Episode 313 - Australian Spirits Trends with James Young
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
In this Down Under conversation with James Young of Old Young’s Distillery, some of the topics we discuss include: The influence and defining characteristics of the Australian cocktail scene, which differs starkly from what you might find when you travel to Europe and is responsible for such mixological gifts as Mr. Black Coffee liqueur and the butterfly pea coloring craze. How to plan your travel itinerary around tasting delicious spirits in every state in Australia, including whisky in Tasmania, Gin & Brandy in Western Australia, and rum up in Queensland and Kununurra. The growing...
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Episode 312 - Intro to Australian Spirits with James Young
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
In part one of my two-part waltz through the flavors and landscapes of Australia with James Young of , some of the topics we discuss include: The history and evolution of the Australian distilling industry, specifically with respect to the development of the Australian whisky scene and the rise of distinct gin and rum traditions. The impact of Australian agriculture and wine on the types of grains, casks, and other production choices that have come to define Australian whisky on the world stage. The flavor and culture phenomenon that is Australian gin, including the story behind Four...
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Episode 311 - Flavor Attractors with Dr. Kevin Peterson
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
In part two of my exploration of flavor and memory with , some of the topics we discuss include: What the Big 5 personality index (also known as OCEAN) might be able to teach us about how guests think about factors like novelty and comfort in the cocktails they enjoy. The difference between the highest-rated drink (on average) on most Castalia menus, versus the highest-rated drinks for specific individuals. How people respond when asked to describe their ideal cocktail - including the aesthetics and memories they tended to focus on, and which qualities they most often left out of the...
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Episode 310 - Data-Driven Drinks with Dr. Kevin Peterson
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
In this data-driven conversation with , some of the topics we discuss include: How winding down Castalia and Sfumato after a decade of service provided the impetus for , and why Kevin has set out to address a very different set of questions than in his last book, Cocktail Theory. Why matching a person with their ideal drink is very different (and much more difficult, it turns out) from trying to make the optimal Old Fashioned or Negroni or Daiquiri. This leads to a conversation about all the variables that go into cocktail preference: sweetness, acidity, bitterness, booziness,...
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Episode 309 - The Donn of Tiki with Alex Lamb and Max Well
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
In this fascinating conversation with Max Well and Alex Lamb, directors of , some of the topics we discuss include: How a COVID-era YouTube short on the history of Tiki in LA snowballed into a full-length feature film on one of the most iconic bar entrepreneurs of the 20th century: Ernest Gantt, AKA Donn Beach, AKA "Don the Beachcomber." The way that stop-motion puppetry and clever era-appropriate animations were used to give Donn an embodied presence in his own story, with audio unearthed from a single set of tapes uncovered at the University of Hawaii. The interesting ironies that run...
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Episode 308 - Your Whiskey Math is Bullsh*t
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
Eric kicks off 2026 with an audio essay rant targeted at the ham-fisted "percentage" math that people use to answer the question: "How much of a whiskey's flavor comes from the barrel?" In the censored words of George Carlin: "It's all BS, and it's bad for ya." To demonstrate this, we sift through GC-MS whiskey sample results, human neurobiology, and behavioral economics. In the end, it's a poorly posed question invented to solve a problem that doesn't exist, and it colors our expectations about flavor in harmful ways.
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Episode 307 - Sacred Serves: The Rituals that Make Drinking Human
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
This time around, we’ll be taking a look at drinking rituals from around the world. A few months back, my friend asked me to write an article about drinking rituals for her new publication, . She has graciously agreed to let me read the article on-air and give you all a bit of a “Director’s Cut” version of the article, entitled: . For those of you who have the opportunity to enjoy a few drinks with family and friends this holiday season, I hope some of these thoughts about the importance of ritual, hospitality, gratitude, and the sometimes radical act of coming together can help...
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Episode 306 - The Bartender's Manifesto with Toby Maloney
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
Eric interviews Toby Maloney () about his award-winning book, . Some of the topics covered in this conversation include: How Toby thinks about cocktail development, including the importance of inspiration, intention, comfort, and curiosity The importance of curated attention in the creative process, allowing you to notice aspects of the world around you that can be used as inspiration and structural components for cocktail building A live cocktail development case study, where Toby and Eric riff on a menu prompt and create their very own custom cocktail worthy of inclusion on a...
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Episode 305 - Building Iconic Bar Programs with Toby Maloney
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
In this modern classic conversation with bartender and beverage consultant , some of the topics we discuss include: Toby’s journey through the food and beverage world, from bussing and dishwashing, to culinary school, to tending bar, eventually landing gigs at famous venues like Milk & Honey, and Pegu Club, and going on to open The Violet Hour in Chicago. The decisions and philosophies (plus the techniques and ingredients) that allowed Toby and his cohort at The Violet Hour to open the hearts and minds of the people of Chicago to the paradigm shift that was the Cocktail Renaissance....
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Episode 304 - The Cigar Blend Dilemma with Maggie Kimberl
The Modern Bar Cart Podcast
In this smokey, robust conversation with cigar and whiskey expert (), some of the topics we discuss include: A working definition of “cigar blend whiskey,” plus some specific thoughts on the ideal proof point for these types of blends. The two primary pairing strategies that you can use to pair any two items in the flavor world, whether you’re talking about wine and food, whiskey and cigars, or even building the perfect charcuterie bite. How to think about “flexibility” in the whiskey and cigar pairing space. Essentially: is a given whiskey designed to pair with a wide range of...
info_outlineIn this spirited conversation with Maggie Campbell, CEO of American Cane, some of the topics we discuss include:
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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
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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
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We touch on the functional aesthetics of both vineyards and cane fields - the ways in which soil health, drainage, and cane-specific indicators like, lodging, arrowing, and low MOC factors can contribute to a healthy and beautiful cane growing operation
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And we also discuss how to think about terroir in spirits - specifically how it’s derived not only from landscapes and climate conditions, but also from the perspectives taken and decisions made in these diverse locales over long periods of time.
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Along the way, we muse on why you can’t hide anything in a rum distillation, the multinomial nature of cane dogs, why only foreigners like the monkeys in Barbados, and much, much more.