The 2025 Rochester Cocktail Revival

By Evan Dawson,

Published May 9, 2025 at 4:38 PM EDT

Five people wearing headphones sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a man at foreground left has dark curly hair and is wearing a black shirt with white collar and white lettering, black pants and black sneakers; a woman at foreground right has long red hair and is wearing a white t-shirt, denim vest, short brown miniskirt and over the knee black boots; a man at background left has a brown beard and is wearing a white baseball cap and beige t-shirt; a woman at background right has long purple hair and is wearing glasses and a black sleeveless shirt; a man at center has short dark hair and is wearing a bright blue button-down shirt with plaid cuffs, jeans, blue striped socks and brown shoes.

1 of 2 — (foreground) Chuck Cerankosky and Leah Stacy, (background) Patrick Stetzel and Flo Cardella on "Connections"

(foreground) Chuck Cerankosky and Leah Stacy, (background) Patrick Stetzel and Flo Cardella on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Friday, May 9, 2025

Julie Williams / WXXI News

A woman with long dark hair over her face is wearing a red dress with white polka dots and crouching down on the floor of a large room

2 of 2 — Cat Olsen.png

Cat Olsen

Provided

A smiling man with short dark hair wearing a blue button-down shirt and a grey blazer. He is holding a pair of eyeglasses. The word "Connections" appears on the left side of the photo in vertical letters.

America is in what some industry experts are referring to as a kind of alcohol recession. Beer and wine sales have been hit hardest, but even some premium spirit brands are seeing significant declines.

An annual event seeks to breathe some light into the scene. With that in mind, this week's final episode feels like happy hour: it's all about the twelfth annual Rochester Cocktail Revival (RCR), which returns June 2-8.

RCR is the only weeklong festival of its kind in New York State, made possible by 30+ Rochester bars and arts venues that host 70+ events across downtown Rochester. This hour, Evan, co-host Leah Stacy, and our guests talk about new events, the ongoing tiki trend, immersive cocktail theater and more.

Our guests:

Chuck Cerankosky, director of Rochester Cocktail Revival
Flo Cardella, head bartender at Leonore's
Cat D. Olson, artistic director of CAT + THE COYOTE
Patrick Stetzel, owner and operator of Ziggy's