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Derek Brown head shot - Epicurious

Derek Brown

Contributor

Derek Brown is the Director of Education for Spiritless and a passionate advocate for no- and low-alcohol cocktails. Formerly of the Columbia Room, named “Best American Cocktail Bar” by the Spirited Awards in 2017, Brown is the author of Spirits, Sugar, Water, Bitters: How the Cocktail Conquered the World and Mindful Mixology: A Comprehensive Guide to No- And Low-Alcohol Cocktails.

Brown has written for a number of publications on spirits, cocktails, bartending, and well-being—from the Washington Post to Vox—and been featured in numerous magazines, websites, and news outlets for his work on spirits and cocktails. Besides that, Brown served as the Chief Spirits Advisor to the National Archives Foundation and is a Distinguished Fellow at Catholic University’s Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship. In 2020, Drinks International named Brown one of the Bar World 100, a list of the top beverage figures affecting positive change in the global bar industry.

Expert Advice

How to Calculate the Strength of Any Cocktail

You can tell how much alcohol is in a beer by looking at the number on the can. But how do you know how strong a drink is when it’s made of a handful of ingredients that are stirred or shaken with ice?
Expert Advice

The Epicurious Cocktail ABV Calculator

This calculator below will tell you the ABV—that is, the proportion of pure alcohol a drink contains—of whatever you are sipping.
Expert Advice

How to Make the Very Best Nonalcoholic Piña Colada

I'd rather you not call it a virgin piña colada—but I do think it's worth making a truly great one. There's more to it than just pineapple and coconut.
Recipes & Menus

Sherry Colada

This 5% ABV sherry colada is incredibly tasty and still has wonderful complex flavors that keep it from being candy.
Recipes & Menus

Nonalcoholic Piña Colada

The virgin piña colada already exists. This nonalcoholic piña colada goes further, in search of balance and complexity.