Author: Camper English

  • A South American Sazerac

    —

    by

    Camper English
    in , , ,

    Over at FineCooking.com, I posted the recipe for the Sazeru, a version of the Sazerac made with Pisco (from Peru, get it?).  I actually made the drink as part of the final exam for the five-day B.A.R. course I took a couple of years ago. We had to create a cocktail with just four ingredients,…

  • Cocktail Predictions for San Francisco

    —

    by

    Camper English
    in , ,

    I wrote this piece on predictions for the Bay Area cocktail scene back in November for The Bold Italic magazine, and it has just gone online. They made it look super snazzy for the web.  Predictions include: Shorter cocktail menus Hyper-local cocktail menus More Scott Beattie Cocktail party pop-ups Other cities taking the lead over…

  • I’m On A Boat (Magazine)

    —

    by

    Camper English
    in

    Should you happen to be riding along with Seabourn Cruises sometime soon, you may find a story from me in your onboard magazine.  I wrote a story about pastis, how is originated wtih absinthe, and what it's like today.  I don't think the story will ever go online, so you'll just have to book a…

  • Find Me in the Penthouse

    —

    by

    Camper English
    in , ,

    Penthouse magazine, that is. I have a story in the April issue about my trip to Warsaw and the ancient forest with ZU vodka, the bison grass vodka known throughout the world as Zubrowka.  But I'm also in Penthouse as a model, again!       Of course you'll recognize my hand, sexily caressing that…

  • Where Irish Whiskey Really Is Really Made

    —

    by

    Camper English
    in ,

    In my story last week in the San Francisco Chronicle, I didn't get the chance to be as nerdy as I wanted to with the specifics of the three (and a half) distilleries in Ireland and which whiskies they make. So here are more details from an earlier draft of the story.  Jameson, which accounts…

  • Irish Whiskey in the San Francisco Chronicle

    —

    by

    Camper English
    in

    Hooray! I have a story in the San Francisco Chronicle about Irish whiskey. It discusses the popularity of Irish whiskey, some reasons for that popularity, its lack of use in cocktails, a cocktail recipe from Phil Mauro of Rye, and Ireland's three-and-a-half distilleries and their brands. I was able to get through it without even…

  • Irish Whiskey History

    —

    by

    Camper English
    in , ,

    I recently read the book Irish Whiskey: A 1000 Year Tradition, which is no longer in print but still available. It was originally published in 1980 and most recently reprinted in 1998. A lot has happened since then, but this book has some good historical information.  Here are some facts and assertions from the book.…

  • The Science of Dilution

    —

    by

    Camper English
    in ,

    While at Tales of the Cocktail Vancouver, I attended the seminar on dilution by Audrey Saunders and Harold McGee. Saunders is the owner of the Pegu Club in New York and McGee is the author of the seminal work On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen.   Part of the discussion…

  • Liquid Smoke in the LA Times Magazine

    —

    by

    Camper English
    in , , ,

    I have a story about smoke cocktails in this Sunday's LA Times Magazine. Go read it! PHOTO: BARTHOLOMEW COOKE Now, you're saying, "Didn't I already read that?" Nope, that would be Robert Simonson's excellent story in the New York Times, which I learned about after mine had already been submitted. We cover pretty much the…

  • A Clear Ice Ball Maker You Can Buy

    —

    by

    Camper English
    in ,

    One difficulty with the Igloo Cooler method of making clear ice is that you get a great big block of ice at the end and have to cut it up into usable cubes yourself. I developed an ice cube tray using plastic boxes that gets the ice into long rectangles, and that's a bit closer…