March 11, 2014
It’s that time here on the Spiked Punch blog, where I unroll my latest blog posts for the Seattle magazine, in case you missed any and wanted to catch up (which would certainly make me happy and maybe you too). While some of these are attached to a particular time, the drinks within are good year round. Promise.
• Four Drinks to Make for Your 2014 Oscars Party
• Talking Vodka, Bacon Bloody Marys and Beyond with Reyka Vodka’s Daniel Brancusi
• Four Delicious Drinks Perfect for Valentine’s Day
• Five Fantastic First Date Bars
• Super Seahawks Super Bowl Drinks
• New Locally Made Spirits, Liqueurs and More
• Super Small Seattle Bars
• New Year’s Cocktail and Spirit Resolutions
January 7, 2014
Hello Seattle cocktail lovers, visitors to Seattle, those who are thinking about a visit to Seattle, and anyone interested in cocktails. Recently, I was lucky enough to work on the lovely Seattle magazine’s end of the year issue, which was amazing and had a huge cocktail-and-bar-and-spirit focus. In case you missed it, or weren’t here to read it, some of the articles are now online for your reading pleasure, including:
• What’s Shaking Now: Drinks of the Moment
• The Superstar Bartender: Erik Carlson
• Best New Bars in Seattle (Plus One Standout in Tacoma)
• Top Shelf Advice: Where the Bartenders Go to Drink
• Entertaining with a Well-Styled Bar Cart
*Read all A.J. Seattle magazine articles
November 19, 2013
Calling all bar lovers from near and far (but especially near). It’s time to round up the latest bars I’ve profiled in my monthly Seattle magazine Bar Hop column. You should read the below, pick which best matches you and your mood today, and go have a drink. But don’t forget – tip your bartender people. They work hard. Bars to hop:
• Anchor’s Down
• Montana
• Rocco’s
— See all A.J. Seattle magazine articles
Tags: Anchor’s Down, Bar Hop, Bar-Hopping, Bars, Cocktail News, Montana, Rocco’s, Seattle Bars, Seattle Magazine
Posted in: Bar Hop, Bars, Cocktail News, Seattle Magazine
October 22, 2013
Hey friends and drinkers of all varieties and shapes and sizes. I know I ramble on mainly about cocktails on this blog, but hey, I’m an equal-opportunity drinker, and also love the cider (and other non-cocktail drinks, but here it’s apple season), and, for that matter, cider cocktails. I wrote about both recently for Seattle magazine, and thought, hey, you might want to cider up, too! So check out:
• Seattle’s Thriving Hard Cider Scene
• Two Cider Cocktail Recipes
August 13, 2013
Hello to all those near and far – c’mon down to check out the most recent posts and pieces I’ve concocted for those fine folks at the Seattle magazine. Some are locally-minded, but many are helpful even if you aren’t here. And all, if I can say so without sounding too pompous, are gonna be fun to read. Really! Try ‘em and find out.
• New Spirits to Sip
• Four Drinks to Have with Robots
• Hangover Helpers
• Craft Cocktail Bars are Shaking Things Up
*See all my Seattle magazine pieces
August 6, 2013
Waiting around Seattle twiddling your thumbs and wondering what you should do? Get off the couch friend and go check out one of the below new bars (after reading the corresponding Bar Hop review that I did for the Seattle magazine itself to make sure that said bar fits you and your mood. At least one will. Guess which one?)
• Radiator Whiskey
• Von Trapp’s
• Bar Cotto
July 9, 2013
Howdee! Are you ready for some Seattle magazine miraculousness? I sure am. If you missed any of the below stuff I’ve recently written for that August publication, it’s now time for you to catch up. Don’t miss another second!
• 4 Cocktails for the 4th of July
• Five Fantastically Comfortable Seattle Bar Stools
• Four Refreshing Garden-Inspired Cocktails
• Late Spring Bar News
• Four Drink Experts on the Future of Cocktails
*See all my Seattle magazine pieces
June 24, 2013
As I’ve mentioned somewhere on here before (if you haven’t read every single post, now is a good time to do it), I here and there get random items in the mail. Sometimes, they’re dumb. Sometimes they’re okay. Rarely are they mind-blowingly cool. However, that recently happened, thanks to Caorunn Gin. See, one day, I came home from the zombie mines and found a package on my doorstep. In that package, was a bottle of gin, and this box:
The gin looked good, but the box was intriguingly shaped, so I opened it, and inside there were two little shelves, each with some smallish glass jars on it. The first shelf had jars with samples of the 5 dried Celtic botanicals used in the gin (I forgot to mention, Caorunn is handcrafted small-batch Scottish gin. So, the Celtic connection isn’t coming out of left field). The second shelf had identical jars with the essences of the botanicals – little cotton balls with the oils of the botanicals. It looks like this:
Neato, right? At first, I thought it was merely curiosity (and fantastic packaging, for sure), like a sideshow of sorts. But then as I started opening the jars one by one, and realizing how well they focused the aromas, it made more sense – especially when trying the gin alongside the smelling. The five botanicals are: rowan berry, bog myrtle, heather, dandelion, and coul blush apple (which sounds somewhat like they could also be mixed when you wanted to turn someone into a, oh, frog I suppose), and they really give the gin an intense and individual, flavor, aroma, and tail. But don’t think that it isn’t still like a gin. The juniper-ness of a London dry gin is still intact, just bolstered and backed by a hints of herbs and spice and a touch of sweet. Nice stuff. I haven’t tried mixing much with it yet, but am looking forward to it. Here’s the gin in bottle (interesting bottle shape as well) so you know to watch out for it:
Now, if only everything in the mail was as interesting.
