The craft of the cocktail

The Food Chain

BBC

Arts, Society & Culture, Food

4.7 • 545 Ratings

🗓️ 20 May 2026

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Making cocktails isn't just about flair - bottles spinning through the air as the bartender puts on a show. It's about precision, perfectionism and people skills.

Ruth Alexander meets three world-class bartenders to hear stories about their most glamorous customers, the dangerous ones, and what it takes to make the perfect drink.

Hear about the highs and lows; from the glamour of working on a movie set to the what happens when customers turn nasty. What's it like to make this challenging job your career?

Plus of course: how to make the perfect martini! (The answer might surprise you!)

Producers: Lexy O'Connor and Izzy Greenfield Sound Engineer: Andrew Mills

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Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts.
0:07.3	On BBC Sounds, there are podcasts to help you look after your body and your mind.
0:12.7	From increasing your immunity to feeling more confident.
0:16.6	Or tips on how to focus.
0:18.5	Sorry, what will you say?
0:19.7	If it matters to you, it matters to us.
0:22.6	Feel good inside of it.
0:24.2	With What's Up Docs.
0:25.9	And Complex with Kimberly Wilson.
0:27.9	Listen on BBC Sounds.
0:33.6	Cocktail hour.
0:34.9	Bottles spinning through the air, shakers rattling,
0:38.3	bartenders gliding along the floor behind a crowded bar.
0:42.0	Everything we do with our bodies is some sort of flare.
0:45.5	This is the food chain from the BBC World Service.
0:49.0	I'm Ruth Alexander, and today I'm finding out what it takes to make the perfect drink.
0:54.5	It's all about the execution.
0:56.3	Ice is really important.
0:57.8	Yes.
0:58.4	Yes.
0:59.0	Bartenders use ice the way a chef use fire, right?
1:03.2	From the glamour of mixing drinks on film sets.
	...

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