The UBC just held an interesting contest, determining which spirits are best suited to making proper classic cocktails. I often find myself agonizing over which spirits to call when ordering, so this list might help in a pinch. There are some valuable lessons to be found within, like a $12 bottle of Polish vodka making …
Category Archives: Spirits
My St. George Article in Drink Me Magazine
My latest article for Drink Me Magazine is a profile of St. George Distillery in Alameda , CA. Download a pdf by clicking the page below. drinkmemag12
Breaking News: Chartreuse Solves Global Warming
Simple logic: 1. Global warming will kill us all unless we do something about it. 2.Cow flatulence is the greatest contributor to global warming, more than emissions from cars and human industry. 3. I’m sure as hell not giving up burgers and brisket, so let’s look at a more reasonable solution: Farmers in the mountains …
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Holiday Gift Guide 2010
1. Beefeater Winter is a limited edition gin available just in New York and San Francisco this holiday season. ($19) 2.Encanto, the handcrafted pisco conceived in San Francisco by a bartender, a sommelier and a Peruvian master distiller, just won the highest honor possible: the Gran Medalla de Oro, crowning it the best pisco in …
A Proper Margarita
As much preacher as teacher, Eric Rubin is the agave evangelist from Tres Agaves Tequila who ran our Nirvino cocktail education event last week on making a proper margarita. Conspicuously absent were the corn syrup, sugar cane spirits, sour mix and orange liqueur. Rubin promotes a margarita comprised simply of 100% agave tequila, fresh squeezed …
Toddy Water
It’s that time of year, when the leaves have fallen off the trees, you can see your breath, and there’s a nasty Rhinovirus in heavy circulation (don’t freak out, that’s just the common cold). We all deserve a hot toddy, but not everyone keeps the requisite cinnamon, citrus and spice in their kitchen, and nobody …
Green Mountain Breakfast
I’ll be heading to Burlington, Vermont in a few weeks. Since I never get to eat breakfast, and when I am back east, I never wake up before noon, because I don’t bother adjusting to Eastern Standard Time, this Green Mountain Breakfast might get me started on the right foot. Green Mountain Breakfast 1.5 ounces …
Fresh Pressed
Can someone explain why the swill they pass off as cider on the West Coast all tastes like the government issued apple juice served in public school cafeterias? Autumn always makes me crave the fresh cider pressed at Cold Hollow Cider Mill in Waterbury, Vermont. I wonder why they can’t reproduce it here in California, …
Laughter In The Dark
This is the cocktail I created for the BlogHer Food Petite Soiree. Laughter in the Dark 1.5 ounces DonQ Gold Rum .5 ounces hibiscus liqueur (recipe here) 2 ounces pineapple juice dash of Peychaud’s bitters juice of 1/2 lime Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a flamed orange …
March for Mezcal
One of the most successful events at Portland Cocktail Week was Friday’s March for Mezcal, sponsored by Ilegal Mezcal. I personally painted 92% of the signs for the protest that you will see in the pictures I took. I am particularly proud of my agave plant, the worm and “KEEP YOUR LAWS OFF MY LIQUOR!” …