Wine

In the world of drinks, a smash is usually a drink that contains a spirit, mint, sugar and sometimes lemon or lime. The Mint Julep and Mojito are technically smashes. From this basic recipe you can make a wide variety of drinks… [Continue]

At one point in time Claret Punch was an immensely popular concoction. It was the punch of choice for parties and the drink most enjoyed by the British in the 1800's. Today, if you sauntered into a North American bar and asked for a claret cup, you'd be hard pressed to find a bartender that could make it, let alone one that knows what claret is. It's too bad because claret cup has a… [Continue]

In the world of being a bartender, at a fine dining restaurant, I tend to serve a lot of wine. Red is by far the choice with most meals, but pinto grigio (pinot gris) is a very popular white wine. I like wine, but usually only when I’m having food, or possibly… [Continue]

With the holiday season underway, traditional beverages are sure to cross your path. One traditional drink is mulled wine, or glogg in Sweden, vin chaud in France, Quento in Brazil, Glhwein in Germany, etc., etc. It is a favorite in wine growing regions and is traditionally served warm in the winter months. Mulled wine consists of red or white wine, with a variety of spices such as cinnamon, cloves… [Continue]

I just spent the last two Saturdays whipping up some cocktails at the LCBO and came to the realization that there are some big gaps in the knowledge people need to make a decent martini, or any cocktail for that matter. Art of Drink has always been about the dissemination of information for the betterment of cocktails so we’re going back to basics. Even though a lot of us are good at discussing… [Continue]

A few months ago I drove two hours to pick up a bottle of Lillet Blanc (pronounced Lee-Lay), so I could make a Corpse Reviver II. The Corpse Reviver II was okay, but the Lillet intrigued me. Lillet Blanc is an aperitif from the Bordeaux region of France that was created in 1887… [Continue]

Last week I contributed an article to Wine Blogging Wednesday, which happened to be on the topic of champagne. For this blogging event I decided I’d use up some of the champagne in the form of cocktails, which are always great. One of my favourite combination's is champagne and ice wine, which is an expensive combination, but well worth it. After creating the cocktails I was left with… [Continue]

Lychee fruit in drinks has… [Continue]

When I was at the Moscow Barshow (September 2011) I had the opportunity to judge the cocktail competition that pitted the best bartenders in Russia against one another. Robert "Drinkboy" Hess was also one of the judges and afterwards we had a discussion on the best way to rate cocktails in a competition. The discussion is ongoing and at some point we'll probably have some refinements, meanwhile… [Continue]