These are the glory days for cranberries. The weeks from Thanksgiving to Christmas and on into the New Year are the moments when the ruby fruit seizes the spotlight, not… [Continue Reading]
Is that Old Tom in your Collins?
I have no data to back this up, but I’m pretty sure the Tom Collins glass is better known than the drink it was named after. Technically it’s just a… [Continue Reading]
Waiting for the Nog
If you took my advice six weeks ago and whipped up a batch of Alton Brown’s Aged Eggnog, then congratulations: You’re more than halfway there. Ten weeks is a long… [Continue Reading]
Tequila: truth and reconciliation
A lot of people, it seems, have been bitten by tequila. And it’s rarely just a minor flesh wound. My own bad tequila experience is probably much like yours: I… [Continue Reading]
Ginger: A triumphant triumvirate
Declaration: Except for citrus, there’s no better ingredient to combine with booze in a cocktail than ginger. I recognize that taste is subjective, so that manifesto might apply only to me…. [Continue Reading]
Stitch in the Ditch: An “original” cocktail
Friends, I present to you: the Stitch in the Ditch. The name came first. The recipe later. The story of the name is pretty straightforward. When she wasn’t cooking or… [Continue Reading]
An aged Nog for the ages
First frost usually arrives in the Rogue Valley of Southern Oregon sometime around mid-October. This year it came just a bit early: Our backyard weather station registered 28 degrees on… [Continue Reading]
Seedy drink, thorny problem
The best way to tell a good bar from a bad one, without taking a sip? Look for the juicer. Seriously, I think the willingness of a drinking establishment to… [Continue Reading]
I’ll take Manhattan. So should you.
Much has been written about the Martini. But there’s much more to be said about the Manhattan. It takes a lot for a gin lover like me to make such… [Continue Reading]
Sunday Specials—by the book
A brilliant writer friend of mine, a man I’ve spent most of my adult life trying to emulate in almost every way, was once asked how his latest book was… [Continue Reading]