Courtesy of Absolut.… Read more

Created by Brian Miller, courtesy of Flor de Caña. … Read more

Courtesy of Campari.… Read more

According to creator H. Joseph Ehrmann of Elixr in San Francisco, this cocktail honors the multicultural melding of Aztec and Spanish traditions from which Dia de los Muertos was born. Traditional Mexican ingredients such as agave are paired with Spanish ingredients such as Pedro Ximenez Sherry, and finished by sprinkled cinnamon, metaphorical ashes if you will.… Read more

Créme de violette is a pleasant and lightly floral liqueur made with violets. It adds a beautiful color and aroma to cocktails, as well as an air of old-fashioned sophistication. Try out this tempting little lavender cocktail worth mixing up. Photo courtesy of Jackson Stakeman.… Read more

Happy National Piña Colada Day! Just looking at one of these tropical treats makes me feel happy and relaxed. So get to mixing! Image courtesy of Randy Son of Robert.… Read more

Cold cocktails should be served in cold glasses. But there are different to chill a glass. Don’t worry; they all work well! It’s just a matter of choosing the method that works best for your situation.

Here are the ways you can chill your cocktail glasses:

Keep glasses in the fridge or freezer. This is the easiest method but only if you have the room to do it. Works great for a small gathering or

… Read more

Keeping a big bowl of punch chilled can be tricky. You don’t want to use standard ice cubes, because they will melt fairly quickly and water down your punch.

The best way to keep your punch cold is with a large block of ice. A pretty way to do this is to make an ice ring filled with fruit or other garnishes. Here’s how:

Find a large bundt cake pan or other large, metal form

… Read more

The first session I attended during last week’s Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans was a panel titled “2009 Big Trends in Cocktail & Spirit Service.”

The panel consisted of Jim Meehan, Michael Waterhouse, Devlin Tavern, and Simon Difford (Source Guide) and was moderated by Ryan Magarian (Aviation Gin).

The program covered the 4 Ps of Cocktail Service Success, not unlike the 4 Ps of marketing: product, precise execution, promotion, passion.

It was here … Read more

Reader Jerry asks, “How do you make an Apricot Stone Sour?” So we did some digging and here’s what we found out about this cocktail. The Apricot Stone Sour is actually quite easy to make, equal parts of apricot brandy, orange juice and sweet & sour mix. Some recipes, however, do adjust the ingredients to accommodate different tastes. Sometime a bit more brandy sometime a bit less. Anyway, it’s a classic.

Jerry, thanks for asking!… Read more