Cocktail Culture
Cocktail Culture
How to Make Andrea's Lulu Cocktail
April 17th, 2013
When the opening of Andrea’s, the vibe-y Japanese-fusion hot spot named for Steve Wynn’s wife, was nigh, the Wynns specifically requested that there be a cocktail on the menu called “the Lulu” (rumor has it the name is sentimental to the couple). Read more »
Drinking
Strong Brew
Collaboration, expansion and new investments are just the beginning of a huge year for Henderson’s Joseph James Brewery
April 16th, 2013
Scene Stirs
The Spirit (and Wine and Beer) of Summer Camping
April 10th, 2013
I’m big on crowdsourcing. My Facebook friends—yep, all 3,394 of ‘em!—offer great insight into what’s new, what’s hot in their world and what should be relegated to the fad and meme Hall of Shame. So when I started planning a recent car-camping trip to Valley of Fire State Park, I took a Facebook poll: “What is the spirit, beer and wine of camping?” I asked. More than 41 comments later, I had my answer (and my Klout score had shot up a point or two). Read more »
Cocktail Culture
How to Make the Laundry Room's Coquetier
April 10th, 2013
Among america’s earliest cocktails was Creole apothecary Antoine Amédée Peychaud’s preparation of bitters and Cognac brandy, measured out in little egg cups (coquetiers) in 1838. Read more »
Scene Stirs
When Wine Attacks, Just the Ticket and Summer’s Gadgets
April 2nd, 2013
sommelier recently commented to me that somms on the whole have a greater understanding of food than chefs do of wine. If that’s true, it’s most evident when food and wine pairings go awry, and that’s also why I’m so proud to announce that Vegas Seven’s own dining critic Max Jacobson has passed his Level One sommelier exam, administered by the Court of Master Sommeliers. Read more »
Cocktail Culture
How to Make Spago's Cane Sour
April 2nd, 2013
Cocktails are not a one-size-fits-all experience. Palates and preferences differ, making one man’s usual is another man’s unusual. In addition to her role as therapist, confessor and matchmaker, a bartender must also learn to be an alchemist, able to transform drinks from sweet to sour and from spirit-forward to refreshing at the drop of a hat to accommodate those preferences. Read more »
Drinking
Flavored Tequilas in Full Bloom
April 2nd, 2013
Your rum has been coconut flavored since you were your school’s reigning keg-stand champion. When you got your first job, and finally had a little cash in your pocket, your vodka flavor du jour became your calling card—pepper, Mandarin orange, citron, cucumber. And recently, hipster that you are, your whiskey tastes like cinnamon candies, honey, maple syrup or even bacon. So it was inevitable that your tequila would want to get in on the game. Read more »
Scene Stirs
The Nightclub & Bar Show’s Trends and Competitions
March 26th, 2013
Another year, another Nightclub & Bar Show hangover. Good thing my nightstand is a veritable apothecary of flavored potions purporting to banish the bane of the cocktailian. As I mentioned last week, ResqWater is my latest go-to. But the SoberUp, Faveo, PreFunc and AfterParty are lined up for my next big night. It won’t be long. Read more »
Cocktail Culture
How to Make Scarlet's Take on the Hemingway Daiquiri
It's not that kind of daiquiri
March 26th, 2013
Simply utter “daiquiri” and, surely, visions of frozen, blended nightmares flash before the eyes of any bartender who hangs his hat on his knowledge of the original daiquiri, a hand-shaken union of rum, sugar and lime juice. Read more »
Scene Stirs
Sweet Après-Ski Cocktail Classic Hangover
March 20th, 2013
Warming drinks—especially the boozy, spiced and topped-with-a-dollop-of-something-creamy kind—go together very nicely with snow sports. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the time-honored tradition of the après-ski tipple is made all the more rewarding by the exhilaration and chilling temperatures that preceded. But it did take a crack team of professional cocktailians to pull off their union with aplomb at the recent inaugural Après-Ski Cocktail Classic, March 14-17 in Snowmass, Colorado. Read more »
