Cocktails

A collection of 80 posts

Banter

RTD Cocktails Are Fine, But Not Yet Great

Such people are the ideal audience for ready to drink cocktails, a.k.a. RTDs. My friends enjoy variety in flavor and spirits, but more importantly, they like it delivered by someone else.

Cocktails

In Defense of the Espresso Martini

Every year, it seems another cocktail is the target of inexplicable ire and intense kvetching by both the press and certain bartenders. In 2019, the Aperol Spritz found a laser sight on itself, being called “not a good drink” by the New York Times.

Cocktails

Holiday Spice Old Fashioned Recipe

This time of year, I am frequently asked for holiday cocktail recipes. Though I have dozens of ideas, I love to come back to a simple twist on my all time favorite cocktail, the Old Fashioned.

Cocktails

The Ultimate Guide to the Old Fashioned Cocktail

If you know any whiskey cocktail, it should be the Old Fashioned. Made well, the simple marriage of whiskey, sugar, and bitters yields one of the most delightful cocktails you will ever enjoy. Made poorly, it will undoubtedly sour you on the drink, and for some, whiskey cocktails in general.

Bottled Cocktails

Cask & Kettle Hard Coffee Cocktails Review

The folks at Cask & Kettle are self-proclaimed “hot drink and cocktail lovers.” This affinity led them to create 5 flavors of pre-mixed cocktail pods that only require adding water.

Cocktails

Tip Top Proper Cocktails Old Fashioned: Your New Favorite Inflight Drink

I recently took my first post-quarantine flight and, as a former frequent traveler, I had so missed the ritual of snagging a cocktail mid-flight to signal the true end of the day or the beginning of vacation.

Cocktails

The Ranch Water Cocktail: The Original Hard Seltzer

Love them or hate them, hard seltzers are here to stay. For me, I enjoy a Truly or 12 on a hot day: they are the perfect poolside drink, fantastically portable for your boat-drinking needs, and are always a crowd pleaser. But where did this phenomenon come from?

Cocktails

Kentucky Campfire Old Fashioned Cocktail

My best advice about cocktails is to view the classics not as a recipe, but as a formula. This is especially true of my favorite cocktail: the Old Fashioned.

Cocktails

Tamworth Distilling Skiklubben Aquavit Review & Cocktail

The folks at Tamworth Distilling live for turning notions of what goes into a distilled spirit upside down.

Cocktails

Coole Swan Irish Cream Liqueur Review + Cocktail

As a kid, I would always sneak a little sip from my parent’s glass of Bailey’s whenever it made an appearance.

Cocktails

Introducing the “It’s 5 O’Clock Here” Cocktail Video Series

One evening in late March, I made my partner a Manhattan and myself an Old Fashioned and for whatever reason, I decided to film it and post it on Instagram. The reception was better than I expected, so I filmed step-by-step recipes and educational mixology sessions with some frequency.

Cocktails

Pratt Standard Cocktail Co. Old Fashioned Syrup

As a long-time DC denizen, I was thrilled to try a new product from a local, woman-owned business: Pratt Standard Cocktail Co. They focus on crafting Pre-Prohibition-style cocktail syrups (so don’t be mixing with any vodka!), hand-crafted right up the road from me in the Edgewood neighborhood of DC.

Cocktails

Snowy River Cocktails: Accessorize Your Cocktail

Snowy River Cocktails prides themselves on producing “an award-winning line of all-natural cocktail decorating products.” These products range from rimming salts and sugars, beverage colorings and flavors, cocktail glitter, and syrups.

Cocktails

Vermouth Routin Original Rouge: Your Cocktail’s Next Best Friend

know you came here to read about whiskey but when discussing whiskey-based cocktails the lead spirit isn’t always the most important player. This is never truer than when discussing Vermouth. The type of Vermouth you use in a cocktail can either sink it into disaster or elevate it to greatness.

Cocktails

The Christo Julep Recipe

For the whiskey part, there are about 120,000 mint juleps sold in the two days of the Oaks and Derby, and countless others consumed at Derby parties around the country.

Cocktails

Rancho Clara Cocktail

There was a time in the distant past when liquor store shelves weren’t crowded with $50 bottles of the latest celebrity-endorsed Blanco tequilas. Heck, during that time there weren’t any celebrity endorsed spirits at all. If a celebrity liked a particular brand, they bought it and enjoyed it.

Cocktails

The Magic Of A Good Cocktail

I’m a professional magician. When a lot of people get into this profession, they do so to be able to make friends at a party or to be the “life of the party”. Those people are doing it wrong.

Cocktails

Barrel Strength Boulevardier Sour Cocktail Recipe

Recently while having dinner with my lovely wife at Ava Gene’s in Portland, OR, I encountered a cocktail that actually made me rethink my approach to cocktail creation. It was a Navy Strength Negroni Sour and it was fantastic.

Cocktails

Seed To Shaker: Six Unique Culinary Herbs For Exceptional Garnish

Craft Cocktails have entered a second golden age. There are more craft distilleries, opening up every day, the big boys are aging more specialty lines, and Instagram allows the sipping enthusiast as well as master mixologists a chance to explore cutting-edge creations in real time.

Cocktails

Bourbon Cocktails to Keep You Warm During Fall

If you’re like me, you’re always looking for an excuse to pop open a bottle of Woodford Reserve and enjoy a smooth glass. While I personally believe my beloved Kentucky bourbon tastes best neat, I’m also the kind of person that loves to experiment in the kitchen.

Cocktails

Starry Wisdom: The Bourbon Lover’s Halloween Cocktail

While visiting Lexington, KY recently, I had the pleasure of stopping into the West Main Crafting Co., a fresh new addition to the Bluegrass cocktail scene. The drink menu is gorgeous and is presented in a beautiful, bound book with vivid photos of each creation.

Cocktails

Cava: Your Summer Bourbon Cocktail Companion

Whiskey in the Winter is a perfect pairing. The slightly warmer nights of spring also make brown spirits a good fit. But as soon as the weather starts to turn summery hot, I start to crave a cold glass of bubbly.

Cocktails

Aged & Infused Review

Ever get tired of plain old delicious whiskey? Me neither. But around here the motto is “Drink Curious” or as I like to say, “Try all the drinks.” Aged & Infused makes whiskey infusion kits.

Cocktails

Reverse Manhattan – The Perfect Second & Third Drink

I love cocktails. Happy hour is 5 pm daily at our house, usually two rounds. I love Old Fashioneds and Manhattans, but two high-proof cocktails before dinner can be a bit much. As I get older happy hour seems to get shorter.

Cocktails

Big O Ginger Liqueur Review & Cocktails

Big O is a premium ginger liqueur handcrafted from high-quality, all-natural ingredients and artisan-crafted spirits. Prepared with hand-chopped fresh ginger, whole spices, citrus, wine-based vodka, and brandy. Big O is a smooth, warming drink that’s both flavorful and pleasing to the palate.