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This past week marked the 10th installment of New Orleans mixology orgy, Tales of the Cocktail. It is by far the largest celebration of cocktail culture in the country. Tales (as it called by ‘vets’) is a who’s who of bartenders, journalists and brands. It is a wonderland for up and coming barterers and enthusiasts.
We spent a whirl wind 72 hours in New Orleans, camping at the famed Roosevelt Hotel rather than Tales HQ, … Read more
The Wild Vine is a must read for any lover of American wine or what we like to call “weird varietals”. Weird varietals are obscure wines that are often made from indiginous grapes or hybrids. In this case, The Wild Vine chronicles the birth, growth and near death experience of Norton, a grape that its author calls the most American of grapes. As you learn in the book, it’s obscure, a hybrid and indiginous to … Read more
Poptails was made for this scorching summer heat! If you are wondering what poptails are, they are essentially popsicles made with booze. Yum! We received this book a few weeks ago and hadn’t gotten around to reviewing it. It’s hard to be excited about poptails when San Francisco has barely broken 70 this summer. However, we were inspired by the Oxley poptails that we had at the 2012 Tales of the Cocktail. As you can … Read more
I usually don’t recycle our Drink of the Week, but we figured once every 4 years is acceptable for honoring the opening of the Olympic Games. What can I say, this cocktail, aptly named “The Olympic” wins a gold medal every time!… Read more
In very quick succession a couple of months ago, Vegas hosted two of the biggest shows for liquor and liquor accessories in the biz: the Nightclub and Bar Show and the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America Show. Aside from some of the trends you would expect, a never-ending selection of new vodkas and white whiskey/moonshine (short story: I have a love-hate relationship with white whiskey, but they are getting better), one of the biggest … Read more
Today marks the final episode in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises. It sounds like this will be the darkest and most intense of the three movies. This is hard to imagine given the intensity of The Dark Knight. Try one of these tipples before or after the movie.… Read more
Summer is officially here, and one of the first things I reach for behind the bar is tequila. Whether you like to sip a nice aged anejo neat or prefer your tequila crystal clear and frozen in a margarita while at the beach, its definitely the spirit of summer. With so many brands to choose from, every little gimmick counts and so you may have noticed advertisements for 1800 Tequila in the past featuring Soprano’s … Read more
Tomorrow is Bastille Day! In honor of French Independence Day, this week’s drink is the Champagne Cocktail. The Champagne Cocktail combines two of France’s best contributions to the world of booze – Champagne and Cognac! While the recipe says that the Cognac is optional, it really isn’t. The drink is much better with Cognac, but seriously, what isn’t? So, raise a toast to the French – Viva La France!… Read more
With so many brands focused on adding flavors to their collections, we sometimes forget about “the original flavored spirit”. But Southern Comfort is ready to reclaim its title. Keeping it fresh and innovative is key in the spirits industry and so Southern Comfort has stepped up to the plate after releasing SoCo Lime in 2010, SoCo Fiery Pepper in 2011 and now its latest offering, SoCo Cherry. Southern Comfort was originally created by bartender Martin … Read more
July 10th marks Pina Colada Day! The Pina Colada is the perfect blend of pineapple, coconut cream, rum and ice! I have to admit that a virgin Pina Colada (without the rum) is pretty delicious as well. Thanks to some medical issues and crazy antibiotics, I was forced to drink virgin drinks on a recent vacation. The virgin Pina Colada was the best of the bunch. Given the heatwave sweeping America, a Pina Colada would … Read more