Umami Mart

Recently, there’s been a major turnaround in how Americans perceive vermouth. Once a fashionable drink that people sipped straight up and added liberally and confidentally to cocktails, it fell out of favor and grace in the ’60s and ’70s. For more than 30 years, vermouth, which is a fortified wine that’s flavored with herbs, spices, fruits, […]

My alcohol tolerance is not what it used to be, sadly. The morning after a night of drinking just gets tougher and tougher. Hideko says, “You are no longer young.” WHAT?!?!? To curb this issue, I often order low-alcohol cocktails these days, like Vermouth or Sherry variations. They’re all the rage — the book Art […]

There was a bit of bad weather last week that stole my focus away from the PDT Project, but now that Sandy’s been replaced by something more manageable for New Yorkers (a blizzard), I can refocus my attention and trudge on to the next recipe in the PDT Cocktail Book, the Bijou. Bijou is French […]

When creating cocktails, bartenders draw inspiration from a wide array of sources. The most common of those sources are other bartenders and other classic cocktails of the past. Today’s cocktail, the Berlioni, draws inspiration from both another bartender and a classic cocktail. Berlin-based bartender Gonçalo de Sousa created the Berlioni as a twist on the […]

Before Jim Meehan opened PDT, he honed his craft behind the bar at a few different bars and restaurants in New York City. One of those places was Gramercy Tavern, and the Astoria Bianco was among the notable cocktails he created while tending bar there. It is a variation of an old classic called the […]

“I’d rather have a bottle in front of me, than a frontal lobotomy.” –Dorothy Parker The Algonquin Round Table is the popular name of a small group of young writers, actors, and comedians in New York City who met daily at the Algonquin Hotel for lunch and ruthless banter during a span of of about […]

With the Summer Solstice having just passed, we are officially in the picnic days as they call it. And I am officially in summer mode, which makes the Americano the perfect drink to talk about because when the dog days of summer arrive, you will need a simple form of refreshment that can be delivered […]

The #2 drink in the PDT Cocktail Book is the #3 Cup. If you like the Pimm’s Cup, then you cannot pass up this one, which appeared on the PDT menu in the spring of 2009. Created by former PDT bartender Gerry Corcoran, the drink’s name is a reference to the now defunct Pimm’s No. […]

“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 […]

This is my new favorite winter cocktail to drink in our neck of the woods, so I named it after our neighborhood, Skylonda. I just soak some cinnamon sticks in a jar of bourbon for a few days which gives it a nice spice. Then to the bourbon, I add a few drops of bitters […]