Bartender Journey - Cocktails. Spirits. Bartending Culture. Libations for your Ears.

We chat with Chris Timmerman from Dano's Tequila.

We talk with Chad Cadden & Bill Varnell, founders of Whiskey, Bourbon, and Scotch Enthusiasts, (WBSE). Also joining us is author of Beginner's Guide to Whiskey, Sam Green. You can find WBSE on Facebook or their website.  

We talk with Peter Grasso of the Monmouth Whisky Club and Julia Ritz Toffoli founder of Women Who Whiskey.

Friend of the podcast Walter Easterbrook joins us to talk about how he's still hustling during quarantine.  He also share some great resources from his recent Beyond the Bar series. Keynote + Industry Panel Password: 0p.x58w4  Virtual Happy Hour Password: 3f%=%*?6  Content Creation Password: 6c*.!J67  Obtaining a brand Job Password: 4S^6#N78    Thanks to the Beyond the Bar sponsors who are supporting the community: Winebow Sazerac Los Vecinos mezcal San Matias Neft Vodka Pitu

Great Education with founder of Hiatus Tequila, Kristopher DeSoto for Cinco de Mayo! For a deep dive into Tequila Education, check out the Hiatus Tequila YouTube page. 

Brian’s Picks: Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s The Bar Book, Elements of Cocktail Technique  is always my #1 recommendation. (He was a guest on Episode 113.) Esquire Drinks, An Opinionated & Irreverent Guide to Drinking - David Wondrich (out of print, but is available used on Amazon for as little as $2.81!) An old book - 2002, but a goodie.  Mr. Wondrich, who is the end all authority on cocktail history wrote this book for Esquire Magazine.  If you ever want the definitive answer on the history of a cocktail, just google the name of the drink and "Wondrich". (He was a guest on Episode 110.) The Joy of Mixology The Consummate Guide to the Barternend’s Craft - Oh Gaz....I miss you. Originally published in 2003, there is an updated version of this book.  (He was a guest on Episode 175.) The Curious Bartender,  The Artistry and Alchemy of Creating the Perfect Cocktail - Tristian Stephenson.   Smart guy.  I love how in this book he presents a classic cocktail, gives the classic specs, and then his interpretation of an improvement on the recipe. (He was a guest on Episode 122.) Regarding Cocktails - Sasha Petraske (Foreword by Dale DeGroff), Shsah changed everything in our industry. (He's NOT been a guest on the show, he unfortunately passed away in 2015... I never had the opportunity to meet the man, but he influenced so many). Benny’s Picks: Liquid Intelligence, The Art and Science of the Perfect Cocktail by Dave Arnold.  The Science of Cocktails?  Who would have thought?  A great and well thought out book. Smuggler’s Cove, Exotic Cocktails, Rum,and the Cult of Tiki by Martin and Rebecca Cate (He was a guest on Episode 186 .) A beautiful book full of great information and beautiful tiki drinks. Beach Bum Berry Remixed, Gallery of Tiki Drinks by Jeff Berry.  A real tiki book, full of old school tiki recipes. PDT Cocktail Book, The Complete Bartender’s Guide From the Celebrated Speakeasy by Jim Meehan (He was a guest on Episode 77.) Meehan is a true gentleman who created a perfect Speakeasy.  Every Bartender should own this book. Also mentioned in this episode: Meehan’s Bartender Manual by Jim Meehan (Featured on Episode 89.)  If you ever even considered owning your own bar, you must read this book from cover to cover. The Flavor Bible, The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America’s Most Imaginative Chefs by Karen age and Andrew Dornenburg.  An outstanding book on flavors - what goes with what. Cocktails Made Simple: Easy & Delicious Recipes for the Home Bartender by Brian Weber and Amin Benny.  What to make cocktails at home, or get a foundation for becoming a professional Bartender?  This book is authored by host of Bartender Journey, Brian Weber and co-author Amin Benny.  

We talk with the President of the Distilled Spirits Council Chris Swonger about the Council's efforts during the COVID19 crisis.

With all of us Bartenders stuck at home and out of work during quarantine, this might be just the time to start a podcast of your own! Here's a little jump start for you!

In this difficult time of the Bud Lite, um, Corona virus...we are sending good vibes/wishes to stay healthy mental, physically and financially.  That last one...financially is really tough right now, I know. Before we go any further, please understand that while I am a professional Bartender, I am not a lawyer, doctor, financial planner or anything like that.  Please go to bartenderjourney.net/disclaimer to read our Disclaimer.

We here we are in the thick of the Corona-tastrophe.  It is having far reaching implications and consequences for the Hospitality industry. We have an interview with Andrew Rigie, Executive Director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance.  He’s also Chair of New York City’s Office of Nightlife Advisory Board. THIS EPISODE AND RELATED WEBSITE MATERIAL IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES AND NOT INTENDED FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING MEDICAL or LEGAL ADVICE BY THE BARTENDER JOURNEY PODCAST TEAM. PLEASE READ OUR FULL DISCLAIMER HERE,   The interview with Mr. Rigie  was recorded prior to the March 15th announcement of Mayor Di Blasio's executive order limiting restaurants, bars, and cafes to food take out and delivery; nightclubs, movie theaters, small theater houses, and concert venues must close effective Tuesday, March 17th.  The NYC executive order was then superseded by NY State Governor Andrew Cuomo’s executive order the following day - March 16, 2020 - that all bars and restaurants in the entire state must go to take out & delivery only.  Interestingly though here in NY State, where to-go alcoholic drinks were a definite no-no for establishments like bars and restaurants with an on-premise license, it seems that it will now be allowed during the Corona-tastrophe.  So here in NY anyway we can sell to-go alcoholic beverages.    The NYC Hospitality Alliance Group continues to remain a resource for our industry here in NYC - you can visit their site: the thenycalliance.org for the latest updates.

On Episode No. 294 we talk with Frank Ciulla, Educator, Scientist and Founder of Hudson Educational Services about COVID-19, commonly known as "Coronavirus". OUR FULL DISCLAIMER HERE FOR YOUR REVIEW.​

Today we talk with the very interesting Jacob Briars - Global Advocacy Director at the  Bacardi Company. Sorry there may be a few weird audio dropouts. Seems like I need to buy a couple new mic cables.  Tennessee was recently hit with a series of very destructive tornadoes. Nashville was hit very hard, which is a great town and one that has a lot of hospitality workers.  Our love and thoughts are we those impacted by this tragedy, but we’d also like to provide information on relief efforts for industry professionals in need of assistance led by the Nashville USBG Chapter. We shared the GoFundMe page and a list of businesses offering support and services on social media, we would also like to highlight two immediate avenues: the Bartender Emergency Assistance Program through the National USBG Foundation that provides emergency relief grants to bartenders, and a family charity partner, Core Gives, that provides assistance to service industry families. Follow the Facebook page for Nashville USBG that provides up-to-date information on the list of places impacted and bars that are hiring for those displaced.   We, at the Bartender Journey, send our support and wishes for a speedy recovery.  Bartender Journey Episode 293

More from Mexico, as we drive around the Town of Tequila in the back of a pickup truck drinking Tequila Fuenteseca Reserva 18 year old Extra Anejo bottled in 1995.

I have just returned from Mexico as a guest of Tequila Fortelaza. It was an amazing trip. I had such a great time but also learned so much about Tequila.  Coincidentally, less than a week before the trip, I took a 6 Hour Tequila certification course sponsored by Hiatus Tequila and presented by the Tequila Regulatory Council or CRT.  Listen to the Bartender Journey Podcast #291 for a Deep Dive into Tequila! For this information in text form, see the blog post.  

We speak with Owner Stewart King and General Manager Jack Keane of Circle Hospitality Group in Cincinnati.

There is a hole in the bartending community – Gary "gaz" Regan passed away on November 15, 2019. He was an inspiration and mentor to a huge portion of the bartender community. His book The Joy of Mixology in 2003 was groundbreaking.. In that book he encouraged Bartenders to measure, to consider the glasswear carefully, to chill the glasswear, when to shake and when to stir. These things weren’t talked about much back then, but help lay the groundwork for where we are now. Then there are more important lessons in the book about BEING a bartender. He updated The Joy Of Mixology in 2018. Cheers to you gaz. You are sorely missed.

Hazel interviews Assistant Master Distiller at Jack Daniels, Chris Fletcher. Check out the new book by host of this podcast Brian Weber:  Cocktails Made Simple!

We are very excited to announce the release of Cocktails Made Simple written by Brian Weber and Amin Benny.  We wrote it to be easy to follow, clear and concise, and most of all useful and practical.   On this episode of the podcast Brian and Benny discuss the book.

We speak with Chris Swonger, the President and CEO of the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. and Responsibility.org Also what's the best way to cut citrus garnishes at the bar?  I co-authored a book!  Cocktails Made Simple is available on Amazon.

Bartender Journey Podcast #284   Today we talk about cocktail photography with professional food and beverage photographer Anthony Nader.  His company is called 52 chefs. He is a lot of fun.   I was lucky enough to be invited to his seminar recently that was specifically about taking great photos of cocktails with your phone.  It was sponsored by Tequila Avión - thank you very much for that Ms. Veronica Chaparro. It was at the roof top bar at the Park South Hotel, which is an awesome place, if you ever get a chance to go.  Bar Methods was going on while we were there, and I got a chance to say hello to friend Chris Bitmeed who runs Bar Methods which is a once a year, 3 day educational event.  I did it about 3 years ago, and I encourage you to look into that for next year - its an amazing educational opportunity.  Anthony gave a great demonstration about how to take great photos, and then we paired up into teams of two - I pared with Hazel, and we had a photo and video competition.  There were lots of props and drinks. We had to submit one photo and one slo mo video. In the end my photo won the contest! It was a picture of a Tequila Avión Nigroni.   We are excited to announce that the special project is our new book, Cocktails Made Simple: Easy and Delicious Recipes for the Home Bartender!  It’s coming out on October 15, 2019! I think you'll find our book serves as a great guide to making drinks, with an explanation of tools and techniques, in addition to classic cocktail recipes.   If you're a Home Bartender looking to entertain family and friends, you'll learn how to build a functional home bar with essential tools and cost-effective tips in order to craft cocktails in your own home. It was a great experience writing this with co-author and our West Coast Bartender Journey associate, Amin Benny and a quick thanks to Hazel Alvarado for Back of House duties on this project. The book is available NOW for pre-order on Amazon.  Click here to sign up for our email newsletter to keep informed about the book.  And please follow Bartender Journey on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Its @BartenderJourney on IG and FB, and on twitter I’m @BarKeepTips. Cocktail Photography Tips: Be sure to Clean the camera lens.  It gets dirty. You can clean it with a soft cotton t-shirt or any soft cloth. Zoom in a little. Setting the exposure and locking in the focus. Click on the subject before taking the picture - the subject will be locked into both focus and exposure  Also, next to the yellow box surrounding your subject, there is a tiny icon of the sun. If you slide that up and down, you can change the exposure.   Display abundance - use props...use your imagination.   Get close -  I had always composed my cocktail photos very neatly, displaying the entire glass and garnish - usually shooting from slightly above the glass so that the surface is visible.  I would center the cocktail. Try getting in very close. Art can be a little messy! Focus on garnish - or on the little droplets on the outside of the glass or whatever - something specific in the drink - not the drink as a whole. Bounce light. A white paper menu is one way to do that. Use a friend’s phone with a white screen - I’d heard at other seminars, or maybe read somewhere, to us the flashlight from a friend’s phone for light when you are in a dark bar or something, but that light is harsh.  A white screen is softer - you can just go to google.com for instance. And of course on iPhone you can go to Settings / Display & Brightness to control the brightness of the screen if you need more light. Pay attention to other photos - what do you like?  When you see a picture that you like, think about what you like about it.  Some ideas for looking at great cocktail photos on IG, are Anthony’s stuff at @52Chefs and our friend Natalie @BeautifulBooze.  I would also encourage you to follow the #cocktails Speaking of IG when you are editing your photo in the IG app before posting - don’t use the pre fab filters - edit the settings individually. When you first get to edit mode in the IG app, above you photo there is a little icon of the sun that is white on the left and black on the right.  This is the lux setting. I did not know about this! Its awesome. I don’t know enough about photography to explain what lux is, but its related to exposure.  Do this first. Then Anthony recommends adjusting the settings in this order: Contrast Warmth Sharpness Turn each setting all the way up to see what it does, then scale back from there.   I hope you learned something from the show today.  I’d love to see your cocktail photos, hopefully using some of the stuff you learned from listening.  Post your picture to IG and tag me @BartenderJourney.   I wanted to share one more thing with you - I just read an outstanding article on bourbonr.com.  Its called “What’s Malt, and Why is it Needed”.  It’s a really worth a read.  It not only does a great job of explaining the process of producing alcohol , but also some of the differences between scotch and bourbon and also the definition of a Single Malt.  I’ll have that link on bartenderjourney.net. We’ll have to try get the author of that article Mr. Henrik Brandt on the show sometime.