Amusingly, this is the cocktail Ted was drinking the last time we were able to visit a bar together when he was the one being assailed by a cold. As such, the aptly named Prescription Julep is an accepted cure-all for these pesky viruses, the word “julep” being very old and, for a good portion of its history, associated with medicinal potions for ensuring health and vitality. The ingredients and applications have varied over the centuries, but julep has been interpreted in Middle English, Persian and many other languages as a flavored syrup, which is obviously still true to a large extent. Referenced in many sources, including Milton and Pepys, juleps medicinal, alcoholic or non, are an old favorite of the Old South—though we can’t be exactly sure when mint came in to the equation—and an American icon.

This julep, made with brandy and rye whiskey, was published (humorously) in Harper’s Monthly during the nineteeth century and republished by Dave Wondrich in Imbibe!. Spicy, sweet, complex and delicious, it really does help you cope with a sickness… mostly by inducing naps. Look no further for the ultimate julep for a cold night by the fire—or even a summer day by the pool. (...) Continue reading Prescription Julep

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Post tags: brandy, cocktail, cognac, mint, rye, whisk(e)y

My planned week off after the New Year has spun out into nearly three, thanks to a nasty cold and various other distractions. And, with what’s gone on and is continuing to happen in Haiti, blogging about cocktails hardly seemed like the thing that should be taking up my time. Speaking of which, I’d like to give a small plug for charity. I know everyone is texting their donations to the Red Cross, but I’m more than a little suspicious of non-profit organizations with CEOs paid over $400,000 a year. There are many other, less bureaucratic, aid groups out there who could also use your ever-more-precious dollars—groups like Oxfam International and Doctors Without Borders.

And now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Since this is the beginning of our fifth year, I thought I’d do a little photographic flashback through the gradual development of the bar, and of the blog. After years of work, we finally have all of our bottles and tools housed safely and accessibly, a fact which I can only disclose after a lot of trial and error and messy, overcrowded solutions—namely, the single, large cabinet that has attempted to house our unwieldy collection of bottles since 2005. All the cocktail geeks will tell you that bottle, book and tool storage is a real problem, especially when you live in a tiny little apartment with no space for a wet (or even a dry) bar. Eventually we found the best solution for us, which you can see as part of the morphology below: (...) Continue reading Build-a-Bar Workshop

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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 reading Last Word

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Post tags: chartreuse, cocktail, gin, lime, maraschino

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 reading Hot Rum Cow

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Post tags: cocktail, hot, milk, nutmeg, rum, vanilla

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 reading Snowshoe

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Post tags: bourbon, cocktail, mint, peppermint, schnapps

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 reading Cameron’s Kick

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Post tags: cocktail, irish, lemon juice, orgeat, scotch, whisk(e)y

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 reading Holiday Gift Guide 2009

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Even if you don’t want to throw your punchbowl in the ring, you can buy a ticket to the live event at Malo on December 10th, where $12 gets you at least six glasses of punch, tasty nibbles (potato tacos, people!) and music by DJ Sylvia. Pick up your tickets now at Malo or down the street at Barkeeper.

And last but not least, the best reason to go is a chance to spend the evening hanging out with me, Matt from Rumdood and Chuck of The Gumbo Pages. As local blogging celebrities (hah!) go, we are the drinkingest you’ll find.

Like this? We also suggest:

• Sangria — cocktail, cognac, Cointreau, lemon, lime, orange, punch, wine
• Historic Los Angeles Bar Tour — haigh, los angeles, tour, wondrich

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Post tags: contests, los angeles, punch

Here we have a little tipple from mixologist Junior Merino that is absolutely perfect for the Thanksgiving table. Taken from last year’s Food & Wine cocktails guide, the Sherry Cocktail makes use of sherry and brandy for its base. Combined with some simple homemade pomegranate grenadine, it has a rich flavor that can stand up to the usual decadent holiday spread. (...) Continue reading Sherry Cocktail

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Post tags: brandy, cherry, cocktail, grenadine, lemon, orange, sherry

Some of my favorite holiday memories are of my grandmother’s house. The front yard of cold yellow grass and dog poop where my Uncle Glenn, my brother and I used to rip through beer after beer while the rest of my family sat in the front room and tried to pretend that this year wasn’t at least twice as much of an outstanding failure on every conceivable level as the one before it. We’d knock down a case in the time it took the turkey to die a second time, telling dirty jokes and listening to the big rigs throbbing down the freeway. It wasn’t much, but it was a good way to deal with the predictable cruelty of our familial politics, and an even better excuse to pee in my Grandmother’s yard.

That was the state of my holidays every year since I was twelve, and it happened that way until a rebel backhoe killed my uncle in his backyard and I met the woman I was going to marry (but not at the same time). Though I had always thought my holidays were pretty standard, it turns out that most folks don’t have to deal with listening to their grandmother’s sexual fantasies about the black mailman while washing dishes, and that some families actually enjoy each other’s company. My wife’s family is one of those—most of the time, anyway—and being that she is infinitely charitable and kind, she invited me one year to go with her to a get-together on her mother’s side of the family, who happen to be Swedish. (...) Continue reading Three Aquavits, Two Holiday Traditions

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Post tags: akavit, aquavit, review

You can click here to test drive the list and pick a few drinks to grace your holiday table.

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I also look for drinks that use classic fall and winter flavors, such as this drink by Tad Carducci for Apothecary in Philadelphia. It appeared in last year’s holiday issue of Imbibe (this year’s holiday issue just hit the stands), and he likens its pairing abilities to a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, pulling “herbal and sweet elements from food.” The list of ingredients could be used as a glaze for ham, if you’re into that sort of thing, but that goes to show just how well this works for food pairing this time of year. (...) Continue reading Wise Old Sage

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Post tags: agave, cocktail, Grand Marnier, grapefruit, pineapple, rum, sage

Many thanks, friends, for your votes in the Foodbuzz Blog Awards! We were very flattered to find out we won the Best Cocktail/Spirits Blog, especially up against the likes of Jeffrey Morgenthaler, Jay Hepburn and Michael Dietsch—all friends who do excellent work on their own sites.

That said, we’ll take our happiness and get on with what you’re here for: the drinks. Mixing things up a little bit, today we feature a spirit that is largely unused in cocktails, mostly because it has just recently become widely available in this country outside of the Southwest. Mezcal is a cousin of tequila which dates back to the Conquistadors arriving in South America, when the Spaniards introduced and applied the process of distillation to native fermented beverages. Both spirits are made from the piñas, or hearts, of the agave plant which are cooked before extracting, fermenting and distilling the resulting juice. That is about where the similarities end.

According to Mexican law, tequila can only be produced in the states of Jalisco, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit, and Tamaulipas, while mezcal is largely from Oaxaca (wah-hawk-ah). This affects the terroir of the spirit but additionally in mezcal production the piñas are roasted for days in heated rock pits, imbuing an intense smoky flavor that is not found in the baked piñas of tequila. Mezcal production is still largely uncommercial, as most of the labor-intensive traditional methods are still employed—all the way, in some cases, down to hundred-year-old clay pot stills used to produce the final spirit. To produce true artisan mezcal on a major scale would be a difficult task, which means that most of the best mezcal you can buy in the States is on the expensive side. It’s completely worth it, however, if you enjoy it’s particular smokey, earthy, vegetal character. (...) Continue reading Oaxacan

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Post tags: bitters, cocktail, mezcal, orange, Pimm's

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This recipe is a Beachbum original, taken from the pages of his second book, Intoxica!. While you can still find a copy from time to time, I’m pretty excited to note that he is releasing a new, revised-and-expanded book which includes the contents of Intoxica! and Grog Log, called Beach Bum Berry Remixed. With all the drinks from his first two books plus at least forty new ones, I’m just itching to get my hands on a copy. Stocking stuffer, anyone? (...) Continue reading Bum’s Rush

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Post tags: apple, Bärenjäger, cocktail, Cointreau, honey, lime, tequila, tiki