Items of Interest

Gourmet has recipes for blue martini ice pops, strawberry margarita ice pops, and mango daiquiri ice pops.

Eric Felten traces the history of the Cape Cod cocktail, along with its derivatives the Sea Breeze and the Madras.

Colorado's Sunday alcohol sales ban law stopped this week. Congratulations!

A new book publisher, CocktailKingdom.com, has announced a ton of reprints of vintage cocktail books. I haven't seen the hard copies of the books yet, but the selection is marvelous.

Book Titles AVAILABLE NOW:

Bartender's Manual by Harry Johnson (an authentic reproduction of the 1900edition) with a new introduction by Robert Hess.

Modern Bartender's Guide by O.H. Byron (an authentic reproduction of the
1884 edition) with an introduction by Brian Rea.

American and Other Iced Drinks by Charlie Paul (an authentic reproduction
of the 1902 edition) with a new introduction by Dale DeGroff.

The Mixicologist by C.F. Lawlor (an authentic reproduction of the 1884
edition) with a new introduction by Ted "Dr. Cocktail" Haigh.

Barflies and Cocktail by Harry McElhone (an authentic reproduction of the
1927 edition) with a new introduction by David Wondrich.


AVAILABLE IN SEPTEMBER:

The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks by David A. Embury with new introductions by
Audrey Saunders and Robert Hess.

How to Mix Drinks; A Bon Vivant's Companion by Jerry Thomas (an authentic
reproduction of the 1862 edition) with a new introduction and appendix by
David Wondrich.

And introducing: The Essential Bartender's Guide by Robert Hess.

The second best press release of the day

I'm having trouble figuring out if this event is a celebration or a protest.

SALT LAKE CITY (April 30, 2008) – Impending changes in Utah’s liquor laws in Senate Bill 211 (SB211) will allow restaurants and private clubs to begin serving 1.5 ounces of primary alcohol in martinis and other single-liquor drinks on May 5, 2008. Club Bambara is marking the date by pouring Utah’s first 1.5 ounce martini, appropriately named the “SB211.”

SB211 eliminates sidecars, or separate shots of alcohol, in mixed drinks, but allows martinis and other single-liquor dinks to have a 1.5 ounce total alcohol content. Previous, if guests wanted more than an ounce in their martini, they had to order a sidecar and pour in the additional liquor themselves after their drink was concocted. “It makes such a huge difference in the integrity of a cocktail to be able to prepare it properly. All the ingredients should be created together for the best taste,” said Club Bambara’s master mixologist Austin Craig.

Wait...what!?! You used to be able to buy separate ingredients and mix your own drink in the glass, but now that's illegal and the compromise is that you can have a whole ounce and a half of one alcohol ingredient and no others? GEE THANKS, NOW IT SUCKS DIFFERENTLY.

On the other hand, master mixologist Austin Craig's job just got even easier.