spirits
A majority of the time, pre-Prohibition cocktail books are the research materials I use for creating new cocktails or when I'm looking to serve something new to my guests. They are some great sources for reprints of the old tomes. Probably the best would be Amazon or, my favorite, Cocktail Kingdom.…
We've already talked about making a proper Martini and if you've read that article, the recipe in today's article will look familiar. The Hanky Panky is almost identical to a martini made with sweet vermouth but with the addition of one extra ingredient. While the martini has its own history, the…
One of my favorite liqueurs is Chartreuse. The spicy, herbal, and sweet liquor has been produced by the Carthusian Monks in France since the early 1700's. The two most common types found in the liquor store is the Green or Yellow variety. The Green variety, arguably the most popular, comes in at…
Labor Day marks the unofficial end to the summer season. I'm guessing that's just because most people get a three-day weekend. But if your weather has been anything like our weather here in Virginia, summer is not going quietly into that dark night. It's felt mid-July rather than early-September…
When most people think of American spirits, the first thing to pop to mind is bourbon. In fact, the United States Congress passed a resolution in 1964 that stated bourbon was identifiable as a distinctly American spirit much like Scotch is distinctly identifiable with Scotland. However, in Colonial…
There's still a few good days left of summer so before the weather turns a few degrees cooler and the leaves begin changing colors, I wanted to invite everyone to get fresh!
When I was asked to contribute a weekly article on cocktails for the good folks of AARP, there was no doubt in my mind what the first article would cover. The Old Fashioned is one of my favorite cocktails. Unfortunately, most restaurants and bars, when tasked with serving one, give the customer a…
Booze. One of humanity's earliest culinary inventions and possibly one of the things that started agricultural civilization in the first place, alcohol has been with us for a long time. But we are still learning much about how it affects the body and about our consumption habits. In other words,…