The Spirit World

Several days ago the Cocktail Club got together for our June meeting. Our location was, Bal Mar, Ballard’s hip yet cozy cocktail lounge.
The day of the meeting had been a rough one for me so I arrived in a rather grumpy mood. RH, JB and EM did there best to both […]

4th of July. Picnics. Fireworks. Sunshine. Never-ending summer.
Yes we are at the long holiday weekend! Although the 4th isn’t until Tuesday, Monday is a pseudo holiday and folks will be making the most of their time off with all kinds of picnics, parties and poolside plans. And our neighbors […]

We arrive in Cabo San Lucas to a downpour. It’s already dark, being 4 hours later than we expected due to the storm. But, as we walk into the Twin Dolphin, we are greeted with warm smiles and margaritas, and the world is right again. There is just something about those margaritas.
Later, we found out […]

Tomorrow, I will host a beer tasting at my house. I’ve selected five or six Trappist ales to pour for my guests, so the title for this event is “Drink Like a Monk”—an obvious reference (I hope) to Stan Hieronymus’s fine book Brew Like a Monk.
So tomorrow I’ll serve a selection of beers either […]

In French, Bijou means “Jewel”, and as cocktails go, this one definitely is a little jewel. In structure it bears a lot of similarity to the Negroni, it’s Italian cousin, but it’s use of Chartreuse instead of Campari makes it a little more approachable to newcomers to these more “robust” liqueurs.
Bijou

3/4 ounce gin
3/4 ounce sweet […]

Friday night we had our dinner club meeting and I had decided to stick with the cocktail I talked about a few days ago, the Diwan-e-Khas. There was one particular ingredient in that recipe, khus syrup, that seemed to be in many Indian beverages and even food recipes and so I assumed that it […]

Coming up next weekend the 2006 Seattle International BeerFest. 100 beers, 15 countries, 3 days to try them out.
Tickets are $20 per day and include 10 drink coupons. Additional coupons can be purchased for $1 each.
June 30 - July 2
Mural Amphitheater at Seattle Center
Or you can check out […]

There comes a point in a man’s life when he just can’t face another paella. And in my case, that point came after my sixth year of living in Spain. So I was beyond thrilled when a family of Romanian friends living in nearby Guadalajara invited me over to their apartment for an […]

I have strawberries on the brain - big-time! I’m sure it’s because the strawberries in my little home garden are at their peak and I’ve been picking and eating them like crazy! Aren’t they just the most perfect “summer-is-here!” food that you know? So this week’s beverage is going to feature strawberries. […]

Some time ago, Drinks around the World covered the topic of Slivovitz, a plum brandy popular in several Eastern European countries. Known by various names in various places (Slivovica, Slivovitz, Slivovice…) it is not the only indigenous liquor in the area.
Borovička a juniper brandy, similar to gin, is a national drink in […]