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Jan 23, 2012, 3:24 pm
This morning as I was reading the news I was greeted by this chuckle-inducing headline:
#McDStories, McDonald’s Twitter Hashtag Promotion, Goes Horribly Wrong
As with most people I love a good PR FAIL story, and this one’s a doozy. Last Wednesday McDonald’s sent out two tweets on their Twitt... Comment - Like
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Jan 21, 2012, 6:50 pm
After that little teaser, we finally get going into Carnival season with some King Cakes! Get ready for Larry Ragusa’s latest King Cake special … that is, if Marie lets it out of the door.
Uh oh, Marie doesn’t look happy. I suspect we’ll be seeing Vincent soon. And then there’s Angelina ... Comment - Like
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Jan 20, 2012, 1:00 pm
Okay, before anyone gets their drawers in a wad … it’s a perfectly good word, and I’m not going to bowdlerize it with asterisks or substitute something* like “shoot.” If I did your mind would still fill in the actual word; as George Carlin wisely said, “‘Shoot’ is ‘shit’ with two... Comment - Like
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Jan 19, 2012, 3:57 pm
Happy New Year! Happy oh-twelve!*
Okay, I know it’s nineteen days into the new Year and most people are done wishing others a happy new year, but if any of you know anything about me at all it’s that I’m the God Emperor of Procrastination. However, I have in fact resolved to write and post mo... Comment - Like
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Dec 1, 2011, 8:01 pm
I have to wonder if Dubonnet Rouge is the red-headed stepchild of aromatized wines these days. It just doesn’t seem to get the attention it once did, and that it deserves now.
I love redheads, by the way.
Dubonnet, if you’re not familiar, is a fortified apéritif wine along similar lines as ve... Comment - Like
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Nov 29, 2011, 8:16 pm
Those of you who have been following along here for a while will likely remember that Chuck and I are members of an august body known as the Fat Pack. The reasons for the name are likely self-evident, and although there is indeed a story behind the name (and the excursion on which it was assumed), ... Comment - Like
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Nov 22, 2011, 3:21 pm
One of the seminars I attended at Tales of the Cocktail this year featured the amazing Dave Arnold, director of culinary technology at the French Culinary Institute in New York and co-author of the not-to-be-missed website Cooking Issues. He was joined by the also amazing Tony Conigliaro, the owner,... Comment - Like
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Nov 11, 2011, 8:39 pm
It’s a magical day! (Some say. They would be silly.)
For many it’s Veteran’s Day (and here’s to those folks). For others it’s just a big round scary birthday. Oh well, they say 1/20th of a millennium is the new 1/25th of a millennium …
“What are you going to do at 11:11:11 on 11/11/1... Comment - Like
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Oct 6, 2011, 3:13 am
Image by Jonathan Mak Long
Thank you, Steve.
You and Woz changed the way we use computers. You brought publishing to the desktop instead of the print shop. You changed animated motion pictures. You changed the music industry, and the way we buy, listen to and carry around our music. You changed o... Comment - Like
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Sep 8, 2011, 3:49 am
Yeah, it’s a post. First one in in nearly six weeks! Try not to faint.
Every now and again one needs to take a little break, which I hope is understandable. I also hope you haven’t forgotten about this little weblog in the meantime — I’m sure many shiny things have come along in the last 42... Comment - Like
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Jul 27, 2011, 5:32 am
[This was cross-posted from the original post at Talesblog.com.]
The long line in which I waited to get into this sold-out seminar last Thursday was unsurprising. Bitters, as you’re undoubtedly aware, are a hot topic among bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts. We were hoping we’d taste things bo... Comment - Like
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Jul 22, 2011, 3:50 pm
[This is cross posted from the original post at Talesblog.com.]
I wish my high school history classes had been a tenth as fun as this one.
Historian-of-booze David Wondrich and guru of all thinks tropical and drinkable Jeff “Beachbum” Berry led us on a survey of the global reach of America’s... Comment - Like
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Jul 21, 2011, 8:11 pm
[This is a repost from the original post on Talesblog.com.]
Fire, red-hot metal, smoke and sizzle — now that’s my kind of seminar! (More in a bit.)
And oh, the punch! We do love our punch, and punch is undergoing quite the revival these days, now that we remember how to do it properly. Punch l... Comment - Like
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Jul 21, 2011, 7:52 pm
[This is cross-posted from the original post at Talesblog.com.]
“The entire soda market is dominated by one or two huge corporations,” said Darcy O’Neil during today’s soda program seminar. “I think it would be great if we could get more sodas created by bartenders in our bars,” said hi... Comment - Like
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Jul 19, 2011, 5:04 am
[This is crossposted from Talesblog.com -- my annual post about where to enjoy fine food and drink while at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans.]
“Oh yeah, we’re going to New Orleans for Tales this year! I hear the food’s good!” (Well … yeah.)
I thought it only proper to continue the fo... Comment - Like
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Jul 12, 2011, 1:40 am
I watch a lot of TV. I freely admit that some of it is crap. I also see a lot of horror films, and I likewise freely admit that some of them are crap. While a stylish, classy horror film is a thing of beauty and a joy forever, the simple truth is that I also really enjoy a good schlockfest. Ther... Comment - Like
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Jun 30, 2011, 6:49 pm
[NOTE: This is a preview post highlighting an upcoming "Spirited Dinner"at the 2011 Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, taking place July 21, and is is crossposted from the original post at Talesblog.com.]
You know what the worst thing about Tales of the Cocktail is?
Well, other than oppressive ... Comment - Like
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Jun 20, 2011, 2:16 pm
One of the highlights of our trip home for Jazzfest a couple of months ago was seeing the stage debut of the work-in-progress musical by Colman DeKay & Paul Sanchez, “Nine Lives,” based on Dan Baum’s fantastic book. The goal is to take it to Broadway, and while it’s not a fully-realized mus... Comment - Like
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Jun 18, 2011, 10:55 pm
RIP Clarence Clemons, 1942-2011.
The Big Man and The Boss
“Clarence lived a wonderful life. He carried within him a love of people that made them love him. He created a wondrous and extended family. He loved the saxophone, loved our fans and gave everything he had every night he stepped on stage... Comment - Like
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Jun 15, 2011, 1:38 pm
It’s fun coming up with cocktail names. Then comes the hard part … coming up with the cocktail.
Most of the time the process is reversed, at least with most bartenders I know. The spirits and flavors form the initial idea, and the name comes afterward. Sometimes, though, you just come up with ... Comment - Like
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Jun 14, 2011, 11:26 pm
[NOTE: This is a preview post highlighting an upcoming seminar at the 2011 Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, taking place July 20-24, and is is crossposted from the original post at Talesblog.com. It fits in rather well with my Negroni variation series posted here, here, here and here.]
Do you ... Comment - Like
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Jun 8, 2011, 6:05 pm
[NOTE: This is the first of several preview posts I'll be writing to highlight upcoming seminars at the 2011 Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans, taking place July 20-24. This is a crosspost from the original post at Talesblog.com.]
Last year I had the best Ramos Gin Fizz I’d ever had in my life... Comment - Like
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Jun 6, 2011, 10:58 pm
So the other night—it was in point of fact Wednesday evening—it was my turn to mix. (We take turns at our house, as do civilized gentlemen everywhere.) I had a vague feeling that I wanted something Manhattan-esque, but Chuck had made superlative Manhattans just the previous evening, so that was ... Comment - Like
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Jun 1, 2011, 4:00 pm
As the barback demolition derby continues, the next novice into the frying pan is … um, me.
(Oh, crap.)
I was a little nervous about this whole being-on-camera thing to begin with, and after hearing from Tatsu about how he ran the gauntlet the night before, I had a minor panic attack. (Not a rea... Comment - Like
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Jun 1, 2011, 2:58 pm
Jim and Rocky’s next victim — my friend Tatsu Oiye, professional drinker and fellow member of the board of the Los Angeles Cocktail Community (we help organize monthly social, networking and educational gatherings for local bartenders). Tatsu’s shift was at 320 Main, easily the best bar in Or... Comment - Like
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May 27, 2011, 5:11 pm
My buddy Ron Dollete of LushAngeles.com stands next in the firing line. He did a fine job behind the bar, although was accused of being “cocky,” and bore his annoying tasks manfully without resorting to rolling his eyeballs at Jim and Rocky or saying, “Oh, you bastards…” Good shaker face, ... Comment - Like
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May 26, 2011, 12:59 pm
Next into the torture chamber er, behind the bar is Humuhumu Trott, Bay Area tiki goddess who maintains the tiki bar/restaurant review site Critiki and tiki news site HumuKonTiki, among others. I thought Humuhumu was just her nickname, of course, and that her “real” name is Humuhumunukunukuapua... Comment - Like
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May 25, 2011, 1:09 pm
Jim and Rocky’s next victim — Quinn Sweeney of Libation Lab. Described as “under the weather and not sure of what he got himself into,” Quinn holds his own under the onslaught of his cruel taskmasters.
Today’s drink is a riff on the simple but lovely Alaska cocktail, which is gin and yell... Comment - Like
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May 24, 2011, 4:27 pm
“Hey! I wanna recruit you for something!”
It was back in January. I was at Rob Roy in Seattle, one of my favorite bars anywhere. My friend Jim Romdall, bartender extraordinaire at Vessel (which closed after it lost its lease, to reopen in a better location this summer) was guest-bartending. My ... Comment - Like
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May 20, 2011, 2:55 pm
This is another example of the tomfoolery fun stuff that happens when my friend Chris Day (bartender at Sotto in Los Angeles) and I start knocking around cocktail ideas. We thought that somewhere (here, if nowhere else) there needed to be a cocktail special of the day on May 21 — a post-Rapture fo... Comment - Like
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Apr 29, 2011, 1:08 pm
I’m sitting in the Gospel Tent, where Sister Naomi Washington and her group just finished — hallelujah!! I also just finished my traditional Creole’s Stuffed Bread to start my festival day, as I’ve done for nearly 25 years.
Seeing Mrs. Merlene Herbert, who makes and sells these from her Laf... Comment - Like
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Apr 26, 2011, 4:52 pm
I grew up hearing those words on radio ads for concerts, coming out of my tinny car speakers via WNOE and WRNO … “Coming to A Warehouse.” They referred to a big, dank, cavernous music venue on Tchoupitoulas Street that was just that — an old warehouse that had been converted (relatively min... Comment - Like
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Apr 24, 2011, 2:26 am
Glen David Andrews covers Dr. John’s “I Walk On Guilded Splinters” (originally on the album Gris Gris, from the early days of his Night Tripper era), featuring Paul Sanchez on electric guitar, and it is made of awesome.
I’m way behind on posting, as you can undoubtedly tell, but I’m going... Comment - Like
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Apr 18, 2011, 1:58 pm
One more excellent cocktail instructional video by Shlomo M. Godder, produced for the bar Dutch Kills in New York.
It’s a lovely-looking highball, a gin fizz amplified with a bit of Cognac — very refreshing. I like the technique used by the bartender here. Rather than straining the shaken ingr... Comment - Like
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Mar 25, 2011, 2:51 pm
Here’s another in the series of four marvelous videos produced for the New York bar Dutch Kills by Shlomo M. Godder.
ROYAL SMILE
(adapted from The Artistry of Mixing Drinks, by Frank Meier, 1934)
1 ounce gin.
1 ounce apple brandy.
3/4 ounce fresh lemon juice.
3/4 ounce real pomegranate grenad... Comment - Like
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Mar 11, 2011, 1:12 pm
I didn’t entitle this post with a “Negroni Variations,” because technically it isn’t, although it has two of the same ingredients and follows the same general formula.
This is a drink that I think should get a lot more attention than it does, ’cause it’s damned good. It isn’t a Negro... Comment - Like
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Mar 10, 2011, 5:34 pm
As we continue with The Negroni Variations … nope, it’s not a classical piece composed by the Italian equivalent of Johann Sebastian Bach featuring the Italian counterpart of Johann Gottlieb Goldberg. (Insert Woody Allen joke: “I-I-I don’t know anything about classical music … for years I ... Comment - Like
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Mar 8, 2011, 1:55 pm
“Hi Chuck, hope you’re doing well. I am working on the launch of the new Bulleit Rye, and we’d like to send you a sample.”
Well … sure! Okay then! Twist my arm, why dontcha?
I love getting emails like this.
It’s exciting news that Bulleit are putting out a rye. I’m a huge fan of the... Comment - Like
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Mar 3, 2011, 2:59 pm
It’s a Los Angeles-centric cocktail post, folks … so if you don’t live in the City of Angels or don’t plan to visit soon, this one might not hold your interest. You never know, though — you could end up here one day!
Jonathan Gold, Pulitzer Prize-winning food writer from the L.A. Weekly... Comment - Like
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Feb 26, 2011, 3:34 pm
Via my old friend Chris, via the Vintage Ads LiveJournal:
Chris adds, “I’d read significance into this ad and the brand, were it not published three years before the Kinsey Report.” Doug adds, “So what’s that book concealing?” Heh. (Come to think of it, The Kinsey Report might be a gr... Comment - Like
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Feb 21, 2011, 3:52 pm
I regret that my music posting has been quite sporadic around these parts of late — sorry ’bout that. Here’s a brief (but content-rich) one, and prepare to spend some money on great music.
Perhaps my favorite album of the year so far has been the new one by The Decemberists, The King is Dead... Comment - Like
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Feb 18, 2011, 3:44 pm
None of this is particularly rocket science, as I’m sure you’ve caught on to. Substitutions of spirits, bitter and aromatized wine that basically hew to the basic Negroni formula are often quite tasty, and great springboards for experimentation.
Last time I was at the venerable Vessel* in Seatt... Comment - Like
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Feb 15, 2011, 8:50 pm
I do love me a Negroni.
The bitterness of Campari sometimes scares folks away, but it shouldn’t — it’s a bracing flavor that’s perfect for awakening your palate before a meal. It can be a bit much if the first time you try it is in a Campari and soda (wildly popular in Italy), but most plac... Comment - Like
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Feb 9, 2011, 4:12 pm
This morning I watched an amazing cocktail video, produced by Shlomo M. Godder at the bar Dutch Kills in New York City. It’s absolutely gorgeous — beautifully directed and photographed, entirely visual (no dialogue at all), nicely integrated graphics and lush music. It begins with a fascinating... Comment - Like
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Feb 7, 2011, 2:17 pm
Larry has a new King Cake commercial!
Uh oh. I knew he was gonna show up sooner or later. No wonder Larry has anger issues.
I’m becoming a big fan of Mrs. Ragusa. Just watch her in this video. She’s hilarous!
Don’t watch unless you’ve been watching the commercials all along:
Part 1, P... Comment - Like
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Feb 5, 2011, 4:26 am
I love it when I get a cocktail via text message.
Sadly, I don’t have a spiff new prototype iPhone which will take the texted recipe and use its built-in replicator to rez one on the spot. (“Cocktail. South Central. Cold.”)
My friend Garret recently moved back to New York City to go to grad... Comment - Like
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Jan 27, 2011, 5:32 pm
[N.B. -- If you 1) haven't read Frank Herbert's Dune novels, and/or 2) aren't a geek, then this post is likely to make little sense to you.]
My old friend Chris Caldwell, a writer and cocktailian living in Denver, issued the following post on his Twitter feed the other day:
“And how can this be?... Comment - Like
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Jan 13, 2011, 7:38 pm
As Al Johnson sings, “It’s Carnival time … everybody’s havin’ fun!”
In fact, Carnival season has been going on for a week now, having begun as true to tradition on January 6, the Twelfth Night of Christmas. Carnival kicks off in New Orleans with the very first Carnival ball that night, ... Comment - Like
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