Thanks to the efforts of the good folks at Dewar’s scotch, I flew out this morning to New York City for Repeal Day. After a few late take-offs and missed flights, I finally arrived in Manhattan in time to check in to my hotel and scrub my travel-weary face before heading out on the town | Read More

This being my first ever time hosting Mixology Monday, I’m a little nervous. So bear with me. Also, my schedule has taken a turn for the busier… I’m leaving tomorrow morning to celebrate Repeal Day with the folks from Dewar’s scotch in New York City! As Repeal Day is coming up on the 5th, I | Read More

Last month, I wrote about a recent nightmare involving Grey Goose vodka’s razor-sharp serrated metal foil… and my hand. Many of you shared your horror stories in the comments section. Last week, Sven-Olaf Hansen, Global Brand Director for Grey Goose, replied to the comments with a promise that changes were on the way at Grey | Read More

I have been given the honor of hosting next month’s Mixology Monday here, and since it is in such close company with December 5th, which is Repeal Day, I’ve decided to try to combine the two and have a little fun with it. So, for this round of MxMo, you’re going to need to write | Read More

Since August, Cameron Bogue of MotoTails.com has been on a year-long motorcycle quest from Vancouver, B.C. to the southern tip of Argentina. He and three friends have been stopping at microdistilleries, sampling the wares, and creating new cocktails inspired by the local ingredients. I’ve been following their progress closely and I’ve been talking him up | Read More

Dear Grey Goose vodka; It has come to my attention, during many incidents over the course of several years, that your wonderful product is determined to kill me. I am not referring to the ubiquitous hangover that so many of my clients have endured as a result of partaking in your fine product, but rather | Read More

So, Oregon is the best, as everyone knows, but here’s another reason why: Oregon whiskey. The November issue of Food and Wine Magazine has a great story by Nick Fauchald on page 170 about the rise of Oregon whiskeys, and credits our plentiful raw ingredients (grain, water, wood) and do-it-yourself spirit for a new revolution | Read More

Recently, over at the Epicurious blog they had a post detailing their ten must-read books for cooks and gastronomes. I figured, “What a great idea, I should steal this for my own website!” So here are my recommendations for the top ten books any bartender or home mixologist should keep within arm’s reach at all | Read More

There aren’t many spirits that inspire such passionate opinions as gin does. I know vodka drinkers who recoil in horror when confronted with a bottle of Tanqueray, and gin drinkers who would rather abstain completely than suffer through a Grey Goose martini. But what many people don’t realize is that gin and vodka begin life | Read More

I was in Portland again this weekend, taking a tour of House Spirits Distillery and meeting with some West Coast cocktail luminaries. I’ve been a big fan of the House Spirits products for quite some time, so this was quite the excursion for me. I was met there by some other like-minded enthusiasts: Erik Ellestad | Read More

Sometimes living in Eugene, Oregon means that you have a smaller circle of people who share similar interests as yourself. Driving an hour and a half to Portland is always an option, but sometimes you just wish you could play at home. A select few of us local cocktail enthusiasts gathered today to experiment with | Read More

Yesterday my co-pilot at El Vaquero, Scott, and I made our way up to Portland at nine in the morning for the Great American Distillers Festival – a feat not easily accomplished by two bartenders who had closed the bar the previous night. The list of products available for tasting was short – this ain’t | Read More

For those of you in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, this weekend is the Great American Distillers Festival [PDF at rogue.com] in Portland. I’ll be hanging out and blogging the festival all day on Sunday, so if any of you want to meet up and tour the booths with us, drop me a line and let | Read More