Shaken, Stirred, Sauteed and Shared: My Interview with @CameroxnWithAnX

Cameron Calv, known online as @cameroxnwithanx, has built a unique space in the cocktail world. His journey is a testament to the power of a modern, digital-first approach to mixology. Unlike many industry figures who started their careers behind a professional bar, Cameron’s story began in college, where he first discovered his passion for mixing drinks.

This passion took a significant turn during the pandemic when he began live-streaming his mixology sessions from the comfort of a small studio space he built in his apartment. This digital "XBar," as he calls it, became the central hub for his creativity. He has built a dedicated community by combining his mixology skills with his love for video games and pop culture, creating signature cocktails inspired by characters and concepts.

While his roots are in home bartending, his knowledge and creative approach are anything but amateur. For example, he has a special fondness for bitter flavors, with the Negroni being one of his favorite classic cocktails. Mint is also in his top ten favorite flavors. His unique path shows that you don't need to work in a traditional bar to be an influential and innovative force in the F&B industry.

As we settled into our chat with Cameron, I was eager to dive into his unconventional path and the fascinating digital world he’s built from his apartment studio. His journey truly embodies the "shared" aspect of our series, showcasing how passion can thrive and connect people in unexpected ways.

The Digital Mixologist's Journey

I started by asking Cameron about the very beginning – that pivotal moment when he decided to take his college-era hobby and turn it into a live-streamed phenomenon during the pandemic.

Cameron: I honestly started streaming as an excuse to decompress. The pressure of academia had me wired to feel like I needed to be “productive” at all times. I just couldn’t find the time to enjoy the hobbies I had put aside so I could pursue my degrees – in particular, performing in theater productions, playing video games at home, and mixing cocktails in college. A friend of mine at the time was streaming our modded Minecraft sessions, so one day I decided to go live myself! One of the first playthroughs I did on Twitch was of a bartending simulator/visual novel game called VA-11 Hall-A. It made sense to me that if I was going to play a game where you mix drinks, I should literally make one behind the camera. In the moment, I thought nothing significant of it. It was the right vibe for the evening: lights low, quiet, playing a game about drinks, and sipping on one I’d just made for myself. Eventually, it kinda became my whole thing!

That's a fantastic origin story, especially how an interactive game sparked such a significant creative outlet! It made me curious about the evolution of his physical space for this digital endeavor.

Q: So, how did you transition from just mixing drinks in your college dorm room to creating a dedicated studio space for your content? What did that evolution look like for you, transforming a hobby into a professional setup?

Cameron: Prior to COVID, I had amassed a small liquor collection that I’d use to mix cocktails for myself, which I much preferred to the cheap beer typically available at on-campus parties. I lived in a frat house with my fraternity brothers who were among the friends I’d mix a drink or two for when hanging out. When COVID shut down most of the college campus, I packed up my belongings and moved back to my parents’ house before eventually coming back to Philly to move in with my then-girlfriend (now we’re married). Mixing a cocktail at my desk in that tiny apartment was admittedly pretty cumbersome and a bit too close to my keyboard for comfort. So I eventually set up one of those folding tables on the other side of my desk, in a spot where I could conveniently rotate my camera 180°.

I eventually shifted more airtime to the cocktail-making side. Later, when we moved to a bigger apartment I claimed a corner to build a more formal set. I’ve always been a pretty DIY guy so I’d use whatever I had to add a bit of production value to the set with incremental upgrades. That folding table that used to be the bartop was eventually replaced with a hardwood media center piece of furniture that we hauled back to Philly. It was totally free in exchange for just getting it out of the previous owner’s garage!

It's incredible how resourceful he's been in building his "XBar." What’s even more fascinating is that he's built a career without ever working a traditional bar shift. I wanted to hear his perspective on the unique advantages and disadvantages of this digital-first approach.

Q: You've truly forged a new path. What do you see as the biggest pros and cons of being a "digital mixologist" who connects with a community through a screen rather than across a physical bar?

Cameron: In terms of my personal growth as a cocktail mixologist, I think the biggest advantage is being able to learn from my global community (including the livestreams, the comments section, and our community server). I’ve gotten to learn about spirits, drinks, and recipes from viewers all over the world. It supplements the personal research I already do on local ingredients, methods, and combinations. Even better, I get to explore the ingredients I already have based on their input. I give viewers of the livestream the ability to “order” a drink on stream, and I’ll mix it and give it a try. I get to consistently try combinations that are completely unique based on their input. It’s hard to keep track of all the learnings sometimes! The biggest downside I feel is that unlike a real-life bartender who can engage with guests one-on-one across a bar, my interactions are mostly one-to-many in a virtual space. Sure, I’ve been able to chat with and hold conversations with dozens of viewers, but I know there are many more that I’ll never get the chance to interact with directly. Sometimes it’s just because there’s so much happening in the chat during a livestream and I simply can’t focus on everyone at once. Another downside is that I’m my own barback, dishwasher, and prep team all rolled into one. I’m definitely not the only person who operates in this capacity, but at least in my case I’ll never have to chase down a guest who forgot their credit card. If it’s my own card sitting in front of the camera, that probably means I’ve got bigger problems to solve.

Q: Beyond the sheer joy of crafting drinks, what's the most surprising lesson you've learned about hospitality from building and engaging with your online community?

Cameron: When I started being a creator, I remember making a community space for me. It was a place where I could share my content, my learnings, and mostly anything that I wanted. As I started getting more serious about content, I knew I needed to shift the focus from “me” to “them.” Most of my knowledge on hospitality comes from stories shared online, the occasional book on the subject, or my seldom visits to restaurants and bars.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that folks want to feel important and comfortable. And that applies to me too! Somehow it was a revelation that in order to build a community I had to take those concepts of personalization and comfort that the best hospitable organizations embody and bring them to my online “bar.” I’m still figuring out how to do it right, but things like inviting viewers into my workshopping process, letting them choose the ingredients in a drink, and letting them pick what comes next are just a few things I’ve started doing to make it happen.

The Creative Process: From Game to Glass

The creativity Cameron brings to his craft is undeniably one of his trademarks, particularly how he draws inspiration from pop culture. I was keen to understand his intricate process of translating abstract ideas into tangible drinks.

Q: Your content is famously inspired by video games and pop culture. How do you go about translating a character, a concept, or a game's aesthetic into a cocktail?

Cameron: It really depends! It’d be easy if there were a consistent way to personify a “drinkspiration” (as I like to call them) into a finished beverage, but every idea comes together differently. My general approach starts with making sure the inspiration flows from the concept to the drink, not the other way around. I see plenty of recipes that try to rationalize an ingredient into a character, and it typically feels forced. Take gin, for example. You could call it an “adventurous” spirit and use it for Jane Doe, the explorer. But plenty of spirits could be considered adventurous depending on the story you want to tell. Maybe Jane Doe keeps vodka in her canteen as a pick‑me‑up, or to disinfect a wound. Suddenly, vodka is adventurous too and perhaps more thematically accurate for the character! Sometimes working in this way means leaning into appearance, but I try not to stop at just color. Sure, a blue curaçao cocktail will be blue, but does that adequately personify Squirtle from Pokémon, Sub-Zero from Mortal Kombat, and Sonic the Hedgehog? Not uniquely, I'd say.

When I need to look deeper than appearance, I’ll tap into a set of motifs I’ve been building out, "cheat codes" if you will. Take Princess Peach, for example. Her name implies peaches as an ingredient, but why stop there? Swapping in champagne transforms a Kir into a Kir Royale. Champagne ties neatly to a "royalty" motif, and Princess Peach is royalty. A character’s abilities might point toward flavors or techniques, and specific in-world flora can map to real-world ingredients. In some games, Princess Peach can pull turnips out of the ground! Who’s ever thought of a turnip peach bellini? These are just a few examples of how traits can be translated, but there are countless other ways to map aspects of a character or concept to choices in a drink’s flavor, ingredients, or preparation.

That idea of diving at least one level deeper, and treating a concept as being as nuanced as a cocktail, is what I think separates a faithful personification from something that only looks the part.

Q: That’s incredibly detailed! With so many layers to consider, can you walk us through your full creative process, from a new idea like that all the way to a finished, published video? What are the key stages you go through?

Cameron: I’ll try! Expanding on my last answer, I’ll start by mapping aspects about a concept to a theoretical drink idea, forming certain “rules.” Then I’ll fit those rules to form something I can actually create and adjust the recipe along the way. To give an example, I’m working on a recipe inspired by Tails the Fox from Sonic the Hedgehog! Things I know about Tails include his favorite food being mint candy, his yellow-orange and white appearance, his iconic two tails, and his ingenuity as an inventor.

First, I think about how to use mint, and the first idea that comes to mind is a mojito. I know of other recipes too, but I can’t pass up the chance to make a mojito-Tails mocktail called Tails the “Faux”-jito. I’ll admit it, puns in drinks are one of my cheat codes! The highball style of drink, bubbly and lower in ABV, feels like a natural match for Tails' personality.

For his appearance, I picture the drink in a tall glass with two opaque layers, one orange and one white. For the garnish, I use two orange peels shaped like his tails, trimming them so a bit of white pith shows next to the bright rind.

At this point, I need to actually implement the recipe and refine the specifics of the ingredients. I’d take a tip out of Tails’ notebook and try to incorporate some technology into the minty part of the drink. Sure, I could just combine crème de menthe and some cream liqueur together, but I might specifically use an iSi whipper or sous vide to add that bit of inventive flair to the preparation.

Most of my effort happens during the workshopping phase, where I focus on locking in how to prepare ingredients, balance their ratios, and catalog the process in the form of a blog post. By the end of that phase, I will have a recipe ready for its live debut. Since most of my content is livestream-first, I’ll save the recipe for a day when I’m playing a Sonic game. I start the stream by showing everyone how to make the drink and sharing quick notes on my process, then sip on it while I jump into gameplay.

After the stream ends, it’s about editing that segment, baking the recipe steps into the video, and publishing it across socials, giving the drink a life beyond the livestream and a chance to inspire future creations.

Q: That sounds like a rigorous and incredibly fun process! With so much experimentation involved, what’s the most challenging cocktail you’ve ever created for your channel, and why?

Cameron: I wouldn’t say there’s one particular recipe that takes the cake as the hardest. I’m still early in my mixology career, so every drink brings its own challenge, sometimes intentionally! When working on a particular series of drinks, I used it as my first time playing with sous vide infusions. My first batch of peach-infused spirit came out rancid, and I tried clarifying with milk to fix it, only for it to get worse. I pitched that batch completely and started anew.

A concept I was working on specifically required a transparent white chocolate-flavored spirit, and I had minor success creating a perfect vodka infusion with a combination of freezing and clarification techniques. I got it to filter clear after two weeks, but the yield was really low. I've tried three times since then to create more, but haven't been able to successfully replicate the process. Recently, I’ve been challenging myself to use more fresh ingredients, and I can’t even articulate all the ways to make a fruit syrup. Each fruit is a bit different, and a method to make a syrup with one (say, juicing some blackberries and adjusting the sugar) won’t necessarily work with another (like figs, which instantly become purée).

It seems that I'm facing new challenges with every drink I make, but I honestly prefer it that way. I love a good challenge, and I find that it helps me learn a lot faster by treading into unknown territory more rapidly.

Q: That dedication to continuous learning is inspiring. You're known for your cinematic and polished videos, which is no small feat for a home-based creator. What's one piece of advice you would give to someone who wants to improve the quality of their home-based video production on a limited budget?

Cameron: I'd say keep your eyes open for upgrades wherever you are, but if a suitable improvement isn’t in budget, work with what you’ve got. Repurposing what you already own can go a long way. When I was working as an engineer, our team scrapped a project that used Bluetooth smart bulbs. I asked if I could have them, and no one minded. With the extra lights, I set up a 3-point lighting rig and even duct-taped one to my window sill. Later, I connected with a coworker who did photography on the side. He taught me some basic terminology, which helped me search for better gear. Eventually, he sold me some of his studio lights at a friendly discount, complete with stands, so no more tape needed. And that original fixture on the windowsill? Still shining away.

Also, looking at what other creators were doing also revealed some practical upgrades. Many cocktail creators used multiple camera angles. Buying another camcorder wasn’t an affordable option, but I had an old Android phone laying around. All it took was one app to convert it to a webcam, instantly adding a second angle to my livestreams.

The more you practice with any tool, the better you’ll understand how it works and where it falls short. Inspiration can come from anywhere, even from the tools and circumstances you already have right in front of you.

Community, Trends, and The Future of the Home Bar

Cameron's insights into home bartending and community building are invaluable for anyone looking to follow a similar path or simply elevate their home bar.

Q: That’s brilliant advice for maximizing resources! What do you think is the biggest misconception about home bartending, and what's one piece of advice you'd give to someone who wants to start their own mixology journey from their kitchen?

Cameron: I feel like the biggest misconception is that one needs to have anything to be a home bartender. There are so many guides, books, and blogs about what bottles or equipment you “need” to get started. I believe everyone already has at least one thing they can use to begin learning the basics. Got a water bottle? Try getting a feel for shaking by throwing some ice and water in there. Want to practice balancing? Grab your favorite tart fruit juice and add sugar until your lips don’t pucker anymore. Is the juice sweet? Add lemon or lime juice until it shifts. Use tablespoons to measure ingredients, make syrups by covering anything with sugar (bonus points if you have a scale), or start a cocktail journal by writing down notes (taste, color, recipe) on Post-its. The equipment and bottles can come later.

Use what you’ve got to make a drink today: water, coffee, tea, or whatever spirit you have on hand. Proper equipment and a versatile collection of ingredients certainly help, but you don’t need bartending gear to channel that mixological energy.

I’m sure that coffee and tea fanatics are already experimenting in the same way: adjusting brew times, tinkering with temperatures, and balancing flavors. Maybe that’s more home mixologist than home bartender, but that’s my angle.

Overall, if I had to give one piece of advice, I’d say take stock of what you already have and start there!

Q: That really democratizes the whole process! How do you balance the desires of your community (like requests for specific cocktails) with your own creative vision and what you want to explore next?

Cameron: Honestly, that’s something I’m still trying to figure out! Since the show began, I’ve restructured it a few times to bring in more interactive elements. Primarily this has been cocktail requests from chat and the community-driven infinity bottle project. Adding those features meant more editing for socials, which left me with less time to create my own recipes. I’ve experimented with different approaches to reclaim that time. For a while, my plan was to let a game “sit in residency”: I’d play it for a long stretch, study it, and build cocktails inspired only by that series. Eventually, I hit a serious mixologist’s block with that strategy. So now I’ve taken a broader approach: if I want to play a game, I start working on drinks for it first. That way, the game itself becomes the reward for developing a recipe.

Even that has had its pitfalls. I’m still relatively new to the drink world, and I want each of my recipes to be “good” or at least an improvement on the last. That’s still stressful to manage while balancing the demands of a weekly show. I could hire an editor, but I took the dive into content before it could pay bills on its own. So what now?

When I can’t focus on a personal recipe goal that I can pursue creatively, I shift toward another goal more passively. The balance point is doing something for both me and the audience. I’m fortunate to have a growing community of mixological thinkers. I’ve become more transparent about how I develop drinks and invited them to share their own inspired creations too. Even if I don’t have a recipe of my own, I can feature one of theirs, and together we push the conversation forward on what inspired cocktails can be.

Q: Many aspiring creators look to your success for inspiration, especially those working from home. What's one piece of advice you wish you had received when you were first starting out as a content creator?

Cameron: I grew up in an era where people seemed to become “famous” overnight on social media. I believe a lot of people are under the impression that content creation can be an easy job, and although that might be the case for the lucky few, it certainly isn’t for me.

I wish someone had told me earlier that this was worthy of being a full-time job. Don’t get me wrong, I never thought mixing a drink at my desk would make me an overnight sensation, and I actually like how busy content creation keeps me. I just wish I had known that when I was still in grade school. Aside from making an account on Snapchat and Instagram, I didn’t really learn how to create content until much later. I didn’t start learning video and photography work until after I had already earned my engineering degrees. I might have been able to save myself the rough year of self-teaching editing if I had gone to school for film, media arts, or even hospitality.

Q: The F&B industry is evolving rapidly. Is there a trend in spirits or cocktail culture you're particularly excited about right now, and one that you think is overhyped?

Cameron: I'm super excited about non-alcoholic drink culture right now! So many bars have already hopped on the bandwagon, and more are coming around all the time.

My opinion is that drink culture can be for everyone. If you’ve got something that keeps you from booze, whether that’s medication, self-control, or just a general preference, I think it’s up to bars and bartenders to accommodate you so you can still enjoy the experience.

I honestly love the idea that everyone has a seat at the bar. I drink alcohol, but many of my closest friends do not. I don't want them to feel like they can’t raise a glass with me just because it doesn’t have alcohol. On one side, I think gatekeeping cocktail culture just for alcohol imbibers is lame. On the other side, I think it's harder to make a damn good mocktail! It’s time we let the challenge of making drinks that everyone can enjoy rest in the hands of the bartenders and mixologists who care. What’s overhyped? I think the idea of a “low-calorie” cocktail. I don’t really understand the idea of ordering a vodka soda because you think it’s going to be fewer calories. Sure, it’s less sugar, but alcohol itself has calories. Also, I’m just personally not a fan of non-caloric sweeteners. I’ll accept the calories, along with the implication that I’m going to have to re-establish my workout routine!

Q: You've mentioned to me that one of your favorite spirits is Amaro Montenegro. Is there a specific memory or moment that made you fall in love with that specific Amari?

Cameron: I took a business trip to Las Vegas while I was still working as an engineer, and I remember ordering my first Black Manhattan at a hotel bar (though I can’t recall which one). I was given the choice of two Amari, and I picked Amaro Montenegro. I don’t even remember if it tasted that good, but I do remember the feeling of being able to choose my own adventure at a cocktail bar where I hadn’t had that option before.

Eventually I bought a bottle for myself and fell in love with the flavor profile. I’ve always been a fan of bitter things, so I naturally gravitated toward amari as a category, but Amaro Montenegro has never tasted bad in anything I’ve mixed with it. I’m probably just biased, but at this point it’s become a running joke on the show that I get excited any time it’s mentioned. A vicious cycle for sure, but a delicious one.

Q: That’s a perfect story for a cherished spirit! Finally, given your success in creating a "third place" at home, how do you see the role of the "home bartender" changing in the coming years, especially as more people have embraced it?

Cameron: Are you familiar with the concept of the “third place”? I honestly don’t go out as much as I could, and the third place is supposed to be somewhere that isn’t your home or your workplace. When COVID happened and everyone’s third places all but closed, we had no choice but to essentially collapse all of our “places” into our home. If what we crave as a social species is that hospitable experience at third places, like the bar, then I think the role of the “home bartender,” broadly speaking, is to bring that “third place” feeling, a sense of separation and comfort at the same time, into the home. I know it sounds a bit philosophical, but with more and more folks working from home, I feel that the home is evolving to be even more versatile than it is right now. I’m biased because my home, workplace, and third place are all confined to a small Philly apartment, but I think that same concept of “going out” can be captured, even just a little, in one’s own home (or on their small Twitch stream).

Q: With all you’ve built and the passion you clearly have, what is your ultimate career goal for the future?

Cameron: I've got a quote from a video game that I try to live by: "Time to mix drinks and change lives," spoken by protagonist Jill Stingray in the cyberpunk bartending action visual novel game VA-11 Hall-A.

Although in the game it’s said rather ironically, I take it as a genuine goal. I have a passion for mixology, and I want to keep advancing both the craft and my own understanding of it.

Alongside this, I don’t want to do it alone. I also love teaching others about mixology, and inviting them into my own learnings along the way. In that sense, I aspire to make the craft more accessible for anyone who wants to pursue it, encouraging them to mix the drinks themselves and carry the "changing lives" spirit into their own hands. Based on some small conversations over the last few years, I think I’ve already been making progress toward my goal. Right now, that means becoming better at mixing drinks, growing the community to increase the number of lives impacted, and committing to more charitable endeavors to maximize the magnitude of that change.

Q: That’s a truly inspiring mission. Finally, you mentioned your “community-driven infinity bottle project” earlier. Can you tell us more about it? What exactly is it, and what made you start it?

Cameron: Once upon a time, I learned about whiskey infinity bottles. Basically, you take the remnants of your whiskeys (or other spirits) and put them together. A bunch of nearly empty bottles can become one full bottle of a custom blend.

I had my own infinity whiskey bottle that I pulled from every once in a while. One day I had a guest at my XBar studio, and I made a cocktail for them using the contents of that bottle. I told them a little about the blend and offered them the chance to pick what went into it next. Unlike some folks who start with an empty bottle, mine began as a full one.

I had rather dubiously said that it was a “whiskey” infinity bottle, so any whiskey could be used to refill it. They chose a candy apple flavored whiskey! I’ve got mixed feelings about that bottle now and haven’t used it much since, probably more as a commitment to the bit.

Even so, that moment made me wonder: what if I gave my guests their own bottle so nobody would mess with mine again? Naturally, I extended the offer to my virtual guests of the XBar and presented it to them as a gift for the holidays at the end of 2024.

As of this writing, it’s a fractional blend of about 60 spirits ranging from rums, gins, and whiskeys to fruit liqueurs, amari, herbal liqueurs, and various savory-flavored vodkas. I give my audience a growing number of options for what to add next, and once per stream we open the bottle, make a drink with it, then fill it back up with the next ingredient. I see it as a way to refine my palate, but it’s also a little piece of chaos in the live show that keeps even me on my toes!