The Spirit World

I’m reading a book by Ken Wells called Travels with Barley. According to the dust jacket, Wells has been with the Wall Street Journal for 22 years. Presumably, if he’s still there, that number is bigger by a couple of years since the book was published in 2004. The premise of Wells’ […]

The Cosmopolitan is one of those drinks that you have to be careful about. Depending on who you are hanging around with, it is either the right drink to order, or decidedly the absolutely wrong drink.
There are two things wrong with the Cosmopolitan. To begin with, it became SO popular in the 1990’s that it […]

Lark has a new little sister and while you shouldn’t play favorites with siblings, I think I’m going to like her a lot! About 5 days after Licorous made it’s debut, Rosanne and I stopped by to check it out.
If you’ve been to Lark you know that the space is small, you […]

I was first drawn to Lumière when the bar manager, Jaime, left a comment on a post back in May. I took a look at his site and the Lumière site and decided this was a place I really should have been before! I’d been planning to get to Vancouver for a weekend so I […]

There are two words that to me mean pure bliss and relaxation: Poolside. Bar.
And, when I’m sitting in this Shangri-La, I typically crave a particular drink. It is not an intellectual drink. It’s nothing sophisticated, elegant or cultured. It’s the lava flow. Part pina colada, part strawberry daiquiri, all yumminess. And, it’s super easy […]

We are full on into the outdoor concert season and for the last week or so I’ve been planning menus for various upcoming events. One of my favorite venues is at Ste. Michelle Winery. The layout is perfect with the seating area on a slightly downsloping hill with the stage at the bottom. […]

Kümmul is a distilled spirit found in many eastern European countries. At its simplest caraway is combined with grain alcohol, left to sit for a few days and then distilled. Before bottling it is combined with sugar and water to produce a high-alcohol spirit.
Other ingredients may be added prior to distilling, depending on the […]

I mentioned last week that I hosted a “Drink Like a Monk” event at my house for several friends and fellow beer enthusiasts. On our tasting menu that night were beers from five of the seven Trappist breweries located in Belgium and Holland. I decided to start the tasting that evening with the […]

New Orleans has a grand history of wonderful cocktails. Unfortunately much of their previous accomplishments have been overshadowed in modern times with rather hideous libations. These days, when most people think of drinking in New Orleans, they immediately think of Hurricanes made from a powdered mix, Hand Grenades attempting to make Everclear palatable, or “Daiquiris” […]