November 30, 2012
The Blackbeard debuted on the PDT cocktail menu in the Summer of 2008. It’s another creation by former PDT bartender Daniel Eun, who now attends law school full time but occasionally manages to squeeze a few shifts every now and then at The Varnish in LA. Apparently the drink’s name came about when he ended […]
October 26, 2012
The Betula cocktail first appeared on the PDT menu in the Fall of 2007, and a great cocktail for the Fall it is. The name Betula comes from the Latin word for birch, which is infused into the base spirit of rye whiskey. Betula 1 oz. Birch-infused Rittenhouse Bonded Rye Whiskey (recipe below) 1 oz. […]
September 21, 2012
About a century ago, to call something “the bee’s knees” meant you considered it to be of top notch quality. It’s an apt name for this week’s cocktail, a simple combination of gin, honey, and lemon juice that proves sophistication doesn’t demand complexity. The historic origins of the Bee’s Knees are murky, although the consensus […]
August 24, 2012
The Aviation is one of the last great cocktails created before Prohibition, having been invented just a few years before the passage of the Eighteenth Amendment. It made its first appearance in print in 1916 in Recipes for Mixed Drinks by Hugo Ensslin, who bartended at the Hotel Wallick gin Times Square near 43rd and […]
July 20, 2012
“Did you say you’d like an Apple Martini? I’m sorry but we don’t carry any Apple Puckers, and the year is not 2002.” -Me Perhaps you’ve been in jail for most of this century and you’ve recently been set free, and so you have nary a notion of the occurrences of the last decade. Now […]
May 21, 2012
I have so many lemons right now I don’t know what to do with them all! So I tried candying them and they are quite nice atop ice cream with a bit of lemon zest. Vanilla Ice Cream + Candied Lemon + Slice 1 lemons into circles. Boil five minutes. Drain. + Simmer 1 cup […]
May 4, 2012
Last week I wrote about the classic 20th Century cocktail, and this week we move into modern times with the 21st Century. The 21st Century is Jim Meehan’s tequila-inspired update on the 20th Century which he created when he was a bartender at Audrey Saunders’ Pegu Club. The timing is serendipitous for tequila drinkers who want […]
April 27, 2012
The 20th Century is a cocktail created in the 20th Century (1937 to be exact) by C.A. Tuck (I don’t know what C.A. stands for–Cocktail Aficionado perhaps?). It first appeared in the Cafe Royal Cocktail Book written by William J. Tarling, and is named after the 20th Century Limited train line that operated from 1902 […]
May 4, 2011
Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo, and many of you will be sloshing down the compulsory Margaritas and tequila shots, which in no way would I want to stand in the way of. But if you’re an adventurous drinker like I am and want to try something new (but no less fitting of the festivities), you […]
January 19, 2011
Last week I wrote about the Hot Buttered Rum, and how it’s a winter drink for when you’re feeling festive (and when you’ve planned far enough ahead of time and made the essential spiced rum batter). Now that we’re nearing the dead of winter, you may be interested in something more simple– a drink that doesn’t require much advanced […]