Well, here it is: the end of 2009. It’s been a great year for Dan and I, personally and professionally. Our wedding, the weddings of some very dear friends, lots of interest in the website, my ever-expanding garden and some excellent job fortunes have all added up to a pretty stellar year. We feel blessed and fortunate to be surrounded by our wonderful family and an incredible group of talented, supportive, loving friends. All in all, 2009 has turned out better than we could have hoped and we have even higher hopes for 2010. There are travel plans in the works and lots of fun adventures ahead so bring it on, new year!

Speaking of which, before we close out the archives on 2009 we have to recap the ten most popular cocktails on the site this year. I’ve excluded the Cocktail Archive—which was technically the third most popular page on the site this year—in favor of actual posts, but feel free to peruse it for inspiration in tonight’s festivities. And so, here are the ten most popular cocktails on SLOSHED! in the past twelve months:

1. Blood Orange Margarita
2. Home Bar 101
3. Brandied Cherries
4. Corpse Reviver #2
5. Satan’s Whiskers
6. Pumpkin Cider
7. Le Tourment Vert
8. Violet Fizz
9. Bourbon Renewal
10. Snowshoe

And to close the year out right, there is one final cocktail for the books. The Last Word is aptly named, as it is generally a last word in many respects, being both a fine and rather strong concoction. Simple and tasty, this is one of our favorite gin cocktails any time of the year and we hope you’ll like it too. Use it to bid adieu to this year or ring in the new, or just to savor one of the little pleasures whenever you need one. Continue →

It was supposed to rain today, but instead it is windy and icy cold—in short, unpleasant without even the beneficial aspects of precipitation. Thus I am inside tending the fire, enjoying a hot beverage and working on finishing up a few more Christmas treats. This particular hot beverage is a personal favorite, being as it is both soothing and warming with the added bonus of holiday spice.

It isn’t complicated to make and has a passing similarity to eggnog, though without the extra fat and extra work. And, though the recipe here calls for rum—taken as it is from Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide, Revised—you could easily make this with brandy, whiskey, or even applejack. I’m pretty sure it’d be okay with a little slug of amaretto, Kahlua or créme de noyaux too, but then again when it comes to cocktail variations I’m a rebel and I ain’t no good. Continue →

This recipe is so simple that it almost feels like cheating. Two ingredients, no shaking—really, how much easier does it get? Not much, and yet this is one of our favorite winter warmers. It is even Doctor Cocktail-approved, given that the good doctor himself gave us the formula and the impetus to try this delightful beverage over a year ago. Since then I don’t think I could count how many Snowshoes we’ve made, nor how many empty bottles of peppermint schnapps in the recycling bin have caused our neighbors’ eyebrows to arch. If you’re feeling a chill this yuletide, or if perhaps the holiday cheercheercheer has worn you down, read on. A quick Snowshoe is a warm, cozy balm for your cold, weary self. Continue →

Recently we’ve had a spate of excellent luck around here, chiefly in the area of cocktails. Generally speaking, out of every five cocktails we try perhaps one is exceptional—more often than not, all five pass by with little to no fanfare or remembrance. It’s unusual that we find many great new cocktails with any frequency, but apparently Christmas has come a bit early to our household. We’ve had a number of eyebrow-raisingly good drinks lately, and this is one of them.

We stumbled upon this little gem in a back issue of Imbibe, resurrected from the pages of the Savoy Cocktail Book by our friend Paul Clarke via Dave Wondrich. As he points out in his own write-up, the Cameron’s Kick is a particularly accomplished red-headed stepchild. Perversely mixing two spirits well known for being a royal pain with—of all things—orgeat syrup, this drink reads like a recipe for disaster. It seems doomed to failure which Paul, like us, finds an irresistible draw. Bring us the most profanely awful recipe you can find and we’ll all be driven to make it and, perhaps, find some way to tweak it into drinkability. Surprisingly, this bizarre marriage blends all the disparate bits into a harmonious and delicious whole that we have been imbibing with regularity. Continue →

The holidays are upon us again and it appears that cocktails are more popular than ever. There has been a lot of activity on the home bar front this year as many people have, like us, ground frivolous spending to a halt. As such, I’m sure a lot of you out there have friends or significant others who have started building their home bars—or are interested in doing so—and are looking for something thoughtful, useful and reasonably priced to gift this year.

One of my favorite places to shop for glassware, punch bowls and accessories like trays or coasters is at my local thrift shop. I rarely pass a second-hand store that I don’t visit, and have stumbled upon excellent finds like pristine sets of vintage champagne coupes (perfect for a three-ounce cocktail) for $2 or $1 bargain-priced air-tight jars that are perfect for holding homemade brandied cherries. I’ve even found the occasional vintage cocktail manual, but those are fewer and farther between these days. Don’t pass up eBay, either, as that’s where you’re going to find a great buy on a vintage metal ice crusher.

If you’re looking for something a bit less time-intensive, I’ve gone ahead and curated a list of options for cocktail-oriented gifts. I’ve been at this home bar thing for a while now and I can say with quite a bit of confidence that every gift on this list is a winner. I own 99% of the items and have sampled or used the remaining percent and can recommend every single thing. If you have a friend or loved one who is into cocktails, be they newly interested or an old-hat nerd like me, there is something on this list that they will love with all their bourbon-soaked heart. Continue →