The word “cocktail” and the idea of a “mission statement” should never appear in the same train of thought, but here we are – the “about” page. Well, if you must know—

The Cocktail Chronicles is an ongoing exploration of fine spirits, creative cocktails and classic mixology. This web log was created in May 2005 in an effort to document the drinks I’m experimenting with at any particular time, along with thoughts on cocktail ingredients, brands and types of spirits and the overall culture of drinking (I also discovered that it’s a handy way to keep track of all those cocktail recipes I was always losing on little slips of paper or in the little notebooks that clutter up my desk). Since its inception, The Cocktail Chronicles has explored more than 100 different drinks; covered the home-brew of obscure cocktail ingredients such as pimento dram and falernum; been the founding site and ongoing moderation source for the regular virtual cocktail party known as Mixology Monday; attracted—oh, hell, lots of readers (and pissed off a few, too); and presented only slightly inebriated daily updates from Tales of the Cocktail, the nation’s foremost cocktail event.

The Cocktail Chronicles is updated somewhat regularly by Paul Clarke, a Seattle-based cocktail enthusiast whose brief experience working behind a bar entailed nothing more challenging than pouring pitchers of Coors Lite for college students with fake IDs. I had my mixological satori in the Summer of 2003, and since then I’ve taken the “roll your own” ethic of David Embury to heart, spending countless hours reading about, mixing and studying an array of cocktails, with a special emphasis on early- and mid-20th century classics.

In addition to documenting these endeavors on The Cocktail Chronicles, I’m a contributing editor at Imbibe magazine and I’ve written articles on spirits and cocktails for the San Francisco Chronicle.* I’ve also contributed two spirits-and-cocktails-related posts per week to the excellent group food blog Serious Eats since July 2007, and written a chapter on the history and character of the gimlet to the first edition of Mixologist: The Journal of the American Cocktail.

While I’m not convinced it’s a good thing when one’s drinking habits attract media attention, I have been featured as a Yahoo! Pick; was profiled by Salon.com in August 2007; and was covered as an “Online Find” by the Boston Globe in February 2008. I’ve also been featured making sozzled observations and half-baked pronouncements about spirits and cocktails in publications including Seattle Metropolitan, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Baltimore Sun, SFO (Stocks, Futures & Options Magazine — I know, surprised me, too) and Tiki Magazine (that’s more like it).

In non-booze related life, I work as a writer and magazine editor in Seattle, and—but you didn’t come here to read about that.

Now, how about a drink?

(And if you’re buying, you can try me at paul@cocktailchronicles.com)

* Write about what, you may ask? Well, how about these, for starters (PDF files):

Rum’s Ship Comes In
Feature on premium rum; San Francisco Chronicle, April 25, 2008

Hot dram! Complex Jamaica liqueur’s American revival captures imaginations of connoisseurs
Column on St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram; San Francisco Chronicle, March 28, 2008

The Comeback Kid: Say Hello (Again) to Rye Whiskey, an American Classic
Feature on Rye Whiskey (duh); Imbibe, January/February 2007

Not Bad for a Beachbum: Tiki scholar Jeff Berry burns a torch for a rum-soaked chapter of Americana
Profile of author and cultural anthropologist Jeff Berry; Imbibe, May/June 2007

Gone But Not Forgotten: Obscure Vintage Ingredients are a Cocktailian’s Holy Grail
Feature on vintage and obscure cocktail ingredients; Imbibe, July/August 2007

Perpetual Fruit: Brandies Harness the Spirit of Pears, Berries and Plums
Feature on Eau de Vie; Imbibe, September/October 2007

Sherry on Top: Spain’s Fortified Wine isn’t Just for Baking Fruitcake Anymore
Feature on Sherry; Imbibe, November/December 2007

Seeing Green: Absinthe is Back — Better Than Ever
Feature on Absinthe’s resurgence; Imbibe, January/February 2008