Stories about drinks – where they come from, why they work, and how to make them
I was in San Francisco last week for meetings, and you don’t know me if you didn’t expect me to hunt out a unique cocktail incorporating vermouth to write about. So I finished work, headed out into the smoke, and went hunting for a speakeasy. The Place Local Edition is (kind of) in SoMa. SoMa … Read more
The Manhattan is one of the more riff-able cocktails, and the Brooklyn may be my favorite riff. It take the Perfect Manhattan idea, but it replaces the sweet vermouth with maraschino, a cherry liqueur. Context I’m not entirely sure where the drink comes from (a lot of cocktails can be traced to a specific bar/bartender’s … Read more
I’m a sucker for a cocktail bar in the back of a no-longer-operating restaurant that still serves (what looked like) good Chinese food. If that bar happens to serve interesting cocktails incorporating seldom-used Asian ingredients, then I’m all in. That’s exactly what Dynasty Room in Seattle’s International District is, and it’s awesome. The Place A … Read more
Diwali was on Wednesday, and my wife and I went to a party with friends to celebrate. I don’t think I’d ever even heard of Diwali before college, and Indian food isn’t really my wheelhouse (I make pasta…), but I wanted to bring something. I found a drink that I thought had the right flavors … Read more
A few years ago, at the start of summer, my team at Amazon was going through a rough patch. Lots of people leaving, increasingly-challenging business problems, and the first real Prime Day to prep for. To boost morale, and keep myself sane, I started hosting a themed happy hour. This lasted through the summer but … Read more
How I came to love the negroni and learn how cocktails work. A discussion on the ingredients of this classic Italian drink and why it’s so delicious.