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Cocktails: Starting from Scratch with Scotch
Thing is, when I do get a hankering for a single malt, it's often for those big smoky monsters from Islay. The only single malt I keep in the house is Laphroaig, because when I'm in the mood for something big and flavorful, that's usually what I have in mind.
@Rhetor -- you're on.
The Absinthe Backlash Begins
I should also note that in the above comments, Steveraye discloses that he's related to a company that has an absinthe product on the market. I hope other spirits marketers would follow his example and reveal their affiliation, rather than utilize cheap, deceptive tricks. Thanks for your comment, Steve--you have a great perspective on the industry.
The Absinthe Backlash Begins
In the above post, I wrote "2008 saw the release of several decent brands, along with a number of high-profile, incredibly crappy ones (likely the brands you’ll see spamming up the comments section, as is their habit)".
I noted this based on a number of sock-puppet comments I'd received on my own blog, remarking on an absinthe-related post and gratuitously name-dropping a particular brand of absinthe-style beverage. I doubt it was sheer coincidence that all of these comments originated with the same ISP, just as I doubt the coincidence that it's the same brand that's being touted in the comment directly above this one. Took them a while, but the marketers who employ deception in their bag of tricks finally got around to commenting here. I would have been disappointed with anything less.
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About Paul Clarke
Website: http://www.cocktailchronicles.com
Location: Seattle
About: I'm a Seattle-based writer and editor who was bitten by the mixology bug a few years ago, and has spent every available hour since reading about, talking about, mixing (and occasionally drinking) fine spirits and cocktails.
Favorite foods: sushi, gumbo, crab enchiladas -- if it's fishy & spicy, I'm on it.
Last bite on earth: Who thinks about food at a moment like this? I'd wrap up the whole shebang with the ultimate Sazerac -- a big pour of Thomas Handy Sazerac rye with Peychaud's bitters, in a glass -- a BIG glass -- rinsed with Jade's Nouvelle Orleans absinthe.
@rasellers0 -- You bring up a good point; many of these lists are limited to major cities such as NYC or SF. But the Esquire list reaches a bit farther beyond the "hip city" limits (unless places like Decatur, Georgia, Sarasota, Florida and Wellfleet, Mass. are way more hip than I realized). And, as noted, the bars on the list range from the $15 cocktail places you mention, all the way to places that pay their rent by selling $2 cans of PBR. Many lists may be guilty of the same sin, but some are more guilty than others.