We’re kicking off Imbibe’s 20th anniversary year with our Global Imbibe 75 list of people and places shaping the way we’ll drink, including bartender and sake expert Shaun Merritt Williams from Jewel of the South in New Orleans. We talk with Shaun about what led to her fascination with sake and how she plans to parlay that passion into education and events.
Happy new year! We’re starting Imbibe’s 20th anniversary year with a special global celebration of the Imbibe 75 list of people and places shaping the way we’ll drink. This year's list includes Shaun Merritt Williams, a bartender and sake expert at Jewel of the South in New Orleans.
Radio Imbibe is the audio home of Imbibe magazine. In each episode, we dive into liquid culture, exploring the people, places, and flavors of the drinkscape through conversations about cocktails, coffee, beer, spirits, and wine. Keep up with us at imbibemagazine.com, and on Instagram, Threads, and Facebook, and if you're not already a subscriber, we'd love to have you join us—click here to subscribe.
Paul Clarke
Hey everybody, welcome back to Radio Imbibe from Imbibe Magazine. I'm Paul Clarke, Imbibe's Editor-in-Chief, and Happy New Year!
It's early January, and pretty much everybody, pretty much everywhere, has some level of excitement or curiosity or simply some thoughts about the year ahead. Here at Imbibe, we're excited about the new year for a very specific reason. 2026 marks the 20th anniversary of Imbibe Magazine's inaugural issue. In the world of publishing, and especially when it comes to independent magazines, the 20-year marker is a very, very big deal, a birthday reached by incredibly few publications. We're thrilled that we've made it this long, and we're looking forward to keeping on doing what we do for many more years to come, which of course we could not do without the continued support from all of our readers, subscribers, and listeners. So if you're hearing this podcast, a sincere thanks, and we hope you'll stick around and check out all the work we do across all of our many platforms.
You're going to be reading and hearing a lot more from us about this milestone anniversary in the months ahead, and to get things started, we're taking a slightly different tack with our January-February issue, which is out now. Every year, we celebrate our Imbibe 75 list of people and places who will change the way we drink in the year ahead. Historically, we've focused primarily on people and places in North America, as a nod to our own home base and to the bulk of our audience. But over the past two decades, we've earned many friends and readers and supporters around the globe. So for this 20th anniversary take on the Imbibe 75, we're bringing in faces and places from around the world, with winemakers, distillers, bartenders, and coffee professionals from South Africa to Sydney and from Poland to Japan and Argentina.
Kicking off our Imbibe 75 coverage here on the podcast, we’re returning to one of our favorite cities here close to home, New Orleans, home to Shaun Merritt Williams, a bartender at Jewel of the South, who is also an alumnus of Turning Tables and who has a passion for rice and rice-based food and drink and celebrates the cultures around rice in her work in New Orleans.
Before we get started, this episode is brought to you by The Bourbon Classic, taking place in Louisville, Kentucky, February 25th through 28th. Established in 2012, The Bourbon Classic is an annual celebration of the best in bourbon, bourbon cocktails, and Kentucky's culinary character. This year's Bourbon Classic weekend events will take place at the Kentucky International Convention Center in downtown Louisville. Head online to bourbonclassic.com for tickets and more information.
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Paul Clarke
Shaun, welcome to Radio Imbibe.
Shaun Williams
Thank you for having me. I'm really excited to be here.
Paul Clarke
Absolutely, Absolutely. And I'm so pleased to talk to you for a number of reasons. Because you do many things. You're a bartender at Jewel of the South in New Orleans.
Shaun Williams
I am.
Paul Clarke
You're also, how do I put this, a rice enthusiast with a WSET Level 3 certification in sake.
Shaun Williams
Yep.
Paul Clarke
And you're also an alumnus of Turning Tables. And I wanted to explore all of this a little bit with you. So maybe you can lead us into this. Take us back a few years. You worked in hospitality for a while now, but not always behind the bar. Is that correct?
Shaun Williams
Correct. Correct. Yeah. I was working working as a server at a restaurant here in New Orleans that's no longer with us. But Touré Folks was out taking photos for a health and wellness initiative here in the city. And they happened to stop by where I was working. And he needed some photos, like, very particular. He put me behind the bar polishing glasses and just started cracking jokes in his typical way. And then he's like, hey, I'm starting this thing. You should come and join. I definitely ran from him for a few years because I was scared about the idea of being behind the bar and what his program meant. But eventually I got pulled in.
Paul Clarke
Right. And you were a part of the third cohort for Turning Tables. Is that right?
Shaun Williams
Yes.
Paul Clarke
You mentioned Touré and we've had Touré in the magazine and on the podcast before and our mutual friend, Geoffrey Wilson, we just had a piece on him this past July. So our audience should have some familiarity with Turning Tables. But for those who may not have yet come across it, what is it and how did you get involved? How did you take that next step to say, I want to be a part of this program?
Shaun Williams
Yeah, so Turning Tables is like a resource development, empowerment program here in New Orleans that's really meant for people of color in the industry to help them achieve their personal goals, first and foremost, but also give access to parts of the industry that historically we've been locked out of or just didn't know about. So a few years ago, as I said, I met Touré in a very different capacity. He was a photographer. I was a server. And he was telling me about this program. At the time, I was, and still am a yoga teacher, but I was managing a yoga studio also on the side. And he was like, hey, if you don't want to be a part of this thing, would you at least come and teach yoga? And so I started doing that. And then the second year, he tried to get me again. And I offered him my husband as tribute, who also, who actually really, really wanted to be a bartender. And he ended up joining the program. Fast forward the third year, he joined forces with Touré and they both kind of wrestled me into it. The whole thing was kind of, maybe it's not bartending, but there are opportunities here and you should explore to see what it could mean for your career.
Paul Clarke
Right, Right, right. And what was that experience like once you got into it, once you moved into it? What did that give you and what did it provide you that you might not otherwise have had access to?
Shaun Williams
There were areas of the industry that I just didn't even think about, right? It's like when you're in a restaurant, I think for the most part, maybe you start as a hostess or a dishwasher and you move into a server role and sometimes you can move into management or move into bartending. I don't think a lot of us, and not even just people of color, I think kind of in general, we're not always thinking about the idea of working in distribution or working as an ambassador or working in some kind of management or just within a distillery or brewery or anything like that. And the different career pathways aren't always completely clear to us. And I definitely had never thought about that aspect of the industry, but Turning Tables kind of broke that wide open by bringing us into distilleries, by bringing ambassadors directly to us and different sorts of professionals within the industry. And it really starts to get you thinking, like, I don't have to be a server forever. There's nothing wrong with that, but it just opens the possibilities of the different things that you can do within the industry and I guess makes them a little bit more attainable by bringing you directly to the source.
Paul Clarke
And that experience eventually did lead you behind the bar.
Shaun Williams
So, I literally, I went into the interview and I was like, I'm here. I was so defiant. I was like, I'm here because my husband and Touré want me to be here. I do not want to be a bartender. This is what I do want to do. And I just want to be very clear with y'all in case, you know, Touré’s, like, like, biased. He couldn't be a part of that interview, right? Because we knew each other ahead of time. So, it was, for the most part, people that I did not know that were interviewing me. And I wanted them to be clear that make sure you're choosing the right person because be a bartender. And I was pretty adamant about that. But then I got an externship at Jewel of the South and that kind of changed everything.
Paul Clarke
What was it about that that changed everything?
Shaun Williams
The attention to detail, the hospitality, the community that it introduced me to, it kind of changed my perspective of hospitality in general. But also what it meant to be a bartender, right? I think that, for me, I was just really scared of the stage of, like, having to be back there and stay there, right? And having to hold these conversations with strangers for extended periods of time. Like, just things that I didn't think that I could do, that I was good at. I could be a server and, like, come to your table, give you what you need, and then, like, run to the back and hide for a bit, you know? But I was like, oh, my God, like, to have to just stand there and, like, almost work an audience and a piece to all of these different people. I just, I didn't think that was in my cards. But it has become one of the, I think, definite highlights of my career in the industry.
Paul Clarke
And to be clear, I mean, you're doing this at Jewel of the South. This is not a low-profile bar. This bar has a-
Shaun Williams
No. No. No.
Paul Clarke
So this was quite the step, yeah.
Shaun Williams
It was huge, huge imposter syndrome. I mean, I've been there now for almost four years. I can honestly say that it was just a pop-up that I did about a little under a month ago in the name of Jewel that I was like, I'm a bartender. Working at Jewel of the South, like you just said, is like, that's going straight into the big leagues pretty much. And it was very, very intimidating. And honestly, still continues to be sometimes, but it gets better every day.
Paul Clarke
Now, I mentioned rice at the outset and how you've completed your WSET Level 3 certification in sake.
Shaun Williams
Mm-hmm.
Paul Clarke
But for you, your interest in rice includes beverages, but extends far beyond that. Why is that, and how did that interest develop for you?
Shaun Williams
Ever since I was a little kid, rice was my favorite food. Like my mom, when I was a picky eater, one thing my mom could always give me was a bowl of rice and tell me I could put anything on it. So since I was a teenager, I had the idea of creating a restaurant space where people could do that, where they could create their own rice bowl. Because I always had this idea that everybody loved rice and everybody ate rice. I never looked too deeply into it, but probably since I was 16 or 17, I'd written out a plan for this space. As time went on, I explored my love of rice more and more and really realized that I had so many different connections to it in different ways. Through Turning Tables, that love grew even more because I went into them saying, hey, I have this thing that I really love. It is part of the industry. I don't know how to utilize that, though. I don't know what to do with this that I love rice, like big deal. But I know that there's something here. That idea for the rice bowl place through Turning Tables ended up building into something called Oryza, which is where I paired up with different chefs around the city that come from different backgrounds and ethnicities and we explored rice through their tradition and culture through like four course prix fixe meals with cocktails that were also all rice-based. So all four courses in the series were rice-based and then all of the cocktails and beverages available were also rice-based. So that was a lot of fun, a lot of I did the first one was with a Mexican and a Puerto Rican chef and they wanted to collaborate and blend their cultures, the second one I did was a chef from the UK and he brought in flavors from all over Europe, then I did one with a chef from New Orleans that explored like the African American tradition of rice here in Louisiana, And then the last one I did was with my buddy Chris Hamm and he's Filipino Hawaiian, and we did one that explored his culture.
Paul Clarke
And it's cool because like you said, you didn't overthink it at the start, you just liked rice and you've just kind of followed that theme and rice resonates on so many different levels. Yes, it's culinary, yes, it's beverage, but also there's this whole kind of cultural connection to it. As you've gone on with this, how has this become more apparent to you and how have you worked that into the work that you're doing?
Shaun Williams
Well, just in being able to speak to people from all over the world at Jewel of the South and in traveling to do pop ups and just personally, I always explore the conversation of rice with people. And I always bring it up and people always smile and I always say things like, you know, rice connects all of us like throughout all of the cultures around the world. We all eat rice. We all have staple dishes that have rice in it. We all have the rice puddings and the meat dishes with a rice or the soupy dishes that come with a side of rice. Like you can find that in different cultures all over the world. And when I start talking to people about it, they start telling me about their rice dishes, right? So that's always really cool. And they realize that that connection is real. And it just, I think, makes the world a little bit smaller and more comfortable. I think also it makes people think about their relationship with rice, because I really think of it as a big connector and a big unifier because of how important it is in so many cultures. And I think that products made from rice, I they're just better. I love rice gins, rice whiskey, rice vodkas, rice fermentation. Like, it's just always good.
Paul Clarke
And following on that theme of rice best beverages, you took the next step. You took your WSET, your Wine and Spirits Education Trust certification classes in sake. And this is not something you do casually.
Shaun Williams
Oh, boy.
Paul Clarke
This is something that you really need to be focused. What led you to take that next step? And what was that experience like for you?
Shaun Williams
Well, Well, this is another thing that Turning Tables introduced me to. I didn't know about certain things. Like, I didn't know there was a Portland cocktail week. I didn't know there was a camp runamok. I didn't know that there was a WSET. So once I learned about that, and they had level one, and they had level three in sake, I was like, oh, this is a good place for me to start. Because, like, my love of rice did not start with sake, but it definitely led me to sake. So I did level one, two, and three in pretty rapid succession. I just got one and then just went for the next one. I actually fought my way into the level two class. I was at Portland cocktail week. The level two class was a pilot class, and it was kind of They didn't want it to be known. So it was billed as level one. Once I got to Portland, I found out that it was the pilot for level two. So I started asking. I was like, I don't know who's in this class, but I know I need to be in this class. And I was like, I didn't sign up for it because I already have level one. This isn't fair. So I was like, I'm going to do whatever I have to get in this class. So the morning of the class I got up like at 7: 00 AM. And I just went to every person wearing a lanyard that I could find. And I was like, how do I get into the level two class? How do I get in? And they sent me to this person, this person. I just walked around all morning until someone was like, well, you can get on this bus. And we don't know. I was like, I don't need the certification. I just need to be in the room. Like I'll get on the bus. I'll sit on the floor in the back. I don't care, but I have to be there. So I guess they realized I really wanted to be there and they let me get the class. And then the following year, I did that. I passed. And then I did my level three. And most recently, I just got got my Sake Sommelier certification from the Sake School of America. And next month, I'm taking the WSET ETP, so I can teach Sake also.
Paul Clarke
That's amazing. And this interest in rice and rice-based food and drink, how does this inform what you do now at Jewel of the South? How does this factor into your thinking and the work that you do on a daily basis now?
Shaun Williams
I don't think particularly at Jewel. But Jewel gives me a lot of free reign, of course, I do my own thing outside. So it's like, A, I'm always bringing in Sake just for everyone to try. Like, it's on everyone's radar because I'm constantly, like, reminding them, hey, it's World Sake Day. We're celebrating after work. I like, ten bottles, right? Then also always able to bounce all of my ideas off of my bar management, Hannah, Chris Hannah, and Shannon Brandon. So I always bring that to them. But a lot of my rice-based stuff is completely separate. Just because Jewel is very classic in what it does. And there is some room for innovation and for what I do, but that's very much a Shaun thing. And does it necessarily fit there in the way that I would want it to? It's something that is pretty special, and it's kind of separate for the most part. But everybody is very supportive. They come to my events. They help me with everything.
Paul Clarke
Things have moved in a different direction for you over these past few years with the Turning Tables experience, with the shift into bartending. Looking out a little further in the future, take us out five years or so. Where do you hope to go with all of this, and what do you hope to be doing?
Shaun Williams
In five years, I definitely want to be teaching a lot more, just spreading the word of sake. It's just such an undervalued beverage, I And it's just been put into this pigeonhole, and people just need to let be beyond that, because I already do teach my own class, but teaching for WSET is the level of that for me. And past that, I've been working on a rice festival that I really hope to get off the ground here in New Orleans. I've got a bunch of people helping me, so it's something that I started kind of seriously a few years It fell off. I'm really hoping to bring it to life in the next year or two, so we can just love rice together.
Paul Clarke
Right. Shaun, thanks so much for taking the time to talk to me. It's been a real pleasure, and I look forward to seeing you the next time I'm back in New Orleans.
Shaun Williams
Yeah, thank you so much. Thanks for having me.
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Paul Clarke
You can find Shaun Williams on Instagram @ricegirlrich. We’ve got the link for you in this episode’s notes.
And that's it for this episode. Subscribe to Radio Imbibe on your favorite podcast app to keep up with all our future episodes. We've got tons of recipes and articles for you online on our website, imbibemagazine.com. Keep up with us day-to-day on Instagram, Pinterest, Threads, and Facebook. And if you're not already a subscriber to the print and or digital issues of Imbibe, then please help us celebrate our 20th anniversary year by coming on board a subscriber. Just follow the link in this episode's notes, and we'll be happy to help you out.
I'm Paul Clarke. This is Radio Imbibe. Happy New Year, everybody, and I'll catch you next time.