Taking 10 with Camper English! [ENG]

Hey guys!

I know it's been a long time since I've made an interview with someone within the international bar community, last one being Gary Regan, God may rest his soul, but I will change this! Pinky promise! I will dedicate more  time to reach out to cocktail enthusiasts all over the world to pick their brains regarding all kind of bar related stuff.

My next guest is none other than Camper English, one of the quirkiest person alive! He use to write software codes and now he is literally everywhere! He is running Alcademics,  does talks and seminars, writes articles, does research and really knows his ice! I got the chance to exchange some e-mails with him and I must say that this is something you don't want to miss!

1. Hello Camper and thank you for taking the time to chat with us. We know that Camper English is your real name and that you love gin and hate ants. What else is there to know about you? Can you tell us more about your background?

Hello! Sure thing, I studied physics in college and had a second career as a  software engineer, but now I write about drinks.

2. I know you have a long history within the bartending industry but I think you got world renown a few years ago after presenting some seminars at BCB. How did that happend and where were you hidden for the last years?

I wasn’t hidden at all, you just weren’t looking in the right places J I started writing about cocktails full time in 2006 after I predicted the cocktail rennaissance would last a long time and we had a critical mass of bars in San Francisco to write about. As one of the firstonly-cocktails full time writers, I was able to see so much of the beginning of ths movement.

3. Regarding ice, you are my first go-to when I find myself in a predicament. How did your fascination with ice started? 

A little over ten years ago I attended a talk about ice at Tales of the Cocktails and the theories they were saying about how to make clear ice did not sound scientifically correct to me, so I decided to test the current theories. This lead to nine months of research before I figured out „directional freezing” which is the technique to make clear ice used all over the world today.

4. Cocktail Safe. We know that this is your latest project. How did that happen? I think it is the first time when someone does such ammount of work in order for us to be safe. What was the process behind this idea and thank you for doing it, by the way.

You’re welcome! I kept seeing tobacco bitters and then homemade tonic and then later activated charcoal being used in cocktails. Despite there being information about the dangers of some ingredients on the internet, there was no centralized place for this information. I wanted to build a public place for it, so I applied for a grant from the Tales of the Cocktail Foundation and they funded the website. Now I’m giving a lot of talks about safety behind the bar and it’s been well-received.

5. I was really lucky to get my hands on your book „Tonic Water aka G&T WTF”. First of all, how did you come up with this title and does it reflect your personality? About the contents of the book, how much time did you researched the information in order to appear in it?

I began researching the history of the Gin & Tonic while writing a story for a magazine, and was frustrated to find that nobody had an original creation date for the drink, just a general idea of where it was created. I went down a long road of research (because it was very interesting!) and wrote my little book 2 years later. I decided to self-publish it for the experience and because at the time, nobody would have published a book on Gin and (mostly) tonic. Since then a lot has changed. I had fun with the book and despite it being two years of research (resulting in the earliest known written reference to the drink), I made silly illustrations for it and tried to tell some unique stories.

6. You are seen as one modern educator. How do you feel about this role and how did phase in your life happened?

Most journalists report on things that are happening without interfering, but I find problems and then feel the need to come up with solutions! So anything I get interested in I research and then I want to share my results. It satisfies my need for scientific exploration.

7. Where do you get your information from? Can you explain to us please the process of research for topics on your blog, Alcademics?

There are all kinds of research. Sometimes I’m just asking experts to give me their explanations, and other times I do the research myself. I use the internet and a few libraries to gather information, plus I have something like 500 cocktail and spirits books now to use.

8. If you hadn’t chosen this road, what else would you have done with your professional life, in order to have the same satisfaction that you are having right now?

I really enjoyed writing software code because it is so logical, and for me it was pretty easy. Writing is really hard! I like speaking better.

9. How is a normal day in your life? Do you have any quirky habbits that would you care to share with us please?

Nothing exciting to report! I work a lot and then I go to cocktail bars.

10. We are almost at the end now. Do you have any advice for the new wave of bartenders that are coming from behind?

Young bartenders: You are very lucky! You can enter this career with full knowledge that it can be a career now, not just something to fill your time. There are career paths to which bartending can lead, and you can become an expert in a lot of different topics. You have the opportunity to make people happy every day. Take good care of yourself as well as your customers.

This being said, thank you so much for your time Camper and we wish you all the best!

Mihai Fetcu