February 4, 2021
For over a decade now, I have been a judge at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. It has been an incredible honor for my professional career to be part of the world’s most prestigious spirits competition, and one of the oldest, for half of its life. The Competition is run by Anthony Dias Blue, | Read More
November 30, 2020
Update: Since there seems to be some confusion among non-bartender types, this spreadsheet is only for pricing out individual bottle shots. If you’re looking to price out a whole cocktail, please refer to this post for the appropriate spreadsheet. Hey guys Jimmy from Florida just wrote in for the VFW hall he’s managing (I’m a | Read More
August 3, 2020
Look at this crew. I did some half-assed math the other day and realized that this group (counting our dear Amelia, not pictured) has collectively worked this bar for nearly 40 years. That’s not combined years tending bar in general, mind you (that number is closer to 70) that’s the totaled number of years we’ve all | Read More
April 25, 2020
Yes, you read that right: Chocolate Chip Cookies. And no, this is not a goofy shot recipe. (As an aside, are any of you old bartenders like me who remember when every shot was some sort of attempt to replicate the flavor of a dessert item? The Girl Scout Cookie Shot, the German Chocolate Cake | Read More
Okay, so the title might make this seem super elementary, but I’ve got to say that after traveling the world and watching bartenders – especially those in cocktail competitions – dispense a foamy soda that quickly turns flat, I thought I would post a quick video showing you how to solve that problem. It’s a | Read More
November 16, 2019
On November 15th, 2019, the world lost one of the great bartenders. Gary was a long-distance mentor of mine, and then he became an idol of mine, then a colleague, and finally a friend. When we lose someone, I think it’s nice to share some fun stories about them. Gary was a true bartender, and | Read More
This year I was honored (and quite shocked, really) to be invited to speak at the P(our) Symposium in London. I spoke about my experience being behind the bar for the past 23 years, and in addition to the usual myth-busting and casual outrage, I decided to get very personal on this one. Also, I | Read More
October 22, 2019
You know, I’ve been thinking about this story for a while now, and it’s really been bugging me, so I thought I’d get it off of my chest. Also, I have zero desire to name any names or start some sort of brand boycott. This is just a little look inside my head. Here goes: | Read More
October 2, 2019
I had the pleasure of sitting down (in front of my computer with gmail open) with Celine Bossart of VinePair to talk about my current favorite spots in Portland to eat and drink. I realized that some of you might actually want this information, I know I get a fair number of emails about it, | Read More
June 11, 2019
Continuing on the photography bent that I’ve been on for the past year, my latest piece for The Daily Beast is now live. For those of you who missed the last one, I’ll just sum it up for you: My pal Noah Rothbaum over at Half Full on the Daily Beast website noticed me messing | Read More
April 29, 2019
Dave writes: Hey man, You ever post anything about interviewing potential bartenders? I used to think I was pretty good at it but my lack of success in hiring the right people is making me question myself. Cheers. Dave Hey Dave! Funny, I’ve been thinking for a long time that I should probably post something | Read More
April 17, 2019
Okay, look. I’m going to preface this by saying that I’m trying to be a kinder, gentler version of myself. You’ve seen me tear apart other bartenders here and here for teaching people how to make shitty drinks. Because it genuinely offends me to see people irresponsibly teach others when it’s so, so easy to | Read More
March 15, 2019
Oh man am I excited about this one! For the past few months I’ve been working with my friends over at Stumptown Coffee on their seasonal beverage program. Craft cocktails, meet craft coffee! I mean, obviously I’ve always been a huge fan of coffee cocktails, but this is the first time I’ve gotten the opportunity | Read More
June 12, 2018
A few weeks ago while I was in New York for my most recent book tour, I had the chance to sit town with my pals Noah Rothbaum and David Wondrich at The Daily Beast to talk about drinking rules, drinking stories, and of course, Drinking Distilled. It ended up being a really fun conversation | Read More
April 10, 2018
I’m so proud to announce that my second book, Drinking Distilled: A User’s Manual, is out now! Just a couple of years in the making, this one is radically different from my first book, The Bar Book: Elements of Cocktail Technique. Drinking Distilled is a sort of how-to manual for those of us who enjoy | Read More
These are the books and tools I use every single day to make drinks at home and behind the bar. Clicking on a product takes you to Amazon, which helps me keep this site running, so thank you in advance!
