Cocktail influencer Julianna McIntosh isn’t your typical broody bartender. During the pandemic, she started sharing her journey to learn the art of mixology on social media, inviting others along for the ride from her San Diego home and teaching her viewers how to make bright, seasonally-inspired, beautiful drinks. We’re talking Fro-Secco for summer and icy Prosecco Pops and more.
The enterprise — which includes a cocktail blog, Join Jules, as well as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube — has since become a family project. Her sister, Lucianna, takes photos, while McIntosh and her uncle, Brad Sutton, cohost The Art of Drinking podcast.
McIntosh’s debut cocktail cookbook, “Pretty Simple Cocktails” (Clarkson Potter, $25), will hit bookstore shelves on July 23. We recently chatted with her to learn more.
Q. What inspired you to start @join_jules?
A. Online, there weren’t a lot of recipes that felt approachable and attainable — and were not going to break my budget. I’m not going to go buy this antique vermouth to make an insane Negroni.
I felt like there was a need for something that was a little bit easier. I also felt like there needed to be beautiful drinks out there, and I didn’t see too many. I want to have a pretty little drink in front of me that is beautifully garnished and tastes great. That’s why I started posting.
Q. There’s a seasonality element here too, isn’t there?
A. A lot of this stemmed from how I was raised. My family’s been farming in Northern California for over 100 years, so I grew up knowing when cherries were in season, or when they were harvesting walnuts — because my allergies were terrible.
Making approachable drinks doesn’t mean you have to buy top-shelf spirits. You can use fresh seasonal produce — it’s cheaper when you buy seasonally, it tastes better, and it’s easy to whip up at home.
Q. What audience were you aiming for?
A. I wanted it to be the starting place for people who want to get into home bartending. One of my favorite parts of the book is in the “Tools” section, where we have an “In a Pinch” section. Say you’re at an Airbnb or don’t want to commit to buying all this gear — you can use a mason jar instead of a cocktail shaker. I just want people to get excited about their beverage-making and not feel intimidated.
Q. Tell me about your background and your connections to the food and beverage world…
A. I always said that I was never going to be like my mother, but here I am. My mom has a cooking show called “Bringing it Home with Laura McIntosh” on PBS, and she has been doing that ever since I can remember. She covers food, but most importantly, she covers the farmers behind our food. She would go into the fields, bring a local chef from the area and highlight a different commodity each episode.
I also have to take my hat off to my uncle. When I had this budding interest in cocktails — I loved going to happy hour with my friends — he was the one who taught me the science behind it and (how) to save money by making it myself.
Q. How have people responded?
A. In the beginning, it really was a community, where we would all collaborate along the way. Professional bartenders would comment and say “Hey, when you do an egg white cocktail, don’t serve it over an ice cube.” My followers and I would read that, and we would all learn together.
It showed me that people wanted to know how to do this, but there wasn’t someone that they felt comfortable asking questions, or who they saw making mistakes, correcting them and being okay with doing something wrong. A lot of times on social media, people feel like they have to be perfect. I think a lot of people gravitated towards the fact that we aren’t perfect, and we are going to make mistakes, but at the end of the day, we’re making cocktails. It doesn’t have to be rocket science. People want to make fun drinks, and they want to serve their guests fun drinks, whether they contain alcohol or not.
Q. What’s your process for developing a new cocktail?
A. I start by going to the farmers market or my grocery store. I don’t have a recipe. I don’t know what I’m doing. I just go in and see what’s out there and what’s in season — and from there, I get inspired. This week, I did a whole Cherry Week, taking inspiration from spirits that go with cherries.
For me, it’s about taking what’s in season and understanding the makeup of a classic cocktail. Once you understand that, you can really start to plug and chug. That’s how I started, and it’s how I think a lot of people should start when they make cocktails.
Once you know how to make a cocktail the right way, like an Old Fashioned or a classic Margarita, then you can start playing with what’s in season. Once you’ve really gone through the book, it’s my hope that people can then riff on the recipes with their own seasonal substitutions.
Q. Parting thoughts?
A. Be okay with making mistakes. Garnish the cocktails — because we deserve it. And have fun creating happy hour.
Details: Pretty Simple Cocktails (Clarkson Potter, $25) hits bookstores July 23.
