Designated Drinker Show

Get the featured cocktail recipes: Simply Said It’s funny how—and when—inspiration strikes. When the acquisition deal that John and his partner had spent months working on turned sour, the dream to create their own mezcal brand was born. With many trips to Mexico, a lot of research, a few family connections and a bit of luck, they were well on their way to creating their delightfully approachable...

Get the featured cocktail recipes: Old Cuban As her name may lead you to believe, yes, Karen is sweet—but don’t be fooled—she’s definitely one tough cookie. The mission of her Women’s Global Empowerment Fund is extraordinary: to support women through economic, social and political programs, creating opportunities while addressing inequality, all the while strengthening families and the communities...

Get the featured cocktail recipes: Strawberry Bloody Mary Audrey started curating and designing museum galleries before most of us could even multiply and divide. When just knee-high to a grasshopper, she was creating exhibits in her childhood bedroom and inviting her parents to the opening of her “gallery.” She’d charge them entry fee, of course (told you she was smart). Obviously, Audrey was des...

Get the featured cocktail recipes: Francis Water of Life Growing up in the Catholic household of Irish-German / French-Canadian parents, was a great foundation for Michael’s future as author of his amazing books that are equal parts entertaining, informative and great cocktail recipes. #CocktailingAloneTogether and looking for another cocktail to honor your patron saint? Then head over to our libr...

Get the featured cocktail recipes: Death In The Afternoon (Hopes and Dreams) Absinthia’s journey that took her from bootlegger to award-winning spirit maker started in 1997. This is also when she earned the name Absinthia, which she eventually made her legal name. Her Absinthia™ Organic Absinthe Blanche Superieure—which has won multiple awards—is uniquely elegant, bright and refreshing. So, we can...

Get the featured cocktail recipes: Vendome Club Hollywood Cocktail Apparently, great minds think alike, because on this epi, Bill Thomas and Gina both open their favorite bottles of Willett. Louise on the other hand, reaches for a bottle of a small batch Mezcal she brought back from one of her many trips to Mexico. All 3 do so in honor of “Open That Bottle” while they chat about the current state...

Get the featured cocktail recipes: Pineapple For The People Rockstar from behind the bar Mary Kelly introduces us to Widow Jane You’ll Never Walk Alone—a limited edition “distiller’s choice” bottling of its signature 10-year bourbon, with 100% of the profits donated to the USBG National Charity Foundation & C.O.R.E. (Children of Restaurant Employees). To find how you can support your local F&B ind...

Get the featured cocktail recipes: Red Lion At the intersection of society, politics and booze is where you find Jon. As the Curator of Political History at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and author of “The Age of Acrimony: How Americans Fought to Fix Their Democracy 1865 – 1915” and “The Virgin Vote: How Young Americans Made Democracy Social, Politics Personal, and Voting P...

“Happy Hour” is a part of the Between Acts' ever-growing line-up of works from newfound playwrights—from dramas to comedies and everything in between. So, reserve your season tickets now for this new form of escapism that only gets better with the perfectly crafted cocktail. Each episode is produced by Missing Link’s creative team of well-season professionals and performed by an ever-evolving ense...

Get the featured cocktail recipes: Clayton Spice Railcar After serving in the military for 8 years and then another 7.5 years on Raleigh Police Department, Eric found himself looking for a change. First, he pursued a wine certification which eventually led to him venturing into the spirit world—the distilled spirit world, that is. Some might have called it a mid-life crisis, he called it Instill D...

Get the featured cocktail recipe: Mandarin Mezcal Margarita As the co-founder of Share Our Strength, Debbie Shore has led the development of their incredibly successful fund-raising culinary events: Taste of the Nation, No Kid Hungry dinners, Dine Out for No Kid Hungry and Chefs Cycle. And as if that’s not enough, she is the co-creator of Add Passion and Stir, a weekly podcast featuring thought le...

Get the featured cocktail recipes: Giggle Water & Airmail Trevor perfected his skills behind the bar before starting Wash Line, where he reps Q Tonics and Mixers, along with spirits from Missouri’s first distillery since prohibition, J Rieger Distillery and Ten to One Rums—truly a Caribbean delight. Also, in his line-up of liquid delights is Beau Joie Brut Champagne, a zero-dosage champagne that i...

Get the featured cocktail recipe: Classic Aperol Spritz ‘Tis the season to eat, drink and be merry, so who better to spend the day with than Louise’s friend and go-to wine aficionado, Dustin Lara? He shares is expertise and helps us pick wines perfect for the holidays. So, if you don’t can find your way to his “Brut Champagne and Wine Bar” in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia, then we suggest you take...

Get the featured cocktail recipe: Poinsettia / Hella Holidayfashion / Easy-Breezy-Freezey Eggnog While Gina’s “poolsiding” at her family’s home in The Sunshine State, she serves up 3 tropical holiday cocktails perfect for a warm winter day. What a great way to spend some time with family over the holidays. ________________________________________________ #CocktailingAloneTogether and hanging out w...

Get the featured cocktail recipe: New York Sour A writer, a podcaster and a Rabbi walk into a bar. Yes, that’s Drew Kaplan. After finishing his BA, Drew attended and graduated from YCT Rabbinical School in NYC. Since then, he has gone on to write for various outlets on a multitude of subject that span from beer to the Talmud to Star Wars. This all led to him starting his own podcast focused on Jew...

Get the featured cocktail recipes: 2way Rockaway   With a mind for business and a soul for spirits, Bridget started her career on Wall Street at a hedge fund as a consumer goods investor with a focus in alcoholic beverage companies. But being a brilliant overachiever, Bridget then set her sights even higher, and in 2012, she founded NYC’s only rum distillery. But that again wasn’t enough, so she r...

Get the featured cocktail recipes: The 2nd Wave…Don’t Catch It, Just Ride It // Hot & Toddy // Pear Your Tequila It’s the 3rd Annual Tipsy Tomfoolery & Tryptophan Friendsgiving episode, which means it’s 3 times the fun and we are serving up 3 times the recipes. Not only does Gina mix up an amazing cocktail recipe you can enjoy while you’re stuffing your turkey, Duane Sylvester and Jason Strich eac...

Get the featured cocktail recipes: Some Like It Hot, Mezcal & Chill, Pumpkin Mezcal Old Fashion & Squash Elixir There’s a chill in the air and leaves are falling, so it’s a perfect time to cook up a seasonal simple syrup, craft a few tasty cocktails and enjoy a fun-filled afternoon. #CocktailingAloneTogether and get squashed with Louise & Gina. Then head over to our library of libations, to find t...

Get the featured cocktail recipe: Changing Fashion Jill’s political aspirations started early in life. As a very young girl, she was inspired by her father’s involvement in local politics, and ran for student president with a catchy campaign slogan of, “Don’t be a turkey, vote for Barkley.”  This early win would be a foreshadowing of what was yet to come. As a card holding democrat, Jill successfu...

Get the featured cocktail recipe: Monumental Boilermaker In 2011, Bill saw an opportunity: there was no packaging brewery in the DC area. So, with his love for craft beer, expertise in fine wine sales and brand building smarts, Port City Brewing was born. At neck-breaking speeds, it quickly became a leader in the DC and Mid-Atlantic markets. Since then, they have been honored many times, including...

Get the featured cocktail recipe: Kentucky Snow Cone “The Trigger,” Kelsey’s debut album, is at the intersection of raw sincerity and pure sass that harkens back to the legacies of the tough-as-nails country women. Her approach to music is authentic and she doesn’t shy away from sharing her vulnerabilities or her tenacity. Every lyric of this album is meaningful to her journey through violence, ab...

Get the featured cocktail recipe: Bronx Cocktail One may wonder if Chris picked the hospitality industry or if the hospitality industry picked Chris. It is a world that he has found much success, even though it has never let him rest on his laurels. The proof in that pudding can be found in his catering company, CBassWithDill. Not looking to feed the masses and just want to add a little spice to y...

Get the featured cocktail recipe: Garrett’s Tequila Seltzy At the mere age of 26, Garrett fell in love with Maui but with all she had to offer, something was still missing: craft beer. So, this lover of beer heard opportunity a-knockin’ and set out to create a local brewery that would craft authentically Hawaii-inspired brews, and Maui Brewing Company was born. But of course, he and his team didn’...

Get the featured cocktail recipe: Vanilla Daiquiri As if being the Director of Communication for the ACLU of Virginia isn’t enough, Edith always makes “giving back” a priority. She actually makes being charitable look easy and the rest of us look down-right lazy. For her, giving back is a selfish act, since as she puts it, she gets back more than she puts in. So, where does she choose to spend her...

Get the featured cocktail recipes: Jason’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere and Bey’ONDA’ Rickey Jason reminds us, there’s more than just one path in life and there’s no such thing as the right path—we only have our own path. Shortly after starting life as a corporate lawyer, he soon came to realize it wasn’t the life he wanted. What he wanted was to create something new and exciting. He needed and wanted more...