In the tequila-clouded aftermath of the super turnout for this Mixology Monday — 25 people, more than 30 cocktail recipes (see the full details here) — I nearly forgot something else that was going on this week. It’s not of major significance to the larger quality cocktail community — and there’s plenty of mondo significance coming up in the next few months (but I’ll get to that later) — but it’s a little milestone for me.

Tuesday in Seattle was bright and warm, a mid-summer day transplanted into May. That evening, I was really in the mood for a summery beverage, and after a few turns I wound up with one of my old reliables, an El Presidente. This led me to recall that it was the very first cocktail I blogged about here, which then led me to remember that — CRAP! — this week marks the second anniversary of the birth of the Cocktail Chronicles.

When I started this blog, I thought it might be of interest to about a half-dozen sodden booze geeks — bitters-dashing, rye whiskey-guzzling, Jerry Thomas-spouting misfits, every one of them. But that was okay — I was mainly doing this for myself, as an outlet to keep my writing chops in an editor-free environment, and to explore the depths of my own cocktail geekery as a person who knew of, but didn’t know, other people with the same passion.

Two years later, there are between 300 and 1,800 of you misfits (depending on which site counter you trust) who come by here on an average day. While a lot of you are looking for “rum and gunpowder” and “cough syrup and vodka” postings (yes, really), according to Sitemeter, at least a good chunk of you are actually here looking for … something, and hopefully you’re finding it.

The booze writing, too, has expanded from just a way to keep myself amused into a reliable paid gig, and that’s definitely something I’m thankful for. And while this blog started with me, alone, prattling away about El Presidentes and Police Gazette Cocktails and whatever other nonsense I dredged out of old books, over the past two years it has put me in touch with almost all of the people I’ve most respected and emulated in today’s great, evolving world of mixology, and it’s also introduced me to many others who are helping to spread the word of quality cocktails. Many of these folks have patiently answered my questions or have come to me with their own, and some have become good friends — it’s much more than I anticipated or could have hoped for when I embarked on this journey in May of 2005. I’m constantly amazed, and deeply humbled, that other people come and read this site, and the e-mails and comments I get — many from the world’s most talented bartenders and amateur mixologists — keep me walking on air.

So, before I plunge into the third year of the Cocktail Chronicles, I just want to pause and say — THANK YOU, to everybody who takes the time to visit on a regular basis, and to join in on the conversation. The next round is on me.

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