Cocktails

The cocktail is one of the great US inventions, bringing together several ingredients to fashion a drink even greater than the sum of its parts. This episode provides a brief history of the cocktail and recipes for some classic cocktails.

Tequila & Mezcal

Both tequila and mezcal have undergone a well-deserved revival in recent years, as both producers and consumers have recognised that both of these agave-based spirits are much more complex than popular preconceptions suppose. This episode focuses on what makes these spirits so distinctive.

Rum & Cachaça

The great drink of the Caribbean, rum is made in a vast range of styles, decisions at fermentation, distillation, maturation, and blending all affecting the final drink. This episode explores the different production methods and styles of rum that make it one on the world's great spirits.

Gin

Gin is a juniper-based spirit that excels in many cocktails. The fashion for gin has hit extreme highs as well as troughs - we're now living in a golden age for gin drinking, which is why it's necessary to have a good understanding of its history and production.

Vodka

Vodka is the most widely drunk spirit globally, popular because of its clean, neutral taste. The spirit goes back centuries, changing due to fashion and technology. This episode focuses on how vodka is made and how to make sense of a drink that is so deliberately flavourless.

Cognac

Cognac is the great spirit of France. Located near Bordeaux, it benefited from access to trade routes to become drunk around the world. This episode how cognac is made and what it tastes like.

US and Canadian Whiskey

The long, controversial history of Bourbon and US whiskey in general permeates the country's culture. This episode explores how the whiskeys are made, what they taste like, and the differences in style. Not forgetting Canadian whiskey - the biggest selling style in the US since the Civil War.

Irish Whiskey

Irish Whiskey was the most drunk whiskey in the world back in the nineteenth century, but production declined sharply in the nineteenth century. Things are looking up again - find out about the trends and styles of Irish whiskey in this episode.