Sometimes it’s all too much — the ornate recipes, the elaborate productions, the ingredients that require a week or more of preparation before enjoying the results.

Usually this mood hits me when I’m extremely busy, as I have been the past few weeks, and in the short space I have in the evening to sip something and unwind before bed, the last thing I feel like doing is digging through the liquor cabinet in pursuit of some weird liqueur I socked away last year, or trying out a neat little bitters I’ve been meaning to get around to, or sorting through a cocktail manual in search of a recipe I’ve been intending to try. Honestly, I want to do all these things, and those samples of rum and gin that have been sitting unopened on the shelf waiting for me to taste and blog about them make me feel guilty every time I reach past them for something tried and true. But on a weeknight, when I’ve been going since 6:30am and will do so again in just a few short hours, I need something simple — potent, friendly, easy to mix, and dependable.

For now, that something is gin, sweet vermouth, and Ingredient X.

As with the last drink I mentioned, sometimes that ingredient is something bitter, like Fernet Branca; other times, I go the Martinez route with the maraschino and orange bitters; and still other times, when I’m feeling too lazy to mix something elaborate but need something lively in the glass, I go for the Fourth Degree.

This recipe is from Wondrich’s Imbibe! ; yes, I know there are probably other versions out there, but pay attention — right now I have neither the time nor inclination to rummage around on the bookshelf. And it’s somewhat similar to the San Martin, if you swap one rambunctious herbal spirit for another.

So, for you regular readers, sorry I haven’t been posting more frequently, but I’ve got deadlines stacked up like 747s landing at O’Hare. But at times like these it’s comfort-drink time, and tonight, I’m finding a lot of comfort in the Fourth Degree.

Fourth Degree

• 2 ounces Plymouth gin
• 1 ounce sweet vermouth (Carpano Antica time)
• dash of absinthe

Stir with cracked ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass; hit it with the lemon zest.

Tags: General by Paul
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There’s been a recent addition to the sidebar just to the right of this post — RSS subscribers, you might want to click through for a sec — that may be useful to those who are wondering where the hell I am and why I haven’t posted in a while.

As I mentioned last summer, and a few times since then, I’ve been writing two spirits & cocktails posts a week over at the group blog Serious Eats; a newsy piece or product review on Wednesdays, and a recipe on Fridays. I don’t do much crossover content between this site and that one, except for the occasional recipe, so if you head over on occasion and clickety on my profile, you’ll be able to see the last ten posts I’ve written (more than that, and you’ll have to use the handy search engine).

But here’s where the sidebar comes in: thanks to the magic of widgetry, you can now see links to the most recent five posts I’ve put up over at Serious Eats, right at the top of each page, just under the “Search” thingy. So if you’re ever wondering if one day you’ll read a news item about how I fell in the shower one morning and withered away over the course of a week while booze-hungry readers kept clicking “refresh” and muttering, “POST, dammit!”, then this should put your mind at rest. As long as you see me posting on booze somewhere in the blogosphere every few days, I’m okay — and thanks for checking in on me.

Tags: General by Paul
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Hey, it’s May 16 — three years to the day since I opened a Blogspot account and thought, “Now what? How about a drink–”

Around 280 posts and 140 drinks later, with the original Blogspot site only a distant memory, The Cocktail Chronicles is still going. Back then I felt like a sozzled voice in the cyberwilderness; now, there are dozens of drink-related blogs on the Internet, and I feel a lot less lonely when I start prattling on about rum.

That the third anniversary of The Cocktail Chronicles comes on the same day that I start my full-time writing career is a very fortunate coincidence; my intention, back then, was to give myself an outlet to hone my writing chops, and to hopefully build an online portfolio covering the fields of spirits and cocktails, that might appeal to an editor, someday. Today, I feel extremely privileged to be writing about these topics for such esteemed publications and sites as Imbibe, the San Francisco Chronicle and Serious Eats, and I hope to build on this progress in the months and years to come.

It goes without saying of course that had it not been for the generous support from readers, I would likely have given up on this blog years ago, letting it drift to the bottom of the Internet ocean like so many scuttled sites. I’d like to offer a very sincere “thank you” to regular readers and commenters for your ongoing support; your visits have kept this blog afloat, and I hope I’m able to keep giving you enjoyable content in the years to come.

Tags: General by Paul
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The neutral news: Nominees for the second annual Spirit Awards were announced today. From the press release: “Through its annual Spirit Awards, Tales of the Cocktail provides recognition to those individuals and establishments that have shown an outstanding talent for advancing the craft of the cocktail.” Categories include Best Drink Selection; Best Classic Cocktail Bar; Mixologist/Bartender of the Year; and Best New Product.

The good news: I was nominated in the “Best Cocktail Writing” category, for my work with Imbibe and the San Francisco Chronicle (hmm, a certain online site wasn’t mentioned…)

The bad news: The other nominees include Jeff Berry, Ted Haigh, Gary Regan, Debra Argen & Edward Nesta, and David Wondrich. Ah, well, it’s nice to think I have a chance.

Awards will be presented July 19 in New Orleans, during Tales of the Cocktail. Be sure to drop by and watch the mascara streak my face as I’m handed the bouquet for umpteenth runner-up.

Tags: General by Paul
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Just a reminder — voting on the new Mixology Monday logo ends at midnight Pacific time (-7 GMT). Vote on the handy ballot if you haven’t already, or if you’re enamored with the original version, follow the example set by the second-best bartender in Seattle and chime in down in the comments section (but go ahead and vote anyway).

Tags: General by Paul
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