December 3, 2007
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
November 25, 2007
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
November 23, 2007
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
November 5, 2007
I love Thanksgiving so much. It gives me the opportunity to enjoy four of my favorite activities: Going to the grocery store. Cooking. Making drinks. Having dinner with friends. (No, really, going to the grocery store is one of my favorite things in the world.) I first read about Wassail – the ancient wintertime blend | Read More
October 30, 2007
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
October 25, 2007
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
October 25, 2007
Yours truly has been voted Second Best Bartender by the good people of Eugene. I bow graciously to my longtime friend Ty Connor, who came in first, and apparently invented the Vodka Rickey (Ty, I knew you were quite a bit older than I, but wow!) Also coming in second place was this very website! | Read More
October 24, 2007
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
October 1, 2007
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
September 13, 2007
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
September 10, 2007
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
September 2, 2007
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
August 27, 2007
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
August 22, 2007
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
August 19, 2007
I’m a big fan of Jamie Boudreau’s website Spirits and Cocktails. The writing is engaging, the photography is brilliant, and his techniques push the boundaries of mixology. So when I read about how Jamie would brulée brandied cherries with a Misto filled with 151-proof rum and Angostura bitters, I was inspired. And I immediately thought: | Read More
These are the books and tools I use every single day to make drinks at home and behind the bar. Clicking on a product takes you to Amazon, which helps me keep this site running, so thank you in advance!
