The Spirit World

This was not the post I intended to write today. After Sal’s entertaining post on the Bota bag (stay tuned for Part II!) I was set to get back to my Swedish smörgåsbord of spirits. But then I got caught in a spell - and it must have been cast by a very […]

Last summer when I was visiting Seattle and Tacoma (and a number of brew pubs in between), I picked up a book by home brew guru Charlie Papazian entitled Microbrewed Adventures. The book is a loose and episodic beery autobiography of one of homebrewing’s most enthusiastic proponents.
About a hundred pages in is a story about […]

The history of vodka is both very old, as well as very new. All around the world, the art of distilling was becoming somewhat common in the late 1400’s and early 1500’s. In Ireland and Scotland this took the form of “whiskey”, in Europe it took the form of “brandy”, in the Slavic countries it […]

While Playboy is not normally on my list of “must-reads” I had to make an exception for this. They have just released their list of America’s top bartenders - based on the art of mixology not flair - and I am happy to report several familiar names are on the list. I am […]

We’re a little busy this morning (dang that “real” work!) so today’s Happy Hour at Home post will be up a bit later today….

How I lament the disrespect with which the Spanish wineskin–or “bota”–is treated in the 21st century!

The bota, an essential tool for thirsty Spanish shepherds throughout the centuries and lovingly memorialized in the writings of Hemingway and Cervantes, has been reduced in other parts of the world to a vessel used by frat boys to smuggle […]

Last week we walked out of Max’s after a college football game and spied Bertha’s (734 South Broadway, 410-327-5795) directly across the street. I decided that Bertha’s warranted an exploratory trip. So the next evening I met a friend at The Horse You Came In On Saloon (1626 Thames Street, 410-327-8111) for a […]

I am careful to caution bartenders about stepping into “recipe creation” mode too quickly. It can be awfully tempting to simply start mixing things from different bottles and think that you are actually creating a cocktail, the problem however is that attempting this too early is about like tossing a typewriter into a roomful of […]

We recently received a copy of The Art of the Bar: Cocktails Inspired by the Classics to review. Over the last few days I’ve taken a look at this eye-catching book.
The book is authored by Jeff Hollinger and Rob Schwartz, current and former bartenders, respectively at Absinthe Brasserie & Bar in San […]

The Mixology Monday round-up for this month’s Winter Warmer’s theme can be found at Imbibe Unfiltered.
The Wine Blogging Wednesday roundup for this month’s Biodynamic wine tasting can be found at Fork & Bottle.
The Bombay Sapphire Perfect Pairings series of events is finished and you can get all the details and featured […]