The Spirit World

Exhausted and grimy, a cream colored label flashed in front of my eyes. In the lobby of the Hotel Monteleone, a gentleman by the name of Brandon Bach was kind enough to give me a bottle of something I had never seen before. He didn’t tell me much about it other than it was bourbon…he […]

Cointreau has recently introduced Cointreau Caviar, solid “pearls” of Cointreau liqueur created through a proprietary molecular mixology process that can be added to a cocktail, glass of champagne, or eaten alone. They also supply a glamorous aspect to the latest creation - the Cointreaupolitan cocktail, made simply with Cointreau, cranberry juice and fresh lime juice.
Four-star restaurant […]

As most whisky aficionados know at least two per cent of each cask evaporates through the oak after the distilling process. This is known as ‘the angels share’.
If you envisage the financial amount this equates to across thousands of barrels and over the years you can see why drink producers would look at limiting the process. Giants […]

Odd, complicated, and delicious. All three of those adjectives describe a product from Crop Vodka. It’s not what you would expect though: it’s tomato flavored. The wonderful thing about it is that it’s not gimmicky flavored, it’s actually USDA organic. On the nose, tomato really rings out, smelling like V8 minus 7.
 I was also really […]

This classic recipe for preserving the short seasoned-yet-delicious raspberry comes from The Vintner’s, Brewer’s, Spirit Merchant’s and Licensed Victualler’s Guide (1826), but looking through old housekeeping or inkeeping instructional manuals, it seems to be a pretty standard one. The result is a sort of brightly-flavored brandy cordial, as opposed to a dry fruit brandy or […]

Well, you may have thought I was done for the evening (as I did), but the bottles started speaking to me as I sauntered by. I don’t have a story that accompanies this drink, other than it was sent to me through the ether……which is enough for me.
 

 
 
I give you the
 
Phoenix
2 oz of Diabolique Bourbon
1/2 […]

Many people of a more mature age than myself remember brandy from california to be from producers like Gallo, Guild, Christian Brothers, Paul Masson, Korbel, etc. and made to be quaffed alone, but often in coffee, eggnog, or in mixed drinks.
There was (and still is in many cases) in these products, very little resemblance to […]

Today we visit another one of Leo Engel’s “specialties.” Perhaps you remember the Girard Flip from his American and Other Drinks (1878) Crazy ol’ Leo advises us to
Fill up a sherry wine glass two-thirds full of Maraschino, yellow Chartreuse, Kummel in equal proportions, and one dash of Kirschenwasser. Having done this, add the white of […]

For classic cocktail fans like me, Crème Yvette is one of the many ingredients we wish we could find. It’s been defunct in the U.S. since the late 1960’s or so, when Charles Jacquin et Cie stopped production. Thankfully, we have other violette liqueur options to use now, but almost no one has tasted the […]

When distillers Laphroaig launched their first ever live online whisky tasting, an army of malt fans from around the world made it the largest interactive event of its kind.
From New Zealand to Sweden, New York to Sydney, thousands watched the live WebTV show in London and mailed in hundreds of questions to the eminent panel of […]