Decoding Cocktails Chris LeBeau

Today’s conversation is about the upcoming book The Bartender’s Pantry (website, Instagram), which was written by Jim Meehan (Instagram), Bart Sasso (Instagram), and (Instagram).
This multi-year project was catalyzed when Jim began to wonder if the teachings he’d learned about drink mixers and garnishes hadn’t reached the next generation of bartenders. At the same time, he reflected on some of the things he believed about them that he’d never investigated and verified.
In the book, you’ll find variety of categories to explore like sugars, grains, nuts, dairy, fruits, ferments, coffee, tea, and more.
In addition to being a partner in the Atlanta-based bar Ticonderoga Club, Bart’s background in design can be seen in illustrations throughout the book aimed at distilling kitchen projects onto one page.
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After years of being deep in research, testing, and writing, Jim and Bart asked (maybe begged?🙏) Emma to help them turn their mountain of information into a coherent and enjoyable story. Thus, the book is now here for all to read. It comes out on June 11th.
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Ben Branson (@Seedlip_Ben) launched Seedlip, the world’s first non-alcoholic spirit in 2015. Today it is available in roughly 25 countries and because it carries the designation non-alcoholic, it can be easily shipped to your door in the mail.
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Seedlip has four products, with its most recent launch being Notas de Agave, which is only sold in the US. They have an AI tool named Elli, which can help you decide what to buy and how to use it.
The two biggest takeaways from my conversation were: 1) a drink whether it has alcohol or not, deserves the same amount of care and attention. 2) when you buy a drink, are you paying for the ABV or the flavor and experience?
According to IWSR, the non-alcoholic market is now worth more than $13 billion. Ben believes there will be upcoming consolidations in the market as it balloons, but the overall trend is upward.
Ben mentioned a 17th-century document, The Art of Distillation, which helped him learn how to make basic non-alcoholic products.


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Kip Moffitt (@kipmoffitt) is the head bartender of Superbueno (website, Instagram). A Mexican-American bar that opened for just over a year in Manhattan’s East Village and was just awarded the #2 spot on North America’s 50 Best Bars list.
The genesis of the bar came from Ignacio “Nacho” Jimenez (@hopignacio) and explores the intersections he has experienced as a resident of New York who is from Mexico.
Kip and I talked about Mexican brandies coming on the market, particularly one he likes from Tosba. They use one in their Green Mango Martini. We also discussed their margarita, which contains a mushroom called “huitlacoche” that grows on corn.
A fun fact about their menu is that their most “sciency” cocktail as Kip put it, is their Vodka Y Soda cocktail. While you should definitely listen to my conversation with Kip first if you want to go in-depth on the Vodka Y Soda, check out Nacho’s conversation on the Cocktail College podcast.


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Jeremy Wochnick and Erin Nysse work for The Barrel Mill (website, Instagram), a barrel cooperage in Minnesota. We met when they were exhibiting at the American Craft Spirits Association’s conference in Denver this year and had a great conversation. They agreed to sit down to talk all things barrels, infusion spirals, sustainability, and more.
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While I am pretty darn educated on spirits and cocktails, I am a geek for unaged spirits, so I don’t know as much about aged spirits as I should. Thankfully, Erin and Jeremy gave me a crash course.
I used one of their infusion spirals to attempt a reposado-ish tequila. It says the spiral will impart flavor for roughly two weeks, but I found that after 24-ish hours it had taken on nice aromas and flavor without running over the tequila’s vegetal and earthy essence.
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Last week Mexican authorities raided the home and office of Tequila Matchmaker (TM), also known as the Additive Free Alliance. For many years, their forum has been a place for agave distillate fanatics to visit along with their work to certify tequilas that are free of approved additives that are not required to be listed on a bottle’s label.
Their work has begun to affect sales of major brands that are not shown to be additive-free. One agave influencer, @tequilajaybaer, cited 9 and 14 percent drops in sales of Casamigos and Don Julio respectively (see it here).
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The situation is complex. Not simple. Some people say that the push for additive-free tequila is overshadowing other issues that are important like sustainable farming practices, labor wages, preservation of Mexican heritage, and more, but everyone seems to agree that Grover and Scarlet Sanschagrin of TM have been forces for good in agave. While it cannot be fully linked, it is likely the government has taken such dramatic action because powerful forces have seen their income impacted.
* Vinepair article documenting the raid
* Emma Janzen wrote a bit on the Matchmaker situation and has said more is coming.
* The history of tequila
* Support Grover and Scarlet here


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André Darlington (website, Instagram) is the author of 12 books, including the one we discussed, Cowboy Cocktails.
In 2020, André became the first cocktail writer to circumnavigate the globe since Charles H. Baker a hundred years ago. A record of his journey became Booze Cruise: A Tour of the World’s Essential Mixed Drinks.
A few things worth noting that I found fun from our conversation
• There was heavy Spanish and Mexican influence in cowboy culture. For example, the term I’ve always heard as “ten-gallon hat”, is actually “tan galan”, which means very handsome.
• In many western towns there was no shortage of luxurious goods (champagne, Grand Marnier, Chartreuse, etc.) because as people came into large amounts of money, they craved indulgences to spend them on. Pairing this with long periods of deprivation while cowboys were out on the plains, they often liked sweeter drinks. Modern-day staples like sugar and eggs were also luxuries.
• While whiskey was popular on the plains, mezcal (Tequila did not become an official designation until l1974) was common because agave is more at home in dry climates.


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