I’m constantly amazed at the food and drink entrepreneurs popping up around Austin. I know it’s not just here, lots of major and minor cities are hosting inventive food revolutions. It feels like an exciting time to be into food and drink, maybe more so than any recent time. And it will change, I’m certain, [...]

There is something elemental about deep, dark cherry juice. It has a heavy tannin taste that’s almost wine-like. I’ve made variations of several different cherry drinks over the years, mostly using Spanish Brandy. They’ve been good – not great, but good. The target has always been something that evokes a great red wine – something [...]

This isn’t a proper Rickey, but it’s delicious and I don’t know what else to call it. This was born from the fact that I had a lot of cherries that I needed to do something with.
In a lowball glass…
10 bing cherries (pitted)
1 lime
2 oz Vodka
3 oz ginger ale
Pit the cherries, quarter the lime, and [...]

Not much to pontificate on… this was leftover basil-infused Beefeaters gin, and it made a lovely martini that goes perfect with steak.
In a cocktail glass
3 oz basil-infused gin
.75  oz dry vermouth
Shake thoroughly with ice, garnish with basil flowers.
To infuse the gin, take about 6 medium sized basil leaves cut into strips (about .25″ wide) and [...]

The Strong One was the third and most popular of the signature drinks that I made for Jesse’s pastry party. It’s the flavors that are strong, not the alcohol content, which confused many of the guests. But the popularity was more due to the fact that the list of the ingredients for this drink just [...]

Gillian’s friend Jesse just returned from four months of pastry school, and to celebrate she threw a “Pastry Party”. Knowing that I always love the challenge of making new drinks to match the occasion, Jesse asked me to come up with something special. But when I saw the menu, I was overwhelmed – she [...]

This is one of the three drinks I made for Jesse’s Pastry Party to celebrate her graduation from Pastry School in San Francisco.
On its own, the name “The Weak One” makes little sense. It would be better to call it the Light One or the Fresh One, but those names don’t flow quite as well [...]

Well, it’s getting hot again, and the popular rotation of cocktails is shifting to the taller and weaker varieties. Especially after switching to a reel mower, I just can’t kick back in the hammock with a Manhattan like I used to. Light, refreshing drinks are the order of the day. So I thought I’d do [...]

I may be good at making drinks, but I am bad at naming them. So, apparently, is everybody else because I have yet to hear a good one for this drink.
I’m hesitant to even get into the story of how this drink came about. It was commissioned for an evening of watching the 90’s TV [...]

Back in September, Gillian and I found ourselves in Boston for a week on the company dime. Having lived in Boston for a few years, I’ve always said that it’s a better city to visit than to live in. Now I can add that it’s an even better city to visit with someone else’s money. [...]