This year’s Imbibe 75 highlights people, businesses, and organizations working to build a better drinks world. For this episode of Radio Imbibe, we talk with one of this year’s People to Watch: Dr. Hoby Wedler. A native of California’s Sonoma County, Wedler is an organic chemist and entrepreneur with a deep enthusiasm for wine. Blind since birth, Wedler is the founder of Accessible Science, a nonprofit that hosted a chemistry camp for the blind and visually impaired; a co-innovator of Tasting in the Dark, a wine-tasting experience he conducted with the Francis Ford Coppola Winery; and a founder and sensory innovation expert for Senspoint, a creative firm that takes a sensory approach to making products and services more accessible and sustainable. To hear more about his approach to sensory literacy, check out his 2017 talk for TEDxSonomaCounty.

Radio Imbibe is the audio home of Imbibe magazine. In each episode, we dive into liquid culture, exploring the people, places, and flavors of the drinkscape through conversations about cocktails, coffee, beer, spirits, and wine. Keep up with us at imbibemagazine.com, and on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and if you're not already a subscriber, we'd love to have you join us—click here to subscribe.

This year’s Imbibe 75 highlights people, businesses, and organizations working to build a better drinks world. For this episode of Radio Imbibe, we talk with two of this year’s People to Watch: Brooklyn-based distiller, writer, and activist Jackie Summers; and Lynn House, the Chicago-based national brand educator for Heaven Hill, who co-founded Tipping for Equity (with another Imbibe 75 Person to Watch, Tracie Franklin).

Radio Imbibe is the audio home of Imbibe magazine. In each episode, we dive into liquid culture, exploring the people, places, and flavors of the drinkscape through conversations about cocktails, coffee, beer, spirits, and wine. Keep up with us at imbibemagazine.com, and on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and if you're not already a subscriber, we'd love to have you join us—click here to subscribe.

Joann Spiegel is the manager of Miracle, a holiday-themed pop-up event that annually attracts more than 100 participating bars worldwide. For this episode, we chat with her about the process of developing a regular menu of holiday cocktails; some of the challenges of coordinating such an event in different cities and countries; and the importance of holiday celebrations in the era of COVID.

In 2018, Imbibe’s annual Holiday Drinks feature was dedicated exclusively to the cocktails served at Miracle. Check out the recipes for festive drinks from past Miracle menus including And a Partridge in a Pear Tree, Bad Santa, and the Naughty and Nice holiday shots. And find a participating Miracle bar (or the tropically themed Sippin’ Santa companion popup) near you, for take-out cocktails or safe-sipping outdoor service, where available. 

Radio Imbibe is the audio home of Imbibe magazine. In each episode, we dive into liquid culture, exploring the people, places, and flavors of the drinkscape through conversations about cocktails, coffee, beer, spirits, and wine. Keep up with us at imbibemagazine.com, and on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and if you're not already a subscriber, we'd love to have you join us—click here to subscribe.

Sother Teague is the author of I’m Just Here for the Drinks, a co-host with Damon Boelte of The Speakeasy podcast, and beverage director of Amor y Amargo in New York City. For this episode, he walks us through incorporating bitter liqueurs into holiday cocktails; mixes an Amor y Amargo original, the Bald Mountain; and discusses the state of his bar in the COVID era. 

In 2018, Teague was profiled by Shanna Farrell for Imbibe, focusing on his advocacy for mental health care among bartenders and other hospitality professionals. In this episode, he shares resources he’s found helpful during the COVID crisis, including FOH (Focus on Health, from bartenders Lauren Paylor and Alex Jump), and The Healthtender, from bartender Amie Ward. For more coverage of mental-health issues, including links to available resources, check out our 2018 profile and this article from April 2020.

Bald Mountain

1 oz. Varnelli Punch Fantasia

½ oz. aged rum (Amor y Amargo uses The Real McCoy)

½ oz. overproof rum (Amor y Amargo uses Smith & Cross)

½ oz. rich cinnamon syrup 

¼ oz. Giffard Caribbean Pineapple Liqueur

2 dashes Dale DeGroff’s Pimento Aromatic Bitters

Mulled Hot Water, to top

Glass: 8 oz. mug or cup (Amor y Amargo uses the iconic New York City takeout coffee cup)

Garnish: orange twist, fresh-grated nutmeg

Combine all of the ingredients in a cup, and top with mulled hot water. Twist a piece of orange peel over the drink, and sprinkle with fresh-grated nutmeg.

Rich Cinnamon Syrup: In a saucepan, combine 2 cups of demerara sugar, 1 cup of water, and 4 cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces. Bring to a boil while whisking to dissolve sugar, then let simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Let cool, then strain and bottle for use; keeps refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

Mulled Hot Water: Fill a small saucepan or electric kettle with water, then add one or two cinnamon sticks, several whole cloves, and a couple of whole star anise, to taste. Let mixture simmer for 10-15 minutes, and keep warm for serving. 

Blake Walker

Amor y Amargo, New York City

Radio Imbibe is the audio home of Imbibe magazine. In each episode, we dive into liquid culture, exploring the people, places, and flavors of the drinkscape through conversations about cocktails, coffee, beer, spirits, and wine. Keep up with us at imbibemagazine.com, and on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and if you're not already a subscriber, we'd love to have you join us—click here to subscribe.

Our November/December issue features whiskey cocktails for the holidays, and to talk about some of our favorite whiskey-based cocktails for the season (including her Wildest Redhead), we chat with Meaghan Dorman, bar director for Raines Law Room and Dear Irving in New York City, and our 2016 Bartender of the Year. 

Radio Imbibe is the audio home of Imbibe magazine. In each episode, we dive into liquid culture, exploring the people, places, and flavors of the drinkscape through conversations about cocktails, coffee, beer, spirits, and wine. Keep up with us at imbibemagazine.com, and on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and if you're not already a subscriber, we'd love to have you join us—click here to subscribe.

André Hueston Mack is no stranger to Imbibe readers, and for this episode of the podcast, we talk with the sommelier, winemaker, restaurateur, designer, and author about diversity and equity in the wine world (elaborating upon his conversation with Chasity Cooper for her article in our November/December issue), as well as how his wine career started, and what keeps him excited and engaged with wine today.

Radio Imbibe is the audio home of Imbibe magazine. In each episode, we dive into liquid culture, exploring the people, places, and flavors of the drinkscape through conversations about cocktails, coffee, beer, spirits, and wine. Keep up with us at imbibemagazine.com, and on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and if you're not already a subscriber, we'd love to have you join us—click here to subscribe.

Mocktails, N/A cocktails, spirit-free—whatever you choose to call them, cocktails made without spirits, liqueurs, or other alcohol-containing ingredients are becoming increasingly present in our lives. For this episode, we chat with writer Julia Bainbridge about her new book, Good Drinks: Alcohol-Free Recipes for When You’re Not Drinking for Whatever Reason (Ten Speed Press), a compendium of recipes she collected during a pre-COVID cross-country road trip to visit bars and restaurants that featured creative alcohol-free mixed drinks on their menus.

Radio Imbibe is the audio home of Imbibe magazine. In each episode, we dive into liquid culture, exploring the people, places, and flavors of the drinkscape through conversations about cocktails, coffee, beer, spirits, and wine. Keep up with us at imbibemagazine.com, and on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and if you're not already a subscriber, we'd love to have you join us—click here to subscribe.

Dale DeGroff is one of the pioneers of the cocktail renaissance, and Episode 6 is devoted entirely to his stories of being a bartender in New York City and Los Angeles in the closing decades of the 20th century; his thoughts on the growth of the modern cocktail movement and the future of bars; and the recently released The New Craft of the Cocktail, a revised and updated edition of his influential 2002 book.

Martini Cocktail 1888

1 oz. Old Tom gin (DeGroff uses Ransom)
1 oz. sweet vermouth
1 dash gomme syrup
2 or 3 dashes bitters (DeGroff uses Bitter Truth Bogart’s Bitters)
1 dash curaçao or absinthe (optional)
Tools: barspoon, strainer
Glass: cocktail
Garnish: cherry or olive, lemon zest

Stir all of the ingredients with ice, then strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with a cherry or an olive, then express the lemon peel over the top of the drink and discard.

Adapted by Dale DeGroff

Smoky Martini #2 

2 oz. Hendricks Orbium gin
1 oz. Reyka vodka
1 oz. Martini Riserva Speciale Ambrato vermouth
1 tsp. blended malt Scotch whisky (DeGroff uses Monkey Shoulder)
4 dashes Dale DeGroff’s Pimento Aromatic Bitters
Tools: barspoon, strainer
Glass: cocktail

Stir all of the ingredients with ice, then strain into a chilled glass.

Dale DeGroff

Radio Imbibe is the audio home of Imbibe magazine. In each episode, we dive into liquid culture, exploring the people, places, and flavors of the drinkscape through conversations about cocktails, coffee, beer, spirits, and wine. Keep up with us at imbibemagazine.com, and on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and if you're not already a subscriber, we'd love to have you join us—click here to subscribe.

We get into autumn mode in Episode 5, exploring the basics of stirred rum cocktails with Smuggler’s Cove co-owner Martin Cate; then check in with our 2018 “Beer People of the Year” Beny Ashburn and Teo Hunter from Crowns & Hops, on their beer and upcoming brewery, and their 8 Trill Pils Initiative; and we chat about Barbados rum with Trudiann Branker, the master blender for Mount Gay Rum. 

Ship Shape

2 oz. rum*

¾ oz. High Seas Mix (to taste)

1 dash Angostura bitters

Tools: barspoon, strainer

Glass: coupe

Garnish: lemon twist

Stir all of the ingredients with ice until chilled, then strain into a chilled glass. Twist a piece of lemon peel over the drink, then use as garnish.

High Seas Mix: In a bottle, combine equal amounts Averna, Kronan Swedish Punsch, and oloroso sherry. Shake to combine. 

* Cate recommends using bolder aged rums in this cocktail, though he notes that this simple recipe invites experimentation with a range of different rums. Depending on the choice of rum, adjust the amount of High Seas Mix, to taste.

Martin Cate, Smuggler’s Cove, San Francisco

Radio Imbibe is the audio home of Imbibe magazine. In each episode, we dive into liquid culture, exploring the people, places, and flavors of the drinkscape through conversations about cocktails, coffee, beer, spirits, and wine. Keep up with us at imbibemagazine.com, and on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and if you're not already a subscriber, we'd love to have you join us—click here to subscribe.

Episode 4 is all about Negroni Week 2020, the global cocktail celebration that raises funds for charitable causes. Linden Pride, co-owner of Dante in New York City, gets things started by making a classic Negroni; we then talk to Amanda Gunderson, co-founder of Another Round Another Rally, one of this year’s Negroni Week fundraising partners, about their work on behalf of hospitality workers affected by the COVID-19 crisis; Anu Apte, co-owner of Rob Roy in Seattle, makes a Negroni variation, the Steady Long; and author Brad Thomas Parsons shares his essay from our September/October issue about the Negroni’s comforting qualities during challenging times.

Steady Long

1½ oz. gin
½ oz. Campari
1 oz. fresh grapefruit juice
1 oz. fresh orange juice
½ oz. fresh lime juice
Tools: shaker
Glass: Collins
Garnish: grapefruit twist

Shake all of the ingredients briefly with ice, then pour (unstrained) into a Collins glass, and garnish. Note: Adjust the juice blend to taste, using 2-4 oz. of your favorite citrus juices.

Anu Apte, Rob Roy, Seattle

Radio Imbibe is the audio home of Imbibe magazine. In each episode, we dive into liquid culture, exploring the people, places, and flavors of the drinkscape through conversations about cocktails, coffee, beer, spirits, and wine. Keep up with us at imbibemagazine.com, and on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, and if you're not already a subscriber, we'd love to have you join us—click here to subscribe.