A few weeks ago, I received a request from an interested reader, asking for my thoughts on liquor in the home bar. Specifically, what and how should one choose what to buy? And, equally important, how do you keep the cost reasonable?
Well, dear readers, I hate to shatter my image of infallibility, but I am [...]

I have some dim and dusty memories from my childhood of my father and gradparents regaling the family with stories of their favorite (and defunct) bars. Out of these memories come exotic and interesting drink names that have always captured my fancy: Fuzzy Navel, Navy Grog, Suffering Bastard, Rusty Nail. It has been a great [...]

Despite the relative simplicity of the ingredients, the Old Fashioned is a deceptively difficult drink to make. The first tip-off was the fact that I found three different recipes for it in the same book—let alone the variations I’ve found in other locations.
My first attempt resulted in a totally underwhelming drink, but I fiddled with [...]

Up until a few months ago, every person I met expressed a keen dislike of the Southern specialty known as the Mint Julep. Complaints generally ranged from “bland” to “too strong,” but in my quest to learn as much as I can about tending bar, I can afford to leave no drink unmade.
Surprisingly, the Mint [...]

Sadly, I really don’t have much to say about the VIP. It was neither here nor there, neither exceptional nor terrible. It runs in the vein of an Old Fashioned, blending bourbon and citrus, but follows it up with dry vermouth.
I’m not sure how I feel about dry vermouth mixed with bourbon, as this drink [...]