Cocktail creations by Umami Mart: shaken, stirred, and remixed.
Happy Hour
May 19, 2010
Happy Hour: MCC Wrapup/Liver Rehab
Last night NYC said goodbye to the Manhattan Cocktail Classic, a five day festival of all things related to the craft of the cocktail, and the first of its kind to bless our city. The cocktail world had been buzzing in anticipation about this for quite some time, and now that it’s over a few of […]
May 12, 2010
Happy Hour: Chinese Bootlegger Punch
New York has always been a great city, but this week its greatness gets bumped up a notch, as the first annual Manhattan Cocktail Classic rolls into town, along with some of the country’s best and brightest mixological minds. Accurately described as “part fête, part conference, part cocktail party,” it will be a balls-to-the-wall 5-day orgy […]
May 5, 2010
Happy Hour: Cinco de Drinko!
 It’s that time of year again folks! That’s right, it’s Cinco de Mayo, or as some call it, “Cinco de Drinko,†which is Americans’ favorite Mexican holiday that most Mexicans don’t celebrate. Contrary to popular belief, Cinco de Mayo is not the day of Mexican independence. That would be September 16. Rather, Cinco de […]
April 28, 2010
Happy Hour: The Stranger
 Every few years or so it seems the brains of the folks down in Arizona (aka God’s underwear chafe) burst with a brilliant idea that seems to justify the rest of the world’s perception of them as backwards ass, gun-toting, cactus-chewing clodhoppers. In the early 90s they decided they’d rather not recognize the Martin Luther King, […]
April 14, 2010
Happy Hour: Caipirinha
 I have yet to come across a cocktail that epitomizes the adjective rustic like the Caipirinha does. Derived from the Brazilian Portuguese word caipira (meaning “country peopleâ€), even the drink’s name references its rustic nature. Some refer to the Caipirinha as the cousin of the Mojito. My liquor-warped brain sees it slightly differently. To me […]
April 7, 2010
Happy Hour: Blood and Sand
 Of all the names one could choose for a cocktail, the Blood and Sand is one of the oddest. It sounds odder when you consider the stuff that goes into the drink–Scotch, cherry liqueur, sweet vermouth, and orange juice, all in equal proportions. But of the relatively few classic Scotch cocktails out there, the […]
March 31, 2010
Happy Hour: The Coronation
Looking for an angle when writing about a cocktail is for me the most time consuming–and sometimes agonozing–aspect of blogging. Well, today I’m dispensing with the longwinded introductions about the reasons for talking about a particular cocktail, and instead featuring a cocktail for no reasons other than it’s deliciousness, and the fact that it’s a drink […]
March 24, 2010
Happy Hour: Aviation
Classic cocktails make frequent appearances here, as dedicated readers are well aware. Since many of you aren’t cocktail geeks like myself, I do my best to keep that in mind when I write, particularly in terms of tone and content—believe me, we can get pretty esoteric if you let us. I’ve also come to realize that some […]
March 17, 2010
Happy Hour: Persian Rose
 Today is St. Patrick’s Day, which along with Cinco de Mayo, make two of the year’s best excuses to get hammered early. Like other revelers, I’m looking forward to a day filled with shots of Irish whiskey and pints of Guinness, and harassing whoever dares walk into the bar without sporting any green. This […]
March 10, 2010
Happy Hour: El Diablo
This morning I left the house without a coat, beanie, or scarf. While savoring the fresh air and sunshine I realized Spring had arrived early to the party, and DJ Mother Nature (who’s the one throwing the shindig) was shouting, “Let’s get this party started!â€Â Well Big Mama, I thought you’d never ask. A party […]