Two At The Most

I’ve so convinced myself that I do not like the Bloody Mary that I was shocked when I took a sip of the first one I ever made, and…really liked it.

Bloody Mary

Bloody Mary

1.5 ounces vodka or gin
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
4 dashes Crystal hot sauce
2 dashes celery bitters
1/8 tsp horseradish
pinch salt and pepper
0.25  ounce lemon juice
4 ounces tomato juice

combine all ingredients in mixing glass, roll back and forth with a second mixing glass or metal half of Boston shaker until well … 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

Has this ever happened to you? You invent a new drink, and you think it’s the greatest thing ever. You sweat over a good name, you brag about it to all your friends. And then you forget about it. You remember a few months later, and try it again, and cannot imagine what lead you to think it was a great drink.

Campari Dolce

Happily, this is not the case with the Campari Dolce. I invented this drink at a … Continue Reading

I never get tired of mentioning that I first discovered pisco on a trip to Peru. It was also in Peru that I discovered my other love, Peruvian horses.

Imagine my delight when a bottle of BarSol Quebranta Pisco arrived for review. Not only was it a pisco, but it featured a logo of a Peruvian horse and rider, which gave me an excellent chance to … Continue Reading

Lo and behold, it’s another Mixology Monday! This 35th incarnation is being hosted by The Scribe at A Mixed Dram, and he bids us: Broaden Your Horizons. Try a new base spirit, a new technique, anything, just as long as it’s something new for you.

The Scribe is apparently precognitive, because the base spirit he gave as an example, tequila, is one that’s fairly foreign to me. Just last week I put up … Continue Reading

My initial association with the word Tuaca is a horse. Why someone named a Quarter Horse after an Italian liqueur, I’ll never know. I’ll admit I was surprised to discover the current owner of Tuaca the horse had never heard of Tuaca the liqueur. Then again, even though I had heard of it, I don’t think I’d ever tasted it until receiving a sample recently.

Tuaca claims to be the resurrection of a recipe initially created for Lorenzo de’Medici (1449 – 1492). Often called “the Magnificent,” he was the de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic, and remembered as a patron … Continue Reading

I have fond memories of witnessing a traditional Zen Buddhist tea ceremony at the Smithsonian Museum. We were given small sweets, and after the ceremony, a taste of the matcha tea. It was bitter and strong, not like any tea I had tasted before. I can still remember that taste today. Thus, when I read on the back of the Zen Green Tea Liqueur bottle I received that it used matcha tea, I was intrigued.

Matcha Cocktail

Bitter Apricot Cocktail

Every Thursday night, starting around 7 pm EST (00:00 GMT), we meet in the Mixolseum chat room and make up drinks. Usually we have a theme centered around an ingredient that we try to experiment with.

The theme for November 6 was gin. Participants were asked to find a gin they haven’t previously purchased.

This was a big challenge for me. I’ve made an effort to try as … Continue Reading