Jake Emen

Jake Emen is a nomadic travel, food and drinks journalist who spends his time on the road in search of the very best things to taste and try hidden across the planet. He has been published in outlets including AFAR, Barron's, Bloomberg, Conde Nast Traveler, Departures, Eater, Fodor's, Food & Wine, GQ, Imbibe, Maxim, Men's Health, Men's Journal, Roads & Kingdoms, Robb Report, SevenFifty Daily, Thrillist, Travel + Leisure, USA Today, Vice, VinePair, Whisky Advocate, Wine Enthusiast and a wide range of additional publications.

In addition to writing about luxury travel and adventure, Emen specializes in whiskey and cocktails. There's no destination too far-flung or street food too spicy for his tastes, and he's traveled full-time without a home base for more than five years. His writing has been nominated for awards from organizations such as the International Association of Culinary Professionals and Tales of the Cocktail.

Emen has notched every continent and has toured more than 150 distilleries across 35 countries, but otherwise doesn't know how many countries he's visited. He'll tally it up one day. He judges for several major international spirits and cocktail competitions, once won a Delta Milestone Award for spending entirely too much time in airplanes, and enjoys receiving painful traditional tattoos. Follow his latest adventures @ManTalkFood.

All Articles From Jake Emen
A temple in Bali, Indonesia, one of hundreds on the island

The Key to a Superior Bali Vacation: Don’t Mix Partying With Prayer

Instead of trying to do everything on the island, pick a locale and a lane, like so

Horses and riders ford a river at Paws Up, a ranch in Montana, one of the best luxury ranches in the U.S.

The 7 Best Luxury Ranch Resorts in the US

A Western vacation awaits, whether you want treehouses in Montana or 550,000 acres to explore in New Mexico

Goodfellas dinner scene

The Definitive Ranking of Every “Goodfellas” Food Scene

Featuring razor-sliced garlic, that famous stroll through the Copacabana kitchen and more sausages than you can count

A map of the islands Bora Bora and Taha'a in French Polynesia near Tahiti with photos of resorts in the area

The Sublime Ease of Island-Hopping Around Tahiti

Reason #1 to put it on your list: it's closer to the West Coast than Europe

A whiskey flight from High West Distillery at The Lodge at Blue Sky

High-End Hotels Around the World with a Spa That Serves Alcohol

Whiskey foot scrubs, beer baths and tequila massages are just the beginning

Vintage photos from Aruba in the 1980s on the left with photos from travel writer Jake Emen's trip to the Caribbean island from 2022 on the right

Not Your Grandparents' Aruba: A Modern Guide to the Island

Swap the Aruba Ariba and dated resort for ATV rides these contemporary hotels

The beach lounge at the METT Hotel in Bodrum, Turkey

Two Weeks in Turkey: Hotspots, Hidden Gems and Endless Kebabs

After crisscrossing the country, our writer offers recommendations from Istanbul to Bodrum and beyond

A rendering of the Spaceship Neptune capsule from space tourism company Space Perspective

The Start of Legitimate Space Tourism Companies Is Just Over the Horizon

Forget Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic, these are the futuristic travel companies to know

The rooftop pool at the Madrid Edition in Spain

The Hotel Hot List: Four Places to Stay Right Now

Destinations we've personally visited, and can vouch for, from Atlanta to Madrid

A train going around a curve over a bridge in Switzerland

The Best Way to Do the Swiss Alps? By Train in the Summertime.

Here's a first-class, four-stop itinerary that includes the "younger, sexier, more vivacious" St. Moritz

Cocktails from New Orleans bars The Elysian Bar and Jewel of the South, shot by writer Jake Emen

The Past, Present and Future of Cocktails Coexist in New Orleans

In this epicenter of imbibing, one writer drinks his way through a slew of bars both historic and pioneering

The copper pot stills at Roe & Co, a new distillery in Dublin that marks the Irish capital's distilling resurgence

The One-Time World Capital of Whiskey Is Booming Again

For decades there were no working distilleries in Dublin. Now, Ireland's comeback has officially arrived.

Writer Jake Emen's hand is seen in the photo holding up a bottle of Ardcore Scotch whisky in front of a building at the Ardbeg distillery on the island of Islay, Scotland

Inside Ardbeg Day, Where Scotch Is King and Tradition Is Moot

At Fèis Ìle, the world’s premier whisky gathering, one distillery stands out from the peated crowd

overstuffed suitcase on bed

How to Pack Like a Seasoned Pro for Super-Long Trips

Essential packing tips for living and traveling like a nomad

The view from the Girijaala Suite at Amagiri

Amangiri Resort: A Luxurious Retreat Awaits

A firsthand look at perhaps the most luxurious resort in all of North America

A Steinway piano designed by American artist Mark Bradford is among the piece on display in the lobby of Scotland's The Fife Arms

Travel Like an Art Connoisseur at 13 of the World’s Best Luxury Art Hotels

Ever stayed in a hotel with a Picasso in the lobby? Cause that's in here.