Notes
The methods, written down.
Techniques and recipes, written precisely enough that a bartender three time zones away can replicate them on a slow Tuesday. Updated when there’s something worth saying.
For operators · Jul 2026
How to Price Small-Format Cocktails
Baby pours and flights are the 2026 answer to guests drinking less. Half the liquid is not half the cost: the pricing rules, with a Negroni as the worked example.
Recipe · Jul 2026
The Charred Plum Highball
Plums charred hard, preserved as a shrub, poured with rye and soda. 8-week shelf life, no citrus at service, ~$1.60 a serve. Full spec in grams.
For operators · Jul 2026
Hiring a Head Bartender
Salary data disagrees by $30,000 and the overtime rules changed in May. What to pay, what to test in the trial, and the one-page agreement.
Recipe · Jul 2026
The Melon & Fino Martini
Agar-clarified honeydew, acid-adjusted, fino-forward at 15% ABV. Fridge-batched, 10 serves a liter, $1.65 a serve. Full spec in grams.
For operators · Jul 2026
Your POS Knows Which Cocktails to Cut
Menu engineering for the cocktail list: contribution dollars over pour cost %, quadrants by category, and cutting the dead drinks. Worth 8 to 14% of margin.
Recipe · Jul 2026
Sweet Corn Milk Punch
Toasted cob and husk bourbon, warm corn syrup, ancho chile liqueur, milk-clarified. One prep shift, 18 serves, four weeks in the fridge. Full spec in grams.
For operators · Jul 2026
Guests Are Drinking Less. Price for It.
Drinking is at a 90-year low and the martini is up 8% anyway. How to tier a cocktail list — entry, core, statement — so every price holds.
Recipe · Jul 2026
The Peach & Fig Leaf Highball
Fig leaf gin, whole-fruit peach cordial, verjus, force-carbonated. Full spec in grams — and a 15-second service build.
For operators · Jul 2026
Your Labor Problem Is a Prep Problem
Hospitality wages hit $23.49/hr and 76% of hotels run short-staffed. Five prep moves that give service hours back.
For operators · Jul 2026
Bottled Cocktails: Minibar to Banquet
Spirit-based RTDs grew 14% in 2025 while spirits fell. Where bottled cocktails earn in a hotel — and how to spec them.
For operators · Jul 2026
The Non-Alcoholic Program: What Most Menus Get Wrong
49% of Americans plan to drink less. How to build a zero-proof and low-ABV list with structure and margin.
For operators · Jul 2026
How Much Does a Bar Consultant Cost?
Honest 2026 market ranges — day rates, projects, retainers — what drives price, and the ROI math that justifies it.
For operators · Jul 2026
Opening a Hotel Bar: The 16-Week Timeline
Week by week from concept to the 90-day window — how award-winning hotel bars get scheduled, not lucky.
For operators · Jul 2026
Pour Cost 101: Calculate It, Then Fix It
The formula done right, healthy benchmarks, and seven margin fixes that don’t touch menu prices.
Equipment · Jul 2026
Rotary Evaporators: Mastering Vacuum Distilling
The rotovap demystified — anatomy, assembly, troubleshooting, and the honest test of whether it earns its keep.
Technique series · Jul 2026
Sous Vide Mixology — A Two-Part Guide
From first infusion to full program: equipment and starter recipes, then temperature bands and flavor architecture.
Recipe · Jul 2026
Yuzu Kosho Margarita
A Kyushu condiment deconstructed into a precise, replicable margarita — with a green chili tincture that gives heat a dial.
Ingredient science · Sep 2024
Unlocking New Flavors: Enzymes in Cocktail Syrups
Amylase, pectinase, and friends — how enzymes turn starch and pulp into clean, flavorful syrups.
Technique & recipe · Sep 2024
Brown Butter in Cocktails
Fat washing with beurre noisette — and a Shiitake Brown Butter Old Fashioned that justifies the work.
Recipe · Sep 2024
Mango Sticky Rice: When Dessert Inspires Cocktails
Translating a Thai dessert into a balanced drink — coconut, rice, mango, and the prep that makes it work.
Technique · Feb 2024
How to Milk Wash a Cocktail
Clarification with milk — curds, whey, and a step-by-step method for silk-textured drinks.
Technique · Oct 2023
The Art of the Japanese Hard Shake
Kazuo Uyeda, Hidetsugu Ueno, Shingo Gokan — and a step-by-step guide to the shake that reshaped modern bartending.
Technique & tools · Mar 2023
Japanese Stirring & the Bar Spoon
Greater control, consistency, and precision — the Japanese approach to stirring, and choosing a bar spoon.
Ingredient science · Feb 2023
Sugar — A Bartender’s Guide
Glucose, fructose, inversion, caramelization — and a practical guide to syrups, oleo saccharum, and shrubs.
Next step
Fifteen minutes usually answers it.
Tell us the room, the timeline, and what’s not working — you’ll leave the call knowing what your program needs, whether or not we work together.