Please tell our readers more about yourself.
I’m a native Midwesterner raised outside of Chicago, who moved to New York City from Madison, Wisconsin to master my craft in 2002. After spending twelve years during one of the most fertile periods of American bartending in history, my wife and I moved to Portland, Oregon to raise our family in 2014. I’ve written two James Beard Award winning books since I arrived- Meehan’s Bartender Manual and The Bartender’s Pantry- and helped design and open Takibi, the restaurant and bar in Snow Peak’s flagship North American store. We have two kids now, so I spend a lot more time at basketball and soccer games than bars now, but I still keep one foot in the industry as a consultant working for Suntory Global Spirits and the other as the brand and marketing director for Acre Forge, a Portland-based knife company animated by six brilliant bladesmiths.
What is one thing every home bartender should have in their pantry?
People should really date everything in their pantry… those bay leaves you brought with you in the move three years ago should probably go in the compost, sadly. While some of the ingredients in your pantry- like salt and sugar (if properly stored) are shelf stable long term- aromatic spices like cinnamon and black pepper shine brightest when they’re fresh. In an ideal world, buy what you need and cook with the freshest possible ingredients. For leftovers, date the containers (sized to minimize space for oxidation) with the purchase date and give them a sniff every few months to ensure they’re still pungent.
How did you compile all these recipes being produced around the country? Were they your favorites or bartender’s you know and respect?
I was the Deputy Editor for Food & Wine Magazine’s Cocktail Book for seven years during my time in New York City, which required compiling a whole book full of recipes each year. The role helped me develop relationships with bartenders all over the country, who grew to trust me in the process. Intellectual property as it pertains to recipes is a moving target from a comfort perspective, so I was deeply grateful to share all these recipes on my own behalf without an institutional legacy media platform behind me. A few people passed on the opportunity for various reasons, but most gladly shared and opened up about their thought process behind the recipes. Our contributors’ insights are the foundation of the project from a value perspective, which underscores my belief that cooking is all about building and nurturing community from the farmers to the purveyors to your family and guests at the table.
What are some of your MUST tries in your new book, The Bartender’s Pantry?
I hate to be a politician, but they’re all like children for me at this point. I’d recommend starting with the elemental recipes like Camper English’s Gin & Tonic and Bobby Heugel’s Japanese Whisky Highball, and then move into the more demanding recipes like Cortney Burns’ Ginger Burns or Yana Volfson’s Arroz con Rum. I wrote this book in my third decade in the hospitality industry and didn’t hold anything back with any assumptions that the reader wasn’t interested or capable of a time consuming project in the kitchen. I hope these recipes keep readers active and inspired with new ideas for many years to come.