The Modern Bar Cart Podcast

In this episode, we answer user submitted questions about spirits and cocktails. Specifically, the topics we cover include: Why moonshine is illegal, and also why legal distillers can sell products called "moonshine" The difference between the dry shake and reverse dry shake method for creating egg white cocktails How to create your own house made orgeat and falernum with an eye toward shelf stability And a cocktail challenge involving the state of New York and a visiting family contingent from Italy Submit your mailbag questions to podcast@modernbarcart.com, and maybe your query will be featured on a future mailbag episode!

In this fun chat with author and bartender Shannon Mustipher, some of the topics we discuss include: How Shannon shifted her passion for art from the canvas to the bar What cocktails and great coffee and lattes have in common What it looks like to go from designing a simple brunch menu to an entire cocktail program featuring over 50 rums The discipline, sacrifice, and passion required to assemble a book that contributes meaningfully to the Tiki discussion How to think about Tiki as a “modern” cocktail genre What to drink in Cuba with actress and philanthropist Rosie Perez And much, much more Shannon’s book, Tiki: Modern Tropical Cocktails, can be purchased online, or by visiting your local bookseller and requesting that they carry it. Personally, I love how this book is organized, and I love the photography that accompanies the cocktail recipes - each picture really whets your appetite and inspires you to spend time on the presentation of the drink. So please, if you’re in the market for a good read and some awesome recipes, grab your copy today.

In this inspiring conversation with Chase Babcock of Saint Benevolence Rum, some of the topics we explore include: How Chase’s childhood visits to Haiti - the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere - inspired him to create a rum brand that could enhance and catalyze the great charitable work his father began doing in Haiti back in the early 2000s. What it takes to source and import rum that tells a story and inspires bartenders to make great cocktails. The legacy that Clairin has in Haiti as essentially a family moonshining tradition, and why this open fermented rustic agricole product is making a huge splash in the spirits industry today What different sugar cane varietals can bring to the clairin making process Why Chase and his dad Calvin publish their tax returns on the internet How to order rum like Ernest Hemingway at a Parisian cafe And much, much more During this conversation at Tales of the Cocktail 2019, we taste through Saint Benevolence’s two keystone or flagship products: their five year aged caribbean rum, and their clairin, which is just now hitting the market in Florida, California, and Louisiana, so if you’re based in one of those states, be sure to request Saint Benevolence next time you visit your favorite bar or liquor store.

In this episode, we chat with Ethan Hall, Russell Garing, and Eric Holtzman of the Modern Bar Cart Team to learn about their first-time experiences at Tales of the Cocktail, a yearly hospitality industry summit centered around mixed drinks. Some of the topics we discuss include: How Tales of the Cocktail is structured, including seminars, tasting rooms, brand activations, and other local events The types of people who might be interested in attending this legendary hospitality industry summit Our favorite highlights from the first few days of the 2019 event, including luxury spirits, oysters, and even Champagne sabering An inside look at some of the educational seminars we attended And much, much more

In this episode, we take a comprehensive look at the New Orleans inspired Sazerac cocktail and delve deep into the institution that is Tales of the Cocktail.

In this episode, we give you a comprehensive breakdown on how to approach and prepare garnishes of the citrus variety and beyond.

In this episode, we chat with author and spirits judge Eric Zandona about his new book, The Tequila Dictionary.  Some of the subjects we discuss in this interview include: What it’s like to create a reference book (like a dictionary or encyclopedia) in the spirits world, and how The Tequila Dictionary can be used as a tool by agave enthusiasts. How tequila and mezcal are different. We give you the big-picture overview, and then look into some historical trends and trace these spirits back through the decades. Which label terms and quality indicators you can use to make informed tequila and mezcal purchases next time you take a trip to the liquor store. How technology and commercial interests have prompted a number of changes in the way agave spirits are manufactured and then consumed here in the U.S. What emerging trends we can expect from tequila, mezcal, and agave cocktails in the coming years. And much, much more. You can learn more about Eric and his work by visiting ezdrinking.com, you can follow him @ezdrinking on Instagram and Twitter, and you can purchase your copy of The Tequila Dictionary wherever books are sold.

In this episode, we focus on bitters - bitter cocktails, and more importantly, two new bespoke cocktail bitters flavors we developed for our friends over at Catoctin Creek Distilling Co. and Sagamore Spirit Distillery. Some of the things we discuss include: How to make the Trinidad Sour cocktail, which is one of only a few drinks where bitters make up a large portion of the volume What it means to tell a story with flavor and how to use ingredients to build a narrative around a specific product What to do when flavors are too "matchy" or too far off in left field How use cases and cocktail applications impact the characteristics of the end product And much, much more.  

­ When it was first brought to our attention that the word “mocktail” might be somehow bad or offensive, we was taken completely off-balance because, to us, it had always been a useful way to identify – on a cocktail menu – that a certain drink or category of drinks did not contain alcohol, but functioned (in a manner of speaking) as if they did. In this episode, we set out to investigate this issue to the fullest of our capabilities. This audio essay (and the embedded rant it contains for comic relief) are my way of presenting the debate as we see it, confronting some potentially problematic issues along the way.  

In this episode, we chat with RB Wolfensberger, head distiller at Gray Wolf Craft Distilling, about his new American Agave Spirit: Lobo. Some of the topics we discus include: How his new American agave spirit - called “Lobo” - fits in with the other products in the Gray Wolf portfolio, which we taste and nose as we go. The differences between using an agave heart or “pina” vs. using an agave nectar as the base for a distilled spirit. Why barrel aging agave spirits is traditionally very different than most other barrel-aging approaches, and what RB is doing to kinda shake things up and set his product apart. The challenges of introducing a non-tequila, non-mezcal agave spirit into an American market that takes comfort in traditional agave categories and classifications. An on-air cocktail demo using the Lobo to make a dry, refreshing riff on an agave Manhattan. Meditations on the late, great distiller Dave Pickerel, And much, much more