We sat down with Nathan Dalton of Piscobar in the Catahoula Hotel in New Orleans to chat about his work, the history of pisco, and his cocktail for the Pisco Fever Box, the Last Guinea Pig in Cuzco! S&S: What’s your specialty? ND: I guess I would have to say pisco is my specialty. I recently opened a bar/café…
Tag: History
All About Underberg
Curious about the Underberg Bitters you’ve been using this month to set your Flaming Rosemary Gimlet on fire? Underberg is actually a 170-year-old herbal digestif made in Germany, though they famously source herbs from 43 different countries! Made with a secret Semper Idem production process followed by months maturing in casks made of Slovenian oak,…
Gettin’ Ginny Wit it
So the other day I was helping a food stylist friend of mine check items for an upcoming shoot off her shopping list, and we came to Old Tom gin. I initially assumed this was just a brand of gin I hadn’t heard of before, but as I scanned the shelves looking for it, I…
Orgeat on My Mind
Need more almond joy in your life? Look no further than a bottle of orgeat, a syrup made from almonds, sugar, and either rose or orange flower water, that—hey!—is also an ingredient in one of next month’s Campari Hard cocktails. “Or-what?,” you may be asking. That’s “ohr-zhat,” with a second syllable that sounds like “Jacques,”…
Let Me Eggsplain
Spoiler alert: one of next month’s cocktail recipes calls for an ingredient that some may consider unusual—a raw egg white. How eggs-actly should you feel about this? Are your thoughts on the issue scrambled? I mean, personal health is no yolk, but is there really a huge whisk in using raw eggs in cocktails? Omelette…
Eh, Campari!
True story: up until last week, I didn’t think I liked Campari. My initial dismissal tied into my basic understanding that it was bitter, and the belief that I’m not so into bitter flavor profiles for my cocktails. But while Campari is bitter, it’s also pretty complex. And when balanced with the right accompanying ingredients,…
Bitters—Believe it
Ever get a stomachache and drink a combo of club soda and bitters to help with the nausea? If you have, you know it’s an effective strategy; if you haven’t, give it a try next time! Bitter flavors stimulate optimal digestion, so they’re great not only after, but also before, a meal. No need to…
Cachaça Got Your Tongue
With Brazil in the news, what better way to keep up on current events than by sipping on a cocktail featuring its most popular spirit? I’m talking, of course, about cachaça, a cousin to rum and a key ingredient in a caipirinha . . . and a handful of other libations that’ll be released with…
Whiskey Business
Confession time: before I began prepping this post, I couldn’t have told you what makes Scotch Scotch. I mean, I knew it was a kind of whiskey, but that was about it. I didn’t even know exactly what whiskey was, either. But in the spirit of, well, spirits, I’m taking a cue from Shaker &…
Champs and Pop Stars
You may recall a recent post about the history behind the toasting tradition, where I said I’d eventually get around to explaining why we typically toast with bubbles. I’m a woman of my word, so feel free to raise your glass in my honor as you keep reading. The basic background is actually quite…
A Toast By Any Other Name
Any time delicious drinks and good company intersect is an occasion worth celebrating in my book—but June’s Celebrate with Bubbles Box provides even more opportunities to clink glasses by nature of the tipple it trumpets. The more I thought about it, though, the more I wondered why that is—where’d this whole idea of toasting come…
Shrub Me the Right Way
The Shrub-a-Dub-Dub cocktail (created by Kate Gerwin) is damn delicious . . . and I’m pretty sure the strawberry-rhubarb shrub has a lot do with it. Unsure what I’m talking about when I say shrub? Think Shaker & Spoon got a little Willy Wonka on some bushes? Maybe I should clarify: the cocktail pros at Shaker & Spoon didn’t invent a hybrid strawberry-rhubarb…
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