August 12, 2014
Holy awesomeness! If you didn’t know, I was recently lucky enough to be on the wonderful and wonderfully fun Happy Hour Radio here in Seattle (if you did miss it, you might want to follow me on the Twitter at @AJRathbun so you don’t miss the next one). It’s a swell show hosted by the friendly and knowledgeable (he’s like a sensei of a sommelier) Christopher Chan, which runs every Saturday from 11 AM to noon on 570 KVI AM. The episode I was on also featured Steve Metzler and Almudena de Llaguno from Classical Wines of Spain and Auction of Washington Wines Executive Director Aimee Sheridan – who were super great – and I made a Last Word in Kent and a Princess and talked up local spirits. So, not a show to miss, right? Lucky for you (we’re all lucky here), the show is archived and available, so you can listen to it whenever you want (maybe twice), or download it. Just go to this link: https://app.box.com/s/vgimk224vu4rmcogm8n2. You’ll love it! And here’s the line-up visually, if you want to picture us as you listen:
August 5, 2014
Hello! I recently wrote an article on refreshing (as heck) beer cocktails that combine Seattle-and-WA-made spirits, liqueurs, and beers. It’s called Warm-Weather Cocktails Made with Local Beer, Spirits and Liqueurs as you might expect, and was written for the mighty-fine Seattle magazine. If you like beer, cocktails, spirits, liqueurs, refreshing drinks, entertaining your friends, entertaining yourself, enjoying a righteous libation, or reading anything I write (there has to be at least one person out there who feels this way), then this beer cocktail article is for you.
* See all Seattle magazine articles by me
PS: I am also the hand model in the photo. Hah!
Tags: beer, beer cocktails, Cocktail News, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, local cocktails, Seattle Magazine, Washington beer, Washington spirits
Posted in: beer, Cocktail News, Cocktail Recipes, Recipes, Seattle Magazine
July 29, 2014
Hello Seattle and surroundings drinkers! Here’s little round up just for you, of bars in the area I’ve recently reviewed for the swell Seattle Magazine (just in case you missed them). Drink up at:
• BarCode
• The Hollywood Tavern
• Triumph Bar
* See all Seattle magazine articles by me
Tags: Bar Code, Bar Hop, Bars, Bellevue bars, Cocktail News, Hollywood Tavern, Seattle Bars, Seattle Magazine, Triumph
Posted in: Bars, Cocktail News, Seattle Magazine
July 22, 2014
Hello – it’s summertime, which means it’s the perfect time to sit on down with the old computer in one hand and a drink in the other and spend some time browsing some of my recent Seattle magazine posts you might have missed. Heck, you wouldn’t want to miss any of the below, right?
• 4 Drinks That Pair Perfectly with Summertime Books
• New Local Spirits and Liqueurs to Try this Summer
• 4 Drinks for Golfing
• 4 Drinks to Have While Missing the Sonics
• Seattle Happy Hours: A.J. Rathbun Picks Four of His Favorites
*See all Seattle magazine articles by me
July 8, 2014
If you know me (and you must, right?), you know I love local distilleries here in Washington. There’s such a range, both of types of distilleries and products and events around both. It’s a fantastic time to live here! As example A, take the fun smoky stuff happening at the awesome Westland Distillery this week. See, they bring in 150,000 pounds (wow, right?) of peated malt to the distillery every year, and then mash, ferment, and distill it to make whiskey that makes angels sing. This year, and this week, they’re celebrating the peated malt’s arrival with a week of free tours, single cask tastings, and extended hours, all culminating in a giant not-to-be-missed release party (you’ll need tickets for that one) on Saturday, the 12th –two peated single cask bottlings are being release. So, get on down to the distillery this week (and if you’re reading this from a locale outside of WA State, then get some tickets and fly on it). Learn even more at: www.peatweek.com.
June 23, 2014
If you’re in Seattle, tonight is your lucky night – Hip Girl Kate Payne is at local bookstore Book Larder showing all who stop by how to make strawberry shrubs from 6:30 to 8 pm. Shrubs are a bit of summertime awesomeness (and yes, Seattle does have summer) using fruit and vinegar and love to equal a fantastic beverage solo or mixed. But the shrubs aren’t all. She’s also going to talk about her new book, Hip Girl’s Guide to the Kitchen, and probably be all sorts of charming. So, come on down, have that shrub.
June 17, 2014
Hello! Earlier, I wrote a little post about an event I did at Zinc Art + Interiors last Saturday. And the event was so awesome, I wanted to put up a couple snaps from it. First though, thanks to the wonderful Jesse and Laura and all the Zinc folks. They really do make the world fun:
Saturday was certainly fun, as fine folks of all ages came by to look at art, taste some drinks, and have some laughs:
They had sweet stacks of books, too, right in front of where I was making the sips (with the help of Natalie – and the incredible Hulk and Batman paintings behind me):
Lots of folks came by, chatting about art, drinks, the news of the day, and comics:
Overall, it was a lovely evening, with good times (I believe) had by all the people who stopped by:
I certainly had a good time – thanks everybody!
March 18, 2014
If you live in Washington State, you (like me) should feel pretty happy about the distillery explosion over the last few years, cause it’s delivering a host of dandy local spirits and liqueurs. The list includes a number of single malt whiskies, and recently I was lucky enough to talk to a bunch of distillers making said whiskey, and write about it for Seattle magazine. And now I’m passing that luck on to you, since the Washington State Distillers Embrace American Single Malt Whiskey article (and a few single-malt picks) is just a click away.
