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Hello Cocktails!

Books and booze. I live in Philadelphia, but I get around.

Month: February 2017

Among My Betters – Clarity

Clarity is a cozy fine-dining restaurant tucked away in Vienna with a lively atmosphere, excellent food, and good drinks. Ambiance: **** Decor: **** Cocktails: ***1/2 Service: ****1/2 Overall: 4 Vienna and I have never quite clicked. One of the richest towns in the country, Vienna is certainly beautiful and choc-full of well-bred folks, but I’ve yet to be invited… Read More Among My Betters – Clarity

February 28, 2017 HelloCocktailsLeave a comment

Cocktails at the Crossroads

This week I’m reviewing “The Silk Roads” by Peter Frankopan, which recasts world history as an Asian-centric story rather than the European saga we are raised with. As I write this and think of the scale and breadth of Frankopan’s book, I’m a little embarrassed that I didn’t search the ends of the Earth (or the… Read More Cocktails at the Crossroads

February 13, 2017 HelloCocktailsLeave a comment

Emerald Isle Cocktails

“Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy.” -W. B. Yeats This week I’m reviewing Jonathan Lee’s “High Dive” a retelling of the IRA’s 1984 failed assassination of Margaret Thatcher. The book’s searing description of the Troubles brought to mind Ireland and, of course, drinking. So I… Read More Emerald Isle Cocktails

February 3, 2017 HelloCocktailsLeave a comment
“Nothing is made, nothing disappears. The same changes, at the same places, never stopping.” Had a delightful time sitting at the bar @fiorellaphilly, a cozy and warm pasta restaurant that exudes old Philadelphia. Housed in a sausage store founded in 1892, I ate and drank while staring at a mammoth golden cash register built in 1904! True to form, this is the "Dirty Pasta Water Martini" with gin, pasta water, and olives. “New York gets god awful cold in the winter but there's a feeling of wacky comradeship somewhere in the streets.” Had a nice time in Greenwich Village living the wannabe bohemian life @theupandupnyc. Now quite stylish, @theupandupnyc was previously the Gaslight Cafe, a hub for the legendary folk music scene and the downstairs neighbor of Mr. Jack Kerouac. This is the "Barricaded Mountaintop" with Bimini gin, amaro sfumato, Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto, lime cordial, and orange bitters. “When you leave New York, you are astonished at how clean the rest of the world is. Clean is not enough.” It was one of those magical New York nights, full of good cocktails and fun people. I finally made it to the legendary @katanakitten_nyc, and it was everything you hear about. Truly amazing place. This is the wonderful "Ichigo Milkshake" with Remy Martin 1738, Mount Gay run, l'orgeat almond, strawberry cream, and Dale's pimento bitters. "Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home." Had a great time escaping the cold @wphiladelphia and enjoying the wintry @slowdrinks offerings! This is the "Dry Cranberry Ginger Ale" with gin. "These fragments I have shored against my ruins." @thefranklinmortgage was one of the first "fancy" cocktail bars I ever visited way back in 2016, so it was a joy to return and start making new memories. This pretty one is the "Drinking Before Dawn" (we were) with gin, passion fruit, and lemon. "How beautiful it is to get up and go out and do something." Always fun to welcome a new bar to the neighborhood, and @graceandproperphilly, with its Old World vibe, is a perfect fit! This is the "Good Giving and God" with saffron-infused gin, honey, lime, and gold leaf. "Towns are like people. Old ones often have character, the new ones are interchangeable." Enjoying evening strolls around Philadelphia's Old City and visiting the highly recommended @forsythia_philly - this is the "Norman Invasion" with aged rhum, hibiscus-apple butter cordial, Benedictine, and cider. "To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all." Fun weekend celebrating my new city, old friends, and a spectacular @F1 Brazilian Grand Prix! In its honor, I made a quartet of "Caipirinhas" with @liveloveleblon cachaca, lime, and sugar. "What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured." I've fallen hard for my new neighborhood, which is choc full of wonderful eateries and chill bars like @tgktavern. This is "Marseille, Afternoon" with Anise, lime, pistachio orgeat, and sparkling wine.

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