Episode 302 - Shop Talk: On-Premise Positioning for Spirits Brands
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
View the video of this seminar: What’s shakin’ drinks fans? Thanks for joining me for this special industry shop talk episode, where I give you a free, behind-the-scenes look at some of the content I produce specifically for people who work in the spirits and cocktail industry. This time around, you’ll get to sit in on a seminar I presented a few weeks ago at the 2025 American Distilling Institute Conference & Trade show in San Antonio, TX. The title of the seminar is: “You’ve Been Served: On Premise Strategies for a Saturated Market," and it presents a bunch of different...
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Episode 301 - Into the Blue with Monique ten Kortenaar
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
In this true, blue interview with Master Distiller Monique ten Kortenaar (), some of the topics we discuss include: The history of the Curaçao liqueur category, how it differs in production and flavor to similar products like Triple Sec, and how the color blue first entered the picture about 100 years ago. How separates itself from non-premium Blue Curaçaos by incorporating signature botanicals and fruity Jamaican rum into its production and blending process. The role that bartenders, sensory panels, and distillery guests played in the development of this and other products that Bols...
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Episode 300 - American Cane with Maggie Campbell
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
In part two of my conversation with rum trailblazer , CEO of , some of the topics we discuss include: The project of American Cane, and why Maggie is excited to kick off the brand with an affordable rum offering that’s focused on conviviality, celebration, and togetherness. How the American rum category differs in its identity from the many Caribbean traditions we are familiar with, and what factors like fermentation substrate, diurnal temperature shift, and cooperage sourcing have to do with it. Why America isn’t as primed or well suited for a strict geographic indication as other...
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Episode 299 - Cane Dawgs with Maggie Campbell
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
In this spirited conversation with , CEO of , some of the topics we discuss include: Maggie’s road to rum, which winds through philosophy, spice shops, wineries, and legendary brandy houses before arriving at her break-out role as distiller (and later President) at Privateer Rum Why sales and distribution are the hardest part of the spirits industry and how her experience working in the sales trenches and partnering with distributors paved the way for a great adventure working as a project leader for Mt. Gay Rum in Barbados We touch on the functional aesthetics of both vineyards and...
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Bonus: Rare Benedictine Tasting
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
Eric tastes through several rare and vintage Benedictine Liqueur expressions, alongside friends and colleagues from the spirits industry at the 2025 American Distilling Institute International Spirits Competition. In this recording, he's joined by: Mr. David T. Smith (who generously provided the Benedictine samples from his personal collection) and who is the head steward at the ADI competition Joe Barber from Stargazy Spirits (who, for the first time, had a functional microphone for one of these recordings) Author and Spirits expert Eric Zandona, who runs the International Spirits...
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Episode 298 - Above the Clouds with Charles Joly
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
In Part 2 of my high-flying conversation with , some of the topics we discuss include: The 2014 Diageo World Class win that elevated Charles to global bartending celebrity, and the story of the innovative cocktail that put him in the winner’s circle. The importance of timing in cocktail builds and presentation and how effective manipulation of timing can play on a guest’s anticipation, which Charles refers to as a “6th sense.” The genesis of , a ready-to-drink cocktail brand that has its roots way back in 2013, at time when most people viewed the RTD category as either a...
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Episode 297 - In the Weeds with Charles Joly
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
In part 1 of my conversation with acclaimed bartender , some of the topics we discuss include: The two predominant “schools” of cocktail programs you might encounter in the early 2000s, and how Charles found his home and his voice in the seasonal and ingredient-focused program at a place called . The conditions and events that led Charles to take on his break-out role on a national stage as the beverage director of the incredibly high-profile bar at --a venue renowned for its avant-garde, highly technical molecular mixology drink preparations. How Charles handled the culture shock of...
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Episode 296 - The Mind of a Blender with Nancy Fraley
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
In this cask-strength conversation with spirits judge, educator, and master blender , some of the topics we discuss include: Nancy’s journey to spirits blending, from Harvard Divinity School, to maritime law, to her apprenticeship under the legendary brandy maker Germain Robin. The story of the first Cigar Blend Bourbon (developed, of course, by Nancy) and how she weaves together factors like fermentation style, maturation humidity, cask finishes, and more to achieve the elusive flavor note known as rancio. A crash course in blending theory, which draws on architectural and corporeal...
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BONUS: Ginspiration
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
Eric presents selected recordings from the 2024 ADI Gin Summit to provide a few extra perspectives on botanical spirits from some of the world's best category experts, including: - a prolific gin judge and author of The Gin Dictionary and many other excellent cocktail books, - creator of The Gin Room in St. Louis and Gin World, which is an international gin education series for bartenders and other industry professionals), and - experienced spirits judge and travel writer (The Perfect Spot) who works with esteemed organizations like the World’s 50 Best and the James Beard Foundation ...
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Episosde 295 - State of Gin, 2025 with Bobby Freeman
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
In this Navy Strength conversation with Bobby Freeman (), creator of the hit YouTube Channel, , some of the topics we discuss include: Bobby’s journey through gin, beginning with the gin & tonic that launched his obsession and all of the stylistic preferences and affinities he’s developed along the way A discussion of recent gin trends in the UK, including the “Pink Gin Bubble” that occurred during COVID and the current obsession with citrus-heavy gins. We also cover the popular cocktail trends that are dominant right now in the London bar world, including Pisco &...
info_outlineIn this down-to-earth conversation with distiller and outdoorsman Tony Gugino of Eighth District Distilling Co., some of the topics we discuss include:
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How Tony’s childhood exploring and fishing in Upstate New York inform the way he moves through the natural world and experiments with botanicals in his spirits.
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The attributes and attentional faculties that separate experienced foragers from everybody else, and why foraging is less about memorizing plant names than it is about developing spatial awareness and being in open dialogue with the world around you.
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Then we use Tony’s recent victory as a contestant on Moonshiners: Master Distiller as a case study for how to build a foraged spirit from the ground up, analyzing not just the ingredients he used, but how he braided them into a cohesive, symphonic product.
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We also delve into foraging for bartenders, specifically: using seasonality and natural harvest cycles as a way to break out of the cloistered, “riff on a classic” approach that can place some bartenders in a creative rut.
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But foraging isn’t just for distillers and bartenders--it’s for everyone, so we conclude by offering some advice for home bartenders who have the option to start experimenting with foraging at a truly intimate scale.
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Along the way, we cover all the reasons why I was jealous of Tony when I first met him, how to make salt - yeah, you heard me…salt, the connection between Mulberries, Silk, and Connecticut’s textile industry, and much, much more.
Featured Cocktail: The Golden Ghost
This episodes’ featured cocktail is: The Golden Ghost. To make it, you’ll need:
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¾ oz Espadin Mezcal
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¾ oz Blanco Tequila
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¾ oz of clear Creme de cacao
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¾ oz genepy (which is a green alpine liqueur from France)
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1 dash of orange bitters
Combine the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice, stir until well chilled and properly diluted, then strain into a Nick & Nora glass, garnish with a flaming star anise pod, and enjoy.
The Golden Ghost is a Bijou riff minted by bartender Brian Evans of the bar Sunday in Brooklyn sometime around 2018. Instead of 1.5 oz of gin, you’ve got a split base of mezcal and tequila, which kinda tracks. Some of those mineral agave flavors can act like botanicals. The ¾ oz of creme de cacao nods to some of the deeper more confectionary notes that a good sweet vermouth will provide in the Bijou cocktail, with the genepy standing in for Chartreuse to tone down both the proof point and the pour cost.