Alia Akkam

Alia Akkam is a writer who covers drink, design, travel and food. She is the author of Behind the Bar: Gin and Behind the Bar: 50 Cocktails from the World’s Most Iconic Hotels (Hardie Grant UK) and her work has appeared in SevenFifty Daily/Beverage Media, Architecturaldigest.com, Hospitality Design and ICON. A native New Yorker, Alia now calls Budapest home.

Cocktails

This Secret Roving Recipe Book Is the Ultimate Boomerang

For 15 years, it's been passed between bartenders and across continents, becoming a living record of modern drink-making.

story: Alia Akkam
illustration: Don Caminos

Places

Scotch Takes a Hint from Bourbon

In the wake of Scotland's vote for independence, the country is caught between past and present more than ever. Alia Akkam considers what this break from tradition means for Scotch,…

story: Alia Akkam
photo: Glenglassaugh

Cocktails

Honolulu’s Second Golden Age of Tropical Drinking

For decades, Honolulu has been a city synonymous with orchid garnishes and syrupy Mai Tais. But a craft cocktail scene is percolating just beyond Waikiki—and with it, a new era…

story: Alia Akkam
photo: AZ Adam

Cocktails

The Bar Heard Round the World

Since the minuscule Lower East Side bar opened its doors in 1999, Milk & Honey's influence on today's cocktail scene has been immeasurable. From its diaspora of bartenders to enigmatic…

story: Alia Akkam
illustration: James Carpenter

Places

Into the Mystic: Discovering Pisco’s Spiritual Roots

Alia Akkam journeys to Peru to discover the soul of the country's native grape-based spirit and, after meeting a shifty, fleece-donning shaman, comes back with a new understanding of her…

story: Alia Akkam
photo: Gabi Porter