September 6, 2016
Hey, guess what? I’ve written some fun and exciting (well, I think so!) items about booze, bars, and booze for the mighty Seattle magazine lately, and just in case you might have missed them (which would make me sad), I’m going to list them right here and now:
• German Cocktails at Altstadt, Vote for Local Distillers and More
• Three Impressions of Corvus & Co.
• New Gin from Wildwood Spirits and More Distillery News
• Super Chilly Summer Drinks in Seattle Bars
• Three Impressions of The Nest
* See all Seattle magazine pieces by me
August 30, 2016
While there are only two versions in circulation today (and really, only one in a big way), the Corpse Reviver family brings a, oh, fun-dead kind of excitement when it’s brought up. Such a great name! And a great idea. So much so that Nick Barkalow, the bar manager at Brimmer & Heeltap, a swell spot here in Seattle, you should stop by, recently made a Porch Reviver as a descendant of the Corpse Reviver family. And I recently was happy to write all about it for Seattle magazine. Read all about the Porch Reviver here.
*See all Seattle magazine articles by me
July 12, 2016
Hello! I’ve been having lots of fun recently writing about booze, bars, and bumbling about for the Seattle magazine lately, and, well, cause I care about you (I do, really), and know you’re busy, what with the busy things, I figured I’d list out a few of the Seattle magazine things done in the near-ish past, so you can catch up. See, I do care. Read the below to see how much:
• Prohibition Drink Picks for the New Smith Tower Bar
• 3 First Impressions of Gracia
• Upcoming Festivals, Distillery News, and Ultimate Bartending
• 3 First Impressions of the No Bones Beach Club
• 3 First Impressions of Meet the Moon
• Oliver’s 40th and Local Distillers Win Big
*See all Seattle magazine pieces by me
Tags: Bars, Cocktail News, Gracia, Meet the Moon, No Bones Beach Club, Oliver’s 40th and Local Distillers Win Big, Seattle Bars, Seattle Magazine, Seattle Magazine Cocktail Catch-Up
Posted in: Bars, Cocktail News, Seattle Magazine
June 28, 2016
Hello G&T lovers! It seems this summer stalwart is having yet another moment in the sun, as every bar and their bar’s mom are talking about how they have the finest types of gin mixed with the finest types of tonics and more variations than you could count. However! One of the actually finest G&T programs is at Seattle’s fresh Naka (the bar, not the restaurant, which is also fresh, and really, they’re connected, so who’s pulling hairs? Not me), where I recently went, had their newest G&T, talked to energetic and awesome bar star Nic Virrey, and then wrote about it in a Seattle magazine article you should read right now. Thank me later!
*See all Seattle magazine pieces by me
May 17, 2016
Seattle’s swell Italian spot Artusi is always worth a stop (especially if you’re missing Italy like I am), and recently I stopped in to chat with amiable bar manager Connor O’Brien and to taste up the Carreras Cocktail, which has a lovely taste and globe-trotting pedigree. And then I got to write about it for Seattle magazine. I’m lucky indeed – but you can read it and feel lucky, too.
*See all Seattle magazine pieces by me
May 10, 2016
I recently had a fun time learning about and drinking up Chinese spirit (and most consumed spirit in the world) Baijiu, at swell Seattle bar Lionhead – and got to write about it for Seattle magazine! I had it solo from a number of brands, and in a refreshingly layered drink called the Jade Pagoda, all courtesy of friendly bar manager Veronika Groth. Expand your baijiu knowledge by checking out the article.
*See all Seattle magazine pieces by me
Tags: Baijiu, Bar Hop, Bars, Jade Pagoda Cocktail, Lionhead, Seattle Bars, Seattle Magazine, Veronika Groth
Posted in: Bar Hop, Bars, Cocktail News, Seattle Magazine
April 12, 2016
I recently received the book Miss Darkness: The Great Short Crime Fiction of Fredric Brown. I hadn’t had any experience with Mr. Brown before, which is a shame as he’s pretty darn good – smart, funny, able to write both super short stories and longer pieces, obsessed a bit with chess and Shakespeare and a few other choices things, like drinks. He also made a name for himself as a sci-fi writer (maybe even moreso) and I believe had a few movies made from his work. This collection is a monster of sorts, just in that it’s 726 pages, so hard to read on the bus (but not impossible!). A worthy monster to attack though, as it’s jam-packed with crime-noir-y goodness. And if you like circus sideshows, well, don’t miss it. I’m going to run a couple Cocktail Talk quotes from it, because Mr. Brown also enjoyed the tipples, as I’ve said. This one’s from the story “Good Night, Good Knight,” and has cocktail and bartending and acting and blackmail fun.
He got the haircut, which he needed, and the shave, which he didn’t really need — he’d shaved this morning. He bought a new white shirt and had his shoes shined and his suit pressed. He had his soul lifted with three Manhattans in a respectable bar — three, sipped slowly, and no more. And he ate — the three cherries from the Manhattans.
The back-bar mirror wasn’t smeary. It was blue glass, though, and it made him look sinister. He smiled a sinister smile at his reflection. He thought, Blackmailer. The role; play it to the hilt, throw yourself into it. And someday you’ll play Macbeth.
Should he try it on the bartender? No. He’d tried it on bartenders before.
The blue reflection in the back-bar mirror smiled at him.
–Fredric Brown, Miss Darkness
