Fred started his cocktail quest in 2006 by journaling his drink adventures and recipes on LiveJournal, and this prompted his friend to start the CocktailVirgin blog in 2007. In 2008, Fred was invited to join as a blog writer and soon became the prime author on that site. In 2012, Fred's day job in biotech went away, and his friend's mom suggested that he write a book using all of the blog posts that he had amassed over the years. Over the course of several months, he assembled the Boston-specific drink recipes into a tribute book and toast of the town with Drink & Tell: A Boston Cocktail Book with 505 recipes from more than 40 establishments.
The book led to speaking engagements such as at Portland Cocktail Week and Barbara Lynch's Stir classes, and then Fred was invited to participate in an industry bartending series called Whiskey & Amari Night in February 2013 where two bartenders were paired up to create the menu. Fred was the only one of the 10 not to be a professional bartender, and he was paired up with the Hawthorne's (and Death & Co. alum) Katie Emmerson and they came up with a novel nine drink list honoring the "Women of the Wild West."
The night was so transformative that Fred dropped his science track, got a job as a barback at Russell House Tavern, and started his path as a bartender. Currently, Fred is still bartending in Boston and is still active blogging (and now Instagramming) about the Boston cocktail scene. His second book, Boston Cocktails: Drunk & Told, was released in late April 2017 to continue his love letter to his city with a 850+ recipe tribute showcasing the work of 102 establishments across town.