Andra “AJ” Johnson has been a barista, sommelier, cicerone, and bartender, and today she’s a partner and beverage director for Serenata in Washington, D.C. For this episode, we catch up with AJ about her ongoing project White Plates Black Faces, which shares the stories of people of color in the hospitality industry, and talk about her role as co-founder of DMV Black Restaurant Week and the Back to Black series of bar pop-ups. As a bonus, she also shares her recipe for the Venezolana from Serenata. 

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. 

When Efrem Fesaha made the leap from a career in finance to open Boon Boona Coffee, a roastery and café in the Seattle area, he looked to his family’s home in Eritrea for inspiration. For this episode, we chat with Fesaha about Boon Boona’s approach to coffee, from its focus on African producers and Africa’s significance in coffee history, to the role it plays in the Seattle area’s African immigrant and small-business communities.

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 episode introduces another of our Imbibe 75 People to Watch, Linda Milagros Violago. A Canadian sommelier and wine professional who’s worked at restaurants worldwide, Violago recently relocated to Seattle to lead the wine program at Canlis, a family-run institution that dates to 1950, with an award-winning wine program more than 22,000 bottles deep. For this episode, we chat with Violago about her background in wine, what brought her to Canlis, and what she has planned for the months ahead.

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. 

To kick off 2022, this episode introduces one of our Imbibe 75 People to Watch, Christian Suzuki-Orellana, known more familiarly as Suzu. A longtime Bay Area bartender, Suzu is the creator of the Kagano Bar pop-up, based on his grandparents’ bar in Japan, and the bar manager (and “Head Bird,” with bar supervisor Marguerite Regan) at Wildhawk in 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. 

Martin and Rebecca Cate are the owners of Smuggler’s Cove and Whitechapel in San Francisco, and the authors of the James Beard Award–winning book, Smuggler’s Cove. The Cates have also both written for Imbibe, and for this episode, we talk with Rebecca about her essay in our November/December 2021 issue in which she reflects on what pandemic closures meant for their bar’s family of regulars, and what it’s been like welcoming these old friends back to the bar. Martin also shares the recipe for a holiday favorite served at Smuggler’s Cove.  

Hibiscus Rum Punch
This recipe is an adaptation of Sorrel Punch, a traditional holiday drink enjoyed throughout the Caribbean. This version was originally developed using a house-made hibiscus liqueur; you can make your own, or use Sorel, a recently released commercial version from Imbibe 75 alum Jackie Summers. 

1½ oz. aged Jamaican rum (such as Worthy Park)
1 oz. hibiscus liqueur (see note above)
½ oz. fresh lime juice
1/3 oz. demerara syrup (2:1)
2 oz. chilled soda water
Tools: shaker, strainer
Glass: Collins or highball
Garnish: edible hibiscus flower or lime wheel

Shake the first 4 ingredients with ice. Add the soda to the shaker, then strain into an ice-filled glass, and garnish.

Hibiscus Liqueur: In a large glass jar, combine 3 quarter-size discs of unpeeled fresh ginger, 10 whole cloves, and 1 liter of lightly aged rum. Cover the jar and let it sit at room temperature for 24 hours, then strain out the solids and add ¾ cup of dried hibiscus flowers, and let it sit covered for another 48 hours. Strain the flowers, then seal; the infusion will keep for up to 6 months. To make the liqueur, take 2½ cups of the hibiscus infusion, and add 1 cup of 2:1 simple syrup, and ½ cup of honey (warmed in the microwave or on the stovetop, so it’ll dissolve easier in the mixture). Stir thoroughly to blend, then keep refrigerated for up to several weeks.

Traditional recipe adapted by Smuggler’s Cove

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. 

Audrey Saunders has been one of the world’s most influential bartenders and bar owners for more than 25 years, at places including Blackbird and Bemelman’s Bar starting in the 1990s, followed by her pioneering New York City bar, Pegu Club. In this episode, Saunders makes her first-ever appearance on a podcast, sharing details behind her role in restoring the Tom & Jerry to prominence as a holiday drink; other favorite holiday cocktails; and what life has in store for her following Pegu Club’s permanent closure in 2020.

Tom & Jerry

Go old-school with this recipe by beating the batter with a whisk or mixer—or take Audrey Saunders’ recommendations from this episode, and use a food processor to speed things up.

Batter
6 eggs, separated
1 pound sugar
1 ounce aged rum
3 Tbsp. vanilla extract
¾ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. ground allspice
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
2 dashes Angostura bitters

For each drink
6 oz. milk
1 oz. aged rum
1 oz. Cognac

Make the batter: In a bowl (or a food processor), beat the egg yolks until thin. While still beating, slowly add the sugar, rum, vanilla, spices, and bitters. Separately, beat the egg whites until stiff, and fold into the yolk mixture. Refrigerate the batter in a large container overnight.

To serve, heat the milk in a hot pot or a small saucepan until boiling. While the milk warms, pre-heat the serving cups, and use a whisk to recombine the batter. For each drink, add 2 oz. of batter, 1 oz. each of rum and cognac, then slowly top with boiling milk, whisking the drink until foamy and well-combined. Top with grated nutmeg. 

Adapted by Audrey Saunders

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. 

Trained as an engineer and while working toward her MBA, Cha McCoy made an unexpected detour into a career in the wine world. For this episode, we talk with her about what led her into working as a sommelier and wine educator; the ways she approaches wine education; and her new role as beverage director for the Charleston Wine + Food Festival, taking place March 2-6, 2022. 

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 a profile by Nneka M. Okona about veteran Atlanta bartender Thandi Walton. For this episode, Walton talks with us about the path she took from her native Zimbabwe to working behind Atlanta bars, the bartending approach she embraces, and her thoughts on mentorship.

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 September/October issue features an article by Max Falkowitz on how bars and distilleries are making concrete steps toward ecological sustainability. For this episode, we chat with one of the distillers quoted in that feature, Maggie Campbell. Formerly a distiller at Privateer Rum in Massachusetts, Campbell is now the estate rum manager for Mount Gay in Barbados. We’re joined in this conversation by Mount Gay’s managing director, Raphael Grisoni, to talk about some of the efforts Mount Gay is pursuing to reduce its own climate footprint and move in a sustainable direction.

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. 

Pouring Ribbons was Imbibe’s Cocktail Bar of the Year in 2013, and over the course of the past decade, it’s remained one of the world’s most influential cocktail bars. For this episode, we chat with bar partner Joaquín Simó about Pouring Ribbons’ reopening in September and plans to permanently close the bar next April, what he hopes the bar’s continuing legacy might look like, and what guests can expect during the bar’s grand finale. 

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.