ABOUT US

I got into cocktails around 2010, not through restaurant work, but as a curious home bartender who kept digging. Fifteen-plus years and a few thousand cocktails later, that curiosity turned into a career.

Decoding Cocktails exists because I remember how easy it is to default to a glass of wine simply because a cocktail feels like too much effort. Once you've got a few core ratios and techniques down, that changes fast — and that's what I teach: hands-on classes for home enthusiasts, teams, and events around St. Louis.

I'm also a contract brand ambassador for Spiribam, a spirits importer, across Missouri and Kansas. That work grew out of a genuine love for rum and rhum agricole in particular — I still remember exactly where I was the first time I tasted it. I think of myself as a defender of underappreciated spirits and liqueurs, and I bring that same philosophy to teaching: people tend to put too much weight on the bottle and not enough on technique and mixers. Good cocktails come from balance, not just a good spirit.