At the Winter Fancy Food Show this past January one of the booths that caught my eye was Barsmith and all of the cool retro-looking bartenders in black and white on their labels for all of their mixers, garnishes, syrups and dehydrated citrus. I tried a few while learning a bit more about their products…
Never been to Trader Joe’s with a spirit list for Trader Joe’s cocktails from their newly minted book, The I Love Trader Joe’s Cocktail Book, but I was sure game to try! This new cocktail book is the very first one I’ve heard of where I can find all – or mostly all – of…
I recently received a press release regarding the winners of the 2024 International Whisky Competition. I was interested in one as it had a well-known single malt whisky in a ready-to-drink (RTD) cocktail: Best Whisky Based RTD: The Glenlivet Twist & Mix Old Fashioned Ready to Serve Cocktail (Pernod Ricard) This innovative cocktail impressed judges…
In this latest review, I was familiar with one of the spirits brands from Montenegro Gruppo: the Amaro Montenegro was the first Amaro I ever had, in a Black Manhattan where the bartender swapped out the sweet vermouth for this dark digestif. Montenegro remains one of my favorite Amari (the plural for Amaro) to this day,…
New Book Celebrates the Weekend with Friday Night Cocktails, Your Invitation to Slow Down and Take a Moment for Yourself It’s Friday night and you’ve had a long week and you’re ready to take a few moments to relax and unwind. You deserve it. It’s time for a relaxing cocktail. Author A.J. Dean has compiled a fabulous…
Haven’t done a “round-up” article in a long time. That’s where I ask pals on social media to answer a question for me, and that I’ll be sharing the results in a blog post. I had this idea, about what cocktails we like to make at home, when my sister-in-law made me one with a…
The Secret Garden Distillery is proud to announce they have joined forces with ImpEx Beverages, a California based spirit importer, to bring their award-winning gins from Edinburgh to the USA. The first shipment will soon find its way into specialty retailers across the USA. The expressions for this launch include Damask Rose & Juniper, Lemon…
Honestly? Even though I’ve studied wine and spirits, been certified by the Wine and Spirits Education Trust (WSET 2) and made plenty of cocktails with Vermouth I had never 1. Studied Vermouth in a single spirit tasting sans cocktail or 2. Looked into what makes a Vermouth. So, considering that most of my readers are…
Lover’s Lagoon. McCoy’s Oceanfront at Fort Lauderdale Marriott Pompano Beach Resort & Spa, Fla. Think of as a moonlit stroll on the beach — in a glass. Ingredients: 1 oz vodka 1 oz spiced rum 1 oz peach juice 1 oz pear juice 1 oz plum juice ½ oz blue curacao Preparation: Stir all ingredients…