James Martin and Jen West have been creative collaborators for as long as they've been romantic partners. When the time came for James to direct his first short film, there was no question it would be a historical telling of one of his favorite cocktails. After all, he'd already started a popular blog as The Sipologist, which profiles bartenders and the drinks they make from all around the country. The big question was, which cocktail would prove to have enough magic to carry a short documentary all on its own?

One day while strolling the Beltline Eastside Trail in Atlanta, the answer became clear to both of them — the Sazerac would be the hero cocktail. New Orleans is close their hearts, and it is also the home of Tales of the Cocktail, the largest cocktail conference in the world. Experts from all over the country would be descending on the city in a matter of months, providing the perfect opportunity to capture interviews and get content for the documentary.

James knew he wanted an artistic mix of spoken word, custom illustrations, and a clever narrative to tell the tale. The final documentary ended up being all of that and more.