Into The Barchive

About Into The Barchive

Into The Barchive is a cocktail history and education podcast that explores the stories, traditions, and techniques behind the world’s most iconic drinks. Hosted by historian and spirits educator Dr. Blake Jones alongside cocktail enthusiast Tim Wright, each episode breaks down classic cocktail families, their origins, and how to make them at home. Equal parts history lesson and hands-on bar class, Into The Barchive helps listeners drink smarter, understand what’s in their glass, and appreciate the culture behind every pour.

Publisher

Into The Barchive

Category

arts · history

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

1 Jan 2026

Latest episode

15 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

44 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   15 Oct 2026

   Hard Cider Cocktails: From the Stone Fence to the Snakebite

   This week on Into The Barchive, hosts Tim Wright and Dr. Blake Jones head into the orchard to explore the history of hard cider and the surprisingly important role it has played in drinking culture on both sides of the Atlantic. Long before cocktails became fixtures of the American bar, cider was already a staple of the colonial table. Apples were abundant, fermentation made their juice easier to store, and cider quickly became an everyday beverage. Over time, it also found its way into mixed drinks—most notably the Stone Fence, a simple combination of cider and spirits with roots reaching back to colonial America. Tim and Blake make a Stone Fence using rye whiskey, bitters, and hard cider while tracing the drink’s history through names like Samson, Stonewall, and Stone Fence. They also dig into the legend that Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys drank Stone Fences before the 1775 attack on Fort Ticonderoga—and why that story is probably better treated as great bar lore than documented fact. Then the story jumps across the Atlantic and forward a few centuries to the Snakebite, the unapologetically simple British combination of lager and hard cider. Popularized in 1980s British pubs and youth subcultures, the Snakebite proves that historically significant mixed drinks don’t always come from elegant hotel bars or famous bartenders. Sometimes they come from a pint glass and whatever two drinks happen to be sitting nearby. Along the way, the guys break down why cider works so well in cocktails, from its acidity and fruit character to tannin, carbonation, and sweetness. They also offer practical advice for choosing between dry and sweet cider, pairing cider with different spirits, and using bitters to add complexity without turning every apple cocktail into a glass of liquid Thanksgiving. From colonial taverns to 1980s British pubs, this episode shows how one deceptively simple ingredient has connected generations of drinkers—and why cider deserves a permanent place behind the bar. Keep exploring the past, one drink at a time, with Into The Barchive.

2. 

   8 Oct 2026

   King Cocktail: How Dale DeGroff Helped Spark the Modern Cocktail Renaissance

   This week on Into The Barchive, hosts Tim Wright and Dr. Blake Jones raise a glass to one of the most influential bartenders of the modern era: Dale DeGroff, better known as King Cocktail. DeGroff didn’t just make great drinks—he helped change what American bartending could be. From fresh citrus and quality spirits to proper glassware, technique, ice, hospitality, and cocktail history, his influence can be traced through an entire generation of bartenders and many of the standards we now take for granted. Tim and Blake trace DeGroff’s journey from working bars in Los Angeles to meeting legendary restaurateur Joe Baum, who challenged him to build a 19th-century-inspired cocktail program using classic recipes and fresh ingredients. That assignment led DeGroff to Jerry Thomas’ 1862 Bartender’s Guide and eventually to New York’s legendary Rainbow Room, where he helped turn classic cocktails into something glamorous, relevant, and commercially successful again. Along the way, the guys make two drinks that perfectly represent DeGroff’s legacy. First is the Whiskey Smash, a 19th-century classic DeGroff helped bring back into the modern American bar by adding fresh lemon to the traditional combination of whiskey, sugar, mint, and ice. Then they mix the Fitzgerald, DeGroff’s own creation—a gin sour transformed by the addition of Angostura bitters into a modern classic. They also explore DeGroff’s role as a teacher, mentor, author, and advocate for professional bartending, from training bartenders at the Rainbow Room to influencing a new generation that included figures tied to bars like Pegu Club, Milk & Honey, and Clover Club. His impact would continue through The Craft of the Cocktail, the Museum of the American Cocktail, and the Beverage Alcohol Resource program. Ultimately, Dale DeGroff’s legacy isn’t just found in the drinks he revived or created. It lives on every time a bartender reaches for fresh citrus, studies an old recipe, teaches someone why a cocktail works, or takes a classic and asks what it might become next. Keep exploring the past, one drink at a time, with Into The Barchive.

3. 

   1 Oct 2026

   Beyond the Negroni: The Kingston Negroni & Rosita

   How much can you change a Negroni before it stops being a Negroni? This week on Into The Barchive, hosts Tim Wright and Dr. Blake Jones wrap up their Negroni mini-series by exploring just how adaptable the classic three-ingredient cocktail can be. Using the Negroni’s familiar structure as a starting point, they dive into two variations that dramatically change its personality while preserving its basic DNA: the Kingston Negroni and the Rosita. First up is the Kingston Negroni, created by bartender Joaquin Simo around 2010. By swapping gin for high-proof Smith & Cross Jamaican rum, the cocktail trades juniper and botanicals for funky tropical fruit, spice, and unmistakable Jamaican rum character. Paired with Campari and the rich sweetness of Carpano Antica Formula vermouth, one simple substitution transforms the Negroni into something entirely new. Then Tim and Blake turn to the Rosita, a tequila-based relative of the Negroni with a history almost as interesting as the drink itself. Traced back to at least the 1974 Mr. Boston’s Official Bartender’s Guide, the Rosita later disappeared, was rediscovered, and eventually became part of the modern bartender’s vocabulary again. With tequila, Campari, both sweet and dry vermouth, and bitters, it proves that a riff doesn’t have to follow the classic equal-parts formula to preserve the spirit of the original. Along the way, the guys break down what actually makes a good cocktail variation, why substitutions should be made with intention, and how bartenders can change the base spirit, vermouth, bitter component, proportions, or garnish without completely losing the architecture of the drink. The Negroni may be a classic recipe, but it’s also one of the most durable cocktail templates ever created—and sometimes changing just one ingredient is all it takes to create another classic. Keep exploring the past, one drink at a time, with Into The Barchive.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

3 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Contact Into The Barchive

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.