The Modern Bar Cart Podcast

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 in the new year. In this episode, we explore Indian Cocktails and dig into the history of the Indian spice trade to celebrate our Liquid Gold Ancient Trade Bitters (by Embitterment).

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 hear Dennis speak more about this in just a minute, but there are two important details I want to share with you: First, if you want to check out some pictures of what he and his guests are up to, head over to Instagram and follow @cocktologicalevenings. Or visit cocktologicalevenings.com. Second, if you'd like a special code to sign up for one of these events please email podcast@modernbarcart.com, and we'll hook you up with one of the special signup codes that Dennis has reserved for exclusively for listeners of the Modern Bar Cart Podcast. Some of the topics Dennis and I discuss in this episode include: The major egg-driven cocktails: Nogs, Flips, Fizzes, and Sours What properties yolks and whites lend to our favorite drinks Tips for hosting intimate cocktail gatherings like a pro The art of the dry shake and the reverse dry shake Ancient, egg-related creation myths How Walt Whitman likes his Whiskey Sours And much, much more This is a great episode for the winter season, when we tend to enjoy darker, more textured cocktails, and when we tend to do more indoor hosting at home, both of which are great reasons to break out the egg nog or make a round of flips.

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 culture expert It's a strange and fascinating episode, and we hope it broadens your perspective on one of the world's great spirits.

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 - are usually mixed. Sometimes the unusual ingredients are well-incorporated, and the drink is tasty, and sometimes it's just there for the novelty factor, and the drink isn't balanced. This episode's guests include: Charlie Berkinshaw of Element Shrub Josh Wulf of the Wulf Cocktail Den Maria Littlefield of The Owl's Brew Chris Kiertz from Socktails Valerie Echeveste from Cocktails + Craft And Jordan Wicker of the Speaking Easy Podcast

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 Easy Podcast

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.