The Times-Picayune:
New Orleans best bartenders gather at the Museum of the American Cocktail
Every month, the Museum of the American Cocktail (Riverwalk Marketplace, 1 Poydras St.) imports big-time bartenders from around the country to talk, mingle and demonstrate their skills with a mixing tin. On Monday, July 6, the museum shines a spotlight on our local talent. (more...)

Detroit Free Press:
Updated cocktails and offbeat lemonades are summer standouts
Now that it's officially summer — and finally hot — it's time to think about refreshing lemonades and cool cocktails. (more...)

San Francisco Chronicle:
A serious spot for tequila
New York is in a tizzy of new cocktail boites -- Clover Club, Rye, Dutch Kills -- but my one must-stop this past trip was to Mayahuel, the new project from Phil Ward, an East Coast bartender cocktail virtuoso (formerly at Death & Co.) who we've featured before and who has made the occasional appearance behind a San Francisco bar. (more...)

San Francisco Chronicle:
Hard doses of bitters lead to new cocktails
The bar that night was stocked with a fabulous array of spirits, liqueurs and all sorts of fanciful flavoring agents such as lemongrass-infused simple syrup, plus sparkling sake and an abundance of herbs, spices, fresh fruits and juices. But there was one thing missing from the backbar that really threw me off. There wasn't a drop of vermouth to be seen. It's a long story ... (more...)

The New York Times:
Refreshing by definitions
A guide to bartending when the frost is on the glass. (more...)

New York Times:
It’s Not So Mysterious: The Secret Is in the Swizzle
When Katie Stipe, a bartender at the Clover Club in Boerum Hill, gets an order for a mojito, she recommends that the customer try a Queens Park Swizzle instead. (more...)

North County Times:
Tips for using hot new sweetener ---- agave syrup
A cactus-based sugary syrup has become the latest darling of the alternative sweetener world. (more...)

Los Angeles Times:
Kick it with a new cocktail book this summer
The magazine Food & Wine has a new cocktail book out, and it's really great for summer. (more...)

Gourmet.com:
Eight great bars in London
London has its share of private members’ clubs—Shoreditch House, Groucho Club, Morton’s, to name just a few—which made some sense when these elitist clubs were among the few places where you could legally get a drink after 11 p.m. But not anymore. The licensing laws changed in 2005, and getting a decent drink, in a pleasant bar, has never been easier. (more...)

Los Angeles Times:
Don't forget to take your medicine: A cocktail from the Pharmacie
The Pharmacie, a series of roving, invite-only cocktail parties (more underground than even the Roger Room?), kicked off last Sunday evening. (more...)

Daily News:
Bing-a-Ling is winner at New York Cocktail Contest
They shook, strained and stirred their way to the top. (more...)

The Globe and Mail:
Gimme a lager on the rocks with a twist
Once considered déclassé, cocktails that feature beer are gaining converts as bars across the country serve up their own specialties. (more...)

Contra Costa Times:
Night Owl: Ice is the secret behind a perfect cocktail
I've been wondering for a while about what the next step in the ever-evolving cocktail culture in the Bay Area possibly could be. Where can connoisseurs go after treating the superiority of Boston shakers, Hawthorn strainers and hand-pressed citrus squeezers? Ice cubes. (Obligatory eye roll here.) (more...)

Washington Post:
Will Proof become destination for cocktails as well as wine?
Only a few weeks ago, D.C. cocktail aficionados stared glumly into the bottoms of their Sazeracs, wondering what would replace Adam Bernbach's wildly inventive (and wildly popular) drinks once he left Bar Pilar. He said he wanted to take a break from the day-to-day business of bartending and managing a restaurant. Well, that didn't last long. (more...)

New York Times:
A bar with a hypothesis
With Mayahuel, the cocktail lounge he opened in the East Village in May, Philip Ward painstakingly makes his case that tequila and its cousin, mezcal, are not occasions for sunburned debauchery, but rather opportunities for contemplative drinking. (more...)

San Francisco Chronicle:
Bartenders getting choosier about equipment
It could be the way the profession seems made for metaphors, or perhaps it's the legacy of a particular woodworker who attained superstardom a couple of millennia ago. Whatever the reason, carpenters get all the artisan glory while bartenders are typically left in the shadows. (more...)

Forbes Magazine:
Forbes' Best Bartenders
It takes more than well-measured ingredients to make a bar visit special. (more...)

The Moment of the New York Times:
Now Infusing: Bittermens’ Bitters (Plus D.I.Y. Recipe)
Sometimes what you do after work can lead to a new career. Take Avery and Janet Glasser. They were just hearty drinkers at a San Francisco bar when a strange sequence of events landed them at Distillery 209, the makers of 209 Gin. (more...)

The Washington Post:
Better Tiki than Tacky
Drinking trends come and go, but tiki will always be with us. It keeps returning every few years or so, like the mustache or animal-print fabric. (more...)

The Times-Picayune:
Tales of the Cocktail 'Spirited Dinner' tickets on sale.
Tales of the Cocktail, a local festival of drink that draws progressive, enlightened imbibers from across the country, is still a month away. But tickets for its Spirited Dinners, the cocktail mavens' answer to a multi-course, paired wine dinner, go on sale today. (more...)

Wall Street Journal:
A cocktail for what ails you
What is this Rock and Rye that serves as a metaphor for a balm in a barren wilderness? A drink of rye whiskey sweetened with rock candy and perhaps some fruits and bitter herbs, Rock and Rye was once believed to be a cure-all for the common cold. (more...)

Phillyist:
Philly is hosting the Olympics!
Its official, Philadelphia is hosting the Olympics. I don't know who we had to bribe, or who's sleeping with who, but Philadelphia... is home... to the 2009 MOJITO OLYMPICS! (more...)

abc15.com:
Dazzle your friends with these bartending tricks
Add a jigger of showmanship and a splash of entertainment to your next party. Scott Young takes show-stopping, bottle-flipping bartending to the extreme. (more...)

San Francisco Chronicle:
Cooking up the manliest rum-based cocktail
An e-mail sent to a handful of cocktail geeks recently asked a question of earth-shattering importance: "What would you say is the manliest rum-based cocktail?" (more...)

philly.com:
Learning to create alcoholic alchemy
Philadelphia barkeeps, in a wonderland of spirits, are tutored in creating alcoholic alchemy. The results are coming soon to an eatery near you. (more...)

Digital City:
The King Of Cocktails chats about Belmont & its breeze
Gourmet mixologist, cocktail expert and the King of Cocktails Dale DeGroff honed his skills behind some famous bars, including the one at The Rainbow Room. (more...)

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Spirits: Drink up history at the Museum of the American Cocktail in New Orleans
All the other cities just make cocktails. New Orleans invented them. (more...)

New York Times:
Bar? What Bar?
On a nondescript block in Williamsburg, not far from the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, a new bar and restaurant called Rye opened last week. Try to find it. (more...)

New York Times:
Take a sip of history.
The old-fashioned may finally be earning its name. One of the most venerable of whiskey-based cocktails, it has a history that stretches back farther than the martini’s. (more...)

Phoenix New Times:
Summer Guide: Shaking it up with Valley mixologists
When I was young, a drink was just a drink — and the cheaper it was, the better. (more...)

Wall Street Journal:
A Distinctly Western Cocktail
Roger Angell, the editor and sportswriter at the New Yorker whose mother, Katharine S. White, and stepfather, E.B. White, were also New Yorkerites, has traveled in cosmopolitan circles that care about cocktails. In his memoir “Let Me Finish,” Mr. Angell muses about how he and his friends used to obsess over the making of their postwar Martinis: “Preciousness almost engulfed us, back then.” (more...)

Boston Herald:
Drink specials: Barbara Lynch’s new lounge tailors cocktails to customers
At Drink, the new Fort Point Channel cocktail lounge from No. 9 Park chef/owner Barbara Lynch, you don’t so much order a libation as negotiate it. While the bartenders can mix all the old favorites, they prefer to fix you a cocktail based on your likes and dislikes and how you’re feeling. (more...)

msnbc.com:
Classic cocktails give drinkers a sip of the past.
More bargoers are skipping the Cosmo in favor of old-school drinks. (more...)

The Wall Street Journal:
Did They Monkey With the Recipe?
Dr. Deaver proclaimed himself to be “strongly opposed to such customs, believing that they are the root of the evil,” and he singled out for disapprobation the Caruso cocktail, calling it “the latest innovation.” (more...)

Washington Post:
Recipe: Espresso Cocktail
Adapted from a recipe by mixologist Dale DeGroff, in "The Grappa Handbook," by Marcin Miller (Quercus Communications, 2008). (more...)

Boston Globe:
Cheers to summertime cocktail parties
Too many alfresco summer parties revolve around a case of Corona, a few limes, and a bag of Tostitos. Which can be fine - once. But outdoor soirees are a chance to get imaginative with your bar selections, your decor, even your party theme. (more...)

Bloomberg:
Mahiki Is Named Best Bar, Serves $1,000 Cocktail: Out in London.
Mahiki, home to royal revelers and tropical cocktails, was named Best Bar at the London Club & Bar Awards. (more...)

Chow:
The Cocktail Staycation
Armchair travel is a lot more fun with a few drinks. (more...)

Express from The Washington Post:
Garden of delights: Herb infused cocktails
The next time you're out on a bar's patio, take a sniff around; you may just spot some of your drink's starring ingredients. (more...)

San Jose Mercury News:
Cocktail Chronicles: the new Tanq.
Tanq, which opened in March, rises above the usual ho-hum vibe of hotel bars by picking an underwater theme and running with it. (more...)

CBS Show:
Spring Cocktails To Wow Your Guests.
On The Early Show Thursday, bar managers from three top New York City restaurants owned by Danny Meyer were on hand to show how to craft their cocktail creations from his new book, "Mix Shake Stir." (more...)

New York Times:
Ginger Ale without the can.
Ginger Ale is an age-old remedy for sick children and grown-ups alike. Now, homemade ginger ale is appearing on drink menus across the country under happier circumstances. (more...)

Wine Enthusiast Magazine:
Between grape and grain: Wine cocktails
Sometimes you just can’t decide between a martini and a Malbec. What to do? Opt for a wine cocktail. (more...)

Luxist:
The Last Word cocktail reborn.
Ever have a recipe that makes you want to run to the kitchen and start cooking immediately? (more...)

Freep.com:
Detroit’s cocktail conquers world.
A long-dormant drink that was created in Detroit has cocktail fans raving from Seattle to Sydney. And it’s finally returned to its hometown. (more...)

Seattle Times:
Cocktail, or beverage? Your call: What'll it be?
These days the options are endless and the answer to that question depends, of course, on where I'm drinking. (more...)

Nashua Telegraph:
Beer cocktail pairs well with Latino dishes.
Latino food is hot. Often figuratively, sometimes literally. So what do you drink with it? In Mexico and Cuba, one of the top choices since the 1950s has been the michelada cocktail, and the trend is inching north. (more...)

Louisville Courier-Journal:
Return of the classic cocktail.
Joy Perrine has seen a lot of drinks, gimmicks and gadgets come and go in her 43 years of bartending, and while she hopes many never return, she's immensely pleased to witness the comeback of such classic cocktails as the Manhattan, the Mojito, the Old-Fashioned and the whiskey sour. (more...)

New York Magazine:
What the bartender knows.
Pickup moves that work, drinks that will get you laughed at, and how, now and then, they rip you off. A survey of 33 barkeeps. (more...)

New York Times:
Absinthe, beyond the mystique
Since the resumption of the absinthe trade in 2007, its hipness quotient has taken a few hits — ouch! No longer the stuff of romantic poets and impressionists, absinthe is now apparently as uncool and contrived as the account executives and would-be hipsters who favor it.(more...)

New York Times:
Vodka dead? Not so fast
When Nathan Freeburg is sizing up a bar, he looks for a few crucial signposts of quality: fresh juices, rather than pre-made sour mix; bottled bitters and chilled glasses in evidence; and the bartenders’ use of jiggers, to measure a drink’s ingredients. Oh, and one more thing: “A lack of vodka."(more...)

World Records Academy:
Fastest bartender-world record set by Chris Raph
Chris Raph, 31, the bar manager at The Shout House Dueling Pianos bar, poured 662 cocktails in one hour-setting the world record for fastest the Fastest Bartender.(more...)

Dayton Daily News:
Recession good for bartending schools
Tonjia Hogan and Nancy Brown lost their jobs. Now they are taking on the new profession as bartenders, a job they hope may be a little more recession-proof.(more...)

Forbes:
Cocktails go green
The new trend for so-called green cocktails embraces fresh ingredients and eschews preservative-infused staples like maraschino cherries and frozen margarita mix.(more...)

myfoxdc.com
Four D.C. Bars Earn 'Top 100' Honors
Four D.C. area bars have made the list of the top 100 bars in the country, according to Food & Wine magazine.(more...)

Gisborne Herald:
New bartender has cocktail ideas aplenty
If you have half a bottle of Midori, half a bottle of vodka and a hipflask of schnapps but no idea what to make with it, two Gisborne guys should have the answer.(more...)

SFist.com:
"SF Cocktail Week" kicks off; startenders about town more hungover than usual
Last night marked the opening gala of the third annual San Francisco Cocktail Week celebration -- a week in which Bay Area barmeisters mix and mingle with mixologists and cocktail enthusiasts from around the nation.(more...)

7x7 Magazine:
"SF Cocktail Week's" top five
My Number 2 Cocktail Week event is not necessarily an SFCW exclusive, since the folks at Alembic do this periodically. But seeing as you're in an especially heightened state of cocktail awareness, it's a great time to participate in this event.(more...)

Bellevue, the sister city of Seattle, which often likes to put on airs, but has pretty much been a laggard when it comes to anything even approaching a good drink, recently got a wake-up call when Donald Brady re-opened the Chantanee Thai restaurant with an exquisite "craft" bar firmly established at its heart.

Andrew Bohrer,  the head bartender, has gathered a crack team to help him execute world-class drinks, the likes of which Bellevue has never before seen. His back-bar contains a dizzying array of carefully selected products, which he uses to serve many long-forgotten classics, as well as expertly balanced new creations.

Last Thursday night (May 7th, 2009), Chantanee Thai's Naga bar participated in the celebrations for World Cocktail Week by pulling together a special menu which featured a cocktail flight, pairing three individual cocktails with special selected dishes:

Ueno San
Makers Mark, Lillet Blanc, Carpano Antica and peach bitters, served on the rock with an orange zest.
- Served with a fresh salad roll

Suffering Bastard
Makers Mark, Plymouth Gin, fresh lime, house made ginger beer, float of Galiano served on the rocks in a tiki mug.
- Served with Thai spiced hot wings

Dragonfly Julep
Plymouth Gin, Domaine de Canton, fresh lime, muddled sage, and Laphroaig Cask Strength, served over crushed ice.
- Served with House made Esan Sausage

I have placed some picture from that night, as well as a rendition of their menu here.

On Tuesday, January 13^th, the Museum and Rock Creek Restaurant (Mazza Gallerie, in Friendship Heights, D.C.) staged a great cocktail seminar titled “All Cocktails is Local – Presidential and Political Cocktails Through American History. About 40 attendees were on hand to learn about, and taste, what past presidents and politicians were drinking back in the day.

Phil Greene and Derek Brown were joined by two distinguished guests, Rock Creek’s own Hall of Fame bartender Nick Wineriter and Mount Vernon’s Dennis Pogue. Nick not only assisted in the serving of the evening’s offerings, but he presented the Bronx Cocktail, which featured in something of a scandal during the presidential term of William Howard Taft (he apparently had Bronx cocktails served at a breakfast reception in St. Louis!). Dennis Pogue, a historian and curator with Mount Vernon, offered a fascinating presentation on George Washington’s successful post-White House career making whiskey (!), and described how archaeologists not only unearthed the remnants of Washington’s rye whiskey distillery at Mount Vernon, but they rebuilt an exact working replica in its place.

Phil Greene and Derek Brown were the main emcees of the evening, delivering a compelling PowerPoint show taking you from the first origins of the word cocktail (which first appeared in a newspaper account of, what else, an election), how alcohol was a popular electioneering tool in early American history, the origins of the term “lobbying,” and how so many colorful Americanisms arose from the crossroads of politics and potent potables.

Derek delved into the history of the fabled D.C. saloon known as Shoomaker’s (located were the J.W. Marriott now stands, near 14^th and E Streets, NW), and told the story of the classic drink reportedly born there, the Rickey. While patrons sipped a Whiskey Rickey (see recipes, below), Derek told of its creator, a lobbyist, by the name of “Colonel” Joe Rickey, and his life and times.

Phil discussed other political cocktails, such as the Ward Eight, which was created by the “Boston Mahatma,” political boss Martin Lomasney, who’s trademark mantra was “Never write when you can speak, never speak when you can nod, never nod when you can wink.” They just don’t make ‘em like that anymore (notwithstanding the events currently underway in the Great State of Illinois).

Phil also skimmed over a number of other presidential and political tales:

• How Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill both loved a Plymouth Gin Martini, sometimes to the chagrin of Eleanor!
• That Harry Truman was a bourbon whiskey man (he was tossin’ ‘em back when he learned he’d become President!)
• How Wilbur Mills’ career came to an abrupt, and watery end at the Tidal Basin, after a night of imbibing;
• How Ike and LBJ both loved scotch whiskey and soda;
• And that Pat Nixon was a Jack Daniel’s gal.

Phil also discussed how the Daiquiri was tied to three presidents, and told of how that drink was reportedly invented, and then brought to Washington’s Army and Navy Club in1909. But of those presidents, it was John F. Kennedy who sipped daiquiris while awaiting the election results in November of 1960.

History did not dominate the evening, however, the evening began with a brand new Domaine de Canton cocktail inspired by and invented for the Presidential Inauguration, and served at the Peace Ball on Inauguration Day. Invented and named by acclaimed D.C. bartender Gina Chersevani of PS7, the YES WE CANTON! was an immediate hit, and even caught the fancy of Washington Post cocktail columnist Jason Wilson, who covered the event here:

The last drink covered and served that evening was the Mai Tai, and attendees learned not only of its rich history, but how Richard Nixon was something of a Tiki buff; he loved Trader Vic’s, Navy Grog and the Mai Tai especially.

The audience didn’t want to go home at the conclusion of the show, and Phil, Derek, Nick and Dennis fielded questions for about an hour thereafter. It was a great evening, and yet another sign that D.C. is firmly established as a cocktail mecca!

Recipes:

The Whiskey Rickey

Take half a lime and squeeze it into a highball glass, fill with ice, and add about 2 ounces of bourbon whiskey. Fill the glass with 2-4 ounces of Apollonaris mineral water.

The Ward Eight Cocktail

• 1 1/2 ounces Maker's Mark bourbon or (ri)1 rye whiskey
• 1/2 ounce lemon juice
• 1/2 ounce orange juice
• 1 tsp grenadine

Shake well with ice, serve in chilled cocktail glass.

Bronx Cocktail

• 2 ounces Plymouth gin
• 1/4 ounce Noilly Prat sweet vermouth
• 1/4 ounce Noilly Prat dry vermouth
• 1 ounce fresh orange juice
• orange bitters
• orange twist garnish

Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Daiquiri

• 1-1/2 to 2 ounces Mount Gay silver rum
• 3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
• 1/2 ounce Depaz Cane syrup

Shake well with ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass, sugaring the rim is optional

Mai Tai

• 1 oz fresh lime juice
• 1/2 oz orange Curacao
• 1/4 oz sugar syrup
• 1/4 oz orgeat syrup
• 1 oz Mount Gay Eclipse dark rum
• 1 oz Depaz Amber rum agricole

Shake well with crushed ice, pour into glass with ice, garnish with sprig of mint

Navy Grog

“Into a cocktail shaker pour 3/4 ounce fresh lime juice, 1/2 ounce grapefruit juice, 3/4 ounce allspice syrup, and 1 ounce each dark Jamaican rum and Demerara rum. Shake well with lots of crushed ice and pour into a double old-fashioned glass.”

King Edward VII's Coronation Cocktail

• 1 ounce Applejack
• 1 ounce dry vermouth
• 1 ounce sweet vermouth
• 1 dash apricot liqueur

Ward Eight

• 1 1/2 ounces bourbon or rye whiskey
• 1/2 ounce lemon juice
• 1/2 ounce orange juice
• 1 tsp grenadine

Yes We Canton
(created and named by Gina Chersevani of PS7 in Washington, DC)

• 1/2 oz of pineapple juice
• 1/2 oz Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur
• 2 oz of Champagne or sparkling wine
• 1 wedge of pineapple

In a champagne flute, pour the Domaine de Canton, pineapple juice, and the top with Champagne, and garnish with a pineapple wedge.

Recently at the Museum of the American Cocktail, Wayne Curtis, cocktail correspondent, and author of "And a Bottle of Rum: A History of the New World in Ten Cocktails", demonstrated the great versatility of rum, and how well it blends with many traditional and unexpected ingredients, while discussing its colorful history and culture in North America.

His main premise during the 2-hour lecture/demonstration is that this most essential of liquors not only perfectly pairs with clear mixes, like tonic, and with fruit juices and fruit slices, but rum is also an excellent mix with other rums.

According to Curtis, each rum has its own style and characteristics based on many factors during the distillation process, and in particular the types of molasses and sugar cane used from the outset in each rum’s manufacture. Because rums created in one place on one island develop in a certain way, they are well-suited to be blended with a wide variety of juices, mixes and fruits. And particular rum characteristics also lend themselves to pairing with other rums distilled in other places.

Curtis delved into the economic history of rum and how the presence of a rum distillery was often the defining industry of the style of life and culture for an entire island. Then he carried that premise through to the presence of rum following Prohibition when restaurateurs and bar managers concocted a whole social movement known as Tiki. Rum-based drinks were, and still are, the raison d’être for this fun and happy culture.   

Throughout the lecture, he also showed how rum is not just a refreshing summer beverage, but can be used year-round to create imaginative cocktails perfectly suited to the season of the moment. The lecture was punctuated by examples of perfectly-created cocktails, served to all in attendance. The history and legend about each drink served as the backdrop for instructions on how to make and serve definitive and traditional rum cocktails.

Rum Toddy (Winter)

• 1-1/2 oz Mt Gay Extra Old
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 whole cloves
• 3 thin kumquat slices
• pinch of cinnamon
• boiling water

Put rum, sugar, cloves and kumquat slices in a mug, top with boiling water. Sprinkle cinnamon on top.

Mai Tai  (Spring)

• 1 oz dark Mount Gay Extra Old
• 1 oz Flor de Cana 5 Year Black Label
• 3/4 oz orange curaçao
• 3/4 oz fresh lime juice
• 1/4 oz orgeat syrup

Shake all ingredients with crushed ice; pour drink and ice into glass. Garnish with mint. 

Rum Swizzle   (Summer)

• 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
• 1 oz dry vermouth
• 1.5 oz Mount Gay Silver
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• top with club soda

Build in highball glass, then swizzle.

Ti Punch   (Fall)

• lime wedges (small)
• 1/4 to 1/2 oz cane syrup
• 1.5 oz Depaz White (or Clement Premiere Canne)

Squeeze lime wedge into rocks glass. Add cane syrup to taste, then rum. Add one or two ice cubes (optional). Stir.

Happy New Year everyone!

We greatly appreciate all of your continued support and your dedication in helping us provide education and awareness of the long history of the cocktail, as well as the craftsmanship and pride in making quality cocktails and enjoying them responsibly.

There is a very special event happening TOMORROW (Thursday, January 22nd) that I am unfortunately being a bit tardy in letting you know about.

"The Essential Cocktail" by Dale DeGroff

Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 (7 to 9pm)
Florida Room at the DELANO 1685 Collins Ave., Miami Beach

Join Us for a Special Evening With Dale DeGroff to celebrate his new book: "The Essential Cocktail". Complimentary Pernod Ricard cocktails from "The Essential Cocktail" will be offered.

PLEASE RSVP: jd2design@aol.com
All guests must be at least 21 to attend.

We are also continuing our schedule of monthly seminars at the museum in New Orleans, our upcoming seminars are:

The Four Seasons of Rum
Monday February 2 2009 (6:30pm)
Presented by: Wayne Curtis

Drink Like You Eat: Culinary inspired seasonal mixology
Monday March 2 2009 (6:30pm)
Presented by: Adam Seger

Who's Your Daddy? A Mai Tai paternity test
Monday April 6 2009 (6:30pm)
Presented by: Jeff Berry

We hope that many of you will get a chance to attend one of these great seminars.

There is also a very special seminar being held by the Smithsonian Resident Associate Program in Washington DC on February 10th. There, our own Chris McMillian and Phil Greene will present an educational seminar on the history of New Orleans Cocktails:

History in a Glass: Famous New Orleans Cocktails
Tuesday, February 10th (6:45pm - 8:45pm)
General Admission: $45.00
Presnted by: Chris McMillian and Phil Greene
National Museum of Natural History
Atrium Cafe'
10th & Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington DC

Recently, Phil Greene and Derek Brown hosted a special seminar at the Rock Creek restaurant in Mazza Gallerie in Washington DC. The seminar was "All Cocktails is Local - Presidential and Political Libations in American History". You can read about this seminar in the Washington Post online here.

For information on future events and seminars, be sure to check our website:
http://www.MuseumOfTheAmericanCocktail.org

Our good friends at Sante are preparing for another great restaurant symposium on April 26-29th in Bolton Landing, NY. This will be their fourth-annual symposium at the exclusive Adirondack resort "The Sagamore". There will be 35 knowledge-packed seminars with 40 top professional speakers, and a total of 72 hours of education, networking, and exciting events. They will once again be holding their popular "Iron Bartender" competition, as well as "The Best Chef Cook-Off" which will be new this year. For more information, and registration information, you can check them out on the web.

On December 8th Tony Abou-Ganim, the renowned Modern Mixologist, came to the Museum of the American Cocktail to present  traditional holiday cocktails. His entertaining demonstration included the famous Tom & Jerry cocktail, an early 19th century drink made famous by Jerry Thomas.

This drink has special meaning for Tony. Each year at holiday time, his cousin Helen David served hundreds of them at her bar, the Brass Rail  in Port Huron, Michigan. Tony has Helen to thank for his introduction to the business and passing to him  the tradition of classic cocktails and professional barmanship.

“For nearly 70 years, Helen made Tom and Jerry's from scratch for her customers in at the Brass Rail. Every year on Thanksgiving she would unpack her three commercial mixers and keeps them spinning until New Years Day!" says Tony.

Tony's presentations are full of excellent information for professionals and home bartenders alike, providing tips about ice, ingredients, and proper handling of garnish, His energy and passion for his profession  is evident from the energy and enthusiasm he brings to his presentations. If you cannot see him in person, I highly recommend you purchase his Modern Mixology dvd:

Don't miss the other upcoming Mixology Mondays at the Museum. Our next seminar will be with Wayne Curtis on February 2nd.

Attendees were also treated to a beautiful Yuletide Punch and a rich pisco cocktail called the Biblia.

YuletidePunch

• 3 bottles Brut Sparkling Wine (Moet White Star)
• 1 liter Finlandia Grapefruit Vodka
• 12 ounces Marie Brizard Crème de Cassis de Bordeaux
• 2 bottles (46 oz) white grape juice
• 12 ounces fresh lemon juice
• 12 ounces freshly squeezed orange juice
• 6 ounces simple syrup *
• Fresh frozen red raspberries
• Fresh frozen blackberries
• Sliced oranges
• Sliced lemons
• Fruit ice molds **

Pre-mix Finlandia Grapefruit Vodka, white grape juice, fresh lemon & orange juices, simple syrup, crème de cassis, oranges, and lemons in a large bowl, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve (at least 3 hours, preferably over night). Transfer to a Punch or serving bowl, add frozen berries, ice molds and chilled sparkling wine just prior to serving. Serve in wine goblets with fruit. Makes 24 servings.

Helen's Tom & Jerry Batter

• 8 jumbo eggs
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• Hot water

Separate egg whites and yolks. In a large mixer, beat yolks until thin, transfer to another bowl. Clean mixer and add the egg whites and cream of tarter, beat until stiff. Add powdered sugar and fold in yolks. Mix until batter is thick, but light.

For each drink:

• 3/4 ounce Rum
• 3/4 ounce Cognac

In a pre-heated mug, add 1 heaping ladle of batter. Add rum and cognac. Top with hot water and dust with freshly grated nutmeg. Serve with a paddle or spoon. (Hint: At home I use a Kitchen-Aid 4.5 Quart Capacity Tilt-Head Mixer for making the batter.)

Biblia

• 1/2 oz Barsol Pisco
• 1/2 oz Sandeman port
• 1/2 oz Martell cognac
• 1/2 oz Cacao cream
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 Tbs Sugar
• powdered cinnamon

Beat the eggs with a whisk the sugar until well combined, then whisk in the pisco, port, and cognac. Serve with a sprinkling of cinnamon as garnish.

Washington, D.C. has historically been one of the country's great drinking cities. From the founding fathers to jazz, the District has been home to meritorious drinking establishments, distinguished bartenders and a few famous tipplers. We even have our own homegrown cocktail category named after one, the Rickey (named for its inventor, 19^th century lobbyist Colonel Joseph “Joe” Rickey).
Unfortunately, in past years the District has only had pockets of creative people working at a revival of craft bartending. That has all changed in the last year and the revival has fully arrived. Seventy-five years after prohibition, when the District lost some 3,000 bartenders and some of its legendary establishments like nationally renowned Schoomaker’s, craft bartending culture is back again.
Not only have there been a bevy of bars opening with top-notch bartenders, and a deepening interest in some of our already great establishments like nearby PX, but our city was recently (December 5^th) host to the largest Repeal Day Ball in the country with over 300 people attending in era-appropriate costumes being served by national and local greats like Tony Abou-Ganim and Todd Thrasher.

Washington has also seen some other notable bartenders pass through the city this year, including Charlotte Voisey, who judged D.C.’s annual Rickey contest, that pits city bartenders against each other in creating the best updated version of a Rickey. Other notables include Wall Street Journal "How's Your Drink?" columnist Eric Felten, H. Joseph Erhmann, Tad Carducci, Ryan Magarian, Simon Ford, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, Lenell Smothers, Fernando Castellon, Erin Williams, Stefan Trummer (who will be opening a new restaurant in nearby Clifton, VA), Eric Seed, and Elba Giron, to name a few, who have paid a visit to the Nation's Capital to check out the revival.
Locally, the DC Craft Bartending Guild (http://www.dccraftbartendersguild.com) has been at the center of that revival and has experienced tremendous growth in its six short months of existence. From Rickey Month to the Repeal Day Ball, the Guild has thrown some amazing parties that heighten the prestige of craft bartending. Additionally, The Guild played a key role in organizing a World Cocktail Week celebration that raised nearly $5000 for the Museum. The Guild has also created numerous educational opportunities, including a rum seminar with Ed Hamilton and a bitters seminar with herbalist Bevin Clare. The Guild has also held many socials and are currently gearing up for a busy year.

While craft bartending culture has arrived so has the return of glamour to politics in the city. Of course, they go hand in hand. Remember Kennedy and Camelot, when the daiquiri was a real daiquiri? The new administration promises to make D.C. one of the most exciting cities in the country and the craft bartending culture here is ready to match that enthusiasm and revive D.C.'s glory as a drinking city.

As noted above, recent events have more than bolstered Washington, D.C.’s position as a mecca in the cocktail world.

Holiday Cocktails in the Nation’s Capital! Tuesday, December 9

On Tuesday, December 9^th, the Museum of the American Cocktail continued its monthly seminar program in Washington, D.C., and hosted a seminar titled “Classic Holiday Cocktails in the Nation’s Capital,” at Bourbon (www.BourbonDC.com), a great restaurant in Adams-Morgan, N.W. The seminar was generously sponsored by Cointreau, Depaz Martinique Rhum Agrigole, Domaine de Canton French Ginger Liqueur, and Mount Gay Rums of Barbados.

Over the course of the 90 minute seminar, Derek Brown (the Museum’s D.C. Ambassador), Owen Thomson (bartender and manager at Bourbon) and Phil Greene presented the following drinks, and not only discussed their histories, but also how to make them at home

• Dale DeGroff’s Ritz Cocktail, a tribute to the Ritz Hotels of Paris and Madrid;
• The Tom and Jerry (using Jerry Thomas’ 1862 recipe);
• Glogg, a hot, spiced wine from Scandanavia;
• Vino Navegado, a delicious spiced wine based Holiday punch;
• Baltimore Egg Nog (using a variation on Harry Johnson’s 1882 recipe);
• The Mojito, and;
• A new variation, the Holiday Mojito.

They also offered a great recipe for Hot Buttered Rum, created by Justin Guthrie of Central Michel Richard (www.centralmichelrichard.com).

Phil Shaking	Derek and the Ritz	Erin Passing Appetizers

Derek, Owen and Phil were ably assisted by Cointreau’s U.S. mixologist and Brand Ambassador Erin Williams, who also spoke about the use of Cointreau in classic cocktails. The recipes follow:

The Ritz Cocktail
Original Recipe by Dale DeGroff, presented by Phil Greene

• 1 oz Martell’s Medallion VSOP Cognac
• ½ oz Cointreau
• ¼ oz Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
• ¼ oz fresh lemon juice
• Champagne
• Garnish with flamed orange peel

To make one, shake the Cognac, Cointreau, lemon juice and maraschino liqueur with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass, then top with chilled Champagne. To make a batch, multiply first four ingredients by the number of drinks you’d like to make, stir well in a pitcher, then strain into chilled cocktail glasses, about one-third full each. Top each with chilled Champagne.

The Tom and Jerry
Original recipe by Jerry Thomas, presented by Phil Greene

For the batter:

• 12 fresh eggs, separated
• 3 cups granulated white sugar
• 1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 ounces Depaz Blue Cane Amber Rhum Agricole

In a large bowl, beat egg yolks well, adding the sugar while beating.  In a separate bowl, beat the whites until the peaks are stiff.  Add the spices and rum to the yolks.  Mix in the stiff whites and stir until the mixture is the consistency of a light batter.  (1 teaspoon of cream of tartar or 1/4 of bicarbonate of soda will prevent the sugar from settling to the bottom of the batter).

For the drink:

• 2 tablespoons of batter
• 1 1/2 ounces Martell’s cognac
• 1/2 ounce Depaz Blue Cane Amber Rhum Agricole
• 3 or 4 ounces boiling water
• freshly grated nutmeg, for dusting

Add batter to a pre-heated ceramic mug.  Add the spirits and the boiling water and stir.  Dust with nutmeg and serve.

Glögg (1898 version)

• 181 liters Wine Blend mixed from full-bodied red wine, fortified wine and Port wine cask sediment.
• 188 liters Cognac
• 64 liters Sherry
• 90 kilos Sugar
• 425 grams Cinnamon
• 260 grams Cardamom
• 250 grams Bitter Almond
• 6 kilos Raisins
• 100 pods Vanilla

Glögg (2008 version)
Presented by Derek Brown

• 1 bottle of full-bodied red wine
• 1/2 cup Aquavit
• 1 tsp. crushed cardamom seeds
• 2 tsp. cloves
• 1/2 tsp. grated ginger
• 2 tsp. freshly grated orange zest
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1/2 cup almonds -- blanched
• 1/2 cup seedless raisins
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

Steps

1. Bring wine to boil.
2. Tie spices and zest in a cheesecloth bag
3. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add in almonds, sugar and raisins; cook for 5-10 minutes.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Add in Aquavit.
6. Stir, and remove spices.
7. Serve hot in a mug.

Baltimore Egg Nog
Inspired by the recipe by Harry Johnson, presented by Owen Thomson (amount in parentheses is for making a large batch)

• 2oz Madeira (40oz)
• 1oz Martell’s Medallion Cognac (20oz)
• 1oz Mount Gay Dark Rum (20oz)
• 1 Whole Egg (20 eggs)
• 1/2 Cup milk (10cups)
• 1/2 tsp powdered sugar (10tsp)
• Nutmeg

Vino Navegado
presented by Owen Thomson

• 5 liters Red Wine
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 oranges cut into slice
• Cinnamon Sticks (8-10)
• Allspice (2 Tbsp)
• Clove (1 Tbsp)

Hot Buttered Rum
By Justin Guthrie

• 32 ounces water
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 whole cinnamon sticks
• 2 cloves
• 2 allspice berries
• 1 stick butter
• Mount Gay Dark Rum
• Whipped cream

Glass: Footed mug

Combine water, sugar and spices in a sauce pan. Bring to a simmer until sugar has dissolved. Maintain a low simmer for fifteen minutes to allow flavors to develop. Bring down heat to low/medium low and add butter. Allow butter to melt.

Preheat mug by filling with hot water and letting stand for 1 minute.

Dump water and add 1.5 ounces of rum. Ladle 3.5 ounces butter/spice tea into mug and stir to combine with rum. Top with whipped cream.

The Classic Mojito

• 1 1/2 oz Mount Gay White Rum or Depaz Rhum Agricole
• 3/4 oz fresh lime juice
• 1 Depaz Cane Syrup (or simple syrup)
• 6 mint leaves

Shake vigorously w/ice, strain into tall glass filled w/ice, top w/seltzer, garnish w/mint sprig

The Holiday Mojito
By Phil Greene

• 1 1/2 oz Mount Gay White Rum or Depaz Rhum Agricole
• 1 oz Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur
• 3/4 oz fresh lime juice
• 6-10 ripe cranberries
• 6 mint leaves

Shake vigorously w/ice, strain into tall glass filled w/ice, top w/seltzer, garnish w/powdered sugar-frosted mint sprig

Photos courtesy Jody Kurash, Ross Lee Tabak, Nick Wineriter, Phil Greene, Niyati Shah

The MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN COCKTAIL began its monthly “Mixology Mondays” series with a presentation last Monday night with renowned mixologist Dale DeGroff, author of the new book “The Essential Cocktail” The new series will bring accomplished bar chefs, spirits experts, and authors on the subject of drink to New Orleans once a month, in order to share their skills and expertise with aspiring mixologists, and industry professionals.

Chris McMillian, a popular local mixologist and one of the founders of the Museum, has put together an exciting program that will focus on different topics each month. The presentations are low cost ($20 a session), and offer a unique opportunity for bartenders and hospitality professionals to meet some of the most dynamic movers and shakers in the industry. The fee also includes admittance to the Museum of the American Cocktail’s unique exhibit that includes vintage cocktail shakers, Prohibition-era literature, music, bar tools, old photographs, and exciting cocktail memorabilia from the collections of Curator Ted “Dr. Cocktail” Haigh, and the Museum’s friends and founders.

Below are some of the great classic cocktails presented by Dale and Chris, samples were passed around and enjoyed by all. Our Special thanks to the spirits brands that made this seminar and our new exhibit possible!

CAIPIRINHA
Born in the Brazilian countryside; the word caipira means countryman, and the Caipirinha is a diminutive. Its base spirit is the sugar-cane-based, rum-like cachaca, which for many years was dismissed as a peasant product by the higher classes in Brazil. Adding Falernum is Dale’s own variation.

• 1/2 lime, quartered
• 2 1/2 teaspoons sugar or 1 ounce simple syrup
• 2 ounces Sagatiba Cachaca
• 1/4 ounce John D. Taylor's Velvet Falernum

Fill a rocks glass with cracked ice. In a mixing glass, place the lime quarters and the sugar or syrup. Muddle to extract the lime juice and the oil in its skin. Add cachaca and the ice from the rocks glass, as well as the Falernum, and shake well. Pour the entire contents into the chilled rocks glass and serve. In the tradition of the Caipirinha, the muddled fruits-whether solely lime or also with additional fruits-are used as the garnish.

BLACK CURRANT TODDY*
Dale developed this wonderful variation on the toddy, a sweet-tart drink that he serves cold.

• 1 1/2 ounces Hendrick’s gin
• 1/4 ounce John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum
• 1/2 ounce honey syrup (in a 2-to-1 ratio)
• 3/4 ounce fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 3/4 ounce cold tea (Earl Gray or green)
• 1 tsp high-quality black currant preserves (or try black currant frozen Perfect Puree of Napa Valley)
• Flamed orange peel, for garnish
• Spiral orange peel, for garnish

Assemble the gin, Falernum, honey syrup, lemon juice, tea, and preserves in a mixing glass with ice. Shake well. Strain through a tea strainer into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with the flamed orange peel dropped into the liquid, and the spiral peel set on the rim of the glass.

RITZ COCKTAIL*
Dale’s tribute to the Ritz Hotels of London, Paris and Madrid, a cocktail that’s designed to be a sophisticated evening cocktail.

• 3/4-ounce Martel Cognac
• 1/2 ounce Cointreau
• 1/2 ounce Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
• 1/2 ounce fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• Perrier Jouet Champagne
• Flamed orange peel for garnish

In a mixing glass, stir together the cognac, Cointreau, Maraschino liqueur, and lemon juice with ice. Strain into a large cocktail glass and fill with Champagne. Garnish with the flamed orange peel.

RAMOS GIN FIZZ
created in 1888 by Henry C. Ramos when he opened his Imperial cabinet Bar in New Orleans.

• 1 1/2 ounce Plymouth Gin
• 1/2 ounce Fresh Lemon Juice
• 1/2 ounce Fresh Lime Juice
• 1 1/2 ounce Simple Syrup
• 1 1/2 ounces heavy cream
• 1 small egg white
• 2 drops of Orange Flower Water
• Soda

Shake all ingredients with ice except the soda and strain into a highball glass without ice. Top with club soda. No garnish. NOTE: Highball glasses are almost too big for this drink, in the 19th century there was an 8 ounce "Fizz or Delmonico glass" that was the perfect size for this drink, it was like a short highball and it prevented the inexperienced bartender from drowning the drink in soda.

(Photos by Brenda Maitland)

Thanks to our sponsors for this event: Pernod Ricard, Cointreau, Plymouth, Hendricks, and Sagatiba
and special thanks to Frank Zumbo at Marriott Pere Renaissance for his support

Of course you have already purchased a copy of the great book “In The Land of Cocktails” by our good friends Ti Adelaide Martin and Lally Brennan. It is book which is both educational and entertaining about the cocktails and adventures of the “Cocktail Chicks” down in New Orleans.

What you may not have known, is that they are creating an accompanying website, which will include recipes, videos, a store, and naturally a blog as well. To launch this new website, there is going to be a party next Thursday (Nov 13th) at the Swizzle Stick bar in New Orleans. Here are the details:

Thursday, November 13th 5-7 pm
Café Adelaide & the Swizzle Stick Bar
In the Loews New Orleans Hotel
300 Poydras Street New Orleans, LA
Valet Parking
RSVP to Courtney Dubbin CDubbin@Loewshotels.com

Help the Cocktail Chicks mark the launch of their new website, www.InTheLandOfCocktails.com, an interactive, vibrant web experience celebrating cocktails, food and culture. How? A cocktail party, naturally.

Enjoy spirit inspired hors d'oeuvres, see clips from the site and a mixology lesson from celebrity bartender Lu Brow.
For a sneak peek go to www.inthelandofcocktails.com October 28th.
Look for the full site in November

Seattle Times:
At Tini Bigs, a tale of transforming cocktails.
The new cocktail menu at Tini Bigs marks the return of Jamie Boudreau, one of Seattle's most talked-about bartenders.(more...)

Baltimore Sun:
Joe the Plumber cocktail debuts on campaign trail.
Newly famous plumber inspires new drink, probably the first of many.(more...)

Richmond Style Weekly:
Bartender fired after blog on mayor's drinking.
Don’t kiss and tell. Loose lips, they say, sink ships. Just ask Jack Lauterback, a blogger who doubles as a bartender at local restaurants such as Havana ’59.(more...)

New York Magazine:
Char No. 4 bartender Jeff Galli rides the bourbon renaissance.
Bartender Jeff Galli developed an interest in bourbons by working in restaurants while attending Rutgers. So he lucked out when a sommelier friend at Cru learned about a pioneering whiskey bar coming to Carroll Gardens called Char No. 4.(more...)

Alabama Enterprise Ledger:
Bartender’s recipe leaves judges shaken and stirred.
Lizzy Keister, a Rawl’s Restaurant bartender, won a Canadian Mist cocktail competition with her “Slice of the Pie” cocktail. (more...)

Kansas City.com:
A great drink mixes past and present.
The intent is to revive an art form that Prohibition nearly killed: Mixology, practiced in a small, out-of the way clubs where ambiance and the quality of the cocktail’s ingredients are fully appreciated, like a fine meal.(more...)

San Francisco Chronicle:
Original gin: Older styles find their way back into cocktails
Most brands of gin on the market fall into one of two camps: juniper-forward London dry; or lighter, floral and citrusy gins. But the gin we read about in pre-Prohibition cocktail books is usually neither of these styles.(more...)

Washington Post:
Inexpensive bottles to help keep you afloat.
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Marketwatch:
Minnesota's Brian Zachau wins west division title of T.G.I. Friday's world bartender championship.
Zachau of the Maple Grove, Minnesota's T.G.I. Friday's restaurant defeated other top mixologists from across the west to advance to the finals of Friday's championship.(more...)

The Essential Cocktail features drinks that particularly stand out for either their flavor, interesting formula, or distinctive technique. These are the very ones every amateur and professional bartender must know, the Martinis, Sours, Highballs, Tropicals, Punches, Sweets, and Classics, both old and new, that form the core of a connoisseur's repertoire. Tucked throughout are DeGroff's personal twists, such the Arancio Americano Highball, Scorpion Stinger, the Big Spender, the Champagne Cobbler, and the Grapefruit Julep Complimenting the tantalizing photographs (by David Kressler) of each essential cocktail, DeGroff also regales with the fascinating lore behind a drink's genesis and instructs on using the right ingredients, techniques, glasses, and garnishes. As Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking was the classic compendium for home chefs and gourmands, so The Essential Cocktail will be the go-to book for serious mixologists and cocktail enthusiasts.

Also, the Museum of the American Cocktail will begin its monthly Mixology series next month. The program aims to bring accomplished mixologists from around the world to New Orleans to share their skills and expertise with aspiring mixologists, and industry professionals. The first session will be on Monday, Nov 3rd, 2008 at 6:30 pm and will be hosted by the museum's founding president, Dale DeGroff.

“The Museum of the American Cocktail will become a worldwide resource for everyone in the industry," says Chris McMillian, a local mixologist and one of the founders of the Museum. McMillian has put together an exciting program, hosted by spirits experts from around the country who will focus on different topics each month. The presentations are priced so that everyone can attend and the fee includes Museum admittance. The first session will be held at the Museum on Monday, Nov 3rd, 2008 at 6:30 pm and will be hosted by renowned cocktail and spirits expert, Dale DeGroff, author of the new book: “The Essential Cocktail”.

“We plan to establish a major tourist attraction and educational institution in New Orleans that will become a valuable resource for professionals in the beverage industry while celebrating a wonderful piece of our American history.” says DeGroff.

Founded in 2005, The Museum of the American Cocktail™ (MOTAC) opened last July, in its spectacular new home it shares with SoFAB. The unique-and-expanded exhibit, designed by Curator, Ted “Dr. Cocktail” Haigh, provides visitors with a fascinating tour of the history of the cocktail and the way it has influenced music, theater, art, film, and politics around the world during its two hundred year history. The exhibit includes vintage cocktail shakers, Prohibition-era literature, music, bar tools, photographs, and exciting cocktail memorabilia from the collections of the Museum’s friends and founders.

Mixology Mondays at The Museum of the American Cocktail.
Located in the Southern Food & Beverage Museum at the Riverwalk Marketplace
1 Poydras Street, Su 169 (Julia Street entrance), New Orleans, LA 70130, 504-569-0405

Advance registration required: $20.00 per person (includes admission to the Museum). Register at the Museum website or by calling: 516-565-4981.

Gothamist:
Milk & Honey, NYC cocktail mecca, goes from secret to private.
Milk and Honey, the dimly lit railroad bar on Eldridge Street with the fastidiously-prepared cocktails, "reservation only" policy, and unlisted number, blazed the trail for the city's current wildfire cocktail craze and speakeasy-style bars. (more...)

Martha's Vineyard Gazette:
Fall Food Festival stirs up spirits, too.
Bartending. The job used to be simple — pour a glass of wine, shake up the occasional martini, pop off a beer cap and call it a night. Not so any more. Today there are career bartenders. Mixologists. Professionals who stir the cocktail to levels of esteem usually reserved for celebrity chefs’ creations.(more...)

San Francisco Chronicle:
Move over vodka, here comes shochu.
Sake? Any sushi aficionado in the Bay Area knows what this is. But ask them if they know what shochu is and you'll draw some blank stares.(more...)

San Francisco Chronicle:
Midtown Mule gives cocktail hour a kick.
Bartenders from my generation, Baby Boomers, that is, were incredibly creative behind the bar. Without us you might never have tasted a Harvey Wallbanger, for instance. Wouldn't that have been a shame? We brought the Fuzzy Navel into existence too. And Sex on the Beach. Can you imagine life without Sex on the Beach?(more...)

Reuters:
Drinks firm seeks world's best bartender.
The luxury division of the world's biggest alcoholic drinks group Diageo Plc has launched a competition to find the best bartender in the world. (more...)