The Modern Bar Cart Podcast

In this effervescent and eye-opening conversation with Fever-Tree co-founder and CEO, Tim Warrillow, some of the topics we discuss include: The drinks landscape in 2003 when Tim and his partner Charles set out to fundamentally change the way we approach the oft-overlooked and even-more-oft commodified carbonated mixers category. Why ingredient sourcing has played a pivotal role in Fever Tree’s rise to cocktail stardom, leading Tim to dodge nail strips and rocket launchers in the search for the world’s purest quinine. The symbiotic and dynamic relationship between premium spirits and premium mixers, and why Fever-Tree looks to the world’s best distillers as inspiration for new products and flavor combinations. We also talk about Fever-Tree’s new “Easy Mixing” book, which contains over 150 cocktails spanning beloved cocktail categories like the Mule, Highball, Summer Cup, Spritz, and even low- and no-ABV drinks. Along the way, we cover why Fever-Tree only comes in glass bottles, how the flavor of Mexican limes depend entirely on the meteor that killed the dinosaurs, what to drink with philanthropist Bill Gates, And much, much more. This episode is brought to you by Near Country Provisions. If you live in the Mid-Atlantic and want to enjoy ethically raised (and delicious) meat from local farmers delivered to your door every month, then you need Near Country in your life. Head over to NearCountry.com and enter the code BARCART when you sign up for your subscription to receive 2 free pounds of bacon or ground beef in your first delivery.

In this eye-opening conversation with Bar Director Deke Dunne of Allegory here in Washington, DC, some of the topics we discuss include: How Deke transitioned from a life in politics to a life behind bars, starting by working security at perhaps DC’s most successful pop-up EVER and then making the switch to bartending. What a surrealist Victorian novel by Lewis Carrol has to do with Ruby Bridges, a civil rights pioneer who was the first black child to desegregate a white school here in the US, and why the artwork at Allegory mixes those stories together and puts them on display. Of course, we talk cocktails and drink development, explaining how Deke and his team use flavors to tell stories. And this might sound cut-and-dry, but when we explain how rum, bourbon, oxidized sherry, banana liqueur, and a purple tuber all came to reside in a Kefir-finished milk punch, your mind will be blown. We also necessarily dig into the tricky balance that a bartender needs to walk when engaging with guests about historically charged and culturally sensitive subject matter. It’s possible to do it really well, but there’s also a lot of work that occurs behind the scenes to strike the right balance. Along the way, we discuss the role of hospitality in a concept bar, why a Ramos Gin Fizz is like a baseball bat donut, what’s next for Deke and Allegory in 2022, and much, much more. This episode was made possible with editing and sound design by Samantha Reed, spirits and infused cocktail wisdom courtesy of Kurt Maitland, and a little bit of interview magic by yours truly. This has been a Modern Bar Cart production, copyright 2021. This episode is brought to you by Near Country Provisions. If you live in the Mid-Atlantic and want to enjoy ethically raised (and delicious) meat from local farmers delivered to your door every month, then you need Near Country in your life. Head over to NearCountry.com and enter the code BARCART when you sign up for your subscription to receive 2 free pounds of bacon or ground beef in your first delivery.

In this wide ranging conversation with spirits expert and cocktail author Kurt Maitland, some of the topics we discuss include: Some notes from the early days of Kurt’s spirits adventures, including a Jameson drinking college friend from Hong Kong, a bar with a Dutch name in Brooklyn, and a conference room at an architectural firm. How Kurt came to co-found the Manhattan Whiskey Club, and some crucial tips for starting a spirits appreciation group in the post-COVID world. Then we dive into Kurt’s books, which are both intense and wonderful in their own ways. We cover how he leveraged his super powers as a paralegal to assemble the over 1,100 cocktail recipes in his first book, Drink, and why he was bitten by the infusion bug, which inspired The Infused Cocktail Handbook. We also take time in this interview to discuss the current state of the bar scenes in both New York and Washington, DC and where we think things are headed as we continue to slog through what I refer to as the “long tail of COVID.” Along the way, we explain why people only ever follow a cocktail recipe to the letter once, the problem with the term “terroir,” what to drink with former president Lyndon B. Johnson, and much, much more. This episode is brought to you by Near Country Provisions. If you live in the Mid-Atlantic and want to enjoy ethically raised (and delicious) meat from local farmers delivered to your door every month, then you need Near Country in your life. Head over to NearCountry.com and enter the code BARCART when you sign up for your subscription to receive 2 free pounds of bacon or ground beef in your first delivery.

In this cross-over interview courtesy of the Drinks Adventures Podcast, James Atkinson interviews ESPN journalist Baxter Holmes about the NBA’s burgeoning wine obsession. It’s a perfect little rabbit hole in which to think about the intersection of flavor, popular culture, and the network effect that can occur when a few influential people become evangelists and educators with the power to open the eyes (or in this case the palates) of a vast audience. This episode is brought to you by Near Country Provisions. If you live in the Mid-Atlantic and want to enjoy ethically raised (and delicious) meat from local farmers delivered to your door every month, then you need Near Country in your life. Head over to NearCountry.com and enter the code BARCART when you sign up for your subscription to receive 2 free pounds of bacon or ground beef in your first delivery.

In this mailbag episode, Eric answers questions submitted by listeners. The topics include: Why 375ml bottles are less prevalent than 750ml bottles in the spirits space How different "pony & jigger" designs and sizes afford different uses for professional and home bartenders How to access this years Tales of the Cocktail seminars, and what's in store for next year's event What to do when you're trying to set up a home bar in a smaller-than-desired space Upcoming "Breaking Bloody" teasers And much, much more. This episode is brought to you by Near Country Provisions. If you live in the Mid-Atlantic and want to enjoy ethically raised (and delicious) meat from local farmers delivered to your door every month, then you need Near Country in your life. Head over to NearCountry.com and enter the code BARCART when you sign up for your subscription to receive 2 free pounds of bacon or ground beef in your first delivery.

In this barrel-aged deep dive into Bourbon and American whiskey with distiller Lauren Patz, some of the topics we discuss include: How Lauren’s roots in Napa Valley winemaking led her to fall in love with the craft of distillation and barrel maturation. Why California in general (and Northern California, in particular) is a burgeoning American whiskey ecosystem bursting with local grain, available cooperage, and more native wine finishing opportunities than anywhere else in the country. Then we walk through Lauren’s method for making Redwood Empire Whiskey step-by-step, examining her approach to important procedural touchpoints like malting, fermentation, sourcing, maturation, and blending. We also sample a delicious new product offering called “Grizzly Beast,” which is a bonded bourbon whiskey made using some of the first barrels of whiskey laid down by Redwood Empire in their early days of operation. We also take some time to work through Lauren’s approach to evaluating and judging bourbon and American whiskey as an anchor judge for the American Distilling Institute’s annual judging of craft spirits. Along the way, we chat about the wheat-and-rye hybrid grain you’ve never heard of, the virtues of “negative capability,” what to drink with Dune author Frank Herbert, and much, much more. This episode is brought to you by Near Country Provisions. If you live in the Mid-Atlantic and want to enjoy ethically raised (and delicious) meat from local farmers delivered to your door every month, then you need Near Country in your life. Head over to NearCountry.com and enter the code BARCART when you sign up for your subscription to receive 2 free pounds of bacon or ground beef in your first delivery.

In this episode, Eric gives listeners his thoughts on Tales of the Cocktail 2021, which is being held remotely for the second year in a row due to the pandemic. He covers the use of new platforms and technology to streamline the event process and provide networking options, which seminars he is excited about, and how to take advantage of both live and pre-recorded events after they occur. This episode is brought to you by Near Country Provisions. If you live in the Mid-Atlantic and want to enjoy ethically raised (and delicious) meat from local farmers delivered to your door every month, then you need Near Country in your life. Head over to NearCountry.com and enter the code BARCART when you sign up for your subscription to receive 2 free pounds of bacon or ground beef in your first delivery.

In this fascinating deep dive on American Whiskey, some of the topics I discuss with author and spirits judge Eric Zandona include: A quick rundown of a few pivotal points in our country’s whiskey history, including “The Taft Decision” and the pioneering female distiller who made her mark on the sour mash process. How early geographical and climatic constraints set the stage for the traditional whiskey styles that would come to define local drinking cultures in various regions of the US. Then, we get regional. We talk about the differences between Pennsylvania-style and Maryland-style rye whiskey, we look at Texas’s unique barrel aging conditions, and we investigate the funky, new world Single Malts of the Pacific Northwest. We also talk about some emerging legislation at the state level that classifies certain geographically limited categories, like Kentucky Bourbon, Tennessee Whiskey, and the new and intriguing Missouri Bourbon category. Along the way, we talk about why craft whiskey is so much better than it was five years ago, why more people should be talking about barrel entry proof, who serves the best Martini in London, and much, much more. This episode is brought to you by Near Country Provisions. If you live in the Mid-Atlantic and want to enjoy ethically raised (and delicious) meat from local farmers delivered to your door every month, then you need Near Country in your life. Head over to NearCountry.com and enter the code BARCART when you sign up for your subscription to receive 2 free pounds of bacon or ground beef in your first delivery.

This episode is a post-mortem examination of a large-scale, milk clarified cocktail that Eric recently helped to create for the wedding of his friend and co-founder, Ethan Hall. We thought this would be useful as an in-the-trenches analysis of how to take a cocktail from concept to reality at an ambitious but technically achievable volume of about 4-5 gallons for roughly 40 guests. This episode is brought to you by Near Country Provisions. If you live in the Mid-Atlantic and want to enjoy ethically raised (and delicious) meat from local farmers delivered to your door every month, then you need Near Country in your life. Head over to NearCountry.com and enter the code BARCART when you sign up for your subscription to receive 2 free pounds of bacon or ground beef in your first delivery.

In this wide-ranging and pine-scented conversation with Master Distiller Ryan Christiansen, some of the topics we discuss include: How time spent in his father’s hardware store as a child led Ryan to appreciate taking complicated equipment apart and bringing people and communities together.  What it was like to build Caledonia Spirits from the ground-up alongside his partner and beekeeper Todd Hardy. Why Barr HIll gin defies categorization as a London Dry, Old Tom, or New American style gin Some thoughts on the finicky and inconsistent barrel aged gin category, and what makes Barr Hill’s Tom Cat reserve product such a stand-out example of what a barrel aged gin could (and perhaps should more often) be. Along the way, we cover the tricky business of understanding where bees have been hanging out, some hints as to the location of the mythical “juniper extraction curve,” why “hazy Martinis” are set to be the next big cocktail craze And much, much more. This episode is brought to you by Near Country Provisions. If you live in the Mid-Atlantic and want to enjoy ethically raised (and delicious) meat from local farmers delivered to your door every month, then you need Near Country in your life. Head over to NearCountry.com and enter the code BARCART when you sign up for your subscription to receive 2 free pounds of bacon or ground beef in your first delivery.