Category Archives: General

Monteleone Cocktail challenge

Before I get to the day’s 30/30 drink, there’s one item I need to pass along. If you’ve had even a passing look at the spirits & cocktails community on the Internet, you no doubt know that every July, thousands of bartenders, writers, hospitality professionals and cocktail enthusiasts converge on New Orleans for the five… Continue Reading

Hang onto that vodka obituary…

Bartenders and cocktail geeks like to beat up on vodka, and I’m certainly guilty of having done some of that myself. I was reminded of that this morning while reading Jonathan Miles’ “Shaken & Stirred” column in the New York Times and — surprise! — seeing my name come up, along with a quotelet in… Continue Reading

MxMo Twists: Revisiting the Manhattan

Apologies for the lack of a photo, and for the brief length of this post: but nothing turns you off of mixing and photographing a drink — not to mention merely sitting upright in front of a computer — like a good ol’ bout of stomach flu. But, this month marks the third anniversary of… Continue Reading

MxMo gets twisted

We’re less than a week away from the next round of Mixology Monday. This round is hosted by Tristan at The Wild Drink Blog, and Tristan has chosen Superior Twists as the theme. What’s that, you say? Here, I’ll let Tristan explain it: This month’s Mixology Monday is all about twists on classic cocktails, that… Continue Reading

Last call for Proof blog

About four months ago, the opinion section editors at the New York Times launched Proof, a blog covering, in their description, “Alcohol and American Life.” Several weeks later, just before Christmas, I was asked to contribute to the blog; now, as we’re edging into spring, Proof is serving last call, and the final (for now)… Continue Reading