Decoding Cocktails

I am rarely at a loss for words, and often use more than necessary.
This hand-carved sign that Jen had made for my birthday flooded me.
I love you and this thoughtful gift.

Saturday I was surprised to learn was . As I posts pop up about it, I started thinking about the evolving role it has played in my life.
Ten years ago, I would’ve had no real thoughts or what I imagined to be a grossly sweet product.

As my cocktail journey took off, I noticed that the books I read not only had daiquiris, but showcased
them. They weren’t red, obnoxiously sweet, or frozen. When I tried one, it was delicious.

One night long before Yellowbelly and Lazy Tiger, I was at Retreat Gastropub and asked
if I’d ever tried . When I tasted its grassy, sharp, fruity notes, I was sure I’d never had
anything like it. This turbocharged my exploration of the category.

Fast forward to 2022, my cocktail business was up and running and was at Tales of the Cocktail for the
first time. As I made my way through a tasting room, I arrived at the Rhum Clément and J.M table. I met
Ben Jones () and the team and began learning even more about Rhum Agricole and the people working to promote it.

Over the next few years I fell deeper into the wormhole and started doing a bit of consulting with bars.
Since many bars who are just getting started with quality cocktails have little to no good rum on hand, I
reached out to Ben in advance of Tales 2024 to ask if he might be interested in some kind of relationship.
I promote his product in cocktail classes and when working with bars.

After a conversation at The Hotel Monteleone, he asked if I’d be interested to be their contract
ambassador for Missouri and Kansas. I was shocked. Sure. Let’s give it a try.

It’s been right around a year since things got underway. Like all new roles, I’ve learned a lot and have had
great tastings with bartenders in dives, knowledgeable mixologists, lay people, and everyone in between.
Rum doesn’t have to be everyone’s spirit of choice, but if you haven’t explored the category, the diversity
of great flavor in high-quality rum should not be overlooked.

If you haven’t sipped a proper daiquiri, nosed the funkiness of a Jamaican rum or been enraptured by the
grassiness of Rhum Agricole, you might be missing out.

At a point in time when so much around us feels contentious and overwhelming, I want to share an unforgettable and unexpected evening that Jen ( ) and I recently experienced.

About a month ago, our friends Bridget and Yusuf told us they’d attended a mind-blowing dinner party at a friend’s home. At the end of the party, each of the three couples in attendance randomly pulled one of three cards.
One invited the holder to return to the next party.
The second said you’ll be invited back in the future at a TBD date.
The third instructed the holder to give it to someone that they thought would like to attend - the card which Bridget and Yusuf passed along to us.

This is the story of how we ended up in The Grove
neighborhood last weekend for a dinner party where we anticipated we would very likely know no one.

Cutting to the chase, not only was it likely the most elaborate meal I’ve ever had, and certainly one of the most delicious, our hosts, Nic and Willie, as well
as the other four guests in attendance, were a delight.

We had a lovely time getting to know them over the course of four-plus hours, enjoying 8 creative
and stunning courses along with wine and house-crafted cocktails.

Well after the dinner had concluded, as we lingered and more drinks were being served, I motioned to Jen to see if she was ready to leave and she gave the “Absolutely not!” look.

I can’t begin to imagine the amount of time, effort, and money that Nic and Willie put into preparing for that evening, but even more than that, it reminds me of how nurturing an evening with good people can be.

Thanks again, Nic and Willie, for a truly amazing evening… and we can’t wait to return for the next one! (we were the lucky recipients of the return to the
next party card).

P.S. All the dishes you see are original (and gluten-free). They had some sources of inspiration, but they were all crafted from scratch.

The only way to kick off this post is “Greetings and Salutations”, one of the catchphrases of my guest Colin Asare-Appiah ().

By day, he serves as the Trade Director of multicultural and LGBTQ advocacy for La Gran Familia (aka ).

Riding shotgun with his warm smile and big laugh, is Colin’s tour de force energy for whatever he is working on, which I suppose is just a reflection of his call-to-action .

He slowed down from his usual sprint for a little bit to talk to me about Ajabu (). A Pan African cocktail festival he helped launch in 2024. The goal is to shine a light on all the magical things happening in spirits and cocktails in Africa and help further professionalize the industry.

The man is beyond infectious and I know you’ll enjoy this conversation with him.
You can find a link for it in my bio.

Not too long into my podcasting journey, when my cocktail business had only been around for about 18 months, a podcast conversation with Tad Carducci () compelled me on relatively short notice to attend Tales for the first time.

Since my business was born during the pandemic, and I entered this profession later in life, I never had much of a sense of community.

While anyone’s first trip to Tales will require all of their brain power, I left energized.

When the opportunity came up to chat with Charlotte, Voisey () about her new role as Executive Director of A ales, I leapt at it.

While I took away many things from our conversation, the most powerful part was when she invoked the charm and wonder of New Orleans and the impact it has on the conference. Absolutely spot on. 💕

There is a link to this conversation in my bio.

There is a passage in “Right Thing Right Now” by Ryan Holiday () that I haven’t been able to shake after reading several weeks ago, “It’s not a principle if it doesn’t cost you money.”

Two things are often on my mind from an environmental and labor perspective that I hadn’t taken the time to research or act upon.

1) SUGAR has a long and messy history. And still, I bought commodity sugar that has no visible supply chain. While it needs to meet a quality standard, who produces it, under what conditions, and how well are they paid was a black hole.

2) I go through lots of lemons and limes. Yet because of their acidic nature they’re difficult to compost. I looked into composting at home, but have been told that it would be nearly impossible to produce good compost because it would be hard for me to have enough material to offset them.

SO WHAT NOW? 🤔

My first step has been upgrading to sugar with a verifiable supply chain and/or certification. There are several that look like an okay place to start like , , and . I also know that Costco researches the heck out of their suppliers, which helped me find .

As for the citrus, I’m now paying for a compost service via .

Small steps.

Last night I hosted a class that covered two fall favorites, the Boukman Daiquiri: white rum, cognac, lime, and cinnamon syrup and egg nog. also dug into a new favorite, the Banana and Rum Old Fashioned.

In pretty much every class, people say they learn a lot and have a good time. But last night, a woman came up to me and said,
“My husband and I love cocktails, but I’ve always been too afraid to make them at home, so we just go out for them. I now feel unafraid to experiment.” ❤️

This is the best compliment I can recall receiving. This is why I do what I do. Cocktails are delicious, but they can also feel intimidating. If we teach people a few foundational techniques and ratios, they’re on their way to feeling comfortable enough to give it a try at home. Not because it’s a special occasion, but because they feel confident and excited to try.

Much love to my last-minute bar back, . DITB

I had the chance to chat with Molly Horn, Cocktail Strategy Manager for Total Wine ()… did you know they’re the largest wine and spirits retailer in the country?

After more than a decade in the restaurant and bar world, Molly was recruited by Total Wine for this new role, as a reaction to spirits sales exploding during the pandemic and people’s interest in cocktails grew.

Total Wine is interesting to study as a national barometer for people’s interest in spirits, liqueurs, cocktails and more.

Find a link to this conversation in my bio.

Recently I was listening to an episode of ’s “Cocktail College” about wine in cocktails. Not only was it hilarious, but also very thought provoking. While I don’t need one more thing to do, I bought a copy of and it has been one of the best investments I’ve made in a while.

I could’ve intuitively told you how wine tasting would make me better at cocktails, but it is now more than apparent and I am hoping to work a lot more wine into my drinks in the future… plus enjoy wine 🍷 😊

Side note: .dev and are hilarious

This is a long overdue conversation from right up the street.
Natasha Bahrami () is proprietor of Natasha’s Gin Room (), which is located in the same building her parents founded their family’s restaurant, Cafe Natasha, ~40 years ago.

Hospitality was not just part of her upbringing via the restaurant, but also through the importance of it in Persian culture, which she is now highlighting through , a collaborative popup series.

After promoting gin tirelessly in St. Louis for years, she now heads up , which has a focus on increasing gun awareness and popularity nationally.

We had the chance to record this one in person during a busy week for her, but that is the kind of weeks you have when you’re trying to lift a category nationally.

Enjoy this. You can find a link to it in my bio.

And now, for a non-cocktail/spirit post. 
A little more than 6 months ago I met up with a gal for a first date that I’d been chatting with online for what felt like forever due to our schedules. The conversation had been intermittent at best, and it seemed like one more case where online dating wasn’t going to work out. The date was already set but I wasn’t excited, and as it turns out, neither was she. But, 15 minutes into the thing, we seemed to be enjoying each other.

Fast forward 6 months, my life away from work has been pretty great with her. We walk two very different professional lives, but each take an interest in the other’s, and also complement each other well. 

Jen () is a kind, joyful, and calm soul to my overly-excited and goofy characteristics. 

My friends love her, so does my family, and so do I.

Last Saturday my friends Erin and Corey tied the knot. During her vows, Erin used the word “easy” to describe how Corey makes her life feel. I told Jen later that evening I’d use the same word to describe her and how she makes mine.

I came across Kevin Peterson () while scrolling a list of soon-to-be-published books. His text “Cocktail Theory” caught my eye, not to mention his background as an engineer and performer (see ) who owns a cocktail bar .

As I dug into the book, I found his study of the durability of cocktail families and his quest to figure out how to extend the lifetime of a drink, battling factors like dilution, temperature, and aeration, to be fascinating.

This one is worth the listen. You can find a link to it in my bio.