Stories about drinks – where they come from, why they work, and how to make them
The first Christmas that I spent at my in-laws after getting into making drinks was my first introduction to kirsch. This German spirit is included in many of my mother-in-law’s Christmas cookies (which all come from her mother), so there’s always a bottle around. She asked me if I knew what else we could do … Read more
When we moved into our new house, I was really excited that we had healthy citrus trees. I had spent enough time here in the past several years to know that backyard citrus was the real deal, and my dad has always told me stories of snacking from the trees on his walks home growing … Read more
Pommeau is so intriguing to me, mostly because there’s not much like it out there in general, especially not associated with apples. But to understand pommeau at all, you need to understand brandy first. Basics of Brandy Brandy is just a category of spirit that’s created by distilling wine that’s already been fermented. Often, that’s … Read more
Summer is cherry season in Washington State. You can’t go anywhere that sells produce and avoid being bombarded with Bings and Rainiers (which have reached official cult status). We had cherries growing at our house most summers growing up, and I liked them, but the cherries up here are really incredible. For whatever reason, though, … Read more
Winter was all about citrus and managing acid. Spring was all about bitter roots and herbs. We’ve had 6 months of intense flavors, but now summer is all about fresh fruit. Melon, berries, stone fruit (or drupe if you want to get fancy) – bright colors, sweet flavors, right from the farm. I grew up … Read more
The first time I saw alocholic felernum in a liquor store (only about 3 months ago), I was really confused. I had always thought it was a basic Carribean syrup like orgeat. Turns out, I was right – it’s both! For the purposes of this blog, I’ll be talking about the boozy version because I … Read more
I’ve mentioned amaro in (I think) at least half of the posts on this blog in some form or fashion (and even more on Instagram). Usually, that’s been Campari and (more recently) Cynar. But, it’s a massive, ill-defined category that I want to have a much better understanding of despite starting to try more in … Read more
I’m watching the Masters, so a dad joke in the title felt seasonal. Get it? Cynar, artichokes, choke, chalk… Anyways, as I mentioned, Spring is all about growing things, but not much is actually ready to eat yet. Artichokes are an exception; these thistles are best in April, and right around now you’ll see them … Read more
The Fruit I don’t remember knowing winter citrus was a thing until our first winter in Seattle. We lived right by a fancy coop that we used for fill-in grocery shopping. I ran in on a random weekday evening and came out with (probably) $40 worth of citrus I had never even seen before. They … Read more
Vermouth gets a bad rap. It seems like most people, and a good number of bars, keep it around as a necessary evil. If it’s in your kitchen, it’s most likely there for cooking and it’s been open for months on the counter. This is a travesty. Vermouth is amazing and deserves some more respect. … Read more