Author Archives: Payman Bahmani


December 29, 2009

Happy Hour: Champagne Cocktails

by Payman Bahmani

So you say it was a tough year, huh? Well, look at it this way: you’ve almost made it out of this Millenium’s first decade. And what a decade it’s been. I mean, this was the decade that the internet hit puberty and really came into its own; the decade that gave birth to Google—do […]

December 23, 2009

Happy Hour: Hot Milk Punch

by Payman Bahmani

Christmas is nearly upon us, and while most folks are building jolly snowmen and merrily singing carols, every year there are those who wake on Christmas morning to the sad realization that they had been placed on the naughty list, with only a few lumps of coal in their stockings as their best hope of […]

December 16, 2009

Happy Hour: Flip Out

by Payman Bahmani

At some point very soon you’ll feel like you’ve filled your noggin with too much nog from all the holiday parties throughout the month. Before you reach the point where the three letter word ‘egg’ begins to conjure four letter word thoughts, I’d like to share with you a few recipes for delicious egg-based relatives […]

December 9, 2009

Happy Hour: Beer Float aka Doc’s Enigma

by Payman Bahmani

While he ate his sandwich and sipped his beer, a bit of conversation came back to him. Blaisedell, the poet, had said to him, “You love beer so much, I’ll bet someday you’ll go in and order a beer milk shake.” It was a simple piece of foolery but it had bothered Doc ever since. […]

December 2, 2009

Happy Hour: Brown Derby

by Payman Bahmani

Every now and then I come across old cocktail recipes that have little to no history or lineage to trace back to; bona fide boozy bastards, where all background checks turn out goose eggs. They’re listed in a few old cocktail recipe books, and if you do an internet search you’ll have no problem coming […]

November 25, 2009

Happy Hour: The Manhattan

by Payman Bahmani

There’s no two ways about it, I likes me a good Manhattan. I likes me one any time of year really, but I especially likes me one during fall. There’s something about the bracing combination of whiskey and sweet vermouth that warms my soul and embraces my palate like a hug from a fond, familiar […]

November 18, 2009

Happy Hour: Sherry Baby!

by Payman Bahmani

“A good Sherris-Sack…ascends me into the brain; dries me there all the foolish, and dull, and crudy vapours which environ it, makes it apprehensive, quick, inventive, full of nimble, fiery and delectable shape, which delivered o’er to the voice which is the birth, becomes excellent wit.”–Shakespeare’s Falstaff It would come as a great surprise to […]

November 11, 2009

Happy Hour: Simply Soda & Spirits

by Payman Bahmani

Perhaps you were thinking that the cocktails presented here in Happy Hour are too fussy. And perchance you wondered if there are drinks you could make that could astonish your tastebuds without inducing exhaustion from the process. You do, after all, have lots to do until the end of the year–plan the Thanks-stealing menu, prepare […]

November 4, 2009

Happy Hour: The Rustic Pear

by Payman Bahmani

Wow that swine flu is a momofuku! Actually I’m not sure what I was afflicted with last week, but it was unrelenting. I actually didn’t feel completely well until late this morning. So needless to say, I offer apologies again for the absence of Happy Hour last week, and hope to make up for it […]

October 28, 2009

Happy Hour: Out Sick

by Payman Bahmani

I’m very sorry to do this folks, but I’ve met my match today and have been forced to call in a sick day for Happy Hour. I try to keep Happy Hour all-natural and preservative-free, and I do this by keeping the posts as fresh and relevant as possible by writing the columns within the […]