In my latest story for Details.com (and my first one as official cocktail columnist for Details.com, hooray!) I write up 11 new bars opening within the next few months from around the country. The bars are: Melrose Umbrella Co., Los Angeles, California Sweetwater Social, New York, NY Jsix, San Diego,... Read more →
New Booze: Gran Patron Piedra Patrón Spirits announces the launch of the brand’s first extra añejo tequila. Like all Patrón tequilas, Gran Patrón Piedra starts with 100 percent Weber Blue agave grown in the Highlands of Jalisco, Mexico. For Gran Patrón Piedra, and its sister tequilas Gran Patrón Platinum and... Read more →
New Booze: Tincup American Whiskey Proximo announces the launch of Tincup American Whiskey. Created by Jess Graber, founder of Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey, Tincup is made from a blend of corn, rye and malt. Aged in new charred American white oak barrels, it is bottled at 84 proof in Colorado using... Read more →
October 2007: A magnificent trip to Paris and Warsaw ended with a sunny visit to the distillery where Chopin Vodka is made. Read more →
I'm reading a bunch of books on malaria and quinine to try to track down the true origins of the Gin & Tonic. The Fever: How Malaria Has Ruled Humankind for 500,000 Years by Sonia Shah is the most modern book I have that tackles the issue of malaria. The... Read more →
The first part of the book The Malaria Capers: Tales of Parasites and People by Robert S. Desowitz isn't about malaria at all but a similar disease kala azar. As my interest is in malaria (actually, quinine that treats malaria and ends up in tonic water), I skipped that whole... Read more →
2007 was undoubtedly the Year of the Muddler. Read more →
I'm reading a lot of books about malaria while researching quinine and tonic water. So far, none of them have included more than a single sentence about tonic water. That's a little bit frustrating. However, the story of the curse of malaria in world history, the discovery of a natural... Read more →