Notes

• Wines to drink with your leftover ham and lamb.
• Or, better yet, turn your leftovers into cocktails.
• Get to know the inventory of the shower wine glass holder.
• You need to up your garnish game. Here’s some tips.
• The fastest way to chill a cocktail glass (new to me).
• Free Wi-Fi AND a Manhattan? Screw the coffee shop, I’m there.
• Drink up the taste of a cigar.
• I need some beer school. These books should help.
• Los Angeles Spirits Expo is happening very soon. Like, in two and a half weeks.
• Tips for collecting vintage barware. Hint: don’t buy everything you see at that estate sale and lie to your husband about how much you actually spent.

• Cheese. Washed in bourbon.
• David Wondrich schools us on the history of shots. We listen.
• What does the birthplace of the tuxedo, the first sewage system and this drink have in common?
• Make your way through a garage sale for this new Los Angeles bar.
• New reading for this week: BAR magazine issue #2 is out.
• How to drink like the Mad Men in Every.Single.State.
• A very old message in a bottle.
• Mustard. In cocktails. It makes sense.
• Women who whiskey. How being a lady and drinking has changed over the last 30 years.
• Birthplaces of classic drinks and the bars you can (mostly) still drink them in!
• And lastly, congrats to the winners of Saveur’s Best Cocktail Blogs! You guys are awesome!

• WEDNESDAY is the last day you can vote Stir & Strain for Saveur’s Best Cocktail Blog. If you’ve enjoyed the site, please vote!
• A Foie Gras cocktail. I’d drink that.
• Last week it was Game of Thrones, this week it’s Star Trek beer.
• The world’s largest wine cellar is in… Tampa?!
• Blue drinks are cool again (but they’ve always been loved on this site).
• Excellent list of small-batch additions for cocktails.
• Bored? Make some DIY cocktail umbrellas.
• Tips on making the perfect Mojito.
• Bank of England apparently had something to celebrate about last year.
• Hangover cures from hard-drinking chefs. I prefer vitamin water. And more water.
• Springtime cocktails are popping up on the Dine X Design site (with yours truly).

• The “exciting” history of the cocktail umbrella.
• And speaking of umbrella drinks, here’s a concise guide to TIKI for anyone new to the genre.
• Of course, if you’re going to make a Tiki drink, then unfortunately there’s that Lime Crisis going on right now…
• 15 Secret (not-so-secret) Bars to Visit.
• This week’s weird shaped bottle of booze comes from Russia and is shaped like a missile. No one is shocked.
• 10 countries you’re not drinking in.
• I’ve already pre-ordered my copy of Morgenthaler’s cocktail book.
• Craft Beverage Expo is coming to San Jose in May.
• And here’s 32 Craft Distillers that should be on your radar.
• Lastly, Monday’s big news for THIS website is Stir & Strain’s nomination for Saveur’s Best Cocktail Blog! If you’re a fan, please take a moment to vote for us. We love you.

• Los Angeles gets an arcade bar. Again.
• Beers encased in dead squirrels. Barley on a space station. 10 of the world’s most expensive beers.
• Does this look like you? Home bartender mistakes.
• Should you hire a cocktail consultant?
• Cocktail Competition: what does L.A. taste like in cocktail form? (Please don’t let it be smog).
• Here are some Ryes that people like.
• New gadget for infusing liquors: Oji Water Dripper.
• In 1957 a Barrel O’Rum costs $2.00.
• After 12 years, women allowed to join in Napa vine pruning contest.
• ‘Murerica: how to garnish a Bloody Mary frat boy style.

• Dead rats for free beer; college kids going the mile for booze.
• Salt as a seasoning in cocktails – just do it.
• Rocking ships age bourbon faster (the old fashioned way).
• Peach schnapps: yea or nay?
• Beer is the next Gatorade.
• Bartenders tell about cocktail experiments gone very wrong.
• Mezcal explained by puppies.
• Note to self: do not advertise site in Turkey.
• Anyone up for some Fire & Blood beer?
• American Vermouth produces getting skeptical glances from Europeans.

• Topless beer cans.
• If you’re up in SF, check out these beer cocktails.
• George Washington and friends were a bunch of drunks.
• Narragansett larger + Del’s lemonade =  the Rhode Island Shandy (I need this in my life stat).
• Overrated and Underrated cocktails. I’m with Meehan on this one, I love a good G&T.
• America’s best bartenders. Some good ones on this list but do you think they missed anyone?
• Bulk wine makes me think of people with their heads under the tap…
• A reason to visit Dallas: mushroom cocktails.
• Wine: good for the heart but not for making babies?
• Drunk gambling: don’t do it.
• I’m kinda in love with all these wine products.

• Al Capone’s cocktail shaker goes up for auction along with some other AMAZING cocktail finds.
• Bottomless Brunch is illegal in New York. Rest of country sighs relief.
• All hotels and my bedroom need a “press for champagne” button that actually brings me a bottle.
• Where to drink in New Orleans from a singing bartender.
• Ever wonder what the Crystal Head vodka skull would look like as a real head?
• Nowadays you can order a Harvey Wallbanger and no one will bat an eyelash.
• Here’s this week’s really expensive bottle of booze.
• If you happen to be in Seattle, there’s a whole lot of Amari there.
• Did you make a drink Sunday and name it after a nominee?
• Nominations for the 2014 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards are open! Do you have someone you’d like to nominate?

 

• Tiki is not dead. Read this.
• Why is your cocktail so expensive? Jim Meehan tells you why.
• This bar?? NO.
• Tanqueray gets a  new sexy, art deco bottle.
• Ibérico ham. In your mezcal. It’s a thing.
• Do I really have to wait until October for the new Death & Co cocktail book?
• Olive Oil in cocktails has been on my “to do” list for quite awhile now. Apparently I’m ahead of the trend.
• Nonalcoholic drinks get the mixology touch. But can we please stop using the word mocktail?
• Your wines really need a decanter.
• Happy 80th birthday to the Bloody Mary!

 

• Red Burgundy = Pinot Noir. Who knew?! A beginner’s guide to French wines.
• Come on Saveur, you couldn’t have made it 69?
• The Manhattan Cocktail Classic is happening in May.
• Want to fund a really cool bar spoon on kickstarter? Now you can.
• 8 Guy Bartenders to watch this year.
• It’s the year of the horse. Here’s a cocktail for that.
• British cocktail digital magazine: The Cocktail Lovers, #10 is out.
• Stunning cocktail pics from one of my favorite L.A. bartenders.
• Only Canadians seem to be lucky enough to score a drink in Russia right now.
• The secret language of bartenders. “Bartender ketchup” might be one of my favs.

 

Do you have some news to share? Leave it below in the comments section and enlighten us all!