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 &...
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Episode 294 - AI Cocktails (Part 2)
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
Eric continues his two part investigation of the rise of Artificial Intelligence in the cocktail and bar world with special guest Rob Nester, creator of the hit podcast, . Some of the topics covered include: Why AI and human bartenders have some of the same tendencies, especially when it comes to picking base spirits for cocktails. The role that "cognitive outsourcing" plays in our lives, and how to think about "outsourcing" certain tasks to artificial intelligence. The reason why LLMs can often produce cocktails that are about 90% perfect, but often fall short of actual greatness....
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Episode 293 - AI Cocktails (Part 1)
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
Eric interviews , creator of the hit podcast, , about the rise of artificial intelligence in the cocktail space. This is part 1 of a two-part investigation that poses the following question: in what ways might AI transform how we create, enjoy, and perhaps even think about cocktails in the future? In this installment, we talk about Rob's origin story, how he came up with the concept for , and the insights he has gleaned about datasets, prompt generation, and the human-AI divide over the course of the first season of the show. Next time, we'll tackle slightly thornier questions, like...
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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...
info_outlineEric 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:
- David T. Smith - a prolific gin judge and author of The Gin Dictionary and many other excellent cocktail books,
- Natasha Bahrami - 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
- Virginia Miller - 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
During this session, we’ll discuss topics ranging from:
- What constitutes a London Dry gin from a technical standpoint
- building a botanical library
- Use of character-forward distillate bases
- Deployment of color in gin and related products
- And much, much more!