The Spirit World

As the story goes, brandy got its start through the attempted inventiveness of a Dutch trader. He wanted to ship wine back to Holland, but there were two different problems he was facing. First, was that wine didn’t necessarily travel well, the other was that those large casks of wine took up a lot of […]

As you may be aware, community events are pretty common in the online/blogging world.  Several months ago Paul of Cocktail Chronicles started an event around cocktails that he calls Mixology Monday.  Each month a new theme is announced, bloggers from around the world create a drink based on the theme and then post about them on […]

(Pumpkin Pie Cappuccino © 2006 Nika)
My perfect thanksgiving would have a complete lack of turkey meat and loads of desserts, especially pumpkin pies. I am allergic or super sensitive to baked turkey so if I eat any leftovers, I become lost in a world of pain and freaky hallucinations.
I am much more into sides, desserts, […]

There’s a new, upscale cocktail and wine lounge in town.  A place where attention is paid to every little detail.  VESSEL opened its doors about a month ago, officially a couple of weeks ago.  On Wednesday I finally had a chance to check it out. 
You may remember that earlier this summer I visited Lumière in […]

Each Sunday the Seattle Times profiles a local individual who has accomplished something significant, and is perhaps unrecognized for that accomplishment - at least in a general purpose, everyone-knows-your-name sort of way.  Last Sunday, Spirit World contributor Robert Hess was the person profiled and recognized for his contributions to the world of cocktails and mixology. 
Congrats, Robert!  Soon […]

It’s stormy outside, Thanksgiving is next week and I’ve just come back from a wonderful weekend in the snow.  All of these things are leading me to a cozy and warming menu for this week’s Happy Hour at Home. 
Before going to Whistler last weekend I whipped up a batch of Hot Buttered Rum batter.  It’s […]

There is a show on the Discovery Channel called Cocktail Kings.  I have yet to actually view the show but I visit their website from time to time to see what they’ve been up to.  For each show they visit a major city - so far either a European or US destination - check out […]

Even with global warming in full swing, those of us in the northern climes are getting a winter preview. It’s dropping into the mid-forties (Fahrenheit) at night and we are reaching for our thermostats to take the chill out of the air. This isn’t really the time of year for a pale ale or a […]

We’ve basically been working our way through the primary tools you might want for your various mixology needs. While you might think of cocktail bitters (such as Angostura) as being a cocktail ingredient, I like to also think of it as one of the most important tools in the bartender’s kitbag.

Bitters originated as a form […]

The first formal event for my weekend at Gourmet Institute was the opening cocktail party at the relatively new Buddakan New York.  Originally scheduled to open in Fall of 2005 Buddakan finally opened its doors in Spring 2006.  The original Buddakan has been open in Philadelphia for several years so although the New York location […]