Whiskey Gets Older, Faster
At NOLA's Root Squared, bartender Max Messier is experimenting with a tool that, in mere minutes, "ages" spirits that would normally take years to create in a barrel. Roger Kamholz…
- story: Roger Kamholz
- photo: Phanatic
Can Craft Cocktails Push Spirits to Be More Sustainable?
In a world rife with environmental concerns, allocating agricultural resources to fuel $15 craft cocktails is difficult to justify. Bartender Bobby Heugel presents the environmental, economic & social challenges to…
- story: Bobby Heugel
- illustration: James Carpenter
Hecho in America: Distilling Agave Spirits Stateside
Mexico has been the agricultural and spiritual home of agave spirits for centuries. Now, some American distillers are attempting to fashion their own interpretation of the spirit on U.S. soil.…
- story: Emma Janzen
- photo: Thomassin Mickaël
What Exactly Defines a “Craft” Spirit?
“Craft spirits” have gone from obscurity to ubiquity over the past several years. But what exactly defines a craft spirit? With money and reputation riding on the answer, American distillers…
- story: Wayne Curtis
- photo: Rocky Sun
Making Peace in the War on Vodka
Vodka has become the contentious spirit at the center of a cocktail culture war. On one side: the vodka drinkers, derided as incurious rubes. On the other: the cocktail enthusiasts,…
- story: Will Gordon
- photo: Christian Senger
The Twisted History of Jungle Juice
Jungle juice has many names, but only one common language: extreme intoxication. Kenzi Wilbur digs into the crooked oral tradition that has led America's firewater from the jungles of the…
- story: Kenzi Wilbur
- photo: Aaron Stidwell
What Does It Mean to Drink Like a Woman?
Decades of etiquette and marketing about spirits, cocktails and bartending have established stereotypes about how women like to and should drink. Shanna Farrell explores the history of women behind—and in…
- story: Shanna Farrell
- illustration: James Carpenter
The Spice Whisperer Answers Your “Drunk Abby” Questions
Spice Whisperer Lior Lev Sercarz answers your deepest, darkest booze queries, including how to use a "sh*tload" of bay leaves in cocktails and what pepper pairs best with a Negroni.
- story: Punch Staff
- photo: Thomas Schauer
Finding Old Hollywood in a Bottle of Banana Cordial
Celia Sack, the owner of San Francisco’s Omnivore Books digs into her collection of 1930s mini bottles to find out what Errol Flynn, Cuba and the producer of Casablanca have…
- story: Celia Sack
- photo: DeWolfe and Wood Collection
Berlin Dry Gin Emerges from the Shadow of London
London dry has long been the headliner of the gin category, but a recent crop of German gins has emerged from the shadow of the Empire.
- story: Jesse Simon
- photo: Adam Roe
The Influence of Big Liquor Brands, Part Two: David vs. Goliath
In the second half of a two-part series exploring brand influence, PUNCH asked Simon Ford, Jordana Rothman and Wyatt Peabody about everything from marketing schticks to honest brand education to…
- story: Leslie Pariseau
- photo: Robert S. Donovan
Have Big Liquor Brands Become Too Influential?
In the first of a two-part series exploring brand influence, PUNCH asked Jim Meehan, Nicolas Palazzi and Bobby Heugel how they navigate the challenges of everything from dealing with spirits…
- story: Leslie Pariseau
- photo: Dave Hosford