Category: blog

By The Straight Up, December 27, 2013 Happy Holidays!  Time to wrap up MxMo: Anise. To be honest, I was a little nervous that we wouldn’t get a great turnout […]

I wrote a story for the San Francisco Chronicle about cobblers, mostly Sherry Cobblers. Read it here.     While hot weather bears down on much of the country, summer […]

I was sent a bottle of Captain Morgan Apple Smash to try for myself.  I was not asked to create a post for it or paid for my opinion.  My […]

Here we are again in January, a little bleary…. But the dead of winter gets a bum rap. All the seasons have their beauty. And this one for me is […]

By The Straight Up, January 13, 2014 Instructions: Add the green chartreuse, fresh pineapple juice and lime juice to a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake vigorously until the outside of […]

After reading my book Doctors and Distillers, Harold McGee (On Food and Cooking) pointed out to me that proof of distillation in ancient India (supposedly from the fifth century BCE) […]

Apples and Gingerale? Oh let me tell you that it’s a good combo! This cocktail beats it by far!  I am REALLY enjoying the ginger ale flavor over the club […]

OK—maybe I’ve been a little preoccupied with other projects of late. However, I assure you that they have all been beverage-related. (You probably knew that.) While doing some research in […]

By The Straight Up, January 18, 2014 Intructions:  Fill a highball glass with ice. Add chartreuse. Top with tonic and garnish with the mint sprig. Simple. Notes: Mint, herbs and […]

I wrote a story for Distiller Magazine about the various ways to implement a big ice program. It was written with distilleries (that have sampling bars) in mind – they […]

(I was sent a bottle of Smirnoff Ice Grape to try for myself.  I was not asked to create a post for it or paid for my opinion.  My opinion […]

One afternoon, my buddy suggested we turn his fresh mandarin oranges into Harvey Wallbangers. That sounded like a job for Freddy Fudpucker, Wallbanger’s tequila variation and my preferred version of […]

By The Straight Up, January 22, 2014 Instructions: Add the Cynar, Manzanilla sherry, Bittermens Burlesque and Hopped Grapefruit bitters to a chilled mixing glass. Add ice and stir until well […]