Though I won’t say I’m sad to see the end of the heatwave that’s been suffocating us here in LA, the end of summer is always bittersweet. Sure, it’s the end of high temperatures and humidity but also the end of summer produce, sandals and warm nights. Granted, we have it easier here during fall [...]

After a wretched bout of sickness that kept me home last Thursday, I awoke Friday feeling nearly human. I opened the door to head for work and found that the mailman had delivered my copy of Esquire Drinks right to my very feet! Naturally, I was heading out of town that night—far, far away from [...]

Continuing on my adventures with the fizz, this seemed like an interesting twist on the silver fizz. Traditionally a silver fizz uses egg white (which I don’t consume), but this takes your basic gin fizz and adds in some heavy cream.
This is another Trader Vic “morning after” recipe, but imbibe carefully. It’d be pretty tough [...]

It was probably a year-and-a-half ago that I purchased Nick Mautone’s wonderful Raising the Bar. For those who haven’t read it, it’s a book about cocktail-based entertaining which includes all manner of recipes—cocktails, syrups, garnishes, punches and snacks. I think of him as something like the Martha Stewart of cocktail parties. Just without the bizarre [...]

The fizz. It’s a simple thing, really. A cousin of the sour family, the fizz first appeared in Jerry Thomas’ 1887 bar guide, and is a simple mix of liquor, acidic juice and carbonated water. Probably the most common incarnation is the gin fizz, which is made of gin, lemon juice, sugar, and fizzy water. [...]