M. Carrie Allan of the Washington Post writes about the Hot Toddy, with a few quotes from me related to Doctors and Distillers. A hot toddy won’t cure your cold, but it will warm your spirits The hot toddy anecdote in his book calls to mind too many more recent... Read more →
I wrote a flavor trend story for Eater San Francisco. I really enjoy cocktails with sesame in them and recently I realized that there were tons of them all over the place. I stopped trying to find new ones after locating 14 different bars serving sesame in drinks, though I'm... Read more →
Lately I've been making designs on ice cubes using the Ice Designer tool or these Cookie Stamps. I even wrote a story about how Patterned Ice Conquered Drinkstagram. Well in my fairly regular perusal of Amazon for new ice stuff I came across these stamps that are used to impress... Read more →
These are drink books being released in the first three months of 2023. Links are to Amazon and I may earn a commission if you buy them. Cider: Understanding the world of natural, fine cider Whiskey Makers in Washington, D.C.: A Pre-Prohibition History Summer Sparklers: 60 Sunshine Cocktails for Spring... Read more →
As you know, I make ice in an insulated cooler in the process known as directional freezing first demonstrated here on Alcademics in 2009. Lately I've been playing with an ice sphere press to make super nice looking ice balls. But the problem is that the ice spheres are about... Read more →
For 7x7, I once again wrote my list of the 50 most iconic cocktails in the city. I've been doing this list since at least 2014! The introduction: At the start of 2022, many bars remained shell-shocked by the pandemic and were largely playing it safe; cocktail menus were limited... Read more →
You can make clear ice cubes in a tray in a cooler by punching holes in the bottom of each cube compartment and setting the tray on a riser. This is described here. Most commercial clear ice cube trays work similarly. But cubes are not the only shape of clear... Read more →
As you're probably aware, patterned ice is the new logo ice. You can make patterned ice with an ice designer ($160) or a meat tenderizer ($13), and recently I purchased some cookie stamps ($27) to give those a try. The round shape can be limiting, but they're pretty large and... Read more →
For my book Doctors and Distillers I referred to the Smithsonian's "Balm of America" collection of patent medicines. The collection is images of patent medicine bottles, pills, etc. I was just made aware of another patent medicine collection at NYU - and in this one you can spin the bottles... Read more →
I was thrilled to learn that the Mutter Museum will be discussing Doctors and Distillers in their new online book club on January 18th. Details are here! Read more →