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

I started making this drink back when I first heard about it in 2006. I used to favor some pretty hefty proportions, but I’ve tamed my version of the drink down just a little in recent years. This drink was created at the Pegu Club in Rangoon, Burma, probably in the 1920s. According to Harry | Read More

The origin of the Margarita is lost to history, but there are several stories vying for the title. The one I like involves a showgirl named Marjorie King, who was apparently allergic to grain alcohol. In 1938, Marjorie was visiting the Rancho Del Gloria Bar in Rosarita Beach, Mexico, when she asked one of the | Read More

The Manhattan allegedly has a documented history. When Samuel J. Tilden was elected Governor of New York in 1874, socialite Jenny Jerome threw a party at the Manhattan Club in New York to celebrate his victory. The bartender created a special drink for this occasion; one half ounce bourbon, one quarter ounce each sweet and | Read More

The Sidecar is rumored to have been invented at Harry’s American Bar in Paris some time in the early teens, and must have taken a popular turn very quickly, as it was a well-established drink by the time Prohibition arrived in the United States. Arguably the greatest cocktail of all time and the basis for | Read More

There’s a long-running joke behind the bar that goes like this: “It’s not called ‘Complicated Syrup’!” and it’s just about every bartender’s go-to joke when one of our coworkers screws up the simple syrup. There’s a reason why it isn’t called “Complicated Syrup”. If you can heat water on a stovetop, you’re on your way | Read More