Search Results for ‘alcohol’

The holidays are just around the corner and with the holidays usually comes lots of socializing. Maybe you are will be heading out to a party or 2 or, just as likely, you will be hosting a party, or get together, or maybe just having some family over, either for an evening of eating and...

If I haven't already stated if before, I am a huge bourbon fan. It is, by far, my favorite liquor and at any time you can find, at least 4 or more different bourbons in my home bar. That being said, I don't tend to drink much bourbon in the summer. I find it to be too heavy and it often lends...

Like most of the people in the upper Midwest, I can't believe the weather we are having. We've had almost a full week of 70-80° temperatures and it's barely the middle of March. Of course, we're all holding our breath, just waiting for winter to make one last bid for supremacy. We watch the news...

The last couple of weeks, here in Wisconsin, have been unseasonably warm. We hope for days in the 70's in May, though often it only gets into the 60's, but the last week or two has seen temperatures in the upper 80's and even lower 90's. Looking for ways to cool off I decided to make a few...

I am a huge Bourbon fan. While I've never met a Whiskey I haven't liked, over the years I've found that I prefer Bourbon to all other Whiskeys, including Scotch. I've always been a Bourbon fan, at least since my college days, when I drank copious amounts of Jim Beam. While in culinary school I...

In my long career, in the restaurant world, I've held most every position there is, from dishwasher and busboy to chef and manager and pretty much every job in between. While I have enjoyed cooking the most, my second favorite job has always been bartender. I love the interaction with the...

On January 1st, I posted about the dish, Hoppin' John, and how, in many households, it is eaten on New Year's Day to bring good luck. I could have chosen any number of recipes, from around the world, that are eaten for the same reason- to bring luck in the new year. I think one of the reasons I...

I was reminded recently that there can be disadvantages to being a chef. I belong to one of our local Kiwanis groups. The other week, another Kiwanis group, in a town a few miles away, decided to hold a Chili cook-off and invited a number of other Kiwanis groups from around the area. I was asked...

I write articles for my hometown newspaper. The "Ask the Chef" question for the January issue coming up has to do with cooking with and drinking wine.

I wished that I lived in an era and society where we valued hot cocktails more than we do, nowadays. Of course, that wasn't always the case. For the better part of human history, warm, alcoholic beverages were a symbol of hospitality, at least in the cold, northern climes. The holiday season...

The holidays just aren't complete without, at least, 1 batch of Egg Nog. I have had a love-hate relationship with the stuff over the years. As a kid I loved the stuff, but then somewhere along the line I lost my taste for it and wouldn't be caught dead drinking it. But, in recent years, I've...

A few years ago, while still writing a blog, I did a Christmas Cocktail Advent calendar. Basically, I posted a drink a day during the month of December, leading up to Christmas. Some cocktails were adaptations of drinks that I was already familiar with, others were adaptation of drinks I found...

Christmas is just around the corner. I love this time of year. There are so many traditions around the holidays and while I am not strictly bound, or tied down, to traditions, I love the comfort that they bring. Each and every family has their own traditions, some dating back for generations...

No holiday party is complete without, at least, 1 toast with a glass of bubbly. Champagne is the drink for celebrations and adds a touch of class to even the most mundane of get-togethers or dinners, or elevates a simple toast into an event. While I love to serve champagne and sparkling wine...

Not all cocktails have to be complicated affairs. Just like with food, sometimes simple is better. Many of the "classic" cocktails follow this rule. I've got nothing against complicated cocktails, or drinks with numerous ingredients, as exhibited by many of the drinks I have posted about, but I...

I need to start this post with a disclaimer. I live in Wisconsin and here in Wisconsin drinking Old Fashioneds is a way of life. They serve them by the buckets full in Supper Clubs all across this state. But, Old Fashioneds, here in Wisconsin, are very different from those made in pretty much...

When it comes to holiday party planning, one of the things I look to do is make things as simple as I can once the party starts so that I can enjoy my guests and not have to spend the time mixing drinks, preparing food, etc. That means that I often look for drinks that I can pour into punch...

Back in 1993 I moved to Atlanta, a good 12 hour drive from Indiana and my family. Luckily, I wasn't there long before I made many friends, many of them in the same position I was in with the holidays coming up and no family to spend it with. It was then that I decided that I would throw an...

When it comes to Autumn and Winter one of my favorite beverages is Hot Spiced Cider, usually with a shot of bourbon in it. But, I'm not always in the mood for a hot drink and so I created this cocktail, that has become quite popular at my family gatherings. I can't think of a more American...

There are plenty of beverages, out there, that are more popular than Rum, but few can capture the imagination or boast of a more colorful history than this Caribbean concoction. From the slave trade, to brawling Limeys (British sailors) to marauding Pirates, Rum has a spirited history and has...