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Times change, swag changes. This year at Tales of the Cocktail, my swag haul was quite different than last year, but perhaps the presenters’ bag o’ swag was different than for the media. (Can’t I be both?) This year I brought home 3 t-shirts, 4 drinking vessels, 3 types of garnish, 2 absinthe spoons, 8…

Clock Bar, the hyped Michael Mina cocktail lounge opening July 15 in San Francisco, is becoming a lesson in OOPS I FORGOT ABOUT THE COCKTAILS. Early on the project was announced- historic space, famous chef, tasty bar snacks, high-end drinks, yadda, yadda, yadda- and nobody listed as being in charge of the cocktail program. Curious.…

Hello chums. The Plymouth gin distillery, it turns out, is just as beautiful as they say, but much smaller than I imagined. Just one big copper pot still makes all their gin, and they don't even need to run it full-time. Beyond the distillery tour, the building holds a restaurant and a cocktail bar, so…

This week I helped judge a Chartreuse cocktail competition- tough job! Bartenders love making cocktails with the stuff, and I love drinking said cocktails. With my fellow judges Johnny Raglin of Absinthe and Carlos Yturria of Bacar/Grand Pu Bah I think we were in complete agreement with our top choices. Joel Baker of Bourbon &…

In various editions of the Beverage Network’s magazines, I have the cover story on 10 Trendsetting Mixologists from across the country. I interviewed my picks at the Navan/Grand Marnier Mixology Summit this spring. This year’s batch of bartenders to watch have more in common than a penchant for inventing and shaking up tasty cocktails. They’re…

Speaking of absinthe, I just noticed that the story I wrote on the subject (or as I call it, the subject that keeps on paying) for Men’s Book San Francisco is online. Go here and forward to page 80. Labels: absinthe, camper_clips

Immediately after my press trip to Jerez to study sherry, I flew to Bordeaux to learn about G’Vine gin. As far as I know, G’Vine is the only gin made from grape spirit instead of grain spirit, which gives it a round, soft texture and a touch of sweetness. It also has a huge burst…

Run screaming to your local newsstand to pick up the June issue of Wine & Spirits magazine, with the Top 100 Value Wines on the cover. Also on the cover is a mention of a story inside on Tequila Terroir, written by me. Hooray! My pal Jenn Farrington took the photos. Here’s the teaser: This…

5/1/08 update: Fish and Farm has a great homemade cocktail ingredient program, but alas, nowhere to hang your jacket at the bar. They’ve been added to the Hall of Shame. — Every bar top should have coat hooks beneath it. That way you don’t have to try to hang your jacket off your bar stool…

I picked up a copy of Food & Wine Cocktails 2008 to see what the representation of bars and cocktails around the country was. West Coast drinks have been getting more attention in the past year and it’s great to see this reflected in the book. The cocktails from the Bay Area are: Grapefruit Flamingo…