Category: trends
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Dilute Your Own Hazmat Whiskey?
Lost Lantern independent whiskey bottler released their Spring 2026 collection, which was themed as a collection of high vs low proof whiskeys. The collection includes American single malts with unsmoked barley, Rocky Mountain bourbons with different mashbills, southern bourbons with different mashbills and malt influence, and rye whiskies with different ryes – and each of…
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Bartender’s Ketchup is Back on the Menu in SF
I wrote a story for the SFStandard about elderflower liqueur making a huge comeback. It was so popular when the brand St. Germain first launched in 2007 that it was given the nickname “bartender’s ketchup.” It’s so back, but now bartenders are using a wide range of products. Read the story here.
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All of the Olives’ Brine Time to Shine
My latest story for the San Francisco Chronicle is about all the ways bartenders are liquifying olives in their Martinis – in the vermouth, gin, vodka, brine, leaf tinctures, oil-washing everything, and even an “olive turducken.” Here’s a gift link so you can read it.
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How to Stretch a Lime – My Story in the SF Chronicle
I wrote about oleo citrate and super juice for the San Francisco Chronicle. These are techniques for increasing the yield from citrus fruits by eight times or so, using a touch of citric and malic acid powder in a specific way to bump up the flavor and texture of citrus to extend it over a…
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From Salad in a Glass to Centrifuge: A Cocktail Evolution
This story was originally published on AlcoholProfessor.com. From Salad in a Glass to Centrifuge: A Cocktail Evolution Recently I was thinking about the early years of the craft cocktail renaissance, and how many of the drinks were quite… chunky. And I realized that we can track a lot of the progression in bartending via the…
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Has Luxury Clear Cocktail Ice Gone Too Far?
I am quoted in this story about luxury ice (from Greenland, sold in Dubai) in which I manage to become an advocate for importing glacier ice for cocktails, lol. Most of what I talked about in the interview was that we all choose our battles when it comes to where and how we support…
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Nonalcoholic Alcoholic Things Are Just Things
First there was nonalcoholic alcoholic seltzer. To help drinkers in their sober curious exploration, White Claw is introducing a new way of drinking. Introducing White Claw 0% Alcohol – a new, non-alcoholic premium seltzer boasting the complex taste and feel of a real drink. Made from ultra-refined seltzer and blended with iconic flavors and hydrating…
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Dots are So Hot Right Now
I hadn’t noticed just how many different ways bartenders were incorporating the same basic shape until I saw them all together on the menu at the bistro Causwells in San Francisco. “This whole menu I just gravitated to circles,” says Elmer Mejicanos, beverage director and managing partner. “I should have called it the circle menu.”…