Meet Louise Salas, your host and guide behind the stick of the Designated Drinker show, a weekly podcast where you’ll meet interesting folks, enjoy boozy banter & learn how make craft cocktails from our resident barkeep, Gina Chersevani. You can also visit us at designateddrinker.show. Don't forget to subscribe to the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Get the featured cocktail recipe: "DANG..." On this episode of the Designated Drinker Show, we find out how Dave Coleman went from home brewing to heading up one of DC's most loved breweries, 3 Stars Brewing. To date, they has released over 40 distinctive beers and cultivated a reputation for pushing the envelope when it comes to creativity. They have been named DC’s Best Local Brewery two years running by Washington City Paper, and were named Rising Stars by Star Chefs Magazine. DANG! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Get the featured cocktail recipe: "Bitter Plum" Carbonated Cocktail On this episode of the Designated Drinker Show, we get a taste of history and learn a little about the upside of prohibition (or as we like to call it, the dark, dark times). Meet John Uselton from Green Hat Gin as he gives us the low down on his premium spirits, where they’ve been, and where they’re going. Don't forget to subscribe! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Get the featured cocktail recipe: "Music Man" On this episode on the Designated Drinker Show, we learn why they say that it’s good to be the king, and Author, Dale Degroff should know. They call him King Cocktail, but if you ask us he’s got a bit of a jester in him too. Listen to his amazing stories to find out why! Why wouldn't want to add his books to your library? Order them here: "The Craft Of The Cocktail" & "The Essential Cocktail" And don't forget to subscribe! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Get the featured cocktail recipe: Always A Lady On this episode of the Designated Drinker Show, we chat with Charlotte Voisey about living and breathing the hospitality life for more than a decade. Originally starting out as a bartender, this British native quickly climbed the ladder where she eventually became the Director of Brand Advocacy and Mixologist for William Grant & Sons where she looks after the spirits and the brand ambassador team. She’s a two times Golden Spirit Award winner at Tales of the Cocktail, host of The Proper Pour with Charlotte Voisey, was named Mixologist of the Year for Wine Enthusiast Magazine, and was recognized by the James Beard foundation. Don't forget to subscribe! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Get the featured cocktail recipe: "Zen Overcomes Me" On this episode of the Designated Drinker Show, meet Ann Tunnerman, the Founder of Tales of the Cocktail, the world’s premiere cocktail event. Her work cultivates and promotes the spirits industry and has made Ann a go-to authority on cocktails and the business behind them. She regularly serves as a source for national and international publications including Fortune, Imbibe, Saveur, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Condé Nast Traveler. She has earned awards and recognition from around the world including being named a James Beard Award Semifinalist, one of the top 10 most influential people of the past 25 years by Cheers Magazine, and BNIC Cognac Personality of the Year. Don't forget to subscribe! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Get the featured cocktail recipe: "Cat & Mouse" On this episode of the Designated Drinker Show, discover how Todd marries the art form of language, food and New Orleans to build a tasty career we all envy. Discover his unique views on NOLA and how her many transformations have changed the food and culture scene. Would you expect anything less from a dining writer who's made Big Easy his home? Don't forget to subscribe, download and review! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Get the featured cocktail recipe: The Offering The spirit of this episode is sure to enlighten and entertain. Journey with us as Sallie Ann takes us on her journey of becoming a traditionally-ordained Vodou Priestess and beyond. Glassman has been practicing Vodou in New Orleans since 1977 and in 1995 became one of few to be ordained through the traditional Haitian initiation. She owns Island of Salvation Botanica, where you'll find religious supplies, medicinal herbs, and Haitian and local artworks. She is also the author of Vodou Visions: An Encounter with Divine Mystery. Don't forget to subscribe, download and review! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Get the featured cocktail recipe: Vermillion On this episode, meet a man of two worlds, Jaime Salas. He's a Designated Drinker with a fascinating perspective on life, culture, and heritage, that really speaks to us. It’ll speak to you too, just listen in and see. Combining passion, charisma and originality with a vast knowledge and reverence for the art of tequila, Jaime is the perfect embodiment of modern day Mexico. Growing up in a the creative space like San Francisco as well as in Mexico’s tequila producing region of Jalisco, he has definitely developed a unique perspective on the country’s most famous export, which has informed every aspect of his career since. Don't forget to subscribe, download and review. Salud! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Get the featured cocktail recipe: A Gentleman and A Scholar On this episode, met a Designated Drinker who believes good food and drink is best served with a side of great service. From CPA to the head of his own restaurant group, Ralph Brennan knows how to serve up an amazing dining experience. With seven restaurants to his name, and a family history steeped in “the biz,” he has had an interesting journey and has even more exciting insight to the future of the service industry. Oh, and he’s the first guest to make us a drink--with a 100 year Ojen, too boot. Make sure you subscribe, download and review. We depend on, and appreciate, it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Get the featured cocktail recipe: We The Spirit One should never doubt the ability of a thoughtful and committed group to change the world. So on the episode, we learn all about the positive, mind-opening and palette-enhancing changes happening in the distilled spirits industry. Meet Kelley McDonough, the Director of Public Relations for the Distilled Spirits Council, a trade association for the spirits sector. In her role, she's champion spirits trends, industry heritage and cocktail culture, all the while traveling the world hosting special events and media tours. She also works closely with the media to disseminate the latest industry data and category statistics. Talk about a dream job! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Get the featured cocktail recipe: “Great ingredients are like old friends,” says Alan Walter. And we couldn’t agree more. In this episode, meet Alan Walter, Creative Director of the International House Hotel. Unique. Creative. Ingredient Wrangler. These are just a few adjectives to describe Alan. With all due reverence to spirits and their origins, Alan’s approach to tending bar is a modern expression of the American saloons of the Old West, where improvising with whatever spirits were on hand was a must. Unafraid of experimentation or anachronism, he makes his proprietary syrups for use in his extraordinary recipes, many of which are inspired by ingredients from the kitchen pantry. These delicious recipes have gone on to be published by Food & Wine, StarChefs.com and…oh yeah… the Designated Drinker Show. And when he’s not mixing at Loa, he writing country songs. Don't forget to subscribe, download and review! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Get the recipes for all 3 holiday recipes: "Puppies In The Snow," Mommy's Not Drunk, She's Just Having Fun," and "An Italian Gentleman Wrapping Presents Under the Tree Dressed in His Dog Pajamas" Welcome to the first special edition of the Designated Drinker Show. With all the hustle-and-bustle and festivities of the holidays comes stress, so our hope is that the recipes provided by our guest barkeep, Michael Saccone (A.K.A. Elf On The Top Shelf), helps spread some much needed holiday cheer. He shares 3 recipes that are perfect for all your holiday festivities or just to fill your flask for all that dreadful shopping. Whatcha' think of the show? Review us and let us know. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Get the recipes for all 3 holiday recipes: "Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” “Over The Hill and Through the Woods,” and “The More the Merrier” Welcome to the second special edition of the Designated Drinker Show. If you’re looking for that perfect drink to enjoy while you’re getting ready for your next holiday party OR to serve to the in-laws to make dinner a little less awkward OR just want to leave Santa something more than milk and cookies, you want to listen to this episode. Chris Bassett, our guest barkeep, serves up some delicious drink recipes that are sure to keep you in the holiday spirit. Naughty or nice? Review the show & let us know. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Get the featured cocktail recipes:Save the Donna for your Mama & Williams Plum Street Booze Ball In this episode, meet Designated Drinker, Donna Black. She shares more than just her icy treats and a few laughs with us, she takes us on her journey into owning and operating a business that has been dishing out a uniquely delicious New Orleans icy treat, since 1949. In 1979, Donna Black's husband Claude insisted that the couple buy a family-owned snoball stand, which had by then been shoveling syrup-drizzled snow for over 35 years. Though Claude had been their devoted customer since childhood, Donna didn't really know what made this business so special. In other words, she was going in cold, preparing to become a snoball stand proprietor with little insight into the delicate art of syrup mixology or the summer afternoon crush of sweaty customers clamoring for something to cool their overheated palates. Now, more than thirty years later, she quite confident to call herself a snoball "barmaid," as she knows each customer, with the intuition of a dedicated drink-pourer, by his or her favorite flavor. Looking for more sweet treats? Subscribe to the show! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Get the featured cocktail recipe: Square Stems On this episode meet Designated Drinker, Jamie Simpson--a musical rockstar turned rockstar chef. He hails from some of the best restaurants in Charleston, SC and has staged at Michelin-starred restaurants around the world. Today, he is the Executive Chef at The Culinary Vegetable Institute at The Chef’s Garden in Milan, Ohio. His passion? To promote and grow the sustainable food system. Love this tasty bit? Let us know by reviewing the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Get the featured cocktail recipe: Odds & Ends On this episode, we take a journey into the past with Designated Drinker, Scott Williams to met Odd McIntyre, possibly our nation’s first preeminent pop culture writer. Williams is the author of “An Odd Book, How the First Modern Pop Culture Reporter Conquered New York.” Like Odd, Scott also has led an interesting life. He’s gone from leading the marketing and PR efforts for Elvis Presley Enterprises (yes, that’s Graceland) to becoming the chief operating officer and senior vice president of sales and marketing at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. And if that's not enough, he serves on the board of both the D.C. chapter of the American Advertising Federation and the Historical Society of Washington, D.C. And let us not forget, he is a husband and a father of two beautiful daughters. Episode Sponsor: Mardi Gras Extravaganza :: Tue, Feb 13 :: 6-10pm @ Union Market Dock 5 Indulge in New Orleans and southern style grub and drinks to toast to Mardi Gras revelry. Featuring DC's top restaurants, bars and mixologists, bar and breweries and rotating bands for a night of N'awlins fun. The event will benefit DC Central Kitchen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Get the featured cocktail recipe: Yellow, Savvy, Different On this episode, we sit down with Designated Drinker, Will Lacey. He began his culinary journey with the creation of his catering and special event company, Yellow Dog Barbecue. Fueled by creative passion, Will's priority has always been the preservation of the simple fun of cooking. In developing the products now offered by Savvy Foods, Will wants to empower friends and customers alike to test their boundaries in the kitchen. How can you not like a guy who's motto is, “Food has the ability to bring people together. It makes strangers into friends and friends into family.” Find this episode as tasty as we did? Then subscribe, download & review. Episode Sponsor: Mardi Gras Extravaganza :: Tue, Feb 13 :: 6-10pm @ Union Market Dock 5 Indulge in New Orleans and southern style grub and drinks to toast to Mardi Gras revelry. Featuring DC's top restaurants, bars and mixologists, bar and breweries and rotating bands for a night of N'awlins fun. The event will benefit DC Central Kitchen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Get the featured cocktail recipe: Royal Street Sazerac Mescach Cisero, A.K.A. Shaq, A.K.A. Chef Cisero, built a successful career calculating and analyzing “big data” but recently made the decision follow his heart and left the corporate world behind. Until now, he has had one foot in each world but is now focusing all of his energies on his culinary career. Chef Cisero sits down with us to share the ups-and-downs of his journey towards a very promising, yet new career as he debuts as the visiting Executive Chef at Prequel, a restaurant incubator. Find this episode as tasty as we did? Then subscribe, download & review. Episode Sponsor: Mardi Gras Extravaganza :: Tue, Feb 13 :: 6-10pm @ Union Market Dock 5 Indulge in New Orleans and southern style grub and drinks to toast to Mardi Gras revelry. Featuring DC's top restaurants, bars and mixologists, bar and breweries and rotating bands for a night of N'awlins fun. The event will benefit DC Central Kitchen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Get the featured cocktail recipe: Lips Say What? On this episode we get personal. Designated Drinker, Certified Lipsologist Arianna Lightingstorm, exposes the personal sides of Louise and Gina by sharing what their lip prints reveal. Ariana (aka Anna Snodgrass) is one of only 8 Certified Lipsologists, the first certified teacher of Lipsology in the world and was the first on the East Coast to be trained in the fun and entertaining practice of Lipsology. Beyond that, she has more than 35 years of experience in palmistry, tarot and handwriting analysis which she has used to entertain party-goers and corporate event attendees throughout the United States. What is Lipsology, you ask? Lipsology is the new and exciting art and science of lip print reading. After studying the lip prints left on her uniquely-made kiss cards, Ariana uses her insights to read the messages that shed light on personality characteristics, energy levels, and more. Find this episode as tasty as we did? Then subscribe, download & review. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices