May 31, 2010 – A Mountain of Crushed Ice: “ORIGINAL NEW ORLEANS COCKTAILS pt5 – Peychauds & Sazerac”When I was in New Orleans last year for the very first time, I distinctly remember my first cocktail order: a Sazerac at the Hotel Monteleone’s Carousel Bar. Just weeks before that, the drink had been declared the city’s official cocktail, and because of the lack of Peychaud’s bitters or a proper Absinthe here at home in Ontario, I had yet to try one! After reading this latest post from A Mountain of Crushed Ice, about the intertwined history of Peychaud’s bitters and the Sazerac, my mouth has already started watering in anticipation!

June 5, 2010 – Art of Drink: “The Ultimate Gin Bartender”
By now, I’m sure most people are sick of me talking about G’Vine Gin and their upcoming (I leave today) Gin Connoisseur’s Program, so I won’t talk for long. While we’re away, I will have very limited access to a computer or email, so I invite everyone to follow along over at Art of Drink, where Darcy O’Neil will be blogging as we progress through the intense series of challenges we await.

June 3, 2010 – The Chuck Cowdery Blog: “Sale of Hudson Whiskey Brand Gives Craft Distillers New Credibility.”
Craft distilling just got a huge leg up this week, as William Grant & Sons partnered with Tuthilltown Spirits for the production and worldwide distribution of Tuthilltown’s Hudson Whiskey brand. Tuthilltown spirits received a lot of attention earlier in the year for their barrels as Jeffrey Morgenthaler popularized “barrel aged cocktails”. For fans of the Hudson Whiskey brand, Tuthilltown will continue to produce the product themselves, but the rights to sales and distribution now belong to William Grant & Sons. Tuthilltown’s unaged spirits program will remain unaffected.

June 1, 2010 – The NYTimes Blog: “Case Study | Vintage Cocktails”
A few months ago, Jeffrey Morgenthaler and Portland, Oregon’s Clyde Common received (deservedly) quite a bit of attention regarding their barrel-aged cocktail program. In one of the latest posts from the New York Times Blog, we get a further glimpse into Morgenthaler’s inspiration: Tony Conigliaro of 69 Colebrook Row in London, England. For quite some time now, Tony has been subtly aging cocktails in bottles behind his bar, and Jeff’s venture to the cocktail to the next logical step. Curious to learn more? You should be.

May 29, 2010 – Thirsty in LA: “The Three Hour Tour: Around the World in Five Cocktails”
Because of an upcoming 10 days in France with G’Vine gin, and an equally long stint in New Orleans this summer for Tales of the Cocktail I didn’t get a chance this past month to visit New York for the first annual Manhattan Cocktail Classic. Believe me, it wasn’t an easy decision to make, especially after hearing all the hype and anticipation built up via Facebook and Twitter – believe me, I did my best to ignore it. One can’t help but wonder though, just how much fun I missed out on, and Daniel of Thirsty in LA has done a superb job of recapping the event I’m most sorry I missed out on – The Three Hour Tour.

May 26, 2010 – TheStar.Com: “Cocktails: The Great Canadian Caesar Chase”
For those of you unfamiliar with it, think of the (bloody) Caesar is our Canadian equivalent to the Bloody Mary – the main differences being the choice of Clamato (Clam & Tomato Juice) juice instead of tomato, and a rim of celery salt, compared to regular salt. Beyond that, many of the ingredients are identical, and variations of our national cocktail stretch as far as the imaginations of our bartenders. In it’s 40th year of notoriety, the savoury cocktail is enjoying revelry in bars and media across Canada, and this most recent article delves into the world of creative variations, and where you can find the best Caesars in Ontario. My favourite? The Miller Tavern’s (Toronto, ON) inclusion of bacon-infused vodka, dill pickle brine, and bacon dust around the rim.

May 26, 2010 – RumDood: “Hemingway Daquiri”
Just in time for summer, and as the requests for daquiris surges at an uncontrollable pace from the Johnny Rocco’s bar, Matt Robold aka “RumDood” has taken a second to enlighten us on the recipe and elusive history of this cocktail, the Hemingway Daquiri. To quote Matt, “If the Daiquiri is the Holy Grail of rum mixology, the Hemingway Daiquiri may be the Lost Ark. Everyone claims to know what it is, but the actual history around it is somewhat nebulous.”

May 24, 2010 – Art of Drink: “Big Fish, Small Pond”
Yes I know, this one doesn’t quite fit within the constraints of this group of dates.. but I had to post it. As someone who aspires to have my own cocktail work in print one day soon, one of the seminars I look forward to the most at Tales of the Cocktail this summer is Darcy O’Neil’s “Big Fish, Small Pond”, which covers all the basics you need to know about self-publishing within the cocktail world. If cocktail publishing is in your near future too, check out Darcy’s sneak preview over at Art of Drink, and register for the seminar!

Camper English and Alcademics
My first intention was to write about jealousy of Camper English and the extensive traveling he is privileged to as he updates his posts. If you’re a follower of Camper’s blog, Alcademics, you’ll be all too familiar with his recent trip to Cognac, France, and the different Cognac houses he visited, including Courvoisier, Pierre Ferrand, Remy Martin, and many more.

The Beefeater 24 Bitters Competition encourages bar bloggers to give a "shout out" to those their envious of.

Frustration with the LCBO
But today, I’m bitter about something else. Here’s how the plan for today was supposed to go down. I went to bed last night, reveling in discovering the last remaining bottle of Woodford Reserve Master’s Collection Sweet Mash (I know, quite a mouthful) for sale in Ontario. The drive would take about an hour and a half.. but it would be worth it.

I woke up early, around 9AM, and got ready for the drive.. an hour and a half, and $130CDN away, this bottle of bourbon was about to be mine.

But alas, it wasn’t meant to be – before I had a chance to leave, the trip was over. The last bottle has disappeared from Ontario, and short of a trip to the United States (which will involve smuggling it through US Customs), I won’t get a chance to taste it, and display proudly on my home liquor cabinet.

Darcy O’Neil and Art of Drink
So in the spirit of the competition, I turn to fellow (Canadian) blogger Darcy O’Neil in envy. If you haven’t read Art of Drink yet, get on it.

A former chemist turned bartender, Darcy often (but not exclusively) takes a scientific approach to dissecting spirits and cocktails in a refreshing blog that’s updated frequently. I attended his seminar “Sugar: The Science of Sweet” this year at Tales, and believe me, Darcy brings a unique, and educated voice to the world of bartender education and communication. As a fellow resident of Ontario, I’m sure he can share in the often resentment of our liquor practices and the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO).

Why so bitter with him? You might want to read this post of his here. As for now – Cheers, Darcy on raising the bar for bartending blogs worldwide.

For more information on the “Don’t be Bitter!” competition, visit A Dash of Bitters