Dale DeGroff released a new version of his 2002 book The Craft of the Cocktail as The New Craft of the Cocktail [Amazon] [Bookshop] this summer. If you have been in the game for a while, you probably have the first version too. And if you have both books, you... Read more →
A last blast of new booze books before the end of the year! As usual, the descriptions come from the publishers and are not reviews. How to Drink Like a Royal by Albert W. A. Schmid buy on: [Amazon][Bookshop] "Royalty." A single word that invokes daydreams of champagne, lavish lifestyles,... Read more →
I was a speaker on a panel for Tales of the Cocktail 2020 in which I said that we should be careful about bitters in non-alcoholic cocktails. In my experience, if you ask someone who orders a non-alcoholic cocktail if "a dash of alcohol is okay" to put bitters in... Read more →
I was emailing with Dale DeGroff about the new edition of his book The New Craft of the Cocktail: Everything You Need to Know to Think Like a Master Mixologist, with 500 Recipes and ice came up, as it does. It turns out he was using the big 1.25 inch... Read more →
It's a big batch of booze books for fall! As typical, there is a big rush of publications before the holiday season. I have another post going up in later November of some books not available just yet, and then I'll publish my annual list of all the booze books... Read more →
This isn't the first year I decided to freeze some goofy stuff in ice for Halloween. Remember that all the years of ice experiments can be found at the Index of Ice Experiments page. Some previous years I've done: Creepy Halloween Mask Frozen In Ice Blocks More Eyeball Ice Balls... Read more →
In October 2019, the New York Times posted a story, "Witches are Having Their Hour" that I thought was pretty odd. They followed it up with, "When Did Everybody Become a Witch?" I guess witches are happening, and as we know now, anything that's happening happens in cocktails too. A... Read more →
What a difference a few percent can make. Belvedere Vodka has released a new product called Heritage 176 that's not technically a vodka but it's this close. Labelled as "spirit drink" and described as a "vodka mixed with malted rye spirit," Heritage 176 is is a 100% rye product but... Read more →
Drinks International Magazine has announced the second year of their Bar World 100 list, and I'm on it for the second year. Last year I was 39, this year I'm 56, but the ranking doesn't matter- I'm just delighted to be included along with tons of friends and other people... Read more →
I was recently in touch with Top Note Tonic founders founders Mary Pellettieri and Noah Swanson about their new Club Soda that was created specifically for making highballs with whiskey. They went into the process with specific goals in mind to pair it with whiskey, researched styles of water and... Read more →