Flavors 518

It's officially summer, and on the weekends I can't seem to get up off my chaise lounge. For this, I made up a great cocktail (pictured above - you can also tell I mean business by my Ryan Gosling Hey Girl notebook ). The consists of a lot of lemon juice, some honey, and a good amount of water, stirred and then topped with some gin and Lillet. I love Lillet, especially the back of the label, which when you read it out loud sounds like pure class (something about being meant to be enjoyed at the moment when evening becomes night). This drink also needs a ton of ice so it will stay cold long enough for you to sip it and get a lot of reading done. Recently, I read a very interesting book called Inside Christie's by John Herbert about the auction house. What I really enjoyed about it was reading about all these stories which would start out with the person from the auction house starting up a relationship with someone, some long winding plot ensues with colorful charact...

New cocktail idea I had that turned out delicious: 2 oz. Irish whiskey (Tullamore Dew in my case) 1 oz. Finger Lakes Distilling Maplejack liqueur drop of orange flavored bitters maraschino cherry It is refreshing and the deep flavor of the Irish whiskey works great with the sweetness of the Maplejack liqueur. The orange bitters uplifts the whole thing. Tasty!

It being Mad Men season and all, Sunday nights now demand a cocktail.   And even if it wasn't so appropriate to the show, a Manhattan would be my cocktail of choice.   While Mahhattans made with bourbon or Canadian whiskey are find, made with real rye they're even better.    As a recent survey of cheap alcohol at The Awl also found, Rittenhouse Rye might be the best value at your local intelligently stocked liquor store, a whiskey that is not merely decent in a mixed drink but actively enjoyable on the rocks that you can sometimes find for less than 20 bucks.   In any case, it makes a perfect Manhattan, and the addition of vermouth makes it an even better deal.    So: Put a martini or old-fashioned glass in the freezer. Combine about 2 - 2 1/2 parts rye (if you can't find Rittenhouse, Sazerac is equally good although a little pricier; Wild Turkey Rye is OK but I'd probably just use bour...

This post has a soundtrack . Now, of course I think it is fun and totally healthy for couples to socialize with other couples. But if you don't think it is neccessary, and also totally healthy for people to also have separate friendships, then you should go read some Rachel Bertsche . It just kills me when I hear people say they force their husbands to go outlet shopping with them - that is why you are supposed to have girlfriends - girlfriends who would love to go outlet shopping! Instead, you see the guys sitting outside the dressing room, totally bored to tears.When I hear someone say their boyfriend is their best friend, and then totally demonstrate that they don't think their friendships are a priority through their behavior, it kills me, but I also think it is not good for their relationship in the long term. Your boyfriend does not want to go shoe shopping with you, and he really doesn't want to analyze "Real Housewives of Any City". Rachel Bertsche s...

Going out for my 30th birthday first started out with the question of what to wear. I took the approach that I learned worked best for my bachelorette party and showed up at Marshall's looking to spend about $20 and find something appropriate. I was looking for something that said "Hey, I am here to have fun, but I know it is not 21 that I am turning!" After finding that and checking out, I ran into Albany celebrity Erin Harkes who sang our first dance at our wedding . She is a great woman. I couldn't love her more. Anyways, here I model my 30th birthday party outfit for you: Those heels I have only wore before down the aisle of my friend's wedding (we switched to flip flops not long after) and to my bachelorette party. Living in NYC for almost 5 years ballet flats became my go to for everything, but this seemed like an occasion for heels! Unfortunately, walking around Crossgates Mall in high heels turned out to be less than ideal. I did buy some great ...

A couple of years ago I tried a candy cane cocktail at Bellini's . It was so good, and I kept going back trying to figure out how to make it. This is what I came up with: 2 ounces vodka (I like this Prairie vodka . It is from Minnesota, and apparently not available everywhere. It was also reasonably priced). 1 1/2 ounces white cream de menthe Smash up candy canes and wet rim of frosted glass. Dip rim in pile of candy canes on a plate. Shake with ice in cocktail shaker. Strain into cocktail glass. Enjoy that taste of the holidays! While I know there are plenty of drinks that can serve to warm you up from the cold weather like red wine or wassail, this drink is the taste of cold weather. Crisp, freezing, exhilarating - the taste of winter - feels like your breath fogging up a glass window on a bright 30 degree morning or stepping onto an icy patch on a parking lot with shiny black, high heel  boots and feeling the ice crack below.

I have tried a few of the spirits available from the Berkshire Mountain Distillers , and they are all very delicious.The rum, corn whiskey, and Greylock gin are all very good, but my personal favorite is the Ethereal gin . It is very complex in flavor. It is heavy on the botanicals, and has such a full, complex interesting smell you really want  to take in the bouquet before you drink it. I don't even mix it with anything usually - it is that delicious. They also make them in small batches, and the label color changes to let you know it is a new batch and may taste slightly different. Before discovering the Berkshire Mountain Distillers I was almost always a Hendrick's woman (I love cucumber), but this stuff is great and I love that I am supporting a local company. I hope one day they will offer distillery tours.  Undergrads have taken over college campuses everywhere wearing tights as pants, and everyone is spending their weekends going doughnut picking - so that mean...

My colleague Robert Farley speaks the truth about the discourse on mint juleps, which of course can be applied to cocktails more broadly: What I have discovered is that the literature on the mint julep can be wholly characterized by this formula: "Mint juleps are vile, except ones that use [insert bourbon] over [crushed, shaved, cubed, etc. ice] with a bit of [crushed mint, bruised mint] on the [top, bottom] along with [a little/lot] of [granulated/powedered/syrup]. Any divergence from this recipe is a/an [disgrace/abomination/abortion/unholiness] that only a/an [moron/idiot/dilettante/frat boy/sorority girl/tourist/alcholic] would drink." Indeed. On the narrow issue at hand, I've never had a mint julep I liked. Or, for that matter, mojito; I think I can say that mint in drinks is a genre I Don't Get.