Black EveryFriday Deals Today's the day we're all looking for the unbelievable deals, deals for which we'll leave Thanksgiving dinner before the pie is served, deals we'll sleep in a tent in a mall parking lot for, deals for which we'll gouge out the eyes of our...
Drink of the Week: Bushwick Spice Trade The weather has still been delightfully mild. We were still grilling dinner last week, and I sat outside for lunch two days. I hear it may even be warmer again by the time you're reading this. And yet, seeing...
What We're Drinking: Bonal and Rye At my latest trip to the liquor store, I ran across a fortified wine I'd never noticed before. When that happens, the odds are better than even that I'll end up adopting it, like an irresistibly cute puppy from a pet store....
On a Columbus Day Octoberfest outing we went with a bunch of our friends to Dacha Beer Garden. It was a beautiful day, the company was perfect, and the atmosphere of interesting beers, simple food, picnic tables, and tents was really fun. I estimate that...
Believe it or not, cocktails in general and many of the classic cocktails in particular have their roots in the very beginnings of pharmacy. For instance, yesterday's drink, the daiquiri, started as a preventative medicine against scurvy. And bitters--those extra-intense alcohol mixtures that play an...
We're always on the hunt for new possibilities for Bottle #9, that liquor that makes a bar distinctive. Well, not always. A while ago, Steph and I found ourselves in a bit of a rut. Whenever I asked, 'What would you like to drink?', Steph would...
To Stir or to Shake A handful of drinks--the Old Fashioned, for instance--get made right in the glass you'll drink it from. You've probably noticed, though, that most of them get shaken or stirred in some other container and then strained into the serving glass. It...
Drink(s) of the Week: The Last Word(s) We've mentioned the concept of variation on a theme as one solid way of creating a cocktail. Cocktails are very seldom created from a blank slate; instead you start with a known quantity, and tweak until you find something new...
Do you know what makes a rye a rye or that gin actually starts out as a vodka? We didn't either until we visited One Eight Distilleries--a local to DC small bath distillery. ...
The Ultimate Bar Book: Your go to guide, for every single drink When cooking, Steph and I have our favorite sources for inspiration and new recipes: the blogger we're really into (that'd be you, Smitten Kitchen), the beautiful boutique cookbook one of us got for Christmas,...