To celebrate the Autumnal Equinox and herald the arrival of cooler weather, we held a Harvest Party at the Lauer household (incidentally, a well-timed cold front dropped the temperature by ten degrees in Georgia on the night of the 22nd). Accompanying the pulled pork, German potato salad, mac n' cheese, and quick pickles -- all of... Continue Reading →
The quintessential New Orleans cocktail is, without a doubt, the Sazerac. In fact, it's the city's Official Cocktail. It was also the subject of our seventh cocktail night, being the host's favorite drink. We mixed up two versions of it -- one with rye, one with cognac -- while offering a taste of absinthe to anyone... Continue Reading →
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 →
"There comes a time when all the cosmic tumblers have clicked into place, and the universe opens itself up for a few seconds to show you what's possible." - Field of Dreams, 1989 OK, so that might be a bit of over-enthusiastic hyperbole, but I can't help but praise Leon's Full Service in downtown Decatur.... Continue Reading →
Tempered Spirits 