Derek Brown is a native Washingtonian, leading spirits and cocktail expert, and owner of Washington, D.C.’s 2017 Spirited Award-winning "Best American Cocktail Bar," Columbia Room. He is also the author of Spirits, Sugar, Water, Bitters: How the Cocktail Conquered the World and a forthcoming book on no- and low- alcohol cocktails, Mindful Mixology: A Comprehensive Guide to No- And Low-Alcohol Cocktails, slated for release January 18, 2022.
Brown has written on spirits, cocktails, and well-being for a number of publications —from the Washington Post to Vox—and been featured in numerous magazines, websites, and news outlets for his work on spirits and cocktails.
Besides that, he served as the Chief Spirits Advisor to the National Archives, and is a Distinguished Fellow at Catholic University’s Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship.
In 2020, Drinks International named Brown one of the Bar World 100, a list of the top beverage figures effecting positive change in the global bar industry.
In the past year, Brown has turned his attention from serving drinks to serving people by studying mindfulness and applied positive psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, moving beyond well-made drinks to well-being at large.
