Radio Imbibe

In July, Tales of the Cocktail returned to New Orleans as an in-person event for its 20th anniversary, and for this episode, we catch up with two of this year’s Imbibe 75 People to Watch, both of whom live and work in New Orleans: Touré Folkes and  Kimberly Patton-Bragg . Folkes is the founder and program director for Turning Tables , which works to create equity in the hospitality industry, and P...

In our July/August 2022 issue, Robert Simonson introduces readers to New York Times reporter and whiskey writer Clay Risen . For this episode, we talk with Clay about the rapidly changing world of American whiskey and the whiskey evolutions he’s finding intriguing these days; and we discuss the whiskey stories he’s shared in his articles, including the role that the formerly enslaved distiller Nea...

In our July/August 2022 issue, Kate Bernot explores the backstory of Ranch Water, the tequila-based Texas cocktail that’s enjoying a moment in the spotlight. For this episode, we talk about the appeal of Ranch Water with Travis Tober, owner of Nickle City in Austin and Fort Worth (and an upcoming location in Houston), and of Old Pal Texas Tavern in Lockhart. Nickle City’s Ranch Water 1¼ oz. blanco...

Alex Negranza ’s career has taken him from Seattle’s specialty coffee shops and cocktail bars to some of Houston’s most prestigious bars and restaurants. For this episode, we check in with our 2018 Imbibe 75 Bartender of the Year to catch up on how his career is unfolding, and to chat about the work he’s taking on in his newest role as president of GLASS , the Gay and Lesbian Alliance for Spirited...

In 2011, New York City bartenders Lynnette Marrero and Ivy Mix joined forces to launch Speed Rack ( @speed_rack ), a women’s bartending competition that would raise funds for charities supporting breast cancer research. For this episode, we talk with the duo about what they’ve learned over the course of more than a decade of producing Speed Rack, the charity beneficiaries they’re proud to support,...

In the May/June issue of Imbibe , we feature a Vodka Martini from The Doctor’s Office in Seattle, and for this episode, we visit the bar and find out about their approach to the cocktail. We chat with TDO bar director Keith Waldbauer about the blind-tasting process that resulted in their preferred formula, the virtues of batching cocktails in advance, and about coming to terms with vodka and vodka...

For the cover feature about vodka in our May/June issue, we spoke with St. George Spirits master distiller and president Lance Winters about the distillery’s approach to making vodka and flavored vodka. St. George is also known for its gins, whiskies, fruit brandies, and other spirits, and Winters discusses how they bring a similar philosophy to making vodka as they do to other spirits; and we loo...

Since its 2013 debut, The Dead Rabbit in New York City has garnered numerous awards and accolades as being one of the world’s best bars. For this episode, we talk with founding partner Jack McGarry about the bar’s ambitious expansion plans starting with outposts in New Orleans and Austin, Texas, in 2023; how the Dead Rabbit’s style is evolving as it approaches its 10th anniversary; and how McGarry...

The cover story of our March/April 2022 issue focuses on the world of brandy, and for this episode, we wrap up our coverage of the spirit with Nicolas Palazzi. Born in Bordeaux and now living in Brooklyn, Palazzi is the founder of PM Spirits , an importer and distributor of specialty spirits, including Cognac, Armagnac, and Calvados. For this episode, we talk with Palazzi about his search for memo...

The cover story of our March/April 2022 issue focuses on the world of brandy, and for this episode, we talk with acclaimed New York bartender ms. franky marshall . A longtime Cognac educator, ms. franky shares insights into what makes Cognac so distinctive; the ways Cognac remains a dynamic spirit today; and how Cognac novices can begin their own explorations of this exceptional French brandy. Rad...

As a companion to the brandy cover story in our March/April 2022 issue, we head to California to chat with David Warter, the vice president of winemaking and distilling for E&J Gallo Winery. Gallo’s gone big on California brandy in recent years, and Warter shares details about what makes California brandy distinctive, and he offers insight into Gallo’s brandies from the Argonaut and Germain-Robin...

Our March/April issue dives deep into the world of brandy—and it’s impossible to talk about brandy in America, or the world of apple brandy, without talking to Lisa Laird Dunn . The executive vice president, COO, and global ambassador for Laird & Co. in New Jersey, she’s the ninth generation of her family to be involved in the brandy business. For this episode, we chat with her about apple brandy’...

Andra “AJ” Johnson has been a barista, sommelier, cicerone, and bartender, and today she’s a partner and beverage director for Serenata in Washington, D.C. For this episode, we catch up with AJ about her ongoing project White Plates Black Faces , which shares the stories of people of color in the hospitality industry, and talk about her role as co-founder of DMV Black Restaurant Week and the Back...

When Efrem Fesaha made the leap from a career in finance to open Boon Boona Coffee , a roastery and café in the Seattle area, he looked to his family’s home in Eritrea for inspiration. For this episode, we chat with Fesaha about Boon Boona’s approach to coffee, from its focus on African producers and Africa’s significance in coffee history, to the role it plays in the Seattle area’s African immigr...

This episode introduces another of our Imbibe 75 People to Watch, Linda Milagros Violago . A Canadian sommelier and wine professional who’s worked at restaurants worldwide, Violago recently relocated to Seattle to lead the wine program at Canlis , a family-run institution that dates to 1950, with an award-winning wine program more than 22,000 bottles deep. For this episode, we chat with Violago ab...

To kick off 2022, this episode introduces one of our Imbibe 75 People to Watch, Christian Suzuki-Orellana , known more familiarly as Suzu. A longtime Bay Area bartender, Suzu is the creator of the Kagano Bar pop-up, based on his grandparents’ bar in Japan, and the bar manager (and “Head Bird,” with bar supervisor Marguerite Regan) at Wildhawk in San Francisco. Radio Imbibe is the audio home of  Im...

Martin and Rebecca Cate are the owners of  Smuggler’s Cove  and  Whitechapel  in San Francisco, and the authors of the James Beard Award–winning book,  Smuggler’s Cove . The Cates have also both written for  Imbibe , and for this episode, we talk with Rebecca about her essay in our November/December 2021 issue in which she reflects on what pandemic closures meant for their bar’s family of regulars...

Audrey Saunders has been one of the world’s most influential bartenders and bar owners for more than 25 years, at places including Blackbird and Bemelman’s Bar starting in the 1990s, followed by her pioneering New York City bar, Pegu Club. In this episode, Saunders makes her first-ever appearance on a podcast, sharing details behind her role in restoring the Tom & Jerry to prominence as a holiday...

Trained as an engineer and while working toward her MBA, Cha McCoy made an unexpected detour into a career in the wine world. For this episode, we talk with her about what led her into working as a sommelier and wine educator; the ways she approaches wine education; and her new role as beverage director for the Charleston Wine + Food Festival , taking place March 2-6, 2022.  Radio Imbibe is the au...

Our November/December issue features a profile by Nneka M. Okona about veteran Atlanta bartender Thandi Walton. For this episode, Walton talks with us about the path she took from her native Zimbabwe to working behind Atlanta bars, the bartending approach she embraces, and her thoughts on mentorship. Radio Imbibe is the audio home of  Imbibe  magazine. In each episode, we dive into liquid culture,...

Our September/October issue features an article by Max Falkowitz on how bars and distilleries are making concrete steps toward ecological sustainability. For this episode, we chat with one of the distillers quoted in that feature, Maggie Campbell . Formerly a distiller at Privateer Rum in Massachusetts, Campbell is now the estate rum manager for Mount Gay in Barbados. We’re joined in this conversa...

Pouring Ribbons was Imbibe ’s Cocktail Bar of the Year in 2013, and over the course of the past decade, it’s remained one of the world’s most influential cocktail bars. For this episode, we chat with bar partner Joaquín Simó about Pouring Ribbons’ reopening in September and plans to permanently close the bar next April, what he hopes the bar’s continuing legacy might look like, and what guests can...

Shannon Tebay is familiar to American cocktail drinkers from her time behind New York City bars including Death & Co. , where until recently she was head bartender. This summer, she moved to London to assume a new role as head mixologist for The Savoy Hotel , and head bartender for its American Bar , one of the world’s most historic and celebrated cocktail bars. For this episode, we chat with her...

It’s Negroni Week! For this episode, we check in with one of this year’s charity fundraising partners, No Us Without You LA , chatting with cofounders Damián Diaz and Othón Nolasco about their work to support undocumented back-of-house hospitality workers and their families during the ongoing Covid crisis. Then, we head to San Diego for a Tony’s Negroni from Anthony Schmidt at J & Tony’s Discount...

Earlier this summer, bars and restaurants in the U.S. fully emerged from the pandemic, many operating under new sets of guidelines to keep guests and staff safe. With the delta variant now surging and wildly different rules and regulations taking shape across the country, we check in with bar owners in different parts of the country to see what their experiences have been and how they’re navigatin...