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Bartenders Dosing Drinks with Acid (Phosphate)

My latest post for the Details.com Daily Blog is about acid phosphate and its popularity in cocktails.

I mention Darcy O'Neil's Fix the Pumps book, of course, as well as his line of acid phosphate and lactart.

I name-check a few bars serving acid phosphate drinks as well, including:

• The Ice Cream Bar in San Francisco
• The Franklin Fountain in Philadelphia
• Honor Kitchen & Cocktails in Emeryville
• Russell House in Cambridge, Mass
• Still & Stir in Worcester, Mass

Anyway, check out the post on acid phosphate over at Details.com! 

 

Japan in Oakland: UmamiMart, Whisky, and Ice

In the December issue of Oakland Magazine, I have a short piece about Japanese drinking culture in Oakland. 

The story is centered on UmamiMart, the online and brick-and-mortar shop selling Japanese bar (and kitchen) tools. 

I also mention big ice (of course) at places like Prizefighter, and Japanese whisky like Yamazaki, Hibiki, and Hakushu at the traditional Ippuku and at Acme bar. 

The magazine is available for reading in one of those online reader formats. The link is here and the story is on page 21-22. 

 

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If you like Japanese whisky and bars, here are some other blog posts I wrote about my trip to Japan last year. 

• Yamazaki distillery visit
• Hakushu distillery visit
• Highball bars in Japan
• Whisky Bars in Japan
• Cocktail Bars in Japan
• Miscellaneous other bars in Japan
• Some observations about drinking in Japan
• Japanese Whisky Primer 

Cocktail Trend Predictions for 2013 on the Details Blog

In my latest story for Details.com, I wrote a list of five trends for cocktails in 2013. 

The include low-alcohol cocktails, the butcher and bartender connection, carbonated cocktails, bulk cocktails (punches, bottles, and cocktails on tap), and new molecular techniques. 

Check it out!

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A Huge Interview with Camper English on Eater.com

I've got something to say! Apparently.

Eater.com did a big interview with me about the SF cocktail scene and now it has gone live.

I blab about everything from the lack of molecular mixology in San Francisco to the death of muddling to the rise of carbonated cocktails. It goes on and on.

 

Photo by Aubrie Pick www.aubriepick.com

 

You'll have to let me know, but I think I didn't make too much of an ass out of myself. Read the story here.

 

The Double Rainbow Cocktail in a New Recipe Book

In 2010 I created the Double Rainbow Cocktail, a simple drink I named after the YouTube video. It contains vodka, St. Germain elderflower liqueur, grapefruit bitters, and soda water, and has a lemon peel garnish. 

Anyway, now it's in a mini cocktail book called The Cocktail Hour: Vodka. 

It's a 3"x5" book of about 30 recipes plus a few infusions, with black and white illustrations. It's part of a series - there is a rum and a gin book too. 

Just thought I'd let you know. 

Leave Negroni Alone! (A Story on Details.com)

In my latest post for Details.com, I talk about the Negroni. That poor cocktail is less famous than the Martini and Manhattan, yet suffers more at the hand of bartenders.

"Everywhere you look, the Negroni is being deconstructed, smoked, solidified, gelatinized, flamed, dehydrated, foamed, carbonated, frozen, clarified, and subjected to other forms of mixological torture."

The story then goes on to describe some bars in which the Negroni is currently being tortured. 

Check it out on Details.com! 

 

Smoky Negroni at Hakkasan

 

A Quick Bit on Flips on Details.com

My most recent story for Details.com is about flips: drinks made with whole eggs.

In the piece I talk about silver and golden fizzes, noggs, and a few places to find flips around the country.

Go check it out!

 

World's 50 Best Bars 2012 from Drinks International Announced

Drinks International tonight announced the 2012 World's 50 Best Bars, based on a polling of hundreds of the best-traveled bartenders and brand ambassadors from around the world. 

This year, the top bars were:

1. Artesian, London
2. PDT, NYC
3. Nightjar, London
4. Connaught Bar, London
5. American Bar, London
6. Death & Co, NYC
7. The Baxter Inn, Sydney
8. 69 Colebrooke Row, London
9. Calooh Callay, London
10. Bramble, Edinburgh

The full list is here.

Funny thing, last year we were critized for so many bars on the list being in New York and London (see the comments and my post here), so we made sure to expand our survey to reach even more bartenders internationally. It turns out this actually reinforced those cities. 

Hopefully in coming days they'll list the voting panel. (I was one of the people who polled the bartenders.)

And for those reading the list in San Francisco: Last year Smuggler's Cove, Tommy's Mexican Restaurant, and Bar Agricole made the list. This year, just Smuggler's Cove made it, at a very respectable #24.