Brad Thomas Parsons

Brad Thomas Parsons is the author of Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All, which was the winner of the James Beard and IACP Cookbook Awards as well as Amaro: The Spirited World of Bittersweet, Herbal Liqueurs and Distillery Cats: Profiles in Courage of the World's Most Spirited Mousers. Parsons received an MFA in writing from Columbia University, and his work has appeared in Bon Appétit and Food & Wine, among others. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Places

Find Bob Rizzo at Billymark’s West

Welcome to "The Regulars," a series that explores the people who make a bar what it is. Up first, the 16-year patron of New York's sprawling Chelsea dive, Billymark's.

story: Brad Thomas Parsons
photo: Ed Anderson

Spirits

Shake (Shake, Shake) Your Amaro

Applying the shakerato method to your favorite amaro can turn it into a whole new kind of nightcap.

story: Brad Thomas Parsons
photo: Lizzie Munro

Cocktails

The Dark Magic of Fernet

Fernet-Branca has become much more than just a sledgehammer in the bartender’s toolkit. Here are six drinks that prove just how nuanced it can be.

story: Brad Thomas Parsons
photo: Eric Medsker

Cocktails

Have Your Ramos and Eat It Too

Birthday cake, rye bread, seaweed—the tincture has become a vehicle for adding unusual, highly concentrated flavors to your cocktail.

story: Brad Thomas Parsons
photo: Nick Hensley

Cocktails

The Frozen Margarita Goes Baroque

The slushy all-star’s resurgence includes a suite of riffs that will suit any whim.

story: Brad Thomas Parsons
photo: Briana Balducci

Spirits

The Essential New-School Fernet

Meet the producers reimagining amaro’s most brooding style.

story: Brad Thomas Parsons
photo: Lizzie Munro

Cocktails

The 2021 LEGO Bartender Collection

Eight years after unveiling his original collection, lifelong LEGO collector Andrew Bohrer introduces a new lineup of one-of-a-kind bartender minifigs.