If cocktails had personalities (and they do, especially after the second round), the Pink Lady would be your eccentric aunt. The one who insists on full costume for brunch, douses herself in vintage Chanel No. 5, and waits until everyone has dismissed her as harmless. Then she casually eviscerates a guest with a one-liner that […]

Author (and sometimes New York Times Opinionator blogger) Bill Hayes convincingly opined recently in the New York Times: “Not writing can be good for one’s writing; indeed, it can make one a better writer.” I can tell you today that this is total bullshit but back in August when I first saw the words I […]

I picked up a bottle of Maurin Quina at the store when I saw its devilish green label stare back at me from the shelf. How could I resist it? I knew that the “quina” part in its moniker comes from same quinine notes that tonic comes from so I knew it would be a natural for gin.

This past weekend’s warm weather forced a brief moment of anxiety upon me as I had to contemplate the impending close of “Bourbon Season”.    Saying ‘goodbye’ when I am not quite prepared is always awkward for me but eschewing bourbon for the season can be painful. When temperatures start to heat up I know I […]

Well, what do you know. I’ve discovered this vermouth cocktail just in time—by which I mean, the exact chapter of life where my tolerance has plummeted and my taste has gotten smug. There’s a sad poetry to it. As I’ve aged, my palate has become more refined (less juice, more nuance), while my body has […]

I have been alternately sipping and staring into this deep, brooding, dark Black Manhattan cocktail for 30 minutes now and yet I still don’t know what I want to say about it. Its gravity pulls in all my thoughts and will not let any of them escape. This deep, dark drink has got to be a metaphor […]

Check out this seemingly off-season Aperol Spritz! Every food blog post this week starts off with the obligatory acknowledgement of an “autumn chill in the air”.  While all the other food blog posts turn toward stew recipes and all manner of dishes ably prepared on stovetops or in hot ovens I’m serving this refresher!  For […]

I have been enjoying the Negroni since I was eleven years old. Well, not exactly. “There is a thirty year age difference between us thought Mrs. Stone. Then she was ashamed of herself and by the time Paolo had emerged from the bathroom she had mixed two negronis and placed them on the glass-topped table […]

Things here have been a bit slow but I assure this dilatory state has been of my own design and is no reflection on the urgent desire I have to share a Panaché with you.   I will forgo, however, the traditional (and somewhat narcissistic) exaggerated apologies many bloggers offer when they fail to post […]