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by Dennis Mayer May 22nd, 2013 | Cocktails
Today, there are three ways for bar managers to make distinctive cocktails for their beverage programs. They: a) use specific liquors to get just the right flavor combination; b) create their own ingredients, either by making a specialty syrup (rosemary simple, anyone?) or altering liquors similarly (tobacco-infused Manhattans, anyone?); or c) use liquors in very nontraditional ways (witness the añejo tequila manhattan or the white whiskey margarita.) In the Internet age, we all feel pressure to make
Ment-Julep (Mexican Version)
by Dennis Mayer May 14th, 2013 | Cocktails, Mixed Drinks
Here's another drink from Bar La Florida cocktail handbook, which I acquired recently and have since used for my last two columns. I wish I'd looked at it a few days or a few weeks earlier, because it would have helped me answer a few reader questions we've received in the Ask the Bartender section of our website -- recently, separate readers asked me a) can a mint julep be made without bourbon, and b)
Orange Blossom
by Dennis Mayer May 10th, 2013 | Cocktails
I've seen this week's cocktail featured in a couple of places, but I've just rediscovered it in my copy of the Bar Florida cocktail handbook, from Hemingway's favorite bar in Havana. Like the Papa Doble that originally brought that handbook to our attention, this drink is a great seasonal cocktail to highlight.
It's also a drink that shows the benefits of using good ingredients. Make an orange blossom using fresh-squeezed orange juice, and good grenadine and you'll be shocked at how much better a drink like this tastes than
Papa Doble
by Dennis Mayer May 1st, 2013 | Cocktails
This week's drink is a variant on the daiquiri, which is ground we've covered before. It's barely more than a double version of that noble concoction (as the name suggests.) But it's the variant favored by Ernest Hemingway, one of history's most decorated drinkers, and it's one of my favorite summer cocktails as well.
As a result, I've done a bit of research on this drink, which was apparently developed at El Floridita in Havana. (There's a great reprint of the bar's cocktail guide.) The book, written in Spanish, led to
As a result, I've done a bit of research on this drink, which was apparently developed at El Floridita in Havana. (There's a great reprint of the bar's cocktail guide.) The book, written in Spanish, led to
Black Stripe
by Dennis Mayer April 23rd, 2013 | Cocktails
Here at Parched No More, like any good quasi-journalists, we've always got one eye on the calendar. We want to bring you the best drinks we can, but we also want to make sure they're seasonally appropriate. Nobody wants a frozen daiquiri in the winter, or a hot toddy in the summer. Unfortunately, we're writing to you from Boston, where we never settle on a season for long enough to pitch a cocktail to it. (Especially since we're struggling through a time that can have days near 80 degrees and nights near 40.)
Luckily, there are some drinks that can
Luckily, there are some drinks that can