(EE-craftiness: part of a heart garland.)

I love Valentine’s Day.  I view it as an ideal holiday, and strenuously disagree with those who consider it to be over-commercialized, depressing, and all the rest.  Valentine’s is a bright spot in in the otherwise desolate month of February (at least in the Northeast).  Even before the days of EE, I [...]

When I make drinks for people, I am frequently asked how or why I created the drink.  To me the answer seemed obvious: grab some bottles, pour, mix, taste.  Upon reflection, however, I realized that I do always have some sort of target.  The inspiration for that target can take many forms. 
A drink target could involve an [...]

Cranberry-infused Gin with Tonic (plus some squirrel candles)
EE and I are uber-excited to be hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year!  Because we live far from our families, and because I’m working on Friday, we are staying in Manhattan.  This will be our first chance to see the parade, and our first major holiday together without the presence of [...]

Pomplamoose (the band) is awesome, as I’ve said previously.  Pomplamoose (the word) is awesome. Say it with me, slowly to appreciate it, Pah-mm-p-la-mmoooooo-ssse.  So fun.  I’m even going to say it again to myself.  Really, thank you France for creating such a cool word for a pretty lame fruit.
I’m OK with grapefruit. I went through a [...]

I’d settle for aeroplanes having cocktail shakers, but I wouldn’t mind an aeroplane shaker…
 
I’m not exactly a frequent flier, and I don’t usually drink when I fly, but an overnight trip to Chicago gave me the opportunity to see what I could do with American’s coach beverage selection.  Since American also has wi-fi onboard, I [...]

I’ve been dying to write this post, and today we finally had a brunch with friends that involved making Bloody Marys!  In addition to being a pleasant addition to any weekend brunch, they are (should be) a staple during the house-parties that inevitably occur around the holidays.  If you leave Santa cookies and milk, maybe, just maybe, he’ll leave [...]

 
Introducing a Tessin Rinpoche staple: the FreeBerry
 

 
I am honored to have a guest post about the FreeBerry on Apartment Therapy’s The Kitchn!  For FreeBerry details, check it out!
A video of me making one is below:
 

My cocktail trinity consists of the Gibson, the Negroni, and the Manhattan.  I’ve already demonstrated the Manhattan, and today I will demonstrate the Gibson.
A Gibson is a martini: truly a martini because all it has is gin and dry vermouth.  The defining ingredient of a Gibson is the cocktail onion garnish.
Onions in cocktails?  YES!
I have [...]

EE didn’t used to like Negronis. I think the Campari was a bit strong (it can be an acquired taste).  I ended up creating this drink for EE as something that is simple to make, but that has a pretty complex taste.
Ingredients
1 Gin (typically Sapphire)
0.9 Aperol
0.7 Cointreau
The absurd measurements above are not because the drink [...]

I was only able to participate in Saturday’s Manhattan Cocktail Classic events, but am very glad to hear that MCC will be making a full-week run in spring 2010.
EE and I attended the Employees Only “Tales From Behind the Bar” seminar.  It was spectacular.  Jason and Dushan told the entire EO tale, which they punctuated [...]