About this episode

Mike Anders discusses his journey in bartending and the importance of music in creating the right atmosphere at the Elbow Room.

Mike Anders currently tends bar at the James Beard nominated spot the Elbow Room, established in 1970 in Vancouver, Washington. When he got into bartending, he was content to just pour shots and beers, but keep finding himself in places that experimented in creativity and he went along for the ride. Now crafting beautiful drinks is just second nature to him, so working in a cocktail dive bar is the perfect place to be. The Elbow Room also places a high premium on albums, which works great for Mike since he has thousands of records he brings into the spot to help set the mood. Check out some of his favorite long plays via this Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2d91jHMHK8fe9LST6OYwfx?si=o2jKnbXeSNWhBkiEwnHS7w

People in this episode

Host: Mo Herms

Guest: Mike Anders

Topics covered

• bartending
• cocktails
• music
• creativity
• Vancouver

Keywords

• bartending
• cocktails
• Elbow Room
• music
• Vancouver
• James Beard
• records

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Elbow Room, James Beard

Products: Spotify

Books & works: long plays

Places: Vancouver, Washington

More episodes of Music and Booze With Mo

• Episode 203: Episode 203 - Minakshi Singh · April 13, 2026 · 55 min
• Episode 202: Episode 202 - Nathan Elliott · March 23, 2026 · 47 min
• Episode 201: Episode 201 - Ricky Ramirez · March 9, 2026 · 40 min
• Episode 200: Episode 200 - Billy Weathers · February 23, 2026 · 41 min
• Episode 199: Episode 199 - Abigail Gullo · January 12, 2026 · 60 min
• Episode 198: Episode 198 - Charlie Lehman & Cosmo Soto · December 22, 2025 · 44 min

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