Decoding Cocktails

Not too long into my podcasting journey, when my cocktail business had only been around for about 18 months, a podcast conversation with Tad Carducci () compelled me on relatively short notice to attend Tales for the first time.

Since my business was born during the pandemic, and I entered this profession later in life, I never had much of a sense of community.

While anyone’s first trip to Tales will require all of their brain power, I left energized.

When the opportunity came up to chat with Charlotte, Voisey () about her new role as Executive Director of A ales, I leapt at it.

While I took away many things from our conversation, the most powerful part was when she invoked the charm and wonder of New Orleans and the impact it has on the conference. Absolutely spot on. 💕

There is a link to this conversation in my bio.

Recently I was listening to an episode of ’s “Cocktail College” about wine in cocktails. Not only was it hilarious, but also very thought provoking. While I don’t need one more thing to do, I bought a copy of and it has been one of the best investments I’ve made in a while.

I could’ve intuitively told you how wine tasting would make me better at cocktails, but it is now more than apparent and I am hoping to work a lot more wine into my drinks in the future… plus enjoy wine 🍷 😊

Side note: .dev and are hilarious

This is a long overdue conversation from right up the street.
Natasha Bahrami () is proprietor of Natasha’s Gin Room (), which is located in the same building her parents founded their family’s restaurant, Cafe Natasha, ~40 years ago.

Hospitality was not just part of her upbringing via the restaurant, but also through the importance of it in Persian culture, which she is now highlighting through , a collaborative popup series.

After promoting gin tirelessly in St. Louis for years, she now heads up , which has a focus on increasing gun awareness and popularity nationally.

We had the chance to record this one in person during a busy week for her, but that is the kind of weeks you have when you’re trying to lift a category nationally.

Enjoy this. You can find a link to it in my bio.