The Spirit World

Have you suddenly realized that New Year’s Eve is less than a week away and you have no plans? Why don’t you throw a little celebration for a few close friends at your place? There’s plenty of time to pull something together - and for some ideas to get you started check out […]

You don’t think I gave you last week’s closing assignment for nothing do you?
Yes, this week we’re going to tackle the Sidecar, which is a fairly old cocktail, but not as old as, say, the Martini. It first made its appearance in Paris around 1920, which as coincidence has it, is exactly the same time […]

The only unifying characteristic of Christmas Ales is that they tend to be more intense and more flavorful and more alcoholic than other seasonal brews. Celebration Ale (6.8% abv) by Sierra Nevada takes the idea of a Christmas Ale and presses the intensity along the hop dimension. I don’t picture myself sipping this […]

Once your family and friends know you have an interest in something like food, wine or cocktails you may become the lucky recipient of gifts that support that interest. This year that certainly held true for me and was reflected in both Christmas gifts and in several hostess gifts that I received for a […]

My first beer of Christmas is Delirium Noël (10% abv) from the Huyghe Brewery (Brouwerij Huyghe) in Melle, Belgium. This beer is readily available in most areas of the US. I base this on my extensive knowledge of two places, north Florida and Long Island. If you can get a beer in […]

I’ve selected twelve beers to sample and write about this holiday season. These are in no particular order. The contents of the list is made up of stuff that just happens to be in my beer cooler. Here’s what I’ll be tasting:
1. Delirium Noël
2. Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
3. Anchor Christmas Ale
4. Corsendonk […]

Cocktailing out and about can be lots of fun but there are times you just want to hang out around your own cozy abode. Several of the columns on this site are going to focus on giving you the information you need to create your own perfect beverage but this column will include an […]

Thanks to MUG (Manhattan User’s Guide) for the following links:
Check out the Mini-Travelbar and the Flask Set, perfect for cocktails on the go! They’re both nice, compact packages making them easy to tote along. Either or both would make a nice gift for the cocktail connoisseur in your life… even if […]

Allow me to introduce myself. Hi, I’m Donavan Hall. (That’s me on the left making a few notes about a beer I drank in a café in Paris.) Pleased to meet you. I’m the beer writer on this spirits blog so I’ll be writing about beer. Each Tuesday (from now […]

Cocktails, mysterious and mystifying. There are thousands of different cocktail recipes that have appeared in print over the years. How many different cocktails have you been known to order? If you are like the average drinker, then you either randomly pick something off of the drink menu, or you have just a few “favorites” that […]