May 2013
2 posts
“I have this problem—whatever shit I do, people have sex.”...”
– Nell Freudenberger: The Night Heron : The New Yorker
3 tags
April 2013
1 post
March 2013
3 posts
Well well well, look what I found
It’s the weaker Maker’s Mark.
The Bourbon Babe was right – it does taste different. It’s not necessarily bad different, just noticeably not as rich as the 45 percent ABV. It’s different enough that, had this hit the wider market, people would’ve unfavorably compared it to the original.
But it’s not so different that the change would be noticeable to the...
February 2013
12 posts
Bourbon Babe: The Proof: Maker's 84 tastes... →
bourbonbabe:
The dust is still settling on Maker’s Mark’s decision to reduce the alcohol by volume of its flagship brand from 45 percent to 42 percent and then back again, but before we move on, I wanted to report on the results of my own taste test.
In the initial announcement of the reduction from…
Maker's Mark Not Lowering Alcohol by Volume After... →
The family that drinks together blogs together
(Champagne at our wedding reception. Photo by Michelle Jones)
One happy benefit of my cocktail fixation is that my wife is never in want of a drink. Over time, she’s begun to share my hobby more and more. Now, she’s embarking on her own drinking project. She’s going to make every cocktail in the Kentucky Bourbon Cocktail Book. She’ll post her reviews here. Her name is...
What bourbon do I drink?
Toothpick Swords has never been about product endorsements. Sure, the editorial policy I’ve constructed ranks certain cocktails or methods above others, but I try to avoid overt praise or direct insults of specific brands.
That said, a few people have asked me lately what bourbons I prefer. Living in Kentucky has given me consistent access to a great variety, and I’ve spent the...
Aged White Dog — The Magazine →
More on bourbon. Enjoy.
8 Delicious And Cheap Whiskeys To Drink Instead Of... →
I’d agree with all of these.
Less Potent Maker's Mark Not Going Down Smoothly... →
Me…talking bourbon.
“We’re confident that through maintaining the taste exactly to our...”
– Marker’s Mark COO Rob Samuels: Extremely Short Supply Led to Reduction in Alcohol by Volume
…And thirsty fans across the country imagine the taste test possibilities.
“Alcohol, consumed with a diet mixer, results in higher (BrAC) Breath Alcohol...”
– Mixing Alcohol With Diet Soda May Make You Drunker
It’s not worth it.
January 2013
7 posts
3 tags
The One Exception to My "No Mix-Your-Own...
Unless every bartender in your town buys the same brand of pre-mix*, the Bloody Mary is the most inconsistent drink possible. The variations on spicy alone could fill all the cocktail blogs on Tumblr. And the thing is, no one is really wrong here. Any number of snobs may disagree, but liking a little extra lime in your Bloody Mary isn’t the same as wanting orange juice and soda water in an...
Tapped Out - Gapers Block: Detour | Chicago →
“Tap rooms are, almost by definition, the lowest of low on the drinking establishment food chain. One step below the dive bars young urban professionals love to slum in and two steps below the worn but friendly neighborhood tavern on the corner, they occupy a little-noticed segment of the liquor industry: that of the scruffy, leftover gin joint in a city that was once filled with...
Pints and Inches
“I’m gonna stay a fatty all of my life
But some people think that fatties are nice”
—Melanie, Animal Crackers
People try to lose weight for many reasons. Beauty. Health. To fit into a pair of freshly-thrifted tweed slacks before winter ends (I’m afraid to try on second-hand wool in store).
No matter the reason, every committed dieter will eventually finish bargaining, pleading and outright...
Bourbon: It's Good for Your Face
I thought my dreams had come true. I thought my barber was selling drinks.
From a distance (and with my glasses off for a trim), the bottles on the counter looked like tiny vessels of homebrew. My guess wasn’t too far off. This is a homebrew shave tonic…form bourbon country. That is to say, there’s bourbon in it.
Ingredients: Alcohol, Witch Hazel, Aloe Vera, Glycerin,...
December 2012
4 posts
Gifting Booze
This post originally appeared in Christmas past
I got a letter yesterday from the Consortium of Internet Blogs About Cocktails (CoIBAC). They asked where my MadMen references were. All cocktail blogs have to quote or otherwise pay tribute to the AMC television series MadMen at least once, they said.
So, here it goes…
When Don comes back to the office early after cutting his holiday in...
The Rules for Bourbon
Speaking of the most recent episode of The Talk Show (which you should be listening to), John Gruber talks about the regulations that mandate how bourbon is made and the lack of similar standards for rum.
It got me thinking about the actual regulations on bourbon. There are federal requirements that spirits must meet in order to be called bourbon. Even among the fussiest aficionados in bourbon...
November 2012
8 posts
Mixologist or Mumford?
It’s getting hard to tell if men in vests are cool bartenders or members of Mumford and Sons.
(Says the guy who wore a corduroy suit to work)
Drink Smart, Look Smarter
As American Drink reminds us, two states of this union (representing 17 electoral votes) do not allow residents to purchase liquor while the polls are open.
These laws used to be quite prevalent. They originated for a number of reasons, but many were aimed at preventing vote buying. Saloons could function as polling places, and some unscrupulous politicians and bosses would bribe potential voters...
October 2012
1 post
Boo and Humbug
I hate bars on Halloween. It’s not the costumes (though I would like someone to refund me the 30 minutes I wasted on last night’s visit to my local, of which I spent five figuring out what the women at the next table were dressed as, and 25 feeling sad after realizing they were all “Sexy Honey Boo-Boo*”).
And it’s not the rowdy atmosphere (you can always avoid the...
September 2012
3 posts
August 2012
9 posts
“Of those who reported participating in vigorous exercise, men and women who were...”
– Drink Hard, Exercise Hard | The Awl
The "How To"
htdeverything:
On this week’s show we created the How To Do Everything signature cocktail. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
Juice from one lemon
1 oz. Cointreau
1 oz. Brandy
Instructions:
Shake with ice, pour into a glass.
THEN POUR SOME BEER IN IT.
Here’s an alternative:
Ingredients:
1 oz. Anything
1 oz. Anything else
Instructions:
Shake with ice, pour into a glass.
THEN POUR SOME BEER...
Mile High Club Soda
‘A pilot safety brochure from the Federal Aviation Administration notes that “alcohol decreases the ability of the brain to make use of oxygen” — an effect that can be magnified by altitude. Not to mention that alcohol impairs reaction time and judgment, both of which are crucial in an emergency. This is especially important to consider if seated in an exit row. “Drinking alcohol can slow...
“Strict adherence to the Prescriptivist position brings with it several...”
– The Martini FAQ
I. Love. The. Internet.
(via Gruber)
Blue Cocktails Are Back: Blog : Details →
(via The Awl)
