The Modern Bar Cart Podcast

In this stimulating conversation with photographer and whisky enthusiast Ernie Button, creator of The Art of Whisky, some of the topics we discuss include: How Ernie married his way into a love for Scotch, and how that fondness turned to wonder and curiosity one night when he was about to put his whisky glasses into the dishwasher. The collaborative approach that Ernie took to explore this subject, pulling in fluid dynamics physicists at Ivy League Universities, and even resulting in a published paper in an academic journal. What it takes to coax the “fingerprint” out of each spirit he photographs, and why these images appear molecular, or planetary, or nebular in shape and structure. By way of illustration, we look at a few images from The Art of Whisky, which help to showcase the ways in which whisky scatters and reflects light. We also dig into some of the chemical forces responsible for these phenomena, in Ernie’s experience, including the influence of charred oak barrels, cask finishes, and peat. Along the way, we discuss exciting developments in the rice whisky world, an encounter with barrel-aged Botanist Gin, why grape-based spirits are just the ABSOLUTE WORST for photography, 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 audio essay, Eric examines mergers and acquisitions in the spirits world, using several case studies to explore how brands rise, fall, or become acquired. The case studies are: The recent acquisition of Picon Aperitif from Diageo by the Campari Group The sale of Blue Coat Gin to Heaven Hill, as part of their acquisition of Samson & Surrey. The acquisition of Faber Distilling (and its facilities) by Millstone Spirits Group At first blush, this might sound like just a bunch of corporate twaddle. But if you dig into the stories behind these headlines, a richer, crisper picture of today's spirits industry begins to emerge. 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 fusion update / mini-esssay episode, Eric covers some new developments at Modern Bar Cart, including: A website redesign New calendar and wholesale portal features The return of Embitterment Bitters variety packs A new polling initiative with benefits, and A free, private event taking place in New Orleans at this year's Tales of the Cocktail After that, he uses a case study to demonstrate the value of the new weekly polls. In particular, this poll covers the audience's feelings toward the "chainification" of successful New York cocktail bars like Death & Co. and The Dead Rabbit. 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 single-barrel conversation with entrepreneur and spirits educator OJ Lima, co-founder of Taste Select Repeat, some of the topics we cover include: How OJ and his business partner Pierre battled a pandemic and a notoriously thorny government bureaucracy to found and scale their modern liquor store concept. The historical and social forces that contribute to an unwelcoming culture for women and people of color within American Whiskey, and how Taste Select Repeat is working to open things up by emphasizing transparency and healthy discourse. Then we dig into OJ’s bread and butter: single barrel picks. Many of you have heard this term, and for some of you, it may be new territory. We give you the basic rundown and then talk about how OJ and his team partner with different distilleries to select these barrels from a warehouse full of options. Along the way, we cover some of the new spirits categories TSR is beginning to explore, how a single barrel whiskey is like a performance of a Shakespeare play, what to drink on a beach with Bob Marley, 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 flavorful, botanically-robust interview and gin tasting with Duncan Coltharp and Jewel Murray, some of the topics we discuss include: The process of creating a gin from scratch - at least the way they did it at Mt. Defiance - which involved a boozy rendition of vision boarding, tinctures, eyedroppers, tasting panels, cocktail tests, and more. How Jewel thinks about gin when building cocktails for The Gibson’s renowned cocktail program, and why not all gins are a great fit for all cocktails. Then, of course, we taste the Gin Nouveau by Mt. Defiance and walk through some of the highlights of the botanical bill and distilling process to trace the flavors and aromas we encounter back to their sources. We also give you all the updates on a fantastic launch party for this spirit at The Gibson, which will be open to the public. So if you’re in DC or will be passing through on April 28th, 2022, please hit up the details on the show notes page to learn how you can be part of the action. Along the way, we cover international gin trends from the past decade, cocktails featuring genepy and cassis, potato vodka from Mars, 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 is Part II of an extensive audio essay on the history and mechanics of the Margarita cocktail. In Part I, we examined the origins of sour taste perception and tracked a number of the Margarita's precursors, including grog, the Crusta, and the Daisy. In this installment, we explore sugar, the Margarita's chief technology, and trace it through a number of formula changes to understand how this cocktail hacks our innate biology and psychology. To get to the heart of how the Margarita works, we need to start asking questions like: Where does a traditional “sour” stop and a margarita begin? Is the salted rim optional, essential, or something else entirely? And Should we think of this as a cocktail to be served “up,” “on the rocks,” or does it not really matter? All of this might seem to boil down to a simple question of definitions, but in fact, if you follow the evolution of the Margarita and its ingredients and proportions over time, you begin to realize that the look and feel of a Margarita is a wonderful core sample of the culture and values of any given time and place.

In this fascinating conversation with Pádraic Ó Griallais, founder and director of Micil Distillery, some of the topics we discuss include: The history of distilled spirits in Ireland, with special attention to how pretty much every law or distilling practice somehow ties back to evading unjust taxes. What it was like for Pádraic growing up in a family where distilling was practiced and taught using the oral tradition, and how his grandfather’s role as a seanchaí (SHAN-a-khee), or storyteller, had a massive impact on the way he tells stories using flavor. We also dig into the history and common misconceptions surrounding Poitín, Ireland’s original endemic spirit and Micil Distillery’s flagship product. In particular, we cover what it’s made with, how long it can be aged, and why Pádraic and his team throw a local botanical called “bog bean” into the still whenever they make a batch. Of course, we spend some time talking about the whiskey-making and barrel-aging initiatives at Micil, which benefits from being located in Galway, a city with a centuries-old tradition of sourcing excellent casks from mainland Europe. Along the way, we cover the influence of crop rotation on Poitín mash bills, how to repair a still using porridge, incantations for confusing the police, and much, much more. This episode is also 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 globe-trotting discussion with wine expert and author Simon J. Woolf, some of the topics we discuss include: How Simon transitioned from a career in IT to a life traveling, tasting, and writing about wine, and specifically, he describes the visit to Northeastern Italy that caused him to fall in love with Orange Wine. What makes orange wine different from other traditional red, white, or rose, wines from around the world, both in terms of its production methods and the various flavor profiles it can evoke. Then we go wide and deep on cultural terroir, covering topics as diverse as the convective fermentation properties of Georgian ovoid qvevries, to the role of thick skins on Ribolla Gialla grapes, to the dazzlingly creative experiments and blends made today by orange wine makers from around the world. From a consumer perspective, we give you some tips on how to think about dipping your toes into the orange wine pool, either at your local wine shop or your favorite restaurant. And we cap everything off by giving you a peek at Simon’s most recent book project: Foot Trodden: Portugal and the Wines that Time Forgot.  This episode is also 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 first installment of a two-part series, Eric investigates the origins and history of the Margarita cocktail, beginning with the origins of sour taste perception 500 million years ago. The run of show includes: The evolutionary legacy of how a tiny roundworm came to sense a change in hydrogen ion density in its environment Why humans like sour tastes, especially when those sour tastes exist in the presence of sugar and alcohol The naval environment in which distilled spirits, sugar, and fresh citrus juice became one of the first global drinking trends The two cocktails that paved the way for the Margarita, namely: the Brandy Crusta and the Daisy