Cynthia Mersten

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Location
Los Angeles, California
School
University of California of Los Angeles, School of Theatre, Film, and Television
Expertise
Wine and Cocktails, Researching Recipes, Celebrity Chefs
  • Cynthia is a Level One Sommelier.
  • She has experience interviewing a variety of interesting people affiliated with whiskey brands, including Scooby-Doo actor Matthew Lillard.
  • She once brewed a raspberry gose beer with Los Angeles-based Boomtown Brewery.

Experience

Cynthia's love of food, cocktails, and wine stems from a decade-long career as a spirits sales rep for some of the top restaurants in Los Angeles. In 2021, she founded Thurstqueen, an irreverent wine blog focused on value-driven wines from obscure regions, which helped launch her career as a wine writer for several smaller import companies. Cynthia worked as an editor at Bottle Raiders, a spirits media site, for two years before transitioning to a head editor position with whiskey critic Jay West — also known as T8ke. When she's not writing about wine and spirits, she's researching new restaurants in her hometown, cooking health-conscious meals, or experimenting with cocktail recipes at home.

Education

Cynthia has a bachelor's degree in Theatre from the University of California, Los Angeles' School of Theatre, Film and Television

Mashed Editorial Policies

Mashed’s industry-leading coverage is created by qualified and experienced writers, and is reviewed and fact-checked by our editorial team to ensure everything is accurate and timely. Outside experts are also consulted to help deliver factual, up-to-date information.

Our mission is to inform and engage our readers, telling them things they need to know, things they want to know, and things they didn't know they wanted to know about food. We strive to always provide a well-rounded reading experience, whether that’s the news of the day or a new original recipe you can try making at home. In an effort to provide the most comprehensive, current, and accurate content, our editorial team constantly reviews and updates articles as necessary. Additional information on our editorial process available here.

Stories By Cynthia Mersten

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