For rabid cocktail geeks such as myself—our bookshelves filled with yellowed old copies of Thomas, Boothby, Bergeron and Baker (and less-tattered though no-less-loved editions of Wondrich, Regan and Haigh); our kitchen cabinets sagging beneath bottles of assorted Italian bitters and an array of obscure liqueurs; our maddeningly circuitous internet debates about what makes a martini… Continue Reading
Yearly Archives: 2005
Summer Survival Kit Essential #2: the Gin Rickey
We each have our own personal heat misery index. Here in Seattle, it seems like most people have theirs tuned to around 85 degrees Fahrenheit–at least, that’s where the thermometer is hanging when you really start to hear the bitching. After seven years here, I’m becoming more susceptible to it myself. I’m forgetting how miserable… Continue Reading
Not Half Bad
I’ve been harsh to William Hamilton. The New York Times columnist who’s handled the “Shaken and Stirred” column since William Grimes gave it up a few years back, Hamilton is tasked with visiting some of the city’s newest and/or most happening bars, and reporting back on what’s being mixed. Too often, unfortunately, the drinks he… Continue Reading
That’s the Whiskey Talking: A Conversation with Fred Noe
Fred Noe’s first words to me are a rebuke, of sorts. “It’s Fred—’Mister’ is too stuffy,†he says as he saunters over and shakes my hand. Despite my initial misstep in calling him “Mr. Noe,†Frederick Booker Noe III is the very picture of good-natured amiability. With an accent that is pure Kentucky, a friendly… Continue Reading
No Corn. No Oil.
More fun with falernum. To give the sweetener a test-run in as near-pure a situation as possible, one of my first drinks is the Corn ‘n Oil–recipe kindly provided by Slakethirst. Corn ‘n Oil 1 ounce rum 1 ounce falernum 1 dash angostura bitters Stir with ice & strain into old-fashioned glass filled with crushed… Continue Reading
