The Spirit World

In response to a reader comment on the Mochatini post, I replied with a reference to Smith and Kerns - a drink that I thought was extremely sophisticated in my very early twenties. Of course you must realize that was during my college years and our normal going out routine consisted of: Tuesdays […]

With the recent posts on Italian caffé or espresso corretto, I’ve been thinking quite a lot about it. The other night I met a friend for dinner at Via Tribunali and I thought that this might be a good place to give one a try. After we’d finished a delicious salad and pizza, […]

I decided I needed to reorganize my liquor cabinet today as it has been overflowing for quite some time. I wanted to organize everything more logically with the often-used bottles in the main liquor cabinet and the less-often used items in an auxilary location. As I was pulling all the bottles out and arranging […]

Coming up on January 15th our very own Robert Hess (you may know him as Drinkboy) will be leading a Cocktail Seminar at Mona’s Bistro and Lounge. Here are the details:
“Cocktails are a form of cuisine, but few people
understand what a cocktail really is, or the
[…]

Cocktail hour in Spain lasts for twenty-four.
I had heard this before moving here six years ago, but assumed that it was just a misguided stereotype — much like the one about Americans laying-out .44 Magnums as flatware when setting the dinner table.
Well…the only thing misguided was my skepticism. Spaniards, I quickly learned, DO drink […]

At this cold and chilly time of year our thoughts turn to warm and cozy things. In the drink world this would often include warm beverages like coffee drinks. Today’s cocktail, while not a hot drink, evokes this same feeling by using an ingredient normally associated with warmth - coffee or more specifically […]

De Dolle Brouwers or the Mad Brewers, located in Esen Belgium is one of my favorite beer producers. The history of the brewing operation there is an inspiration to anyone who has ever thought that one day they might like to open a brewery. The brewery itself is over a hundred years old […]

There is an interesting article in this morning’s NY Times, “Raising a Glass to Unfamiliar Bottles“,(free registration required). It discusses how many bars are choosing small spirits producers’ offerings over the large, well-known, highly-marketed brands.
The bartenders profiled in this article focus on crafting cocktails, resurrecting forgotten spirits and even making their own ingredients […]

My eleventh Beer of Christmas, the Christmas ale (7.2% abv) from the Verhaeghe brewery in Vichte, Belgium announces the season in three languages: “Noël Christmas Weihnacht.” This beer is a true Blonde de Noël, a style invented by the people of northern France and southern Belgium. A Blonde de Noël is light in […]

Sal DeTraglia is too small for football, too short for basketball and too hyperactive for baseball. He’s a lousy dancer and a worse singer.
So what’s a boy like this to do for fun? Cocktails!
Sal DeTraglia is also an American expat living, working, writing and drinking in Spain—a nation in which cocktail […]