The Modern Bar Cart Podcast

In this eye-opening conversation with Spiritless CEO, Lauren Chitwood, some of the topics we discuss include: How Lauren’s experience running events and activations for big spirits brands led her to join forces with her two business partners to solve one of the industry’s trickiest problems: what to drink when you’re not drinking. What it was like to take Spiritless from a basement experiment using PVC pipe and a popcorn machine to a full-fledged operation that uses real spirits to capture the barrel-aged essence of american whiskey. Then, of course, we taste Kentucky 74 - two versions of it! Lauren uses these two samples to walk me through the evolution of the product and explain how she and her team are zeroing in on the flavors that cocktail lovers really crave. Along the way, we cover the mixological appeal of going ‘halfsies,” my controversial views on bourbon, what other spirits Spiritless has in the pipeline, 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 spirited discussion with Ian Blessing, co-founder of All The Bitter, some of the topics we discuss include: How Ian’s career as a sommelier at restaurants of all kinds (including the legendary French Laundry) led him to ponder and experiment with non-alcoholic spirits and cocktail ingredients. What happens when you decide to side-step ethanol as an extracting agent and instead harness the solvent powers of vegetable glycerine and vinegar in your bitters recipe. As we taste, we also cover why Ian and his wife and business partner Carly roll out a platoon of bittering agents and also spotlight a featured functional ingredient in each of their flavors, including Holy Basil, Lemon Balm, and Schisandra Berry. We also dig into the medicinal history of these kinds of products and the really specific opportunity they hold in the no-ABV cocktail space, which is to replace the somewhat “anesthetic” effect of alcohol with other functional, and felt health benefits that can still impact your mood and homeostatic state. Along the way, we cover the difference between adaptogens and nervines, our mutual love for shrink-banding thousands of bottles of bitters by hand, what numerical coincidence always makes Ian giggle, 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 fascinating conversation with Mark Sansom, content editor of The World’s 50 Best Bars and 50 Best Restaurants, some of the topics we discuss include: How Mark and his academy of experts manage to cover the entire globe in any given year, shedding a flood light not only on bars and restaurants in major markets, but also on regions that traditionally get less attention or acclaim. How The World’s 50 Best differs from more traditional hospitality rating indices, like the Michelin Guide. Which bars (and bar styles) topped the list this past year, and some fun updates about their new Best Cocktail Menu award. We also talk about the difficulties posed by the current pandemic: from cocktails to-go, to the rise of food-and-cocktail pairings, to the 50 Best for Recovery recipe book, which raised over 1.3 million dollars in aid for the hospitality industry. Along the way, we cover 50 Best’s new travel planning tool, called “Discovery,” Mark’s morning coffee ritual, the polarizing nature of sea urchin gonads, 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 conversation with Derek Brown, author of the forthcoming book, Mindful Mixology, some of the topics we discuss include: How Derek entered into the low- and no-ABV cocktail space, partially as a function of shifting life circumstances, and partially as a way to deepen the conversation around what a cocktail is or should be. What it means to drink mindfully - we’re all aware that this word has many different connotations, and Derek explains exactly what he means by the phrase “mindful mixology.” Then we take a look at the book: how it’s set up to give you a crash course in the ingredients and techniques that create delicious low- and no-ABV drinks, as well as the other voices from the NA cocktail space he pulled in to comment on subjects like non-alcoholic spirits and setting the mood without alcohol. Finally, we wrap up by exploring the language we use to describe cocktails without booze, how bartenders and bar programs can learn more about incorporating No- and low-ABV drinks into their menus, and the burgeoning future of the no-ABV spirits category. This content 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.

Eric weighs in on the use of the word "mixologist" to describe someone who makes cocktails either professionally or as a hobby. He does this by first taking a good, hard look at this word, “Mixologist,” both in terms of its historical usage and its various meanings and connotations. Then, he sizes it up compared to other words used to describe bartenders Finally, he makes a case for why it’s a pretty good word - maybe not without fault - but certainly worth keeping around. 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.

Eric breaks down the highlights from The Modern Bar Cart Podcast in 2021 and previews what listeners can expect in 2022. Topics include: 2021 by the numbers (downloads, most popular episode) Noteworthy improvements from 2021 (plus an inside look at how the podcast gets made) A look ahead at incorporating video and audience engagement into future episodes Opportunities for live meet-ups and listener feedback 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 the second of a two-part interview with bartender, entrepreneur, and milk punch expert, Eamon Rockey. He’s the creator of Rockey’s Botanical Liqueur, and if you haven’t listened to part I of this episode, you’re missing out on a bunch of important background, as well as fun stuff like our featured cocktail, the Rockey’s Spritz. If you did tune in last week, you know that we deviously left you on a cliffhanger, where Eamon was about to reveal his secret to making milk punch without the stress of filtering and straining until you’re blue in the face. We’ll start off here by giving you the goods that we so cruelly dangled last time around, and we’ll continue with an awesome tasting and discussion centered around Eamon’s delicious, painstakingly formulated, and surprisingly affordable botanical liqueur. 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 portion of a two-part interview with Eamon Rockey, creator of Rockey’s Botanical Liqueur, some of the topics we discuss include: How Eamon’s childhood working in kitchens in Hattiesburg, Mississippi propelled him to the Culinary Institute of America and then into some of the hottest fine dining establishments in New York City. What it was like to take the cocktail program at the legendary 11 Madison Park and completely standardize its cocktail program by deconstructing ingredients and thinking like a chef. How to make a completely virgin spin on Milk punch that can be paired with any base spirit a guest might desire. Why milk punch can (and perhaps should more often) be approached as a cocktail technique or process, rather than a recipe unto itself What to say when Sasha Petraske of Milk & Honey asks you how you make simple syrup 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 fascinating conversation with Andrew Yancey of Tarnished Truth Distilling, some of the topics we discuss include: How Andrew and his team opened up the first and (to-date) only hotel distillery in the US Why the history and lore of the Cavalier Hotel is so important to the brand and its mystique, including Prohibition-era suicides, fresh prepared wild game, and a mysterious FBI file involving Richard Nixon. We also discuss what it takes to design a distillery from the ground-up and the logic behind sourcing vs. in-housing certain spirits at various points in a brand’s growth and evolution. Of course, we chat about the Virginia Bourbon Invitational, which is a fantastic annual event that will be returning to the Cavalier Hotel for its 4th year in November of 2022. Along the way, we touch on the importance of salt water in your bathtub, why the first person you hire should always be a chemist, grandfathers with multiple side-hustles, 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 fascinating deep dive with bartender and ice cream fanatic Iain McPherson, some of the topics we discuss include: How a childhood love of frozen treats, a fascination with lucid dreaming, and a stint at Italy’s most hallowed gelato university led Iain to explore the largely untapped universe of freeze concentration. Why this process - first pioneered by German “Eisbock” makers - has affectionately and efficiently come to be known as “switching.” Then, we break down the process, including how to use switching to modify both ferments and distillates, what tools you’ll need, and some of the experiments that have yielded the most interesting results at Iain’s bars. We also cover why switching produces more pure flavors than heat- and pressure-intensive techniques that employ traditional stills or rotovaps, a few important precautions to keep you and your guests safe when making and enjoying switch-finished products, what the future holds for freeze-thaw mixology, 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.