There are few things more confusing than the three-tier system controlling alcohol distribution in the United States. It’s a topic that is complex even for policy savvy bar owners and restaurateurs — and even more so for the average consumer that just wants to find a bottle of their favorite bourbon (or rum!).

So, today I’ve brought in Adam Thierer, Senior Research Fellow from the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He recently wrote an op-ed piece entitled “The Intoxicating Appeal of Home Liquor Delivery” in which he discusses how COVID-19 shutdowns have exposed the problems in the system and how some restrictions were temporarily eased in order to spur sales in the beverage industry. Today we’re discussing why the system was set up, how it impedes a free market and competition, and what is being done to address new demands as our shopping habits change.

You can find Adam’s further writings regarding permissionless innovation, disruptive entrepreneurship, and free markets at Mercatus.org

It’s been four months, but we’re finally back from break. And this week I have my friend Al Thompson on the show to talk his position as Beverage Director for Thip Khao and Hanumanh in Washington DC.

This position is somewhat of a departure for him as he has spent the last several years working as the bar manager for Chef Jose Andres’ modernist cocktail destination, Barmini. But those techniques aren’t sitting idle. Thip Khao is one of the country’s leading Laotian restaurants, and has long showcased the creativity and talents of their team.

As 2021 heads into autumn, Al and his team are preparing to open their sister bar, Hanumanh. They are pushing boundaries and refining what Asian-inspired cocktails can be.

The last year and half took a lot of emotional fortitude to make it though and still retain passion for hospitality. Now we look to industry leaders like Al to show us the way forward.

Sullivan Doh has seemingly done it all, and just seems to be garnering more respect from the community each time he shifts his focus. He became enamored with fine dining at quite a young age working at Michelin-starred restaurants in London. It was there that he decided that, if he were going to make a career of hospitality, he needed to get into bartending or cooking. Luckily for us, he chose the former. He soon after opened his first bar in Paris, Le Syndicat. It was there that he really went into the deep end. Concentrating on serving only French-produced spirits, he quickly garnered the attention of the cocktail community and was named one of the 50 best bars in the world. And then he made a seemingly strange turn.

After accomplishing what he set out to do at Le Syndicat (and La Commune), he decided to step down as an owner and go to work for D’USSE Cognac as their Global Brand Ambassador – the position he currently holds. The brand was developed for sale in the US market, but Sullivan is now charged with bringing it global. It was originally… well, let’s hear Sullivan tell it.

NOTE: this episode was recorded before the current hiatus. I hope you’re all doing well out there. I’ll be back for “Season 3” soon enough. Cheers!

Charles Joly has witnessed and been a part of the craft cocktail renaissance since the beginning.

After starting as a bar back in a high volume, underground Chicago club, he moved on and moved up – finally taking the reins at The Drawing Room in Chicago. And he realized that hospitality was his forever career. And he had a knack for it.

After one of his regulars, acclaimed chef Grant Achatz, approached him to lead the team at his new venture, The Aviary, Charles saw his career take off at a breakneck speed. In 2014, his trajectory got a big boost when he won Diageo World Class. Within just a few years his name would be listed alongside the greatest bartenders and events in the world. He even became the resident bartender for the Emmy Awards. But, perhaps most importantly, Charles was finally able to get his dream project, Crafthouse Cocktails, off the ground. Drop in to hear how it all fell together for one of the most humble people in the industry.

You can also find Charles behind the Instagram account Telltail Vintage, where he sells unique antiques from his world travels – all benefitting animal welfare charities!

Bailey Pryor’s achievements are impressive. He is the recipient of several Emmy awards, has written, directed, and produced scores of movies and documentaries, and is the leading authority on notorious rum runner, Bill McCoy. And he’s barely over 50-years-old.

F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said there are no second acts in life. But, Bailey’s years of research for the award-winning documentary, The Real McCoy, raised the curtain for his second act — and included a dramatic plot twist.

While researching rum runners and prohibition for his film, he befriended (previous Shift Drink guest) Richard Seale, the 4th generation owner of Foursquare Rum Distillery in Barbados. As that relationship grew, Bailey’s obsession with rum blossomed. And The Real McCoy rum was born. And a partnership with Richard began.

The Real McCoy rum quickly garnered attention and is now just as decorated as Bailey’s films. As he pumps the brakes on his filmmaking career, his career as a distiller is just beginning. And he has a hell of a mentor.

Learn more, and see The Real McCoy documentary at https://www.realmccoyspirits.com/therum

It’s the return of André Darlington! The last time he was on the show we were discussing his now-bestselling cocktail book, Booze & Vinyl. And now he’s back to discuss his new book that took him around the world on a cocktail adventure, just months before travel restrictions and COVID-19 shut down the kind of trip he was on. Now he’s back and his new book, Booze Cruise: A Tour of the World’s Essential Mixed Drinks, is available for purchase.

This week he recounts the logistics of such a big trip, how to navigate the cocktail scene in a foreign city, and how he was witness to world-shaking events as he set out to document the great cocktails of the world.

The link above will take you to Amazon to order his book, but PLEASE support your local booksellers, or order direct from André himself via Instagram DM at @andredarlington.

PLEASE NOTE: This episode mentions several links and articles. They are available at the bottom of these show notes.

Sother Teague is no stranger to Shift Drink. We’ve been planning on doing a show together for years. But my first visit to his show, The Speakeasy, also included the venerable Simon Ford. So yours truly sat and listened. One does not interrupt Simon Ford. It’s the Eleventh Commandment.

Then we finally linked up for Shift Drink. But he made his debut appearance on the show just 48 days after the United States issued “stay at home” COVID-19 restrictions. And thus there was a global-pandemic-sized elephant in the room that needed to be addressed. We didn’t even know if we’d both still be in business a year later. If you didn’t listen to it, please do. There is a wealth of anecdotal information about how COVID-19, and the government policies related to it, continue to affect the worldwide hospitality industry.

But we finally made it! We’re talking BITTERS and AMARI — what else? We consumed a few drinks, got to talking, and pressed record. What you hear on this episode is two friends having a personal conversation that happened to be recorded. There is a lot of information, and even bonus content (see the end of this post) of Sean Connery and Burt Reynolds chit-chat before the show started. It’s our double album.

This is was a long time coming. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed chatting. And if you haven’t had enough… there is also BONUS CONTENT available from this episode.

You can find ALL Sother-related links here, including how to buy signed copies of his book, I’m Just Here For The Drinks:

The Speakeasy episode that I visited was: Let’s The Games BeGIN

MSG, Umami, and Chinese Restaurant Syndrome: David Chang Talks MSG at 2012 MAD Symposium

Doritos and MSG food science: Why Nacho Cheese Doritos Taste Like Heaven

When Sother and I get to chatting, jaunts off-topic aren’t rare. So, here we’re offering this bonus material for you to eavesdrop. If you haven’t listened to I’m Just Here For the Shift Drink, check in to hear all about bitters!

Misty Kalkofen needs no introduction in the spirits community — or if you listened to my interview her on our last episode,Drinking Like Misty Kalkofen Pt. 1. But regardless of whether or not you’re familiar with her work, you’ve likely encountered it. After spending the first half of her career behind Boston bars as a protégé of Brother Cleve, she met her soul mate… agave.

Misty’s impact on the world of mezcal can perhaps only be topped by the producers themselves. After meeting Ron Cooper of Del Maguey, she was along for the ride and her career took a hard turn southwards – in geography only. As they say, “you don’t find mezcal, mezcal finds you.” And Misty was found.

She now keeps an apartment in Oaxaca, Mexico in addition to her home in Boston. Before COVID-19, she was spending more time at her home in Mexico than in the United States. And for many of those visits to palenques in Oaxaca, Misty brings bartenders and spirits professionals from around the world to meet the faces behind the product. As one of the world’s oldest distilled beverages, mezcal is as much about preserving tradition and heritage as it is about running a business.

All of this knowledge and wisdom is moot if you don’t spread it. So, just a few years ago, Misty and her friend Kirsten Amann co-authored a book called Drinking Like Ladies. It is now her mission to highlight the community of female bartenders and spirit professionals that are overshadowed by the male-dominated hospitality industry.

The success of the book also grew into a podcast during the shelter-in-place orders imposed by the government during the COVID-19 pandemic. So please like and subscribe to Drinking Like Ladies Podcast to hear stories of love, struggle, and perseverance in the face of adversity.

Misty Kalkofen has done it all. She was building craft cocktail menus in an era ruled by pre-mixed Long Island Iced Tea. While studying at Harvard Divinity School, she took at job behind the bar and ended up as a protégé of lounge legend and Tikiphile, Brother Cleve. Her dedication to hospitality and quality libations led her to focus her energy on the Boston cocktail scene rather than school. And as the scene grew, she found herself drawn to agave spirits. Mezcal had found her. And her life changed forever when she met Ron Cooper, the founder of the then-fledgling mezcal brand Del Maguey.

The last decade of her life has been consumed by mezcal, and the people & communities behind the labels. She now maintains an apartment in Oaxaca in addition to Boston to accommodate her frequent trips to Mexico. The producers behind each Del Maguey offering have become family for her. And anyone that knows Misty knows that means a lot. It’s a lot to catch up on, so this interview is split into two episodes.

Stigibeu!