The Spirit World

The other night, I was at a dinner party where there were several of the city’s best bartenders were in attendance. Conversations where going on full steam amongst the various tables, when suddenly I hear my name from the far end of the table.
“If you could have only one cocktail book, what would it be!”, […]

Tales of the Cocktail is an annual event in New Orleans to celebrate the history and appreciation of cocktails, the spirits that go into them, and the people who make them. In July, they held their sixth conference, and this was also the second time they also held their “Spirited Awards” ceremony where they recognize […]

Aperol is a product you might be finding appearing on liquor shelves more often these days. You might be intrigued by its slightly festive looking bottle looking classic, without appearing outdated.
I find that the best way to describe Aperol, is that it is a very mild version of Campari. It has that same balance of […]

Tales of the Cocktail is an annual gathering of spirit and cocktail experts in New Orleans, which is now in it’s sixth year. In addition to the regular sessions, seminars, panels, tastings, as well as general partying, last year they added a new element, the “Spirit Awards” to identify and recognize significant achiements and efforts in various […]

Each year, and with fairly little fanfare, there is a fairly exhaustive spirits judging that takes place in San Francisco. Anthony Dias Blue is the founder of the competition, which saw its eighth year in operation when it held its 2008 judging in mid March.
There were 847 products submitted, across 439 different brand classifications. Judging […]

Huh? What are we doing talking about Halibut over on The Spirit World? Stick with me. All will make sense in a moment.
Here in the Pacific Northwest, it might be Salmon which appears to get all of the attention, perhaps it’s just because they have a good PR agency. But you’ll also often find great […]

Nothing is more appealing to me when I travel, than having an opportunity to sample some of the locally available food or beverages. When I find that there is not only a local food AND beverage, but that they are specifically intended to be paired together, then clearly this is not an opportunity I can’t […]

I’ve never quite figured out exactly why, but “cocktail bitters” is something that has fascinated me ever since I first got into cocktails and mixology. Perhaps it stems when first coming to the realization that there were once far more bitters in use than “Angostura”. Orange bitters was one of the key “missing” bitters that […]

Few glasses present a more iconic representation of the cocktail than does the now ubiquitous “Martini” glass. You know the one, that “V” shaped glass perched firmly atop a slender stem. You see them everywhere, from high-end cocktail lounges to bedraggled dive bars. Every store you go into always seems to sell them amongst the […]

Ever eat a pine tree?
Now that the holiday season is over, and that Christmas tree is begging to be put out to pasture, it might be worthwhile to consider alternate ways at disposing of it besides just putting it out on the curb. While carving it up at the kitchen table might be something only […]