Since the basis for the Greenpoint is the Red Hook, and by extension, the Manhattan, it should come as no surprise that that this is going to be a rye whiskey cocktail with vermouth.

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I am referring to the Apple Smash, a basic rum cocktail that makes great use of fresh apples both in the drink and for the garnish. With so many different apples available this time of year, why not give this easy recipe a try? After all, fresh apples are underused in cocktails and it’s nice to have a recipe that works without requiring a bunch of odd ingredients. In other words, you probably have everything you need to make this drink right now—just grab some apples and you are ready to go. Heugel suggests Honeycrisp, but it’s fun

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Even though most people have never even heard of a Brandy Crusta,

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Not long ago, we explored genever in the Bols Alaska cocktail, so here’s another fun way to use it. If you’ve been thinking about adding genever to your cabinet, let me tell you, it’s time. The truth is, genever is a very interesting product that can

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The idea behind this is simple: you swap out the sweetener in a cocktail (in this case, we replace simple syrup in a Collins)

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This cocktail actually has two stories—mine, and that of the cocktail’s creator. I’ll start with mine since it’s shorter and not as intersting. A few weeks ago, my wife and I found ourselves at Beaker & Flask, a fantastic cocktail bar

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Another reason vodka doesn’t appear quite as often considering the momentum surrounding classic mixology these days is that by definition, it’s a flavorless spirit. Now, I realize, some of you will

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I suppose I should have featured something green, or at least something that contains Irish whiskey for the Drink of the Week. This cocktail does have mint, if that counts. I normally just use herbs that I grow myself, but that’s hard to do

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It’s probably long overdue, but I finally decided to write a few words about the bitter side of the cocktail spectrum—this time to outline some specific ingredients that impose this unusual nuance of flavor. The subject has surfaced before in drinks like the Negroni, and in homemade ingredients such as Tonic Water. Yet, Americans are are only just starting to understand the appeal of bitter beverages, so if this all sounds unusual or makes you feel uneasy, you’re not alone.

Expanding Palate For a cocktail enthusiast, the process of experimentation, and in many cases, the discovery of favorite drink recipes, can be likened to a chef, working through the pantry toward delicious dinner combinations. Each ingredient opens doors to new flavors that bring challenges and opportunities. Early favorites are often sweet concoctions that find refuge with the sours, where the quest for balance and variety can sustain plenty

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I can think of a few good bars in town that could make our drink of the week with what they

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For our Drink Of The Week, we set our sights on the classics again, turning our clocks all the way back to the 1880s. Imagine yourself in the days of Jerry Thomas, Saratoga Springs, New York, enjoying the spas—or more likely—the horses, the gambling, the cocktails. By then, the cocktail had established a firm grasp on social culture and the Saratoga

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If there is an expert alive today that knows more about tiki mixology than anyone else, it’s Jeff “Beachbum” Berry. His research, along with that of several others, has produced a growing compendium of tropical masterpieces along with a few surprises. One of these is the original Don the Beachcomber recipe for the Zombie which appeared in a New York Times article. The Beachbum acquired a

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This year, a friend of mine passed along a tip about a cocktail contest being held by

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I love the name of this drink partly because it’s actually a nickname. Most cocktail gurus agree that this drink was once referred to as “My Suffering Bar Steward” which seems to recall a time before ice machines and soda dispensers. Imagine a poor, suffering assistant scurrying to and fro to keep the ice bin full and to retrieve ingredients for the barman. Plenty of drinks are named for the men behind the stick, but it’s not unreasonable to believe that in a loud, crowded bar, someone might fancy a misheard

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Umami, or savoriness, is considered by eastern cultures as an important component of taste in their cuisine. It is the flavor produced by amino acids such as glutamate that we normally associate with beef, mushrooms or that “rich”

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As important and recognizable as the Martini is in the pantheon of cocktails, few people have ever heard of the Martinez. Instead, we recognize the V-shaped glass dripping with sweat, the ice cold gin and vermouth glistening like a clear, perfect gem, the olive or lemon twist garnish—the Martini is iconic. And yet, we are really talking about the Dry Martini, a more accurate name because of the fact that it is made with dry, French vermouth. Of course, that would imply there was a sweet version, right?

It’s true. The first Martini was concocted of gin and

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Infusing vodka is about the easiest mixology adventure you can take, and a great way to get started thinking about the flavors you can achieve in a cocktail. To

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The first thing you are going to notice, besides the fact that we are using fresh mint, is that this is another gin drink. By now, you should realize that a good share of classic cocktails, or at least a significant portion that come from the Prohibition era, are made with gin. That’s because gin was about the easiest spirit bootleggers could make—it is a basic maceration of botanicals and it requires no barrel aging. Some cocktails were created in

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The history of this cocktail provides a two-for-one opportunity since one cannot describe the Negroni without first referencing the Americano, and to describe the Americano requires mentioning the essential ingredient, Campari. So, this brings us to late nineteenth century Italy where production of a unique apéritif and digestif was just getting started. Campari is basically an alcoholic infusion of fruit, bitter herbs and aromatic plants. The exact formula remains a secret. By the early 1900s, Italians were enjoying Campari with soda water, and it is this simple combination that inspired a drink that became quite popular.

Americano 1 ounce Campari 1 ounce sweet vermouth

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Kimberly and I have a new favorite location for great food and even better cocktails, but it requires a little planning to get there from St. Paul. That’s because this destination is all the way over the Rocky Mountains in Portland, Oregon. The object of our affection is Clyde Common, a Downtown/Pearl District hot spot that is helping to define the cocktail revolution.

Before I jump right into the cocktails, it’s important to mention that first and foremost, Clyde Common is a restaurant. The decor has a basic, modern look that reminds me of a warehouse. The stenciled labels on the wall identify the “KITCHEN” or the “BAR” with a somewhat industrial look that is softened by wooden tables and candles glowing from every corner.

We were seated in front of the open kitchen at a huge table that seats perhaps 20 guests. This “common” seating arrangement was

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The selection this week is the appropriately timed Income Tax Cocktail. It’s a forgotten classic, so this serves as a reminder for you to file your return and to remember this old drink. It’s based on another cocktail that was once popular, only this version has the minor difference of adding bitters.

Income Tax Cocktail 1.5 oz gin .75 oz sweet vermouth .75 oz dry vermouth a fresh squeeze of orange juice 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Add the gin and vermouths to a cocktail shaker. Cut an orange into quarters and squeeze one quarter right into the shaker. Add the bitters, seal and

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So, what’s pisco? That’s what you really wanna know. Pisco is made from distilled grapes including Quebranta, Muscat and Italiao varieties to create a kind of clear brandy. Depending on it’s origin and the type of grapes used, it can have a woody and sweet aroma and a flavor reminiscent of weak rum. Pisco and the Pisco Sour are the subject of an ongoing dispute between Peru and Chile. Each country claims to own the origin of the spirit and the popular cocktail. While the argument

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A few weeks ago I posted a teaser about our upcoming tour of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®. Well, it’s time to kickoff the bourbon trail series starting with a special Drink Of The Week and a perfect start to our exploration of Kentucky bourbon country. Click here to see all of the Kentucky bourbon posts on one page. New posts will be added over the next few days so you can see how the trip progressed. The first destination of our tour was the Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, KY.

The History Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Seelbach Hotel is a perfect example of gilded-era luxury and beauty which recently underwent a $12 million restoration. Its turn-of-the-century Beaux Arts Baroque style served as the backdrop for Tom and Daisy Buchanan’s wedding in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Once a fellow resident of St. Paul,

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Everyone was pre-registered, so we were greeted at the entrance with printed name tags and a chilled cocktail—a fantastic way to start. Rocky Mountain Punch which is a heavenly mixture of rum, maraschino liqueur, lemon juice, champagne or pineapple juice with Angostura bitters made a pleasant and refreshing introduction to the topic of the afternoon: Bitters.

The group was divided into two sections. Some were led into the back room where an

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I am going to say it right off the bat: It’s a gin cocktail. Now that we have it out in the open and before you run for the hills, think about this: How can a drink survive

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So, what is the Old Fashioned? Well, it’s a drink that has earned it’s own glass, for one. While there are many variations, and some that take additional ingredients way

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Origins We cannot be certain how exactly the Manhattan cocktail came into existence. It’s no surprise that most people believe it originated in New York, but the specific circumstances surrounding

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