About the Academy

B.E Mintz is editor of Neat Pour, a daily publication for the beverage industry. Before joining Neat Pour, Mintz founded and edited a community news source, bringing an editorial background to his coverage of drinks and hospitality. Based in New Orleans, he travels widely to explore the bar industry and, when at home, can often be found enjoying a perfect Manhattan. 

Charlene Rooke is a Canadian spirits journalist and educator, a WSET spirits educator and a Certified Specialist of Spirits. Trained in small-batch distilling at Kentucky's Moonshine University, Rooke is lead judge of the Canadian Artisan Spirits Competition. A former editor for travel and hospitality magazines, she is drinks editor of Food & Drink, the in-store magazine of the Liquor Control Board of Ontario. 

National Magazine Award-winning writer Christine Sismondo has covered spirits, cocktails, bars, books and history for more than 20 years, with work in the Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, Maclean's and other publications. Based in Toronto, Sismondo is also the author of America Walks into a Bar and Cocktails: A Still Life, and created Prohibition, a six-part podcast series for Wondery's American History Tellers. 

Emma Janzen is a James Beard Award-winning author and photographer, and a leading US authority on cocktails. Janzen wrote Mezcal: The History, Craft and Cocktails of the World's Ultimate Artisanal Spirit and co-authored The Way of the Cocktail with Julia Momosé and The Bartender's Manifesto with Toby Maloney. Based near Chicago, she writes and edits on cocktails, spirits and the people and cultures behind them. 

Esther Tseng is a Los Angeles-based writer specialising in food, cocktails and culture. Tseng contributes to publications including the Los Angeles Times, Bon Appétit and Food & Wine. Originally from Wisconsin, she began writing a food and cocktail blog before becoming a freelance journalist. Her work explores restaurants, bars and drinks through the lens of culture, with a particular focus on the diverse hospitality scene of Los Angeles. 

Pamela Wiznitzer has worked in New York and around the world since 2006, bringing cocktail culture to life as a bartender and drinks professional. Wiznitzer was named 2014 Bartender of the Year by the Village Voice and has received recognition from Food & Wine and Wine Enthusiast. Her work has appeared in publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Glamour, Bloomberg and Esquire. 

Pedro Reyes has contributed to Mexican lifestyle magazines including Accent, Vuelo, Expansión, Life&Style and Chilango, and spent five years as deputy editor of Travel + Leisure Mexico. Reyes is the author of ¡Acá las Tortas!, about one of Mexico City's best-loved street foods, and a leading commentator on its bar scene. He is now creative director at Paladar, a gastronomic marketing agency creating food and drink experiences.