I still remember the first time I tried Gin Mare. It was 2010, and I was living on the Costa Brava (for the second time). It was late afternoon at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, and I stopped in to meet up with my Barcelona bar buddy Albert Montserrat. I had never seen a Gin & Tonic as sophisticated as this Catalan version garnished with fresh rosemary and olives. It was a far cry from the usual gin + whatever tonic + a wedge of lime. I began to have the surprise understanding of just how important gin is in Spanish drinking culture.   Did you know that “gin tonic” is the most popular m ..read more

My good friend, Jane, is an educator in England. She told me that she is inviting people who could be role models to her students to share their success stories. Of course, I am super flattered that she considers me in that category, and it is truly an honor to speak with anyone - especially young people - about what it takes to go from being a DREAMER to a DOER. Taking the steps to educate ourselves in a particular field (and keep educating ourselves!) along with taking action, every day, to sharpen our skills is how we start to DO the things we have been dreaming about. I’m sharing this vide ..read more

recipes and text by Natalie Bovis, The Liquid Muse Tinkling ice in crystal, the smell of bound leather, an indulgent moment, drink in hand, setting the mind out for adventure… The inaugural Santa Fe Literature Festival takes place this month, and it got me thinking about great authors and great cocktails. I’m an avid reader (or rather, audio book listener) these days. Whether walking my dogs or driving between Santa Fe and Albuquerque, I jump at any opportunity to turn off my to-do list and escape into a story. I also love creating themed signature cocktails so the idea of pairing literature ..read more

When my family moved to Santa Fe in 1974, I remember my parents springing for a babysitter so they could celebrate in one of the town’s iconic restaurants. At that time, the Palace Restaurant was a white tablecloth sort of establishment. A century before, it housed a legendary gambling hall and brothel. In the 1990s it had a stint as gaudy taco joint, and in more recent years, it found wobbly legs as a restaurant-slash-nightclub for the barfly scene. So, a few years ago, when the venue was sold, partially gutted and reinvented, yet again, the town was curious. A couple of notable chefs were at ..read more

I feel it only appropriate to share a little bubbly for this fifth, and last, installment of The Liquid Muse Virtual Repeal Day Party 2020! (See the blog for previous posts.) On this day in 1933, the United States ended Prohibition. America had been “dry” since 1920… so can you just imagine the wild and boozy parties that took place?! The French 75, like many of our early imbibable treasures, is shrouded in conflicting lore. Some say it was first created in Paris - and that part is likely - but was it initially made with cognac? Or with gin, as we typically drink it today? Here’s what we do kn ..read more

During Prohibition, a drinker’s challenge was not only to find (or make) booze… but to make it palatable. Because the good stuff was outlawed, and difficult to get hold of, many desperately thirsty folks turned to home-distilling. We often refer to these high-proof, rough-tasting, and often extremely toxic distillates from the 1920s as “bathtub gin.” How did they do it? Here’s an extremely simplified, crash course in how booze is made, and I do NOT recommend you do this at home. Really. You could poison yourself.  ferment a raw material: Any fruit, vegetable or grain can be mixed with w ..read more

I remember when the Blood and Sand cocktail was first described to me: equal parts scotch, orange juice, sweet vermouth and cherry brandy (sometimes Maraschino liqueur). My face did one of those crinkly things where your chin pulls back into your neck and your mouth turns, ever so unattractively, downward. “Gross,” I quipped. It sounded like one of those nasty things people made in high school… mixing together literally anything in their parents’ liquor cabinet in a red plastic cup. But, I rose to the occasion, and gave it a try… and it remains one of my fave whiskey drinks, to this day! It se ..read more

One of the things I love sharing in my cocktail books and mixology classes is that while the word “cocktail” is used a blanket term for any alcoholic liquid in a glass, it actually is a very specific kind of mixed drink. There are many categories of drinks: Sours, Fizzes, Smashes, and so on. A “cocktail,” for example, is Spirit + Sugar + Water + Bitters. Think: Old Fashioned or Sazerac. While we tend to call everything a “cocktail,” I would argue that the most popular category of drink is the Daisy. What is a Daisy? It is basically a Sour (Spirit + Sugar + Citrus) which calls for a liqueur in ..read more

2020 marks the 100 year anniversary of two important events in American History: On January 1, 1920 the 18th Amendment outlawed alcohol, and on August 18, 1920 the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote. And yes, these are connected! Women’s independence flourished during the Roaring 20s. Many took over “men’s” jobs during WW1 in the previous decade and handled the household purchases rather than simply clean and breed children. They had no intention of being shoved back into the kitchen as jazz blared, skirt hems rose and female American poets and authors such as Anais Nin, Edna St. Vin ..read more

What do you do when COVID shuts down your cherished event? You take it ONLINE, and quadruple your attendees! I have to admit, if you would have told me… even 4 months ago… that TACO WARS would work as an online event, I would have scoffed and flung a taco in your face. But, necessity is the mother of invention, as the saying goes, so I employed the most overused word of 2020.. PIVOT. I gave myself a crash-course in Zoom webinars, dropped a few hundred bucks, reached out to all of the chefs and liquor brands registered for the live 2020 TACO WARS, and invited them to come online with me. The re ..read more