This is one of my new favorite drinks. I got it from a beautiful new cocktail book called Vintage Cocktails, by the folks at the Bellmans Bar at the Carlylse Hotel in New York. The Bellmans is a magical place, like walking into a movie set / time machine. Entirely candlelit, with [...]

I first had one of these at the Bourbon and Branch in San Francisco. Nestled in the posh Tenderloin district (posh being a relative status – say when compared to certain neighborhoods of Lagos or San Salvador), it’s a speakeasy in the truest sense. There’s no sign, and you need a [...]

During winter-time as a kid, there was one hot drink that I could make for myself after suffering near-forstbite from playing outside. It was called “russian tea” and it was a blend of instant iced tea mix, ground cloves and allspice, tang, and powdered lemonade. Dissolved in hot water, it made a delicious [...]

Far less sinister than it sounds – this name conjures images of a smoking clay jar of bootleg mescal, leaded gasoline and dysentery. At least, that’s what I pictured when I saw the name while scanning Trader Vic’s 1947 Bartender’s Guide (a recent Amazon acquisition).
The reality is not so devilish, or really even Mexican. But [...]

Wisconsin summers are hardly notorious, except for their brevity. But keep in mind that, at least while I was growing up there, air conditioning was a rarity. So that week or two of 90° and high humidity can be pretty uncomfortable. Besides, after the long winter, 75°and sunny feels like Aruba.
A favorite drink of my [...]

“Because what I say is simple to understand and to do, there is no one able to understand or do it.” -Lao-tse, Tao Te Ching #70
The simplest things are the most difficult. When something has a dozen parts, you can break it down and make sense of it and believe that you understand it. But [...]

Someone once described my paternal grandfather as a man who made David Niven look shabby and ill-mannered. That is, he had an air of formal dignity that was, well.. old fashioned.
My grandparents lived in a huge house, whose sprawling carriage house, lawns and gardens occupied the whole city block. We lived across the street, in [...]

I was working for a little community newspaper in San Ignacio, Belize, when I picked up a copy of Raymond Chandler’s “The Long Goodbye” in a backpacker trade library. I doubt there is any write-up about the gin gimlet that doesn’t cite Chandler’s passage…
We sat in a corner of the bar at Victor’s and [...]