The Spirit World

Some time ago, Drinks around the World covered the topic of Slivovitz, a plum brandy popular in several Eastern European countries. Known by various names in various places (Slivovica, Slivovitz, Slivovice…) it is not the only indigenous liquor in the area.
Borovička a juniper brandy, similar to gin, is a national drink in […]

In the spring, when the sap starts running in the trees, the maple producers of the Northern US and Canada start their gathering. Probably everyone has seen photos of buckets hanging from taps on trees, and the maple sap running, or sometimes dripping, into them.
That sap is then boiled for hours to […]

One of the email newsletters I subscribe to recently featured a bevy of beverages supplied by Dale DeGroff for springtime imbibing. You’ll notice that pink plays heavily in this theme… as do flowery names. Perfect for spring!
Cherry Blossom
1/2 oz. Peter Heering Liqueur (cherry brandy)
1/2 oz. Curacao
1/2 oz. Lemon Juice
5 Sour Cherries
Muddle […]

Bolivia is one of two landlocked countries in South America. On the east it is bordered by the great land of Brazil and on the west by the Andes Mountains of Peru and Chili. About half of the population lives on the Altiplano, a great plateau on the east. This is the […]

Although most people think of Ouzo when they think of Greece there are other drinks and beverages which one could associate with the island country. As with many areas in Greece, the island of Cyprus (Southern Cypress is Greek; Northern is Turkish) has seen many civilizations come and go and each has left some […]

There are old cocktails, and then there are OLD cocktails. As the written record goes, we can only go back as far as 1862, which is when Jerry Thomas wrote the first bartender’s guide, and thus had the first opportunity to see actual recipes for the drinks that bartenders had already been making for many […]

Over the last several weeks, we’ve covered a variety of cocktails. My intent with these weekly investigations is to encourage each of you to pick up just what you need for that week’s cocktail and experiment with it on your own. The end result will be not only an understanding of an increasing range of […]

Some time ago I promised to talk about Spanish Coffee and I’m finally getting to it! I first discovered coffee drinks in the very late 70s. I was camping on the Oregon Coast and, as often happens, a big storm came in. Although we were hardy campers we decided to grab a […]

The one bad thing about Superbowl and other similar events is that people tend to get a bit fanatic about all kinds of things, including drinks. Here are some examples found in this year’s teams’ local newspapers. Note: I’m not recommending either of these - just trying to be helpful for those of […]

I know that for this week’s Happy Hour at Home, I recommended beer for your Superbowl parties but for some of you that won’t be the right suggestion. So here’s another idea. This book, Pitcher Drinks: Cool Cocktails for a Crowd, is perfect for entertaining. It gives you recipes for 150 […]