Find Tad on Instagram. Learn more about Gruppo Montenegro.

Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET)

Beverage Alcohol Resource (BAR)

The now-shuttered Tippling Bros, was a consulting practice Tad ran with his partner Paul Tanguay. The Tippler in Chelsea market.

Tad is the co-author of A Lime and a Shaker: Discovering Mexican Inspired Cocktails

Column vs. pot distillation

Bitter flavors trigger the production of pepsin, which fires up the digestive system.

The history of Amari and other bitter beverages back to ancient Rome and beyond in the form of wine.

Tequila: blanco vs. reposado

Grandma mix: combine equal parts Grand Marnier and simple syrup to tone down the orangey quality in a margarita.

Amari referenced: Montenegro, Meletti, Averna, Nonino, Averna, Ciociaro, Ramazotti, Fernet Branca

Aperitivi referenced: Select, Aperol, Campari, Capelletti

Cocktails referenced: Espresso Martini, Monte & tonic, Monte & soda, Negroni, Spritz, Toronto, Tommy's Margarita, 

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Follow Marshall on Instagram and take a peek at Valerie.

Marshall's recommended gin flight and easy-drinking gin cocktails (PDF)

What is rich demerara syrup?

Books I'm planning to read based on Marshall's comments: The Savoy, The Drunken Botanist, I'm Just Here for the Drinks, Regarding Cocktails. Books I've already read that he mentioned: Meehan's Bartender's Manual, Cocktail Codex

Negroni Week

What's a swizzle?

Don't like Campari? Marshall recommends splitting any call for Campari between two other bitter liqueurs. Aperol and Bruto Americano.

Marshall loves, AND I MEAN LOVES Suze. He promised to help me like it because I find it hard to take down.

Fortified wines: When it comes to vermouth, Dolin reigns supreme in many cases. Valerie also makes use of Routin. Marshall said you could always substitute in a different style of fortified wine like Cocchi Americano or Lillet Blanc. He also said you need more Sherry in your cabinet. His preferred brand is Lustau.

Want to keep up with their new concept Madame George? One of the first takes on things will be Marshall sprucing up the cloying Midori Sour.

Artisanal vs. mass-produced tonic water. e.g. Fever-Tree and Q vs. Schweppes


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Lynnette (Twitter, Instagram) got her start at the Flatiron Lounge. She has worked in many capacities across the industry and most recently ran the bar program at the Llama Inn and Llama San.

Alongside bartender Ivy Mix, she co-founded Speed Rack, an all-female high-speed bartending competition designed to highlight up-and-coming women and raises money for breast cancer.

She is the head of education for Bar Convent Brooklyn and is one of two bartenders featured on Masterclass, the other being Ryan Chetiyawardana (aka Mr. Lyan). In 2021, Lynnette was voted "the bartender's bartender" at The World's 50 Best Bars award show.

Industry resources: Restaurant Workers' Community Foundation, Another Round Another Rally, Southern Smoke, USBG

Pisco varietals: Capurro, Macchu Pisco & La diablada, SUYO

Pisco cocktails: Pisco Sour, Pisco Punch

People mentioned: Kelsey Ramage on art and design, Amanda Elder on digital menus, Dale Degroff, David Wondrich, Audrey Saunders, Julie Reiner, Gaz Regan.

Terms you may not know: Grappa (an Italian grape-based wine), Shochu (a Japanese spirit that can be made from a host of items like sweet potato, barley, rice, and more), Bacanora (an agave distillate from the Mexican state of Sonora), Sotol (a distillate from a plant called the desert spoon. While the plant is not part of the agave family, it's flavor can be mistaken for a mezcal).

Barrel aging cocktails


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Corey was involved with Firecracker Pizza and Atomic Cowboy until COVID-19 hit.



Team members referenced from The Lucky Accomplice: Will Brawley, Kelsey McClure, Chef Logan Ely



The early bar program at TLA was in part built by the team of Anvil in Houston. Early cocktails included classics like Jungle Bird and Sidecar.  



Tools that Corey mentions: Sous Vide circulator, Gastrovac, fat separator

Recipes: Blue Cheese washed vodka, Fake lime juice, Pineapple pulp syrup, citrus stock

Chicago bars Corey mentions: Lost Lake, Billy Sunday, The Violet Hour

Books: Death & Co, Meehan’s Bartender Manual, The Bar Book 
Gins to check out: 1220 Origin, Yuzu

According to Corey, you should be drinking more highball cocktails. In their simplest expression, goo booze is served over ice and topped with club soda. 
He specifically mentions St. George’s Baller Single Malt Whiskey and Iwai 45. Pour 1 oz of each into a glass filled with ice, and gently stir, top with 4-5 oz of cold club soda

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingcocktails.substack.com

Interested to be involved in one of my palate honing pilot classes? Check it out here. More are coming soon.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingcocktails.substack.com

One of Steve's influences for The Royale: The MatchBox



Some of Steve's favorite places to visit: Cafe Natasha, Turn, Dressel's (planning to reopen this summer), Iowa Buffet, Pop's Blue Moon, No Wake Zone, Slo Tom's, Playboy Cappucino Lounge

Steve also thinks you should visit East Carondolet



Two of Steve's advisors: Matt McBride and Tim O'Connell



The bar I mentioned in Valley Park: The Fireplace

You need to check out the board at Brennan's


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A Proper Drink by Robert Simonson

Prohibition

World War II and industrial alcohol

The advent of sweet and sour mix



Dick Bradsell

Dale Degroff

Audrey Saunders

Ron Cooper and Del Maguey

TGI Fridays and blindfolded drink making

Sex and the City and the Cosmopolitan



Tales of the Cocktail

Dave Arnold and Liquid Intelligence

David Wondrich: Esquire, Imbibe!, Punch


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Follow Kayla on Instagram @dailycordial

The New Cocktail Hour by André Darlington is the book that kicked off Kayla's journey

Kayla's favorite drink: Oaxaca Old Fashioned

Josephine Baker and the marketing of Cognac

What is sloe gin anyways?

Batching a Manhattan

Batching a Martini


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Check out the course

4 Hour Chef by Tim Ferriss

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat

Twenty by Michael Ruhlman

Fortified Wine

Liqueur vs. liquor


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Tim's establishments: Retreat Gastropub, Lazy Tiger, Yellowbelly

Death & Co

Taste bar

The Last Word: Chartreuse and Maraschino liqueur

Agave spirits: tequila, raicilla, and Mezcal

Sugarcane spirits: rum, rhum agricole, and cachaça

The raicilla brand La Venenosa has pushed things forward

Short shake

Flip family of cocktails

Travis Howard

"The Arms" (The Scottish Arms)



Recommendations from Tim

Bottles that change people's minds: Génépy, Letherbee, and Averna amaro

Large-format cocktails to serve a group: Make a spritz. Combine equal proportions of  Aperol and Cappelletti in a pitcher. Pour that over ice in a glass and top with 1-3 oz dry sparkling wine. Garnish with an orange

Make a more shelf-stable lime cordial


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit decodingcocktails.substack.com