This is my interpretation of a classic style of Brazilian drink. Often these are blended, but variations appear here and there that are on the rocks like this one. I like to use Leblon cachaça at the bar because it’s a multi-distilled, and therefore lighter, product.  

Greetings, and happy Mixology Monday! Paul over at Cocktail Chronicles is hosting this month’s get-together, and the theme is Blog Love. Yikes, what a name, huh? But it’s a great idea: we’re all going to try out recipes that we’ve seen on each other’s sites, and report on our findings. Because we’re bloggers. And we | Read More

After a brutal weekend of making drinks for what seemed like every single graduate of the University of Oregon this weekend (and their parents), I’m propping myself up at my computer to once again take part in the Mixology Monday festivities. I did some advance planning (a first) and started working on this recipe last | Read More

There are so many bad Mojitos out there that I just had to share what I think is the most perfect, simple Mojito recipe. While a lot of people want to overthink the drink, I think it’s important to take a step back and look at the cocktail for what it truly is: a Rum | Read More

While working on a host of new drinks for the El Vaquero drink menu, I found several references to a Nacional Daiquiri, created at the Hotel Nacional in Havana, Cuba using apricot brandy. Never able to leave well enough alone, I fooled around with proportions and flavors until I came up with this twist on | Read More

I’ve been playing with making my own bitters lately. I love bitters and have a small collection of them in my liquor cabinet, from Gary Regan’s Orange Bitters, to Fee Brothers’ Mint Bitters. After reading this article online about making grapefruit bitters, I decided to try it, with my own variations. We’ve been using these | Read More

The origin of the Bee’s Knees cocktail is lost to history, but we do know that it popped up sometime during Prohibition. The recipe doesn’t appear anywhere in my copy of The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book by Albert Stevens Crockett, but my Trader Vic’c Bartender’s Guide shows two recipes, one for a Bee’s Knees made | Read More

Well, about six years later, I finally got around to making a video about my Brandy Alexander story. Click below to watch the Small Screen Network video about my dad and his first experience with Brandy Alexanders. Then come back to read the post and grab the recipe.  All this talk of Chocolate Martinis | Read More

Victor Bergeron – Trader Vic – created this drink back in the 40s, and is quoted in the 1947 edition of his Trader Vic’s Bartender’s Guide as saying, “Anyone who says that I didn’t create this drink is a dirty stinker.” When I visited Trader Vic’s in Beverly Hills, I watched their skilled mixologists closely | Read More

Since it’s Cinco de Mayo and everything, I figured I’d post the margarita we use at the bar. I worked on my margarita recipe for a long time until I found that perfect balance between sweet, sour and strong. It’s been very good to us over the years. I learned early on the famous 2:1:1 | Read More