Michael J. Neff

Michael Neff is a contributing writer at Serious Eats.
Location: Los Angeles, California
Education: University of Washington
Expertise: Bar Industry, Cocktails
  • Michael Neff has been writing and tending bar since 1995.
  • He founded and was the beverage director at The Cottonmouth Club in Houston, Texas.
  • Neff's writing and cocktail recipes have appeared in The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Penthouse. His podcast, The Cottonmouth Club Presents, is a series of bar professional masterclasses and in-depth info about spirits and cocktails.

Experience

Michael Neff began a parallel career in bartending and writing in Seattle, where he had his first bar job and was a playwright-in-residence at a local theater company in 1995.

He and his partners have opened multiple bars, including Ward III in Tribeca and The Rum House in Times Square. He founded and was beverage director at The Cottonmouth Club in Houston, Texas.

He's the host and producer of the podcast The Cottonmouth Club Presents, an examination of bar culture, including masterclasses from (and for) bar professionals and in-depth looks at cocktails and spirits.


About Serious Eats

Serious Eats, a Dotdash brand, is an award-winning food and drink website visited by over 7 million hungry readers every month. Our audience comes to us for rigorously tested recipes, science-driven cooking techniques, robust equipment reviews, and stories that offer cultural and historical context to the foods we love to eat.

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