Bartender At Large

On this episode we explore the Kansas City cocktail scene with two of the cities top bartenders, Derek Branham and Andrew Olsen. In addition to talking about the local food & drink, we also discuss the challenges involved with creating atmosphere at a bar and how that relates to sound & lighting.

This week we get the chance to hang with NYC bartender, Stacey Swenson, (Dante, Dante at the Genuine) and we discuss our love for Kamikazes, Mudslides, and all those drinks that don't get their due. We also talk about all the petty things in the biz that make our skin crawl.

This week we are joined by James Beard nominated entrepenuer, Jill Cockson, and regional USBG president, Chelsea Almeida, and they share their secrets to success with us. Whether you are trying to open a profitable bar or expand into other facets of the industry, you will not want to miss this episode.

This week we are joined by Owen Westman, who co-managed the award-winning bar Rickhouse, with our host Erick Castro. Together they tackle questions from our listeners and offer expert advice on how to solve problems & issues around the bar, ranging from staff morale to inventory. ======================================== Join us every week as star bartender, Erick Castro, hangs out with some of the top bartenders from around the world while drinking a little bit of whiskey. The truth about bartending comes

Join us this week as we talk about California's premier bartender event, Bartender's Weekend, and take fan questions about getting back behind the bar after leaving the game. ======================================== Join us every week as star bartender, Erick Castro, hangs out with some of the top bartenders from around the world while drinking a little bit of whiskey. The truth about bartending comes to the surface, since nothing is off limits and topics range on everything from sleeping with customers t

Australia's craft distillers have really been making some fantastic spirits over these last few years, so join us this week, as we meet with one of the distilleries that is at the forefront of the industry, Four Pillars Gin. Follow us on Twitter: Erick Castro: http://www.twitter.com/HungryBartender Bartender at Large: http://www.twitter.com/BartendAtLarge Follow us on Instagram: Erick Castro: http://www.instagram.com/HungryBartender Bartender at Large: http://www.instagram.com/BartenderAtLarge

Opening a craft cocktail bar with a full-blown arcade is not something you see everyday and presents its unique set of challenges. So, join us this week, as we are joined by the founders and creative minds of Coin-Op, the craft cocktail & arcade bar with locations in 4 cities.  Follow us on Twitter: Erick Castro: http://www.twitter.com/HungryBartender Bartender at Large: http://www.twitter.com/BartendAtLarge Follow us on Instagram: Erick Castro: http://www.instagram.com/HungryBartender Bartender at Large

For this episode, we decided to switch things up a little and get into the holiday spirit. Instead of the usual industry chit chat, we decided to hold a little eggnog competition featuring some random off the shelf nogs that we found at the liquor store. To help us separate the good from the bad, we are joined by Adele Stratton (of Jayne's Gastropub, formerly of Noble Experiment.) So tune in, as we taste our way through a little too much nog, so that you don't have to. Don't forget to stick around after

For this week's show, we had the chance to hang out with Lou Bustamante, acclaimed author and cocktail writer for the SF Weekly.      So tune in, as we trace the cocktail books, the history of San Francisco's modern cocktail renaissance, and how our host, Erick Castro, got his start in craft cocktails.    New episodes will be up every week. Much love, and thank you for tuning in!

Since amaro and bitter liqueurs are going through a bit of a modern renaissance in the bar world today, we thought it would be the perfect time to revisit one of the most misunderstood amaro out there, Jagermeister. To help shine some light on this ubiquitous liqueur, we met up with Jagermeister Brand Ambassadors, Willy Shine (Willy Shine Consulting, Appleton Rum) and Daniel de Oliveira (Mercadito, Altos Tequila) and listened in as they shared with us the secrets of amaro. This week we talk about 90s co

Pacific Cocktail Haven by Hungry Bartender

Bartender at Large Movie Available Now! Go to bartenderatlarge.com to purchase! =============================================== With the Bartender at Large movie available for purchase now, we have been getting tons of questions from you guys about how & why we made it, so we decided that instead of answering each individual question, we would tackle them all for you in one place. So this episode is special in many ways, especially because Erick is the one answering the questions instead of asking t

With so many new job opportunities for today's bartender, the role of a corporate mixologist would have only been a dream 10 years ago. But what exactly does the job entail? Thankfully, we were joined by two of LA's top bartenders, Tricia Carr and Juan Sevilla, to give us the lowdown. This week we talk about training bartenders from scratch, creating your own job, and making the change from late nights to a 9 to 5. New episodes will be up every week. Much love, and thank you for tuning in!

Making Syrups, Depression & Beating Stress by Hungry Bartender

With our award-winning documentary becoming available October 9th online, we have been keeping very busy over here at Bartender at Large HQ, especially with all of the killer preorder bonuses. But enough about all that, let's get down with this week's episode. With all of the conversations that we have had so far with bartenders around the world, I have never really made the time to showcase my own bar in San Diego, Polite Provisions. Since many of you have requested it, I decided to sit down with t

For our latest episode, we decided to head on over to downtown Los Angeles and meet with one of the bars that is helping to revitalize the neighborhood. Dustin Newsome (Seven Grand, 213 Hospitality) and Daniel Zacharczuk (Walker Inn, Varnish) are both veterans of the downtown scene, and they have loads of useful information to share. Together with their team, they have helped to build an amazing place, Bar Clacson, that has been collecting accolades not only around the city, but across the country as well

Bartenders across the country know that the cocktail community would not be where it is today without the support of quality liquor stores. For years, they have been providing us and our customers with quality bar tools and hard find to bitters. Because of the pivotal role that these stores have played over the years, we just knew that we had to get Joe Keeper on an episode. Joe is the founder and owner of the iconic Los Angeles spirits shop, Bar Keeper, and he brings a passion and perspective that makes

With so many options and opportunities today for work within the bartending community, it can be very easy to get overwhelmed in regards to which career path to follow. To help us navigate the abundance of jobs, titles and roles in the spirits biz, we brought on Anne Louise Marquis, National Portfolio Brand Ambassador at Campari. She has years of experience in working on brands, and has plenty of useful advice for any bartenders interested in making the move into a brand role. This week we talk abo

Over these last several years, craft distilling has been taking off all around the country, and now some amazing products are being made by local producers that are taking the liquor industry by storm. Not only are many of these distillers making innovative and interesting new products, but they are fundamentally changing the way America thinks about spirits. Laura Johnson, of You & Yours Co. Distilling, is one of these new distillers on the scene and is blazing her own trail with a DIY attitude, and som

Anyone who has been following the cocktail scene over the last several years knows that tiki cocktails and tiki bars have been coming back with vengeance. And much of that momentum has been fueled by the genius of this week's guest. Martin Cate, and his tiki empire, which includes everything from bars in several states to a James Beard award-winning book, Smuggler's Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of Tiki, has taken the cocktail world by storm. Due to his influence on how we drink today, we jus