Two At The Most

Another month, another Mixology Monday. This month is hosted by Craig at Tiki Drinks and Indigo Firmaments, who offers up the theme of Spice. For guidance, he tells us:
Spice should give you plenty of room to play - from the winter warmers of egg nog, wassail and mulled products to the strange and interesting infusions of pepper, ceubub, grains of paradise, nutmeg — what have you! I would … 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

It’s Mixology Monday again. This month, Doug Winship at the Pegu Blog has declared the theme to be “Made from Scratch.” We are to make at least one of our own ingredients and decide if it’s worth the effort.

I have written about Swedish Punsch before. This mix of Batavia arrack, neutral spirits, sugar, water, and various flavorings is common … Continue Reading

I love ginger. Ginger ale, ginger beer, gari, gingersnaps, gingered mashed potaotes, you name it, I will presume I’ll love it if it’s flavored with ginger.

Back in my homebrewing days, I flirted with making my own ginger beer, but never followed through. I did make my own ginger syrup, and found that when mixed with soda water, it make a very tasty, and very affordable, version of ginger beer.

After several recent Thursday Drink Nights featured high usage of ginger syrup, I realized it was time to try making some of my own again. Naturally I’ve lost … Continue Reading

When Kevin Kelpe at Save the Drinkers announced that August’s Mixology Monday would be about local flavor, I knew I’d have to come to terms with the blackberry, my great summertime foe.

In the Seattle area, we are overrun by the Himalayan wild blackberry, considered an invasive weed. When I ride in the summer, I wear chaps to protect my legs from the thorny vines I swear I can see growing, … Continue Reading

Vermouth can make a great replacement for wine in recipes.

One night we had no white wine in the house when Bryan went to make one of my favorite dishes, a chicken and garlic stew that calls for a hardy addition of white wine.

I did have plenty of white vermouth in the fridge, which he hit upon trying instead of beer, which is the usual go-to replacement. We really liked the result, so when he made it again last night, he replicated the experiment, again to our great delight. The broth came out really rich and flavorful.

This is a dish we … Continue Reading