One of the more recent editions to Tales of the Cocktail has been the Spirited Dinners. Basically, local restaurants are paired up with bartenders from around the world, in an effort to create a unique dining experience. The restaurants chef creates a unique menu for the evening and then the paired up bartender (aka the bar chef) creates a matching menu of cocktails. The goal is to try to compliment the courses with a cocktail and really experience how cocktails can be integrated into dining, not just aperitif’s and digestif’s. This year I’m pairing up with La Cote Brasserie.

There is now less than one month to go before Tales of the Cocktail. I'm looking forward to going, again, this year and I've started assembling my presentation, Sensory Perception and Mixology (What Your Taste Buds are Telling You). If you are a bartender, chef, enthusiastic mixologist or just anyone who likes to know what they are drinking, then this session is a must. Sure, I like my presentation, but let me explain why you will really enjoy it.

Another Mixology Monday is upon us, with the topic being Bourbon and our host being Scofflaw's Den. When I think of bourbon, I sometimes reminisce about the perception it has compared to Canadian whiskies. Bourbon is bold fiery and strong; Canadian whiskies are light, easy going and smooth. Now, obviously this isn’t going to apply to all whiskies from either category, but a lot of people, on both sides of the border, have this idea stuck in their heads. Obviously these people have never tried one of the finer bourbons or the wonderfully smooth Maker’s Mark. What can we do to change this perception on Mixology Monday?

As we all know, sugar seems to be the motivating factor behind the majority of modern cocktail menu’s. If you walk into a standard, college oriented, bar and ask for “something special” you will usually get some sort of dessert like drink, served in a martini glass. Along with that, I’d say that 98% of restaurants treat cocktails as something that needs to be served sweet. Obviously, the main culprit is sucrose and / or high fructose corn syrup. If you are keen to the idea that a cocktail is more than just something to satiate a sweet tooth, then working with alternative sweeteners, like birch and agave syrups, might be something to look into.

On a sweltering day, what spirit is the spirit you enjoy most? If you said rum, then I like you already. If you said Tequila, I still like you, but not as much. The Tiki crazed people know it, and I doubt there are any vodka bars in the Caribbean, so rum must be the spirit of summer. That is the perfect excuse to go and buy another bottle of rum. So after a little research I decided on English Harbour rum, because of one influential magazines review. That’s not the best reason to buy rum, but who really needs a reason?

The heat and humidity have finally arrived and it is time to break out some summer sippers. The Planter's Punch is a pretty common summer drink and one that I haven't had in a very long time. I remember having one many years ago, but it was pretty basic and was probably just rum, sour mix and grenadine. Lots of grenadine. I only had one and went back to drinking beer I'm sure. But it doesn't have to be this way, since the Planter's Punch doesn't have a single recipe, it is more of a free style drink. It does have some rules though.