Episode 276 - Cocktail Theory with Dr. Kevin Peterson
Release Date: 01/19/2024
BONUS: ASMR Rare Chartreuse Tasting
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
Courtesy of the illustrious , author of , , and other fine bibulous publications, I and a group of friends were treated to a rare Chartreuse tasting after we had wrapped up all of our work at the American Distilling Institute’s annual conference and trade show this past August in Baltimore, MD. Our casual panel of tasters included: , author of and Sara Sergent, botanical savant and owner of in Park City, Utah Joe Barber of Stargazey Spirits and in the UK And , creator of Here’s a (hopefully) somewhat complete list of the stuff we tasted, which may explain our silliness...
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Episode 292 - Flavored Whiskey: Breaking the Taboo
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
Eric leads a panel discussion about flavored whiskey at the 2024 Conference and Trade show in Baltimore, Maryland. The esteemed panel includes: Virginia Miller, , World's 50 Best Brad Nichols, Sara Sergent, Keven Szady, We cover a range of important topics in this discussion, all related to the art and craft of bringing flavored whiskeys to market in a crowded and opinionated market. Some of the specific threads we pursue include: Who's drinking flavored whiskey and how we can grow that demographic Using chefs, bartenders, and culinary inspiration as fuel for product development...
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Episode 291 - Crushing Your Next Cocktail Competition
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
Eric presents a "soup-to-nuts" crash course on how to crush your next cocktail competition. If you'd like to view this seminar with slides, you can . Some of the topics covered include: How to structure your approach to cocktail competitions so that they can help to advance your career goals An overview of the three main types of cocktail competitions (digital, local, and "the big leagues") Spotlights on technical learning, networking, photo and video capture, & social media Cocktail design strategies and professional presentation techniques And much, much more
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Episode 290 - Intro to Awamori with Jeremy Webb
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
In this globe-trotting, Japanofilic conversation with Awamori champion Jeremy Webb of , some of the topics we discuss include: The technical definition of Awamori, especially with respect to how its distillate base, koji treatment, and aging practices differentiate it from Shochu and Japanese Whisky. How the history and culture of the Ryukyu Kingdom - a nation separate from the rest of Japan until the late 1800s - impacted how Awamori developed in relation to other traditional Asian spirits. The special role that materials like ceramics and stainless steel play in the production and...
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Episode 289 - The Bartender's Pantry with Jim Meehan
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
In this wide-ranging conversation with cocktail expert and bar mentor (), author of , some of the topics we discuss include: How ingredient sourcing and processing ties into the exercise of integrity--not just in sourcing the highest “quality” ingredients, but also exploring how your purchasing power plays into our larger agricultural and economic systems. The way that Jim and his illustrator, Bart Sasso, used procedural graphics to create a four-dimensional rendering of the ingredient prep recipes. I’ve never seen illustrations as clever as these in a cocktail or a cookbook, and I...
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Episode 288 - Your Tasting Notes are Bullshit
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
In this LIVE Seminar recording, Eric identifies two key strains of B.S. that run through contemporary tasting notes. Then, using a concept he refers to as "locating the 'heart' of a spirit," he explores how to generate tasting notes that say accurate things about flavor while also allowing people to connect with the liquid in a glass or a bottle.
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Episode 287 - Rum A Tasting Course with Ian Burrell
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
In this, sweet, funky, and occasionally grassy conversation with Ian Burrell (), author of , some of the topics we discuss include: Why Ian takes a “flavor-first” approach to rum (in general, but especially in this book), and how these flavors are gateways to history, geography, culture, and conversation. The different ways that rum can be categorized, and why these categories are a gateway to all the delightful exceptions that will bamboozle and delight your palate and your brain. We also discuss the three primary types of rum drinkers and the ways these different mindsets and...
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Episode 286 - The Case of the Quantum Coaster
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
Eric investigates the , descending into a noir mystery narrative to determine if it's possible for a drink coaster to reduce fusel oils in distilled spirits using "quantum tunneling." Buckle up. This is a weird one.
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Episode 285 - Letters from Flavor Camp with Reece Sims
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
In this campy conversation with (), creator of , some of the topics we discuss include: How camps - like bars - act as intense and intimate “third places,” where people with shared interests or commonalities can gather and thrive. What Reece does to shake up the traditional ruts we fall into when tasting spirits--from the way she sets up the layout of the room, to the way she goes about selecting spirits for any given flight. And did you know: Flavor Camp isn’t just the name of the program; it’s an organizing paradigm that Reece deploys that both SIMPLIFIES the typical flavor...
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2024 Second Half Preview
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
Eric shares some exciting previews of the episodes to come in the second half of 2024, including sneak previews of "Cocktail Futurism" interviews with Rob Nester () and Jayme Blaschke ().
info_outlineIn this heady, fragrant chat with Dr. Kevin Peterson, author of Cocktail Theory: A Sensory Approach to Transcendent Drinks, some of the topics we discuss include:
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Why his time testing combustion engines in a laboratory made Kevin the perfect person to analyze the classic cocktail families for their ideal dilution, temperature, and ingredient ratios
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How bartenders can use the notion of “olfactory motifs” rooted in memory, nature, and music to design cocktails that thrill at a more three dimensional level--not just on the taste buds.
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What tips and tricks Kevin has drawn from the perfumery world to punch up the impact and blast radius of his drinks, including atomized spritzes, scent strips, and even service temperature manipulation.
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The sense in which bartenders are like magicians, constantly manipulating attention and generating novelty, and how you can apply these principles to both cocktail construction and service.
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And why, at the end of the day, cocktail service and consumption involves a whole bunch of complex systems that are constantly colliding, leaking information, and changing the way we play the game.
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Along the way, we provide tips and tricks to make your friends and bar guests say “I can’t UNsmell that,” probe the koji-fermented link between pineapple, aged cheese, and sharpies, uncover why Kevin doesn’t want to be known as “the cricket guy.” And much, much more.
Featured Cocktail: The Everlasting Daiquiri
To make it, you’ll need:
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2 oz rum (Kevin recommends Gosling’s Black Seal)
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½ oz Fresh Lime juice
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½ oz turbinado simple syrup
Prior to construction, you’re gonna want to chill down your rum AND a champagne flute in the freezer. Both need to be ice cold.
Then, add your liquid ingredients to a cocktail shaker with 3 large ice cubes, shake for (according to Kevin) 12 seconds, then strain into your Champage flute over a smaller ice cube. So if you’re using large, 2” cubes in the shaker, plop a smaller one from a standard ice tray or ice maker into the flute before you strain.