The first ever "cocktail party" was allegedly thrown by Mrs. Julia S. Walsh Jr. of St. Louis Missouri in May of 1917. Since then cocktails have continued to grow in popularity and are now ingrained in America's social culture.

Our guest this week has earned perhaps the highest accolades you can in the cocktail/mixology field and is at the forefront of craft cocktail trends. He is the winner of a James Beard Award for "Outstanding Bar Program" and was recently dubbed 2014's best bartender in the world - that's right folks, #1 on the planet.

In episode #051 of the Social Restaurant Podcast, I welcome Charles Joly, co-founder of Crafthouse Cocktails, Principal at The Spirit Smith LLC beverage consultancy and current Beverage Director at The Aviary in Chicago.

Charles has worked in the industry for over 17 years and has truly separated himself from the pack when it comes to mastering the art of creating and delivering craft cocktails.

Go ahead, turn up the speakers, click play and listen to episode #051 of the Social Restaurant Podcast!