I needed new business cards for Tales of the Cocktail this year, and realizing that it was an opportunity to be remembered and redirect a boring conversation, I made these beauties on an Epilogue Laser, modeled after an old-school model airplane kit. It’s a first draft, more than final product, and I learned a few …
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BarSmarts Wired Is Free!
I’ve mentioned BarSmarts, but didn’t go into detail, however I have completed the course and found it enlightening. BarSmarts Wired is an online cocktail and spirits education program created by some of the biggest names in the business, and it is incredibly thorough, with superb content, expert-led videos, tests and a printable pdf manual that …
The Cheery Herring
I had forgotten all about this recipe, which I posted on nermo.com before I wrote (or knew) much about cocktails, until I got an email today from a gal at Al Gore’s office asking if he could use my red herring Illustration in some of his presentations on the environment. Permission granted and recipe reposted. …
Aromatic Garnish
Last week I attended a tasting for Bloom Gin, a floral London Dry from the world’s only female master gin distiller (update: or so they claim. See Chad’s comment below), which is about to launch in the US. Among a flight of cocktails, there was something simple yet remarkable. The Bloom G+T was garnished with …
Happy Bastille Day
The Bijou is a strong, herbaceous and decadent cocktail, which gets its name from the french word for jewel. It’s great to batch for your Bastille Day soiree, because all of the ingredients are shelf stable, so all you need to do at party time is measure three ounces over ice, stir and strain, or …
When Orange Rhymes with Boring: Limoncello
I was invited to join a bevy of bartenders yesterday at one of my favorite watering holes for limoncello cocktails made by two of the best local barmen. The key takeaway from this experience was that when you are looking for a little something different, limoncello can be substituted for citrus liqueurs such as tripel …
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Nocino Manhattan
A year ago, TSB and I ordered a crate of green walnuts to make nocino and vin de noix. A couple weeks ago, we finally strained the stuff and rebottled. While the vin de noix wasn’t thrilling, the nocino is a treat! You can do a little shot as a digestif, but we liked it better …
Bar Snack: Liptauer
Have I ever mentioned that I’ve mapped out the concept for my first cocktail bar? As incredibly pretentious as it sounds, the theme is Freudian, fin-de-siecle Vienna, but way more fun and playful than that makes it seem. I won’t get into it more than that, because I have surely horrified you, but one of …
Vice Cream: Monkey in a Barrel
My intern wanted to use my ice cream maker before she moved to LA, so we made a batch of banana vice cream with brown sugar and Smith and Cross aged rum. It is spectacular! Vice Cream: Monkey in a Barrel 3 medium, ripe bananas 1/3 cup packed brown sugar 1 ounce Smith and …
Homemade Bitters
I’m setting out to divine my own recipes for cocktail bitters, so the first logical step was to start with a standard, traditional recipe before branching out to make my own magical concoctions. I have plans for a batch of smoked lemon bitters, and maybe some barrel aged banana bitters for tropical tiki drinks, so …