I found myself planning a last minute trip into the depths of Washington DC this past Thursday. The last time I was in the city, I was but a wee pup, and the lures of spirit and food were but a flicker in my eye. Not this time, however. I fully intended [...]

Kaiser Penguin is hosting the next Mixology Monday, so get your entries in before March 17th! This round is devoted to cocktails that have a wee bit too much alcohol in them, yet somehow manage to be deliciously deadly.
Exotic cocktail spots would often advertise their potent potions by limiting a customer to [...]

I was nearly 100% sure I would find this cocktail foul and evil. I’ve never eaten an apple with licorice before. But I imagine if I smashed the two together in my hand, this is what it would smell like.
I took a quick photo-snap of what happened to be on my table at the [...]

Gin is finding its way into more and more cocktails as fall turns to winter, and absinthe isn’t far behind. The lonely bottle of falernum sits idly in the refrigerator, begging me to make another tiki drink, but I’ve found other uses for it …

Le Demon Vert

1 1/2oz gin (used Plymouth)
1/2oz absinthe (I used [...]

[ed. A question about green cocktails was posed during one of the panels at Rum Fest yesterday which just happened to coincide with Blog Action Day, so I've consulted our resident environmentally friendly forest creature and connoisseur of fine exotic cocktails, Adam. Adam provided the deliciously green photo above as well.]
Yesterday was Blog Action Day, [...]

I am totally amazed how the Test Pilot has evolved since my post about it over a year ago. The first time I made it, I used the following recipe:

Test Pilot

1/2oz lime juice
1/2oz falernum
1/2oz Cointreau
1 dash Angostura bitters
1/8t Pernod
3/4oz light Puerto Rican rum
1 1/2oz dark Jamaican rum

Blend with 1c crushed ice for 5 seconds, [...]

My goal this post is to motivate those of you who haven’t made falernum or cinnamon syrup to do so. Neither takes the obligatory month and a half like pimento dram. In fact, if you were to start a batch of each after work on Friday, you’d be sipping this cocktail Saturday evening.
Cinnamon [...]

Saturday Recap
12:01am - Gretchen and I were sitting in the lobby of Hotel Monteleone eating awesome pralines from the Southern Candy Makers. More importantly, there was a peanut butter-filled Ritz cracker sandwich coated entirely in bittersweet chocolate. Before long, Chuck and Wesley showed up and joined us in the comfy seats. The [...]

Cafe Du Monde and Some Liquor Finds
10:30am (now on Friday) - We found out the the Tales breakfast at Brennan’s was way over-RSVP’d and that if we hadn’t signed up, we should search elsewhere to soak up all the drinks from the previous night. A quick Google search revealed Cafe Du Monde. Their [...]

Oh, the Cocktail Hour
Tried so many things that I don’t have time to post about. Lucid absinthe is mild but very tasty. Off to Delachaise with Paul and Darcy for dinner!
Lost Ingredients - Live Blogging
4:15pm - The panel is over. Filled with strange liqueurs, I seek food before the cocktail hour, which [...]