Alabama-born LeNell Smothers defines herself first and foremost as a bartender, but she's been called many things -- most recently, the proprietress of LeNell's liquor store. She's owned her own whiskey label called Red Hook Rye and been recognized by her home state as an honorary Colonel. Other interests include gin, sin and men.
Hotel bars have the potential to serve as a haven while you are on vacation, but often they are just places to get ripped off for a mediocre drink. When you're lucky enough to happen upon that truly special hotel bar where no detail has been overlooked, the sticker shock on the cocktail menu might just melt away into your highballs.
I had the quintessential hotel bar experience in London's lovely Connaught Hotel. The barmen were as beautiful as the surroundings, but the drinks were the showstoppers. After the most divine martini service ever, the barman suggested I try a margarita.
Can you identify the ingredients in a martini, cosmopolitan, Manhattan, Mai Tai, Long Island Iced Tea, Harvey Wallbager and more? See how well you know your cocktails.
Cocktail Ingredients Quiz
Crazy for Cosmopolitans? You'll need vodka, Cointreau or triple sec, lime juice, and one other ingredient to shake 'em up at home.
Grenadine
Orange juice
Cranberry juice
Pink grapefruit juice
Some folks get fancy with the recipe, but a traditionally-made Mai Tai gets its signature flavor from lime juice, dark rum, grenadine (or simple syrup), curacao and what other key ingredient?
Almond syrup
Mango juice
Coconut milk
Orange juice
Shaking up vodka, cream, and this variety of liqueur results in a White Russian.
Coffee
White chocolate
Vanilla
Peppermint
The rim of a Sidecar glass is coated in what tasty substance?
Sugar
Salt
Cocoa
Honey
The non-alcoholic classic Shirley Temple contains ginger ale (or lemon-lime soda), orange juice and a sweet splash of what?
Fruit punch
Cranberry juice
Grenadine
Pineapple juice
Vodka or gin would need just this ingredient to be shaken or stirred into a gimlet.
Roses Lime Juice Cordial
Olive juice
Fresh lime juice
Pickle juice
Rye (or bourbon), vermouth, bitters and a cherry are the components of which classic cocktail?
Negroni
Old Fashioned
Manhattan
Rob Roy
Mix up rum, lime and Coca-Cola to make this drink.
Cuba Libre
El Presidente
Bronx
Corpse Reviver
Mint, sugar, lime, soda water and this liquor come together to be muddled into a mojito.
Cachaca
Tequila
Rum
Pisco
Standard ingredients in a Negroni include gin, vermouth and what other liquid?
Lemon juice
Egg whites
Angostura bitters
Campari
It's not just a punchline -- the Harvey Wallbanger is a fern bar staple featuring vodka, orange juice, and this odd liqueur.
Goldschlager
Rumplemintz
Galliano
Peach Schnaaps
When this is popped into a Martini in lieu of an olive, it becomes a Gibson.
Jalapeno pepper
Lime wedge
Gherkin
Cocktail onion
James Bond may be more commonly associated with the Martini, but writer Ian Fleming also had him slugging down Vespers, which are concocted from Lillet Blanc and which two liquors?
Brandy & Scotch
Gin & Vodka
Vodka & Bourbon
Bourbon & Brandy
Mix orange juice and this spirit for a hard-hitting Screwdriver.
Rum
Vodka
Champagne
Whiskey
Sure, you could ask for a vodka & cranberry with a lime wedge, but it's much more festive to order it this way:
Greyhound
Salty Dog
Cape Cod
Madras
If you've got bourbon, mint, and a splash of soda, you're on the right track to make the Derby Day classic, a Mint Julep. What's still missing?
Lime
Sugar
Bitters
Nothing
The Bloody Mary is a brunch standard, but this addition transforms it into a hearty Bloody Bull.
Beef broth
Red Bull
A whole hot pepper
Pepper vodka
Creme de menthe and cream are terribly tasty together, but if you want a Grasshopper, hop to the store for a bottle of:
Vanilla vodka
Creme de Cacao
Green food coloring
Mint extract
A Greyhound gets its distinctive flavor from vodka and this mixer:
Sweetened lime juice
Pineapple juice
Cranberry and orange juice
Grapefruit juice
We all know that a Long Island Iced Tea has no tea in the mix, but what liquor isn't part of the standard recipe?
Margarita made with Partida Elegante tequila. Photo: Winemeup, Flickr.
Alabama-born LeNell Smothers defines herself first and foremost as a bartender, but she's been called many things -- most recently, the proprietress of LeNell's liquor store. She's owned her own whiskey label called Red Hook Rye and been recognized by her home state as an honorary Colonel. Other interests include gin, sin and men.
Is a spirit ever too good to use in a mixed drink? My answer to this question is inspired by Julia Child, who taught us that, when cooking with wine, use a wine you would be happy to drink, not just some cheap plonk.
And just because you are making a margarita doesn't mean you should grab the cheapest rot-gut tequila. I'm not saying that you have to break your family savings to drink well, but I am saying that I feel no guilt when I use a rare spirit in a cocktail.
My man and I recently closed on a cozy little house in La Paz, Mexico. To celebrate, we popped a bottle of Partida Elegante tequila. Priced upwards of $300, this is not an everyday sipper for most of us.
Alabama-born LeNell Smothers defines herself first and foremost as a bartender, but she's been called many things -- most recently, the proprietress of LeNell's liquor store. She's owned her own whiskey label called Red Hook Rye and been recognized by her home state as an honorary Colonel. Other interests include gin, sin and men.
I'm not above a little hell-raising, but I swear I was not doing anything illegal a few weeks ago in Mexico when my sweetheart Demian and I got pulled over by the police on the way to the beach.
Demian was accused of drinking and driving.We were eating homemade pesto while driving, but last I checked that wasn't illegal anywhere in the world.We did have an unopened bottle of Champagne iced in a cooler.Demian showed the officer the pesto and the bottle of bubbly.In the end, the cops accused Demian of speeding. His excuse?
Alabama-born LeNell Smothers defines herself first and foremost as a bartender, but she's been called many things, most recently the owner of LeNell's liquor store. She's owned her own whiskey label called Red Hook Rye and been recognized by her home state as an honorary Colonel. Other interests include gin, sin and men.
I've been in the mood for tequila of late. Perhaps it's Cinco de Mayo still lingering in the air -- or more likely that week-long vacation in Baja -- but I've got tequila on the brain and on my lips. I love the stuff in my fizzy drinks, and especially in my Dré Fizz Affair.
Ever heard of the Dreyfus Affair? It's a bit of French history involving the wrongful conviction of an officer. The whole ordeal inspired Emile Zola to write "J'Accuse!", a letter addressed to the French President printed on the front page of the newspaper L'Aurore that caused a stir worldwide. And I've got a friend named Dré whom the ladies love almost as much as Dré loves tequila. He is a Numero Uno Tequila Fanatic.
Thus, after the jump, the Dré Fizz Affair, aka Dreyfus, aka what you'll be drinking all summer. You're welcome.
The Luxury Institute has released its annual Luxury Brand Status Index (did you know that even luxury brands have their own status index?) for the wine and spirits category. The index is based on surveys of the wealthy, sampling more than 1,200 American consumers with an average weighted income of $342,000 and an average weighted net worth of $2.9 million. Here are the top-rated brands in each category:
Champagne and sparkling wine: Dom Perignon Cognac: Courvoisier Gin: Hendricks Liqueur: Grand Marnier Rum: 10 Cane Scotch: Macallan Table wine: Opus One Tequila: Patron Vodka: Grey Goose Whiskey: Woodford Reserve
How seriously do you take your tequila? What champagne is for France, tequila is for Mexico. Mexicans drink it to celebrate national holidays, weddings, and anniversaries. It even has a government protection similar to the French AOC. The Consejo Regulador del Tequilo states that the drink must come from a region in central south Mexico: the state of Jalisco. Drinking tequila straight from a small glass is the most traditional way to drink it.
So, what does it mean that companies, such as Tanteo, are now producing flavored tequilas? In a recent New York Times article, Florence Fabricant explains that flavors, like jalapeño and passion fruit, are subtle and delicate in Tanteo's line of flavored tequilas. As much as I want to be a traditionalist, I have to admit that I'm intrigued and looking forward to trying these tequilas. Tanteo tequilas are now available in NY at three locations: Ambassador Wines and Spirits on Second Avenue, SoHo Wines and Spirits on West Broadway, and at Philippe Wine and Liquor in Chelsea.
There's a stigma attached to those who extol the virtues of proper glassware. But the fact is -- they're right. The vessel used for your drink will affect not only the liquid that's poured inside, but also the way it hits your tongue, and the flavor your taste buds register.
I used to blow this off as overly fastidious, fancy schmancy posturing. I hated getting pints of beer or glasses of soda because it always tasted flat to me. I preferred that crisp bite out of the bottle -- glass be damned!
But then I experienced the differences for myself. While visiting a winery a number of years ago, my friends and I sat in on a glassware class. A myriad of shapes and sizes were placed in front of us, and we tried white, red, and sparkling wine in the different glasses. Each tasted different as it was moved from the standard white glass, to the wider red, to the narrow flute. We were shocked, and we vowed to always try to have the right glass for the right wine, because what's the point of paying more for a good wine, if you can't experience its full flavor?
But it's not just a matter of wine. Recently, I was making dinner and decided to open a bottle of craft beer that I had loved at my favorite pub a few months prior. I popped off the cap, took a drink, and curled my lip -- it not only tasted nothing like I remembered, but I hated it. I thought back and remembered that I drank the beer at the end of the night. Did I have bad, delusional drunken taste buds? I read the side of the bottle, which suggested a specific stemmed glass. I found something close, poured it in, and it became the beer I remembered -- rich, full, and wonderful. Me, the bottle lover, had found a beverage that tasted much, much better out of the bottle.
Now this doesn't mean that you need to have a specific glass for every different type of beer or booze. Get the right glasses, or something very close, for your favorite beverages, and stick to standards for the rest.
Think about it -- why splurge on a great scotch, wine, beer, or other beverage if you're just going to throw it into any old glass?
Read on to see a rundown of the glasses that make each beverage pop, and consider this not only a great guide for your own collection, but an excellent gift for the liquor, wine, or beer fiend on your gift list.
Tequila is probably the last thing you'd choose to drink after filling your stomach with fine dining. It'd be like getting dressed up in your best clothes--then spilling something on yourself right as you walk out the door. However, Agavero is a tequila-based liqueur that can be savored after any meal. As it first hits your tongue, it's rich and almost has hints of wood and coffee, then it smooths out into a lighter, almost herbal taste
Agavero is created by separately aging blue agave anejo and reposado tequilas in oak barrels. The two liquors are then blended with essence of Damiana flowers, which grow in the mountains of the Jalisco region where Agavero is made--some Indian tribes there believe that Damiana is an aphrodisiac. While mostly designed to be sipped on its own, Agavero can also be used in mixed drinks such as the Mexican Cosmopolitan or to spike a post-dinner coffee. The bottle is designed to look like the spiky flower of the blue agave plant, with embossed leaves creeping up the sides.
Mmm, seasonal punch, fall cider, apple-related-alcohol, whatever you want to call it, it's good. Warm or cold, alcoholic or non, even spicy or streudelly, there are a number of ways to enjoy a good autumnal apple drink. Here are links to eight delicious recipes!
Everyone knows that every night, somewhere, people are drinking for free. Various bars have promotions from liquor companies, nights when they want to pack the house, and special events that result in totally free drinks, and often free food, as well!
Whether you're visiting or a resident, visit My Open Bar for free drinks in:
New York City
Los Angeles
San Francisco
Chicago
Honolulu
Miami
My Open Bar lets you know what time, what's free, and where it is. All you have to do is show up! They even have mobile and RSS feeds.
Special thanks to my friend Brandon A. for the tip.
I've got a bias against infusions. I admit it, and I feel so much better for having gotten that off my chest. Why the bias? I'm not sure. Maybe it has something to do with altering the integrity of a spirit. Maybe because everyone with a mason jar has got some science experiment going on behind the bar. Maybe I'd just rather taste the fresh flavors of the fruit/herb/vegetable rather than the vodka-soaked version.
Oh, I know. Most of them don't work. Up until about a month ago, I would have said none of them work. Then, I got to taste Tequila Por Mi Amante.
I have to thank and give credit to Paul Clarke for this one. Paul has introduced me to quite a few cocktails and cocktail ingredients, and I'm a better bartender for having read his site. He is, in my opinion, the best blogger on cocktails on the whole internet and one of the best writers on this topic in the world. Bookmark his site. Go ahead, I'll wait. . . .
For me, the beginning of every season conjures up images from my childhood. The changing of the seasons makes me sensitive to the passing of time. And so, while opening the freezer door on a recent particularly hot June evening, I remembered the orange popsicles I'd make during the summer. I romanticized those blisteringly hot summer days as a 7-year-old boy with both of my sisters sitting outside by our inflatable "kiddy" pool. At that moment, I felt compelled to make the same super sweet, mildly acidic, and juicy ice pops.
I went to Bed Bath and Beyond to purchase the identical plastic popsicle molds I used as a child. On the side of the plastic mold is a straw so that you can drink the orange juice that melts to the bottom. For some reason, I remember that being the most enjoyable part of the treat. As a child, creating these orange juice popsicles –pouring orange juice in the molds and placing them in the freezer-seemed so thrilling.
I highly recommend these orange juice popsicles! They're a great way to keep children excited and hydrated during the sizzling summer days. Find out some wild and crazy ice pop ideas and check out the gallery of popsicles of different shapes and sizes.
Know what gives a Mai Tai its signature sweet, or what morphs a Martini into a Gibson? Just wanna know a dram more about mixology? We've got the quiz for you.
There's an exceptionally steep curve when it comes to spirits savvy, so we're just hoping there's a li'l something in there to quench everyone's thirsts. Take the quiz and c'mon back to gloat or glower. Cocktail Ingredients Quiz
How seriously do you take your tequila? What champagne is for France, tequila is for Mexico. Mexicans drink it to celebrate national holidays, weddings, and anniversaries. It even has a government protection similar to the French AOC. The Consejo Regulador del Tequilo states that the drink must come from a region in central south Mexico: the state of Jalisco. Drinking tequila straight from a small glass is the most traditional way to drink it. 
There's a stigma attached to those who extol the virtues of proper glassware. But the fact is -- they're right. The vessel used for your drink will affect not only the liquid that's poured inside, but also the way it hits your tongue, and the flavor your taste buds register.
Mmm, seasonal punch, fall cider, apple-related-alcohol, whatever you want to call it, it's good. Warm or cold, alcoholic or non, even spicy or streudelly, there are a number of ways to enjoy a good autumnal apple drink. Here are links to eight delicious recipes!
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