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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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. [...]

Last week I posted a note that I had gathered some fragrant plum blossoms and mountain laurel to make flower syrups. Well, they came out great! So now begins the great experiment – what to make from these? I’m trying to make a drink that captures the light, fresh floral aroma of these flowers. I [...]

My last house had a huge, unruly rosemary bush smack in the middle of the yard. I kept the grill and the chiminea close to it, so whenever they were hot the smell of rosemary filled the whole yard. I would take cuttings off of it for everything- cooking, decoration, drinks, you name it. For [...]

I love getting handmade foodstuffs as gifts. Write that down.
This Christmas, Karin gave us a homemade simple syrup with two fresh green bay leaves suspended in it. I was excited about this, because I had been thinking about culinary herbal flavors a lot. I was especially thinking about complimentary flavors for gin, and honestly bay [...]

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 [...]