Two At The Most

It’s Mixology Monday yet again.1 This month is being hosted by Frederic & Co. over at Cocktail Virgin Slut, and our topic is tea. Fred’s instructions:
Find or concoct a drink recipe that uses tea or tisane (a herbal “tea” which lacks tea leaves) as an ingredient. This can be hot tea, cold tea, tea syrups, or infusions and use it … Continue Reading

Mixology Monday is here again, and this month is being hosted by one of my favorite Seattle bartenders, Kevin Langmack.1 Kevin has given us the theme of Money Drinks. We had two directions we could go. First:
A “Money” drink is something you can put in front of anyone, regardless … Continue Reading

I’ve been experimenting with cranberry relish recipes for well over a decade now, and have finally found one that works well for me. It has the advantage of being incredibly easy to make, and well, bourbon!

It’s best to make this the night before. If you do, I recommend that you first make yourself a bourbon old fashioned to really enjoy the beauty of the bourbon while you prepare the relish.

Bourboned Cranberry Relish

1 orange
1 lemon
1/2 cup bourbon (Bulleit is an excellent choice)
1/2 cup sugar
1 dash salt
1 dash fresh ground pepper
12 ounces fresh cranberries

zest orange and lemon. obtain 1/2 cup … Continue Reading

This week’s Thursday Drink Night promises to be a lot fun.

It’s sponsored by Crystal Head Vodka. Vodka may get a lot of derision from cocktail geeks, but it can present a true challenge when trying to create a well balanced cocktail. And, just in time for Halloween, it comes in a gorgeous bottle in the shape of a crystal skull!

Here in Seattle, we’ll … Continue Reading

Fall is closing in fast, but October refuses to leave until we honor it with a Mixology Monday. Over at Cocktailians, Vidiot is hosting a most excellent theme, Vermouth. He bids us:
Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to present a delectable vermouth cocktail for us all to drool over. Sweet/Italian or dry/French vermouth are fair game of course, as are quinquina, aperitif wines like Pineau des Charentes, or for … Continue Reading

I love Beefeater 24 Gin, and I love Bitter Truth bitters, so I was a bit bitter that I didn’t seem to have much of a chance to get my hands on my very own bottle of the Bitter Truth’s Beefeater 24 bitters.

Bitter Truth Beefeater 24 Bitters

That was until Michael Dietsch announced his “Don’t Be Bitter” contest over at A Dash of Bitters. All I have to do is give some link love to … Continue Reading

It may barely still be September, but it is definitely Monday, so it must be time for Mixology Monday! This month, we are hosted by the kind folk over at eGullet. Chris Amirault has chosen the topic of “Dizzy Dairy,” declaring:
Any drink using a dairy product is fair game: milk, cream, eggs, butter, cheese, yogurt, curds, you name it. Given the importance of dairy products in drinks dating back centuries, there are lots of … Continue Reading

The days are already noticeably shorter. It’s getting to the point where it is dark when I’m getting up. I wanted a nice summer drink to hang on to the seasonal feeling.

May Blossom Fizz

Barflies and Cocktails is still my go to recipe book. There I found the May Blossom Fizz. The recipe is written in the book as “1 teaspoonful of Grenadine, juice of half a Lemon, 1 glass of Cederland’s Swedish … Continue Reading

The following list comes to us from Bobby Heugel of Anvil Bar and Refuge in Houston. The List is one hundred “libations we feel you should try at least once in your life … for better or worse.”

By my count, I’ve already tried 83 of these, and will use this as a reference to try the other 17. It’s a very fine list. How many have you tried?

Here’s another drink I stumbled upon in Barflies and Cocktails.

Welcome Stranger

Welcome Stranger Cocktail

0.5 ounce gin
0.5 ounce brandy
0.5 ounce Swedish punsch
0.5 ounce lemon juice
0.5 ounce orange juice
0.5 ounce grenadine

Shake until good and cold, double strain into cocktail glass.

This was one of those recipes I couldn’t quite guess how it would taste, much less if I would like it. But it was invented by Harry McElhone himself, and the man who gave us the Monkey … Continue Reading