cocktail Archives - Page 3 of 4

cocktail

Eat, drink, and be merry in New Orleans at the holidays

Posted on December 16, 2016June 9, 2020 by Pat

As a New Englander, I always secretly pitied people who had to celebrate Christmas in a warm climate. But after one day in New Orleans, I realized the error of my ways. Even in December, potted trees and ferns flourish on wrought iron balconies and poinsettias and camellias bloom profusely. All it takes are a few red bows and some twinkling white lights to deck the city for the holidays. With decorating out of the way, New Orleanians can spend more time at the table. Great food is a city birthright and I can't think of another place where you can eat better—or at a more reasonable price—than New Orleans at Christmas. Until the Civil War, Creole families enjoyed lavish feasts after Mass on Christmas...Read More

Jawbox Gin embodies the spirit of Belfast

Posted on December 14, 2016June 9, 2020 by Pat and David

Gerry White has spent his career in the bar trade and has been manager of the John Hewitt (thejohnhewitt.com) for the last 12 years. He has pulled many a pint of Guinness and poured countless shots of Black Bush. “But the only spirit I've ever enjoyed,” he says, “is gin.” He is, in fact, passionate about gin—and about his native city of Belfast. For several years he had been mulling over a project to create his own gin. He even had the taste profile he was seeking in his head. “Two and a half years ago, I told myself I'll kick myself if I didn't try,” he recalls, taking a seat at our table at the John Hewitt to relate the story. “Belfast is a...Read More

Drinks rival meals during Lexus Gran Fondo

Posted on July 26, 2016July 25, 2016 by Pat and David

As wine and Champagne flowed throughout the weekend of the Lexus Gran Fondo, summer cocktails on the lawns stole the spotlight. For the opening night lawn picnic, the Chatham Bars Inn concocted a pair of perfect summer drinks. The flute (above) contains a Beach Plum Royale. Ingredients include orange simple syrup and a dose of beach plum liqueur. The hotel staff makes the liqueur when beach plums are in season, They lay down the liqueur to age and use it throughout the year. A generous pour of Veuve Clicquot Brut tops the glass. Bubbles buoy up a thin rim of orange peel, keeping it in suspension halfway up the glass. The deep goblet holds a spectacular ginger-infused version of Sangría. Lillet Rosé forms the base....Read More

Provisions provides pitch-perfect Boston bistro

Posted on January 12, 2016March 8, 2020 by Pat and David

We wondered if the opening of State Street Provisions (255 State St., Boston; 617-863-8363; statestreetprovisions.com) during December's holiday blur was like Hollywood releasing its most promising films just before Christmas to make them eligible for award consideration. In that case, Provisions wins Best Boston Bistro of 2015. But that hardly makes the place out of date for 2016. Readers of HungryTravelers know we rarely write about our home turf, but Provisions seems so representative of dining trends we're seeing in Europe and the U.S. alike that we couldn't resist. Also, we expect a lot of visitors to Boston this year, and we're happy to send them to this waterfront bistro/gastropub where they'll get good value (and great food and drink) for their money. Executive chef...Read More

Sherry takes back the bar

Posted on December 9, 2015 by Pat and David

When we were in Madrid in October, we were happy to see that the Tío Pepe neon symbol darkened by the corporate forces at Apple had switched sides of Puerta del Sol and was lighting up the plaza again from atop El Corte Inglés department store. (See above.) The bright lights seem symbolic of the broader rehabilitation of the image of sherry. For a long time, drinking sherry implied that you were were old, prissy, British or all three. But now that cream sherries (a hideous adulteration of sherry by blending with sweet wine) are all but a thing of the past, cocktail-savvy drinkers are embracing real sherry in all its complex, nuanced forms. And though we're a little late to the party, we want...Read More

Bourbon cocktails: mysterious … and easy

Posted on September 15, 2015January 13, 2020 by Pat and David

Among the bourbon craft cocktails we tasted in Lexington, one of the most intriguing was the Blue Heron 46, a house specialty at the Blue Heron Steakhouse (185 Jefferson St, Lexington, Kentucky; 859-254-2491; blueheronsteakhouse.com). The menu describes the drink as Maker's 46 (a smoother, woodier version of Maker's Mark with more pronounced caramel notes) with handmade apricot ginger syrup served on the rocks. How do you make that syrup? Bartender Seth Kinder—the “Hell on Wheels” character mixing a drink here—was downright coy. He did suggest that the syrup was made by cooking down a pound of apricots with sugar and water, and an equal amount of fresh ginger also boiled in syrup. We'd make it like this. Combine 1 pound of dried apricots and two...Read More

Belle’s Cocktail House is bourbon ground zero

Posted on August 15, 2015January 16, 2020 by Pat and David

A leading contender for the title of Best Bourbon Bar in Lexington, Kentucky, has to be Belle's Cocktail House (152 Market St., bellesbar.com), which opened in late November 2013. It is the brainchild of barman, musician, and restaurateur Larry Redmon and the young gents behind The Bourbon Review (gobourbon.com), Bob Eidson and brothers Justin and Seth Thompson (above). The magazine, by the way, calls itself “A Guide to the Bourbon lifestyle.” With coverage of bourbon bars, cocktails, horse races, and all manner of civilized drinking, the magazine's idea of the bourbon lifestyle is whole lot classier than the version that gave George Jones so much to sing about. The bar is named for Belle Brezing (1860-1940), the famous madam who ran Lexington's “most orderly of...Read More

Whiskey in a Jar from Dublin’s Quay 14

Posted on March 4, 2015March 1, 2015 by Pat and David

The Morrison Hotel on the north bank of the Liffey in Dublin has a swanky, modernist feel, but the Quay 14 bar retains a nice clubby atmosphere enhanced by a crew of barmen who really know their craft. It's a good spot for a drink and quiet conversation. In fact, one evening we had a nice chat with Gary Campbell, who used to tend bar in Greater Boston before returning to Ireland and shaking drinks at some of the nicer Dublin hotel bars. Although we prefer our whiskey neat—the best way, we think, to appreciate Ireland's great contributions to the world of spirits—he persuaded us to try one of Quay 14's signature cocktails. It's a variant on the whiskey sour. Made with Bushmill's 10-year-old Irish...Read More

Summit cocktail gives Cognac real sass

Posted on November 3, 2014October 31, 2014 by Pat

I was surprised to learn at the Camus Cognac House that the French are rather tepid Cognac drinkers. Sales in France account for only a paltry 3 percent of the brand's market. (America, by the way, is the leader, followed by Russia and Asia.) Perhaps that Gallic lack of enthusiasm spurred the Cognac trade association to assemble mixologists to devise new cognac cocktails that might give the storied brandy a modern edge. One such concoction, the Cognac Summit, appears to have caught on and a great place to try it is at the Bar Louise at the Hôtel François Premier Cognac Centre. It occupies a gorgeous, newly renovated old building right in the heart of town. Young mixologist Yoann Saillard (above) hails from Normandy and...Read More

Green tomatoes inspire tequila cocktail

Posted on August 29, 2014August 31, 2014 by Pat and David

Two years ago we passed along Gerry Jobe's recipe for the Killer Tomato Cocktail, and this harvest season we discovered another way to drink tomatoes, courtesy of the Bar at Rialto, Jody Adams' terrific restaurant in the Charles Hotel in our hometown of Cambridge, Massachusetts. The smooth and elegant tequila drink with lots of layers of flavor -- created by Rialto beverage director Young Won -- seemed especially timely since it uses green tomatoes. By the looks of our garden, we'll still be gathering them right up until frost. Like many craft cocktails, you have to make many of the components well in advance, so plan accordingly. ACQUA FRESCO... GREEN TOMATO, THAI BASIL, GINGER, MINT OIL To make the acqua fresco: 4 green tomatoes, chopped...Read More