Even if you consider yourself interested in cocktails, how deep is your home liquor selection, really? My bar cart has nice bottles of the stuff I like—gin, aged rum, fernet, a few types of whiskey, armagnac from a trip to France—and standards like vodka, white rum, and tequila to round those out.
We promise to always be straight with our readers, so here’s the truth: Restaurants and food companies come up with dumbass, stunt ideas all the time so the media will go “Whoooooaaaaa” and write 500 words about it.
The thought of drinking a glass of fat probably brings to mind the episode of Friends where Ross agrees to drink a hearty portion of an unspecified greasy substance in order to be forgiven by on-again, off-again, off-again girlfriend Rachel. The act as portrayed in the episode is quite disgusting. But in 2007, Don…
Imagine selling the Bloody Mary to a focus group today: “Say, you know what goes well with vodka? Tomato juice!”
In our season finale of A.V. Cocktail Club, Chicago bartender and Louisiana native Laura Kelton teaches us the proper techniques to make the quintessential New Orleans cocktail: the Sazerac.
The Toronto cocktail is a refreshing twist on the classic old fashioned. This one gets a splash of Fernet-Branca, which gives the drink a minty and floral finish. Chicago bartender Laura Kelton shows us how to make one.
The American Trilogy is a recent cocktail innovation. Invented a decade ago at New York’s Little Branch bar, it’s reminiscent of a brandy old fashioned, but uses rye whiskey and apple brandy to give the drink softer, more rounded edges.
Concocted at the famed Carousel Bar in New Orleans, the Vieux Carré is a sophisticated and classic cocktail that evokes the spirit of the French Quarter. Fans of a Manhattan or brandy old-fashioned will find much to love about the Vieux Carré. Chicago bartender and Louisiana native Laura Kelton shows us how.
The Gold Rush is smooth and easy-going bourbon drink that’s similar to a whiskey sour. Here, instead of simple syrup, we employ honey to give the drink richness.
Of the many spirits beneath the whiskey umbrella—Scotch, bourbon, rye—what’s the difference? Chicago bartender Laura Kelton explains in this Cocktail Club Extra.
In this season of A.V. Cocktail Club, Chicago bartender Laura Kelton offers tips on making classic cocktails. The key to an ideal pineapple daiquiri, Kelton says, is to source the freshest, highest-quality pineapple juice you can get your hands on. If you can juice the fruit yourself at home, even better.
What is fernet, and why should you have a bottle for home use? In this Cocktail Club Extra, Chicago bartender Laura Kelton explains the aromatic bitter and how best to use it. For more, check out our Gateways To Drinkery guide on the spirit.
This season of A.V. Cocktail Club focuses on classic cocktails that are easy to make at home. This week, Chicago bartender Laura Kelton shows us the Hanky Panky—if you’re a fan of the negroni, you’ll enjoy this classic gin cocktail that adds minty notes, courtesy of Fernet-Branca.
Welcome to Gateways To Drinkery, where The Takeout offers an entry-level course on our favorite libations, and some suggestions on where to start drinking them.
Welcome to season three of A.V. Cocktail Club, where we offer step-by-step tutorials in making your favorite cocktails. This season we’re focusing on classic cocktails, and to guide us we’ve brought back Chicago bartender Laura Kelton as our guru. In this episode, Kelton teaches us how to make the Bee’s Knees, the…
Excerpted from Brian Bartels’ The Bloody Mary: The Lore And Legend Of A Cocktail Classic, With Recipes For Brunch And Beyond, out March 28. Read our interview with Bartels here.
You know what will truly provide warmth this holiday season? Kindness, benevolence, love, and empathy for the human race.
The 151 Swizzle is the classic spiced tiki drink that appeared at the Don The Beachcomber chain of bars a half century ago (the 151 references the 151-proof rum used).
Astoria is a classic variation on the martini, conceived by Jacques Straub, the legendary wine steward of Chicago’s Blackstone hotel. In 1914, Straub wrote the seminal Drinks, and within its 700 recipes is his Astoria concoction. By using an Old Tom gin instead of a London dry gin, the cocktail has an added sweetness…
Many tiki cocktails have tropical, fruity, and creamy coconut qualities, but they could also be more spice-driven. Heaven is a place/This is the place is a Lost Lake original that fits into the latter category, with notes of cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. Plus it gives you an excuse to break out your parrot tiki mug.
