Doug Frost shares observations about where the sweet goes as a wine ages. The inspiration for Doug was a recent taste of Fritz Haag’s Brauneberger Juffer Sonnenuhr Goldkapsule Auslese 2001. The sweetness had disappeared from previous tastings which reminded Doug that “wines become drier with the years.” Click this to read Doug’s thoughts published at KansasCity.com

Don Billings requested the assistance of five big-names in the profession to help confirm the most appropriate label for the person that mixes your beverage. Dale DeGroff is included in the “panel” and Dave Wondrich is mentioned as the historian that identified the first documented use of the term “Mixologist“. Click this to read “Bartender, Mixologist or Bar Chef – that is the question. What is the best description, or is there one?” at the “In the Mix” magazine website.

Ben Maude writes in the Eugene Daily News about the creation of Ransom Old Tom Gin and how the distiller consulted with Dave Wondrich to be sure they “got it right.” Click this to read the entire article at EugeneDailyNews.com and learn more about the effort required to reinvent old-school spirits.

Beverage Industry News – BIN

March 2013 issue

“How To Train a 21st Century Bartender?”

Quotable: “Paul Pacult, who leads the hydra-headed Beverage Alcohol Resource program (better known as BAR)…says Pacult: “I believe that we are now attracting what I think of as a ‘second wave’ of young women and men who in the last five years have become intrigued with the bartending profession.” BAR is an intensive five-day course focusing not only on mixology but also the history of spirits through a broad range of categories and traditions.”

Doug Frost continues his appearances in the Ferment Nation series produced by KCPT. In this episode he leaves the grapes on the vine and explores the world of cocktails. Click this to see the video at KCPT.org

Doug Frost writes for the Kansas City Star to cautiously share his comparison of wine with other art forms. The recent passing of Lou Reed inspired Doug to write this article. Click here to read, “Wine can be spoken of as art when it has passion, inspires” at KansasCity.com

Alia Akkam asked Dale DeGroff to reveal important beverages from his early days in the craft-cocktail movement. Click this to read Akkam’s article and find a terrific collection of photos to guide you through Dale’s beverage history at FirstWeFeast.com

Bob Krummert writes for Restaurant Hospitality to explain how the BAR Guys created an online school without any catch! Bob looked for a catch — couldn’t find one. Click this to read about everything Bob studied in his article, “Top pros offer no-cost bartender training tool” at Restaurant-Hospitality.com

Online Cocktail Teaching Program Designed to Make Everyone a Better Bartender

April 2, 2013 (New York, NY) – Award-winning beverage industry icons Dale DeGroff, Doug Frost, Steve Olson, F. Paul Pacult, Andy Seymour and David Wondrich, the founding members of legendary Beverage Alcohol Resource® LLC (BAR), are delighted to announce that DrinkSkool, their consumer-oriented, on-line teaching program, is now operational. DrinkSkool.com is BAR’s engaging, enlightening and entertaining on-line spirits and mixology education program that brings the expertise of six of the world’s foremost spirits and cocktail professionals into easily digested form.

Best of all, DrinkSkool tuition is FREE!

Says BAR® partner Doug Frost, “DrinkSkool is the cutting-edge, step-by-step on-line resource for cocktail creation and mixology methods. We designed and constructed DrinkSkool in such an approachable way that virtually anyone can become an accomplished maven of spirits and cocktails…even Dale and Paul.”

Drinkskool is laid out in 10 Lessons, starting with Lesson One: Mixology through to Lesson Ten: Preparing for the Certified Drinks Expert Examination. Here are five key benefits that anyone – from average consumers of beverage alcohol to industry professionals – can gain by taking DrinkSkool’s 10 Lessons:

• Watch BAR Master Ryan Maybee (and IMBIBE Magazine’s Mixologist of the Year) craft the most important cocktails, cocktails everyone wants to be able to make
• Discover how professionals taste and evaluate spirits and cocktails for balance and quality in Lesson Seven
• Learn critical bartending techniques and tricks (how to muddle mint, flame an orange peel and more) from BAR partner Andy Seymour
• Understand what differentiates a Blended Malt Scotch from a Single Malt Scotch; an Irish Whisky from a Japanese whisky; and an Armagnac from a Cognac in Lesson Five
• Access an ever-expanding bank of new and classic cocktail recipes.

Taking part in BAR’s DrinkSkool is easy: simply log onto DrinkSkool.com. Once there, follow the Lessons, view the videos, learn the recipes and become a member of an expanding community of cocktail lovers and aficionados.

Drinkskool Lessons include everything you need to know to become a pro behind the bar (even if that’s your own home bar):

1. Mixology
2. Recipes
3. How People Make Distilled Spirits
4. White Spirits
5. Brown Spirits
6. Liqueurs
7. Tasting Spirits and Cocktails
8. Advanced Mixology
9. How to Judge a Bar
10. Preparing for the Certified Drinks Expert Examination

And get ready to join the BAR guys for DrinkSkool’s next great iteration: THE CERTIFIED DRINKS EXPERT EXAMS! Coming later in 2013, the DrinkSkool exams that will earn you the right to call yourself a Certified DrinkSkool Expert!

MEDIA CONTACT: For media inquiries please contact: Manuela Savona at Savona Communications, manuela@savonacommunications.com, 917.969.1275.

Doug Frost and Steve Olson were invited to the Telluride Wine Festival to select and present Greek wines for the festival’s keynote lunch event. Click this to read the entire account at TellurideInside.com