Slashfood

• Homemade Liqueurs: Preserving the taste of summer
  

  Filed under: Vegetables, Recipes, Fruit, How To, Spirits, Liquor Cabinet, Liqueurs, Summer

  A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a review of Vlada, a New York bar that specializes in infused vodkas. As I mentioned in my post, my experiences at Vlada had made me nostalgic for the moonshine that I had once enjoyed in Southwest Virginia. Back in the day, I used to buy 'shine by the gallon and infuse it with fruits, herbs, honey, and other ingredients, producing a wide range of aperitifs. While I'm a huge fan of store-bought liqueurs, I have yet to meet the mass-produced...
  



• Whiskey Notes: Tuthilltown Spirits - Old Gristmill Authentic American Corn Whiskey
  

  Filed under: Whisky, Spirits, Liquor Cabinet

  
  
  Tuthilltown Spirits Old Gristmill Authentic American Corn Whiskey is 40% abv. / 80 proof and is an un-aged, clear, corn whiskey made from 100% Hudson Valley Grown New York State Corn.
  
  Tuthilltown Spirits make a great line of premium spirits including whiskeys of several types, rum, and apple based vodkas. I've tried most of them at various events around the country, but this is the first bottle that ever made it home, and it was a close call this time as well. As you can see, the clear spirit is almost gone. This was from less than five minutes at a party...
  



• Raising The Bar: The Union
  

  Filed under: Champagne, Cocktails, Gin, Spirits, Celebrations, Raising the Bar

  In August of last year, I became the luckiest guy in the world when Christine Nylin accepted my proposal for marriage. Being the dork I am, I set out to make up a cocktail symbolizing the event. I named it The Union, which not only highlights the joining of two into one, but also happens to be the name of the restaurant where I tend bar.
  
  That cocktail has gotten a lot of play recently, the recipe popping up on different web sites, magazines and recipe collections. And now, it has another moment in...
  



• Exploring the wonders of infused vodka!
  

  Filed under: Vodka, Restaurants, The Best ... in All of New York, America, Spirits, Artisan Foods, Raising the Bar

  There are some people who it is just plain good to know. When you're in college, for example, the guy with a truck is incredibly helpful, and when you go in to business, the understanding accountant and the slightly unethical lawyer are almost necessities.
  
  A few years ago, my friend John became one of these fabulously helpful people. A lifelong resident of southwest Virginia and a trained chemist, John had a skill set that was uniquely...
  



• 1893 Veuve Cliquot unearthed in a British castle
  

  Filed under: Vodka, Europe, Spirits

  
  Telegraph.co.uk reports that the world's oldest bottle of Veuve Cliquot Champagne was found in a sideboard at Torosay Castle on the Isle of Mull. Chris James, the current owner, long curious as to the contents of a locked sliding door in the dining room engaged the services of a locksmith. He was rewarded with a perfectly preserved 1893 bottle, complete with trademark yellow label. The bubbly, now considered priceless, is on display in Veuve Cliquot's visitors' center in Reims, France.
  
  In other news, I was really excited to find a half-full bottle of Tito's vodka I'd forgotten about in my freezer last week....
  



• A sour cherry cocktail
  

  Filed under: Teas, Whisky, Recipes, Fruit, America, Spirits, Ingredient Spotlight, Guilty Pleasures, Summer

  
  Over the past few summers, cherry-based cocktails have become something of a signature for me, to the point whereupon being proposed to in mid-July a few years back, I immediately began pulping and freezing cherries for use in our wedding cocktails the following October. Fresh cherries have a cruelly short season, and I do my best to make the most of every phase from sour to Rainier to Bing. Each has a distinct level of sweetness and depth of flavor and is complemented by...
  



• Raising the Bar: Blogging from Tales of the Cocktail
  

  Filed under: Tastings, Cocktails, Raves & Reviews, On the Blogs, Spirits, Festivals, Raising the Bar, Summer

  The boozefest that is Tales Of The Cocktail has been everything I thought it'd be, and I have to admit it's nice, for the moment, to be relatively sober. You see, you can't go very far in New Orleans without being tempted to have a drink. When you throw the world's biggest cocktail and spirit schmoozefest/symposium, it is definitely hard to hold on to your sobriety. Not that any of us want to, of course.
  
  This is just a reminder of something I posted...
  



• Slashfood Ate (8): Red, white and booze
  

  Filed under: Beer, Cocktails, Slashfood Ate, America, Spirits, Non-alcoholic, Holidays, Summer

  
  It's only July 3rd and my foodie forefathers have already dished out plenty of Independence Day eats in such posts as American Flag Cakes and Delicious Foods for July 4th. But let's be honest: There is no food or cake that can rival the great American tradition of getting rip-roaring drunk. Even Uncle Sam's cheeks wear a warm flush!
  
  But tradition aside, I do not condone drinking to excess, so I have devised a list of patriotic cocktails that are too...
  



• New Orleans awarded an official drink
  

  Filed under: Whisky, Cocktails, America, Spirits, Celebrations, Food News

  
  
  The Louisiana legislature (don't they have better things to do?) yesterday named the Sazerac - a mix of bitters, rye whiskey, and absinthe - as the city's official cocktail.
  
  As NPRreports, the drink is found in bars across the city, and its bitters are what makes it unique and deeply beloved by brown drink lovers all across the country.
  
  Want a taste of New Orleans, but don't feel like hopping on a plane? Whip up your own, slightly modernized version of Sazerac.

  Continue reading New Orleans awarded...
  




• Artisanal distilleries explode across the U.S.
  

  Filed under: America, Spirits, Artisan Foods

  
  Artisanal distilleries are exploding across the country, especially in Portland, OR. Exploding onto the business scene that is, since literally exploding distilleries is a bad thing. This confirms what I have been saying the past few years. Hand crafted spirits are getting HUGE. Just to give you some general statistics again: 20 years ago there were around five artisanal distilleries in the US, five years ago around 20, last September 90, right now 150+, a year from now 250+. That is some amazing growth, and you can expect it to continue to keep growing for the next decade.
  
  Some parts of the country...