It was a long hot summer day and I wanted something light, refreshing and…well…easy. So I settled on a spritzer and did a little research to see if there were any variations I hadn’t tried yet. I found a bunch of different recipes but the one that called for bitters intrigued me. We had a…

Spring is on the verge of being sprung, and that means bright, fruity cocktails. In this case, margaritas. The pantry was pretty bare, but thanks to frozen blueberries, shrivelled lemons, and the “emergency” tequila, we were able to whip up this… Ingredients (makes 4) 1/2 cup blueberries (we used frozen) 2 oz freshly squeezed lemon…

D. A. Embury stated in the Fine Art of Mixing Drinks: “Of all the recipes published for [this drink] I have never seen any two that were alike.”   This cocktail was developed sometime before 1915 by Ngiam Tong Boon, a bartender working at the Long Bar in the famous Raffles Hotel in Singapore. Over the years the original recipe was lost and even…

I received a copy of Old Man Drinks by Robert Schnakenberg for Xmas and we were eager to give it a try. Most of the classics we’ve tried were there and were short of a lot ingredients for others but the El Presidente caught my eye and it was decided. Supposedly named for Gerado Machado,…

I was looking for something simple and tasty and a bit sweet. So I  went digging through my compiled wishlist and came across two that called for cognac. I chose the Charles because it had a bit more history. The Cocktail Bar was published by “Charles” in London in 1952. This eponymous drink is one…

Well it had been a while since we had been able to gather so we went all out with Prime Rib roast, fresh focaccia and a really delish walnut and avocado salad. And so we decided to start with an oldy, but goody cocktail. You can find a lot of Champagne cocktails if you go…

Well it turns out that after more than two years of making and tasting cocktails we haven’t actually tried a traditional Paloma yet. And since Halloween is traditionally tequila night, it made sense to rectify this oversight. This is in fact the 10th year we have all gathered together on Halloween night and indulged in…

One of us had an evening engagement so this week we were looking for something “light.” With only about 9% alcohol, the classic Americano fit the bill. Turns out it was first served in the 1860s at Gaspare Campari’s bar in Milan and originally named “Milano-Torino” because of the origins of its two ingredients. Then…

We were three for dinner, and it was one of those evenings when no one had any energy. What’s a good go-to cocktail for that situation? Well, the Cuba Libre, for one. The Cuba Libre is a storied cocktail. It originates in Cuba, of course; Jamie Oliver calls it a “legacy” cocktail, and its creation…

Happy Canada Day! Well, in fact Canada Day will be behind us when you read this post, but it was Canada Day that prompted us to try a classic cocktail we’ve been intentionally avoiding: the Caesar. History and marketing tell us that the Caesar was invented in Calgary in 1969. Good Canadians that we are,…