In the early 1990s, when I was young and indestructible, on Thursday nights — and occasionally Wednesdays, and Tuesdays, sometimes on Fridays if we had a big enough group to take over the tables in the back but never, ever on Saturdays, when the weekend assholes were given rights to the place — it was… Continue Reading
The 25 Most Influential Cocktails of the Past Century
Drinks aren’t something you should get too sentimental about. Tastes change, products come and go, and that bright-pink thing you couldn’t get enough of last summer is now considered a punch line in every bar in town. Change happens, and over the past century change has happened in the drinks world more rapidly than ever.… Continue Reading
I’ve been doing this for five years? Really? Damn…..
Five years ago, more or less – not surprisingly, I’m running a few days behind on getting this post together – in a moment sparked almost equally by inspiration and boredom, I created a Blogspot account, typed up my musings on David Wondrich’s then-latest book (Killer Cocktails, at the time), and posted it online to… Continue Reading
MxMo Tom Waits — hold on, this’ll be interesting
For the third time this year, Mixology Monday is being hosted by a Seattle bartender with a blog — and for May’s event (which takes place May 24), it’s Andrew Bohrer at Caskstrength who’s up to bat, and Andrew has selected Tom Waits as the theme. I know, it stumped me too, at first. But… Continue Reading
MxMo Pain in the Ass: Coming to grips with the Singapore Sling
In the yellowing, broken-spine bible of classic cocktails, there are drinks I’ve come back to repeatedly over the years, both to savor for their enduring deliciousness and to appreciate as totems, mixing them from time to time if for no other reason than to remind myself of the fine use of mixological engineering that led… Continue Reading
