July 1, 2009
This past week has been quite a bittersweet one for me. On the bitter side, one of my favorite musicians passed away; my people in Iran are facing unimaginable cruelty in their fight to take back a dream stolen from them first in 1953 and again in 1979; and of least relative importance, my computer’s […]
June 26, 2009
After making my umeshu and bottling it up for indulgence in October, I became restless. I wanted to make more while I waited for three months. But this time I wanted to try another fruit. After discussing it over with a veteran Japanese fruit liqueur-maker (my ex-coworker), she suggested I try biwashu (“biwa” is a […]
June 17, 2009
Previous:Gin & June Part 1, London Dry and Plymouth GinGin & June Part 2, Genever June’s journey into the world of gin continues this week as we explore another long-lost type of gin called Old Tom. Old Tom is a lightly sweetened gin that reached the height of its popularity in 18th and 19th century […]
June 16, 2009
Japanese mothers and grandmothers are hardcore. Every year they make their own liqueur and June is the month to start preparing. Starting in late May, supermarkets stock ume (Japanese plums) in bags of 1 kilogram which cost around 700-900 yen per bag, alongside cartons of white liquor. I decided to join the mama-san frenzy and […]
June 10, 2009
Previous: Gin & June Part 1, London Dry & Plymouth Gin Last week I declared that gin would be Happy Hour’s operative agent of inebriation for the month of June. In accordance with that declaration, part 2 of Gin & June is about a lesser known variety of gin called Genever, the forefather of modern-day […]
May 27, 2009
Welcome back to Happy Hour, which for the month of May has been transformed into a tabernacle of tequila, where each week I have been featuring cocktails made with different types of tequilas (previous posts can be found here, here, and here). As the title indicates, the focus of this week is añejo tequila. Añejo […]
May 20, 2009
For Happy Hour this week we are knee-deep in fermented agave and that’s just the way I like it. Last week I promised to feature tequila all this month, so this week I am featuring cocktails made with reposado tequila. You can see the past two weeks’ posts here and here. Reposado tequila is a […]
May 17, 2009
Went to this awesome event the other night for SF Cocktail Week, a free gin tasting event for the ladies. Only. I didn’t know quite what to expect from the event, but it turned out to be a fantastic night filled with awesome cocktails and meeting new folks. And getting wasted. All for free! SWEET! […]
May 13, 2009
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 […]
May 6, 2009
It’s seis de Mayo, and if you aren’t recovering from a tequila hangover, or have already completed your recovery and are ready for more, then I have another tequila cocktail for you. In fact, I’m flirting with the idea of keeping it tequila for the entire month of May, as my way of paying tribute […]