Category Archives: Spirits

MxMoVII: Shaking Out the Summer

Thirty-some summers ago, when I was a kid taking swim lessons, I had a very rude experience, courtesy of the high-dive at my local pool. All that summer I’d been an enthusiastic swimmer, sticking my face under the surface, venturing into the deep end, and even getting past that natural animal fear of climbing up… Continue Reading

Cameron’s Kick

Remember the old saw about how, if you took a million monkeys and gave them each a typewriter, they’d eventually come up with the works of Shakespeare? Well edit “typewriter” to read “cocktail shaker,” and stick the monkeys in a well-stocked bar, and the banana-addled mixologists would come up with a Cameron’s Kick in about… Continue Reading

In a Fix

A new month, and a new issue of Imbibe magazine is out. Along with features about the drinks of Jamaica and 15 beverage innovators (and a nice quote by Darcy in the Distilled section, and a drink by Jamie Boudreau in the Uncorked section), and a piece about vermouth in the Elements department (there’s the… Continue Reading

All mimsy were the borogoves

Drambuie really needs to learn how to play nice. This Scotch-based liqueur, flavored with herbs and honey, is, in my estimation, one of the loveliest creations among the many bottles on the back bar. The liqueur is quite pleasant on its own, but perhaps due to the natural surliness of Scotch, or maybe the deep,… Continue Reading

Test Pilot

Pulling this drink out of the old reliable Beachbum Berry’s Grog Log, in pursuit of something in which to give the new falernum a spin — and given my purpose, could there be a more perfect name than the “Test Pilot”? I first tried this last week, and immediately became very fond of it. The… Continue Reading