Oh yay, another post on the Monkey Gland is what a lot of people might be saying. Sure, it’s been a topic of interest among bloggers and the Cocktail Brain Trust™ for the past few years. Most reviews are glowing, kind of like Canadians over President Obama (circa 2009). Personally, I suspect a lot of people like the cocktail because […]
Cocktails
Claret Cup
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 […]
Pimm’s Cup Recipe
In the northern hemisphere the hot day’s of summer are quickly approaching. With global warming giving the planet a fever, we need to stop creating greenhouse gases, but until that happens, a nice refreshing summer cocktail might help. One such cocktail is the Pimm’s Cup; a classic cocktail invented in England in 1840 by James Pimm as a health tonic. […]
Moral Suasion
There are many great cocktails littered throughout history, like the Manhattan and the Daiquiri, but some of the greats are forgotten and should be remembered. The Moral Suasion is one of them.
Peach Blow
Digging up old cocktails—or in this case fizz recipes—has led me to this interestingly named drink called the Peach Blow. The article is from the May 2nd, 1909 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer. A reader asked for the recipe of the Peach Blow and the Lilac Fizz. The newspaper was happy to oblige. Over 100 years later, and right in […]
Manhattan Cocktail
The Manhattan is still widely regarded as one of the greatest cocktails ever created. Personally, a well made Manhattan is a cocktail I truly enjoy. It’s perfectly in balance, simple and I can drink this cocktail anywhere and not feel out of place. It’s as strong as a properly made Martini, but it started out differently. The Martini is based […]
Manhattan Cocktail Redux
Recently I’ve been musing about the Manhattan Cocktail and with Woodford Reserve and Esquire Magazine launching the “Craft the Ultimate Manhattan” contest, it has given me an opportunity to put my thoughts to pixels. Why? Because the recent trend in Manhattans has been to make it the most flavourful drink it can be. Flavour is great, but balance is import […]
Copyright & Cocktails
The topic of protecting ones creative cocktail works has amped up lately. After Eben Freeman’s session on cocktails and intellectual property (which unfortunately I couldn’t attend due to a conflicting event) the conversation has started to polarize and two camps are forming – for protection and against protection. Articles have been written in The Atlantic, and I’m sure elsewhere, as […]
Champagne Smash
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 that encompass a corner of the cocktail world. The key component is obviously mint, but the name eventually […]
The Big Old Boring Vodka Martini
Why do people order dry vodka martinis? Is it because they don’t know what else to order? Is it the herding effect? Or do people actually think they taste good? This is as much a study in psychology as it is in drinking trends. Remember the term “monkey see, monkey do”, that’s how I sometimes feel at the bar. People […]
Top 10 Cocktails
Being in the industry I get requests for many drinks, but rarely are they unique requests. Most of the time it is for a list of classic drinks that doesn’t seem to change. Why is this the case? Well, of course, I have an opinion and you may be surprised why a list of old and tired drinks rarely changes. […]
Mai Tai Cocktail Recipe
The Mai Tai is an often misunderstood cocktail. Many people think this is a tropical fruit juice cocktail, but really, it is a strong rum-based drink. The confusion comes from a hotel in Hawaii that modified the original formula in the 1950s and added pineapple juice—sometimes called a Hawaiian Mai Tai—then someone added guava and orange juice, and eventually, the drink […]