"In the U.S., they're mixing drinks with herbs and other weird ingredients, but in Ginza the best guys just polish their cocktails like jewels." And perhaps no Japanese mixology master has contributed more than Kauzo Ueda, who has perfected the art of the hard shake, a refinement over more traditional shake styles. He has a disciple in NYC's Eben Freeman, who now imparts the secrets of the hard shake via a video tutorial.
posted on Feb 1, 2008 - View this thread

Bitters. This sharp-flavored, slightly medicinal liqueur, originally used as an aperitif, remains one of the defining ingredients in many classic cocktails, including the Manhattan, the Pink Gin, the Champagne Cocktail, and the Sazerac. Some popular herbal liqueurs, such as Campari and Jägermeister, are essentially just big bottles of bitters. But bitters had fallen on hard times, with most bars stocking only one brand, Angostura, or, if they were particularly sophisticated (or Southern), a second option, Peychaud's. Orange bitters, once an essential ingredient in the Martini, were forgotten and impossible to purchase. Times have changed, with companies such as Fee Brothers, Regan's, the Bitter Truth, and even Angostura, releasing their own versions of the orange stuff. In fact, bitters in enjoying something of a renaissance, with bars experimenting with making their own. Hobbyists, in the meanwhile, are reviving lost recipes.
posted on Aug 1, 2007 - View this thread

Arkiva Tropika is a huge archive of tropical-themed ephemera. Browse restaurant and drink menus, postcards, photos, brochures and matchbooks. Hours and hours worth of retro tiki goodness.
posted on Mar 8, 2007 - View this thread

Tiki: How sex, rum, World War II, and the brand-new state of Hawaii ignited a fad that has never quite ended. (via)
posted on Sep 22, 2006 - View this thread

Jerry Thomas' Bar-Tender's Guide or How to Mix Drinks.
posted on Dec 11, 2005 - View this thread

Yo Ho Ho And A Bottle Of Rum! In August, one's lazy fancy turns naturally to sex mush daiquiris; caipirinhas; mojitos; piña coladas and other rum cocktails. Why is the great cane spirit, infinitely complex and delightful - which, in its young, white distillation can be used instead of vodka or gin in any highball or cocktail - so neglected nowadays? And whatever happened to the most politically delicious reason for drinking Coke: the embargo-busting Cuba Libre, made with delicious, sinful Cuban Havana Club?
posted on Jul 31, 2003 - View this thread

You've Come A Long Way, Baby: Unfortunately, you picked the wrong one, dear old Old-Fashioned, dean of cocktails. Robert Hess's definitive essay on the ever-changing ways of making one shows just how contentious a cocktail recipe can be. It also bears sad testimony to how the great classics are being fruited up, iced up, fizzed up, shaken till obliteration and generally girlied, dumbed and boozed down. So how do you stand on the cherry, the pineapple and the orange? And don't even bother commenting if you're a seltzer fan! ;)
posted on May 21, 2003 - View this thread

The New Shaker Wives Aren't Really Into Furniture or puritanism or bonnets. But kickass cocktails? And revenge? That, yes. Oh yes. Empowering? I should bloody well think so. Disgruntled housewives you say? I say their boring, stupid husbands don't appreciate their luck, more likely. Explore their website, enjoy and learn! [Offered as a companion-piece to tranquileye's June 2002 Ladies For The Preservation Of Cocktails post. P.S. This is neither here nor there but the more I live and know, the more I love and respect women and the less I like men.]
posted on May 16, 2003 - View this thread

Stop Wining Laddie - And Pass the Macallan! Why bother with sissy wines and beers when you can have whisky all through your meal? A new trend in dining is pairing spirits and cocktails with food. Russian aristocrats still refuse to drink vodka unaccompanied by comestibles while modern Italians and Americans cook with it. The Japanese love their straight Cognac and Chivas with everything bar sashimi and eccentric old Englishmen stick with Port from start to finish. I guess they're all on to something, no? In case they're not, here, by way of consolation, is a wonderful interactive food and wine matcher for the dullards and traditionalists among us. Cheers!
posted on Nov 5, 2002 - View this thread

Try Saying Kentucky Derby, Kentucky Tea And Mint Julep Without Smiling: it can't be done. Coz June is busting out all over in Bourbon country and the mint is as high as an elephant's eye. For this we all rejoice. But - wait - did you know that, for that most perfect Summer drink, the thirst-quenching nec plus ultra they call the Julep, "the most important ingredient is a T-shirt for the mint juice extraction"? Oh yes! The time has come. Here comes the sun. Mmmm...
posted on Jun 5, 2002 - View this thread

Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails: "dedicated to the Gin Fizz, the Widow's Kiss, and the Singapore Sling, the drinks our mothers and grandmothers drank, and the drinks we strive to save from extinction as a small measure of remembering those great women and their great cocktail parties."
posted on Jun 4, 2002 - View this thread

For Lent, I'm Giving Up Not Drinking Cocktails - What About You? I collect cocktail books but there are two web sites* that are just as good as the best bartender's bible. The first is Dale DeGroff's. The second, sadly discontinued but still invaluable, is Paul Harrington's. Both are very personal and reveal a deep knowledge and love of this quintessentially American and civilized art form. Cocktails may very well be the only truly democratic and universally accessible pastime. They can be made at home quite cheaply by anyone and be just as delicious as the very best served in the very best bar to the richest imbiber in the world. Not to mention their incredible Valentine's Day potential... so what's it to be, pal? *Webtender, Drinkboy and Esquire's cocktail guides pale by comparison
posted on Feb 13, 2002 - View this thread