Freelance Food & Drinks Writer

Tag Archives: Cocktail books

More than a shot of Irish

Admit it. You might just do a shot of Irish whiskey tomorrow. I don’t blame you. Those Jameson specials are hard to resist. Just remember that there’s more to Irish whiskey than St. Patrick’s Day.

All the makings of a Dubliner.

Irish whiskey is a fascinating spirit. Much of it is light and gentle, but there are plenty of heavyweights to give Scotch and bourbon a run for their money. The proof’s in the numbers—Irish whiskey is now one of the fastest growing spirits categories, and in 2011 it outpaced single malt Scotch whiskey sales, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. Continue Reading

Leaping with The Joy of Mixology

Okay, here’s a confession. I always ask bartenders which cocktail books are essential. They always recommend The Joy of Mixology. I always nod knowingly, pretending I’ve read it. But I hadn’t. Until now. I finally ordered a copy from Rainy Day Books and have spent the last few nights combing its pages, dog-earing and underlining… Continue Reading

Flipping for Grünauer

Grünauer’s Amontillado Flip got a lot of photo play in my winter cocktail piece in the Kansas City Star (Spirits of the Season) this week, but I realized only later that I’d given it short shrift in the article itself. That’s a shame, because it’s incredibly good. Scott Beskow created the drink, which is at… Continue Reading

Read, Shake, Sip Redux

For those of you who missed yesterday’s Kansas City Star, here’s a list of some worthy cocktails and spirits reads. For those of you who did see it, read on—there are a few extra bits that didn’t make it into the printed version. The King of Vodka—Linda Himelstein recounts Pyotr Smirnov’s rise from serfdom to… Continue Reading

Read, Shake, Sip…

Cocktail book reviews are usually pretty simple. Look over the list of 15 or 20 titles published in the past year, request review copies of maybe a dozen, then quickly trim the reviewable list to half a dozen. Not this go-round. There are a lot of good writers doing good work out there, and today’s… Continue Reading