General Website Update

When I’m not inspired to write about something cocktail oriented I do a General Website Update. Obviously with a new baby it cuts out some of my time to do things related to this website, but for the most part I’m still working on it regularly. But, beer and spirits seem to have been in the forefront because they are easy to write about. But, with summer coming I’m looking forward to writing about more cocktails and mixology related topics. So what else is new, or whatever happened to those projects you ask?

The Vodka Tasting Study is still being actively worked on, and it is part of the reason I’m only updating the site three, or so, times a week. The six vodka samples went to the GC/MS at the University of Western Ontario two weeks ago, but because of a backlog of samples the results will be delayed. I’m still contemplating expanding the study a bit. The results came out really well, but the sample size was fairly small, so I might do another round of tastings. Also, I might see if it is possible to train a few of the original tasters. I’d provide them with samples of the six vodka’s to learn before the next tasting. But for now, I’m just waiting to see the GC/MS data before making a decision.

With the continued growth of The Art of Drink, I decided it was time to get some business cards printed up. Every night I work behind the bar there is an opportunity to get some new readers, but writing the website address on a cocktail napkin just doesn’t work that well. Also, with my upcoming trip to New Orleans for Tales of the Cocktail in July I figured they’d be handy.

Speaking of Tales of the Cocktail, there is currently a cocktail competition open to working bartenders. Sorry, no home mixologists this time, just the pros. The submission date is March 23, 2007 so you need to be quick. The cocktail must contain Moet and Chandon White Star champagne and another ingredient from a list. The rest is up to you. More details can be found at the Tales of the Cocktail website.

Finally, the cocktail database and my bar inventory database are temporarily on hold, but they are still on my list. Eventually I’ll get to them, or I’ll have one of those days where I’m really, really productive and get a big chunk of it done. Until then I’ll just stay focussed on updating the blog regularly.