The Modern Bar Cart Podcast

We interview Master Distiller Lance winters of St. George Spirits in Alameda, CA. He's a pioneer in the industry and a champion of craft distilling. Some of the things we cover in this wide-ranging conversation include: How Lance's childhood fascination with flavors, spices, and seasonings eventually led him into the beer and whiskey world, where he met Jorg Rupf, the legendary founder of St. George Spirits. Why flavor is an ideal medium to use when you want to transfer some sort of emotion or experience between completely different people. What it took to grow St. George from a brand that started making Alsatian-inspired fruit brandies in a shipping containers to one of the undisputed leaders in the craft spirits world Then we taste the following St. George Spirits and give you in-depth notes: Their pear brandy, Terroir Gin, Bruto Americano Aperitivo, and their single malt whiskey.

Xander Shepherd and Zach Spohler are two of the three founders of Artet, a groundbreaking cannabis aperitif that's making waves in the cocktail space. In this interview, we discuss: How these two New York natives took the leap into the world of entrepreneurship to pursue a dream that merged their passions for art, hospitality, and cannabis. What an aperitif is, and how Artet stays true to the history of the drink, but also extends the conversation about where Cannabis fits into the cocktail space. Where the name "Artet" and the abstract artwork on the bottle come from. We also do a quick contemporary state of the union regarding cannabis laws and regulations in different parts of the US. We sample Artet, giving you in-depth tasting notes and cocktail ideas And along the way, we dig into the problem with pebble ice, what to drink on Richard Branson's private island, and why it's okay to eat your cocktail garnishes.

The object of our investigation this episode is the word, "smooth." We hear used all the time to describe drinks, and yet, most of us would have a hard time pinning down exactly what it means. Some of the topics we'll cover in this hit piece against the word "smooth" include: How and why Eric became suspicious of this word as a descriptor in the spirits and cocktail world A brief history of the smooth vs. rough liquor trope since the mid 20th century The difference between accuracy and precision in language, and why "smooth" can sometimes be accurate, but never precise. A troubling parable involving a major international distilling operation and their recent ad campaign Some thoughts on the truth from a major player in the literature and culture space And much, much more.

During this episode, you'll hear stories and flavor advice from the five bartenders who competed in this battle to raise money for their respective charities and nonprofits. And then at the end, we'll give you a quick rundown of everything we've learned by observing, organizing, and even emceeing several cocktail competitions in the past few months.

This episode is part 1 of two part story about cocktail competitions. In this edition, we'll head to Loudoun County, Virginia, where our friends at Catoctin Creek Distilling hosted their second annual Battle of the Bartenders. We hear the origins stories and strategies of six bartenders from Northern Virginia as they prepare to face one another in a cocktail competition featuring three rounds of secret ingredients.

In this Dry January conversation with Modern Bar Cart Co-Founder Ethan Hall, some of the topics we discuss include: What we're excited about for 2020, and what Ethan is excited about being based out of DC for the first time in several years DC bar trends, as well as noteworthy closings and areas of the city we're excited to explore again Nerdy cocktail and cooking toys we've picked up over the past month and how we're planning to use them in the new year Ethan's Cayenne-Hibiscus Kombucha recipe, which happens to be an excellent, low-sugar alcohol substitute that you can replicate at home Eric's dry January rules and regimens, as well as his thoughts on the term, "Sober-curious" Ethan's answers to our new set of lightning round questions And much, much more

Before our annual holiday break, we share with you some of the highlights of this year in the form of stats, important current events,and emerging trends. Then, we unveil a few new lightning round questions that we're going to be working into the mix in 2020.

In this crossover interview with Chris Sands of the Uncapped Podcast and Braeden Bumpers of McClintock Distilling, some of the things we discuss include: A little Modern Bar Cart company history, including how our bitters are made and why we're still cranking out podcasts after two and a half years. A discussion of whiskey tasting notes, and the strange world of online spirits reviews How Braeden and I set up our upcoming Bar Room Blitz event, which will take place on Friday, December 13, the day after this episode airs. There may be a few extra tickets released the day of the event, so feel free to check out the show notes page for a link to Eventbrite. We also conduct a tasting of three special McClintock Distilling innovation series releases, including a wheat whiskey, a gin collaboration, and a hop infused American Single malt created in collaboration with the Uncapped Podcast.

Some of the topics we discuss with Victoria Vergason of The Hour during this interview include: How Victoria used her globe-trotting career in international finance to build a colorful and diverse collection of vintage glassware and bar tools. The various changes in glassware size and shape as we moved from the golden age of the cocktail, to prohibition, and beyond. Why cocktail pitchers and rooster motifs really need to make a comeback. How history and culture had a direct effect on the design and materials used to make different glasses and tools, including camouflaged cocktail shakers, gun trigger mechanisms on jiggers and, even hand-painted cocktail glasses. The origins and implications of the "Three Martini Lunch" Why Victoria is branching out to create her own line of glassware and bar tools called "The Modern Home Bar." Which famous artists and thinkers she would invite to her ultimate historical cocktail hour And much, much more

Some of the topics we discuss with Minimalist Tiki Author and rum ambassador Matt Pietrek Include: How Matt tended a rum hobby while working as a software engineer, and then blew that spark of interest into a full-fledged career as a rum author, historian, and consultant. Why intellectual honesty and a thirst for verification set great cocktail writing and scholarship apart from the merely good stuff. What "minimalist tiki" means - because let's face it, when you're looking at a recipe that calls for 8 or more ingredients, there's not a whole lot of minimalism going on. Why the fates and fortunes of rum and tiki are so interconnected in the bar world. How Matt used a quantitative approach to laying out the most important tiki ingredients to have at your home bar. (Total software engineer move, by the way…) The four levels of improvisation in tiki What it's like to self-publish a book in the age of Amazon and big publisher dominance. What to drink when discussing calculus with Sir Isaac Newton. And much, much more.