This Bar Regular update of the virtual bar wall of brass plaques feels a little special, because it’s the first since our humble little newsletter was honored by the International Association of Culinary Professionals with an IACP Award for Best Beverage-focused Column. It feels like a new day over here at The Mix, and we’ve got all you subscribers to thank for it—not least of all the Bar Regulars, who invest in this site to the highest degree possible. We thank you for your support, and welcome the new members to the wall!
Since the last update of the Bar Regular wall, The Mix has launched Gin Week; traveled down to Trinidad and New Orleans; went in search of Schaum Torte and Connecticut Lobster Rolls; spent a day at the Wisconsin State Fair; interviewed spirit experts Audrey Saunders, Anistatia Miller and Jared Brown; broke news about Eleven Madison Park’s new bar; and dug into the history of bygone chain restaurants (Dutch Pantry) and lost pre-Prohibition barmen authors (Jacob A. Didier).
In the coming months, we will be launching a new feature (we can’t say exactly what it is now, but cooking and recipes are involved); traveling to Kentucky for the first time since the pandemic; posting our annual Holiday news; and—since Gin Week was such a rousing success—launching Bourbon and Rye Week! (Distillers and publicists: if you would like your bourbon to be reviewed during Bourbon and Rye Week, please contact us about sending along a sample.)
Sound enticing? Want to know how you can join in on the fun? Well, first click below. (The Bar Regular option in the third box to the right.)
And then, to understand what you’ll get in exchange, read what follows:
A reminder of what happens when you join the Bar Regular group:
In addition to your name proudly displayed on an engraved virtual brass plaque on the virtual Mix bar wall:
New Bar Regulars will get a copy of my new book, The Encyclopedia of Cocktails and renewing Bar Regulars can choose a signed copy of any book in my catalog. That includes The Old-Fashioned, A Proper Drink, 3-Ingredient Cocktails, The Martini Cocktail and Mezcal and Tequila Cocktails. Or, you can have an additional signed copy of Modern Classic Cocktails or The Encyclopedia of Cocktails, if you like. And you don’t have to wait for the release date. You can ask for your book as soon as you renew!
The Mix has also integrated a new 2024 feature called “Regular Recipes.” These will be cocktail recipes only accessible to Bar Regulars. The recipes will be for new, original cocktails drawn from the best bars in the world. In all or most cases, they will be appearing for the first time ever in The Mix. “Regular Recipes” will appear randomly, but at least 12 times a year. The recipes that have gone out so far have been pretty great, including drinks by celebrated bartenders like Sarah Morrissey and Kapri Robinson!
But wait! There’s more!
We had a Bar Regular get together in New York City in May of 2024, and there will be another live Bar Regular get together in the coming year. It’s a great chance to put faces to names and talk about cocktails and other things.
Thank you again, for joining us!
-Robert and Mary Kate
Thank you for supporting The Mix, you make what we do here possible.
As usual, if you don’t see your name on the wall and think it should be there, please let us know. (Remember: only Bar Regular subscribers—that is, Founding Subscribers who pay $150 a year—are featured on the wall. Annual or monthly subscribers are not.) I’ve emailed a few people at least two times and not heard back, so please check your spam! We need your names (we can’t always see what they are from your emails) and the address of where to send the book. Also, if you’re a returning Bar Regular and haven’t made your book choice, please let me know.
And, as always, many thanks again to The Mix’s designer, Mark Ward, for setting up the new virtual wall!
The Mix is a reader supported publication. In return, we strive to create a safe space here for our readers. So, like your favorite bar, “we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.”
Welcome new Bar Regulars!