In this RTD redux with Keli Rivers, David T. Smith, and Joe Barber, some of the topics we discuss include:

• Emerging trends in the post-pandemic RTD (ready to drink) and RTS (ready to serve) cocktail space, including more bottled RTS SKUS, continued innovation by small producers, and marked improvements across the board in stability and flavor.

• Thoughts on the very real limitations of launching an RTD, such as flavor drift, limited off-premise shelf space, and market saturation.

• Increased adoption of RTDs by event venues and airlines, including a stunning demo of flight attendant choreography by David.

• A breezy romp through some of the more “populist” categories of RTDs, including boozy iced teas and vibrantly colored mermaid lemonades.

• And some discussion about the pros and cons of using a malt alcohol (i.e. fermented) base, versus employing distilled spirits in RTDs and RTSs.

• Along the way, we explore the use cases for “urinal cake” as a tasting note, the color “bleen” (coming to a crayon box near you), a spicy debate about sidecars and dividends, and much, much more.

This is a light-hearted departure from our normal, buttoned up interview format, but don’t let our casual rapport and bubbling excitement fool you: there’s a ton of great insights here for anyone who’s interested in producing or enjoying RTDs in the year 2024 and beyond.

In this Seattle cocktail retrospective with Paul Clarke, Editor in Chief of Imbibe Magazine, some of the topics we discuss include:

• How Paul began his drinks journey in the early days of the cocktail renaissance and became a regular at the ZigZag Cafe, a Seattle cocktail den that rose to prominence thanks, in large part, to a bartender named Murray Stenson.

• The fascinating gravitational pull that Murray exerted, both within professional hospitality circles and on the community of cocktail enthusiasts who congregated at his bar.

• How Murray resurrected The Last Word cocktail from the pages of a forgotten 1950s cocktail book and why his quest for the weird, wonderful, and esoteric extended far beyond cocktails.

• We also examine hospitality through the lens of an old-school bartender, someone who understood that the people are more important than the drinks - and we try to collect some takeaways for young bartenders who are just starting out on their hospitality journey.

• Along the way, we consider the merits of large vinyl collections and a lifelong fascination with music, the simple pleasure of spilling “your unique weirdness” to the bartender after a couple drinks, why Murray was “too cool” for awards ceremonies, and much, much more.

Paul and I pulled up a seat during our recent spirits judging stint at the American Distilling Institute’s annual International Spirits Competition to explore the legacy of one of the cocktail renaissance’s most beloved bartenders: Murray Stenson.

Upon his passing in September of 2023, Murray was memorialized for the major part he played in bringing The Last Word cocktail back onto the world stage after decades of obscurity, but he also played a massively important role in stewarding the overall cocktail culture of Seattle for many years.

So this conversation, like its cocktail namesake, is an equal parts mix of history, elegy, technique, and idiosyncrasy.

Featured Cocktail - The Industry Sour

This episode’s featured cocktail is the Industry Sour. To make this Last Word variant, you’ll need either ¾ oz or 1 oz each of the following:

• Fernet Branca (A minty, alpine amaro from Italy)

• Green Chartreuse

• Simple Syrup

• Fresh Squeezed lime juice

Combine these ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, give ‘em a good, hard shake until the drink is properly chilled and diluted, then strain into a stemmed cocktail glass and enjoy.

Developed by St. Louis bartender Ted Kilgore in 2011, I think of the Industry Sour as an offspring of The Last Word, designed, as its name implies, specifically for nerdy cocktail bartenders who are “in the know” about esoteric ingredients like Chartreuse and Fernet.

In this case, the Fernet kind of stands in for the gin, which works (since it’s a dry botanical liqueur). And instead of the double-shot of sweetness AND nuttiness from the usual Maraschino liqueur, the Industry Sour takes a half-step back with the use of plain ol’ simple syrup--something that any good cocktail bartender will have within arm’s reach

For me, the only real shame is that the pearlescent green color of The Last Word is replaced by a kind of muddy brown in this riff - but again, it seems fitting. Anyone can walk up to something as beautiful as The Last Word and understand they’ve got something special, but it takes a true cocktail acolyte to really appreciate the complex, aggressive symphony contained in the brownish soup of the Industry Sour.

What will cocktails and bars look like in 100 years? 200 years? What about 500?

In this introductory survey episode, Eric explores what "cocktail futurism" might look like and how we can start thinking NOW about how our drinks will evolve in the future. This isn't about projecting what cocktail will become "cool again" next year -- it's about understanding what long-term trends might totally re-write the beverage landscape in ways that will surprise and (hopefully) delight us.

Some of the topics we'll explore include:

• The rise of AI (Artificial Intelligence) in the cocktail space.
• How emerging beverage technologies may eventually change the way we drink
• What bars and bartenders might look like in a speculative (and even space-voyaging) future

This is meant to be a high-level, introductory appetizer for several episodes I'll release down the road, so come at it with an open mind and let yourself become curious about this new way of thinking that I'm calling "cocktail futurism."