Yearly Archives: 2005

Thanks All

It’s the one time of year when a great bulk of the general population is actually thinking about booze and ways to mix it, and I’ve been sitting around for the past week, still groggy and sluggish from stuffing myself over the Christmas weekend, paying little attention to the world of cocktails.

Christmas PunchNot that I ignored them on the holiday, of course–a round of Stingers laid the groundwork for a Christmas Eve feast, with a nightcap of an Old Fashioned-type drink made of Weller Antique bourbon, sweetened with a few dashes of pimento dram and a homemade rum & vanilla liqueur I’ve been messing with lately (and with the amount of work and frustration that went into assembling the damn Playmobil knight’s castle “Santa” brought for my son, the nightcap was downright essential). Then, on Christmas Day, a batch of eggnog was on hand for when guests arrived–quite boozy, but pleasantly so, although I think I over-mixed the cream or egg whites, making it so thick that you nearly had to spoon it out of the cup–with a round of highly acclaimed Réveillon Cocktails as a Christmas dinner aperitif, and a flaming rum punch before pudding was served. A good time was had by all, at least those with cups in their hands.

Anyway, I didn’t think it proper to let the year end without passing along my gratitude to some of the folks who’ve stopped by the site and offered words of encouragement in the few months it’s been up and running. Thanks to those who’ve followed me over from the eGullet Fine Spirits and Cocktails forum, and from the Drinkboy forum, to see what’s going on in this little corner of the Web, and occasionally posting comments or sending me an e-mail on the side. I’m also flattered to find links to the site on several fine blogs, including Slakethirst, Chuck Taggart’s The Gumbo Pages and Martini Republic. Special thanks, too, to Ed Hamilton from the Ministry of Rum, who happened across the blog several months back and invited me to an event to learn more about Martinique rhum; to John Pyles, who’s perfecting a formula for falernum and who passed along a handful of recipes when I met him last week, that I’ll have to try in the days to come; to Ted Haigh, who graciously gave some of his valuable time to talk to me for an article I was writing, then stayed on the phone to answer some of my niggling questions about cocktails; and most especially to Ben, Kacy and Murray at Zig Zag Cafe, for putting up with yet another cocktail geek taking up space at the bar, and for having the patience to wrestle with the weird-ass drink recipes I bring in on occasion.

Thanks, everyone, for making this a pleasant venture for me these past few months. Happy New Year to you all, and best wishes for 2006.

Holiday Mixology

Just when I was wondering what kind of new, unheard-of concoction to mix up for guests on Christmas, Chuck Taggart posts a recipe for this intriguing new cocktail over at the Gumbo Pages. Réveillon Cocktail 2 ounces Laird’s Straight Apple Brandy (substitute Laird’s Applejack or your favorite Calvados). 1/2 ounce pear brandy (make sure it’s… Continue Reading

Hot and Cold

If you were to rank Yuletide peculiarities of otherwise reasonable people on some sort of oddness scale, the seasonal demand for rich, eggy, booze-laden beverages is situated several points below the desire to wear a reindeer sweater adorned with shiny, jingly things, and the genuine conviction that anybody honestly wants a scented candle as a… Continue Reading

Wassail

I’m venturing onto uncertain ground, here. I’m listing a recipe for a drink I’ve never actually tried–not this recipe, and not recently anyway. But given the season, I’ve been meaning to post info on more yuletide beverages. Unfortunately, so many seasonal libations fall into the “add a quart of heavy cream and a dozen eggs”… Continue Reading

Is Your Driving Affecting Your Drinking?

The same week the U.S. delegation walks out of the Montreal climate change talks, this appears in my mailbox, via a copy of the winter 2006 issue of NRDC’s OnEarth magazine (story posted here): A recent study conducted for the Commonwealth of Kentucky [says] global warming may soon make it impossible to produce good Kentucky… Continue Reading