I recently finished The Forgotten Sense: The New Science of Smell—and the Extraordinary Power of the Nose It’s a look at the forgotten importance of our sense of smell, an appreciation for it in a visual world, and mostly a readable narrative look at the modern science of smell, including... Read more →
These are some of my favorite cocktails and spirits books I read in 2024. Several of them I blurbed for their authors. There are few more books that were published this year that I haven't read yet, so maybe they'll get on next year's list. My 2023 Best Of List... Read more →
This is a video about "ice spikes" that form in the freezer, and as explained it does so due to the expansion of water when it freezes. He is talking about ice forming in a standard ice cube tray but those of us who make clear ice cubes in trays... Read more →
Since 2009 I have been weighing liquor bottles before recycling them. I was up to 1226 bottles weighed and decided it was about time for me to analyze the data. At the bottom of the post I'll include a link to my spreadsheets. Note that I dated when I weighed... Read more →
I have done a good deal of research into the history of plant-based medicines that eventually made their way into spirits and cocktails, like cinchona bark in tonic water, wormwood in absinthe, gentian in bitter amaro, and more. So I had great interest in the forthcoming The Plant Hunter by... Read more →
I've heard authors saying the "due to supply chain issues" you should buy any books you plan on purchasing as holiday gifts super early this year. You have been notified! Last month I posted 22 books released in October. Well, this month there are 32 more! Mostly I cover cocktails... Read more →
I wrote a story, my first for AlcoholProfessor.com, about Glyph "molecular spirit" that's meant to taste like aged whiskey without the barrel aging. One great thing about writing for this website is that writers have permission to repost the story on our own websites after 30 days as long as... Read more →
Just yesterday I gave a tasting of the bitter components found in Jagermeister and other bitter/sweet liqueurs. In my introduction I have everyone taste a sample of aloin, a compound from aloe that is extremely bitter and used in fernets in particular. However, not everyone can taste it, as I... Read more →