Stories about drinks – where they come from, why they work, and how to make them
The Corpse Reviver #2 is the more popular of the two corpse reviver drinks that were created in the late 19th century. The drinks are extremely different, with #1 being a riff on a Manhattan and #2 being its own beast entirely. #2 is tailor-made for this blog because it combines vermouth and triple sec … Read more
Some cocktails take a lot of work. There can be juicing, shaking, stirring, and straining in even the most classic of recipes like the negroni or margarita. More intense drinks involve making custom syrups and infusions which take even more effort. And while I think the juice is usually worth the squeeze for these drinks, … Read more
I love being outside. Cycling, running, hiking, skiing, snowshoeing, kayaking, golf, I love it all. Get me out where nature is thick, people are sparse, and I’m breaking a sweat. But I also run a (mostly) cocktail blog, so I obviously love drinking as well. For a while, the only thing that really sounded good … Read more
The margarita is one of the most classic cocktails in existence. They can be expertly-crafted, intriguing libations. They can also be sickly-sweet frozen sludge that comes out of a machine somebody paid way too much money for based on an old song. (If we’re talking margarita songs, I prefer the one from Mas Ysa on … 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
Eggnog gets a terrible rap, which I’m pretty sure comes from bad experiences people have had with store-bought eggnog as a kid. My mom loved it, my dad hated it, it looked like straight milk so I never tried it. I didn’t have eggnog at all until 2 years ago when I has Sun Liquor’s … Read more
Once Thanksgiving is over, I expect to eat soup at least once a week until (probably) April. My wife loves soup all year, but especially when it’s cold. And she’s an amazing cook, so I can’t complain. She has a particular fondness for French Onion Soup (using the classic Julia Child recipe as a base). … Read more
Standing around the kitchen when we were in Denver for Thanksgiving, my sister-in-law asks me out of nowhere if I know anything about putting a raw egg in beer. At the time, I didn’t. My first thought was “like in Rocky?” but then I remembered that’s just a pure breakfast shake. I said then that … Read more
Infusions have gotten a bit of a bad name recently, mostly because of Fireball. People think that their own will taste like antifreeze, or that it’s difficult/time consuming to make so isn’t worth it. People are wrong on both counts; in reality, infusing your own booze is easy and delicious. It will also be a … Read more
I was gifted this book last Christmas by my brother-and-sister-in-law, and it’s one of the better gifts I received last year. Proof is an engaging read start to finish, full of fascinating characters, humorous vignettes, and random facts that are sure to come in handy when you decide to start your own cocktail blog. With … Read more