In this Down Under conversation with James Young of Old Young's Distillery, some of the topics we discuss include:

• The influence and defining characteristics of the Australian cocktail scene, which differs starkly from what you might find when you travel to Europe and is responsible for such mixological gifts as Mr. Black Coffee liqueur and the butterfly pea coloring craze.
• How to plan your travel itinerary around tasting delicious spirits in every state in Australia, including whisky in Tasmania, Gin & Brandy in Western Australia, and rum up in Queensland and Kununurra.
• The growing interest in distilling brandy using Australian grapes and aging it in local casks. This leads us down a number of interesting rabbit holes concerning grape varietals, process and maturation requirements, and even the importance of Australian dessert and fortified wines.
• Through this entire conversation, you'll be able to trace an underlying thread of quality, which seems to be a cultural hallmark that unifies the diverse flavors and landscapes that you encounter in the agriculture, spirits, and cocktails of Australia.
• Along the way, we muse on antipodean oddities like: why all white rum in Australia is technically cristallino, what the brandy distillers of the world could learn from Pisco, why you should be drinking gingin gin with Jim, and much, much more

Chapters

(00:00) Introduction

(04:45) Australian Cocktail Trends

(07:23) Distillery Destinations in Australia

(13:47) The Rise of Australian Brandy

(18:00) The Story of Gingin Gin

(19:51) Standards of Identity through Production Rules

(25:15) Australia as a Culture of Quality

(27:59) Australian Brandy Grape Varietals

(32:07) Conclusion

In part one of my two-part waltz through the flavors and landscapes of Australia with James Young of Old Young's Distillery, some of the topics we discuss include:

• The history and evolution of the Australian distilling industry, specifically with respect to the development of the Australian whisky scene and the rise of distinct gin and rum traditions.

• The impact of Australian agriculture and wine on the types of grains, casks, and other production choices that have come to define Australian whisky on the world stage.

• The flavor and culture phenomenon that is Australian gin, including the story behind Four Pillars' Bloody Shiraz and the proliferation of wine-flavored gins and a survey of unique endemic botanicals to look out for.

• Along the way, we also take time to consider the six seasons you'll experience in Perth, Australian brands and bottles to keep your eye out for on American liquor store shelves, the fine line between lemon myrtle use and abuse, and much, much more.

In part two of my exploration of flavor and memory with Dr. Kevin Peterson, some of the topics we discuss include:

• What the Big 5 personality index (also known as OCEAN) might be able to teach us about how guests think about factors like novelty and comfort in the cocktails they enjoy.

• The difference between the highest-rated drink (on average) on most Castalia menus, versus the highest-rated drinks for specific individuals.

• How people respond when asked to describe their ideal cocktail - including the aesthetics and memories they tended to focus on, and which qualities they most often left out of the description.

• We also explore a somewhat half-baked theory I propose about flavor as an "attractor," which is an explanatory concept taken from complex systems science that deals with nonlinear dynamics.

• Along the way, we muse on the complexities of serving baijiu cocktails in the midwest, what kinds of cocktail experiments Dr. Peterson would run if we were all guinea pigs in his flavor lab, the sublime transcendence of cauliflower and pomegranate marinated lamb, and much, much more.

Please head over to sfumatofragrances.com to check out Cocktail Theory and pre-order his upcoming book, Data-Driven Drinks, and I hope you enjoy the thrilling conclusion of my latest interview with Dr. Kevin Peterson.

In this data-driven conversation with Dr. Kevin Peterson, some of the topics we discuss include:

• How winding down Castalia and Sfumato after a decade of service provided the impetus for this new project, and why Kevin has set out to address a very different set of questions than in his last book, Cocktail Theory.

• Why matching a person with their ideal drink is very different (and much more difficult, it turns out) from trying to make the optimal Old Fashioned or Negroni or Daiquiri.

• This leads to a conversation about all the variables that go into cocktail preference: sweetness, acidity, bitterness, booziness, effervescence, egg white, spiciness, and so much more - how does one begin to build such a high-dimensional beverage algorithm in pursuit of aesthetic pleasure?

• We also discuss some of the algorithmic tests that good bar programs and bartenders can implement in order to zero in on guest preferences more quickly. These include good menu writing, the classic bartender's choice speed interview, and the possibility for creating a guest profile with likes and dislikes.

• Along the way, we explore why spicy drinks are a trap, the sea change I experienced the first time I tasted Green Chartreuse, the idea of perceptual thresholds in cocktails and in life, and much, much more.

In this fascinating conversation with Max Well and Alex Lamb, directors of The Donn of Tiki, some of the topics we discuss include:

• How a COVID-era YouTube short on the history of Tiki in LA snowballed into a full-length feature film on one of the most iconic bar entrepreneurs of the 20th century: Ernest Gantt, AKA Donn Beach, AKA "Don the Beachcomber."

• The way that stop-motion puppetry and clever era-appropriate animations were used to give Donn an embodied presence in his own story, with audio unearthed from a single set of tapes uncovered at the University of Hawaii.

• The interesting ironies that run through Donn's life, including his propensity to build big and lose everything and the very different love interests who came and went, changing his trajectory and altering the arc of tropical drinks history in the process.

• We also explore the two seemingly opposed natures operating at the same time in Donn Beach: his unwavering pursuit of authenticity and quality, on the one hand, which was often masked by his flair for showmanship and his trickster-like talent for tall tales and misdirection.

• Along the way, we revel in Donn's ability to create freak evening thunderstorms with a hose atop his LA speakeasy, speculate about how he might feel about super juice, and even take the time to appreciate his unexpected role in the revival of authentic Hawaiian culture in the 20th century.

When this episode airs, Alex and Max will still be touring and doing screenings around the country, so head over to TheDonnOfTiki.com to check out their schedule, and be sure to keep your eyes peeled for when this film hits your favorite streaming services in the near future.

Eric kicks off 2026 with an audio essay rant targeted at the ham-fisted "percentage" math that people use to answer the question:

"How much of a whiskey's flavor comes from the barrel?"

In the censored words of George Carlin: "It's all BS, and it's bad for ya." To demonstrate this, we sift through GC-MS whiskey sample results, human neurobiology, and behavioral economics.

In the end, it's a poorly posed question invented to solve a problem that doesn't exist, and it colors our expectations about flavor in harmful ways.

This time around, we'll be taking a look at drinking rituals from around the world.

A few months back, my friend Reece Sims asked me to write an article about drinking rituals for her new publication, The Flavour Report. She has graciously agreed to let me read the article on-air and give you all a bit of a "Director's Cut" version of the article, entitled: Sacred Serves: The Rituals That Make Drinking Human.

For those of you who have the opportunity to enjoy a few drinks with family and friends this holiday season, I hope some of these thoughts about the importance of ritual, hospitality, gratitude, and the sometimes radical act of coming together can help you to appreciate some of those moments even more.

Please remember, as always, to drink responsibly and experiment boldly.

Additional Resource: Video of Queimada Ritual (WARNING: DO NOT ATTEMPT AT HOME)

Eric interviews Toby Maloney (@tobycocktail) about his award-winning book, The Bartender's Manifesto.

Some of the topics covered in this conversation include:

• How Toby thinks about cocktail development, including the importance of inspiration, intention, comfort, and curiosity
• The importance of curated attention in the creative process, allowing you to notice aspects of the world around you that can be used as inspiration and structural components for cocktail building
• A live cocktail development case study, where Toby and Eric riff on a menu prompt and create their very own custom cocktail worthy of inclusion on a seasonal menu.
• Along the way, they explore the Fall-friendly flavors of pisco and tequila, the strange betrayal of curried potatoes, the speculative physics of anti-gravity cocktails, and much, much more.

In this modern classic conversation with bartender and beverage consultant Toby Maloney, some of the topics we discuss include:

• Toby's journey through the food and beverage world, from bussing and dishwashing, to culinary school, to tending bar, eventually landing gigs at famous venues like Milk & Honey, and Pegu Club, and going on to open The Violet Hour in Chicago.
• The decisions and philosophies (plus the techniques and ingredients) that allowed Toby and his cohort at The Violet Hour to open the hearts and minds of the people of Chicago to the paradigm shift that was the Cocktail Renaissance.
• What it's like to open a bar in 2025, specifically with respect to the ingredients and philosophies that carry over well from the last 15-20 years, and which practices and vibes might need a refresh.
• Then, we take a close look at how Toby is setting the tone at The Elbow Room with pre-batched "Flavor Booms," free pours, dirty dumps, a Hawthorne strainer moratorium, and other service speed innovations.
• Along the way, we learn why people hated The Violet Hour Team at first, how to "David-Chang-ify" a food or beverage program, why Gen Z is primed for their "Fern Bar" moment, and much, much more.

If you like this conversation with Toby, well buckle up for part 2, where we dig even deeper into how he develops cocktails, complete with a live, on-air cocktail building exercise. But for now, please enjoy part 1 of this super fun interview with Toby Maloney.

In this smokey, robust conversation with cigar and whiskey expert Maggie Kimberl (@lougirl502), some of the topics we discuss include:

• A working definition of "cigar blend whiskey," plus some specific thoughts on the ideal proof point for these types of blends.
• The two primary pairing strategies that you can use to pair any two items in the flavor world, whether you're talking about wine and food, whiskey and cigars, or even building the perfect charcuterie bite.
• How to think about "flexibility" in the whiskey and cigar pairing space. Essentially: is a given whiskey designed to pair with a wide range of cigars, or has a blender designed it to pair with one cigar in particular?
• Then, we look at cigars. We talk about how a cigar is going to change as you smoke it, how to think about size metrics like shape and ring gauge relative to other factors like robustness and country of origin, and the best way to leverage online reviews and your local tobacconist to help you navigate the scene.
• We wrap up by talking about some of the more recent trends and collaborations in the whiskey and cigar world, exploring certain ways in which cigar blends and pairing collaborations are getting better, and even more complex at the same time.
• Along the way, we cover what your breakfast beverage of choice says about your taste in cigars, which $25 bottle of whiskey Maggie ended up pairing with a $1000 cigar, the results of her 7-month Manhattan study, and much, much more.