For those of you who know me, you’ve probably heard me prattle on endlessly about cocktail making (I don’t like “mixology”, as a word). Well, now it’s come to my blog, too:

One of the things I really enjoy about cocktail mixing is how it’s like cooking but with even less margin for error. Essentially you take three or four ingredients (or a dozen if you are making a tiki drink), shake them with ice, and strain into a chilled glass. Yet, as you can learn when you start playing with those few ingredients, you can radically change the shape of a drink (which is why I’ve stopped ordering Manhattans at restaurants; it takes to long to explain to the wait staff what whiskey I want (with a few options), what vermouth I want, that I do want bitters, and that I don’t want a cherry or any cherry juice). Recently, I decided to place an order with Fee Brothers, inspired by local cocktail superstar Kaiser Penguin’s account of their customer service. In addition to the bitters I was actually ordering (and the bitters they talked me into ordering), I decided to add a bottle of their falernum.