Photograph from kathycsus on Flickr What's an ice cream sundae without a cherry on top? This week, I set out to learn the history of maraschino cherries, and also to make a homemade version on my own. According to an... More
Rescued from a vintage bar menu by cocktail historian David Wondrich, the Rose enjoyed a brief flash of popularity at the Chatham Hotel in Paris in the 1920s. Good luck finding it since then, which is a shame; soft, floral, lightly sweet and with a titillating aroma from the cherry eau de vie, the Rose is an exercise in delicate decadence, a drink that, like the Widow's Kiss, can put the imbiber in a mindset from a completely different era. More
The Widow's Kiss is a powerfully flavored mixture of the distinctive French apple brandy, Calvados, plus ample measures of yellow Chartreuse and Benedictine —French herbal liqueurs with a long monastic heritage. Tinged with Angostura, the Widow's Kiss is rich, heady and potent; with a crackling fire in front of you and one of these inside you, February doesn't stand a chance. More
As Yuletide traditions go, they don't come much more classic than the Tom & Jerry. Bowls of this rich, boozy warmer were a staple at countless 19th century saloons after the season's first sign of snow. As a Christmas tradition, the ritual of breaking out the Tom & Jerry mugs lasted well into the Eisenhower administration; the link between the drink and the holiday was such that it was immortalized by Damon Runyon in Dancing Dan's Christmas, in 1931: More
Matt Lee and Ted Lee are Charleston denizens, but Matt developed the prototype of this punch for a black-tie holiday dinner at a Harvard eating club, so make of that what you will. It is possible that lower indigenous levels of gentility call for lower levels of alcohol. More
Think of it as an easy, no-egg eggnog. Or think of it as a classic Southern tipple, with an alluring blend of sweetness and richness, and a deep-flavored kick. However you approach the milk punch, just be sure to think of it sometime during the holiday season. More
Whether you're settling in after a long day of shopping, or letting the swarm blow past you while biding your time until closer to the holiday, the dawn of the Christmas season calls for some refreshment. The Stinger isn't a seasonal cocktail, per se, but its crisp minty snap always puts me in the right frame of mind for the festive weeks to come. More
