From the Oxford American Dictionary: vesper, ˈvespər | noun; to evening prayer; archaic evening.  To the Cocktail World the Vesper is the martini version that James Bond introduced in 1953’s Casino Royale—the first Bond book by Ian Fleming. The cocktail was named for double-agent (and Bond love interest) Vesper Lynd. The drink takes a gin martini and ramps it up with a dose of vodka. The original recipe (that Bond recites to a bartender in the book) uses Kina Lillet instead of a martini’s typical dry vermouth. Kina Lillet has been replaced by Lillet Blanc – a sweeter variant without the q ..read more

An average summer in Washington, DC is hot, humid, and generally oppressive, but right now we are in the middle of a nasty heat wave. The only thing to be done is to mix a cool drink and stare at a painting of an idyllic beach scene.  Instead of working up a sweat re-inventing the wheel, summer can be a good time to fall back on a classic cocktail. The heat hasn’t managed to kill all of the mint growing in our garden. So we decided that we would put it to good use by making a mojito. The mojito is a cousin to that other classic Cuban cocktail, the daiquiri. Both of these drinks have launc ..read more

On a remarkably nice (warm but not oppressively hot and humid) Washington, DC evening, I met my daughter for dinner at the lovely French Bistro, Chez Billy Sud, in Georgetown. Naturally, we had to start with a cocktail, and we were both intrigued by the “Rosé Window” – a combination of St. Germain, local Capitoline Rosé Vermouth, lemon, and sparkling wine. We enjoyed it so much that we ordered a second round with dinner. It was bright and bubbly, not overly sweet - the perfect summer cocktail.  We neglected to ask the bartender for the recipe, but it wasn’t too hard to recreate it at home ..read more

A Gin & Tonic is the quintessential summer cocktail. It's easy to make, only requires a couple of ingredients, it's low alcohol-by-volume, and it's hard to mess it up - unless you use bad gin. A Gin & Tonic also makes a great blank canvas for your mixology art. The Spanish have turned this cocktail into an art form. In Spain a Gin & Tonic involves all kinds of fruit, herbs, and spices. It is usually served in a large wine goblet with plenty of ice, and it's as attractive as it is thirst-quenching. As fresh fruit becomes available at local farm markets, we are taking a cue from the ..read more

Cocktail blogging is not all toil and sweat. Sometimes people give you bottles of booze or invite you to a special event. A couple of weeks ago we were lucky enough to be a part of the DC launch of Roe & Co’s Irish Whiskey at the fabulous Jack Rose Dining Saloon – an evening we thoroughly enjoyed. We are always happy to try new products, but we don’t promise good reviews if we don’t actually like the liquor. Thankfully, this whiskey is one that we are pleased to recommend. We also really enjoyed meeting Caroline Martin, the distiller, and hearing about how this blended whiskey came to be ..read more