The Spirit World

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 You might be intrigued by its slightly festive looking bottle looking classic, without appearing outdated.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 […]

So mixed drinks have made a comeback and you are thinking “what am I to do with all my brandy, vodka, absinthe, etc. that I have been enjoying neat (without ice, by it’s onesies)? Well, sure you could buck the trend and keep on with being a neat-freak, or you could experiment with ingredients that […]

Being that my throat has been acting a fool as of late, I have a wonderful topic to write about: drinking while under the weather. 
There are a number of whisk(e)y drinks that are meant to cure all that ailes you, such as the hot toddy, Irish coffee, and even the Blue Blazer.  Today, I am […]

If you’re eager for something outside of the norm, our friends in Austria might have something to offer you. Monopolowa has been known for its vodka, which tied the Russian Stolichnaya at the International Review of Spirits in 2003. Some of you might not be informed that they are also offering a potato based gin […]

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 […]

I’m not sure how often some of the rest of you might run into this problem, but I find myself quite often needing to “go on the road” with my bar tools. Sometimes it’s because I’ve been invited to a dinner party where I’m expected to make the drinks, or perhaps I’m heading across country […]

Perhaps one of these days December 5th will be as celebrated a holiday in America as Christmas and Thanksgiving. Well, maybe not, but it at least is a day which many of us will still insist on doing a little bit of celebrating on. The reason is quite simple, it is the day when Prohibition […]

Wooo Hoo!
Washington State FINALLY has a fully operational distillery that is actively manufacturing spirits. We’ve had a few licensed distilleries for a while, but they weren’t in the business of producing things like Gin, Single Malt, Bourbon, or Vodka. All of which are now being produced in a new craft distillery in Spokane Washington.
Dry Fly […]