There are various forms of gin; the old-style London variety can be almost vodka-like with hardly a hint of the signature juniper berry. Others, such as the botanical style — part of the new craft-distilling era — exemplify flavor first and the traditional rules for gin last.

These new botanical gins are the ones that really can make a difference in a mixed drink. Stylistically, gin is quite diverse, with flavors ranging from freshly cut roses and tropical aromatics to citrus juices, cucumber oil — and finally, the traditional juniper berry. Some even smell like sticky pine tree sap, while others have exotic aromas of ginseng.

Continue Reading …

We haven’t had a real winter this year here in Morristown, New Jersey. Not yet anyway — a bit of snow a couple of weeks ago provided a blanket of moisture over the mint patch. Usually in February the only inkling of mint is that in my memory of Mint Juleps from prior hot summer months. There is nothing I like more than to sip a refreshing cocktail, frosty in my hand, cutting the heat when the air is humid and still.

It is February, and the ground is supposed to be frozen solid! After a quick walk though the garden the other day I noticed something out of the ordinary for February: fresh mint green tips, redolent with the icy morning dew. Mint shouldn’t be showing itself for at least two more months, but there it is.

A bottle of Kentucky Bourbon, handmade by passionate men, sits on the sideboard; I usually enjoy a nip in the winter for simple mixed drinks. A couple of cubes of ice, a splash of freshly drawn branch water from the spring — that’s about it in my glass. Now is an opportunity to prepare a very early season Mint Julep, and I’m seizing the moment.

Continue Reading …

My grandmother was in very poor health when I was growing up. She spent her winters in Miami Beach at my family’s former home on Hibiscus Island. It was a grand home on the bay, and I will always remember going down to the palm tree-surrounded house for Christmas a few times when I was a boy. There would be both a Christmas tree and a Menorah; we were not a blended family in any way other than the appreciation of all national holidays, especially ones that involved large family meals. Making foods like Matzo Ball soup is a culturally relevant example for why I cook and the foods that I still enjoy today.

Continue Reading …

The holidays always bring out the best in our kitchen and bar driven prowess. Family gathers together; friends pop over for a conversation and a drink. It’s the time for parties and gatherings of all types.  The aroma of a warming drink beckons us to the family room or kitchen, where friendships are deepened by sharing flavors that speak of the holidays!

Hot toddies and punches are perfectly geared to entertaining. First of all, the hot ones smell great simmering on the stove, filling the air with the scents of the season. Secondly, the cool ones taste like winter should taste: bracing, rich and seasonal. Lastly, the flavor combinations can make memories guests will keep in their hearts and minds all season long.

Continue Reading …

I love the idea of a blazing fire, accompanied by friends and family gathered together at the table to share a Thanksgiving meal.

Continue Reading …

I grew up on a farm in Northern New Jersey. For those of you who wouldn’t put the word “farm” next to New Jersey, I hope you’ll reconsider your thoughts.

It’s November, and the cranberries have just been harvested in Southern New Jersey, in the mostly undeveloped region they call the Pine Barrens. Would you believe New Jersey has one of the least known but most productive cranberry crops in the country? We are only second to Wisconsin and Massachusetts!

A favorite drink of mine is the Hot Cranberry, Blueberry & Gin Thoreau. It’s a fun cocktail you can make in the time it takes to boil water and warm some cranberry sauce, along with cranberry juice and muddled Maine wild blueberries. Add some gin, lime juice and dark maple syrup — then you have a vacation to the mysterious Pine Barrens in your mug. When the gin combines with hot cranberry juice and crushed blueberries, the result is deeply warming.

Continue Reading …

I love apple brandy. As a boy, I spent a lot of time in France; my parents, world travelers, would always take me with them to far-flung places. One of these places was the Basse-Normandie region of France, known for fabulous apples. And what do you make with apples? Calvados!
Calvados is, quite simply, apple fire in a glass. The French have a way with fruit-driven spirits enhanced by alcohol. Calvados is also known as an “eau de vie de cidre.” I know it as a fall and winter warmer.

Continue Reading …

As the weather seems to be stuck in the doldrums between summer and fall, I’ve found the flavors I seek both extend the warmth of summer and welcome the cool nights of fall.

The same holds true for cocktails. Groups of friends gather to share the last remaining fruits of summer in the form of exciting, aromatic flavors — while also enjoying the fresh bounty of autumn.

Continue Reading …

The sun is setting a bit earlier now, and close friends are gathering outside for the last eating and drinking events of the season. We still have some evenings left under the stars before fall fully sets in.

Instead of drinking lightly scented, crisp white wines with our dinners, our palates are beginning to reset towards darker, more aromatic flavors. Alcohol levels in our cocktails are also a bit higher now with the cooler weather, sometimes for flavor and other times for the body-warming aspects of a carefully mixed drink.

Continue Reading …

My first experience with the romantic taste of Amaro came in Rome, when I was traveling in Italy with my parents. They would pull my sister and me out of school for a month or more at a time to see many of the European countries. My parents liked the best things that life had to offer — and rather than stick us on an impersonal tour bus, they would immerse us in local food, wine and museums.

I first noticed people enjoying Amaro in a street-side café. We were staying at the Hassler Hotel at the top of the Spanish Steps. Tourists find this staircase irresistible for photography and for pausing to enjoy a relaxing cocktail from the multitudes of street-side, stand-up table cocktail bars. There were several tall tables set up beside the steps, and young men in sharply cut suits were sipping tiny glasses of a caramel colored liquor with shots of espresso on the side.

Continue Reading …