Umami Mart

A bourbon expert once told me that the defining ingredient in a cocktail is bitters. PDT clearly takes this very seriously.

In the world of mixology, there aren’t many cocktails based on Cognac relative to the other spirits.  I can count less than twenty old recipes off the top of my head, which is really not much, considering a quarter are mere variations of each other, and another quarter or so share the stage with other […]

So the Saints finally won a Super Bowl, and while many of you surely pounded Hurricanes to celebrate, here in the Eastern Seaboard, the weather conditions don’t quite call out for something so tropical.  In other words, there’s a blizzard happening right outside my door.  Of course when it comes to celebrating the storied American […]

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 […]

“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 […]

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 […]

Today’s Happy Hour is the last stop on the Scotch Express. If this is your first time checking in or haven’t been around in a while, we’ve been in full-Scotch mode the last several weeks, sharing numerous classic-yet-unsung Scotch cocktails (by classic I mean recipes that are at least 80 years old). This week’s cocktail […]

Like an overly anxious 300 pound stripper, Fall this year seems to have fallen abruptly on our lap and we are powerless to do anything about it. While there is normally a slow and smooth transition between seasons in New York, summer this year seemed like a mere placeholder for the season to follow. But […]

Today is Mexican Independence Day folks! It’s been too crazy of a day for me, and everything including Happy Hour’s been behind schedule, so I’m keeping today’s post short and to the point. Mexican Independence Day, also known as El Grito de Dolores, is often incorrectly confused with Cinco de Mayo, which is actually a […]

Last week, while reminiscing about the various fun summer activities I engaged in as a child, I remembered a game some kids liked to play which I was not so fond of–Leap Frog. I remember lots of kids getting a huge thrill from the game, but never me. Frankly, the idea of kneeling down and […]