Here are the details on the Absolut SF flavors and campaign, from my story (no longer embargoed) in the SF Chroncle. It explains the seemingly random flavor choice and plans to work with artists and DJs for the launch. The story is here. Every year since 2007, Absolut has released... Read more →
Like any city, San Francisco is made up of many unique neighborhoods with people who self-identify to those particular neighborhoods. As we know, Absolut vodka has chosen San Francisco for the next city edition of the vodka: Absolut SF, but do its flavors of grape, dragon berry, and papaya really... Read more →
*Update* The full info on Absolut SF is here. The latest in the city series of Absolut Vodka is Absolut SF. The flavor is grape, dragon fruit, and papaya. (Photo: Russell Yip/SF Chronicle.) I was given the exclusive to write this first ever announcement in the San Francisco Chronicle on... Read more →
...cocktail snobs versus geeks, micro and macro trends in cocktails, what drinks win cocktail contests, why I'm not sick of speakeasies, and much, much more. Read this interview with me on Mix Pour Sip. Read more →
The new cocktail menu at the CBH Lounge and Bar at the Crescent Hotel in Beverly Hills will roll out on June 2. The bar at the Crescent Hotel in Beverly Hills was called Boe from 2003 up until this year, when they renamed and retooled the bar and terrace... Read more →
Here is the starter menu for the new Basque-influenced restaurant in San Francisco Txoko, in the former Enrico's space in North Beach. Picon Punch : Brinba Picon, Grenadine, Torres Brandy, Soda Water. Caliente Sunrise: Serrano Pepper infused Herradura Silver, Grenadine, Charged OrangeJuice. Rough and Tumble: Bols Genever, Dubonnet Rouge, Laird’s... Read more →
I was recently in London again, for two nights: one on either side of a trip to Tuscany with Bombaby Sapphire. In those two days I managed to visit the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel twice, Nightjar, and the brand new Worship Street Whistling Shop. Ahoy, Savoy! Yes, I... Read more →
For my book club I read the book Foreign Devils on the Silk Road by Peter Hopkirk. It's about European explorers finding and raiding the artwork of abandonded and sand-buried cities along the silk road. In a chapter on finding a hidden library of ancient scrolls at Tun-huang, the author... Read more →