Tequila and mezcal — messing with the Negroni
The Negroni has inspired many cocktails, but few (most famously, the whiskey-based Boulevardier) have used its equal parts model literally.
So I was intrigued when I came across a tequila-based version of the drink in Robert Hess’s Essential Bartender’s Guide. Read more
Under my desk with the Atomic Cocktail
I never knew anyone who actually built a Cold War bomb shelter, though I do recall the very useful hide-under-your-desk drills in grade school. It didn’t occur to me at the time that I was one of millions of Americans living in harm’s way with respect to our open-air atomic tests and their fallout. Read more
Z is for Zillah (who drank too much gin)
So how much gin is too much gin?
Those familiar with illustrator Edward Gorey may recognize this article’s title as the caption from one of his drawings, the final frame in an alphabet-driven collection called the Gashlycrumb Tinies, about children who meet curious untimely ends. Poor Zillah. Read more 
The Blackthorne Cocktail
We have Gary Regan to thank for the Blackthorne Cocktail. The basic model of the drink has been around for something like a hundred years, Read more
A Martini with something in it — the astonishing Atty Cocktail
The Atty Cocktail is a Martini with embellishments; if you get the proportions right, those embellishments are surprising, flavorful and entertaining.
The Deshler Cocktail
The Deshler Cocktail is a WWI-era relative of the Manhattan. I’m not a boxing historian, but I’m told the “Deshler” in question was Dave Deshler, an American lightweight boxer in the early years of the 20th century. I know nothing of his boxing, but it seems he was good enough to inspire a well-constructed cocktail, I suppose as homage to one of his victories. Read more
Drinking the French Quarter: The Vieux Carré Cocktail
The Vieux Carré is New Orleans’ contribution to the Manhattan family. More specifically, it is a Saratoga, sweetened with a splash of Bénédictine and the city’s historic Peychaud’s bitters. Read more
Why is there cognac in my Sazerac?
The Sazerac has been one of my favorite cocktails for years, and its status as a “go-to” drink has become more entrenched as a wider selection of rye whiskies has come into my market, and especially as proper absinthe became available again. Read more
