EPISODE · Mar 26, 2026 · 40 MIN
#84 Philip Greene: The Formula the Built a Hundred Classic Cocktails
from Serves You Right · host Andrew Roy
This week, we have a titan in the cocktail world: Philip Greene. This man didn't just write most of the books on cocktails, he deconstructed his own family tree to discover he is distantly related to Antoine Peychaud, the man folklore claims invented the cocktail in the 1790s. Then, in a moment of pure academic ruthlessness, he used historical records to disprove his own ancestor's legend. Philip Greene is a powerhouse in the cocktail world in a way few people can equal. As a co-founder of the Museum of the American Cocktail and a prolific author of definitive works like The Manhattan and The Sours, he provides the "bedrock" knowledge that modern bartenders use to innovate. You will learn the high-leverage "Three-Part Formula" that turns a basic Daiquiri into a world-class Margarita or a Mojito with just one pivot. Greene also reveals the surprising "Dark Age" survivors…drinks that stayed famous despite being made with bottom-shelf garbage for decades (and some that started off less than spectacularly and got face lifts). Grab a cocktail shaker and join me in learning from one of the cocktail world’s masters.Expect to Learn:What criteria was used to include drinks in his new bookHow Philip felt about including the Midori SourHow a 19th-century viral prank involving a fake man named Tom Collins birthed an iconic beverageThe names in the cocktail world worth learning fromHow the world’s most famous cocktails survived the "Bad Old Days" of powdered mixes and worseLinks: Sours: A History of the World’s Most Storied Cocktail Style - A Cocktail BookA Drinkable Feast The Manhattan To Have and Have Another: A Hemingway Bartender’s GuideCheers! EUVS Website (Vintage Cocktail Manuals)Philip Greene’s WebsiteLockworks Tavern Event (RSVP: [email protected])Service 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
This week, we have a titan in the cocktail world: Philip Greene. This man didn't just write most of the books on cocktails, he deconstructed his own family tree to discover he is distantly related to Antoine Peychaud, the man folklore claims invented the cocktail in the 1790s. Then, in a moment of pure academic ruthlessness, he used historical records to disprove his own ancestor's legend. Philip Greene is a powerhouse in the cocktail world in a way few people can equal. As a co-founder of the Museum of the American Cocktail and a prolific author of definitive works like The Manhattan and The Sours, he provides the "bedrock" knowledge that modern bartenders use to innovate. You will learn the high-leverage "Three-Part Formula" that turns a basic Daiquiri into a world-class Margarita or a Mojito with just one pivot. Greene also reveals the surprising "Dark Age" survivors…drinks that stayed famous despite being made with bottom-shelf garbage for decades (and some that started off less than spectacularly and got face lifts). Grab a cocktail shaker and join me in learning from one of the cocktail world’s masters.Expect to Learn:What criteria was used to include drinks in his new bookHow Philip felt about including the Midori SourHow a 19th-century viral prank involving a fake man named Tom Collins birthed an iconic beverageThe names in the cocktail world worth learning fromHow the world’s most famous cocktails survived the "Bad Old Days" of powdered mixes and worseLinks: Sours: A History of the World’s Most Storied Cocktail Style - A Cocktail BookA Drinkable Feast The Manhattan To Have and Have Another: A Hemingway Bartender’s GuideCheers! EUVS Website (Vintage Cocktail Manuals)Philip Greene’s WebsiteLockworks Tavern Event (RSVP: [email protected])Service 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
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#84 Philip Greene: The Formula the Built a Hundred Classic Cocktails
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