Are you a fan of crystal clear drinks? Ones that are smooth, often spirit-forward and tend to be served over a big ice cube or up? Then you, my friend, are looking for a stirred cocktail. (If frothy drinks with citrus or egg white are more your style, take a look at my collection of …
If you’ve been wondering what you need—and what you really don’t—when it comes to setting up your home bar, you’ve come to the right place. I’ve been measuring and shaking and stirring and straining drinks for years. I’ve wasted money on useless equipment and figured out what you really need to have for making quality …
Ahh, the Old Fashioned. It’s the original classic cocktail. There was a time—from the early 1800s to around the 1860s—when the word “cocktail” meant a simple mixture of spirits stirred with sugar, bitters, ice, and lemon peel. The spirit could have been whiskey or gin (Old Tom gin or genever rather than a dry style) …
Homemade cocktail mixers are easier to make than you might think. While many of them take some time to steep or cool, most of them require little active time. They just require a bit of sugar, a bit of fruit or juice or nuts or spices. Okay, the tonic probably requires some stuff that you’ll …
The Vieux Carré is what it would look like if the Manhattan had an eccentric, worldly, New Orleanian great aunt. It’s rich and spirit forward with a split base of rye and cognac. Like the Manhattan it also gets rounded out with sweet vermouth. But unlike her straight-laced nephew, the Vieux Carré has an unruly …
The Boulevardier is a regular around these parts. It’s a drink that straddles the line between Negroni and Manhattan. Depending on how you frame it, it’s either a Negroni with whiskey swapped in for the gin or a Manhattan with half of the sweet vermouth swapped out for bitter Campari. It’s welcome cocktail, especially in …