Presented by Cooks’ World and Pinnacle Wine & Liquor I have never lived in New Orleans but have had the good fortune to visit a few times, particularly during my years living in nearby Houston; both cities are situated nearly on the edge of the Gulf of Mexico—also known as The Nation’s Humidifier. Summers there … Continue reading Cocktail of the Week: The Sazerac
Rye
Cocktail of the Week: The Vieux Carré
Presented by Cooks’ World and Pinnacle Wine & Liquor The Vieux Carré (pronounced VOO ca-RAY) was created in 1938 by Walter Bergeron, the head bartender at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans, and takes its name from the French term for "The French Quarter”—le Vieux Carré ("Old Square"). The Monteleone is one of the Quarter's … Continue reading Cocktail of the Week: The Vieux Carré
Cocktail of the Week: Archibald’s Last Memory
Presented by Cooks’ World and Pinnacle Wine & Liquor This is one very delicious cocktail. I knew from the ingredients that it would be, but the name is magnetic, too: "Archibald's Last Memory." If you had three or four of these, it very well could be your last. But just one is a sublime experience. … Continue reading Cocktail of the Week: Archibald’s Last Memory
Cooks’ World/Pinnacle Liquor Cocktail of the Week: À La Louisiane
This week’s cocktail emerged from the heady New Orleans cocktail scene in the late 1800’s, where it was the original house cocktail at the fabled La Louisiane restautrant (which closed in 2005). It was first documented in a 1937 book, Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ‘Em (still available in affordable reprints), and … Continue reading Cooks’ World/Pinnacle Liquor Cocktail of the Week: À La Louisiane
The Slope
Last week, I poured a whiskey tasting at Basin Wine & Spirits in nearby Bushnell’s Basin, NY, and the whiskeys were (frankly speaking) fairly pedestrian. That is not to say they were bad; they are solid, reasonably priced, readily available spirits: Evan Williams 1783 (a “more aged” version of the distillery’s Evan Williams Black); Evan … Continue reading The Slope
Method Spirits Sweet Vermouth: A kiss from the Finger Lakes
Locavores and Upstate New York cocktail lovers in general, this sweet vermouth is especially for you. In post-World War II United States, vermouth was one of the most under-appreciated and therefore under-used beverage categories behind the bar; blame that on Prohibition and on the millions of GIs, sailors, Marines, and airmen who came home from … Continue reading Method Spirits Sweet Vermouth: A kiss from the Finger Lakes
The Old Pal
Harry MacElhone (the Harry of Harry’s New York Bar in Paris) credited his “old pal,” journalist William “Sparrow” Robertson, with the inspiration for this drink. As the sports editor for the New York Herald in Paris, Robertson frequented the New York Bar enough for Harry to mention him in his 1922 ABC of Mixing Cocktails. … Continue reading The Old Pal
The Diamondback
It's not the size of the drink, it's the size of the bite in the drink, and this drink bites like a diamondback. It's bottled-in-bond rye whiskey wearing a bowtie and pocket square, but it is clearly bottled-in-bond rye. It’s a perfect drink to serve in a Nick and Nora glass, at just 2-3 ounces … Continue reading The Diamondback
The Greenpoint
This is another in the catalog of New York City borough and neighborhood namesake cocktails and a direct riff on another rye cocktail, the Brooklyn (rye, dry vermouth, maraschino liqueur, and Amer Picon). This version is credited to Michael McIlroy, of New York City’s Milk & Honey, who first served it there in 2006. It … Continue reading The Greenpoint
The Libation Lounge 