little water and the bitters. Moving on to the second mistake in my example. THERE IS NO VERMOUTH IN AN OLD FAHIONED!   There is sweet vermouth in a Manhattan…not an Old Fashioned Next…she says “top with club soda”. Yes we do want to dilute it a bit. Some books will tell you do this. Personally I add the water by stirring the whole thing in my mixing cup with ice. This chills the drink down and the melting ice adds water or “dilution”. I strain it into a glass with fresh ice. Next she said to “put 3-4 drops of bitters on top”. 100% wrong. I don’t like to flat out say somebody is doing something wrong, but no don’t do that.You want to incorporate the bitters into the drink. While there are drinks which call for drops of bitters on top, such as the Pisco Sour…not the Old Fashioned. This is my recipe, and its written almost exactly like this in Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s The Bar Book, which is more or less the final word for me personally in all matters Bartending. In mixing cup: 2 dashes Angostura Aromatic Bitters 1 dash of Angostura Orange Bitters, 2 oz of Bourbon Stir with ice to chill and dilute. Strain into an old fashioned glass with one large 2” ice cube. Express oils from an orange twist (use a Y-peeler to make orange twist to order). You could also use a lemon twist, which is delicious also. Old Fashioneds can of course also be made with Rye whiskey or even rum. I’ve seen Reposado or Anão Tequila Old Fashioneds too. In Sasha Patraski’s book Regarding Cocktails Sasha’s protégé Sam Ross shares his recipe for an Old Fashioned variation called the Tattletale. Its made with Angostura bitters, honey a blend of a Highlands scotch and a smoky Islay scotch. So of course, there is no end to variations and methods, but I just feel like its good to know the proper traditional way of making things before going off on tangents. History wise: The earliest known printed definition of the “cocktail” appeared in the newspaper the Balance and Columbian Repository in 1806. It was written in response to a reader who asked for a definition of the word. It said a cocktail is “A stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water and bitters.” Quoting from Wikipedia, “The first use of the name ‘Old Fashioned’ for a Bourbon whiskey cocktail was said to have been at the Pendennis Club, a gentlemen's club founded in 1881 in Louisville, Kentucky. The recipe was said to have been invented by a bartender at that club in honor of Colonel James E. Pepper, a prominent bourbon distiller, who brought it to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel bar in New York City.” Robert Simonson mentioned that it was simply referred to as a “whiskey cocktail” until the late 19th century. Mr. Simonson wrote a great book all about the Old Fashioned called The Old-Fashioned: The Story of the World's First Classic Cocktail, with Recipes and Lore. I’ll have a link to that along with the other books I mentioned. Speaking of prohibition, as I record this today Dec 5, 2018 it is Repeal Day! This is the anniversary of the end of Prohibition in 1933. Its an unofficial Bartender holiday, or at least excuse for a party! I happened to be almost at the end of binge watching Boardwalk Empire, which was a great show on HBO about the prohibition era. Its fictional, but a lot of historical characters are in the show like Lucky Luciano, Al Capone and Elliot Ness. The show is now available on Amazon Prime if you want to check it out. So mix yourself up and Old Fashioned. I’d love to see your version. If you could post a picture on IG and give it the hash tag #BartenderOldFashioned Depending how many we get, I’ll try to mention them all on the next show. I’ll be posting mine on my IG which is BartenderJourney. Here’s a toast: Here’s to everything that is old. Old friends, old times, old manners and old fashioneds.

Dave Pickerell was a huge force in American whiskey over that last several decades. Unfortunately Dave passed away at age 62 on November 1 of this year, 2018 in San Francisco. He was there attending WhiskeyFest. He was a big proponent of Rye Whiskey and played a huge roll in the resurgence of American Rye Whiskey. Rest in Peace Mr. Dave Pickerell. You’ll be sorely missed.

We talk to Sother Teague about his new book I'm Just Here for the Drinks. Sother Teague's first book is informative, entertaining and filled with cocktail recipes. We catch up with him at his book release party at Boilermaker Bar at 1st Avenue and 1st Street. Brian also attended a seminar presented by Marie Brizard and at Employees Only NY and competed in a cocktail competition. Cocktail of the Week:MartiniThe Classic Martini is made with 1 part dry vermouth and 2 parts Gin.  It is stirred, not shaken.  The classic garnish is olives.  Superstition says it should be an ODD number of olives - an even number is bad luck.  James Bond orders a "Vodka Martini, shaken not stirred", because that is the exception to the rule.  If he just ordered a "Martini" it would be made with Gin and stirred, because that is the classic recipe.Try a great variation on a Martini - 1 part Dry Vermouth, 2 parts Gin a dash of Orange Bitters.  Garnish with an Orange Twist. Be sure to use fresh vermouth. Vermouth is aromitized wine and it goes bad after awhile.  Keep it in the cooler.  The VacuVin wine stopper system will help keep it fresh for longer.

We chat with GEM & BOLT Mezcal founders Adrin Adrina and Elliott Coon during Tales of the Cocktail 2018.Plus we talk to Calvin Peña and Doug Brickle at the CORE pop-up at MaseGEM&BOLT is the only mezcal on the market to bottle the mythical powers of damiana, a traditional herb that thrives in the same regions as agave. The innovative, herbaceous spirit utilizes fair-trade and sustainable agave that’s converted into mezcal by fourth-generation master distillers in Oaxaca, Mexico. A strong team of women make up the team behind the spirit: Partner Jody Levy (co-founder WTRMLN WTR), President/CEO Lisa Derman (former Stoli COO), and at the helm are its founder’s alchemist-artist duo Adrin Adrina and Elliott Coon.CORE grants support to children of food and beverage service navigating life-altering circumstances. In times of extreme strain brought on by family death, injury or diagnosed medical condition, loss of home, or other sudden or extreme circumstances, food and beverage families can become overwhelmed financially and emotionally. CORE is the nationally recognized community of support for all food and beverage service families in need by ensuring they feel cared for and valued.

After my shift the other night, I went to a dive bar that I had never been to before. I asked for a Tanqueray and Tonic. It came in a pint glass and was very strong. For a 16 oz drink to taste very strong... well there must have been a lot of booze in there. We talk about that on the podcast this week. Please let us know what you think about this on the Batender Journey Facebook Page!

Listen in to "Toast to Tales", the official kickoff to Tales of the Cocktail. Plus we speak with friend and Bartender Kyle McElfresh.

Tales of the Cocktail 2018 was a great sucess! Here's a quick run down of what went on.  More from #TOTC18 on future episodes. Cheers y'all!

Bar Convent Brooklyn Part 2!

We are live from the Bar Convent Brooklyn conference!  Adventures and a talk with our freind Vance Henderson from Monkey Shoulder!

The Martini “Martini, shake or stir”. Here’s my take on that. James Bond ordered his Martini’s Shaken not Stirred because that is the EXCEPTION to the rule. If he had ordered just a “Martini”, it would have been stirred because that is the classic recipe. If the guest requests it there is nothing wrong with shaking this drink, but you will never see a decent cocktail book that suggests you to shake a Martini. The general rule is, if it has only spirits in it, you stir. If it has any type of juice in it, it is shaken. When stirring a drink you are trying to chill it and also add water to it, or “dilute” it as we say. Try taking some gin and vermouth, put it in a bottle and put it in the freezer. Don’t stir (or shake) it with ice. That’s not a Martini. It will be too strong and it will not taste very good. When stirring a drink with ice we are looking for a silky texture, which is desirable in a Martini or Manhattan style cocktail. When shaking a drink, like say a Margarita, you are looking to make a bright drink with some air bubbles introduced. How long do you stir? I was at an event recently and in the swag bag was a bar spoon with a thermometer on the top. It was in Celsius so I was looking to get to about 0 degrees or a little colder. What I discovered was that I wasn’t stirring long enough. You noticed I said “0 degrees or a little colder”. Interestingly enough, through some science that I may never understand, you can actually make the drink a little colder than the ice! Dave Arnold, the upmost authority on the science of drink making, talks about that in his great book Liquid Intelligence. Tristan Stevenson also mentions it in his book The Curious Bartender. He and I talked about it when I interviewed him back in episode #122. Dave Arnold’s Liquid Intelligence will be our book of the week. This book is highly recommended and a great resource. Dave is famous for using scientific equipment like rotovaps and centrifuges. I went a long time without reading this book, because I though “I’ll never have a centrifuge”, but he took what he learned using this equipment and uses it to teach interesting techniques and stuff you might not have though of otherwise. In the book he also talks a lot about the effects of stirring and shaking. Interestingly enough, when stirring or shaking a drink, eventually equilibrium is reached and it wont cool anymore or dilute anymore. It will of course eventually start to warm up and the ice will start to melt, adding more dilution, but it can only get so cold. This is helpful to know for a couple reasons, one of which is to keep in mind when building a large round of drinks. For instance if a Martini is the order, you might want to add the ingredients to your mixing cup, add the ice, but stir later. Or you can stir and let it sit there with the ice still in the cup while working on the rest of the round, then strain at the last moment. According to Dave Arnolds experiments, there won’t be much difference. Does the size of the ice matter when shaking or stirring? It seems like the answer is, “not really” although that could be an entire podcast to itself. As a general rule it seems that once proper temperature is reached the dilution will be correct, no matter the size of the ice, although the one exception would be crushed or shaved ice. The Martini is our cocktail of the week. What’s the best way to make it? The way your guest wants it! Ask a lot of questions when somebody orders one. The history of the Martini is difficult to trace. David Wondrich, the ultimate cocktail historian will tell you so, and in fact does just that in his great book Imbibe! In the late 1800’s the drink was usually made with Old Tom Gin, which is sweetened. Sometimes gum syrup was added. The “Dry Martini” appeared around the turn of the century, but it wasn’t dry in the sense that we think of it today. In fact one recipe published around that time period had a 1:1 ratio of Gin to Dry (or “French”) Vermouth.   The Gin was changed to a London Dry style gin or Plymouth Gin which is also not sweet at all. Back in the day, Orange Bitters were always added, which is a really interesting addition to a Martini. Give it a try! I wouldn’t force it on an unsuspecting guest, but try it yourself, see what you think, and maybe suggest it to an adventurous customer. Back to the amount of vermouth. I think the average consumer expects very little vermouth in their Martini, although it is becoming popular in Cocktail Bars to have a 1:1 Martini on the menu. It’s a wonderful drink this way, with the orange bitters and a lemon twist, but of course you need to have a quality vermouth that has been taken care of properly and is not too old. Please store your vermouth in the cooler! Write the day you opened it on the back label of the bottle. Ideally you don’t want to keep it more than a month after opening. At 2 months, throw it out! I use Vacuvin wine stoppers in my open Vermouth bottles. This is a very inexpensive item – about $12 – that pumps the air out of open wine bottles to help preserve it. They are perfect for Vermouth and other fortified wines as well. Next thing to talk about is the glass. Those giant bird bath or “Steakhouse” martini glasses are ridiculous. Believe me I know. I Bartender at a Private Club, we use them. The Members expect nothing less. Those stupid things hold 8 oz if you fill it to the very top, which people seem to expect! That’s not one drink! That’s 4 drinks! So what kind of glass is good? You often here me talk about a chilled coupe glass, which is ideal for a Martini.   For anyone who might not be familiar – it’s the old fashioned champagne glass that’s like a saucer or bowl with a stem. Ideally we want the glass chilled in the freezer until the last minute, but if you don’t have a cooler to keep your glasses in, of course you can chill it with ice and water. Before you start making the drink, pack the glass with as much ice as you can fit and fill to the top with water. For garnish, olives are traditional. If the guest doesn’t specify, its olives. One big or 3 small on a cocktail pic.   Always an odd number, an even number is bad luck. Ha. I don’t know why, but it is. I asked David Wondrich about this one time and he said “it’s a tradition and if you choose to perpetuate it, you should.” I said “I do! I do choose to perpetuate it!” A lemon twist is my favorite. The best twists are made with a y-peeler. Then hold the twist over the drink and using both hands put it between your thumbs and index fingers and start to sort of fold it in half lengthwise. This expresses the oils from the drink into the glass. Its awesome. Personally, I actually like my Manhattan this way too. So the Martini – seems like a simple drink on the surface, but there are some things to consider. Dave Arnold, Don Lee and Greg Boehm, who founded Cocktail Kingdom, are opening a new bar in Manhattan. It should be opening any day now…that should be really interesting. Don Lee is a super smart dude and Dave really knows his stuff. Greg is a very interesting guy too. One innovation that I read about at this new spot is: those in a hurry can buy bottled cocktails from vending machines with a $15 token. I can’t wait to check this place out. Your can still apply for Bar methods for the August 2018 session. I’m recording this on June 6, 2018 and applications are still open for a few more days. I did this course back in 2016 and trust me, you wont regret it. Its 3 days of education in Manhattan, with happy hours and dinners and parties. You stay in the awesome Park South Hotel and the price is extremely reasonable. Trust me. Apply at barmethods.com Another great educational opportunity - BarSmarts Advanced is coming to Philadelphia on September 26. This is a full day of education for the likes of Dale DeGroff, David Wondrich, Paul Pacul, the list goes on. For this you need to do the BarSmarts online course first. Check that out at BarSmarts.com There are a few more sessions of CITC for this year with Gary gaz Regan. Not sure if he has any room left, but that is a wonderful experience. You can find out about that at gazregan.com/cocktailsinthecountry I’ve done all three of these educational experiences. I get nothing for telling you about them, but I just want you to know about them, because they are all amazing (and affordable). I missed a few podcasts in the last few weeks. I have a lot on my plate right now family wise, I wont go into the details, but if you are interested you can scroll back in the feed to the show called “Real Talk From Bartender Journey”. It looks like things are starting to get better, so hopefully we’ll be back on track soon. I am definitely going to Tales of the Cocktail this year – the trip is already booked, so I’ll have lots of great stuff for you from there as well. Please follow me on IG. @ Bartender Journey Here’s our toast: May the chicken never be hatched that will scratch your grave.        

Listen to the Bartender Journey Podcast # 253 with the audio player on this page, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts,  Android or Stitcher Radio. This week on the show we talk with Walter Easterbrook who runs the Bowery Collective and is NY Brand Ambassador for Woodford Reserve.This show is also generously sponsored by The Bowery Collective.The Bowery Collective's yearly Arte Agave festival is coming up on June 29, 2018 at the Bowery Hotel in Manhattan.Arte Agave is a unique celebración of fine agave spirits + arts + entertainment inspired by the richness of Latino culture.Click for tickets. Walter has been also running the Beyond the Bar series which helps Bartenders to advance their careers and move on to other opportunities if they wish.  If you'd like to get involved with future Beyond the Bar events, contact the Bowery Collective.Every year at Tales of the Cocktail there is a big awards ceremony called the Spirited Awards.  This year they have added a new category for Best Video, Broadcast or Podcast.  Please help out by nominating Bartender Journey for this category.  Everything you need to know about how to do this is on this page.Cocktail of the Week:Brown DerbyThis drink is named for a Hat Shaped restaurant that was once in Los Angeles called the Brown Derby.The classic recipe is:2 oz Bourbon, I’ll use Woodford Reserve today.1 oz Freshly Squeezed Grapefruit Juice1/2 oz Honey Syrup – 1:1 ratio Honey dissolved in hot water – its best to measure by weight, not volume.Shake with ice.  Strain into a chilled coup glass.Brian’s altered recipe:2 oz Woodford Reserve Bourbon¾ oz Freshly Squeezed Grapefruit Juice¼ oz Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice1/2 oz Honey Syrup¼ oz of an olo sacrum syrup made with the rinds of the Grapefruit, (recipe below)Take the rinds of the Grapefruit before you squeeze it – peel it with a y-peeler or vegetable peeler.  Put in a zip lock bag and add some white sugar.  Mix.  Seal the bag, removing as much of the air as you can.  Let that sit for at least an hour at room temperature.  Add a little warm water to dissolve the sugar mixture and strain it. Book of the Week:Bourbon Curious by Fred Minnick.  The sub title is “A simple tasting guild for the savvy drinker”.We want to thank the Bowery Collective again for sponsoring the show. If you are in the New York area, definitely check out their events, like Arte Agave on Friday, June 29th 2018 at the Bowery Hotel.  Go to bowerycollective.com/ and click on the Events tab to see all the events.As it says on the on the Bowery Collective’s web site “we create meaningful experiences.  If need help organizing a cool event, get in touch with Walter.  There is a contact button on bowerycollective.com/Toast:Make everyday a Masterpiece.