Friday was a momentous day in the Bay Area — venerable spirits provider John Walker & Co. received their long-heralded shipment of Plymouth Sloe Gin. As many of you are no doubt aware, there has been a cruel lack of the spirit in the States. And yes, I am aware that Hiram Walker et al. […]

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 […]

The Opening Dinner and Meeting Everyone!
9:54pm - After countless emails and blog conversations with so many cocktail experts, I have never met even one of them in person. The opening ceremonies at Riche in Harrah’s Hotel changed all that. I met, in no particular order: Paul Clarke, Darcy O’Neil, Chuck Taggert, Jamie Boudreau, […]

I arrived home to find an Amazon box nestled lovingly up against my garage door, like it had found its true home. What occurred next was me moving faster than I have in probably two years. I grabbed a knife at random from the block and tore into the box with fevered intensity. […]

Gaze upon the words of Charles H. Baker, Jr. and be instantly transported to the high mountains of Luzon, the pre-prohibition days of New York, or to Jamaica where you’ll dine with a retired British army man named Wilson. It doesn’t matter where he takes you - it’s always interesting, and sometimes dangerous.
After reading […]

Beachbum Berry’s Grog Log continues to fill me with the lust of the tiki. And even though my epic quest to acquire demerara rum in Pennsylvania continues to thwart me in every direction (save one, which will not be spoken of), there are still many recipes that I can make from the wondrous tome.
I […]

When I began looking through my library for references to the Singapore Sling, it immediately became apparent that I could easily turn this article into a recipe comparison. The variety of recipes was astounding. So astounding, in fact, that I’ve decided to save the comparison for another time. Instead, I’d like to marvel at […]

The last bit of snow has melted, and the temperatures have begun their gradual climb into spring, where it will no doubt get cold and snow again. But in hopes that winter has finally averted its icy gaze, I have begun to stock up on rum. Just like food, cocktails seem to situate […]

I must say, I don’t think I’ve experienced better customer service from a company in a long while. My phone conversation went something like this.
“I don’t believe that your product is distributed to my area; is there a way I can still order some syrups?”
“Of course! We will gladly ship them directly to […]