The Next Cocktail Frontier? Smaller Cities
This episode of the podcast Life Behind Bars is about why some of the top bartenders are leaving big cities and features chef Cheetie Kumar and bartender John Gertsen.

Doron Gild/Joe Payne
The rebirth of the cocktail started in big cities, including New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. But over the last few years, smaller markets have arguably made the biggest bartending strides.
On this episode of the award-winning podcast Life Behind Bars, co-hosts David Wondrich and Noah Rothbaum are joined by chef Cheetie Kumar and bartender John Gertsen from the acclaimed restaurant Garland in Raleigh, North Carolina. Kumar and Gertsen share their fascinating life stories and how they came to live and work in the Tar Heel State.
So fix yourself a cocktail and listen to this episode of Life Behind Bars. Cheers!
Life Behind Bars features Half Full’s editor Noah Rothbaum and its Senior Drinks Columnist David Wondrich as they discuss the greatest bartenders and greatest cocktails of all time. It won the 2018 and the 2021 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Award for the world’s best drinks podcast.
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Edited by Alex Skjong
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