EPISODE · Mar 3, 2026 · 43 MIN
#77 Josh Powell: Do YOU Make Enough Pour Decisions???
from Serves You Right · host Andrew Roy
If you believe great cocktails are about creativity alone, you may be in for a rude surprise. Modern bar leadership demands flavor architecture, operational efficiency, storytelling, hospitality psychology, cost control, and brand strategy. In this episode, Josh Powell, founder of Poor Decisions Consultancy and former owner of The Natural Philosopher Bar in London, reveals his closely held secrets to winning in the cocktail world. Winning drinks are engineered. Menus are narratives. Hospitality is scored even when it is not on the sheet. This conversation delivers the unfair advantage serious operators and bar competitors need.Expect to Learn:Why flavor is less than half of what wins competitionsHow to build a cocktail from a single ingredient outward using flavor architectureThe hidden hospitality behaviors judges score without telling youHow seasonality and foraging can shape high velocity menu cyclesWhat it really takes to transition from bartender to consultant without losing your creative edgeLinks:Pour Decisions ConsultancyPour Decisions InstagramService starts now.Follow the show: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTubeI talk mostly to people in and around the service industry space. I'm looking to hear from the people I wish I could have talked to when I was coming up in restaurants. Said another way: I am trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess of a life, and help others that are feeling similarly confused and/or lost. Check out the Podcast Website Here and get in touch with me!Classic Episodes You May Like:#22:Doug Frost MW MS#23:Jeffrey Morgenthaler#31:ET: Entrepreneur (and creator of Surfer on Acid)#38:Aaron Goldfarb Hunting for Ancient Booze#39:Edward Slingerland's Masterful work on Intoxication#46:Andrew Hurley of Vegas.Wine#64:Chris Tunstall of A Bar AboveAs always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.Cheers
What this episode covers
If you believe great cocktails are about creativity alone, you may be in for a rude surprise. Modern bar leadership demands flavor architecture, operational efficiency, storytelling, hospitality psychology, cost control, and brand strategy. In this episode, Josh Powell, founder of Poor Decisions Consultancy and former owner of The Natural Philosopher Bar in London, reveals his closely held secrets to winning in the cocktail world. Winning drinks are engineered. Menus are narratives. Hospitality is scored even when it is not on the sheet. This conversation delivers the unfair advantage serious operators and bar competitors need.Expect to Learn:Why flavor is less than half of what wins competitionsHow to build a cocktail from a single ingredient outward using flavor architectureThe hidden hospitality behaviors judges score without telling youHow seasonality and foraging can shape high velocity menu cyclesWhat it really takes to transition from bartender to consultant without losing your creative edgeLinks:Pour Decisions ConsultancyPour Decisions InstagramService starts now.Follow the show: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTubeI talk mostly to people in and around the service industry space. I'm looking to hear from the people I wish I could have talked to when I was coming up in restaurants. Said another way: I am trying to make sense of this wild, beautiful mess of a life, and help others that are feeling similarly confused and/or lost. Check out the Podcast Website Here and get in touch with me!Classic Episodes You May Like:#22:Doug Frost MW MS#23:Jeffrey Morgenthaler#31:ET: Entrepreneur (and creator of Surfer on Acid)#38:Aaron Goldfarb Hunting for Ancient Booze#39:Edward Slingerland's Masterful work on Intoxication#46:Andrew Hurley of Vegas.Wine#64:Chris Tunstall of A Bar AboveAs always, I’m just here taking notes, trying to figure out what it all means.Cheers
NOW PLAYING
#77 Josh Powell: Do YOU Make Enough Pour Decisions???
No transcript for this episode yet
Similar Episodes
No similar episodes found.
Similar Podcasts
No similar podcasts found.