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The Tom Collins is a classic Gin-based cocktail with a rich history. This classic was originally named the John Collins after its creator at a popular London Hotel in 1860. The John Collins gained popularity in 1869 after being published in the Steward and Barkeeper’s Manual. Old Tom Gin was …
Believe it or not, one thing I often crave on a winter cocktail menu is a bright, refreshing drink. I do enjoy winter cocktails that are strong and heavy with winter spices. However, I feel strongly that a successful cocktail menu should have a drink for everyone. That includes all …
The original theme of this month’s edition was going to be the second half of our “Top 10” list. Trust us when we tell you that it’s not easy to write a short list of things that inspired us over the past year and ideas that keep us so passionate …
To start the New Year off right I’m featuring the Rusty Nail as my classic cocktail. According to cocktail historian David Wondrich, this concoction dates back to 1937 and is credited to one F. Benniman. Wondrich also states that it’s supposedly named after the British Industries Fair. Nonetheless, the Rusty …
In the world of hot craft cocktails we often see tea, coffee, cider, etc. However, my favorite this time of year is cranberry. This months featured craft cocktail is a hot cranberry drink called the Winter Warmer. I created this cocktail about 10 years ago while bartending in Portland, Oregon …
It’s that time of the year when we make a couple of lists and check them twice. This won’t be like David Letterman’s Top 10, more like Five & Five. Five things that inspired us about this past year and five trends we hope either continue into 2015 or simply …
Now that winter is here and the weather has shifted it’s time for hot cocktails. For this reason, the classic cocktail feature this month is the Blue Blazer. This drink was made famous by Jerry Thomas who is credited with being America’s first great Mixologist. His reign was during the Gold …
Bourbon Bramble Our craft cocktail feature for this month is a Bourbon Bramble. This is a riff off the classic Bramble cocktail. Or more accurately, it’s a marriage between a Whiskey Sour and the Bramble. Much like a proper Whiskey Sour or Bramble, the key to making this cocktail shine …
The Bramble This month The Bramble is our featured classic cocktail. The Bramble was created in the mid- 1980’s by Dick Bradsell at Fred’s Club in Soho, London. Typically, Classic Cocktails date back to prohibition era. However, the Bramble became so popular worldwide it is now an entire classification of beverage. …
BLUEGRASS PUNCH The Bluegrass Punch is a cocktail I’ve had a ton of success with. I’ve served it as a single cocktail or I’ve made it in batches for 1,000 people. Either way, the Bluegrass Punch is always a crowd pleaser. I use Old Forester 86 for the base because …
When Mt. Etna was ‘rediscovered’ 20 years ago, there was an eruption of activity which continues to flow today Geek is old enough to remember when there were semi-regular new ‘discoveries’ in the wine world. New Zealand comes to mind as a hot ‘new’ category in 1980 (even though they’ve…
When Mt. Etna was ‘rediscovered’ 20 years ago, there was an eruption of activity which continues to flow today Geek is old enough to remember when there were semi-regular new ‘discoveries’ in the wine world. New Zealand comes to mind as a hot ‘new’ category in 1980 (even though they’ve been making wine there since the 19th century and ramped thing up seriously in the early 60’s). Likewise, we remember when $15 old-vine Cabernet from Chile was all the rage as they aggressively went after international markets with their best wines which were priced well below similar quality wines from elsewhere. Ditto Argentina and their ‘new’ grape called Malbec which took the world by storm in the 90’s & 00’s. Fast forward to today, and…
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