amor y amargo

Professional bartender Sother Teague is the partner and Beverage Director of Overthrow Hospitality group which includes renowned bitters bar Amor y Amargo and in addition to several other venues, the newly opened Tequila and Mezcal bar Eterea in New York City. He’s also the charismatic co-host of the award-winning show ‘The Speakeasy’ on Heritage Radio Network. He was named Mixologist of the year by Wine Enthusiast Magazine 2019 and has been featured as a cocktail expert in countless outlets including Esquire, The New York Times, New York Magazine, Time Out, BuzzFeed, and more. He has written two books (all on his iPhone as he’s always on the go!) about cocktails and cocktail culture, ‘I'm Just Here For The Drinks’ and ‘Let’s Get Blitzen’ and is currently working on a third.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

• Why Sother Teague became a chef
• When and why Sother moved to the front of house and never moved back
• The particular allure of bartending in New York
• All the things Sother expects bartenders to be to their customers
• The in-depth knowledge the bartenders at Amor Y Amargo possess
• The difference between simply drinking and having a cultural drinking experience
• Why trying different drinks is so important to experience
• The unique aspects of all twelve bars Sother works with through Overthrow
• How social media has changed the bar industry
• The why of Sother’s involvement in bitters creation
• How his book came to be

In this episode…

Sother Teague - bartender, Beverage Director of Overthrow Hospitality Group, podcast co-host, cocktail expert, and author - started his career journey as a chef. He was an instructor at the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vermont for two years at the time when that school was rated the number one culinary school in the country. Sother moved to the front of the house for a friend when he moved to New York, though, and never went back.

Sother’s background in the culinary arts has informed his bar and cocktail expertise in certain ways. He points out that people would not eat the same food every day, but will try things at different restaurants. Yet they insist on having the same drink over and over. Sother’s attention to cocktail and drink crafting goes hand in hand with trying new things, finding a drink to match your mood, and finding a drink that meets your evening experience. Many of the bars owned by Overthrow have very specific themes and drink menus to curate very considered experiences.  

In this episode of What CEOs Talk About, host Martin Hunter and guest Sother Teague discuss how bartenders are concierges of their neighborhoods, the emotional connection people seek with experiences and purchases, the importance of ambiance, and how attention to these things create value flow in bars. Sother explains how some of the bitters he created came to be, how social media assists his business, and why he wrote his books. This episode dives into all the best that bars have to offer and shines a light on the pure creativity behind cocktails on offer.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• URGEO
• Contact email: info@urgeo.com
• Martin Hunter on LinkedIn
• Sother Teague on LinkedIn
• Sother Teague (Creative Drunk) on Instagram
• ‘The Speakeasy’ podcast
• Overthrow Hospitality
• Amor Y Amargo
• ‘I’m Just Here For The Drinks’ by Sother Teague
• ‘Let’s Get Blitzen’ by Sother Teague
• ‘On Food and Cooking’ by Harold McGee
• “Imbibe!’ by David Wondrich
• ‘Meehan’s Bartender Manual’ by Jim Meehan

Resources recommended for CEOs and leaders:

• Monday.com
• BambooHR

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Pandemic restrictions are easing and things are changing quickly. We can eat indoors at restaurants again and host dinner parties. It’s exciting to go back to some of our favorite activities, but it can also be nerve-wracking. There might even be some pandemic-era changes that are worth keeping around.

This week on Meat and Three we bring you a survival guide for re-entering society. We offer dinner parties tips, look at what reopening restaurants might mean for communities, examine the abrupt end of to-go cocktails in New York, and consider the importance of continued support for local agriculture.

Further Reading and Listening:

Listen to Michael Davenport’s 1970’s tips for being a great host from the moment guests arrive to when you’re left with the clean up on episode 26 of The Shameless Chef. Subscribe so you never miss an episode. (Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS).

On episode 35 of The Big Food Question Doug Mack discusses an article he wrote for The Counter, which examines the social and cultural benefits of gathering spaces like restaurants. Subscribe so you never miss an episode.  (Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS).

Host Lisa Held talks to farmer Becky Fullam—of Old Ford Farm in New York’s Hudson Valley—about the past year and why she’s hoping customers continue to support small farms on episode 418 of The Farm Report. Subscribe so you never miss an episode. (Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS).

Sother Teague runs the Manhattan cocktail bar Amor Y Amargo and is the host of HRN’s The Speakeasy. Subscribe so you never miss an episode. (Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS).

Keep Meat and Three on the air: become an HRN Member today! Go to heritageradionetwork.org/donate. 

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Bottomless: The Bloody Mary, and the curiously counter-culture history of brunch. 

This is a special presentation of Back Bar, hosted by our very own Greg Benson. Back Bar is a rollicking deep dive into the events, phenomenon, relationships and human foibles that shaped the world’s most iconic drinks. Each episode features industry luminaries like Derek Brown, Robert Simonson and, of course, Sother Teague. 

Enjoy! And if you do, please subscribe to keep up with new episodes as they launch (Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | RSS). New episodes will be released the 1st and 15th of every month. 

Don’t forget to click SUBSCRIBE and RATE the show if you can. 

🔥🔥Join us each week as industry leaders, Damon Boelte and Sother Teague, sit down with a wide range of hospitality and spirits experts from around the world to discuss everything that impacts our business. 

FOLLOW US ON INSTAGRAM:

Damon Boelte @DamonBoelte

Sother Teague @CreativeDrunk

Greg Benson @100ProofGreg

Speakeasy Podcast @SpeakeasyPodcast

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER:

Sother Teague @CreativeDrunk

SpeakeasyRadio @SpeakeasyRadio

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support The Speakeasy by becoming a member!

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The Bloody Mary and the curiously counter-culture history of brunch. 

Brunch was born over a hundred years ago and since then it’s been a lot of things to a lot of people: a reason to relax, a time for over-indulgence, an excuse to get laid. So what’s happened to it in the last couple decades and what do we do when our counterculture becomes just… culture? We also look at the Bloody Mary, an equally curious drink and brunch’s constant companion. Special guests this week are Sother Teague, beverage director of Amor y Amargo, Chef Kyle Bailey of the Salt Line in Washington, DC and Brian Bartels, author of the book “The Bloody Mary.”

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Please SUBSCRIBE and RATE the show if you can. Join us every two weeks as we talk about history's favorite drinks and how what we drink shapes history. To see what's coming next follow Greg on instagram @100ProofGreg. #drinkinghistory

Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Back Bar by becoming a member!

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This week, Damon sits down with Jeremy Allen, the GM of MiniBar in Hollywood, CA. Allen has done time under James Beard Award winning chefs in both LA and Mpls, and is a CMS Certified Somm with a Wine Spectator Award, but you wouldn't guess it by his sailor speak. More importantly, Jeremy has spent tons of time drinking in the best and worst bars and restaurants, backstages and backyards across the world. Tune in to hear them talk cold beer, warm gin, live jazz, and more!

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The Speakeasy turns 300! Joining Damon and Sother to celebrate is Kara Newman, author of the forthcoming book NIGHTCAP: More Than 40 Cocktails to Close Out Any Evening. Tune in to hear them talk nightcaps, and drink a few (or several) themselves!

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This autumn, Asbury Park resident Diana Pittet, who grew up in Atlantic Highlands, is teaching a pioneering, one-of-a-kind graduate seminar at New York University on “The History, Culture, and Politics of Drinking,” from the Neolithic period to the present day. That’s a time span of over 9,000 years of humans intentionally (as opposed to accidentally) making and consuming alcohol--all the while, having mixed feelings about it.

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Damon and Sother are joined by Julie Reiner and Susan Fedroff of Clover Club, Leyanda, Flatiron Lounge, Pegu Club...basically some of the most iconic bars in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

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On today's episode of THE FOOD SEEN, we mix up a Negroni cocktail, as Campari (the storied Italian bitter liqueur) celebrates Negroni Week. It only makes sense to speak to three Negroni ambassadors, as analogy to the cocktail's 1:1:1 recipe ratio. First, Gary "Gaz" Regan's recounts his book, "The Negroni" and the century old tale of Count Negroni's drink order which changed the face of cocktail culture. We'll sit at the bar with Naren Young of Dante, who's cocktail list boasts a Negroni on tap at his aperitivos in his all-day eatery. Sother Teague of Amor y Amargo (and Heritage Radio Network's The Speakeasy), stops by the studio to iterate on the classic cocktail, creating contemporary variations, while still staying true to the Negroni's bitter past.

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Sother Teague of the venerable Manhattan bitters bar Amor Y Amargo joins us in the studio today to talk all things bitters, cocktails, the changing of the Zucca recipe, and more!

Meanwhile, Booker is working his first shift at Pasta Flyer without Nastassia. Tune in next week for updates.

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This week on The Speakeasy, Damon and Sother are joined in the studio by Heather Ash, brand ambassador for Tromba tequila. Tune in to hear them discuss paying your dues in the spirits industry, plus a live on-air sampling of three different expressions of Tromba!

On the first episode of The Speakeasy of 2017, Damon and Sother are joined by Cory Bonfiglio, general manager of Beer Street, which was selected as one of America’s 100 Best Beer Bars by DRAFT Magazine for 2014 and 2015. Tune in to hear them discuss balancing expertise with great hospitality, the finer points of glassware, beer trading, and more!

This week on The Speakeasy, Damon and Sother are joined by Master Sommelier Laura Maniec of Corkbuzz Wine Studio, which she opened in New York City's Union Square neighborhood with her business partner Frank Vafier in 2011. Corkbuzz locations are part wine bar, part wine school, all wrapped up in a cool, casual studio designed to feel like a living room. Maniec created the wine program to bring casual and professional wine drinkers together in one space with approachable yet comprehensive classes.

And since New Year's Eve is right around the corner, Laura has brought some bubbles into the studio to celebrate!

This week on The Speakeasy, hosts Damon Boelte and Sother Teague are joined by Sarah Morrissey, formerly of Dear Irving, and now head bartender at Pig Bleecker, a Greenwich Village satellite from the team that owns Pig Beach in Gowanus, Brooklyn. Pig Bleecker will be opening in early January, but in the meantime Sarah brought Damon and Sother a sample of her Little Piña Pisco Punch to try on the air!

On the season finale of The Speakeasy, hosts Damon Boelte and Sother Teague are joined in the studio by Anne Robinson. Formerly of PDT, Booker and Dax and Evening Bar, Anne is now the head bartender at Westlight, the rooftop bar atop the brand-new William Vale hotel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Her bar program presents a dynamic menu of original and classic cocktails alongside rare spirits, craft beer and wine.