Umami Mart

The Cobbler is the elder statesman of summer cocktails. At its core, the Cobbler is a sour-style cocktail (spirit, citrus, sugar), which has spawned a host of delicious descendants. The most popular type during the drink’s hey day was the Sherry Cobbler. This libation was first chronicled by Jerry Thomas in his ground-breaking How to […]

The Bizet cocktail was created by David Slape, a former PDT bartender. The drink is a Champagne-based riff on the classic Americano, and is named after 19th century composer Georges Bizet, who is most famous for his final operatic composition, Carmen. Bizet 1.5 oz Shinn Estate Rose 0.5 oz Luxardo Bitter 0.5 oz Amaro Ciociaro […]

“Made of Win” Bourbon is one of my favorite spirits to make and drink cocktails. Sadly, it is not used in many pre-Prohibition recipes due to rye whisky’s popularity during the golden age of cocktails. After Repeal, bourbon gained popularity as it became more available but was often just substituted for rye whisky in the […]

“Floreant Agni” (May the Lambs Flourish) – Motto of the original Lambs theatre club The month of March is supposed to end like a Lamb but Mother Nature is not playing nice–it is still 30ËšF outside! Nevertheless, this week’s cocktail captures winter’s last stand and book ends the month quite nicely! The Lambs Club Cocktail […]

Our Editor has named “death” as the theme for the remainder of October here on Umamimart, and it’s quite fitting because for most readers death is an apt description of the state of the Happy Hour column. As some of you know I haven’t written in over a month, having started a sabbatical to begin […]

Novare serbando. – Fratelli Branca motto from the 19th Century (translation: “Renew but conserve.”) My obsession with the bitter Italian herbal liqueurs known as Amari is homegrown. Amari, which translates to “Bitters” in Italian, have been a staple in my house as long as I can remember– my father Francesco is Milanese after all. He […]

“Idle hands are the Devil’s tools.” -Some historic hotard It’s a rare thing for me to have down time these days, but after a very frenzied summer, I’ve stumbled upon a bit of unstructured time which quite frankly scares me. Naturally, I found a way to get into some trouble. Today’s cocktail, which I call […]

During last week’s Cinco de Mayo redux I mentioned flirting with the idea of featuring tequila all month long for Happy Hour. Well the flirting and foreplay is over, and it’s safe to say carnal knowledge has been obtained. For this week and the next two Happy Hours in May I will feature cocktails made […]