Into The Barchive

Into The Barchive

Into The Barchive is a cocktail history and education podcast that explores the stories, traditions, and techniques behind the world’s most iconic drinks. Hosted by historian and spirits educator Dr. Blake Jones alongside cocktail enthusiast Tim Wright, each episode breaks down classic cocktail families, their origins, and how to make them at home. Equal parts history lesson and hands-on bar class, Into The Barchive helps listeners drink smarter, understand what’s in their glass, and appreciate the culture behind every pour.

  1. 2d ago

    Jeffrey Morgenthaler: The Bartender Who Helped Shape the Modern Cocktail Renaissance

    This week on Into The Barchive, Tim Wright and Dr. Blake Jones explore the career and influence of Jeffrey Morgenthaler, the bartender, author, educator, and innovator who helped shape the modern cocktail renaissance—and proved that technical skill and great hospitality don’t have to be opposites. From neighborhood bars in Oregon to his influential years at Clyde Common, Morgenthaler built a reputation for experimenting with technique while keeping cocktails approachable. His website, books, and teaching helped make professional bartending knowledge more accessible to bartenders far beyond major cocktail cities, focusing not just on recipes but on why shaking, stirring, dilution, citrus, ice, and presentation matter. Tim and Blake also dig into some of Morgenthaler’s biggest contributions to modern bartending, including helping popularize barrel-aged cocktails, experimenting with bottled and carbonated drinks, and finding practical ways to make bars more efficient without sacrificing quality. His approach was simple: test ideas in a real working bar, figure out what works, and share that knowledge with everyone else. They also explore Morgenthaler’s willingness to reconsider cocktails that the craft movement once dismissed. His famous reworking of the Amaretto Sour showed that a drink with a questionable reputation might still have a great idea at its core—and that bartenders shouldn’t confuse their own tastes with what guests are allowed to enjoy. And because fall is in full swing, the guys make two Morgenthaler originals that capture the season in very different ways. The Flannel Shirt layers Scotch, apple cider, Averna, lemon, Demerara, allspice dram, and bitters into a drink that feels warming without being served hot. The Autumn Leaves takes a more spirit-forward approach, combining rye whiskey, apple brandy, sweet vermouth, Yellow Chartreuse, and bitters. From barrel-aged Negronis and practical bar technique to apple cider, rye, and autumn spices, this episode looks at why Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s influence extends far beyond any single cocktail. Keep exploring the past, one drink at a time, with Into The Barchive.

    Jeffrey Morgenthaler: The Bartender Who Helped Shape the Modern Cocktail Renaissance

  2. Nov 5

    The Harvey Wallbanger: How Marketing Made a Cocktail Icon

    This week on Into The Barchive, Tim Wright and Dr. Blake Jones celebrate National Harvey Wallbanger Day by revisiting one of the most recognizable—and misunderstood—cocktails of the 1970s. At its core, the Harvey Wallbanger is deceptively simple: vodka, orange juice, and a float of Galliano. But the story behind the drink is much bigger than the recipe. For a time, it became one of the best-known cocktails in America, sitting at the intersection of cocktail culture, advertising, changing drinking habits, and the rise of the so-called “disco drink.” Tim and Blake start with the original before digging into Galliano, the tall golden Italian liqueur that gives the Wallbanger its identity. They explore its herbal, vanilla, anise, and citrus character—and why without Galliano, a Harvey Wallbanger is basically just a screwdriver. Then comes the strange story of Harvey himself. Was he really a California surfer who celebrated a competition victory by banging his surfboard into walls? Maybe not. The better-documented part of the story is the massive advertising campaign that turned Harvey into a cartoon character, put him on merchandise, inspired Wallbanger parties, and helped transform a simple mixed drink into a piece of American pop culture. The guys also examine why the drink eventually fell out of favor. Processed orange juice, changing Galliano formulas, mass-produced versions, and the cocktail’s deep association with 1970s kitsch all worked against it as the modern cocktail revival turned toward fresh ingredients and pre-Prohibition classics. Finally, they make a modern reinterpretation inspired by Brooklyn’s Gage & Tollner, swapping vodka for Plymouth gin, incorporating Galliano throughout the drink, adding lemon for acidity, and using orange oils to create a more balanced, deliberate version of the classic. From cartoon surfers and giant Galliano bottles to fresh citrus and modern cocktail technique, this episode asks a simple question: Does the Harvey Wallbanger deserve another chance? Keep exploring the past, one drink at a time, with Into The Barchive.

    The Harvey Wallbanger: How Marketing Made a Cocktail Icon

  3. Oct 29

    Corpse Revivers: Cocktails Made to Raise the Dead

    This week on Into The Barchive, Tim Wright and Dr. Blake Jones are raising the dead just in time for Halloween with one of cocktail history’s most appropriately named families of drinks: the Corpse Reviver. But the Corpse Reviver wasn’t originally one specific cocktail. The name began as a broader term for a morning restorative—a “hair of the dog” meant to revive someone after a long night of drinking. Over time, that loose category evolved into a collection of recipes, including the two versions that became famous through Harry Craddock’s 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book. Tim and Blake make both of the best-known versions. Corpse Reviver No. 1 is rich and spirit-forward, combining cognac, Calvados, sweet vermouth, and bitters for a drink closer in structure to the Manhattan family. Corpse Reviver No. 2 goes in a completely different direction with gin, orange liqueur, lemon, aromatized wine, and absinthe for a bright, bracing, equal-parts sour. Along the way, they explore why No. 2 became the more famous sibling, how the disappearance of Kina Lillet changed the recipe, and why modern bartenders often turn to Cocchi Americano to restore some of the bitterness found in the original drink. They also look at the return of absinthe to the U.S. market and how the modern cocktail revival helped bring the Corpse Reviver back into the spotlight. And the family tree gets even stranger from there. Other historic books introduced additional Corpse Revivers—including versions made with Swedish Punch, Fernet-Branca, vodka, gin, grenadine, and even recipes that resemble a brandy-spiked mimosa—proving that the name has always been more of a cocktail category than a single rigid formula. From 19th-century hangover remedies to the Savoy, absinthe, forgotten recipes, and one famous warning about drinking four in quick succession, this episode proves that sometimes the best Halloween cocktails don’t need plastic eyeballs or dry ice—just about a century of history behind them. Keep exploring the past, one drink at a time, with Into The Barchive.

    Corpse Revivers: Cocktails Made to Raise the Dead

  4. Oct 22

    Nocino: Green Walnuts, Folklore & Fall Cocktails

    This week on Into The Barchive, hosts Tim Wright and Dr. Blake Jones explore one of the darker and more unusual bottles behind the bar: nocino, the bittersweet walnut liqueur that tastes like autumn and comes with centuries of tradition, folklore, and a little midsummer mystery. Traditionally made by macerating green, unripe walnuts in alcohol with sugar and sometimes spices like cinnamon and cloves, nocino occupies an interesting space between a liqueur and an amaro. Its flavors can range from black walnut and dark caramel to baking spice, herbs, bitter chocolate, coffee, vanilla, and citrus. Tim and Blake trace nocino’s roots through Italy and other parts of Europe, including the tradition of harvesting green walnuts around the Feast of St. John the Baptist on June 24. They also dive into the folklore surrounding the harvest—odd numbers of walnuts, midsummer dew, barefoot gathering before dawn, and old associations between walnut trees, magic, and witchcraft—while separating documented history from the legends that grew around it. Then it’s time to put nocino to work behind the bar. First up is a Walnut Old Fashioned, where the liqueur adds sweetness, bitterness, and deep walnut character to whiskey without overwhelming the classic structure. Then the guys go considerably more decadent with a Rum Walnut Alexander, pairing dark rum, nocino, cream, and Demerara syrup for a rich dessert cocktail balanced by nocino’s signature bitterness. Along the way, they explore how nocino is made, why the timing of the walnut harvest matters, how months of maceration and maturation transform the liqueur, and why modern bartenders have rediscovered it as such a versatile cocktail ingredient. From Italian family traditions and midsummer folklore to modern cocktail bars, nocino proves that some bottles carry much more than flavor—they carry generations of stories. Keep exploring the past, one drink at a time, with Into The Barchive.

    Nocino: Green Walnuts, Folklore & Fall Cocktails

  5. Oct 15

    Hard Cider Cocktails: From the Stone Fence to the Snakebite

    This week on Into The Barchive, hosts Tim Wright and Dr. Blake Jones head into the orchard to explore the history of hard cider and the surprisingly important role it has played in drinking culture on both sides of the Atlantic. Long before cocktails became fixtures of the American bar, cider was already a staple of the colonial table. Apples were abundant, fermentation made their juice easier to store, and cider quickly became an everyday beverage. Over time, it also found its way into mixed drinks—most notably the Stone Fence, a simple combination of cider and spirits with roots reaching back to colonial America. Tim and Blake make a Stone Fence using rye whiskey, bitters, and hard cider while tracing the drink’s history through names like Samson, Stonewall, and Stone Fence. They also dig into the legend that Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys drank Stone Fences before the 1775 attack on Fort Ticonderoga—and why that story is probably better treated as great bar lore than documented fact. Then the story jumps across the Atlantic and forward a few centuries to the Snakebite, the unapologetically simple British combination of lager and hard cider. Popularized in 1980s British pubs and youth subcultures, the Snakebite proves that historically significant mixed drinks don’t always come from elegant hotel bars or famous bartenders. Sometimes they come from a pint glass and whatever two drinks happen to be sitting nearby. Along the way, the guys break down why cider works so well in cocktails, from its acidity and fruit character to tannin, carbonation, and sweetness. They also offer practical advice for choosing between dry and sweet cider, pairing cider with different spirits, and using bitters to add complexity without turning every apple cocktail into a glass of liquid Thanksgiving. From colonial taverns to 1980s British pubs, this episode shows how one deceptively simple ingredient has connected generations of drinkers—and why cider deserves a permanent place behind the bar. Keep exploring the past, one drink at a time, with Into The Barchive.

    Hard Cider Cocktails: From the Stone Fence to the Snakebite

  6. Oct 8

    King Cocktail: How Dale DeGroff Helped Spark the Modern Cocktail Renaissance

    This week on Into The Barchive, hosts Tim Wright and Dr. Blake Jones raise a glass to one of the most influential bartenders of the modern era: Dale DeGroff, better known as King Cocktail. DeGroff didn’t just make great drinks—he helped change what American bartending could be. From fresh citrus and quality spirits to proper glassware, technique, ice, hospitality, and cocktail history, his influence can be traced through an entire generation of bartenders and many of the standards we now take for granted. Tim and Blake trace DeGroff’s journey from working bars in Los Angeles to meeting legendary restaurateur Joe Baum, who challenged him to build a 19th-century-inspired cocktail program using classic recipes and fresh ingredients. That assignment led DeGroff to Jerry Thomas’ 1862 Bartender’s Guide and eventually to New York’s legendary Rainbow Room, where he helped turn classic cocktails into something glamorous, relevant, and commercially successful again. Along the way, the guys make two drinks that perfectly represent DeGroff’s legacy. First is the Whiskey Smash, a 19th-century classic DeGroff helped bring back into the modern American bar by adding fresh lemon to the traditional combination of whiskey, sugar, mint, and ice. Then they mix the Fitzgerald, DeGroff’s own creation—a gin sour transformed by the addition of Angostura bitters into a modern classic. They also explore DeGroff’s role as a teacher, mentor, author, and advocate for professional bartending, from training bartenders at the Rainbow Room to influencing a new generation that included figures tied to bars like Pegu Club, Milk & Honey, and Clover Club. His impact would continue through The Craft of the Cocktail, the Museum of the American Cocktail, and the Beverage Alcohol Resource program. Ultimately, Dale DeGroff’s legacy isn’t just found in the drinks he revived or created. It lives on every time a bartender reaches for fresh citrus, studies an old recipe, teaches someone why a cocktail works, or takes a classic and asks what it might become next. Keep exploring the past, one drink at a time, with Into The Barchive.

    King Cocktail: How Dale DeGroff Helped Spark the Modern Cocktail Renaissance

  7. Oct 1

    Beyond the Negroni: The Kingston Negroni & Rosita

    How much can you change a Negroni before it stops being a Negroni? This week on Into The Barchive, hosts Tim Wright and Dr. Blake Jones wrap up their Negroni mini-series by exploring just how adaptable the classic three-ingredient cocktail can be. Using the Negroni’s familiar structure as a starting point, they dive into two variations that dramatically change its personality while preserving its basic DNA: the Kingston Negroni and the Rosita. First up is the Kingston Negroni, created by bartender Joaquin Simo around 2010. By swapping gin for high-proof Smith & Cross Jamaican rum, the cocktail trades juniper and botanicals for funky tropical fruit, spice, and unmistakable Jamaican rum character. Paired with Campari and the rich sweetness of Carpano Antica Formula vermouth, one simple substitution transforms the Negroni into something entirely new. Then Tim and Blake turn to the Rosita, a tequila-based relative of the Negroni with a history almost as interesting as the drink itself. Traced back to at least the 1974 Mr. Boston’s Official Bartender’s Guide, the Rosita later disappeared, was rediscovered, and eventually became part of the modern bartender’s vocabulary again. With tequila, Campari, both sweet and dry vermouth, and bitters, it proves that a riff doesn’t have to follow the classic equal-parts formula to preserve the spirit of the original. Along the way, the guys break down what actually makes a good cocktail variation, why substitutions should be made with intention, and how bartenders can change the base spirit, vermouth, bitter component, proportions, or garnish without completely losing the architecture of the drink. The Negroni may be a classic recipe, but it’s also one of the most durable cocktail templates ever created—and sometimes changing just one ingredient is all it takes to create another classic. Keep exploring the past, one drink at a time, with Into The Barchive.

    Beyond the Negroni: The Kingston Negroni & Rosita

  8. Sep 24

    The Negroni: From Italian Legend to Happy Accident

    Three ingredients. Equal parts. More than a century of cocktail history. This week on Into The Barchive, hosts Tim Wright and Dr. Blake Jones explore one of the most recognizable cocktails in the world: the Negroni. Building on their previous episode about the Milano-Torino and Americano, the guys trace the Negroni's evolution from a simple Italian aperitivo into a global cocktail phenomenon. They revisit the famous origin story of Count Camillo Negroni, who reportedly walked into a café in Florence around 1919 and asked a bartender to make his Americano stronger by replacing the soda water with gin. But how much of that story is fact, and how much is cocktail mythology? Tim and Blake break down the Negroni's deceptively simple formula of gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth, explaining how three bold ingredients create a balance of bitterness, sweetness, botanicals, and aromatics. They also discuss why the quality of your vermouth matters, how different gins can completely change the experience, and why the classic equal-parts recipe is often just a starting point. Then they explore one of cocktail history's most famous happy accidents: the Negroni Sbagliato. The guys recreate the sparkling variation and share the story of how bartender Mirko Stocchetto reportedly grabbed Prosecco instead of gin at Milan's Bar Basso in the 1970s, creating a lighter, bubbly alternative that became a classic in its own right. Along the way, they discuss why bitterness is often an acquired taste, how the modern craft cocktail renaissance helped bring the Negroni to international prominence, and how the creation of Negroni Week in 2013 turned a beloved drink into a global celebration of hospitality and charitable giving. From its mysterious beginnings in Florence to its sparkling sibling in Milan, discover how one simple cocktail became an enduring symbol of Italian drinking culture. Are you a Negroni traditionalist, a Sbagliato fan, or do you have a favorite variation? Join Tim and Blake as they explore the history behind what's in your glass. Keep exploring the past, one drink at a time, with Into The Barchive.

    The Negroni: From Italian Legend to Happy Accident
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
4 Ratings

About

Into The Barchive is a cocktail history and education podcast that explores the stories, traditions, and techniques behind the world’s most iconic drinks. Hosted by historian and spirits educator Dr. Blake Jones alongside cocktail enthusiast Tim Wright, each episode breaks down classic cocktail families, their origins, and how to make them at home. Equal parts history lesson and hands-on bar class, Into The Barchive helps listeners drink smarter, understand what’s in their glass, and appreciate the culture behind every pour.

Information

  • Creator
    Into The Barchive
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    48
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Into The Barchive
  • Show Website
    Into The Barchive