Kevin Peterson

Thanks for having me. Happy to be here.

Thanks for having me. Happy to be here.

Yeah, so I started my working life in the food world. I was back a house for some years. I went to culinary school briefly, thought I was maybe going to be a chef someday. The closer I got to that, the more I realized that wasn't really the life path I wanted to be on. Went back to school, physics undergrad, engineering grad school, worked in the working with people.

Yeah, so I started my working life in the food world. I was back a house for some years. I went to culinary school briefly, thought I was maybe going to be a chef someday. The closer I got to that, the more I realized that wasn't really the life path I wanted to be on. Went back to school, physics undergrad, engineering grad school, worked in the working with people.

I really miss kind of the immediacy of the service industry. You know, a lot of what I'm doing in engineering is developing PowerPoints that maybe my boss looks at and maybe not. And that's kind of what I do and it pays well and it's comfortable, but I kind of wanted a different challenge and yeah, started sucking some money away and then opened a cocktail bar.

I really miss kind of the immediacy of the service industry. You know, a lot of what I'm doing in engineering is developing PowerPoints that maybe my boss looks at and maybe not. And that's kind of what I do and it pays well and it's comfortable, but I kind of wanted a different challenge and yeah, started sucking some money away and then opened a cocktail bar.

Uh, I mean, I, I'd worked as, as a cook in places that served alcohol, but I had not been a bartender before. I had not, uh, you know, not been kind of front of house before I had been reading a lot. I had been drinking a lot of cocktails, which isn't quite the same as working.

Uh, I mean, I, I'd worked as, as a cook in places that served alcohol, but I had not been a bartender before. I had not, uh, you know, not been kind of front of house before I had been reading a lot. I had been drinking a lot of cocktails, which isn't quite the same as working.

But, uh, yeah, uh, read it, read a book called liquid intelligence, which I would kind of describe as the scientists or engineers guide to the cocktail and became really enamored with the nuances of it. And, um, I think a lot of people that wind up in this industry come to it from the people side.

But, uh, yeah, uh, read it, read a book called liquid intelligence, which I would kind of describe as the scientists or engineers guide to the cocktail and became really enamored with the nuances of it. And, um, I think a lot of people that wind up in this industry come to it from the people side.

You get some entry-level job, you work your way up, now you're behind the bar, and then maybe you add some technical details later. I came to it the other way where I had all of the technical skills and none of the people skills. So that was a little bit of a harsh learning curve, but more or less made it.

You get some entry-level job, you work your way up, now you're behind the bar, and then maybe you add some technical details later. I came to it the other way where I had all of the technical skills and none of the people skills. So that was a little bit of a harsh learning curve, but more or less made it.

Yeah, my book is called Cocktail Theory, A Sensory Approach to Transcendent Drinks. And, you know, written in a couple parts. So it's like, how does a physicist think about a cocktail? How does an engineer think about a cocktail? How does a perfumer think about a cocktail? And then how do you put all those pieces together to actually... make a cocktail for a real person.

Yeah, my book is called Cocktail Theory, A Sensory Approach to Transcendent Drinks. And, you know, written in a couple parts. So it's like, how does a physicist think about a cocktail? How does an engineer think about a cocktail? How does a perfumer think about a cocktail? And then how do you put all those pieces together to actually... make a cocktail for a real person.

Yeah, I think a lot of what I do, that G-word gimmick is one I'm very careful about because there is a lot of gimmickry in the cocktail world, a lot of smoke and mirrors, a lot of Instagram-worthy drinks that you don't actually have any interest in drinking, and that's not my interest. I approach it more from the point of view of your taste buds, your olfactory receptors, all of your...

Yeah, I think a lot of what I do, that G-word gimmick is one I'm very careful about because there is a lot of gimmickry in the cocktail world, a lot of smoke and mirrors, a lot of Instagram-worthy drinks that you don't actually have any interest in drinking, and that's not my interest. I approach it more from the point of view of your taste buds, your olfactory receptors, all of your...

you know, all these little sensors that you have in your nose and your mouth, what are they measuring? What are those signals telling your brain? How can we optimize those signals? not just the Instagram.

you know, all these little sensors that you have in your nose and your mouth, what are they measuring? What are those signals telling your brain? How can we optimize those signals? not just the Instagram.

Yeah, exactly, exactly. Yeah, more of the perspective of a physicist than the literal theory. physics. So what are some generalized things that we can say about cocktails? What are some rules that apply across a broad swath of cocktails? One way to approach cocktails is to say, okay, I like Manhattans.

Yeah, exactly, exactly. Yeah, more of the perspective of a physicist than the literal theory. physics. So what are some generalized things that we can say about cocktails? What are some rules that apply across a broad swath of cocktails? One way to approach cocktails is to say, okay, I like Manhattans.