Nocino is a liqueur from Northern Italy made with green walnuts.  TSB and I managed to get our hands on a box of these rare, under-ripe beauties and first made a batch of nocino.  Green walnuts are available mid-June, and

I have been pondering why cocktail lists are always laid out in the same two ways: split into one page of classic cocktails and another of innovative drinks, or else divided by type of spirit, so there is a column

I’ve got a new article in the latest issue of Drink Me Magazine about “white dog” or unaged whiskey.  Coincidentally, I picked up a bottle of Buffalo Trace White Dog at BevMo yesterday, which is exciting, because it wasn’t available

It’s getting hot out there (but not here; SF always gets colder during summer).  The Bourbon Coke Float is a great way to cool off and forget about the heat.  Mexican coke is preferred because of its real

I saw the band Frightened Rabbit last night at the Fillmore in San Francisco, and their latest album just happens to be called “The Winter of Mixed Drinks,” so I can justify referencing the concert here.

One of my favorites of

As I tried to explain the beer brewing process to TSB a few weeks ago, I remembered that she is more of a kinesthetic and visual learner, and not so much auditory.  I knew she’d get it once she tried

Wine was a four-letter word Sunday morning, which I spent at the SFChefs.Food.Wine beer pairing boot camp with Beer Chef Bruce Paton and City Beer Store owner Craig Wathen.  I would have liked a few hard and fast rules, but

Some people have a magic touch, and TSB‘s  furtive fingers mix the meanest sangria I’ve ever tasted, but she also makes the process quick and simple, despite the complexities that other sangria masters claim the drink requires.  The following are

Recently released by the Scandinavian Design Center, the Baggy Winecoat is a poorly named purse that holds the internal bag from boxed wine with a convenient pour spout and sturdy base for fashionable picnic drinking.

In this age of

As mentioned yesterday, a shorter version of this article is in the latest issue of Drink Me Magazine.

For most, wine cocktails are what we drank while backpacking across Europe at 19 years old – before we knew better. 

I was asked to write a piece for Nirvino in Drink Me Magazine on making cocktails with wine. There’s a longer version of the article that I will post here tomorrow, but I wanted to give you

Xplorador is sending someone *cough*pick me*cough* to Chile to experience the harvest and production of their wines.   A buddy shot this video while I was standing outside a bar last night, so I’m throwing my gorro into the ring.

Saturday night, I was lucky enough (or so I was told) to attend the Spirited Awards at Tales of the Cocktail.  I’ll say first off that it was dull, and the food (which had to be donated, despite the

I have been pondering why cocktail lists are always laid out in the same two ways: split into one page of classic cocktails and another of innovative drinks, or else divided by type of spirit, so there is a column

It’s time again for Tales of the Cocktail, the world’s biggest bartender convention. It’s going to be absurdly hot and humid, the parties are going to be outrageous, and I will get to learn a lot about booze.

If

I can’t believe I’ve never mentioned one of the greatest poems by my favorite American poet, Mr. Ogden Nash.
“Reflections on Ice-Breaking” is one of the most brilliant manipulations of the English language ever devised, and also my father’s favorite poem. 

In their monthly newsletter today, St. George Spirits announced the launch of their new website.  Cringing with fear, I clicked over to discover a site that was cleanly designed, thoughtful, and loaded in an instant, which leads me back to