Tropical Standard with Garret Richard

Shift Drink

This week’s guest, Garett Richard has worked in some of the best bars and with some of the best bartenders in New York, which also makes them some of the best in the world. And being a tikiphile running a Tiki/Tropical bar in New York makes him something of a unicorn these days.

Having made an unlikely jump from radio to hospitality, he has, in just a decade, made some pretty big splashes in the industry. After the closing of his workplace, Existing Conditions — owned by industry luminaries Don Lee, Dave Arnold, and Greg Boehm, Garret wasn’t sure what he’d be doing while NYC shut down due to COVID-19. He started working on a book that he’d conceptualized prior to 2020, but that’s about as far as he could plan.

Fast forward to 2024 and he’s at the top of his game. His book, Tropical Standard, was released in 2023 and through a series of happenstances, he took over the cocktail program at The Sunken Harbor Club – just above Gage & Tollner. And it seems that he’s just getting started.

You can find Tropical Standard wherever you buy your books but, as always, I recommend purchasing from an independent seller and even a brick-and-mortar store if you can. Check out TropicalStandard.Com for book and purchasing info.