If there's any booze out there that could expect to win the title "most misunderstood spirit," I think absinthe would be it. Wildly popular at the turn of the last century, banned for a hundred years, re-instated with much hooplah, then promptly dubbed un-cool without most people having tried it, the field has been left to... Continue Reading →
Following on the heels of the Vieux Carré is a drink with remarkably similar ingredients but a drastically different taste: the Cocktail à la Louisiane. Like the VC, it was salvaged from the pages of S.C. Arthur's Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix 'Em, deservedly brought back from the edge of the unknown by fellow cocktail geeks: Cocktail à la... Continue Reading →
Well, Mardi Gras was last Tuesday, and I'm sure everyone in the drink blogosphere has been getting an ample dosage of information on the Sazerac, the official cocktail of New Orleans, but nothing doing on this blog...we'll save it for Cocktail Night VII, during which we'll mix up three different versions of the famous drink. In... Continue Reading →
After a two-month hiatus, it's finally time for another Mixology Monday! Locked in the dead cold of winter (well, it's in the 60s here in Georgia), our venerable host, Doug, of the Pegu Tiki Blog has decided on a Tiki theme, bringing us a burst of faux-tropical sunshine to lift our spirits. He's invited us to... Continue Reading →
Arrrr, it be time for more rum drinks, me hearties! This time, we're covering a broader spectrum of this sugarcane spirit and delving into dark and spiced rum. The cocktail club is nowhere near covering the full range of rum -- a nearly impossible feat -- but we're getting there! Tiki Drinks will wait 'til summer, methinks.... Continue Reading →
Ever heard of aquavit? No? Well, neither had the cashier at Pop's. My bottle of Linie received an intent stare and a question when checking out. Completely understandable, given that Scandinavian liquor hasn't been flying off the shelves in this country since...well, it's never flown off the shelves. It went something like this: "So...what is this?" asked the puzzled cashier.... Continue Reading →
Ah yes, A Christmas Story: a true yuletide classic. Jean Shepherd's composite tale of his childhood Christmas during the Great Depression has always been a family favorite -- I'm sure a lot of people love it -- and I was pleasantly surprised when, upon opening my holiday issue of Imbibe, I discovered a cocktail entitled "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out." Obviously... Continue Reading →
The Lauer household has been decked out for Christmas and logs are busy crackling away in the fireplace (or rather, they will be, if the temperature drops to the 40s during the day...not likely). There also happen to be a fair number of drinks being made to stave off the cold weather. While we won't be mixing any hot drinks... Continue Reading →
Happy Repeal Day, folks! That's right, 78 years ago Prohibition officially ended, and booze flowed freely again in the U.S. Of course, it hadn't particularly stopped flowing during America's "Noble Experiment," and in some cases consumption actually increased, but hey, it was back to being legal. Well -- and here's one more caveat -- it was legal... Continue Reading →
Right now, applejack is quite possibly my favorite spirit. Sure, I love sipping whiskey and trying out new gins, and cognac is great and I'm gradually warming to tequila, but I'll always love applejack. For those of you familiar with this quintessential American spirit, skip ahead a few paragraphs and get to the drinks. For... Continue Reading →
Tempered Spirits 