Where to Drink in New Orleans

Sure, Tales of the Cocktail has already come and gone (though some of us are still feeling the effects.) If you're wondering where to drink, though, in the Big Easy, read this piece for The Daily Meal.

It's geared to the professional drinker, but that's you, right? Did we mention there's "handsome juice?"

http://www.thedailymeal.com/where-drink-during-tales-cocktail-1

Just Back From: Tales of the Cocktail, New Orleans

Thousands of cocktails.
Hundreds of spirits brands.
Dozens of New Orleans venues.
And several dwarfs shooting vodka off of an ice luge in clown costumes. (Um yes, that really happened. We have proof.)

Read all this, and more, in this riveting recap for Fodors.com:
http://www.fodors.com/news/just-back-from-tales-of-the-cocktail-6981.html

Top Spirits Festivals

Some of us are still recovering from Tales of the Cocktail (more on that to come), which took place in New Orleans last week.

But if you're ready for more great shots and stellar sips--not to mention the general shenanigans that come about whenever the cocktail community collides--check out this story in Premier Traveler, rounding up the top spirits festivals in the whole wide world:

http://www.premiertravelerusa.com/Cheers_Festival_Lineup/76/1512.aspx

Top Wine and Culinary Tours!

A top travel trend to emerge in 2013 is food tourism, and culinary tours in America's coolest cities have taken note.  Eat--and drink--your way through these cities on a delicious wine and food walking tour.

We threw in a few cocktail recipes, 'natch, in case you're not going far this summer.

http://www.winemag.com/Wine-Enthusiast-Magazine/April-2013/Walk-on-the-Wine-Side/

Peep This: Easter Recipe Revamp!

If you're like us, you just eat Peeps and chocolate on Easter, but some people have been making the same family recipes for generations.

There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but we thought it would be fun to see how chefs around the country are revamping Easter dishes in this piece for Wine Enthusiast.

http://www.winemag.com/Wine-Enthusiast-Magazine/April-2013/Easter-Recipe-Revamp/

We threw in cool cocktail pairings for good measure, since you're probably spending the holiday with family. You're welcome.

Texas's Hottest Tipples: Just in Time for SXSW!

Y'all listen up: There's more than margaritas and beer to explore in the Lone Star State. And with everyone all about Austin this week, here are six sips to savor in honor of Texas, brought to you by the Daily Meal:

http://www.thedailymeal.com/texas-tipples-hottest-6-drinks-lone-star-state

Are Beet Cocktails a Thing?

Stop beeting yourself up. Who would have guessed the humble root vegetable would become the little darling of the cocktail world? Sure, it's color-saturated and sweet, and lends itself well to punny drink names, but beets should probably stick to salad, right?

Not so, say mixologists. Read all about the beet cocktail trend here, and whip up one of your own. It's kind of like juicing, but with booze. What's not to like?

http://www.winemag.com/Wine-Enthusiast-Magazine/Best-Of-Year-2012/The-Beet-Goes-On/

Love Potions!

Eating whale penis is totally overrated! Why not sample a seductive sip instead? (A drink is way sexier, anyway.)

Read this article for some great love potions you can make at home, plus a breakdown of common aphrodisiacs you can find in your pantry!

http://www.winemag.com/Wine-Enthusiast-Magazine/March-2013/Five-Top-Love-Potions/

We got this intel from the Museum of Sex btw...aka MoSEX. That's a real place. Seriously.

Top 10 Bars to Watch the Super Bowl in New Orleans

Where, oh where to watch the big game? Where, oh where to cheer on teams (likely) not from your city? Where, oh where to actually focus on commercials for once?

If you're in New Orleans, the answer is easy: There are plenty of options.

From dog-friendly beer bars to upscale hotel lounges with a wall of TVs and custom, team-themed cocktails, we rounded up the top 10 bars in New Orleans to watch the Super Bowl for The Daily Meal. Score your seats here:

http://www.thedailymeal.com/where-watch-super-bowl-new-olreans

Mixologist of the Month: Abigail Gullo

Abigail Gullo is a sassy, brassy broad who makes mean drinks down in the city that care forgot, our new hometown, New Orleans. What more could a girl ask for? How about some great tales wielded from behind the bar? See why Gullo made our Mixologist of the Month column in Wine Enthusiast here:
http://www.winemag.com/Wine-Enthusiast-Magazine/Best-Of-Year-2012/Mixologist-of-the-Month-Abigail-Deirdre-Gullo/

The Year of the Cocktail: Chinese Herbal Tipples

Chinese New Year is February 10. How are you going to celebrate? We're thinking cocktails ('natch). And why not toss some authentic ingredients plucked from your local Chinatown into your tipples?

Mixologists around the country aren't waiting till February 10 to mix up Chinese herb-infused cocktails.
No really...and the results are more than exotic. (One even contains aphrodisiacs!)

http://www.winemag.com/Wine-Enthusiast-Magazine/Best-Of-Year-2012/Big-Tipples-In-Little-China/

How to: Make a Liqueur Foam

Ever wondered how bartenders and mixologists create pretty garnishes, set shots on fire and dream up other fancy finishes to your favorite cocktails? Each month Wine Enthusiast reveals a technique in our How To column.

This How To: Make a Liqueur Foam comes courtesy of Mr. Rain's Fun House in Baltimore, dreamed up by the talented mixologist Perez Klebahn.

In just 3 simple steps, you can create a liqueur-based foam to top a holiday cocktail. We'll drink to that. Read my story here:

http://www.winemag.com/Wine-Enthusiast-Magazine/Web-2012/How-to-Liquor-Foam/

Best Halloween Parties in New Orleans 2012

If you're in NOLA this weekend, I hope you've come armed with a costume. People here sure love dressing up, and partying, in case you didn't notice.

My roundup for neworleans.com takes a peek at the hottest Halloween parties in New Orleans for 2012. Insert maniacal laughter here.

http://www.neworleans.com/blog/2012/10/new-orleans-halloween-2012-parties/

New Orleans's Best Hangover Cures

It may be called the Big Easy, but there's nothing easy about an epic hangover. (That's what all those go cups  tend to produce!)

Check out the article I wrote for neworleans.com, outlining the best hangover cures from New Orleans's top authorities: its bartenders.

Yes, one of them does involve that mysterious green concoction. (It's delicious, I swear!)

http://dining.neworleans.com/2012/07/best-hangover-cures-in-new-orleans/

Happy Healing.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Cherry Bomb!

Sure, flavored spirits have been hot this year. But with sickeningly sweet releases like cotton candy and whipped cream vodkas dominating the market, the trend left something to be desired.

Liquor giants have stepped in—and stepped it up with tart-sweet cherry spirits. Want to read more about the cherry liquor trend? Check out my article for the Daily Meal here, and get your cherry popped.

http://www.thedailymeal.com/cherry-bomb-newest-cherry-spirits

Best Hotel Bars in New Orleans

Happy July everyone! If you're in the cocktail and spirits industry, you know what that means...countdown to Tales of the Cocktail, the cocktail and spirits fest in NOLA each July.

I've spent a lot of time in New Orleans over the past few years, and know my way around some of the city's best bars (shocker). Many of them just so happen to be in hotels.

Here's a round up I did for the Crescent City's best hotel bars for neworleans.com. It's a great resource for all things New Orleans. And no, you won't find them on Bourbon Street (ok, some are close by).

Here's a link to the story:

http://dining.neworleans.com/2012/03/best-hotel-bars-in-new-orleans/

Best of all, you don't have to check in to check out these hotel bars.

Tasty, Tropical Turks & Caicos

 Sometimes a girl's got to get away. Who knew the Turks & Caicos is just a 3 hour jaunt from NYC?

 It's hot in the Turks & Caicos. One might consider bottled water, but we eschewed H2O for Rum Punch hydration. You may only have a small fire escape from which to enjoy it, but here's an easy recipe to make at home:

Rum Punch
1 cup Bacardi 151
1/2 cup Myer's dark rum
1/4 cup Malibu coconut rum
2 cups each orange and pineapple juices
1/4 cup lime juice
3 tablespoons grenadine syrup

Mix all ingredients together in a (hopefully tropical-looking) punch bowl. Pour over ice cubes in any type of glass. We went for plastic (pictured) since it's safer for drunken dancing on the beach. Serves 1 very thirsty individual but makes quite a few drinks.

Wondering what the local island specialty is in the Turks & Caicos? 

 Really, it's all about conch. You can have it fried, frittered, curried or made into chowder. You can take it as a shot, some say it's an aphrodisiac, but isn't the whole island kind of one? Eat that versatile conch with rice and plantain fries. YUM.

And while every hotel offers conch in some variation, you simply must go to Da Conch Shack. Sure, it's a bit out of the way (near the airport) but you'll be watching your conch get pulled from the turquoise sea with your toes in the sand. Check out all the conch shells below!

 If you've had too much punch, sober up with a locally made Turk's head lager. Cheers!

Borgias-Inspired Libations: Machiavelli Manhattan?

Is anyone else obsessed with The Borgias?

For cocktail fans like us, we fully realize it's all about Mad Men in terms of drinks slammed per prime-time episode. But frankly, people were throwing them back in Pope Alexander VI's time, too.

Now it's obvious Manhattans were not all the rage during the Renaissance, but we could totally see our hero (Machiavelli, duh!) drinking this variation of our favorite Bourbon-based cocktail: The Prince.

The Prince

3/4 ounce sweet vermouth
2 1/2 ounces Bourbon
Dash Angostura Bitters
1 orange twist, for garnish
Pinch of edible gold dust, add for dramatic effect

Elaborate velvet puffy sleeves are not a requirement to consume.

Best Bar You'll Probably Get Kicked Out Of

Jennifer Aniston is always working out (compulsively, *shudder*) at the gym downstairs when she stays here. Rob Pattison and Kristen Stewart make out over spaghetti (Disney style) at Locanda Verde next door. And now you're trying to sip cocktails behind the glass door, through the lobby, to the left, at this unnamed bar with a killer fireplace that nobody wants you to know about.

If you're lucky, you're sitting on a plush couch in the chillest space possible, reserved for major, stadium-filling and slightly aging rockstars roasting before the flames like marshmallows, eyeing inappropriately their cohorts and miscellaneous, underdressed glitterati. So don't mess this one up, okay?

Order the fig cocktail and you won't be sorry.

Greenwich Hotel

377 Greenwich Street

What Does MPD Stand For?

amNY had me find out. But you have to read the article to discover it for yourself.

Ha!