The Modern Bar Cart Podcast

In this episode we interview Ariane Resnick, author of The Thinking Girl's Guide to Drinking. We discuss how to drink healthier, enjoy fresh ingredients, and avoid some of the short- and long-term physical inconveniences associated with alcohol consumption. Disclaimer: None of the content in this episode is intended as medical advice. Please consult a licensed physician before doing literally anyt...

In this episode, we talk about the various ways you can organize your home bar to be more aesthetically pleasing, and more functional at the same time. Do you have a bar cart, a spacious dry bar, or even a wet bar with seating and serving space? We have tips for how to optimize each setup and really fine-tune your bar to suit your lifestyle goals.

This episode is an interview with woodworker Brendan Donovan of MuddledAndRolled . He's a really talented craftsman who produces handcrafted, hardwood muddlers. Brendan is a really fun dude to chat with, and you can tell just how passionate he is about his craft. Some of the things we discuss in this episode include: How a handcrafted muddler is turned and assembled Different approaches to muddlin...

In this episode, we chat with Kathleen Tozzi of The Fancy Schmancy Co. about how to pair food with cocktails. Whether you're hosting a large party or an intimate get-together, food and cocktails just go together...but not in the same way that food and wine are often paired. Listen to this episode to learn the nuances and logistics of charcuterie boards, cocktail noshing, and "the perfect bite."

In this episode, five different home bartenders talk about cocktail ingredients that have tested them to their limits - their personal cocktail kryptonite, if you will. Making cocktails isn't always easy, and sometimes our own flavor aversions and fears don't help. These stories give you a few different templates for conquering the ingredients that may be your cocktail kryptonite.

This exploration of Japanese flavors and aesthetics is part three of a four-part series in which we explore unique cocktail cultures from around the world. We also chat with Jennifer Bloeser of Oregon Coast Wasabi, who shares her insights about this unique ingredient.

In this episode, we pay homage to the flavors of the American frontier by discussing the drinks that characterized the Wild West, from the 1700s, straight through to the Golden Age of Cocktails. This is also a tribute to our Frontier Sarsaparilla Bitters , which celebrate the native flavors of North America.

This series is a celebration of the brand spanking new Embitterment Heritage Collection, which is a premium line of cocktail bitters we're launching this month in January of 2018. Each episode will be inspired by one of the four excellent bitters flavors in the Heritage Collection, and we'll do a deep dive into that region's history, culture, and recipes to inspire your home cocktail experiments i...

In this episode, Eric takes advantage of a long road trip to answer all the lightning round questions that interview guests on the Modern Bar Cart Podcast must answer.

  This egg-driven episode kind of fell into our lap when Dennis Sendros, a DC-based home bartender and podcast listener, reached out to the podcast with the subject line: Come Drink with Us! Turns out, Dennis hosts a monthly gathering called Cocktological Evenings , where he selects a theme and creates an intimate, booze-driven gathering to explore cocktails through that particular lens. You'll he...

In this episode, we investigate the intriguing and often-slandered character of Vodka. It's a clear spirit with a less-than-clear list of cocktail applications, and we intend to give it a fair shake. Our list of guests this episode include: Jordan Wicker and Alex Luboff of the Speaking Easy Podcast RB Wolfensberger of Gray Wolf Craft Distilling Alla Polyakova, former USSR citizen and Russian cultu...

Today's topic is unusual cocktail ingredients - either those you've tasted in a cocktail, or those you'd like to see used more often. I think many of us have had the experience of sitting down at one of the more experimental cocktail bars in our area, looking at the menu, and saying: "You've got to be kidding me. How the heck are they gonna use that in a cocktail?" And the results - in reality - a...

In this episode, Eric interviews six different cocktail and home bartending experts on their favorite places to enjoy a well-made cocktail. This episode's guests are, in no particular order: Charlie Berkinshaw of Element Shrub Josh Wulf of the Wulf Cocktail Den Maria Littlefield of The Owl's Brew Chris Kiertz of  Socktails.co Valerie Echeveste of  Cocktails + Craft And Alex Luboff of the Speaking...

In this episode, Eric chats with Chef Matt Finarelli about achieving flavor balance in food and cocktails. There's a lot of cross-over between cocktails and the culinary arts, and this episode is dedicated to investigating the tools and techniques that span both disciplines.

In this episode, we investigate the link between neo-impressionist painters, proto-human visual schemas, and the way our brains process flavor and smell images. Seem like a lot of weird stuff to cram all into one episode? It is. But we think you'll come away from it with some really great insights about flavor, cocktails, and life.  

Rum. It's an intriguing, tropical spirit with a dark and sordid history, and we had the happy privilege of digging into all the weird and wonderful details with my friends Ben Lyon and Jaime Windon of the Lyon Distilling Company, makers of all things yummy and rummy. In this episode, we discuss: The differences between all those rum varieties you never knew existed How distillers make rum that tas...

The topic of this episode is how to read the label on any spirit bottle and know what all the numbers, terms, and designations ACTUALLY mean. How do you calculate proof vs. ABV? What's the difference between a V.S. brandy and a VSOP brandy"? How do you know if your distiller is making their spirit from grain to glass, or just bottling somebody else's juice? These are all things we'll talk about in...

This week, we had the chance to sit down virtually with Chris Kierts, who runs a home bartending community called Socktails. Socks and cocktails. Seem like an odd pairing? It's actually not as weird as it sounds. See, Chris uses his vibrant and quirky sock collection as the backdrop for his cocktail pictures on social media. Just like an interesting pair of socks is a great conversation starter, s...

I sit down to chat with none other than Chad Robinson, who spearheads sales and distribution at Catoctin Creek Distillery, which means he gets to travel around the country talking to people about great spirits. He has also been known to enjoy a cocktail or two. Some of the other things we cover include: Chad's book of spirit-inspired poetry, entitled Gadabouts Abound How to break the ice and build...

In this episode, Eric interviews distiller Peter Ahlf of Mt. Defiance Cidery and Distillery . Peter is a really fascinating guy with an eclectic professional background and a passion for making great spirits. Some of the things we discuss in this episode include: How a NASA engineer-turned-carpenter applies his skills to distilling How to transform a gas station office into a steampunk tasting roo...

In this Episode, Eric sits down with Carlie Steiner of Himitsu, an award-winning cocktail bar and restaurant in Washington, DC.   Some of the things they discuss include: Carlie's journey from under-the-table restaurant worker as a kid to award winning restauranteur in her twenties. The most noteworthy cocktails and service experiences she recalls along the way A snapshot of her newest project--Hi...

In this episode, Eric interviews Stephanie Echeveste, the founder of an excellent DC company called cocktails+craft . This episode was recorded when we were just learning my audio equipment, so I set it aside and it was given a little TLC from DC Sound Mixer Chris Preston , who deserves a huge shout-out for his help and technical expertise. Throughout this whole interview, Stephanie and Eric were...

In this episode, Eric breaks down his approach to making batched cocktails for large groups of people. Whether you're serving a group of 3 people, or 300, there are a very specific set of considerations to take into account when you're scaling a cocktail recipe for all to enjoy. We discuss using spreadsheets to help convert recipes and facilitate batching, how to come up with fun cocktail concepts...

In this week's episode, we feature distiller Braeden Bumpers of McClintock Distilling Company , based in Frederick MD. Braeden and I recorded this episode during the summer, right before I left for the Tales of the Cocktail conference in New Orleans, and the audio file needed a little bit of TLC due to the heat and humidity, the large, echoey distillery, and some background noise problems. So, big...

This podcast has been on the air for a very brief 3 months at this point. That's a quarter of a year. A full summer. 90 days. However you want to think about it. To me, that feels like a very short time, but then I pull up the Modern Bar Cart inbox, and I see all the listener-generated questions that have piled up during those three months. So, this episode is all about you folks--the listeners wh...