The Bevvy Alexander.  A cocktail for cold nights. I’ve been needing to get this up for a while, and now I’ve just about missed the season, but there are some chilly spring nights to come. The excellent request made by a lovely guest: a great cocktail that’s warm, for when the weather is cold I looked [...]

(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 [...]

This post is about the perfect Christmas house party drink.  What do I mean by house party?  I mean being in a house for days surrounded by fudge, pie, frosted cookies, any number of other sweets, and hard candy.  I’m in this situation every year, and I pretty much pick up a sweet bit every [...]

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 [...]

If you’ve ever been to a Mexican food restaurant, then you should be familiar with the margarita.  Anyone who has lived in Texas for any period of time should be familiar with this simple masterpiece.  Falling into both camps myself, I am very familiar with the margarita. Very. Here’s the good news: margaritas are simple and customizable.  I [...]

Sometimes my stomach just doesn’t feel right, and my go-to cocktails seem like they may be a bit rough on the tender digestive organ.  Of course you shouldn’t drink at all if really sick or having a stomach problem, but when the issue is more mundane, like an adventurous lunch or lurchy cab ride, I find [...]

I was Dick Tracy for Halloween in second grade.  I had style. Since then, honestly, Halloween has not been my best holiday.  I’ve never gotten arrested, beaten-up, or improperly drunk.  Maybe it’s for the lack of such events that I’ve found Halloween a bit of a let-down. Luckily I now have a blog, and blogs [...]

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 [...]

Introducing Random Drink. Conceptually, I began Tessin Rinpoche as nothing more than a repository for drink recipes that I concoct.  Such a repository is necessary because I don’t believe in making “drinks every bartender should know” nearly as much as I belive in creating a drink to fit the moment.  In the original spirit then, [...]