Here is the official list of the 2011 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards winners. 2011 Spirited Award Winners American Bartender of the Year Kenta Goto, New York City, New York (Tie) Sam Ross, New York City, New York (Tie) Best American Brand Ambassador Jacques Bezuidenhout, Partida Tequila Best American... Read more →
By far the most famous type of fernet is Fernet-Branca, but there are other fernets on the market. So what is fernet, generally speaking? (Thanks to commenter Scott who wrote in on the "Shhh It's a Secret" seminar at Tales of the Cocktail write-up for asking the question that I... Read more →
Below is the new menu for 1886 Bar at The Raymond in Los Angeles (Pasadena, really). (Photo courtesy of 1886) (If you see a link below, click it to read the menu.) 1886 Summer Cocktail Menu REGIONAL Zombie This drink’s first version was created at Don the Beachcomber of Hollywood... Read more →
I'm giving a talk geared toward restaurant owners at next week's SF Chefs Food Wine next week, along with H. of Elixir and Duggan of Cantina. It's a little bit freaky in this day and age to walk into a notable restaurant only to find they haven't bothered to put... Read more →
This is turning into a pretty good month. Alcademics was just given a Best of the Bay Award in the San Francisco Bay Guardian. BEST LIQUOR LOWDOWN Why is it that we like to read about food and drink so much on the Web? In no other Internet area, except... Read more →
I thought this was interesting enough to share: According to a press release I got from Yahoo! here are recent top drink searches. According to Yahoo!, Top Searched Summer-Inspired Alcoholic Drinks, past 30 days: Mojitos Margarita Budweiser Sangria Tequila Heineken Blue Moon Miller High Life Corona Pina Colada Mixed Drinks... Read more →
On Tuesday I got a preview of the drinks at Jasper's Corner Tap, opening Wednesday in San Francisco. The bar is headed up by Kevin Diedrich, most recently of The Burritt Room, but drinks on the menu also come from the other bartenders Brian MacGregor, Kimpton Hotel Group consultant Jacques... Read more →
For years, the only piscos available were the single-grape quebranta and the blended acholado, often with quebranta at its core. Now we can find all eight approved Peruvian pisco varietals and several different acholado blends. In my latest story for the San Francisco Chronicle I talk about the wide range... Read more →